Can these windows be shuttered from light in a simple and efficient way? I'm a very light sleeper. I cannot sleep if the room I am in is bright. Face-masks don't work for me because they give me allergies, prevent me from sleeping well, or don't match the geometry of my face.
I signed a 1-year lease in an apartment that has very bad general insulation (bad sound insulation, bad air insulation, bad insulation from vibrations from neighbors appliances, bad light insulation, bad heat insulation...), and that includes one of the worse window designs I've ever seen. They are not air-tight, not heat-tight and not light-tight at all..
This has caused me a lot of grief for various reasons:

Since they are not airtight, during fire season (this is in California), we had to seal the windows shut with tarp because smoke was getting inside the apartment (costly, time-taking, difficult, not easy to do/undo);

For the same reason, I left one of the sides tarped up because our
downstairs neighbors are heavy smokers and the smoke would come up
and wake me up at night;

Neighbors going outside their houses to place calls or listen to
music can be heard as clearly as if they were in the room, same with
street noises, construction areas, etc;

And most importantly, sunlight wakes me up every day at 5:30 or 6AM.

What makes it extremely difficult to shutter these is:

The overhanging fixture (totally useless and extremely annoying), which reduces the options to screw curtain rods above the window, and leave out very little space between the wall and said fixture - I don't think I would mess with unscrewing them as they are fragile and would take up a lot of room;

The levers to angle the window's panes which are protruding and prevent placing a flat plank of wood or other material against it without cutting a notch for them;

The whole wall area around the window seems to be made of metal - nothing can be nailed or screwed in near the windows;

The frequent winds that blow rather hard and would often push away anything flat placed against the windows;

The absence of metal around the windows, preventing to use magnetic solutions (everything is aluminium);

The width of the window casing (about 8ft), preventing the use of one single panel to go over it;

The sunlight hits the window very powerfully and any hole of gap in the shutter casts a lot of brightness into the room;

The solution has to be easy to put on and off in the morning/evening.

I tried to build shutters twice already. The first model was just a very large piece of folded cardboard placed into the wall frame against the windows, resting on the window sill. It was an OK solution, but I had these huge pieces of cardboard in the room, always sliding and falling down, and the seal wasn't great, especially on top, I had to tape it to the wall to prevent it from always gaping and falling down.
My current solution involves three panels, 2 are foam boards that I painted black, and which stay on thanks to magnets that I glued around the window frame and on the boards, and a middle panel made of light-sealing fabric and a wooden rod, also held in place with magnets at the top.
I am also not satisfied with this solution, since the sides of the light-blocking fabric are not pressed against the window frame and light leaks in, and there are gaps caused by the gap between the magnets and the foam boards, which on top of it are curving with the heat, thus letting in a lot of light.
I am really desperate to get good sleep in this apartment whatever the time of the day or the position of the sun is, and I am slowly becoming insane thinking about the poor (cheap?) decisions of the people who built this building, the absence of countrywide standards, and why I ended up accepting to live here so naively.
Can I efficiently block out all (or most of) the light from these windows in a simple, efficient manner?

(That window type is called jalousie or louver windows, by the way.)
If you search for "jalousie window seal", you'll get some products that come in a roll and assist in sealing the gap between each window. That should help with the airtightness, though not as much as a real window would.
You could also use an "interior storm window"/"storm window insert", which is basically a sheet of plexiglass with a seal around the outside, designed to fit snugly in the window. This is a somewhat expensive and bulky solution, but would actually seal the window. Up to you if $100+ is worth it for something that you'd leave with the apartment after a year. (It's also possible to hand-make something like this. The tricky part is the seal.)
For light blocking, I would suggest paired command adhesive hooks, (the bigger ones) and stringing a curtain rod between them. Looking at the blinds on my patio door, which use a similar design, you should be able to squeeze a curtain between the blinds and the wall, though you'd need to do the curtains as a pair because of the support in the middle. If you can't fit the curtains back there, go over the top; place the hooks as far up the wall as you can (remember that the hooks need a bit of room above them) then just drape them over the blinds. Looks ugly, but it works; had the same setup growing up.
If that's not working out well, my backup recommendation would be a four-poster bed. Instead of using blackout curtains on the actual window, you get a four-poster bedframe, and just hang heavy fabric off of that instead.
jalousie window seal: first Google shopping result. Not a recommendation, I haven't used this or researched this product that well. Note that this goes over the edge of each glass pane, fitting between that pane and the next. It's sold as a roll, and is cut to length. You can buy this from multiple sources, but I suspect they're all pulling from the same factory.
Interior storm window site: first Google result. Not a recommendation. Here, you have choices. You can roll your own with a trip to the hardware store (plexiglass, cutter, and something for the edges), get a kit (you still buy the plexiglass locally, but the other stuff gets shipped), or buy premade online. All these options are kind of expensive.
Command Adhesive This actually is a product recommendation. Command Adhesive is what I've used in all the places I've rented to hang curtains in my bedroom. It's designed to hold, and be removed without damage. I'm recommending the brushed nickel hook as it looks a bit better than the plastic ones, and the 5lb one because there's a possibility that you'll need to put it over top of the existing blinds, and Command Adhesive is weakest at withstanding pulling.
Four-poster bed: selected because it's less horrifically expensive compared to some of the other options. Not a product recommendation.


How do I reglaze my garage door windows? My garage door is perfectly sound but will need re-painting.  There is a small window at the top of the door and the putty is all cracked.  How do I go about changing the putty? before I paint the door.

Most likely you want to use window glaze more then caulking.  eHow has an 'ok' article on the differences, but is lacking some better detail.  However, there was a similar question on yesterdays contractor.com and the answer from Billy NY is excellent.  He covers the main reason to use glazing over caulking in certain situations, primarily when mixing substrates such as glass and wood.  He also mentions that silicon caulking can work well in some instances, but can't be painted where as window glaze can.

If you do re-glaze your window, popular mechanics has a great 'how-to' article with step by step directions.


Breaker “shifted” under panel cover One of the breakers in my panel has shifted out of position slightly (#13 in the image).
This happened as I was turning it off. I am unable to shift it back into position by applying a decent amount of force (afraid to damage something if I apply any more force).
It appears to operate without issue.
Should I call a professional to investigate this or just use it as is?

It went further to the center as long as it did not push the one to the right out of place don’t worry.
If you want to this is an easy fix but not needed in my opinion (I am a professional electrician).
There are screws that hold that face plate in position. Remove the lower screws first when you only have the top 2 left press in on that cover to hold it in place and remove the last 2 screws.
Pull the cover (called a dead face away) set it down.
Turn that breaker off then pry the handle towards the left and out they just snap out.
It may slide at this point prior to pulling out.
Look around at the wires if you see burned insulation let us know with another photo, if every thing looks good carefully put the panel cover back on I usually do the top 2 screws first opposite of removal put all the screws in make sure the breakers are all on some times you bump one and it will trip to the off position.
Always move a tripped breaker fully to the off position and back to on. Most when bumped or turned off will go to off but a light pull to off then it should move easily to the on position.
Give it a try, don’t touch any of the wires going into the main or any breaker these are the hots, I am sure there will be a U tube video on replacing a breaker if you want to watch it but it is a simple job you can do if you want but it is fine.


Kitchen plumbing problems: disposal shooting water in the opposite sink and new dishwasher leaving food on dishes. Is my plumbing setup causing this? I am having two problems that I think are related.  Backstory, just moved into a 2010 built home.  Replaced the contractor grade dishwasher with a new one.  Kitchen has two sinks.  When the disposal is used, the water shoots up in the opposite sink.  Additionally, the dishwasher is leaving food, sediment on the dishes.  Took the trap apart and no clog was present.  Hoping to find a solution before calling a plumber.

You should be using a baffle tee to connect the disposer drain to the other sink outlet, prior to the trap.

This will require significant alteration of the existing setup, but will fix your problem.


How do I remove pieces of my porch ceiling/soffit? (aluminum?) I need to temporarily remove a piece of my front porch's ceiling/soffit.  How can I do this?

Each section of the ceiling seems locked to the next section and I can't seperate them.

Yeah, they're nailed on hidden flanges. You'll want to disassemble one end (wherever it's easiest to remove the fascia and/or trim channel) and pull nails one at a time. Be sure to keep track of order because they may vary in length somewhat.

Attempting to remove one panel in the middle of the run is almost guaranteed to result in damage.


Masonry Repair - Paver Steps Loose I have some steps on my front walkway that have come loose (marked with blue tape in the pictures).  I've tried fixing these with liquid nails and with epoxy.  But I can't get them to stay.  I've kept the steps dry during the cure period in the instructions and they've been within the recommended temperature range.

What is the right product to use for a fix like this?  These were originally installed about six years ago and I know they used polymeric sand to fill in the gaps (no idea if that matters).

Scrape as much of that dried glue off as you can, then use thinset mortar applied with a 1/2" notched trowel.


Is it recommended that 1/8 thick plywood be used as underlayment? Redoing bathroom floor. After removing tiles and underlayment and linoleum, the floor that's left is decrepit, uneven, wavy, has some old plumbing holes. It is not rotted though, the wood is sturdy.

I'm going to use Ditra.

With Ditra, is it necessary to have a plywood underlayment, or can I just install right over the floor as is (covering up the holes of course) and the thing will even itself out?

Barring that, if I do need to install a underlayment, can I use 1/8 plywood?

If the subfloor is plywood no other ply is necessary; but you do need a flat surface for the Ditra.  If the subfloor cannot either be scraped, chiseled, or sanded flat then self leveling compound may be required. If you use self leveling compound remember that the surface should be primed first - follow the product's prep recommendations.   1/8" plywood, in my opinion is not sufficient; unless it was set down on flat surface with troweled adhesive and stapled 4" o.c. I would recommend 1/4" min - which can be found at most flooring supply stores - specially formulated for flooring; i.e., all voids filled in the plys and water resistant glue.


how can I fix a tripped breaker? how do I fix a breaker that trips when the window ac is on?
I have tried unplugging other appliances . The breaker box is an old one.

