20amp circuit 14a wire very short run intermittant use 14-2 outdoor direct bury rated wire to tap into a 12-2 wire 20am circuit I thought it was 15a anyway at the time. I wired a 20amp GFCI switch that will see intermittant use through the wall about 1 foot away. Is this really that bad? I realized afterward I 'shouldnt' have done that techincally. I know that particular wire might get slightly hot if in use by something that is pulling 20a. But it is outdoor grade. It is going literally a foot away.... I know what code says but what are the real risks?

Thanks

The question isn't whether it's "bad," but whether it is legal. Running a 20A branch circuit over #14 wire is not legal (there are very uncommon configurations that it is pointless to explore here).

If you have any questions at all, bring in an electrician.

If it isn't legal, there is a reason it isn't legal, and the reason generally boils down to fire safety. You could (illegally) push 50 Amps over a #14 wire and power a load, but the wire is going to get hot. The more continuous the load, the hotter the wire is going to get. Voltage drop due to resistance is probably going to damage the load (especially if it's a motor or electronics), and chances are good that you'll cook wire connectors and start a fire, which may burn your house down and kill everyone in their sleep.

The code errs on the side of safety. I've actually seen horribly incompetent cases where, for example, a 240V water heater on a 30A circuit (two pole 30A breaker) was being served with #14 wire and it had been working for years. But maybe the next family in that house taxes the water heater harder and the wire heats up enough to start a fire.

Did you know that the vinyl sheath on NM cable will burn and carry a flame right through the walls of your house (stopping that flame from propagating down the wire is one of the main purposes of NM cable staples).

The bottom line is that it is not legal to put a 20 Amp breaker on a #14 wire. You need to replace the wire, or replace the breaker with a 15A breaker.

The breaker protects the wire, and protecting the wire protects lives.


What does "DC pass" mean on a 4 way splitter? I have a 4 way splitter which has DC pass written on arrows that point in different directions . Does this mean that the splitter isn't a just a passive splitter and it needs power?

This means that the splitter will allow DC power to pass through from the receiver to the source.  This is typically required for satelite TV where the polarity is used to switch the LNB (Low Noise Block) between different bands (if I recall correctly, usually even/odd stations require reversing the polarity).


How to wire an Air Conditioner from the disconnect when exposed to physical damage? Is there a general recommended wiring method for connecting an air conditioner (condenser on exterior of home) to its disconnect that is both not subject to physical damage and able to withstand a lot of vibration?

Per this question and answer, the LFNC whips that I see used on air conditioners installed at ground level without any surrounding protection everywhere can be interpreted as non-code compliant. Also, all flexible conduit options are subject to physical damage (refer to the code sections cited in "Question #3" from this answer).

Therefore, I was planning to use 3/4" EMT with liquid-tight connectors from the disconnect to the AC. However, I am now thinking about rigid materials mating with the vibrating motor of the air conditioner also being a bad idea since it will likely shake the conduit/disconnect mounts loose from the mortar of my exterior wall over time. If not another wiring method: Is there potentially something I could use to make the mounts for the EMT and disconnect less-susceptible to failure from vibration?

I assume you mean AC Condenser Unit : You can run EMT to the unit - typically a flex conduit cable is used (almost all installations I have seen use a flex conduit) but you can use emt if you like.

From your LINK   356.10 Uses Permitted:

  Where flexibility is required for installation, operation, or
  maintenance.

Use the Flexible Conduit to attach your condenser, connect your motor - use a strain relief on the physical wires and wire ties as well to limit the vibration of the wires.


Add c wire to furnace for smart thermostat I have an older furnace and am looking to add a c wire for a smart thermostat.  Currently behind my thermostat I have red/black wire, however, there are 3 additional wires that are not connected.

At the furnace the red/black are connected (as shown below) and the 3 additional wires are free.

From what I understand the C wire is 24 volt common. I have metered the furnace running/not running and found a post transformer wire that is 24 volt constant.  Can I simply connect one of the spare wires to this terminal or is there potential for too much of a current draw blowing the transformer?

Red coil wire is from thermostat.
24v constant is the bottom right black wire (this is where I want to connect the C wire to)

Yes, the terminal at the lower right in the photo is C.

Here's the wiring diagram from the documentation, which I highlighted in different colors.

Here's your wiring, which I highlighted using the same colors.


Should I put a vapor barrier under metal framing in a basement? I will be framing out my basement with steel so the bottom track will be on the concrete slab.
Is it required to put some sort of vapor barrier between the slab and the track? I couldn't find anything in the code that indicated it was required but want to make sure I pass inspection.
If it isn't required by code, is it recommended? My gut says it's unnecessary since the metal is galvanized, but I've seen arguments for and against it.
If some sort of barrier is required or recommended, what would you use and how would you install that?

I'm not aware of any requirement or recommendation to use a vapor barrier between a concrete floor and wooden framing, so I can't see why there would be one for metal framing.
Pressure treated lumber could be used for the sill plate if you were doing it in wood, so I'd think that would have a similar water damage resistance to galvanized steel studs.


Counting Smoke Detector Wires In Junction Box I want to connect a wire to get power for for a ceiling fan to an existing junction box in the attic that is used right now only for a smoke detector.  Box currently has a 12-3 wire coming in, and the smoke detector wires (connected to a quick disconnect).   Plastic box says it can take 8 12-gauge wires.  How do I count the three smoke detector wires (white, black, red, smaller than 12-guage)?   What's my total count so far, and can I add another 12-2 wire?

I believe the smoke detector wires are 14.  Attaching picture.

For box  fill calclations, you start with cubic inches...different wires take different amounts of space.

18 AWG wires take 1.5 cubic inches
16 AWG wires take 1.75
14 AWG takes 2.00
12 AWG takes 2.25
10 AWG takes 2.50
8 AWG takes 3.00
6 AWG takes 5.00 cubic inches

Larger wires require special engineering.

all grounds are broken out and count only as 1 of rhe largest ground wire.

All cable clamps together count as 1 of the largest wire clamped.

If there is a yoke (mounted piece of equipment in the box), that counts as 2  of the largest wire going to it.

You have to total up the cubic inches and make sure the box is big


What are the relative merits of stainless steel vs. granite composite sinks? I am about to begin a project to install a bar sink. I am debating between granite composite, such as the Blanco, and a conventional stainless steel sink. In either case, the sink will be mounted under a counter made of granite.

Are there significant differences in durability, cleaning, scratches, etc.?

Addiitonally, are there differences in how these two types are mounted? What are the preferred techniques?

Finally, is mounting of either of these something a fairly skilled DIYer can do (the cutout will be done by the stone pros)?

Your question verges on asking for opinions rather than a technical answer. The functions of either type are identical. Stainless has always been considered the best choice for longevity and durability. The newer composites are very popular, but somewhat suspectable to scratching from hard metal cookware such as cast iron. I have seen some disclosures on various brands that warn of staining from substances such as wine and dyes. They also warn against the use of certain abrasive cleaning products, so more care must be taken with composites. They are however, very durable, less noisy and can add style to a kitchen decor.

As far as installation under a stone countertop, this is typically not a DIY project. Granite fabricators take great pains to prep the mounting surface. The sink is dry fitted and the cutting and polishing the adjoining edges is done precisely to the individual units. They are then epoxied in place, usually with the counter upside down, clamped and allowed to cure. If done on site, install usually would have to be done from underneath,(unless the slab is small and can be flipped over) not the optimal way and very hard to clamp into place if not impossible. Ordering the counter with the hole precut and polished needs to be EXACT, or you will be in a world of hurt when you go to mate the counter with your sink. My preferred counter fabricator only changes $85 for installing a supplied bowl. I think that is a bargain and the bond is warrantied.


House (old around 1965) wiring and line voltage differences I have a problem with my Comcast cable connecting to the house. It is melting and partially burned out.  The burn is on the pole side coming to the house and not the house side.  There is an earthing connection secure between them.  I have these readings in my house outlets.
hot - ground = 16v,
hot - neutral = 122v,
neutral - ground = 5v.
Is this something to be concerned about or to be taken care of?

Yes, you need to get this fixed. Comcast cables on the poles should not be burning. You need to report this to the power company and also to the cable company. Tell them are are cables burning on the pole. It is their responsibility to fix that. Your hot to ground reading should be 122V, same as your hot to neutral. Have the power company also check the grounding at your meter. They might tell you that you need an electrician.


French drain issue and best way to correct it I bought a house with a french drain already installed but it seemed to get a couple wet spots around the house especially after a heavy rain.

I dug up a portion of the slab and saw that there werent any weep holes and the slab was almost cemented to the footer. See pictures. I redid sections of 2-3 feet wide to allow drainage and spaced it 5-7 feet apart to minimize the excavation volume. I drilled weep holes as far down as possible all around.

This was a remodel house where all the walls are new except an old front wall. Most of the places nothing comes out of the weep holes except the old front wall where some water is draining with every rainstorm.

Does anyone think I need to redo the whole thing?

What Lee Sam's answer describes is the right way to do the job on new construction.  Everything is already exposed.  However, it's REALLY an expensive, messy, long-term job to do after the fact.

Excavating the foundation to the footings involves a really deep and wide, reinforced trench, moving a lot of soil.  In addition to the work of accessing the foundation wall, it will destroy the surrounding yard.  When you're done, putting the soil back will start a multi-year process of settlement and regrading, landscape cleanup, etc.  In addition to the drain channel, you need to clean the foundation wall to examine the condition of any waterproofing and to apply any form of barrier.

In a case like yours, where the foundation walls are hollow-core blocks, it's much simpler to retrofit a solution inside the basement because everything you need to do can be done right below the basement floor.  You can cleanly cut away the access area with a concrete saw, and reseal the area with concrete when you're done.  It does create a mess, though.

You've been trying to fix small sections, but the job can't be done right in that manner.  The existing system is too silted up to be useful, and you don't have a good way to drain the walls into the system.  My recommendation would be redo the interior system.  Bite the bullet and do the whole job correctly.  Then it will be done and be permanent.

