What do I do with the ground wire? I just bought a wall timer to replace a three-way switch. The wall timer comes with three wires, one for the common screw wire, and the other two are for the travelers, with no place for a ground wire. When I took out the three-way switch it had the common and the two travelers that I needed and it also has the ground wire.

My question is, where do I put or what should I do with the ground in this situation?

I called the manufacturer and the guy said that "a ground is not needed in this situation and that I should just tape it off". Is that what I should be doing?

Here's a picture of the back of the timer.

If the switch has no exposed metallic parts after installation—and has no ground terminal—then a ground connection to the switch is not needed.  Connect the three ground wires together (one from the power source, and two for the travelers).

If the timer has exposed metal, then there should be a ground screw.  If the junction box it is installed into is metal, ground the box by adding a fourth ground wire into the junction with the other three grounds, and screw the other end of the wire to the j-box.  Use metal screws to install the timer into the j-box:  This grounds the timer and was the standard way of house grounding up until sometime in the 1960s.

If the j-box is not metal, but the timer has some exposed metal, run a ground wire to it and fasten it securely somehow.  (Maybe add link to a photo of the timer for better advice.)


Can an RCD protect against transformer failure? I want to install LED lights in a pool. The original transformer outputs 12V 6A. Now I don't trust my life to a cheap transformer so I want to go sure. Yet I also don't want to spend more money than necessary. I don't have to live for ever.

Found an adapter that measures residual currents and breaks the circuit if delta larger 30mA. RCD safety adaptor So this sounds quite good to me.

Now I wonder, isn't it possible that in a worst case situation this device would not measure any delta between both power lines and the human between both lines beeing effectively roasted?

Found out that cheap transformers can output the full incoming current in a state of failue. Safetytransformers where a short circuit is not possible by design cost quite some money.

Is such an RCD adaptor a safeguard for any transformer failure?

Edit: Would it help to ground the poolwater - lay a cable from inside the pool to the grounding connector in the power outlet.

Yes, it would, but 30ma won't belp you in a pool.   Here's how electrocution drownings work.

Current as low as 10ma stuns the person in pool.
They faint.
Where they fall, their nose or mouth are under water.
They drown.
Rescuer sees them unconscious, reaches out or jumps in to save them.
Current stuns rescuer.
Go to 2.

You think I jest, but often the way they know it's an electrocution drowning is multiple victims.  The coroner can't tell an electrocution drowning from a normal one.

What you want is personnel-grade 8ma protection.

Another defense would be to tie your DC negative terminal to the local grounding electrode system.  This means the DC is no longer an isolated system, and is a potential ground-fault path for your AC system.


Bathroom light has to be switched on twice to work We have a bathroom light and extractor fan both turned on by one pull cord, but the first time you try to turn it on, the light just flickers or doesn’t come on at all, but when you switch it off and then turn it back on, it comes on fine. We have replaced the bulb and tried a different type, but the issue remains and is consistent, so assuming something is alternating and there is a fault in one area, but not the other. Any ideas what could cause this?

Pull chain switches have a rotating contact plate; each time you pull it it spins the plate and alternates between no-contact/contact-1/no-contact/contact-2/no-contact/contact-3 (the numbers are hypothetical, different switches have different numbers of contacts...). I suspect that one of the contact positions is dodgy (corroded terminal, bent contact blade, etc.)
You need a new switch.


How can I prevent pets from passing through an open window? We live in a 6th floor and we have a huge sliding glass window that we like to open. The issue is that we have cats, so my concern is that if we leave the window open, one of the cats will jump out the window.

So, my question is: what can I purchase to cover the window when it's open so that we get the breeze and the cat doesn't jump through the open window?

I can't cover it with curtains (it'll stop the breeze), and I don't want to cover it with ugly shades.

The windows looks something like this:

Thanks.

I wouldn't trust a typical bug screen to keep a pet in (or out). But Google window pet mesh and you can find plenty of similar looking products specifically designed to stand up to pets, such as: Super Screen - Pet & Weather Resistant.


Should a curtain drain be covered/back filled? I do some light maintenance and yard work in exchange for rent.
The building had some problems with flooding. We have an extensive drain system, but it was a bit clogged. Even after the plumbers unclogged the drain the owner of the property is having a sump pump plus a curtain drain installed.

We have had some dispute about covering/back filling the curtain drain. The contractor is against it. I don't want to insult the contractor or the owner of the property. As the contractor is a friend of the owners. The owner of the property is a very intelligent woman, and if a logical argument is made will likely reconsider. Should a proper curtain drain be covered/back filled or should we really leave a gravel trench in the middle of a yard? I have spent a little bit of time researching curtain drains, and most instructions indicate that the last step is to landscaping fabric, and few inches of soil and some grass. While this will certainly make mowing and autumn leaf removal a pain, I also generally care about the appearance of the property and this decision seems wrong.

the question: to cover/backfill with soil and plant grass or not to cover/backfill a curtain drain

The usual purpose of a curtain drain is to divert (under)groundwater away from a structure. The only reason to not cover it with fabric and a few inches of soil is to capture surface drainage as well. If you need to capture surface drainage, then there must be a significant grading issue that is allowing surface water to stand near the structure.

Such a grading issue should be corrected, in which case the curtain drain could be covered. If for some reason it cannot be corrected, (or this is actually a gravel filled trench drain) then the gravel should be left exposed. It will also need to be maintained so that it does not get clogged with silt and other material carried in surface runoff.

In summary, the proper surface treatment depends on the intended purpose(s) of the drain.


Replacing Framing Question I was replacing some water damaged siding (see first pic) and noticed that the bottom 2x4 was a little rotted as well (see second pic). It doesn't appear to be load bearing. Do I need to replace the full board, or can I cut out the bad and connect it? Lastly what wood would I use to replace this with regular 2x4 (white wood) or would I use weather treated, or something else

Judging from the photo, that rot seems superficial and as long as you prevent future water infiltration it may be fine to leave it.

I would take a small nail and see how deep the rot is at several different points. Unless it is severe (i.e., maybe 1/3 or more through the wood?) it is probably OK to leave it.


What is the best way to fill finishing nail holes on door and floor trim? There have been a couple of similar questions but none for my exact usage or that provides a good answer.  I consider myself average to weak on finishing wood work so would like to hear some good input.

Let's assume that the floor or door trim is either poplar or pine (wood I usually use).  And let's also assume that it will be painted white.

I usually use a wood putty to fill the finishing nail/staple hole.  However I run across two minor issues.

the wood putty dries smaller leaving an indention.  Sometimes this is not noticeable for months
even when being careful and wiping the surround area, there seems to be some noticeable putty remnants near the filled holes

So just looking for any tips/secrets in getting a perfect finish on white wood.

Update:  Over the next couple of days I will go wood putty (using ecnerwal's advice) vs. spackle to see what turns out the best.  Any other fillers to try?

Less wiping.

More time before sanding.

Unless you go to something extreme like epoxy putty, it all shrinks. If you leave the filler proud of (sticking above) the hole, let it cure fully, and then sand it down, it should work. In extreme cases you may need to refill and let that cure, but that's adding more time to the program which is probably not good for you. If you scrape it flat to the hole, it will shrink below the hole. Without adding any overall time to your program, I'd save sanding for the next day just before painting, at least. Excess putty near the hole will come off with a sanding block (and if you don't use a block, that can also promote divots) - since you specified that you are painting over, filler beyond the hole should make no appearance difference if it's allowed to cure and sanded flat.

If the building is not fully heated when applying the filler, or is heated but is dumping a huge amount of water from fresh drywall work (or unvented construction heaters), that may affect the curing time of the filler product negatively.

I have personally had better luck with "modern" "lightweight" filler compounds than with "wood putty containing actual wood fibers" (which, inherently, shrink quite a bit, because they are wet wood fibers...) - the fact that the nailholes are glaring white .vs. the wood surface does not matter if you are painting over them. Given that you are (I gather) in a production/professional capacity, probably best to run some experiments with different fillers and schedules and see what works best for you.


Drain pipe under sink separated, how to fix? What would be the best way of reattaching this pipe?

Found some of this product in the tool cabinet, would it be appropriate to use here?

It looks like the tail corroded away, unscrew the nut and take the short pice of pipe to a plumbing store or even a big box and replace both of them.  I would probably replace the  trap also it may break when you start moving it , a trap and the tail piece nuts seals and all will probably be under 20$ for plastic maybe 15$ .For a complete kit in a bag.


Outlet tester shows "open ground" on GFCI outlet I used a standard three-lamp outlet tester on an GFCI outlet, and it shows "open ground".  Should I be worried?

This is not a special "GFCI tester"; it's just an ordinary plug-in three-lamp receptacle tester.  I have tried multiple GFCI outlets throughout my house, and some of them show "correct", but two show "open ground".  I'm not sure whether to be concerned about that.

My impression is that GFCI outlets are sometimes used in places where there is no true ground available.  So, this makes me guess that the outlet tester might indeed show "open ground" on such an outlet, and that it won't be a
problem.  Is this correct?

(If it's relevant, these are pre-2016 GFCI outlets.)

You are correct, GFCI receptacles can be used to replace old 2-prong receptacles when there's no grounding conductor.   If your home is old enough, you might assume that there is no ground at the receptacle.  However, if you want to know for sure, you'll have to inspect the wiring inside the box.

A properly functioning GFCI receptacle, can provide ground-fault protection without a grounding conductor.  So as long as you're not plugging in high-end audio/video equipment (or anything that requires surge protection), you're probably okay.

As @Harper mentions. Press the Test button on the GFCI, and make sure it trips and resets properly.  Repeat this test every month, as these are likely not GFCIs that self test.


