What type of tool do I need for this screw with a pin in the slot? What type of tool do I need for this screw holding my license  plate?

This is secure hex bit or similar. There are a bunch of varieties. The basic idea is to take a "normal" head (e.g., a standard hex or Torx) and add something to prevent the regular bits from working. It is of limited use as far as real security because the bits are usually not hard to find. For example, this set from Harbor Freight or this set from Home Depot. Search for "security bit" or "tamper proof bit" or similar.


How can I install a thermostatic shower head in a finished bathroom? In our last house, we had Thermostatic Shower Valves installed when the bathrooms were being remodeled.  Now in our new house, I would like to install one on our main shower but I don't want to tear into the walls.  Is there any way to install a valve that would control the temp at the shower head.

Thermostatic mixing valves control the temperature by adjusting the amount of hot and cold water.  By the time you get to the shower head, you only have one temperature of water to work with, and the only adjustment you can really make is on or off.  So, no, there's no such product to do what you want.

While I was shopping this weekend, I did see a shower head at the store that changed its LED light colors depending on the water temperature.  With something like this there would be a visible indication of the water temp, but it's not going to prevent scalding, or adjust the temperature.

Also, keep in mind that you can often open up the wall behind the shower to access the plumbing while keeping all the tilework in the shower untouched.  That might be an option for you.  If you're lucky and the back of the wall is in a closet, you can install an access panel and avoid drywall work altogether


How to run wire through steel garage floor system We are building a carriage house, with a 4 car garage and a basement underneath.  The basement has steel I-beams and the metal b-decking that the garage floor is poured on top of as a ceiling.  What is the recommended ways of running the electrical along/through/in this type of ceiling?   The basement will be used a workshop so I want to be able to put plenty of lights up.

There is a gap where the b-decking is laid on the I-beams that I was thinking of running PVC conduit in for the wiring and breaking out into light/pull boxes every 10 ft of run (between each I-beam) or so.  Is there a better/preferred method that anyone else has used?

The common way of doing this is to use conduit and surface mount all boxes. The conduit provides mechanical protection (especially important for a shop) and the nice thing about this it keeps everything accessible, in case you want to add lights or a power drop for a tool or something later.

Alternatively, you may also be able to use MC (armored cable) wiring, though with a quick search I can't find a specific NEC reference to this, so probably best to refer to your local inspector / authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) to check.


DIY AC Line Splitter As a fresh DIY-er (just moved into my own house), I've purchased a digital clamp multimeter.
Learned the hard way that in order to utilize the clamp to measure current, the supply line needs to be split.
I'd rather build a line splitter instead of settling for a product. The clamp has a 20A limit - research indicates a 12/2 wire with an equally rated male-female power plug should suffice.
Has anyone created a line splitter before - Any precautions/best practices? Thanks

I have created a line splitter like this with a heavy duty male and female three prong plug and three 14g wires - white, black, and green. 12/2 romex will have a bare copper ground, and I didn't want any exposed wire so I used actual green insulated wire for ground.

Use plugs that have an integrated wire clamp so the connections are secure, and don't leave it plugged in for longer than you need to make your measurements because the exposed separate conductors are not as strong and make a trip or tangle hazard.  This is a special tool, not a permanent extension cord.

I know you said you didn't want a product, but if someone does, there are devices like this that are made to do just what you want in a safe, listed way.  It has one loop for regular measurements and a second loop that multiplies the signal 10x (it just as 10 loops of the wire there).


Filling large hole in concrete floating floor I have a big hole in my kitchen floor (inserting a beam and post to take down a load bearing wall), and I'm now left with having to fill this hole (after dumping around 300 mm of concrete on the post footing).

It's a floating concrete floor and the hole is right between two of the concrete beams (500 mm apart). On each beam there is a small (20 mm) lip. The floor is beam and block (except instead of blocks it's just polystyrene insulation blocks) with the concrete poured on top.

I've heard two suggestions on how to fix the hole:

1) Cut the edges of the hole clean, then cut and put a 40/50 mm thick concrete slab (council slab) on the lip, DPM, celotex insulation 100/80mm, another DPS sheet, and then 40-50 mm of concrete (with mesh) on top.

2) There is about 400 mm of air between the ground and the bottom of the floor. dump hardcore in the hole until it's level with the floor, then basically just add a bunch of concrete and the 100 mm insulation.

I'm putting laminate flooring (so I'm doing a DMP paint, and then adding plastic DMP sheeting) and would like to not have to wait forever for a very thick layer of concrete to dry out (which could take months), as we are eager to start working on making the room habitable.

I'm a bit worried that the 20 mm lip supporting the concrete slab (Option 1) will cause a very high load along the middle of the slab, which might cause it to snap like a KitKat. Maybe adding the hardcore (Option 2) would be a good idea to support the slab? or having a steel plate cut?

Any suggestions or comments will be appreciated.

This is how I ended up solving it, maybe this will help someone in a similar situation out.

After talking to the building regulations guys, I ended up fixing this hole using alternative 1 above (more or less).

A 40mm concrete slab was cut and placed in the hole, standing/jumping on it seemed very solid.

Added 80mm insulation on top of the slab and in the gaps on the sides so the concrete doesn't just run down into the hole.

Ten put down a damp proof membrane sheet before pouring 40-50mm concrete on top (no mesh needed). Building regulation guy suggested 60-70mm thick concrete on top as that would not crack as easy, but 40-50mm was fine


Leveling joists for drywall installation So I asked a question a couple of days ago about leveling my ceiling joists. I got great recommendations, from strapping with 1X3 straps, and also metal studs.

So I placed String Lines across and found out I have a max of half an inch difference from one joist to another. There are actually 2 joists right next to each other that are lower than others by 0.5 inch (the third and 4th joist from the left in the picture).

So my question is: Will the imperfections be noticeable if I decide not to correct this before drywall placement? Thank you.

It's hard to say, I find myself noticing every imperfection that I'm responsible for. I don't easily notice imperfections in other people's work unless I'm looking for them. It looks like your joists are on about 24's so 1/4 inch per foot dip in the middle might not be too noticeable as long as it's level'ish above the doors. The doors offer a reference to level, very close to the ceiling so they are the primary area of focus.

Keep in mind 1/4 inch per foot is plumbing drain slope.

I'd definitely go with 5/8 drywall especially if you on 24's and shim where necessary. And avoid drywall seams around the areas in question.

It boils down to who it's for. If it's your house and you can live with it, it's fine. If it's a customer you're going to have to consider what they'll think.

Try having a look at other ceilings in the house or a friend's house and see if you notice any dips and then check with the big straight bar.


Why do lag screws have the unthreaded body between the head and the threads? Why do lag screws have the unthreaded body between the head and the threads?
And why is that 'Body' the same diameter as the outer 'Thread' diameter?
Why doesn't the transition immediately abut the head, letting the threads run down a greater portion of the bolt?

In many cases an unthreaded shank provides a better, more secure fit when mating to the components that it connects. Where lateral movement is a concern, this type of bolt should be used.

In other cases, it's important that there be no pull on the upper portion of the material being joined. Threads would create drag that may counter the bolt's ability to bring two parts together with force.

There are two reasons that the unthreaded portion has the same diameter as the threaded portion. The first relates to what I mentioned earlier--a close-tolerance fit to the other parts of the system. If the threads were raised with respect to the shank (and some bolts are like this for various reasons), the bolt would be sloppy in the bore after insertion.

The other is more mundane--it's easier from a manufacturing standpoint. Threading machines typically remove material by cutting. This obviously leaves threads that have inner diameters smaller than the bolt's shank.


How do I stop bats from nesting in an attic? What is the best way to discourage bats from taking up residence in a house?

I'd say the best way would be to find out where they're entering and close it off. If it's open for ventilation use something like a chicken wire that will allow the air to easily flow through.


Why did my oven light stop working after cleaning the oven? I replaced the bulb in the oven with a new bulb and it won't light. Both the old bulb & new bulb work in a table lamp.  The light stopped working after cleaning the oven. Any suggestions?  Is there fuse some where?

The self cleaning cycle heats the oven up to 900-1000°F so if it worked before it may be that some damage was caused during the cycle either to the socket or to the switch.  Try putting a multimeter on the socket to see if you have power, then click the switch and test again.  If there is no power during either test then it is probably the switch.


How to remove 3M Scotch Super 77 from finished hardwood surface I decided to upholster my wooden dining chairs. These chairs were 100% hardwood and finished in glossy polyurethane (i.e. had no padding)
I just finished working on one chair and realized that I had over-sprayed the glue on chair legs, in areas I didn't plan to cover.
The glue I used is 3M Scotch Super 77 spray can.
Is there a way I could remove the glue from the surface of wood without damaging wood surface or surface finish?
There are some fibers stuck to the glue on wood surface. glue is not visible in picture, but it can be felt when touching wood surface.

You're gonna have to play and see.  Spray Super 77 on some scrap and use it for testing.
Then roll through every chemical in the house - canola oil (one kind of food oil will suffice), each kind of alcohol you have (no no, not Bud and Jack Daniels, I mean ethanol, isopropyl etc.), then each kind of mineral spirit you have: gasoline, paint thinner, naptha, acetone (aka nail polish remover), etc.
Once you identify some winners, try them on an inconspicuous area of that finish to see which ones if any attack the finish.


NEC Definition of "Maintained Spacing" for Wire in Free Air This seems like a simple question, but I cannot seem to find the answer in the 2008 NEC.

There are references to "maintaining spacing" in many sections of the code such as the following:

  310.15.B.3.a

  (a) More Than Three Current-Carrying Conductors in a Raceway or Cable.
  Where the number of current-carrying conductors in a raceway or cable
  exceeds three, or where single conductors or multiconductor cables are
  installed without maintaining spacing for a continuous length longer
  than 600 mm (24 in.) and are not installed in raceways, the allowable
  ampacity of each conductor shall be reduced as shown in Table
  310.15(B)(3)(a). Each current-carrying conductor of a paralleled set of conductors shall be counted as a current-carrying conductor.

