How long should I wait to drill holes into brand new mortar? I just repaired loose bricks on my house in preparation to install new window shutters. When would it be ok to drill holes into the mortar and install the shutters? From my other research I'm going to keep the mortar covered and re-wet it a few times a day for 3 days. Is it safe after that?
Additional information: I completely removed all the old mortar and put in all new mortar for about 11 bricks. It's standard Quickcrete mortar from Lowe's. I made the shutters myself from pine boards. But they are comparable in weight to the composite shutters that were installed previously using the same mounting method. (concrete anchor into the mortar)

The mortar in my closet says to keep wet/moist for 36 hours so it can fully cure. a lot depends on the climate where it's being used so take a look at the directions for your specific mortar. When you do drill, don't use a hammer drill, a regular drill with a mortar/concrete bit is all you'll need. Don't force it, let the drill and bit do their job. Yours should be ready after three days.


Help with smart dimmer I have 12 recessed lights separated into 2 sections, of 6 each currently connected to 2 dimmers. I want to replace the current dimmers with smart dimmers by Leviton.
Here are the instructions and diagram from the manufacturer:
https://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/3e/3e474cd2-a567-4471-a400-3e21fd978b0b.pdf

Legend:
Black - Hot/Load (dimmer 1)
Red - Load (dimmer 2)
Blue - Neutral
Green - Ground

Smart Dimmer 1 works fine, smart dimmer 2 does not work at all, it doesn't power itself on, or switch/dim lights.

What am I doing wrong?

No, no, no!  You have wired 1 cable ground to each device.   You need to spiderweb the grounds! All grounds need to go to all other grounds.   They should all be joined in a big red, tan or green wire nut.

If the box is metal, you need to tie to the metal box (99% of the time there is a hole threaded for a 10-32 screw, otherwise use a cable clamp or clip).  You won't need grounds to the switches because they will ground  through the normal mounting screws.  (This only works for switches, not receptacles).

If the box is plastic, you need to pigtail a ground to each switch.

Neutrals are not grounds and you do not spiderweb neutrals.  Especially here, you need to keep the neutrals separate.

Why won't it work?  Because that is not a post-2011 switch loop with neutral.   That is a retired 3-way switch run.  I don't know what's at the other end, but most likely it can be arranged to be like a post-2011 switch loop with neutral.  Find it (most likely at another switch box) and change it.

If you wanted to restore 3-way switch functionality also, that possible with smart switches.


Feasibility of fixing unscrewable broken chair leg with hot glue/ other alternatives This picture is the caption for a youtube video and the link for that video doesn't matter.My chair at home looks similar in its problem and I'm not going to give you photos of my furniture. I can't do the stuff shown in the video because I dont' have saws and powertools.

I can't screw the leg back in.

My idea is to use hot glue gun but I don't know how strong the hot glue would be to make a chair that is useable, not just a model replica of a chair.

Would a hot glue gun work? What are other cheap non-powertool alternatives?

Hot glue is not a particularly strong adhesive for situations which require this sort of bonding. Conventional liquid wood glue is much stronger and will be easier to apply as well.

Ideally, you should have a clean face on the broken part as well as on the chair section to which it will bond. This means remove any loose splinters from the faces. You will also get much better results if you have a method to clamp or otherwise force one face into the other. Even simple masking tape is better than nothing, but stronger tape will give better results. A genuine wood clamp is ideal, but costs money.

If you can position the chair in such a way as to coat the surface of the break with wood glue, then place the leg on that surface and load it with weight, you'll do as well as a clamp, if you get sufficient weight concentrated on the joint.

Because chair legs are subjected to lateral forces, even repairing the joint with glue will not hold over time, unless you are extremely careful with movement of the chair while sitting.

You can see the screw holes in the caption image. The screws provide the mechanical strength and the glue reduces/removes the movement that might otherwise loosen the screws.

If you are able to install screws through the joint you've glued and into the chair, you'll improve your chance of having a strong bond that will last.

Without photos of your break, this is guesswork. If you are able to take a photo, simply focus only on the damaged area or crop out any background you wish to not be displayed.


RTS in fire sprinkler rooms - normally-open or -closed? And its purpose? I'm on the Board of Directors of a townhouse association.  We have 15 buildings, each with a fire sprinkler room at one end, built into the last unit.  Rooms are ~4x3' and house fire alarm equipment.  The community was built 2007-2012 by the same developer, so [still surprisingly for me] the only similarity inside these rooms are the components.  Their placement and connections are all over, as if every time it was done from scratch with no blueprints by a new crew.
The management company does not give neither straight nor complete answers, at best offering to "hire a handy man to check things up".  We see it as just throwing money away, 'cause no explanation will be provided.  We'd like to get some deeper understanding of how and why certain things should be done, and what is the proper way - to be able to point out issues without depending on contractors suggested by management company.
The first thing I want to ask about are Potter RTS (Room Temperature Switches), operating at 40°F, commonly used to protect a dry-pipe-valve from freezing (to me that implies some kind of heating elements, which I couldn't identify).  They may be hard to see, but the leftmost setup has RTS-O (normally open) while the other two have RTS-C (normally closed) ones:

My thought is that even if the placement is not identical, still the same or very similar, interchangeable components would be used, and therefore electrical connections between them must be same.  At least all control panels are of one single model FireLite MS-4, all wireless transceivers are of one single model Keltron RF774F, all water meters and valves are same.

What is the purpose of an RTS here - what does it control (there's no heater near the valves)?
Is there a reasonable explanation why some RTSs are -O while others are -C?
Could this result in equipment failure due to a wrong part being used?

Let me know if more detailed pictures would be helpful.  And thank you, guys!
P.S. USA, Illinois, Niles

Building plans don't call out every little detail
The differences in layout between the buildings are expected. You may be largely correct: the installations likely were done by different crews and without precise layout diagrams. That's normal. Plans for a building specify a variety of things like which plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, or fire detectors and horns/strobes need to be installed and approximately where they must be located. Most of the time the locations are quite flexible. Plans would not dictate exact placement of the pipes or electrical wiring. It's not practical. Likewise they would not dictate the precise arrangement of the furnace etc in a unit, nor would they dictate the exact placement of the various fire control panels in the riser room.
Fire alarms can work fine with either style of switch
Fire alarm systems deal with alarm events, tamper events, and supervisory events (sometimes there's no distinction between the latter two). Events cause notifications; virtually all events cause a signal to be transmitted to the monitoring service. A fire alarm panel will typically have multiple inputs. Some inputs go to detection devices and trigger an alarm; other inputs go to tamper or supervisory sources and only trigger a report to the monitoring service. Often an input can be configured for either normally open or normally closed operation. Whether NO or NC is chosen by the designer or installer depends on a variety of factors, but most often the detection job can be accomplished with either. Your RTS is offered in both NO and NC styles to accommodate this flexibility. Building plans often will not require a specific style of switch.
Why would a fire alarm system include a room temp switch, anyway?
A room temperature switch is not likely to control anything; its purpose is purely to monitor ambient temperature in a riser room, attic, etc -- places where a freeze could impair the automatic sprinkler system and could go unnoticed because the space isn't occupied. If the switch trips a signal would be sent to the monitoring service, who should then forward the information to the appropriate building management representative who should then investigate and correct the situation.
Inspection verifies it all works
The system should have been inspected and tested for correct operation when it was commissioned. Periodic re-testing may be required by law depending on where you are. It might also be required by a fire insurance carrier. Of course, testing may also be commissioned at any time by a proactive building owner who just wants to be sure that life safety systems like this one are dependable.
Practical difference in zone wiring for NO versus NC
It's true that NC and NO switches won't work exactly the same - the circuit as a whole has to be arranged differently. Suppose I'm a fire alarm installer (and I was, for about a year) and my work order calls for a room temperature switch on a supervisory zone of its own.
If I want to use an NO switch then I might use two-conductor cable to connect a zone input and common to the two terminals of the NO switch. I'd connect the end-of-line resistor across the switch terminals too. Then I'd configure the panel so that if the zone opens that's a wiring fault and if the zone shorts that's a supervisory alarm indicating the room is cold.
If instead I want to use an NC switch then I'd still use two-conductor cable from zone input and common at the panel. One conductor would connect to a switch terminal, the other conductor would connect to the EOL resistor, and the resistor would connect to the other switch terminal. I'd configure the panel so that if the zone opens that's a supervisory alarm indicating the room is cold.
The latter approach doesn't provide any electronic method of distinguishing between a wiring fault and a cold room condition. Maybe that's a little inferior, but if the job specs didn't require differentiating the two, then according to the job requirements the two approaches are equally valid.
As an installer I'd do either one based on which kind of switches I have on hand. Maybe I prefer to use the NO switch but somebody ordered some NC by mistake, or they were left over from another job, or the supplier was out of stock of NO so we bought NC instead..
It's impossible to guess why the systems were built with different style of switches, but yes it's wrong to expect that two similar ("identical" to untrained eyes) buildings built years apart would have their fire systems set up exactly the same way.


Should all charred wood be replaced in a home fire restoration? My home was struck by ligtning and caught fire via the satcable going into the home; the vapour barrier became ablaze and started the home on fire;the fire company arrived and put the fire out. the structure that contained the wall insulation of now charred 2x4's was painted and vapour barriered by insurance. Is this legal as in my eyes I see this as crazy?

You would need to have an independent inspector (someone who does not do fire renovation) come out and look at it. If the wood is solid, then the insurance company did indeed go above and beyond by painting it with the "paint" product to seal in the smoke smell and the potential carcinogens. Really, if there was no true structural damage, wood didn't need to be replaced.

Disclaimer: I'm just some guy on the internet. Consult a qualified professional or your lawyer. I am neither.


How to replace my kitchen sink basket with no lock nut? I have a kitchen sink basket that's leaky and has a bunch of gunk caught under it. I want to replace it. All the instructions I see for removing and replacing a kitchen sink basket start by removing the lock nut underneath:

My sink, however, doesn't have a lock nut. The pressure cup is plastic and I have no idea how to remove it.

