What pipe/adapter do I need to make this sink connect to this P trap? I'm getting ready to connect a custom vanity to a P-trap and I'm not sure what kind of pipe/connection/adapter I need.

The P-trap looks like this:

(note that it won't be sticking out that far from the wall.  This was just a test shot for example purposes.

The sink I'm planning to use looks like this:

Here's the bottom view of it:

The sink drain hole is approximately 2 inches in diameter.

The P-trap pipe diameter is 1.5 inches in diameter.

So my question at this point is: What material/component do I need to connect these two?  Is there a "drain insert" that's made for this type of thing?  Or should I find some sort adapter/coupling to connect the stuff together?

How can I connect these two?

You'll need to install a drain assembly. In a bathroom, pop-up drain assemblies are common.

Here's an image of the drain assembly, with all the parts labeled.

(source: naturalhandyman.com)

The tailpiece of the drain assembly, should attach to the trap assembly. If the trap is too low, an extension can be used.

When installing the drain, put a bead of plumber's putty around the drain hole of the sink. Then bed the drain flange in the plumber's putty.  From below, install the washer and nut, and thread on the tailpiece. When you tighten it down, the excess plumber's putty will squeeze out. Use you finger, or a rag to remove whatever oozes out.


Should I use 2 plumbing traps at either end of a drain extension? I have a washing machine that I am moving 2.5m from it's original spot.

A standard p-trap is already in the original place before connecting to the drain, i am tapping into this stand pipe for the extension.

Should I add another trap to the other end of the extension next to where I am moving the washer to, or is the original enough?

Double trapping is both a bad idea and a code violation in most jurisdictions - from the International Plumbing Code (my emphasis):

  1002.1 Fixture traps. Each plumbing fixture shall be separately trapped by a liquid-seal trap, except as otherwise permitted by this
  code. The vertical distance from the fixture outlet to the trap weir
  shall not exceed 24 inches (610 mm), and the horizontal distance shall
  not exceed 30 inches (610 mm) measured from the centerline of the
  fixture outlet to the centerline of the inlet of the trap. The height
  of a clothes washer standpipe above a trap shall conform to Section
  802.4. A fixture shall not be double trapped.

The length of pipe between the two traps will not be open to atmosphere on either side - normally, the vent side is open to atmosphere through the vent, and the fixture side is open to atmosphere through the drain. What will happen when you pour water into it is that it will drain fairly slowly because after moving through the first trap it is compressing the trapped air between the traps.

On the other end, in order to go through the second trap, it would need to pull air through the other trap to avoid having to create vacuum.  This prevents the pipe between the two fixtures from completely draining.


How to remove old multi turn water inlet valve I was replacing some of the parts in my toilet and noticed the grommet on the toilet end of the supply hose is worn and started to leak when I reconnected it.  My preference would be to just replace the grommet but I can't find a replacement grommet part so it looks like I am stuck replacing the water shutoff valve.  But I can't tell on this one how to remove it.  I don't see any threads and believe it might be soldered on.  Unfortunately the valve is right up against the Escutcheon ring. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to find grommets for old style metal flex lines or how to remove the valve?

that is a compression fitting,the nut is against the wall plate.using 2 pairs of adjustable wrenches,use 1 wrench to hold the valve(holding the valve just under the outlet hose)use the other wrench to loosen the nut.when done the valve will pop off leaving the nut and a brass ferrule.carefully remove the ferrule with pliers(wary not to crush the pipe,grip the ferrule and twist back and forth while putting pressure in a forward,pipe opening,direction)remove the nut,then replace with new valve as above,in reverse


Suitable box for outdoor patio Can I use a standard pvc new work box for receptacles/ switches, in an outdoor patio wall that will be enclosed? The wall will be completely sealed and covered in stone so rain, snow, etc. will not be able to enter the box(es).

As long as it is out of the weather as you describe then standard  boxes, devices and plates are fine. This installation sounds no different than a garage for instance.

Now, if this covering is voluntary, as in only on sometimes, then an inspector could very well consider this a damp or even wet location due to the fact that in some circumstances the area is likely to get wet. As in an unexpected rain storm while you are at work. If this is the case I would treat the area as damp, with outdoor covers.


What is this old plumbing fixture and can it go? I'm looking to do some DIY plumbing work, but this fixture confounds me.  It looks like the biggest water hammer arrester, I've ever seen; but it can't be that simple.  What is it, and what will I lose if I remove it?

I've never seen one of these (old ones) myself, but following Ed Beal's comment on a different question it's probably "an early form of damper as it was full of air" which could be as "large 2" pipe tee after the main valve with a stubbed leg verticle for 4-6 feet". A bit of googling can find similarly tall (and old looking) ones, although perhaps not quite as tall as yours (n.b., the one below was labeled "primitive"):


How can I have a pond but prevent mosquitos from nesting there? I would like to have a small waterfall leading into a small pond in my garden. Due to the West Nile virus, it is essential here to prevent mosquitoes from nesting.
What can I do to prevent mosquitoes from being able to nest in it?

A couple options:

Make it small enough that the waterfall will keep the water moving.  Mosquitoes like standing water, but not moving water.
Add some fish.  Fish love to eat Mosquito larvae.


How can I make my white LED strip light warmer? I recently bought warm white LED strips and installed them. Even though they are considered "warm" white (3000K), the light is very white and not close to incandescent light and it hurts the eyes.

Is there any way to make the light warmer? maybe hacks like painting the strip LED's?

The cheapest, laziest way (that would actually work) is to obtain some cinematic gels (they are sheets), such as those made by Rosco.   Cut them into strips or squares, affix any way practical.

The better, long term approach is to spec better LED strips.  LED strips come in a huge range of product qualities.  By and large, consumers either pay waaaaay too much for mediocre quality strips (I've seen companies charge $90/metre with a straight face), or very low prices ($7 per 5 metre roll) for "fell off a truck in Shenzhen China" quality strips.  Either one may have poor accounting for CRI, overall brightness, etc.

Aside from color temperature, there is also CRI (Color Rendering Index), a percentage scale of how close to natural or tungsten light it is.  CRI is compensated for what human eyes see, so a light can be quite uneven on a spectrum analyzer and still have a very high CRI.  Machine eyes don't see light the way human eyes do, which may be a problem if machine eyes are involved.


400amp service entrance 200amp transfer switch My local big box retailer has a decent priced 22kw lp generator/200amp transfer switch deal going right now. I'm considering purchasing it but I'm unsure on the correct way to go about my situation. I have a 400amp service entrance meter panel:

Those two 150amp breakers are fed from the double lug terminals which are connected to the service entrance meter. After the breakers they currently go to two manual shutoff switches seen in this picture below:

My plan is to remove those 2 service disconnects and replace with the automatic transfer switch.
The transfer switch service entrance wiring diagram shown below is what I would like to use:
https://soa.generac.com/manuals/3003428104/10000009574
Since there are only bus bars instead of lug terminals coming from the meter side of the service panel will I need to change to a different service entrance panel to accommodate feeding the two sub panels or is there something made to separate the bus bars from the meter to allow for feeding a transfer switch and then back to the bus bars?

Forget about buying this thing.
It's an "impulse buy", and that does not work for engineered products like whole-house generators and automatic transfer switches.
It's an Automatic transfer switch
It has a sequenced system which will automatically spin up the generator and then throw the loads over onto the generator.
With an ATS there is a simple rule: The generator must be large enough for the loads to be served.  You are not allowed to have a situation where the generator might come online and immediately bog from overload.   You must prove the generator is large enough.   And the switching equipment must be large enough too!
A "Load Shed" device sits in front of large appliances and automatically disconnects them if the generator seems to be struggling (low voltage or lower-than-spec frequency).  Equipment protected by "Load shed" devices can be excluded from the generator calculation, but it cannot be excluded from the switching equipment calculation.
In point of fact, since you currently have 400A service, the 200A transfer switch will be a "choke point" for your power that will prevent you from using utility power to its full capacity.
How do we arrive at the proper size?
You need to do a load calculation on your house and loads
You say you have an all-gas house.  However, your service panels are ones from a lavishly electric home. In the 400A meter-main, I see a 50A panel going to ???.   In the two large panels, I see no less than fifteen 240V breakers, as well as a subfeed lug kit carrying that panel's entire 150A to yet another, third panel in some other location!
So, the upshot is that all of this needs to be earnestly tallied up, and fed into a proper load calculation.  The load calculation will state how many amps/kVA you will need for a "whole house" generator.
I suspect you will painfully discover that your house really does need 400A service, and you cannot shim the house's loads down to 200A -- let alone 92A.
If you are able to eliminate maybe a dozen of those 240V loads (or move them to the meter-main panel breakers, which won't be on generator)... then you may be able to get your Load Calculation under 200A.  Then with some Load Shed units you may be able to get the "Load to be Served" under 92A... and then.. you could use that generator.
Having 1 generator feed more than 1 panel is problematic, anyway.
The problem is, only one panel can have a pass-through neutral.  All the other panels need to have an isolated neutral, requiring a 3-pole transfer switch.  The bargain transfer switch is only a 2-pole.
The way to solve that, after you have reduced the two large panels to <200A calculated load, is to replace one of the main breakers with a 200A breaker... and have the remaining 150A breaker power nothing at all.  (or perhaps, another panel which is "utility-side only").
The 200A breaker then feeds ONE "subpanel".  That "subpanel" feeds both existing large panels.   You stick the generator ATS in between the 200A breaker and the "subpanel" in the normal manner.
I'm putting "subpanel" in quotes because it doesn't actually need to be a subpanel.  As long as the wire from "subpanel" to the two large panels is 200A wire (250 kcmil not 4/0), the "subpanel" doesn't actually need to have any circuit breakers at all.   A subpanel with no circuit breakers is just a box and some lug splices.  "that was easy"
Effectively this will downgrade you from 400A to 200A service, but it will permit use of that bargain generator.
How Harper would do it.
Well if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to use a generator, I'd get a large enough generator for the whole job.
One side-effect is that the generator would be water-cooled (coolant-cooled, to be more precise). I would run that hot coolant through hot-water registers around the house, or one heat exchanger in the forced-air furnace stack... because, hey - free heat!
Or, I'd swap circuits around in the two large panels until one of them only contained loads you would never want to put on generator, and the other one contained loads whose Load Calculation was less than 92 amps. Then, I'd put the ATS on that panel only, and let the other panel just be dead.


