What are normally-open hydronic zone valves used for? In a hydronic (hot water) heating system electronically operated valves control whether hot water runs through a particular zone of the building, or not.

It seems to be a common setup for the valve to 'default' to being CLOSED to flow, and only open when commanded to do so via a thermostat signal. This seems logical (to me), as you only want heat supplied when you actually need it. This is the "normally closed" type.

However, manufacturers also sell a "normally open" type which would be OPEN to flow all the time, unless some control signal says otherwise.

What application(s) requires the normally open variant?

Note -- Ditto for a chilled water system used for cooling, AFAIK.

Choice of normally open or normally closed for a valve actuator is part of the overall controls design process, part of which is considering safety/protective functions.

As an example, consider a climate where it gets freezing cold (below 0 degrees C).  You have a normally closed heating valve that is closed.  Something happens such that your electronic valve actuator no longer receives power (board burns out, breaker trips, etc).  Now imagine you are away from home for an extended period of time, and you don't know your valve is now stuck closed, and it gets freezing cold.  The zone will have no heating, and the consequences of no heating to the zone could be a burst pipe and a flooded home.  Had the valve been normally open, you would likely be wasting energy overheating the space, but no burst pipe.

Note that normally open/normally closed is often used to mean fail open/fail closed, but they are not necessarily the same thing.  Motor actuators without specific additional features (spring return, capacitor driven return, etc, backup power) do not have a fail safe state on loss of power, they fail in place.  Normally open/normally closed can describe the valve state at the control signal input of zero/false/off.

By the way, there are other valve actuators used in hydronic heating systems besides electronically operated actuators.  Pneumatic actuators and mechanical (thermostatic) actuators also exist.


How to measure heat in a Manhattan apartment? Our 47-year old Mid-Manhattan hi-rise building is generally well maintained but whenever we complain to the super that we don't get enough heat, he sends a handyman with a "mercury" thermometer to measure the air immediately on top of the radiator vent on only one side (where the switch is located) to prove that we are getting enough heat by the rules. Unfortunately, that little spot along the radiator is not the average temp we get out of that radiator to heat the entire room.

FYI: Our heating system is also a central air conditioning system in the summer, but we have to blow out either heat or cold by a ventilator (hi, mid, low).

Is this the correct way? I saw some reference on the web a while ago that one should measure three feet from the wall and five ft. from the floor.

The first step would be to measure the room temperature yourself with a quality thermometer to be certain that the landlord is in violation. In daytime hours, the temperature is required to be at least 68, overnight (between 10pm - 6am), the temperature is allowed to drop to 55 degrees. But the rules don't kick in until the outside temperature drops below 55 and are only in force from Oct 1st - May 31st. The city provides a chart to summarize the rules:

Neither the City Housing Maintenance Code nor the Heat/Hot Water FAQ are  specific on the mechanics of the measurement:

  §  27-2029  Minimum temperature to be maintained. a. During the
  period   from October first through May thirty-first,
  centrally-supplied heat, in   any dwelling in which such heat is
  required to  be  provided,  shall  be   furnished  so  as to maintain,
  in every portion of such dwelling used or   occupied for living
  purposes:

  (1) between the hours of six a. m. and ten p. m., a temperature of  at   least  sixty-eight  degrees  Fahrenheit whenever the outside
  temperature   falls below fifty-five degrees; and

  (2) between the hours of ten p. m. and six a. m., a temperature of  at   least  fifty-five  degrees  Fahrenheit  whenever the outside
  temperature   falls below forty degrees.

However, since the code does state that every portion of such dwelling has to meet the minimum temperature, then I don't think that measuring temperature above a radiator would demonstrate compliance, as that only demonstrates that some heat is being delivered to the apartment, not that sufficient heat is delivered.

Plug-in heating devices are not included in their measurements - they do not measure the heat in a room warmed by such a device:

  Since the use of an auxiliary heating device,  e.g., space heater,
  will not provide an  accurate room temperature for the purpose  of
  issuing a violation, housing inspectors  will not measure the room
  temperature in a  room that is receiving heat from an auxiliary
  heating device.

So don't feel that if you can use a plug-in heater to keep a room warm that you can't file a complaint if the central heat can't warm all rooms to the legally required minimums.

According to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, if the Landlord does not fix the problem, the next step would be to file a complaint with the City:

  Tenants who are cold in their apartments should first attempt to
  notify the building owner, managing agent or superintendent. If heat
  is not restored, the tenant should call the City's Customer Service
  Center at 311 (311 can be accessed outside of New York City by dialing
  (212) NEW YORK). For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (212)
  504-4115. The Center is open 24-hours a day, seven-days a week.  (You
  may also file a complaint at  311ONLINE for heat and hot water
  conditions.)

The city will then contact your landlord and/or you to verify that the problem as not been resolved and to schedule an inspection to verify non-compliance and issue a violation if appropriate.

For cases of continued non-compliance, the city may even hire a vendor to resolve the problem, and bill the landlord for the repairs.


Cutting out existing steel duct in bathroom vent I'm enlarging my bathroom vent. It's a brick wall and currently has a steel duct. I've chipped away brick but the lip of the existing steel duct is still there. I need to remove around 2 inches of it. Any suggestions best way to cut that off?

One way to cut away the excess metal would be to use a rotary Dremel type tool with abrasive cutoff wheels. This method allows the metal to be removed without bending and deformation that other cutting methods would typically cause.

If you go this route be prepared to use up a good sized quantity of the cutting wheels. When I am using my rotary tool and have a large amount of cutting to do I have about ten of the mandrels that hold the cutting wheels preloaded with cutting disks. This way when  one wears down or breaks I can quick load another mandrel into the chuck on the rotary tool and continue cutting.


preventing water from entering my no-step entry My entry is a no step entry that was poorly conceived by the previous owners. Here are my issues:
- Entry door is inset into my home, behind my foundation wall.
- I live on a slope, with a circle drive, so in heavy rains, the drive acts as a funnel for pushing water right in my front door.
- The walkway outside of the house is barely sloped away, so in heavy rains it struggles to direct water away from the home.
- Previous owners carved out 2-3 inches of the 2x8x12 16oc joists to lay a brick entry  in the space between the door and exterior wall of the house.
- water damage has severely compromised what remains of the joists.

What I've done so far:
- I have done landscaping and installed a french drain which is tied into a new drain grate on my walkway(past doormat in pic) to prevent most of the water from making it to the house. I have not had water enter my house since, but haven't had a truly powerful thunderstorm yet, either.

Advice needed:
- Should I remove the joists, flooring, bricks (between door and exterior wall), and install new joists and flooring? If so, how should I handle that section between the door and the ext. wall (approx 3'x4')? I could use the same basic concept, but substitute real bricks for tile bricks set in concrete, but I'm not sure if that is adequately water-resistant.
OR
- Should I leave the existing brickwork, sister 9' joists to the old ones, and build a load bearing wall in the basement to support the shorter joists?
OR
- I'm open to ideas.

You're good to go for now and maybe forever. The only water issue I see you ever having again is adding another French Drain trough next to the first one you did to handle those extremely rare flash flooding downpours. But, you did the right and most perfect thing to start with.

As far as the joists go, do a Screwdriver Stab Test...ugly doesn't mean shot. If the screwdriver just dents the wood you're solid and can simply clean and paint...the brick and brick's mortar are sound. If the screwdriver goes in or through or makes a hollow sound as it hits, it needs replacing.

You can bolt-on new sandwich scabs to replace the ones the previous owners did. Or, treat those joists like stairs and head them off to put their majority load out to further joists and put in entryway retainers or supports. Or, you could remove the bridging between joists and sister-on new joists that run the length of the basement. There's no reason to mess with floor space or moving ducts.


Enlarge opening in porcelain tile already tiled I have some small porcelain tiles, hexagonal, each approximately the same size as a tennis ball. The tiles have already been hung on the wall, cement board using a tile glue.

I am installing a wall sconce, but the mounting plate for the light has some small bumps on the back. My tiler made the hole slightly to small, so I need to remove an extra 1/4 inch of tile so the mounting plate sits flush.

Looking for recommendation on the best way to enlarge a hole on a tile already mounted on the wall. Pic for reference. Thanks!

A rotary bit designed to cut tile, which are made for "cutout tools" (essentially a rough and lightweight router) - they will have a diamond pattern on the SIDES of the bit, as they are made to cut sideways more than to drill, and a drill bit is not what you want.

You can use one in a drill you probably already own for a small cut like this, if you are patient and wear appropriate safety gear (eye protection and dust protection. Ear protection as well would be wise.) If you happen to have a cutout tool already, you'd probably have thought of this already, but perhaps not if you think of it only as a drywall tool. For a job this small I doubt it's worth purchasing the power tool specifically, but the fact that the bits are made for it will allow you to get the job done with what you have - or you could rent/borrow one.
I would NOT put one in my router, simply because the tile dust is prone to damaging tools/motors, and a cheap cutout tool is far better to abuse than an expensive router.


Simple fix suggestions needed for damaged plywood paneling In our laundry room a pet rabbit damaged the paneling in several places:

There are no replacement panels available that I could find.  I don't want to tear out and replace all the walls.

Things I've considered:

adding wainscoting to cover the damage.
wall papering just the lower 3 feet (it would look like
   wainscoting)
painting over the lower 3 feet with light gray paint (it would look
like wainscoting).

Any other ideas or suggestions?

[EDIT]
I liked the answers but I found a thick wall paper that looked like wainscotting and covered well.  I think a get the best results with the least effort:

Time will tell if it lasts.

I don't think you really have plywood there.  It looks like some OSB type mix with with a veneer - these were super popular in the 60s-80s.   With the veneer off I am afraid that painting it or anything else is going to look bad and not last.   Cardboard doesn't hold paint well.

Since it is a laundry I would go with wainscoting.  They make some super durable ones now that are thin and are almost plastic like.   You could glue these on, add a line of trim above them and the room will look better and be more durable.

I would also just think about drywalling the room too.   If the rest of your house is drywall it might be an expectation if you were ever selling.


