Installing one way light switch I accidentally bought a one-way switch for a receptacle that is wired for a three-way switch. I found that the only way it works so far is:

Connect the two black wires from the wall to the black wire coming from the one way switch  and use a wire nut to connect those three wires together.
Connect the one red wire from the wall to the red wire to the switch
Connect the ground and neutral from the switch to the ground coming from the wall

Since I've never had to do it this way before I was wondering is this safe? I initially thought that I could just leave the neutral from the switch capped and taped off but the switch didn't work when I did that. I am in North America if that makes any difference. Thank you all for the help in advance.

Attached is a link of the picture of the way I currently wired it
 https://photos.app.goo.gl/e4EcvFN19QJfQYQN6

You have two problems here:  one, hacking a two way switch where you ought to have a three way switch, and two, using a ground as a current carrying conductor.  You should put back the original three way switch immediately to be safe, and come up with a plan B.

Resolving the first problem is simple:  buy a smart switch made to replace a three way switch.

Resolving the ground wire issue is a little more difficult.  Your smart switch requires a neutral, but the box it's going in doesn't have a neutral.  (At least not that I can see in the photo.)  This is common when switches were wired with a switch loop, which is what it looks like you have here.

You have used a ground wire in place of a neutral.  Using a ground wire in place of the neutral works, but it isn't safe.  The ground wire should only conduct current in the event of a ground fault.  So you shouldn't have bootlegged the neutral, it's a code violation and a safety issue.

To rectify this, you could bring a neutral to the box by rewiring, that may be a small job, may be a big job, but it will work with just about any smart switch.

You could also choose a different smart switch.  There are smart switches that work without a neutral.  Most of these actually bootleg the neutral internally.  This seems like a terrible idea, but UL will only list a switch that bootlegs the neutral if it is tested and only passes a very small amount of current on the neutral - small enough that it isn't a safety issue.  So if a UL listed switch does it, it doesn't count as bootlegging.

Just make sure the switch is UL listed, and stick to a reputable brand - there are tons of products on the market from sketchy brands that are putting the UL logo on products that are not really UL listed.


What's the fastest way to strip paint off of a piece of installed trim/moulding? Let's say you have some detailed moulding around several interior doors and you want to strip the paint off with the least amount of labor (time-wise)? How would you go about it? Heat gun, chemicals, removing the trim and reinstalling, etc are all options.

The least time route would definitely be the "remove the trim and replace with fresh" route.

However, this would depend on you being able to get a suitable replacement.

Heat gun is quite quick, but you have to be careful of a) the chemicals released when heating the paint and b) not scorching the wood. Heat guns shouldn't really be used where you've got lead based paint.

Chemicals will be useful where you've got delicate/intricate mouldings but will probably take the longest as you might need several applications if you've got lots of layers of paint.

You will definitely need to sand the mouldings if you use a heat gun, you may have to if you use chemicals. This might not be practicable for delicate/intricate mouldings.


Toilet flapper sizing problem I have an American Standard toilet that came with a 3 inch flapper inside. The problem is that since the beginning the flapper never closed properly. It's the right size to block the hole, but it seems as though the handles on the flapper (the 2 attachment prongs) are not long enough, so when you install it, the actual circular part of the flapper is slightly off centre because the handles aren't long enough to extend the circular part to fully cover the hole.
What should I do? Since I am assuming buying another flapper will just have the same problem as the length of the prongs is the same for all flappers.
It's flushing properly but has a bit of space open so it keeps letting water through from time to time making noise. Toilet is 4 years old.

First, verify that your filler pipe or flapper hinge piece is installed correctly. Perhaps it's backwards, moving the flapper mounting ears away from the drain hole slightly.
Then, I'm not sure your assertion that all flappers are the same holds water. :P Take yours to the store and compare brands for one with longer arms.
If you're the inventive type, clip the loops off your flapper and zip-tie some strips of plastic in their place (with half-twists if needed), then cut holes at the appropriate position.


Installing cable trunking on ceiling without damaging the ceiling paper I'm renting. I need to install this trunking on the ceiling for my projector's cables. In that room, ceiling is covered with wallpaper. If I use the adhesive feature that comes with it, I'm afraid that the day I move out and remove trunking, wallpaper will come with it.

Any suggestion?

3M command strips have been nice to me, even on wallpaper. If the wallpaper isn't tool old and it's in good condition, I recommend them.


Help needed identifying major structural issues So here's the low down:

Bought a home about four months ago. Inspection made no mention of any cracks anywhere, and honestly didn't even mention a single thing about the foundation (probably a big red flag).  After moving in I noticed a lengthy horizontal crack about 20 feet long, hairline, about five feet up from the slab. There area also a few horizontal cracks. Minor bowing, which I know to be hydrostatic pressure from the outside. Two contractors have recommended steel I-beams and a sump pump. One recommended entrenching the front of the house and backfilling with gravel. The other said the bowing is not bad enough for that. It is a block foundation.

On top of this, I've noticed a lot of cracks that were poorly patched with tape and mud. These cracks are now reappearing. They appear in the corner of several windows in one corner of the home. One that comes up from the floor on the second floor and goes to the corner of the window. The other starts on the same side of the window and goes up towards the ceiling. I should mention there is an almost identical crack on the outside of the window in the brick.

Also, all around the outside of the home, which is cinder block, I'm getting horizontal cracks, all hairline. I am showing two stairstep cracks in the foundation, one about 3/16" wide from one corner of a block window, another stairstep crack starts at the other corner of that window but is not wide.

I'm really trying to determine the extent of the damage. The fact that the cracks are reappearing through the crappy patch jobs tell me that the problem is ongoing, that it may have been settling at one time but the issue continues.  Also, the fact that the cracks have been patched tells me the owner knew about the issues and disclosed "no" for any known foundational issues.  I know people will say to get a structural engineer, which I plan to, just trying to get some more input before. I'd also like to add that the previous owner is a realtor and probably knows how to hide certain issues. Thanks!

I have rarely found cinder block basements to be dry in the winter. In fact, I expect them to leak. If during the inspection things looked good and dry the report may not have mentioned any hairline cracks because all masonry eventually has cracks.

If the home did not have a sump the problem may be getting worse and was not a problem in the past. I state this because one of the contractors said it wasn't bad enough for reinforcement. For me to try and dry up the basement (digging out, adding drains and back filling with rock) is the best way to go. While it is open a yellow jacket coat or other waterproofing membrane can possibly dry things out, but even doing this I still have seen leaks in block walls below grade.

With all the issues you have mentioned I would expect some mention of the condition to be in the report, but I have also seen homeowners not knowing construction try and take things to court and lose. My best advice is to have professional evaluations done (more than one, and three is better) with quotes and talk with a attorney.  The quotes in many cases are free but additional evaluations may cost.

It is possible that if you post photos of the wall showing the bow and cracks folks here might say what I have about block foundations or we might oh that should have been mentioned. Also update your question with the year the home was built.


What can I do about a low spot in my bathroom floor? I have water standing on a specific area of my bathroom floor. The whole floor dries out except for this area. It has stagnant standing water.
What can be causing this problem, and is there a solution to this problem?

Why do you expect your floor to drain or dry? Is this a wet room, where the whole floor area is designed to get wet and drain? In most bathrooms (at least in the US), only the bath/shower itself is designed to drain water. The rest of the floor is typically made of a material that won't be damaged by an occasional splash but also isn't designed to drain large amounts of water.

If you have a wet room with areas that don't drain, then the solution is to fix the shape of the floor so those areas do drain. The exact approach (and how invasive the repair would be) depends on your particular layout and materials.

If you have a more typical bathroom, then you should not expect the floor to function as a drain, and instead work to prevent it from getting quite so wet. Often this can be solved with better placement of shower curtains and bath mats or repair of leaks. For advice on that we'd need to know where this water is coming from.


How can I adjust the temperature of my hot water? I live in California and the winter has been a lot warmer than expected. I would like to decrease the water temperature in my home to try to save money and conserve energy. How do I do this?

There should (might actually) be a thermostat control on the water heater unit. Typically, in the US at least and on the units of which I've experienced, it's a big, round, red knob which will give you suggestions like "HOT", etc. Today's more efficient units may even have an "Energy Efficient" specific setting.

Adjust it to your liking.

Note that this may not be a feature on all models, particularly an electric heater; I know mine doesn't.


What is a good duct tape for cold weather? I want to keep a roll of duct tape in my car for emergencies. I am in NY and some winter days are below freezing. I found an "all weather" duct tape that has a min hold temperature of 25F but min application temperature of 50F. I have been unable to find many other duct tapes min application temperatures. I wrote the 'Duck' company that makes duct tapes and they told me the tape with the lowest minimum application temperature is 50F and that adhesives just don't work well below that point.

Is there any duct tape that can be applied in cold weather? What tape do you guys use in cold weather?

Doing any kind of taping in cold weather is difficult. The specifics vary by brand as much as by type. I suggest you buy small rolls, stuff into your deep freeze, then attempt to use. This will allow you to reject types/brands that are impossible to get off the roll. By putting various sample surfaces in the freezer with them, you can test for adhesion to various surfaces.

Start with a google search for "cold weather tape" including the quotes for find tapes that are specifically meant for this use.

Problems associated with taping in cold weather:

The tape sticks too well to itself, and is difficult to get off the roll.
The tape doesn't stick to much of anything including itself, once peeled free.
Objects have frost on them, making adhesion difficult.
Fingers are cold and clumsy doing a job that can be tough enough with working fingers.

Tapes to try:

Common duct tape.
Gorilla tape.  I think they use a different adhesive.
Gaffer's tape.  Used in the movie/vid/audio industry.  Doesn't leave a residue when removed.
Fiberglass reenforced clear tape.  If it doesn't stick, tie it.  Note:  You cannot break this by hand.  Requires a cutter.
Electrical (vinyl) tape

Alternative fastenings

zip ties.  Note that the cold fingers problems can be acute with these.
double sided vecro tape. Has hooks on one side, loops on the other.
Small diameter rope -- paracord.  Avoid the coarse weave poly propylene rope.  Even at room temperature getting a knot to hold can be tricky.
Baling wire. (black iron wire about 1 mm diameter) easy to bend.
Snare wire. Finer, and stiffer than baling wire, usually galvanized or brass plated. Doesn't rust for a while.
shipping cling wrap.

