How can I identify the conductors in an appliance cord with only the green wire colored? I've bought an appliance power cord for my dishwasher, however, unlike this cable:

(my car was parked)

only the green (ground) cable is colored.

Does this mean that when I connect the cord to the appliance, the black and white wires are in fact interchangeable?

Is this because it is AC?

Look for another identifier besides color such as a stripe or rib on one of the two other wires. That will be the Neutral wire. Make sure it connects to the Wide blade on the plug.
Is this because it is AC? No, if it isn't so identified, you are dealing with a cheap knockoff pigtail that probably belongs in the waste bin. In the 120V single phase world, Neutral is effectively at ground potential, therefore if you touch it, you shouldn't get shocked. Hot while alternating isn't at ground potential and so the voltage is alternating between +120V and -120V (RMS, actual voltage peak ±170V), making you the conductor if you connect the hot wire to the dishwasher chassis and you touch it and ground. If the neutral connects to ground in the dishwasher, you've just connected up a dead short.
As this is for a dishwasher, neutral must connect to neutral and hot to hot, any mess-up here is going to be ugly. The only other method is to use an ohmmeter to trace which wire is attached to which blade. Normally narrow blade hot, wide blade neutral and ground pin to ground. If there is no difference in blade widths, then use the socket chart below to figure out which blade is Hot and Neutral from its position and attach the wire to the appropriate terminal in the appliance.
There is only one instance where the connections could be considered even remotely "interchangeable" and that is on a double insulated device where neutral is totally and completely isolated from ground.
NEMA socket listing with blade width and "polarity". Note that NEMA 5-15 and 5-20 can be installed with the ground prong up (coat hanger excluder mode) so right and left slot position is relative.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 4 Equipment for General Use
Article 400 Flexible Cords and Cables
II. Construction Specifications
400.22 Grounded-Conductor Identification. One conductor of flexible cords that is intended to be used as a grounded circuit conductor shall have a continuous marker that readily distinguishes it from the other conductor or conductors. The identification shall consist of one of the methods indicated in 400.22(A) through (F).
(A) Colored Braid. A braid finished to show a white or gray color and the braid on the other conductor or conductors finished to show a readily distinguishable solid color or colors.
(B) Tracer in Braid. A tracer in a braid of any color contrasting with that of the braid and no tracer in the braid of the other conductor or conductors. No tracer shall be used in the braid of any conductor of a flexible cord that contains a conductor having a braid finished to show white or gray.
(C) Colored Insulation. A white or gray insulation on one conductor and insulation of a readily distinguishable color or colors on the other conductor or conductors for cords having no braids on the individual conductors. For jacketed cords furnished with appliances, one conductor having its insulation colored light blue, with the other conductors having their insulation of a readily distinguishable color other than white or gray.
(D) Colored Separator. A white or gray separator on one conductor and a separator of a readily distinguishable solid color on the other conductor or conductors of cords having insulation on the individual conductors integral with the jacket.
(E) Tinned Conductors. One conductor having the individual strands tinned and the other conductor or conductors having the individual strands untinned for cords having insulation on the individual conductors integral with the jacket.
(F) Surface Marking. One or more ridges, grooves, or white stripes located on the exterior of the cord so as to identify one conductor for cords having insulation on the individual conductors integral with the jacket.


Replacing shower dome light bulb I have a shower light fixture.
There are two screws holding the plastic cage onto the fixture, which I removed. However, I am still unable to remove the cage (I tried twisting it and pulling on it).
The fixture itself cannot be removed by twisting or pulling.
How do I proceed with replacing the light bulb?

Probably a sticky rubber gasket that has kinda adhered to the cage frame over time. Try spraying a penetrating lubricant (you know, the yellow and blue can with the little tube for the nozzle) into the crack and giving it a few taps. Then try your twist (counterclockwise) method again.


Cracks from Garage Floor to the house I closed on my home 5 months on 8/30/2018. Now I have noticed cracks on my garage floor. The cracks are getting wider. I am concerned. This is my first home. Please any advice?

There are 2 types of concrete, concrete that cracks and concrete that hasn't cracked yet. Houses are essentially floating on dirt and with proper preparation you can minimize the likelihood of a slab cracking. From the picture it does look like a large crack if it happened all of a sudden and is heaving it may cause an issue due being unlevel/trip hazard. But in general cracks in slabs are pretty common. Sidewalks don't crack often because of the expansion joints in between each section of sidewalk but that's impractical for a basement or garage slab. If it's a new build it may be cause for conren or if your house is an area subject to landslides or the sort, you may want to have someone investigate it.


How long and tall does a shower wall need to be to protect against overspray? We're designing a curbless shower right now and would like it to be doorless.  The design would have the showerhead on the West wall, and the entry along the East side of the North wall.  This general sketch should help:

----------
|                     |
|S           D        |
|                     |
-----------------------

S = Shower Head

D = Drain

The East and West walls are 34" and the South wall is 67".  The North wall is currently the one we're not sure what to do with.

How long does the North wall need to be?  If there is no code for this, then what length should it be to properly protect the rest of the bathroom from overspray?  Related, does it need to run up to the ceiling or can it be just a few inches above the shower head for a more open feel?

Additional Info

In case anyone is curious or it's relevant...

Our main concern is that we would like to add a bench along the East wall (or possibly a corner bench), but need to make sure the entry opening is big enough that it is not uncomfortably blocked by the bench.  So we are attempting to minimize the length of the North wall.

The interior of the shower will be tiled floor to ceiling.  Remainder of the bathroom will be paint over greenboard.  The shower will be a curbless entry, preferably without a curtain.  We've already accounted for sloping the floor to the drain.

I don't mind a small amount of water spraying the first foot or so out of the shower entry, as long as we're not talking about a puddle.

First off check your local codes to see if you have to comply with the ADA or other codes.

Otherwise, the width of the opening to enter the shower will dictate your wall length. Personally I wouldn't want anything smaller than 32" but that might just be me.

The height should be high toward the shower head and could be a little lower further out. Some of it depends on how tall you are. Shorter people would cause less spray up high.

I would say not less than 6 feet high but then, that might just be me again.