Ceiling Fan lights turn off on their own w/ a Twist A search brought up similar questions  but my situation involves a ceiling fan w/ lights that operates via a battery powered remote.
This fan is on a circuit that previously had a total of three switches (master bedroom). One of the switches was taken out of the equation during the fan install (numerous years ago), but over the past 12 mos. or so, the lights go off by themselves. I have always used 4 CFL bulbs, which are fairly low wattage, originally without problem.
Sometimes  the lights go out after being on for less than five minutes, other times they stay on for 30 minutes or more before being "extinguished".  I have never noticed if the fan operation is affected the same way.  What gets the lights back on is switching the two regular light switches in some order/sequence, which I haven't figured out, but the lights tend to eventually go out again w/o using the remote.
As far as I can remember, the original lighting didn't have any problems, and the fan/light fixture has worked okay for the first few years.

It’s hard to tell for sure but if it was working normally until recently I’d say the electronics for the remote control receiver are failing.
You can bypass the remote unit and connect one of the wall switches directly to the light kit. You can keep using it that way or replace the remote and receiver with a universal ceiling fan remote control kit.


Primed wood and painted with white paint but looks yellow. Why and how to fix? I have a new door that was installed a year ago. The frame is raw wood and I didn't paint it until recently. The wood is basically untreated. It hasn't been exposed to water much because it is under a shallow roof.

I primed it one time then painted it with a water based white paint the next day. As I was painting I noticed that there was a yellow tint on painted wood. (The paint is actually a year old too).

When the paint dried the yellowing was very noticeable.

Why did this happen? Was it the wood or the year old paint?

How do I rectify?  I primed it again today and the yellowing is mostly gone. I can see a slight hint of it. I will probably prime another coat tomorrow.

Should I buy new white paint?

This is photo of the frame before priming and painting.

This is it after painting, discovering that it is yellowish and then priming again!
I can still tell that it is on the yellow side. You can see it compared to the white door.

I have seen primers allow wood tannins to bleed through, I use a schellac probably misspelled but standard primers being water based allows the oils in the wood to bleed through. I have used zinser and kilzs with success over wood and rooms that had smokers to stop the bleed through.


Can a single pole (normal/regular) circuit breaker be used in spots designated for tandem? I recently purchased a house that failed inspection because of some oversized breakers. Of course, I had the seller get the circuit breaker fixed before finalizing the purchase, but I feel it is important for me to understand some basics around my circuit breaker. Mostly around 15 amp and 20 amp breakers and their correct cabling requirements. And also double pole vs tandem single pole vs "normal/regular" single pole.

So far this is what I've gathered from all the reading I've done:

A 20 amp circuit requires 12 gauge cabling, and can support a 20 amp outlet or 15 amp outlet (as long as there is more than one outlet)
A 15 amp circuit can use 14 or 12 gauge cabling, and can only support a 15 amp outlet
A double pole circuit takes up 2 spots on the circuit breaker for a total of 240v. Amperage may vary depending on the specific circuit you put in and the required cable gauge will be affected as well
A single pole tandem circuit can go into a circuit breaker only where the circuit breaker designates spots for it.
A single pole (normal/regular) circuit can go in spots designated for them

Questions

Can a single pole (normal/regular) circuit breaker be used in spots designated for tandem? Almost like backward compatible; the circuit breaker can accept normal/regular or tandem. You typically use normal/regular until you need to upgrade to tandem?
What does it mean that the circuit breaker was oversized?
I probably frustrated you calling it a normal/regular circuit, what is it actually called?
Are there are other general rules I should know?

Please correct me on anything that I think I am correct on, but actually was not correct. Also, I know one of my circuits at the bottom are flipped, I will be looking into that soon.

Can a single pole (normal/regular) circuit can in spots designated for tandem?

I have to retract my earlier answer to this question.  I had bad information.  Yes, standard breakers can go in tandem permitted slots.

Almost like backward compatible; the circuit breaker can accept normal/regular or tandem. You typically use normal/regular until you need to upgrade to tandem?

You use tandem to save space and run extra circuits when you have no more room in the box.  It's faster and easier than setting up a sub-panel or putting in a larger box, but it might lead to you using more power than your box itself or main feed is rated for.

What does it mean that the circuit breaker was oversized?

That the breaker allowed more amperage than the wire could support.  If you run a 20A breaker over 15A wire you can end up causing a fire.

I probably frustrated you calling it a normal/regular circuit, what is it actually called?

A circuit breaker.  The language you used is fine.

Are there are other general rules I should know?

This is really too broad to answer...  we don't know what you DON'T know.


How Do I Power A 220 Water Heater Off Two 110 Breakers First off I know this is not the best idea.

To start my 200 Amp Main has suffered a partial failure and as it is old (60s) and unusual it will be very hard or impossible to replace it. Since the main breaker has failed only half of my breakers are working as only one of the hot lines from it is supplying power to the breaker box and so basically every other breaker is working.

This means of course that any double pole breakers will not work.

I need to wire up my water heater (18.8 Amp) using two 110 breakers.

Can anyone explain to me how to do this for a quick fix as my real fix will require a complete new breaker box and so on.

You cannot get 220VAC from one leg in your panel. You must have two isolated 120VAC legs to do this. Using two single pole breakers on one leg will still only give you 120VAC.

Why can't you have the main breaker replaced? You should be able to buy a replacement breaker without replacing the whole panel.  Also, have you tried manually setting the magnets in the main breaker? This is done by removing it and slamming it hard down on all axis. This will sometimes physically reset the magnets in their proper position within the breaker and restore normal operation. They can sometimes be jarred out of position when tripped. But since you have to remove the breaker to do this trick, you might as well replace it with a fresh new one.


How do I wire two separate 3-way circuits from the same power source? I have a switch box that has two 3 ways to control two different sets of lights 1 set in the hallway and 1 set in the living room and both of these sets have their own 3 way switch located in different locations but connected by 14/3 wire the power and both sets of lights are brought into the same box all with 14/2 wire.

The problem is I believe I have the wires crossed as when I turn the lights off at either of the different 3-way locations I have no control at the original switch box where the power and lighting wire is located.

How do I supply power to both 3-way circuits from the single power source?

Here's a typical three-way switch with power to the switch box:

You'll do just that. With the second circuit, the neutral (white) simply nuts with the others.

For the hots (black), add two pigtails to the source hot and run one to each switch, just as you normally would. Easy peasy.


What paint should I use over decorator's caulk so that it matches the surrounding area? I have some overzealous use of decorator's caulk that I wish to paint over. However when I paint over it, it comes up cracked, and more importantly a darker shade so it's obvious.

What type of paint should I be buying to paint over it?

The caulk mentioned in your comment appears to be a typical latex "painters caulk". It should accept paint just fine, with no bleed-through. I'm not sure what's happening in your case.

I'd get a quart of a high-grade primer such as a Zinsser product. There are plenty of good ones. Cover just the caulk and blend into the wall. Let that dry well and try your topcoat again.

If you painted over the caulk entirely you may need to use a paint remover to clean that up first.


How to repair separated rails and stiles on solid wood doors I'm refinishing solid pine wood doors in my home, the doors are original from 1940 when the home was built. After stripping multiple layers of paint, I found a few panels separated on some doors (just 2 out of 10 doors total). Here's one about 3/16" thick. Before staining/sealing, is there a simple way to fix this to avoid separation in the future? I live in N.Y., so I'm concerned about seasonal temp changes.

UPDATE, side photos showing joint gap

I have had some similar projects.  On occasion, I have been able to force glue into a joint with a glue syringe and clamp the joints together.  The key to this method is cleaning out the joint with a putty knife or something similar and clamping it tightly.

The method that has been most tried and true for me is, unfortunately, a bit more involved.  Those old solid wood doors are great and ridiculously expensive to replace with the same quality so, in my humble opinion, it is worth the effort.  Over the last 70 years the expansion and contraction you are concerned about is most likely what has separated the joints.  I would expect a door from this era has nice big mortise and tenon joints.  Work the joints apart gently until you have separated all the stiles and rails.  Clean all the old residue off the joints and use thin pieces of wood to fill in gaps to get the joints to go back together tightly if necessary.  Coat both the mortise and tenon sides with a good wood glue to and tightly clamp the doors back together.  Hopefully, this will restore the original integrity of the door by maximizing the glue surface of the joints as originally intended and perhaps they will last another 70 years.


Kitchen faucet leak worsened after O-Ring replacement My kitchen sink has a Moen model 1225 faucet, like the one pictured: .

I replaced the O-rings because of a leak around the handle (not the nozzle).

I'm wondering if I installed the O-rings incorrectly or if my faucet (~16 years old) needs to be replaced? My region has very hard water. When installing the rings, I did try applying the silicone grease to them.

The leak has gotten worse after the replacing the rings. Many times a steady stream of water will run out of the handle, although sometime rotating the handle reduces this to a trickle.

Before originally installing the rings, I soaked the faucet parts in a diluted vinegar solution until most of the mineral build up flaked off.

You might try calling Moen about it since their faucets carry a lifetime warranty. They would send you out a new o-ring at no charge.

The O-ring you got as a replacement may not be the correct size unless it came from Moen. If it is the correct size and the faucet leaks, then the faucet parts themselves may have worn out to the point that a new o-ring won't be able to fix the leak.


Old house, no Neutral coming from APS pole. Neutral vs Ground I'm installing some 110v Mini Split Air conditioners and want them on a separate breaker. The Main Panel only has 2 HOT wires coming in from the Mail Pole. The neutral wire is connected to the Ground Rod. My question is, "the Ac unit has three wires, Hot, neutral and ground. when installing the breaker, i know where the Hot wire goes but do i connect both neutral and ground to the Grounding rod or do just connect the white wire but then where do i connect the green one"? As mentioned, it's an older home but i just want to do this correctly. thanks

What comes down from the pole is actually 2 hots and a neutral. The power company does not deliver ground; you are expected to supply that yourself from your own ground rods.

We don't want neutral flying up to wild voltages (say: due to a transformer leak or something), so we clamp neutral's voltage to near ground voltage.  We do that with a neutral-ground equipotential bond in the main service panel, and ONLY there.  Everywhere else, neutral needs to be separate from ground or else bad things will happen.