Caution:

Duct tape loses something as it ages. Old duct tape seems to fall in love with itself, and the tape splits along the embedded fabric rather than peel free from the roll.


Where does this gasket go? Countertop dishwasher faucet adapter I have an SPT brand countertop dishwasher. I forgot to push the red drain button before disconnecting the hose from the faucet adapter. The water pressure blew off this black rubber gasket. I can’t seem to figure out where it needs to go in order to make a nice tight seal again that won’t soak my kitchen when I turn on the water!

I figured it out. I’m not sure if this is the groove @ojait was referring to or not, but I was able to maneuver the rubber gasket into the spot inside the female side of the adapter below the ball bearings. I used a chopstick. The seal now is slightly leaky, exactly like it was until I messed things up yesterday. Thanks to all for taking a look!


Electric water heater making a squeaking noise I just moved into a new a new apartment a month ago (newly renovated) and the electric water heater (I think it's him, not 100% sure) is making a squeaking noise. I talked to the electrician and he claims it is normal. The noise isn't constant, it is happening 2-3 times a day for about 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes you hear the squeaking every about ten seconds. You can see it in the video. The sound strangely also exists when the heater is turned off (powered off the electricity). Anyone knows how to fix it?

Here's the video of the behaviour.
https://youtu.be/pEPRzM9ME0Y

As water gets hot inside the boiler the excess volume needs to be released. This is done with a pressure relief valve. That might be the squeaking you hear. If you also hear the squaking when the power is off the pressure relief valve can also be activated when the pressure in the piping suddenly increases. This could happend when a valve is closed fast.


Hybrid 1ph/3ph load center fed by rotary phase converter? Disclaimer: Please do not get hung up on whether anything discussed in this question is up to code. I am concerned with safety, and I'm familiar with electrical dangers and safe working practices.

I am planning on building a new workshop and most of my equipment is single phase 120V or 240V but several pieces are 240V 3-phase.

I am wondering if I can install a 3-phase load center, where L1 and L3 are fed by the mains 1ph legs and L2 is fed by the generated phase from the rotary phase converter.

The objective would be to run 120V / 208V branch circuits from 'always-on' phases of the panel, with 3-phase breakers only being fully energized when the RPC was running.

My fallback, of course, is to simply feed a smaller separate 3ph panel with the RPC and use a normal 1-phase panel to feed the majority of the workshop branch circuits.

Yes! It can be done.

But it's fairly tricky.  L1 and L2 are a single phase which is center-tapped for neutral.  It is not possible to bend it to an angle other than its natural 180 degrees.  But it is possible to disregard neutral entirely, and treat L1-L2 as a single phase. And use them as two corners of delta configuration.  The rotary phase converter synthesizes the third corner of the triangle: L3, which is 240V from L1 and L2, and all in correct phasing.

This can be overlaid on the existing L1 and L2, so it does not need to be a separate service. Note this diagram is the rotary phase converter's perspective.  What happened to neutral?

source: installation instructions

Neutral remains exactly where it started: halfway (120V) between L1 and L2. This is asymmetrical: L3 is coincidentally 208V from neutral.  208V will not be available unless the rotary phase converter is spun up.  This arrangement is called "Wild leg delta".   Since L3 is the "wild leg", it must use orange wire or be marked. (NEC 110.15**).

source: Wikipedia

Use a panel meant for 3-phase wye

So the panel will have a separate neutral from ground bar**.

To connect a 120V load, use a single breaker placed on L1 or L2, and neutral.
To connect a 240V single-phase load, use a 2-pole (240V breaker) placed on L1 and L2.
To connect 240V 3-phase, choose any 3 spaces.
To connect 208V single-phase, use a single breaker placed on L3, and neutral.

Breakers need to be listed for their voltage, which means 125V breakers will not do in 208V slots.**

3-phase cabling should be done either with THHN/THWN-2 in conduit, or with /3 Romex -- with white wire re-marked as a conductor (good choice for orange, since then you only have to tape one wire).

If you are wiring something made for 240 wild-leg (seems unlikely) which wants 120V, it can be derived by carrying a neutral along too; for that you'd want /4 or /2/2 cable. You would have to  be very careful about loops and biases in connecting that - you could end-run around those issues by installing a small 240-120 transformer for its control power: install it on L1-L3 and that would assure the machine could not start up unless 3-phase power was on.

There's no particular difficulty in complying with Code with this setup, so there is no reason not to do it.  The only shortcuts are either trivial (orange wire) or dangerous (omitting ground).

** I presume OP's rejection of Code is merely because he does not want to be thwarted; and he is willing to comply when it's easy.


Repair Leaky Shutoff Valve The main water shut-off valve coming into my home leaks when it is closed (water turned off to the house).  Is there a way to repair this kind of valve without replacing it?

This is not your normal gate valve so you might be in luck. Shut the water off at your meter. Clean off the valve and try to unscrew the larger of the two nuts to disassemble the valve. Support the body of the valve so you don't crack the solder joint. There should/could be a washer on the valve stem that you can replace. The smaller nut might have to be loosened and some packing/washer replaced too.
If this doesn't work, then a valve replacement will be necessary. Replace it with a ball valve. Good luck.


How do I do a straight cut of all 4 legs of a metal chair? I need to cut the legs of my chair a bit because it is too high for me. It would not have been a problem but all legs need to be of the same length so I am looking for straight accurate cuts at the same distance from the end. I was trying to find out how to do it without much luck. Any ideas?

Woodworker's solution: put chair on flat surface. Put shims under feet as needed to level and stabilize it. Using a pencil on top of a suitable scrap of wood, mark all sides of all four legs at the same height above the table. Cut to these lines. If necessary, fine-tune with sandpaper, but generally this will be close enough that flexibility in the materials will do the rest.


Can GFCI trip by inductive kick & capacitive coupling? Update. The GFCI can also trip when the power supply was put on the load side instead of the input. Here the input is open. So it's not current inbalance in the sense coil, please explain how can inductive kick can trip it when ac supply is put in the load side.

Here is a GFCI youtube video that continuously trips when you use water shaded pole motor. It doesn't trip on other appliance, The motor was surrounded by plastic, glass surface and glove hands so there is no way current can escape. Can the tripping be caused by inductive kick from motor inducing capacitive coupling inside the circuit? How do you refute this theory?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy5K6S__vE0

GFCI devices basically sense a current imbalance - more current going out on the hot than is returning on the neutral, or vice versa.

In a simple circuit, say just a resistive load like a light bulb, the two are always balanced, and if they are not, there is probably current travelling through a ground path.  This is generally unsafe, and why GFCIs are made to interrupt power when they sense this imbalance.

However many motors have capacitors in them, and can upset that simple balance without any ground fault, without any current on any ground path.  GFCI devices may see that imbalance and trip, even though there is no ground fault present.

Motors also store energy in the electrical field, it's kind of like electrical inertia, and when the circuit is opened, the motor generates a high voltage pulse - inductive kickback - which again could disrupt the balance of current seen at the GFCI.


How do I render over a DPC (damp proof course)? We own a 1930 house we cavity brick walls and have a few damp problems..,

Our render goes over the top of our DPC (damp proof course).   The DPC is only about 1cm above the level of the paving.  So I need to lower the paving (or put in a dry zone ditch between the paving and the wall) and remove the render.

However the render is very hard, so the brick gets damaged when I try to remove a test section.

Hence it is likely the brick work will need to be re-rendered  over the DPC – how can this be done without bridging the DPC?

Bridging the DPC is just asking for problems (IMHO).

One possible solution might be:

Apply "External Bellcast Bead" just above the DPC (this will form a drip edge).
Apply "External Render Stop Bead" just below the DPC (this will allow you to render a plinth from just below external ground level, up to just below the DPC).

Such a method doesn't bridge the DPC.

Regardless of the rendering solution implemented you really need to address the high external ground level in relationship to the PDC. Personally if it was me, I would lower the paving so the top of paving is 150mm (min) below the DPC & the paving falls away from the house (structure).


Filling holes in book shelves I've used Billy book selves from Ikea to create a built-in unit along a wall. I am going to put the shelves up inline, then I need to fill the rest of the holes which are in the sides. After the holes are filled, it will be painted.

What would work better in this case to fill the holes? Painter's caulk or joint compound. I'm heavily leaning towards joint compound because it is sandable. I just want to ensure I'm not doing the wrong thing.

Caulk would be my least preferred. (One can't sand it.) Joint compound is probably okay if you're willing to do a few coats (it'll shrink). Best would be bondo -- the car body filler. (Note that you can catch bondo at a point in its curing cycle when it's firm but pliable and easily cut flush with a sharp chisel/blade. Practice makes perfect on that one.) Texture of any filling you use versus the texture of the billy will be an issue, so you might consider rollering paint on to get an orange peel effect. I'm pretty sure Billy shelves are covered in melamine, so would strongly suggest a melamine primer. (It bonds better than normal primer.)


How do I make a faucet pour instead of spray? I have dual sinks in my master bathroom.  The faucets are identical, but one pours water in a solid thick stream while the other sprays water in a bunch of small streams.  I'd like them both to pour in a solid thick stream.  Is there an easy adjustment I can make?

Sounds like the screen in the aerator needs to be cleaned out. To clean the screen unscrew the aerator by hand, do not use a tool such as channel locks to do so because you'll mar the surface. This is what you might typically see in an aerator:

Disassemble the aerator and clean everything, if you can see through each hole in the mesh screen it should usually work like the properly functioning sink. When reassembling make sure the screen sits properly in the aerator body, the bushing shown in the diagram is to create a gap between the mixer and the screen, in most cases if they are directly touching you will not be getting a good stream from your faucet.