How can I patch holes in the roof left by satellite dish removal? My house came with 2 satellite dishes mounted to the roof around the same place.  I've never used them.  Recently, wind managed to push them down so that one came down completely and the other was still hanging by 2 of its 4 lag bolts.

I've removed them complete and left the lag bolts in the holes.  Is there a best way to close the holes before replacing the asphalt shingles?  Or should I just put caulk around the lag bolts and leave it?

Leaving the lag bolts in is fine, but the bolts are likely made out of galvanized steel, meaning they will rust and corrode eventually when exposed to constant rain and water.  It is best to liberally apply roof cement patch to the lag bolts to ensure that no water will corrode or leak through where the bolts are.

You can get roof cement patch in a tube form like so that easily fits into a standard caulking gun.

It will eventually wear away so I would check on the patches every 3 or 4 years to make sure they are still there.


Trouble with three way switches My dining room has a box on each wall with a single pole switch (for exterior light) next to a three way switch (for dining room interior light) that I attempted to replace with new switches. After changing all four switches out, all of the lights (two exterior lamps, dining room, kitchen, hallway, and bathroom) go out when I flip the first single pole exterior light switch off. This switch has 3 black wires connected to it which I’ve identified as the exterior switch, exterior hot, and the third is carrying power to the other light sources. I’ve tried wiring it multiple ways but it’s gotten me nowhere. Does anyone have an idea as to why this one single pole switch is controlling basically all of the general lighting in my house? Not sure what I did wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

First, don’t experiment i.e. trying random stuff “to see if that fixes it”.  There are lots of combinations that will work and will kill you.
Second, you are quite close on identifying the wire’s operational roles.  They are:

Hot from supply (always measures hot)
Onward power to other points of use
Switched power to the light

If the first and second are connected, then the rest of your house will work.  And they should always be connected no matter what you do.
What’s driving you up the wall is that you are continuing a sloppy practice someone else started, which is using the switch itself as a junction block for unrelated things.  (I.e. the connection between supply and onward).
Very few switches even have provision for 2 wires on the line screw; that generally forces you into using a “backstab”, which is a bad idea all around.
You may be better off obtaining wire, nuts and the other kit required to make this a pigtail connection: join the two important wires (supply and onward) under a wire nut, so you are not using the switch as a splice, and then have a third short wire hop from the splice to the switch.  This will also make the circuit more understandable for the next person.  (Who might be you!)
I pigtail most of my stuff for a different reason, most of my connections are in awkward locations. It is easier to pigtail the outlet on a bench, then at the box simply whip together supply, onward and pigtail with a wire nut.


Why does condensation appear on surface of window, but not all of them? When I woke up this morning (a beautiful winter morning), I opened my curtains and noticed that the middle pane was covered in surface condensation, but the two adjacent panes were almost completely clear.
I know that there are various things I can do to reduce humidity in the room, and I will do that, but can anyone explain why the middle pane was so much worse than the others?
Could it be badly fitted? or is it just because it's bigger, further away from the edge of curtains, and therefore subject to less airflow. If it's badly sealed, could it be getting colder than the other two, and the first to get condensation.
Could it also be that water is somehow getting into the window frame?

Condensation is all about the dew point which is determined by the relative humidity along with temperature at the surface of the window. Although RH is probably consistent across all of the panes, temperature will vary due to air circulation or convection. This could cause one pane to gather condensation and the one next to it to be dry.
This isn't an issue if the condensation is on the exposed surface of the window. If they are double or triple paned and the moisture is between the panes it would indicate a leak in the seal which results in lowered efficiency.


Using existing exhaust stack for new furnace I'm about to replace the furnace in our house. The existing furnace uses a 6" stack through the roof. I know most new furnace installations just use PVC and poke out of the wall at about ground level. Question is, can I reuse the existing stack since it's already there? Or are we better off sealing it up and forgetting about it. I'd rather not go through the wall if possible just because we have a deck right on the other side of the wall where the furnace is located.

You cannot use the flue in it's current state. High efficiency furnaces exhaust less heat out of your house. The exhaust gas is cool enough that it condensates that's why it needs a drain and also why the exhaust pipe is PVC The condensate is slightly acidic and will corrode even some types of stainless steel overtime. You can however, use the old flue as a chase to run your PVC pipe through. It's not easy but if your house has the furnace located in the middle in a finished basement, it's sometimes the only option.


Diagonal brace left in the basement by builder. Can I remove it? Replace it? I have a diagonal brace running across an interior wall in the basement, and it even goes partially into the floor concrete. Is this meant to be permanent, or was it supposed to be removed during construction?

I want to finish the basement and put drywall there, but this obviously gets in the way. What are my options for dealing with it?

(Click images for larger views.)

Nail locations. 3 nails into the beam at the top, 2 elsewhere:

Yes, you can remove the brace because:

The wall is non-load bearing (not carrying a load)
The diagonal brace is not secured in a manner to transfer any load at the top or bottom
The diagonal brace is not secured to top plate
The diagonal brace is not secured significantly to vertical stud...the picture cuts off a portion of the brace that crosses the stud so I’d verify that
The diagonal brace is singular


How can I prevent my outside heat pump coils from icing over? My outside unit is on the north side of my house and under an area that water drains to. I have put up gutters and placed a small roof above the unit, but still the coils freeze up during winter.  I'm looking for more ideas to help with this freezing problem, and ways to defrost it quicker, like rock salt, defrosters, etc. Would these methods damage the coil?

Heat pump?

Keep salt away from the unit. Salt will attack and totally decompose the fins and will create electrolytic corrosion in the joints between aluminum and copper leading to destruction of the system.

Icing during operation in a damp climate is normal, it's supposed to have a defrost cycle it runs through to remove the ice.

Heat Pump Operation: Heat pumps work on the standard phase change refrigeration cycle. In summer time for AC mode, the inside unit acts as the refrigerant evaporator and the external unit as the condenser. This is reversed in the cool season for heating, the external unit basically cools the outdoors in order to extract heat from the air and gives it up by condensing the refrigerant in the inside unit.

Heat Pump Defrost cycle: Since you're cooling already cool air that contains some water vapor, it's natural for frost to build up. In extremely damp climates, the fins can actually clog. To take care of this ice buildup, the heat pump system uses its shuttle valve to momentarily go into AC mode, shuts off the air circulation fan and extracts some heat from the house to be given up when the refrigerant condenses in the external units coils.

Operational failures that cause extreme icing: Older systems run this defrost cycle off a timer, newer ones have temperature sensors to determine frosting and the heating necessary to clear the coils. Failures in these can stop the defrost cycle from being run.

You can also have the shuttle valve relay fail or the shuttle valve freeze into the heat position which prevents the cycle reversal needed to do the defrost.

For Heat Pump systems that run as flooded evaporator type systems, low freon levels will cause extreme icing of the evaporator. This can cause the internal unit to become a solid block of ice during the AC season and for the external unit to do the same during heating season.

DIY Remedies: You've taken care of one major problem, keeping water from entering due to roof drain-off.

The unit must also be in a location that allows for water to drain away. Ponding allows for excessive water vapor in the atmosphere and is to be avoided. A drainage system that removes this would be a good idea.

So if you've taken care of drainage, it's probably time to have your local HVAC tech come out and give it a through inspection to figure out what's failed.


Dishwasher and garbage disposal wiring in same gang box I am in the planning stages of renovating my kitchen.  I plan on wiring my garbage disposal under the sink and using one of those air switches to control it.  The wiring is not a problem.  However, to prevent excessive clutter I planned on pulling the circuit for the dishwasher into the same gang box I will mount under my sink.  I am not using the same circuit - each is wired independently.  But I just don't want the dishwasher line coming in through the back of the sink cabinet straight to the dishwasher, I would like to have some clean wiring down there.
So I planned on pulling the DW circuit into the same box where I am putting an outlet for the disposal.
Any issues with that, other than the standard calculations for box size?

This is up to code even today with GFCI protection. I would locate the receptacles on the sink side so the dishwasher can be plugged in there through a hole in the cabinet as Jim Stewart commented and this would pass inspection unless there are some local code restrictions above and beyond the NEC. You could do it with a deep single gang and break the tabs on both the hot and neutral if the GFCI’s are in your panel.


Dealing with Asbestos Floor Tiling This is a cement kitchen floor (about 300 sq ft). Removed cheap pergo flooring and discovered a layer of tiles from 1962. Had them tested and came back with a high composition of asbestos. Here are the pictures so you can see what i'm up against:

You can see I removed the one tile for testing. They all appear about as easy to remove. A paint scraper removed it fully intact fairly easily.

Here are the 3 options, and questions I have:

Go over it with ceramic Tile?
I'm concerned that ceramic tiles/grout will come up / crack. Would I reduce that risk if I use 16x16s? The original tiles in the middle of the floor seem to be pretty stable. But, then I was able to just slide a paint scraper under that corner one and it popped up. What if I put down a layer of ditra first? Or seal it with RedGuard? Think that would stabilize it enough? I'm doing a small test area in tile right now and checking stability. I'm not sure this is even a valid test?
Remove it / abate or not?
Note: My county allows me to throw away up to 1 cubic yard of material without a permit. I only want to go this route if it's going to be easy. Given how easily the tiles come up without breaking, do I even need to take all precautions (seal off room, use hazmat gear etc.)? Keeping in mind, we are living in this house right now with small children - safety is top priority! If I can remove every single tile without breaking it (confident I can), is it wise to abate it properly or is this overkill?
Other floor coverings?
This kitchen adjoins a 1962 hardwood floor in the rest of the house which we plan to refinish. So wood is going to look stupid up against it since it wont' match with adjoining wood. I've thought about going over it with cork. But that's not really in style anymore. I could use fake ceramic looking peal/stick... but this is a higher end house and I think that would cheapen it too much. Same problem with vinyl - cheap looking. What other options are there?