I had this approach done on a house of my own and it was a successful solution.  Ground water, rising with a high water table or collecting around the foundation, collects in the interior drain the same way it would with an exterior drain.  Water entering the foundation wall from the surrounding soil drains from weep holes in the hollow cores into the system.  You generally use a sump pump to discharge the collected water well away from the foundation.

A key element missing from your attempt is getting water from the weep holes into the system in a way that is sealed from the interior living space.  I found a good description online of the right way to do the job (website of the aquaGUARD waterproofing company).  Disclaimer: I know nothing about this company other than their web site has a good description.  Some excerpts:

This part you already know.  However, you really need to do the entire perimeter at once rather than a small section at a time so that you can effectively clean out the old material and put in a properly graded pipe and clean stone.  An integrated wall treatment is involved, and that needs to be done before replacing the concrete.

The pipe, stone and weep holes are the next step.

This is your missing step.  An air gap membrane is applied to the interior wall, then extends over the footer and drain pipe.  This completely seals any water behind and under it and channels water from the weep holes into the drain pipe.  The new concrete goes over this membrane.

There are a number of membrane styles.  The one used by the company that created the web site is a heavy dimpled plastic sheet that is flexible enough to bend over the footer but strong enough to support the new concrete without the air channels collapsing:

To finish the interior space, you can cover the membrane and there is no sign of the system except for the sump pump:

Possible Alternative

All that said, given the point your project is at, I might be tempted to explore another solution because you don't have much to lose.  If it doesn't work, you could rip it out and do the job right.  I'm referring to "baseboard" drain channels.  I have no idea how good, reliable, or long-lasting they are, but it is a simple add-on to what you've created that doesn't involve busting up any concrete (and it does nothing for any remaining bad drain pipe in your system; it only deals with your weep holes).

There are a few styles on the market.  Basically, it's a plastic channel that you glue to the floor, and sometimes the wall.  It covers the cove where the weep holes are and seals the water inside.  You run the channel around the perimeter and it drains into the sump pump.  This particular one is from this web site (just an example, no personal knowledge).

A similar system sold for DIYers:

I'm a bit skeptical, but the cost is advertised at $6/ft, and at least it's a better solution than leaving the exposed weep holes.  Worst case, you waste a few hundred dollars without changing anything that affects doing the job the conventional way later, if needed.


how critical are distances between studs? I'm in the process of finishing my basement (east-central Minnesota, US). So far, I've put up a couple of wood stud walls... non-load bearing, simple partition walls.

One one of these walls, the studs aren't exactly vertically plumb, and one in particular is about an inch out of whack between top and bottom fastening.

Note that this is in what will eventually become an inside corner of a bedroom (around a foot inward, actually), and I don't expect that I or future owners will really struggle too much to find the stud, if at all required.

How critical is the actual 16" between studs? Should I sister this stud up with another one next to it, just to make sure a mounting surface can be found in the future, or is this not a big deal?

Not critical at all.  There are best practices.  Like making sure corners have stud surface on both sides, making all studs 16 on center, make all studs plumb.  Does it matter?  No.  Do inspectors care?  No.  Now I wouldn't suggest making your studs further than 16 inches but back in the day they were generally 24 for basements.  I have seen people do them at 12.  The only concern that you should have is when you drill the drywall in, is the stud in question going to cause issues...

But if it were me I would just whack it back in place.

Note: That my answer here is given that it is a non-loadbearing basement wall.  If the wall was a loadbearing wall or attached to a loadbearing wall it would differ a bit.  In a basement the framing is just space to put insulation, wires, pipes, and an attachment point for drywall.


How to wire a three-prong extension cord to 110 outlet? I have a 1000w inverter wired to a 12v DC battery. The inverter has two GFCI 110 outlets on it. I want to run an extension-style cord from the inverter receptacle but cut off one end and wire a standard 110 outlet.

I saw this question which asks if something along these lines is safe, but I'm wonder how exactly to achieve it. Do I need a special type or gauge electrical cord? A certain outlet box? Do I need a GFCI  outlet? Can I use the ground wire in the extension cord to ground the outlet?

You can do it, it's not cost effective compared with buying extension cords with multiple outlets on the far end, or 2 extension cords, or a 3-1 adapter or several other options.  You need:

Extension cord (14ga at least; 12ga if using 20A receptacles)  $10-30
listed steel strain relief for your cord and 1/2" knockout - $3
4" 2-gang all steel box $2
2-gang 2 or 4 outlet steel box cover $2
1 or 2 duplex receptacles, $1-4
1 foot black, white, green solid core 12ga wire, $1
3 wire nuts, red  $1

Put 6" pigtails on each of the receptacles using side screws or clamp-and-screw (found on better receptacles).  Lop the extension cord and push the strain relief down it, gasket side out.  Knock out a 1/2" hole on the 2-gang box and bolt the strain relief through it, gasket out.  Wire-nut the 3 black wires together, ditto white and green/bare, careful as you are mixing solid and stranded.  Cram everything into the box and button it up. Test carefully, done.

You need at least 14ga wire if you have 15A outlets and 12ga wire if any 20A outlets.  Doing this with 16ga is unsafe.

A GFCI outlet is a good idea, you can slave the second duplex outlet off the "load" side.   If you don't use a GFCI, you must attach the cable ground to the outlet, that will attach it to the metal box, but test this just the same.


What tool do I need to cut groove along edge of floorboard Very simple question really -

I have a floating wooden floor and a raised stone hearth in front of the fireplace. I want to run some cables along the edge of the hearth and I need to lift the floor trim around the hearth and create a groove to hold the cables.

What's the best tool for the job?

I think I need some type of handheld router but I'm worried that there is not enough space to cut the groove given the high hearth edge.

The trim is about 1 inch wide and the hearth is about 2.5 inches tall. There are old floorboards under the floating floor and I want to run a network & TV cable around the fireplace.

There are two possibilities - create a channel in the trim or create a channel in the floor.

For network and TV cables, you probably need at least a gap about 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 to 3/8 deep. The trim looks too shallow to put in that channel. You could cut a channel like that and cover it with the existing or comparable trim.

While a router can cut channels, it needs several inches around its cutting bits for the base of the unit, and your cut would be too close to the raised hearth.

A good alternative might be a multitool

These are specialized power saws that can cut in very close quarters. The saw blade (it has several others) is offset, so you can cut downward into the floor right up to the edge of the hearth. They come in various price ranges starting at about $60.

I would remove the molding, draw a line about 5/8 out from the hearth all around. Then I would cut downward through the floating floor using the half circle wood blade following along the line. You probably will need to use the straight saw blade at the corners.

The wood strip you cut off should be easlily removed if it is not glued down. If it is, a small prybar, cheap screwdriver or chisel should easily pop it out.

Lay your cable, replace the trim. You may want to use cable clips to keep the wire in the channel until the trim is in place.


Can I run #14 armored cable behind baseboards? Residential basement remodel problem:
Replacing old, ungrounded wiring.   Problem is cinder block walls.   Inside, the exterior walls have rigid insulation and one layer of 1 x 3 furring strips covered by drywall.   Interior walls have simply drywall directly on cider block.
Aesthetically, I want to 'hide' all wires.   There is no room for wires in the walls.   We don't want surface raceway or conduit.
Can either armored or plain wires be run behind baseboards?
What if the baseboard is backed by 1/16" metal plating?
Also can armored cable be routed thru ceiling joists?
Or any other ideas and solutions welcome.
What will meet NEC?   Thanks!

NEC 300.4(D) covers the type of installation indicated in the question, and it applies to both AC and MC armored cable.  So you'll need to use a steel guard at least 1/16" thick to protect the cable.

This tip from Fine Homebuilding illustrates this type of installation.  Rather than backing the molding with steel plating, they use a U-shaped channel to protect the cable, which should be much easier:

The illustration shows a nonmetallic cable and a plaster finished wall.  You will need more depth than the thickness of the drywall to fit armored cable and steel U-channel.  On your outside walls with the furring strip, you can just cut out the foam board with a knife and the furring strips with an oscillating tool to get the additional depth.  On the interior walls, with the drywall directly on the block, I think you'll have to route a channel on the back of the base molding to make room.  In fact it might be better to use that method on the outside walls, too.

You have another challenge here:  getting the cable from the baseboard channel to the existing boxes.  This might not be too difficult if you can fish the void in the blocks, but it could be a big can of worms.


Is there risk in getting a larger pressure tank for my well pump? My pump tank has a leak in it, and so needs to be replaced.  The current tank is a 36 gallon tank, similar to this one.   Is there any risk in upgrading to a 52 gallon tank, such as this one?  I would think the benefit would be that the pump would have to run less often, but I'd like to have clarification on that too.

A larger tank will cause the cycles to be longer (slower), but overall the runtime will be  the same (if you use 500 gallons of water, the pump has to supply 500 gallons of water). For example, if the tank is full and you open a tap, with a 36 gallon tank it may take 60 seconds before the pump starts, and then 30 seconds to run, and repeat. With a 55 gallon, it may take 90 seconds before the pump starts, and then it will run for ~50 seconds. In both cases, this is ~33% duty cycle (if you excuse my rounding errors for simplification), and so if you leave the tap open for 10 minutes you'll get a total of 198 seconds or 3.3 minutes of runtime.

The downsides to a larger tank are simply that it costs more and takes up more space.

The only real problem is if you have too small of a tank you'll cause the pump to cycle too quickly which wears it out faster.


Nest thermostat not turning on heat I have an old gas furnace/boiler for hot water baseboard heat and I'm trying to switch from a 2 wire mercury bulb thermostat to a Nest Thermostat "E" (the new white faced one).

There are 5 wires in the wire bundle between the furnace and the thermostat with only the red and white being used in the original setup. I believe I've added a common wire correctly by connecting one of the extra wires to the "C" terminal on the transformer (see pictures below) and the other end to the "C" plug in the Nest.