How to clean hard soap scum and lime from bathtub? All this dirt has been on the bathtub for like a year or so since the previous owner just remodelled my house before we bought it and he didn't live there. I read many articles and videos to learn how to do it but none of them worked at all. The following items are the ones we tried:

Used bleach and scrubbed it. We filled the bathtub with extremely hot water and poured bleach in it and scrubbed it later.
Used Mr. Clean Magic sponge.
Used Green Works, Kaboom etc. None of them worked even slightly.
Used many other chemicals and no luck.

What worked for us was using pumice stone and it really worked but it was too much work and pain. It scrubbed out all the dirts (with some residue left) but didn't really make it look like new and shiny.

I wonder if there is any one who can recommend a better way to clean up the bathtub. So far what we learned from internet didn't work at all :/

I believe our bathtub is made of ceramic and it is a hard material compared to what we used to have that was fiberglass.

I live on well water and have hard water stains (pink), and sometimes green from my pipes.  We use a product called CLR.  It stands for Calcium, lime, rust.  It works great on hard water spots and other deposits left by water.  You can buy it at Wal-Mart, Home Depot and probably your local grocery store.

The good thing about it is that you can just pour it on and let it sit for a bit.(read the bottle).  Then take a scrub brush and finish off the deposits.


Why do wires shred when using a pull elbow? When I fish my wires through the 1/2" emt conduit to the 90 degree pull elbow box outlet, the wire coverings are a little shredded. They are not kinked. Should I be concerned about the wire covering shredding? Or should I try it again using a pull elbow box that has opening? How do electricians do it if they weren't using an open cover?

Don't pull my elbow!

Elbows cannot be pulled around as their radius is far tighter than a minimum radius bend.  Hence, you have to take the cover off, pull to the elbow enough wire for the rest of the run to form a "loop" there, and then continue the pull from the elbow to the rest of the run.


LVL Span Ratings and Beam Placement I work with LVL beams frequently and see a lot of them placed under I-Joists to carry load of the floor. This is usually no big deal in 9' deep basements but in 8' basements an 11-7/8" triple LVL beam takes up a good amount of space.  In terms of load, is there any difference in instead putting the LVL beam in the same plane as the I-Joists are, and setting I-Joist hangers on each side of the triple LVL 11-7/8" LVL beam so that the floor joists still use that beam for support, but now there is no "header" or "beam" to have steal some ceiling space? I think in one sense it may be stronger because the beam has a lot less change of twist factor to play where as when it's under the I-Joists it can actually twist one way or another.

I do realize this severely limits accessibility for plumbing, hvac, and wiring though if needing to get into those joist's cavities which is almost guaranteed, but I believe running a small plumbing/hvac/electrical chase down below the LVL beam will take less space than the 11-7/8".

Thoughts?  This would not be altering any span ratings, just the method the I-Joists transfer load to the carrying beam.

This is all in question for a space in one basement where the stairs go down and there is a support wall on one side of the stairs once you hit basement level, but an open family room on the other. It would be really slick to have that right side family room have no joist support below the joists for that span for about 10' of the basement. The staircase wall would carry the rest of the floor joist load for the family room space.

A multi span joist with intermediate bearing (3+ points of bearing) can clear span more than a simple/single span joist (2 points of bearing.) One span benefits from having the other span connected to it.

Your dropped LVL is called intermediate bearing. It is typically sized to L/360 live load deflection, and the floor tributary is 5/8 of the joist span because of the added load from continuity.

When you flush that LVL, you typically size it to L/480 live load deflection, but you only use 1/2 of the joist span as the floor tributary. Obviously you have to cut the joists, so they can't span as far as joists that are continuous over the LVL.

These small differences mean that sometimes it matters if you flush or drop the beam. Just make sure you check the joist span works as a simple span, and that the LVL deflects less than L/480 live so that you don't reduce the floor's performance.

In my experience, going from dropped to flush with the same size LVL (which is what you're doing) works 90% of the time. You still need to check it though.

Doing the opposite and going from flush to dropped can add 1/8 more floor tributary to it, so it's more likely to fail in moment or shear with the added load.


What could be causing corrosion on a water heater burner? Every 6 to 8 months or so my water heater (A.O. Smith 'Power Shot' high-efficiency) stops heating.  The first time this happened (mid 2010) a plumber friend discovered that the burner had some corrosion that had fallen onto it that was preventing the burner from firing properly. He showed me how to clean it off and replace it, and I have been performing this repair every time it's happened since.

It is an easy fix, but obviously this should not be happening.  What could be causing these rust particles to fall onto the burner? Is there a repair I should look to have done? I can't see far enough into the heater to see anything above it that might be rusting out.

The heater is about 12 years old, and aside from this issue it works very well.  Here is a picture of the unit in question, in case I have my terminology wrong.  The small pile to the left of the assembly is the pile of rust particles I shook off the circular part.

There is an insert in the flue that can be removed. loosen it and rotate it in the flue or use a long brush to scrap the sides of the flue then vacuum out the debris. At twelve years old your tank may be nearring the end of its life. You can also check the supply nipples on top of the heater to see if they are leaking and allowing water to seep in to the flue causing the corrosion.


Can I splice a clock cord to a lamp cord so I only have to use one part of the power outlet I am trying to combine my clock cord and my lamp cord into one so that I only have to plug one thing into the power outlet. Would it be OK to splice them to a single plug?

What you are proposing is unsafe and unnecessary. Use one of these:

It's called a cube tap. This will be much safer than an amateur cord splice.


Do I need to replace the garage door opener or just the remotes to upgrade to rolling code technology? I have an old Craftsman Garage door system from the mid 80s.  It still works great and for my cars, we have moved to the in car remote openers. We also have a wall remote code to access the garage door. One of our older cars still has the original opener which I believe is dip switch. Question- In order to move to a rolling code technology- Do I need to replace the whole system, or just the remote(s) and or the wall opener. The police were just here as someone remotely opened my garage door and then the dog scared them away.

I'm not sure it makes sense to spend money and effort retrofitting something on a 30 year old opener. How much longer do you think it will really last? New garage door openers can be had for around $150 and in addition to the "rolling code" remotes will include several other benefits like an electric eye safety sensor, auto-reversing contact sensor, vacation lockout controls, etc. If you want to spend more you can get other bells and whistles like quiet belt drives, wifi control, number keypads, battery backup...


Outdoor kitchen worktop options I'm preparing to build a semi outdoor kitchen. It will be exposed to the elements (I'm in Thailand) but under a roof top. Frame will likely be built using metal drywall studs, with cement board covering top and sides and possibly a wooden frame in front of that to hang doors off.

I've been looking around online for worktop options. The go to seems to be tiles. But to me, having tiles as a worktop seems odd. I feel a worktop should have a continuous smooth surface.

I'm not comfortable building a concrete countertop, slabs of stone willl be too expensive, and wood seems a bad idea given the humidity and temperatures here.

What other options are there for me?

Stainless steel! For my home I custom made a one piece stainless counter and backsplash that goes up the wall all the way to the upper cabinets. It's impervious to just about anything and looks amazing! The only downside is that it is a pain to keep clean.


French drain did not solve the problem We noticed issues with our water coming through our basement cinder block wall and hoped a new interior french drain would fix them. It did not.

Short Version:
We just installed a new french drain and we still have wet spots on the wall as high as six courses up. Why?

Long Version:
The picture shows our basement. The black is the cinder block wall. The part highlighted in red is the unfinished part. The part in blue is finished. The front of the house is at the top. 'S' is the location of the sump pit.

The previous owner painted the walls and the paint was flaking off because of efflorescence. The efflorescence was worst in the corner (C) and along the front wall. In the corner the efflorescence went almost to the top of the wall, but it got lower farther from the corner. There were wet spots at C where the paint had been brushed away. The very bottom of the wall at W would sometimes get wet and there would be a small amount of water on the floor. I made a small hole in the finished part of the basement (at H). The drywall, sill, stud, and insulation were clean, dry, and free of mold, but the block behind them had a strong smell of mildew.

We talked to a couple of waterproofing companies and they all agreed that a new interior french drain would fix the problem, so we got one installed. A three foot section of the old drain along the left wall was totally clogged with sand but the rest was clear. They said the existing pipe going into the finished area was clean, so they connected it to the new white S&D pipe with holes in it. There were already holes in the bottom row of block, so they did not drill any new ones.

It rained really hard today and the spots at C are wet and there is water on the bottom block at W. The new pipe coming into the pit is totally dry. The wet spots at C are as high as six courses up and the pipe is dry, so I can't image there is water in the wall. Where is the water coming from in the corner? What should I do with the finished area? I really don't want to put a new drain in that area if it is not going to fix the problem.

Putting a drain sump on the inside is like catching the blood from a cut on your arm into a cup. What you really need to be doing is taking a hard look at what caused the cut and remedy that problem instead. Just pasting on bandaids will not do the trick.

So getting back to the house situation. Look hard at what it takes to get water away from the outside of the basement wall. This can include any and all of:

Proper working rain gutters to divert roof runoff away from the building.
Soil surface preparation and grading to allow surface water to run away from the building as opposed to letting it soak into the ground by the basement walls.
Exterior french drains located in areas where the soil tends to stay persistently wet to help allow water to go into the ground deeper than your basement floor and foundation.
Foundation drain lines on the outside of the basement foundation that allow water from outside to collect and flow away from the building.
Exterior sealing of the basement walls so water does not infuse into the concrete or blocks in the first place.


How to stop acorn-head supply tube from leaking? The purple highlighted rectangle shows the spot where the acorn-head supply tube connects to the faucet valve.  Ours is leaking, no matter how tight it is, and even after applying teflon to the grooves.

Is it alright to apply teflon to the head of the acorn/male portion of the supply tube?  I'm not sure what else to try.

if the compression nut is tight, then you should not have a leak.  dont put teflon on a compression joint face.  you can, if desperate pull it apart and coat everything with a good layer of pipe dope and then reassemble.  sometimes you may have a little corroded pore that this can fix.  might be time to replace the supply line, nut and ferrule.  other possibilities:

1) its not leaking from the supply connection.  in these setups, its sometimes hard to diagnose where the leak is due to access issues.  check the compression nut on the cross connection.  they often work themselves loose and cause a tiny leak that wicks down the threads of the valve body and makes it appear the leak is coming from the supply line connection.