I asked a related question here some time ago. I was told that (a) the safest way to take these up was to heat them and the adhesive so they could be lifted without breaking, and that (b) encapsulating them under another floor was an entirely reasonable approach. Asbestos is not automatically a hazard if it isnt experiencing wear and shedding fibers, just as lead paint that isn't peeling or being sanded isn't necessatily a hazard.


What type of wrench should I buy I recently had to replace the ball valve from the picture.

The plumber used a wrench similar to this to hold the plastic nut. Is a Stillson wrench good too? I want to buy tools to do such works myself. What type of wrench and what size do you recommend for general plumbing work at home?

A Stillson wrench that you referenced is normally called a "pipe wrench" and comes in sizes from 6" through 96". The most usable sizes for a home owner would probably be sizes from 8" through 18" inch. They are normally used to hold or turn smooth type piping. Due to their flexible, top jaw they do not work well on soft materials like plastic pipe and fittings. For the home owner, a pliers looking tool commonly referred to in the piping industry as "channellocks" (pardon the use of a proper name, but that is what they are called by tradesman) or the older name "water pump pliers", would be a great choice. You may also want to buy an adjustable wrench called a "crescent wrench" to hold the parts with the flat surfaces. By the way, when you replace the ball valve make sure you use a quality ball valve made in the USA since most of the foreign ones are of very low quality. I am not trying to belittle or disparage any manufacturer or supplier, that is just the way it is. Also that reducing fitting on the left side of the picture should be replaced if that is a domestic water line. Only brass, copper, or plastic fittings and pipe should be used on domestic water supply.


Blue stains from water What would cause blue stains and a blue tint to our bathroom tub and sink have water purification system in use for aprox. 7 yrs. Does this need any maintence

Blue or blue-green stains in fixtures is a sign of reduced copper. The source of this can be in the water itself (usually well water) or from the plumbing, usually caused by a very low pH (acidic water) which causes deterioration of the plumbing.

This is an article describing the problem. You should get the water tested and have a qualified water treatment specialist or plumber come up with a plan to address it.

Since you already have a water treatment system, it may just be out of balance.  In general, these systems require regular maintenance (flushing and changing of catalysts/chemicals).

Get it fixed. It's a health issue.


How to support the subfloor around a toilet between I joists I'm replacing some rotted subfloor around a toilet, and I want to add blocking around the flange for extra support, and to give me a place to support the new pieces of subfloor (I'm not planning on replacing the flange).  What complicates things is a pipe running parallel to the joists just an inch or so beneath the subfloor.

Picture:

My thought was to first fill out the joist webbing (yellow) and then build a box (white) to surround the plumbing (red).  The horizontal beams perpendicular to the joists could only be as thick as the joist flange due to the upper pipe.

Would this approach provide decent support for the replacement floor and the toilet?  If so, what kind of materials would be ideal to use?

For Future Viewers:

Right idea, but WAY too complicated for minimal support & no screwing for the flange. With NO FLANGE in place, build a frame first, not piece by piece in the floor. With a Flange in place you'd build it without the right side's {bottom} joist attachment so you can dry-fit everything & finish inner attachments to then LASTLY screw to the joists.

Stand up 2x4's to be attached to joists LAST. Then, bridge the Stand-Ups with 2x4's On-Flat. You screw through the Stand-Ups & into the ends of the On-Flats (do just the left Stand-Up {top} configuration if a Flange is in place).

Then, you bridge the On-Flats with a shorter On-Flat. First, screw that in from the left Stand-Up to hold it in place & toe-nail screws on either end at the Flange side. Also, toe nail what can fit On-Flat on the right side {bottom} of the Flange Finish by just screwing outward (& angled upward for this Askers I-beam pictures) through the Stand-Ups & into the joists.

This should be snug to the Flange's underside collar or the drain pipe, depending on your subfloor elevation. The On-Flats even allow you to cut or drill the platform frame for an actual tight fit complete circle. Of course, adjust this proven design to your actual application.


Why does my dishwasher back up my sink? My dishwasher backs up my sink when the water is expelled during the washing. Eventually the water drains and I can use my sink no problem. What can I do to prevent my sink from filling up?

It sounds like you have a fairly typical dishwasher set-up whereby it drains into your garbage disposer. If the dishwasher is expelling a larger volume of water than can be drained through the garbage disposer and its drain plumbing, that sounds like you have a blockage.

If you have a two-bowl sink and the bowl with the garbage disposer is the only one that drains slowly, then the blockage is either in the garbage disposer or in the drain pipe that connects the garbage disposer to the drain for the other bowl. This is fairly common and happens when people use their garbage disposer for its intended purpose, and large food chunks or slices get caught in there. You can usually access this pipe fairly easily and clear the blockage. Then you can stop using your garbage disposer and instead compose all the junk you were throwing down the drain. :)

If, on the other hand, the bowl without a garbage disposer also drains slowly when you run the water, then the blockage is downstream of the sink and you may need to call a plumber, or else use a snake yourself to try to clear the blockage.


How can I find all the air leaks and insulation gaps in my finished attic? I have a finished attic which gets hot very quickly, requiring running the central AC excessively and due to the imbalance, the downstairs tends to get too cold while the finished attic is still too warm. (Don't worry, I am addressing the HVAC imbalance separately from this post.)
I've gone through and sealed around outlets and other visible cracks and gaps but I believe I still have significant leaks somewhere. Is there a trick I can use to discover where the air or heat is passing through?

Two separate issues here:
Attics Get Hot!
This is a fact of life. Attics heat up from the sun all day long. Color and type of roof can make some difference (reflection vs. absorption), but it is quite normal for an attic to get really hot. The usual solution is an attic fan. This can be thermostatically controlled so it only runs when hot. For an attic fan to work, you need to have the fan on one end and air coming in from elsewhere (but not from your house below).
If your attic is really getting hot from your house, or if your attic gets hot and the hot air goes down into your house, then you get to checking for leaks:
Thermal Imaging
There are thermal (infrared) cameras available as standalone devices, and also as add-ons for handheld computers (aka smart phones):

You can either buy something (if you like gadgets and can justify it to yourself) or borrow or rent one.


Why does my interior paint absorb water and darken when splashed? I am wondering if the paint contractors painted my new drywall appropriately.  It is a flat latexand if even brushed with a damp towel it darkens.  It seems to me that the drywall must not have been sealed properly for water to be absorbed like that.  Can you advise me?

Assuming the paint returns to the original color once dry, this is perfectly normal with flat latex paints.  When I wipe my walls, the spots that I wipe look darker too.

You can observe this on many surfaces, even inpermuable ones like glass and metal - ever notice that your cars paint looks different when there are drops of water on it?


Can I safely cut a copper compressor pipe with r600a gas? Can I safely cut a fridge compressors copper pipes if it uses r600a gas. I've read of people taking out fridge compressors but I want to check whether it's safe to cut the pipes like this?

Venting a flammable gas may be safe as long as there are no sources of ignition in the area and the gas has time to dissipate. Kind of like having a propane or LP gas cylinder filled once the cylinder is full they vent the gas between the pipe and fill valve. Outside away from ignition sources this is considered safe so I would expect the same to be true with the isobutane.


Bathroom vanity light with no junction box I just removed two bathroom vanity lights to replace them and discovered that there was no junction box behind either. One light was mounted over a stud and the other was right next the a stud.

At first I thought I could use old work pancake boxes, but the problem is that in both cases, the in-wall wiring runs directly over the stud. So there's not really room to even fit a pancake box in there. I could move the entire fixture to the left or right, but then my fixture is off center and I'll have a hole to patch where it used to be mounted which might not even be possible since the romex runs over the stud where drywall would need to go.

Any ideas on how to proceed?

(Also curious why the romex would even be run like this instead of through the studs? It is an exterior 2x6 wall, FWIW).

Someone cheated pretty bad here. They probably busted the hole in the wall, fished the line, and then it looks like they used the ring for mounting the fixture to the box to just drywall screw it into the wall.

Not code. Not safe. Not smart.

You have a stud behind it so you could use a pancake box (could only find 30 packs online but your local big box should have individuals for sale)

Note that this one has clamps built in, but you can buy them with 1/2" knockouts as well (just use a NM clamp with those). You can then mount the ring to it and then put the fixture back up. Thankfully it's a cheap fix (I bet the box costs no more than $2)


How can I mount 2ft by 4ft fiberboard panels on a wall? Not very good at DIY work, but we have some artwork done on 2ft by 4ft fiberboard panels that I want to put up on my walls.

The easy solution is to just drill through and put screws into drywall anchors, but the downside there is there'll be 4 visible screws on each painting (there are 9 paintings).

What are the other options to put them up easily and invisibly?

I've used 3M's hook and loop fasteners to hang pictures for years and they have held well. They are sold at a variety of locations. When I use them I stick one part to the picture first. Then I hook the other part to it, peel the film off to expose the sticky side, and carefully press against wall. It helps to have a strip of masking tape that is level and a corner piece of masking tape as guides.


Water line sizing to shower/tub I'm working on improvising a shower to add to our existing clawfoot tub. It's just going to be the piping supported to the wall for now as we're going to redo this bathroom a year or so down the road.