For the life of me, I cannot find what "proper spacing" is for two wires run in parallel in free air. At the moment, I am most interested in the answer for NM-type wiring, but it would be good to have a reference for all types of wiring if possible.

Here is an example from the NEC for multiconductors in cable trays where I am hoping someone knows of an equivalent section that defines proper maintained spacing for free-air:

  392.80.A.1.c

  (c) Where multiconductor cables are installed in a
  single layer in uncovered trays, with a maintained spacing
  of not less than one cable diameter between cables, the
  ampacity shall not exceed the allowable ambient
  temperature-corrected ampacities of multiconductor cables,
  with not more than three insulated conductors rated 0
  through 2000 volts in free air, in accordance with
  310.15(C).

The National Electrical Code (NEC) does not define the proper spacing that should be maintained.

A similar question was asked, and answered on the Mike Holt Forum.

  That is the million dollar question. I just keep them from touching. Keep in mind that you can have 4- 2 wire nm cables stacked without being hurt by the derating that is necessary.


What type of pen do I need for my rabbit? I have a simple question. I need a "fence" for for home-use, to put in safe my small pet (bunny) when I'm not at home. I would let him go free in his room but I want to protect him (and furnishings :P) so I am thinking to buy a small (plastic?) fences.

Why not something like a baby play yard (also called baby fence or baby gate).

Some of them are expandable and have adjustable footprints.

 Images and links provided as examples. Not an endorsment of any goods or source.


What is the correct connections for a Murray MP215AFC breaker for a Split A/C unit I seem to be running into a never to be found answer on the wiring for this 240 2 pole combination AFC breaker.

I have a Split unit wired L1 & L2 with a ground back to the sub panel not a neutral.  The breaker requires a Neutral panel connection for the coiled up white wire. It also requires the L1 & L2 to be hooked up to the breaker. I'm all good with this but, it wants the neutral LOAD from the A/C unit back into the breaker's Load Neutral which i don't have.

I am not using a neutral but i am using a ground return that is tight to the ground bus bar of the panel.  I can not see plugging in the ground return to the Load Neutral connection of the breaker. That makes no sense to me.

Murray's information seem to point to leaving the Load neutral connection empty and keep the A/C ground on the panel ground. No one has been able to clarify this. I know the AFCI rules may not apply to 240 V circuits but I want to protect this anyway. I found a similar GE breaker which has NO neutral load return on the breaker but i just want to hear it from an expert.

Use whatever terminals you need.  For instance if you were using this breaker on a 120V circuit, hook up neutral and one hot*, and leave the other hot empty. If using on a 240V only circuit, yes - simply hook up the hots and leave neutral empty.  0 current will flow, and the device will correctly compute differential currents (for its GFCI functionality).

There's one asterisk. The AFCI needs neutral to power itself.  So you need to hook up the neutral pigtail.  We figured this out when helping a Philippine resident set up GFCI protection for some bathroom circuits; they use North American style equipment but with neutral omitted. In that case we had to add a small transformer to synthesize a 120V center-point (quasi-neutral) to power the AFCIs.  We couldn't use ground because neutral is not ground.

It is good that you realize not to misuse ground to fill the empty terminal in the breaker.  If you had connected ground to both the ground bar and LOAD neutral, it would have tripped. If you had connected ground to ONLY the breaker, fault current would be misrouted through the AFCI causing too high an impedance for prompt breaker trip, and the GFCI section of this AFCI would see that fault current as normal current, breaking GFCI. So I'm glad you had the horse sense not to do that.

For reference, neutral is not ground, they have completely different jobs, and entangling/confusing them breaks their safety jobs. The confusion often arises because people see the neutral-ground equipotential bond in the main panel, and this bond is often done informally e.g. with grounds and neutrals going to the same bar. You'll never see that in a panel I do; I prefer bonds I can put a clamp meter around.

* wait what?  What?  Use this breaker on a 120V circuit!??  Yes, you can use a 240V breaker to power one or two independent 120V circuits.  In fact, when people have a need for a 30A/120V circuit, I recommend they use a 30A/2-pole breaker, because those have many other applications, and a 30A/1-pole has almost no practical use.


Install cedar siding below overhang I am installing cedar bevel siding and here is the top hitting overhang area

If you see the red line, my question is do I have to install the siding hitting that line? If so I need to cut around the lumber supporting the overhang

Or can I just install siding right below the overhang support?

UPDATE

This area originally has no softfit

But other areas have softfit and it is like below

(Same house, just different color at different time)

How to do this based on the photos?

If you are going to finish the soffits, do as Fresh Codemonger indicated in comments. That will allow the gap of the soffit at the wall to be closed by the siding.

If you are not planning on finishing the soffits, add a 2X block between the overhang supports to create a straight line to finish the siding against. The added 2X which will also aid in the fastening of the soffit material if you choose to finish them later.

If you are planning on finishing the soffits, but it is not in the budget for now, temporarily fasten a scrap piece of material to the added 2X that is 1/8" thicker than what will be the soffit material thickness, so it can be removed when you are ready to add the finish soffits. The extra 1/8" will allow the soffit material to go in place over the siding and will only need a little caulk to seal the small gap left over.


Single Zone has Little Pressure, New Problem My in-ground sprinkler system worked well, all zones. Now today, I try one single zone and the heads don't have even close to enough pressure to even pop. They dribble, barely. I'm thinking it could be a solenoid? Is there any easy way to test it? Any advice?

Thanks,
Josh

If the sprinkler controller can cause that zone to start dribbling then the solenoid is fine. (Note that "solenoid" is just one part of a complete valve.)

Do an experiment to figure out whether you have a broken pipe or a malfunctioning valve. For example, turn on one working zone, then (at the same time) turn on another working zone. (You may have to operate the valves manually rather than using the timer/controller.) Notice how much the spray of the first zone drops when the second zone comes on. Turn off that second zone, and while the first continues to run, turn on the malfunctioning zone. Does the spray of the first zone drop again? If it does then water in your malfunctioning zone is going somewhere, but not out the heads -- you'll have to locate and repair a broken pipe. But if the spray level of the first zone does not drop, then the valve of the malfunctioning zone is not opening as it should.

If you conclude the valve is malfunctioning there's a chance it could be caused by debris (a grain of sand, a small weed seed, etc) lodged inside. This could happen even on a drinking water system, but it's less likely.

I suggest that you consider how you would go about replacing that valve, have the required supplies on hand, and then try carefully disassembling the existing valve. Start by fully unscrewing the solenoid, and if there's no debris found there, take off the top of the valve. After cleaning it out, reassemble and test.

If things go well the valve could work normally again. If things go badly.. you're already prepared to replace the valve, so go ahead and do that.


Is there a cost efficient way to add windows to a brick house? We bought this house built in the 60s and it has these small windows that don’t provide much light . The house is brick but I’m wondering how difficult it would be to put in larger windows instead of replacing these old ones and paying for them to be custom made since they don’t have them anymore. What’s the process of cutting into brick and putting in windows?

There are really two options:

Remove the bricks in the area of the new windows and re-set them (after cutting those that need to be cut) back in the right format to give you the needed window opening.
Using a masonry saw (these are easily rentable) cut out a new rough opening for your new windows, set the windows, and then trim around them.

I'd probably do #2 but either will work.


Sealing behind brick veneer We've just removed the Gyprock (drywall) from our walls to install acoustic/thermal insulation and new acoustic plaster. In doing so, we've found that our 1969 home has nothing at all against the outer wall between the brick veneer and the plaster. We can see into the ceiling space above the eaves and down under the house in the gap between the timber frame and floor boards. Additionally, sheets of Gyprock were covered in ants and there were mouse droppings on the noggins.

Before we install the acoustic insulation batts and new plaster is there something we can do to seal and separate the outer wall (bricks) from the inner part (considering the insulation batts as inner)?

It is normal for there to be a gap between the brick veneer and the base wall.  For the situation you describe, I recommend you consult and insulation specialists/contractor. That is their business.  With proper insulation and sealing you could save thousands of dollars and live far more comfortably in the years to come.


Does spacing of screws matter for the holding strength? I'm attaching a TV wall mount which is shown in the image to external studs that I will install in front of the wall.
Does it matter for the holding strength which holes on the TV mount I use, those at the ends or those closer to the center?

Most likely it does not matter, which is why they give you multiple holes, so you have some wiggle room with centering on a wall etc.
But the only way to know for sure is to look at the instruction for your specific TV mount.


Tile backsplash mortar base coat? I am replacing my tile back splash. When I removed the old tiles, about half of the surfaces were rocklath, while the other half was sheetrock.
The sheetrock fell apart and had to be removed while for the most part the rocklath held up. I imagine I will need to skim coat it with either an extra layer of mortar or plaster first.

I replaced the sheetrock with 1/2" hardibacker. I used 1/2 plywood in a few places to even it out which fixed the majority of the unevenness but there is still a couple of places where a corner is a 1/16" high.

My question is this: Based on the two concerns pits in the plaster covering the rocklath and a few slightly uneven hardibacker tiles, can I just to a base coat of mortar and be done with it, or is this going to cause problems?

I have laid a mortar skim coat many times to even out an uneven surface. I would use mortar not plaster as you have seen what happens to sheetrock when it gets damp plaster is the same. Make sure to cover and check your tile width just to make sure the evened up area matches up with your tile I usually feather 2-3 times the tile width so there are no noticeable height differences.


How do I remove moss from an outdoor brick walkway? I've got a brick walkway that has parts that are in shade most of the day. Our winters are wet and cloudy and during these times it's not uncommon for the shady parts of the walkway to grow a fair amount of moss on the bricks and grout (see the photos below).

Come summertime, the moss dries out and dies and can be hosed off quite easily. However, I have family coming in for the Holidays and would like to remove the moss pre-emptively, as it's both unsightly and slippery.

Any advice/suggestions on how best to remove the moss? My first thought was to just get down on my knees and scrub it off, but my concern was that it would grow back in short order. Would using bleach or a bleach-like product have a more lasting effect, or would using such a harsh product outside where there is grass and plants nearby be an unwise move?