So, your main panels intakes: Hot1, hot2 and neutral from the power company, plus ground from your Grounding Electrode System.   You bond the last two.  Then to your appliances you output hot, neutral, and safety ground.


Will increasing the temperature of my hot water cylinder's thermostat make my shower water supply last noticeably longer? I have an unvented electric immersion heater cylinder which heats the hot water for my household. The capacity is 200L and the temperature is set to 55°C.

The water heater is hard-wired to run overnight during cheaper off-peak hours only. This works reasonably well for most of the time, but occasionally during particularly heavy usage we find we run out of hot water by the evening so we're unable to take hot showers etc. at night.

If I increase the cylinder temperature to (e.g.) 65°C, will this effectively provide us with more "concentrated" hot water which will take longer to run out, assuming we continue to shower at the same comfortable temperature (~43°C)?

If yes, by how much longer might the hot water last?

Absolutely. It will cost you more money to run the hot water heater, but you will have usable hot water for longer. You can calculate the additional time simply as well, it's an algebra mixture problem. I hated algebra, but let's walk through the math anyway:

Let's assume your cold water is at 10°C.
You want the output to be 43°C
Your tank holds 200L.

Given the above, without replenishing the tank, how many L of 43°C water can you get?

 temp = (hl*ht + cl*ct) / (hl + cl)

substitute figures to solve for cl: (200*55)+(cl*10) / (200 + cl)
cl= 72L of cold.

So 200L+72L = 272L of 43°C before it runs out at 55°C.

Now let's solve for 65°C: (200*65)+(cl*10) / (200 + cl)
cl = 133L of cold.

So 200L+133L = 333L of 43°C before it runs out at 65°C.

Comparing 333L of hot to 272L of hot, you will get about 20-25% more hot water before it starts cooling. Of course, there's other losses; hot water cool more proportionally before the faucet, the heater looses more waste heat with hotter water, it takes longer to heat water hotter, affecting the recharge rate, etc.

Using an online cost estimator, it looks like you'll spend 33% more money to get 25% more hot water.


Where to install an atmosphereic vacuum breaker for my fire pit spigot I installed an underground water supply to a hose spigot near my fire pit on my property, and I'm trying to determine where to install the vacuum breaker.  I understand it needs to be installed at the highest point, and since my property slopes uphill toward the fire pit and the spigot rises out of the ground on a post, the highest point would be at the spigot itself.  That's where I should install it, correct?  I was initially thinking the vacuum breaker needs to be where the copper pipe exits the home where it transitions to a polyethylene pipe because I thought that water held in the poly pipe might be the kind that I wouldn't want to back-flow if a siphon were to form.  However, that would mean I'd need to route the plumbing at that point so it juts out of the ground higher than the elevation of my fire pit spigot, i.e. 5 or 6 feet, which would look ridiculous.

Can someone please confirm or correct my thinking on this?

I have always put a vacuum breaker at the faucet. It would be silly to put it at the house, the water would drain from the line every time turned off if properly installed. The vacuum breaker prevents a hose from sucking up ground water contaminating the supply. So as long as the breaker is at the faucet or part of the faucet and it is higher than the outlet you would meet the reason for the vacuum breaker in towns I have lived That were connected to city water this met there requirements.


How do I secure "hanging" front facing pavers? I have a stone walkway and steps up to my front door, and the front facing pavers/stones on the top step have come loose yet again.  When I put them back up, in order to have them flush at the top of the stair, there is about 1/2 in gap on the bottom.  It looks fine, but I think the lack of support on the bottom is causing these things to repeatedly fall down.

Should I just find some slightly larger pavers?  Or should I build up the bottom layer with something to offer support?  If I did this I think I would only want it in the back so it was not visible.  Or should I try the same approach with some possibly better adhesive (any recommendations here?) and convince my 4 year old daughter to stop standing directly on these "hanging" stones?

Try the Gorilla Ultimate Construction Adhesive. Your four year old will be grown up before you know it and won't be a problem anymore. Good luck.


Can Teflon thread tape be reused? I need to take off my shower head for cleaning and possible replacement.

I can see there is Teflon tape on the fitting where the head connects to the arm. When I reconnect the head, can I reuse the existing tape? Do I wrap an extra layer around the existing tape? Or do I need to go ahead and completely remove and replace the existing tape?

You should remove the tape and replace it, a small roll at a big box store is less than a dollar.


Tiling on a wooden floor I'm currently working on tiling my bathroom but because of water damage the floor has distorted.

The subfloor is chipboard and is crowning up to 7mm.

How do I go about levelling the wooden floor before starting to tile?

7mm (~0.28 in) is quite a bit of crowning, more than can be absorbed by the thinset bed you'll set your cement board in.  You'll need to level the floor before you can continue, which you already know.

Dealing with crowning is tricky because you need to raise the rest of the floor to be level. You can use a self-leveling compound or similar skimcoat to raise the floor but that can be expensive if doing a large area at such a thickness.  You can also get 1/4" (6mm) OSB and glue and screw pieces in the low areas, then use the leveler or skim coat to finish the job.  That will save some money since OSB is usually much less expensive per square foot than leveling mortar.

You might know this already, but for the sake of others who come here looking for help:

Do not put tile directly on a wooden subfloor

Wood, even subfloor, moves with changes in temperature and humidity.  Tile does not.  Adhering tile directly to a wooden subfloor will usually result in the tile popping free after a while.  To prevent this, we trowel out a bed of thinset, lay cement board (which does not move), and then thinset the tile to the cement board. This decouples the tile from the wooden floor and gives it a stable surface to support it.  There are other decoupling systems available, such as Schluter DITRA, but they all have the same purpose.


Changing roof truss diagonal to vertical I've got a roof with a few diagonal trusses like the blue one in this diagramme:

I want to remove the BLUE truss and replace it with the RED truss, because we're adding some loft storage and currently have to climb over the blue trusses to move around.
Three important notes:

The right most vertical beam ends above a wall, whereas the proposed red beam would end only on the supporting beam.
The truss supports lightweight roof sheeting in tin or aluminium. There's nothing else on the roof.
I live in South Africa, where there's some wind and some rain, but no snow.

Is there anything very critical I should beware of, or should I avoid doing this entirely?

Is there anything very critical I should beware of, or should I avoid doing this entirely?

Yes, you should be aware that the roof truss wasn't haphazardly designed by someone on a Friday at 4:59 PM.
A lot of engineering went into your trusses so unless you're an engineer then I would suggest you do not alter the webs.


Is raceway wiring allowed in a bathroom? I need to re-wire my bathroom (I live in Oregon, USA), and for various reasons, it would be much easier to install raceway than to try and get everything wired through the walls/ceiling. Is raceway wiring in a bathroom allowed?

The raceway would only be about 10' length total, running from a double wall switch about 6' up to the ceiling and then down to a light and then another 3' over to a through-the-wall exhaust fan.

The electrical outlet will be GFCI, 20amp, on a totally different circuit running inside the wall. So that's not an issue.

There is nothing in the NEC that prohibits the installation of surface raceway (metal or nonmetallic) in even a damp or a wet location provided the conductors inside are rated for said damp or wet location.

That said, many AHJs do not consider the area outside of the shower zone to be a damp location to begin with.  So, go ahead with the raceway -- just remember to use a wire (such as THWN) suitable for a damp or wet location when running wires inside the raceway.


Do you tape kraft faced insulation? So I am going to use 12" R-38 kraft (paper) faced fiberglass insulation in my attic.  I plan on face stapling the paper to the bottom chord of each truss.  I imagine most of the seams sideways where stapled will overlap.

My question is since I am working with batts 48" long...should I tape the seams where each one meets?  The paper facing is to serve as my ceiling VB.

Yes, you tape any insulation's lateral seams, especially any fluffy stuff...aluminum HVAC tape lasts the longest. The fluffy stuff really only works best in dead air space. Which also means the un-faced side (where you don't tape anything). If there's a good swap of air or you can feel a breeze when it's windy out, you'll want to seal that out.

1/4" Rigid Foam boards are good for this as they'll seal out most air movement, but still allow humidity to escape into the venting. I think they still have them, the accordion style works very well if you have a number of larger open areas within the truss structure. Otherwise, get the same size as your batts & just put the foam on top.


Mounting Full Motion Mount on a Single Stud I've seen this question regarding a sheet metal stud, but my plan and situation are a bit different.

I am curious if ananyone thinks this sounds secure:
I have a full motion flat screen wall mount for "up to 70 in." televisions. My tv is 50 inches and weighs approximately 50 lbs. The mount weighs maybe 15 lbs and is only 16 inches long (studs over my fireplace are 22 inches apart). There is however, one stud directly in the center.

Is it safe to attach the mount to the single stud with two 2.5 inch lag bolts at the top and bottom center, and 100 lb rated drywall anchors on all four corners?

Toggles and other heavy weight drywall anchors can be suitable for TV mounts when the mount is flush. Or toggles in to metal studs. Since the load is mostly shear and not pull-out, this is fairly safe. (Provided the drywall is thick enough, the anchors are installed correctly, the wall is properly supported, and lots of other considerations too numerous to go in to here.)

However, adjustable, articulating or arm mounts should never be used on just drywall or metal studs. No matter what anchor you use, drywall and metal studs can not handle the pull out force applied when a TV is extended or tilted away from the wall.

So either get a flush mount, or open the drywall and install appropriate wooden studs.


How should I prepare a plywood subfloor for floating vinyl plank flooring? The floor of my laundry room was three layers of hideous vinyl flooring of various vintages, a layer of 3/4" plywood underlayment (to match the height of the vinyl to surrounding hardwood flooring) and a subfloor of diagonal 1x6ish planks.

I removed the vinyl and replaced the rotting plywood. Now I'll cover the plywood with interlocking vinyl plank flooring of this type. The instructions are written for covering an existing flooring material, so they don't address preparation of the subfloor.

Although the vinyl planks are waterproof, it doesn't seem right to lay them on bare plywood, particularly in the laundry room. How should the plywood be prepared? I think I'll just paint with Kilz 2 and caulk gaps and seams.