(source: vintagetub.com)
Our tub faucet looks something like this and has no way to add on a shower to it, and the faucets with the showers cost a ton to add. So, since it's temporary, I'm going to T off of the supply lines after the valve. However, I don't know much of why the tub would be piped how it is.
The supply line comes out of the floor at a 1/2" and then into the valve and out at 3/8". I know this is done for sinks and such, but I don't know why or why they didn't use a 1/2" to 1/2" valve instead?
It comes out at 3/8" and goes through a short 3/8" copper line and then into the back of the tub. The 3/8" copper line is screwed into a (reversed?) 3/8" to 1/2" reducer. Then this was screwed into a (reversed?) 1/2" to 3/4" reducer which is screwed directly into the tub's faucet's pipe. I understand that the 1/2" had to be converted up to fit the tub, but why does all of the pipe downsize before it when the tub can fit a 1/2" line?
To retain the most piping and fittings, I'm following the same route with my shower valve, although it also accepts 1/2" lines. Is this the wrong approach, should I resize it all to 1/2"? And why would it downsize when it didn't have to?
I think the downsize can lead to faster water or increased pressure, but I couldn't find anything directly answering this.

There is no benefit to "downsizing" the supply size; however, with tub fillers it usually is not a deal breaker because it just takes a bit longer to fill up the tub. If you look at the size of the tub filler spout, it may be no more of a restriction than you already have.

Both the stop valves and the threaded adapters that are screwed into your cast brass tub valve arms are available for 1/2" O.D. tubing (1/2" compression). Stop valves for 1/2" compression may be difficult (not impossible) to find in a "straight" configuration (as opposed to an angled 90° configuration), I would suggest that is the reason the plumber used 3/8" tubing and fittings.

How will an aesthetically pleasing shower mixer arrangement be created for this? I recommend that you consider changing the filler valve to a faucet set that has a shower diverter incorporated, there are many available styles:


How should I decide which flooring underlayment is best? There's a few options of underlayment in local stores, fairly cheap and more expensive (based on cork, I guess). What are the differences, and what factors should I consider to make a choice? I'm planning to install laminate floor in a 2nd floor room, on the plywood subfloor.

Thanks!

The question is quite broad, but there are two primary differences (aside from cost): sound management and the ability to level imperfect subfloors.

Sound management (deadening, which can reduce tapping noise) depends on the thickness and composition of the underlayment. Leveling ability is primarily a matter of underlayment thickness.

You'll need to discuss the options as they pertain to your choice of flooring and your subfloor situation with your sales pro and make a decision based on your personal criteria.


Fix Kitchen Faucet handle The little handle came off. There is a loose piece inside the dome piece. Without it the handel doesn't stay in place. I don't know how to take it off and reattach it. The faucet doesn't leak. It still works fine. The par that the arrow is pointing to needs to be fixed.

How can I take it apart and fix it??

Success I found something useful:
Put the handle back over the handle and tighten the knurled cap, while holding the handle.
-
I hate 1 sentence answers, I write too many words, such is life. I also enjoy teaching when I can. Below is my 'real' answer, it is long, I do not intend to talk down to you, simply to provide as much information as I can. I hope it is useful.
At the bottom of the page, is a cut and paste from the manufacture's website.
The first 3 steps of it will allow us to identify your problem.

1 Turning off the water and reliving the pressure is just a good idea.
It helps keep oops from being a real problem.

2 Unscrew the cap. This is what happened to cause your problem.

3 Handle and Cap come off together - You know this, the question is why.

Hopefully the knurled cap will turn without much friction while holding the handle.
If you need a wet paper towel, or a rubber jar opener as they mention, we have a problem.
There will likely be 'gak' (to use the technical term) inside the handle and cap. A collection of soap and other interesting things.
Lots of hot water, q-tips both the cotton and the stick part, toothpicks, rubbing alcohol, vodka (inside the handle or inside of you) and anything else that will not scratch the metal are fair game.
The part sticking out from the faucet, where the cap attached is the 'cartridge'. It is the working part of the valve it controls the on/of and mixing of hot and cold water. If your faucet were leaking or dripping, this is the part that would need to be replaced.
The top of the cartridge has a tapped hole, this is where the nut screws in to hold the handle onto the faucet. There will be gak on top of the cartridge, and you want to get rid of it too. If the cartridge top moves or turns, that is fine, but it should be very tight and only move with real effort.
There is, or at least should be a flat spot on the cartridge. This should line up with an opening in the cap end of the handle. This serves as a grip area for the handle and the cartridge. It also makes sure that the handle will not spin endlessly and have no effect on the water flow.
The flat spot on the cartridge should be flat and not show signs of wear. If it is brass this is unlikely, if it is plastic, it could show signs of unnatural rounding. It the faucet handle had a 'sloppy' feel to it, this is the problem area. The only solution is to replace the cartridge.
At this point, slide the handle back on, get the flat part of the cartridge lined up with the mating part of the handle, and screw the nut on until it is tight. Tight in this case is very tight, without tools. A wet paper towel, or rubber jar opener can be use to get a grip on the cap, but not more than that.
Move the handle on and off a few times, the cap should turn with the handle, and not just sit there.
Turn the handle to what you think is off, crack the valves a bit, to make sure that things still seem leak free. Then open the valves, test the handle again, to make sure there are no leaks and the cap is turning with the handle.
If all goes well, celebrate with a glass of water. :)
A couple of notes, since you are digging around there anyway, and the faucet is a few years old, replacing the cartridge is not a bad thought. Directions from the manufacture's web site are below.
Cartridge come in a hundred styles, it seems. You can find 3rd party ones at big box places, and this might be a bit high end for your local hardware store, but I give them all the business I can. Or you can order the oem one from the mfg, or somewhere online. With faucet cartridges, you get what you pay for.
Check the cap a few times over the next couple of weeks, to see if it is unscrewing itself again.
If it is, and you feel comfortable with it, you can remove the cap and use 1 or 2 drops of - Purple - Loctite. If you still have problems, or insist on more power the - Blue - would be ok.
Best of luck, I will do my best to answer questions, or learn from error that you find in my answer.

Below is a cut and paste from:  http://products.whitehauscollection.com/home/technical/

Cartridge Replacement

Shut off water under sink. Open handle to relieve pressure
Unscrew cap by hand, rubber jar opener or strap wrench may help
Handle and cap come off together
Unscrew lock nut on cartridge
Lift cartridge out of body and inspect inner body for Debris before installing new cartridge. (A tiny bit of Silicone Grease on bottom of washer is ok)
Small nub on bottom of cartridge will fit into little climate body – replace lock nut, make snug.


Is it ok to unsolder an outdoor spigot and to solder back a new one without cutting the copper pipe? I am trying to replace an old outdoor spigot that is soldered to a copper pipe.
I will put in place a fitting that will give me a thread so I can attach (screw in) a ball valve.

All the instructions that I see show either how to remove or how to install a new one (by cutting the old pipe)
I can not find any indication about not having to cut the pipe. Is that mandatory?

Edit: Thanks guys! I got the job done this evening, after some small troubles.. The original spigot came off quite easy. This was my first soldering ever. I cleaned the pipe and the fitting properly, I added flux and I proceeded with the soldering. What nobody tells you is that if you use a threaded fitting you need to anticipate the position of the ball valve and olny after that you need to proceed with the soldering. That is way I soldered it wrong and I had to remove the fitting and to do it again. The first attempt was leaky and I added too much solder. The next one went better and no leakss this time!!

It's not mentioned in instructions because a professional wouldn't do it that way if they had a choice.

You need to get the water out of the line to heat it enough to melt the solder. That's easy enough when the pipe has been cut apart, but less so when you open the valve several inches away.
While heating, the pipe will get soft and you risk deforming it if you apply lots of torque to remove the fixture.
To apply the torque, you'll need some pliers since the pipe will be very hot from the blow torch. Trying to juggle pliers, a blow torch, and a very hot fixture with melting solder coming off of it is asking for trouble.
Once removed, you need to clean the threads of any solder and corrosion to be usable again.

That last part will take a lot of time to do right. In the interest of time, and to do the job right, professionals will cut the pipe a short distance back and replace it with new pipe. As a favor to the next person behind you, I'd recommend using pipe dope on the threaded connection rather than solder. This way the fixture can simply be unscrewed and replaced without a blow torch and opening up the walls.


Is there a min distance between spa disconnect panel and outdoor shower? I want to put an outdoor shower between the edge of my house and the hot tub (there's about 4' of clearance). It'll just have a simple downward-facing showerhead. But my spa disconnect panel is on the house wall (far enough away to meet the 5' requirement), but would only be say 2-1/2' or 3' from the showerhead, horizontally, and maybe 1-2" lower vertically. I don't expect it'd get much water from the shower, but it's possible. Of course it's an outdoor panel so it also gets rained on, normally.

But wondering if there's some kind of code involved here, I didn't find anything about outdoor showers, and obviously I wouldn't put it directly "in" the "cone of expected water" :) but... anyone with code references or advice here?

I can find nothing in the National Electrical Code to prevent you from doing this.

It is the hot tub that is required to be at least 5' away from the disconnect.

  680.12 Maintenance Disconnecting Means. One or more means to simultaneously disconnect all ungrounded conductors shall be provided for all utilization equipment other than lighting. Each means shall be readily accessible and within sight from its equipment and shall be located at least 1.5 m (5 ft) horizontally from the inside walls of a pool, spa, or hot tub unless separated from the open water by a permanently installed barrier that provides a 1.5 m (5 ft) reach path or greater. This horizontal distance is to be measured from the water’s edge along the shortest path required to reach the disconnect.

Light fixtures and switches are regularly close to showers indoors and I would argue this is similar even though it is outdoors. Electrical panels are not allowed in bathrooms, but this is not a panel and a lone shower does not constitute a bathroom.

Still, if feasible I would place it further away just as a safety measure.

Good luck and stay safe!


What to do when sewer backs up What should I do when a (house's main) sewer backs up? How can I make it not back up, or at least stop it from backing up more once it has already started backing up?

You have a couple of options.

If this does not happen often, you can likely put a stopper in the drains which backup in the house, and just wait until the sewer is no longer clogged.  To do this, you can purchase a "test plug" for each drain that is experiencing the backup (if you also get backup in a toilet, you will need to pull the toilet to install the plug).  Of course, the downside of this approach is that you need to be at home when the backup occurs, and you need to go through the hassle of plugging the drains / pulling toilets / etc every time it happens.