The Nest powers up fine and seems to detect the wires without any errors. But it's not able to switch on the heat. If I turn the heat up all the way and wait the screen turns orange (to indicate that it's heating) but the furnace never switches on.

some things I've checked

If I unplug the R and W wires from the Nest base plate and touch them together the heat immediately switches on. So I don't think I've broken anything.
I have a cheap voltage measurement tool that reads 24v touching one end to R and the other end to W at the thermostat base plate. It also reads 24v touching one end to R and the other to C. Is this correct?

Anything else I can try? I'm not sure if this is an issue with the nest or with my wiring. I gave up on Nest tech support after being on hold for 30mins. and I figured I'd check the internet before Nest tells me to call a pro.

PICTURES

Let me know if you need more info or pictures

Original setup behind the thermostat:

Original setup at the furnace/transformer:

This is how the boiler is set up

close up of original connections on transformer

There are 5 connection points on the card, I'm assuming the R (bottom left) and C (top left) are the only ones actually attached to the transformer. The middle one (white circle) I think is labeled "G".

transformer connections with blue common wire connected under the screw

So my common wire is going directly from the "C" terminal on the transformer to the thermostat. Everything else is unchanged.

Nest wiring screen

Broken Nest

Either the output driver for the W output on your Nest is toast, or the Nest's solid-state output drivers can't put out enough current to drive the load of your system.  Try switching the wire connecting the Nest's W output to the Nest's G output and seeing if turning the fan on causes the boiler to fire up.  If it doesn't, then you can't use the Nest with your setup, sorry!


Wire color standards for ceiling fan and lights, power from the switch in the USA I'm wiring a brand new ceiling fan, and I'm curious if there's a color standard for which wire controls the fan vs the lights? Power runs to the switch, then to the fan. The run from the switch to the fan is 14/3 with white, black, red, and copper. White (Neutral) and copper (Ground) are easy, but is there a standard for which of red and black controls the lights and which controls the fan?

There is not an end all standard for wire colors, especially with all the DIYers running around.
If the fan will be controlled by the pull chain, it would be likely to have the black feed pigtailed to the switch and to the black going to the fan box to control the fan motor. Then the red would go from the switch to the fan box as a switched hot to control the light. The white wires would be wire nutted together in the switch box and the white wire at the fan box would be connected to the white wire from the fan. If there were double switches to control the fan and the light separately, then the black wire would be pigtailed to both switches and the black and red would be connected each to a switch. Then at the fan box either black or red could be connected to the motor and light of the fan.


Removing old paint from brick wall of house My house has peeling dated wall paint.  I'd like it to be taken off and then some re-pointing as necessary.
I am not the best DIY person but might attempt at least part on my own, like removing old paint, but likely to have to get someone in.
Can I ask for advice on options to safely remove the paint?
Many thanks
Colin

Colin, according to your tags, it sounds like you're wanting to remove the paint off the brick walls on the outside of your house.
Anyway you do it, it's going to be messy. Do you want to remove the paint off all the brick or only where you want to repoint the mortar?  Either way, I would use a pressure washer, since you mentioned the paint is already peeling.  The pressurized water will be able to get under/behind the paint and separate it from the brick facade. that's where the mess comes in because pieces of paint will most likely go everywhere.  I would start off with lower pressures, gradually increasing it until it starts removing the paint.  Hold the wand at a shallow angle to the brick to best get behind the paint. this will also reduce the amount of pressure being applied to the brick. too much water pressure might damage the brick and mortar.  I've seen concrete drives/sidewalks damaged being cleaned with too much water pressure.
If you don't like that idea, then you might try spraying a solution of muriatic acid and water on the brick wall with a pump sprayer.  Follow the directions on the label and first test on a small area to check for effectiveness and if there's any discoloration.  Muriactic acid is fairly inexpensive and readily available at most hardware and home improvement stores- maybe even walmart?  Of course, use the appropriate PPE and protect any vegetation you want to keep.  You apply the acid solution, let it work, maybe even help it with a metal brush, and then rinse it off with a lot of clean water. this is a must.  You can gradually increase the strength of the solution, if needed. just depends on what kind of initial results you get.
After thinking about it, the pressure would probably be the same regardless of the angle of attack. It's the distance between the end of the wand and the brick that will affect/reduce the pressure.


Can I caulk around this tub? As shown in the pic, my one-piece tub/shower was installed poorly. There is a gap between the vinyl top layer and the tile floor. To make it look better I was thinking about caulking it, but I think the gap is too large (up to about 1/4") and there's nothing but air behind it. Recommendations would be appreciated.

You certainly can, if you do it carefully. Here are my tips:

Use clear silicone. Any color (including white) will be much more conspicuous over the grout joints. Clear will transfer the existing colors and blend much better, almost disappearing.
Run a roll of masking tape along the floor, tight to the tub. Once you've tooled your caulk you can remove this for a clean line.
Cut the tip of the tube small. You want it to fit the smaller areas of the gap well to minimize squeeze-out. At the wider areas, slow your slide rate to allow the gap to be filled well.
Inject a substantial amount of caulk into the gap. You don't want a wall of caulk that will collapse. You want a solid rope.
Be sure the gap is completely dry when you apply the caulk. Silicone doesn't grab wet surfaces.
Tool the caulk with a finger, wiping the finger clean on a rag often. You don't want excess caulk oozing out around the sides.

Good luck.


Can I drywall directly over cinder block (ceiling) using 7/8" hat channel? We live in a condo that was previously a Hospital.  In the early 1980s they installed the drywall ceilings using metal track.  We removed the drywall and track to raise the ceiling from 8' to 11'.  The ceiling is now cinder block under concrete.
Can we install drywall directly over cinder block using 7/8" metal hat channel as our "furring strips?"
I have plenty of 7/8" hat channel available from removing old track lighting.  Hat channel would be attached using tapcon  concrete screws.  Would use drywall screws and adhesive to attach to hat channel.

the hat channel should make a nice support for the sheetrock. dosent leave much room for electricial unless you have surface mount boxes (for lighting).


toilet basin rattling valve our toilet water basin valve makes a terrible rattling noise when filling up with water. It's the left side tube making that. Any idea about possible solutions beyond calling a plumber and replacing the valve?

Replacing the toilet fill valve is an easy DIY project.  You can buy a new one for less then $20.00.

I found this YouTube video that is a good tutorial.

I am not affiliated with them.

You only need minimal tools and to know how to turn off water supply valve.

There is a valve just under your toilet on the side with the flush lever. Turn the valve handle clockwise until it stops. Flush the toilet to drain the water out, there should not be any water coming out of the tube if the valve is shut completely.
I like to take a big sponge and soak up the remaining water in the tank but you can use a bucket to catch the extra water that comes out when you remove the fill valve.

Use a pair of adjustable pliers to loosen the nut of the top of the supply hose that connects to the fill valve on the bottom of the tank (basin). Once the supply line is disconnected  there is a plastic nut that holds the fill valve in place on the bottom of the tank, use the pliers to loosen this and then remove by hand, remove the rubber gasket as well. Now you can pull the valve out of the tank. ( if there is any extra water in the tank it will run out of the hole so have your bucket under the hole. )

Now you just reverse the process with the new valve and follow the instructions to adjust the fill level, ( the shut off point that tells the valve when to stop filling )

Yes even you can do it. ;).


Why is my gas furnace now continually just blowing out cold air? I had my heat set to 70°F all day and my gas furnace was blowing out warm air. Then out of nowhere, it started blowing out cold air for the past 3 hours. I tried turning off the furnace and turning it back on but it still blows out cold air.

If the furnace is constantly blowing cold air, it's likely one of two problems. The first is easy to check and fix, the second will likely require a service technician.  Start by checking the thermostat, to make sure the Fan setting is not in the ON position. If the fan is set in the ON position, the fan will blow air continuously. Make sure the fan is set to AUTO, which will allow the furnace to control the blower.

The other reason a furnace blower will run continuously, it that the high limit switch is dead or dying. If the high limit switch fails, it will "fail open". This causes the furnace control board to think the furnace has overheated, so in response the control board turns the fan on to clear the heat.  The most common cause of high limit failure is constant overheating, which is usually brought about by dirty filters. You'll likely have to contact an HVAC Technician to replace the high limit switch, since it might be difficult for you to locate the part yourself.  In the future, make sure to check your filter and change them as often as needed.


How to remove drawer on old Accuride rails I have an old cherry Artec 4 drawer lateral filing cabinet with Accuride file rails.  I cannot figure out how to remove a drawer. There are no black plastic tabs or release mechanism that I can identify. I did insert a screw driver at the end of the rail but didn't feel a catch (did not really apply a lot of pressure).

Is there anyway to release the drawer without removing the rail screws?
I could not locate a model number on the rails - just a Pat pending # that was was teeny tiny to read and the number F 2

It's been a couple of decades, but I think this is what I had. You'll notice the front lever that pushes down. Well, that's actually to retain the BB-rail, so the BB's don't fall out...which I did the first time before doing it right...you just put the BB's back in, no big deal.

Anyway, just open the draw enough to get to the front levers and hold them down while you pull the drawer straight out and free of the interior rails. If I recall, it was a bit tough and you feel the BB's scraping their way along.

Reinstallation is the same and you need to release the front levers only when the drawer is almost shut. Then, shut it all of the way and you're back to full smooth operation.


How do GFCI breakers behave on two wire circuits? Will a GFCI breaker nuisance-trip if a three prong outlet has a jumper between ground and neutral on an old two wire system?

It won't nuisance trip. It will trip because you've deliberately created a ground-fault.

You should never connect the grounding conductor to the grounded (neutral), except in the service equipment. Which means you should remove the jumper between the ground and neutral.