Finally, is there any preventative steps I can take to reduce the quantity of moss that grows during our wet season?

My immediate vote is for a pressure washer. They are relatively cheap these days. Lacking that, a simple high pressure hose nozzle and a good stiff brush will do well too. Various oxidizing bleaches will also work, all of which will last for only a limited time.

To stop it from returning is difficult, since any moist, shady spot under a tree or bush is likely to grow moss and algae of this sort.

One idea is to remove the overhanging growth from the planters. Trim them back. This will help the brick pavers to dry out, and will reduce the tendency for unwanted growth.

Another idea is to get creative, and buy some zinc strips. Copper flashing might work too, but they sell zinc strips specifically for roofing applications, where moss and algae tends to grow on roofs. The elemental zinc leaches out (very slowly) when it rains, which in turn inhibits growth of the algae where it leaches out. So you could afix these strips to the bottom edges of your planter. Make it decorative and it should help, although I cannot assure it will work perfectly. At least this will inhibit the moss.

Another idea is to buy/make a few copper pots or planters. Place them decoratively right on top of the problem spots. As the copper leaches out from weathering over the years, it too will inhibit growth on the walkway, you not be a problem for larger plants in the area. If you cannot find a pot you like, you can make a planter from wood, but then wrap copper flashing around it, nailing it in place.

Be creative if you wish to inhibit the growth.


How can you tell if your sink is compatible with a portable washer? I'm looking to get a portable washer, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to attach the washer to the sink facet. Is there a standard that portable washers adhere to? If so, how do you tell you have a facet that is that standard?

Most portable dishwashers use a quick-disconnect fitting that attaches to the threaded spout of a faucet. There are adapters available to allow attachment to virtually any faucet spout (with the exception of maybe a tub spout or an un-threaded spigot).


70 amp service from 200 amp main We need to run conductor from a 200 amp main service panel to a sub panel that is approximately 200 feet away (50 inside garage, and 150 underground.)

The breaker in the main panel that will feed this line will be 70 amps.
We are going to be powering a hot tub (maybe 30 amps,) a sauna with 8000 watt heater, a 1000 watt wall heater, a tandem 20 amp breaker, and a single 15 amp   breaker.

Two questions: First - What wire should we use for these conductors, and, Second - can it be one run from panel to panel or does it need to be two runs...the garage as one run and the underground as the second run?

TLDR: 1/0 aluminum with #6 copper ground wire.  And yes, you can run straight through with either cable or wires-in-conduit, however, if you splice, you need a really big box.

Hold on. I'm a little unclear on your power requirements.

Provisioning

It seems like you're kind of armwaving the hot tub, but most hot tubs seem to take a 50A or 60A service, so let's be hopeful and call it 50A (provisioned).
The sauna with 8000W heater needs to be derated 125% to 10,000 watts, so we must provision 41.6 amps.
The 1000W wall heater also needs a 125% derate, so 1250 watts or 10.4 amps.
The tandem 20A breaker, you didn't say that that's for and I'm not sure a tandem is a sensible choice since it puts both 20A circuits on the same pole, requiring us to provision as much as 40A for them.

If you wanted to tandem the 20s to squeeze in to 8 breaker spaces, that's the road to perdition. Breaker spaces are cheap, replacing your panel because you cheaped out on breaker spaces is ex-pen-sive.  For a few latte's you can kick up to a 16-space or 20-space (not circuit) panel and never have to worry about spaces.  The extra room allows us to put those two 20A circuits on opposite poles.  They sit 20A side by side instead of stacking, so we only need to provision 20A for them.

The 15A circuit I assume is for lighting, and in the LED age that'll be negligible, so I'll provision 0A for that.  (by the way, if you don't want to have to buy two sizes of wire, you are totally allowed to do lighting in #12 / 20A).

Siemens makes a $30 generator interlock for that panel I linked. It ties two common 2-pole breakers so they can't be on at the same time.  If those breakers are for your hot tub and sauna, that means you only have to provision power for one of them :)

So, provisioningwise, with the two 20A circuits on opposite poles (not stacking) I see 50+41.6+10.4+20= 122 amps. Whoa.

Now if we interlock the hot tub+sauna, then 50+10.4+20 = 80.4A, call it 80A.

Wire sizing - distance and metal

Upsizing wires is appropriate for long distances, but that's not a suicide pact.   It pays to spend some time with a voltage drop calculator and figure out what happens to voltage drop when you use various size wires.  The "rule of thumb" says 3% is an ideal, but Code is more concerned with 8% overall. So let it slip past 3% a good distance if not doing so will waste money.

Speaking of wasting money, at #6 or larger it starts to become time to look at aluminum wire. My answer here really drives that home (they have a 260' run @ 100A, but hold that thought).

If this were a short distance and your load were really 70A, you could use #4 copper or #2 aluminum ($486 or $210). We are using Table 310.15b16, and we're required to work out of the 60C column because we are less than 100A.

But this won't do, for two reasons. First your load is really 80A+++. And second you need to make a wire-size bump because of the distance.   So we look at the very next size up, #3Cu or #1Al ($594 or $312), good for 80A @ 60C.  But a funny thing happens here.  At 100A, we're able to use the 75C column. And these same 3Cu/1Al wires are good for 100A @ 75C.   So we get a free bump to 100A.

Mind you, the "free bump" doesn't have any effect on our voltage drop.  The voltage drop is still a big deal.  So what if we make one more bump, and what does that do to price? So we bump to 1/0Al ($354). (copper is over the moon at this point).

1/0Al is good for 120A @ 75C.  They don't make 120A breakers, so we round up to 125A.  So we can actually breaker this thing for 125A and power everything, no interlock needed.  How bad would voltage drop be at that point?  My calc says 3.10% voltage drop, red alert, it's over 3.00% - lol just kidding, 3.1% will be peachy.  We can power everything.

But wait. Aren't we paying extra to power everything?  Yeah, our previous option was the #1 aluminum for $312.  $354 - $312 = $48.  We're spending 48 extra dollars to fully provision all the power we'll need. Sounds like a good investment to me!

So you're going to spend about 70 extra bucks listening to me... buying much larger panel and wire.  What's this whole project, about $10,000?  Don't worry about $70.  Besides, if I steered you away from copper, I just saved  you about $300.

Routing

Can it be run in one continuous shot?  Absolutely.  If you want to splice it at the transition, that's allowed, but it needs to be inside a junction box and the junction box needs to be fairly large, practically gutter sized - ask a separate question about that.

In either segment, you can use either cable, or conduit.  With conduit you can use either cable or individual wires. Individual wires (THWN-2 or XHHW-2 or USE-2/RHH/RHW-2) must be inside conduit. For practical DIYing, use 1-1/2" conduit.  Cable is very stiff, so it requires a bigger 2" conduit to be DIY friendly.

Underground, direct burial cable needs 24" of cover over top of wires. Conduit requires only 18" cover, or merely 6" cover for expensive Rigid and IMC conduit (12" under driveways).

My own preference is conduit the whole way, however theft is a consideration: a lot harder to steal direct burial wire.

Grounding

With two services in such close proximity, you really need to make sure your grounding is absolutely tip-top.  There is a genuine likeihood of the ground potentials being quite different between the two services.  This is no place to be playing "cheapie" games like forgetting the ground wires in each feeder and thinking the ground rod will suffice.

Imagine there is 120V ground potential difference between the service that supplies the hot tub and the service that supplies the building... they are different transformers, surely.  That means between the local ground rod at the hot tub, and the local ground rod at the building, there could be 120V of ground differential 10' apart from each other.  That will create a ramped voltage on the ground, meaning different voltage under each foot!  Now if that was a product of transformer leakage, the voltage difference could be 2400V, and that will kill you.

This is nothing to toy with, especially around water.

So I would link those two ground rods with a buried copper ground wire. Or simply both tap the same rods.


Mounting plumbing to existing outdoor deck. What kind of pipes and fittings should I use? I'd like to install some plumbing underneath my deck to facilitate running a hose on the deck via quick disconnect couplers.

My preference is to run schedule 40 PVC pipes underneath the deck. There will be 4 outlets including a drain. I intend to drain the system in the winter and disconnect it from the water supply.

Will I have a problem mounting quick disconnect couplers to the PVC pipe?

Is running PVC pipe outside a problem or bad idea?

Can anyone suggest a design that is better than this for my intended purpose?

You will need to adapt from PVC to hose thread if using hose thread quick disconnects. If you can find pipe thread (on the fixed side) quick disconnects that would be one less fitting to adapt, as PVC to pipethread is a standard fitting, and I'm not aware of any direct PVC to hose thread fittings (may exist, I've never seen one) so I expect you'd need a pipe thread to hose thread adapter as well as the PVC to pipe thread adapter to use a hose thread quick disconnect.
PVC outside needs to be protected from the sun - a coat of paint will do, locating it under the deck may do if sunlight does not penetrate the deck. Any exposed PVC needs to be painted or otherwise protected from sunlight, and you need to be religious about draining it before freezing weather. Other types of plastic may be more forgiving of both sun and freezing (black polyethylene, for instance.)
Not much in the way of design details provided to critique, other than items already mentioned in 1 & 2.


How can I repair this detached kitchen sink pipe? I noticed one of the two kitchen sinks is leaking--that's not really the right word.  It's more like pouring.  When I pour something down that drain it's like I might as well have just dumped whatever it was straight into the cabinet beneath the sink.

I took a look at it and it seems as though the pipe connected to the drain just got detached somehow.  (The house is pretty old, I guess.)  I'm not sure about the best way to fix it, especially since it looks like the part of the nut may have broken off.

Drain lines are pretty easy to work with.  If you are completely unfamiliar but want to do it yourself I would recommend removing all the drain line you can, ideally all the way from the sink to the wall.  If you want to do less of it, remove the portion you plan to replace and leave the rest hanging.

Once removed bring the stuff to your local hardware/big box store and ask someone for assistance getting you what you need.  Pictures may come in handy there as well, make sure you have one of each of the places where pipes connect to something, also helps to have them for reference when putting it all back together.