Hope that helps.


Is it okay to connect 2 ground wires to a single ground screw? I have 2 ground wires that I can get around the ground screw on an outlet. Is it okay to do this or do I need to use a pigtail to join the wires and have only one wire attach to the ground screw?

In all my years I have never seen a device ground screw rated for two conductors. Even clamp type ground connectors found on GFI devices are only rated for one conductor.

You will need to pigtail a single wire to the device. This can be achieved several ways. A green wire nut, a ground crimp, or a standard wire nut are examples.


Are these joists to code? I am resurfacing my deck and have applied for a county permit to do the work (therefore it will be inspected).  I have a protrusion at my house to support a chimney.  The size of the protrusion is approximately 2' x 6'.  The "Typical Deck Details" document states the following (Page 8):

My current joist structure which I had intended on keeping for the large part is the following:

The county detail does not show any supporting joists between the compound joist and the edge of the decking and indicates that the decking overhand must not be greater than 6".  On both sides of my structure, the distance between the compund joist and the edge of the deck is greater than 6" (7" on one side and 8.3" on the other).  This seems to be out of spec and would require me to alter the frame to support the county detail.  However, my current deck included two smaller joists which run from the ledger board to the two-ply header.  Do these smaller joists make my current deck framework code compliant.

I realize that the document is titled "Typical deck details" and therefore may not show all the options and instead focus on brevity.

Thanks for any feedback.

For completeness, a kind of poor image of the left side of the protrusion structure from below is shown as follows:

The "mini-joists", as you call them, are placed there to mitigate the overhang that is longer than 6". So if they are properly installed you would have nothing to worry about. Proper installation means that they are securely fastened to the ledger board and the cross header.

When you have the deck surface removed in that area you may want to look closely at how the mini-joists are secured in place. It there is any concern you may want to add an angle corner bracket at the ledger end and a support hanger at the header end. (Since the spacing is extremely cramped it may be necessary to temporarily remove the mini-joist and attach the bracket/hanger to the member before putting back in place).


Light box for ceiling light is attached to ceiling beam I just took down a ceiling fan to find an electrical box that I've never seen before:

It appears to be wrapped around the ceiling beam. The center screw is drilled into the bottom of the beam. Looks like the two slits on either side have holes drilled into the beam, and that's what I would attach a new ceiling light fixture to.

Is this sort of thing ok? I've just never seen it before, not sure what it's called, and it if it's ok for code in New York.

Thanks

Several manufacturers make that box.  It's specifically for mounting ceiling fans or other heavy fixtures, which can then be screwed directly into the wood of the joist.

Here is one such box.  Or here.

It's perfectly ok to use for a standard fixture, not just ceiling fans.  It's just designed specifically to be able to screw heavy mounting screws directly into the wood of the joist.


Pneumatic screen door closer screws have loosened The screws that hold the pneumatic opener/closer to the screen door are loosing up and soon will fail.  The holes in the aluminum door are stressed and enlarging.  How can I fix?  Should I drill thru the door and attach with a longer screw and nut?

The best bet with this is to acquire a small sheet of plain aluminum. Consider material with a thickness of say 3/32 inch. Cut this to a strip that is about five times longer than the existing closer bracket mounting area. Make it as wide as the door web to which the closer mounts. Drill clearance holes in this plate at the ends (corners) and then drill proper thread tapping holes into the door web and mount this sheet centered over the existing bracket mount location using quality sheet metal screws into the door.

Finally you can mount the closer bracket into this new plate using some new sheet metal screws. The holes in the new plate have to be sized to allow the new screws to cut threads into the aluminum plate.


Looking for a way to connect LED strip to 18 AWG wire neatly I'm installing a LED strip(2pin) lighting in our staircase.
There's an 18 AWG wire coming out from each tread nosing that is attached to the LED strip a couple inches away from it.

The problem I'm having is with hiding this 18 AWG wire - it's quite thick, so it doesn't really stick well to the nosing (tried gluing it).
Any advice on best practices to hide the wire leading into LED strips for installations like this?
The wire coming in to LED strip itself doesn't have to be that thick, in fact standard connectors have 22AWG wire that I think would be much easier to glue and hide from view.
I was thinking perhaps the 18AWG wire coming out of the tread could be terminated right there with a connector to which a thinner wire could plug into and lead to the strip. Any advice on what type of connectors could work best for such a solution? I need to make a 90 degree turn from incoming wire there - had hard time finding a corner connector for that.

That led strip only needs a small wire - I would have a hidden connector box under the stairs and a short section of hidden thin wire to the led - even make a cover for each end.


Dimmer switches & LED lights: Lights keep turning up to max and won't stay dim I'm a tenant in an apartment and we're having strange lighting issues. We have a dimmable light switch panel in our lounge with 2 controls, controlling 4 LED spotlights each.

The dimmers make a buzzing sound when you turn it and hit either the minimum or maximum bounds, which is normal. If we turn it on and set it to the dimmest setting, after a while (could be a couple of minutes, could be 15 minutes), the lights automatically start getting brighter and brighter, and the light switch starts buzzing every 10/20 seconds. I assume the buzzing is because it's hit it's max range and something is trying to keep increasing it.

If we then turn it down again to the dimmest setting, it will eventually (could be a few minutes, could be 30 mins later) do the same thing. So we're basically unable to have our lights on dim!

We've had the light dimmer switch completely replaced the other day but it's just started happening again.

The electrician seems stumped. Any ideas?

I agree with previous poster to experiment with different bulbs. I have a different circumstance (older dimmer switch with track lighting) but the symptoms were similar for me. I was hearing a maddening low hum unless on full blast. I found that LEDs labeled as dimmable or regular incandescents work fine. It was an off brand LED that finally worked. Also consider that newly built does not always = correctly built.


How do you keep vertical siding on a house from leaking? I've been thinking about building a little house lately, and I've got most everything worked out on how I'd like to do it. I haven't actually started building yet, but I am aiming for installing vertical siding made from charred wood, like this (but just for the siding)

When I was working through my head on how it would be installed, however, I wasn't sure how to keep it from leaking. I don't want to rip a board in half and put it on the seams (batten siding), I'd like to just have straight boards without the one covering the gap.

My current thought is to nail plywood to your wall studs, and then put up a moisture barrier (tar paper, or some other type of vapor barrier) and then nail the siding to the studs as tightly together as possible.

Could someone explain the correct method to do this, or will this way work?

Ed's suggestion is fine. Another option is to assume it will leak and built to allow it to happen as a rain screen wall.

A rain screen wall has a waterproof interior, an air gap, then the exterior siding. Any water getting behind the siding can air dry within this gap.


How much should over-the-range microwave stick out? I moved into an apartment and want to install an over-the-range microwave. The space above the stove measures 30 in. wide, 11 in. deep, 15 in height. But how far outside of that should a microwave typically stick?
I gather I don't need to vent the microwave to the outside (which is good), but wonder if there's anything else I should think about. I've not done a lot of DIY work in the past.

As much as the microwave needs it to. They almost always stick out some, both forward and below the side cabinets.
Most upper cabinets are ~12" deep. My microwave comes out another 2-1/2" or so beyond the face of the cabinets (without the handle) and hangs below about 2". The top mounting screws are maybe 10" from the wall, so as long as your cabinet has that depth and is robust enough to support the weight, all good.


Tighten old 1960s doorknob I have a few doorknobs in an old 1960s house we just moved into that have a loose/wiggling collar (rose?). I can remove the knob on the inside by pushing in the silver tab on the side and pulling the knob out, but I can't figure out how to tighten or even remove the collar. I'm assuming it has something to do with the small circular hole in the collar, but I can't figure out what to do with that. I've tried a hex screwdriver and just pushing a pin into that (with and without turning or pulling on the knob at the same time), but no luck. Help!

This is easy see the threads on the shaft ? You need to twist the  “hole cover” maybe after releasing a set screw at about 2 o’clock in the photo. Turning that cover clockwise will tighten it ,
if their is a set acres in that 2 o’clock position turn it the set screw or grub screw ccw and tighten the cover ,when  it is tight turn that set screw CW  to hold it tight. To me this hardware looks older and of higher quality than a 60’s house unless early 60’s , but this should help.


Some questions on framing a doorway in a hallway I am hoping to add a door / wall in a hallway. The hallway is 42" wide. I have most of what I need to do figured out, but I was unsure about one part - attaching my door framing to existing walls/joists.

So where my door is going, there is a wall on wide side of it (let's call that "left"), running perpendicular to the door. There is no stud in the location where the framing will be. On the "right" side, it is a corner wall, and there's a stud there, of course. So I've got the joist above, the floor below, and a stud in a wall on the one side to secure this door framing to. Would that suffice? Or should I really be opening up the "left" wall and putting a wall stud in there?

My hope was to be able to just notch out the ceiling and drywall all around the frame, frame it like this article here, and nail the top plate to the joists above, bottom plate to the floor, and one side to the "right" stud. I thought about even putting a block under the top plate on the perpendicular wall, and above the bottom plate of the perpendicular wall to attach the leftmost stud of my door framing into.

Would this be too sloppy? Should I open up the left wall and put a stud in, or is the way I'd hope to do it actually an acceptable way?

Thanks for your help.

Probably the hackery of just attaching to everything solid would work. (I'd throw a couple of substantial toggle bolts through the stud on the left, through the drywall, just for good measure.)

However, since a portion of the "left" wall is going to be covered up, this gives an opportunity to cut a 4-1/2" wide slit in the drywall and add a couple of studs nailed together into a post without too much trouble. (Well, the 'trouble' is laying it out perfectly, but you'd start from the left and work your way right.) If you were really keen, you'd figure out a way to put some blocking between the old studs and your new post to further solidify it.

Be particularly choosy when buying lumber for this project. Anything less than almost perfect will make your life harder.