Mysterious drain going into sewer cleanup I have a sewer-cleanout near the back porch of my house, which is below ground level so it's in a round box, and also within this box I have found a smaller piece of pvc pipe.  The square 'handle' part of the sewer-cleanout has been cut to allow this smaller pipe to point into the larger drain.

(Please see attached picture, the smaller pipe terminates right at the point where it meets the larger pipe.  The sewer pipe is effectively open at this point, meaning nasty smell in my sun-porch!)

To try to figure out where this drain comes from, I have run every faucet and drain the house and also used the sprinklers and I still haven't seen water come from the small drain.  (I also verified that this is not the Air Conditioner drain line, that goes another place.)

Any suggestions on finding where this drain comes from, so I can be certain that it's safe to cap it?

Here is a suggestion for investigation. Start by removing the perforated sewer-cleanout and temporarily capping the suspect drain with a size reducing fitting. Then try one or more of the methods in this answer to a similar question.


Outside lamp has ground, no ground, no metal box. 2 outside lamps on wooden frame surrounding by front door. They only have a black and white wire coming out through the wood. Should I just go back and buy a fixture with no ground wire. If I attach the metal cross bracket directly to the wooden post and hook the ground wire to that, is that safe or not.

Definitely put a GFCI upstream on this circuit. That will (barring a failure of the GFCI) protect humans from electrocution regardless of grounding.

Having unsheathed wires running through that frame and poking out for the fixtures could be a problem, though. Is that NM cable, or just a couple of single wires? The wires are supposed to be in a manufactured sheath (NM cable) or conduit, and I'm pretty sure holes drilled in a wooden frame don't count as conduit.

Can you pull new NM cable through the frame to include a ground wire?

Don't just screw a light fixture straight down to the wood frame. If you screw pancake boxes down to the frame (pictured), then you can attach the lighting fixtures to the pancake boxes in the normal way. If you can get a grounding wire in there, you would ground the box, and also ground the lighting fixture if it has a separate green grounding wire. The metal base of the fixture would also be grounded through the screw connection to the pancake box.

You also need to use a an appropriate cable clamp. One option is pictured, suitable for NM cable, and you would clip this into the pancake box from the back side so that the whole thing would still be flat enough to screw down to that wood frame, without having to auger the holes out bigger.


When will drilling through wall members affect structural integrity? When can you freely drill medium to large sized holes in studs or door jambs, and when do you need to be concerned about damaging the structural integrity of the structure?

Just found this useful document (direct link to PDF) on the web. It explains in a much clear manner than I can, plus it contains some good, easy to read diagrams.

Notching & Boring Guide for Floor Joists & Stud Walls in Conventional Light-Frame Construction by Western Wood Products Association


Why does my outlet have an extra neutral wire connected? I am installing an infrared sauna and came across an electrical outlet problem.  I had two people (one an electrician) check it out and both were stumped on why there are 2 white wires (along with 1 black and the ground).  The house is approximately 115 years old and I have lived here 35 years.

It appears one is 14 and the other 12.  Someone had put a 25 amp circuit breaker.  The electrician recommended replacing it with 15 amp which I have done but also got a blown fuse when having TV on, little electric heater and turned coffeemaker on which i hadn't had happen before.  (this circuit is for my den and workout room).  I didn't use the heater this morning and no blown fuse. Unfortunately it would be a huge project to rewire so beyond my budget.

But for my own piece of mind and for safety issues, does anyone have ideas why this was done?

That 15A breaker and the trip

Remember this: Breakers protect wires. Breakers come between you and wires overheating and starting a fire in your walls where it's almost impossible to put out.

Code is very clear: #14 wire gets a 15A breaker.  #12 wire gets a 20A breaker. (NEC 240.4).  You are not allowed to put common receptacles on a larger breaker (210.21B3).    That is because breakers also protect appliances. A 15A breaker allows 1800 watts (20A allows 2400W).

Appliances which make heat (and have standard plugs) are hard capped at 1500 watts (UL) - and that's not very much, so most heat-making appliances use all of it.

People have no concept of what appliances actually draw -- you use the word "little" to describe the heater, as if that makes it a small draw -- it's a 1500 watt draw.  Go look :)  Your coffeemaker is probably around that too, since it also wants to heat the water as quickly as possible.

If you're noticing, two heat appliances is 3000W and won't even fit on a 20A breaker. Correct.  Heat appliances are like Sauron; they do not share power!

If you need to run 2 large loads, run 2 circuits or position them so they are on different circuits.  No way around it!

Some fool had the same problem, and that's why he fit the 25A breaker.  Why did it work then, since 25A=3000W and your draw was slightly above that?  Breakers operate in "thermal trip" mode, where they allow the  overload, allow the wire to heat up, and only trip before the heat becomes dangerous. This scheme depends on the wires being the proper size.

It also depends on Do not immediately reset a breaker after a thermal trip.  Wait 10 minutes for the wires to cool off, since breakers cool off faster than wires.  Well, okay... the first trip, go ahead and reset immediately but remove some large loads.

"Equal currents" is a basic principle

As you know, current flows in loops. (kinda like hydraulic fluid). Out the hot, back the neutral.  These partner wires must travel together in the same cable or conduit.  If power goes out to a lamp, the return must come back on the same cable.   Why?  A bunch of reasons.

First,  Unlike hydraulic fluid, electricity throws a large magnetic field - and because it's AC power, this field vibrates.  If the wires are tightly bound to each other, the fields cancel each other out and the effect is null. But if the wires are separated at all, it causes physical vibration (damaging the wires) and eddy current heating in metals.

But second, neutrals don't have circuit breakers. It is supposed to be protected by the idea that current on a neutral can only come from its partner hot wire, which does have overcurrent protection.

Third, GFCI detection requires this - they check whether currents are equal to see if any current is leaking or shocking someone.

You are allowed to split; say for a ceiling fan, you can split power to lamp and fan, both returning current on the same neutral. The 3 wires add up, and cancel each other out.

You're usually safe if you physically run cables in a tree fashion -- branches can branch and re-branch, but they can't loop back to another branch.

And there will always be at least 1 partner wire.  And the pair (3+?) will always be the same size as each other.

So this neutral wire is an anomaly

Since the electricians looked for other cables in the back of the box, we know this must be a weird single wire that's been bridged over from somewhere else.  No doubt that circuit had a problem with its neutral wire, so they "stole" neutral from here.  Great: if it's a 15A breaker, then this circuit's neutral can carry 15A + the 25A from your breaker = 40A. That's not good!

My thought is, figure out which neutral is the partner to the hot, and remove and cap off the other one.  Treat it like it might be hot; it will be once you remove it, because it will get pulled up to 120V by the appliance trying to return current.

If a nearby switch has a powered switch, it's possible that switch is wired as an old-style "switch loop" and he stole neutral from here.  Roll it back to a switch that doesn't require neutral.  For instance timer switches that crank (instead of pushing buttons) don't need neutral.


Will this floor tile break? So, I've got some 12"x12"x1/4" tile laid over a concrete floor. I'm cleaning up between the tiles getting ready to grout and I notice I can see some concrete between and underneath (the small amount i can see) the tiles. I recorded this video showing me striking the tiles. The corners that don't look well supported by thiset have an obvious knock sound.

Is this tile doomed to crack?
Will the grout get under the tile and be supportive enough?
Should I try jumping on the tile and only replace it if it cracks?

There are at least 5 tiles like this I've found so far (not all next to each other). A third party laid the tile so I have no other knowledge than what I can see from above.

Update: These tiles are glazed ceramic (purchased on sale for $.49/sqft). I'm sure that the backs of the tiles were not moistened prior to laying. I found one tile that had about a 6"x6" notch cut out of it to fit a corner that on one of its 'legs' also has a knock but much more pronounced. I stomped on this one as best I could and it is not broken.

Pry that tile up, it sounds loose on that corner - i.e. not only unsupported, but some of the thinset in contact with the tile did not adhere.

That looks like unglazed clay tile (aka mexican clay tile), which you must moisten on the bottom to get it to adhere well.  If you don't, the tile sucks the water out of the thinset before the thinset can bond, and you get what you have with that "klonking" tile.

If it was just voids at the corners, you could just "pipe" some more thinset under the tile with a pastry bag, but after watching that video, I would pry up that tile.  Hopefully you have some spares.


Does a (non-splitting) cable splitter degrade the signal? I have cable and cable internet in my new apartment.  The cable comes in to the water-heater closet from the roof and comes out an outlet in the wall of the closet, but there is a 4-way splitter in use before the cable gets to the outlet.  It's not used to split the signal at all; the other three output connectors are empty.

Since I added cable internet service (and used a 2-way splitter after the outlet), my tv cable signal is a little fuzzy on some channels; and I was wondering if the cable splitter in the closet is to blame.  Could I buy a simple connector to replace the 4-way splitter and see an improvement; or would it be the same, since the splitter isn't actually splitting the signal?

I believe it is splitting the signal, each output will have a specific loss associated. Some splitters will unevenly split the signal (commonly called a tap), which is handy to give a better signal to a longer run or to the cable modem. You can get a straight through connector at any HI store. That said, even these will have some loss of signal, just no where near as much as from a splitter.

Note: Common Insertion Loss per output leg on passive splitters:

2-way - 3dB
3-way - 4.8dB
4-way - 6dB

3dB is 1/2 the signal strength, basically on a two way splitter, full power goes in, 1/2 comes out each leg as long as there is termination impedance on all (cable or terminator cap) ports.


frigidaire glasstop stove element turns off and on during use Just replaced the element with a brand new one. Using the new element for the first time, it heats up and cools down constantly, is this normal or whats going on with it? Could only find one other comment about this problem and it didnt help me. Only the new element does this , not the other three.

Smooth-top (ceramic) stoves can be damaged if an element gets too hot. To prevent this, each element has a thermostat which cuts off the heat at a certain temperature. It probably won't happen if you have a properly-sized pot of water heating up, but if you put the element on high with no pot then the element will definitely start cycling off and on at some point.


