What is the best tool to rip laminate flooring planks to width? Can you please tell me what tools work best to cut a laminate flooring plank to a narrower size and so that the cut is perfectly straight?

Kind regards.

Use a flooring saw like this type Skill Flooring Saw. Much much safer and easier to use than a table saw. Look at the video in the link.

Here


Weird filter size for airconditioner I have a weird size air-conditioner filter that is 414 x 544 mm, which is a little over 16" and a little over 21".
When I go to to the hardware store here in Canada, they carry all sorts of filter sizes, but nothing that matches my filter, so I had to cut and tape one up.
Also, when the label says 16" on a filter, it is actually less than 16" for the product? Very confusing.
What is going on here?
Did I end up with a European filter in Canada, maybe? Or is something else going on?
The brand name on it is Carrier and model number is FB4CNF036.

The site filterbuy.com does have filters that are a little over 16x21 in, e.g., 16.25 x 21.25 x 1 inch.
What is the thickness of your filter, 1 inch, 2 inch, etc.?


How to install wardrobe flushed against the wall I am installing Ikea Pax system of wardrobes and was wondering if I should or should not remove the baseboards in order to have it flushed against the wall.Husband's concerns if of the mold and moisture...

Yes, remove the baseboard.  It looks like those Pax wardrobes are intended to be screwed to the wall like a cabinet.   You'll want them flush with the wall when putting the screws in.  There is no additional risk of mold (unless you are spilling liquid behind it).


Wiring additional light to a 3-way switch (switch > light / switch > light) I have an existing 3 way light switch in the basement with a 3 way switch at the bottom and the top of the stairs with 3 cans in the basement hallway. We would like to add some lights to the stairwell and I'm not sure the best place to try and run the wire from.

First switch connects to power, switch then runs to the bottom of the stairs where it connects to another switch. From there the switch is connected to 3 chained can lights.

My question is, can a light be added off of the first switch that also chains to the second switch?

Not without re-running the cable between the switches

Right now, there's no switched hot at the first switch, just a hot, a neutral, and two travelers.  You'd need to replace the existing cable between the switches with a 12/4 to get a switched hot to the first switch from the second.   At that point, you might as well instead run a cable to the 2nd switch box, or to the light box for that matter.


Why am I having an attic ventilation problem this year when I didn't last year? This winter in the attic I noticed ice on the roofing nails. Obviously warm moist air condensed and then froze on the cold nails. When the weather broke and warmed up a bit, I was back up in the attic and noticed black mold on certain areas of the lower attic ceiling going toward the eaves.

Some interesting facts:

I have been in the house two years and did not notice this happening last year.
This is only occurring on one side of the attic ceiling, the other side is completely fine (no rusted nails poking through, no mold)
I recently put down some more plywood so I can have more area for storage, and before I did that I added some more insulation to the attic floor (rolls). I wonder if that has anything to do with it?
It was also a colder drier winter this year so we had humidifiers in use more, so that may also have something to do with it.

I am just curious why it is happening this year and not last year, and why on only one side of attic ceiling (roof).

Important Information:

For ventilation of the attic we have only two gable vents (one on each side of the house), about 1.5ft x 2ft rectangle each. These do not have any fans.
There are no soffit vents or ridge or roof vents; just the 2 gable vents.
Looking at the lower part of where the attic roof slopes down and meets the wall I notice there is a board that blocks the attic area from the soffit area/eave. So if I was to put in soffit vents from outside, I believe I would have to also drill holes from inside attic through this board so the outside air could actually pass into attic and not be trapped in this blocked off area.
The attic space is about 600sq ft.
The only insulation is in the attic floor and on there walls, there is no insulation on the attic ceiling.
Bathroom fans are vented to outside the home (not into the attic or soffit)
I live in Massachusetts where winters get cold and summers are hot and humid.

My questions:

What should I do?
Why was the gable venting system in place good enough last year but not this year?
Why only one side of attic affected?

I recently beefed up the insulation and seal on the pull-down attic entrance as this could be an area where warm moist air was entering into the attic (the entrance is on same side as the attic problem area). Will that fix problem, or do you recommend installing more ventillation anyways?

Will a fan on the gable vents do the trick, or do I need to install soffit vents anyway?

Will soffits with the gables work, or will ridge or roof venting also be required?

In case you haven't noticed, weather varies ;) This alone could account for the different effects each winter. But I think you're right, other factors are at play here.

Ventilation. Your gross vent area is 1/100 the attic area, accounting for louvers, let's say about 1/150th of attic area. If you do not consider the gable ends as cross ventilated, it is barely adequate. But as a cross ventilated arrangement, it is more than adequate. Will more help? Yes. Will it be effective? Harder to say. More on this later.

Moisture. Frost on nails alone is not necessarily cause for alarm. Black mold growing where the ventilation is less effective is definitely cause for concern. I'm no mold expert, but you should at least spray some moldicide on it while you devise a more permanent solution. Since the attic is always warmer than outside air, for there to be enough moisture to condense in the attic, the moisture had to come from either inside the house or from a roof or plumbing leak. Running a humidifier frequently would significantly contribute to the amount of moisture migrating into the attic. You don't mention anything about a vapor barrier, you quite likely do not know.The amount of moisture you observe tells me you don't have an effective moisture or vapor barrier. Not only can this cause mold, but it will also diminish the effectiveness of the insulation.

Why frost on only one side? Most likely solar access. The nails are colder on one side because the roof angles are different. This has significant effect on roof surface temperature, even under a good layer of snow.

Not only can vapor migrate through the ceiling, it can be carried in through air leaking around openings in the ceiling, in particular the pull down steps. If the perimeter is not weatherstripped, much moisture (and heat!) can escape this way.

What to do. Your primary focus should be to limit moisture migration into the attic. This will not only solve the condensation problem, but also limit heat loss. Seal all ceiling penetrations. Not only the steps, but plumbing and electrical penetrations as well. Apply an effective vapor barrier. This is not easy. You don't mention your ceiling finishes, this can make it easy or difficult or expensive. You could simply sandwich plastic between the current ceiling and a thin new ceiling finish. If you have an expensive existing finish, you may need to pull up the attic insulation and spray a barrier down on the back surface.

Note that if your household generates a lot of moisture, a good vapor barrier could cause you to have problems with condensation in your ceiling finish. The only solution to this is reduce moisture generation and increase whole house ventilation, ideally through a heat exchanger of some sort.

Once you've reduced the moisture migration, you may not have a mold problem in the attic any more. You may not need any more ventilation at all. The areas near the eaves obviously are not well ventilated, so the addition of soffit vents is the best approach if more is needed. You will need to drill many holes in the separation board to gain free communication with added vents.

If that works out to be too much effort, adding ventilation elsewhere can still benefit the lower areas, though not as well as soffit vents. Anything that increases ventilation will help. More static vents, power vents, ridge vents, turbine vents, they all have their own pros and cons, but they will all increase ventilation. You can do just one measure or a combination of measures. There is no right solution, but there is something that will make more sense than the other options.


Should we sand a fence to restain it with a solid stain? We have a fence made of pressure treated lumber and stained with a solid stain.  If we want to restain it with the same stain just to freshen it, should we sand it? Or power wash it? or both?  - the stain is in pretty good shape. Thanks!

Many fence treatments are intended for use on rough sawn wood as they soak in better. Assuming your fence is made of sawn timber, you shouldn't sand it.

Also the pressure treatment doesn't soak in all the way (or at least not at full strength) so you wouldn't want to remove much material.

A pressure washer or a brush would be a good idea, especially combined with detergent (and then a good rinse, consider what's underneath when you choose detergent). It's possible a pressure washer will remove flakes of old treatment, or even loose bits of wood. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it will give you a good surface.


Why would only half a radiator heat up? I'm having some trouble with a radiator.  It doesn't bleed well, often not letting either air or water come out of the valve.  And sometimes, only half of the radiator will be hot (well, warm).  I was given to believe that all of the water entering the radiator would travel through the entire thing, heating it equitably.  Seems strange to me.

Any explanations?

if it doesn't bleed well this means the system is is not pressurized enough (if there are any radiators higher up they won't be heating at all) add some water to the system and try to bleed again

or there could be an airlock blocking the water flow; to fix this turn off all radiators except the one affected and let the pump force the water through


What do you do with left over caulk in a tube? What do you do with the caulk when you don't need it all? Do you throw it away or can you cover it and store it?

I wrap any adhesive tape I have on hand into a tube extending a short distance beyond the tip of the nozzle and pinch it shut at the end, then I dispense some product into the tape. This allows the product itself to seal the tube on the outside of the tube.

When you're ready to use the tube again, yank off the tape and the dried plug and you should have a fresh nozzle.


How to calibrate continuous water Gas Heater? i have installed a gas continuous water gas heater, it is around 30 mts of pipe away. my shower has a mixer valve (one unique lever for both the hot and cold water). The problem is, whenever I am taking a shower, and after aproximately 5 mins, the gas heater turns off and i start to get cold water, forcing me to shut down the water, and turn it all hot again, and wait for the hot water to come again, so i can resume my shower, it keeps happening again and again. I have tried different sets of configurations for the heater (moving the minimum water, and gas level) nothing solved the problem.

Obviously, there is some threshold or setting that needs to be adjusted, as when you go back to full hot it kicks back on. You need to adjust it so that full hot is not required to keep it on. All this you already know. Not being familiar with your particular unit, I don't know exactly what adjustments are available.

As I understand it, when you are on full hot, the water flow through the unit is greater, and the water does not get as hot (maybe, because the flow is greater), but you get more of it. The incoming water supply is cold, and it supplies both the heater and the cold water line, so when you start using both, the flow through the heater decreases. This would be the case even if you still had the shower set for all hot, but the cold water was turned on at the sink (try this - does the heater turn off, as it has before, mid shower?).

Then when you start mixing the hot and cold in the shower to get a pleasant temperature the flow through the heater is reduced again, because you are requiring less hot water. This may result in the heater turning off because the flow is less, or maybe it is turning off because the water is getting too hot. So either there is a low-flow sensor that needs to be adjusted to a much lower setting, or maybe there is an overheating cut off switch that is faulty or needs to be set higher.