Can only use 1 water source at a time? Shower stops running when faucet is on, vice versa Ever since someone came to repair our sprinkler system, our water sources have been completely jank.
If I'm using the water faucet to wash my hands and someone flushes the toilet, the water to the faucet temporarily stops working.
If I'm taking a shower and someone uses the water faucet or flushes, the shower stops running water.
If we use two or more water sources simultaneously, only drops or a light drizzle of water will run for both parties.
Why is this? Is it able to be fixed on our own?

Sounds like you still have a leak. A big one. Try cutting off your sprinkler system water supply and see if that helps.


3Way Occupancy Sensor Switch NO neutral or grounding! I'm looking to add an occupancy sensor switch in a staircase that has a pair of 3way switches.

The power source comes in at the light,  then goes to the switches,  see Diagram:

http://www.howtowirealightswitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/two-lights-between-3-way-switches-power-via-light.jpg

The main issue I've been running into is that all occupancy switches I can find needs either a Neutral or a Grounding conductor,  both of which are not in my switch boxes (and not in the budget to be added).

Reading up on the post below I noticed UMS-OPS6M-DV that says it only needs a 25w load to run.

Is there a motion sensor light switch that does not need ground?

What does this mean exactly? My LED lights run a Load of 18w total...

1) Will 18w work,  if not I can increase the bulbs
2) Does this minimum load mean there is always (let's say)  25w being always used to just power the switch?  Or why does this minimum exist?

It's going to be a little tough, mainly in the search for appropriate products.  Stack Exchange is not a shopping-assistance site.

A motion-sensor switch needs energy to function.  The old way was to place the switch in series with the bulb, which depended absolutely on an incandescent bulb - that won't work in your case.  The other way is to power it conventionally by bringing always-hot and neutral to the switch.   You need this method.

First, you already have 3 wires between the power supply/lamp and each switch.  Redesignate them as follows:

Actual Neutral (must be white or gray)
Always-hot
Switched-hot (which controls the lamp)

Then search for a matched set of smart switches (which are made to work together) which do what you want, and are compatible with that wiring.

For instance, two modern motion sensors (which take hot and neutral) may be able to work, each of them switching the switched-hot line.

Often, they are engineered products where one is a "master" and the other is a "remote".  Either you need the type which communicates wirelessly, in which case switched-hot is only used by the master.  Or, you need a "controller" up at the lamp, with two "remotes" at the switch locations, in which case the "switched-hot" is used for a communication wire instead.

To add to this answer...  if you are obliged to rewire, then given the low overall power requirement of the lamps, I would consider doing all this in low-voltage lighting.  The wiring is a lot easier to work with.


Does this arc fault breaker manage one or two circuits? I recently tested our breakers to see what was mapped to what.  In the process of doing this, I noticed that our arc fault breaker is handling a LOT.  Specifically:

4 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
Family room
Attic light
Dining room ceiling light.

It's unclear to me whether or not it's managing a single circuit or two.  I see two "15s" on the switch lever... so... so does that mean that there's actually two 15 amp circuits connected to it?

That would make more sense considering the load (still not ideal but certainly more reasonable than having EVERYTHING on a single 15 amp circuit).

Here's a picture:

That is a two-pole AFCI breaker. Two-pole breakers will disable both poles when a fault is detected. It is likely that they are connected in a "shared-neutral" configuration, which is considered a single circuit. Half of the loads (outlets, lights, etc) would be connected to L1  while the other half of the loads are connected to L2. Even though the two hot wires share only one neutral wire, they can safely handle the same amount of power as two 15 A circuits with two neutral wires. Shared neutrals reduce the overall amount of wiring used (especially useful for long runs), but slightly increases the complexity of the wiring in the house.


Deck joist cantilever distance with multiple intermediate supports Summary: Looking for advice on allowed cantilever length for a multiply-supported joist.

As described in Deck Magazine (which cites the American Wood Council's construction guide) there are limits to how far a deck joist (also beams) can cantilever.

The typical / simple case is shown in the first diagram. The cantilever can't exceed 1/4th of the joist span:

I'm looking for advice on interpreting this rule in the situation where the joist runs of a series of intermediate supports. I've hacked up their diagram to illustrate this:

So in this drawing the the joist is continuous for distance L which could be potentially much longer than what would be feasible in the first diagram. And though this diagram only shows one intermediate support 'B' but you could imagine there being several.

But is the 'L' in the second diagram accurate? (Allowed?)

My assumption here is that one reason for the L/4 rule is to prevent a 'seesaw' effect. So using intermediate supports to increase L would still prevent this. But there could be other considerations I'm not thinking of...

(Note - I'm aware that the local code official will have their own point of view.)

The cantilever can't be too long for two reasons.  One you want it to be stiff, so you don't have a diving board effect on the cantilevered part.  Two, it can't be so long that weight on the cantilever part has a see-saw effect and lifts the other part of the deck off its supports.

I think you could certainly make the argument that you could cantilever (AZ/4) as long as the joist is sized to span AZ.  (According to the cantilever joist span tables.)  If that is the case, the supporting beam at B is not required and I see no reason to shorten the cantilever because you have an extra support.

Otherwise I think you'd need to have an engineer's stamp on the plans to use something between AB and AZ, up to one-fourth of the maximum span of the joist per the table.


Hydro isolation for foundation cut out (edge, not face)? I live in Europe with a house constructed out of perforated bricks. I have sub grade basement windows. Our home inspector pointed out that the foundation edges exposed by the window channel need hydro isolation. We already have a major problem with mice falling in there, then tunneling through the foam insulation/sheathing all around the house.
What is the correct way to seal these edges? Each layer is very uneven, so I see potential problems with asphalt based paints or membranes, but would appreciate all advice.
Hard to see in the picture, but there is a drain at the base of each window cavity for water egress.

Wow, looks like a problem (and one I've never dealt with). But I will venture what I would do:

clean thoroughly with scrub brush and TSP
spray insect poison deeply into each crack and crevice and let everything dry out
seal all cracks and crevices with low-expansion spray foam
paint all with waterproofing mopping sealant (like Redguard)
pack with latex-fortified/modified mortar and smooth trowel level, around each window, till it looks nice like a clean cement frame
prime and paint


No voltage detected at black wire, voltage detected only at red wire coming from ceiling outlet Moved into a new construction, I was recently trying to install a ceiling fan. There are 4 wires coming out of the ceiling outlet box,

Black wire
White wire
Red wire
Bare copper wire

Wired the ceiling fan as instructed, black from ceiling to black from receiver, however this doesn't work.
My assumption was that black wire from ceiling is hot. When I use a non contact voltage tester, there is no voltage detected at the black wire, there is voltage detected only at the red wire. Is this normal?

In the US there is no standard specified if the red or black is the hot for a ceiling fixture fed from the switch location.
I usually do use black for a light ,and the red for a fan but I have reversed it this in the past.
Both the red and black can be hot and or switched fixtures.
If the power was at the ceiling it is now common to take the black down as hot and the red is a switched hot but not all electricians do this because there is no code requirement to do it.
So if the red is hot with the switch on and not hot with the switch off cap the black and connect to the red,,, electrons don’t care what color the insulation in and the NEC has no requirement in this case for the red or black but black is more common so the mfg showed that.


Why won't the heat shut off in one zone? we have a three zone baseboard hotwater furnace.  a few months ago one zone would randomly stay on, we did change the thermostat we have not noticed the problem again, but in another zone we have the same problem, we changed the thermostat & it has not helped, the heat stays on no matter what temp we set it on, we have to shut the furnace off.  please help.

Try to replace the valve motor first.  It is much cheaper and easier, and many times it's the motor that has gone bad, not the entire valve. To test, set the zone valve to auto (which is what is likely is in) and note if it won't turn on. Then turn it to manual open.  If it turns on, your motor is likely bad.


Stair skirt board protruding from wall by ~1/4" - can I use a belt sander to sand it down? I'm doing my own stairs remod - long story short, I'm regretting it. It looked deceptively easy, but I've regretted it and I have a bunch of little errors that are adding up.

One such mistake is that the skirt board is in, can't be removed and it protrudes from the wall by a little less than 1/4 of an inch.

How would someone who knows what they're doing try to get rid of this protrusion so it's flush with the wall it's against? I'm afraid sawing will be sloppy (especially if I do it). Would a belt sander work?

This isn't too tough. Make your life easier by finding a plinth block that coordinates with your rail system or other nearby trim components:

Use whatever tools you have on hand to trim the skirt back about 3/4" from the wall corner. Fit the plinth block over the end of the skirt to act as a cap. This way you don't need a perfect cut on the skirt, and you don't need a miter return into the wall.

A technique I've used for this is to rabbet the back corner of the plinth block using a table saw. Run from the bottom upward, and stop short of the top of the block. This leaves a curved notch that can fit the top profile of the skirt rather nicely.


How do I protect myself from bad contracting jobs? I've came cross couple recent bad jobs 1 2 and am dealing with a bad electrical job myself.

Before putting down money and letting the people leave, what resources are available to a consumer to protect themselves (before the fact and after the fact)?

Comfort level, commonsense and walk away is about all you've got on your side. Yes, services like Home Advisor and Angies List do have some pull, but if the contractor's gone bad then those services can't reason with them.

First off, don't give any down-money and cancel everything with that contractor. Short jobs of a week or 2, by good contractors, will only require payment or start of payments upon completion.

Longer projects of a month or more, with a good contractor, won't require money until demolition is done and a discovery of any obstacles is discussed and planned with the "estimate" being converted to an "Invoice" with an updated Contract...if needed.

Then, the written Contract will spell-out the agreed payment schedule with goals achieved by the contractor before another payment is made or the establishment of a payment plan or financing. A payment schedule should start with no more than 25% and a payment plan should be no more than 10%.

Once the money is fair and square, then you need to possibly force constant communication and take an active interest in the project. Ask how things are going, ask to be shown any problems and ask about sub-contractors or materials that were to have shown up.

If things change and the project is falling behind, communication ceases, work turns sloppy or daily clean-up stops. Then, stop everything and calmly discuss your concerns before the whole crew (if any). Yes, you may have to take off from work to address the changes you're noticing.

