Wire type to outside box through wall I'm sorting out some wiring at my Uncles house. There is a box outside that has two  pvc conduits going in to it. Power in, and power out to the pool lights. This box also feeds in to the house (not through conduit) via the boxes back entrance to deliver power to one outlet, and to a switch that turns on/off the pool lights.

The box is badly rusted so I am replacing it as well as the wiring that goes to the outlet and switch that are inside. Can I just use regular romex as the back entrance will not be exposed to water? Or do I have to use UF? I plan on using silicone around the hole before mounting the new box.

Edit:

You have a problem.  You already have a conduit ... well, something -- coming through the back of the box.

That's not Romex.  Or if it is Romex, that's just coming through an empty hole.

You should not have Romex coming into this box, for reasons which should be obvious if you look at the inside of this box.

You couldn't do it anyway, since this type of box is threaded on the outside which forces you to install the cable clamps backwards, and then they're inaccessible.

The usual approach is to have another box directly behind it on the interior wall, and link the boxes back-to-back with a short piece of conduit, or nipple (ultra-short piece with threads or fittings built-in). Then you run THWN-2 through the short section and do your Romex splicing on the interior.

Since this type of box has threads on the outside, you can thread a short section of pipe (nipple) onto it, then attach it to the interior box any which way you can (e.g. conduit nuts). In that case, don't count on the conduit being usable as ground, wire a ground between those two boxes' ground screws. (every box has a #10-32 tapped hole for a ground screw).

Original:

The correct type of wire to use in conduit is THWN-2.

Three THWN-2 wires laid next to each other. Note lettering on the wire.

Note that there is no cable jacket like you find with Romex, because wire is not cable. These wires do not need the cable jacket, because the conduit protects them.  As such, you can insert exactly the wires you need, and exactly the colors you want, because you are not stuck with the standard colors in conduit.  Ground must be green and neutral must be gray or white, but hot can be any other color.   I frequently use orange, blue, purple, brown and yellow to distinguish one circuit from another. (you can have up to 4 circuits per conduit, and they can all share 1 ground).

You can use solid or stranded THWN-2.  All of them are much easier to pull through conduit than cable is, particularly stranded, however stranded is more challenging to attach at receptacles and switches.

Using cables in conduit is illegal, only in the sense that it requires much larger conduit than you'd think.  Oval shaped cable (like Romex or UF) requires the same conduit space that a round wire of the same max dimension would require! One cable isn't so bad, but 2+ cables requires positively huge conduit. (whereas in THWN-2, a 1/2" conduit can handle 4 circuits!) Also due to the difficulty of the pull, you have a serious risk of damaging the cable, especially if you are inexperienced at this type of work.  So if you respect the fill rules, and are careful and patient, you can do it... but why bother?


Why are only half of my receptacles working after an electrical arc in one of them? I live in an apartment above an older building that I help care for. I was unplugging my phone charger (I may have pulled it out too fast) and there was a huge arc and flame color and it smoked. This took out power to about half of the receptacles in my kitchen and living room.

I wasn't sure if I blew a fuse or something like that so I went down to both of the fuse boxes in the building and replaced and checked the fuses that deal with my apartment.

I'm sure it was a bigger deal than that, I just have no idea what it is.

Any suggestions?

You'll need an electrician to replace/rewire the receptacle that shorted.  The short melted a wire and caused an open circuit to the remaining outlets fed from that box.  If you are lucky, there is enough wire with unburned insulation in the box to re-wire, otherwise, a new run of wire through the walls may be necessary.  Good fuses/breakers should prevent this.  The fuse should blow before the wire melts.  Make sure your fuses are properly sized for the guage wire on that circuit.  Check other receptacles in the home and if any are loose, have them repaired too.  If you have metal boxes, you might consider wrapping the terminals on the receptacles in electrical tape.  This should help avoid this problem in the future.

Pulling a plug out "too fast" wasn't the cause.  Receptacles should be able to handle more abuse than a phone charger!


16-year old Trane central AC one package unit is not cooling well? My central AC is a 16-year old Trane one package unit on the roof top. However, it is not cooling  very well. I brought contractors in and it seems that R22 freon is leaking. However, every contractor gave me a different number of freon that I need to fill.

My question is 1) is it possible to test freon level for a one-package unit? If so, how? 2) do I need to replace it? Trane has solid quality and I thought it can last longer than 16 years. Replacement for a roof top central AC is so expansive since we will probably need a crane.

Many thanks in advance!

16 years is good , it would be hard to give an exact # but based on the size and the age of the system even I could give an idea based on the size and it is still functional, 5 ton 10 lbs R22 simple top off at this age if a couple measurements prove the system is healthy and only needs a charge that may last 7 years , I base future at 1/2 if only low on charge bigger system more refrigerant smaller system less.


Can I install a subpanel on top of boards instead of of between studs? I am installing/replacing a sub-panel in the basement of a split-level. The new panel is on an unfinished wall (drywall on opposite side, towards living-room, but no drywall on the basement side), but the studs at the point of installation are too close for me to  install between them. So, since I had the pieces, I ran a pair of wood cross-beams (morally, 2X4's, but in reality cut from old stairs) perpendicular to the studs, and screwed the sub-panel onto them, and then installed wood, exterior of the panel, level with the cross-beams, so that I can be secure the wires going into the box. Therefore, there is a void behind the box, except where I have the cross-beams.

My question is: have I committed a NEC/fire-safety violation? As far as I can tell, no, but...

[In effect, it's as if I had screwed a large piece of plywood to the wall, with a square cut out in the middle, which I hid with the panel.]

You may notice that the panel has knockout holes all along both sides.  Mounting them in the void between joists is not a requirement, and those side knockouts are for when you surface mount the box.

Generally in that situation, you mount the service panel on a sheet of plywood somewhat larger than the panel.  Leave yourself room for externally mounted things like the electrician's outlet, whole house surge suppressors, power monitors, datacomm, etc.

I'm not sure about mounting it to a couple sticks of 2x4.  Certainly if you finish the basement later, it's a lot easier to mate up drywall to a sheet of plywood to make it presentable, rather than a couple 2x4s.

Since this is a "best practice" done almost universally, needless to say, I recommend doing it.


Can you identify these large pipe shaped chunks that came out of my cold water tap? Last night I opened the cold water on my faucet to fill a pot to make some ramen.  Right as I was about to put my pot under the faucet the water turned brown and there was a noticeable pressure drop so I turned the faucet off.

Remembering a similar biyearly occurrence at a previous residence (every time they'd flush/check the fire hydrants), I assumed it might be rust that had clogged the airator screen.  I removed the handle off of my faucet head and started to flush water into the sink. The water was clearer than before but it was still darker color than normal. After about 2 min it started looking more normal, then suddenly started expelling the large chunks, some as long as 4 cm pictured below.

Does anyone know what these are?  Was this created by bacteria? rusting pipes? lime scale?

I called my utility to ask what was happening, they told me there was no work in my area, or hydrants being flushed and to just flush from the lowest point in my house.  I did that but only saw a couple flakes which could of just been Teflon threading from the removal of the shower handle there.  I went back up stairs to finish flushing my kitchen sink, but it took more than 20 min of shutting off and turning back on my cold water for the flakes to subside.

My best guess is limescale that's been knocked free by some kind of work upstream. You could contact your local water authority to see if you might have been affected.

You're right to clean the aerator screens in your faucets, etc. The only other thing you might consider (after running water for quite a while until it turns up clear) is operating all the shutoffs in the house. Open and close them a few times.

(Pro-tip: know where your main shutoff is and know that it works before you mess with the local shutoffs.)

Operating the shutoffs might chew up the washers and prevent the shutoff from working, so be prepared for this possibility. I mention this step because I'm of the 'it's better to know now and fix it, rather than when it's an emergency and you have water pouring into the sink cabinet' school of thought.


How to remove this bathtub diverter spigot? I'm trying to remove a bathtub diverter spigot, but I can't tell whether it is a screw-on or a slip-on (with a hex bolt at the bottom).  My spigot has the notch where a hex bolt would normally be, but when I look inside the notch, I can't see anything but a metal plate, a plastic tab, and some white silicone.  Does this mean that I have a screw-on or do I have to remove something to get to the hex bolt inside the notch?  I can turn the spigot some with my hand, but I think the silicone is resisting the torque.  I don't want to just start wrenching away without some better information.

Any idea on how to remove this type of spigot?  Thanks!

you have to slide the white plastic tab towards the mouth of the spigot.  its essentially like a quick fit pneumatic fitting.  its a spring loaded compression fitting.  sliding the plastic tab forward against the spring pressure releases the seal and lets you slide the spigot off of the wallpipe.  you can twist a little to make it easier and lubricate with dishsoap to get it to move.


Jacking concrete slab with shed We have a 10x10 wooden shed sitting on a concrete slab that is under water when we get lots of rain. Is it possible to raise the entire thing, slab and all maybe 6" somehow to get it out of the water?

Edit: I'm not at the house at the moment, but here are some shots I have of it:
https://imgur.com/a/j0osLr3

If you “jack”...you crack.

That slab weighs a minimum of 5,000 lbs. (4” thick) and will crack when you start jacking it up a few inches.

Little known fact, concrete only has a tensile strength of 55 lbs. per square inch (as compared to compressive strength of 2500 psi ). When one edge is lifted, the top of the slab is in compression and the bottom is in tension THROUGHOUT the slab.

No amount of levers (regardless of fulcrum points) will keep the slab from cracking. In fact, where the lever is placed could accelerate the cracking process. If you’ve ever seen a contractor remove a sidewalk, you’ll know what I mean. They use an excavator to pick up an edge so it will break and they can load reasonably sized pieces in a dump truck.

Now, if the slab is reinforced and the reinforcing is properly placed, it could hold...but what are the odds that old shed slabs are reinforced.

In addition, even if you were to lift the slab, how are you going to EVENLY place gravel under the slab and then COMPACT it? Impossible. It would tip and put a stress point on the slab...causing the slab to crack.

I like the idea of trying to control the drainage around the shed and if that doesn’t work, I like the idea of removing the wood portion, using the existing slab as a footing, installing a higher slab and then reinstalling the wood shed.