Here's what it looks like from the top. I tried holding that little center piece steady with a screw driver and tried to unscrew the basket from beneath, but it just turns and turns and won't loosen. Any ideas?

this looks like a chinese unit one of my granite suppliers used to use.  they are the biggest piece of junk on the planet.  if i remember correctly, the small screw in the middle acts as a retainer for the whole unit.  you have unscrew it from above, and it holds the whole thing together.  the problem we had was that the screw got locked into the metal insert thats in the lower plastic section and just seizes right up.  our solution was a heat gun.  just melt the lower bowl and keep pulling it out in chunks until you can get a grinder in and cut the bolt.  then throw everything away and start again, using a quality metal strainer assembly


Did electrician connect this service entrance box wrong? I recently had solar PV installed.  The electrician replaced my service entrance box.  Power is fed to an indoor subpanel through a 100A breaker, mounted directly above the service disconnect breakers.  The label on the box reads "A 100A max circuit breaker may be installed in the lowest position in the branch panel.  All other positions are limited to 70A max circuit breaker."  There is one slot for a 2-pole breaker underneath the service disconnect breakers.  Did the electrician install it wrong by not using that slot?

Yes.  The panel's labeling means exactly what you think it means, that breaker slot 5-6 and all above it are limited to 70A breakers max.  That 100A breaker should be moved down to the bottom slot.

Additionally, that top breaker is being backfed by your solar setup, correct?  In that case, it needs to be bolted down -- that's a code requirement whenever a breaker is backfed.  You'll need a HOM4RK2HA bolt-down kit, which you (or your installer) will probably have to get from a proper electrical supply house.


How do I tighten a loose kitchen faucet? I have a kitchen faucet that is starting to move around in the hole cut in the counter top. I would like to figure out how to tighten it, but due to the location of drain pipes and the disposal I can't get my head back there. I can reach up, but I don't know what I am supposed to be doing.

I took a picture back there, but I am not really sure what I am supposed to do to tighten it.

The tool you need to get behind the sink to tighten the retainer nut is called a basin wrench.  You can buy them anywhere for $8 to $40.  They swivel to fit and have extended handle so you can turn it from below the sink level.  Yes, you have to do it by sense of feel, or position a mirror to help you see the nut. Google sink wrench or basin wrench and you will see dozens of them.

Plumb Pak PP840-7 11 Inch Basin Wrench
$8 online


Can I mount a TV on a single metal stud? I'm finding a lot of conflicting info on this.

I have a 53.1 lbs TV (65") that I want to mount using a flush mount (5.9lbs) to my wall. However the studs (24" apart) are off center so I would be looking to mount it on the center stud.

I live in a building that's about 12 years old, so modern construction. I've seen advice from "yes, snap toggles on the stud and anchors on drywall will do" to "you need a piece of plywood across 3 studs and then you can center your mount"... (as for that last one, the rightmost stud has electrical running through it so it complicates things even more!)

Any advice?

Thanks!

It depends on the mount itself and the size of anchors. Two 1/4 inch lag bolts into a stud can hold hundreds of pounds but if the mount has a long arm the amount of weight is reduced because of the length away from the wall.

The framework may not be able to handle the weight with only one side supported securely. A thick piece of plywood anchored to the stud with lag bolts and fender washers (washers reduce the chance of an over-tightened lag bolt pulling through the plywood) cut to the size of the bracket could carry the load, then attach the monitor frame to the plywood. Using this method, I would use 3/4" plywood and it would be able to handle the load.


Sauna heater conduit from heater to sauna wall I am installing a Sauna-core 6Kw vaporizer model SV manual PDF

A UL listed LFMC with a temperature rating of 105C is requested for the wiring from the heater to the box.
Where can I find a few feet of this?
Should the box to transition to the NM in the wall be mounted in the wall, or inside the sauna?

Thank you for your help!

Steve

Every electric supply house I have been to sells LFMC by the foot, it's about $2/foot. Call it "metallic liquidtight", if you call it LFMC they often look at you funny and don't know what you are asking for.  I wouldn't even try a big box store and chance getting something imported that doesn't satisfy UL360 and NEC 501 as specified in your document.

I would stop the NM before entering the sauna, NM is not allowed in "damp" locations, and I'm sure the sauna would qualify as such. Being in a junction box that opens inside a damp location is normally interpreted as in the damp location, and I wouldn't attempt to argue that with an inspector.


Why is my outdoor air conditioner unit making a screeching/squeeling sound? During the winter time when I have my heat on, my outdoor air conditioner unit randomly makes this awful-sounding squealing/screeching sound.  It lasts for about 15-30 seconds at a time, stops, and then occurs randomly again.

A Google search has revealed other people complaining about a humming noise, but this is anything but a hum.

It doesn't happen when I simply have the cool air on.  It's only when I am using heat.

If your heating system is purely electrical (see comments), then your outside unit is not an Air Conditioner, but a Heat Pump, who's job is to take heat from outside (ha ha for you New Englanders and Mid Atlantic types) and bring it inside.

So your system is squealing because it's running as its supposed to, only it's cold outside, and the parts need lubrication.

Have your system checked/maintained by a qualified Heat Pump technician.


How can I repair the wood veneer on a damaged TV console? I picked up a tv console today knowing that it had some light damage. There’s hole punched out of the top of the piece.

What would be the best way to fill in the hole? What’s the best way to match the finish of the original piece and the repair?

You can clean out the debris, carefully salvaging the surface pieces, use filler to adhere the remnants back in position and to make it level where there are missing pieces.  If it is too motley a collection of fragments, just clean out the debris and patch the hole with filler.

Then if you are REALLY artistic, you could carve the woodgrain pattern in any visible filler to match, and paint it to match.  But that will still be noticeable because the texture will be different and you will never get an exact color match.

The alternative would be to patch the hole, then refinish the top, either with paint to make the top uniform (may not hold up to wear) or something like high pressure laminate.

Another option: there are craftsmen who specialize in those kinds of repairs.  They work for the insurance companies or stores and fix damage that happens to furniture when it is delivered or when you move.  That might be expensive.

You might be able to buy a new top from the manufacturer.  That kind of furniture is usually assembled without glue, so you should be able to remove the old top and reassemble it with the new one.

If you can live with the dent (aren't too bothered by the appearance or can just cover it with one of the things you would put on top), the simple solution is just to stabilize it so it doesn't get worse.  Find a marker of a close color and color the exposed material (hard to tell whether it's wood or MDF).  Then use some glue that dries crystal clear (like the clear glue from Weldbond).  Put a little on a cotton swab and cover the dented area.  It will end up glossier than the rest of the top, but it will keep the broken pieces from disintegrating and rough edges from being chipped.


How do I increase flame size in my outdoor fire pit? We have a built-in gas fire pit in our backyard and it all works but the maximum flame is doesn't provide enough warmth when I crank the valve to its max setting.
I've tried pulling off the knob but I have not tried unscrewing anything or using tools yet.
Do I need to remove the screws?
Do I need to shut off the gas to the entire house first?

Gas appliances come in various sizes/capacities. So if this one isn't "big enough":

Remove entire burner and control.
Replace with larger capacity burner and control.

Possibly also: replace gas line, upgrade gas service to house, etc. depending on current capacity and size of new burner.


Double expansion concrete anchor I have a few 3/8" double expansion concrete anchors and noticed that on one side it is threaded and on the other it is not.

Which side goes into the hole?

It looks to me that the threaded end should go into the hole first. As the bolt is used to cinch the mounted item the back of the mounted item will compress the front side of the expansion anchor toward the threaded part while at the same time threaded part pulls forward to expand the anchor in the hole.


How can I prepare slightly uneven tiled floor for vinyl 'planks'? I recently bought some very nice vinyl planks for reflooring our kitchen.

It was only when I got home that I noticed it said they have to be installed on 'flat, smooth' surfaces. Our kitchen is currently tiled, and wavy in places.

I don't really want to go the route of self-leveling compound - for one thing I'm not entirely bothered about the floor being level, I just need it to be relatively flat.

What I need advice on is what kind of product can I use for filling in the fairly shallow 'dips' in the floor (i.e. about 1-2ft (50cm) wide and 3/16" (5mm) deep).

After that, I can just prime it and go... I hope

I have used this product myself:
DAP floor leveling compound

It is thick enough that it does not actually seek self-level, but it can be used with a good straight scrim to get to "TRUE" which means "flat not necessarily level/plum".

This should be perfect for you.  Follow up with a 1/8" layer of plywood if you like.


Can I drill a small hole in a concrete beam? I need to pass a bipolar electrical cable through a concrete beam (30cm high, 15 cm wide) (12x6 inches). The hole would need to be about 1cm (3/8").

Is it safe to drill through it? There is no wall below it and one of its columns is "upside down" (see sketch below).

Edit: I did some further research and found some regulations regarding holes and openings on reinforced concrete beams. There is no need of additional reinforcement if the following is observed:

hole in the traction zone of the beam.
diameter limited to 12cm or 1/3 of beam height
distance from supports equal to 2 beam heights

So in my case I would have to have the hole around 60 cm from the column in the bottom portion of the beam, and the diameter is below the threshold (around 1-2 cm). Is that right??

As you (the OP) have discovered, small holes in concrete are perfectly acceptable.

No disrespect to other posters, but likening concrete to glass is inaccurate. Also, hitting chunks of igneous rock is never a problem in my experience. (Hitting rebar is a problem, though. You'll want to be careful when drilling... If you suddenly stop making progress and you've already cleared the dust, then pull back and either try to subtly change the angle or drill a different hole.)


Crack in new drywall joint so we just drywalled all walls in our bedroom. And now (~ 3 weeks later) one of the joints is cracking in the middle edge of the tape.