If you're met with attitude from someone you thought you had a good relationship with and nothing's getting re-planned nor resolved, then fire them and provide a partial next payment. You must always be prepared to have another contractor take over regardless of project delay.

This is your money and your home or business and he, she or they better shape up back to how it all started or it's time for them to ship out, period. Building Inspectors, the BBB, Lawyers and the contractor's Insurance Company won't and don't act or do any good until there's gross rubber-stamp negligence.

It's always a gamble and the pressures of any work can get to anyone. But, a professional will re-group, slow down and re-trace or apologize and thank you for picking up what they dropped and get things right back on track. You act professional and they'll act professional.

Don't get paranoid and do realize the stage or phase of the project before jumping to the worst your mind can imagine. Observe, take pictures and notes and give it a day or 3 to correct itself. The contractor and crew want to hear your interest in their process and your praise of their work, but whining and complaining will kill their morale.


What is the right A/C contactor part that I need? I need to replace my A/C contactor, but I'm not sure what exact model I need for the new part. I took two photos showing the Brand and model number of it but when I search it on Amazon, I cant seem to find the exact one. I was wondering if I can use different brands instead of the one I have put in right now, I'm just not sure. Can someone maybe give me a link to a one which is compatible with this model or explain what other ones I can use.
Brand: Honeywell
Model: R8243A 1031
24V 50/60HZ

I searched R8243 and came up with a Honeywell cross R4243b1012.
Part numbers change all the time but this should be a compatible part 24v coil and a double pole contact set without knowing your compressor size it would be hard to guess at the right size because Honeywell did not provide the specs for the original.
It’s not a big deal as long as the control voltage 24v is the same   It’s a double pole motor contactor the last part would be the HP rating.  Well and it fits. It won’t hurt to get a larger one as long as it fits. I put larger ones in all the time the contacts actually last longer.


How do I set up a wiring closet that connects to the exterior of the house? I'm looking to build a central wiring closet for ethernet, phone, and co-ax.  I would like this closet to have a single pipe to the exterior of the house, which service lines can come in through.  Also, fiber is not currently available, and I'd like it and any future technologies to have easy access to the central closet.

My concerns are:

What kind of conduit to use
How to penetrate the exterior wall

Basement wall is concrete
Could also be easily put through main floor siding

How to protect the exterior of the conduit from weather

Hopefully that's all I need to plan the project...

Your local hardware store should have a selection of conduit that's suitable. Generally any PVC should be OK as it's designed to survive the weather, and does so very well. I used 15mm, but I wasn't running coax - just data cables. An SC fiber connector would not fit through a 15mm conduit, so you'll either have to get a larger conduit than this or get it crimped after it's been through the hole. Go for the larger conduit - it'll be cheaper and easier.

Penetrating the exterior wall depends on what kind of structure your house is built with. Ours is double-brick exterior, so I just drilled through it with a 15mm masonry drillbit and a large hammer-drill. Concrete should be pretty much the same. If you don't have access to a hammer drill, every few seconds stop the drill and pull it back a few cm, then start again. Depending on the thickness of your wall the drill bit will get incredibly hot, so be careful after you've made your hole.

With the exterior conduit, if it's PVC then it should be pretty safe against the weather as it is. If you need to run outdoor connectors outside of the conduit, then IP65 or 67-rated devices should do well.


How do I check if the plastic tube that comes out of the water pump of my furnace/AC does not leak? I have a water pump similar with this one

In this question I am asking bout what is marked with #3 in the picture.
In my case that pipe goes to the ceiling ..partially open in the furnace room and from there through the finished ceiling it traverses a hallway and I am not sure if it joins the drain of my bathroom downstairs or the drain of my sink or bathube upstairs, they are all represented in the picture.

I need to verify the integrity of this pipe. How can I do it?

Edit: the drain tube was installed about 30 years ago when the old furnace was installed (an Olsen, first models of condensing furnaces)

Edit2: looking closer I discovered that there is a pipe that brings water to my humidifier (old an and not in use anymore. Most probably the tube for the pump follows this pipe to the source of water. The worst part is that I also discovered that just above the furnace the tube diameter it reduced by coupling the initial tube with a smaller diameter tube which is the one that actually goes through the floor joists, have no idea where. So now it is out of question to use fishtape to see where this tube goes.

I was reading this webpage http://inspectapedia.com/aircond/Condensate_Drain_Problems.php and I came across a comment that inspired me a method to check if my tube is OK. That would be to use a smoke bomb (search this keyword on that page) in a shop vac and to pump the smoke through the tube to see where it connects. This will work assuming that at the other end the tube is connected to a drain in one of the ways described here: http://inspectapedia.com/aircond/1633s.jpg If that is the case then the smoke will come out at the other end in the kitchen or bathroom and with that we located the other end of the tube. Having that location then we can easily conduct a pression test as suggested in one of the comments above


can I install new leviton outlet without ground wire? I bought a leviton tamper resistant outlet(No. T5325) to replace the old one in my living room.

the old one has 2 hot wires and 2 neutral wires, but has no ground wire. Can I just wire the new outlet the same way? If not, whats the correct way to do it?

behind the old outlet, its a metal box. Is this metal box used as ground?

new outlet.

In order for you to find the answer to your question you need to have a continuity tester, or some type of meter that can measure ohms. You could also use a plug continuity tester

First make sure all circuits are dead in the box you are testing, then see if you can get a "ring" between the neutral and the metal box (make sure they are not touching in the box). If you do get a ring then chances are your system is grounded through the metal conduit or cable back to the panel. If it is grounded to the panel then you can go ahead and replace the receptacle. Is this a good idea? Probably not, but if your dwelling falls under an old grandfather clause that uses the metal conduit as a ground there is no reason you can't.

The more modern and acceptable approach or if you can't get a ring between the neutral and the ground, is to replace that receptacle with a GFCI receptacle. If all of the outlets on this circuit are the same configuration as the one shown. Then the best method would be to find the beginning of the circuit and install a GFCI there and label the preceding receptacles ungrounded with the little labels provided with the GFCI receptacle.

Here is a picture to help explain, just remember the is no ground.

Good luck


How do you replace a ballast? We have fluorescent lights in our office and someone said that the ballast was bad.  How can you replace a ballast?

Before attempting to replace the ballast, I'd check to make sure it wasn't the bulbs first. If they're blackened at the ends, then it's the bulbs.

Otherwise, it may be the ballast.

First, cut power to the light by flipping the breaker. I'd check to make sure you got the right circuit by flipping the light switch on and off afterwards.

Next, open up the fixture and remove the bulbs. There's usually a center section of the fixture that is held in place by several flanges. Squeeze the center section to remove it.

The ballast should be inside - it looks like a rectangular box. Unscrew the wire nuts attaching it to the fixture. (I replace them on the exposed wire ends afterward just for a little extra safety.) Un-bolt the ballast from the fixture.

Take the ballast to a hardware store and get a matching replacement.

Reverse and repeat.

If you want pictures, here's a tutorial with the same basic approach.

Also, here's another resource that suggests replacing the entire fixture may actually be cheaper.


How to wire/replace this bathroom light switch? I have a motion sensor switch controlling bathroom light and a single pole switch controlling exhaust fan in the same box. I want to replace the motion sensor switch with a single pole switch.
Below is a link to the picture that shows how the wiring looks like in the box:

Basically, I have total 3 entry/exit points.
White wires on all 3 are connected together.
Ground wires on all 3 are connected together.
Black wire from entry point 1 goes to a splitter input.At the output of splitter 1 black wire goes to a wire connector where the black wire from motion switch is connected. 2nd output of splitter is a black wire that goes to the bottom screw on single pole switch.
There is a red wire that goes to a wire connector where the black wire from entry/exit point 2 is connected.
The top screw on single pole switch is connected to a black wire that goes to the exit point 3.

So, now I want to replace the motion switch with single pole switch. How do I alter this wiring to put single pole switch?

Turn off the power, and verify that it's off.
Remove the twist-on wire connectors that are connecting the motion sensor leads to the black wires.
Connect the black wires directly to the new single pole switch.
Install grounding conductors to the switches.


Squeaking Shower Pan I decided a few months back to remodel a guest bathroom, and went with a fiberglass/acrylic shower pan.  The pan was put in place on top of a mortar base, and then sealed to it with liquid nails.  At this stage there is now tile on top of shower pan as well, so removing the shower pan would require taking out that row of tile, and likely cutting it out.  The rest of the bathroom however is unfinished.

Unfortunately the pan creaks, and I know if that isn't fixed it will drive me crazy.  It's a brand new bathroom, the tiled wall looks beautiful, and everything else will look like a million dollars, but a creaking acrylic shower pan is going to ruin it aesthetically for me.

What are my options at this point?  Try to salvage the pan with techniques to stop it from creaking (I've read about foam, etc.) or just take it on the chin and rip it out and go with a tiled base?  It'll definitely add to the cost of the project and time, but if I'm not going to enjoy the end product, the money is beside the point.

Thoughts and advice are welcome.

I have never set a shower pan in a mud base, in glue, yes. Whirlpool tubs go in a mud base with building paper first, reinforcing wire on top of that, nailed or stapled in place, then a stiff layer of high strength sand mix cement or mortar piled high and the tub  "settled into" the mud so the bottom of the tub carries the weight, not the edges.

If you did all that with your shower pan so the mud base did not crack, it would not need glue under it. Typically shower pans do not have that much room under them to allow enough mud under them to keep it from dying out too quickly and therefore weakening the mix, that is why glue has been the only thing used that I know of.

In my opinion, without knowing more of the situation, as in not able to hear the type of sound it is making, you will need to pop the pan and reset it. I think the mud base may have been your own idea?


Connecting a ground wire (SER cable) to a main disconnect that has no lug for it? These 3 wires connect this main disconnect to my sub panel in the back of the garage that powers the whole house. It runs in a conduit that serves as the ground between the sub panel and the enclosure in this picture. I am replacing the cable/conduit with a 4 wire SER cable (separate ground). How would the ground in that new cable attach to this enclosure? Neutral and ground can be bonded since this is a main panel but there is no lug available and no space on the tiny bar that’s there. Can I drill and tap a lug to the enclosure? Doesn’t seem right...