What is this burnt cement floor treatment called? In Brazil we have a floor finish named Burnt Cement (that doesn't involve burning). Here is a description of the process

In summary, you use a mix of cement and pigment (sometimes marble powder too) sprinkled over fresh concrete floor (1 part cement and 3 parts sand), and then use a steel float to spread it. It can simply color, or have a stained effect.

What is this called in English?

Also, how can I properly execute this technique?

EDIT: From what I discovered, I think that is called dry-shake. In US people seem to buy a ready made compound to use, where in Brazil we mix cement and pigment (sometimes marble or limestone powder too) to make the same effect. If that is correct, I need to find some instructions on how to execute this (a video showing the effect would be even better).

Correct, dry shake. Or more specifically dry shake color hardener. As you say, it is essentially cement and colorant. You might just search video sites for application instructions, such as http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dry+shake+color+hardener+application. Incidentally, techniques that achieve similar effects to cured concrete are concrete dyes and concrete acid stains.


Why is my toilet bubbling? Last night while my washing machine and sink in the master bath was running, my master toilet started having air bubbles come up.  Then this morning while I was showering I heard bubbles again, and the shower was draining very slowly.  After the bubbles occurred my toilet in the master bath and powder room completely drained of water in the bowl and tank.  What is happening?

Pretty sure a vent pipe (the one going through the roof) is blocked.  There should be a vent pipe coming off the main drain stack, perhaps not obvious in a multi story home.  Birds and other critters are sometimes the cause

Vent blockage means air is reversing through the toilet trap, removing the protective water (which keeps sewer gas from entering home).

Water emptying from tank may just mean a leaky flapper, though this is unlikely on 2 toilets simultaneously.

A visit from a plumber is in order.


Shed foundation out of square I had a builder put up a raised 10x13 post and beam foundation in anticipation of a shed placement later. I measure it and find the diagonals are 4" off. What is the easiest way to adjust the rhombus back to square? Do I add a shim piece to the 6x6 posts on opposite corners?

*Edit: Attaching another image to show exagerated shape and diagnals.  Also the 2x8 attached to the posts with lag bolts

Assuming that the sides are parallel, since you called it a rhombus, and the framing is attached to the sides of the post as the drawing seems to show:
You can definitely add shim pieces to the posts on the side that is at the top and bottom of your drawing. Depending on the load that the fasteners take, You may need to attach a block of some sort to support the end of the joist, since it won't be properly attached to the long side anymore.

You could also frame the walls square, and have them overhang the short corner.

Ideally, you should not finish paying the builder until he fixes it.


Can I notch the end of a piece of fire blocking to accommodate a wire? I'm framing a partition wall and a lowered ceiling on one side of that wall. The space above the new, lower ceiling will essentially be attic space, so the inspector said I need fire blocking in the new wall at the new ceiling line.

The electrical work is already done, so I'm wondering if I can notch an end of the blocking to accommodate a wire or two. The alternative would be to remove the wiring, install the blocking, drill a hole, and pull the wiring through. I'd prefer to avoid that extra work, assuming that it's legal and won't compromise safety.

I'm in Clark County, NV if that helps.

Yes you can notch it. Make it so it does not pinch the wire in anyway, be VERY careful how it is fastened in. Fireblocking foam can be used to fill the rest in while the rest of the fireblocking work is being done.


What is this black sooty material on the inside of my roller shutter? I have a bedroom window that looks out over the east (a backyard with mostly tiles and little plants) with a roller shutter which over the past couple of years has gotten a serious buildup of some sort of black soot, which I can't really figure out where it comes from.

Below are a couple of pictures. Apologies for the reflection of my bedroom, I can't open 2 of the windows and the 3rd has a mosquito screen which I'd rather not remove now that those critters are appearing again.

This soot covers pretty much the entire side of the shutters and I'm worried it might be more than that based on a question on here about black mold that looks suspiciously like what I have. Only thing is my shutters are plastic, not wood.

If this is black mold, would it be safest to just have the entire shutter plus the casing side of my bedroom replaced?

Looks like fungus of some sort. It grows on many surfaces. Try household cleaners and a sponge.

There are many types of mold, and the hysteria surrounding them is often unwarranted. Mold spores are everywhere, and only a very specific type is potentially dangerous, and only in significant quantities.

  The term “toxic mold” is not accurate. While certain molds are toxigenic, meaning they can produce toxins (specifically mycotoxins), the molds themselves are not toxic, or poisonous. Hazards presented by molds that may produce mycotoxins should be considered the same as other common molds which can grow in your house. There is always a little mold everywhere – in the air and on many surfaces. There are very few reports that toxigenic molds found inside homes can cause unique or rare health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of the toxigenic mold and these conditions has not been proven.

Basically, if it can be cleaned up it's not a serious issue. You wouldn't throw away an item that can be wiped clean.


Best way to fix an uneven floor We have an uneven floor that when we first moved in tried to repair but were unsuccessful.  The root of the problem is a foundation slab which is uneven.  We could not even it because there is an unevenness between two walls and did not want to try to mess with slab under the walls.  So we actually took out the concrete and repoured the concrete but it ends up basicly the same (sheesh!!!!!).

We were in a rush to move in (new baby) and so we laid down hardwood floors onto the uneven concrete slab but the result is worse because when u walk on it u really notice this sudden dip.

Ive tried my hand at photoshop to try to draw the problem.  I'll also describe it in words here

WHen you are walking down the hall there is this sudden dip which comes on over the course of 2-3" as you walk.  The dip is about 2" deep as you walk forward in the hall, but also 2" between the two walls.  So you are dipping on two axis.  TO make matters worse, the entire hallway has a gradual decline as it goes to a bedroom.

The gradual decline is not the biggest deal to me, but the sudden dip is really killing this new house for me.  Any ideas on a good way to go about repairing this.  The one contractor I showed this too really rolled his eyes and swayed his head as if to say "this will cost $10million to fix".

My basic not saavy at all inclination is to rip out the hardwood floors, install some kind of plywood underneath to make some kind of straight level betwwen the two walls and have the plywood gradually go down until it reaches the level of the room at the end of the hall.  Then install hardwood ontop of this plywood.   Of course how do you even out the plywood.  I guess lots of sanding until its even.  I have no idea.

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Sorry to hear your problem. I just redid my kitch and had an uneven floor. To solve the problem I called my brother who works on the installation of hospital equipment. Those floors need to be precise and he has work with some very uneven floors.

I can describe the process.
You need to etch your subfloor concrete then find the best self-leveling thin set. Usually not recommended for larger than 1 inch gaps. So Damon is right to do a bulk fill in some areas. Make sure to make the thin set as thin as possible. Use the max amount of water the bag says, no less. I learned the hard way a little thinner is better when leveling. After it dries you will have a level floor. Unless your concrete continues to settle.


Air Sealing around Electrical Boxes What is the best DIY method to use to prevent air and vapor (moisture) infiltration from exterior walls that have outlets and switches in them?  There is already a significant loss of insulation where the electrical box takes up the space.  Even worse is when there are easy channels for air carrying vapor to enter and exit these holes in the electrical box.  I have heard both good and bad about using caulking or minimal expanding foam on the exterior side of the electrical box.  Is there a better solution?

I'm not talking about foaming the inside of the electrical box as I feel that is a very bad idea.  Outside the box should not matter as far as I can see.  Any better ideas? (Aside from the plastic vapor boxes that are meant to be installed prior to electrical boxes, which don't allow the electrician to install the electrical box without a fight.)

A quick google search should give you a plethora of options.  There are putty sheets, that can be molded around the outside of the box and wires. Foam boxes that can be installed around the box. There are thin plastic boxes, which are designed to tie into a vapor barrier system. Etcetera, etcetera


How can I stop a dishwasher water supply from causing the tap water to smell? OK, here is the situation:

I recently bought a dishwasher that has a shorter water hose than required. So I bought this inlet hose
and connected the two hoses using this inlet connector.

For water supply I used a self cutting tap.

The problem is, when dishwasher tap is open (dishwasher not working), and I open the main drinking water tap, my water has strange smell and taste. (This is not the case when the dishwasher tap is closed or the dishwasher hose is connected to tap without extension).

The only cause I could conclude from this is that the water flows back from inlet hose into the drinking tap, giving it the odor and taste. (although I can't tell the inlet hose smells by sniffing!)

Is there anything I can do to prevent this? I already tried returning the inlet hose and trying another one (maybe that particular one had issue) -- but no success.

update:

Today I came up across this shower check valve. Do you guys think this can prevent the backflow of water if I install it on my dishwasher tap?

A check valve will surely prevent water from flowing backwards, as that's exactly what it's designed to do.

In case you're not familiar with them, the arrow points in the direction of flow. So whichever way you want the water to flow, point the arrow in that direction.


Replace broken tile with concrete I have an 2nd-story bathroom with a concrete tile floor. This was built in the 1950s, so it's plywood subfloor with about an inch of concrete in metal mesh, then tile on top of that. The mosaic tile has broken near the tub (approx 4"x12"), and I cannot afford to rip out all the tile and replace. There are also tiles on the wall that go all the way down to the floor and they would probably incur some damage going that route.

I am considering digging out all the broken tile, and then filling the cavity with fresh concrete. After curing, I would cover the entire floor with a sheet vinyl product. Is there anything else I could do to repair this broken area aside from just overhauling the entire bathroom?

For the record, all the contractors I have spoken with have told me I will have to rip up the floor ($$) and since they can't do that without hurting the tile on the walls, I will need to redo that as well ($$$).

First that concrete subfloor you have is great.  Don't ever demo a good concrete bathroom subfloor unless you have to.

Second if you don't want a tile floor it is very easy to demo the tile without hurting the concrete sub - How can I speed up the removal of stubborn tile?

Third - an easier more viable option is to take out an area of tile around tub including your broken tile and find complementary tile.  Since it is by the tub it is very conceivable that there could be accent tile there.  This would probably be $30-50 and a couple hours of work.