You might try your shower again, as normal, but with the hot water on at the sink. Does this make your hot water stay on, as you want it? (Of course this is not a solution, but it might help you find the source of the problem).
Hope this helps.


Door knob (lever handle) only engages in one direction The lever handle door knob on my front door can be turned either way, but only engages when turned turned one way. Can I make it work in both directions?

At rest, the bolt is engaged, as desired. When the knob is pulled up, the bolt is retracted as desired. But when the knob is pushed down, nothing happens: the bolt remains engaged.

I'm not sure if it matters, but the mechanism on the outside is a handleset:

Related to Doorknob only turns one way, but mine turns it just doesn't engage.

MOST door knobs I know of engage the latch in either direction. You may have something broken or installed incorrectly on yours, or someone purposely had it made to do this. In fact, it is considered a "safety issue" to not have the latch retract when pushing the lever DOWN, because if you were trying to get out of the house during a fire, you might be crawling on the floor below the smoke and having to push the lever UP to open the door may be difficult. You should fix/replace it immediately.


Should I add an escape register for added ventilation in A/C duct to reduce condensation? I have a condensation and drippage problem where my 8" exposed circular AC duct comes out of the ceiling. Above the ceiling is the attic, meaning it gets pretty hot. The pipe comes out of the ceiling then makes this visible 90 then goes through the wall, makes another 90 before the first register in the hallway. Then there is one more dead end register in another bedroom. I was thinking the this elbow here in the picture, along with another elbow downstream without any escape in between, could be inducing condensation

The I was wondering if another "moisture escape" register would take care of the problem just in the middle of the horizontal part of the pipe between the elbow and the wall. See the red rectangle drawn on the below picture for the proposed location.

It can also be seen in the pictures that the short stretch of the pipe inside the ceiling but just before it comes out is uninsulated, the contractor left it like that because he put a damper there and there will be a access panel entrance in the ceiling nearby. I do plan to insulate that stretch but was not sure if that alone would solve the problem.

The overall question being, what will solve this problem? Just added insulation, an escape register, or both? Or something third?

The hot attic has more latent heat (water vapor) due to both it's higher temperature and being vented to the outside. As that air mixes with the cooler interior air, relative humidity rises. When the more humid air hits the cold uninsulated duct, it condenses.

The first step is to seal the opening between the attic and the interior space to reduce convection and water vapor transfer between the attic and conditioned space. Insulating the duct would be the second step.


Cost of adjusting the thermostat Is it more cost effective to (1) play with the thermostat by lowering it at times that you're not home or needing the heat and raising it back later or (2) leaving the temperature on a set amount and letting it maintain this heat.

I'm asking because our thermostat has the option to be programmed so that it could be cut down while we're gone or sleep and come back up when we're awake and home. I've heard that it costs more to make these jumps back up than it would be to leave it on a single setting and hold that temp and that it could hurt the overall system.. But our t-stat manual and other places/items advertise this as a cost savings.

In case it matters, I'm only looking at this for heating now around the winter. We have a heat pump with a gas furnace that doubles as the air handler. The gas furnace seems to run as the primary heat source regardless of the outdoor temperature (it's an odd system, we're getting it checked soon).

I've seen this discussion before, but there isn't really an official answer or reasoning to this as it goes both ways on who you ask it seems.

I had my own "green" start up company that I sold off 10 years ago- and I use the same guys to install most new systems I put in.  Really for most cases all the data will come back to is the average temperature that a home is kept (given that insulation and other thermal constraints are constant).

Really the most effective thing to do is to always have your heat pump on at a constant that would give you the lowest temperature that you could stand.  Most of this comes from the ducts/pipes being used are always heated to level.

There are numerous numerous studies that will show you that if you turn off your heat pump for a large period of time of the day or turn it down dramatically you can save a lot of money.  The energy.gov study shows that turning off/down your thermostat for 8 hours a day will save you between 5-20% of your heating bill.

You might say - well that shows you that it cost more to heat up your house because the heat pump is off for 33% of the day but you only save 10%.  Now remember the point I made earlier, the cost is really based on the average temperature of your house - not when/how long your heat source is on.  So if it is 20F outside and you normally have your thermostat set at 70F but turn it off 8 hours a day you may come back to a house around 59F.  Now your average temperature is 66.33% and you can expect savings of 3-5% per degree around ambient temperature so about 10-20% savings which is directly in line with energy.gov stats.

Now the big GOTCHA that I didn't see data on is the ability for the heat pump to source heat from the outside.  (Let's take your heat pump being old out of the equation.  Most new heat pumps are anywhere between 150-300% efficient.  Older ones are all over the place so this may or may not pertain.)  If it is below 20 or just too cold and you kick your thermostat off for 8 hours a day and your house gets to 59F when you back... now let's say your heat pump then has a hard time getting the house back up to the desired temperature - and yes you would kick it off when you are at work and when you get home with cold house the temp outside is dropping too.

So the kicker is with a heat pump is you never want to turn it off to the point where you ever need to use the emergency heat.  The emergency heat is probably electric and might be close to 100% efficient for new models, but no where near the normal range of efficiency.  So putting yourself in a situation where the temp fell so much that it kicks on the emergency heat on a heat pump is the very last thing you want to do.

But even in this case it does not mean you don't turn down your thermostat, it just means you only turn it down to a certain level based on the outside temperatures.  (there is a lot more I could have probably added to this but it is already starting to get long)

Physics discussion that is a little more involved on the science side than my answer.

Really good case study by Institute for Research in Construction

There is also a lot of discussion that could be included in maybe a different question that is more specific around:

dealing with different types of heat sources (heat pump vs central air - forced vs rad)
the thermal properties of your house
the way your house deals with heat loss at variable levels of heat differential
the inefficiencies of your heating solution (ie is there anything that makes your heat source inefficient and how to limit that)
the humidity effects and other climate effects


Old oil forced air heat only system (R/W wire only) - Is adding a C possilbe to use Wi-Fi This system is from the 60's era - the furnace has a two T connectors for the R and W (thermostat) and two F connectors - one labeled "Thermostat Load 24VAC 0.2AMP, the other for the Burner Motor Ignition. I want to use a Honeywell Sensi wifi thermostat and have no problem running a new wire to the thermostat for "C", but where would I connect it at the furnace considering the limited connectors (T T F F)?  Thanks!

This is an interesting case since your oil burner control integrates the 24VAC control transformer.  Normally, you'd look for either a C terminal on the control, or the control transformer itself.  However, your control lacks a C terminal.  What it does have, though, according to the internal schematics from Honeywell's manual, is one of the F terminals for the flame safety photodetector (CdS cell) that goes back to the opposite side of the transformer from the upper T terminal that goes to the red wire.

You'll need a multimeter on continuity (or its lowest ohms range if you don't have a continuity buzzer on your meter) mode for this procedure.

Turn the service switch or disconnect OFF before starting to avoid damage to parts (it may be a switch on the unit, or you may need to use the circuit breaker to disable it).
Put one meter lead on the upper T terminal (the one with the red wire on it) and the other on each F terminal in turn.  The one that beeps (or reads low ohms) is equivalent to the C terminal, and can be used for a C wire connection.  The other is how the CdS cell connects to the internal circuitry, and will not cause your meter to beep (or reads a high resistance on the meter).
Connect the C wire to the correct terminal (it should be the bottom terminal according to the manual).
Hook up your new thermostat.
Turn the service switch or disconnect back ON.
Enjoy the new thermostat!


Installing occupancy switch in a 2 gang scenario I'm attempting to install Lutron Maestro (no neutral required) It has 4 wires, 2 black, 1 green and 1 bare.

The switch which needs to be replaced has 3 wires attached that come from the wall: green and 2 black ones.

1 Black wire ends around the screw on the switch, but the green and the second black wire both go around the screw and continue into the next switch where they end.

It is beyond me how to attach those "continuing" wires to the wires on my new Lutron switch.

DRAWING CORRECTION: On lutron sensor the pictured white wire is actually silver bare wire. (per instructions on Lutron the green and the bare should be combined before attaching to ground in box)

Simply cut the "continuing" wire where it went over the screw of the switch that's being replaced, then strip the ends and pigtail

Some electricians will strip the insulation from the middle of a length of wire and loop it around a terminal-screw to continue it onto other terminal-screws, as you see in your box here.  While this works fine as long as terminal-screw devices are installed, it doesn't work so well with dimmers, smart-switches, and such that bring their own wire pigtails, such as yours.

So, you'll need to convert this to a more traditional wirenut-and-pigtail setup.  With the breaker off, you'll need to take the always-hot (continuing) and ground wires off the old switch, cut them at where they were connected to the old switch, strip both cuts ends back a bit more, and nut them to the corresponding pigtails on the new switch.  From there, you can remove the black switched-hot from the old switch and nut it to the switched-hot pigtail on the new switch, and finally connect the neutral from the new switch in with the bundle of neutrals already present in the box now that the old switch is completely unwired.  Once everything's buttoned up and ready to go, you can flip the breaker back on and enjoy your new occupancy sensor!


How to keep Structolite from cracking as it dries I have a house that was built in 1901 and needs a lot of plaster work. I've tried both Structolite and Gypsolite as a base coat over bare brick. Both of them crack as they dry, less than an hour after the structolite starts setting They look like a dried up lake bed. I've tried wetting the substrate before applying it but it doesn't help. Could this be that it's not packed tightly enough and it shrinks when it's drying? It seems solid enough, even with the cracks but I've seen pros using it without the same problem, so I know it can be done. Unfortunately the pros didn't do a good job of spreading it flat, so I'm redoing it myself.

The Structolite is drying out too fast, because the bare brick is wicking out all of the moisture.

You need to use a bonding agent and possibly add some sand to your base coat, as well as scarify it, for any successive coats.