So I think I am going to mount a small ground bar to the panel under the breaker and add a lug to that bar. Neutral and ground will be bonded through the enclosure.


Killing Cockroaches Safely I am renting an Airbnb in South America.  To kill cockroaches, the owner put a fine layer of white powder (from internet searches, I believe this is either borax or diatomaceous earth) on the floor yesterday morning.  It is hot, so I always run a fan on high (over my bed) which probably kicks up some of that powder.
I woke up this morning with a dry mouth, throat, and nose, so am concluding that this is due to my breathing in the powder.  When I blew my nose, I could even see dried blood.  There seems to be a chalky taste in my mouth too, but that might be psychological.
By the way, I have seen maybe 10 dead cockroaches, so I know the powder is working.
From a quick blow test, this powder did not lift up from the ground easily (I think baby powder lifts much more easily), so maybe I did not breathe in very much.  The white particulate's size and weight might be enough to keep it on the ground.
Is it generally considered bad to use a fan in a room with this powder treatment?
I am thinking to switch off the fan, let any dust settle for an hour, and then mop my entire floor before sleeping tonight.
In hindsight, I think I should have refused this treatment though I wasn't really given the option.  If anyone has medical studies or anecdotes about the health effects in my case, can you please reference them?  I'm trying to stay neutral, but if it's well-known that this is hazardous, I want to let the owner know.

Borax and DE are a low coast and easy way to eradicate insects. They both are a less toxic form of killing bugs. DE is the remains from a prehistoric sea mollusk (the shell I believe) while Borax is a natural occurring mineral.
Borax should not be applied where it can get accidentally inhaled or absorbed by humans and non-target animals. Although it is less toxic than other insecticides it is not inert and can have harmful effects if ingested.
DE while having no toxic ingredients also cause problems due to it's shape. The fine powdery dust that is DE has extremely sharp ,albeit minuscule, edges. If enough is inhaled  it can cause possible lung problems.
To haphazardly spread either of these substances while considering them safe, is both reckless and unsafe. If you'd rather not tempt fate and sleep easy purchase a trap-like product (like "Roach Motel" etc.). These products either use a lure phernome that entices the specific bug to enter the enclosed trap where upon it gets stuck on the sticky floor or a chemical bait that it ingest's and dies. This is the safest way to ensure you and pets are safe and insects are eradicated quickly.


Rain Got To Untreated Wood Furniture Project - What to Do? I've been building a bedframe from unfinished wood on my deck (due to lack of indoor workspace), and tarping it off at night to protect it. Apparently I did a poor job last night though, as the wind blew a corner of the tarp off, said corner taking a few minutes of rain today.

My question is basically - what should I do now? I was planning on doing some sanding and bolting tonight, and staining later this week. Is there a general guideline for how long it takes untreated wood to dry out enough for either of those purposes, and should I be worried about warping once it dries?

Very mad at myself, and been having trouble finding answers to these particular questions - thanks much.

Edit: Also, should I be worried about the water damaging/staining the wood's appearance?

Unfortunataly there's very little to do but wait and see.  Whether it warps or discolors or both will be revealed in the next 2 or three days.


Gas line pressure testing, is there an acceptable limit for losses? Last week I finished installing the gas home runs in a house I'm working on.  Never really done this before, but I figured I'd take a shot at it since it was only 20 ft of pipe.
Last Saturday, with all valves open except the main and the last valve before the appliance, I pressurized the line to 15PSIG.  When I left that night, still at 15.  Monday morning it was at 14.  Tuesday evening it was at 11.  Today it was down to 5.  Obviously, I don't want gas issues, but nothing is going to stay pressurized forever without maintenance.  Is there a rule of thumb, practical limit?

You have a leak, and given that it's gas piping, you need to fix it.
For an air compressor, you might live with that sort of leak, but you don't have to.
For gas, it's unacceptable.
"Nothing is going to stay pressurized forever without maintenance" - for adequate values of forever, sure, the pipe will rust away. My "properly assembled" portable air tank, with a gauge and a quick-disconnect and a hose left on the quick disconnect with another quick-disconnect and a tire chuck holds pressure for (at least) months. If your gas piping won't hold pressure for a week, that's going to be a problem.
Small variations (which can go up as well as down) may be seen due to changes in temperature. I very much doubt that's the case for your pipe. Add more pressure, get out the soapy water (plus glycerine if you can find some, or buy "leak detector fluid" if you like - or just bubble solution for blowing bubbles) and start checking every joint. At least one is bubbling and needs to be remade properly.


Ideas to save hardwood floor from botched tung oil job? We bough a 200+ (but not much more!) old farm house last year, and we're renovating slowly, but surely. Earlier in last year, we we discovered old hardwood floors under layers of linoleum on the second floor and, after sanding, we settled on tung oil to finish them.

Now, it would seems like we didn't properly remove all the excess oil while finishing and now there is a layer of white, sticky residue on the floor.

We do have one solution to clean that mess up at the moment: mineral spirit and really fine mineral wool. It works, but the problem is: it takes forever, a lot of spirit and a lot of mineral wool.

Mind you, I don't care spending the time necessary to save that floor, but I would still be really happy if anyone had a better solution, one that's more time and material effective, so we can concentrate on other parts of the house now ;-)

In a closet or other inconspicuous area try applying pure undiluted orange oil in a thin layer. This will soften and extract the tung oil, then scrape the softened layer with a 4" or 8" wide razor scraper, periodically scraping off the scraper with a putty knife.

Then go over the floor with orange oil on a rag, then mineral spirits to remove the residue of orange oil. I haven't used this myself on hardwood, but have used it to remove adhesive from concrete.

I realize this may be just too expensive and perhaps sanding is the no nonense  professional procedure, but sticky tung oil would probably gum up the sanding belts. And I just hate handling dust.

Edit
If all you want to do is remove excess tung oil, maybe you could use an electric floor buffer with pads. Apply a thin layer of orange oil, let sit for 5 minutes or so then run the floor buffer with an absorbent pad over the oiled area. I would not use an electric buffer with highly volatile solvent like mineral spirits because of risk of fire or even explosion.


drilling hole in external wall & mounting lights on a modern timber frame house I have a modern timber frame house. Its timber frame with brick facade on one side and monocouche on the back of the house.
I want to:

Drill a hole from inside to outside to bring a cable out.
Mount some lights and cameras on the wall externally.

I've only lived in concrete homes up to now, where such tasks were relatively simple.
With timber, I'm aware there is a membrane that needs to be protected.
With pulling a cable through, does the membrane need resealing?
with mounting external items like lights, is it likely ill pierce the membrane?
thank you for any advice.

Seems quite odd to see someone say "drilling through concrete is easy, but how do I drill through wood". I guess it's all in what you're used to!
Different wood-framed houses will have different levels of exterior wind/water protection between the wall framing/sheathing and the exterior surface treatment. The level of protection will depend on when the house was built and what kind of price range it was built to.
Older houses had wooden clapboard applied directly over the studs. Then planks were applied over the studs as a structural level with claps, shingles or bricks applied to the planks. At some point, resin paper began to be installed to help keep wind and water out.
With the advent of plywood, that was used as exterior sheathing underneath bricks/stone, claps, shingles, metal or cement/asbestos siding. Soon, foil-backed papers were also being used as a wind/water proofing membrane. As more time passed, the plywood was often replaced with oriented strand board (OSB) with the same selection of exterior protection, vinyl siding was introduced, and Tyvek™ house wrap was introduced as well. The Tyvek™ was often taped at the seams to help improve the weather resistance.
Now there are all sorts of systems, some preapplied to the plywood/OSB at the factory and sold along with special tapes specific to the coatings. Tyvek™ is still very commonly used as well. Some houses will use a self-sealing rubber membrane at openings in the exterior sheathing (like windows, doors, roof vents, chimneys, etc) in addition to a house-wrap or pre-applied coating.
Note that with all of these weather protection membranes, exterior siding (claps, shingles, vinyl) are nailed onto the house, and that each and every one of these nails penetrates the wrap. Even on your brick house, there are metal straps nailed to the house every few courses to help hold the exterior brick layer tightly to the house framing and that all these nails penetrate whatever membrane may be on your house.
It's not possible for us to know what kind of "membrane" may be on the outside of your house. Even though you say your house is "modern", it will still depend on age, build quality, and location on the planet. Even within the US, houses are built to different standards based on what the expected weather will be like.
I have family that's building a house a couple of miles from me who are using a high-tech coating applied to the sheathing at the factory with (very expensive) tape to be applied at each panel seam, while just down the road, they're throwing up new houses in a subdivision and putting Tyvek™ house wrap on them because it's quick and cheap. These houses are as "modern" as it gets (since they're not even completed yet), and they have different treatments on them.
TL;DR:
If you're drilling a new hole in an existing house, grab your drill and go to it. You will penetrate whatever kind of wind/water barrier may have been installed on your house. There's no way around it. Don't make the hole any larger than necessary, though - just big enough for the conduit.
Note: Even if you're using low voltage (LV lighting and the camera feeds are probably LV for both signal and power), use conduit and proper exterior-rated junction boxes for mounting the external fixtures. There are code issues to contend with, and, especially for cameras, technology changes and in the future you may want to install a camera with a different signaling technology - the conduit will make it very easy to pull out the old cables and install new ones.
Use a heavy bead of caulk between the wall surface and the conduit, install the box, and apply another bead of caulk between the box and the wall. Without completely disassembling the wall, this will be the best you can do. After 5-10 years (depending on the quality of caulk and the quality of the job of applying it), you may want to start checking on the caulk to ensure it's not drying/cracking/shrinking and starting to allow water through. Once you see signs that it may be, it's probably time to remove the old caulk and apply new. That's part of home maintenance.