Is there any reason not to use a radiant barrier in the attic? I am considering putting up a radiant barrier in my attic, with a product like AtticFoil, to:

Reduce the attic temperatures as my A/C ducting is in the attic, and
Reduce heat convection into my home as well.

Are there any drawbacks or concerns to installing a radiant barrier in the attic? I will staple them to the bottom of the rafters inside the attic, leaving gaps at the top and bottom for proper attic ventilation & airflow.

Home is located in a relatively temperate climate (San Francisco Bay Area) with summer temps occasionally reaching over 100 but generally has highs in the low 80s during the summer months.

(Attic currently has ~R19 cellulose insulation, which I plan on increasing to R50. I figure doing the radiant barrier first would be better since I would otherwise end up stomping on the insulation and compressing it.)

Radiant barrier in the attic is an excellent idea. At the typical roof temperatures you see in the summer, even in a temperate climate, radiant transport of heat is significant and a properly installed radiant barrier can be very effective in blocking or reducing radiant transport of heat.

California Title 24 now requires some kind of radiant barrier. My house was built just before this requirement took effect but I elected to pay the small premium to use TechShield radiant barrier anyway and it has been worth it. I reviewed the AtticFoil site and they seem to have a good product for retrofit applications. Your plan sounds like a good idea and I don't see any major issues aside from the usual ones of "work carefully, try to avoid falling through your ceiling, prepare for the high temperatures up there, watch out for dust etc".

Do try to stay away from the "over-insulation" method as that loses effectiveness as dust builds up on the top (working side) of the barrier. Your plan to use the "open-ridge" method is the best as dust buildup on the bottom (working side) of the barrier is not as much of a problem.

Insulation of the ducts is not a binary yes/no question any more than attic insulation is. funkadelic understands this and that is why he plans to increase his attic insulation from R19 to R50.

Yet duct insulation is typically no more than R4 to R8 while carrying the coldest air in the house. It is the part of the HVAC system that has the least insulation while needing it the most.

No doubt there are some installers who think that as long as "cold" air comes out the register there is no problem but this ignores the question of how cold is the air at the end of the duct vs the air that went into the duct and how much cooling power has been lost in the duct.

Who would accept a water pipe that leaked half of the water it carried?

The Federal government has done many studies of ways to reduce duct loss because it does make a difference in your energy efficiency. There are even suggestions to move the HVAC ducts into conditioned space as this would cut duct heat/cooling losses to zero. I did this in my house.

For retrofit, moving ducts is impractical so the next best is to bury the ducts. You have an excellent opportunity to do this when you upgrade to R-50 of cellulose.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/building_america/ns/eemtg082011_a8_duct_retrofit.pdf


Effects of changing pipe size on a water pressure regulator? I am a biologist and am planning a research experiment. I need to control the water pressure into a drip irrigation system. The water supply is at ~60 psi through a 3/4 pipe. The irrigation emitter I will use operates best at 40 psi. I have found a combo filter and 40 psi pressure regulator but it is a 1" pipe on the inlet and outlet. If I go from 3/4" inlet to the 1" regulator down to a 3/4" outlet will the regulator still deliver 40 psi? Assume that changing the pipe diameters is not an option.

An active regulator mechanism is going to go for the target pressure no matter what the pipe size is.

The only way pipe size will enter the picture is if you're flowing so much water that the input pressure is below  target pressure and the regulator can't function.  In that case a smaller pipe on the outlet is a win.


Ideas for removing attached greenhouse Long story short, I have an attached greenhouse and I am in need of ideas. Let me know if you have any.

I attached images below of my attached greenhouse that I inherited from my previous owner. The greenhouse was in a terrible state when I inherited it. They had a flimsy tarp that blew off that I recently replaced. There are a lot of holes in the glass ceiling and the surrounding brick walls are pretty beat. Luckily the drain appears to work and I have been keeping water out of my basement.

Rather than removing it, I would suggest covering it properly with greenhouse film (translucent plastic, UV-protected with typically 4 year guaranteed lifespan, typically 11-13 cents per square foot) rather than a blue tarp. With proper edge attachments it will be much more secure and weather tight, and far less unsightly as well.

You could also use (at greater cost) a twin-wall (like corrugated cardboard) rigid plastic sheet greenhouse glazing, which is available in polycarbonate or acrylic, and is much more difficult to break than glass. It looks suspiciously like your roof dumps stuff on the greenhouse roof, which is poor planning for the life of the greenhouse roof (particularly in glass) if ice falls from the house roof.

Both of the above approaches would be best served by removing at least all the broken glass, or all the glass, period. That would also be the first step in removing it, period.

Finally, you could repair the broken glass with new glass. But if the roof above dumps ice on this one, that won't be a satisfying solution.

With any of the above you could also repoint/repair the brick.

Your pictures are a bit vague, but if the "sliding glass doors" are down a set of steps from the greenhouse floor level you could simply remove the thing and place a normal basement bulkhead door over the stairs and doorway. Typically made of steel, those will take a pretty large ice impact in stride.


How to tell that projector needs bulb replacement? I have an NEC projector which I estimate to have been used pretty close to the 2000-2500 hours, which is approximately the lifetime of a bulb.

As of late, light dots are beginning to appear on the projection in increasing numbers.  First there were 3-4, now about two dozen.  It kind of looks like a celestial constellation.

Is this is a sign that I need a bulb replacement or could it be a different problem?

You can tell when the lamp dies by measuring the foot lamberts of light from a calibration image when new. I presume you don't have this reference level so, really, the lamp should be replaced when you feel like it's affecting picture quality.

Your situation sounds like something more sinister like chip or DMD death.


How can I remove a receptacle and abandon the electrical outlet? We are trying to remove an electrical outlet. We turned the power off and disconnected the wires from the outlet. Then we twisted the + wires and tapped them and did the same with the - wires. Then we covered up the hole. When we turned the power back on the other outlets on the circuit they failed to work. Did we do something wrong?

It sounds you caused a short circuit by wiring the hot and neutral together. You created a circuit with no electrical resistance so the breaker pops to prevent you from melting the wires and burning down your house.

Cap each wire that you removed separately unless they were already joined together. Once the outlet is removed and everything is safely capped and covered, remember that the cover plate must remain exposed and you cannot patch over the box.

If you are unsure of how to rectify this, you are best to call an electrician.


Help decide course of action for rotting windows I have a 30 year old house in Chicago.  We have original double pane wood windows.  The interior portions are in good condition.  No rotting and all the seals are good and there is NO fogging between the panes.

The issue I have is the sills and brick molding outside are rotting.  We also have original Storm windows in wood frames, single pane, and the frames of the storm windows are rotting.

I plan to sell the house in 5 years.  I was thinking to replace the entire windows, but that gets very costly.  Would it be better to just replace the sills and brick molding?  Will I be able to find replacements storm windows for the sizes I need?

I should mention that either course I would probably do the work myself.  I am a fairly handy guy.  I have built a shed, finished my basement, replaced a asphalt shingle roof, stuff like that.

Some advice here would be great, thank you

If your timeframe is inside 5 years, you probably can't make an economic argument for new windows.

Suggest you attack one (neither the worst nor the best) and see what is in there when you pick away at it. New storms are easy. Brick mould is easy. The sill might be a little harder, but patience is a virtue.

Depending on the level of rot, don't immediately rule out bondo and/or capping the sill in aluminum.

If you don't have one already, get an oscillating tool. It'll pay for itself in this kind of work. Battery powered is vastly better than corded in my opinion.


Is a negative reading from a non-contact voltage detector sufficient? I'm a beginner at doing electrical work, and I want to make sure I'm not taking unnecessary risks.

Let's say that I'm preparing to work on some wiring.  I have a non-contact voltage detector that beeps when held up to live wires.  Next, I have turned off what I believe to be the proper circuit-breaker and my detector reads negative on the wires I'm about to work on.

Am I good to go, or are there still other electrocution risks that I need to be aware of?

If the latter, what other safety measures should I take?

The following should be sufficient to determine that it's safe to work inside a switch box.

With the breaker(s) for this box turned on, touch the NCVT to the wallplate or insert it into the "hot" (narrower) blade socket of the electrical outlet you'll be working with. The NCVT should indicate live wiring. This is primarily a test of the tester itself; it should light on a known hot circuit.
Turn the breaker(s) that provide power to this box off.
Return to the box and repeat the test; the NCVT should not indicate live wires. If it does, you flipped the wrong breaker or didn't flip enough breakers to make the entire box "cold".
Open the wallplate, and touch the NCVT to all screw terminals on all devices in the box. The indicator should not light; if it does, you missed breakers (or there's a more serious wiring problem like shared neutrals).

At this point, I'd be confident of not getting hurt working on the box. If you REALLY wanted to be sure, you could take a multimeter and test the AC voltage between all terminals on each individual device; all readings should be zero. This may be necessary if you suspect a voltage leak (faulty breaker, miswiring joining unrelated branch circuits together); an NCVT requires 50VAC to indicate "live", but 45V can still give you a jolt with sweaty/wet hands (remember that a car battery, only 12VDC, is an effective instrument of torture).


What is this pipe near gutter? I just bought a house and there is this pipe near a gutter. Any idea what it might be or how I would go about finding out?

I agree with Alaska man+
I had had flip houses we just dropped the new gutter downspouts next to the drain why would we do this?
it is common for these drains to fill with the gravel from shingles and leaves They almost have to be dug up to get them open once plugged,
Many years ago we tried jetting from the street discharge and from the house side thinking it was just leaves but the shingle gravel did not move and we almost got the jet head stuck , after that we just did not mess with them if they were plugged.
You may have luck working a hose in from both ends but my experience is a section will need to be dug up and cleared to get them to work again.


How do I flash two joining peaks of different heights? I'm trying to figure out how to flash this part of a shed I'm building that has a peak meeting flush with a larger roof section next to it.  But I can't figure out what this sort of roof section is called so I can't seem to find any good information on google.  What is this called, or how do I flash it?