Concrete slab on pressure treated lumber We want to cover up a hollow concrete box of 10' x 10' x 10' with concrete slab.
This will be on entrance of our new house.
My builder suggested to lay concrete slab on steel mesh supported by pressure treated timber support.
Is it a right method of laying concrete slab on hollow box?

It depends what will be the load over the hollow are below but in any case it is not going to be enough to just use steel mesh. You are going to need to place re-bar into the slab as well that has its structure designed by an engineer to provide the proper strength to carry the slab weight plus the load weight over the hollow space.

Keep in mind as well that this slab will need to have some considerable thickness to accommodate the engineered form of the re-bar. It may turn out that the final design involves a thinner slab that is supported by integrally poured in webbing below.


Using drywall screws for electrical boxes? I am installing the following items:

and I am using regular 1 1/4" drywall screws to secure them.

Is there any concern in regards to shear strength or rot that would make me regret using drywall screws?

I am fully aware of the adage "Drywall screws are for drywall; it's in their name." but it seems like they are more than sufficient for my application.  Especially with the single-gang box because the head will lay flatter making sheetrock easier.

I used drywall screws in the past for electrical boxes and stopped using them when I found that they snap off too easy when using a powered driver to insert the screws. They can also snap if there is any reason that the electrical box can flex. This is all due to the hard tempered nature of drywall screws.

Now I use #8 or #10 pan head stainless steel screws. If possible, when using the #10 size, I will even drill a pilot hole for the screw.


Replacing smart switch 3 gang box neutrals all tied up Just moved in. Have a three gang box trying to replace switches with smart switches (they each require neutral).
I'm unsure though how I'm supposed to wire the neutrals, since they are all bundled up into one wire nut.
I could cram the neutrals in, but that seems dumb and unsafe. Is there a recommended, safe way to do this?

Get a bigger nut/connector (or more of them)
You're right to be concerned about cramming the existing wirenut over its capacity.  The solution, though, is to either use a larger nut/connector (such as an 8-port push-in type connector) or two smaller nuts connected to each other by a piece of white wire of the appropriate gauge.


Handrail in center of stairs? I’m finishing up a deck build.

Steps from lower deck to upper deck are 60 inches wide with 7” rise per step. Total rise is 28”

I wonder if is adequate to place a single hand rail in the center of the steps. Some have a preference for right hand rail others for a left handrail.
Center handrail seems to satisfy both.

Am I overlooking any potential issues with my plan to use only a center rail?

The Code requires the stair width to be 36” ABOVE the handrail and 27” width at the handrails and lower. (See IRC R311.7.1)

Only one handrail is required. (See IRC R311.7.8) (In commercial projects, a center handrail is required every 88” width of stair, except at historic structures.) Also, handrails are required when you have 4 or more RISERS. (See IRC R311.7.8)

Handrails can project 4 1/2” and should be between 30” and 38” above the nosing of the tread. (See IRC R311.7.8.1)

BTW, in olden days, the handrail was required on the right side descending. This is no longer required.

I agree with @JimStewart and I’d install a handrail on the sides and leave the center open to allow you to have that new barbecue easily delivered up on that upper deck.


Door not flush to door stop at the top but is at the bottom I have recently replaced an interior door and the door now bows away from the door stop at the top (latch side) about a 1/4 inch but is about flush at the bottom . I am at a loss for how to correct this. The hinges are mounted the same at the top and bottom and there is no significant gap issue in the door spacing from the frame. Any advice would be appreciated.

Added a photo of the corner in question. Hopefully it will help in describing what I am seeing. The hinge side is close to flush with the door stop, as is the bottom of the latch side.

Was it a pre-hung door? If one side of the frame is cut longer than the other (or if your floor isn't level and the frame rests on the ground) that could be pushing the frame out of shape.


White PVC pipe for electrical wiring I am running about 20 feet of 8 AWG 4 wires through 3/4 inch PVC piping for a electrical power generator (transfer switch to L14-30 outlet). Wanted to know, codes aside, if it is fine to use white instead of grey PVC. The are both schedule 40, but the white is half the cost locally. I'll be running along side the corner of the wall and roof of the inner side of my garage.

I understand that white is specifically for plumbing and grey is specifically for electrical, but want to put aside the codes for the sake of argument.

Don't mix your (PVC) streams

Electrical PVC conduit and PVC sanitary (supply, DWV) piping may look similar (save for the color), but are made to very different standards.  Plumbing PVC needs to be rated to a higher working pressure for supply piping use, and also is designed to be used from fitting to fitting, with female-female couplers used to join straight lengths together.  However, most of it isn't rated for outdoor use, or for its behavior when subject to ignition sources.  (In addition -- the listing/rating for most plumbing PVC is through the NSF, which isn't competent to issue electrical listings.)

Electrical PVC conduit, on the other hand, while not rated for pressure, is rated for UV exposure for outdoor use and for its ability to resist ignition for a period of time; neither of these are true of garden-variety (white) PVC pipe.  It also is designed so that lengths of PVC conduit can be fitted together without a coupling, thanks to a flare on one end of the PVC, and has specialist fittings available for it that don't exist in the DWV world (such as expansion joints, to keep longer runs from doing the worm due to temperature changes).  Electrical PVC is also UL (NRTL) listed for electrical service, which is a NEC requirement (352.6).

As a result of these differences, they are not interchangeable or even compatible products, so just get the right stuff, even if it costs more.

As to sizing, though...

4 8AWG THHN wires take up just under 96mm2 of fill, while a 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC conduit has 131mm2 of fill available, so you are fine with your conduit sizing.  I would recommend using conduit L bodies whenever possible and prefabricated elbows for inside bends (where L bodies cannot be used) -- this makes installation the simplest, and stands the best chance of not violating the 360 degree rule for bends between pull points.


How to make a long straight cut in a board at an angle? I have a board about 1.5" thick and 12" wide and 8 feet long.

I need to cut the board diagonally and want the cut to be as straight as possible. (I am cutting the board diagonally. This does not involve a bevel cut.)

How can I do that?

I have a circular saw and a small portable table saw. I can buy equipment, but nothing large. I cannot buy a giant table saw with an 8' bed, for example.

(I do not think using outriggers with the portable table saw will work, because I have tried that before and it is not feasible to keep a board straight while feeding it 8 feet onto saw horses.)

Sawhorses with a board on top to form a makeshift table, then your green board on top, and a straight aluminum ruler (up to 3m, in most hardware stores) fastened with clamps to the green board parallel to the cut with an offset as big as your circular saw is wide? Or is your circular saw fastened to a saw-table?

.
image: amazon.com

Alternately use a very straight board clamped to the work as a guide for the saw.


Can I Swap Ceiling Fan and Light Wires? I bought a home with a ceiling fan that is wired in this manner: the light is on a single switch, and the fan is wired to two switches, on either sides of the room.
It makes more sense to me to have the light on the two switches, and the fan on the single switch. Currently, up at the ceiling fan box the black wires are connected and the blue wire from the for the light is connected to the red wire from the ceiling.
Can I connect the black wire from the fan to the red wire from the ceiling, and the black wire from the ceiling to the blue wire for the light? (This would swap the power wires in order to swap which set of switches control the fan/light.) I don't see why it wouldn't be okay, and this seems easier than trying to figure out how they wired the two switches together (which currently control the fan but I want to control the light) in order to change the wiring at the switches.
Thanks for any help!

Yes, you can do that and it will swap the power to the light and fan. Just remember to turn off the power at the breaker before doing any work.


Can I remove 2 GFCI breakers and install a tandem if the box accepts a tandem? I want to add a 220v 20 amp breaker to run a mini split A/c. I only have 1 space in the box left. I see there are other tandem switches in there. I also see 2 regular breakers with blue switches. I looked up and see that they are most likely GFCI breakers. I also see that they don't seem to make a tandem GFCI. So, can I install a tandem breaker, remove the 2 gfci breakers, and install gfci outlets in the wet locations? That would give me the 1 slot I need.

I don't see any GFCI's. Your cheapest route is to replace the blue handled 15A shed breaker with a BR1515 and add the wires from the unmamrked 15A circuit on the left to the additional termination you just added to the shed space. That's a lot cheaper than buying any quadplex.


Mirror with sconce lighting cracked I am looking for some advice here. I own a cleaning business, and a client is claiming that my staff cracked their mirror. They've been long-time clients, AND are very quick to complain about things that are showing normal wear and tear (such as a cracked plastic water guard at the bottom of a swinging shower door).
This particular staff is my most trusted, has broken things in the past (it happens in cleaning), and has always been very forthcoming. Well, two weeks after she cleaned this home, the clients send me these photo, saying they had the installer check it out, and he deemed that it must have been excessive pressure on the light fixture that caused this crack.
At first glance, my guess is that this has to be a common problem with mirrors with holes cut out for junction boxes. Also, my staff says if she had noticed something like that she'd have pissed her pants. Her words, but I would have, too! They sent me these photos, and they've also conveniently removed the EXIF data, so I can't see when the photos were taken. You can also see that shower is pretty dirty, so it wasn't taken right after the clean or within a couple days. I can't imagine they would have waited two weeks to bring this up if it truly happened when they claim it did. And this is their master bath, so there would have been no missing it.
I'm not one to shy away from owning mistakes and being accountable, AND I feel like we're being scapegoated here. What are the odds that dusting a light fixture would cause this if it weren't already faulty or cracked?
How often do these types of mountings cause problems like this?
The crack is so clearly coming from where the light fixture is tightened.

How often do these types of mountings cause problems like this?

There is no way to answer that. In my opinion there is no way to prove that your employee caused the crack.
The genesis of the crack is the opening that was cut in the mirror for the light fixture.
It may be that the crack  just happened without any outside influence, perhaps it was not a perfect cut,  the cut caused a weak spot.  Or the light fixture was tightened down a little to much and over time the opening in the mirror just failed. Or, Or.
If cleaning the mirror caused the crack to start then it would be because there was no proper support behind the opening, resulting in the glass flexing during cleaning, as opposed to not flexing because there was proper support behind the opening.
There is not much we can tell you,
Try to explain to the owner about where the crack started and why a hole in a mirror needs proper support behind it or how it there are inherent risks in cutting glass .
If it were me and  they want take legal action then i would tell them that   i would take my chance at having a court listen to both sides.