2)  valve body itself could be cracked or leaking from one of the valve bushing nuts up above.  same logic as 1)

good luck


Make a sliding barn door airtight? I'm brainstorming for building a cabin this summer and am wondering if anyone has had luck making a sliding barn door airtight (or at least, pretty airtight).

One cabin design I've been pondering is a south facing shed style structure with a little deck on the front. I'd like to have a way to open a significant portion of the front during non-buggy seasons and am thinking making a portion of the front wall into a sliding barn door on a runner might be a way to do that. The kicker is that I am planning to insulate the place and use it once in a while in the winter, so avoiding drafts would be a plus.

Here is a good picture showing the bottoms of the lift slide doors I installed. The 16' ones were on another job, these are only offer a 10' opening. The pics showing the upper half are kinda dark.

Is this something that may work for you?


Bad smell from bathroom - plumbing I'm living in a building of 6 floors, I'm at the 5th floor.
I made a full renovation to my apartment about 8 years.
Recently I began smelling a bad sewage smell from the bathroom (from drainage hole).

The thing I can't understand is how it's possible if I have a siphon that always keeps a high level of water such that it blocks the passageway of air...

It's driving me crazy and I don't know how to solve this issue.

Would appreciate a lot your advices,

The thing I can't understand is how it's possible if I have a siphon that always keeps a high level of water such that it blocks the passageway of air...

If the building vent gets clogged, then waste falling through the common downpipe can suck water out of your U-bends/P-traps.

The solution is one of

Get the building supervisor to fix the vents for the common downpipe(s)
Add an air-admittance valve to the plumbing for your apartment.
Replace your traps with anti-siphon traps.

Also, If you leave a sink/bath/shower unused for a month, the trap can dry-out by evaporation. This is mostly solved by pouring a litre of water down the unused sink/bath/shower once every few weeks. I read that some people add a layer of oil (maybe a tiny quantity of vegetable or mineral oil) to slow down evaporation.

Linked examples for illustration only, seek local equivalents.


How do I know it is safe to hammer a nail into thin wood? My wife purchased a wooden sign with our infant's name in a cursive font.  The wood is 1/2" deep (front-to-back), and the letters are about 1" wide in most places.  I've been tasked with hanging the name on a wall.  I bought a kit containing sawtooth hangers for mounting pictures on the wall, only to discover that the tiny nails are also 1/2" long.
Is it reasonable to think I can chop the nails in half to prevent them from splitting the wood? Would this put the sawtooth hangers at risk of falling out due to insufficient friction once the sign is on the wall?
More generally, are there rules of thumb or data tables that tell mechanical engineers or carpenters, "for this type of wood, with these dimensions, it is safe/not safe to use this size of nail with/without predrilling"?   Are there any such guidelines for how much weight, say, a collection of sawtooth hangers can hold when held in place by small nails of a given length and radius?
As long as I'm throwing out wishes, is there an introductory book on mechanical engineering that spells out the terminology and principles needed to do back-of-the-envelope calculations?
EDIT: This is not a rectangular sign with the name on it, it is a laser cut piece of plywood (baltic birch), so that the letters are the sign,and it is not possible to drill into any part of the sign without drilling into a letter.  The entire sign weighs about 1 lb 2 oz.

I would be using small screws - easily available in lengths less than 1/2" but you are also helped by the bracket thickness.
Also you should drill pilot holes for the screws - make sure you plan the positions so that you don’t coincide with any letters.
Messing this up will affect the stability of your home life so measure carefully twice then cut once.


Exterior Security Camera Base? My exterior camera system uses this particular cover to hide wired on the siding. We're changing the cameras over to a more modern type (And some of the cameras are defective over their > 15 year use)

What is it, and can I purchase it at home depot or similar stores?

Pictured at the base of the camera:

It looks to me like a standard vinyl siding mounting block.


Water Heater electrical installation to breaker box I installed my water heater 10 gauge wiring to the breaker box 30 am breaker.
The breaker only has a white common, black hot and ground.The second breaker box has all 30 am breakers with only red hot lines.  The house is 70 years old.  Can I install the red line from the second breaker box and the black line and ground  from the 1st breaker box to the water heater?  If not then will I have to have another sub panel installed because there isn't any more room in the old breaker box.

On the main panel the is a 100 amp double breaker and two 60 amp double breakers.
The previous owner ran line off one of the 60 am double breakers for the washer and dryer.  I guess I will have to run 10 gauge line to a new breaker box off of the main panel and then in to the hot water heater.  Thank you for your advice.

For a typical 240V tank style water heater you will need a 30A/240V circuit. No neutral is required.

You CAN use the white wire as a hot going to the breaker for a straight 240V circuit such as this. You just need to mark it as a hot conductor with a permanent marker or such. You can use any typical hot color such as black, red or blue. You DO NOT need to use a red wire.

Now....you ask "Can I install the red line to a second hot breaker". This implies there is a red wire in the cable. If this is the case then yes, you must use the red and you can just cap off the white in the water heater since it is not used.

You CANNOT simply use a "second hot breaker". You MUST use a two-pole breaker for a 240V circuit as previously mentioned.


Only The Testor Trips the GFCI I installed a new 20-amp GFCI in the kitchen which has two aditional download receptacles running off of it.  When I test it with a separate “Commercial Electric” tester the GFCI trips immediately. All appliances plugged into the circuit work.  Thinking it might be a defective GFCI, I swapped it out with another and it does the same thing.  I checked and rechecked all wiring and connections and everything is wired as it should be.  Bottom line is, only the tester trips that one particular GFCI despite it not tripping any of the others in the house.  Any suggestions?

Edit: Maybe I didn't explain myself clearly. The GFCI is wired correctly, incoming feed wires are connected to the LINE terminals and the outgoing wires feeding two sockets downstream are connected to the LOAD terminals. The test button on the GFCI trips the unit as it should. It's the tester itself that is tripping the GFCI.

Many times people think they have GFCI outlets wired correctly and they are not. If the Outlet is tripped and the additional outlets are live the additional outlets were not wired on the load side. This has been the case for almost all the mis wired GFCI's I have been called in to repair. If a GFCI fails it usually will not power the down stream devices. With 2 devices not working I would verify the "line" and "load" connections.


Vent Pipe Replacement In Attic The cast iron portion of the vent pipe in my attic has rotted off. I need some guidance on how to go about replacing the cast iron portion with PVC. Particularly, I'm unsure of what diameter PVC I should get, and how to connect PVC to the metal vent stack.
Overview image:

Side angle of vent stack connection where the cast iron pipe rotted off from:

Close up of the vent stack hole:

I called several plumbers around my area to get an estimate. Typically I like to get at least 3 estimates, but all the plumbers required a service fee of $40 just to come out. While I don't mind paying people a fair price for their services, being out $120 before any work is done is something I'd like to avoid. While I have zero expertise with this type of work, this looks like a relatively straight forward job. The one place that reluctantly gave me a ballpark figure without coming out said it would be around $599...
Any help/suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

You should use ABS (black plastic sewer pipe).
I would remove (unthread) the iron elbow and thread on an ABS female adapter (it looks like 2" to me, but there is nothing in your pictures for size reference). From there I would glue up a 45° ell, a short piece of ABS pipe, then another 45° ell to accomplish the 90° turn to vertical (this will eliminate the "dead leg" of pooling rain water that likely caused the corrosion and failure of the old pipe), arranged such that the top of the last 45° ell is directly centered below the roof flashing.
Then, because it looks like there is a size change (to 3", or maybe 4", hard to tell...) glue up a bell reducer to transition to the larger pipe size. Then glue in an appropriate length of the larger pipe size to go up through the flashing. Roof tar around the flashing and done.
Because of variability by region, pricing is not on-topic here, but $599 seems like too much to me. The parts would be in the range of $35 - $70 US dollars.
Also, support the pipe with some metal strapping.


How do I remove a pole that's rusted into a sleeve in the ground? I have a square metal pole (probably 3x3 inches) that sits in the ground in a metal sleeve. It's been there for a long time and I want to pull it out. In order to prep for this I've been soaking between the pole and sleeve with WD-40.

The suggestion that's been made is that I use a Farm / Automotive Construction (Jeep or 4x4) Jack and then tie a rope around the pole and jack it out. Problem is I don't know how you would tie the rope around the pole. The solution does seem reasonable though.

My objective is to get the pole out of the ground. If you think that the rope and jack is the right answer can you describe how to tie it? Otherwise if you have a better idea I'd love to hear it.

Instead of using a rope to wrap the pipe I would use a piece of heavy chain. The technique is to wrap the chain around the pipe several times and then connect the ends up short together leaving enough of a loop to poke a timber such as a 4x4 through the loop. Use a 4x4 about 8 to 10 feet long and use it as a lever over the top of a short fulcrum post. If the ground is soft you may may need to lay a 2 to 3 foot length of plank flat on the ground under the fulcrum. Arrange the chain loop so it binds tight against itself and around the metal post and use the long 4x4 as a lever to lift the post up some. You then repeatedly reposition the chain loop lower down on the pipe and lever again to lift a step at a time.


Can I count on being able to cut galvanized pipe to size? I am planning a shelving project that will use galvanized pipes.  I am still designing the shelf and am wondering if I can plan on using whatever length pipe that I need (because they are straight-forward to cut) or are they difficult/costly to cut and I should find out what specific increments are available and design my shelf around that?

After I cut them, the ends of the pipes won't be threaded anymore.  Do I have anyway of using standard pipe fittings on pipes without threads?

If you buy the pipe at Home Depot, they custom cut it (and thread it) for free.  You have to buy the pipe, and there is a fairly flexible policy that they will make up to three cuts per 10 foot length, but if you catch them an hour before closing or when it is not otherwise busy, they are very accommodating.