If this project is going to have any substantial thickness, it probably wouldn't hurt to also add some kind of structural support, like wood and/or metal lathe.

I use the latter all of the time, when doing repairs where the plaster has fallen completely off sections of wood lathe.


Can I move my washer and dryer within the laundry room? I want to move my washer and dryer 90 degrees to another wall in my laundry room.Should i have any concerns about moving the washer further from the drain pipe or the dryer further from the vent?

Short answer:  Yes.  But it sounds like you do, otherwise you wouldn't be asking.

Long answer:  Check the manuals for your appliances.  The washer manual will tell you how far it can push drain water, follow it's instructions and limits.

The dryer will be more complex.  It will say it can push exhaust X distance, then give you math for bends, joints, vertical distances, etc.  For example, a 90 degree bend in a smooth-wall exhaust line usually counts for 5'.  So if the dryer can push 100', and there's one 90 degree bend, it can now push 95'.  Flexible pipe, like is typically used between the dryer and wall, is terrible for exhaust.  But again, the manual should tell you how to account for it.  Also take this opportunity to clean your exhaust, and plan to do so more frequently in the future.

Unfortunately, the correct answer to whether you can move these appliances depends entirely on factors of your home and the appliances themselves.  Where the exhaust lines go through the walls, pump or blower motor strength, etc.  Oh, and older appliances may not be able to reach full drain/exhaust distances.  Be careful.


Install recessed lights and chandelier with 3-way switches I am remodeling my entry way and dining room to give a more open feel.

Existing:

15 Amp breaker
12-2 Feed directly from the box
two gang box outside of the kitchen

1 standard switch and 1 three way (chandalier turns on and off from entry and kitchen and the can lights only turn on from the kitchen)
12-3 wire connecting switches and running to chandelier

12-3 wire running from chandalier to can lights

12-3 wire from switches to entry door(Entry switch only turns on chandalier and not can lights.

The chandelier and can lights are not centered in the room which is odd as there was not issue with the joist spacing above. The first project is to center the chandelier. From there I am removing the two can lights in the center of the room and adding four in the corner. (Since opening walls the entry is a little dim).  I am also looking to add a double 3 way switch to the entry way.

Link to Double Three Way
 This will allow the canned lights and chandelier to be turned on from the kitchen side or the entry box. Due to the revised spacing I need to run all new wires. I went ahead and removed everything above the ceiling.

I plan on running the wires like this diagram:
Link to Wiring Diagram

I plan on replacing the wire with 14-3 since the breaker is so close and I am not running much off the lines.This would require the following:

Two lines from the kitchen box to the entry box for the 3 way switches.
1 line from the kitchen box to the chandelier
1 second line from the kitchen box to the can lights.

Do you think this is the correct approach or is there a way to run 1 line from the kitchen box to the entry box to control? Any other suggestions?

It sounds like your plan will work now that you have the 12/3 cable -- since you have a neutral at the kitchen-side switch, you don't need to worry about running one to the entry-side switch, as the 404.2(C) provisions for neutral at switches only require neutral at one location within a multiway switching setup.


Can I use mortar to level out a patio made of cinder blocks? We recently ripped out our deck because it was rotted and laid a level of cinder blocks 10ft x 32in for a small patio, basically just a step for coming out the back door. I was just wondering if I could use mortar the better level at a slight angle and maybe cover with polyurethane.

No. Mortar isn't designed to carry span loads, and your block patio will almost certainly sag and settle, meaning your mortar will disintegrate in short order. Proper concrete would even need to be poured at a thickness adequate to span gaps, say 3".

To my knowledge, polyurethane isn't an appropriate masonry sealer. There are other products for that purpose.


A water heater pressure relief valve/pipe is guided to release hot water outside of the pan (see picture). Is this installation correct? A plumber installed the hot water pressure relief pipe to point outside the water heater pan, as shown in this picture (on the right). What could be the reason to do so? Is this recommended/proper installation? Why not in the pan?

I'd cut it off just above the first elbow. If there's a drain in the back of the pan it can empty out there. Not perfect, but better than what you got now.

The end of the relief pipe is supposed to come down to within 6" of the floor, but it looks like that's about where it would be.


How to repaint an antique exterior door? I am about to repaint my 100 year old front door, from white to black. I have reviewed the existing Q&A on the site, but none seem to specifically cover my issues. The door

has been previously painted with what appears to be latex/acrylic paint (although there are probably remnants of old oil based paint under there somewhere)
has a dull look, but does not seem too chalky
is in pretty good shape, does not need a lot of repair/filling, and the paint is not chipping
is Dutch style with 30 small windows and a dozen molded panels
I am only painting the outside face, and not repainting the edges.

.

How do I go about painting the door so the finish looks good, is durable, and takes the least reasonable amount of work?

Specific issues:

Do I need to sand or is a good wash down enough? Or maybe a liquid sander? All that cutting in will be hard enough without struggling to sand all those mullions and moldings (to say nothing of not scratching 100 year old glass).
Do I need to prime, or is the old paint (cleaned a bit) good enough?
Is there any special paint, other than exterior trim (probably satin or semigloss) to consider?
Is there any additive I should use with the paint for flow, finish, hardness?
Do I really need more than 2 coats?
Is there something else I am failing to ask/think about?

Do I need to sand or is a good wash down enough? Or maybe a liquid
  sander?

A good wash, followed by a thorough drying, followed by a light sanding with fine grit sand paper to rough up the existing surface.  Sanding ensures the new paint will get a good grip on the old paint.

  Do I need to prime, or is the old paint (cleaned a bit) good enough?

No, its been sealed long ago - just clean and sand.

  Is there any special paint, other than exterior trim (probably satin
  or semigloss) to consider?

Since there's already latex on it, exterior latex should be fine.

  Is there any additive I should use with the paint for flow, finish,
  hardness?

No.

  Do I really need more than 2 coats?

If it were white over black- you might need 3.  Black over white, you might only need one good thick coat.

  Is there something else I am failing to ask/think about?

Get saw-horses.  Lay door flat on saw horses.  Remove door from hinges, remove all hardware, tape all glass.  Paint ONE SIDE only at a time, let try completely, then paint other side.


Should I bond neutral to ground in a three-wire service when adding new branch circuits? I'm adding 2x20 Amp circuits to a main panel outside, but the main has 3 wire system. Also the main has 6 spaces for circuits, which allows me to add this circuits. The problem is the 3 wire system.

My question is, it's ok to run the circuits and bond the neutral and the ground in the main panel?

All the boxes are bonded, so I figure it out if the neutral gets severed then I have the ground to allow the current take that path.  I'm not sure if it's ok to do it. Maybe I should bond the boxes to the iron from the foundation. Thanks in advance.

When adding a branch circuit, you would never, ever have cause to add any neutral-ground bond anywhere.

That should only be done as part of a total review and reassessment of your Grounding Electrode System (the network of bare/green wires from your ground bar out to your branches and appliances) and your Equipment Grounding Conductor system (the hefty copper wire heading out of your panel to a water pipe and/or driven-into-earth grounding rod or Ufer).

That's a pretty important set of systems for life safety, so if it looks like those systems are borked up in any way, seriously consider that review.

And then when it's done, land your branch circuit neutral wires on the neutral bar, and your ground wires on the ground bar.  If this is definitely the main service panel, they might be the same bar.


Does a thread on Diamond Cup Grinding Wheel need a locknut? I have a 4 1/2” diamond cup grinding wheel installed to my angle grinder.
I screwed it on all the way, but there is no room for the locking nut.
I called DeWalt and they said since it is a screw-on wheel, i do not need the locking device, but that kinda worries me.
Is this safe without a locking nut and how should I tighten it?

The Dewalt person is correct.
Use the locking mechanism of the grinder to keep the shaft from turning while you  tighten it down by hand. (Always unplug the grinder when replacing discs.)
The rotation of the shaft is such that it will cause the wheel to tighten, not loosen. There are flat spots on back side of the wheel that you can get a wrench on, but there is no need to torque it down very tight.
The locking nut/washer is used for discs that are not threaded, such a cut off disc.


Cannot turn gas valve. It is stuck I need to turn off the gas to to the house to do a repair of an appliance without its own valve. It seems stuck as I cannot turn it with a crescent wrench.

After another attempt, I succeeded. I reoriented the crescent wrench in the opposite direction (concave side away from me) and pulled towards me. I believe this gave me more leverage is it was significantly easier to turn.

Other ideas that I ended up not trying but may help as well:

Getting an extra large crescent wrench (expensive).
Getting a tool with linear slot that fits over the valve's knob which appears to be created for opening valves.
(Rob's suggestion) As the valve is located outdoors, there was a bit of rust or dirt that can add friction to the valve. Using PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench can help loosen things up. (NB: please check if this is safe)


Kitchen drain causes basement laundry drain pipe to overflow We have a setup where our washer is in the basement directly below our kitchen sink. From the looks of it they both drain directly into the same sewer/drain line. To the right of the washer is a floor drain. We have had some issues with the water backing up the washer's drain pipe when the washer is either draining or when the kitchen sink is draining (but only when a large amount of water is dumped in down the sink and then the garbage disposal is run to drain it more quickly. A plumber has been out twice to auger the line, but it doesn't seem to alleviate the problem completely. Could it be something other than the drain line?

I take it nothing backs up the floor drain?

I am going to assume this is an older house.  The floor drain is probably not hooked up to the sewer line and drains outside to a rock pit or something which is why it doesn't back up.

Perimeter drain that comes into your house with rain / ground water and feed into your sewer service line inside the house would be odd.  Modern setups have perimeter drain go to a sump well and the sump well then outflow to the storm drain.  In the case where the city doesn't have a storm/sewer main separation then these typically Y right before the entry into the sewer main.  Ideally you don't want them connected as if the sewer backs up it would go into your perimeter drain.

How far out did the plumber auger the line?  Did they use a root grinding attachment?  30 feet isn't very far, I can't imagine that takes you to the city main.  Even 60 feet typically doesn't cut it.