Good luck!


Should I apply car wax to the outside of my air conditioning unit? Through different conversations with family members and friends, I have been told that it is good to apply a coat of car wax to the outside of the air conditioning unit frame. I assume that this is to maintain a protective seal and prevent corrosion. Has anyone done this before? I just bought a new Trane XR15 unit in April and I want to keep it in tip-top shape for as long as possible.

I seems to me that waxing the outside of the AC unit is only going to protect cosmetic appeal. If you're interested in keeping the unit looking nice from the outside, then  it could help. Otherwise, I wouldn't put in the effort.


How to fix 2 wires into this plug? I purchased an axial fan for a refrigerator but it just has 2 wires sticking out. It came with a wall socket plug and cable but on the end of that cable is just 2 small holes.
How do I fix the wires into these holes?

Make sure the power is off, then cut the plug off and use wire nuts or your country's preferred type of splice. Junctions inside an appliance do not require additional boxes. Since both wires on the fan are black the motor must be isolated so a good frame connection would be my recommendation for a ground unless the frame is plastic then it won’t matter.
There are small 1/8” spade or male disconnects that could be crimped onto the fan wires but there is a chance these could fall out and any male plug will require a splice so I would remove the plug and splice for a good connection.


How to put Christmas light net on top of very tall tree I have a 9 meters tall tree, and 5 christmas lights nets. I have a 5 meter ladder, some ropes, some 3 meter long sticks, and some other tools.
I want to cover the tree with the christmas lights from the very top, but is a pain and we cannot reach the top.
We're 3 people trying to do so. The net is a little problematic because sometimes it get stuck in the branches.
Anybody has a good idea of how can we achieve it? We've been trying 3 days in a row and still no success!

9m isn't tremendously tall as trees go. I've worked (a little) with a paint roller extension pole that was about 4.5m long at full extension. If you can rent or buy one or more of these and stand with it on the ladder that'll get you near the top of the tree.
A safer alternative could be scaffolding (rent or buy). Here in the US it is commonly available in units with height about 2m. Two of those would have you standing about 4m above ground; three could have you standing at the same height with safety rails surrounding you to protect against falling. This plus the long paint roller pole could put the top of the tree within your reach -- so long as the tree is relatively columnar in its growth habit and the light netting isn't too heavy to manage on the end of such a long pole/lever.


Double earth on metal case light fitting Qld? Good morning,
We have purchased a recently renovated home, and all of the pendant lights have metal casings around where the actual bulb goes in.  The electrician we are using to rewire the house has said that whilst it has an earth wire to it, it needs to be double earthed to meet Australian Standards, so he can either rewire each one with double earth at a cost of approx $100 per light, or we buy new pendant suspension cords.
Can anyone advise if this is actually the case? Do light fittings with metal casings have to be double earthed?  Obviously we don't want anyone to be put in danger or burn the house down so we'll replace them if necessary, I'm just not sure the information is completely correct.

My copy of ASNZS3000:2007 has no references to 'double earth', and a cursory web search finds no useful results.

I suspect your electrician is confused (or has confused you) between 'double insulation' and 'earthing', both of which are valid but mutually exclusive means of protection against electric shock.

Most pendant lights in New Zealand, which has a similar regulatory regime to Australia, are double insulated and do not require an earth. Some electricians are not particularly comfortable with this, and he may want to earth them anyway, but this is not legally required provided they comply with the correct standards and marking.

I suggest finding another electrician.


Is it worth replacing my sheathing? Rather large 2 story home in Western WA. I currently have cedar singles for siding that are EOL and I want to replace them along with the rotting fascia board with T1-11. It turns out the sheathing is a rather thin foil faced paperboard(although it seems to be rated as structural). Some of the sheathing is also shot and must be replaced. Furthermore, it appears it no longer meets building codes due to the thinness of it.

If I were to replace the old sheathing with OSB, what benefits would I gain, if any? I have the time and money to replace the sheathing(and understand the additional complexity) - that's not a concern.

Sounds as though your old system has what was / is referred to as "Thermo-Ply (which is a brand name I think, but I don't know of a generic term for it), a cellulosic press board with a weatherproof layer on it. The "good" thing about it is that the foil backing meant it was both the shear wall system AND the vapor barrier in one. It was also, despite being cellulose based, fairly water resistant in case your siding leaked. OSB would NOT be, and would require that you add a vapor barrier, such as Tyvek. In addition if you are concerned about such things, OSB will have formaldehyde in it (part of the "glue" holding the flakes together). Then again, so will the T1-11...

But as mentioned by Ed Beal, the OSB UNDER the T1-11 would be kind of redundant anyway. If you want to put anything under it, consider foam board insulation, especially if you don't already have insulation inside of the walls.


What's the name of this wood-eating animal and how to purge it? I have had issues with an insect, which looks like a beetle, in a rented house in a humid mediterranean climate. I noticed they had infested a wooden chair from hearing a faint rattling sound in the night. So I left the chair outside the house. Now I am also hearing a faint sound again and I see insects on the floor beneath the wooden bed frame.

Here is a picture of three specimens shaken from the bed frame:

Here is a picture after crushing them with a fingernail, which makes a soft crackling sound:

And here is a picture of the holes they leave in the wooden frame:

What is the name of the animal, and how to get rid of it and prevent further infestation?

Update: The house is brick and mortar, not wood. The floors are made of ceramic tiles. It has some wooden elements, such as closets. The house has no visible wooden joists.

One possibility is to remove all wooden furniture and have it destroyed.

Then have the house professionally fumigated to kill any of the pests that might be in the structure.

Worth having the structure checked as it may be that the pests came in with the furniture and are not in the structure so saving you some expense.


Determining Bus-Bar Rating for PV Installation I already have a primary PV inverter connected up through a 40A breaker. I'm looking to expand by adding a second PV inverter. To comply with the 2014 NEC 705.12(D)(2) rule I need to know the panel bus bar rating. The existing system drawings were done based on the assumption that the main breaker and the bus bar were rated equivalently (at 200A_, but if I'm reading the label in the panel correctly, the bus bar is rated at 225A.