You could flash it with 2 pieces of sheet lead, which will stretch enough to feather with sufficient overlap.

You could do the same with sheet copper. It would probably tear a bit, but then solder a small patch over the small tear.

With either copper or lead, you can do it with one piece by folding the sheet onto itself creating a z-fold yielding a triple layer. Start by laying it up the back side of the small gable, then up the rake board, then flat onto the main roof. Then start the z-fold on what will become the lower edge that spans the small gable and onto the main roof. Once formed, you'll want to install it under the rake board.  To help see how to do this, form it first with a rectangular piece of cloth, such as a bath towel.

The valley formed by the two lower gables will also need special attention. Cut a narrow triangular piece of sheathing to sit in the valley to create a sloped floor on the valley (that slopes away from the upper gable's wall).  From the looks of it, the isosceles triangle would be 4-6 inches across the base, and 18" long (high).  The porpuse if the triangle sheathing is to support the flashing.  Sheet flashing with z-folds will work there too.


How should I prepare a wooden mould for casting plaster of paris? I'm referring to a flat sided mould, not intricate detail. It is the reverse (wall) side of a piece of coving.
I'm using "Formula" Fine Casting Plaster. The wood is planed softwood scraps I had lying around.
Wood grain and other imperfections are acceptable on the cast plaster surface as it faces the wall. My main goal is to ensure I can release the plaster easily and re-use the mould.
I've read that plaster doesn't adhere well to wood, but I'd rather be sure. Will it be sufficient to fill any holes and sand it smooth, or would you suggest varnishing or priming the wood? What about a release agent?

You may find more (quantity) of plaster casting/release advice looking at ceramics sites on the web - plaster is frequently used for ceramics molds, while "house plaster" is (now) uncommon and may tend towards "hire us to come do this arcane art" more than "here's how you do it" advice (possibly including bad "here's how you do it advice," I have not really looked for such, but I've seen similar things on the web in other "arcane" fields...)
Typical release agents include "products sold for the specific purpose", (again, see ceramic suppliers) vaseline, liquid soap (rubbed on & allowed to dry in place, typically several times) cooking spray, vegetable oil. Priming is not needed, the release product will soak into the wood.
Given that you are looking at releasing a flat board, the simplest approach might be to cover it with something like waxed paper or plastic wrap, but any of the release agents mentioned above should work fine. A film product like paper or plastic wrap may release too easily (while you are working) and thus might not be as good as the usual methods, in fact.


Drywall tape required for patch to small hole? Is drywall tape required for a patch to a small hole that's fastened only to the surrounding drywall sheet?

Specifics - I have a round hole, about six inches in diameter. I've patched it with a round piece of drywall. Drywall screws hold the patch to a board, and the board to the surrounding drywall.

A hole that size should be taped to prevent cracking. You don't need to use tape though. Another method uses the patch piece of drywall's paper:

Square the opening to be patched.
Cut a pice of drywall about 4" x 4" larger then the hole.
Score the back side of the patch piece of drywall along lines 1 & 2, about 2" in from the end.
Place the drywall face down on a table, lining up the score line with the edge of the table and snap it along the line.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 for score lines 3 & 4.
Peal the outer edges of the drywall off leaving just the front paper so that your pice looks like fig 2.
Place the patch pice over the hole and mud.


I have two remotes, one stopped working I have an Allister Access 200 garage door opener with two Allstar 318 remotes. One remote works just fine. The second one stopped working all together

I replaced the batteries in the one that stopped working and programmed the program code in it using the plus/minus following the instructions carefully and it is still not working!

Assuming the remote was bad, I purchased a brand new Allstar 318 remote, put the new remote in program mode and reprogrammed it. It too will not work! So... I’m at my wits end! ( The garage opener works good with the one remote and the interior garage door button.)

Would anyone know why  one remote works just fine but my other two, old and new one, will not work?

This sounds like you may not have completed the programming successfully.

Usually both remotes, old and new, need to be programmed together and you cannot just add one. So the fact that one remote has continued to work gives the indication that the programming did not complete.

I suggest you check the instructions are correct for the unit and try again.


What is a good temporary seal for 1-2 inch gap between window pane and door frame? I am a lodger in a large old house. My landlady, who is in her 60s, asked me to draft proof the rear door in the kitchen.
There is a large gap between the top of the panel of double glazing in the door and the door frame. Duct tape was used as a fix, but that’s peeling away. (See photo.)
Is there a simple method to fill in this gap that will last a few months?
Ideally, something that is non-destructive so it can be removed for when the door gets fixed properly, but rain and wind proof.
The draft from the kitchen goes though all of the lower floor, making the entire floor cold.
Thanks.

I would suggest a plastic window insulation kit available for around $10 or so at your local big-box home improvement store. Probably also available at your local 800 pound gorilla general store.
It will have double sided tape to adhere to the door around the opening, then the plastic is stuck to the other side of the tape. A hair dryer is used to shrink the plastic until it's taught so you can see through it and that it doesn't flap in the breeze.
The tape probably won't stick very well to that bare, rough wood. At a minimum, you'll also want some sandpaper and some sort of a block to smooth down the wood around the pane so that there's a smooth surface for the tape to stick to. When the door is refurbished, that will need to be sanded anyway, so this is just a head start.
Depending on what's outside, you may consider adding a second layer to the outside of the door, as well. However, the plastic is rather thin and doesn't take well to physical abuse. People, packages, tree limbs, possibly even leaves blowing by, and the wind itself may be enough to tear the plastic or rip it off the wood. But, if you've got plastic left over from doing the inside, it won't hurt to put a layer outside.


How can I determine if metal parts are stainless steel? I want to mount a plexiglass logo-plate on my home-office main door, but I had to buy these standoffs.

I bought them on Amazon where the claim was they were stainless steel (inoxidizable).
I have suspect they sent me the worst quality iron. Of course, on Amazon listing these things were particularly shiny, but now these look particularly opaque.
One thing I noticed is that the standoffs smell, and the smell is left on my fingers after I stroke the devices.
Question is: is there a simple homebrew way to tell iron from inox steel?
So far I have tried to search around and found that I might try to induce rust quickly by using HCl and then leave the piece in sea water outdoors. After a week, rust should appear.
I don't have HCl at home at the moment and I want to be sure before getting to buy it.

The term "stainless steel" is a very broad term.  There are many types of stainless steel, and on top of that there are more than 150 grades of steel (i.e. each "type" of stainless steel can fall within 150+ "grades" of steel).  If you want the gory details check out the wikipedia page on stainless steel.
Personally, when a manufacturer claims they are selling "stainless steel" widgets I view that claim as somewhat deceptive.  Sure, the metal really is stainless steel, but when people think of stainless they have something very specific in mind (i.e. it won't rust...but in reality stainless steel rusts all the time).
You can test whether the metal is stainless steel or not by putting it in phosphoric acid or nitric acid.  Stainless should not react with either at room temperature.  On the other hand, stainless will react with hydrochloric acid...so don't use that.
Here's my recommendation.  Do not test with acid.  You probably have stainless steel, but it's probably just not a high quality stainless.  You already verified that they are not magnetic, which supports the claim that they are made of stainless.  The smelly film that is on them is probably an oil/grease of some sort that was added to prevent them from rusting (hence, this is not a high-quality steel).
I have never seen any version of stainless steel rust as fast, or faster, than pure iron or various other iron-based steels.  Here is my prediction: if you keeps these things outside you will probably notice some rust within a month or two depending on how wet they get.  Within a couple years they may get rusty enough that you will want to replace them...but they will never be as bad as regular old iron.  If you want stainless steel that does not rust (it does exist) then you will pay significantly more for it.
If you want to prevent rust just add a thin layer of oil to keep them dry...which is what the manufacturer did already.


Function of a phase angle adjustment in a light dimmer I'm setting up a light dimmer an have found a adjustable part for setting the "phase angle of light bulbs". That is a literal translation from German.
You can see the adjuster in the picture.

My perspective of how the dimmer works is that it just zeroes some parts of the sine shaped voltage therefore reducing the power that reaches the bulb.

What is the purpose of that switch, both functionally (what it does) and conceptually (why and how it's done)?

There is a good general description of different types of dimmers here:

http://www.olino.org/us/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/principles_of_dimming.pdf

As Kris commented, I suspect it is a type of inductive dimmer that you have.  If that is correct, then the applicable section in "The Principles of Dimming" would be "Dimming Wire-wound transformers for low voltage halogen lamps."  The adjustment of the phase angle of the light bulbs in this context would correspond to the length of time that the thyristor in the dimmer control must be hard-fired to overcome the inductance of a magnetic step down transformer.  It is a compensation circuit for the lag time required to drive an inductive load.  I do not think it has anything to do with noise control.


Metal or PVC Conduit in Metal Outbuilding? I'm running wiring under ground from main panel to 100 amp panel in metal garage. When installing lighting and receptacle circuits mounted against interior walls, does  it make any difference what kind of conduit is used?

I like EMT metal conduit.  It means you don't need to run ground wires, and it's just not a fire risk at all.  Also the metal boxes are dirt cheap!

Toolwise, you need a hacksaw and a wire stripper to deburr the inside of the conduit. A conduit bender is also handy.


Do you size a DHW expansion tank to incoming pressure or pressure after PRV? Thinking of adding a pressure reducing valve (PRV) to reduce my home's water pressure. I understand that I'd need to add an expansion tank to the incoming cold water line of the domestic hot water heater (DHW).

My question is should I size the expansion tank for the system pressure before installing the PRV or after installing the PRV? By sizing for original pressure I have the capacity to handle expansion in the event the PRV fails.

Also related question... Do I pressurize the tank to the system pressure before or after the PRV for the same reason of possible PRV failure?

I'm probably just going to go with a larger expansion tank that will handle the current incoming pressure since it's not much more expensive and having a larger tank won't hurt anything but I'm curious to know the answers and reasoning.

Here are the stats:

Current pressure around 92 PSI
Desired pressure 65 PSI (maybe a little more like 68 PSI)
HW capacity 40 gallons
HW temperature 125F

PRV (or pressure regulator) failure should be a rare event.