Bathtub Drain Leak near Concrete After recently moving into a home (built in the mid 90's and apparently went through a remodel at some point), the guest bathroom tub started leaking. I noticed the leak in the room on the opposite side of the wall of the bathtub drain. I cut away the drywall to figure out where the leak was coming from and determined it is coming from two places. Where the drain meets the gasket due to an incorrect / not aligned drain line with the bottom of the tub, but the main leak which is causing slight flooding is from where the T meets the concrete. The water is coming from the bottom of the T, and because it is right up against the concrete I really don't have any pipe to cut away and replace. I'm thinking I need to remove bathtub, break away some concrete, and complete redo the plumbing. Any advice? Picture is attached.

Unfortunately I must agree that the entire assembly should be replaced. You will need a completely new "waste and overflow kit". I have encountered similar situations and was able to repair it without removing the tub. It won't be easy, but if you enlarge the hole in the drywall enough to give you more room, you can probably fix it without removing the tub or additional concrete.

Both leaking areas will cause significant problems if not repaired correctly, and I have to say I have never seen a tub shoe that was sliced and offset in that manner. Good luck.


seal gap between door and frame i'm trying to prevent rats from getting into an outdoor shed.  i've thoroughly checked the whole interior, and the only opening is from the front door (see the right door in the picture.  ignore the left door, that only closes fully from the outside).

my intuition is that i should get a foam sealing tape, but i'm concerned that it won't repel pests.  in this situation, i don't really care about thermal or humidity leaking, only something that rats won't chew through.  any suggestions?

Use some sheet metal, rats can and will chew through wood, plastic and foam very easily. Especially if they are already established in the shed. You can bend the sheet metal over and fasten it from both sides.


Is this a threaded tap? If so, what is the best way to unscrew it without damaging it? So this is the tap I have and I’d like to attach an accessory to it. I believe it is threaded and I should be able to unscrew the existing head to be able to use the threads, but I don’t know how to remove it. The plier (correct word?) tool that I have has sharp teeth and it’s scratching and damaging the tap. I’ve tried several grippy, nonslip layers between them to avoid damage but it’s still slipping or scratching the tap. Any suggestions?

I will use a piece of leather if I don't want to damage the finish. Think old leather belt if you don't have any scraps of leather.


Is this a weird or very problematic shared neutral? I will try to explain it and I made a drawing that give an idea of what it seems to look like.
I just had some work done on my house (built in 1967) and the electrician found this weird connection.
I have a 14/3 wire going to an outlet in the kitchen, it was not a GCFI, now it is. In the outlet, I have 2 wires coming in, one from the panel (14/3) and one from the range hood (14/2) (the hood is not installed right now). The range hood has 2 hot black wires on 2 different breaker. The other breaker (the 14/2) is feeding a lot of lights and a microwave.
It seems that somewhere in the wiring the neutral doesn't follow the black, it feeds another set of lights, including the microwave.
In the picture below, the left side is where the microwave / hood are.
We have confirmed that the neutral from the left side is needed to be connected to the neutral from the 14/3 wire, if we remove the connection nothing is working on that side.
The electrician said that it would be a good idea to remove that connection between the 14/3 and 14/2 neutral but that would cost a lot. He also said that since it's working it should be OK to keep it as-is but he said that if I'm selling the house in the future, I should mention this since it could be classified as a latent defect
My question are:

Is this a dangerous way of connecting everything, is it a latent defect?
Should the 14/2 also be connected at the panel like the 14/3 is?  (see picture pf the breaker)
When I install the range hood, which hot wire should I use? the one from the 14/3 or 14/2? (I don't remember how it was connected when I removed it)

Code requires 2 things: First that all junction boxes be accessible, and second that wire splices happen only inside junction boxes.  That is why everyone is expecting this should be accessible.
So there are 2 big problems.  First that breaker's handle-tie is completely hork-a-dork (credit for having a handle-tie, but they should've gotten a proper one). Either obtain the proper handle-tie for that breaker, or replace the 2 breakers with a quadplex 15-15-15.
The far bigger problem is this violates a cardinal rule: Neutrals and hots must travel together and Neutrals must serve only their partner hots.  Any outlet must use the neutral from the same cable the hot came from.  You can't loopy-doop neutrals like this for two reasons:  Aside from current imbalance (which causes heating, this is AC power not DC!!!!) the big problem is we could overload the neutral.  Imagine a 15A load plugged into the GFCI, so 15A on the red wire. No problem, right?  Now imagine 2 boxes above it, 15A plugged in there.  What's the current on the /3 white wire?  You're darn right it's 30A!!!!  So this won't do at all.
Now, a "CABLE" contains a number of WIRES inside a sheath.  They don't sell cables with just a black wire, so there must be an undrawn white wire at top center.
Usually when "the last guy" does a dumb thing like this, it's to try to compensate for what is thought to be a broken wire.  Often it turns out to not be a broken wire at all, but some sort of blunder.  (remember anyone who does this is NOT the sharpest tool in the shed). Actual wire breaks are VERY rare.
So your task here is to complete the mapping of this circuit, account for every wire, and validate every wire to see what's really broken and what's merely a faulty wire connection at the device (notably: backstabs).
Then, you pick 1 place to break BOTH the black AND white wires: Just left of center where you did not draw a white wire, or above the GFCI.  At that junction box, you disconnect one set and cap them off.
If all wires prove out good, and one of the possible break points is a 2-gang box with 2 yokes (4 sockets), feel free to feed one yoke with one circuit, and the other yoke with the other circuit.  Do NOT split the 2 sockets on one yoke and feed 1 from each circuit (that would require something you can't do).

There's nothing abnormal about being afraid of going into an attic where blown insulation covers the rafters.  When blown insulation covers the floor, you have no way of knowing if there's even a floor there.  If there's no floor, then one misstep and your foot punches through the ceiling drywall and you have an injury, a fire department rescue, a BIG mess, and an expensive repair bill.

The correct course of action is to get a whole bunch of trash bags, a quality mask and glasses, and shovel all the blown insulation into the trash bags until the floor is easily observable.  Then create a floor using appropriate materials (quality plywood is my choice; stronger and lighter than OSB; if 4x8 sheets are unwieldy have the yard cut it to your rafter spacing typ. 16" or 24").  Then lay the floor as you advance into the attic, removing insulation as you go.  Then add a few lights at the apex, then do your work that you need to do.  Then put the insulation back over the new floor.  Do the entire floor so next time you're up there you never have to worry about if there's a floor here.


Floor lamps vs ceiling lamps Is there any difference in cost between floor lamps and ceiling lamps?
If I would prefer the lowest consumption of the 2 which is more suitable?

A floor lamp is a consumer product sold loose with an electric cord.  It plugs into a receptacle.  It has a light switch on the lamp.  It takes up space, people knock the lamp over and trip over the cord etc.

A ceiling lamp is built into the ceiling with special wiring in the wall and ceiling.  It is expensive to install the wiring, more expensive to buy, and you need a qualified person to install it.  It doesn't take space, nobody knocks it over or turns it off, and when you turn on a light switch, a light comes on.

Every room must have a light switch.  Normally, this light switch operates the ceiling lamp.  However, builders got an exception made in the Electrical Code in order to make houses cheaper: they can omit the expensive ceiling lamp wiring and switch a receptacle instead.  The citizen is expected to buy a floor lamp, and plug it into the receptacle, which is always in an inconvenient location.

The problem with this plan is that citizens often abandon the use of the light switch entirely. They switch the lamp off at the lamp.  They don't even use the receptacle and use other lamps switched at the lamp.  Only they know how to turn the lights on.  Visitors (i.e. firemen, EMTs and police) can't turn the lights on.  They fail to search the room for victims, give medical care via flashlight, and just shoot the kid holding a they-can't-see-what.


Can I convert a 240V dryer to 120V? I have a stackable washer dryer combo. The dryer works on 240V and the washer works 120V, but they have 1 control panel. I don't have 240V in my new apartment, and am hoping to have the power cord switched to a 120V.
I have read that this process involves:

getting a 3 wire 120 cord-set of at least 14 gauge and a 14 gauge jumper wire.
connect neutral to neutral terminal
black to black terminal
ground to ground terminal
and jumper wire from neutral to red

I have no experience with electronics and don`t plan on doing this myself, I had an electrician come look at it for me but he has never done it before, my question is:

Does this look correct, can he or (most likely another electrician) do this?
I know it won't be code, I just need to know if it's possible.

Switching out the cord is easy, but that does not make it a 110V dryer. It's probably not possible to convert to 110V, although you'd have to find a user manual or contact the manufacturer to confirm. And even if you could, it would probably draw more power than a standard residential 110V outlet could supply.

The only way to do this is to run a 220V outlet for the dryer. Do you rent or own this apartment? What country are you in? Most US service is 220V, even if all of the outlets are 110V.


How can I repair this leaning deck railing? It appears more drastic in person. This deck railing is leaning inward, and I'm wondering how one might go about leveling it up? Willing to replace 4x4 supports if necessary. The posts towards the middle of the deck slant the most, but it is very inconsistent overall.

If you were to replace all the lag bolts, you could play around with plumb by shimming the top or bottom of the post where it sits on the rim joist. Be sure to use galvanized bolts (and healthy sized washers on both ends) that go all the way through the post and the rim joist.

A very big caveat: this might have met code where you are, but a 2x4 post -- especially an old one -- isn't the sturdiest. The IRC requires that a railing can withstand a 200 pound load in any direction. I would think seriously about replacing the posts with 4x4s securely bolted to the rim.


Should a tenant be relocated while asbestos is removed from the ceiling? I would really appreciate your advice, or if you are unable to give it can you please who can give me impartial advice. I own a property which a few weeks ago had a leak. The plumber cut one hole in the ceiling and then a larger one a week later. The building's insurers advised me today that the ceiling tested positive for asbestos.  My question is how safe was it for the plumber to do this for his own health.  Also, the tenant is pregnant, should I have any concerns about her safety --  a) if she was in the room when the plumber cut the ceiling, or b) now as she is living there.  The building's insurers advised me that they have to replace the ceiling rather than patch up the hole as this would put the workmen at risk, but they have not advised me that the tenant has to move out whilst they are removing the ceiling

I am concerned that they are not looking after the tenant's health.

"Asbestos in the ceiling' is rather vague. Are they referring to the ceiling itself? Popcorn texturing? Insulation above the ceiling?