Summary:

The house is concrete. Built 1970s.
All drywall boards are glued onto mostly concrete walls (some of the  lighter interior walls are made of very dense chipboard)
All joints are taped, then spackled / mudded three coats, then sanded.
Primer / sealer is applied.

The crack is in a joint where there's concrete walls behind.

It's more significant closer to the ceiling (that section is pictured below). And becomes less pronounces towards the floor. It stretches over about 1,5 meters.

Here's an image of the crack.

Do we apply new tape over the old one now. Or do we wait a year, let it settle and crack some more, then fix it?

EDIT: Thanks for all your replies so far.

EDIT 2: It turns out the crack took place in the edge of the tape, not in the center as stated before.

Cracks like that occur because of, 1) settlement, or 2) expansion/contraction.

1) If the House was built in 1970’s, then it has finished settling. Unless there is some underground work in the area, like new utilities, new piling, etc.

2) I suspect it’s expansion/contraction due to the joint compound being too wet.

There is no need to “wait for it to settle and crack more”.  I’d redo it as Jimmy Fix-it has suggested.


How did the sideboards come to be raised over a hardwood floor? I'm a little puzzled at the position of sideboards in this picture.

I am not covering with carpets. I will remove the sideboards, hopefully without breaking them. Then I'll paint them before re-installing them, and renovate the floor while they're off. I'm assuming that it's all right in the final look for a few nails to remain visible, and that I can be spared having to apply masking tape to the entire perimeter of each room on both sides of the sideboards. Leaving the sideboards high is not an option because it looks ugly and, more importantly, is a recipe for having dust and mites.

My question is: how did the sideboards reach this position. If initially a carpet was installed in this bedroom, I have a hard time believing someone would have used a reasonably decent hardwood (oak? I'm not sure) as a foundation for the carpet.

If the hardwood was initially installed, then the sideboards would not be where they are.

My conclusion is that when I spot this sort of thing (hardwood and elevated sideboards) it means that the room must have gone through three stages:

Hardwood was initially installed.
At some point someone decided to install a carpet. That person raised the sideboards.
In a third renovation someone decided to get rid of the carpet. So they just ripped it and didn't bother to lower the sideboards.

Did the room really have to have gone through these three stages of renovation for the sideboards to be high over a hardwood floor, or is there a simpler explanation?

Plenty of homeowners put carpet over hardwood in the 60s, 70s and 80s. It's not clear why the baseboard and base shoe are elevated, though. Normally shoe isn't used with carpet.

To avoid unsightly lines left on your walls, I'd remove just the shoe, finish the floor, sand and paint the baseboard (in place), then reinstall the shoe tight to the floor.


What is this sticking out of my wall? I've got this small thing (see attached pictures) in my third-floor bedroom wall that previous tenants have simply painted over. It's about 1 inch in diameter, sitting about 5 feet off the floor, and has two smaller bumps on it. It also has two protruding notches on either side, one of which is visible in the upper right in the image. It feels rather hard and solid. Magnets do stick to it.

I'd like to pull it off/out of the wall, but my concern is that it might be something where it would be unsafe for me to do that or would be better left to a professional. In particular, I'm concerned it may be some old relic of the knob and tube which I know exists in my building. It could be a completely random/innocuous object, but I want to play it safe.

I've got two related questions.

Can anyone give a guess as to what this is?
If no one can determine what this is from the pictures, is there a way I can try to investigate this to determine if it's safe for me to pull off/out of the wall?

If it matters, the building is from the 1890's.

EDIT:
Thank you everyone for replying. I ended up taking a knife and carefully scraping away at it. After scraping away enough layers of paint, I simply revealed metal. The two bumps on the top were just pieces of what seemed like putty (e.g., plumber's putty). Ultimately I think the responses indicating it is a cap for the end of a pipe were correct as it appears to resemble something like the image below. I was hoping this was something I could remove myself, but more likely I'll have to call a trained professional in to investigate further.

Thanks for all your help!

Given age of building, shape and "magnets stick to it" I'm going with old gas pipe.

Old gas pipe is not generally something you want to mess with, especially if your use of "tenants" implies rental rather than ownership. Hang a picture so it's covered, or something like that, and forget about it.

If you own rather than rent, and can trace and verify that the gas pipe in question is ACTUALLY, for sure, disconnected, you can remove it, but it's a fair amount of work.


How do I connect a light before a 3way, followed by a 3way, then a light? I now have power to 3way A, connected to 3way B, to a light. I want to add a light before 3way A.  Power comes to a junction box, then to 3way A.  A is at the bottom of a stairs and B is at the top.

Your question is a little unclear a diagram and pictures would help. If you want to add a light to a 3 way set up the easiest way is to run a 2 wire of the same size as the others in the circuit from the existing switched light to your new one and connect the wires color to color.


How many outlets can you have on one 15 amp circuit? In my rebuilding project I have counted 18 outlets and lights on one bedroom circuit that travels through 3 rooms. Is that ok?

Yes.

Also, check your breaker. You can have as many outlets on a single circuit as you like*, but you have to be careful because you can only pull so much current from the circuit at a time. For example, don't expect to run an electric chainsaw and a vacuum at the same time off a single 15A circuit. If you have a 15A breaker attached which is likely the case, I would recommend not running any major appliances (Such as a Microwave or Window AC unit) off of it, since that will take up most of your juice, and one too many lamps in the other 17 outlets could trip your breaker. If you need to run a heavy appliance, just wire in another circuit, and don't drill a hole through the wires near the breaker box (Voice of experience).

*Some areas such as Belgium limit you to 8 outlets on a circuit, or you violate wiring code.


What should be done about water under bathroom floor tiles? There is water getting under our bathroom floor tiles. The landlord believes that due to a recent remodel of whole bathroom, water is not draining from the window ledge but is instead going into the wall and then under the floor.

I can agree with that but he swears that even though the tile has separated and continues to be wet, that because of the floor type there will not be any mold.   He claims that the black I see is the glue, not mold.

He is debating whether to remove the shower etc. and wall up the bottom of the window or grout the ledge and put in a couple of holes so that water drains outside.

I'm not sure if I agree with his assessment.

What do you think?

Kinda hard to follow exactly what is happening there, but here are a few thoughts.

First of all, the source of the water must be addressed first. If in fact it is coming from a window, then the window must be fixed, sealed or otherwise stop the leak.  Am I correct assuming the leak is coming from outdoors?

Second, any water under a floor is a problem. Although the tile itself will not grow mold, trapped water below the tile will effect the subfloor. Even if there is concrete board below the tile, there is still a wood floor under there somewhere. If the grout has cracked or become loose and you are seeing black coming through the grout, chances are good it is a diluted mold. The mortar, thinset or grout that holds the tile is now a hardened cement and will not dissolve easily with water. I seriously doubt black liquid would be created by either the mortar or grout. More likely is that there is water between the tile backer and some wood product causing the discolored water.

Last, any standing water under a floor is a breeding ground for mold or vermin like ants or termites. If not dried out, any rotting problem is just going to get worse and eventually compromise the integrity of the entire floor.


Trimming timber support to remove suspected mold I am doing some plumbing work on a shower that has not been used for several years. It previously had a slow leak that caused a damp spot on the ceiling below.

I noticed a small patch of black mold on some tape at the bottom of some plasterboard (drywall) and noticed blackening of the ends of some timber that supports a sheet of chipboard that supports the shower tray.

I'm honestly not sure if the timber has mold or has been treated in some way. There's no blackening on the adjacent wooden surfaces above and below.

This end of the shower tray support was covered by a length of skirting board (wall baseboard) which has no mold visible on it's inner surface.

My plan is to

Don goggles and mask.
Remove the tape.
Use a Dremel to remove ¼" from the end of the two timber supports.
Use a mold treatment from What is the recommended way to destroy mold? in the area

Would it be reasonable to remove ¼" from the end of the two timber supports?

First a disclaimer: You should follow all local by-laws and building codes in your area relating to mold mitigation/abatement to avoid lawsuits and painful death.

Having said that, since your probably going to handle it yourself anyway, here's what to do. The top picture does look like classic black mold but the other two look like a factory sealant of some sort. It just looks too localized to be mold growth. Better safe than sorry though so suit up and buzz out the affected areas with your dremel or better yet an oscillating saw (less dust). Douche any suspicious areas with a store bought mold treatment or bleach/water solution and then reseal the ends of those 2x4's with paint/oil/tar before you close it up and you should be fine.

In all seriousness though, although mold is harmless like 99% of the time and even if all of the stuff in your pictures is mold it would still be the least amount of mold growth in a bathroom substructure I've ever seen, its still nothing to mess around with. Eye protection, gloves, and dust collection are NOT negotiable. Dampen the area when your're cutting to help cut down the dust, and if you want to be really above board, go to a paint supply store and pick up one of those tyvek suits, they're only like $15 dollars. Cheers


Wiring requirements for garage and bedroom addition I've just added a new garage and bedroom and am about to wire them.
I've done a lot of wiring in my house, know all the basic requirements for how wiring is run, etc, never had a problem with inspection.  But I've never done a garage or bedroom.   I also haven't carefully explored which circuit I can easily splice into yet.
I want to check the following assumptions.

Garage: going to splice into a circuit that has some outlets elsewhere.   I will wire for 20A but use 15A outlets.

One circuit in garage for outlets, wired for 20A, GFCI'ed, shared with other power in some other rooms at my discretion.   I will make sure I'm not worried about so much shared that I will blow the circuit using power tools in the garage.
Garage lighting to be run at 15A, most likely shared with some other lighting circuits in the house.
Bedroom:  Is it the case that I need an AFCI circuit breaker for any circuit (including lights and outlets) in the bedroom?
Is is allowed to shared the circuits in the bedroom with the garage?   Is it a bad idea to have the garage AFCI'ed and GFCI'ed?

As recommended by wallyk and yurly, add another circuit or two. There is usually no way to tell exactly how may outlet and switches etc., are on the same circuit. If there is no spare breakers in the breaker panel, use tandem breakers. This will allow two circuits to reside in the same space as one.