One problem with pre-pressurizing the tank based on the incoming pressure is that it will accept essentially no water until you reach that pressure, so that seems like a poor idea. Whether the incoming pressure will be so far above the functional pressure that it will pop the expansion tank bladder will depend on the pressures in question and the tank. I suppose the approach to take would be to figure out how far to pre-pressuirize it to prevent popping in the event of regulator failure, but that is not actually covered in the usual installation instructions.

If there is a very large difference in pressures, you might want a relief valve on the low-pressure side. This will of course depend on your local system pressure and how far down you are reducing it.

Responding to 90/65 psi comment - this is probably well within the capacity of normal expansion tanks. A typical well tank is expected to cycle over a 20 psi range, but the actual volume in the bladder changes (20/40 PSI holds more water than 40-60 or 50-70 with correct pre-charge pressure.) Given typical upper working pressure above 100PSI, you should be fine pre-pressurizing to 63 PSI (or 2 PSI below whatever you actually set to) and not pop the bladder (it can work at 20/40, so at 63 it can hold enough water to go to 126, even though that's an atypical use-case; so 95 should be just fine.)

A 100PSI relief valve would still be a smart move (i.e. don't make the T&P on the hot water tank the only relief in the system) to protect against a higher than expected input pressure and regulator failure, but might be moderately paranoid (I get that way in systems design, at least where it does not cost too much.)


Septic Replacement: Can I Do it Myself? I am looking at a property with a serious fixer-upper on it.  I want to place a mobile home on the property while gutting out existing building to see if it can be renovated.  My question is about the septic.  I has a well and eptic, but has been abandoned for a few years now.  I believe the septic will need to be updated, parts of it replaced.

Is this something I can do myself, with the help of my brothers and dad?  If so, what kinds of costs am I looking at?

Replacing a septic system is a really crappy job, you'll want to let the pros handle this one.  A job like this requires special licenses, permits, equipment, and knowledge. It may seem like your just digging a hole and dropping a tank in it, but there is a lot more planning and hassle involved.  It's worth paying to have this done, rather than doing it yourself and then finding out it's not right and has to be ripped out and redone.


What and how many appliance can share a room? Can a central air gas furnace, gas dryer, electric washing machine, gas water heater be in same room (12x8ft) in the basement?

dryer has its own vent to outside,
Gas water heater, seems to use the same chimney as furnace?

What and how many appliance can share a room?

It all comes down to "working space", clearances, exhaust, and combustion air.

Working space is the unobstructed area around (usually in front of) an appliance, allowing access to service the appliance.  This will some times be specified in local codes, and often spelled out in the manufacturer's documentation for the appliance.

Some appliances may have specific clearances specified in codes or manufacturer's documentation, to prevent the transmission of heat from the appliance to other (usually combustible) materials.

Fuel burning appliances require a supply of fresh air for combustion, which in most cases cannot be drawn from living spaces.  Local codes and Manufacturer's documentation should also specify how much, and where this air should come from.

Some appliances require a means to exhaust byproducts, in which case the room will have to take these in to consideration.  Exact exhaust specifications for each appliance can be found in local codes, and/or the manufacturer's documentation.

If a room is designed properly, it's possible to fit multiple appliances in a single room.


Can you use plug-and-cord on a baseboard heater? Is it legal to install a cord and plug on a common 240 volt baseboard heater?  It does not have a cord and was intended to be hardwired.

Do I need to use a 240V plug (NEMA 6, 10, 14) or can I use the common 120V plug we all know and love?  (NEMA 5-15).

You probably could install a cord. However, you'll have to install a 10 AWG cord, and a 250V 30A plug (NEMA 6-30P). And you'll have to plug it into a 250V 30A circuit, with properly sized conductors and overcurrent protection. Unless, of course, the heater is rated to work at lower voltage/current.


Floor standing U wood frame built at home - what to use for a 90 degree joint? I'm building a U frame (inverted U). So it will have two side pieces, and one piece sitting at the top of these sides.
I plan to use a 3/4" melamine that is 4 inches wide. It is white melamine on both sides, but the edges are not.
The sides would be 58 inches tall each, and the top is 70 inches long.
It will look like a console table, but this is not a table, just a decorative frame. I might include another piece of wood in the center if it sags due to the length.
I will do this at home, I don't have special tools (I have a drill, rotary tool, screws, etc. but not mills and other bigger/heavier tools).
How should I make the proper 90 degree joint between the sides and the top? I'm wondering if the glue will work since one side is melamine but the edge of the side where it will seat is not. I would like to avoid using L brackets because they would be visible if you look underneath.
Based on the thickness (3/4") and the material (melamine on both sides, but not on the edges) what would you suggest to use? Wood screws? Wood glue plus nails? I'm not sure if wood screws would damage the wood since it's just 3/4". Should I still consider L bracket? Two or just one per side?
I appreciate recommendations!

As described, there will be huge issues with racking - the tendency for this to want to collapse onto one leg or the other, no matter what fasteners are used.
If you'll take a look at any flat pack furniture, you'll see that they come with a back, often nothing more than cardboard. One might think that the back is provided to keep things from being pushed off the back of the shelves and falling behind the cabinet, but the back is really to prevent the whole thing from collapsing sideways. The fact that it keeps you from pushing your shirts behind the wardrobe is just a bonus.
If you were able to find flat angle brackets:
Image courtesy of walmart.com. First somewhat small image I found for what I was after.
that were long (I'd suggest 12" legs or more), with legs that were only 3/4" wide so that they would hide against the edge of the particle board, then attach them with screws designed for particle board, you might have enough rack resistance to get this to stay upright for a while, but it will still want to sag and warp eventually.
You're going to need serious corner bracing (straight pieces or triangles that connect the top to the legs at about 1/3 the length of the top - roughly 20" across and 20" down) or something like a shelf support bracket or a full on back in order to keep this from collapsing.


Scrape off the painting of bathroom celling When trying to scrape off the original paint of my bathroom ceiling,I found some areas are quite hard to be scraped off by using the scrapper. I guess it is caused by the moisture or the previous painter applied flat paints straight onto bare gyprock without primer.
You can see on attached photo, the underneath brown paper is shown after I scrapped paint. Did anyone come across this situation? and is there any ways to scrape without damage the gyprock?
Many thanks!

Gyprock ? Is that a name for Sheetrock? If so moisture above could be a problem even if properly sealed and painted.

The year of construction would be helpful also. Green /blue board are forms of water resistant Sheetrock, as the lighting level is low I cannot tell but it may be green board from my best guess.

Many bathrooms that do not have proper ventilation have issues with ceiling paint even with the best preparation every type of wall board can have issues as the moisture if not exhausted can cause bubbling, mold and many other problems.


Why would my boiler expel steam when it's set at 180F So, I have recently had some issues with my boiler (hot water - not steam) system.  After hiring some guys to stop by and take a look at it, they told me that the boiler pressure reducing valve, pressure relief valve (stuck partly open) and my pressure gauge are bad (all of which I believe and suspected for some while now).  So, effectively I can't leave my auto-feed from the road on because it will over-pressurize the system, and I get water/steam out the pressure relief valve every time it warms up.  I did empty the expansion tank after refilling the system the last time (~2 days ago) so I know that it's got somewhere to go if it needs (and it does take on water when the system warms up, but it also comes out the pressure relief valve at the same time).

Additionally, the system was set to ~220F, which they indicated was over water's boiling point and should be brought back to 180, which makes sense and we did so.

However, the system is set to 180F and it's still producing steam and I'm not sure why.  We verified that the water is circulating properly and the aquastat is correct as well.  The HVAC guy who was here gave me an explanation of why it could still be producing steam even though it's set at 180F but I didn't understand it and after asking him to reiterate it for the third time I gave up.  He mentioned something about the backfill of water getting heated but it still didn't make sense to me unless the water wasn't circulating (which we know that it is).

I'd be interested in any explanations - I'm mostly trying to make sure I understand this system.  I'm sure I left out some critical details so feel free to comment and I'll add whatever you'd like.  This is an old Burnham boiler.  Thanks,

Jon

I will give this a try.

Physics says that water can not make steam, at sea level pressure under 212 degrees F.

It is also why steam pipes and automobile systems are under pressure, you can hold more heat, when water is under pressure and not have it boil. Pressure cookers cook food faster for the same reason.

The only way to make steam, from water, at 180 F, is to do it under partial vacuum.

To get water to boil at 180 F, you need to reduce the air pressure to about 7.5 psi.

7.5 psi is a column of water about 15' tall.

If a boiler tank, had a 15' tall pipe, filled with water, and caught between a drain trap and the return to the boiler, it would make steam at 180 F.

I have a physics background, and I am not a stationary engineer, well not a train engineer either, to be honest.

Hopefully someone who has actually worked on a boiler system can take this and run with it.

Note, never pay someone to work on a boiler that thinks the temperature of the water should be below the boiling point of water.

You are better off hiring a competent plumber to work on a storage water heater. You get the same result with fewer parts, faster, and for less money.


How can I waterproof my mail box (post catcher)? We have a basket to catch mail which comes through an outdoor security door, like this:

There is an area behind the door which is open to the elements so the mail often gets wet. Does anyone know of a waterproof version of these mail catchers?

A previous tenant fixed a 'waterproof' cover on the top flap but it is ineffective.

Screw the mail slot shut and mount a conventional key locking weather tight mail box to the door.


Can I convert a 12 volt DC device that uses a 240v transformer, back to 12 volt? I have a small snack bar/kitchen trailer that I need to convert partly to 12 volt.
There is a 12 volt dc water pump 5.2amp and an LED strip light 12volt 5.2 amp - both of these devices currently have transformers attached to the 240volt AC supply.

I have a deep cycle battery and a 50w 12 volt solar panel. I have 12ga copper wire. (I will add another panel & battery so I can run another light strip and some small power outlets for charging phones & minirigs etc and one day I hope to cover the whole roof of trailer and vehicle in adjustable solar panel/roof racks, so I can also run a fridge and freezer)

What do I need to do to right now make the current match the 5.2 amps needed for my pump and led lights?