As for the danger level of asbestos, it all depends on if it is airborne or not. In its solid state, it's harmless. It's only when it's friable and turns to dust and you inhale it does it become dangerous. Even then, note that for it to cause cancer and the like, it takes a LOT of exposure and a LOT of time. Most people injured by asbestos were those that worked in asbestos plants and mines. So, while it is dangerous, there is no need to immediately panic when found in your house.

I'm going to assume the asbestos is part of the popcorn texturing. This wasn't uncommon and (AFAIK) the most common place to find asbestos in a lot of homes.

As long as no one touches it, it's fine. If it's painted, even better. Did the plumber expose a bit of the asbestos? Probably. Enough to be of any real danger? I highly doubt it. Enough to cause the insurer or city or code to force you to remove it? I have no clue. That's more of a policy/regulation issue.

If this is a rental, then removing will likely have to follow particular standards, and that usually involves a remediation crew that comes in, fully seals everything off, wets everything down, bags all the materials, vacuums with HEPA filters, and then carts it all off for you. Fairly safe, though potentially expensive.


Retrofitting floor radiant heating under hardwood floors I am considering retrofitting radiant floor heating into the first floor in my home by attaching the pex to the bottom side of the subfloor from the basement.

On the top side of the subfloors is some really excellent oak hardwood flooring. I'm concerned that the expansion/contraction resulting from heating the floor directly will wreak havoc on my nice hardwood floors. Is this a concern, or does the relatively low water temperature (80°-120°F), and large thermal mass of the water (i.e. relatively slow heating and cooling) mean that the hardwood really doesn't care?

Your choice of radiant heat is the best, no matter where you put it, albeit it will not be the most efficient under your floors as a retro fit.

The way radiant works is just that, radiant. Extremely different than forced air, where warm air is blowing out of ducts, dramatically changing the humidity. If warm air was blowing under your floor, yes they may shrink a bit. Just as a note, it looks like you have quarter or rift sawn floors, so the movement will be minimal anyway. The subfloor would be affected still.

I know it is an over simplified statement, but the radiant heat directly under your floors will not mess them up.
Make sure there is a reflective barrier installed directly under the PEX to keep the heat going up, rather than going everywhere else.

The only downside I can think of is the major portion of cold entering the house is through the windows and doors, at the exterior of the house. If the cold can be put in check there, the rest of the house will be warm.  In forced air systems, that is where the heat source (vents) are typically placed at the outside walls, preferably at the windows and doors. When the heat is added at the outside walls, it cancels the cold entering through the glass, gaps at the window sash, etc... When forced air is set up like this it reduces the effect of the room feeling cold at the outside walls and near windows because the heat is there "balancing" it. Let me exaggerate it by say, lets place the vents on an interior wall, on the other side of any room away from the outside walls. Pretty much the room at the outside wall will be colder than I expect anybody would like and the side of the same room would be warm as it needed to be. All I am getting at is the efficiency of the vent layout or perhaps in your case how the heat is laid out in the rooms.

In your case, when the heat source is all under the floor, the floors will feel marvelous, the room will be too, but when you walk to the outside wall, you may feel the cold radiating through since the source of heat is not concentrated at the outside walls where the cold enters in by. I apologize for the redundancy of my explanation, I wanted to try to explain it a few different ways, but still say the same thing.

One last thing to add, In my opinion, the amount of cold you will feel will only be on the coldest days, sitting in a chair at the outside wall. If your house is an older home this will be the case. If it is a newer home with newer windows and doors, with insulation that is up to par for the area, this cool that would be felt in an older home, will be minimized with your radiant floor heat.


Should I be concerned that the furnace fan is making a loud noise when it turns on? About three weeks ago our 10 year furnace's blower motor (which also blows for the AC) died (the bearing seized). HVAC company comes out, removes the squirrel cage and motor, puts a new motor (with a different motor brand/model) on the same squirrel cage, and re-installs it. It's fine for a day or two, but now there's a noise when the fan kicks on.

Best way I can describe it is that it sounds like a loud electrical buzzing (almost like a buzzer on a dryer, even). The noise disappears after about 3 seconds, but occasionally if you stand near one of the return registers, the fan sounds makes a rhythmic tapping -very- much like a diesel engine on a truck (at idle), though it sounds very distant. The fan is not belt driven and the motor is attached to the squirrel cage using rubber washers.

After a run cycle, there is no excess heat and we use basic 90-day MERV 8 pleated filters (nothing fancy). The AC coil is a little dirty, but the fan is clean. Is this noise just the noise this particular motor makes or should I be concerned?

Some motors have a start up noise, and is normal for that type of motor. My table saw does this. Starts out a loud 60 Hz hum which quickly increases in frequency as the motor spins up, then gets inaudible or washed out by rushing air when full speed is reached. Motors that do this are not really appropriate for residential blowers.

It also possible it's not a normal noise and there is a defect. Very hard to differentiate on the internet. The rhythmic noise sounds like the squirrel cage is slightly hitting something. Perhaps it is misaligned or out of balance. Misalignment or balance issues could also cause the motor to make unusual noises. Something is not right and warrants further investigation. Could very well be minor, or a warning of something that will get worse.

Even if the start up noise were normal, I would be unhappy that a formerly quiet motor was replaced with a noisy one.


How can I replace an Armstrong Astro 20B pump? Can I replace an existing Armstrong Astro 20B Pump with a new one by just replacing what bolts on to the body without changing the base?
The pump has not worked for quite a while. I've been told it probably stopped working because the water was shut off to put in a new backyard irrigation system and the unit was not unplugged while that was done.

Or is there a less expensive way to repair the problem?

From looking this pump over and viewing the PDF documents on their website, the one major installation directive is that it must be installed with the shaft in a horizontal position.

The Impeller housing can be installed in any position required by the plumbing installation by removing it from the pump motor and reassembling the pump with the terminal box on top so it's mounted at the highest point so water leakage will not intrude.

The motor and water seal are contained in the motor housing with the fiberglass reinforced polypropylene impeller being attached to the motor shaft. Some sort of epdm gasket is used between the pump body and the motor assembly.

As long as the pump body is free of corrosion, especially on the gasket surface and you can get the motor assembly and gasket from the manufacturer, what you propose should be feasible. The impeller is plastic and therefore not likely to damage the bronze or cast-iron pump body.

Being dry run for a couple hours would burn out the water seal and possibly, the motor bearings.


Water Test for Grounded GFCI Outlet did not trip outlet TEST button or actual Circuit Breaker This is a little long because I've looked through the closely related questions related to my issue and wanted to ensure whomever replies understands how I installed and tested the GFCI receptacle.
So here goes...After replacing the original grounded 2 Outlet receptacle (installed in 1973) with a new TRSGF20 2 Outlet GFCI receptacle, verifying the Line and Load cabling is correct, testing the GFCI with its TEST button, and verifying that the outlets and the download actually have power and turn off when the TEST button is pressed and the GFCI trips, I wanted to do an actual test using an extension cord and bucket of water. The procedure: 1. Fill a bucket with water. 2. Plug the extension cord into the FGCI outlet. 3. Standing 2  or 3 feet away, drop the extension cord outlet into the water.
The water should trip the GFCI outlet. If it doesn't, it should have tripped the circuit breaker. Neither happened. One of the related questions in StackExchange said "Soft" water could be the problem. So, after unplugging the extension cord, I added salt to the water (the question mentioned that salt is a great conductor), and repeated the test. No luck. Any suggestions?

Don't do this! PLEASE!
First of all, this is just simply not a good idea. It proves very little, if anything, about functionality of the GFCI. In fact, if you have a GFCI with ground not connected, this might not trip at all, as the electricity won't actually flow through the ground wire (since it is not connected to anything - no complete circuit) and therefore all flow back through neutral until someone gets curious and wiggles the wet extension cord and gets themselves to be part of the circuit! It is actually dangerous, particularly if the GFCI, for some reason, does not trip when it should. Don't do this.
As far as the actual question regarding salt. Salt is NOT a good conductor. Pure water is NOT a good conductor. Water with dissolved salt conducts better than pure water, but it still doesn't conduct all that well. The danger with water and ground-faults is that even if the water only conducts a little bit, it conducts far better than air and conducts enough to kill. You may think of "electric chair" type voltage/current to kill, but a very small current at 120V is enough to kill if it goes in one arm and out the other through your heart.
If you don't trust the built-in tester (and not knowing how it works, that is actually a reasonable consideration), get a plug-in tester. The plug-in testers work by diverting a known amount of current to the ground pin within a safe, insulated, device. FYI, the plug-in testers will (like the crazy extension cord bucket test) fail if there is no ground wire connected to the GFCI, but that does not mean the GFCI won't function properly.
While we're at it, don't do this either...
Do not test your smoke detector by burning some paper, instead of relying on those oh-so-unreliable-just-like-a-GFCI built-in test button. While holding that little piece of paper you may drop it and start a fire. And if it doesn't set off the detector because it didn't produce enough smoke of the right particle size, you'll be tempted to make bigger fires until the bonfire gets out of control... And if you do manage to set off the detector with a small, contained, safe, fire, you will inevitably find out that your wired smoke detector is connected to an alarm control panel that automatically calls the fire department while simultaneously activating alarms through the entire high-rise building. Inevitably resulting in a fine for a false alarm and/or an eviction notice.
Darwin...


Help identify these protrusions on my leaky roof I've got a leaky roof on my 100-year old (new to me) Washington DC rowhouse.  I just finished clearing off a couple of years of decomposed leaf litter from the recessed spot where the leak is, and I'm about to start liberally slopping wetpatch over any and all inconsistencies in the roof that I can find.

The roof has these strange features:

What are they?

The copper-colored thing feels like old, brittle plastic.  Otherwise I have no idea what it is.

The one in the lower part of the frame is peeling up on one side.  It is a little bit flexible.  I could probably peel it off, but I don't know what I'd find underneath.  Likewise with the other.

If I knew what they were, then I might consider removing/replacing them before smearing the wetpatch all over them.  If I leave them, I have a lumpy surface to smear the sealant all over, and if I forget these things are there, I'll be creating surprises for myself/the roofer when I eventually need to replace the roof.

So what are these things and does it make sense to rip them off?