There are tandem breakers available by all manufacturers, I believe.


Gas dryer flame not always igniting Brand: whirlpool
Model: senseon ggw9868kq2

Lately the dryer will not always heat up. I pulled off the front panel and watched the igniter while I started the drying cycle. It will always glow bright, but sometimes I will not get a flame. I'm guessing that either it's not getting gas consistently or that the igniter is not always getting hot enough to ignite... but I don't know much about this and am not sure what is wrong.

What would cause this behavior?

Video of when it starts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKW8EdmNnI

Video of when it doesn't:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcwPH2upVxY

I also noticed that right before and during the glow, there is a bunch of clicking like sound coming from that area.

Edit 9/24

I tried holding a flame near the igniter while the igniter was glowing but it still didn't ignite.

Here is a video with me using a multimeter (not sure if I used it correctly though):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Lpgdmsqjo

and a video trying to get a good look at the pipe/igniter area:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfgy49R24zI

Igniters do go bad but the ones I have had trouble with don't work at all or have area that is dark. I have had more problems with the gas mix. I have seen cases where the jets in the burner have gotten plugged or partly plugged causing problems. I have had success using a piece of wire small enough to push through each port opened them up enough. The other possible problem can be where the air is drawn in to the burner sometimes there is a screen to keep dust and spiders out if this screen gets coated with dryer lint the air/gas mix is not correct and the burner may not light. The last problem I have had is the very small orifice just after the gas valve but before the burner gets plugged. This small orifice is difficult to clean but there are usually replacements available for a couple of bucks if you change this make to get the same size there are different sizes for natural gas and propane.


What is this 6" vent coming out of the main furnace trunk going under my deck for? I have a 6 inch round duct that comes out of the main trunk about 5 feet from the furnace.  It runs through the basement and outside the house (under the deck).  What is this?  The furnace also has 2" PVC vent and intake pipe, which I'm familiar with, but I've never seen this before.  When the furnace or Air is on there is air flowing through this pipe.  What is it? what does it do?  Thanks!

It's an outside air (intake, probably, but you don't specify direction of airflow.)

Can be a simple system that forces some ventilation by bringing in fresh air all the time, can be a more complex system that alters the amount of outside air with a damper depending on the temperature inside, and outside, and called for by the thermostat (ie, so that you don't run the AC to cool off the house when you could just suck in cool air from outside the house.)


Can wires go under the supply wires in my panel? The only available knockout big enough for my #1 wires is on the right side of the panel.  The new breaker (double pole 100A) needs to go on the left side of the panel.  Can I cross my #1 wires under the service wires as pictured?
Another option is to shuffle breakers around, but I'd rather avoid all that splicing in the box.

Yes you can route the wires under the feeders there is nothing wrong with this. As far as a code reference it’s tough to find something in this case that says it is not allowed or allowed. The wires in a enclosure can even be touching the 1 requirement the insulation is rated for the voltage.  both the main and your new wires are probably rated for 600v so you will be fine.


I have an oil burning furnace and my hot water only last 2 minutes. Hard to take a shower I have an oil burning furnace and my hot water only lasts about 2 minutes,  making it hard to take a shower.

I'm not sure what the make and model is. I had hot water that would last a long time, had a plumber come over to hook up another sink and ever since then my hot water only lasts about 2 minutes. Does anyone have an idea as to why?

From what you say, the general answer is clear: the plumber did something that impaired your hot water. I'm assuming your hot water tank is far larger than 2 minutes of shower would require (let's guess you're using 75% hot water and 2 gallons/minute; that's 2 * 2 * 0.75 = about 3 gallons of hot water in your 2-minute shower).

If we also assume the plumber wasn't messing with the furnace and hot water system, other than to just connect to the hot and cold, I'll guess that he somehow cross-connected the hot and cold lines.

To test this, start the shower and wait until the water temperature falls. Then go down to the hot water tank and check if the water coming out of it is hot (I'm guessing it will be). If the water is still hot, then it isn't a production problem but a transportation problem: somehow the hot water isn't reaching your shower.

You can then follow the hot water pipes and see if you can find a 3-way junction where the temperature suddenly falls. If you find a place where the hot water source pipe meets a cold pipe and a warm pipe, then I'll guess again that the warm pipe is going to your shower, and the cold pipe is pulling in cold water that's diluting the hot water.

No matter what, if the presence of the plumber coincided with the problem, and it hasn't been months or years, call that plumber and tell him to fix it on his dime.


Noisey Baseboard Heating My house has baseboard heating from a natural gas water boiler and I am hearing some rattling when I turn on the heat at night on the 2nd floor. My house has 2 zones and I believe the issue is that air is trapped upstairs in the baseboard.

I inspected all the baseboard units and found that there is no bleeder value anywhere.

I also tried draining air from the boiler (which is in the basement) and that didn't help. Each zone has a drain but it is located in the basement. I did open each zone in a bucket of water and small bubbles came out but that didn't help.

Also I noticed that there is an upside down U of piping hidden behind a false baseboard in a small closet  - I am not sure of its purpose - there are no valves there - just pipe and elbows.

My questions:

Should I installed a T or bleeder value to remove the air on the 2nd floor?
What is the purpose of the  upside down U plumbing?
Beside air, could anything else be causing the noise?

Beside air, could anything else be causing the noise?

Depends on exactly what the noise is, but I would be on the lookout for thermal expansion.  If you have long, straight runs, the pipe can expand significantly when heat is delivered.  If there are places where the pipe binds on the supports, it can make pinging and popping noises as it alternately binds and frees itself. If it's attached to a loose metal airflow director, it can rattle.

Because this noise isn't coming from inside the pipe, pulling or shifting the pipe as you turn it on will change the sound significantly, but shouldn't make much of a difference if there is air inside.


Condensate drain line freezing. Need an internal solution I have a residential 16-SEER four-ton air handler/heat pump unit with a built-in humidifier.  Both summer AC condensate and winter humidifier over-run feed into a condensate pump which is on the basement floor next to the air handler. The discharge from the pump feeds a 3/4” plastic tube, which travels into the basement overhead and then outside to a drainage area. There is a finished bathroom in the basement and NO utility floor drain. Laundry is on the first floor, so limited access to that drain. The problem is that my outside drain line freezes and the condensate pump backs up and shuts down. The float valve NC contacts in the pump shut down the humidifier so no more water comes in, but then the humidifier is off.  How can I drain the pump discharge inside the house to an existing basement DWV pipe?

If the drain line is accessible you could plumb it with a valve so that it goes into a tank during freezing weather. When not freezing it could go outside. What flow rate is coming out? If this is not possible or desirable, figure out how to direct the drain line into the drain under the lavatory.

Alternatively, you could put electric heating tape on the the part of the line that freezes.


Romex into Carlon 5070 phenolic resin boxes. Knockouts? For various reasons I'd like to use the Carlon 5070 phenolic resin boxes for my switches, with romex. The knockouts look weird: rectangle holes, two on each of the four edges in back. How do they work? Is it code to use those with no clamps? I'm in Hawaii.

The type of knockout you describe on a plastic box is an integral NM clamp -- it's Code to use these on NM cable (but only on NM cable -- if you want to hook up conduit to it, you'll need to drill your own knockout.)


How can I determine if dishwasher control panel needs replacing? Three year old dishwasher just stops filling with water one day. The diswahser continues through the remainder of the cycle without ever filling with water. If the water supply is available, are there any mechanical issues to investigate? If this is indicative of a faulty control panel, how can I test that?

I'd like to confirm it is the control panel before I replace it.

Some dishwashers have a float switch gadget in the base water tray that floats up with the water level. Should the water level rise too high this activates a switch that cuts off the water supply valve to prevent the dishwasher from flooding the kitchen. I have seen situations where the float unit gets stuck in its upper position and prevents any water filling to occur. In one case the float mechanism got jammed up due to food debris trapped under it.

Check to see if your unit has a thing like this and clean it out and check for free travel of the float mechanism.


What is this yellow powder under my carpet? We recently moved into a new house and rolled up one of the carpets that was fraying. Under and attached to the carpet is a yellow powder does anyone know what this could be? Are we silly to be worried about asbestos?
Thank you for any help

Looks like degraded carpet glue.
Asbestos seems highly unlikely, but you can have it lab tested if you have asbestos-paranoia. If the house is less than 35-40 years old, it's exceedingly unlikely to have any asbestos anywhere. If it's older, it becomes more likely.
The "classic" asbestos-containing floor adhesive is "black mastic"


Can I run two lines INTO a single condensate pump? Just moved into our first new (old) home and am quickly learning the "joys of homeownership"! In the basement, there is a Little Giant VCMA-15ULST condensate pump attached via PVC for air conditioning.  This pump appears to have two more input plugs.  I need to get a dehumidifier for the basement and am wondering if I can input a line from a dehumidifier into this same pump, or if I need to buy a separate pump for the dehumidifier?  Still haven't had to turn on the AC yet because we're still cool temps.  Thanks for any help!

Usually whole-house AC can make about 3L/hour in humid conditions, and condensate pumps have rates in the range of 5 L/min. So adding another dehumidifier is perfectly handleable by the pump.


What is the cause of this voltage difference between my breaker panel and AC unit? I've got a 3ton AC condenser unit on my roof, with a blower system nearby in attic space supplied by 20A 240v circuit.

The condenser unit is supplied by a 40A 240v circuit, 2 8ga wires
The blower unity is supplied by a 20A 240v circuit, 2 12ga wires
Both circuits are run through the same steel conduit from my outdoor breaker panel.
There are no ground wires in the conduit.
The conduit is a little corroded in places
The total span is about 45'
Measuring voltage in the panel, I get 118v to the ground bar on each wire and 236v wire to wire on each circuit.
Measuring voltage on the roof (with the conduit completely disconnected from the AC unit, so only connected to the panel), I get 95v between the wire and the conduit on each of the 4 wires, but I still get 236v wire to wire on
each circuit.