You can just remove the transformer and wire the devices direct to the 12V circuit (paying attention to polarity of course).

Current is drawn by devices, and your power supply must be able to support it. There's nothing you need to 'do' other than ensure your supply can provide the current your devices need.

Note that a 50W panel at 12V is 4.16A, so it may not charge the battery fast enough for your situation -- even if you're only using the 5.2A lights (as opposed to the full 10.4A load with the lights and pump running).

This may or may not be a problem depending on what you're doing. If your battery is rated at 100 AH (amp hours), and you're not charging it, it should in theory power the LED lights for about 19 hours (calculator). This isn't exact because battery capacity can be affected by load, charge level, and other factors.


Power supply and dimmer/pot specs needed for LED A19 bulb in DIY desk lamp I'm making a desk lamp using a single dimmable A19 7w LED. My questions:

What kind of dimmer/potentiometer can I use?
Can I simply run an extension-type cord from the A19 bulb socket/base into a 110V wall outlet, or is there something special (e.g., power supply) needed?
Is there a newb-friendly resource for learning how to do these relatively simple electronics projects?

Thanks in advance!

an a19 has an e26 base, so its designed to operate on line voltage.  so you need to have a dimmable led bulb with an e26 base.  dimming will have to be done with a proper ul listed dimmer switch in an appropriate metal device box.  you cannot use a potentiometer for this.  you do not need a power supply if the bulb is designed for line voltage.  you can find hundred of videos on this sort of stuff on youtube or you can try www.make.com


How do I install a window screen that must go in from the outside and does not have tabs, springs, pins, or any flex? The house that I moved into had all of the screens removed from the basement windows and left laying near each window (so I'm pretty confident they came with the windows which were installed in 2006). The screens don't have any tabs, springs, pins, or any flex to the frame to shove it up or push down into the casing and just bend it in. Another odd thing is that they appear to require installation from the outside. I've cleaned the frames and the window casing that it is installed into, but I just can't get that last quarter inch needed to get the screen in! Any tips?

They don't all use springs or clips. On many (especially older aluminum and steel frame) windows the channel is deeper on the top and one side. This allows the screen frame to insert, then drop and/or be pulled into the shallower channel whilst still being (half) held in the deeper channel opposite. Usually this type has a plastic "pull-tab" that is held in by the rubber spline, to help the user insert and remove it. It is common to see these tabs break off over time.

None are made to have the screen frame bent for insertion.


I need to find out how to straighten a wall Just bought my first house and doing a lot of the work myself. I want to add electrical and audio lines but I want to make sure the walls are straight first. I've seen some videos where the guy cracks new wall studs to move them back, but I don't have the luxury as the vanity side wall is adjoining a finished room.

I've laid a straight edge along and identified a few studs protruding into the room more than the rest and I'm unsure how to

1.) make sure the plane of all the studs is even.
2.) While doing so, getting the corners closer to 90 angles.

The house was built in the early 1900s with 2X6 walls and 8'6" ceilings.

Thanks.

The easiest route to getting a straight, vertical wall is to identify the furthest out studs and then shim out those studs that are not as far out. Similarly, find the area on each stud that is furthest into the room and then shim the recessed areas of the stud to match.

Shimming can be done using cedar shims, sold by the bundle in big box stores and lumber yards. They can be broken to get the right size and length and tacked in place with a stapler or brads.

Not every inch of the studs has to be shimmed. I would try not to leave a gap of more than about 12 to 18 inches though.

If there is only one stud proud of the rest, I might try to shave that down, but if there are several, proud or leaning, I would use shims.

Getting to 90 degrees is a bit tougher, and is usually only done if there are cabinets that simply must be flush with the side wall.  More often the edge of a cabinet near an untrue corner stops an inch or two short of the adjacent wall and is completed with a trim strip.

If you need to get a perfect 90, you can use a framing square in the corner to see where the error is, and which wall needs to be adjusted to accommodate. If the difference is enough, you might even need to rip a thin shimming strip for each stud to adjust, or even sister a stud next to, but proud of, the existing studs as a nailing piece to hold the drywall (sistering is attaching a parallel board of similar size next to an existing board for strength or better positioning).


Do I need exterior rated electrical cable to add a house mounted electrical outlet or disconnect switch I am adding an external outlet to my house. I have come across a number of posts and articles on how to do this. For my AC unit I need to add an electrical disconnect on the outside of my house and also need to add a 110V outlet within 25' because of code.

What I'm not clear on is if I need to use outdoor rated cable when piercing the wall of my house to the external box. In all the other posts on this sites, it seems that outdoor rated electrical cable is only needed when burying or using cable in a raceway. In some pictures I've seen, it appears that indoor rated cable is being run through the wall to the outdoor box. Given that indoor rated cable is better in a fire, it seems that the indoor rated cable should pierce the wall. Then if there is any other runs outdoors, that the junction be made with outdoor rated cable. Is this correct?

If the cable is concealed entirely within the wall, then non-metallic sheathed cable (NM) is fine -- the inside of a wall cavity is dry unless you have some serious problems with your house!  You only need underground feeder cable (UF) if the cable's buried, put through an outdoor conduit that can get water inside it, baked in the sun, or otherwise exposed to the elements.


Why does one leg of my panel drop to 0v and the other rise to 240v when a load is connected? I have red/black/white cable coming into barn to breaker box from main panel at house.  With a tester to neutral bar each leg reads 120v and if two hot legs are tested, 240v.
I have a 20 amp breaker that goes to a timer that control a series of lights.  When I turn on breaker for the lights, which are wired correctly,  one hot leg drops to 0v and the other leg reads 240v when tested to neutral bar.
I have another breaker to outlet plug that reads fine until I energize the breaker for timer then it too loses voltage because of timer motor somehow shifting all volts to other leg.  I've replaced timer with new brand new timer / replaced breaker with new one.  I've even run extension cord to lights directly and bypassing breaker box and they work fine if timer/breaker box is bypassed.
Any suggestions where to look?

It sounds like you have a loose, broken, or disconnected neutral at some point.

Double check all terminations are tight, and contact the conductor, not the insulation.

Also check that you have the correct earthing/bonding methods. Do you have an earth/ground wire back to the house?

If so, you need a separate earth and neutral bar, with each wire connected to the correct bar, and no link between them.

If not, you need an earth electrode connected to the earth bar, the incoming neutral connected to the neutral bar, and a link between the two.*

* I believe the NEC no longer allows this approach; I'm not familiar with US code. It may be grandfathered in.


Can I change normal plug to a 15amp round pin plug? I've got some festoons for a theatre show but the theatre is quite old and I was told they need to have 15amp round pin plugs. Can I just get some ordinary festoons and swap the plug into a 15amp round pin plug? And is changing them a very tricky undertaking?
Or are there any adapters for that for those sort of plugs?
Any answers would help
thank you very much
Lia

Nate Strickland's answer is correct for the USA.

If you are in the UK, you'd need a similar adapter

Stage Electrics

15 amp round pin plugs are used for stage work in the UK for the additional reason that our 13 amp standard power plugs have fuses in them. A blown fuse on a lighting grid is difficult to change quickly, so unfused plugs are preferred. In schools the smaller 5 amp round pin plugs were often used.


How to electrically hook up my humidifier to my furnace and have it run when furnace is running and not A/C in summer How do I hook up my humidifier to my furnace so it only runs when furnace heats my house.  Just want to make sure it does not turn on when A/C in summer goes on.  The person who installed my furnace did not hook it up and is not answering my calls.  Thanks

On most newer furnaces, on the control board there are specific terminals for a humidifier.  The engineers have built into this control board the exact criteria that you are looking for.


Drilling into fireplace Is it safe to drill a one inch deep hole for a small screw and anchor into the mortar area around the rock in my fireplace to hang something? Is there any risk to piercing the inner part and letting any smoke or gases out?

I tried drill into the rock itself with a masonry bit, but I don’t have a hammer drill and it was not happening. I am sure I could get into the dried concrete, but wasn’t sure if that was safe.

Those rocks are pretty thick so a 1" deep hole won't be a problem. If it helps you sleep at night, squirt a little epoxy or clear caulk in the hole along with the anchor to seal the mortar.


Is it better to fill up the space between rafters with insulation, or put baffles on top and add soffit vents? (inland Los Angeles, cathedral ceiling) I have 5.25" tall rafters, about 30" on center, with roof planks directly on top of them. I would like to keep the rafters visible, but add insulation between them. So I only have a few inches to work with. The work will not be inspected. I will finish with drywall for fire protection. There are no vents--just the central HVAC.

Is it better to fill all of the space with insulation, or put baffles on top and add soffit vents?

For a similar situation, I'm considering an unvented cathedral ceiling (see references).

The main reason to vent an attic is to prevent warm moist indoor air from contacting the roof framing and decking. When the decking is below the dew point, the moisture condenses, the wood wets, and then an assortment of bad things happen.

There's another solution to keeping roofs dry: plug the air leaks between the house and the roof. If the warm moist air cannot contact the roof deck, it can't condense and wet the roofing. This is why pink insulation usually has a kraft paper backing (vapor retarder) that faces the inside the house.

When using the standard building materials of yesteryear, air and vapor sealing was all but impossible. In this brave new world of construction with Optimum Value Engineering, blower door testing, drywall sealing, taping OSB/plywood seams, and spray insulation, air sealing is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

Today, one can reliably air, vapor, and water seal a surface with closed cell spray polyurethane foam (ccSPF). The minimum depth required (by code) is based on the foam density and your climate zone. With you being situated in Climate Zone 3, I'd expect 1 inch (R-7) would suffice and more is shaving nickels off your electric bill. Since you have so little depth available, I'd consider filling the cavity with 3 inches of spray foam (R-21) in a two-step process:

Spray foam 1" onto the decking as close to the soffits as possible. This first layer would be applied while the decking is exposed so you're likely to get uniform edge-to-edge coverage, a good air seal, and you won't have protrusions to trim off before you can drywall.
One of:

For less than stuffed full, spray additional insulation to the desired depth and then cover with drywall.
To fill the cavity, hang a row of drywall, cover it with plywood, and then spray fill the cavity. The plywood will keep the expanding foam from popping your drywall fasteners. There are videos on YouTube showing a number of ways to do this.