If the bus bar is indeed rated at 225A then my allowance under the NEC rule is 1.2*225 = 270 - 200 (main breaker) = 70A. With the existing system taking up 40A, then I could install another 30A breaker for the second inverter. If not I'd have to replace the main breaker with a 175A breaker.

I have partial picture of the sticker inside the panel, and realized it matched a sample from a data sheet, so I'm including the data sheet picture.

Am I reading the "Mains 225A max" as meaning that the bus bar is rated at 225A?

Originally I was wondering if the Mains 225A max. from the label inside the panel box was the rating of the bus bar. Since it seems there are/can be addition labels on the panel interior itself (the black plastic holding the breakers and bus bars), I wasn't sure if I'd have to pull the meter and main breaker to confirm.

Researching Schneider's website, I noted that for 42-space single phase interiors in QO plug-on neutral style there appear currently to only be 225A bus bar ratings available for purchase. While that seems to be a pretty good indicator, I still wanted to confirm a bit more if possible.

I contacted Schneider's technical support to ask if they could confirm that they've only ever sold 225A bus bar interiors for the style/size/phase of my box. The representative wasn't able to do that. But representative proceeded to say in our chat:

  But if you look at the wiring diagram label (should be on the inside of the box on the right or left endwall), it will have a rating along the lines of "Mains max" or somewhere along those lines. That will give you the rating of the bus. It is most likely 225 A, but I can't say for sure without knowing the actual part number

So it appears that you can determine the bus bar rating from the panel box interior label without needing to find a label on the breaker holding interior itself.


xmas lights bulbs provide continuity but do not illuminate Four 3-wire strings of Christmas mini lights. Incandescent. Likely identical and purchased same year. Bulbs physically interchangeable.

Each string has three circuits. The first and last bulbs in each circuit have larger bases that fit in to larger sockets.

Its bveen several years since they were last used as none of the 12 circuits light.  All sockets are full, no broken bulbs. The male/female ends pass electricity, and the female distal ends passes electricity. So fuses are all good and cords are basically good.

I removed all bulbs and chose one proximal circuit as the test circuit.  Starting at the proximal end of the test circuit, I added bulbs one by one, checking for continuity in the series wire between the male/female plug and the next (empty) socket using a free multimeter from Harbor Freight.  If a bulb did not provide continuity, I set it aside.  If it did, I left it in and proceeded to the next empty socket. Eventually the entire socket was full and it lit.

But some of the installed bulbs did not light. I then replaced those bulbs with ones that did light.

I then removed one of lit bulbs, which caused the circuit to un-light.  One by one I went through all the bulbs, 100+++, using the empty socket as a testing rig. A few bulbs did not cause the circuit to re-light. These few were set aside as duds. Quite a few caused re-light and themselves lite up. These were set aside as good'uns. However, the vast majority caused the circuit to re-light, but did not themselves light. These were set aside as anomalies.

I filled the other two ciruits with the good'uns.  The entire string lit.  Jiggling the string to test for bad connections did not reveal any.

What's the deal with the anomalies? shorted out? higher voltage requirements? How can they and the other three strings be salvaged?

Christmas light manufactures have started to make mini-bulbs that include a "shunt" device that allows the light to pass current even if the bulb has been burned out.

Image and more detailed information about holiday lights at Energy.gov.

Your "anomalies" are most likely burned out bulbs that have the shunt wire working.  The other bulbs that don't work and also don't pass current have burned out and do not have a shunt, or it is not working.  Neither of these bulbs should be used.

As for the strings that do not work, you can try a device that is made to try and get all the shunts working.  There are products such as the LightKeeper that have a "quick fix" mode.  These send an electrical shock down the wire to try and activate the shunts.  I have used one with some success, but it doesn't always work.

Another procedure I have tried with some success is using a non-contact voltage detector to see where the voltage "ends" on a plugged in set of lights.  I was able to untwist the wire every once in a while on the broken set and probe for voltage.  Using a divide and conquer type search, I was able to find a bad bulb pretty quickly.  That LightKeeper Pro has a built in voltage detector for this, but I think I used another detector I had in the tool box.


What can I do to ensure my pool doesn't freeze? I live about 8 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. It will be in the low teens (below freezing) in the morning. It will be record setting, so I'm not sure what to expect. The pump and equipment is in a heated room however I don't know what the temps could do to the pool and everything outside. It hit 32 F at 7:30 pm.

What can I do to prevent damage to the pool, pipes and pump?

Run the pump. If you have a pool cover, put it on.

The pool itself stores a lot of heat.

Moving water is much harder to freeze than water standing still.


Can filling up a 75 gallon water heater tank without opening a faucet cause damage? Had a bit of a snafu at home today that resulted in an empty 75 gallon tank getting refilled without opening a faucet. Faucet was opened only after the tank was full, which resulted in a long burst of pressurized air coming out. I'm worried this pressurized air may have caused damage to the pipes, fittings or fixtures. Could this be the case? These are copper pipes, some 3/4'', some 1/2'', in a 4,500 sq ft home.

UPDATE: For what it's worth, few weeks have passed and no leaks to be seen.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. A gallon of water is roughly 213 cubic inches.  Assuming that you filled the tank completely (which is unlikely - see below), you would have displaced 213 * 75, or 15,975 cubic inches of air inside your plumbing. One atmosphere of pressure (14.7 psi) is defined as the pressure exerted by a 33.8 ft column of water. Assuming that all of the pipe in question is 3/4", you would have increased the pressure by 14.7 psi if the total pipe length was 472 feet.

But what actually happened is that the tank stopped filling when the air pressure reached equilibrium with the water pressure.  The water that you filled the tank with was coming in at whatever pressure that your household water supply has (typically this is somewhere around 40psi).  When the total pressure in the plumbing system reaches 40psi, the tank simply stops filling because there isn't a pressure differential. So basically, once the air you were displacing reached the pressure of your water supply, it would have simply stopped compressing it because the tank wouldn't be filling any more.


How do I make a manhole? I have a 100+ year old house with wooden floors.

At the moment, access to the subfloor is difficult, involving a long 25 meter crawl under the deck.

I'd like to install a manhole in the floor. Is this difficult?