I suspect your main sewer service line probably has a partial blockage and prevents a surge of water from draining fast enough to the sewer main.  Last time I had this the plumber dumped a bottle of knockout plus down it.

https://www.barrettinepro.co.uk/25/337/Toilet-Drain-Unblocker

I suppose venting is a possibility if the vertical pipe that is receiving the kitchen and washing machine outflow isn't vented the water could struggle to flow quickly enough.  When you look on the roof above the wall where the vertical pipe is do you not see a vent?  Do you have sewage smells coming into the house, if there was no vent your traps would be siphoned routinely and allow sewer gas to enter your house.  Is the kitchen an add on or original to the house?

If the water is backing up the pipe that receives the washer outflow and nothing is coming up the floor drain and that floor drain is connected to the same sewer line then it sounds like your restriction is before the floor drain.  What diameter pipe is the vertical piece that receives the washer and sink outflow?


What are options for finishing cement block walls? Our basement and foundation is cement blocks. What are my options for finishing the walls? I can't put drywall directly on the wall correct? Would i have to fur out the wall?

Its a cabin, so is wood paneling an option? just not sure with the cement block walls what the moisture situation would be with covering them.

I would seal the blocks first using a penetrating waterproofing sealer.  Silane/Siloxane sealers are excellent choices for basement concrete block.   Okon’s S-40, Diamond Hard and Lithi-Tek LS 9500 are some excellent products.  Stay away from latex based sealers.  I would also fur out the walls so I could add some insulation, run electrical, cable, internet and plumbing. You can now finish the walls however you chose.


How should I raise the subfloor in one room to match another? I am installing some new vinyl plank, and I have an issue where my dining room (linoleum) and living room (laminate) meet.  The dining room is about 3/8" higher than the living room.  I want to run the vinyl across both rooms without using a transition strip and get rid of this annoying bump.  Is there a way I can raise the floor to be level and flush without tearing out the old lino (it could contain asbestos and I don't want to disturb it).
From what I could ascertain so far, I think I would have to rip out the laminate and lay plywood across the whole living room.  Is there a quicker and more affordable option here?
Thanks for the help!

I would always remove floating laminate before installing a new flooring. For one thing, it's probably not an approved substrate for your new product--you'll likely void the warranty by leaving it in. For another, you open yourself up to unwanted movement and noise.
So yes, remove the laminate and its underlayment (felt, foam) if present. Then assess the height difference. If it's about 3/4" like you describe, I'd overlay and screw down 3/4" tongue-and-groove OSB. It's about as cheap as you'll find for 3/4" material.
If you then have a small height discrepancy you can skim some floor leveler across that transition, feathering it out with a straight trowel for at least 12-16".


How should I repair a broken exterior PVC outlet body? We bought our new house back in June.  I was doing some mouse-proofing this weekend and found this beauty:

The wires are going out to our pool.  Any suggestions on how best to approach fixing this?  Possible ways I could do this:

Glue it back together, caulk the hell out of it
Cut the wires, install an new conduit body, wire nut everything back together.  I realize that this might be a better way to do it but there is no give in the wires so it will be a little tricky.

I'm open to suggestions here.  Thanks in advance!

This is THHN wire in conduit.   I do conduit pipe repairs and conduit-body replacements all the time.

That conduit body is not repairable.

You cannot splice inside a conduit body.  They don't have the needed space.   Also you need 12" of slack to even think about a splice in a junction box.

Mark and document

First, you make sure every wire is marked in a unique manner, typically by wrapping tape around the wires near the ends (both ends).  You may need to use diagnostic methods to suss this out, e.g. Unhook one white wire and see what loses power.  However in this particular case, it looks like your installer used a rainbow of wire, making this stupid easy.  This is why wire comes in 12 colors.

Then you document where each wire goes.  Photos and colored tape helps.

Easiest direction to pull

Then you decide which end has the fewest bends and will be easiest to pull.  Unhook all the wires and add a string to the mix, so you can pull the string through.  (it's not terribly hard to run a string through an empty conduit if you skip this step).  Pull them back to the defect point.  When they are near, wrap the bundle with tape, so they don't separate.   Pull off the string if  you added it.  When pulling with string, watch out for hot parts of your panel - this is why I don't like to do it.  Don't pull too hard, go back to the other site to correct any wire snags, so you don't rake the wire across a sharp edge.

Make repairs.  Try to work around the ends of the wires, if you must pull/push them beyond the work area, try to do this absolutely no farther than necessary so you can grab it firmly with needle nose pliers.  Otherwise things get harder, you must pull it all the way out and do a "proper pull".

Push and tease

Once repairs are complete, grab the wires.  Wrap the bundle  with wires staggered, starting at the first exposed wire end, to make the bundle as easy as possible to push through the conduit.  Bend the nose of the bundle so it doesn't hug the edge of the pipe (otherwise it will hang up on fittings). If you pulled a string through, add that string to the bundle, and pull.  Be gentle, if it feels like you might break the string, stop, and use the string to pull through a better string.

Or I usually push them back the way they came.  This can sometimes be tedious.  The answer here is not force but finesse.  Force will only bend/crumple the wires inside the pipe.  I do about 90% of my pulls with this push-tease technique.  This will be easy until you hit the first bend, then harder.  It can be near impossible after two 90's.   I am not beneath temporarily disassembling a bit of conduit to help things along, but mainly, I build conduit with a lot of access points.

If push-tease doesn't work, then break out the regular pulling tools - fishing tape, rope, bit of cloth and a vacuum cleaner, etc.


Fix Leaning Playhouse We just moved into a new house and acquired this playset/swing in the process. When we walked through before buying it I never realized how badly it was leaning. I am now trying to figure out the best way to straighten it and brace it so that it stays upright. The 1st picture is trying to show how bad it is leaning. The top of the playset is leaning far right as I look toward the level. The next I am marking in red, to the left and below where I am facing the level, where I think I should add support. Support will be added exactly opposite these two marks as well. Any other ideas?

Cross bracing will keep the structure plumb. I would probably add the bracing above to keep the lower area open. There are also things like nylon cargo nets that could be added as a climbing structure that would create bracing also.


Using an older 200A breaker panel on a 60A feeder circuit from house? I'm in the planning stages of a new workshop/shed build. I plan to run a 60A ciruit from the main panel in the house to a subpanel in the shed.

I recently picked up a used Challenger QM322200 200A breaker panel with about a dozen circuit breakers for a song. Can I use this panel as is, with the stock 200A main breaker as a master shut-off? (I'd relabel the panel as 60A).

If no, where can I find a 60A main breaker to swap into the panel?

Thanks for your help.

This is the label on the panel:

You can use the 200 amp main as a disconnect it is fine since you will be using a 60 amp breaker in the main panel the wire needs to be sized for 60 amps. As long as the panel is as large as the service panel breaker or larger it would be code compliant.


Humming refrigerator My refrigerator just today started periodically humming for about 10-15 seconds every 20 minutes or so (something low, 1kHz or lower, I'd wager, though I don't have an amazing ear), followed by a quiet pop.

It has never done this before.  Where should I start looking, and what can I do to diagnose this?

The refrigerator is a Kenmore Coldspot (59592990).  And no, the icemaker is not on.  The noise appears to be coming from the rear of the fridge.

Our makes a weird noise when we have too much food in the freezer and it cannot circulate the air, causing the fan to run harder than normal.

It also could be that the noise is a fan that needs to be cleaned out.  There may be dust in it that has built up over the years.  Pulling the fridge out and inspecting it would be the first thing to do.


What's the best way to repair this hardwood floor damage? Does anyone have any better solutions for dealing with my hardwood floor damage than what I describe below?

Below is a picture of my bathroom floor. Water has apparently damaged it from a toilet leak (caused by a failed wax ring which I am in the process of resealing).

Do I have the best plan for repair? Is there a better solution? (I am a DIY newbie.)

Here's what I'm considering:

Cut out the damaged floor area in the shape of a rectangle roughly the size of the visibly damaged area. In the photo, this appears to be about six planks wide (or 6 x 2.5" = 15"). And roughly double that width in length. So that would be a total cutout area of about 15" x 30".
Use a corded jigsaw to do the above described cutout. I don't currently have a power saw, so this will be my first purchase. I did some research and I'm leaning in the direction of getting a corded jigsaw instead of a circular or mitre saw.
But then what? Should I look to replace the hardwood cutout section with another hardwood section of equal dimensions? If so, how could I make that happen? Or is there a better (perhaps more durable and/or flexible) flooring solution? Or maybe a temporary solution that clears up the immediate problem but leaves the door open to an easy upgrade in the future? (e.g., rubber padding!?)

Am I heading in the right direction? Any thoughts, insights, opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Fig. 1. Water damaged floor needs repair/replace.

Edit

Here is the video @DanMantyla describes in this answer.
Here is another.

Remove the old, rotten wood and replace it with new stuff. This is a very common repair.

I've never seen anybody use a jigsaw to remove hardwood strip flooring before but I'm sure it's been done. There's an Ask This Old House episode or two where they tackle this exact project, google it they're good videos, and Tom uses a drill with a 1" spade bit to remove as much material as possible and then uses a sharp chisel to break the piece of wood in half. This seems like good advice to me.

Once you have one strip of wood removed then the others will be a little easier to remove because the tongue and grove are no longer locked. But some of your strip flooring pieces look very rotten and you might be able to just dig them out of there with a screw driver, chisel, etc.

The last board to be installed will need to have it's groove edge chiseled into a rabbit so that it can drop into place.

Good luck!

Also, if it was me, I wouldn't cut a big rectangular section of the flooring out as you described. I would only remove the pieces that are rotten and replace them with identical pieces of the same dimensions, length and species.


Help identifying light switch Two out of three light switches in our basement have stopped working. They’re a weird kind of rotary on/off switch that snaps into either position when rotated far enough.

I’d like to get them working again, but it’s quite hard when I can’t seem to find them online. Could someone help me indentify them and give me a name/type to search for?