Do read up on the building science behind this. In my jurisdiction, pulling a permit for this type of insulation retrofit is not required. It wouldn't hurt to  verify that your local building code permits this. If not, showing them the relevant portions of the International Building Code might change their mind.

references

Google searches: unvented cathedral attic, unvented cathedral ceiling
Pay extra attention to buildingscience.com, energycodes.gov, and greenbuildingadvisor.com. The old timers frequenting those sites are often ahead of the national building code since they often write it.


What brand is a kitchen sink with this logo? I'm trying to identify a kitchen sink. We try to replace it, but want to keep the granite counters, so we need to find the same brand with the same line so that the dimension matches
It has a logo on the inside (see image), the only other mark is a date stamped in ink on the bottom from 2005.

A google search brought up a similar logo for Artisan sinks. A fleur de lys with the two extra stems.


wobbly thermostat on plaster wall Just replaced the old honeywell thermostat to a Nest. But the thermostat hole is a bit more emptier than it's supposed to be. Some small rocks fell out. Now the new thermostat is a bit wobbly.

I want to get some advice on how to secure the thermostat. My initial plan is

Step 1- patch the hole around the wire with joint compound.
Step 2- drill the nail into the plaster wall. But I don't have an electrical drill. Maybe it's time to invest one?

A drill would be a good investment, lightweight general purpose cordless drills are available at a surprisingly reasonable cost.

The joint compound plan might work alright. You don't state how big the original hole was; if it is large (like, larger than the new thermostat) then you might have a tough time patching without something behind to "back up" the patch. Consider bridging the hole with a strip of stiff material, like a strip of drywall or even a wood paint stir-stick. You would slide the strip into and beyond the edge of the hole on one side, then pull it back so the strip overhangs both sides of the hole on the inside (I usually put a screw through the strip in the middle, to serve as a temporary handle). Run a screw through the wall and into/through the strip on both the right and the left, to pull the strip up against the back of the wall/hole on the inside, then remove your makeshift "handle". The attachment screws would have to be driven below the wall surface so you can patch the screw holes at the same time you fill the main hole with joint compound. Smooth and sand, then use plastic anchors to secure your new thermostat.


1.5hr is normal drying time for condenser dryer? Miele I have a Miele W3033 washer and a Miele T8013C condenser dryer.
T8013C is a 24 inch, electric, ventless, condenser dryer, that vents into the room through the front, looks like this: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/T8013C.html.
For a load of clothes (filled to 80% full in the washer) washed using "Normal" program on W3033, it take 1.5hrs to dry using "Normal" program on T8013C.
If I touch the dryer door, it doesn't feel warm at all, just the same as when the dryer is off. The exhaust air feels warm, but not hot... Is the 1.5hr drying time normal?
BTW, I just cleaned all the lint traps and the condenser filter, they are as closed to being "factory clean" as I can get it.

For other who came to this thread... I contacted Miele, and the service rep responded to say 1.5hr is normal for a condenser dryer like mine.


How can I convert a 120V chandelier to 240V? I have a chandelier made for the USA market and runs on 110-120 volts. What modifications do I need to make it work in India which has 220-240 volts? Will it need to be rewired?

The wire is usually rated for 600V; check that first if it is and you can find lamps that fit the sockets at 220-240V with the same wattage or less than the maximum wattage. If lamps that fit at the correct wattage are available you could connect the black wire center pin on the fixture to your hot and the white wire to the neutral conductor or shell and last if a metal fixture connect the ground from the fixture to the service ground and it should work. There are sockets to switch from U.S. base to European bases so that bulbs from overseas can fit.


Why won't any light in my house turn on after a range hood was installed? My contractor installed a range hood and after that no light in the house will come on.  We have a breaker system, not sure of the load.

What could be the possible problem?

Definitely sounds like either breakers/fuses/main power were left turned off, or he did something that caused breakers to trip or fuses to blow, or he damaged the wiring in some other way.

Breaker/fuse box is the first thing to check.

If that isn't it... he touched it last, he didn't get you to confirm that everything was working properly before he left, he owns the problem.

(Though if you've got other work going on it may not be the electrician's fault. After some work was done on my place, one specific bathroom's light failed to turn on. Electrician swore he hadn't done anything to that circuit. He was right; one of the carpenters had hit the cable with a sawzall. I had to find that break myself. I must say they were good about fixing it once I pointed it out to them, and the carpenter apologized profusely for not having checked for wires before he started cutting.)


half of all home outlets not working About a year ago we started noticing outlets in our upstairs bathrooms not working, and eventually none of the bathroom outlets worked at all. Hallway outlets, bedroom outlets still work fine. However, two downstairs outlets eventually stopped working entirely.

I've checked around the house and only place I can find a GFI reset is on an outlet in the garage. Pressing it does nothing that I can tell. I've checked the switch box and everything is properly turned on.

Before I get an electrician, who I'd rather not pay right now, I wanted to see if anyone has anymore suggestions.

Residences have two 120 lines coming into the main box, for a total of 240Volts. Obviously something is wrong with with one of the lines, or even the neutral. You can make some voltage checks on the lines if you have a meter, to see if there is partial voltage on the outlets that aren't working(bad neutral). You can also check the main box, but realize you are dealing with 240Volts. If you have any 240V dryer outlets you can check those too if you have an AC meter.

Beyond inspecting the main box for anything obvious(loose screw terminals, etc), it is probably time to bite the bullet and call an electrician. Be sure to turn off the master breaker if you play with the panel. The main terminal where the wire comes in will always have voltage, so be careful.


SDS drills with advertised chuck sizes I am looking to buy a hammer drill, but have no experience in this area. Everywhere I look, it seems that SDS/SDS+ is a universal chuck design, in that any SDS bit will work with any SDS drill and vice versa. Here, I mean the bit and drill will attach, not necessarily that the drill will have sufficient power to run the bit effectively, or anything like that.

My major holdup is that SDS drills seem to have advertised chuck sizes. How is this possible if the chuck is completely described by the fact that it is SDS?

For example, I was looking at the drill at the following link. It is SDS-plus, and so I should be able to use it with any SDS(-plus) bit. However, I am not comfortable buying it without knowing why it advertises a 5/8" chuck, as it is my understanding that it has an SDS chuck, and all SDS chucks are the same size.

http://www.toolbarn.com/milwaukee-5263-21.html

Looking at the Milwaukee web site the chuck capacity refers to the largest solid bit (hole diameter) the drill is capable of drilling. They are referring to using a solid bit not a hole saw. If you notice, that diameter increases as the power of the drill increases along with the price. That is not to say that you can't drill a hole larger than the rated capacity but it will tax the motor and shorten tool life.


LED Strip Power Supply needs to be unplugged/replugged to work I bought a color changing LED light kit for my basement and found out it wasn't long enough so I bought another. I connected them together with an LED amplifier and it seemed to work perfectly. Except when I came back the next day to turn them on again, they didn't work. I found that I needed to unplug the PS and re-plug it and viola, the lights worked again. This happens every time now when I want to turn them on. I've replaced the PS with a spare and it's the same results. I'll mention that disconnecting the PS from the LED controller does not fix it, it has to be unplugged from the outlet to fix it. Anyone know where I might be going wrong?

Here is my PS

And my LED controller

And amplifier

Here are some links to the components I used:

AMP PS

AMP

Splitter

OK here's the problem.  An amplifier does not actually combine power supplies.  It simply uses the 5 input channels only as a signal to switch the power supplied to its input.  All the strips downstream of an amplifier are powered only by the supply to the amplifier!

So what you've done is hung all the LEDs on the #2 power supply, which is only sized for a single 16' (5m) strip.

The other power supply drives nothing but the controller and amplifier's internal loads, which are very small.  That might be a problem too.

Option 1, leave it like this, and make sure power supply #2 is sized to drive all LEDs. I don't get why to have supply #1 at that point, just split power off supply #2 and do it all with one.

Option 2:

Move the splitter so it takes the output of the controller and splits it to strip 1 and the amplifier.   Thus, power supply 1 will supply the controller and strip 1.    Power supply 2 will supply only the amplifier and strip 2.


Do I need a moisture barrier between my bedroom and attic? This is related to  my other question about moisture barriers.

There is an attic above the bedroom and there is insulation with paper backing in place. The attic area seems far more likely to get moisture as the bathrooms both vent directly in to the attic and not out through a vent.  I'll address that issue eventually.

So my question is, should I install a 4mil moisture barrier on the ceiling, or omit that from the ceiling?

I completely disagree with BMitch here. If you live in an area with sustained freezing temperatures, you should have a plastic vapor barrier between the drywall and the studs, wherever "warm meets cold" (exterior walls, top floor ceiling). You want this vapor barrier inside your insulation so the barrier is toward the "warm" side of the thermal break provided by the barrier, thus reducing the amount of condensation that forms on it.

Paper, like the backing of your insulation rolls, is NOT a vapor barrier. Neither is the insulation itself, even though its purpose is to "trap" a bubble of air and thus provide a buffer between warm and cold. Neither of these are continuous; the insulation is cut to fit inside the studs, and so air and thus moisture can still get around the paper. Moisture also soaks into paper. 6-mil plastic vapor barrier, installed properly, has no way through it; it's sealed against the studs so the drywall screws don't break the barrier, and all J-boxes are sealed with Tuck Tape or similar vapor-proof adhesion.

As for mold concerns, there shouldn't be any, even on the back side of the wall. Because the area behind the vapor barrier can still breathe, even with the insulation, there is little chance of there being enough water in the wall to damage the studs or cause mold to form on them. The big concern is the drywall, which is a sponge for any condensation that may form on it. It will trap this water and hold it for a long time, which along with the processed wood product (paper) on its skin, is a definite attraction for mold.