Did I fry my fridge water valve by plugging it in wrong? My whirlpool fridge stopped making ice and dispensing water so after a lot of research and diagnosing (not that I really know what I'm doing!) I replaced the water valve, put it all back together, etc.  However, once I plugged it into power I got asked to do something else.  When I came back to the fridge project a couple hours later, I double checked the Part Select video I was watching to guide me, and I realized I had the plugs reversed.  I had them on the correct sides, but I had them upside down.  So here is a screenshot from the video showing how it should be:

But I had the B where A should be and vice verse, and the D where the C should be and vice verse.

So I immediately unplugged the fridge, flipped the plugs to the correct way, and then put it all back together and plugged it in again.  But the water and ice are not working.  So I am wondering -- did I ruin the water valve by plugging it in wrong and running it that way for about 3 hours?!

If there are only two terminals on each valve's plug then reversing them should not be a problem, as the valve is probably driven by AC (no polarity), and is just a coil of wire (again, no polarity).


How do I deaden the sound of water dripping on metal? I live in a two story apartment complex (upstairs neighbors are REAL nice). My bedroom has an AC Box/Swamp Cooler mounted into the wall. Directly above it is a similar unit for my neighbors.

The problem is that when it gets unbearably hot (as it does during summers here) the upper unit eventually starts to drip water directly down onto the top of my unit. This creates an immensely frustrating sound in my room, as the hollow metal box in my wall echoes this consistent dripping noise, keeping me from falling asleep or enjoying the quiet in general.

I have asked the landlords if they can either repair the upstairs unit or put a barrier between the water and my unit, but their response was "Meh, swamp coolers drip, get over it."

I feel like i'm going to have to fix this problem myself and am wondering what I can do to stop the dripping.

If the drip is that noisy, it's probably hitting a flat horizontal spot on your unit. If you can add something to the top of your unit that is at a steep angle that the drip lands on, the drip shouldn't be as noticable.

You might be able to put a flower pot with just sand in it, or even an actual plant with soil on it on top of your unit?


What Wire Gauge and Conduit Size for 15a Cicruit Extension? I am planning to run power to a very small shed by extending an existing 15a circuit that currently feed only a gate operator (4.5amp). This is located in southeast Michigan. I only need power at the shed for a light and a single receptacle for the occasional small power tool. The gate is fed by (3) #14 wire in PVC conduit about 100'. I plan to tap into the existing junction box at the gate and run THWN #14 wire underground (18" depth) in a 3/4" conduit about 75' to the shed. I will use a small disconnect and a GFCI at the first receptacle. My questions:

Will there be a problem with voltage drop if running #14 wire that far? I assume it does no good to run heavier wire unless I replace the existing run of #14 with the same.
Is schedule 40 PVC conduit sufficient for running a 120v, 15amp circuit 18" down in a residential yard?

#14 is not adequate for a 175 foot, 50% circuit capacity load. Voltage drop is a function of resistance of the wire in series with the load. Extending a #14 circuit with lower resistance #12 is completely acceptable and does accomplish reducing the accumulated resistance that causes voltage loss on the extension.
5% is the total drop generally considered the maximum acceptable. Figure a distance to the gate of 100', add your 75' extension, you have 175', with an 7.5 amp load (a worm drive saw) you have a 3.5% loss just getting to the gate, then an additional 3% getting to your new receptacle. But if you reduce the resistance on the extension by using #12 you will get only about 1.5% loss on your extension, bringing you back to 5%. (Numbers get dramatically worse if you exceed the 50% circuit capacity that I used above.)
The 18" cover requirement is adequate for most conditions, be aware it is 18" of "cover", meaning the conduit is to be below 18" of material. Do an internet search for table 300.5 that could identify conditions that could change depth requirements.


Conduit in kitchens, pro's and cons This question may sound dumb to those that live in an area requiring residential conduit, but I live in philly, where everybody tries to do as much as they can with NM-B.  After wiring my second kitchen, I can't help but look at it and think, what a friggin mess!  I try my hardest to be as neat as possible, but I have to cram 8 x 120V 20A circuits, 2 x 240V circuits and a lighting circuit with travel wires into an 8' x 10' shed kitchen with a block wall on one side.
Since the old studs are less than 3.5" thick, I also have to use stackers and kickplates everywhere.
Now conversely,  I don't know all the rules as I am not an electrician, but I can bend conduit and it seems like it would be much easier to run 2 circuits of 3/4". the conduit which should be enough for everything except the lighting.  It would probably take a whole day just to run the conduit, but after that, it would be easy, and half the issues people run into on inspections would be eliminated.  What am I missing?  is there a good reason not to run conduit?

EMT is definitely an awesome way to do it.  I do 99% of my work in EMT.
However, you have to follow a few rules.  One of them is "No more than four" circuits. If your service is 120V/240V split-phase it's that simple.  However if you're in 3-phase land (120/208V), then the rule is "No More Than Three" if you have two or more 120/208 circuits in the pipe.
If you exceed 4 circuits, every circuit in the pipe needs a wire size bump.  Yikes!
But still, you can get a kitchen done with three (or at the outside four) 1/2" conduits.  The conduits themselves permit nine 12 AWG wires per pipe, so will hit "No more than four" limits before you hit pipe limits, unless they are Multi-wire branch circuits or larger than 12 AWG.
If you go to 3/4 conduit, then you're allowed enough wires you'll definitely hit 4 circuits before you run out of space, even with a range circuit in there.
Yes, I'm ignoring the ground wire. The EMT metal shell is ground.  You don't need to wire one unless you really, really want to.
Also you get to use THHN wire in as many colors as you care to buy.
You do need to mark wires to associate them, but that's easy - just get multiple colors of tape and mark them.   Since you're not allowed to mark THHN wires to be neutrals or grounds, white gray or green tape on a hot or neutral is fair game for marking. So you can do the whole kaboodle with just black and white, and mark both with red and yellow tape to show they're a matched set.


Why are ground wires sometimes not insulated? I recently replaced a single AC dimmer light switch that was one of two light switches in a larger box.  The ground wire leading to the switch was raw copper without any insulation.
After replacing the switch, and turning on the circuit breaker, the breaker sparked and tripped.  I'm thinking one of two things explain why:

The new FEIT switch was defective (which would be my 4th defective switch from the big carton of FEIT switches I bought).
The naked ground wire touched the contacts of the other switch in the box.

I turned off the breaker, put it a completely different switch, and did my best to get that naked ground wire as far away as possible from the other switch.  Then I flipped the breaker on (shielding my eyes, and standing away from the breaker box), and everything worked.
So my question: Why are ground wires sometimes installed without any insulation?  The cost of insulated wire is almost identical to that of non-insulated wire, so I tend to think cost is not the primary driver of this decision.

Cost, mostly
Whether your grounding conductors are bare, insulated, or not even a wire to begin with depends on what wiring method you are working with.  NM, because it's made in large quantities, uses a bare grounding wire to save cost (likewise with UF and most SE cables, as those pennies add up at industrial scales).  On the other hand, if your house is wired using armored cable (AC), there are no ground wires, because the metal cable armor serves as the ground with the aid of a thin "bonding strip" to prevent "choking" of fault currents caused by stray inductive interactions.  That lack of grounding wires is also a notable feature of many installs done in metal conduit, as the conduit itself then becomes the grounding conductor.
Furthermore, some wiring methods aren't uniform in how they handle this; it's legal (and occasionally required) to run a separate equipment grounding conductor in metal conduit, and in most (albeit not all!) cases, equipment grounding conductors inside conduits can be either bare or insulated.  Likewise, metal-clad cable usually uses an insulated grounding conductor, but can sometimes be found with a bare grounding conductor, or in configurations where the armor is the grounding means.


Can I temporarily remove the bottom stairs on a staircase to help move furniture? I just moved into a new place and really want to move my awesomely large (and somewhat expensive) sofa into the basement. The problem is that the stairs end in narrow hallway running perpendicular to the stairwell:

There is not enough room to get the sofa down the stairs and around the corner to the right without modifying the structure:

I'm wondering if it's (a) possible and (b) not entirely stupid to temporarily remove the bottom stairs and carpet cover to accommodate the size of the sofa:

The crawlspace floor is directly below the stairs, so I can access them from underneath if necessary. I'm also open to other suggestions. The only other entrance into the basement is through a window that is too small for the sofa.

Update:

Here is a picture of the underside of the stairs:

They are what is know to me as "housed stringers" the sides, have notches cut into them to allow the treads to set in the notches. The small vertical pieces in the corners are wedges driven in with glue to snug everything up tight to reduce or eliminate squeaks. To remove the treads, you would need to cut out the treads, and install new ones... Not what you may want to read, but it is what it would take.

For what its worth, if there were no glue involved, the wedges could be removed, the nails pulled and the treads could be pulled out of the slots from the underside, if there are no nails in from the sides covered by the walls.


Increase 1/2'' copper water pipe to 3/4'' I have a 3/4'' main that comes into the house and then reduces to 1/2''. Then all my fixtures run off that in series.
My thought is to i make it 3/4'' copper all the way and then run 1/2'' tees to each fixture.
For the hot, the pipes coming out of the water heater and boiler are 1/2". Can i leave them 1/2'' but then increase to 3/4'' to run to the bathrooms? Then 1/2'' tee to the fixtures?
Is there any problems or issues that with me doing it this way?