I can provide a gif if needed

Image:

They stopped making that type of switch some time in the 1940s I believe. I personally would not replace it with something found on auction sites or antique sellers unless there was some good reason to maintain period authenticity, i.e. a museum display. Otherwise, anything you can buy is going to be just as old and prone to failure. Just replace it with a modern switch and modern wiring methods done to current safety codes.


Breaker keeps tripping! I have a circuit breaker that keeps tripping. It doesn't trip right away, but several hours after turning back on, sometimes a day later.

Nothing has changed on the circuit that's tripping.

How can I determine if it's the breaker that's bad or if it's a short somewhere?

Thank you in advance!

First simple answer, you may want and or need to call an electrician since a short can lead to a fire.

Simple things you can do first:

Make a list of EVERYTHING that is on the breaker downstream
Add up all of the rated labels for every component
Make sure you truly have EVERYTHING listed. Keep in mind, chandelier lights, with 12 bulbs in them, and 40w each bulb is actually pulling 480W.

4.For anything that is a major appliance or heavy motor or heat load add 25% to its label for good measure

Total the items up, if you are over 75% of a 15AMP circuit for example, you should really re-balance your loads. This is really a safety concern and the fact that it worked for x amount of time and now is causing issues is a real concern.
Over time, drawing too much current from a circuit causes the wires to expand and contract, and can even break down the metal wire & contacts, from burning and oxidization. Also, plastic parts that hold those metal contacts can melt, warp, or become brittle and break. Thus, your short *(or high current) situation.
Are any of the items plugged in or connected via cords exposed to people or pets? Check the cords for frayed or broken conductors, feel exposed cords for any warmth - the should not be hot
Of the list of items you made, are any on a duty cycle? Like a sump pump, a fridge, an A/C, an outdoor flood lamp?
Has any part of the home been remodeled or have any switches been intermittent at all? if so, then they need to be inspected or replaced, or the workmanship checked.
Any of the items on the list themselves behaving erratically? Any unusual smells from a Fridge or an A/C etc can be signs of a fault in the appliance/component.

If these things all check out, and the load on the breaker is not at 75% or greater before any changes are made, then it is probably a bad breaker. They can go bad! What is the age of the home and the wiring?

A side note: if the house has aluminum wire or has been remodeled at all, have a professional check it. There are specific methods that can be employed to keep aluminum wiring safe but it has to be done correctly. Conversely, if something was remodeled, they should own/warranty any work they have done.


How do I install a manufactured stone surround on a zero clearance fireplace? We just installed a new Napoleon NZ3000 fireplace and are prepping the area to install manufactured stone around it.  I am concerned about how to install the stone to the metal firebox.  I am not sure if I should screw cement board directly to the metal firebox or just the lath on top of it.  I would appreciate any information given.  If you need any pictures or any other information, please let me know.

If you need to overlap, the cement board could do it in a more continuous manner, making it easier to thinset the stone.

Usually its either/or with lath vs cement board.  Are you going to use both?

Properly secured board (8in OC) is sufficient for manufactured stone for a veneer and using thinset.  Thicker stone using a mortar might want the lath support.


Intersystem grounding bus ran out of terminals; now what? My intersystem grounding terminal bus is out of available terminals, and I have two additional communication wires to ground to it. Does NEC allow supplementary bus bars? NEC 250.94 seems to imply no, but doesn't say that definitively.

I'm in NJ, and so under the 2014 NEC.

Nothing in 250.94 is intended to prohibit multiple IBT bars, so get another one and toss it on the same conductor the first one is attached to

The concept behind the presence of 250.94 in the NEC and its requirement for an intersystem bonding termination (IBT) is to provide installers of auxiliary systems (such as telecom, antennas, alarms, and such) a convenient, centrally-located place to land the bonding conductor that connects their ground point (ground block, protector, or auxiliary ground rod) to the electrical system ground.

As a result, and according to this ASHI Reporter article, nothing in 250.94 prohibits multiple IBTs from being present in a building.  In fact, there are situations where fitting a second IBT would be encouraged to avoid telecom installers giving up on reaching an IBT simply because they are not equipped to reach the existing one from where they are at.  As the article states:

  The author suggests that a best-practice IBT deployment would include an interior IBT device at the service equipment location — typically the main electrical panel — and an exterior IBT device at the service entrance location. Such a plan will accommodate almost every possible grounding and bonding scenario for one- and two-family residential dwellings. The Code requires only one such device, preferably mounted on the exterior in the case of residential structures.

So, you can simply get another GBB5 (or equivalent IBT device) and attach it using the lay-in lug to the same grounding electrode conductor the existing one is attached to, then attach the unterminated communications bonding wires to the new IBT.


Conduit Underground - Ways for tunneling under obstructions? I'm running into a situation where it's increasingly difficult to bury this PVC underground 18" in some spots due to massive tree roots. Changing directions and/or destroying the roots isn't an option. The isolated roots are easy enough to tunnel under but there are root 'clusters' that are close together are the hard part. I did bore a hole in those roots about 9" deep and wanted to use rigid metal conduit, however the size I need to use (1.25") makes it difficult to source (rent, not purchase) a conduit bender capable of bending this size.

I read in the NEC table 300.5 that PVC is under 2" of 'concrete or equivalent' than it can be as close as 12" from grade. My question is: What is 'equivalent'?

Also, I tried the 'pressure water' method for tunneling, it got real messy real fast and my pipe didn't stay level, probably doing it wrong.

Looking at a few tools such as Borit as a next resort (something cheaper is ideal b/c I'll probably only use it once and I never quite get around to reselling a tool), and calling someone to finish this short portion of trench as a final resort. If anyone can offer insight as to either finishing this trench at 18", or having the PVC above that with 2" concrete (or equivalent?)

Also, one idea I just had is running the PVC and forming concrete outside the trench, and dropping it in the trench after it's hardened, hopefully that makes sense.

Update

Tomorrow (Weather contingent) I will try shop vac'ing around the roots, OP's yard in that video appears to have some root clusters and it looks like he did an excellent job getting the dirt from around them. Patience I have, money I don't.

The difficult can be done right away, the impossible takes a little longer.

300.5 also specs 4" of concrete allows 0" cover (other than the 4" concrete) if it's wide enough (6" sideways from the conduit each way.) I believe that "equivalent" would allow things like concrete pavers or bricks as well as poured-in-place concrete for in-trench conduit cover.

Not sure how you approached "pressure water" boring - I'd use a section of the conduit size you want to run, or larger, with a section of smaller pipe inside it to run the water in - waste-water and dirt comes out the space between the two pipes, and the larger outer pipe directs the "drilling" - but roots and stones will stop that method, and it's not good for corners.

For tools you only need once, remember rental. But sometimes rental costs as much as having someone come do it.

I can't imagine how you'd envision pouring concrete separate from the trench to be in any way easier or more effective than pouring it in the trench. I can only see that as a complication that makes everything more difficult. Backfill and compact level with the top of the conduit, shape the trench to be wide enough for how deep the conduit is buried, pour the concrete - nothing easier than that if you have to use concrete cover.


Would it work if I glued a new closet flange to an existing closet flange? abs closet flange is 1 and half inch lower than floor. the flange inlet is ID 4 inches. I am thinking of use some abs cement to glue a new abs flange into the existing one. (I assume 4x3 flange can go fit snugly into a 4 inch inlet?)  I did some google search but have not found anyone recommending doing this.  Would it work?

Usually if the flange is not high enough, a larger wax ring is used or stack two wax rings together. Yours sounds like it is lower than any I have ever encountered. A good plumber with an internal pipe cutter could cut it with out damaging the floor, add a coupler, and with some proper material to hold the flange at the right height, reset a new flange. Seal that to the surrounding finished floor, so if the wax ring DOES leak, it will show on the floor, not go down around the pipe.


How to mill a spiral groove in aluminium without a milling machine or lathe I need to make my own lathe-like chuck out of aluminium for a one-off machine I'm making.

It will be self-centering so I need to make a spiral groove, 5mm deep, in a 10mm thick, 150mm diameter circular plate of aluminium. The grooves will be around 3-8mm wide, and spaced about the same.

I only have diy tools to do this - a mitre saw and pillar drill and the usual hand drills etc etc, no lathe or milling machine.

It it possible to do this somehow?

Scribe out the groove you need to make first.
Use the drill to drill out the bulk of the material.

Finish the groove with a dremel. Since its aluminum you can also use a file and chisel to remove the material by hand.


Can I replace the insulation in an LG oven? Something has gotten between insulation and metal of oven.  Whatever it was, it was cremated and the smell is bad when oven is turned on.  Can the insulation blanket be replaced?

I've done this (due to rat pee (which is at least as bad as it sounds)).  It is a straightforward DIY job, just be sure you have good screw management solution.  I prefer to tape screws near the hole they came from.

Just get thin unfaced fiberglass batts in the right size. Remember that many call fiberglass the new asbestos, and wear a minimum P100 mask and non-fabric gloves.

You can also try running an "oven cleaning" cycle and cook the corpse to carbon black.  If it's just a corpse you have a good chance the smell will dissipate, at least if the corpse is really right against the oven wall.

See also How do I replace oven insulation that has been soiled by mice and smells bad?


bolting together a mitred formica counter top My counter tops have been cut in a precision miter and holes made underneath for the bolts that join the corner together.  We did a dry fit and everything joins perfectly.  Normally, you would lay down the longest run, then affix the perpendicular run up to it, go underneath the counter at the underside of the cabinet and affix the bolts to tighten together.  My problem is the corner cabinet (a lazy susan cabinet) has a finished interior top in the carcass, which means when you look up, you are not seeing the underside of the counter top so you can access it to bolt it together.  Must I destroy the interior "lid" of the cabinet top by cutting it open or is there any other way?  Help!!!!!  This has to go in now!

I am not sure if this is possible in your situation, but when I did mine, I put the top together first, using silicone between the joint, laid the tops upside down and level, then bolted them together. After that 2 helpers and myself set it in place and screwed from under.
Hope that helps.