If it's an old A/C unit, replace it with new.  They are much more efficient (meaning: same BTU, much lower energy draw) and it'll pay for itself in energy savings.  I just saw a no-brand cheapie that was 8000 BTU for 5 amps.  The lower current draw means fewer or no breaker trips.

Even an old A/C is unlikely to trip the breaker alone.  Most likely it is the "last straw" on an already loaded circuit.  Next time it trips, thoroughly survey what else is on that breaker.  Research how much current or power each of those loads takes.  The best way is with a power meter like a $20 Kill-a-Watt.  Measure peak loads while the appliance is "on", e.g. A microwave while it's cooking, a laser printer while it's printing.

To be honest, most consumers have no clue how much energy appliances use.  This may be an eye opener.   The #1 surprise runs Microsoft Windows.  A lot of PCs are sold with 850 watt power supplies which can take as much as 1200 watts, though this depends on what the computer is doing.  The dead giveaway of a high-draw appliance is it makes a lot of heat.

And that especially matters if you are trying to air condition the space, it creates two electrical loads: first to run the appliance and make the heat, and then to run the A/C harder to remove the heat.  Reducing one reduces the other.


Pull-up bar hanged from drywall door-frame I bought a pull-up/chin-up bar to hang from my door frame.

The instructions state that it is not to be used for walls made out of drywall/rigips. The hollow noise I hear when knocking on said wall though makes me believe that is exactly what it is made out of. This goes for all the door frames in my flat. One such door-frame looks like this, from either side:

The building is from 2007, so I suspect that door frames in most other new buildings are enclosed in similar types of walls. Thus, I cannot imagine that this pull-up bar is only to be used in the very few cases where the door frame is encased in a non-drywall (concrete) wall.

How much of a risk would it be to use the bar with this kind of soft wall? My weight (80kg) is well under the maximum load of the bar itself (150 kg), so the worry is really just about damage done to the drywall itself, assuming this is where most of the force will be dissipated (and not onto the door-frame sides).

While it is touching the door trim, technically it is not  mounted to or attached to the door trim, or the wall for that matter. One side is pushing against the door trim attached to the jamb and framing behind it and the other side is pushing against its trim  and door jamb and framing,  this creates a situation where leverage is being used to push both sides towards each other.  The weight of the person using it causes the two opposing sides to push harder against each other there by pinning it to the door jamb and wall framing.

I suppose the risk would be that if the rough opening behind the trim (  The space between the wall framing and the door jamb ) is of a significant gap than the forces pushing against the trim would push the drywall into that void  causing it to crack.

You could remove the trim from the door and inspect the framing and jamb behind it. You could also replace the trim with a more robust material such as a hardwood  that is wider than your average trim to spread out the force is pushing against the wall.

Personally I would just try it, any properly constructed door framing should be sufficient and since I can’t read the German Amazon link I can’t know the specific instructions for this unit.


Can I install water filters in parallel to abate pressure loss? I'm considering adding a whole house filtration system. I know these have flow limits and cost pressure.

If I installed two in parallel would that abate the pressure and flow drops?

2 filters in parallel will reduce pressure drop because of the increased area allowing higher flow but the cost of 2 filters , housings etc may be much more than a larger single filter. I have installed filters in parallel in the past but have found it to be cheaper to purchase a larger single filter.


What can I do when the rough in hole in my concrete is too large for my toilet flange? I am finishing a basement bathroom and preparing to lay down vinyl flooring. Before I do that, I wanted to check how my toilet flange would fit sitting on top of the finished floor, and I noticed that the concrete hole is so large that I will not be able to screw into anything under the finished floor when I put it in. What should I do? Should I try to find some material to fill in the space? look at something to put under the flange to keep it stable? I'm guessing that I shouldn't just screw it into the vinyl click-lock flooring I'm going to use for the finished floor...

Pour concrete (or mortar mix) to fill the space and embed your bolts into.
Wrap or otherwise protect the pipe. The UPC says:

312.1 ...Voids around piping passing through concrete floors on the ground shall be sealed.
312.2 Piping in connection with a plumbing system shall be so installed that piping or connections will not be subject to undue strains or stresses, and provisions shall be made for expansion, contraction, and structural settlement. No plumbing piping shall be directly embedded in concrete or masonry....
312.10 Sleeves. Sleeves shall be provided to protect piping
through concrete and masonry walls and concrete floors....


Installed Ceiling Fan With a Remote And Think I Made a Mistake I installed a Hunter ceiling fan with a remote control receiver about a week ago.  During installation it said to connect grounds to grounds, blacks to blacks, whites to whites, etc. which I did.  I am sure the wiring I did between the fan, receiver and ceiling box were correct (with one exception, see below).

The problem is that the remote control receiver has TWO white wires on it, but the manual only mentioned one (and I checked the manual 3-4 times to see if it mentioned that second white wire).  I went ahead and connected both white wires on the receiver to the white in the ceiling and the white on the fan (making 4 whites in the wire nut).

Anyway, the fan works perfectly.  However, this 2nd white wire bothered me, so I did some googling around and realized that that extra white wire (on the bottom of the receiver) is the damned ANTENNA wire for the remote control.  But now I have it connected to the white neutrals on the fan and ceiling box.  Is this a danger?  Should I take the fan down and disconnect that wire from the neutral circuit?  As I said, the fan works fine and I've had no issues with it or the remote.

Why Hunter made the antenna wire WHITE is beyond me.  They don't even mention what this wire is in the manual.  I didn't realize we still used external antennas on devices such as this in 2018.  If they're going to use external antennas, they should do 2 things:

Make the antenna wire an off color like purple or pink or something (a non-electrician color).
Clearly mark in the manual what the freaking wire DOES and how it should NOT be spliced together with other wires.

The wire is stranded like it WANTS to be connected to a wire nut.  It is even pre-stripped on the end.

In any case, what should I do?

It sounds like you figured everything out.  I agree their documents should be better (MUCH better) and identify the antenna somehow, use pink or purple for the antenna wire, not strip the end.

Now the part I think you already know but were hoping not to hear:

You should disconnect the antenna from the neutrals.


Basement Floor Finishing We are now in the 2nd year of our new home (new construction) and are looking to finish the basement.  We plan on laying wood laminate floors down but want to make sure we do it right.  When the floor was poured, they put a heavy mil plastic sheet down and poured on top of it (excuse my ignorance but I'm guessing that was a vapor barrier of sorts?).  Basement was poured in the cold weather and the windows were all covered while we ran salamander heaters to keep the temperature toasty warm so the floors could dry.  We do have concrete dust issues upstairs that we think will be alleviated after we lay the flooring.

My question is-do we need to do anything additional (waterproofing, sealing, painting) to the floor before laying the laminate floor?  I want to make sure we not only have it properly prepped but also protected against any more concrete dust.

Well the vapor barrier will help but it depends on a lot more. I have completed basements and below grade daylight basements that were / are totally dry without the plastic because the plastic would affect the grounding plane or uffer grounding system. The base of the slab had 6" to +12" of compacted rock then the wall footings or they were first also had at least 12" of rock and drain tubes around the foundation. Last we sealed the wall from the outside several different coatings in wet areas and heavy plastic sheeting from the siding down to the bottom then back filled with crushed rock. None of these leaked. On the wall line but one full basement did have water entry at a emergency window exit that a sump was added on the outside to keep from happening again. It all depends on how things were built. I have seen homes built over natural springs that were dry but other homes that were in a dry area on a hill leak like a some one was pumping water in. It all depends on how the home was prepared , and drained.  To tell the truth I don't see anything that works well from the inside if you have leakage , but if dry tape a plastic bag down on both the floor and walls. Wait 24 hours if the area looks damp maybe a sealer like epoxy paint may help but if water droplets I would be cautious unless you just had a 500 year rain storm.


Can't Find Main Panel Breaker A two-pole 30 amp breaker keeps tripping on a brand new dryer and is tripping more often as time goes on (was originally tripping every few weeks or so, now doing it every day), so I figured it would be worth a shot to just replace the breaker and see if that fixes it or the source is something deeper.

Unfortunately, the main panel doesn't seem to have a main 100-150 amp breaker or is a split bus, as I flipped all the breakers on the top half of the panel but the dryer was still live. It looks to be hooked up straight to the meter, so I don't think there's any sort of main switch upstream.

That's not a split bus (Rule of Six). For one thing, it is too new - Rule of Six panels were outlawed before CH panels started getting branded Eaton.    For another, all the breakers are accounted for, there would need to be a  "Main Lighting" breaker.

By the way, CH is a great panel.

I wonder if the main panel used to be here, and is now on the other side of the wall, and this one was installed as a subpanel to handle the dozen or so circuits that were impracticable to route to the new location.


How can a voltage screwdriver light up when I test the ground wire or chassis of my washing machine, but multimeter reads no voltage or current flow? I have been receiving shocks from my washing machine.

My proximity voltage detector beeps near the chassis, drum and ground wire.

My voltage testing screwdriver also lights up when touched to them.

But when I test them with my multimeter I get no readings of any kind.

My multimeter has been tested and works well.

What is going on here? Thanks.

It is because there is no current on the chassis you are testing. It is static electricity. Cheap neon pen testers will flicker if there is a strong source of static electricity on the object being tested which is why are supposed to use them only on grounded sockets, not electrical machinery.


Is there any way I can use regular dremel bits on a dremel trio? A few years ago I bought a Dremel Trio, which uses much more expensive bits than a regular Dremel.  The collets are also different.  Consequently I never really used it.

Now I'm making a custom cnc machine, and I would like to use the Trio for the actual cutting device.  However Dremel does not make a collet adapter that will allow me to use regular bits in the Trio.

Does anyone know of a universal collet adapter, or anything like that?  It seems that there would be a simple way to solve this problem, but for the life of me I can't think of it.