Why would there be so much voltage drop? It's like the conduit at the roof is at a higher potential than at the panel. Do I need to replace the whole run with new conduit, and circuits with a shared 8ga ground wire? Or run a new ground through the conduit?  I can't see being able to easily do that. What size conduit do I need to carry those wires? Thanks

Conduit is a perfectly acceptable grounding path
EMT conduit is a valid grounding method.  I would be surprised to see a ground wire inside EMT - nothing wrong with it, just would be "belt AND suspenders".
However, it may be appropriate if you are in weather conditions where the EMT is rusting - it's possible for the clamps/bonds to rust out and give you a poor grounding path.  You can go with green stranded wire (which is easier to pull) or bare solid wire (which is harder to pull, and will make future pulls harder, but is better under "conduit fill rules".)
When I say "pulling" I mean most people run a stiff "fishing tape" down and use it to pull a wire through.  I usually don't bother, or don't want to push my metal tape into something hot.  So I just push the wire down the conduit and  do a whole lot of coaxing and sometimes a little light disassembly of a conduit joint. Intermediate access points are very helpful, e.g. that junction box you mentioned.
Since you disconnected the conduit from the A/C unit, you have broken the grounding path if it was good before. If you had a ground fault, it would be "pulling the chassis toward one pole or the other" and the two hot-chassis measurements would total ~240V.  However since it is not, and they are equal, I would say you are detecting the weakness of your grounding path.
I would not tolerate that for a minute; disassemble and wire-brush it as much as you can, and consider running that ground wire.  #10 should suffice for all circuits, and hardware stores sell bare #8 solid.    I would use green stranded #10.
You can also replace rusted sections of the conduit, but that requires pulling the wires out.


what is this wall box/bracket for? I recently moved into a townhome.  The living room appears to be wired for surround sound.  Where the satellite speakers would go, there are blank wall plates.

Behind two of the wall plates are boxes/brackets as shown below (you can see the gray speaker wire running up behind it).

What is this type of bracket intended for?  It looks like something is meant to fit inside the semi-circular openings, or perhaps they are supposed to bent away? I haven't been able to find anything similar online.

That is an Erico MP1S bracket.  Used for low voltage wiring, the tabs can be bent back and 3/4 conduit attached to it.


Best way to make a hole in concrete wall So my house has concrete walls and ceilings. There a few places i would need to remove some large holes like for vents or light fixtures. I was looking at a concrete hole saw which seems to be a good idea but im not sure it would last or what kind of drill to attach it too. Any ideas.

Menards and other places rent core drills for large holes in concrete.

Easiest way is to call Diamond Drilling or a similar company and have them come out and drill all your holes for a few hundred dollars.

Unless you want to buy a Hilti DD100 and the bits which will cost you way more than hundreds.

Edit: Sorry I just re-read your post. If you want to cut bigger holes then you need diamond concrete saw blades for a standard circular saw. They will wear down so you could start with 1 or 2 and see how far that gets you. Depends on how many holes you want to make. Hopefully they are available in Ecuador.

Or you could order one like this.

Then you will need a sledgehammer, wedges, chisels, and lots of muscle.

Good luck!


new washer installed in my condo, and water is backing up and overflowing on the floor through the hose I have a plumber came in last wednesday to replace my faucet in the bathroom shower, because the water coming from the shower, both hot and cold was not mixing properly, he replaced the faucet with a one piece handle faucet. everything seems to be fine. He also installed a new washer for me that is just beside the bathroom and the hose where the water suppose to drain out is escaping on the floor. Are you able to tell me why something like this is happening when the washing machine is releasing the water. Is it that the plumber did not hook up the hose properly,or does this have any connection with fixing the new faucet.

Older washing machines required 1 1/2” pipe.  Newer machines drain water faster than older-style washers, so you may need to install a 2 inch (50mm) drain or get a washing machine that drains slower, like the old one.

I've seen this problem before.


Is it possible to adapt a NEMA 14-50R to a NEMA 6-20P or NEMA 6-30P appliance? In a Canadian residential kitchen, in a house built in the late 1970's, there is a NEMA 14-50R, on a 30 Amp breaker.

Currently a standard oven/range combo is plugged into this receptacle. I would like to replace it with a commercial induction range, e.g. BRIC 3000 or BRIC 3600, that has either a NEMA 6-20P or NEMA L6-30P.

While there seems to be commercially made adaptors for some configurations, I can't see anything for this specific setup.

Nothing easier.  You're already on a 30A breaker, just change the receptacle to L6-30R.

Don't even bother with an adapter cable.

Just cap off the neutral inside the junction box, you won't need it.

However the breaker must match the receptacle.  If you change to a NEMA 6-20R receptacle, you'd need to change the breaker to 20A.


Where do I attach C-Wire in this old Rheem Air Handler Trying to attach a c-wire to old rheem air handler for a cooling system only. System is so old I didn't see what I thought I'd see when I got up into the attic. In going over the pictures I think I might have figured it out but could use confirmation.

There's a 4 conductor thermostat wire going from the thermostat up to the air handler. Only 3 wires were used I was hoping to attach the blue wire as the C-wire.

Red Rc on thermostat
White (or maybe yellow) Y on Thermostat
Green G on Thermostat.

There's also a second 2 conductor thermostat looking cable (brown jacket) with a white and red wires.

On top of the air handler is a switch (regular light switch) I guess as a quick disconnect.

This is the wiring diagram I found inside the air handler wiring box.

There's a block that's obviously the line voltage terminal that I didn't take a picture of.

I think this is the MIB? (Motor, indoor blower)

And this RM? (Relay, blower motor) with the transformer on the right.

I think I can connect the C-wire to the yellow wire that comes off the left of the transformer or the blue wire it attaches to on the top right of the relay. Easiest is probably to cut the yellow wire and splice the 2 new ends of the yellow wire together with the blue wire from the thermostat cable. Does that sound right?

And out of curiousity what could the other 2 wire cable be going to? It's not to another thermostat.

This is easier than it looks even

Simply nut the blue wire in the four-wire cable to the junction of the white wire from the two-wire cable and the brown? wire going into the air handler.  We know it's your C wire because that two-wire cable has only one place it can head: to your outdoor unit and its contactor.  Since the red wire in that cable is the Y wire that switches the contactor, the white wire, and by extension the wire connected to it, must be C wires otherwise the contactor would never work.


How to insulate my garage walls using sheathing My garage is a pole building type with pressed wood walls and exterior siding. I want to put sheathing on the walls for some insulation. The girts that the exterior wall is attached to are 1.5" x 4" being attached flat and run the length of the garage and are attached to the poles. Should I install the sheathing between the studs letting the studs exposed? Or should I attach the sheathing to the studs letting the air space between the sheathing and the exterior wall?

I can't quite picture what you're describing, but covering studs is always better than placing insulation in between when doing so is practical. Studs do not provide good insulation and turn into a heat sink. The dead air space left also provides a bit more insulation. Even better would be to insulate that space, then put more insulating sheathing over that and the studs.


Toilet tank running into bowl So our pump kept going off randomly as well as our tank running out of water. I put a couple of drops of food colouring in this toilet tank and sure enough the toilet bowl filled with colored water. So it seems that there's a leak running into the bowl.

Can anyone let me know how to fix?

Here's a video of said leak (ignore the tp, it was used to wipe up excess food colouring!)

https://streamable.com/5wig

Given a recent question, you might want to consider replacing the whole toilet. There are good examples of low-water-use toilets out now that reliably flush with far less water (1.28 gallons per flush) than older toilets, and you know all the parts will fit.

Otherwise you are looking at replacing, in order of ease, the flush valve or flapper (usually a rubbery part - they get old and crack or stiffen), or the flush valve seat and overflow tube (which often comes with a new valve) and pretty much always requires taking the tank off the bowl (cistern/pan for the across the pond folks.) Since you have to take the tank off the bowl, you'll want replacement gaskets for the tank to bowl screws.

That is assuming that you don't have a very simple issue such as a mis-adjusted float causing water to go over the top of the overflow tube - where you'd need to adjust the float, or replace a faulty fill valve if it can't be adjusted.

Aside from reduced water use, the main thing that buying a whole new toilet gets you is freedom from the multiplicity of different makes and models of toilet with non-interchangable parts. You want to know the brand (at least) of your toilet when you go shopping, and having some measurements or taking the defective part with you can help to sort out which parts will actually fit your particular toilet.


GFCI installation help So I just replaced an old gfci with a new one. It has two cable connected to it. With originally the two black wires connected together to a third black wire with a wire screw cap and connected to the line. Same for the 2 white wires. The ground wires were connected together and connected to the ground on the gfci.

I took out the old gfci and replaced it with a new one. Wired it the same way the old one was. No power. The circuit tester does not have any light turn on (according to the tester that means open hot) when I use it to test the gfci. When I use it to test the 2 outlets connected to the gfci it tell me that they are wired correctly. It does not reset.

I rewired the gfci 1 cable through line, and one through load.   When I try to reset it it does so but immediately  goes out. According to the circuit tester the gfci still has open hot, but when I test the outlets connected to the gfci I also get the open power reading. Additionally the red led that is on the gfci starts to blink and let out a constant klick noise

What should I do?

OK, stop.  Put it back the way you found it; it was that way for a reason.

Since you don't even know what LOAD does exactly, you don't really have a reason to want to use the terminals (other than "gotta try random stuff til it works").  Don't ever do that with electrical -- you will find many combinations that will work (mission accomplished) and will create a lingering problem that will kill you.

Your first problem with this GFCI happened because you attached the wires to LOAD instead of LINE. That was a mistake from removing the warning tape unnecessarily (or getting one with the warning tape on the wrong terminals; that has happened).

Your second problem was because the downline wiring is not compatible with a GFCI, which may be why the original installer used pigtails. Whatever: It's not your problem today; you're not here to chase that problem.  Be good to fix it someday, though.