I am not quite sure what that copper/brown colored thing is but the two round things look like the covers off of one gallon sized cans. My guess is that some previous owner was patching up a leak in that spot and there were a couple of holes in the roof.  They were using patch cement similar to what you are setting out to use and decided to stick down these can lids over the holes. Quite possibly the can lids came from their patch cement cans themselves.

If you can tell us a bit more about that copper colored thing it may be possible to clear up what that is as well. Maybe it was something placed on the lid to help hold it in place.


Framing a new basement window in cinder block We recently purchased a home and this window was boarded up on both sides.  I removed the plywood to discover that it used to be a old coal chute.  I removed all the old fiberglass insulation that was in there but I am at a loss on how to frame this to install a window.  I know I need to finish removing the partially busted concrete on the left and right but I dont know how I would secure some pressure treated wood to frame the bottom.

Option 1 - tapcon screws (or similar) into the solid parts of the block.

Option 2 - stuff some wire mesh a few inches down the holes. Mix a very stiff mortar/concrete, place on top of the mesh, make a lovely smooth flat surface, and drop in some anchor bolts (probably overkill for a windowframe) or just screw the board in with tapcons or the like but without having to hit the webs since you'll now have solid masonry.

Option 2.5 (modern) - sprayfoam (great stuff or similar polyurethane foam) the holes, then put your concrete/mortar on top of the sprayfoam.


Thermopride OL5-85 oil furnace no longer works We bought this old house where the oil furnace worked for a while. Now it does not work even after adding enough oil and priming the furnace. We have already pushed the reset button..so I do not dare to do it again..Would you please tell me what I should do? Thank you very much!

P.S.: The furnace is a Thermopride OL5-85 one.

(Yes this is a duplicate of what I deleted under another name. I just want to have some privacy.)

Call a licensed oil burner service technician (or a company employing such technicians) and have the furnace inspected, then serviced or replaced. Typically your fuel oil supplier is also an employer of service technicians.

Likely normal servicing is all that is required; this is typically performed on an annual basis, rather than waiting until the furnace no longer works.

This really is not a prime area for DIY.


Why am I getting strange results when using a power meter to measure CFLs? Over the years we have replaced just about every bulb in the house with a CFL. But here is the problem. Our electric bill is going up and not down. When I moved here 3 years ago we spent about $140-160. As of this summer we topped $210. Electric rates have raised of course but that doesn't explain why our physical electric usage is has gone from 800 to 1100+ kwh

I purchased a Reliance Controls THP103 AmWatt Generator Appliance Wattage/Amps Load Tester to see if it was something that was busted like the compressor on the fridge that always makes noise. Sears says no and my meter suggests no.

After testing ever in the house I decided to test the CFL's. Different brands, some generic some branded. Meter said that a incandescent bulb of 40w was using 39 and a 60w was using 59. But it also said that an 11w CFL was using 45w and all of the other CFL's had similar readings.

Is this normal?

Why your various meters don't do a good job measuring power being used by various devices is due to an AC Circuit phenomenon known as Power Factor.

Power Factor The ratio of real power to apparent power.

Real power is the work done, apparent power is the product of the current and voltage in the AC circuit.

Capacitive and inductive loads cause a phase change between the current and voltage.

Inductive loads cause current to lag voltage and capacitive loads cause current to lead voltage. Think of two sine waves, one representing current and the other representing voltage that get offset by up to 90 degrees depending on the type of load. This phase shift messes up the reading of the real power consumed by the circuit. And if the power meter does not measure power factor and correct for it, you basically have a good door stop.

If you have a lot of motors in a plant, you often have to add capacitors on the power line coming into the building so you don't mess the power grid up. It is done to reduce the phase difference between current and voltage.

So, if you're going to measure AC Power, the device must measure True Power (Watts), Apparent Power (VA), Power Factor (%PF) in addition to Voltage (RMS), Current (Amps) and Frequency (Hz). Once you have the True Power and Time, you can read kWH consumed.


What could be a reason for RCCB triggering? I have RCCB/RCD with four circuit breakers at the entrance of my aparment (I am actually not quite sure how it is called in english, so here is RCCD and CB is ABB s231r with different max amps)

Recently, I've been setting up electrical socket in the kitchen, so I turned off cb, that handling kitchen line and installed socket. During this process from time to time I've been double checking on line voltage (with N and with PE) with multimeter (just in case) and couple of times during this process my RCCB triggered. What can cause this behaviour? As I know, RCCB only triggers when there are differential current in the circuit, so if every properly working circuit have some small amount of differential current by design, if I disable one of the lines with CB this differential current should decrease?

An RCD (in any form) is always looking at the current going out vs the current coming back, which SHOULD be zero difference, so if they are different by the amount of your RCD (usually 10 to 30mA in your part of the world), the device trips. It might be that your type of meter is one that measures by looking at the potential difference by putting on a small load, so the act of trying to read voltages was a condition that the RCD interpreted as a short.


Easy way to remove tile concrete from bathroom wall? Are there an easy to to remove tile concrete from the wall?

Are there e.g. some way to get it off in whole pieces so cleaning up afterwards will be easier?

Here is a picture of the wall in question. The tile concrete is about 2cm thick.

Easy, no.  It's a dirty, dusty, hard job.

I have used a 7 1/2inch circular saw fitted with a diamond blade.  Shop vac, dust mask, fan in window (box fan fitted with furnace filter does wonders)

I set the depth of the cut to be just the thickness of the mortar and try to cut vertically along each stud.  Depending on your helpers back strength, I'll cut horizontally at 2 to 3 foot intervals.

Pry each panel off (large crowbars or flatbars) usually its held together with a metal lath (wood in older homes, pre 1940s).  Watch your toes, each piece will be 20-30 lbs.

PS leave the first row removed laying on the floor. It will absorb the fall of any dropped pieces... Nails holding the lath will act like hinges then let go at inopportune moments.


Can I run my 40 Amp Range Stove partially on a 30 Amp generator I plan to buy a 7500/9500 Watt generator with a L14-30 hookup, rated for 30Amps.
The breaker for my Stove Range is a 40 Amp. I don't know the actual Amps required by my Stove; it's not in the manual and the model# must be stuck behind the Range which I can't move.
However, I would assume that if I only use part of my Stove Range, such as one or two plates only, it shouldn't overload the circuit and should work just fine with no problems? I imagine it would only need 40 Amps if all four plates were on along with the Oven?

I'd take a third option here.  You clearly have a place to store fuel and someplace where you can run it so I would suggest a propane tank and stove.  Cheap, very long shelf life so long as it's stored shielded from water.  (The propane lasts forever, the tank can rust.  Note that the tank has a 12 year expiry date--you won't be able to refill it after that, but what you have in it will still work.)
You'll get a lot more cooking per pound of fuel and you very well might be able to use a smaller generator.


How many coats of spray paint do I need? I am working on finish my basement. The idea is that the ceiling is going to remain unfinished but spray painted pitch black to hide all the wires and plumbing.

Last weekend I did one coat of spray paint and used up 9 gallons of pre-mixed black paint.  I was originally planning on spraying two coats.

It looks great, and by the looks of it a nice thick coat was applied with a few spots that were missed. I could, in theory, touch up the spots with a can of black spray paint rather than do a full second coat.

Am I going to do myself a disservice by skipping the second coat ?

I ended up skipping the second coat. I went around a touched up a few spots with a brush using the same paint and it looks great otherwise.


How should I wire my pool heat pump? I am wiring a new heat pump 50,000 btu, 208-230v ~60 hz.  Plaque says 12a running current, minimum 20a circuit, max 30a.

My breaker panel for the pump is a sub panel running off the main with a 60a breaker.  It currently only has a 20a circuit for the shed with one light, and one 115v receptacle, a 20a circuit for a pool light with GFI, and a 20a for the pump.

During electrician install, we asked for enough capacity to add a heater some day.

Are we good to add a 20 or 30a breaker for the new heat pump?

Am I good to just go with a double 20a with 12 gauge thn wire in a whip?

Looks like inside I'm just connecting the black and red to power and green ground.  No white right?  I have bare 8 awg copper to bond to the pump connector.  Anything I'm missing?

From what you have described, I see no reason why you would not have adequate space in your sub panel.

As far as wiring, you are correct in that you will have two hots (L1, L2), a ground, and no neutral.

Without seeing the spec sheet for exact numbers, I can only suggest that you take the conservative approach and wire using a double-pole 30A breaker with #10 wire. If you are using some sort of conduit then THHN will be fine, as you suggested.

Note that the NEC also defines rules for supporting conduit and whips. There is no way to answer this without knowing more about the physical setup and distances between your heat pump and sub panel.


Wiring solution for 240V EV charging outlet in garage with long run to breaker box I am trying to come up with a wiring solution for a NEMA 14-50 240V outlet in the garage for an EV. Specifics of my situation:

Max charging current will be 32A, so I need #8 wire.

Breaker box is on an exterior wall, at a wire length of 90-100 ft from the
outlet.

I'm proposing to run the first 70' through the attic; then pop out for the last 20' or so. I had originally thought I'd just run 8/3 NM Romex all the way, but found out to my dismay that Romex cannot be used in outdoor conduit. Then I figured I might strip away the sheath and treat it as THHN outside, but one of the answers to the linked question made short shrift of that idea.
So now I am faced with the following restrictions:

Cannot use Romex in the outdoor conduit.
Cannot remove the Romex sheath and treat component wires as THHN.
I would rather not run conduit over the entire 90 ft run. It would involve many 90 deg turns and be a hassle to set up. Romex still looks appealing for the 70' linear length in the attic.
UF cable over the entire run would work but be very expensive. Also, overengineered, since only the last 20' of the run is outside.

So my current thinking is to run Romex to near the exit point, and hop over to THHN/UF in a junction box before exiting the wall to the exterior of the house. The remainder to the breaker box will run in conduit outdoor. However, it will need connecting the two different conductor types with wire nuts. I am wary about doing this on thick wires, for a circuit that will have a constant 32A draw.
My questions are:

Does this plan sound reasonable? Can someone suggest better options?
Are my misgivings about wire nuts warranted? I looked for alternatives; it looks like bus bars could be used, or I could butt-splice wires together. I haven't investigated either of these in depth.
If I do follow this scheme and switch to a different wet-rated solution for the outdoor run, would THHN be markedly better than UF for pulling through conduit? What if I use UF but not pull, rather build sections of conduit as-I-go? (so I'm threading it through say 5' of PVC conduit at a time?)