Dremel don't support that
Here are the reasons they give:

Q: Can the Dremel Trio use Dremel rotary tool accessories?
A: No. Though Trio accessories look and work like standard rotary tool accessories, they are specially engineered to handle the demands placed upon them by this slower yet more powerful tool.
Q: What is the difference between rotary tool and Trio Accessories?
A: The Dremel Trio only accepts accessories with 3/16” shanks. Rotary tools, on the other hand, use accessories with shank diameters ranging from of 1/8” to 1/32”. This means you can’t use Trio accessories in your Dremel rotary tool – and you can’t use rotary tool accessories in your Trio (and there are no “conversion collets” available allowing you to do so).

The rotary tools have high speed (e.g. 30,000 RPM) but low-torque motors. Maybe the Trio is different and might break bits designed for low-torque tools (or at least, Dremel wish to avoid being held responsible for any consequences of large numbers of bit breakages)


How do I make my house allergy proof? Two members of our household are prone for allergies. For quite some time we are trying to make the house as allergy proof as possibile. Our cat found a new house with good friends. All carpentry was removed, and so are our mattresses which are replaced by allergy-proof ones.

All these efforts had an effect, but we think that there are still allergens floating around.
Is there a protocol to work through to identify most, if not all, potential allergens spots in your house?

You are going to have to wet clean.  You can steam walls, hire professional carpet cleaning (the ones you rent don't get that hot), spray down hardwood floors with some green cleaner, same for the bathrooms.

Clean fans super good.

Replace air filters.

Have your ducts cleaned.  Use a company that hooks up a negative air machine - not one that "washes" your ducts.  You probably have a ton of cat hair in there.  Do your returns too.

Wash everything that you can.  Blankets, rugs, bedding... anything that can go in a washer.

Steam clean - or better yet see if your carpet cleaners can clean all couches, chairs, upholstery...


In Australia is it not possible to install a US Water heater? Tech support from Eco-smart say you need two inputs (two hot wires) 120 volts each but no neutral making 240 volt. Here in Australia we have 240 volts which is Active (Red) Neutral (Black) and Earth (green/yellow). So will I need a transformer? Even my electrician is scratching his head!

Apart from the question of whether it's got the appropriate certifications, etc. to be installed in Australia, which is a legal rather than practical matter...

It's a 240V-only appliance, it should be just fine. It is normal for everything operating on the US supply at 120V from ground to be rated for 250V to ground, so the insulation (electrical) should be safe with a 240V single-sided supply rather than a 120-0-120 supply. But your local electrical and/or plumbing inspector may object if it lacks the correct documentation for the local area.


Drill Wood Block Before or After Finishing? I have a butcher block made of birch. I need to put some wood inserts into it. Also, I want to drill a 2" through hole through it as well. My plan for the finish is a few coats of polycrylic protective finish.

Which order should I do it in? Finish first or drill first? Sorry if this is a super basic question, I am very new at this.

You can finish first or drill first, your choice.

Drilling first then finishing will result in (at least some) of the varnish getting into the holes, which will not really add any value I can think of and perhaps cause you to re-drill the holes to the proper size prior to inserting the wood inserts and grommet.

The only drawback to drilling after finishing, that I can think of, is the potential to mar your nice new finish with tool marks. Solution(s) would be to let it cure thoroughly prior to drilling, so the surface is nice and hard, and/or to fine sand any tool marks and hit it with another coat when you're done.


GE OTR Microwave Model: JVM1850SMC02 - Doesn't power on, not even display lights Other day my GE microwave just stopped working. Then I have unplugged and plugged back in but still no luck. So I have used an extension chord to try on a separate outlet and it powered on but ran just 10 secs or so. Checked main switch board and found Microwave fuse got tripped. So turned it back on and tried with original power outlet and with extension chord, no luck. Then I confirmed both power outlet using a small portable fan and it worked. So outlets are good but Microwave is not powering on. In the mean time I have changed two fuses inside microwave to see if that helps or not but no luck either.

From above description of the problem, does it sound like capacitor problem? Is it worth fixing it? BTW, its just 5 years old and was taken from builder.

Would appreciate any honest opinion. Thanks,

Moh.

I'd be more inclined to suspect a bad interlock or possibly a dead triac than a capacitor failure -- either way, microwaves are best taken to a service tech to be serviced (they're one of the few household appliances that contain a truly lethal HV supply in them).


What is the 4" white pvc pipe in Pool patio concrete slab? Bought his house this summer. Didn't like that pool liner attempted to float in a few areas during a 2 day ice storm back in October with 3+ inches of rain. Back corner around shed became a lake with water seeping into shed. I'm thinking of installing a sump. Might put a drain hose down this hole if it's just drainage however my gutters just drain onto concrete and I don't see any outlets for drainage in street. This pipe goes down about 4 feet and appears to have been installed at the same time as the concrete about 10-15 yrs ago. 4" pvc/no lid.

Probably a place to insert a umbrella pole
It's randomly located so likely not a drain. Any water that near the pool would likely drain into the pool.
Edited to add this picture as an example of one, and a link to the seller
https://www.poolsupplyunlimited.com/pool/aquastar-us105-umbrella-stands/5841p1


What's the point of AC fan speed? Does higher fan speed make the room cooler? But then, if the thermostat is set at a certain degree doesn't the AC keep the room at that temperature regardless of what speed the fan is set on?
What exactly is the purpose of being able to change the speed of the AC fan?

In a word, efficiency.  A variable speed motor can operate at a slower speed when less cooling is needed.  Lower speed means less power used, which saves money.


Can I use a universal 22" wood saw for cutting studwork? I'm a newbie and do not have much experience with sawing, or working with wood.

I need to buy and cut into various lengths some wood for studwork (at varying thickness levels).

What kind of saw would be most appropriate for the job?

Later I will work with bigger pieces of wood. Can I just buy a 22" universal wood saw now (~7 tpi), and use it for both jobs?

If this is for studwork, i.e. constructing internal wood-framed walls, doorways etc, a 22" 7tpi saw should be suitable.

You would use a finer-toothed saw if you need a better finish with less tear-out/splintering, or if cross-cutting very narrow pieces.

Unless you are sawing large logs, the saw should be ok for a variety of uses.


How can I insulate kitchen vent to prevent cold air blowing through all the time? Building code requires my kitchen to have a 15cmx15cm vent (besides the kitchen cook-top vent). This vent is basically a hole in the wall that reaches to the outside. The vent has grating on both sides.

It is very cold in the winter and cold air seeps right into the kitchen, very possibly undermining the ground floor's heating. Can this hole-in-the-wall be insulated somehow ?

The vent cover looks like this:

You've discovered something of a conundrum in current building codes. Modern houses are built to very tight standards, which means than exhaust vents commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms run the risk of depressurizing the house because not enough makeup air can infiltrate through gaps in the siding, doors, and windows, like it used to be able to do with older, leakier houses. Depressurizing the house is dangerous if you have any gas-burning appliances, because the pressure difference between the inside and the outside can cause products of combustion like carbon monoxide to get sucked into the house itself rather than through the vent that leads outside. Very dangerous. The obvious solution is to bring in a source of makeup air from the outside, which is what the builder of your house did.

...However, this introduces the exact problem you're encountering: there's a huge energy hit because (duh) the outside air is probably a very different temperature from the inside air! Building codes let you do this and a lot of ignorant builders will blindly follow the code, not realizing that they're basically undoing the effect of all the air-sealing work they're required to do by different sections of the code by punching a huge hole in the house that never closes.

There are a few things that can be done about this. Some are best done to be done during construction, while others can be retrofitted after the fact. Unfortunately, while installing an HRV or ERV will solve the problem, it will likely be cost-prohibitive because you will need to have the ducts redone in addition to buying the unit. Instead, I would advocate that you find a way to close up the hole when makeup air is not needed. The basic problem is not so much an uninsulated opening in your house but the hole itself. This hole allows active air movement, which in your case is undesirably cooling the house. So you need a method to close the hole when it's not strictly needed.

Option 1

The simplest possible solution is to just remove the makeup air grille entirely and seal up the hole in the wall on both sides, with insulation in between. This is probably perfectly safe if your house is made of wood and was built before 1995 or so; builders didn't really start to care about air sealing until well into the 2000s. For example, if you have an un-louvered bathroom vent, anytime your house starts to get negative pressure, makeup air will just come in through there. Your house is most likely leaky enough that makeup air will naturally flow through the many, many openings, cracks, and holes in your walls, ceiling, basement, etc. You might want to get a blower door test done to confirm this. If the result is more than about 8 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure, you're probably just fine. Of course, if you put effort into sealing these cracks in the interest of energy efficiency, you're back to square 1 and you'll need external makeup air again.

Option 2

If your house is made of concrete blocks or you have a recently-built house made out of wood that was built nice and tight, that's not an option because you will have far fewer natural air leaks. A manual lever attached to a louvered grille would be the easiest solution and you can do it yourself very easily. You just open it when you turn on the range hood. The downside of course is that you'll need to remember to do this!

Option 3

A motorized damper that activates a louvered grille, as suggested by Philip Ngai, can also work, but it will probably have to be a custom job. I'm not aware of any products that do this in conjunction with a kitchen exhaust hood. That would be the most "set it and forget it" type of solution.

Option 4

There's one possible complication: If the makeup air vent is  close to the exhaust vent, it's quite possible that using both at once will simply result in the exhausted air being pulled right back into the house through a big air loop. If this is your situation, none of these band-aid fixes will work; you will need to have one of the openings relocated and in that case you might as well install an HRV if you'll be re-doing the ducts and cutting holes in the house.


How do I seal my shower escutcheon plate to prevent it from leaking? I have a leak that's going from my upstairs bathroom tub/shower to my downstairs bathroom ceiling.  The leak occurs only when someone is using the shower or tub.  I had someone open up the ceiling and inspect was going on from below.  A PVC pipe was found to be leaking and was repaired.  I proceeded to re-grout all the tile where water may be wanted to go through the tile.  I also re-caulked, using silicone, the corners of the wall where the tile and the tub meet.