Will it harm 12VDC LED light strips if I supply them with 12VAC instead? I have strips of 12 volt DC LED's that can be cut into groups of three that I am using to light buildings on a model railroad and am happy with the results.  I can vary the voltage from about 6 to 12 depending on lighting needs for a specific building.  I was surprised to learn that all these strips also work using the same voltage but in AC.  Using AC to power these LED's would save me a lot of extra wiring.

Will running these LED's on AC harm them?

Depending on the type of LED element and the driver circuit, you could either be fine or significantly shortening the lifespan of your lights. If the instructions or markings don't indicate that AC is acceptable then it's probably not.

However, a failure is not likely to be dangerous or cause a fire.

So you have to decide if the hassle of replacing burned out LED lighting later outweighs the hassle of giving it the proper power now.


How to fasten rotating pieces without self-tightening (or loosening)? I'm trying to make a "slider crank" mechanism for cheap out of 1/4" x 1.5" aluminum, where all the movement is in the xy-plane (parallel to the ground). Total linear movement is ~6 inches. Not my diagram, but essentially this:

I've seen plenty of examples all over the place, but I'm unclear how to robustly make joints (looks like they're labeled B and C in the diagram). I've tried something like this:

but with the continuous rotation the nut eventually loosens or tightens, depending on the orientation/direction of rotation. With the same thing oriented vertically (e.g. think scissor lift or articulated lamp), it seems much simpler as the weight bears on a connecting shaft, so as long as friction is low enough everything works fine, but I cannot change the orientation.

Accepting that I can cut/drill the aluminum to suit, are there things I can get at a regular North American hardware store to make this work (ideally for < 20$ for all connecting hardware)?

The bolt/nut configuration you show requires high friction against the joined members to maintain tightness.

You need independent locking of the nut. The most common method is to use two nuts. They are tightened against each other, rather than the captured articulating part.

An alternative is to use a nut locking compound (a sort of nut glue), and not fully tightening the nut, but the removable type will probably also eventually loosen, and the permanent type prevents easy disassembly.

I would also add a washer between the articulating arms or rotating parts.


How do I wire a light switch that has 2 switches wired in but should only use 1? I just moved into a new home. The builder left the island lights capped, and I am trying to install them now. There are 3 lights over the island. The first one, for some reason, has the pot lights wired through it as well.

There are 3 sets of black and white wires, plus one red wire in Kitchen light #1.

I have named them:

Set #1 (black, white and red wire)

Set #2

Set #3

The red wire from set # 1 was originally tied off with the black wire from set #2. I hadn't seen this, so I just connected all of the other white wires to the white wire from the light, and the other 2 black wires to the black wire from the light. The result was Kitchen light #1 and pot lights on switch #1. Kitchen lights #2 and #3 on switch #2.

When I connect black and white sets #1 & #3, the pot lights work on Switch #1. The kitchen lights do not.

When I connect black and white sets #1 & #2 into the light, with white wire #3 into the light, and the red wire into black wire #3, the pot lights work on switch 2 and the kitchen light #1 works on switch #1. Kitchen lights #2 do not work at all.

When I connect set #1 into the light with white #3, tie the red wire connected to black #3, and tie off black #2 and white #2 separately, the pot lights work on switch #2 and light #1 works on switch #1.

Can anybody help me identify the problem? I have tried so many variations of the above. I just want the 3 kitchen (island) lights on one switch, and the pot lights on the other.

Based on what you've been able to discern so far -- the black wire in cable #1 is from switch #1 and the red wire in cable #1 is from switch #2.  Cable #2 goes off to the other two kitchen lights and cable #3 goes off to the pot lights.

This means that for the configuration you want, connect:

the black from cable #1 to the black from cable #2 and the black from the light
the red from cable #1 to the black from cable #3
and all the white wires together.


What name could be used in building code for "interior drain tiles"? I'm searching Chicago building codes for anything about drain tiles to be installed inside a home. http://dev.chicagocode.org/ is the site I'm using. They have a ton of material about the sump pumps, however I can't find anything about the drain tiles themselves, how deep, how far from the wall, etc. Something has to exist for this, I just can't find it. Does "drain tile" go by another name?

The code seems to use the term "subsurface soil drainage", but I wasn't able to find any detail on subsurface drainage.

§ 18-29-712.3.2
Sump pit.
The sump pit shall be not less than 18 inches (457 mm) in diameter and 30 inches (762 mm) deep, unless otherwise approved. The pit shall be accessible and located such that all drainage flows into the pit by gravity. An approved sump pit or tank within a building receiving the discharge from sanitary drains, storm water or combined drains shall be constructed of steel, cast iron, reinforced concrete pipe or other approved materials. The sump or tank receiving the discharge from subsurface soil drainage shall be constructed of vitrified clay tile or any of the above materials. Approved plastic or fiberglass liners may be used in conjunction with any of the approved materials referenced above. The pit bottom shall be solid and provide permanent support for the pump. The sump pit shall be fitted with a gas-tight removable cover adequate to support anticipated loads in the area of use. The sump pit receiving sanitary flow shall be vented in accordance with Article 18-29-9.

I also searched for vitrified clay tile, but didn't come up with much.
I'm not sure how useful it is, but International Residential Code (IRC) has this to say.

International Residential Code 2012
Chapter 4 Foundations
Section R405 Foundation Drainage
R405.1 Concrete or masonry foundations.
Drains shall be provided around all concrete or masonry foundations that retain earth and enclose habitable or usable spaces located below grade. Drainage tiles, gravel or crushed stone drains, perforated pipe or other approved systems or materials shall be installed at or below the area to be protected and shall discharge by gravity or mechanical means into an approved drainage system. Gravel or crushed stone drains shall extend at least 1 foot (305 mm) beyond the outside edge of the footing and 6 inches (152 mm) above the top of the footing and be covered with an approved filter membrane material. The top of open joints of drain tiles shall be protected with strips of building paper. Perforated drains shall be surrounded with an approved filter membrane or the filter membrane shall cover the washed gravel or crushed rock covering the drain. Drainage tiles or perforated pipe shall be placed on a minimum of 2 inches (51 mm) of washed gravel or crushed rock at least one sieve size larger than the tile joint opening or perforation and covered with not less than 6 inches (152 mm) of the same material.
Exception: A drainage system is not required when the foundation is installed on well-drained ground or sand-gravel mixture soils according to the Unified Soil Classification System, Group I Soils, as detailed in Table R405.1.
R405.1.1 Precast concrete foundation.
Precast concrete walls that retain earth and enclose habitable or useable space located below-grade that rest on crushed stone footings shall have a perforated drainage pipe installed below the base of the wall on either the interior or exterior side of the wall, at least one foot (305 mm) beyond the edge of the wall. If the exterior drainage pipe is used, an approved filter membrane material shall cover the pipe. The drainage system shall discharge into an approved sewer system or to daylight.

I've found that most building departments are quite helpful, and enthusiastically provide information to inquisitive homeowners.  Your best bet might be to contact your local building department, and see what information they can provide.


Wiring a switch to (2) pendant lights, a ceiling fan (all new) My existing is I have no ceiling lights or fan.  I mounted two pendants and a ceiling fan that has a light.  The only switch is one  that controls the upper outlets so lamps can be used (which I hate).   I want to wire the ceiling fan so the fan and light can be turned off at the switch or fan.  I want the pendants so they can be turned off only with the switch.

Using 14-3; My idea was to connect the blue from the ceiling fan to the red wire, and color match. run the end of that line over to the closest pendant and wire white to white, black to black/red (with a pigtail) then take that line over to the next pendant with same wiring then connect to the switch.  Red to top post of switch, white to white and black to group of black that have a red wire pigtail to switch already.  Anyone see an issue with this plan?  Please let me know as i sense something amiss but don't see it.

So the blue wire in your fan fixture is power to the light on the fan. The black wire is power to the fan.

Current code calls for a neutral wire in any switch box, even if you don't use it yet and have to cap it with a wire nut.

If you want to control the lights and the fan independently from the wall switch (so the fan doesn't come on ever time you flip the light switch, and so that you can also run the fan without the light), you need two switches. Here's a simple example:

If you want to control fan with the pull chain

If the power is at the fan, then you want to run 14/3 to the switch. That's the hot wire (use black), the neutral (white) and the return leg of the switch loop (use red).

Connect the black and red wires to the switch, and put a wirenut on the white one (unless you have a switch that uses the neutral).

In the fan box, connect the black wire from the fan, and the black wire from the 14/3 (the switch) to the hot wire into that box. Then connect the red wire from the switch to the blue wire on the fan, and to the 14/2 that you feed the pendant lights with. Connect all the white wires together.

If the power is at the wall switch, then you still need to run 14/3 to the fan.

In the switch box, pigtail and connect hot to the switch and to the black wire in the 14/3. Connect the red wire in the 14/3 to the switch. Connect white to white (neutral).

In the fan box, connect the black from the 14/3 to the black wire in the fan. Connect red to the blue wire and to the 14/2 that you feed the pendant lights with. Connect all the white wires together.

If you want to control the fan and light both from the wall switch

If power enters the circuit at the switch box, run 14/3 to the fan box (two switch legs and the neutral).

Pigtail the hot wire and connect it to both switches (both black screws on the double switch in the picture). Connect the red wire from the 14/3 to one switch (one of the brass screws on the double switch), and the black wire to the other switch. Connect white to white.

In the fan box, connect the blue wire to the red wire from the switch box, and the black wire to the black wire from the switch box. Now one switch will operate the light, and the other will operate the fan.

To control the pendant lights from the light switch, connect the red wire and neutral through to the other lights using 14/2.

If the power is at the fan box, then you have to run 4 wires plus ground to the switch box, so that you can run power, neutral and two return legs to get power back from the switch to the lights and the fan.

You could search around and find some 14/4 cable, or just run 2 14/2 cables from the fan to the switch box and use one of the white wires as the return leg of one of the switch loops. Mark the ends of that wire with black permanent marker or non-white electrical tape.