Also a comment/question about pricing: #8 THHN is $0.64/ft at the local home improvement store. So $64 per 100ft for one wire! $256 for 100 ft for 4 wires. I thought THHN was supposed to be cheap; how/why is it so much more expensive than Romex, which one would think has the same amount of copper? For comparison, a 125’ 8/3 Romex reel is $185.
EDIT: Adding a further restriction on my setup to address @Harper's suggestion of using thicker wire. If I am to use the only side (bottom-left) knockout available on the breaker box, I need to do a tight 3" radius turn into the breaker owing to obstruction from a fiber box mounted infuriatingly close. I have seen that only 1/2" LiquidTight metallic conduit is able to do that, and four #8 wires already is technically past the fill for that size (but thinking pushing the rules a little might be ok for the last 6" of the run?). The only alternative is drilling a hole on the top-right side of the breaker box, but I fear I might be biting off more than I can chew at that point. Space inside the box is also quite constrained, so stuffing thick wire inside and running it to my circuit breaker will be a minor challenge as it is. These breaker box constraints are why I dropped down from #6 to #8 in the first place. :-/ (Of course, found luckily that #8 is electrically sufficient for my projected need).

That sounds like a reasonable plan.  The only thing making me itchy is the number of 50-60A (read: 40-48A continuous) EVSE's on the market.  Given the upfront expense and labor, I'd really rather see you wire this with #6Cu or better, #4Al (Al since it becomes very appropriate at these large sizes and you'll like the price.)

The only downside of this is you will need a longer junction box to make the splices.  A simple 4-11/16" box won't cut it anymore.

Technically, you need THWN or preferably THWN-2 rated wire.  However electrical supply houses don't like stocking 2 kinds of wire merely to save a nickel a reel on the price difference between THHN and THWN-2, so almost any wire you buy these days is dual-rated THHN/THWN-2.

As far as splicing, you're right.  Wire-nuts are going to be a pain at #8.  So I recommend Polaris connectors (lug connectors with a rubber wrapping), and since Polaris is very capable of handling sizes larger than #8, and handles aluminum very effectively, again this reduces the barrier cost for using #4 aluminum in the THWN-2 section.

Another reason I am trying to sneak up to #4 is that at this size or above, wire marking is allowed.  That means you can simply designate hots, neutral and ground  by marking wire ends with tape, which means you can simply buy 1 spool instead of having to buy 3-4 cut sections.   Speaking of that, there is never any need to distinguish hot phases in a split-phase circuit, so don't swerve out of your way to make one hot red.

The downside of #4 and up is it changes the splice rules from cubic inches to bending-radius. So get a long narrow junction box.  Don't shop for big boxes at big-box stores, they won't have decent selection or price. They also tend to obscenely rip you off on anything but certain commodities they think you'll price-check, that is why they're out of line on by-the-foot THWN-2 (not a commodity, unlike Romex).  Visit a few electrical supply houses and see if you can get trade pricing out of them. Most will give it to you if you reveal yourself to be not an idiot.

I just saw a Deep Space Nine episode where a customer runs a sexy holo-suite (holodeck) program. The camera reveals the digital companion's legs, waist, and finally face -- the ugly mug of the Ferengi bartender. I thought, "Finally!  A way to express what pulling cable through conduit is like!"

Cable in conduit isn't illegal - it doesn't need to be. It's a miserable hateful pull which risks damaging the wire.  The irony is, if that's your first conduit pull, you'll never know the difference. You'll just think conduit is a miserable experience.  I use stranded THWN-2 wire almost exclusively, and my experience with conduit is so good that I fit conduit even where I don't need to.

It really helps a cable-in-conduit pull to make the conduit quite large.  In the case of oblong cables like UF, that's mandatory.  For very sensible reasons, a wide flat cable like UF (or any non-round cable) is treated as a round wire of the largest dimension.  This requires larger conduit even for 1 circuit.  For 2 circuits, the sizes get truly wasteful, and that's a shame because conduit can support up to 4 circuits, after all.

I once did a calc on one 6-3UF and one 12-2UF. The conduit size was frightful.

As far as routing conduit, remember there is such a thing as a conduit body - typically found in the form of a corner. This allows conduit to make sharp 90s and provide a pulling point, at the cost that the cover must remain accessible.  These come in LL, LB, LR or inline.  Other than that, aim for no more than 1 or 2 90 degrees between access points. Up to 4 is legal, but starts to require serious pulling tools, and for a novice, that often means project failure.

Assembling conduit sections 1 stick at a time over the wire/cable is specifically forbidden in Code.  That tells you somebody managed to cause a warehouse fire by doing this.  Generally if a pull is that hard, that is God and NFPA's way of saying "don't do that pull" or "more conduit bodies".


Replace batt insulation or leave it? Currently, the exterior walls have batt insulation. It has the paper face on one side. A few months ago, I removed a window due to watered down drywall caused by the window. At the time, I didn't check to see if the insulation was the kind with a vapor barrier. (there is no plastic, that I know for sure) However, I dont know if the insulation installed was the kind with a vapor barrier.

Now, we have decided to do cellulose at some point. We are currently doing a remodel of 2 rooms so I need to decide if I should remove the drywall and the insulation and then get cellulose blown in. Or if I should leave the drywall and insulation as is and when we get new siding at some point, have cellulose blown in with the batt insulation.

Are there any advantages/disadvantages of leaving the batt insulation alone? Do I need to worry about there possibly not being a vapor barrier?

Dense-packed (and only dense-packed, not loose-blown) cellulose is better in walls than fiberglass batts, for a couple of reasons.

It has a slightly higher R-value per inch.
Is is hygroscopic, meaning that it can take up moisture; in doing this, it can protect the structural wood should it ever get wet.
Dense-packed cellulose can improve the airtightness of a stud wall; Fiberglass cannot, and is very strongly negatively affected by a non-airtight wall (furnace filters are made of fiberglass, which shows you how much air can move through them!).
Cellulose is loaded with borate, which makes it pretty much mold-proof. Fiberglass can, paradoxically enough, grow mold if it gets wet and stays wet, especially with the kraft paper facer.

That said, unless your fiberglass batts are wet or moldy, it's probably not cost-effective to remove them, especially if leaving them in means you can avoid tearing off perfectly good drywall. The kraft paper facer on most batts is not a vapor barrier, it's a vapor retarder, which is fine. Very few batts have foil facers, which are vapor barriers. Even if your batts have vapor barrier facers, I see that you live in Wisconsin, which is a place where you can get away with having a vapor barrier without it being too bad (most of the time you don't want a vapor barrier in your walls). I'd leave the batts in.


How to remove old-work ceiling light fixture box attached to conduit pipes I am trying to install thin LED recessed lights in my hallway. I need to remove the old ceiling box, as shown in the picture. I tried to remove the box for the whole day but was unsuccessful. I cut the drywall around it ad is sure that it is not fixed with a joist or anything.
I removed the punch knockouts and found that the whole ceiling box was connected to three conduits using the connected, as shown in the picture below. The conduit brings in the wire for a three-way switch system to the said ceiling box. There are the big nuts that are tightly screwing these conduit connected at the backside of the box.
Please give any suggestions as to how to remove the box. I still want to use the same wiring so don't want to damage the conduits or wires coming out of them.
Thank you

Removing this box is not a good solution when there are rigid conduits bringing wires into this existing box. The main reason for this is that those wires would still need to terminate into an accessible junction box. On top of that there is just no simple way to adapt the existing rigid conduits for connection to the floating connection box on a recessed fixture.
This may be a doable project IF:

You had access to an attic space above this ceiling
You have the experience and perseverance to work through the serious rework of the existing conduits to some other accessible junction box in the attic.
Keep in mind that the wires in those conduits may very well not be long enough when you go to try create a new junction box - which then entails pulling new wires through those conduits back to their other connection points.

The practical way to deal with this is to keep the existing ceiling boxes and install new surface mount LED fixtures. If you insist on the recessed fixtures then you will need to cut new holes in the ceiling for those fixtures near the existing electrical box and then run new flexible conduit from that existing box over to the recessed fixture floating connection box. If you choose this latter route then just purchase suitable flat white cover plates for the existing electrical box. If the ceiling is a different color the flat cover plate can be painted once installed to coordinate with the ceiling.


Where should smoke detectors be located? In the past, you might have a smoke detector on every floor outside of a bedroom. Now you see a separate smoke detector in each bedroom. Should there also be a detector outside of the bedrooms? What about in or near the kitchen, garage, and utility rooms? How close should the smoke detector be placed to adjacent walls?

According to the guide handed out by my local permitting office, which doesn't cite electrical or fire codes but does detail what they look for:

A smoke detector should be placed inside the door of each bedroom 24 inches from the nearest walls or centered on the doorway 24 inches from the wall holding the door.

A combination smoke alarm / carbon monoxide detector should be placed in any hallway that leads to bedrooms, where it enters the main part of the house, again, centered in the hallway on the ceiling and 24 inches from where the hallway connects to the rest of the house.

All of the smoke detectors should be hardwired to a circuit on the house's mains and should talk to one another via a third wire.


Is a 6 inch reinforced slab suitable for a 12,000 lb storage tank? I will be building a 200 Sq. feet garage to be used as a pump house for a new home in the desert north of Phoenix, Az. The soil is natural desert (fist size rock 85%, 15 % DC granite and some sand mixed in, all virgin soil that's extremely hard packed). Can I use a 6"or  8" slab with 3/8 rebar 16" grid and be safe with a round water tank Apx. 6 Ft. Round 12,000 Lb. when full?

And what test would it need to be? There will be no plumbing under the slab or in the slab, just sitting on the level virgin desert rock. Thanks for your thoughts.

Geometry time. 6 foot diameter is 3 foot radius is 9π square feet.

Ground loading for 12,000 lbs spread over that area is 425 lbs per square foot (rounded up.) That's not a concern on almost any soil, nor any grade of concrete - it's a very low loading. 1000 lbs per square foot is typically assumed to be fine for even poor (loading-wise) soils.