That pipe no longer leaks, but amazingly, I appear to still have some leak somewhere else in the ceiling.

My shower head is detachable like a wand.  I detached it and began applying water in various areas to see if I could reproduce the leak.  I think I found that when I apply it on my escutcheon plate, it appears to reproduce the leak.  I have a small hole there that I discovered in the grout, perhaps 2 mm thick.  I am thinking to apply silicone to seal the plate.  It is currently flush against the wall, and with the exception of the 2mm thick hole, I see no gaps.  There is no silicone however, I suppose this was never sealed.

When researching how to silicone seal this, I found that some people recommend opening it up and putting plumbers putty, something I'm not sure is necessary in my case.  I am planning to apply the silicone.

When applying silicone to the escutcheon plate, some people recommend putting it only on the top area where the plate meets the tile wall, where water would flow down into on top of the plate from the top of the shower.  I suppose the rationale is that if water gets stuck there, it may somehow escape into the shower down the tile, rather than behind the wall.  I'm not sure though.

Should I seal only the top 3/4 circumference of the plate, or should I seal the whole circumference of the plate?

You should only seal the upper arc (clock face analogy: 7 through 12, to 5, leaving the 6 position open).

You can seal behind the escutcheon. in the plane of the tile (bridging the actual wall penetration), at the 7-6-5 position.  there should remain a small gap at the bottom of the escutcheon cover plate and the tile.


What tool is used to tighten a short pipe nipple? What tool is used to tighten a short 1/2” x 1 1/2” nipple that screws into a shower valve behind the wall? Well a nipple extractor work if you turn it in the opposite direction (clockwise )?

A coupling and another piece of pipe can be used to tighten a close nipple.  You can't grip the threads with a wrench without damaging them.  Some nipple extractors only work in one direction, but if the tool is called an "internal pipe wrench" it can work in both directions to tighten or remove a nipple.

Sample internal pipe wrench


How do I stop water from building up in toilets and bathtubs? Today, I awoke to water on my bathroom floor. What caused it?

My house has a septic tank and two bathrooms, a master bedroom and guest bathroom.

The guest bathroom had water on the floor, and the bathtub was
partially filled with water. The water seemed to be clean. Water was spraying from somewhere under the tank. I shut off the water to the toilet. The tank was very low on water, but it filled more later.
The master bedroom did not have water on the floor, but the bathtub
was partially filled with water. I flushed the
toilet, and the bowl started filling with water and spilling onto the
floor. Again, all water seemed to be clean. I shut off the water to this toilet, too.

Another observation: during the night, I heard occasional sounds, possibly from a flapper, or gurgling, but I did not get up and check the source.

There is a decent probability that your septic tank is full and should be inspected and pumped out.

I suggest doing this first since it should be done anyway (after 4+ years) and it is a lot less effort than dismantling your plumbing or running snakes.


Why is it OK to bond the neutral and ground in an appliance? I am installing a new built-in oven, and while it has both neutral and ground pigtails, the manual states that they are "twisted together." I am interpreting this as "electrically connected."

Given the myriad of excellent explanations here on why the ground and neutral should only ever be bonded at the main panel, how does this not circumvent the protections offered by the single bonding location?

I understand that this isn't really my problem since the oven is UL listed and not really subject to NEC wiring practices, but I am curious because I have a subpanel, and if the ground between the main and the subpanel failed, it would seem all my grounds can now run through the neutral back to the main panel and I'd never know the ground wire was broken.

That is absolutely correct.  It is not OK to tie neutral and ground of an appliance.  This is literally bootlegging ground.

"Ok" is not the same thing as "legal".  It is legal to do this, only on dryers and oven/range, when installing on old wiring with no ground. This was a compromise worked out with the appliance industry, who feared losing sales.  The rationalization is that dryers and ranges are rarely unplugged and moved, so a neutral wire failure is unlikely.

Unrelated, since then, Code now broadly allows retrofitting grounds.

Hooking up an appliance in this regime

There are only two legal ways to connect a range or dryer.

using a 3-wire connection (hot-hot-neutral no ground), you are to bond neutral to ground in the range or dryer.
using a 4- wire connection (hot-hot-neutral-ground), DO NOT bond neutral to ground in the range or dryer.  This bond should be removed.

Using a 4-wire connection and still bonding neutral and ground would be a disaster for the reasons you cite.


Flushable kitty litter...should I flush it or is it bad for my plumbing? I rent an apartment in California. I flush my kitty litter because it is flushable.

Is flushing kitty litter not good for your plumbing even though the litter was designed to be flushed down the toilet?

Very interesting question and it is all in the wording.  Flushable meaning can it be flushed?  Yes.

Does it break down like human waste?  I doubt it.  So yes you can flush it.  Will it cause plumbing issues?  Maybe.  It really depends on the size of the litter and how long it take for it to break down.

Real-world experience...  My plumbing contractor has had more than a couple jobs because of litter clogging pipes, especially iron pipes.

This question is kind of like asking should you flush kleenex or baby wipes - you can but they can cause issues.  The only thing that should go in your toilet is human waste and toilet paper.  These things break down easily.


Can this valve be removed? Where would wrenches go?
Does it need to be cut?

The valve is soldered onto the pipe. To remove it, you would need to cut the pipe just behind the valve. The new valve would also need a solder connection.


What's the best way to protect myself from a rental house? I am in the market to rent a home, and am looking to compile a list of things to check both before and after taking possession. Before to make sure the house is in a condition I am aware of, like checking all the toilets flush and the lights work, no visible mold, and things I should be aware of to get in writing. After to make sure I keep myself from getting in trouble, like changing the locks and...well that's all I can think of for after.

I've found a couple pages online that mention things to do with leases but not so much with inspecting houses, and there are obviously different things to pay attention to with rentals than with buying a house.

You can find home inspection checklists online (e.g. http://www.clta.titlewizard.com/learning_center/documents/HomeInspectionCklist.pdf), but these are written for home buyers.

As a renter, I wouldn't accept a lease that holds you responsible for damage that you didn't create, and I also wouldn't accept a lease that doesn't exclude normal wear and tear.  In this market, there's no reason to deal with anyone that expects you to deal with these things.  If a toilet isn't working or the wiring is bad, it's the landlord's responsibility to fix.

The things I would lookout for are the obvious: are there spots in the carpeting or damage to the walls from the last tenant that haven't been repaired.  It is a good idea to make sure the appliances and utilities are all in good running condition, but more because that indicates how well the landlord maintains the property and gives you some idea of how much they will take care of things once you are renting.  Know your responsibilities with the landscaping in advance.  In my neighborhood, the rentals are typically the ones with small jungles growing in the backyard.

If you're paying for the utilities, look for energy saving devices, including an electronic thermostat that can adjust on a schedule when you're at work.  For water, low flow toilets and shower heads will save you money.

For safety, look for deadbolts on the doors and locks on the windows (and check the crime stats for the neighborhood).  Make sure there are smoke detectors in the bedrooms and GFCI outlets near any source of water.


Hanging a new wall with Genie Clips and need to install a few studs. Will this affect the installation? Here's what the bare frame looks like:

If you don't already know how a wall is hung with Genie Clips, here's the video.  Skip to 2:45 to see how they're spacing the clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5syq09qa0

Looking at my pic above, you will see that there are no exposed studs at the opposite ends of the wall, so I am going to have to install them so that I have a place to attach the clips on either side.  This is going to create a non-standard distance of 10" between the first set of studs on the left side of the wall and 9 1/2" on the right.

I am guessing that this is not going to present too much of a problem since the video never mentions a minimum distance of 16" between clips, only a maximum distance of 48".

Since this is my biggest DIY project ever, I want your input on whether or not this non-standard stud placement will affect the hanging of my new wall with Genie Clips.

Update:

A few years later, I know, but I thought I'd post a pic showing what the channels looked like after mounted onto the Genie clips.  You can also see the two new studs I installed if it matters any.

Add the studs at the ends of the wall. It should not affect the installation.

Look at the video. At 3:38 they talk about having clips close together in some places. They say it is normal.


Can I use a 120V power cord on a 208V 3-phase circuit? This might be a really dumb question, but I know very little about electricity so please forgive me.  I have a 3-phase 208V outlet the requires a C14 to C13 power cord.  I have  C14 to C13 power cord but the power cord says 10A/120V~ on it.  The equipment I have only draws 6 amps on this outlet, but I'm wondering if it's safe to use this power cord since it says only 120V on it?  Does this mean 120V for each phase so it's okay to use it, or can I only use a 208V power cord for this?

Thanks.

You'll be fine.

What's happening is that 208V 3-phase is "wye" configuration.  Think the flux capacitor from back to the future. The center is the neutral.  Each leg of the Y is 120V from neutral.

The C13 socket on the PDU is giving you one leg and neutral, for 120V.

Why is it 208V?  Remember your geometry? Draw a perfect wye, then connect the corners and you have a perfect triangle.  If center to corner is 120, then corner to corner must be that times sqrt(3) or 208.


Mounting Screws in Stucco Does anyone here have experience putting mounting screws into stucco?

I want to mount a light plastic box to the exterior of my home to protect a coax junction. My house's exterior is stucco.

The box is not heavy but I want it to be secure and not come loose over time. Also, I want to minimize the damage to the stucco.

I'm thinking I should use mounting screws, pre-drill the holes using a masonry bit (i read a hammer drill is better but i don't have one and read a regular drill should work for smaller holes), and put some type of sealant into the hole.

But I'm not sure if a masonry screw or masonry anchor is best. Also, I'm drilling blind as I don't know where the studs are. Any other tips welcome.

For stucco I would consider using plastic expansion anchors. For a smallish screw these should work well and minimize the size of hole you have to drill into the stucco.

You have to be rather careful when drilling in stucco in that it is rather easy to find your hole getting larger diameter than you want. This happens when the carbide cutting tips on the masonry drill hit the wire embedded in the stucco. The stucco material is rather soft and the drill bit likes to walk to the side instead of going through the wire.