If you want a more permanent solution, you can install a backflow prevention valve on your sewer lateral.  This will likely involve digging up your yard, splicing the lateral, and installing the valve.  With this option, you do not need to be present to prevent the sewer backup.  However, this will essentially block off your sewer lateral until the sewer stops backing up.  This may cause some backup in your house (if, for instance, you take a shower while the backflow preventer is tripped).


How can I determine what is causing a newly creaking ceiling? There's an area of my ceiling that has rather suddenly (in the last week) started creaking when the wind blows.

It's at a juncture with a wall, right below the attic, and it is very localized (at least it sounds like it is coming from a very specific spot, above some crown molding). I'm planning to go into the attic to look at it. What should I look for, and what else might it be?  (I don't think it's the actual crown molding -- I can't reproduce the sound by pressing on the crown molding. But this crown molding is slightly cracked from some years back, presumably from some movement in this area.)

Trusses used for roof support?  Peak wind can cause truss movement.

Look where wall plates intersect trusses.  May be a nail sliding.  Use a mending plate or hurricane tie to reconnect.


How do I wire a 3 way light switch? Two way light switching is common, but how do I setup a 3 way system so the light can be controlled from 3 places?

There might be some confusion because the type of switch you need is usually called a four-way switch in the US, and an intermediate switch in the UK. So for three or more switches to control the same lights, you need two SPDT switches on the ends, and four-way or intermediate switches in the middle. You can find the wiring diagram on Wikipedia.


OSB vs plywood for window padding/shimming I need to use 1/2" plywood or OSB on both vertical sides of my retrofitted window frame. I was wondering if there is any difference in OSB (cheaper) vs plywood (more pricey) for this application considering that if somehow moisture got in (which I'm making sure it doesn't but who knows) and the material gets soaked and swells (like I think OSB is more likely to in moist conditions), it may squeeze the window on the sides too tight, causing it to break.

You are correct about the swelling. If it is just padding and will not get wet, it will do just fine.


How to adhere edge of bullnose tile to drywall as trim for shower/tub surround I'm freshening up a bathroom and replacing some bullnose tile that covered up the edges of the tub/shower surround. I am also a complete tile novice. To be completely clear, there's no tile in the shower itself at all.
I understand that the "right" way to adhere tile to walls is with mortar, but the only part of the tile that actually makes contact with the wall is the 1/4" edge of the tile so that doesn't seem like a reasonable solution here. The original contractor seems to have just used construction adhesive, and while I understand that's the "wrong" way to do it (and as you can see I definitely made a mess of the drywall prying it off), I'm honestly having trouble coming up with a better option.
Is there a "correct" way to handle a situation like this other than Loctite?

UPDATES FOR CLARIFICATION
Totally understand the need for separation and silicone grout between tiles, but I appreciate you all making sure. My question is mainly about how to adhere it to the wall though.
I should be clear that there was never any adhesive or sealant between this tile and the tub. It was simply glued to the drywall and appears to be purely decorative (i.e. not water-tight). With my rudimentary knowledge my assumption is that I should put things back the way I found them when making changes, but I'm open to the idea that this may be a bad assumption in this case.
MonkeyZeus asked for a zoomed-out picture to help picture what's going on a bit better. The previous tile covered up where the surround is screwed into the wall, and I'm just trying to replace that with a nicer looking tile. It went all the way around the outside edge of the surround, so five "strips" of the bullnose tile (up the y-axis, in along z-axis, across on x-axis, back out along z-axis, back down along y-axis). I get that might be hard to visualize, but it's already too late to photograph mine and I can't find anything similar on the internet that isn't also tiling either the shower or the wall. It is not surprising to learn that the builder engaged in some wild improv.

The correct solution leaves a small gap at both ends of the bullnose to silicone to those surfaces. The correct way to adhere the bullnose is thinset in the hollow portion of the tile but that doesn't seem totally feasible in this case, you could reattach with polyurethane construction adhesive down the center of the bullnose or something like schluter kerdifix which is a tile specific adhesive using a small 1/8"spacer to keep the tile off the two surfaces. Then 100% silicone along the gaps at the drywall and tub face


Sealing Ceiling holes I am renting a very small townhouse that has termite issues.  At certain times of the year (termite season)  I get dropping coming into my bathroom, laundry room and now kitchen.

I have told the person I rent from and she has been fighting with the association to get the place tented...but in the mean time I would like to do something about this situation that I am living with and would like to know.......

Is there something I can painter like a sealer to close up the wholes??

ANY recommendations would be greatly appreiciated!

For small nail holes, use spackle. This is the simplest, cheapest way to fill small holes that aren't subject to significant movement.

For cracks/seams, such as at corners or around window trim, use caulk (probably a paintable latex or latex+silicone caulk, as they're easy to work with).

For deeper holes/cavities, such as around a pipe that is going through your floor, use expanding spray foam. This product will expand around whatever stuff is there, providing a good seal to block insects. But beware that the expansion can come with a lot of force, so don't overfill; if you're working in tight places, the expansion can cause damage. Around windows and doors especially use a minimum-expansion foam.

After patching the hole, make sure to seal the repair with primer before you paint it.


How to keep plastic concrete screw anchors from spinning? I keep on getting these concrete anchoring kits in floor safes that consist of a 1/2" plastic insert and lag screw. (see photo)
The instructions say to drill a 1/2" hole in the concrete, tap in the insert, and drive the screw in.  So I hammer-drill the hole deeper than the screw length, suck out the dust, tap in the insert, start driving the screw, and as soon as the threads of the screw engage the anchor ... the plastic anchor just spins in place.
(Then I have the irritating task of trying to pry the bolt and anchor out before going to buy proper concrete sleeve anchors.)
Is there a way to get these sorts of anchor sets to work in concrete holes?
Or should they just be avoided at these larger diameters?

Since you mention these come with floor safes, I'm going to guess that you're using these to anchor something.. a safe, perhaps.. to the floor. I'll also guess that the objective in anchoring the safe to the floor is to prevent the safe being lifted and carried away.
These plastic anchors seem like they're semi-acceptable for a shear application such as something low-profile mounted to a wall. The only force the anchor experiences is the downward pull of gravity.
For an application where pull-out strength is required, like a safe containing valuables mounted to a floor to deter the safe from sprouting legs and walking away, the anchors made of relatively slick plastic just aren't a great solution.
This reminds me of an anecdote I heard an uncle tell when I was a kid. He shared a lengthy process for reconstituting powdered milk so that it would taste good and not turn out lumpy. The process culminated with "dump it down the drain, go to the store, and buy a bottle of fresh milk."
A better solution for your situation is to recognize that the safe includes cheap hardware and it's OK for you to discard that and use something better, especially since it sounds like you do this often.
As for "what's better, then?" It's infrequent that I need to anchor something in concrete, but following are a few anchors I've liked (credit for all photos to www.confast.com). They're available in a variety of sizes; the sizes pictured here are just what Confast had on their home page at the moment.
ITW Tap-Con
This product screws directly into a pre-drilled hole. Not much help for your current situation, but maybe useful for next time. Removable, at least in theory.

Wedge anchor
The cone-shaped end forces the collar outward against the concrete. Easy to cinch something down tight against the face of the concrete. Permanent. Instead of eventual removal, these can be hidden in two ways. Plan ahead and drill the hole extra deep so that the anchor can be driven fully into the concrete later when it is longer wanted (be careful not to lose the anchor into the hole during installation!) or else plan on cutting off the protruding portion.

Drop-in anchor
The anchor itself is permanent, but it accepts a machine threaded screw/bolt which can be removed. If I remember correctly the bolt can pass all the way through the anchor. The anchor's expansion is fairly well-bounded so it's important that the hole be the right size.

Double expansion anchor
Also available in a single-expansion version. Similar in function to the drop-in, but expands along the whole length of the anchor (and, I think, more forgiving as far as the hole diameter is concerned). It's been a while since I used one of these, but I think the bolt passes freely through one end of the anchor and threads into the far end. As the bolt is tightened the top end of the anchor is drawn up against the object being anchored. Eventually the pinch between the object and the far end of the anchor, caused by tightening the bolt makes the two wedge bits spread and bite into the walls of the hole.


outlet bypass for multimeter seeing that I (and i bet 99.9% of the people here) already have a nice multimeter, i find it kinda of silly to buy a kill-a-watt type of device.

But, on the other hand, it is really impractical to measure Amps/Watts without expending extra for a current clamp. which would set me back $100 if i buy from the same manufacturer as my multimeter.

Is there a in-between solution? Like a outlet bypass that would allow me to conveniently plug in my multimeter probes (or even have banana plug cables, though i don't think it would be too safe) to measure amps/watts on appliances and other devices that plugs into the mains?

You could easily build one out of an extension cord and some screw terminals.  If you can't figure out how to wire it up, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

But you likely won't find such a thing sold since the exposed terminals likely won't pass any safety certifications.  You also have to be careful to make a good connection with your probes, eliminate any arcing that might damage the probes or start a fire, not short them, etc. Current clamps are great in this respect since you don't have to have any exposed wire.

Overall the killawatt devices are cheap, accurate enough for most uses, plentiful, and designed to be safe.  If you need something higher quality, I'd stick with the $100 current clamp and an extension cord with the individual wires separated.


Can I move a drain without moving the vent too? I want to move the kitchen sink to the other side of the kitchen (approx. 10 feet away). Can I just extend the pipe and rely on the existing vent?

You don't provide much context to this question, but the short answer is there's a maximum distance between the trap and the vent (should be specified by your local code). If the vent is too far away, the sink won't drain well.

As you can see, for a 2" pipe (typical), you can only go 5' (but of course: check your local building codes for specifics). 10' is definitely too far.

Remember also you need to maintain a slope on the waste line (typically 1/4" per foot).

If you can run the vent line over to the new location as well, it may be acceptable. A picture/diagram of what you're doing would help provide a better answer.