There are several issues here to deal with that I see.

First, you need to find an appropriate location for this aperture. It is best if the location is one that you can get to easily, but out of the way - since a hole in the floor might be unsightly or something to trip over. It also needs to be accessible from below to get in and out. I would suggest a back hallway or back bedroom as being good.

Second, you need to worry about which joists are involved. Can you get through a hole between the joists in your house? If you needed to cut through a supporting beam, this can have very serious and negative consequences on the structure of your house. Do NOT do that without knowing what and where you are cutting, and providing the necessary support for anything that is cut.

You will need to carefully mark out the cut lines. Careful measurements will be important. You may choose to make a tiny hole or two with a small drill bit to figure exactly where you will cut relative to any joists.

Last, the actual work. Cutting through the floorboards, once they are carefully marked, requires no more than use of a handheld circular saw or a reciprocating saw. There are several other types of saw that could do such a cut on the market, rotory "zip" tools for example, even a hand held manual saw if your skills were adequate. If you needed to cut a beam, then you will need to provide new support points for that joist on  either side of the cut that are FULLY capable of carrying the load. You may even need to reinforce the floor boards themselves as they were cut on either side too.

To close it all up, take the flooring that you cut out, and create a door from the flooring itself that matches the hole you just cut out. Recognize that this will be a trip point, so do not put a big, bulky handle on it. A simple, low piece of moulding around the perimeter may be sufficient to hide the cuts and support the "door". Even that is a trip point, so be careful here.

All in all, this MAY be something that is best given to a reputable contractor to solve for you if you don't know how to solve the problems that will arise. The cost would depend upon whether you can find a location that does not require the cutting of any beams.


Finishing nails into treated lumber indoors... a disaster waiting to happen? We framed out our new kitchen island with some leftover lumber, some of which is treated. Our cabinets came with some extra skin, which is roughly 1/8" thick, and we already attached it to our island with some interior finishing nails. After the fact I read that the finishing nails are not recommended for treated lumber. Since this application is indoor only, am I still OK? Do I need to extract the finishing nails and replace them with SS or galvanized?

Thanks in advance

Only if you notice discoloration in a couple of decades would I remove them. They won't be getting wet so the chemicals won't be active nor re-activated. I've used scraps for decades of even the really toxic stuff & still don't have any side-effect from using finish nails, common nails, plain wood screws & even staples for casement window porch screens in 2x2 PT frames.


How can I smooth an uneven concrete floor? I have had a extension built at the back of my house. It is almost complete now. I had a 6 ft. 6 in. patio door at the back of the house, and the builders left it till last to remove. This will leave my kitchen to be open plan into the extension. When they removed the door, they found that the floor was a different level. As a fix, the builders, working by hand, have put more concrete down in strips. I wanted to put a quality laminated floor down, but the strips have made the floor uneven. Would a floor leveler product be appropriate in this application?

Self leveling cement is exactly the right solution.  It's basically a very wet cement that will flow everywhere.  Many professional floor installers use just this to prepare a floor.


How to repair wood furniture surface from chemical blemish? I left a can of Raid insect spray on top of a piece of furniture and unbeknown to me there was some sort of chemical goo that dripped off the can overnight and it seemingly ate through the surface and lightened the finish.

So I'd like to know how to go about fixing this. I did a quick search and read something about using a stain marker and then following up by applying some lacquer but I want to make sure I do the right thing. I'd appreciate any constructive feedback.

Thanks!

Stain markers are mostly felt pens. You can buy a kit of various colors. Surf the web using 'Stain Markers' as a search term and you will find plenty of suppliers. There is some art to this as each stained wood color needs a very close match to look real. Some of these stains also partially dissolve the existing stain so they merge together. Go slow and do small sections first and check the results. Adjust colors for best match possible. Move the pen or brush in strokes with the grain of the wood, starting with the lightest colors first, then move toward the darkest color. Do NOT coat with a clear lacquer until you are satisfied with the results, because you will need to lacquer the entire surface for it to look right. Use a thick coat so you do not have to do it twice. Doing so can cause ripples in the lacquer.


New Light Fixture Has Long Ground Wire I've recently placed a new light fixture in a room. The metal box from the wall had a black, white, and ground wire, along with a metal plate.

The light fixture came with the same wires and I've connected them all successfully. My only problem is:

The ground wire from the fixture is really long (about 4") and is bare with no covering. Should I cut the ground wire or place wiring tape over them, or is it fine to leave the wires long and exposed in the box? What happens when the bare wire touches the other (black/white) cables?

I'm a new homeowner, so I appreciate any feedback.

If the black and white wires are properly terminated then there is no problem with having a bare grounding wire in the electrical box.

Common house wiring uses Romex type cabling that has insulated black and white wires and a bare grounding wire.


Are grounded receptacles with open grounds causing my electrical problems? I have a room that has six outlets. Two of which are healthy with ground and ~120V coming through. The other four report open ground with one of the four not working at all (no juice). I've checked the voltage and the ground receptacles in the four don't respond at all (as in testing it with the Hot receptacle).

All outlets had ground at one point with two lost from a power outage a while back. The two I lost recently were from a safety practice that required me to power down the surge protectors, cutting power to the electronics connected to them.

Upon repowering them, the lights went out, but the breaker did not trip. A voltage test (eep!) at the breaker showed that the breaker (15A) was fine (pumping ~120v through).
I should note that the outlets have two surge protectors connected with a variety of electronic devices connected including a PC, surround sound and a Dyson heater.

My current problem is that resetting the breaker did not restore power back to that room, and my only suspicion that its from the open ground outlets, but turning on more than one light outside the room can "trip" the circuit. What do I do?

If you have power at the breaker, and no power at the room then you have a bad connection somewhere in between. Time to start tracing wires and opening up junction boxes and outlets to check connections - or to hire an electrician to do that for you. There really isn't a "simple, quick" way to do this.

You may find a somewhat overheated looking connection along the way, or more than one, or you may find an actual broken wire, or you may find a wire that is has power on one end but not on the other, and thus broken (or chewed through, or nailed/screwed through) in the wall; though you should always check to see if you might have missed a junction box in that instance.