How to keep a concrete wall cool? I'm a student renting a room on the 2nd floor of a small apartment. When i got back from the holidays i found out our next door neighbors extended their house and built a shed. The roof of their extended house+shed is now almost touching the outer wall of my rented room. Now, that roof is probably reflecting the heat to my wall and is heating up the place.

Anyway i could cool down this wall in a cheap way? I really like this room as its convenient and it fits right into my budget.

You could possibly buy some insulation material from your local hardware or building supply store.

The cheapest would be to buy fiberglass insulation, but I would recommend against this, because it can be bad for your lungs if not installed properly.

The quickest and easiest would be to get some rigid foam board insulation and put it up against the wall.  With this you could probably wallpaper over it, or possibly even paint some types.

Be sure to check the R-Value on the insulation that you want to use.  The higher the R-Value, the better insulation that you will get.

I know that it doesn't seem like you will get a lot of benefit from some foam board, but you would be surprised.

Home Depot - All Insulation

Home Depot - Rigid Insulation

From a cost perpective, you aren't looking at anything outrageous either.

Let's assume your wall is 8 feet tall (for simplicity)
and that it's 24 feet long.  (That's a pretty decent sized wall for a room)

You will need 6 - 4x8 pieces of Rigid Insulation Board.
at ~$20 / sheet for the 1" stuff, that's $120 (US)
at ~$37 / sheet for the 2" stuff, that's $220 (US)

If you do install the foam board, be sure to get some foam sealer (like Great Stuff) and put that in between the cracks.  Small gaps in the foam board can make a surprisingly big difference.

The next step would be putting sheetrock or really inexpensive plywood / fiber board over it.

Good Luck and let us know how it works out!


Why does a laundry drain need to be installed at a minimum height of 30"? My laundry machine doesn't work properly in my new flat (the wash cycle never ends), and the instructions specify that the common cause of my problem is that the drain is too low (my drain is indeed at 15" above the machine bottom, whereas the instructions recommend 30").

I'm quite curious as to why this is the case; common sense dictates that too low a drain shouldn't be an issue, doesn't it?

Does somebody have an explanation for this requirement?

The water in the wash tub will drain out if the drain in the wall is lower than the water level in the washing machine. Simple physics, water seeks its own level. The drain located at the recommended height will allow the water to remain and allow the pump to remove the water at the end of the cycle.


How can I straighten a piece of wire? I've once seen it on TV: in industrial wire production they use a set of castors that bends the wire back and forth, up and down – always a bit less, until its straight. Is there something similar for home use?

I don't know about the machine, but depending on the size of the wire and the length, you can straighten it by holding one end in a vise and then holding the other end in a pliers and giving it a quick jerk.  It takes a little practice but it works quite well.

However I would hesitate to use this technique on wire you plan to use for household wiring.  If the wire gets stretched too much the diameter of the conductor could be reduced, and likewise the ability to carry the rated current.


The blower on my HVAC runs sometimes when it should be off The blower on my HVAC runs sometimes when it should be off.  It does not run all of the time.

The furnace is in the attic and  the abnormal running seems to be related to the attic temperature.

Observations:

When the attic is not hot, all functions work properly,  the blower is on when it should be on and off when it should be off.

With a hot attic (109 F), the blower was running with the thermostat in HEAT mode, fan in AUTO, and the set point 5 degrees below room temperature.
The blower continued to run when I switched the thermostat to OFF mode.  The blower shut off overnight.

With a hot attic , the blower was running with the thermostat in COOL mode, fan in AUTO, and the set point 15 degrees above room temperature.  The blower shut off overnight.

Question:

Is this normal behavior?  If not, how do I determine what is causing the blower to run when it should be off?

Equipment - Installed 1981

General Electric natural gas furnace model BLH080E936G0

General Electric 5-wire thermostat model AY28X092   3AAT50A2B55I

Honeywell high limit and fan motor control  L4064E 1223
Settings: high limit 205 F, Fan ON 120 F, Fan OFF 82 F

@ThreePhaseEel Wiring Diagram

That is actually a Trane/ American Standard furnace I believe. The cause is most likely the limit switch is getting so hot it is opening causing the fan to turn on to cool the limit switch. They often will open around 130-145 and yours may be a little weak.


Can I cut the shower seal that is tearing or do I have to replace the whole seal? On my glass shower door, the outer seal of the under sweep is tearing. (I think it's called the under sweep based on other questions I've seen on this site but I could be wrong).
Can I cut the piece that is tearing so that it stops or do I have to replace the whole seal?

I'd try removing the door and see if you can refit the seal into the groove on the door, maybe a little super glue to hold it in place. If it is, in fact, torn or split from th groove in the door, then you'll need to replace the whole seal. If you just cut the loose end off, the door will probably leak at that point.


Add storage to hidden attic space above garage? I recently discovered that I have an unfinished attic in a guest bedroom on the second floor of my house, above the garage. The overall area is behind the closet in the bedroom and is approximately 10x20' wide. It has 2x6 joists spaced 16" on center.

I was hoping to put some 2x4s across the joists and add some plywood across to make a floor and use this space for storage. However, I don't know how much weight I could safely store up there. There is even a electrical switch and bulb in the area suggesting that may have been intended to function as a storage space?

Would an attic like this support mild to moderate storage weight if a floor was added? Are there any safety issues or other general concerns I should have? Any advice would be much appreciated

Here are the pictures of the attic: Unfinished Attic Space - 10'x20'

I just ran an analysis and you can store 20 psf safely on this, which is the code requirement for storage above ceilings. This is with the weight of the 2x4s you wish to add.


what sized screw should I use? I have a projector screen which weighs 26kg and I'm trying to fix it on to the wall.  The screen has holes for two screws and I'm wondering what size screw I need to support that weight.

To complicate matters - I live in an old Victorian townhouse and upon drilling in to the walls it seems that they are made of pebbles and big pieces of flint.  I've drilled 3 holes in a vertical line, about 2 inch below each other and it seems like the pebbles fell through from top to bottom, so I've filled the top two with polyfilla and stuck a yellow rawplug in the bottom and am waiting for it all to dry.  I have some 2 inch screws - is this a recipe for disaster?

Below is one of the screws I have - I think I need bigger but can't make a hole big enough in the wall because of the flint all over the place.  Is there anything else I can try?

If you have doubts about the ability to solidly attache the screen with two screws into the wall, I'd consider putting up a 1x2 or 2x2 strip, then attaching the screen to that.

You should be able to use a number of screws to attache the strip to the wall, and if you're not concerned about removing it you could even glue it.  Then you can screw the screen to the strip, which should hold it without any problems.

If you need a completely flat mount for the screen, you can build a frame out of the same material.


Power goes on and off Power to house keeps going on and off. The last time it went off I turned the main breaker off and back on and immediately had power. Could the main breaker be going bad?

Maybe.  The definitive test is to measure the voltage before the main breaker when the failure occurs.

If you are handy and knowledgeable enough about electric wiring, remove the breaker box panel cover.  Probe the main lead wires coming from the meter with a voltmeter or voltage indicator during an outage.

Note that opening the panel and taking a good close visual look at the leads upstream and downstream of the main breaker might reveal the problem.  Maybe there are discolored or loose wires, melted insulation, charring, a stray wire, etc.


Blowing up a doorbell transformer My house is a 117 year old masterpiece of evolving building codes and improvisation. One of the things I expect to do at some point in the future is get a doorbell camera, though it's not on the immediate horizon. When we moved in, the doorbell was a wireless, battery powered sort that I find to be moderately annoying. Considering those two things, I bought a Honeywell AT140A1000, as it had good reviews regarding smart doorbells specifically.
Anyway, I finally got around to installing it yesterday, and here's how I had it set up.

Aside from the transformer being 24VAC and the chime calling for 16, I don't think I broke any rules. Indeed,  it worked for an hour or two. Eventually, though, I heard a pop over by the panel, where I have the transformer mounted. It wasn't loud, so I figured I had blown a fuse, even though at that moment I wasn't even touching any wires/connections/outlets/switches. I went to investigate, and all fuses were in order. But it stunk a little. Later reading indicated that transformers can stink a little when you first power them up.
Sometime after, I went to check the doorbell again and saw it no longer cause the chime to fire. So I tested everything, and sure enough, the transformer's secondary was at 0 volts. Not even the 0.065 volts I get from other "broken" circuits in the house, but flat zero. the transformer was also extremely hot. Like, I wouldn't want to handle it for more than a couple of seconds kind of hot.
I still had the original transformer (I wonder how old it is) so I hooked it up again as the sacrificial lamb juuuust in case. This one also got extremely hot, but appeared to not even last long enough for me to get up from the basement to press the doorbell.
So before I grab another Honeywell... help? I am an absolute novice when it comes to higher voltage AC (12v DC is my playground, usually) but this ought to be so simple even I can figure it out. And yet... =)
Thanks in advance for your help!
EDIT: Well, I just learned that you need a certain (larger) amount of resistance on the primary side of this kind of step-down, and a different (smaller) amount of resistance on the secondary side. That, and if there's a lack of continuity on either side, the thing is toast. Or, if there is continuity between the two, it is also dead. Turns out that both transformers I blew up yesterday have no continuity on the primary side, but both are still beeping on the secondary side. So... I wonder if that points even harder toward the breaker box feeding too much power into the transformer. I get a 126V read from the leads coming out of the breaker box. Is that enough to explode everything? I dunno.

Since both old and new have problems, it is probably not a "bad" transformer, but rather something else that lead to the transformers failing.
Two things to check:

Mains voltage - Should be 120V (anywhere 110V to 125V is perfectly fine). If it is in the 200V - 240V range then you have this wired up to a 240V circuit instead of 120V and everything double and transformers release the magic smoke.
Short circuit - A short would cause a real problem. Check continuity on the doorbell switch to make sure it is not welded closed; check the chime (may get a bit trickier) to make sure it is not acting as a short (or near-short) circuit. A few hundred watts would be enough to fry the transformer but would not trip a 15A circuit. Keep in mind that while an electronic chime will keep ringing if the circuit is closed (until something burns up), an old style bell will give one ding (or dong) for each press of the doorbell switch. If the switch stays closed, you get one ding and then nothing...until something overheats.