Plastic anchors use regular pan head type sheet metal style screws. This can be an advantage if you need to re-work a mount point at some point. Using a masonry specific type of screw tends to be a one shot deal and they also require a drill hole with very close tolerances (review comment above regarding the wire in stucco).


Understanding deck spans for beams. I've been looking at various span charts for decks and I'm still not quite sure how to calculate it all when you take into account not just the joists, but the beams and posts as well.

What we currently have:

23' wide deck attached to house with ledger. All pretreated wood.

Extends 10' with 2x6 joists 16" OC.

Outside 'beam' is 2x10 with joist hangers. Beam supported by 3 4x4 posts.

I have a hunch this isn't to code...or...if it is...just barely. It's solid--but bouncy.

I'm not thrilled with the 2x6 joists, but I also am not thrilled with having to scrap the entire deck. Plus, the 2x6s do help with the headroom underneath the deck (which we plan on turning into a patio.

What I'd like to do:

1) replace the exterior 2x10 beam with an actual beam 1 or 2' in and under the joists (so the joists are cantilevered and rest upon the beam)

2) replace the 3 4x4 posts with either 3 6x6 or 4 4x6s.

My question is: how do I calculate what that new beam has to be given the existing joists and the desired post options?

First, your question

  how do I calculate what that new beam has to be given the existing joists and the desired post options?

This is a bit long winded, but it is how we figure it out accurately.

Figure out a design load per square foot (PSF), we typically use 40 PSF live load and 10 PSF dead load for floors and decks. In a simple span, the beam carries the load halfway to the next support or tributary width; in this case 5'.  Multiply the PSF x the tributary width to get the pounds per lineal foot (PLF) on the beam, in this case 50 PSF x 5 Ft = 250 PLF.  Then, using software or load tables find a beam that can carry that load based on the span of the beam; allowable loads reduce as the span increases.  In your case this requires (3) 2x10 DF #2.

I typically use Forte for beam sizing instead of load tables.

For the post sizes, calculate the tributary load which, in simple spans, is the load halfway between supports.  In your case, this would be half the beam length between post multiplied by PLF.  For your center post that is 250 PLF x 11.5 FT = 2875 LB.  Then, using load tables or calculations find a post that can support that load based on height and bracing of the column.  Take into account bearing area of the 2x10 at about 625 PSI perpendicular to the grain for a required bearing area of 4.6 Sq. In.  In your case a 4x4 is plenty.

Try a column load calculator here

For multiple span beams, cantilevers, and anything outside of "simple span" things are a little different.  For this reason I typically use the beam sizing program.

If this is too intense, maybe just be guided by the following.

If I read correctly, you have deck joist spanning about 10' and on one end a single 2x10 "beam" or rim joist that the joist hang into that spans approximately 11'-6" between (3) 4x4 post.

Based on this, your deck joist are structurally OK although maxed out at a 40/10 load, but are deflecting (bending) a good amount giving part of the bouncy feel.  You can add 2x6 or larger joist down the middle of the existing joist to firm things up, or just live with a safe bouncy deck.

The 2x10 is definitely undersized and should be addressed.  It also contributes to the bounciness.  The simplest solution to this is to add (2) intermediate post mid span reducing the span of the 2x10 to below 6'.  OR beef up the 2x10 by adding (2) more 2x10's to it nailing 3 16D nails per foot per beam lamination would easily transfer the load between beams.

Finally, the 4x4 post are more than adequate to support a load of 2,875lb.  An 8'-0" length of 4x4 can support over 6,000 lb in wet service.

We applied over 10,000lb to a 7' 4x4 in jacking up a floor with no indication of possible buckling; we were compression limited on the member being jacked.


Pictures Covering Home Theater Speakers So I have some in wall speakers that I've installed. I would like to put pictures in front of them. I was thinking that a silk screen or similar should have essentially no sound distortion.

I reason that most speakers have cloth grilles anyway surely I could find something similar?

I was just wondering if anyone has insight on a material that I should use?

Googling "acoustically transparent fabric" returns a variety of companies that provide materials that advertise the characteristics you require. For example:

https://fabricmate.com/fabric/acoustic-fabrics/
or
https://www.audimute.com/what-is-acoustic-fabric

Transparent cloth is available but putting a picture on it is another challenge. The printing process needs to be one that does not reduce the ability of the cloth to let air pass through it. Painting for example would change the acoustic properties.

The people at audimute build sound absorbing panels with a customizable picture. Maybe they can build a panel with your picture that is transparent.

It would be great to hear how this comes out for you.


Stud wall that doesn't connect to ceiling? I am going to be framing out a stud wall in a bathroom for a new walk-in shower. The room has tall vaulted ceilings and I do not want this new shower wall to go all the way up. Maybe just 7-8 feet tall or so with a finished top.

Is it ok for me to frame a wall that doesn't go all the way to the ceiling?
I expect so, but how should I connect to floor and wall to ensure it is as sturdy as possible, given it will not have support from above?

There are lots of ways to do this.  I wanted my pony wall very stiff, so I ran a 2-inch pipe from the top plate to some blocking at the bottom of the joists below the subfloor.  You might get away with screwing the bottom plate to the josts and using a bracket designed for preventing the studs from prying away from the bottom plate.  Also, you might consider a 2x6 wall instead of 2x4.

Here is a nice rundown of the options.


Pretty big electric shock when touching my lamp I just received a fairly large electric shock when trying to turn on the lamp on my nightstand while I was sitting in bed. When we purchased the lamp, it was 110v however we had it changed to 220v since we live overseas. The lamp base is vintage copper metal. I'm pretty sure I was touching the copper when I was shocked. The shock was so intense it left a burning sensation on my finger, I saw "white" and it flipped the main fuse for our whole house. I had to manually flip the main fuse back on. I have been using the lamp for several days with no problem (we just received it in our shipping container) however another lamp we had the voltage changed short circuited when I tried putting in a light bulb so I'm guessing the rewiring was done wrong on all the lamps. I was holding my 6 month old son's hand as he slept when I was shocked. I'm worried that I became a conductor for the current and maybe he felt it but he seems to be okay. Didn't even wake up. Is there a need for me to be worried for myself or my son? Obviously, we are going to take the lamps to a local electrician here and have them fixed.

No need to worry about you or your son, but the lamps were obviously done wrong, or at the very least the work was extremely shoddy.

Have them re-done by someone who knows what they are doing in your area.


Why is my washing machine so loud during the spin cycle? I have a top loading washing machine. It is sitting on the bottom of a rack. The dryer is sitting on the top shelf of a rack. (The rack was made to stack these two units on top of each other).

During the spin cycle the washing machine is really loud. Is this typical? I've heard washing machines that has a similar sound but not the same volume!

What could be the issue with it, if there is one? How to fix it?

UPDATE

The washing machine is actually not physically sitting on the rack. It has wheels and is sitting on the floor. The rack structure is really to loft the dryer above the washer. I also checked to make sure that all wheels are touching the ground.

The spin cycle is normally the loudest part of the washing program. To compare the sound of your machine with others, you should consider whether it's designed to be extra quiet or not, and whether it has a high-speed spin cycle or not.

My washing machine has a 1200 RPM high speed spin cycle, but it's designed to be quiet so it's not very loud anyway. It also has the option to run the spin cycle at a slower speed, which makes it even more quiet.

You can buy rubber washers designed to be placed under the feet of the washing machine, which will reduce the vibrations in your rack.

Although the spin cycle is noisy, you should listen if there is a banging noise or if it's just loud. If there is a banging noise the clothes may be unevenly balanced (overload?), or there may be something wrong with the suspension so that it can't absorb the vibrations.


Fill uneven gap between tile and tub I just finished tiling the shower surround around my tub. I knew that the tub wasn't level when I started but it became more evident toward the end of tiling.

On one end of the tub, there is 1/8" gap between my tub and the tile. On the other end of the tub that gap expands to around 1/4" or more. I checked my tile and it's level all the way around—it's just my tub isn't.

I plan on caulking this gap but are there any special considerations for a gap that large?

Thank you

No, except that you need a product that doesn't shrink much (or you need to pre-fill to minimize depth and shrinkage). Pure silicone is good, as is urethane (though urethane is very difficult to work with if you're inexperienced--it sticks to everything, including fingers, and stays stuck).

1/4" isn't unmanageable. Cut your tube at an angle, then trim the very tip flat:

 _
| \
|  \
|   |
|   |

Apply the caulk with the cut parallel to the wall, and try to avoid any additional tooling.


Does this wall look sound? I want to hang pegboard and some French cleats on my garage walls, which have some cracks in the masonry. Are these likely to be cosmetic or structural defects? Assuming I hang everything from the studs, can I safely mount stuff on these walls?

If you hang everything from the studs, you'll be OK. What type of wall is it? You mention masonry but with studs, plywood with stucco, block with studs and drywall? The cracks appear to be more cosmetic than structural failure.


Can I safely reconnect thermostat wire on furnace controller? Furnace (oil) wouldn't come on at any setting (fan works). Tried reset button on controller, no noise, nothing. Then noticed the white wire to one of the thermostat terminals was hanging loose, possibly from when serviced last Spring?

Just want to know if I can connect that wire safely (power switch off natch) and not create any other problems. Could there be any reason they left it loose on purpose? We do have air conditioning that is run by the same thermostat (old circular kind) and it ran fine all summer. But now we need heat. Does it make sense that the other things run but not heat with that one wire off?
Thanks in advance.

The W terminal for a thermostat connection (normally also mated with a white wire) is the one used to initiate a "heat call" from the thermostat. If that wire was left open then it makes sense that the "cool call" and "fan" functions would have worked just fine during the summer months but that now heating does not.

It is possible that a furnace checkout person had opened the white wire so that they could manually trigger a heat call with a jumper lead during the testing and checkout of the furnace. This would have been done to prevent any surprises from the thermostat when service was in process.