What is this tool. Pizza cutter? It's pot metal, three screws holding it together. It has a sharp rolling disk inside. Looks like it can be held in the palm of your hand to cut something. Maybe leather, carpet, or Pizza. It's at a thrift shop in Frasier, CO.

It's an antique wallpaper cutter:

Yours looks a little rusty, missing some parts, and it looks like you’ve had a replacement wheel that's a little bit smaller.


What's this bracket? Has anyone seen this type of bracket before, or have suggestions on what it might be called? The drawing is upside down for the intended usage - basically I want the U-shaped piece on the underside of a joist, and the other piece on the top of a sheet of plywood. My goal is to slide if together to hold the plywood up.

Right now the whole idea is hypothetical - first I need to find the bracket to see what kind of load it could hold.

its called a z clip usually, but the socket side is a little different


How to remove WD-40 from kitchen surfaces? I placed some rusty steel pieces on a plastic or rubber kitchen cutting board and covered the pieces with several lubricants and solvents, including WD-40.

Although the combination loosened the rust successfully, my friend told me that the cutting board should leave the kitchen forever because there was no way to clean it thoroughly enough for it to be a safe food preparation surface.  It was/is my favorite cutting board.

Should I move it to the workshop now or is there a way to scrub and rinse it well enough for safe food preparation?

The with several lubricants and solvents part of the question nails it, in my opinion: move it to the workshop.

A solvent is designed to dissolve stuff. It is quite possible that those products, or trace elements in them affected your plastic. There's no way you can be sure your board is still safe for food.


If leading-edge is not suitable for LED dimming, why do so many switches have it? I have been battling LED dimming in my house for a few weeks now and I have come across some inconsistent information.
According to my research trailing-edge dimmer switches are the correct technology for dimming LED bulbs - in that case, why are there so many supposedly LED compatible switches with leading edge instead? (https://blog.lightbulbs-direct.com/led-dimmer-switch-compatibility/)
Example
https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-nexus-metal-1-gang-2-way-led-dimmer-switch-brushed-steel/53506
https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-2-gang-2-way-led-dimmer-switch-black-nickel/33350
Similarly on this switch it clearly states it's LED compatible however it says it only supports inductive and resistive load - https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_enDocType=Product+Data+Sheet&p_File_Name=GGBL6012LSBS_DATASHEET_WW_en-GB.pdf&p_Doc_Ref=GGBL6012LSBS_DATASHEET - neither of which seems to be used for LED (https://www.lyco.co.uk/advice/dimmers-trailing-vs-leading-edge/)

leading edge dimmer will cause repeated current surges into input capacitors on electronic ballasts. this will damage the ballast or the switch.
trailing edge dimmers will experience voltage spikes when they interrupt the circuit to inductive loads like iron ballasts and transformers possibly causing malfunction or damage.
What style of dimmer is right for your lamps depends on the lamps.


How much weight can a 2x4 wall support? I would like to build a desk and attach it to my wall like so:

I have a countertop surface that's about 6' long by 2' deep. It's pretty heavy. I would like to support it by mounting a 2x4 horizontally across the wall, and rest/mount the back edge of the countertop to that 2x4. I would also make some triangular supports, possibly out of 2x4's or plywood, and at the bottom of those supports have a second 2x4 mounted to the wall like the one at the top. Structurally, I'm sure the countertop and supports will be strong enough.
What I am concerned about is the amount of weight pulling out on the wall. We're going to have our kids at this desk for school, so they'll probably be leaning on it, sitting on it, and otherwise abusing the desk as you do as a kid.
How much weight can a standard wall support before it yanks the studs or starts bowing the wall out? 500lbs? 1000? I'm assuming that the further away from the wall this desk reaches the more twisting force it's going to put on the wall, but I'm not entirely sure.
I can't butt the desk up against the wall to the left, and there's no wall on the right.
Will a regular 2x4 wall support this kind of weight, or do I need some type of foot for it?

From this LINK
The 2x4 wall can handle around 1000 pounds vertically. But you put the limit to the test meaning you are probably breaking the wall before reaching 1000 pounds.
Use a joint or two, a stud wall helps, or doubling the layer could help, anything to reinforce the wall if the main concerns are the wall breaking out because abused by children.
And this question can be found in the discussion here :
DIYchatroom.com


Bathroom exhaust fan always running? I purchased a house about 2 years ago with a bathroom vent fan. When we bought that house it was running constantly and we kinda looked over it (first house lol).
In the bathroom there is one light switch (for the lights) and an outlet next to it (Which is strange...an outlet that high?) however the light switch does not control the exhaust fan.
Is it possible that the fan was never hooked up and expected to be ran continuously? How big of a job would it to be to take out that outlet (which is useless cause it's near the bathroom door and high up) and just add a switch for the vent fan? Surely the vent fan isn't expected to just always run? It has a timer on it but that doesn't seem to do anything?
There are more wires behind the switch socket. Is there any way I can test to see if any go to the exhaust fan?
Edit(More Details): House is approx 6 years old (built in late 2011).
imgur link to vent and outlet box:http://imgur.com/a/HYnb5
Since some things are hard to see, on the switch itself there are 2 black wires that go to it and a ground wire (theirs also a bundle of ground wires in the back with a green cap).
There are also 3 white wires and 3 black wires each bundles with their own cap behind all this (tough to see but I counted 3 per)
The outlet plug has 1 black wire on it's left side and 1 white wire on it's right side, and a ground wire. The weird thing about this one...is the white one is HOT (as in when I test it with the wire tester it beeps) but the black one doesn't beep. Regardless the outlet does indeed work.
The fan will continuously run, and I'm thinking maybe where the outlet was there used to be a switch?

I installed a fan in our bathroom to improve air circulation in the house. It is intended to be run all the time at a low setting. We have a motion sensor module in ours that will increase the fan speed (and thus the CFM) for a period of time (settable). I kept the switch on ours, but you're not generally supposed to. Instead, it is common to swap the switch with an outlet, like it appears was done in your case.