I'd question how waterproof you need this to be. Will there routinely be water sitting on the floor? If not, you may be over-engineering things.

That said, off the top of my head, one option for waterproofing the subfloor would be to paint on Redgard:

It's a 'paint on' waterproofing membrane that you'd typically use behind tiles on cement board and the like.


Kitchen cupboard replacement hinges too close: How to fix? I've replaced the hinges on my kitchen cabinet doors because the spring in the old ones broke.  I've used these as they were closest to the old hinge type.

Unfortunately, the two cupboard doors are now too close together and won't close. Even if I use the adjustments on the new hinges, the doors are still too close together. The overlap seems to be slightly over 6mm / a quarter of an inch.

I'm thinking I might have to inlay where the new hinges are mounted to the cupboard frame, but this seems a bit drastic.

Are there any better ideas?

If your doors are overlapping, you simply need another set of hinges with a larger overlay. The hinges in the link are 1/2" overlay and if that is what you are using there, you need to get a set of hinges with a 3/4" overlay. These are also known as "full overlay" hinges


Broken push to close latch, drawer closed How can I open a push to open latch drawer stuck closed by a faulty latch?
Can anybody please provide me with some tips/tricks and advice as to how I may go about opening the drawer? It is full, I have no access to the mechanism from back, below or either side, drawer fully encased by cabinetry. The rails are on the side of the drawer, not able to push it anywhere to open. I have not been able to find any solutions online. Very frustrating!!
Thank you all.

Most of this style I have installed are magnetic. If you can’t get a finger behind it a screwdriver may be needed to pop it open.


How many lumens are there in one watt? I have a problem to sale electric lamp and LED bulb. So I want to know how many lumens equal to how many watts?

This depends completely upon what method is used to convert the electrical energy into light.  Is it an old Edison bulb (incandescent), florescent, LED, something else?

It will also vary significantly within each type.  Not all LED bulbs are equally efficient.  There simply isn't any direct conversion.  You need to check the specs for the specific bulbs you are comparing.


Is this ceiling fan going to fall and cut off my head? Would you trust this fan? Do you know how can I tell if it's secure?

I can't see how the canopy is attached to the ceiling. No screws are visible.

I pushed up on the rod, and the ball nestled into place a centimeter higher than it was before. Something seems fishy about that.

I removed the canopy and looked under the hood.
Video clip: https://streamable.com/gyucdv
Note the frayed wire.

Two screws, connecting the socket to something above it, were loose. I tightened them as much as I could. (This took 50+ turns of the screwdriver each. They were very loose.)
The socket and canopy are now flush with the ceiling.

However, the fan still wobbles and rattles.

Is this ceiling fan going to fall? There is nothing in the photo that tells me a fall is about to happen, but the installation looks poor, and I think you need to get under that cover.
Will it cut your head off? No, if the physical support let’s go, it will dangle by it’s wiring like a wounded buzzard, but probably give you time to get clear. A bonk with a thin piece of wood is the worst you are in for.
Would I trust this fan? No. The installation is poor and I’m concerned the true support (the socket) is also poorly installed. The cover you see does not provide support.

Ceiling fans use a ball and socket system, the ball is what you see in your photo. The socket is under the cover and it is usually screwed into a connection box, and that connection box should be firmly supported. The fan is heavy.
How can you tell if it’s secure? That cover should unscrew and drop down. That will let you see how the socket is supported.
.
Ok, sounds like you are not getting a solid hold with the screws. A retrofit (or old work) ceiling fan brace is the way to go. This video shows you the process, don’t have to buy theirs, there are a lot to choose from. You will have to take the fan down and disconnect it from the wiring, but that’s probably a good idea at this point, kind of a mess up there.
https://youtu.be/Hf-qKY2bRlo


Converting Diverter-Tee System to Loop I have an old house (~130 years) that has a hydronic baseboard system installed. The heating system is improperly plumbed: the 1st floor thermostat controls half the heating on the first floor and half the heating on the second. The second floor thermostat controls the other half of both floors.

I'd like to fix it.

The current system seems to use diverter-tees. More importantly, not all of the piping running to the baseboards are the same size. I didn't measure exactly, but I think most of it is 3/4", and some is 1/2".

Can I simply cut out the existing system and connect all the baseboards together in series? Will the different pipe sizes cause significant issue?

My rough plan is to split the floors into two loops each, so that I don't end up with cold water at one end up of the loop.

The system you describe is a "monoflo" system. They work pretty well when installed correctly. It sounds as though yours is installed correctly. If you want individual control in each piece of radiation you could add rad valves to each radiator piece. If you are not well versed in this, I would seek professional help so you don't change something that is very costly to fix. Add to your original question so that we all have an idea just what you are trying to accomplish. There are any number of changes and improvements you can do. None are easy or cheap or quick. Please indicate what you are trying to do.


Can I replace 4" fiberglass batts with thicker ones in my attic? We live in an early 1970s ranch style house. Single story. Attic formed by 2x4 trusses on 24 inch centers. The insulation is R13 batt laid on top of the ceiling drywall but this has been removed in some areas such as over the kitchen by a prior owner.

I am planning to replace the batts room by room with R30 or thicker batts. Is there any problem with doing so? The insulation will be higher than the 2 x 4 and there would be a small gap between batts due to the trusses.

Could I also lay additional unfaced batts perpendicular to the batts in the truss bays over the R30 batts? There would be some compression.

I did some searching in the forum and did not see a set of similar questions although What's the best way to insulate an attic with 2x4 joists? is close.

Loose fill would work over the bedroom and kitchen areas, but the living room has a cathedral ceiling so batts would seem to be the best choice there.

I'm not an expert in this area but this is what I would do. If the ceiling joists are only 2x4s I would not use batts that are higher than the joists themselves and then run the additional batts perpendicular. This would leave a significant gap allowing hot/cold area to infiltrate from the sides. I would just put in the R13 in the empty bays and then run the R30 perpendicular to this. This way you have no air gaps.

If you blew in you would eliminate all this and actually get better coverage and fill then you would with batt insulation. If you don't mind paying for someone to blow in, they would be done in a few hours and the blow in type I've had done isn't itchy so if you go up in the attic and need to push it around you aren't feeling like all prickly later. I have a two story so I had to go up in the attic with a small leaf rake to clear some of the eave vents. Since you are single story you may be able to take a leaf blower and blow any insulation from the vents from the outside.


How does one transition from two layers of drywall? I am in the process of finishing my garage. Common walls with the house have two layers of drywall: ~1/2" and 5/8". Is there a cheap and aesthetically pleasing way to transition to one layer of 5/8" for the remainder of the wall or will the whole wall have to be 1-1/8" thick? I could install OSB behind the drywall which would be nice for hanging stuff; however, it's pretty expensive right now.

Why not just rip the 1/2" OSB into 1-1/2 wide strips to use as shims, and attach them to the edge of the wall studs?


How can I build a subpanel off a 3 prong 220V dryer outlet? I have an unused 220V, 3 prong (2-conductor) dryer outlet in my garage and would like to convert that into 2 110V supplies to some overhead lights and a ceiling outlet for a garage door opener. How do I split that 30A 220V supply into a couple of different 110V 15A circuits? I don't expect any more than a couple hundred watts of intermittent load per circuit.

Depends how much work you want to do. The simplest approach given: " I don't expect any more than a couple hundred watts of intermittent load per circuit."

Is to convert it to a single 120V circuit at 20 amps, 2400W capacity; (or 15A, depending what the total expected wattage actually is) that happens to have vastly oversized wires. Replace the dual-pole 30A breaker with a single pole 20A breaker, use one of the hots (retagged green) to ground, [or retagged white to neutral if the current "neutral" wire is already at the main panel ground/neutral buss and it's more convenient to make THAT one the "green/ground" wire] change the receptacle, perhaps add a few boxes connected with at least 12Ga copper to house some additional outlets, away you go.

Now, if it's easy to run a ground wire, (or by some miracle the cable actually has one already, unused) you can do that and convert to a 4-prong, and then my answer in the "near duplicate" linked above applies. Several other options were provided that ignored that poster's desire not to do anything in the panel - if you are OK doing things in the panel, they also apply if you like them better. You could replace the receptacle with a sub-panel, for instance.


Why are some of my string of LED lights dimmer than the rest? I have an outdoor LED light chain, which consists of two parts.
This morning when I got up the second part of the LED chain had begun glowing very faintly (see image). The first part of the chain (which is nearest to the plug) is fine.
None of the bulbs are dead (as far as I can tell)
I checked the plug connecting the two parts and it looks dry. I measured the voltage across the plug and found 220 volts.
Does anyone know what is going on? And, more importantly, can this be repaired?

The product is from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Festive-Lights-ConnectPro-Outdoor-Festoons/dp/B06ZY6PFSY
The lamps are wired from the mains to a transformer of sorts. There is no information on the transformer (or whatever the thing is). There is a label on the on the cabel itself that reads: Lamp spec. 10 buldbs (LED) per 3V, max 20mA. The plug that connects the two segments has two prongs. Everthing is connected to 220V mains. I measured 220V on the plug that connects the two segments.
Below is a picture of the plug the LED chain uses.

EDIT No. 2:
Below is a photo of the connector that connects the two strands of lights.
The bulbs are sadly integrated so I cannot remove them from their sockets.

EDIT No. 3:
I tried swapping out the strands and as expected the dim strand still  didn't work. My old man then suggested I leave the defect strand in the boiler room overnight to 'dry out'. I did that and then it worked again. When I hung the strand again I could see water inside two of the bulbs. Many thanks to all that replied to my question!

With the help from Peter Duniho I tried reversing the strands and found that the problem persisted. My dad then suggested I put the defective strand in the boiler room to dry it out in case water had gotten in the circuit.
I left the strand for 30 hours and tried it again and it worked!
When I hung the chain again I could see water in two of the bulbs.
Many thanks to the people that provided helpful suggestions!