In this case, the wiring is fundamentally the same, you just have to get power to the switch box because it isn't there already.

Other options

You can also get switches that have one or two potentiometers for fan control and dimming the lights. Or one that has a push pot so you can push it to turn the lights on and off, and turn the knob to control fan speed, and so on. But the wiring is fundamentally the same with these.


How can I lower furring strips / ceiling? I will be putting drywall back up on the pictured furring strips.  The problem is, there is a ventilation shaft that goes below the furring strips, preventing the drywall from laying flush (previous ceiling had several layers, the last of which was popcorn texture, probably to hide the uneven surface).  Elsewhere on this same ceiling, there is a waste pipe with the same problem.  Can I lower the whole ceiling by installing another layer of furring strips (in the opposite direction?)?  If so, screws or nails?

If it was just the ducting, I'd say go whack at it with a hammer until it bends upwards enough. However, you mentioned a waste pipe, which implies plumbing, which doesn't respond well to hammering. (Unless it's only hanging down by 3/8" or less, in which case I'd carve away the top side of the drywall.)

So, the simple answer is to cross strap on 16" centers. (Cheap 1x4 works well.)

The least fancy option is to simply nail it up without any regard for how uneven the existing strapping is. (You could screw as well if you wanted.)

The next fanciest option is to have a flat ceiling. This requires nails at the intersections so you can pull the strapping down to the point where it meets the string that you use to establish straight lines both down the strapping and across. After you've pulled the strapping down, insert shims and put another nail in.

The rolls-royce version is a flat and level ceiling. Again, nails on the cross-strapping, and you'll pull them down to meet the level of the lowest point in the room. Shim and nail as above. I can't express enough how useful it is to have a line laser and a story stick for this operation. (If you're putting cabinets into this room, flat and level might be worth it. If it's just an ordinary room, nobody would ever notice the level part.)


How to fill large window gap for temporary air conditioner? I have an air conditioner that looks similar to this...

...except mine doesn't have the flaps on the sides, leaving a large open gap between the air conditioner and the window frame.  What's the best way to fill that gap?

The air conditioner gets taken down in winter, so permanent solutions are no good.

The ideal solution would:

Be easy to make
Be easy to put up/take down
Insulate well
Keep rainy weather out, and not be ruined by rain
Keep nosy cats inside

We used to shove blankets in there, but the cats got out. I also tried buying flaps similar to the image, but they failed all 5 tests.  I've heard suggestions of cutting out plywood or rigid foam, but I'm curious if there's a simpler and/or better solution.

I think the simplest thing would be to buy a sheet of foam insulation from the home store.  It comes in large sheets so you'll probably have to cut into pieces to get it home, but its easy to work with.

It ticks all your boxes:

Cuts with a razor knife or hand saw
Very lightweight
It literally is insulation
Water proof foam
Well, a determined cat could scratch it up or eat a hole in it, but they would have to really hate the foam. It's pretty durable.

The downside:  One style is pink.  The other style is usually yellow, but has a white printed side and a shiny foil side.  They can both be painted with exterior house paint (just buy a color sample size of paint), but the paint might not be super durable on that surface.

For installation, duct tape will work well, and duct tape comes in a variety of colors.  If you don't want duct tape to leave residue on your window, you can put down a layer of blue masking tape to protect the surface and then duct tape to that.


Kitchen sink half-wall against brick: which layer to drywall? Relocating a kitchen sink to an exterior wall, I'll be building a 2x4 half-wall against the brick in which to run plumbing.  I'll then install cabinets in front of that wall.

Which layer to drywall?  I could drywall the brick and furring, or the stud half-wall, or both?

Also note that there'll be an outlet under the sink and a whip for the dishwasher.

I intend to use greenboard FWIW.

I  would do both ,foam insulation drywall, 2x4 , insulate ,drywall  Do not like the pipes on exterior wall drafts and  freeze up


Bathroom exhaust leaking when it rains I have a water leak in my bathroom from around the exhaust housing that fits up into the ceiling. It only happens when it rains . How do I fix this problem?

How long ago was it replaced or touched? E.g., roof repair/replaced, or energy efficiency program teams, or a contractor/self replacing the fan or the piping or exhaust hood?  I ask because the length of time may warrant further inspection to address any long term water damage issues. It could require new plywood (especially if you are in a cold snowy climate). I'm not saying this is the case, just making sure you give it some thought and inspect the damage areas closely.

If there is no long term damage a few things can be amiss....

Incorrect installation
Flashing damaged/dried out
Vent fan hood damaged/worn out
uneven pressure in the home via some other exhaust/pressure source

In reverse order for 1-4:
If the home has positive pressure (e.g., a other vents vent, a window fan or other fan blowing IN, or even sealed so tight doors opening and closing), these things can blow the door open, allowing rainwater to blow in the vent.... gravity wins.

If the vent apparatus on the roof is damaged, ie... missing flap, bad spring, debris, bad seal, etc, it will allow water past the opening, and, again, gravity wins.

As Jasen noted, flashing that has dried out, or wasnt applied properly, or wind/debris damage bending the topper or surrounding tiles, even higher up the roof near the ridge, can allow water to travel (via gravity) to your vent opening. This can even happen with expose nail holes, screw holes, abandoned satellite dish holes, etc.

Lastly, installation - this can and is often the culprit, and the damage probaly has been happening all along (possibly). Make sure the vent tubing is the right size (not longer than needed) make sure it slopes properly to allow vapors out without giving a place for water to pool or get trapped. Make sure is it properly sealed/taped at each end, and insulated if in a colder climate. Use rigid pipe instead of plastic or aluminum ribbed ductwork (like most kits have). Also, make sure the direction of the topper makes sense, and ideally is not directly in the souternly path of wind/water.

Follow that list and you should nail it.


Electrical issue, breakers not tripped but outlets dead outlet died awhile ago from plugging in an air conditioner, it killed the whole room plus the hallway. breaker initially wouldnt reset, so i left it until i could get new outlets.

replaced the suspect outlet, noticed the left tab wasnt broken off but the right was. breakers are all on now, but still no power to the room. replaced outlet is hooked up the same way the old one was but nothing still.

should i just check every outlet and look for a missing connection or could there be something that happened to this outlet/breaker from the higher load of the AC due to the fact the tab wasnt broken off? thanks.

It sounds like the heavy load caused a failure. I usually start at the closest outlet to the breaker panel that is not working if that one is good the last working one on that circuit. This is where I find 98% of all failures of this type and it is usually from back stabs (the #14 awg wire is stuffed in a hole in the back of the outlet) it could be a bad connection from a wire nut or even a broken wire but my experiance is it is usually a bad backstab. If you pull an outlet out and everything starts working replace the outlet or this will happen again.i just read this again and the one issue I did not discuss was the broken tab. This could be to support a multi wire branch circuit 2 breakers 1 on top outlet and the other on the bottom outlet , the second case is if one of the outlets was switched usually for a light when a ceiling fixture was not installed.
If OP has abandondened this question I would vote to close, so we don't see it come up again and I did try to answer the first time, now a second if no OP comment or up vote it should be purged as this is a waste of our time imo.


How do you frame a wall around existing pipes and ducting? Adding ducting or conduit or pipes to a wall is easy, you just drill or cut a hole. Adding a wall where there is already conduit and pipes poses more of a dilemma, especially if those things are adjacent to an existing wall or structure that the new wall is supposed to abut. I'm used to framing a new wall with it laying flat, then lifting it into place. That obviously isn't the right approach here. If I try to frame the wall in-place then I can't get to the bottom of the bottom plate or top of the top plate (if it touches the ceiling) to put screws through into the studs. If I frame the wall laying down, then I have to leave openings all the way to the nearest edge from each obstruction, which is not ideal.

What simple method am I missing here?

Edit: This is the space I am adding walls to. The walls will each be 9-14 feet wide, and about 16 feet tall. With few exceptions, they will each be adjacent to the concrete columns on both sides.

I'm not sure how long these walls are going to be, but here is a common method using wood studs, even though I still think steel framing would be better in your situation.
First step is to secure 2X4's or 2X6's along a chalk line on the floor at wall placement position. This will be the first or two bottom plates. Transcribe location of obsticles onto this bottom plate using a laser or plumb bob. Lay out and scribe the corners, studs, jacks etc onto this plate. At this point you will know where conflicts with the pipes, vents and will be able to plan prebuilt wall sections around them. or areas where a horizontal needs to be added below the obsticle height to allow wall to be fitted. Now lay out your top and bottom plates against the now scribed secured bottom plate and transfer the layout marks to them. (Yes, there will be two bottom plates when you are done.)

Side note: using the fixed bottom plate allows easier and tighter fitting prefab walls to be lifted into place without the angle problem of lifting the wall and having to make the wall 3/4" short to compensate for the lift angle.

Now you can lay out the plates, studs etc and assemble the wall sections with a nail gun,or hammer (uggg) nailing studs through the bottom and top of the plates, so no toe nailing required. Because of your height, a rolling staging or scissor lift would be a great help. Lift the sections to vertical and slide them onto the pre-secured bottom plate. Flush them to this plate and nail the bottom.  Now plumb the wall and nail to the ceiling, being sure to check plumb every few feet.
This method will allow you to make several smaller wall sections and build around the pipes. Install horizontal nailers just below the pipes/vents etc.


Is it possible to build a one-cubic-meter soundproof space? what is the minimal size of a soundproof space I could build? I am wondering if it is possible to build a one-cubic-meter soundproof space or other similar size of soundproof space.

Why would I need this? I am planning soundproof my house, although I am new to soundproof. So, if I can build a group of test spaces with different solutions, I can get a comparison result to decide which one is suitable to. the smaller the size of test space, the less cost I spend.

So, what is the minimal size of a soundproof space I could build?

Note: both inside and outside of the test space is full of the normal air as the daily environment we live in.

A small-scale model won't produce accurate results. You will have different standing waves, resonances, and modes in small cube than an odd-shaped real-life room. Different cube-lining materials will provide a baseline relative comparison, but the results shouldn't be extrapolated to a real-life situation without careful acoustical modeling.