A house is intended to have a continuous exchange of air with proper ventilation. If you do not have that, your indoor air will quality will suffer... more CO2 and humidity, leading to mold growth. If mold is detected in a house, a common recommendation is to increase air exchange by installing a continuously-running fan.

If your fan is running all the time at a high rate, it may be possible to install a motion-sensing module. Google the fan's model number to get a manual to find the right part numbers to buy.

If you think your air quality is fine, and you want to make the fan switchable again, you should be able to easily swap the outlet back out for a switch. Generally speaking, you'll want to remove the outlet (with it's pig-tailed wire(s)) and then find the wires that go to the fan... there will be two coming into the box in the same spot which, when disconnected will leave a working light switch, but the fan will be off. One of these two wires will go to one side of the new switch and the other wire will go to one of the existing capped bundles... then you'll need to add the pigtail from the other side of the switch to the other color capped bundle.

Take this all with a grain of salt... I'm not an electrician. Be sure to turn off your breaker when you are doing the changes. If you're not sure which wires are which, it's best to make one change at a time so you can reverse it as needed. I always take a picture before I make any changes. Writing it out on paper sometimes helps me get my thinking straight.

Finally, if you just want to split the difference and be done with it, you could consider just turning the CFM dial down until it is quieter but still moving decent air.


Why does this pipe feeding a hot water heater dip down like this? This is a cold water pipe just in front of the hot water heater it is feeding. Why is it shaped that way? What is its function?

It is highly likely that that piping arrangement is made that way to facilitate the installation of a water softener. A water softener will have a need to accept a pipe with incoming hard water and another for the outflow of conditioned water to the rest of the residence.

When a water softener is installed the U shaped fittings at the bottom of those two pipes would be removed and replaced with a new setup that usually consists of three or four valves. The valve setup allows for bypassing the softener, allowing water into the softener and also a configuration to backflush the unit. These days the whole valve system is often all integrated into a control unit with solenoid valves so that the controller can manage the flushing under electronic control.


Is cleaning out the main sewer line a regular scheduled maintenance item? I just had to have my main sewer line snaked, and the technician said it should be done once every 2 years.  Is this really the case, or was he just trying to insure he has job security?

It depends, if the sewer is well designed, well built and does not have any issues, and you don't put a lot of fat down it will be ok for a very long time with no maintenance.

However if it "has issues" then you may wish to have it snaked before it gets blocks and becomes an expensive after hours service call.

The problem is you wont know until it gets blocked next time if you should have done the maintenance….


How do I disable a thermostat to prevent it from turning on the AC? I need to disable my thermostat from turning on the AC. Yes, covertly. I think one of my housemates is missing his native Antarctica. So, the thermostat still must be active & setable, but I want to disconnect the wire that controls the AC unit. I suppose the first question is: is this possible? If so, how?

The thermostat is a White-Rodgers 1F89-273. The current wiring configuration is:

C - Blue
R - Red
G - Green
O/B - Orange
X - Yellow
W2 - White + 2nd white wire connected to...
E - White, connected to W2
L - No wire connected

It's going to be the Yellow wire that calls for cooling (surprised that's an X and not a Y).

Two things to be careful of. First, the O/B is for the heat pump valve (switching the compressor from heating and cooling modes), so I'm not familiar enough with heat pumps to know if activating this valve but not the pump itself could damage anything. I don't see why it would, but it's something to consider.

Second, if you are running an AC when it's below 60F, you run the risk of freezing the coils (literally, the whole thing could be covered in ice if it's running at this temperature). Ice on these parts can cause permanent damage, in addition to being a waste of electricity since air isn't going to pass through a block of ice. If your roommate still thinks this is a good idea, now may be a good time for them to sign a liability waver to cover the cost of replacing the AC if it becomes damaged, and to switch the electric bill into their name.


How do I determine if a slow toilet leak is due to an actual leak, or due to sweating? I got my wife a bidet for her birthday (something she'd been asking for for a while). Several days after install, we came to realize that there was a thin sheen of water under the toilet, enough to have heavily dampened (but not soaked) the bathroom mat. I have been unable to see it actually drip, but the surface of the connection is damp, and there was water on the floor. Originally, the water came out of the wall, into a flexible pipe, and then into the tank. The bidet added a metal T junction, with the bidet getting its water from the added connection.

Unfortunately, I can't work on it right away due to work. I put a towel under the junction last night, and it was indeed damp. I've since stuck a bucket underneath to hopefully catch the water and gauge how much of a problem there actually is. My next step will probably be to unscrew everything tonight, and rebuild it with teflon tape, but if this is due to condensation, I'm not certain how much good that will do. Is there a good way to determine why the problem is happening?

Easiest way is to not use it for a while (equalize with room temperature) dry throughly, and check in a few more hours of not using it.

Teflon tape (or pipe dope) only helps on tapered pipe thread fittings. Flare and compression fittings seal in other ways, but it's not uncommon to see them taped up by folks that don't notice that.


Filling a Viessmann Vitodens 100W that has dropped to minimum pressure I have a Viessmann Vitodens 100-W that heats my house, and I presume delivers hot water too.
I must confess I have been negligent, and never had it serviced. The unit is 8 years old. I will get it serviced soon,provided I can find a licensed service mechanic for it.
Now, I did notice that the pressure gauge reads 13psi, which is pretty much the minimum level according to the manual (the manual does contradict itself by first stating the minimum is 12psi, and later in the text it says 14psi.)
The procedure is not listed in the owners-manual, but is it something that a homeowner could do, add water to increase the pressure?
Is it just a matter of opening a valve somewhere until the pressure gauge shows the correct value, or do I actually have to hook it up to a gardenhose?

UPDATE: Thanks George, I have found something called "Backflow Preventer."
It seems to have a valve both in front and after it? Or is it some sort of other lever, that I see to the left of it?
I am in Canada.

Lift the lever on top of the pressure regulator briefly, that should allow water to flow in, and raise the pressure.
On most systems, the inlet valve is left closed except for maintenance - they should not normally leak, so they should not need constant refilling. Your inlet valve appears to be open as pictured.


How to fix this door hinge One of my door hinges came out. Now the hole is loose and the hinge doesn't stay in the hole. Door keeps falling. How do I repair this? If it can be glued, what kind of glue should I use?