How to identify an old compression stem in order to find a replacement I have an old (circa 1920s) bathroom faucet with a compression stem that started to leak unless tightened extremely tightly. When I took out the compression stem to replace it, I found that the screw attaching the seal at the bottom was seized and corroded. Replacing the faucet would be difficult because of limited access - I would need to remove the toilet cistern in order to get in there. So I am looking for a replacement compression stem for this faucet.

I am having a very hard time identifying it and finding a replacement. I have tried several local plumbing supply stores. I sent images to American Brass and American Standard - both told me they could not identify the part as theirs. I also contacted Tapco who is supposed to specialize in things of the sort. They told me they would need to know the product line in order to identify the part. I have no idea how to determine the product line though. How can I better identify this part?

How many splines are on the broach, how long is it and what's its diameter?

As according to faucetpartsplus.com, that's all you need to get started. They have an entire list for spline counts, listing them (below) to specific manufacturers. If you can't figure it out, they suggest sending them a photo, as they're very interested in selling you parts; manufacturers and their employes might not be so inclined. It's more than likely they'd only be able to refer you to who makes or has the replacement parts these days; not their prerogative.

Even though the link goes to  an excellent array of pictures and contains most of the leading brands, I implore you to contact your local parts suppliers who are usually more than willing to help you.

You mentioned plumbing suppliers. Those are places you buy pipe and fancy toilets, you need a repair part supply house.

  4 point square broach - Milwaukee, Royal Brass, Speakman, Sterling, American standard, Chicago, Concinnity, Gerber, Price Pfister, Symmons, Zurn
  8 point broach - Briggs
  12 point .335" broach - Crane Dialeze, Michigan Brass, Wolverine.
  12 point .375" broach - Arrowhead, Artistic Brass, Harcraft, Glauber, Price Pfister, Scoville, Universal Brass.
  12 point .39" broach - Bradley, Elkay, Fisher, Sears, Universal Rundle.
  12 point .415" broach - Symmons.
  12 point .485" broach - Crane, Symmons.
  15 point broach - Santec, Savoy, Wolverine.
  16 point .360" broach - Gerber, Sayco.
  16 point .370" broach - Acme, American Standard Cadet & Colony, Barnes, Burlington, Central Brass, Concinnity, Eljer, Glauber, Harden, Kohler Trand, Milwaukee, Newport, Phylrich, Royal Brass, Scoville.
  16 point .40" broach - Sterling.
  17 point broach - American Brass, Mansfield, Midcor, Phoenix, Streamway.
  18 point broach - Briggs, Indiana Brass, Union Brass.
  20 point .285" broach - Broadway, Concinnity, Danfoss, Dornbracht, Eljer, Grohe, Jado, Kohler, Milwaukee, Paul.
  20 point .415" broach - Broadway, Speakman, T & S Brass.
  22 point .375" broach - American Standard old 3/8".
  22 point .438" broach - American Standard current 7/16".
  38 point broach - Import, Pegasus, Glacier Bay.
  D Broach - Delta, Milwaukee, Universal Rundle, Valley.
  Oval Broach - Delta, Moen, Mixet.
  faucetpartsplus.com


Wiring question for replacing old outlet with Legrand Adorne I recently bought a new Legrand Adorne outlet to replace an old one in my bedroom (dual outlet). I watched Legrand's installation video and it seemed pretty straightforward. But after removing my old outlet, I noticed 2 black, 2 white, one ground, and also one red wire, which is throwing me for a loop. I attached a couple of pictures showing the old outlet and the new outlet (back).

My question is how should I connect the 2 black and red wires? Should I connect the black wires to one grouping, or should each black wire be in its own group? Either way, where should I connect the red wire? Also, please note that neither the upper nor lower outlets are driven by any light switch, which is what I first thought when I saw the red wire. Both outlets work when the light switch is on or off.

Your expert knowledge is greatly appreciated!

Old outlet img 1

Old outlet img 2

Old outlet img 3

Old outlet img 4

New outlet (back view)

What you have there is a split outlet, which each socket controlled separately. By luck, your new outlet does support that.

Sometimes a device has wires that are not strictly necessary for its primary function.  It is being used as a splice for additional wires.

This doesn't need to happen at the device.  It is also common for the two wires to be joined at a wire nut, with a short pigtail wire going to the device.  If you want to convert to that, that is fine.

You have that happening in two places on this device, in two different manners.

First, the two black wires are spliced together.  This is done by placing one of the wires on the backstab connection, and the other wire on the screw.  These are internally connected together within the outlet.

Second, the two white wires are spliced together.  This is done by failing to break off the "tab" separating the two white screws.  (Only one is actually on the screw; the other is on the internally connected backstab).

So  you can go several ways with this.  You can pull both spliced wires off and pigtail them with a short length of wire.

You may also use a feature on this receptacle, called screw-and-clamp.  This allows 2 wires in the back-wire (not back-stab) connections at each screw.

Since this is a split receptacle,  you will need to break off the tab.  Make sure to break the hot tab (side with the shorter slots).  If you break off the neutral tab by mistake, you can recover by using the screw-to-clamp feature to accommodate the two white wires and a short insulated jumper between the screws.


Did the contractor installed the new layer of cement flooring correctly? I apologize if this is not an appropriate question. I'm not really sure where to ask or who to trust.

I have a basement that the ultimate plan is to put epoxy, but before we can get to that stage, the crumbling cement needed to be dealt with. So an epoxy contractor was hired and he hired a subcontractor for installing cement to attack the area with the problem. The subcontractor is apparently a masonry company looking at their uniform.

The new cement was installed on top of the old floor. They did told me that there is an acidity problem, so they installed a metal mesh drilled into the old floor to allow better adhesion.

It the cement was added last Saturday. Today (Tuesday, August 29th), I am seeing hairline cracks forming. Pictures in the link

http://imgur.com/a/EeKvC

I already contacted a friend who is a masonry contractor (but didn't hired him because was a small job and didn't look interested in taking the job) and he told me they did a bad job. Telling me to go get a refund and have to re-do the project. But I'm still hoping against hope that it more of a different in opinions in construction or maybe other motives.

There's also the factor the cracks may not be their fault but my/our own. I have tenants in the basement. Despite repeated instructions to not put anything heavy when they return Monday, they put something heavy (maybe it is not that heavy as two strong people can pick it up, but way heavier than a table or a person continuously walking around). I caught it in the evening and moved it off, but it was there.

So all that said, is the hairline cracks something to be concerned? Is it so problematic that it has to be redone/demand-a-refund per masonry friend's advice? Or it is acceptable enough to go forward in after a few weeks for epoxy? And if the later, then what of the masonry friend's advice?

Rule #1 concrete cracks

Rule #2 you can't change Rule #1

That is why they put in control joints so the cracking occurs where you want it. Sometimes they come back the day after and saw cut the floor to add control joints.

Your pictures look like contraction cracks. These would not normally be a problem with a 4" slab but your thin topcoat could begin to break up if they get worse.

What kind of a warranty is the contractor giving you?


How does one know if running water is enough to avoid frozen pipes? Recent freezes in southern states (Texas) have caused pipes to burst, as the pipes are not insulated for freezing weather.  I believe that running the water can prevent the pipe from freezing.

Is it enough for water to drip one drop per second?
What is the minimum water flow required to avoid freezing?
What is best practice?

Practical, actionable and measurable process is sought.  I have witnessed uninsulated attic pipes burst because of a 3 day freeze in Florida in the 80's.

An opened faucet will already lower the chance of a pipe bursting.
The typical way a pipe bursts is when it is fully shut. Since it is watertight, there is no place for the water to go. When the water freezes and expands, the only way to go is the side of the pipe, so it bursts.
When the faucet is opened, even just a little, it allows the water to drip out. Now, you say, the water is frozen, wouldn't that still burst? The answer is no.
As the water freezes and expands, the kinetic energy exerted by the ice against the pipe actually melts the ice, and just enough will melt and flow out of the faucet. This is how ice skating works. The physical pressure on the ice creates a thin layer of water, which obviously refreezes immediately once the pressure is removed. You can also easily demonstrate this by using a knife on a block of ice. The pressure from the tip of the knife melts the ice, even though it is just as cold.
So with the faucet opened just a little, as the water pipe freeze over, you'll eventually see the ice "leak" out of the faucet. This is the water melting and freezing immediately. Even though the opening of the faucet will eventually freeze over completely, that frozen opening is still substantially weaker than the pipe, and the expanding ice will continue to "leak" out of the faucet and not burst your pipes.


How to get down slope on drain lines? A question on how to get the proper slope in a drain.  Let's say you have two section of drain line that must be plumb to each other. To connect these lines by code a 1/4" down slope is needed per foot.  The two section are 8' apart so they need to have a 2" slope end to end.   Fittings are made with the ports square to each other. The port on a 90 degrees elbow is 90 degrees apart. To me, that means the pipe has to exit or enter the fitting at 0 degrees difference to each other.  But, because of the slope there is no way the the connecting pipe can enter or exit the port square and bottom out. They don't make 95 or 100 degree fittings?

PVC fittings and pipes have some play and flexibility to them, especially before the joint has been glued. You simply give the pipe a little muscle and clamp it to the proper slope.


Cable clamp connector and knockout size for 6/2 NM and 8/2 NM I'm running some cables for an electric tankless hot water heater. I haven't decided which one yet. It'll either need 2 x 40A, 2 x 50A, or 3 x 40A, all 240V (there are some that need 60A, but I'll pass on them). I plan on running two sets of 6/2 NM and one 8/2 NM from my breaker panel to some 4x4 metal boxes in the wall where I'll mount the water heater. That way, I can pick the breakers, and use the right two or three runs I need. Once I decide which water heater I'm using, I'll run FMC from the box(es) to the water heater.
I'm wondering what size cable clamp connector (and hence, knockout) I need for each 6/2+G NM cable and for the 8/2+G NM cable (I'm assuming no doubling of cables in a clamp). Also, can I have more than one (maybe even all three) in a single 4x4 box? Or would it be better to use two or three boxes?
Also, what kind of box(es) would I use? I'm only seeing 3/4 and 1" KOs, and I suspect I need something larger...