Now, you said you hooked it up exactly as you found it. I'm guessing you were looking at the physical dimensions, e.g. which side has the ground.  That throws people all the time, because it's just not consistent among devices.  You need the LINE side (which means don't take the warning tape off the LOAD side).

If that doesn't work, either this GFCI is defective, or there's a line problem upstream of the GFCI, e.g. the original problem was not this GFCI.


Well pump exceeds normal pressure The pressure gauge on our pump (which brings in water from our well) seems to be having troubles.  The gauge is not supposed to go above 45.  Usually, when the gauge reads 40 the pump will turn off.

Now, it is not causing the pump to turn off and will keep increasing pressure, according to the gauge.  Does this seem to be a problem with the gauge, the pump, the regulation switch or the tank?  I am not sure where to start.

Thank you.

This would appear to be most likely a faulty pressure switch.

Start there.

The job of the pressure switch is to turn on when the water pressure is low, and turn off when it is high enough - this is most commonly a 20 PSI range (ie, 20-40, 30-50 or 40-60 PSI.)

The pump is evidently working.

The pressure gauge is evidently working unless you see some other behavior that suggests otherwise, such as a non-zero pressure when you drain the system.

A tank problem would not cause uncontrolled pressure rise. The most common tank problem (failed bladder/waterlogging) would cause abrupt pressure rise and the pressure switch would cut off very quickly.

Unless you have gremlins that would have altered the adjustment of your pressure switch, all reported symptoms point to switch failure. Start with replacing it, should be in stock at most any hardware store.


Help, can I still fix this? A few weeks ago, the door knob started to become loose with greyish wood/sand chunks falling out of the gap between the doorknob and the door. Currently thinking of getting a handyman in to have a look but just want some opinions on whether it’s still fixable and if it’s worth it. TIA

Yes, this can be remedied by using a "goof plate" pictured below.  If the outer diameter of the lockset is 2" or larger this plate will work.  I do believe they make smaller ones if the lockset is smaller.  The UPC for this product is 049793095244- Model # U-9524.  Package includes 2 pieces-One for each side.


How can I paint over a glossy surface that might contain lead paint? I am repainting a bathroom that includes trim with a high gloss.  The house is old (1924) and the existing paint may have lead in it.  There was a remodel in the '80s, but I can't guarantee the current paint was applied then.

My local paint store advised against sanding to take off the gloss, because of the lead risk.  They recommended a "liquid sandpaper" product which I applied.  However, the first coat of the new paint did not stick (I've been stripping it back off for the last couple of weekends).  The paint store also advised I did not need a primer, which I now believe was a mistake.

How can I get the new paint to stick to the old?

Rather than just seal in paint that might be lead-based, especially as you mentioned that you're stripping off the bad coat, it might be worth finally just removing it so you don't have to go through these concerns in the future.  (especially if you don't have kids now, but think you might in the future, so you can get the dust over and done with).

New York has some recommendations for removing lead paint.  The important thing is to keep it from becoming dust and getting spread around the house, which just makes things worse.  I believe there are some chemical paint strippers that can be used with lead paint, although that website didn't mention any.  I also found mention that Massachusets used to require licensed contractors and require it to be disposed of as hazardous waste, so it might be worth checking before you attempt this.

...

If you were going to attempt this without stripping it all off, I'd follow the New York guidelines (contain the area), wet sand to rough up the surface, then prime it and re-paint.

Oh ... and you can also get test kits for check for lead paint.  Odds are, being gloss and trim, it's more likely though, and even if the top coat isn't, there might be lead in an older coat.


Where can I purchase a replacement wattage limiter? I have a Hunter ceiling fan with a light kit.  This does not come with a remote control.  After years of service and correct operation the fan still works fine but the lights stopped working.  I checked the pull switch and it is fine. After researching on line was able to isolate the problem.  The Hunter Part # 98480-02 Wattage limiter controller is bad.  Does anyone know where a replacement can be purchased.

You can apparently replace the current pull switch and remove the wattage limiter to correct the problem (detailed here: Reddit post

If you want to order a replacement, Hunter (the manufacturer) may have them (Hunter).  I also found this site and this site which seems to sell them (no experience with them)

Note that any electrical modifications may carry risk, which you assume entirely.


possible to have too much soffit intake venting for roof/attic? Is it possible to have too much soffit intake? Currently my simple gable roof on a ranch home has 8 RVO38 vents but NO soffit intake vents (terrible!). Of course the attic space runs incredibly hot and is not doing me any favors. I need to get the venting improved pronto.

The soffit boards sag and have signs of water damage from previous owner's overflowing gutters, so I wanted to replace them with some t&g cedar and put in a continuous soffit vent. If that didn't help attic venting I would have a ridgeline vent installed. Would it potentially be bad to give myself all that soffit venting or could I try that and see if it is adequate before going to a ridgeline vent?

You generally want a balanced system with equal intake and exhaust areas, but if you can't balance the system, then there should be more intake area so none of the exhausts (usually near the peak) get back-drawn and act as intakes.


Buying a new home and had questions on electrical box Can someone take a look at this breaker box and please let me know if there is anything I should be concerned with. Its a smaller house 1300 sq 3 bed 2 bath. Ac, new electric oven, gas water heater.

Generally I really like how this panel is set up. Neutrals are all landed on the bus on the left. Grounds are all landed on the bus on the right.  It is a main panel, and neutral and grond buses are bonded by the wide black strap, but that's as it should be.

The red wire landed on the ground bus, I would have questions about that.

The capped wires on the left are no problem, those are simply unused circuits you might be able to put to use in the future, depending on where they go.

On the right are all 2-pole breakers, on the left 1-pole for 120V circuits.

The only thing that catches my eye is the red wires on the 120V circuits.  Follow those back to the cable they enter the box with.  They should be in a cable with a black and white wire.  Now follow the black to its breaker.  The red and black from the same cable should be on a 2-pole breaker.  These are multi-wire branch circuits, and the red and black need to switch off together.  This panel type is BR, which is a perfectly acceptable panel, and 2-pole breakers cost $9.


How should I handle cracked grout in my two bathrooms? Both bathrooms have cracked grout where the tile meets the tub. They were done by a contractor 2.5 years ago. The second picture shows a crack going away from the tub between tiles.

This bathroom has hairline cracks.

This bathroom cracks thicker than a hairline.

Should I just put new grout over the cracks and press it in the cracks? Should I grind out the grout entirely and start fresh? Are there any special patch up products? I have never worked with grout before and I am clueless as to the best strategy.

Just caulk it. Grout will tend to crack in any change of plane, so caulk is the recommended practice. For prep, scratch out anything that's loose or protrudes past your caulk profile. You'll probably want to use white for the tub transition and a color matched caulk for the tile-to-tile corner.

A typical installation is caulked at the plane change and has room for both planes or at least the floor to expand comfortably. Grouting it with no expansion room is what you have. The "right" thing to do would be to scrape it out to give it more wiggle, but it's not absolutely necessary. It's a lot more work and possibly more likely to break your tile compared to just leaving it be, especially since it's been fine for a year so far.


Low voltage on 120V receptacle after too much load We accidentally ran our microwave and an electric tea kettle on the same outlet at the same time.  Suddenly neither would turn on.  I brought out my volt meter and it reads a curious 13 volts vs the nearest outlet that reports 122 volts.

I checked the breakers and reset each one and even took off the outlet cover and hooked the volt meter up to the wires and it still reports 13 volts.

The outlet appears to have 3 wires, I'm guessing the neutral, the ground and the hot wire.

I haven't removed the outlet and tested the wires without the outlet in the circuit... But does this sound like a busted outlet?

I can't seem to find any other outlets reporting low voltage so I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with the breaker or the wires.

Since you have a meter, flip the breaker off for this circuit and remove the receptacle. Keep the wires separated and safe and then flip the breaker back on. Check the voltage between the hot and neutral. If it's 120V, then replace the receptacle. If it's still 13V, then the problem is upstream of this between the walls or at another receptacle along the line.

If this is the issue, you would have to check out each receptacle along the line until it returns to 120V from hot to neutral, this would mean the problem is between that receptacle and the last measured. Since you said that the nearest receptacle is at 120V, I'm assuming that it's on the same circuit and the next wired in sequence? If anything, your problem is between this receptacle and your problem receptacle; in wiring or in devices.


Switching out an LED recessed light with no neutrals to a pendant We've moved into a new construction - built 2015 - and want to switch out a recessed light (a HALO product EL406930) to a pendant light. I bought a Westinghouse recessed-light-to-pendant-conversion kit from Home Depot to make the process much easier.

Problem is:
The brass-colored pendant light is "normal," as it has a ground, a bunch of whites (neutral wires) and a bunch of blacks (hot wires). However, our recessed light can has 1 black and 1 red wire. I assume one has current flowing all the time and one is controlled by a switch, since there's no fan and the narrow space never intended to house a fan either. But my problem is there's no neutral to connect my pendant's white wires to.
What do I do with the white, neutral wires?

Original recessed can where I've already started installing the converter kit, showing black+red:

New pendant I'm trying to install, with "normal" ground, black, white:

UPDATE - Looks like either the black or the red is a neutral according to the HALO recessed can installation guide that comes up if you google halo-h457tate010-705787ins-adv131561-ins.pdf

The color codes are a dead giveaway.  Red/black is DC power (or very old UK 240V wiring).  AC power must have a white or light blue neutral.

It appears based on this PDF that there is low/mid voltage DC on the red/black wires.   What you removed is the "LED engine" (ie the emitter proper) and the red/black is regulated power coming from the LED driver module.**  This regulated power is specific to this particular family of LEDs; it can't drive any product not engineered to work with this driver.

Apparently this system has a lot of stuff that lives up inside the ceiling.  There's a metal junction box of considerable size (like a 3-gang) which takes connections for 120-277 volt AC power, as well as 0-10 volt dimmer control.  These are in separate compartments, since AC power and low voltage DC control lines must be separated.   The junction box lid can be released by snaps, and built into the lid is the LED driver module, which taps the 120-277V power and 0-10V dimmer signal.