My take is that it was an oversight to not have reconnected the white wire as the service call was wrapping up. You should have no problems connecting the wire back up when the furnace power is Off.


Can I use the wiring for a range hood for a new outlet? I took the stove hood down to remodel kitchen. I capped off the wires, but I would like to some some kind of outlet in the wall using these wires. Is this possible?

Sure. They're (presumably) no different than would feed any standard outlet or light. Install a rated remodeler box and go nuts. You'll probably need to use a GFCI outlet if it's not already protected by one upstream.


Can outlet circuit ground wires be connected to the panel ground wire? Introduction
My house initially had many outlets grounded to the copper plumbing using ground pipe clamps like this one which I know are no longer allowed via code:

I have gone through and replaced my copper lines with PEX for finishing a basement. In the process I had an electrician install a new breaker box. The breaker box itself has a copper line that runs from it to my water supply source (copper line).
Questions
To avoid having to run new 14/3 wire for all outlets, is it acceptable to attach my outlet grounds to the circuit breaker ground wire using a split bolt connector like the one shown below? If it is acceptable, is there any guideline to how many per terminal are allowed?

NEC 250.130(C)(2) Allows connection of ground for replacement receptacles to "Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor".
How many wires per connector and size would be subject to the NRTL Listing of the device you are using, which includes the instructions with the device. It seems the smallest wire permitted by the device you show may be larger than the wire you are using.


setting up a generator I run an EX Military genset MEP004A on 240V/50Hz. It has no voltage regulator and i get supply from the reconnector on L1/L3 which is 240V. all was running fine until when the mains power came back. I switched off the generator. By error I switched on breaker on the generator. Luckily the house main breaker automatically switched off protecting. Now the generator is producing 180 volts instead of 240 volts. what could have been burnt?
please assist.
jeph.

<disclaimer>
Unless you're an electrician or someone who has had some experience with electrical work and you're working on your own home, do not try to connect a generator yourself. You could endanger not only yourself, but also anyone that might be working on the mains. </disclaimer>

Use a search engine and read up on "how to safely connect a generator". It's interesting stuff to read, but see the caveat above.

If you're considering doing this without a transfer switch or interlock, you should consider whether you would willingly put another person's life at risk. Notice that you yourself admittedly accidentally messed up the order. Imagine what might have happened if you were under stress and you forgot some other important step.

Your generator may have lost one of the windings due to the error. I suggest you have it checked by someone who knows what they're doing with generators. That said, measure the voltage at each phase to neutral. 120VAC is nominal. Check out the TM, too. I found this reference that might get you started: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?146273-MEP-004A-No-output-after-starting (although I admit this points to the voltage regulator and you said you have none.) The TMs for the various models are here as of this writing:
http://igor.chudov.com/manuals/Military-Generators/MEP-004A/

Good luck. Hope you didn't fry something, but from where I sit it really sounds as if may have done that.


How can I fix this broken connector piece on my Symmons shower Knob? I was trying to get the knob off so I could potentially increase the amount of hot water getting mixed and it seemed to be coming off nicely but then snapped. By nicely, I mean it was a steady process; the thing was rusted/stuck on so bad I'm not sure it would have been possible to get off without breaking it.

I can turn the water on and off with pliers but that's not ideal obviously. Primarily I need some instruction on how to get this existing set up replaced with something new that has good hot water management. I see some screws but am not sure if I should do anything else without some guidance as to what it does (the ominous left only screw).

Here's a link to the Installation, Operation & Service Instructions (PDF) that contain an exploded diagram of all the parts of your valve.

Click for larger view

If you scroll down you even get detailed instructions about servicing the valve, how to order parts, and troubleshooting for common problems (like not getting enough hot water).


Can I change my standard thermostat to a Wifi one? I have a (quite standard) TR-010X T6360A thermostat that looks like this:

And this is the wiring diagram:

Can I install the Heatmiser PRT-TS WiFi Touchscreen Programmable Thermostat? This is the wiring:

Since you're using a line voltage thermostat, there should be no problems doing what you want.

Most folks run into trouble switching to a WiFi thermostat, when the power from the thermostat is supplied through a transformer in the furnace/boiler. Since this is a line voltage thermostat, both ungrounded (hot), and grounded (neutral) conductors should be present at the thermostat.


Can a heat pump water heater be vented to the attic? This is a very different question than venting a bathroom fan or clothes dryer to the attic (moist air), as the heat pump takes humidity out of the air (routes it to a condensation drain). The advantage of the heat pump is that it draws heat from the atmosphere, but the problem is that the exhaust from the heat pump is cold and in the winter months we don't need (or want) cold air in our laundry room where the water heater is.

The manufacturer (Rheem) gives a room size that is supposed to be large enough to absorb the cold exhaust air and otherwise recommends venting it out. They are generally silent on where "out" is, but I've seen posts on other sites where it's been vented to the attic.

Since it cools the air and removes humidity (through condensation on the pump), this would be an advantage to vent to the attic as it would both dry the air and provide cooling in the summer, yes? My only concern is that (historically) I would never vent anything to the attic, for somewhat obvious reasons, and now I'm faced with a potential advantage and an easier job since the attic is only 3 feet away.

The cold is just air cooled in the home and it has no more moisture than the house air in-fact it is dryer than the house air. I have vented 2 into Areas that are not conditioned , I think the attic is a good option as in the summer it will help cool that space. If you have plumbing in the attic I would choose a different location as this can help the pipes to freeze. I vented mine outside but that was a convenient location for me.  You still need a drain for the moisture that builds up on the exchanger, also if a tight house you will need some makeup air allowed in normally at the furnace, my 1930’s home did not need additional vents but a Check needs to be done, the efficiency gain is reduced if inside the home so in my opinion it is a crock to require them.


120 V between Ground and Neutral? I had a new cooktop installed but it does not work.  The unit replaced an old one and was simply plugged into the existing outlet.  After checking the basics (no tripped breakers, etc), I whipped out the old multimeter and measure the voltage difference between each input.  The results were surprising:

h1 - h2 = 240  (correct)
h1 - N  = 0    (should be 120)
h2 - N  = 240  (should be 120)
h1 - G  = 120  (correct)
h2 - G  = 120  (correct)
N  - G  = 120  (should be 0)

h1 = Hot 1
h2 = Hot 2
N = Neutral
G = Ground
(Parenthesis are what I expected to measure)

I'm obviously mis-wired, but which wires are in error?

I would open up the receptacle box if possible to see what's going on, but the only way I can think that these readings would be plausible would be if the outlet neutral is not connected to a neutral conductor going back to the panel but is instead shorted to H1. That would produce the readings you've recorded. And if your old stove didn't use the neutral conductor, it would work fine.


Can I replace the aluminum cable of a single circuit with romex? There is a single run of cable that needs to be replaced; all of our wiring is aluminum. I want to use cable with copper conductors instead of aluminum if at all possible. The run goes directly from the main panel to a duplex receptacle, which has another run of aluminum that goes to a single throw light switch. I was thinking of buying an electric outlet that is rated for both Cu and Al, connect the (Al) short run from the light switch to the top terminal screws of the duplex, and then connect the (Cu) home run from the breaker box to the bottom terminal screws.
Is this okay to do? Thanks to anyone who can provide an answer.

I want to use cable with copper conductors instead of aluminum if at all possible.

You really can't buy aluminum branch cable anymore, so copper is your only route here.
I would suggest going the extra mile here and buying some Alumiconns and converting to copper (they can be bought in 2-packs if you don't want to buy more than you need right now). Contrary to batplatsterson, I've actually found them decently easy to work with AND you permanently fix the problem so you can use copper wiring and fixtures anytime afterward. What he's likely thinking of are the Noalox-filled wiring nuts (they're purple), and those don't prevent the arcing risk of twisting the wires together.
That having been said, I did have one outdoor project where I did use a CO/ALR outlet to convert to copper, and I've not had any issues with it since. Still, I want to go back sometime and put Alumiconns there so I can get a proper GFCI in (no GFCI outlets are rated for aluminum).


How to permanently get rid of old cigarette smell from previous resident? We have recently moved into a rental apartment (built early 1990s).  The previous resident was a smoker, and there is a distinct smell of cigarette smoke.  She lived there for 15 years.  The apartment was newly painted before we moved in.  There are no carpets, curtains, or wallpaper.  It has parquet flooring.  We took over a few pieces of furniture but none with fabric or leather (only wood and glass).  We have tried to spray with a household "anti-tobacco smell" product (brand febreze), but the smell returns within hours.  People with similar problems report they are still facing the smell after 10 years.

What measures are effective to permanently remove the source of old cigarette smell?  Google Search results in a wide variety of partly contradictory recommendations.  This company claims that their ozone generator is more effective than household products, but wikihow states that If the smell has sunk into the walls, floors, curtains, and furniture, you may not get the smell out all the way. Others recommend salmiak, Febreze, candles, orange or sandarac.  But overall, advice varies from "clean well" to "only a complete renovation will work"; for each advice short of complete renovation there is another advice claiming it doesn't work.  Incidentally, we are in Germany and the landlord may be legally responsible to fix it, but that is a question for another site.

Advice on the internet is anecdotal and contradictory.  I'm a scientist and am interested in a permanent, evidence based solution.  Short of burning the building down and rebuilding from scratch, what measures will permanently and completely remove the source of old cigarette smell from the previous resident?

I had a house I purchased that had previous residents that were very heavy smokers. Everything in the house was covered in a yellow brown film. Steps I had to take to remove the smell.

All hard surfaces were washed twice with TSP in hot water. This was necessary because the yellow gunk was so thick that the first washing just could not get it all off. Changing the wash bucket often was also necessary.
Pop corn type ceiling texture in the whole house had to be scraped off. Then the ceilings were sealed with two coats of a roll on sealer and a new ceiling texture sprayed on.
Complete stripping of the finish on all of the kitchen cabinets and re-finishing with new stain and polyurethane.
Every wooden door and trims were washed with TSP and then repainted with four coats of new paint.
All carpet and padding was removed. Open floors were left for a week or so to air out before new carpet was installed.
Every wall surface was repainted with at least two coats of new paint including inside of closets. In the worst rooms, such as the kitchen, vinyl wall paper was installed instead of painting. Bathrooms also got the wall paper treatment because those rooms were almost as bad as the kitchen.
Had to go into the attic with a shop vac and clean away years of smelly dirt and dust. This was an old house in warm climate and so there was no insulation in the attic. Thus replacement was not needed.