If it's stripped, and this is only a temporary fix, I've placed wood shaving in the hole in this circumstance and then threaded the bolt into the hole. The shavings tighten the hole.


Homeowner's Insurance requires electrical panel replacement after 40 years A casual reading of my homeowner's insurance policy indicates that electrical panel will need replacement after 40 years. I am located in Virginia USA.

1 Is this an industry standard requirement?
2 What actually needs replacement? Individual breakers? Panel insides? Housing? Other?
3  What are the reasons for this requirement?

Is that a standard thing? Nope.
So this is either a peculiarity of that company (read: they don't want your business) or, they are requiring it in your location because they know something about electrical practices in your neighborhood that you do not... e.g that the original builder scored a great deal on Federal Pacific panels, or that one particular drunk electrician did a lot of really bad work in that town.
The other wildcard we don't know is what the insurance company may have learned about your house.  For instance, if you had a home inspection done, and you forwarded that to them, they may be looking at a photo and seeing something you missed, i.e. would you even know a dangerous panel if you saw it?
But no -- it is NOT a standard thing, and the rest of your questions would need to be poised to the particular insurance company... or to a different insurance company lol.
What needs to be corrected depends on the nature of the panel.  Federal Pacific gets a different answer than Challenger than Pushmatic than CH.


What heating system do I have, and what can I do about water pressure in my shower? New homeowner (UK based) and getting to grips with all that comes with that. I previously only lived in a flat with a standard combi boiler, my new home seems to have an older system in place consisting of boiler + cylinder, but I would really like to understand how all of this works.

Now, I believe this system was upgraded throughout the years, as it includes a thermostat and a continuous flow of hot water (hot water is on demand, even when the timers are off, pictures to follow and questions at the end).

Boiler in the kitchen:

Thermostat, downstairs and central in the property:

Airing cupboard upstairs:

Behind the above I found this scary thing:

What the heck is that and should I be worried?

Based on the above I suspect I have either system 2 or 3 of the video provided in the comments, but I'd like to confirm this.

Some things to note:

I seem to have hot water on demand, I thought I would depend on the timers, or setting it up via the "switchmaster", but we have hot water at any time of the day!
Once heating comes on, it will shut off automatically once temperature on the thermostat as been reached.

Considering this, I seem to have all the benefits of a combi boiler, just with a lot more stuff taking up space and more energy?

I also noticed the shower could use a bit more water pressure, a new shower hose and head helped a bit, but not quite there yet, is there anything on this system that I could do to increase water pressure in my shower? Would switching to a modern combi system help at all with this?

The small water tank (header per Owain) looks like it has no water in it.  If that is the case, then it's likely your central heating system will have air in it, and so not work effectively.  Try wiggling the ball valve to see if you can get some water in the tank.


What material should I use for a platform that holds 300-500 lbs? I am making a flat platform with 4 leveling feet that can hold a 150 lb Corrosion-Resistant Heavy Duty Blower plus another 150-350 lb (so in total 300 - 500 lbs of mass). It is around 24" x 24". Do you guys have any suggestions on what material I should use and how thick?

Also if I wanted to reduce the vibration from the fan would it be a good ideal to put a layer of rubber on the platform?

This will be indoors and will be a raised platform, I was thinking of using Heavy Duty Vibration-Damping Leveling Mounts

300-500 lbs is not really THAT much, spread over 4 square feet. That's the weight of about 2 people. Your question is a little vague since you don't say whether this is for indoors or outdoors, whether this is a raised wood platform like a deck, or a concrete pad, or what.

If you want to use wood, you could definitely just use 2x's like for a deck. If it's not that high, you could put it on 4x4 posts and that would be plenty strong enough. You could attach your leveling feet under the posts.

To reduce vibration you could use rubber, although whatever you do you should make sure that the fan is properly secured. You can get round rubber cups that go under washing machines to reduce vibrations: that might be one way to go.


Can a porcelain sink be fired again to repair surface cracks? I have a very large pedestal bathroom sink that has some micro cracks in the glazing.  The cracks are around the drain plug.  I think this damage occurred before I purchased the home by the owner tightening the joint too tight.  It is an expensive sink and I hate the idea of putting it in the trash, but it is getting impossible to keep those cracks free of dirt.

If I can find a local place that has a big enough kiln, can the sink basin be fired again to repair the cracks, or another layer of glaze applied, then fired?

In theory, yes. But with any refiring, there's a chance of introducing new defects, like bubbling and so forth. The larger the piece, the more difficult it is to ensure all of it heats up uniformly. Otherwise you'll get more cracks than you started with. I have no experience with commercial services doing what you ask for on this scale (bathroom sink), but apparently some exist.


Fishing wire through exterior wall -- what problems am I likely to encounter? I've figured out how to get Ethernet run from the basement up into my attic. I thought that would be the hard part, but that looks relatively tame.

Now the next challenge is going to be fishing wire down an exterior wall to where I need the jack to be. I know I'm going to have to deal with insulation, but I've also heard of firestops--horizontal wood boards between the wall studs. Is my 1986 built home likely to have these? Are these common? What other issues might I encounter wiring an exterior wall?

You may or may not have fire blocks, depending on the height of your walls (a quick search suggests 10' or higher) and the codes in place at the time your house was built.  However, in a 1986 house, you'll  definitely have drywall so a decent stud finder would be able to tell you quickly if you have them.  Run it horizontally to find the studs, then vertically where you want your wiring to go to see if it picks up anything in the cavity.

If you do have a fire block, you can get flexible drill bit extenders so you can drill a hole through it.  Probably easiest to do from below (where you're cutting the opening for the electrical box) unless you have a gable at that point on the wall.

Apart from insulation, other issues you might run into include:

other wiring near the spot that you're trying to use;
covered-over windows from earlier remodels;
sheathing nails missing the studs they're supposed to be going into;
if you have loose-fill insulation, it'll all come pouring out when you cut a hole for the electrical box.