Keep in mind that power (Watts) = Volts x Amps. Volts is easy - check (edits and comments indicate you did that) that the voltage is ~ 120V. In a typical residential situation, voltage will be pretty constant if the system as a whole (utility feed, breaker panel, etc.) is installed and functioning correctly. So that leaves current = Amps. That will depend on what is connected on the circuit. In the case of a transformer, the load on the secondary determines the amount of current flowing through the primary. (Don't ask me how that works - it still kind of baffles me - "physics"). So if you have a short on the secondary, the primary will try to provide as much power as it can, up to the value determined by Ohm's law - nothing is a 100% short circuit. On a DC measurement, each coil should show continuity (i.e., very low resistance). The rest of the circuit (in this case, on the secondary) is the key - if, for example, you replace the chime with a piece of wire then you cause a short circuit every time you press the doorbell. If you replace the chime with a 1 Ohm resistor, then Ohm's law says that at 24 Volts you will have 24 Amps = 576 Watts, far more than the 40 Watt (technically VA, doesn't matter Watts vs. VA for this right now). On the other hand, that 576 Watts divided by 120 Volts (nominal) is less than 5 Amps, so no breaker is tripped - but the transformer is fried.


Should I use a wire or soft sponge to clean a solder tip? I will be buying something to clean my soldering tip.

I think my choices are either bronze looking metal wire sponges or yellow soft sponges.

Which one is the right tool to clean soldering iron tips?
Which one should be used when?

Currently I'm soldering:

63/37 tin (various diameters)
Wires (various diameters)
40w 60w iron

I use a semi-soft wet sponge along with the brass wool; the brass wool is good for  removing excesses of solder from the iron's tip, while the wet sponge is better at getting oxidized crud off.  As an aside, you need to be very careful when sanding tips; many cheap tips are plated and aggressive sanding will destroy that plating, rendering the tip worthless.


Gas Smell from Fire Place Key Valve When I turn the key to open gas valve to light my gas fireplace I can constantly smell gas coming from the key hole. Is that normal? When I shut the valve off with the key I can no longer smell gas.

You certainly have a leaking gas valve.  Your symptoms of it leaking only when open are pretty common.

A while back, you could open up the valve and repack it; but, due to this kind of fix being temporary at best, your gas company and insurance company will demand the valve be replaced.  So, ignore any advice to repack the valve.

This means it's not a DYI job, as you'll need proof the work was done by a licensed professional, in the event someone asks.  Hire a professional, and keep the valve shut until you do.

They will shut off gas to the house, bleed the line free of pressure (gas) and then remove and replace the valve.  The real problems that come from such a repair come due to the pipes possibly being seized due to the mortar, or more likely corroded due to moisture (common in such lines).  In those scenarios, the details of your exact layout will determine how much pipe might need to be replaced, and how easy it may be to replace the pipe.

If a plumber just gives you a new valve, you're lucky.  If they find your pipes are nearly rusted through and you need to replace them, you might feel unlucky, but really you are still lucky.  You're just lucky with a bigger bill, but a much smaller bill than if you were looking at rebuilding due to a fire.


What kind of socket is this? I found it in my apartment's wall.

Yes, indeed it is a Belgian phone socket.

http://www.levoyageur.net/phone-country-Belgium.html

The four pins match the four holes in your socket. The fifth pin is there to make sure you don't put it in upside down. There's a hole for it too.

This is how it looks with a cover (except for the RJ jack that you may not have)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140716003426/http://www.p-wholesale.com/cn-pro/5/121to2/phone-jack-91449.html

Below I mark the five pins and the switch at the center. The switch is opened by the b and S pins indicating that the socket is used. This is common for phone sockets.


How can I wire a panel heater? Bought my Mum a Dimplex Panel Heater for Christmas.

My plan was to plug it into the single socket beside where I am mounting it however it did not come with a plug and look like it should be wired into a fused unit.

Can I just stick a 13A plug on it and use existing socket? Its only 0.5KWH.

These are designed to permanently wired through a fused switch. As gregmac points out in his comment there may be insurance issues if you use a normal plug and socket, particularly in area of fire risks.

However, you can replace the current socket with a fused switch panel. Make sure you get one with a hole in the surface for the wire to go through.

Something like this


Sturdy privacy barrier on rooftop My townhome has a rooftop deck. A waist-high wall about 10 feet long separates it from my neighbor's deck. The other walls are taller, maybe shoulder height (~5 feet).

I would like to construct some sort of barrier, at least 6 feet tall, in front of the shorter wall, for privacy between me and my neighbor, as well as for blocking wind. My initial thought was bamboo, which would look great. However, it can get very windy where I live—up to 70 mph, although this is rare (~30 mph is more typical). The higher walls of my deck of course block some of this wind, but on super windy days, my deck furniture gets tossed around, so the wind felt on the deck can be significant.

I'm wondering what my options are. Ideally, it would stand up to normal windy days (up to 30 or even 50 mph).

Suggested construction:

I've depicted an overlapping jalousie privacy fence but I haven't put in all the details. "Privacy fence" construction is sort of a solved problem.

The fence does not need to be very strong because the beam supports it along its entire length.


Wet capping a leaky shower arm I have a standup shower that has a hose attachment, sort of like this one that screws on to the shower arm coming out of the wall. Unfortunately due to our hard water I am unable to unscrew the attachment any longer as sediment has built up all around it.
The faucet is turned totally off (100%) but water is still dripping out of the shower head (its been weeks). This tells me the leak isn't with the hose attachment, but in the shower arm, or rather, the valve inside the wall.
I would like to cut the hose attachment off and cap it. Later this spring I'm going to tear the whole shower out and replace it, but for now I just want to get the leak to stop. I imagine that  once I start cutting the shower arm, water will start trickling out, and there's no way to tell how much there will be.
Should I tear out a panel of wall in between the faucet and the shower arm and see if I can replace the valve? Or is it probably OK to cut the arm in between the wall and the shower head, deal with a little bit of water trickling out and find a way to "wet cap" it somehow (place a cap and glue it on/seal it/etc. while water is still coming out)?

If the hose fitting can not be removed by you then i would advise you to remove the arm itself.  Get a 6 or 8 inch long 1/2" galvanized pipe nipple
and a 1/2" cap.
Pre-Install the cap on the nipple with two pipe wrenches, use Teflon tape on the treads.
Remove the arm  and thread in the capped nipple into the fitting in the wall, Use Teflon tape on the threads, Tighten with a pipe wrench.
If   the  leak is significant you should turn off you main water supply valve first.


Why is electric bill all of a sudden $300+ when normally it is under $100? My dads been pulling the last of his hairs out over this.

The past two years around this time, the electric bill jumps to about $300 when typically it’s around $100.

Nothing has changed, we haven’t acquired any new appliances ( all kitchen appliances are relatively brand energy efficient appliances ) We have one LCD TV that’s rated at something like $20 annually.

Dad and wife suspect someone is somehow siphoning power.

When the the main breaker is shut off, the meter stops spinning.

We’ve been selectively unplugging drier, washer, fridges, stove etc. Water heater is gas. We have central AC and it hasn’t run much at all as well.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this aside from selectively unpluging devices ?

Contact the electric company. Find out when they do physical meter readings, versus merely projecting your estimated usage.   I bet it's in May.

If you have a smart meter that communicates via powerlines, then my theory is blown.  But you said your meter spins, and smart meters don't do that.


using 1x6 for framing exterior walls My local store has a limited selection and for framing an exterior wall my choices are using 1-1/4" x 6" and somehow double them or 2-1/4" x 10" and cut each of them at the 6" width. Using 1 x 6 would be much easier so my question is if it's possible and what would be the best way to do that. Just double them at 16", maybe fasten together? I would prefer not to build 2 x 10 exterior walls to save some space inside the house. These would be exterior load bearing walls, 8' high. Thanks.

Buy the 10" boards and rip them in half for two 5" studs for the least amount of waste, or to 3-1/2" if you want readily available windows and doors to fit in your openings which is going to be your next problem. Since the wood is spruce, follow IRC building codes for 2x4 SPF load bearing/exterior walls. At 8' tall and 16" on center spacing you can support most roofs, but don't support both a floor and a roof on it without asking us or reading up on it first. Use closed cell sill sealer to separate the bottom plate from direct contact with concrete/masonry, or just find pressure treated lumber for the bottom plate instead.


Which color wire do I connect the switch to on a power cord? I am trying to add an on/off switch to a power cord.

i opened up the cord and there is a black and white wires in there. I know that the switch will work on either one, but is there a better wire to choose from safety's perspective ?

The proper wire to insert the switch into is the black, or "hot" wire. The reason for this is because if you put the switch on the white or "neutral" wire, you will still have an energized plug at the other end that has potential to ground and is no safer than not having the switch at all.

This is all irrelevant though if you do not have a polarized plug or if you force the male plug into the outlet the "wrong" way.

It is probably easier and cheaper to buy a new extension cord with a factory made switch.


How strong are copper refrigerator ice maker water lines? How strong are the standard copper refrigerator water lines?  I have a decent size coil of copper line behind my refrigerator and I am afraid to re-position/re-coil it because I have no idea of it's durability.  Is this typically something I can handle and rearrange or should I be leaving it alone?

I would minimize the amount you bend them.  Think of it like a metal coat hanger, if you bend it in the same place several times, it will break.  Only the copper pipe is hollow, so it will break a lot sooner.  As best you can, avoid bending it multiple times in the same place.


Service box with no neutral bar I'm trying to add a 30amp, 110V RV connection box to my house but the service box has no neutral bar, what do I do with the white neutral wire?

This is a picture of the main panel by the meter.

This is a picture of the garage sub panel where I will be adding the RV service box.

It appears as though you have four slots available at the garage panel on the left side of the panel in your picture and one in the upper right.

The neutral bar is on the bottom of your picture with the white wires.

What seems to be the problem?