Extending circuit from dead-end 3-way switch I have a dead end 3-way switch in a 2-gang box. The switch is fed with a 14/4 cable using black as common, red and blue travellers, and white as a capped neutral per code. I would like to add a standard 2-way switch to this box with 14/2 running to a fixture. I would do this by pigtailing the black/common and white/neutral of the 14/4.

Any issue with this?

Wow.  You actually have /4.

The answer is it can work, but you may need to flip it.   That is to say, right now, the black wire may be switched-hot going to the lamp, so the wires are

  switched-hot traveler traveler neutral.

If so, you will need to rearrange other parts of the circuit so the other 3-way is the one with switched-hot and the wires that come here are

  always-hot traveler traveler neutral.

Then you can simply tap always-hot and neutral.

Tell whoever fit the /4, well done.   Normally this question answers with a "nope, unless you like smart switches".


ceiling fan with a light when changing a defective fan I found out that because only 2 wire
cables were used, they have used the ground as the third wire to supply
the light. Is this legal and safe? This is in a condo in Florida

No.

I'd hope to christ they used that ground conductor as the neutral and the two insulated ones as hots, which is probable because you're not dead.

But no.  It's not safe what they did. Undo it, and use the pullchains, or use a wireless controller


What Size Toilet Flange for 3 1/2" ABS Pipe? I'm trying to purchase the correct toilet flange but having difficulty.

The bathroom was roughed in years ago in ABS and we are trying to finish it out. As a I measure the toilet waste pipe, it measures 3 1/2" inches from outside edge to outside edge. The inner diameter (inner edge to inner edge) is more like 3 1/8"+. So, we are close to 3", but it is still slightly wider than 3".

The last flange I purchased advertised itself as "able to fit INTO a 3" ABS waste pipe", however it was in actuality the exact same diameter, so it did not insert into the pipe... it just sat on top and was of course no help.

Before I make yet another trip back to the store, I wasn't sure if there was any wisdom out there on the best product to go with given my situation and pipe measurements. Or perhaps I'm not understanding the terminology

Thanks.

The outside diameter is more important with PVC pipe because that's how the fittings attach.  For instance, DWV (drain) pipe and SCH40 pipe have way different wall thicknesses (so different inside diameters) but the same outside diameter.

That said, you have a 3" pipe there, and should get a flange made for 3" pipe.  What you will typically find will be a "3x4 toilet flange" that will fit over a 3" pipe (flange has a 3.5" inside diameter) or into a 4" pipe.

You may have purchased a flange made to go into a 3" fitting previously.

Your comments indicate this is a concrete slab, and you can't connect around the 3" ABS pipe, so a 4x3 flange won't work as it sits.  You have two options in that case.

The easiest is to get a flange designed to fit inside ABS pipe specifically, like the Sioux Chief 888-A.  This is simple, but some people scoff at the push-to-fit flanges as unprofessional.

The other option is to chip out concrete around the pipe and use a standard 4x3 flange with a stainless steel ring.  This will securely glue to the pipe and be more like what a plumber would have done if they were installing the toilet from new.


Range Hood Outlet Stopped Working. Fuse? Our microwave is installed into a hood above the oven which also has a light and fan. The microwave suddenly turned off. When I test the microwave in another outlet it is fine. When I test a radio in the outlet built into the hood it does NOT work. Checked the breakers in the basement and it is ok. Reset it just in case, but no dice.

The fan and light in the hood are still working.

Above the hood in the cupboard is the fan enclosed in a very difficult to open metal box. I had serviced the fan a year ago and noticed a fuse up in there. I assumed it was for the fan.... but, before I go through the nightmare of opening that box again - is it possible for that fuse in the hood to be for the microwave's plug only? If so, our problem might be as simple as that fuse, otherwise I'm at a loss.

Thank you kindly.

Turns out replacing the fuse did the trick.

So, YES, the fuse in the range hood can affect the microwave's plug only without affecting the light and fan.

Kenmore brand hood.


How to remove roots in sewage drain I have a root growing in my sewage drain and I’m wondering what is the best way to remove it and what are the implications of having an apparently cracked main sewage line.  Backstory:  a few months ago my toilet stopped up and while investigating I took the toilet off and discovered a pinky finger sized root growing all the way up to the toilet wax ring and forming a thick mat of roots around the wax ring area. I was able to run a cheap auger I bought at Lowe’s and clear the line of solids that had backed up. However, I have not been able to clear the roots from the drain.  I did buy this powder root inhibitor chemical at Lowe’s which I guess stops future growth. I have not been able to remove the actual root system. I live in a concrete slab suburban house that is about 60 feet feet from the main sewage line at the cul de sac. There is a large silver maple tree growing in my front yard which I suspect the roots came from.  How do I best deal with this problem without breaking the bank??

There at different styles of augger heads on larger units. Most folks are familiar with the cork screw style end that will grab chunks of hair and roots but there are also several styles of cutting heads the one I have the best luck with for clearing roots is a head that has 2 flat loops that are about 3" long and then 2 more flat loops that are a bit shorter but are the same diameter as the longer ones the loops are a flat stainless material that is fairly thin. These won't cut through a plug very well but they scrape the walls and cut the roots. I have found once roots get in the pipe it becomes an annual event until the pipe is replaced (even using chemical inhibitor). The large augger I purchased came with 3 or 4 heads , I found the best thing was to the head that looked like a hunting arrow to punch a hole in the mess then use the one with the loops. My unit has a power feed lever I go forward until I notice some back pressure then let it spin at that location for a little while move forward very slowly so the bands or loops cut the roots loose I do run water when doing this so everything is flushed as it is cut loose. The first time I did this I did not run water and all the chopped up root pieces plugged at the entrance to the main line and I had to run the cork screw head in to pull the roots out. I have had this happen in 2 homes 1 got so bad I replaced the line the other I just ran the snake every spring and never had and more problems until the next spring.


Metal braided cord in the wall I was expanding a hole in what I think is drywall in between two closets. When I took the drill out I noticed some metal protruding and it looks like I went through a braided cable, but the metal looks pretty thick.

No idea if it's electrical or structural.

I attached some pictures please let me know (I took out the fuses before drilling and still have them out). Also in the picture the other side of the hole is NOT a cavity between two walls, rather it is the other side of the wall and is the other closet.

Thanks for any help!

That's plaster, not drywall, and you've encountered metal lath. It was commonly used at corners and other vulnerable locations to add strength and crack resistance.

It won't be a problem to cut a small amount away for your purposes. Just be careful to not snag it with a power tool and rip things loose. An abrasive grinding wheel might be a good bet.


What's the minimum depth that an electrical box can recess into a finished wall? Does it have to be flush? Do electrical boxes have to be flush to the finished surface?  Can they recess any depth into the wall by as much as 1/8" or 1/4"?

Edit:  I appreciate everyone offering alternative solutions to making a non-flush, already-installed box flush to the finish, but remember that I am looking for an objective answer regarding whether or not the box has to be flush to the wall.  This is new work, so if I can get by with having it recess into the wall by 1/8" or 1/4" then I will do so.  Otherwise, I will have to alter my plans.

They make box extenders (an example is depicted below) that can be used to extend boxes to meet the finished surface.

The 2014 NEC says...

ARTICLE 314
Outlet, Device, Pull, and Junction Boxes;
Conduit Bodies; Fittings; and Handhole Enclosures
314.20 In Wall or Ceiling. In walls or ceilings with a surface of concrete, tile, gypsum, plaster, or other noncombustible material,
boxes employing a ﬂush-type cover or faceplate shall be installed so
that the front edge of the box, plaster ring, extension ring, or
listed extender will not be set back of the ﬁnished surface more than
6 mm (1⁄4 in.). In walls and ceilings constructed of wood or other
combustible surface material, boxes, plaster rings, extension rings,
or listed extenders shall be ﬂush with the ﬁnished surface or project
therefrom.

This might also be relevant.

406.4 Receptacle Mounting. Receptacles shall be mounted in boxes or assemblies designed for the purpose, and such boxes or assemblies
shall be securely fastened in place unless otherwise permitted
elsewhere in this Code.
(A) Boxes That Are Set Back. Receptacles mounted in boxes that are set back from the finished surface as permitted in 314.20 shall be
installed such that the mounting yoke or strap of the receptacle is
held rigidly at the finished surface.


Are expansion gaps needed when gluing down linoleum? I am going to fully glue down a sheet linoleum in my bathroom. I would like to know if I have to leave expansion gaps when totally gluing down the linoleum.

The answer is no gap. When installing rolled linoleum you do everything possible not to have a gap. If you have a seam most manufacturers have matching sealer to hide and seal the seam so debris cannot get in there and look bad. So do not leave gaps and if you will have a seam get the appropriate sealer to hide it and prevent debris from building up.


Where should my furnace filter go in a Lennox G40UHX series furnace? I have a Lennox G40UH(X) series furnace, which is installed in our attic (We have a single-story house on a slab). Because the furnace is installed in the attic, it is "laying down" on its side, and the incoming air is piped into what would be the bottom of the unit if it was standing up. We have intake vents in almost every room of the house (small vents, about 12" long by 8" tall). These vents go up to the attic, and they're all routed into a big metal box which is appears to be welded to the bottom of the furnace.

Because this is kind of hard to imagine, I mocked up a little image of my setup (this isn't my actual furnace, just a similar picture I found on Google):

I have flexible ducts leading to the cold air intake "box" that is welded to the bottom of the furnace, and round flexible ducts leading from the hot air "box" to all of our vents (which are in the ceiling).

The problem I am having is that I can't see where to install a filter! I can remove the front panel and see the bottom motor, but there's no where to actually put a filter.

According to the User's Information Manual:

  This unit is not equipped with a filter or rack. A field-provided high-velocity filter is required for the unit to operate properly. A filter must be in place whenever the unit is operating

I don't have any idea what a "field-provided filter" is. When we bought the house, there were a few destroyed filters in the attic next to the furnace (all of different sizes, a few cut to different sizes, but no filter in the furnace. It looks like the previous owners had no idea either. So, for now, we've just been running the furnace without any filter.