Wall sound proofing - hanging rows of sound proof "curtains" The building's structure is concrete, as is the floor/roof. The wall to my neighbor is brick; so a lot of noise comes through - TVs, crying babies etc.

I've seen a number of options for constructing various wooden frames with layers of sound insulation; but am wondering if just hanging "curtains" of sound isolation foam could work well. The wall in question is pictured below, and the columns on each side are concrete. Discussions of wooden frames have various approaches to decoupling the sound isolation from the wall being soundproofed - and using curtains seems like a good way to tackle this to me.

Of course; if I ever wanted to use the wall as a wall; I would need a final frame + drywall; but there is enough space to put these on the outside of the concrete pillars.

Any thoughts; comments; suggestions welcome

Thanks
Brent

Sound isolation foam doesn't work like that. It's designed to remove reverb, not block sounds. What you want are "soundproof curtains". These are designed to be heavy curtains that can actually block sound. Basically anything else with mass will have similar effects, but these are a good way to block off the entire wall. You mount them the same way you would mount regular curtains, though with more attention paid to weight. If you have a bunch of books, sticking your bookcases against that wall would also help.

Doing this correctly basically involves opening up the wall and decoupling your apartment from your neighbor's. I'll assume that isn't an option.


Is it legal and safe to have an electrical breaker panel installed outside of an external wall of a single family home in Ontario Canada? Searched multiple sites but could not find the answer to the question if it is legal and safe to have an electrical breaker panel installed outside of an external wall of a single family home in Ontario Canada.

There are plenty of panels which are UL listed for outdoor use; that's what NEMA 3R is.

However, the outdoor environment is tougher on panel components.  For instance GFCI and AFCI breakers will have a much shorter service life outside.   The threats are dust and moisture (mostly via condensation).

It has been suggested to me that placing a rather small heater inside a panel can help drive off condensation, but of course will cost a small amount of money (typically $1 per watt per year) and will alarm anyone who looks at your panel with an infrared camera (normally warm panels are a BAD thing).

One option is to put the main breaker outside and the rest of the service panel(s) inside.

If this is part of a recent trend to eradicate all utility spaces from a home, I think that trend will backfire.  Houses have utilities (unless you're Amish).  Utilities need maintenance.


Ikea Maximera in other cabinet; exact dimensions? I’d like to use IKEA Maximera drawers a cabinet in my current (non-IKEA) kitchen. Without just buying them and hoping for a fit, I’m wondering how precise my cabinet needs to be to match for it to hope to work.

To be more specific, IKEA has the following data:

Width: 36.4 cm
Frame, width: 40.0 cm
Depth: 54.2 cm
Height: 7.8 cm
Frame, depth: 60.0 cm

Whereas my cabinet is 39.5cm wide and 59cm deep. Am I out of luck or are the IKEA dimensions slightly conservative?

I know this is 9 months old, but thought it worth mentioning to others that might find it, because the selected answer above is incorrect.

The "frame width" that IKEA is referring to is actually the outer dimension of the IKEA frame / cabinet (Metod in Australia). The cabinets are 18mm thick, leaving an internal width of 364mm.
That is precisely the width of the Maximera drawer.

Since your internal width is 395mm, (31mm wider), you should use a timber strip / moulding of 16mm on either side. 1mm difference won't matter.

I just fitted 80x60 maximera drawers to an 80cm custom cabinet (slightly oversized at 82cm). I used 67x11mm mouldings either side and it's perfect.


Rust in stainless steel? The screw eyes in the pic are stainless steel. The wire rope is galvanized steel supposedly.

As you can see, the screw eyes have brown where it touches the corroding wire rope.

does the screw eyes have rust or is is something I can clean once I replace the wire rope with stainless wire rope?

The screw eyes are not rusting. That's staining from the steel rope which i doubt is galvanized. The rust stains will come off with a little emery paper rub.


With self drilling screw should I use a drill or a driver? I need to affix some sheet metal using self drilling screws like the ones below. I have drill/driver with variable torque. What should I use for drilling/driving that? At first I'm drilling, but later I'm driving, should I use some torque setting? Should I go full speed in drill mode?

I'm worried because if I go full speed I might strip the metal, and I just use some torque setting I might not be able to drill the sheet.

No matter what drill or tool you use to set a self tapping screw, take it easy. Turn the screw at a moderate to slow speed through the entire process. Once the self tap "drills" through the metal the screw then begins to screw in. After only a few revolutions the screw will be set. If you are really spinning  the screw you can easily strip out the hole.


Can I use a dimmer with the light in my ceiling fan I almost never use the fan, and I don't care about using a dimmer for the fan speed.  I just want to be able to dim the light.

There are three wires.  One is black going to the bottom of the switch, one white going to the top, and a second white wire at the top of the switch wrapped around a screw but not plugged into it.

Most fans have different wiring for high medium and low many times with a pull chain or remote. A dimmer could cause the fan not to work correctly and may cause overheating and damage to the dimmer and fan itself.


Help getting a consistent stain across different types of wood I'm working on a project with a few different types of wood and I'm struggling to get a consistent stain across them. They're all pine, but the troublesome piece is plywood.

I'm using minwax pre-stain and minwax wood finish, both oil-based, and I'm not doing additional sanding beforehand -- not sure if any of those are factors. I've also been leaving the stain on the same amount of time for all the pieces (~10 minutes).

Any advice on getting a more consistent look?

After one coat:

After two coats:

This will still take some experimentation.

Plywood will always take the stain harder than solid wood. If you are using conditioner on the plywood only, that is a good start. You will definitely need to sand the plywood over the original, in one direction. The sanding from the producer is too coarse and will make the stain take darker besides the dryness of the veneer from the laminating process.

Start with 120G and do a sample with the conditioner and maybe that will do it, A finer grit, up to 220, maybe what you need to go to. be sure to sand with the grain.

A tip to insure complete sanding is lightly mark the top with a pencil and sand until the marks are gone, that will have the same scratch pattern everywhere. progerss your sanding with 100g 150g, then 220g


New Home: daily, random, multiple AFCI breakers tripping We have a brand new home in Puget Sound which we moved into 2 months ago. We are plagued with constant, random, tripping of multiple AFCI breakers on a daily basis.
Some days, just two or three breakers will trip.  Other days, we’ve had as many as 7, 8, or 9 of the breakers trip throughout the course of the day.  Every one of those 19 breakers will trip at one time or another.
The load panel is Square D, and has 19 AFCI breakers on the left side.  The only correlation we can make, as far as what activity will trip breakers, is that it only happens when the American Standard TAM9 air handler/heat pump combination runs.  If the air handler/heat strip runs, and the heat pump is offline, there will be no tripping.
The builder has put responsibility for resolving this problem at the feet of the electrical contractor and the HVAC contractor.
The electrical contractor, so far, has replaced every AFCI circuit breaker in the panel twice.  He has run a new 240v load line from the service panel to the heat pump.  The electric utility company has placed recording meters on our outside meter, and the local service distribution point for the past month and has recorded no anomalies.
The electrical contractor has claimed his lines are all good, clean, and solid and says “It must be something with the HVAC installation.”
The HVAC contractor has replaced the entire system, piecemeal over the past month.  First it was the heat strip, then it was the heat pump, and this past week, they put in a new air handler, thermostat wire, and thermostat.
The daily, frequent, random tripping of breakers continues, and the HVAC contractor says “It must be something with the electrical installation.”
The SquareD AFCI breakers  have a test button that will report the cause of a tripped breaker by pushing in the test button and switching the breaker back to ON.  If the breaker switches off after 3 seconds, it’s an arc fault.  If it switches off immediately, it’s a ground fault.
Every time I’ve gone through this test process, the breaker responds with an immediate ground fault response.  Every time...ground fault.
Last Friday we had two tech’s from American Standard come out, accompanied by the electrical contractor, the HVAC contractor, and the builder.  They spent 3 ½ hours testing, looking, and testing some more.  At the end, they were all standing outside in a circle, scratching their heads and saying “I’ve never seen this before.”
Meanwhile, my wife and I are at our wits end.  My understanding of electrical matters can fit in a thimble, but ground fault, to me, must mean something in the electrical system.
I am told that our entire home’s concrete, rebar reinforced foundation IS the earth ground for the home’s electrical system.   The footprint the foundation is 70’ X 40’.
Is there such a thing as “too much” earth ground?  Could it be that the complexity of all that rebar is creating some kind of ground loop that feeds back to the panel.  Could it be that the ultimate path to earth ground is defective?
I don’t know, and the electrical contractor tells me that, as far as his tests can show, there is absolutely no problem with the electrical system.
I would really appreciate any knowledgeable insight on this because, all I have thus far, is watching a circular gunfight between the builder, electrical, HVAC, and American Standard.
So far, they are all shooting blanks.
Thank you, in advance, for any thoughts!

Your grounds are certainly not the problem.  More grounding is better, and an Ufer ground tied into the foundation is the best there is.
19 AFCI breakers, eh? And people wonder why we say "Go BIG" when buying service panels. They're all on the left side, but that doesn't indicate anything special - for instance they're not all on the same "leg".  If every other row of breakers was tripping and not the others, that would be interesting, but I'm sure you would have mentioned that.
A marvel of compact tech
A semi-modern "AFCI" breaker has 3 detection modes of interest to us today.

Overcurrent -- you are pulling significantly more than 20 amps (which itself has 2 modes, but that's irrelevant here).
Arc Fault - a small computer with a digital signal processor is listening to the electric line, for that characteristic sound of arcing - that "crinkle crunch" sound you get when plugging in headphones, or headphones with a bad connection, or hooking up speakers with the amplifier turned on.  This is listening for series arc faults (inline with the load on hot or neutral), or a parallel (shorting) arc fault between hot and neutral.
Ground fault - this is a weakened form of "GFCI", closer to a "GFPE" or a European "RCD".  Not good enough for human safety, but an effective way to detect parallel (shorting) arc faults hot-ground or neutral-ground, e.g. a hot wire sparking to a ground wire. Those are also ground faults.