First, if it is at all possible to run conduit between panel and on-demand heater location, that's a great way to do it.  That lets you defer the wire size decision until you buy the heater, and simply drop in the individual wires you need.  Conduit allows higher ampacity from the same size wire - #8 is good for 40A in NM, but in conduit, 50A (single circuit) or 44A (2-3 circuits).  If the conduit is metal and non-flexible, the metal conduit provides the ground - no wires needed. A 1" conduit should be plenty.
Another option, since you need a box anyway and seem focused on a 125A heater, fit a 10x14" box that happens to be a subpanel.  Something like a CH8L125SP.  Supply that with #2 Cu or #1/0 Al wire or cable at 125A.  Then you can feed whatever breakers the heater needs at the time you select it.
If you want to do it as planned, you will need a LARGE box.  Each #6 wire needs 5 cubic inches and each #8 needs 3 cubic inches.  That is far too big for a 4x4 box. Consider at least a 6x6 box.
A 1" KO should be alright for a #6.  Use one KO per cable.


Are storm windows necessary for homes in mild climates? I feel silly asking this but I'm curious. =) When are storm windows necessary and under what conditions? I live in California (US) and we hardly ever get snow or freezing temperatures where I'm at. In addition, the rainfall is relatively mild (hardly any thunderstorms).

Also, I've heard people mention removing screens.  Under what conditions is that necessary?

In my experience (midwest winters), storm windows are generally more for extra insulation purposes than severe storm protection.

You can install exterior or interior storm windows, and they can be of varying degrees of sturdiness.  For places that do have more extreme winds, you can buy windows that are engineered to absorb a hit from flying debris.  I'm not clear on why you would wait until winter to install them in that case (post-hurricane season).

You remove the screens if there's a concern that wind can rip them out or snow drifts can tear the screen from the frame.  As @Steve Armstrong points out, you could also remove them for cosmetic reasons since they're serving no purpose with the windows closed for the winter.

In your case (and my current home in Houston), I wouldn't think either would be a necessary winterizing task.


Can a larger joist be trimmed and have it perform as a smaller joist? I've got a lot of 7x2 joists left over from a previous project. Now I have a new ceiling to put up but they require only 5x2 joists, so I'm thinking of trimming the 7x2 so as not to have them go to waste.

Would trimming a 7x2 to a 5x2 (or reducing the height by whatever amount) give the same structural performance as off-the-shelf 5x2s?

Yes, lumber cut to a smaller dimension is essentially the same as lumber cut to that size at the mill.


How to choose the correct bit for a screwdriver I'm constantly using a screw driver for small electronics and around the house, but I find that multiple bits seem to work. Of course, something bigger or something small requires diferrent amounts of pressure when screwing or unscrewing something, but do any of you guys use a specific method when finding the right bit for a particular screw. Mostly interested for the use of small electronics because stripping the head seems to be like the worst thing that can happen.

Not sure if I'm using the correct terminology

Michael said many good things in that response. Read it. As an addendum....

In most cases, if it feels loose, then use a larger driver. A screwdriver should fit snuggly in the recess of the screw you are driving, without taking force to inset the bit into the screw. If it does not, then you are using the wrong one. It should have a shape that matches. Do not use something with only approximately the right shape, and jam it in. Thus, do not jam an Allen head bit into a Torx screw. This means you must know what kind of screw it is. If you don't/can't recognize the type of screw, then don't try to turn it.

There are some screws that are a combination head. For example, some have a doubly slotted head that will take a Phillips driver, but also a square recess for a Robertson driver. In that case, use a square (Robertson) drive. It will be a better fit, and is far less likely to slip and cam out. Even better is to use a driver that is designed to fit into that style of screw, with a shape that completely fills the recess to yield the highest torque.

For a flat head screw, again just use the largest driver that will fit snuggly into the slot. This will offer the greatest amount of leverage and thus drive the screw with the greatest torque for the largest turning power. Since large screws with large slots may require a large amount of force to drive and remove, this just seems like common sense.


How do I extend a 2x4 by connecting another one end to end? My hardware store only sells 8' cuts of 2x4s. How do I extend length horizontally with another 2x4 and support the joining best? Is there a joint or strong tie for this? I have three support legs spaced every 66". Should I just ensure all extensions occur on a support leg or can they be done elsewhere? This is for a simple workbench I am trying to build in my garage. I have no clue what I'm doing but a table seems like it should be an attainable goal to build. I can't find plans for anything longer than 8", which assumes one long board. I need one longer. How do I join them to extend length? What are strategies, hardware, etc.?

Why not simply construct a series of 8' long workbenches? This will give you more flexibility later on, if you need to deploy them differently (e.g. in an "L" shape instead of end-to-end.

HTH.


Can I use epoxy repair putty as a permanent fix for a screwed through water pipe? Someone (cough cough) screwed through a water pipe under the floor boards in my mother's house. It's a 22mm copper pipe that I'm pretty certain is running hot water from the combi boiler.

I removed the screw and replaced it with a shorter and slightly thicker screw to plug the hole. The screw itself did a pretty good job of stopping the flow of water (to something like a few drips a minute). The pipe runs parallel to the floor boards but has a 90 degree turn a short distance after where the screw went in to the pipe, which means pulling the pipe up and getting a pipe cutter in to replace a section of the pipe would be a massive pain and involve me pulling up at ton of floor boards, which I really don't fancy doing.

So, I got some epoxy "Quick Leak Repair Putty", specifically this stuff:

I put two layers of this stuff over the screw and it seems to hold perfectly, no issue with water pressure and no drips or movement in the putty.

Here's a picture of the pipe with the putty:

It's been there for a week or so now (with some heavy use of the heating... it's cold) and it seems pretty solid to me. I spoke to a few people though and a plumber friend said in no uncertain words "Never, ever use that"... which seems to be the general consensus. I'd rather not rip up half the floor and I'd rather not pay through the nose for someone to essentially cut out a piece of pipe though.

So my question; How temporary or not is this fix?

I would not trust it, especially in a concealed area where a leak could go unnoticed for quite some time.
You may be able to repair this yourself, if you know how to solder.
Supplies

Tool to cut the pipe (Oscillating saw should work).
Solder
Flux
Torch (MAPP gas preferably).
Steel wool or sandpaper.
Heat shield (preferably non-asbestos)
Appropriately sized coupling without a stop.

Procedure

Use an oscillating saw (or any other means) to cut the pipe near where the damage occurred (preferably right where the damage occurred).
Use the steel wool/sandpaper to clean/mar the pipe on both sides of the cut.
Lift one side of the pipe, and slide the coupling all the way on.
Realign the pipes, and slide the coupling so that the cut in the pipe is near the middle of the coupling.
Solder the coupling in place (careful not to start a fire).

NOTES:

How well this repair holds up, is dependent on your soldering skills. If you can't solder well, you may want to get help.
You might consider installing metal protector plates over the pipes, to prevent further mishaps.


Unconventional thermostat wire labels on boiler I have inherited an electric boiler for heating water in pipes running through the house.

The existing thermostat is a very old and very simple mechanical one. I want to install a more recent thermostat, ideally a 'smart' model that 'learns' over time.

Here's a picture of the wires going into the boiler from the thermostat (the bottom 4).

The two TH + S1 + S2 are the 4 wires that appear to go up to the thermostat.
Edit: TH wires go to the thermostat, S1 + S2 are going to an outside sensor.

The only one I recognize is the unconnected 'C' ('common'), which means I need to run it up to the thermostat in order to install a newer "smart" thermostat model. Is this assumption correct?

Also what are all the unconventional wire labels? None of them are what I commonly see in articles on the net (R, C, W, W2, G, Y/Y2). How do I reconcile them with labels in instruction manuals for recent thermostats?

Update 1: Boiler model is Dettson HYDRA15-E2401M-C (manual PDF). Turns out TH stand for "thermostat", that's the first 2 wires. The other 2 (S1 and S2) refer to "modulation" outdoor sensor in manual and are also going up to the thermostat.

Update 2: after opening the Honeywell thermostat. The 2 wires are hooked up directly to the boiler TH connections. Wire colours are not continuous (white and red at the boiler vs. white and black at the thermostat). What do the W and R mean on the thermostat screws?

Easy answer: use a relay

Since your heater expects a contact-closure across its TH terminals, and doesn't document what voltage it provides there, I would use a garden-variety SPST-NO 24VAC fan relay to adapt a modern thermostat to this heater.  It can be mounted at the heater, with its contact terminals connected to the TH terminals on the heater with short lengths of 18AWG wire and female crimp quick-connects, one coil terminal connected to the C terminal in the same fashion, and the other coil terminal connected to the white wire in a new thermostat cable run up to the thermostat location, using another crimp quick-connect terminal.

You then can connect the red wire in the thermostat cable to the 24VAC (R) wire on the heater and the blue (or green, if you're using 3-wire cable) wire in the thermostat cable to the C terminal on the heater; this gives you roughly 12-15VA of 24VAC to run the thermostat with, which is enough for a basic programmable thermostat.


What type of vapor barrier and concrete should I use for bare earth in basement? I recently purchased a house built in 1937 that has had a number of additions to it. One of these additions was an extension of the house over the original foundation. This resulted in a small area of the basement that is over bare earth. The inspector mentioned putting down vapor barrier and someone else mentioned pouring concrete. What is the best way to approach this and what type of barrier/concrete is best used?

Thanks

A vapor barries usually cosist of 4-6 mil plastic, followed by 1" down to pea gravel stone by up to 4" thick. This will help with weed, mold control and drainage. Local codes may influence this, so I would check with your local building inspectors office.

The concrete utilized should be a 3500 psi strength, since it's in a basement, and your not driving on it. If you decide to use concrete (over plasic and stone), it should be 4" thick ( 3 1/2" nominally). Good luck!


Basement shower drain backing up when washing machine runs When running washing machine, water backs up through a nearby shower drain and makes a gurgling noise. How do I solve this problem?

You likely have a partial blockage down the line from these two drains, or maybe where the two lines are joined.  First thing to try would be a long snake to see if you can clear the line from either of your drains.+