How do I stop waterproof ceiling paint from peeling in the bathroom? We had the bathroom painted by tradesmen twice in the last two years. The ceiling was skimmed both times. The paint is a special coat bathroom paint.

You ask how to stop it from peeling. Scrape it all off, properly prepare the surface, then repaint. Peeling paint is caused by poor adhesion to the underlying surface. Your's could be one or more of a multitude of issues: damp or wet surface; skimmed surface not cured prior to application; skimmed surface not primed prior to application; surface not sanded properly; chalky, dirty, dusty, greasy surface; glossy surface; etc.


Can I mount a smoke alarm using magnets? I am installing smoke alarms in my 1930s house. I'd rather not drill into the plaster at this time, but I want to get them mounted. I have drywall beads along the top of all my walls, so I was thinking that I could mount the smoke detectors using some rare-earth magnets. They can hold the weight, but I don't know if the magnets will interfere with the smoke detectors. I've searched around, and it sounds like some smoke detectors can be tested with magnets, but that is it.

Is mounting smoke alarms with magnets going to render the smoke detectors ineffective?

Edit: Thanks for the answers. I'm going to go with a more solid approach, and either find the studs or use an full anchor. Given the importance of fire detection, it's not worth the risk.

Smoke detectors should not be mounted within 12" of the corner of the wall.

The air movement in the corner is practically nil thus rendering the detector useless. It needs air movement through the unit to work.


Does a French drain need to terminate above ground? I'm in central Florida (lots of rain and sandy soil), and have had drainage issues around my house.  I'm putting in french drains to resolve this.  As shown in the image below, the drain (red) will be sloped down towards a lake.  There's a little berm just before the lake.  I'd rather not have the french drain exit out of the ground on the other side of the berm for aesthetic reasons.

Will it work to just terminate the french drain below ground?

Look at a typical "dry well" install - basically terminate the pipe into a blob of crushed rock, or an actual void/hole/tube punched full of holes, so the water can filter out. Just stopping the pipe underground will not work well.

In an essentially non-freezing climate there should be little problem with this - they can be done well in freezing climates, but it's more work and digging. If you use a open/void/hollow well it's easier to check/clear the pipe if that's ever needed.


Can you drill through Titebond 3 wood glue without breaking its seal? I have a wooden table that I bought broken and have attempted to fix. I have used Titebond 3 to glue the broken foot back onto the leg.

What concerns me is that Titebond 3 states on the bottle that it should not be used for anything that is "load-bearing".  The man I bought the table from suggested gluing, then drilling a hole through the leg and foot, then gluing a dowel inside the hole (presumably to strengthen the broken joint). I have a 5/8 dowel and drill bit ready to go but I'm concerned about drilling through the Titebond 3 glue already in place. Would the glue still hold throughout the drilling process? Or would it damage the wood in any further way? Alternatively, would Titebond 3 glue hold a table up without the need for drilling?

It's hard to tell reliably from the picture.  Another picture from the side that shows the shape of the break would help.

That glue joint looks pretty wide unless we're just seeing a bead of oozed glue.  Ideally, the wood should fit tightly together and be clamped with pressure on the joint while the glue dries.  A "sheet of glue plastic" between the wood pieces won't have the same strength as wood.

But to your question, gluing in a dowel will improve the strength.  It's hard to tell the dimensions of the cross-section.  You could use a relatively big diameter dowel or several smaller diameter dowels.  The doweling will provide most of the structural strength, but recognize that the strength is coming from wood the diameter of the dowel instead of wood the cross section of the leg.

Once the current glue job is completely dry, it will hold the pieces together to allow you to add structural strength with dowels.  Drilling for the dowels won't hurt the glue in places where you aren't drilling.  But, of course, it removes the material where you drill, so the joint will have that much less overall structural strength until you glue in the dowels.  The dowels should not be loose before gluing; the holes should be tight enough that you need to tap the dowels into place.  Also, don't put any load on the repair until the doweling glue is completely dry.

Another (and better) option would be to use several long screws with large heads and washers, or pocket hole screws.  Drill appropriate size pilot holes and clearance holes, and leave a flat base in the hole for the screw head or washer.


During a lightning storm, what causes the lights to temporary cut off and on? I know it is pretty common during a lightning storm for lights to temporary cut off and on, but where and how and why is this occurring?

Is the transformer temporally shutting off power to prevent a surge from affecting the mains power? Or is this something even further up stream at a substation?

Like your house, the electrical distribution grid has circuit breakers to protect components from overloading.

Unlike your house, the circuit breakers used on distribution equipment don't just pop open and stay there. Instead, "automatic reclosers" are used.

The idea behind a recloser is that most fault conditions that happen outside to distribution equipment are transient in nature: lightning strikes, falling branches, exploding squirrels, and the like. Once the lightning dissipates, or the branch hits the ground, or the animal combusts, the fault condition is cleared. So reclosers will open the circuit when a fault is detected, then attempt to close it again a few seconds later. If the fault persists, the circuit will open again and the recloser will try again after a longer wait (perhaps 20 seconds.) If the third time isn't a charm, then the fault probably requires a human to come repair it, so the circuit will stay open and alert the utility company to send someone to fix it. However, reclosers can be programmed for pretty much any sequence of tries until they give up.

Here's a wikipedia article on reclosers.


How is a transition between drywall and wood typically handled? I just finished sheet rocking my living room and am stuck at a stand-still.  My ceiling is 12' feet high at the tallest point and slopes down to 8'.  That said, at the 12' wall, the sheetrock only goes up 8' and is then met by a lap and gap type wood, which then continues up to the ceiling. The wood then slopes (on the wall). At the 8' point of the ceiling, the sheetrock butts up to the ceiling.

My question is...How would I install a crown moulding or transition piece at the point where the sheetrock meets the wood?  The previous owners had a painted 1x4 where the paneling (now sheetrock) met the wood. However, I am wanting something a bit nicer than just a 1x4 transition.

Either I am the only person out there with a room like this or I am searching incorrectly on Google.  Does anyone have any ideas or pictures on this? I can definitely provide pictures if needed. I am tempted to pull the wood all the way to ceiling and continue the sheetrock all the way up. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Here's a few options I can think of.
Lap joint
If the wood is a bit thicker than the drywall, you could use a router to remove some of the material on the back side of the lowest plank (may require installing an additional plank, or extending the drywall). Then allow the lowest plank to lap over the drywall. Make sure you leave enough of a gap between the two materials, to allow for expansion and contraction.

Transition
Another option would be to use a transition strip, like the ones commonly used in flooring. You'd use T-molding if the materials are even with each other, or a reducer if they're not.

Molding
A simple 1x4 like the previous owners had, or a more decorative piece of molding could be used.


Genie SilentMax 1000 will not move up or down I have been having problems with my Genie SilentMax 1000 garage door opener. With the door disengaged from the opener the shuttle moves back and forth about 4" and stops. It has been doing this intermittently for a month or so now and then sometimes it starts working again after I try it 10 times or more.

The door operates quite easily by hand with no restrictions.
The safety beam is not blocked and has a constant light.
I have reprogrammed the up and down limits twice.
I have reprogrammed the up and down force to maximum.

I can find parts like here:
http://www.genie-garage-door-openers.com/genie10003024.htm

It seems the motherboard is $75 about half the price of a new door opener. I am wondering if anyone else has seen this problem and if they successfully repaired it with a circuit board or was it the motor.

I hate to buy a part and have it still not work but I hate to completely replace the opener. It is only 18 months old, just past warranty, go figure huh? I won't be buying another Genie.

Thanks for any help and happy holidays.

After discussing this with the Doors Unlimited Sevice tech I opted to have the opener replaced. We agreed it could either be in the rpm sensor or the mother board but either way replacing it was the only sure way to fix it.

I will not ever buy another Genie door opener.


Is a vapor barrier necessary beneath blown in cellulose insulation in a garage ceiling in a cold climate? Is it necessary to put any kind of vapor barrier beneath blown in cellulose insulation in an attached garage?  The ceiling is sheetrocked, but that's it.  It's a cold, dry climate (north half of Minnesota), but lots of heat and moisture will come from vehicles parked beneath; thus, I imagine a fair amount of ice would develop over the course of the winter.  But...I'm not sure how much ice, or if it's anything to worry about.

It depends on how much ventilation you've got in your attic.

This article provides the most useful and thorough information source that I've managed to find.

For what it's worth, my attic above the garage has the blown in insulation resting on the sheetrock, but then again, I live in Alabama.


Correct air vent for a gap found in wall I am renovating a room in my house and I have come across the hole pictured. It used to be covered by a light wooden box that allowed the air to flow upwards. I was not to keen on it and have taken it down. I would like a nice modern looking air vent in its place. You can see there is a large space to fill, there was loads of rock wool in there when the panel came off. Can I just stick any old vent cover on there? Are there other considerations i need to make? Do I need to re-pack it with rock wool?

Thanks!

You appear to have a hole in your brick wall that vents to the outside. You would like to put a decorative vent grill over the hole and want to know if there's anything, other than aesthetics, to be concerned about.

This hole will leak conditioned air out of your house. The room will be warmer in the summer and colder in the winter. It will also fluctuate with the outside humidity. Almost always this is not what you want.

This hole may leak conditioned air into your wall cavity. From there it will likely find some other path outside or into an unconditioned space such as your attic.

Either air leak is going to reduce comfort in the room and cost a lot of money in heating or cooling bills unless you live in a particularly ideal climate.

Normally when we vent a conditioned space we use a damper so that we can force air out when desired but not get unwanted air coming in. The spring- or gravity-loaded damper would be part of the vent on the outside wall and the inside wall would have a fan. For examples search on "wall mounted kitchen exhaust fan". You need some ducting between the inside and outside so that the vent doesn't simply feed the wall cavity.

Alternatively, if the purpose of this vent is to bring fresh air in then we would reverse the above arrangement to avoid having conditioned air leave the room.