Square D's "TIME SAVER Diagnostics", available on breakers with a white or purple TEST button, will store the cause of the last trip: immediate trip means a ground-fault (meaning the AFCI's weak GFCI-section detected a hot-ground or neutral-ground fault).  A 2-second delayed trip means the computer detected the "sounds on the wire" of an arc fault.  A 5-second delay means, well, the ground- and arc-fault sections don't know why it tripped, so it must be the dumb old overcurrent breaker.
In the panel, everyone can hear you scream
The nature of the overcurrent and ground-fault tripping means that they can only trip for problems on the "Load" side of the device.
However, the "computer, listening" has a side-effect: It's listening to the "Load" side of the breaker, but the circuit breaker has very low impedance across it, and no noise filtering.  As such, the computer can "hear" arc faults on the "Line" side of the breaker, i.e. the panel's main bus.   An AFCI trip can occur from other circuits having an arc fault.
It's probably one thing
And I think that's exactly what's happening to you.  One of your circuits is arc-faulting,  and the other circuits are "hearing it" sufficiently to trip them.
It sounds like you can guess which circuit that is.
So where do we look for arc faults on a particular circuit?  Start at terminations of wires - breaker lugs, terminal screws, wire nuts - any end of any wire can be the source of the problem.  I would say replacing all the heat pump components is an expensive way to re-torque connections... but suffice it to say, any connections disturbed by this overhaul can be excluded since they've been re-torqued.
So I would focus on the connections which were not disturbed by that recent work, e.g. those on the breaker or neutral bar, or any intermediate splices.
It could be in the machine, but if the machine has been replaced, that would be surprising.
The last and remotest possibility is a broken wire - again typically that is near a termination, but it's not common at all.  It could also be a nail driven into a cable.


How to hang a projector screen from a thin horizontal part of slightly curved ceiling I have a brick wall in front of which I want to hang a projector screen. Here is an image of a typical projector screen that I am looking to buy:

The part of my ceiling near the wall is curved(the ceiling becomes horizontal only in the middle part of the room), however there is a thin horizontal part(3 inches thick/wide, where I mean thickness as the perpendicular distance of the outer tip from the brickwall, see image for clarification; the actual depth of concrete or vertical thickness is much more) of the ceiling that directly joins the wall, see the following pictures:

I don't have any DIY experience before this, so please help me go through the steps. From what I have researched on the internet, I think I should install two hangers along with S-type hooks on that 3-inch part of the ceiling using sleeve anchors, and then hang my projector screen using those two hooks. The screen should be between 15 to 20 pounds in weight. Am I correct in my basic plan? Or should I hang it from the brick wall? What kind of equipments will I need for this job?

This is a university apartment, and I would like this job to have as little damage as possible(I would ideally like to remove or at least hide/paint the screws when I leave the apartment eventually). As I said, I have not done any drilling/hanging before, and will have to buy all equipments afresh(I don't even have a driller with me), so a detailed walkthrough of the process would be much appreciated.

For a damage-free install, I would forget about screwing anything in to the wall or ceiling. Make a free-standing frame out of lumber.


What are the red streaks in my toilet occasionally? What are the red streaks in my toilet occasionally? It seems to come from where the water flows when flushing and go around the bowl. Sometimes settling in the bottom where the little bit of water lies.

This article suggests it might be a bacteria known as Serratia marcescen

  if you’ve noticed a pink or red slimy
  substance forming in your toilet bowl,
  you’re not alone.

  It is bacteria known as Serratia
  marcescens, according to Roxanne
  Johnson, North Dakota State University
  Extension Service water quality
  associate.

  You may find this bacterium in moist
  areas such as toilet bowls, sinks,
  tiles, shower stalls, bathtub
  enclosures and even your pet’s water
  dish. The bacteria will grow in places
  with materials containing phosphorus
  or fatty substances such as feces
  residues in your toilet or soap
  residue in a pet’s dish or the
  bathtub, shower and sink.

  Occasionally the pinkish film appears
  during and after new construction or
  remodeling activities. You see it more
  commonly when you have your windows
  open during the summer months.

  “I have observed this phenomenon form
  in the toilet bowl along the water
  line and at the openings where the
  water enters the toilet bowl, usually
  when I’m gone for a few days, or in my
  guest bathroom that isn’t used often,”
  Johnson says.

  “The bacteria survive there because
  the water sits for a period of time,
  with the chlorine dissipating as it
  stands,” she adds. “If you have an
  activated carbon filter on your water
  line, you are removing the chlorine
  and may be supporting the growth of
  the bacteria.”

  While the genus Serratia is not known
  to be a water-borne disease, it has
  been known to be pathogenic to some
  people, causing pneumonia, wound
  infections and urinary tract
  infections in some hospital settings.

  The bacteria are difficult to remove
  completely from your home, although
  the stains are removed easily with a
  general-purpose cleanser containing
  chlorine bleach. You also may add ¼
  cup of bleach to the toilet tank, let
  it sit for 15 to 20 minutes and then
  flush the tank a few times to remove
  all of the bleach. Do not leave bleach
  sitting in your tank because it will
  damage rubber valves and seals.

  Johnson recommends you scrub with a
  brush and household cleaner to clean
  pet bowls, kitchen surfaces and
  bathroom sinks, bathtubs and showers.
  Follow this up with a strong chlorine
  bleach solution, leaving the bleach in
  contact with the surfaces for 10 to 20
  minutes to disinfect the area. Then
  rinse well with water.

  To prevent the bacteria from
  developing, wipe down and dry all
  sinks and bathtubs after using them,
  and use a cleaning solution that
  contains bleach.


well pressure tank losing pressure My well pressure tank has this symptom... Tank cycles about every 4 minutes without any water running. checked the pressure and it is where it should be. In between cycles I can see the pressure dial going down slowly until it clicks the cycle back on again. Afraid I will burn out well pump. Checked the tank by using the drain tank method and it has 28 psi pressure in it and no water comes out when checking the pressure value. Should not be waterlogged and I need help. So HELP ME DIAGNOSE BEFORE I SPEND MONEY ON A WELL REPAIR COMPANY...PLEASE!!!

Added information...Failed to mention that we have shut the water off to the house at a shut off value at the well but it still does the same thing. Have read several articles about this and from what I can tell to this point it would seem to either be the tank bladder tear or the check value that is down in the well by the pump. Could I assume this is right? And also you are saying I am losing water from the tank...could it be the AIR? – Kevin Kings Mountain

If the pressure is going down, you're losing water somewhere.

If you have a main shut-off valve on your tank (usually between tank and rest of house) shut that:

If the pressure keeps going down, it's probably the check valve (submersible) or foot valve (jet pump), but could also be a leak in the pipe either going to or in the well.
If the pressure drop stops, there's a tap open or leak in your house somewhere.

Alternatives to a main shut-off valve are certain types of bypass valves on softeners, carbon or iron filters (the type with two valves to turn -- if you just turn one, it shuts off the water), or cartridge filters are often installed with shut-offs so you can service them.

Diagnosing interior leak

Unless you can isolate the problem to your well, go around your whole house and shut all valves (including toilets and outside taps) and inspect for any leaks.

The time of year is also a hint that you might have had a frozen pipe that burst, and has now melted and is now leaking, so you should definitely take a close look at areas near pipes on/near exterior walls and at any outside hose bibs.

Diagnosing leak in well

Almost certainly this will involve pulling the pump/foot valve out of the well. You'll have to turn off the pump and drain the pressure first.

Before you pull it, see if you can spot an obvious leak above the water line (eg, at the pitless adapter at the top). Pro tip: use a good spot-type flashlight or a mirror to reflect sunlight so you can see down.

Once you pull the pump out, inspect all the fittings for any signs of damage. By far the most common problem is the check valve at the top of the submersible pump sticking open (either spring or other parts corroded, or something actually lodged in it holding it open).

If you still haven't found anything, this starts pointing at a leak in the line going to the house, which is significantly harder to deal with (involves digging), and in worst case, involves digging the entire line up. In my experience, this will usually be:

Pipe was above frost line, and froze. If you know a spot the pipe isn't buried deeply, this is a good place to start.
Lightning strike. Lighting will travel across trees/fences/etc to get to the water/power lines on its way to that giant metal casing in the ground. Usually where it hits it'll burst the pipe open, and it'll following the most direct path possible.
Bad/broken fitting. There should only be one fitting undergound, which is at the pitless adapter where the pipe meets the casing. It's possible there's another at the entrance to the house, but it's best practice to just run lines inside and do the connections inside. It's also possible there's a coupler somewhere in the middle of the line if the installer was being lazy/cheap.


How to re-insulate space between window trim and wall? Just took off old window mouldings (need to change them) and figure I will need to better insulate the space between the window trim and the wall. The "wall" consists of:

a painted layer of thin 3mm (1/8 in) plywood or similar, followed by
2cm (3/4 inch) of styrofoam,
after which there's something more solid that crumbles easily.

All are visible on the photo from right to left: plywood, styrofoam, crumbly solid stuff, some of the pink fiberglass insulation, white window trim.

The pink fiberglass insulation was either used rather sparingly or it somehow shrank with time, so there are gaps.

What's the most appropriate course of action? Add fiberglass insulation? Remove it and spray foam into the gap? Some combination of the two? Something else altogether?

Finally, there's already this question, but it's not about the trim/wall at all.

In the case of the fibreglass, it likely looks shrunken because of the way the batting was pressed into the shim space (gap between the window and wall frame) when the window was installed. As far as insulating the window goes, you can choose to remove the batting and replace it with batting that has a better R-rating (i.e. Roxul) or fill the void with low expansion spray foam insulation (i.e. Tremco Exoair L.E.F., or Nuco PF-100) (based on methods of install provided by my window company's Install team). Combining the two would be redundant as the batt can displace the expansion area of the foam and vice versa. Either option can work well on its own.


Suggestions for leg support and edge guard for countertop I need to cut open some part of the wood countertop to allow for stacking up the washer and dryer.