The whole idea of the snap-off lid with the driver in the lid is for ease of service, the driver being likely to fail first.  After the LED "engine" is removed (as you have done), the cylindrical skirting can be removed too, and an installer can get a hand up there, release the junction box cover snaps, remove the cover with driver module, swap another one in and snap it down...  all presumably one-handed.

If you wanted 120V you would need to tap it out of that junction box.  A few problems with that.

If you have 0-10V dimming, you are going to lose it.
You would need to find a new route to send 120V from the junction box to the lamp housing, i.e. knock out another knockout on the AC side.
This would require flexible cordage which is legal for that purpose.
Push aside the original cordage, as this is a quality lighting system and wrecking it would be a waste.
Disconnect and ignore the LED driver module in the box cover plate.
You'd need to do all that one-handed while reaching through the hole and standing on a ladder.

The only other option is to make some drywall dust and come up with a new physical routing for the power, and just use the hole and box.  Again don't irreparably wreck the Halo hardware; it's a really nice system that the next homebuyer may want.

It seems like it will be a challenging project.

** (By contrast, here is a HALO system that does not use a driver and sends 120V straight to the lamp.  Note that it uses white and black wires on the leads.)


What could cause the blower in my furnace to come on? Ok my blower just turned on, my propane furnace and it's not in operation due it being summer.  My thermostat is set at 65 and the room temp is 78.  The heater never actually fired it was only the blower that ran and continued to run till I tripped the breaker.  Any ideas on what caused it?

If your power flickered, that might have confused the furnace's electronics. Otherwise, your furnace might possibly have an automatic periodic purge to keep condensate from forming & the burners / blower from rusting.

Which make & model furnace do you have? If yours supports periodic purges, that should be mentioned in the owner's manual (available online).


How do I label fluorescent fixtures converted to LED? I am going to replace some regular fluorescent tubes that are about to burn out with LED ones and would like to add a sticker inside the fixture to advise a future owner to not install regular fluorescent tubes, but I can't seem to think of a concise verbiage for said sticker. I don't know:"Fixture not wired for regular fluorescent use""Do not install regular fluorescent tubes"Any suggestions?Edit: How 'bout this: "Use with standard fluorescent tube requires rewiring; consult a licensed electrician"

Don't say what shouldn't be in there, say what should.  "Direct-wire LED tubes only"

I put the sticker directly behind (above) the tube so it hides the sticker.  I would place it near the lampholder which has the 120V on it, if that's a factor.

Then on the endcap of the fixture, at the power cord end, "Ballast removed. Direct wired for LED."

If the fixture doesn't have a power plug (or if it's annoyingly inaccessible), my practice is to install an internal disconnect inside the fixture (scroll down and look for the orange connector) which can be had cheaply here.  It's not required for direct-wire LEDs (and several other exceptions) but it's a good thing to do, and the connectors are only a buck.


How can I stain dark Sapele wood to reduce red tone? I have installed stair treads in Sapele (dark wood with definite reddish tinge) but now realize this clashes badly with the coffee coloured bamboo floor and the oak doors of the hallway where the stairs are.
The floors are pre-finished so I don't have an option to change their colour. The oak is paler than the floor but doesn't clash with it, as both woods are a warm brown without the red tinge. So I would like to change the stairs colour to something close to the floor... mostly it needs to be yellow-er and no darker than it now is ...but how?

The Sapele has been oiled (Colron Jacobean dark oak Dye and then a top coat of linseed oil) and I think the wood would absorb more, but the red still shows through. Can I just apply a paler oil-based dye (say a golden oak colour)? Should I try removing the previous layers of oil with turpentine first? Or somehow 'bleach' the wood?
If that wouldn't work, would a wood stain hide the dark red undertone?... Can stain go over oil and will stained wood treads withstand the wear and tear?
I don't have Sapele wood scraps, so I can work by trial and error only if the errors can be undone... or should I go buy some Sapele before I start?
Any suggestions welcome. Many thanks in advance.

I know this is way after the fact but if you want to brown up wood a cool method is to use Potasium Dichromate (Bichromate of Potash if your an old timey cabinet maker). Its a water soluble mineral that reacts with the tannin in the wood and accelerates the natural aging process. It won't eliminate the red completely but it makes it more of a brown tone and much, much darker. Its pretty safe to work with as a liquid but avoid inhaling the dust because its fairly carcinogenic.


Can I replace a 40A water heater breaker with a 60A breaker to prevent trips? Double 40 amp breaker tripped as HD want work. Can I use a double 60 amp on my water heater?

TLDR:  there aren't that many things that handle electricity in a water heater - a couple of switches (unlikely to be them) and a big heating element. None of these parts are expensive.  Why not just fix the heater?  I don't know how to fix a heater but I know how to change a breaker - that's an effect my father referred to as "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic". And the cure is "school up".

Never up-size breakers!

I don't understand how humans develop the logic "Breaker size X trips, let's just use breaker size X+10 or 20 and maybe it won't trip anymore". I guess it's because they don't know why breaker sizes are chosen in the first place.

Breakers protect wires and appliances.  Without a correctly sized breaker,  the wire can overheat and start a fire.  Worse, it'll start it inside the walls, where it's impossible to put out a fire early - it will fully engage, there's nothing  you can do about it, and the house is done.

Or the equipment can have an internal fault that isn't detected by the breaker.  Of course appliances are safety tested; that's what Underwriter's Laboratories does, and they apply UL listings.  But a UL listing is only good if you install the appliance properly, and that includes the correct breaker size - UL can't vouch for a 30A appliance on a 60A breaker!

Obviously, the "up-size the breaker" mentality has already visited your house.  Almost all water heater circuits are 30A, and here you are already at 40A.  I suspect you've already had trip problems, you or the "last guy" has already up-sized the breaker, and that didn't work so here you are.  That is because the underlying problem is still there.  Your 60 will also trip, and you'll find yourself installing an 80, 100, 150, where does this end?   Why not just forget the breaker and go with this sub-feed lug kit?

See? It contains no breaker at all, just lugs.  Put a known-defective large appliance on no circuit protection whatsoever - what could possibly go wrong?

Well, a 60A breaker on a 30A large device and 30A wire is pretty much "no circuit protection whatsoever".

Or is this a GFCI problem?

You may have a water heater which isn't burning down the wires, just has a ground fault and is tripping a GFCI breaker.   GFCIs aren't required on water heaters, so you could hypothetically replace the GFCI with a plain breaker of the correct size (30A).  Boy, I hope your supply pipe is metal... However, again this does nothing to fix the underlying problem.

If it's a GFCI trip, the underlying problem is probably dirt/dust in the water heater wiring, or a faulty heating element.


Can somebody help me understand my washing machine installation report? I had a integrated washing machine fitted yesterday due to the covid 19 situation I kept a good safety distance from them and there was minimal communication. The plumbers left without any explanation on what issues they had. Today his company sent me an installation report with below two issues and pictures. I know nothing about plumbing etc. Just trying to understand if these are serious issues and whether it'd be worth looking into soon. Thanks in advance for your help!

Customer has no tap on the isolation valve - customer advised to get
a new one

Tiles don't go all the way back customer advised to have flooring
altered as there is just wood at the back which is not that stable
for the machine.

Customer has no tap on the isolation valve - customer advised to get a new one

Looks like the cold water shutoff valve to which the hose is connected is missing the plastic handle. In the photo I can see the metal shank of the valve protruding upwards from the valve body, but there's no handle (like the red one on the hot water shutoff) on it so you can't really close the valve without using a tool. The plastic handle likely broke off some time in the past. You should consider having the valve replaced so that you can quickly shut water off if there's a leak.

  Tiles don't go all the way back customer advised to have flooring
  altered as there is just wood at the back which is not that stable
  for the machine.

Looking at the photo it seems that the back of the machine is sitting on a flat piece of wood while most of the machine is a bit above the floor. This might be a problem depending on the specific model of the machine, where its adjustable feet are located and whether they're sufficiently supported. You'll have to take a look into the gap underneath the machine and see if you need to fill it with something.


spotlight is always on and switch is not working I have a spotlight outside all the wires are tracked and in working order but the light stays on constantly .even when connected to its switch. this one is a head scratcher. I replaced the light switch too.

If we eliminate "magic" as an option, the only thing that makes sense here is that you have not, in fact tracked all the wires properly (or at least they are not connected the way they should be.)

If you disconnect and insulate the wires connected to the switch (circuit breaker off, of course) does the light still come on? If so, then you don't have two defective switches (which is pretty unlikely anyway) – you have a wiring error.


"Stringing" conduit together Is it OK to take a piece of string and slip the conduit pieces you are putting together onto it before you assemble them? I was thinking that doing this would be easier than trying to fish or feed a guide-string through the conduit, or simply pulling the wires through it without a guide-string to help with the process...

You have to assemble it first, before wires, but putting the string in as you put it together is fine.

300.18 Raceway Installations

(A) Complete Runs. Raceways, other than busways or exposed raceways having hinged or removable covers, shall be installed complete between outlet, junction, or splicing points prior to the installation of conductors.


How do I remove construction glue from brick? I just removed glued-on paneling from an interior brick wall. Now, I have the task of removing the glue from said brick. What is the best method of doing so? I know there's no getting around the use of a scraper, obviously, but wanted to get input from you all :)

Click for full size

As the comment said, a heat gun may make scraping this off much easier. First, try scraping some off without a heat gun.  You might get lucky and it might "break" off the surface in large solid pieces.  If it does, the heat gun might make it more difficult.  If it does not come off easily, then I'd try the heat gun.

Start a low temperature and work your way up gradually until the adhesive softens up; you don't want to burn it, just soften it up. Please beware that heating this adhesive might release harmful vapors.  Make sure your area is well ventilated when doing this. You might even opt to wear a respirator.