Is there something I can do to put a filter in? Is it really harmful to run the furnace without one? Should I look into putting filters in all of my little air intakes around the house?

Update: As is usually the case with me, I put off worrying about the furnace until it started getting too cold here at night. I finally climbed up to the attic and took a good look at the furnace. There isn't any indication of where a filter should go, and no slot to slide it in or bar to hold it in place.

This is the air intake area - you can see the circulating fan on the right, behind the control board:

I put the filter along the bottom - a 14x25x1 fit snug across the whole side (bottom if it was standing up). I had to fold and bend the filter some to get it inside the furnace. The only thing that seems to hold it in place is the body of the circulating fan:

Usually the filter is mounted between all the return ducting and the furnace itself - potentially it is installed at a strange angle or covered up with tape or something. Here is a picture of mine, it's the darker colored piece the duct is attached to, with foil tape sealing it to the furnace housing.


Vent AV closet into attic I have a small closet (4x6) that I use to house my AV equipment (receiver/consoles/etc).  This works great, but as the closet is in an upstairs room it gets quite warm in the summer.  I would like to add a ventilation fan to that closet to exhaust some of the heat, but would prefer to avoid adding another exterior vent on the house.

I know venting bathroom/kitchen exhaust into attic is a bad plan due to moisture issues, but I am wondering if it would be OK in this case.  The only air venting from the room would be warm dry air.

Any thoughts on just sticking a basic bathroom fan up their and venting into open space above the insulation (attic does have its own vents)?

I'd have no concerns at all in doing this, assuming a well-ventilated attic. Be sure you have a functioning backflow preventer to keep cold air out in winter. Being more dense, it'll have a tendency to fall into the room.


Kenmore washer won't start after tripping breaker I've got a Kenmore top-loading washer, model #110.28782700. It stopped working in the middle of a load. I determined that it tripped a breaker, but after resetting the breaker, the machine won't start--completely unresponsive.

What's the best way to go about diagnosing the problem? My first thought is that the machine has a fuse that blew when the breaker tripped, but my limited research didn't turn up a fuse. Other common issues are the lid switch and the motherboard, but I'm not sure how to determine whether those are the problem.

There is certainly something majorly wrong with the washer. The circuit breaker tripped for a good reason due to what ever is wrong with the washer. This should not be ignored and the cause needs to be rooted out for the sake of safety and protection of property.

I state this the way I did because all too often folks will think that there is just some simple transient fault that tripped the breaker and that if they simply tweak something they can proceed on as before without really understanding why the breaker was tripped in the first place.

It is doubtful that the breaker trip has anything to do with the door switch on the washer. Far more likely the trip was caused by one of these things:

Something has gotten caught in the agitator mechanism and is causing a drive motor stall.
The wash tub bearing seals have failed and water has gotten into the bearings causing them to seize up and overload the drive motor.
A direct short in a line powered solenoid valve coil.
A jammed up drive mechanism in a washer with a transmission has caused a drive motor stall.
For washers with a direct drive motor one of the motor driver components has developed a short.
A short has happened inside the motor windings.
Some part of the line voltage wiring became frayed and had caused a short to the frame of the washer.


What heat resistant plastic should I use for a lightbox? I'm making a lightbox to house a strip light behind a large photographic print. I'd like to use relatively thin (i.e. light) plastic. I looked into using foam PVC, but it's not very heat resistant and I'm worried it would melt.

Any suggestions?

I'm not sure if you are still looking for strips but using these may help you with the heat problem.

They are slim, 7/8" by 1-5/8", not overly expensive and have a lens over them. They can even be mounted on their sides.  These would be cooler to run.  On the plastic, I'm not sure if just want to color the light or turn it into a part of the art piece, like lighting the ends for effects like that.

The nice thing is that there are similar brands so you can get something similar in you area.  Another type of lighting you can use is LED, but it would be 3 or 4 times the price of these.

On the plastic you can always use a piece of opaque white lens from recessed lighting.  You should be able to get them at a lighting store or at a DIY box store, or even an arts and crafts store.


Adding insulation in a finished ceiling with no access I live in a condo that the builder decided not to put insulation between the different levels.  I don't own the condo above me.  With hardwood floors and no insulation it's very noisy.  My goal is creating a noise barrier, but insulation might do that as well.  The space is 8-10 inches between their floor and my ceiling.  Any suggestions on adding insulation to my ceiling?

Sounds like a talk with the condo board is in order. Insulating the space between the floors would be beneficial for everyone, not just you. Cutting a few holes and blowing in cellulose would do a good job. Even better would be filling the space with mineral wool batts which are very good for soundproofing (and could be done as a DIY job) but that would require removing the ceiling drywall or plaster.


Why is water leaking near my bathroom's exhaust fan? This weekend when the snow started melting on my roof, I noticed a small water spot developing around all three bathroom exhaust fans in my house. I'm guessing the water leaked in around the exhaust fan flashing on the roof and ran down the pipe.  Is there another possibility?  What is the best way to fix this?

You may have condensation running down the vent pipes into the fans; given how a vent pipe attaches to the back of a fan, the condensation will tend to run to the side(s) of the fan fixtures.

Are the vent pipes uninsulated and in a cold space?
Could condensation have frozen inside of the pipe, and then melted at the same time as the snow?
Would the snow have stop the wet air getting out of pipes?

If it is condensation then you need to insulate the pipes and/or add a condensation trap just above each fan.

Assuming that all 3 exhaust fans vent via different pipes, you are looking for a design fault, as I cannot think of anything else that will be in common between all 3 fans.


What could be causing these cracks in the drywall? I have quite a few cracks in my drywall. They run along the drywall seams. They don't seem to affect every drywall seam, just some of them. Some seams that don't have cracks have bubbling of the drywall tape (underneath the paint, etc).

There are cracks in the walls in almost every single room in my house (3-bedroom split level townhouse). The house is 30 years old, so it's not a case of a new house settling. I had a home inspector in and he said the cause was poor mudding initially (when the house was built) combined with a very dry house (Canadian winters..VERY low humidity in the winter). I installed a humidifier into the furnace a few months back, but I still have new cracks forming in the drywall.

Any thoughts what could be causing them?

Or, any idea what the best way is to fix them?

It looks to me like the cracks are appearing on the board joins.

Some possible causes there are:

Something went wrong with the drywall tape, or there was no tape used at all? You may want to scratch around and try to find some of the tape? I think i can actually see a bubble seam on the wall, indicating that your tape is pushing out. I would say they didn't pre-fill the join seams when applying tape -- basically a poor taping and preparation job.

Other - Less likely Faults:

The boards may not be secure enough (ie, enough lateral supports, and my be vibrating too much (wind or knocks)
Structural Fault - do they all follow some sort of pattern? the house may be settling and structurally changing
Excess Moisture: easy to check (if the area around the crack is damp)


Reducing a 6 inch ac exhaust to 4 inch I bought a portable ac for my garage. It comes with a 6 inch hose.
I want to bore a hole thru the conderblock wall. But a 6in hole just seems too massive. I don’t want to destroy my house.  I would rather do a 4 inch hole just for the 12 inches to go thru the wall.
The ac will be about 10 inches from the wall with a 6inch pipe, then go to a reducer to make it a 4 inch pipe for another 12 inches thru the wall and out of the house.
Would I have problems here.
The original poster here talked about going 6 to 3.  6 to 4 is a 33% reduction in the cross sectional area of the hose. But it will go thru a smooth metal pipe as opposed to the extendable plastic hose that has the ridges in it and I’m sure disrupts the smooth flow of air.

Gurji, that’s what what I got also. I did calculate it after making the statement. In basic duct sizing 4 to 6 is double and 6 to 8 is double, but pi r squared is right. But I only do HVAC part time.
Cutting the area in half may speed the air up in the choke point but fans work by moving air--once the resistance increases the blades start “slipping”. I don’t remember the tech term but it’s like cavitation on a boat prop; you can put all kinds of power in but the boat goes slower until the blades bite and push the water air does similar. You can put a tachometer on the fan and watch it speed up but it is moving less air. This why duct sizing/flow is critical to set up a system.
Cutting 10% may not make a huge difference, but at 1/2 you may find your system is no longer going to cool the garage and it may shorten the service life with your compressor possibly shutting down from overheating (this can damage the refrigerant in some units).  Can you go up and out? I would not suggest cutting the flow by that much.


What is this paper/foil in between drywall and concrete block? Can I cut it and repair it? I want to move an outlet so I cut out a horizontal stretch of drywall and found a layer of paper and foil.  I assume it's some kind of vapor barrier.  What I really need to know is, is it ok to cut it and then tape it?  If so, do I need special tape or can I use regular old "duck" tape?

Photos

The foil is either part of the insulation panels I think I see there or it's a separate product, but the intention is the same. It reflects radiant heat and stifles moisture movement.

You can remove it in small areas without substantially affecting the insulation envelope of your home, but you should attempt to re-seal the area using appropriate materials. Duct tape isn't a good long-term product. I'd use housewrap tape, which has a more durable adhesive and film, or at least a good packaging tape.


Why do I hear intermittent speaker hum that goes away when I turn lights off or on? I'm hearing speaker hum in a stereo system that I recently hooked up. I can't pinpoint when the hum begins, but I've identified that turning certain lights off or on in the same room eliminates the hum.

I've identified two light switches that have this effect – not all switches in the room do. When turning one of these switches on or off I sometimes hear a 'pop'. The hum does go away after an indeterminate length of time if I don't touch any lights, but I haven't identified what might be coming on or off (appliances elsewhere in the house, etc.) that would cause this.

It sounds like you a ground loop issue.  Take a look at "ground loop isolators" on amazon, best buy, etc...  They might help the issue.   This happens to me sometimes when I am putting a heavy load on a circuit in my house.  (Vacuums, Hair Dryers, etc will do this)


How do I provide proper fire protection in this situation? HVAC guys are running a vertical duct (supply and return) from my basement to my 2nd floor attic.  It will run adjacent to an exterior wall and will eventually be enclosed in a drywalled-in vertical soffit.  My question is in regards to the insulation in the exterior wall cavity:  Would the metal of the ducts touching the kraft-faced insulation be enough to provide the fire protection that kraft-faced insulation needs?