There were probably other things I did that I do not recall as this was over 30 years ago. As I did most of the work  DIY the cleanup and redecoration of the house took almost a year and a half. After that there was no noticeable old smoking smell.


Can Hardwired Smoke Alarms beep without power? I have a hardwired smoke alarm that beeps even when I take the batteries out, unplug it from the outlet, and remove its cellularies. I was wondering if this is possible and if so, how long can they beep for? I heard a story of one that beeped for 8 years without batteries or an outlet.

Yes if you remove all power it can beep a few times from stored energy in the detector.  But not 8 years.  8 seconds, maybe.  I never heard of the fire code ever allowing "plug in" smoke detectors, though.  They are supposed to be permanently mounted (or rather mounted well enough to be difficult for the average conehead to mess with.)


Can I have multiple heating zones with a combination boiler? I bought my first house in December and one thing I've noticed over the winter is higher than expected gas usage which I'd like to try and get down if at all possible. The house is a three bedroom (two plus box room really) semi-detached UK house built in the 30s if thats relevant. The previous owner had recently installed a new Ideal Icos HE24 combination boiler but with a standard thermostat and timer.

I'd like to replace the thermostat and timer with two programmable thermostats for upstairs and downstairs and use valves to control heating flow to the two zones. I've seen drawings on the internet showing this using a standalone boiler with separate pumps wtih each zone but am not sure if zones are achievable using combination boilers or whether I'd be placing stress on the boilers internal pump?

My thoughts so far involve one valve for the upstairs flow and one for downstairs flow, from what I've seen I don't need return valves as well?

Working with heating systems isnt something I've done before so I guess I may have some things wrong here but would be interested to hear peoples thoughts.

As long as the boiler is capable of providing enough hot water through the system to heat the whole house if necessary you shouldn't have a problem.

What you are proposing is a "coarser" version of thermostatic valves on each radiator and that is perfectly safe for a combination boiler.

I don't think you need return valves.

Make sure that you leave one radiator "open" (usually the bathroom one) so that there is some flow around the circuit.

By the way the fact that it's a combination boiler is a red herring. The "combi" bit refers to the hot water heater, the central heating aspect is pretty much the same as a "standard" boiler with integral pump.

Update

If you want to control the times each room is heated independently you can get combined timer and thermostatic radiator valves - My Greener Home has some for example.


Is this ladder bookcase design strong enough to hold printers? I have been looking for a shelf system to store my printers and other misc. items next to my desk. After looking around at various hardware stores, office supply stores, Ikea, Amazon, and even second hand furniture stores, I haven't had any luck finding a piece of furniture to fit my space and requirements.

I need a piece of furniture that fits in a space of approximately 2 feet wide by (at most) 3 feet in depth. It must include vertical shelves as I have multiple printers and other things that cannot be stacked on to each other. The largest of the items are approximately 20" by 20" (rough measurement, includes wiggle room). Most shelves are no more than 16" in depth.

I decided to build my own. Based on aesthetics, ease to build, and the ability to store large and small items "neatly", I've chosen to build what is typically called a "ladder bookcase".

I plan on building those using commonly available 2x4s and cutting joints (as opposed to brackets) to construct the frame. Here is a rough first draft. Please excuse my poor drawing skills. It is not drawn to any specific ratio, nor even properly isometric (it's all free hand)

I will cut "slits" in the three support boards to "slide" shelves of some sort in, such that they are supported on three sides.

I understand that triangles are one of the strongest shapes. However, I'm not sure that this qualifies as a triangle ... Nor a strong frame, in general.

Assuming the use of standard 2x4s for this general frame design, some cleaning up to properly rotate the boards I've drawn in my draft, and a strong material for the shelves, Would this design be considered strong and durable enough for my needs?

If not, are there any recommended changes I can make to this design or another design I should pursue? Also, explanations as to why this is a bad design would be very educational.

Thanks in advanced!

Update

I started "drafting" the design using a 4x4 back column (so it doesn't have to depend on the wall for support) and widening the base in the back. Again, excuse my shoddy drawing skills. Anyways, I think I've reached the conclusion that this design will not work. It's supposed to be 2' wide by 32" deep and 6' tall. The 2x4s look like they will not be strong enough at this angle and using 4x4s everywhere will be too heavy and use too much space.

Now the question remains the same -- is this design strong enough (my gut says no) and if not, what changes or other designs should I pursue?

Thanks again!

Interesting design. f I'm understanding it correctly I think it could work, but I would definitely use screws to secure your slide-in shelving and all the other joints. Pocket hole screws can be used if you are concerned about aesthetics. The weakest aspect is probably that it will be a little tippy sideways, depending on how you load it. A horizontal support along the back (similar to how you have it in the front) would help that... it could be shorter in length than the front one, to help change up the look.


Removing light switch but keeping the power I have a three switch outlet on my living room wall. the leftmost switch was to a can light above the mantel, the middle to the fan portion of the fan and the right to the light portion of the fan. Upon moving into my home I have replaced the fan with a newer one that makes the need for a light switch unneccessary and i have removed the can light. I mounted my tv above the mantel and used the power from the can light to make the outlet behind the TV. Now if I turn the switch off it turns my TV off.

I have a single story home with a attic over everything but the builder ran all the wiring through the walls for the outlets and for the lights he ran them in the attic. I want to keep the power to the tv and i'd like to run recessed lighting off of one of the switches that i first mentioned. help please

For the TV. Simply use a twist-on wire connector to pertinently connect the two wires together, instead of connecting them to the switch.

As for adding more lights.  If you have attic access, you'll simply install all the lights, and run the wiring from the attic. Run a line from the switch box to the first light, and connect all the other lights in parallel with the first one.  If you're not sure how to wire a simple light circuit, I suggest studying up or hiring a professional.


My AC and Heat systems are separate, Can I wire one or both fan(only) controls to my thermostat? My house used to have just Forced Air heat, but a year and a half ago, I had central air installed.
When it was installed I had questions about the wiring they weren't addressed to my satisfaction.

Details:

The forced air heat and the central air use separate duct sets. So, they have separate blower fans.
There is one thermostat (Honeywell PRO 4000 5-2) controlling both systems.
It has a setting for fan on/auto, and I would like to use the fan-only setting.
These systems are on different circuits.
The Inside AC unit is “ICP”FXM4X3600AL.
The furnace is HEIL model 5000.

Questions:

Is it safe for the fan to be wired?
Should only one be wired? (Which) Could both safely be wired to fan?
Should there be two thermostats?
If the breaker pops for one does the power for the fan going through cause issues to the blower of the one whose breaker is popped?

Thermostat wiring:

You can certainly connect and use the fan-only wire for the AC.
Whether you can also drive the heating unit's fan-only input depends a great deal on your configuration and is probably not a good idea.
A breaker popping for one fan is not a concern for the thermostat system as the controls operate via 24V relays.  As long as the appropriate 24V transformer is still powered, the other fan/system will operate normally.  No additional harm will accrue to the dead fan other than what caused the breaker to trip in the first place.

First you must determine your exact control configuration, especially if you have one 24V transformer or two.

Provide a picture of your thermostat's base-plate (wiring terminals).
You should have 1 to three power terminals, typically labeled: R, Rc, and Rh.  Is there one wire connected to these or two wires?
Is there one Common (C) terminal or 2?  With 0, 1, or 2 wires?
Verify you only have one fan-relay terminal, typically labeled G.

The biggest problem with one thermostat for 2 separate residential systems is usually the power supplies. (2 different 24 VAC systems tied together often leads to one 0 VAC system and possibly smoke or a blown fuse.)
Your thermostat is designed to keep these 2 supplies separate; trying to drive both fans at once can tie them back together (and release the aforementioned smoke).

If you have 2 or more power wires and/or 2 or more common wires,
then you have 2 separate 24V transformers (this is the normal configuration) and driving both fan wires will do one of three things:

Not drive one fan at all (usually heating) due to the thermostat applying Rc power to an Rh circuit, both un-closed, for the heater's fan relay. This is the most likely scenario.
Immediately blow one or both transformers and possibly one or both control modules.
Appear to work (transformers roughly paralleled) but transformer life will be shortened due to current loops and slight phase differences.

In this scenario, you would need to bust out your Electronics-engineer skills and add a low voltage relay to safely drive the heater-fan relay (and not blow any transformers).  That's beyond the scope of this question and there might be some commercially available solution an HVAC pro could hook you up with, maybe.

If you have only one power wire, and zero or one common wire(s),
Then the last installer might have driven everything off one transformer . And it might be a third transformer installed just for that purpose.
In that case, it might be okay to connect both fan wires to the same thermostat G terminal, see below.
The next question becomes whether the thermostat and transformer can supply enough current for the fan relays on both systems.
The thermostat can probably handle it, but the transformer might not supply enough current.
It would be prudent to:

Locate the 24V transformer(s).  Each air handler should have one, and one or both should be disconnected (in this 2-wire scenario).
There may also be a third transformer installed to meet the demands of the combined system.  In this case, you're probably good to go.

If labeled/possible, note the current or wattage the transformer is rated for.