I would personally stay away from solvents in this case especially if you do not know what type of adhesive it is.


Why does my water heater's drain line rejoin the outlet pipe? I know very little about water heaters and plumbing.  Done some minimal work, but never water heater hookup.

I need to replace my 20 year old AO Smith 50 gal gas water heater in a house I've owned for nine years.  Water heater is in the basement, all pipes are copper.  The hot water outlet pipe at the top of the water goes up a few feet and branches to several pipes supplying water to various areas of the house.

But there is something curious about the way the drain on the water heater is setup.

A plumber giving me a bid noted that the drain outlet on the water heater has a valve, which opens to a two way junction.  One side of the junction goes immediately to a standard outdoor hose faucet (seems normal so far).  The other side of the junction is a pipe that leads back above the water heater, through the basement wall, and eventually rejoins one branch of the hot water outlet pipe (probably 10-12 feet away), specifically the one going to the kitchen sink.

The plumber, who seems very experienced, was perplexed by this configuration, said he'd never seen it and didn't know why it would be this way, and told me he'd have to undo this when installing the replacement.

There is a 2nd water heater in another part of the basement that isn't quite as old (also gas, 40 gal), and that I eventually would like to decommission.  This 2nd water heater appears to have been installed about seven years after the first, but appears to have the same drain configuration, same two-way junction with one side leading to a pipe that travels some distance away and rejoins another hot water outlet pipe.

Somebody obviously went to a lot of work to setup the drains on both water heaters this way.

I'm wondering what function this configuration would serve, whether it is important, and should I ask that it be retained.  Thanks!

What you describe sounds like a Gravity Fed Hot water re-circulation system.

It's designed to keep hot water available at the kitchen sink without having to flush cold water out of the pipe first.   The trade off is waste heat because the line out to the kitchen sink in your case is always kept hot.

Sometimes these systems have a pump, but they don't need to especially if the piping is above. As the water cools it becomes more dense and thus heavier, which creates the circulation.

The following diagram is shamelessly stolen form the internet.

Strictly opinion follows: it seems like an experienced plumber would recognize this method, it's been around a very long while.


Installing Adhesive Cement Tape Getting ready to tape my HardieBacker 1/2" cement boards.  Some instructions say to apply the the self-adhesive fiberglass tape (FibaTape in my case) to the boards, and go over it with thinset.

Others say to apply the thinset, and embed the tape into the thinset.

Does it matter?

Either way will work, I do it without the initial layer of thinset. What matters the most is using a nice creamy thinset mix and applying it carefully in a wide band, to reduce the "hump" that could result in tiles that lay unevenly.


What's a hinge called for a two-door corner cabinet? I have kitchen cabinet in the corner where it has a revolving holder inside, which can spin so that it will use the space deep inside as well.  The door for it has 2 panels. There are 2 hinges connecting the 2 panels. One of the hinges seem to be broken, so I'm wondering what's the name for that connecting hinge, so that I could order the part.
Appreciate if anyone can give suggestion on the name I can use to search this part.
Here are the pictures for the cabinet and close-up look of the hinge.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EN-cwCVBGaAooCIw2TEwiJcKZVID4B30/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15L2h-nTdpOtDBQn6CT05-T7qqjcCfWTF/view?usp=sharing

"Lazy Susan hinge" or "corner cabinet hinge" should do.


Horizontal Fence on a slope; what's the best design? I am replacing my neighbors low, 4' tall fence on the side of my yard with a new wooden fence.

I like horizontal fences.

I am going to put the horizontal fence boards between the posts. The span of this fence is 24'.  The ground drops away 4' between the bottom of the front fence post and the bottom of the rear fence post.

In the rear, this fence joins a 7' tall gate and fence with 8' tall posts.  When joined these fences will make an L shape.  See the attached diagram.

I want to use a pleasing design for this fence.  I want to make a friendly space and I am unsure which design looks good and importantly won't create a weird or imposing perspective in this smallish sloped and angled space.

The space between the driveway and fence will have landscaping.

Building this is not that difficult, so this may be a bad question.  The slope with the taller rear fence makes me wonder what works aesthetically here.  I am considering three fence design options.

My question is what looks best when you build a horizontal fence on a slope?  Once you have done this five or ten times, what do you learn?  What looks right in a space like this?

All advice will be appreciated.

This an inexpensive house from the 80's.  They are now adding million dollar homes to the area.  Ours is a little too expensive to tear-down, so we have spiffed it up considerably, just adding new siding.  There is more to go.

A new front entry and over garage lights are high on the list.

EDIT: Well, the city won't let me build a fence within 20 feet of the street, at the front of my house.  I sounds like, if they approve the plans they would allow me to build a 3'6" fence.  Neither of these enable me to cover the neighbor's chain-link fence.

EDIT: I did build a gate and small fence.  I will use cedar to extending the fence into the backyard.  The design will probably be a combination of the bottom sloping design in Option 1, and the stair-step top in Option 3.

EDIT: Here's what I built, the top and landscaping are not finished.

Here is a photo of the front, not exactly showing the area.  The old fence and house color is to the left in these photos (my finger too :-), you can see a couple boards and get an idea of where this will go.

I have only done this once, in my own backyard, but I am also in the business of aesthetics, so I thought I would chime in. In my situation we went with option #2.

I would not recommend option #3, due to purely aesthetic reasons, unless you would like to keep the fence low all the way down for some reason (light, neighbors wishes, view). Having the gate suddenly jump up by 4' at the end would be quite strange looking, in my opinion.

If you go with option #2 the fence will be high in the back corner, which will allow for taller plants and more landscaping options, and will just look better in general. You get the same effect with option #1, however, it is more of a pain to do all the cuts necessary to slope the bottom, which after a little bit of growth from the landscaping you will never see. It would really be a pointless detail. In my experience, once we got building we were very happy that we had decided against doing that very thing- it's enough work already! And after just a couple months of growth the bottom of the fence was totally obscured anyway.

I wonder if your house is a mid century style? Horizontal fences always look great with this style of house- I also prefer them over vertical for almost everything. I wish I could send you a pic, but I don't live in the house anymore and am renting it out. Anyway, I hope my two cents helps you decide!


Drainage for level driveway I am thinking of replacing my asphalt driveway with granite paving. The problem is that if I build a mortar bed for the granite blocks it will be level, so that water will sit on top of the driveway and not drain off.

In professional road building the road surface is crowned to provide for water shedding.

How can build the driveway so that water sheds off?

You don't need to crown the driveway, just make sure that the runoff slopes away from the house at to one and a half inches per ten feet; so if your driveway is 20ft long, the bottom should be 3inches lower than the top. If possible, pitch in two directions, so water runs to the bottom and to the side. (the recommended minimum is 1" to 10', but I like to play safe)

You don't set granite blocks in a mortar bed - it's too rigid and brittle. Use blocks designed for a vehicle driveway (they're thicker than the normal pavers you can buy). Put a good base below that - 8 to 12 inches, compacted. Anything less will not take the weight of the cars for too long. Spend a lot of money and time getting the base right, and the block part of it will be fun.

The internet has a lot of help on how to build and install driveways. My advice is only as follows;

Prepare your base such that it extends sideways 50% of the depth. So if you're working on a 12" base, you want to prepare an area 6" extra all round (so a 10'x20' drive needs an 11' x 21' base)
Rent, or buy, a vibrating plate compactor. It's worth it for the speed and quality of finish.
Don't think that you can get away with a thinner base because you have hard ground. You may get away with it, but it's better to be absolutely sure that the base you've built is to your specifications, not Mother Natures.


How can I add an outlet to a switch box? I have a three-gang box and wish to take out one switch and add a double switch, eliminating one switch.  I'd like to use the space of the eliminated switch for a outlet. There is already a GFCI in this bathroom. The neutrals are all together on one circuit.
How do I use the hot wires to connect all of the switches and outlet? By the way, one other switch will remain for the fan.

It's likely that you have this scenario. You'd just connect the hot and neutral to the new outlet, and pigtail to the various switches. Blacks go out from the switches to the light or fan, and whites return to the neutral bundle.


Can I drill 3-1/2" holes through five joists? I need to move a toilet to the other side of room approx. 6 ft. I will have to drill a 3.5 in hole for the waste line in five floor joists on the second floor. Can I double them and still drill the 3.5 in hole and be in compliance?

This bracket provides a building code approved solution for holes up to 6" through as many joists as you want - Joist Hole Reinforcer. Full disclosure, this is a product that I sell for the exact application in question. There are other ways to reinforce joists with holes, but I believe this is the only one that is code compliant out of the box. Hope this is is useful and helpful to others, not intending to spam.


Why is there moisture under some new wall plates in the basement? I'm doing a basement finishing project. When I nailed down bottom plate(treated lumber) for framing, I see some moisture appears after a while, no visible water, right under some of the bottom plates. Before nailing, the basement was dry - no seepage through walls or floor. So I do not know if the moisture is captured temporarily so it will be gone soon or it is coming through floor with nailing.

Can anyone have similar experience and know why?
If the moisture comes from the nailing, is there a way to seal it (all framing is already done)?

Any help/advice will be appreciated.
Added information:

I don't have a sump pit
The moisture only appears on two sides - north and west side
I think it started appearing after 3 to 5 hours of the installation
Along with the same side where moisture appeared, I put test frame with 2 ETA shots about 8 hours ago, but no moisture is detected yet.
My house is on a higher ground than street (with retaining walls around the perimeter). So even though basement is still underground, basement floor is almost same level as street. I can tell it because my main sewer pipe is buried under the basement floor.

Pressure-treated lumber is as juicy as a ripe peach. On many occasions I've been splattered in the face while cutting and nailing boards fresh out of a strapped unit. It weights as much as three times a dry board. I'd guess that the concrete is drawing the moisture out of the wood. It's not coming through the nail holes.
Run a fan to circulate things for a few days, and run a dehumidifier if necessary. See what's what then.