If you are looking to increase the water flow to the fixtures in your house but do not want to re-pipe the whole house, you could increase the supply pipe from the 3/4" inlet to the water heater. Tee off any of the individual supplies from the new 3/4" supply with reducers and the final pipe into the hot water tank could stay 1/2". This way you would double the supply water available to all the fixtures since the hot and the cold will have individual supplies instead of a 1/2" supply supplying both the hot and cold. Also, remember that almost all sinks and toilets use a 3/8" supply and only the tub and/or shower and the laundry tub use a full size pipe.  Doing it your way would be fine.


What is the purpose of a ground in a GFCI outlet? What is the purpose of a ground in a GFCI outlet since the GFCI is just measuring the current between HOT and Neutral?  Does it add any functionality or safety if it is grounded?
I've seen it suggested that a ground is not necessary, but I'd like an understanding of what capacity the ground would add (or not) to the GFCI.
(Somewhat relevant why not to connect ground to neutral)

A GFCI is one way to make an ungrounded circuit that you cannot manage to retrofit ground for safer than an otherwise unprotected ungrounded circuit.
However, it is always preferable (and required in any new work) to have an actual ground connection as well. Things fail in various ways, and if the grounding pin on a grounded item is actually connected to ground, more failure modes are protected against.
As a somewhat contrived example, if a tool with a metal shell and a grounded cord was plugged into a an ungrounded GFCI outlet but on an insulated surface, and it had a failure connecting hot to the grounded case, the case would be live, but without current flowing (it's on an insulated surface) the GFCI would not have a reason to trip until you picked it up and provided a path for current to go out of the circuit. If the GFCI works, you get a mild shock and it trips - if it fails (and they do, though more often "dead" than "alive", presumably by design) you just get shocked.
If it was grounded, either the GFCI would trip or the circuit breaker would trip. You would not be involved.


What size breaker is required for a 220v 50w tool? I have a wood burner with a regular plug, but it said 220v with 50watt. What size breaker do I need?

Any plug will do, assuming your in a country where 220 is standard.

50watts at 220volts is less than an amp.  (To be exact it’s .22 amps.)


Drilling under a vent I'm about to drill through dry wall to place in screws to hang a coat rack on. I noticed that there is a vent directly up on one of the places I have to drill on (picture shown and drill area marked w/ pencil). Should this be ok, or leave this area alone? Thanks a lot.

Looks like a return cover, which means there's likely no ducting at all (just an open stud bay).

If that's the case, putting a nail/screw/anchor in the cavity, could lead to dust and debris getting snagged up on the object.  Will it cause a problem? Probably not, but it surely could.

Since you're  looking to hang a coat rack, you should do your best to attach it directly to framing members (studs).  Coat racks can be loaded with quite a bit of weight, and are often subject to abuse (yanking, pulling, etc.).


Repairing hollowed out hole in hardwood floor I have a house that is roughly 100 years old with hardwood floors. We purchased the house about 5 years ago and immediately got the floors resurfaced. Even before resurfacing the floors I noticed that there was a small hole on one of the boards that didn't go all the way through but seemed to be getting larger overtime. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on how to repair this hole. It seems that the hardwood is almost hollow where the hole is happening. Is it possible to fill it in with wood glue or another product such as a sawdust mixture? I would prefer not to replace the board. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Here's the hollow area:

Here's a general view of the floor (the damage is elsewhere):

You should buy a colored wood filler that most closely matches the color of your floor and pack it in there to fill. Carefully sand the filled area, hit it with additional stain if necessary, then varnish the patch.

Note: prior to patching you should investigate the cause... cuz it sure looks like termite damage. You could treat the area with local termite killer spray prior to patching but if you have widespread or structural infestation you may need a more invasive technique (tent the house).


Help with replacing a light switch I’ve changed multiple switches around the house but I have come across one in the kitchen that has me confused.

The light switch has  two red wires and one black. I tried connecting the new one thinking I new how ( The picture shows the wires connected to the new light switch ) but something is wrong because the light will not turn on now.

All the wires  seem to have electricity coming through them as I have tested them with a non voltage tester.

I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. Can some one please help.

The second picture added shows the old switch. The two red wires were inserted in the top two holes and the black was inserted at the bottom left hole.

If there is another switch in or near this room that also controls the same light or device then you need a 3 way switch to replace the old switch not the 2 way you are using. If this is the case, then the black wire is probably the feed and the 2 reds are the travelers to the 2nd switch.


The pilot light won't ignite on my boiler -- what I should check? We have just brought a new house and I can’t get the pilot light to ignite on the boiler, it is at least a few months since the boiler has been used.  Where to I start on tracking down the problem?

(It is an old UK system –pre electronic , the boiler heats up water that then heats the house)

The gas fire works, so we must have gas!

Update:

The controler is a Honeywell V4600C, I have check at the inlet pressure measure point and there is gas.   Sometimes I can see a flame for a very short time when I try to light the pilot light, then the flame goes out.

It's quite normal for the jets to slowly reduce in size as soot and tar (depending on the gas being used) build up along the walls of the jet opening.

If the jet hasn't been lit for some time the soot can "fluff up" and effectively block the hole, at least to the point where the gas flow is no longer sufficient to establish or maintain combustion. In such a case I prefer to remove the jet and clean it properly, using an appropriately sized cleaning wire and solvent. If you don't have such tools you can try a short blast of compressed air instead.


Replacing electrical wiring in masonry walls An existing fully grouted 8" masonry wall has electrical wiring. The structure is more than 15 years old. Need to replace/upgrade the wiring to receptacles. Can I pull out the existing wires and replace with upgraded electrical wiring without compromising the walls.

If the wiring is in conduit you should be able to remove it without damaging the walls. If the wiring is by some other method you will not be able to remove the wiring without demolishing the wall or major repair work.


Replaced Door Knobs, How to Fill Extra Space I replaced some old door knobs with new ones. The doors are perfectly fine. The new plates that went into the door frame are not a perfect fit. There's gap on one side of it that goes down into the old hole. I was thinking of filling the gap with wood fill or wood putty, although I'm not sure what the difference is. Is this the right approach?

Now that you have posted a right nice picture of the new striker plate installation let me comment on this.

The craftsman way to fix this is to cut out a section of the door frame where the old striker plate and its recess holes are located (plus some extra). Then a carefully cut and fitted new piece of wood is glued into place to make the door frame whole again.
The new striker plate would be installed over the new wood region with the appropriate blind depth recess holes made behind it to permit the door catch and deadbolt enter the frame area beyond the striker plate.
Note that it is not conventional practice to mount the striker plate on top of the surface of the door frame as you showed in the picture. The normal process is that the outline of the plate is marked and then some wood chisel work is done to recess the plate by an amount equal to its thickness so that its surface is even with the door frame surface.


Does a heat pump create condensate during winter? I have a large unit attic mounted. The ac drain line produces a lot of water during the hot humid summer.  The water gets on top of a concrete walkway. I’m concerned that if condensate is produced during cold winter months the walk way may get icy. Do heat pumps produce significant condensate when heating the house or is that strictly a function of a/c?

Yes, however during winter the condensate is generated at the outdoor unit (the cold end of the heat pump).

It may be piped down a drain, or drain straight onto the dirt or concrete, depending on how the unit was installed.

In summer, a heat pump will act like any other air conditioner, producing condensate at the indoor unit.


how do you turn the overfow drain in tub upside down my house was built in 1946, love the old tub but how do I turn the overflow drain upside down where I may take a bath? As of right now, there's not enough water to cover my feet! Here are the images, sorry about the mess! I plan on replacing the knobs, etc..[overflow The tub itself will be re-caulked also

I could be wrong but If read this correctly, it is not a case of it not working properly, it is a case of the water level in the tub being to shallow ( reaching the overflow before it covers her toes.) As lover of soaking in a tub i sympathize with her and wish for her to have a deep soaking tub, but short of a new tub there is not much one can do.

I believe she is asking how to change the Height of the overflow opening to allow the water level in the tub to be deeper.

The opening is on the underside of the chrome overflow escutcheon, You could try and take off the escutcheon,  put a wash cloth over the drain so you do not drop the screws down the drain. (three screws, two for the cover one for the handle, take the handle of first then take the escutcheon cover off) turn the escutcheon 180 degrees so that the opening is on top. you would have to caulk around the bottom. This would result in gain of maybe in inch and half of water depth.

what i do is, when the water reaches the overflow i cover the overflow with plastic kitchen wrap, the suction will pull the plastic tight to the opening. This will buy you some time.  but you must not do this and walk away from the tub while the water is on. I an not responsible for any water damage that you cause. i will take credit for your happy toes.


Does UF wire allow direct burial or require conduit? I'm working with 6-3 UF-B wire in a wet location (under a deck). Does this wire need to be in conduit or buried? In other words, can the wire be exposed to the elements as is under the deck?

If there is no requirement for running in conduit, what are the advantages of doing so?

Edit #1 - The underside of the deck cannot be accessed without unscrewing deck boards.

Thanks.

Since the deck itself protects the wire from physical damage and sunlight, you will have no problem running the UF exposed under the deck.  Attach it to the side of a joist in the same way you'd do an indoor run of NM in an unfinished space, and treat it as 60 deg C wire for ampacity purposes.


What is best way to thoroughly clean airless sprayer after using shellac primer We will be using a shellac-based primer on our interior walls, using an airless sprayer.  I know it needs to be cleaned thoroughly with denatured alcohol. I read somewhere that I should run an additional product through the system, but cannot remember what it was. Does anyone know the process?

Ammonia:

"…the objective is to remove the shellac from the brush, roller, etc, not to thin the shellac that is still in the brush.