If you are not in need of a vent then I would suggest plugging up this hole. I suspect that the wood box and rock wool you describe was an attempt to do this. Plug up the hole on the inside and the outside so that you don't leave behind a leak into the wall cavity.

[Editing to echo @isherwood's comment.] Before plugging up this hole I would try to figure out why it's there to begin with. You could ask on SE. We'd need more information on where you live, what else is in the room, what's your HVAC system, before hazarding a guess.


Saddle valve on water line running to fridge won't shut off I've shut off the water line to my fridge (so I can sell), but water still is coming out after turning off the saddle valve. I've even shut off the main water line, but water is still coming out of the line, but not as much. Can I stop the water without replacing valve or keeping main water line off??

If water is still coming out after turning off the valve, the valve needs to be repaired or replaced. It's possible that there is some debris or hard water deposit in the valve that is preventing it from sealing and cleaning the valve will do the trick, but a new saddle valve is so inexpensive ($15 or less) it really isn't worth any time diagnosing it; I would just replace it.

The danger is that taking the saddle valve off of the pipe to inspect or replace it might cause a leak all on its own; you may introduce a new leak between the valve and the pipe when you reassemble it.

A bigger concern in my opinion is that your main water shutoff has the same problem. If your home is going to sit vacant while on the market and you are planning to turn the water off or if you are trying to get your house in tip-top shape to sell, that's what I would hire a plumber to fix. Maybe ask him to put a new saddle valve on in the kitchen while he's there.

If you're not interested in investing money in the house or not worried about needing to have the water absolutely off after you move out, as @JPhi1618 mentioned in a comment on your question: you could do a band-aid repair by putting a cap on the end of the line to prevent damage to the flooring and let the next owner deal with it.


Termination point at main panel for a 4 wire feeder ground wire to sub-panel in detached structure I plan to upgrade an older 40 amp 3 wire feeder to my shop to a safer 4 wire feeder. No issues at all running a #6 solid copper in existing  conduit to an un-bonded ground bus-bar in the sub-panel. Problem I have is the Main load center for the house is mounted inside a room in the center of the house, making it not so easy to rout the ground wire from sub-panel into the main panel.

Question I have: would code allow me to connect the feeder ground wire from the detached shop sub-panel to the ufer plate for the Main Panel ? Seems this would be OK since the main panel has the bonded ground/neutral bus-bar. Thanks

Definitely separate out that neutral and ground wire.

Don't bother replacing the aluminum wires

Yeah I know there's some ooga-booga out there about aluminum, but that has nothing to do with your heavy feeder, which is fine stuff and you should keep it. The problem related to very small wires in 15/20A branch circuits, specifically use of outlets and switches whose lugs were rated copper-only, and under political pressure, UL hastily cross-rated them for aluminum without proper testing.  Aluminum lugs are the universal donor, they cheerfully take Al or Cu wire. Hence many panels use Al lugs, correctly and without difficulty.

So all you need for the care and feeding of Al feeder is to keep it clean and use the anti-ox goop.  If you're splicing that somewhere, use insulated Polaris lug splices just big enough for the larger wire; much nicer than using bare splices and wrapping them with globs of electrical tape. The Polaris bars are made of aluminum.

Your #4 Al wire is capable of being fed from a 60A supply breaker.  That is also limited by other segments of cable/wire, as well as the subpanel's bus ampacity if it doesn't have a main breaker of its own.

An outbuilding requires a disconnect switch; 95% of the time you get that by choosing a panel with a main breaker.  That breaker size does not matter for its role as a disconnect switch. You can never count on the convenience of the local "main" tripping first, however, with a 40A "local main" and a 60A feed, it might just work!

Anyway, I'd hold onto that nice ampacity of the aluminum.  I know you've got your plans figured out, but honestly, the world is too full of surprises to ever say that for sure. Whoever guessed they'd work the bugs out of electric cars, for instance.

Retrofitting ground

So yeah. Just pull a #10 Cu ground wire through the conduit, add a separate ground bar to the panel, pull any N-G bonds, and you're all set.

It's a shame you didn't pull the ground wire in (or at least a pulling string) when you pulled the phone/intercom out.  Of course the phone and intercom were completely illegal; you can't put signal wires in the same pipe as mains power.

I wouldn't grab the Ufer ground, but I'd grab the copper wire going right to it.

Generally you can take a retrofit ground back to any of these:

The panel that serves the load
Metal conduit that goes back to that panel, if the metal conduit is rated for carrying grounds (all non-flexible and some flexible conduit is).
Any junction box visited by a branch circuit coming out of that panel, which has a sufficiently large ground wire (any >=30A circuit must have a #10 ground wire, so that would suffice).
Anywhere along the Grounding Electrode System; i.e. the run from the service panel to the grounding rods/pipe/Ufer.


Can I use packing popcorn (peanuts) instead of gravel for filling a french drain? I'm digging a 2 feet deep french drain a few feet away from the house.  I'm wondering if instead of gravel I could surround the 4" perforated pipe with packing popcorn (or peanuts, or whatever they are called).  I'll be backfilling 1 foot with dirt on top.

What leads me to believe that this can work is the existence of this product:

https://www.ndspro.com/ezdrain

I know that gravel works.  The question is: is the popcorn really a good idea or am I going to see problems in the future.

I don't think packing popcorn will work. I'd think it would compress and leave at best a spongy spot in your yard. Most likely you'll end up with it collapsing as soon as any weight is applied over it. The material shown in the two products you listed is a polystyrene aggregate. I don't think packing peanuts are the same exact material.


How do I temporarily cover a hole in my roof? What is the best way to temporarily patch my roof?

Tomorrow I'm going to be taking two chimneys out of my house. They are both brick and mortar chimneys. Both of them stick out the middle of my roof -- i.e. neither is on the side of the house. I've got an air hammer and will be removing them brick-by-brick.

Once I get the chimneys below the roof, I'm going to want to temporarily patch the roof.

I've seen online how to tarp a roof. But it looks like you have to nail the tarp to the roof. Doesn't that damage the integrity of the roof? I wonder if I could just use that tacky felt paper and cover it for a day or so.

One of the problems is that since I live in Seattle, it will likely be raining tomorrow -- and for the rest of the week -- and likely for the rest of the month. So I need something that will give me some immediate coverage until I can get a roofer out.

A few holes in a roof that needs fixing anyway is pretty cheap insurance. Wind can be powerful and damned persistent. Use 1x2 along the perimeter of the tarp and a few nails or screws to hold them in place. Really, you don't want to be up on the roof in a storm trying to retrieve your flapping tarp.


Joining neutral of two ac power meters? I have single phase power in my area

I have two ac power meters connections at my home. Last night there was a windstorm and neutral cable of once AC meter got broken.

I had black out in half portion of my home that was connected to that meter whose wire was broken

Then I called to electricity office but long time passed but they didn't arrive.

Then I joined neutral wire to neutral wire of other AC power meter.

My question is that neutral wire shared/common in this way between two meters having separate phase wires

Is it safe?

Good initiative :-) - BUT -

DYING WOULD BE EASY

IF the circuits are both fed from the same phase
AND the same utility transformer -
AND if the current drawn is within the ratings of the wiring and fusing used     THENelectrically this may not cause a problem. Or may.

BUT the neutral connection that you made had mains voltage across it and you could easily die if you touched either the feed or the dead circuit while doing this.

AND the power company may be very unhappy with you doing this.
If it does cause a problem you may be legally and financially liable.


size of screw, wall plug and drill bit for shelf upright with 7mm hole I have a shelf upright that has 7mm sunken holes, like this one here: https://www.twinslotshelving.co.uk/shelving-uprights/1m-white-upright

I'm just unsure about the size of the things I need for fixings.

What size drill bit should I use for the wall hole? and then what size wall plug and screw do I need?

I'd try my best to screw those into studs with the largest screw that will sit flush in the countersink.

If you can't line it up with studs, get the largest anchor that will fit the countersink.

Something like: https://www.renodepot.com/en/hollow-wall-anchors-0484236 and NOT the plastic ones. This anchor will bend out in 4 directions behind the wall board and will distribute the weight on a larger surface area.

Of course, the one I linked does not have a countersunk screw so you'll want to pick some up as well unless you don't mind the head sticking out a little.

Again, the best would be to screw these directly to a stud.


Will this fence provide good wind resistance? (And is it a correctly built shiplap fence?) This fence was built with angled boards. The guy who did it said that would help with wind resistance. The fence is about 90 feet long, and the part of it down the fence line gets hit pretty hard when there are heavy winds. (The area closer to the camera in the first pic is sheltered more because of the houses.)

The second image shows how the boards were angled. The fence is about 7 feet tall.

The posts are metal.

Will this style of fence help with wind resistance? I'm not sure how angled boards, versus boards that are side by side, will make much of a difference, since the wind will be pushing against the fence no matter what. There are no gaps to allow air through.

Edited because someone said in the comments that it looked like he was building a shiplap fence, but after looking up shiplap fences online, it doesn't seem like it was a correctly built one. This Imgur album shows how the boards were put on. They're not wedge-shaped, and they weren't made to fit together -- they're basic fence boards that you would normally put flat against the rails.

http://imgur.com/a/wypVu

If you mean will it block wind, then yes & quite well. If you mean will it hold up in the wind, as you indicate in comments, then yes it will but not long. However, the construction problems you mentioned don't have me convinced either that the boards will stay on past 5-years. Amongst many other components, due to that haphazard nailing.

2 other concerns are that it's seated on the ground & the bottoms (& up to 3') will rot out & look like termite damage in under 10-years...wetness wicking already witnessed by the camera. And, being over 6' tall is likely a local code violation. Which, frankly is a good thing because it's your only possible avenue of recourse in getting it removed or at least done a little closer to right.


Should I actively circulate air into conditioned attic? I'm almost certain that I'm going to seal my attic using closed cell foam and make it a conditioned space. I intend to have a professional spray closed cell foam to the underside of the roof deck. I will not be finishing it in any other way.