Or should I go with unfaced insulation and just use 6 mil poly as my vapor barrier?  Or maybe a combination of unfaced insulation and a foil faced foam board?

You should simply cover it with fire-taped drywall. That would make me feel better than the other alternatives. It's really as cheap and easy as anything and will do the job without question.


How can I brace a bathtub faucet without tearing out the tile wall? I pulled the trim off of my bathtub faucet to grease a sticky cartridge and I saw that the plastic brackets that were used to secure the pipes to the studs were broken. My shower is tile, so I don't want to tear anything out to re-brace the pipes. My shower trim is fairly large so I might have enough room to get in there and re-brace the pipes somehow. I was thinking maybe bailing wire, or maybe some kind of flexible drill bit to get in there and screw in a new bracket. Worst case, I guess I can tear out the wall behind the plumbing to get to it. Has anyone successfully installed pipe brackets with so little access?!

I'm not a member here, so I guess I can't post pictures, but the pipes were previously mounted to a 2x4 that goes between two studs. The top of the 2x4 is about 4" from the bottom edge of the hole in the wall.

I could get to it from behind,but I'd have to cut a hole in my master bathroom wall

Click for larger view

1) Use a plastic ziptie (or a short length of insulated 14 gauge electrical wire):

a) Drive one screw (or a nail) part way into the top of the 2x4 blocking somewhere near the pipe.  EDIT: I see in the photo that there is already at least one nail in place near the pipe ... just ziptie to that.

b) Then ziptie the pipe to the screw. Zipties are also called cable ties, or tie wraps.

... or ...

2) Use a short length of perforated plumber's tape:

a) Cut a 5"-7" length of plumber's tape. Needs to be the metal variety; thin gauge ok and preferred.

b) Then wrap it around the the pipe

c) Then twist the ends 90 degrees such that they are horizontal and such that they overlap and such that a pair of the large holes align.

d) Then drive a screw or a nail through the aligned holes and into the 2x4 blocking

... or ...

3) What you really want is for the plumbing to be secured at or near the faucet body.  To do this, install new '2x4' blocking made out of several pieces of 1x4:

a) Cut two 6" and one 12" lengths of 1x4 (or similar)

b) On one end of each 6" piece, hammer in three 6d finish nails until there is about 1/2" still sticking out.  Then use a pair of side-cutters to cut off the six nail heads, leaving 1/8" to 1/4" of the nail still protruding out (the side-cutters will leave sharp ends on the nails).

c) Next, maneuver one of the 6" pieces through the hole then behind the plumbing, into a horizontal position such that the end with the nails is pressed against one of the wall studs and such that the 1x4 is flat against the back drywall.

d) Next drive the cut nails into the stud as best you can by tapping on the clean end with a tool.  Do the same with the other 6" piece of 1x4 and the opposite wall stud.  You may want to secure them in place by lightly duct-taping them to the back dry wall.

e) Next, maneuver the 12" piece of 1x4 into the hole, then behind the plumbing, into a horizontal position such that it is flat against the two 6" pieces and spanning across them.

f) Next, screw the three pieces together with a half dozen 1-1/4" drywall screws.

g) At this point, it should 'look like' the original 2x4 blocking, but up at the level of the faucet body and with excellent access to secure the plumbing with conventional pipe straps.

h) This method comes with no shortage if 'ifs, ands, and buts'. You'll certainly need to take the basic idea that I've laid out and adjust it to your specifics.

... or ...

4) As an alternative to the 2x4 blocking above:

a) Purchase a largish turnbuckle and a length of threaded rod with matching diameters and thread pitch. The turnbuckle will have two screw-hooks.  One will have left-hand threads, the other will have right-hand threads.

b) Remove the right-hand-threaded screw hook from the turnbuckle and discard it

d) Cut the hook/eye off the end of the left-hand-treaded screw hook, then grind a chisel like taper on the cut end.

e) Cut a 7"-10" length of threaded rod, then grind a chisel like taper on the cut end.

f) Screw the square end of the threaded rod into the turn buckle

g) Maneuver the the turnbuckle into the hole, then behind the plumbing the horizontal

h) Back-off the turnbuckle such that the two end pieces extend and dig into the wall studs.  Continue backing off on the turnbuckle using open end wrench (or similar) such that the chisel ends dig securely into the wall studs

i) Ziptie the plumbing to the the turn buckle

... or ...

5) Approach numbers 3 and 4 may work if you install the doubled-up 1x4 blocking or the turnbuckle on the front side of the plumbing.


Wiring for Bedroom - how to express design to electrician I bought my first flat a couple of months ago in north London and for my first bit of redecoration I wish to get my bedroom up to a really nice standard.

Before i go into picking out wall coverings etc I know I want to re-wire the room a bit better.The flat was built in the 1970s by the local authority. It became private about 15 years ago but hasnt really had a lot invested in terms of wiring or plumbing so as a result these aspects are a bit basic (think water pipes showing on the walls and not covered very well in places). I do know the electrics are safe though and had an EICR done recently.

Currently there's a light on a dimmer switch and three sockets in the corner of the room (nowhere near the bed) with no switches on them. I want to wire to have double sockets inc USB each side of the bed, another set where i might put a dressing table and possibly wall lights on each side of the bed with switches for those and the main light next to the bedsides.

I'd like to get quotes from a few electricians but id assume i need some sort of way to easily describe what i want.

What is the best way to illustrate this to potential electricians? Is there some kind of diagram I should try to put together?

Has anyone experience of commissioning a similar thing and got tips for sites for advice?

Thanks in advance.

I suggest just break it down into a list of items. So you can clearly discuss each item ( this example may help )

Changes to existing electrical installation.
Lighting
1. 2x Dimmable Lights positioned on the wall either side of the bed.
2. 2x Dimmer/Switches to control these lights positioned on the wall either side of the bed.
3. Two way switching for main room light. One switch located near the entrance to the room, the second switch located positioned on the wall near the bed.

Power Outlets
All outlets to switched double plates with a USB charge point.
4. Existing power outlets relocated one either side of the bed.
5. switch Dbl Outlet near Dressing table.

Location of each point to be confirmed and identified during site inspection before any work begins.

Hope this helps :-)
Most Sparkies are easy to get along with provided they have a clear understanding of what you want and don't change your mind after the work has begun.


Light fixture powering other lights / garage door opener? This is very confusing to me.
The situation is like this... there's one light switch in the garage. This switch turns the light inside the garage on and also the lights on the outside of the garage. I want these to be separated so I can leave my outside garage lights on and the inside one off. I purchased a switch with two toggles that fit in the same single gang. It bridges the power side with a metal tab you can break off.
I was kind of thinking all the wires were ran back to the switch in the wall because there were so many wires. Is this possible to do?
Took all the wires apart to inspect. 3 Whites, 3 Blacks, a Red and a jumper black wire that goes from the switch to the other 3 Black wires.

This is what it looks like when wired and working.

Now I played around with possible wiring scenarios trying to figure out which wire went to which lamp. Then I crawled in the attack and looked where the outside lamps wires ran.

I found this. This is the back of the light bulb that is in the garage. 2 of the white wires are from the lamps outside, 1 goes to the garage door opener, and the black one goes back to where the wall with the switch is.

I guess first thing, has anyone seen this before or know what this is? Did someone sort of jerry rig this whole thing? Is it still possible to set up 2 switches and have the other two lights separated from the inside bulb? And if so, does anyone know how this could be done?
I'm guessing I can combine the two outside light wires together and run a separate wire down to the switch and fish it through the wall. Leaving the wiring how it is, and connect to one switch and the new wires to the other? Or is this wrong?
Thanks in advance for you help.

From your description the wiring is normal not "jerry rigged". You can add a new wire to the switch but from the wire count you may not be able to fit everything back in the box and your wire fill would exceed code. It may be better to purchase a 2 gang old work box cut the hole the right size for the box pull the old box and install the new 2 gang box. It may be easier to add a 4x4 box in the attic to make your connections to the outside lights and new feed from the 2nd switch. All connections need to be in a box. The 3 sets of wires in the original switch box are possibly the hot feed, the switched feed to the lights and a hot feed to outlets on the wall this would have been a normal setup a few years back. Remember to turn the power off prior to doing the wiring changes and good luck.


Install Smart Switch - Neutral wire from adjacent switch? There are two switches that are side by side. The one I'm replacing with a Smart switch does not have a neutral. The adjacent switch is a 3-way switch and it does have a neutral. Can I share the neutral from the 3-way switch for my Smart Switch? Both circuits are on the same breaker.

The neutral wire is not connected to the switch but is joined in a marrette.

Looks like your switch is at the end of the line loop. That is why you have neutral and black joining in the switch. This is a case where power goes into light first, and then the switch.
Possible case: https://www.buildmyowncabin.com/electrical/wiring-switch-power-into-light.html

For multiple switches, the neutrals are joined together, and that is what you see in the other 3-way using a "marrette" (I had to look this word up)
https://www.buildmyowncabin.com/electrical/wiring-diagram-multiple-lights-multiple-switches.html

I think you can control by joining with the neutral from other switch (As long as you are sure that it is indeed the neutral).
Put the white of current switch into your smart switch live. The black wire going into old switch into smart switch load. Neutral from other switch will go into neutral of smart switch too.

There should have been a black tape on the old switch's white wire. Not sure, it might be just the code requirement in some states (maybe also in Canada). You can add it now anyway.


How does one fire short staples into hard wood? I find myself caught in the middle here.

My old electric staple gun will fire 1/4" staples but it's not capable of fully setting them because part of the target is some pretty hard wood.  The shortest staples I can find for my pneumatic gun are 1/2" and would go clear through and stick out the front.

Is there an answer or do I simply replace the tape the last guy to tackle this used?