Test the furnace fan control.  Unplug the thermostat and jumper the power wire to the heater's fan(only) wire.
Does the heater fan come on right away and the air stay cool after 10 minutes?
~~~ Do not attempt to run both fans just yet. ~~~

If the fan failed to blow cool air in step 3, then your heater may not really have a fan-only mode.

If you can, measure the current across the jumper in step 3 for both the heater fan relay and the AC fan relay (separately).   The total of both currents should be less than 95% of the transformer's rated capacity.

If the conditions of step 3 and 5 are met, then you should be able to connect both fan wires to the appropriate (usually G) terminal of the thermostat.  There is a small chance that it will burn out the thermostat, but it probably won't.


Why am I seeing only 30v across a light? I'm in the US. While repairing a light fitting I noticed that with the breaker on I was seeing only 30V AC, instead of the expected 120-ish. However, the now-repaired light fitting is working as expected. Why would I see only 30V?

Possibly relevant details:

I read the 30V unloaded -- i.e. my voltmeter probes across the two mains wires coming out of the ceiling, with no connection yet made to the fixture

That probably renders the remaining points irrelevant -- esp. 3 and 4 -- but here they are anyway;

The fixture is on the same circuit as our garage lights, as well as some lights in the main part of the house. (It's in our utility room, where our washer and dryer are.)
It's a common-or-garden T12 dual tube fluorescent deal, with ballast.†
It's dual-switched -- i.e. a switch at the door into the house, and one at the door into the garage.

thanks!

† For anyone who read the earlier question, I ended up just going back to a ballast set up this time.

It is phantom voltage, which is a small voltage induced (capacitively coupled actually) from adjacent power lines.  (needless to say, those power lines need to be on.)  It's sorta like picking up radio stations except the adjacent power line is much closer, so the voltage is much higher.

On a 3-way switch, you have two parallel traveler wires in the same cable or conduit.  The 3/4-way switch complex changes which of those travelers is energized, and whether the energized traveler connects to the light.  Ideal conditions for phantom voltage being induced in the un-energized traveler.  So if the switch is off, you will see this voltage at the lamp socket.

That must be what you are seeing.

The voltage has no real energy behind it.  It can't do useful work, and if you connect even the smallest load, the voltage will disappear.  It can only be seen by very sensitive voltmeters such as the common commodity DVM.


Does a fridge thermostat need a ground connection? I've recently replaced the thermostat in my fridge with a new unit with a much higher temperature range (this unit specifically).

The unit I took out had a ground connector & the original wiring had it connected.  The new unit does not have a place for a ground connection, so I've not connected it.

Everything is running fine, but should I run the ground wire from the fridge somewhere?  What could possibly go wrong?

If the new unit does not have a ground connection then it doesn't need one.

The ground wire was for the original thermostat so there should be no bad effects from not having it connected to anything. Any other component in the fridge that requires grounding will still be grounded through it's own wire.

Just make sure that you've insulated the end.


Can I configure a two-stage thermostat to manage two heat systems? The System
I have a relatively simple system. It starts out with a standard, run-of-the-mill Rheem gas forced air setup with central air. One transformer in the furnace goes to one thermostat like normal. I recently upgraded the wire to 18/5 so that a C wire now exists in the system. Everything with the heat and A/C works as it should. However, during the heating season this system is used only as a backup "emergency" source of heat.
That's because I have added a hydronic radiant floor as the new primary heat source which is a lot more comfortable and efficient. The relevant part of this is the NIX circulation pump controller which has its own transformer tied to its own thermostat. It also works as it should.
My goal
What I want is to simplify the system to one thermostat if that is possible. At negative outdoor temps the radiant floor cannot hold 70 degrees indoors because I have so much glass in the home (bay windows and patio doors) (and yes, this is a "double-tube" install). It would be great if a thermostat would see this condition (say, a delta of 5-8 degrees) and kick on the gas forced air furnace when the radiant floor cannot keep up.
Here's what I've tried
To get this to work, I have been under the impression that what I needed was a "2 stage" thermostat. Accordingly, I purchased and installed the Honeywell RTH6360D1002. FYI, this thermostat "clicks" every time it does something. I've hooked the NIX radiant transformer to Rh and the furnace transformer to Rc, the NIX controller's W to W1 and the furnace's W to W2. The other G, C, and Y wires are as per usual.
This results in the A/C working fine (I assume the Rc from the furnace is being connected to Y and G). This also results in the radiant floor working fine (I assume Rh from the NIX controller is being connected to W1).
However, the 2nd stage is not turning on the forced air furnace. In a 75 degree room, I have set the thermostat to its max of 90 degrees. The radiant floor comes on almost immediately. After 2 minutes or so of the radiant floor being on, I hear the Honeywell "click" once again. I assume this is the thermostat realizing there is a 15 degree delta and is turning on the second stage. I assume this is Rh from the radiant NIX controller being connected to W2 (furnace).
Is it a no-no to cross transformers like that? Can the 24v from the radiant's NIX transformer be used to signal the W in the furnace (via W2 in the thermostat)? What is the solution? Can I just wire differently? Is there a solution at all, or must I continue running two thermostats, one for each system? If this Honeywell is not right, do you have a recommendation for a thermostat that will accomplish this? Thank you.

I have almost the exact same setup as you (hydronic floor heat and air handler for backup heat) and mine works with one tstat just fine.  So while you aren't asking for too much from "a" thermostat, you may be asking too much from "that" thermostat.  I looked at the specs and didn't see anything about 2nd stage heat or aux heat, it might be there but I couldn't find it. On my tstat it's call "aux heat". I think 2nd stage heat is for a 2 stage furnace or heat pump. When the more economical first stage can't keep up or you've turned up the heat a lot, the 2nd stage kicks in on the same device.
I think Aux Heat means a different heating device.   Ed Beal could probably contribute more here.
Anyway, I run a Honeywell RTH8500D.   And it does the job you want. I didn't hook it up, so can't give you the specifics on that. But what you want can be done and this is the tstat that works for me.


How do I cover up this partially exposed brick? Looks like someone tried to parge this brick and then put a layer of skim coat over it? I tried to take off everything that was already crumbling off and what's left is pretty stuck on there. Any ideas?

I'm pretty new to all of this so the more detail (such as products and methods to use) the better.

Thanks

I would not even mess with that. Trying to apply some substance to the brick will be a very tricky operation.

The best option is probably to build a drywall box closely around it. Doing that guarantees that everything will be flat and easy.

Two notes:

(1) Make sure the boundary areas at the top and bottom are absolutely sealed off, not even a pencil should slip through. Otherwise such spaces can be used by rodents and other vermin to travel around inside the walls of the house.

(2) If any cords or wire would be run at any point in the future through there, install thinwall EMT as necessary and attach it to the brick so it cannot move.


Hanging Large Framed Prints on Plaster What REALLY works for hanging pictures on old plaster walls--the kind with cement not too far beneath a skim coat of the white stuff (technical term).  I bent four nails "specifically designed" to hang pictures on such a structure--even after drilling pilot holes; + broke a drill bit in the process!

The best bet is to find a stud and use a heavy nail or screw.

If that isn't an option for the print's sake, I've had luck in such walls with toggle bolts before. It can be hit or miss with screws and even mollies and screws in tandem because behind the plaster and cement are 3/8" thick by 1 3/8" wide strips of wood spaced 3/8" apart called lath, which is what the gray cement (the "scratch" coat) squishes into when wet and locks into once dry. You'll drill a hole and you might hit wood (lath), or you might hit air, and which you hit will affect a fasteners ability to hold in the hole, and it's often a crap shoot on the first hole or two going in blind. A toggle bolt works well in these walls because the "wings" of the bolt have a good chance of catching the back of at least one strip of lath and hopefully more, no matter where a hole is drilled, giving it a good purchase and a high chance of success on the first try.

Don't even bother with nails in these walls unless your certain you're driving one into a stud. You're liable to break loose burgs of cement and plaster, and yes, bend nails, because the elasticity and memory of the wall across open space is high and the energy of your hammer blow will be mostly directed back at you and the nail itself.

You'll want to use masonry drill bits for any drilling in these walls. The cement beneath the skim coat of plaster will chew up any others almost immediately.


It is OK to use a surge protector with 15 amp breaker on a 20 AMP circuit? It is OK to use a surge protector with 15 amp breaker on a 20 AMP circuit?   I then have a remote 15 AMP wifi switch plugged into the surge protector with breaker.   I know I would need a 20 AMP switch if not protected by the 15 amp breaker in the surge protector.  Thx.

No, a surge protector is not rated as a PDU or subpanel.
Your concept does not work. You can't use a "power strip" with an onboard snap breaker as a substitute for a proper 15A circuit and breaker in the panel.  Not least, those 50 cent "breakers" are hokey-dokey compared to the real dual-mode things in your panel.
You can still do it, for other reasons
Given that you're doing everything with plug-in appliances and not doing anything with wiring in the walls, you are fine with doing that.  The WiFi switch (assuming it is UL listed; that's a big "if" for anything mail-order) only needs to be ready to handle normal current from the appliance.  UL has supervised its design and torture-tested it plugged into breakers as large as 20A.  UL has assured the design will not catch fire before the 20A breaker trips.
UL tests "NEMA 5-15" (15A socket) things to 20A, because an NEC rule is that 15A receptacles are allowed on 20A circuits, and UL itself requires that 15A receptacles be certified for a 20A pass-through.
This is the only case where NEC and UL allow mismatched breakers to sockets.  In all other cases, breaker, socket and load must exactly match.  (noting that 40A sockets are not a thing; therefore 40A circuits use 50A sockets).


Cable running across top of trusses I've got some cables in my attic that run across the top of my trusses. This white one goes to my dryer and is stapled every few feet. (The green cable is currently not attached to anything at either end.) Is it a hazard to have cables running along the top my attic? Or is it safer because no one is stepping on it?
I'm considering moving my dryer outlet because it's too far away from the washer. I'd like to properly run the cable through the attic in the process if if this wrong.

If you have, or plan to have, an appropriate amount of insulation in the attic, running wires or cables down low hides them and you won’t easily find them later. If they’re up high they may be in the way, but I think the ones you show in your picture are high enough that they’re well out of the way. Do either high or low; don’t do anything in between that will make it hard to move around the attic.
You also mentioned the green cable has nothing on either end. If that’s the case, why not just remove it?