I want to do this because properly sealing the living space ceiling is a nightmare with so many and light penetrations, plus the cieling heights change throughout. There are currently laid Batts which are insufficient. Additionally there have been repeat pest invasions so I'm hoping address multiple problems here.

The roof is tile, vented with intermittent soffit vents and a few off ridge vents.

Once the attic is brought into the conditioned house envelope should I install systems to actively circulate its air with the rest of the living space below?

Here’s an interesting article on this subject by Joe Lstiburek of Building Sciences.  In short, he says there has to be air circulation between the house and the attic in order to remove moisture from the attic.  In older installations, leaky ducting in the attic provided enough circulation.  In newer installations, ducting is often so well sealed that moisture is not removed from the attic and can lead to problems.

His recommended solution is to provide HVAC inlets and outlets in the attic which provide about 50 sfm per 1000 square feet, which is about 1/3 to 1/2 air changes per hour.  However, there is a conflict with current building codes because spray foam is combustible and the codes do not allow vents in an attic with exposed foam insulation.  His recommendation is to change the building code to allow this practice, as long as a smoke detector is installed in the return air duct.  His article says 2018 is the earliest that change could be made - I don’t know where it stands.

I think the conclusion is that if your ducting is a little bit leaky you’ll be fine, but if it’s really well sealed it gets very complicated.


Do water hammer arresters need their packing nuts adjusted? To begin with, I'm not even sure that what I'm looking at is a packing nut, but it looks like it would operate similarly to one in shower/bathtub valves. I'm adding a ProFlo water hammer arrester (arrestor?) to my dishwasher's supply line and it looks like there's a bolt inside that can be turned with an Allen wrench. I can't find any documentation on the part that mentions this adjustment.

I'm worried that if this is a bolt that puts pressure on a packing nut, then installing the arrester without tightening it could let water get into the piston mechanism and render it ineffective. But if I tighten it too much, it could keep the piston from moving quickly enough, which would also render it ineffective.

Is this meant to be adjusted?

This should not affect your water seal, which is the o-ring.

It's probably just an assembly detail, particularly if the instructions don't mention it.

I don't see any way it would affect the piston, which is at right angles to it.

My best guess (and it is a guess) is that it's a way to install an orifice (small hole of precisely known size) at the time of assembly. EDIT: Actually, it may just be a mechanical requirement of getting the compression nut in place, looking at it again.


Can I use the grounding rods of a main panel as the grounding rods for my sub panel I ran 3 #6 B/R/W and 1 #8 Grn from my main panel through 1" sch 40 PVC to my garage and will be installing a 100A sub panel with separate ground and neutral blocks. I understand that since it is a separate building I need a grounding rod. I would like to know if I could run a # 8 bare copper wire to one of the two grounding rods of the main panel. The rod is about 7 feet from the wall I will be attaching my new sub panel to. This garage is 100 years old and solid brick only the roof is wood if that makes any difference. And should I install a 60amp GFCI breaker in the main panel for the main shutoff?

It's not a separate building

Having a breezeway between the buildings means it is one building in the eyes of NEC.  You not only can use the same ground rods, you can simply use the ground wires you already ran.

Further, you do not require a shutoff switch (typically implemented as a main breaker) in the garage's panel. Although if you're committed to it, it does no harm.


Loose connection in Cooper night light receptacle I have a Cooper / Eaton nightlight-receptacle TR7735W (manufactuer, amazon), which I replaced a standard receptacle with. The receptacle is not at the end of the run, so there's a line out to the next receptacle, and is not switched.

(source: cooperindustries.com)

The old receptacle used the backstabs, but this new receptacle has the side screw plates. I wired the two hots to the two hot-side screws, the two neutrals to the one neutral-side screw (it has space for 2 wires), and the ground. I left the break-off tab intact. The switch and light work fine, and wiring is confirmed correct with my tester.

When I plugged in the vacuum, the light went off. I was able to get the light back on by pushing the vacuum plug to the side ever so slightly. Pushing it back the other way caused the light to turn off; I could repeat this to turn the light on or off repeatedly.

I admittedly haven't done any troubleshooting (didn't notice the problem with the vacuum plug until late), but is this indicative of a problem with the night light itself or just my wiring job? I'm thinking loose connection.

Those symptoms scream loose connection to me.

Turn off power, pull the unit out of the wall slightly, and tighten the connections.  My expectation is that during that you will find the underlying problem.  If not, exchange it for another one.


Checking for insects in the home? We are about to move into our new home and it looks like the carpet had never been cleaned so we decided a new one would be best.

I took up the carpet yesterday, and today I have a few bug bites on my body, which I am assuming was caused by something on the carpet.

What can I do to check if there are insects still where the carpet was, and what can I do to make sure they don't just move into the new carpet?

The most common insect that readily makes it's our casa it's casa is the flea. Fleas find an ideal environment in our rugs. They can also go without food for many days. They can lay thousand of eggs in their life-cycle. Whats amazing is that the eggs, once deposited in the naps of a carpet will remain un-hatched until it senses vibration (from humans walking) signaling that dinner has arrived.   To verify that there is an infestation place a white bed sheet on the ground outside. Holding a section of the rug over it shake vigorously for a few seconds. You should now have a clear look at everything that resided in the carpet.  If you are certain the marks are not a skin re-action to a substance on the rug, but was caused by a blood-sucking insect, have a professional insect eradicator access the situation and prescribe a treatment. They are best at knowing what and how to remove the pest that may be residing in your home.


Is it safe to use a GU10 adapter in a E27 recessed fixture? I've got some downlights in my kitchen that have an E27 socket and had E27 fluorescent bulbs in them:

I generally dislike the light these put out and was looking to replace them with halogen spots. Given that there's a 240V supply to each fitting, I originally looked at swapping out the whole fitting for new GU10 fittings and just re-wire them.

The problem is that the holes in the ceiling for the old fittings are far too big for any new fitting to fit. Plan B was to buy some E27 to GU10 adapters, and just screw these into the sockets.

This works great, the light is much better. However, I have two questions:

Is this safe (I'm thinking heat dissipation)?
As you can see from the picture, there's now a significant gap around the bulb, due to the fact the bulb is much smaller than the original E27 bulb. Is the solution to this to just buy a bigger bulb? Do these exist? Or do I need some form of adapter?

Your fixtures should have a maximum thermal power rating, as long as you don't exceed that with your bulbs, there should be no safety problem from the fixture.

If you were to use light bulbs with electronics such as CFL or LED, you would also need to insure you don't exceed their temperature ratings. CFLs, for example, are usually made to be used in a "base down" position so the heat will rise and dissipate. A CFL used in a recessed fixture will be in a "base up" situation where the electronics will be hotter.

Have you considered using a PAR E27? I don't know your fitting size but a PAR20, 30, or 38 will probably work out better than trying to adapt a GU10.


Is my plan for adding a sub-panel reasonable? I need to add a sub panel to my main panel since it is full. What I was looking to do is put the sub panel (100 amp) beside the main panel (200 amp) then add a 100 amp breaker to the main panel to feed the sub panel.
I'm going to use 6-3 cable for this and hook wires to breaker and then to the main lugs on sub panel. Then I'm going to use a 50 amp breaker in the sub panel to run 8-3 cable to my shed's 50 amp Sub Panel and hook the wires to the main lugs. Then I'm going to use 12-2 cable to feed my lights (15 amp breaker) and 12-2 cable to feed my outlets (20 amp breaker).
Does this all make sense or am I missing something?

You are severely under-sizing your cables/wires. Depending upon cable, independent conductors in conduit, over the air, etc. considerations.
For a starter your 100 amp feed to the first sub-panel should be 1 gauge copper, or 2 gauge if THHN/THWN.   The feed to the 50 amp sub-panel should at least be 6 gauge.
In your shed, 14/2 is fine on 15 amp breakers for lighting. Easier to work with than 12-2.
On both your planned sub-panels, you'll need to float the neutral (isolate from ground) and have 4-wire (2 hots, neutral and ground) to them.  In the separate outbuilding (shed) you'll need to also float the neutral and install ground rods and connect them to the grounding bus bar in the sub-panel.  You don't need to do this in a sub-panel in the same structure as the main panel, but you still need to isolate the grounds from the neutral.
Ampacity chart search results
In response to the comments:
It doesn't sound like you've done much load planning.   What are you planning on running in the shed, as well as on the sub-panel?   I would power the shed's sub-panel from the main panel, even if that means moving a couple more circuits to the sub-panel.   Also, 6 ga aluminum wire is considerably less expensive than 8 ga copper. Depending upon how long the run to the shed is, you might want to consider that. And yes, 40 amps on 8 ga copper or 6 ga aluminum is fine.   To connect the 100 amp sub, I'd go with a short length of conduit and individual wires. Depending upon your current configuration (in wall or surface mounted), you may need to "assemble as you go" because it would be difficult or impossible to install the conduit later.
You don't need to "buy 4 wires", buy 1 length of 1 ga copper, 3 times the length you need and cut it as you install it.  Code tape (wrap) the neutral with white tape. A 6 ga green neutral is fine for ground. Alternatively, I THINK if you ran metal (EMT or rigid) between the main and sub, that would serve as the ground connection. (not sure!)
Also, others may chime in here, but panels are pretty inexpensive compared to the work involved in have to swap them out later if too small, so go big!
Lastly, and please don't take offense to this, but you are asking some pretty basic questions and initially made a pretty bad and dangerous proposal. Electricity is pretty dangerous if not handled properly.  If you still want to DIY, it would be a good idea to find a buddy that knows electrical well or even hire an electrician to check your work or get his advice before work is started.
I'm not a licensed electrican, but know quite a bit about it and the code and have done a lot of wiring.   Even so, when I wired my son's new house, I paid a licensed electrician to do a "pre-inspection" in case I missed something.  And he did find a few things that would have been called out in an inspection.
Hope this helps.  There is no honor lost in getting help / advice from pros.  In your case, you might need to do that locally.