How to troubleshoot heat that's always on? My boiler (Weil Mclain CGA Gold ~2003 install) failed the other day. After some help from a plumber and reading the manual, I replaced a few parts (more below) to get it running again. Now one zone is always hot, about 10 degrees hotter then set on the thermostat. There's no advice in the manaul for troubleshooting this type of issue (all the led's on the boiler are normal). The boiler shuts off periodically, only to start up a few minutes later. What are my next steps?

My initial guess is to checkout the thermostat. how do I do this? Do you remove it and cap the white (heat) line, keeping it from contacting the red?

What parts of the boiler do I need to look into and what order to track down the cause?

I have a (different) plumber coming tomorrow to check it out, but I'd like to try to solve it on my own if I can.

History

Tuesday night I woke up to no heat, and the boiler was off with the 'damper' led flashing. While trying to wake up/figure what was going on, the transformer that powers the two thermostates (for two zones) died in a puff of smoke.

Not really knowing what I was doing, I bought a new transformer and a new damper, installed them and the boiler still sat idle.

My plumber inspected the wiring with a multimeter and concluded the main board was dead. So I replaced that (he was busy at another site, and I was happy to save a few bucks doing it myself). After that, still no luck, so I decided to read the manual.

Following the troubleshooting flowchart, I found that the transformer driving the damper was dead, so I replaced that and everything started fine.

It was late the next day by then, so I called it a night. The following day I found my basement 10 degrees hotter then the thermostat was set.

I've tried cutting the power, letting the boiler start up again. Both thermostats "click" as they've always done when set the temperature from above to below the current temp, which I take to mean they are turning off the heat.

Any advice is much appreciated.

If you had a DMM or VOM and know how to use it, that would make diagnosis easier.

However, the approach to take is to divide and conquer.  Identify what component(s) are causing the signal for heat.  Is it the boiler controller, the thermostat, or a defect in the wiring?

I would begin by inspecting the areas where anything has changed since it last worked okay.  Look for anything amiss:  stray wires, debris, bird nests, junk.

Next, I would disconnect the thermostat from the wiring to the boiler.  This should be just a couple screws to loosen and then pull the wires out from under the terminal.  If they are not naturally stable, wrap each individually with tape—masking, electrical, scotch, duct:  whatever you have handy.  If the system continues to heat, the defect is probably1 not the thermostat.

At the end where the wires leading to the thermostat connect to the boiler controller, disconnect them, being sure to record which goes where—use a camera, labeling the wires, or writing on paper.  If the system continues to call for heat, the fault must be in the boiler controller.  Otherwise the wire itself has a flaw.  If there are unused wires in the bundle, you could try swapping unused wires for the needed one.

If you get here, it is likely the new controller is either defective, or more likely, not correctly connected after its replacement.  Double, triple, quadruple check the connections and everything else which could go wrong.  Reread the installation instructions to see if maybe there is a configuration option which might relate to the problem.

1 There could be several problems at once, so repeating tests of all items might be needed after the first round of repairs.


Ota antenna on cable coax with internet on line Recently I had cable tv as well as internet coming into the home.  I cut the cord regarding tv service but still want the internet feature. I want to hook up an  antenna for tv. I hooked up an antenna and I tried connecting to a coax box in the house to distribute the antenna signal throughout the home but I get the previous cable subscribers error message on my tv screen telling me I need a cable set top box.  I have gone through the tv menu and set it to air instead of cable. I told the cable company that I want them to cut the tv feed so I get internet only through the line.  They say they can't do that.  Is there a way for me to filter the line so I can use the existing line for my tv antenna??

No, you will need to isolate the two systems from each other.  They cannot exist on the same coax.

Unplug lines one by one from the splitter until you locate the modem.  That line must be connected to the incoming cable from the cable company.  You may need an inexpensive F-Type Coaxial Cable Connector from the big box store to join the two cables.

Important note: both systems do need to be grounded.  Without more information on your current system it's hard to advise.  The ground in this case has multiple functions, but is primarily grounding static charge, providing ground reference, and possibly preventing a surge from damaging equipment.

Once the modem is isolated and connected directly to the incoming cable, then you can use the rest of the existing distribution system to distribute your OTA TV to the TV's.


How much weight can wood paneling hold? I recently moved into a house with wood 1/8 inch panels in the basement. I am planning to mount by TV on the panel (approx 60"), but I'm not sure if the wood paneling can hold that much weight. I would be using toggle bolts to secure the mount, which have enough holding power, but can the wood panel hold it?

I found a number of existing answers for all types of materials, but I didn't see any that matches this scenario (toggle bolts on wood panel).

You're asking for trouble if you try mounting a TV on wood paneling.  Even if it holds initially, the weight of the TV will be pulling constantly against the paneling.  Eventually it's going to buckle and you're going to have a pile of TV broken on the floor.

What is the paneling affixed to?  If there are studs behind it, put your anchors in the studs.  If it's against a masonry or concrete (block) wall, put some good masonry anchors into that, and do a pull test to make sure they're secure.


How can I clean an office chair? I recently bought a new office chair. It smells strongly of whatever chemicals it was treated with in the factory it was made in. I tend to get allergic reactions to unwashed clothes, and I believe that whatever the chair was treated with has been triggering my allergies.

What can I do to remove whatever chemical residue it has? I've had it for about two weeks so far and it doesn't seem to be much better than it was when I got it. Googling, most of what I saw was advice on how to spot-treat stains, which doesn't help me here.

In all probability, you're probably smelling volatile organic compounds in the glue and other chemicals used in the process of making the chair.

If this is your problem, there's not much you can do, other than to air the chair out completely.

Can you set it outside for a day or two (protected from the elements and pilferage)?

If outside isn't an option, set it near an open window and point a box fan or similar at it for a couple of days.


How can I strip and repaint a concrete porch? My porch is concrete and has been painted over several times, the last time by the previous owner using paint that is obviously not appropriate (it's very slick when it rains/snows).

It needs to be stripped and repainted as it's now started bubbling and flaking in places, and the porch has visible cracks that need repairing. The cracks I can (and have started fixing) by partly widening the crack, and filling with a tube-based concrete patch. The one I fixed last year has survived without issue.

So I have three questions:

What is the best way to strip it back down to the bare concrete? I've seen the stripper compounds in the home stores and wonder if this is the best method.
How can I treat the surface so that anything painted on it doesn't bubble up?
When repainting, what specifically should I look for at the home store so it will have a non-slip surface?

I can post pictures, but I don't think they'll show anything more than I've described.

Painting concrete rarely lasts more than three tto five years especially on a floor that has traffic.  I would think about acid staining it and sealing it, but that's a different question.

The best way I have found to get the paint off is a clean and strip wheel on a grinder.
Paint should last three to five years no matter what you do, but you may be able to open up the surface a a bit to accept paint better if you scrub it with some diluted muriatic acid.
Shark grip should be added to your paint for a non-slip surface.  You can findbit at any of the big box stores.  You can add it to concrete sealer also.


What is this material on my interior foundation walls? I have a poured concrete foundation. A portion of my basement is unfinished.

It looks like a white plaster has been sprayed onto the foundation wall inside my house:

I suspect spraying as there are pieces of wood and other things that are close to the wall are covered in what looks like splash back of the same material:

Due to some previous water damage (the source of the problem has been fixed), this material has flaked off from the wall. I have cleaned up the loose bits with a masonry chisle and now wish to restore the wall in these areas to look like the rest.

I have no idea what this material is or how to apply it. I have searched the internet for things like "spackle" or "popcorn" (since it looks like ceiling popcorn) as they relate to basement or foundation walls but everything I turn up is about troweling on parging mix, portland cement, or other masonry products (i.e. the end result is a smooth wall).

My backup plan should I not be able to replace the material is to figure out what it is and determine if I could parge over it.

Any ideas?

Two common types of things are sprayed on basement walls.

What I suspect you have there is a white "waterblocking" coating - something like UGL Drylock (not an endorsement, just an example. I prefer waterbase version)
(source: drylok.com)
 It can be brushed or rolled, and a vigorous rolling may well provide the spatter you see. It's also becoming common to see sprayed-on polyurethane foam in basements (it's better put on the outside, but if retrofitting, putting it on the inside doesn't involve excavating all around the building) but that's usually a bit thicker and somewhat yellow (plus it's obviously plastic when you touch it.)


Attach Deck Joists at 45° angle without Hangers I'm building an octagonal freestanding deck and having trouble figuring out how to attach some 2x6 floor joists to a rim joist at a 45° angle without having to buy angled joist hangers for $6-$11 a piece (I'll need 6 total).

Is toe-nailing sufficient here? I would probably use 8d nails so they don't poke through or split the boards, maybe 3 on a side. Is there some other kind of (inexpensive) hanger I can use? Or an "ancient" (meaning before the advent of joist hangers) technique that could help me?

Of course your deck is governed by the Code.

The Code regulates all construction, unless it’s non-structural, (i.e.: carpet, paint, etc.) All work (projects) are reviews for 1) building compliance (height, size, guardrails, stairs, etc.), 2) fire code (setbacks, etc.), 3) structural, 4) energy use, if applicable

Under “structural”, Table 2304.9.1 Fasteners applies.  As you’ll see in Item #29, you’ll see joists fastened to band joist or rim joists can be by:

3 - 16d common face nailed, or
4 - 10d box face nailed, or
4 - 3” x 0.131” face nailed, or
4 - 3” 14 gage staples with 7/16” crown face nailed

Nowhere do they allow toe-nailing for this type of installation.

Btw, if your deck surface is less than 30” above the adjacent surface, then no guardrails are required.

Also, if there are 3 risers or less, then no handrail is required.