Now, the explanation; just as mineral spirits/paint thinner won’t completely remove varnish from a brush, neither will alcohol alone completely remove shellac from a brush.  Alcohol will dilute the cut of shellac but there will still be some shellac still in the brush.  Ammonia breaks down the shellac so that washing the brush with mild detergent and warm water, after a soak in ammonia, will completely remove all traces of the shellac.  When we clean a varnish brush with paint thinner we are only thinning the varnish; some of the varnish remains to cure in the brush.  But, when we wash the brush in warm water and detergent (after cleaning in MS/paint thinner) the soap “grabs” the remaining molecules of varnish so that all of the varnish is rinsed from the brush…"


How do I connect my washing machine's waste pipe to a small connector? I've just moved house (UK), and the space for the washing machine doesn't have a waste pipe. Instead, it has an odd looking connecting pipe that looks like something fits over it. How do I connect my washing machine, which has a normal waste pipe, to this? - I've tried Googling but can't find anything that looks like this image.
The previous occupants had a washing machine here, so we know it's possible! The only other thing in the washing machine gap is the cold water inlet.

This is the back of my washing machine - its waste pipe is on the right:

That looks like a connector used to lengthen the waste pipe. It is designed to accept the common waste pipe sizes and most waste pipes have a flexible end - visible on the waste pipe on the back of the machine.
Once you have checked that that pipe goes into a suitable drain (with U bend) and it is not too long (6 feet is a usual max, but do read the machine instructions), and that extension is not blocked then it should work fine.
Based on the comment:
if you want the security of adding hose clamps, then do not make them too tight. I would make sure to push the pipe fully deep over the barbs or ridges - you can see the bulge caused by the ridges on the other side already.


How can I expand a fireplace box in a framed wall? We're creating a bumped-out wall with an inset fireplace (ventless, bioethanol), similar to this to give you an idea.

One notable difference however is that the bottom of the fireplace will be about 12 inches off the floor.

I framed out the wall with 2x6's, leaving a box to insert the fireplace into, only in my attempts to be as exact as possible, I didn't leave quite enough clearance to get the box in.  I'm sure the box isn't exactly plumb and square, and additionally, the fireplace box itself has domed screws that stick out farther than the listed dimensions in the instruction manual.

Is there a good way to "shave" down the insides of the lumber to allow the fireplace to go in? At this point, the wall is already in-place and has been ramset-nailed into the floor, so any advice to avoid having to bring the wall down would be great.

You would normally use a plane to remove the wood needed to get the fireplace in.  If it is just a little bit of wood needed removed you could try a belt sander.


What are the dangers of hidden boxes? I've been remodeling my 1924 house, and have been slowly re-wiring, and splitting up an old "mega circuit" where half the house is all wired into one circuit. In the process of doing so I discovered many hidden boxes buried in the basement ceiling.  Judging by the type of wiring (cloth wire in bx) I'm guessing this dates to sometime from the 30s to the 50s.
I know this isn't right, and my goal is to remove all this old wiring, and de-energize this mess.  The wiring connections inside these hidden boxes seem fine and not loose, though the wiring scheme itself seems to have been done by a madman channeling Rube Goldberg (which is much of the reason I'm re-doing it).
I'm curious about the larger picture here.  What are the inherent dangers of a hidden box if the wiring connections are solid, but just foolishly covered up?  It makes maintenance impossible without destroying things, but is that the extent of the problem? (And yes, I'm thinking about what old circuits I want to put AFCI breakers on)

I have heard and even participated in lengthy debates on this subject.  The code is very clear, and the difficulty in maintenance and troubleshooting is of course easy to see.
Many of the arguments go down the path of, "Aren't there other things permitted in the code that are just as likely or more likely to create a hazard?"  But that's not the question here.  The question is, what is the actual hazard created?
The same box and the same splices with the same connections in the same wall
with an accessible cover plate is compliant;  a layer of drywall over that cover plate and it's no longer compliant.  How does the layer of drywall over the box make it more hazardous?
In fact, you can put a box in between the joists above a recessed light where you can get to it by removing the light.  That's considered accessible.  How is that more hazardous than the same box between two studs?
The answer is, it is not inherently more hazardous.
Don't do it;  it's still against code, and still a bad practice; but it's not inherently dangerous.


Can I install a floodlight with 18AWG conductors on a 20A (12AWG) circuit? I am running a new 20A circuit with 12 AWG wire to the exterior of my home and will be adding a flood light to the circuit.

All of the flood lights I have seen have 18AWG conductors in them. Is it OK if I connect them to a 12AWG wire on the 20A circuit?

The fixture has a 300 max wattage (150 W bulbs max a piece).

I am using 20A/12AWG because there will also be 2 receptacle on the circuit and I want enough power to run heavy equipment (Yard tools, electric grill, compressor, etc.) when necessary.

Most likely.

As long as the fixture has a UL (or equivalent) stamp/sticker, there is no problem.

Fixture wires, and the wiring inside devices is specifically designed to carry the rated loads. There are different rules applied in this situation, since the load is known and static.

According to the National Electrical Code 2014 402.5, the allowable ampacity of 18 AWG fixture wire is 6 amperes. Your fixture will only draw 2.5 amperes.

I = P/E = 300 Watts / 120 Volts = 2.5 Amperes

If the manufacturer could use smaller wires, they probably would. However, NEC says 18 AWG is the smallest allowed for fixture wires.

One of the reasons light socket adapters can be dangerous, is that they can allow more current to be drawn than was intended by the fixture manufacturer.


How Can I Replace Our Leaking Outdoor Faucet? Our outdoor faucet is leaking. Here's a picture:

Here's another picture that more clearly shows from where I think it's leaking:

I think I need to replace the faucet. The online resources I've found warn that the pipe must be held fast when unscrewing the faucet to avoid damage. However, the pipe isn't exposed outside the wall. Unfortunately, I can't get to the pipe from the other side, either. What is the best strategy to replace the leaky faucet? Will I need to remove a section of stucco?

Your indication of where it leaks from suggests that simply repacking the valve stem might fix your leak, without having to change the faucet.
If you do change the faucet, if the pipe in the basement is threaded, just unscrew it - either the pipe in the wall will unscrew, or the faucet will, and if the pipe in the wall is what unscrews, you can remove it from the faucet after it's out of the wall, attach it to the new faucet, and thread it back into the wall.
If your pipes in the basement, including this one, are soldered, you may need to unsolder it inside and pull the valve & pipe out to change the valve. One way or another that would require gaining access to the pipe.


Lighting in a Detached Garage I have a 20'x24' 2-story unfinished, detached garage. The first floor is a two-story garage. The second floor will be living space (kinda like a studio apartment). The ceiling of each floor is about 8 feet.
I am researching lighting options for the first floor garage area. I like recessed lighting because there are no light fixtures to bump into while moving stuff around in the garage.
Then there is "How to chose the right product". If I use LED, there are varying quality of light and products. How many lumens, spacing, number of circuits. Installation is the easy part. Design is the hard part.
I feel like I am just rambling, so forgive me if this does not make much sense.
Side Note: I wish I could find a good general contractor (GC) with good subs, but don't even know how to search for one and determine if I have found a good GC. Maybe a GC is not what I am looking for. Who would design and draw up the plans. Architect?
Thanks,

Go to a real lighting store. Often times they'll consult with you free of charge if you purchase the fixtures there. They may cost a bit more, but are usually of higher quality than the big box stores and you get the advice. If you buy enough, sometimes they'll bend their policies a bit and give you contractor pricing. Clearly you need design input and they can give it to you, right down to calculating the lumens per square foot you need as well as other lighting options, such as task lighting.
Also, many lighting stores are small, locally owned businesses worth supporting. IMHO.


How do you fix a shower handle bar After pulling too hard on this bar, the plastic fitting/washer-type thingy broke off. The right side still has it (picture #2). The bar is now very loose and will come all the way out.
Shower repair kits on Amazon seem to have nothing to offer in this area. And I don't even know how to locate a model number or brand on a shower.
I'd be fine if it looked crappy. I just want it not to leak water into that hole. Ideally I could fix it like new, but if I just had to plug up both sides that would be acceptable. I just don't know how to go about any of that.

Take the measurements of the internal and external diameters and turn 2 up on a lathe, if you don’t have one or access to one then any local machinist can do it.
They can make them with “ears” or tabs so they will clip into place.


Leveling two different floor types We would like to expand our kitchen into a family room, but the floors are not even, nor are they of the same material. We want to remove part of the wall between the rooms and install tile in both. The wall is not load-bearing, so that is not a problem.
The floor in the family room is concrete with carpet, and is sunk 1-1/2" below the kitchen, which is vinyl over a crawl space. The house was built in the 1920s.

What would be the best way to raise the concrete floor? I have thought about concrete overlay, or using pressure-treated furring strips and tongue-and-groove sub-floor.

The family room was originally the back porch of the house, which was enclosed quite a while ago.

Basically you have to bring the level of the concrete up 1½".  1½" happens to be the thickness of 2× dimensional lumber, so you could take some 2×12's, lay that on top of the concrete, and you'd be at the extant kitchen floor level.  2 layers of ¾" T&G subfloor should serve the same purpose, but, since ¾" plywood isn't actually ¾" thick, you'd likely need to buy ¼" luan or underlayment to make the levels match.  Ordinarily luan is bad for tiling, but since you'll be using floor leveler you can probably get away with it.

Once that's done, remove the vinyl from the kitchen, then use floor leveling compound on the whole space.  Once that dries you should have a nice level floor ready for tiling


How do I wire a humidifier without a 24 VAC IN terminal? The instructions for the humidifier I'm installing says to connect the humidistat wiring to the two terminals "marked 24 VAC IN". My furnace doesn't have terminals marked that.

I have R,C,W,Y.G. Am I out of luck or is this just different terminology for the terminals I already have?

Your furnaces controller is typically powered from a 24VAC transformer.  Trace the incoming line-voltage power source - it should connect to a transformer. You can verify the output voltage is 24VAC with a multi-meter.  Even if there is not a dedicated terminal, you can connect to the transformer output in parallel in order to power your humidifier.  Often there will be a wirenut already present, but if not you can cut the transformer output leads, strip both ends and as well your output to your humidifier and connect all the stripped ends with a wirenut or other sutiable connector.

Alternatively you can power it with a dedicated 24VAC transformer.