For support, how can I add a leg (blue) to support the remaining counter top. I am thinking it has to be extended outward. Much like an extensible cloth hanger pole for closets. Does something like that exist as countertop leg? Another suggestion that serves the same purpose is welcome.

For aesthetics, I wonder if there is any edge guard that is recommended to cover the vertical wood part (green) and maybe around an inch along the top surface of the countertop. I would like to know what the item is called.

The stuff for the green bit is edge banding. You can also use thin strips of the laminate that the counter is topped with if you can get it, or have some stashed, so that it matches better.

The usual approach to the blue bit is to simply put a sheet of plywood there, parallel to the washer/dryer beside it - or just put a cabinet there, rather than having an open hole.

A cleat is screwed to both the countertop and the vertical plywood to make the joint.


Awning window not holding open The track and small block in an awning window was recently cleaned (by accident?), and now no longer stays open under the windows weight. Is this anything to do with a lubricant or grease which should be applied again? Any help greatly appreciated.

Only guessing, but many cleaning agents are made up of chemicals (bases) that tend to be slick which helps in most cleaning situations.  Perhaps clean the inside of the track with acetone or brake parts cleaner to remove any of the former cleaning residue.  Perhaps that will restore the friction needed to hold the awning open.


How do I fix interior and exterior doors that do not close properly? I have a couple doors in my house that are having problems.  I know that I likely have foundation problems, but I can't afford the $6000 - $10000 to have that fixed at the moment.  I need an interim solution.

First is my bedroom door.  The door meets the frame at the top at just about the midpoint of each.  When it is closed as much as possible, there is still about a 3/4" gap at the knob side of the door.  The door is pre-hung, and all of the hinge screws are firmly embedded in the door and the frame.  I tried to rehang the door, but to no avail.  I don't see an option other than to trim the top edge of the door.  Any ideas?

Second is my front door.  For a while I've had to push down to get the deadbolt to engage fully, but a few days ago, I was completely unable to lock it and had to resort to removing the strike plate.  And in the past day or so, it has progressed to the point where the knob latch isn't catching either.  I need an interim solution for this as well.

All the questions/answers I've found involve the hinge screws being loose and rebuilding the hole.  That's not the problem here.

Also, this seems to be a seasonal issue with the worst of it in the summer, but it has never been this bad.

Pictures:

This is my bedroom door closed to its fullest and the small crack that has appeared above the corner.

This is my front door.  You can see how the top edge has more space on the left (hinge side) than on the right.  Also you can see how I've removed the strike plate from the deadbolt, which reveals how it is misaligned.

Edit  As a follow-up, we had our foundation repaired this year.  That fixed all of the spacing and fit issues.  I still have an issue where the holes for the strike plate screws are stripped, but that's minor.

In both cases there is no doubt that the structure around both walls and thus the corresponding floors and foundation are moving around. Besides the door top to frame fit another real visible proof shows by the opening of the trim miter joint on the bedroom door. The crack above the door frame corner of the same door shows this too.

If this has been a progressive problem that gets steadily worse despite shorter term better/worse behavior that follows the seasons then you will be eventually faced with having to do some serious repair of the building structure. An interesting question to ask is if these two doors are being affected by the same part of the building movement?

Bedroom Door

The shortest term fix for the bedroom door is to remove the door from its frame by pulling the hinge pins. Then lay the door down flat on some saw horses so you can easily work on it. The idea is to cut a wedge shaped amount off the top of the door starting at about 1/8 to 3/16 inch at the latch side of the door and going down to nothing at the hinge side. The best way to cut this is with a circular saw using a carbide tipped blade. To make the cut straight you need to clamp a guide board across the door in an appropriate position so that the base of the saw slides against the guide board and places the blade right at the cut line of the wedge shaped cut that needs to be made. Before you make the cut wrap the whole cut area all around the door with wide masking tape that sticks down good onto the door surface. This tape will help to minimize the surface chipping of the door paint as you cut. After the cut is completed you would remove the tape and guide board. Hit the top edges of the door with some sandpaper to slightly round the cut edges and then you would be ready to remount the door.

This fix for the bedroom door will just be temporary because if the house structure continues to move it may be necessary to make this cut again. In the more extreme case the door latch will start to be misaligned with the striker plate (much like you are seeing with the front door) and more serious work would have to be done. In the case that the building structure is restored back to its "as built" position it may then be necessary to replace the door with a new one because of the big crack that would appear above the door where it has been cut off.

Front Door

For the front door the pictures reveal that the door is likely a steel clad door. This type of door is more difficult to cut off because it takes different tools to cut the door if required. So far it seems as if there is still clearance at the top of the door to let the door open and close so cutting may not be necessary for now. A temporary fix for the deadbolt striker plate is to remove part of the wood at the top in the door frame hole. This can be done with a course round wood rasp tool using short strokes into the hole. (Another scheme may be to use a Dremel tool with a wood cutter bit to grind out the top side of the hole). Then you would enlarge the hole in the striker plate at the top side to allow the dead bolt to slide more freely. The Dremel tool with a metal grinding stone installed could be used for this operation after you have reinstalled the strike plate onto the door frame. This would allow iterative grinding and checking for dead bolt fit.

Note that if the house movement becomes more it will likely that deadbolt may start to bind even more again and eventually either the striker plate would have to be moved up on the door frame or the top of the door will start to bind against the frame just like the bedroom door. At this point much more serious work would have to be done on the front door and its frame. If the building movement is fixed and the original door fit is restored you may want to replace the ground out striker plate so that it looks better.

Long Term

In the long run if the building moves some more and then stops on its own or if you get some work done to stop the progression of the movement then it may be desirable to do some repairs of these doors to restore things to a proper installation instead of the short term hacks described above. For both doors this would involve removing the doors from the frames then removing the door trim pieces. The door frame itself would then be removed and reset so that it is square again. In some cases, based upon the types of material involved it may be more desirable to fully replace the door frame and/or trim instead of re-setting the old frame. Often the old doors can often be re-used if they are in decent shape and have not been wedge cut. Otherwise new doors would have to be installed into the reset frames which would involve cutting the new door to length and fitting the hinges and locksets accordingly.


Can I use duct tape instead of a draft hood? I have a small opening between my vent and water heater. Instead of buying a draft hood, is there any harm in using duct tape?

Unless your hot water heater is positively vented (i.e. an exhaust blower), you need a draft hood in order to prevent back pressure in the vent line.  If you connect directly to the hot water heater without a draft hood, you are risking having the pilot light blown out by pressure in the vent (think wind) or letting exhaust gases escape into your house. It's a bit fuzzy in your picture, but it appears that the heater has attachment points for a draft hood. If that is correct, don't omit it in your venting.


Fixing metal grille on a wooden radiator enclosure My kids tend to be rough when playing in the living room and have banged up the metal mesh grille on our wooden radiator enclosure.

Does anyone have any tricks to bang out the dents? Or will it be easier to replace the metal mesh?

It looks something like this

found on this site.

The metal mesh can usually be purchased in sheets at home improvements stores, then cut to size.  A sheet isn't very expensive (last I looked, under $30).  So, it is probably easier to just replace as opposed to taking it out and trying to cleanly remove the dent.

More research shows they come in 3x3 sheets, and you'll want to ask for "decorative metal screening".


What kind of trim should I use for an aluminum backsplash behind a stove? I would like to use metal trim for the aluminum backsplash behind the stove; the trim would go between the backsplash and the cabinet and tile.  What kind of trim would you recommend and what is the best way to install it?

I'd go with Aluminum Flat Bar. Very easy to work with for drilling, scribing, mitering, cutting, beveling & just gluing up to the backsplash whether you want to frame the backsplash or just top it. If you want a to fill an upward & outward gap then the Aluminum Angle or Square Tube options in the link above would fit the bill perfectly.


Ikea sidetable impossible to install Bought an IKEA side table(listerby) today but it was impossible to install.Here is the installation instruction. If you look at the fifth step, one is supposed to use the tool IKEA provides to fasten the screw. However, the tool is tool long which makes it impossible to be rotated since the screw is sitting in a shallow hole as you can see. Any idea how I can solve this?

I recently purchased and assembled two of that exact same product (except mine are the dark brown color) and had no problem with the step 5.

If you look closely at the small IKEA tool it has more than 6 lobes in the tool opening so it can engage the hex nut in multiple positions. I also noticed that since the handle of the tool is offset to one side of the wrench end it is possible to remove and flip the tool over on each stroke of securing the legs onto the Listerby end table.

In the end I am very happy with the end tables. I also assembled the companion coffee table as well.


Fitting a Velux blind to a modified window I would like to fit a standard blind to my Velux window (model GGL-7).  However, it appears to have been fitted for a non-standard type of blind: there are thin wooden rails on each side, and an extra piece of wood with metal brackets at the top.  The extra parts have been painted over, and look like they would be difficult to remove without damaging the frame and/or glass (although I think I could remove the two metal brackets, as they're just secured with screws).

The top of the window (with the opening handle) is on the right-hand side of the attached picture.

Is it possible to fit a standard Velux blind to this window without removing the extra parts?  I'm concerned that there might not be room for the side rails, and that it may not be possible to screw the blind cartridge to the top of the window with the extra bit of wood in place.

I've now fitted the blind, and both the top piece and the side rails needed to be removed.

the top part was replaced by the blind cartridge, which fits flush to the frame
the side rails, while narrow enough to allow the new rails to be fitted, fouled the inside edge of the blind cartridge.

In the end all three parts were easy to remove as they had been fitted with short nails which pulled free of the frame with little force.


Is a hexagonal house feasible? Recently I have been considering the economics and feasability of building a house versus buying a used one. In my design I settled on a hexagon as the logical shape for the frame, which I am considering for masonry construction. This would be a big house, each side being at least 30 feet wide (footprint 2340 sq ft). The advantages of a hexagon are obvious: simple roof shape, no valleys, space efficient, heat efficient (this would be in New England and subject to cold winters), good wind resistance.