If you decided using joist hangers would be simpler, you can use Simpson SUR Series, as seen here:

https://www.strongtie.com/facemounthangersssl_solidsawnlumberconnector/sur-sul-hsur-hsul_productgroup_wcc_ssl/p/sur.sul.hsur.hsul

If the deck becomes attached to your house, you’ll need a minimum of 2 Simpson deck ties, similar to

https://www.fastenersplus.com/Simpson-DTT2Z-Deck-Tension-Tie-Zmax-Finish?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7YblBRDFARIsAKkK-dJZrRsiFDrb6UevCNA1fWsgoBllbcaFbSIxYM08Q-lVaduQDD0EbOYaAvekEALw_wcB


What is the purpose of vent holes in stovepipe? The stovepipe on my free-standing gas fireplace has a ring of quarter-sized vent holes at the base of the pipe, right where the fireplace meets the stovepipe. I've always wondered about the purpose of these holes.

I understand that it is important air is drafted through the fireplace and the fire to feed the combustion, but why would one want to allow room air to mix with the flue exhaust?

I always assumed this allows extra air to be drawn into the flue to insure oxidation of any CO to CO2. These holes would also by bringing in more air increase the back pressure and so lower the air draw at the burner into the optimum range.

I know the flue on the old gas tank water heaters was fitted with a "draft hood" designed to take in extra air at the top of the tank / bottom of the flue. It seems to be that if not designed correctly this opening could allow escape of combustion gasses out these holes, but I guess the openings generally work as intended.

This video asserts that the purpose of the vent hood is to prevent downdrafts from wind blowing over and into the vent on the roof from extinguishing the gas flame.

My 13-year-old Bosch tankless water heater (natural gas fired) does not have visible openings at the bottom of the flue. It is a "first generation" model with a standing pilot light and without a power vent.

My 26-year-old Carrier natural gas furnace likewise does not have these holes but it has a power vent on the exhaust flue.


Is there a way to replace the bottom part of wall? The bottom plate of an exterior wall is rotted quite a bit, is there any way to safely replace it, "DIY-style"?

It's a standard 2x4 wall, and I'm already tore into the inside-side to replace sheetrock.

This sort of work requires temporary shoring. What that entails varies greatly by what sort of loads the wall is supporting, both vertical and horizontal (such as wind). The fact you are asking at all implies you need professional assistance. Not necessarily to do all the work, but at least to ensure what work is done is done safely and properly.


What is the difference between different rated RCCBs except for the price? Say there's a need to install a 25A30ma Residual Current Circuit Breaker (i.e. ABB FH202 AC-25/0,03). It is going to be followed by a normal circuit breaker, to protect the wiring and the RCCB (16A). Specified RCCB is not in stock, however, there are 32A30ma and 40A30ma variations available of the same brand (latter being a bit cheaper).

Can I take and install higher-rated circuit breaker (40A30ma) instead of required 25A30ma? And if so - what is the guiding principle of when to use smaller-rated RCCBs except for the price?

Note: the question is about RCCBs, not the RCBOs

In general: An RCD should be able to handle more current then the nominal Amperes of the RCB. The more the better since losses are lower and the chance to destroy/damage the RCD via an overload is lower.

Some versions are most probably more expensive (even having lower Ampere ratings) because of much lower production numbers. In many countries a RCD protects more then 1 circuit, so a 40A or 63A version is standard.

When a second (or more) parallel circuit are added alongside the first 16A circuit (if the upstream installation is rated accordingly), the RCD would protect both circuits. Of course, neutral and ground/Protection Earth must never be connected downstream of a RCD. An overload in both circuits at the same time is very unlikely.

A 25A30ma Residual Current Device can handle 25A in normal operation.
This Ampere value should be always greater then the breaker's Ampere value.

Here is the reason:
A Residual Circuit Breaker RCB of 16A is NOT specified to interrupt immediately when more then 16A is flowing, e.g. 18A.
But it interrupts after certain seconds/minutes taken into account that short time higher currents must be tolerated. F.e. a 16A RCB could interrupt a 20A current only after 40 seconds. But of course it must interrupt every shortage with high currents as soon as possible (hundreds or thousands of Ampere in the milisecond range).

Note: if there was a shortage in a circuit, the RCD should be exchanged since it could have been damaged by the high short current.


Reusing ADT motion sensors I bought a 4 level house that had an ADT security system with a motion sensor in every room. I never used it since moving in.

But I have a fun project in mind: I'd like to drive my kids nuts when playing hide-and-seek.

Is there a relatively easy and inexpensive solution to reusing the motion sensors. It would be sufficient to have an app (or a webapp) that gives me a flat list of the most recent motion-detector "hits". Any suggestions?

First we must determine whether your motion sensors are wired or wireless.

Wired

The wired PIR motion sensors used in security systems since roughly forever are pretty simple devices. You feed them 12 volts dc to power the electronics; they contain a relay which opens or closes to indicate motion. Some will have a SPDT relay so that the installer can choose whether to use the normally open or normally closed contact. "Normally" means the inactive or resting state of the device, ie no motion detected.

If your ADT system is wired there'll be a control panel buried in a closet or utility room somewhere in the house. Open it up and you'd most likely find a 4-conductor cable for each motion sensor. If the motion sensors are grouped into zones then it's possible you'd have one cable for each zone; each sensor might not have its own "home run" cable back to the panel.

All these wired sensors could be fed into some kind of multi-input interface. That might be built around an Arduino, a Raspberry Pi, or some other experimenter/hobbyist platform.

Wireless

If your motion sensors are wireless then things aren't necessarily harder, just different. First you'll have to figure out what RF frequency and protocol they use. At very least they should be labelled with an FCC ID number which reveals the manufacturer and model of the device, and from there the rest can be discovered. They might also simply be labelled such that a person familiar with the industry would recognize them. GE/Interlogix is one particular make that's quite prolific. Each sensor has a unique serial number which it periodically transmits along with its battery state, contact state, and other info. Receivers are available that can listen for these sensor transmissions and send it over a serial bus like RS-232.

Pulling it together

Identifying what sort of sensors you're working with is the easy part. From here you're probably going to be looking for some kind of open source home automation platform such as openHAB, Home Assistant, etc. These may provide a software framework for receiving the security sensor inputs and putting them into a web or mobile app front end you can use. This all goes beyond the scope of the DIY stack exchange, but hopefully I've given enough ideas and key words to help your research get started.


What can I use for a very small access panel? I have a gas shut-off valve for my oven that needs access in the ceiling of my basement.  I currently just have the shut-off itself cut out and it is about 2 inches from the edge of the wall.  The pop-in panels I have seen at the big box stores are too big for this application.

Any ideas on what I can put over it?

The red knob is face down about 1/4 inch above drywall cut-out.  I need about 2x3 inches to be able to turn it off and on.

Why not use a simple blank electrical box cover?

They also come in round versions (about 5 inches) to cover electrical ceiling boxes.

You could hold it up using thin bolts through the eyelets with nuts locking on a small offset piece of plastic on each end that could rotate outward above the drywall to hold it in place.


How to join 2 telephone wires to pull through wall I need to replace my old telephone (4 pairs) with a new one probably 10 pair cable. The path already contains some other wires too and looks like no new cable can be inserted. My question is how I can connect 2 wires i.e. the old and new one so that while pushing form one side joint stays there.

As there are multiple corners inside the wall path which some are 90 degree and some even more, so I need to join in a way which is solid as well thin.

OK, start out by stripping the main cover insulation about an inch off of each end of the cables. Now strip a half inch of insulation off of each conductor. Twist the conductors from one cable to the next separately trying to keep even tension. You'll have to group some of the 10 pair conductors together and then twist them to a 4 pair conductor. Lay the twisted splices flat and pull slightly to even out the tension. If you have a soldering iron you can solder the joints together for added strength. Then wrap one layer of electrical tape as tight as you can from the edge of the cover insulation across the spliced area to the edge of the cover insulation on the other cable.  Then wrap one layer of electrical tape from one inch over the cover insulation across the splice area to one inch over the cover insulation of the other cable.

You now have a strong straight slice about the same thickness as the cable. If you are trying to push pull this through concealed studs you'll still have a problem with the 90 degree bends, especially if the studs are steel. If you have access to an attic, run a new route across the attic and down the walls as needed. Good luck.


Is a 150 watt LED suitable for a pendant fixture? I want to replace a 150 watt incandescent bulb with a 150-200 watt LED bulb in my kitchen fixture which is a hanging 12-inch diameter fully enclosed glass ball. The guideline for the LED say it is not suitable for fully enclosed fixtures but one of the product details also stipulates the LED is suitable for use in a pendant fixture which is what this glass globe is.

The manufacturers info (manufactured by XMprimo) seems contradictory and I would like to know if this LED bulb is suitable for a 12" diam. glass globe fixture.

The manufacturer wisely states that their bulb should not be used in a fully enclosed fixture. (this is true of incandescents as well.) (it is always a bad idea to trap heat) However if you are replacing your old incandescent bulb with an LED you will need about 1/6 the wattage to produce the same lumens. (the actual brightness of light emitted). A 25-watt bulb LED will replace a 150-watt incandescent. Regarding the seeming contradiction you see in the lamp instructions; it is possible to have a globe type fixture that is vented.  They just don't want their bulbs in a non-vented globe fixture.  It shortens the life of the bulb.


Casa Endeavor Ceiling Fan: Slight hum, and major wobble New Fan.

I have installed at least 8 ceiling fans in the past.

Juan, the CSR of the seller  who I spoke with last week suggested several balancing options, nothing seems to be working.

Never had a significant issue such as these two with a fan:

1) A definitive hum in low speed;  is this normal for the Casa Endeavor (it is in the bedroom and it is quite annoying, at night)?

2)  The fan just will not seem to balance. I have installed several fans and balanced with no serious issues afterward.

So far, with me checking all the screws, and trying about 100 different balancing combinations.  Still wobbling on high speed, and low speed.

I am exhausted.

Though, after researching and reading, I  discovered one blade (out of 5 blades) is off by 1/4 inch meaning all other blades are 13" off the ceiling, and one blade is 12.75 inches off the ceiling.

Could 1/4 inch make the difference with balancing?

Thoughts?

I did a wb search for Casa Endeavor as I had never heard of this brand.
I found lots of info many with links to user manuals and installation instructions for Casa Endeavor

At least it does't appear to cheap fan.  I saw one priced @ over $300.

Is this a new installation.  Has it always had these problems ?

If I was there I would first remove the blades and all the screws that are used to attach them.
Did each blade have the same number of screws (usually 3 per blade) ? None are missing ?
Now with the blades removed does the fan still hum ?
Does the fan shaft still wobble.?
If the answers to either of these qustions is yes the something is wrong with the motor.

When you turn off the power to the fan does it coast or stop instantly.
(With no blades it will probably not coast as long but if it stops instantly there is something machanically wrong. Bad bearing(s) or something misaligned.)
With power off and the blades removed can the blade mount be turned easily by hand ?
No  ?  Motor has a problem.
There must be a blade balance problem.  Some fans have weights attached to make the weight of all the blades equal. Maybe one came off ?

If without blades mounted there is little or no hum and no wobble of the shaft then blade balance must be the problem.
Devise a means of comparing the weight(s) of the blades a pair at a time.

Do the blades all match.  Not one from another model of fan ?


What is involved in ripping out carpets and put in fake wood floors for an apartment floor overhaul? I'm caught between living very frugally and hating cheapo, dirty carpets that spread wall-to-wall in every apartment I've ever leased. I'm probably handy enough to put in vinyl flooring myself, but was wondering how much work is involved in:

Ripping out the old carpets.
Prepping the floor.
Setting the vinyl "fake" hardwood flooring panels.
Removing the vinyl flooring after I move out.
Reinstalling the wall-to-wall carpets.

There's no way we can offer you prices as they vary wildly based on particular products, stores, and region you live in.

We also can't say what your landlord would or would not be willing to do. You'd have to ask them.

As for ripping out carpet, that requires some gloves and a bit of muscle--not that hard.

Installing flooring (be it vinyl tiles or engineered hardwood) is also fairly easy in the grand scheme of DIY projects.


Correct Sander Markings on Wood after Stain has properly dried I re-processed my doors, and got to the third layer of stain. Unbeknownst to me,I had terrible sanding marks in my doors which I can see clearly through the third. Is there anyway to fix this without having to completely take off the stains i.e start all over again??

It looks like you neither sanded with the grain or used a fine enough sandpaper in order to prepare for staining.  I think you have to go sand it down and start over.  Those likely would have been visible before staining.


How can I protect the plywood base of a tile table against the weather? HI  I want to make a small table for the patio and will put tiles on top.  what is the best way to preserve the wood on all sides before I tile it.
Thankyou

You may consider not using plywood at all. Once you frame the table, user cement backer board with a decoupling layer since those are the preferred substrates for tile.
Then you will have much fewer concerns about moisture, because the tile will be properly bonded, and provide its own waterproofing layer over the wood framing.


Can a Thermostat Common Wire (C-Wire) Be Added to a DNV40NB Heater? During recent renovations, we had to move our existing thermostat. Instead of replacing it with the same dumb 2-wire knob (white/red), I'd like to get a smart thermostat like the ecobee3. All of these new thermostats require a C-line, yet my heater does not have one currently. Can I add one to it?

Details:

Ecobee3
Heater: DNV40NB
Board wiring schematics:

Lastly, if it is possible to add a C-wire to this board, is it something a licensed electrician would need to do, or is it safe for a tinkerer like myself to do?

Sure.  I've highlighted the C wire in the wiring diagram.

You'll have to bring a wire from the transformer in the heater, up to the thermostat location. This may require pulling a whole new 3 wire cable.

If there's an open terminal where the brown wire attaches to the transformer, you can connect the new C wire for the thermostat there.  Otherwise, you'll have to tap in somewhere else.

This image shows how the new thermostat should be connected to the system.

  WARNING: If you don't feel comfortable poking around yourself, don't hesitate to contact a local HVAC tech (or Electrician).


How can I repair leaky windows/doors? I have a big window above the entrance double door.  Whenever it rains against the window I find the leaks at the top of the window corner, at the bottom of the window and in my cold room which is below the door.

Any suggestions on how to fix them?

You should make sure the door and the window are caulked all the way around the trim.

Sometimes painters neglect to caulk the tops of windows which eventually leads to leaks.


Only cold water on my Bravo washing machine We have a top loading Bravo washing machine. When we start a load the water comes out very cold no matter what setting the machine is on. I have tried running a load on hot and still only get cold water. What would cause this?

More than a few times I have found water lines plugged at the entrance to the valve on the washing machine or at the connection to the supply valve.

Most washers come with screen filters to prevent chunks of material from getting stuck in the valve and flooding the home.

I would turn the hot off, take the hose off at the faucet first if there is a screen is it plugged with rust, scale , pieces of the anode from the hot water tank?
If no screen there check at the connection to the machine. After cleaning or replacing the screen I will usually get a bucket and high flow the water in the bucket to clear other debris out of the line. Normally washers are close to the water heater you may even feel the water get warm/hot with a gallon or 2 flush. Put the hose back on , check for leaks and see if that fixed the problem. I find it is the problem most of the time.


Raise sink up off pedestal We have a bathroom sink that sits on a pedestal. We are due for a full bathroom renovation in next couple years, but I need a way to deal with a problem until then.
The sink was installed wrong (and/or the house is settling) such that the sink isn’t level when it is resting on the pedestal. It’s gotten so bad that not all the water drains out of the sink, because the lowest spot in the sink isn’t the drain. I’d like a way to deal with that for next year or two.
I thought of propping up the sink with webbing and some boards until it is level, and then filling in the 1/2” gap created (see photo) between the sink and pedestal with some epoxy. But not sure if that would work well, or if others have better ideas.
If I did the epoxy approach, any pointers on what kind to buy?

Epoxy would work, though it would be troublesome to get in there.
If it was me and I knew that the sink would be trashed after a couple of years, I'd just support the lip, get a tube of normal white silicone caulk and start loading up the crack. Let it dry for 24 hours with the support in place and then you're good to go. (The silicone will compress a tiny bit, but not much.)


Metal junction box cover On a metal junction box cover, one side is stamped "Under Side".  Does that side go on the inside or outside of the box?


Replacing a Light Fixture with 2 Sets of Wires I bought a new light fixture for my porch light.  The directions for installation describe only using 1 set of wires, however this light has 2 set of wires.  I don't imagine it should be difficult, but I assume it can be done very wrong.  How do I install this fixture?

The light appears to have two sockets for bulbs, each with their own set of wires. The black wires are hot and the white are neutral. The single bare wire is the ground.

The two black wires should be joined together, along with the hot wire in the fixture box that comes from the wall switch. They should be stripped about 1/2 inch, twisted and covered with a wire nut.

The two white wires should be joined, along with the white neutral from the fixture box. Similarly stripped, twisted, covered.

The single ground wire is attached to the bare or green wire in the fixture box.

There is sometimes confusion about which wires in the box are which. If there was an old fixture, you should be able to connect the new wires to the same wires as before. If not, you will have to confirm which wire is the switched hot and which is the neutral. Color is usually the guide, but occasionally the color rules have not been followed.


Can I fit a valve with 15mm connections without replacing 22mm pipework? I have an existing shower valve with 22mm connections to the water supply. I bought a new valve for a plumber to fit, but now I see that it has 15mm inlet connections.
Both units are exposed, surface mounted, thermostatic valves.
Before I book a plumber should I return the unit and buy one with 22mm connections, or can my unit be fitted without chipping the tiles off the bathroom wall and getting at the pipes?

Cant you find a 22mm-15mm adapter?
I live on the other side of the pond and to change sizes there are adapters both male and female to make the change.
I just googled a “22mm to 15mm pipe adapter” and a brass piece for $6.69 came up on the first page.
adapter
We use national pipe thread so I don’t know if that would work but try it.
It is a male thread so it should screw in and then female so your new piece would screw into that if the thread pitch is correct.


Can a broken microwave leak radiation? Can a microwave malfunction and start leaking radiation? And is there any way to tell?

What happens if you're in the same room or standing next to it?

If the metal grid in the door is intact and the outer metal case it should be fine, one way I have seen used was to clip the leads off a neon lamp if the lamp flashes it is getting hit by microwave radiation. Or to buy a detector.  Depending on the amount of energy being released it can be a simple warming effect to burning, the eyes would be at the biggest risk of damage since they are the closest to water and are very delicate. If you have concerns it would be safer to not use it, but if the grid and case are undamaged there is no way for the energy to escape. Microwaves run at approx 2.4Ghz the length of a single wave would be under 6" and the height or amplitude is based on the power level.


Non-glass options for custom shower door I have an unfinished neo-angle shower enclosure (see dimensions below). The tile is in, but there is no door or glass panel. This is a bathroom in the basement, so I don't want to spend $3k on a frameless setup.

What is the next cheapest option above a shower-rod? Is there a non-glass option?

I recently stayed at a hotel, where the shower was enclosed in some acrylic-like material. It was definitely not glass, as the door was very light. At the same time, it looked quite nice and didn't feel cheap.

In any case, I'll appreciate any ideas whatsoever!

Polycarbonate is used in many industrial machines I used to work on. It is like a very strong alternative to acrylic, it doesn't shatter easily and can be gotten in a good clear grade. More expensive than acrylic but alot tougher

It was used for windows on oil reservoirs and for interlocked guards on production lines where you could see the product through the clear polycarbonate and then i
Access if required. The staff were a nightmare for treating things like sh*t and you always knew an acrylic sheet from a polycarb one because acrylic ones were always cracked.


How do you change a lower heating element in an electric water heater? Is it easy enough to do or do I need a professional?

Changing an element us not difficult. Turn the power off.
Turn the water to the water heater off.
Drain the tank. Some models require a special wrench some a crescent wrench will work.
Unscrew the conductors that attach to the element. Unscrew the element.
If it comes with an O ring a very light coating of vegetable oil on the O ring will help it seal. If it uses plumbers dope or PFTE tape coat the threads and install.
Turn water on and fill tank (open  a hot water tap until the air is purged) turn off tap.
Check for leaks. No leaks reattach power leads to element. Turn power on and verify it is still not leaking once warm.