What I can't understand is why there seems to be no-one building hexagonal houses? The only notable building I could find at all was the Supreme Court.

Possible explanations would be that the shape is expensive for small houses due to the 6 corners, but for a large house like mine the room shapes work out fine, in fact they are better than a box house. Maybe its just tradition? People don't like it because it looks like church? Builders have some objection to 60-degree angles?

What is the reason there are no hexagonal houses?

Building parts, building tools, building techniques, and building skills are all based on square walls. With building parts, you have things like bricks with 4 sides, wood sheathing with straight edges, not to mention studs, drywall, and most other building materials with factory edges. With tools, framing squares, levels, speed squares, and corner tools for drywall mud and paint, are all based on 90 degree angles.

However, the big reason to me are building techniques and skills. With 90 degree cuts, a top/bottom plate for framing the wall doesn't matter if it's upside down. You don't have to worry about which side of the framing the measurements are based on because it should be the same measurement. When checking that walls are aligned, builders use 3-4-5 triangles and measure the diagonals of a rectangle to ensure that they are square.

Finally, many homes are built on lots that often have parallel sides and homes are often built to maximize the utilization of these lots.

When building things that aren't square, there's also an increased risk for waste due to mistakes. Construct the framing with the 60 degree angle reversed and you'll likely have to throw out some of the framing. And for the exterior siding/finish, you'll end up with lots of cuts for bricks or custom corner pieces for siding. With the added materials and labor, this significantly increases the expense of building a home.


Can I use regular 5/8" thick drywall in a 1/2 bath (powder room)? Can I use regular 5/8" thick drywall in a 1/2 bath (powder room)?

It's a very small room, with just a toilet and a sink to wash one's hands.
My dad has a bunch of excess regular drywall panels (5/8" thick)
Since there is not tub or shower, is it OK or not advised?

Yes you can use the 5/8" drywall, plus you will get the added benefit of better sound barrier and fire rating.


Is there a tool designed for holding multiple electrical wires together to keep them in place for wire nut? I am trying to wire three hot wires together with a pigtail which means I need to twist four 14-gage wires into a nut (I am using a tan nut which I believe is suitable for this).

The problem I'm having is holding them all steady so I can twist them together real good before capping them off.  Is there a tool designed for this?  It's a problem I've always had and it seems like someone would have come up with a solution.

Yes. It's called Lineman's Pliers.

To use:

Strip the wires a bit longer than required (1" - 1 1/2").
Hold the wires at the insulation between your thumb and forefinger.
Pinch the tip of all the wires in the lineman's pliers.
Twist the wires together using the pliers.
Trim the end of the wires to the proper length.
Twist on the twist-on wire connector.

You could also try using crimp connectors, with insulated caps.

But then you'll need a crimp tool

Or as auujay points out, you can use push-in wire connectors. Which you can read about on the blog


Cuisinart scale gaining weight I have a Cuisinart KML-KO3B precision kitchen scale.  Up to now weighing anything to within a gram or two has been trivial.

Currently when I turn it on, it flashes 8's repeatedly about once per second.  It will do this for 10 to 30 seconds, then tare properly to zero.

Now is the odd bit.

With it still empty, it will gradually increase in weight.  I turned it on and tared it when I started this post, and now it's at 124 grams.  Still empty.

Repeat:
17 flashes.
Tared.
at 1 minute registering 47 grams.
at 1:30 61 grams
at 2:00 67 grams
at 2:30 73 grams
at 3:00 77 grams

Never heard about this happening.

What is going on?

Can it be fixed?

I have searched for Cuisinart scale KML-KO3B flashing 8's and gotten nothing meaningful.

Consider to replace the batteries and also to clean the contacts within the battery compartment.


Is this a termite? What bug has been eating my wood? Replacing some drywall revealed something has been destroying the wood behind it. While removing things to see more, I saw 3 of these kind of bugs. I originally thought carpenter ants were the cause of the destruction.

Is the bug in the picture just a basement dweller that’s attracted to damp old basements? Or is it likely the cause of the wood damage?

FYI, it’s a 100 year old house in MN.

That most definitely appears to be termite damage. The pictured bug is NOT a termite however. It looks like what we call an "earwig" here in the south.


Dishwasher and disposal receptacle I have a single GFCI receptacle under my kitchen sink, and I want to power one end with constant power for the dishwasher and the other end with the switch leg from a switch on the backsplash for the disposal.  Can this be done?  I don't see the normal tab you can break on regular receptacles to do that on the GFCI.

You cannot split a GFCI receptacle, however, a GFCI receptacle is not the only way to provide GFCI protection to a circuit.
GFCI Circuit Breaker
One option, would be to provide GFCI protection to the entire circuit by installing a GFCI circuit breaker.  Install a 20 ampere GFCI circuit breaker, and run 12 AWG copper conductors to the receptacle location.  Then you'll simply wire a standard receptacle, in a half switched configuration.
Blank Face GFCI Device
Another option, is to use a blank face (dead front) GFCI device to provide protection.

Install a double wide box at the receptacle location.
Connect the wires feeding into the box to the LINE terminals on the GFCI device.
Use the LOAD terminals on the device to feed a standard receptacle, wired in a half switched configuration.


What are the dangers of operating a mini excavator? I plan to rent an excavator like this:

I am aware that it is quite dangerous if someone walks by and is hit by the bucket, but assuming I can clear the area of passers-by, what are some common dangers to be aware of that could cause harm to the driver? Can a mis-move of the levers cause the bucket to break through the cage?

OSHA has a search engine.  Many accidents are not reported to OSHA, in particular, amateur/homeowner operators like you don't have a reporting chain to OSHA.  But here are those OSHA knows about.
Obviously the vast majority involve the operator injuring others.  I omitted them since you say you'll be a lone worker (which has its own set of risks...)
The following contains descriptions of serious injury and death. Reader discretion is advised
Stuff they brought down on their own heads

At 11:00 a.m. on May 5, 2020, an employee was operating an excavator (KOMATSU Model PC240LC, mid-size hydraulic excavator) to jackhammer the base of a concrete silo so that two coworkers operating undescribed heavy machinery with one inch cables attached to the silo to pull it down once freed from its base. As the employee was jackhammering the base, the silo collapsed and fell onto the employee's excavator. The employee received unspecified fatal injuries from the falling silo material and was killed.

At 3:30 p.m. on August 2, 2019, Employee #1 was clearing trees and brush from a lot, using an excavator. One of the trees fell on the cab of the excavator and killed Employee #1.

At 4:00 p.m. on August 7, 2018, an employee was installing steel shoring in an excavation. The excavator inadvertently released the steel shoring plate which fell onto the employee. The employee was hospitalized with multiple rib fractures and a wrist facture.

Hit power lines

At 4:30 p.m. on April 13, 2020, Employee #1, employed by a pumping company, was working at a construction site. He was operating an excavator to drill a point well. The excavator became energized by an overhead power line. Employee #1 sustained an electric shock. He was transported to the hospital, where he died.

By the way, the machine chassis has a fair chance of protecting you while you remain in the cab, because the whole metal machine will tend to be one voltage (whatever it is touching).  There's no harm in being at one voltage, even if it is 21,000 volts.   The dumbest thing you can do is try to climb out of the machine at that point, because you'll be touching a) the energized machine and b) earth. Either stay put and call 911, or if able, move the machine to disengage from the wires.  But if the wire is downed, get hundreds of feet away from a downed wire before thinking of climbing down, as a voltage gradient can carry some distance.  And always report the strike to the power company; the strike may have broken insulators or weakened a wire that will drop later.
Lost stability due to terrain

At 3:15 p.m. on February 15, 2019, an employee was moving a Takeuchi Model TB007 Mini Excavator Serial # 1074544 down a ramp to the basement of a building to be stored. The equipment rolled over down the hill several times landing on the employee at the bottom of the ramp resulting in fatal injuries and bleeding. The equipment was not provided with roll over protection.

Self-inflicted tipping/rollover not caused by terrain
It's perfectly possible to rollover an excavator on flat ground without digging any holes.

At 11:00 a.m. on September 10, 2018, an employee was operating an excavator to move tree brush from the bottom of a hill to the top. While moving the load of brush up the hill, the employee moved the boom which cause the excavator to roll over onto its left side. The employee, who was seat belted into the cab of the excavator, hit his head on the roll over protection system frame as the roll over occurred. The employee was taken to a local hospital for treatment of a head laceration.

Pinned by ones own machine (not due to tipping/rollover)

At 3:30 p.m. on May 26, 2020, an employee was operating an excavator. At some point, the employee stuck their head out of the excavator cab while the cab rotated in close proximity to a tree. The employee's head was caught between the cab and the tree and crushed. The employee was killed by traumatic head injury.

At 11:15 a.m. on February 25, 2019, Employee #1 was operating a John Deere 225d excavator. The employee attempted to adjust the mirror on the excavator so that he could continue backing out of building to clear the doorway. He pulled the shut off lever and leaned out of the cab to fix the mirror. When he reengaged the safety shut off lever, he was inadvertently leaning against the joystick that rotates the cab. The employee was struck by and caught in between the excavator cab and the building's door opening. The employee used the joystick to rotate the cab back to the right, and freed himself. Employee #1 sustained three fractured vertebra and a broken collarbone. He was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital and remained hospitalized for treatment.

Loading and unloading the excavator off the trailer
Needless to say, several accidents involved the operator trying to load or unload the excavator from the delivery trailer for highway transport.  Honestly, I forgot them because I was in the mentality of searching for accidents where the operator is in the cab.  But yeah, during load/unload, a lone worker can fall, get pinched e.g. have the unit shift on them, rollover while loading, or be tempted into "hold my beer" tricks of radical self-loading.

src
"What could possibly go wrong?"
(full disclosure, that last is actually a patented, engineered kit. The excavator has guide wings welded to frame and bucket. Once up top, it can move down the entire train of same-height cars, by expanding or contracting like a ... um... caterpillar.)