Is it OK in the UK for mains sockets to be mounted upside-down? This isn't about any work I'm doing, but just out of interest. I noticed that at my University, some standard mains power sockets at desk height had been mounted upside-down, because there was not enough space to plug in a plug and have room for the cable if they were mounted the right way up, since the desk was in the way.

Is this acceptable or did this violate some standards? I would check myself but it seems to be rather difficult to get a copy of them without paying money.

The answer is that there is no specific regulation within BS7671 which is the British Standard for wiring regulations that specifies the orientation of the sockets. The reg that governs socket positions is 553.01.06. It states

  A socket-outlet on a wall or similar structure shall be mounted at a
  height above the floor or any working surface to minimize the risk of
  mechanical damage to the socket outlet or to an associated plug and its
  flexible cord which might be caused during insertion, use or
  withdrawal of the plug.

It could be argued that fitting a socket upside down will cause the cord to double back on itself. However, Since it is mechanically clamped inside the plug its hardly a valid reason. The one item that could make it non compliant is dependent on its rated testing. If the electrical/fire testing for certification prior to been sold of the device for operation was never done in that orientation the thermal/electrical/fault ratings might not be relevant. There maybe a case to be made on its IP rating due to its reversed position but again its a very thin argument. These are all speculative ideas as pointed out the regs do not forbid it.

The reality is that it is acceptable but not good practise.


Why does my power keep going out to most of my house? My power frequently goes out, mostly at night or early morning. Sometimes it goes off multiple times in a row, sometimes just once. Most of the time, I can get it to come right back on by flipping the main breaker. Other times I have to wait until it wants to come back on. My husband is not particularly worried about it, but I am, because for all I know about electricity, it could catch my house on fire or something.

Why is this happening and how do I stop it?

There are some simple things you can do and some things you should be aware of. At least if you do call an electrician (which I recommend you do), you can be educated. After all, this is a DIY Q&A site. :) That said, messing around with electrical systems in your house can kill you and your family. This is just, what I would do bearing in mind that I have some experience and you may / may not. I'm not responsible if you die, please use caution and only do things you're comfortable with. However, calling your power provider is never dangerous, I would do that next:

Call your provider and ask them what service level you have at your house. Do you have 60amp, 100amp, 200amp? etc. This is important. If you have 100amp or less, that's probably at least one of the issues if not the entire issue. It's common in old houses to have only 100amp or less. Anything built in the last 10 - 15 years will likely have at least 150amp or 200amp. This is important because if you have 60amp service for instance, even in a 2 - 3 bedroom house with average appliances, it's likely you're throwing the main breaker because you're asking for more than 60amps. An AC unit for instance might take up half that on it's own. Add a freezer, then a microwave, and a home entertainment system, you're already at 60amp.

So, first thing I would do is find out your service level. Bear in mind, this can be upgraded. You'll want to pay an electrician to do it. I had this done 2 years ago, and it was $2200 to upgrade from 100amp to 200amp with a new GE breaker panel included.

You said the main breaker is getting tripped. And you said it won't come back on. As others have hinted, it sounds as though there is an appliance coming on at certain times and tripping it. Next time this happens and you can't get it to come back on, try turning off all the breakers. Then, turn on the main (it should stay on when everything else is off). Then turn on one breaker at a time until you get to the one that trips the main. This way you can figure out which circuit is causing the trip. Before you do any of this, I would take a visual of the breakers. Make sure nothing is overheating, looks melted etc. If something doesn't look right, I would have an electrician out immediately. It's not worth catching your house on fire.


Bullnose vs square edge stair treads I've been looking around the internet, and I've seen quite a few stair renovations using common boards with a square edge rather than bull nose stair treads.

Is there a difference between the two beside looks?

Code, wear and tear? The common boards are definitely less expensive and have a larger stock to choose appealing boards from when I buy.

The building code does address the width, profile, and the rounding of the treads.

From the 2009 IBC:

  R311.5.3.3 Profile. The radius of curvature at the leading edge of the tread shall be no greater than 9/16 inch (14 mm).

I believe the reason for rounding the leading edge of the tread with wood is to reduce the likelihood of splintering. Also, standard soft pine building lumber is more likely to warp or be damaged with use than a hardwood stair tread.

Good luck with your project.


What equipment could I use for digging out a basement after the house is built? My mother and father built the home I live in many years ago. It only had a half basement. My father had started on the other side, but passed away before finishing it. I have now taken this job on. I have removed approximately 100+ 5 gallon buckets of dirt, chopping and picking away at it, shoveling it into buckets and carrying it from underneath the house.

Is there a piece of digging equipment that I could rent or even buy, that would make this job just a small bit easier on mine and my husband's backs? A whole lot easier would be great, but I would settle for even a small bit.

The standard (as much as there is one) technique for this these days is to jack the house up to the point that smaller power equipment (which is not cheap) such as a skid-steer loader can be used - and so that the basement walls can be removed (with the house supported on blocking) and replaced with new ones to full depth, properly supported on footings. Some types of "trencher" may also be of use in this job. Sometimes the house is simply rolled off to the side once jacked up so that a new foundation can be built (without the house in the way), or a new foundation is built on the property and the house is moved to it, then the old one is demolished.

There are companies you can hire for the job, and that is by far the most usual approach to it.

Unless the current foundation is "full-depth" (ie, walls in deep trenches, with the dirt left on the inside for later digging out) it can, as suggested by @djs be hazardous to both your house and your life to dig below the current level of the footings that the walls (and house) sit on.

One obvious improvement from your described approach would be to build a ramp from the basement (possibly involving digging some outside the house) so that you can use a wheelbarrow or cart to roll excavated dirt out from under the house, rather than carrying it in buckets. In some cases a conveyor might be of use, but that's a fairly expensive and fiddly (lots of moving parts, and sensitive to overloading, etc) approach. If you cannot make a long ramp and have a typical steep bulkhead, wheelbarrowing to the bottom of the bulkhead and transferring to a smallish box on wheels running up a track (probably wooden) on the bulkhead that you pull up from outside (thus smallish- too heavy makes it miserable) would be much better than carrying buckets upstairs.

In the more desperate case where you don't even have a bulkhead, a ramp could be built to allow you to roll a box of dirt out a window, if there are at least basement windows to work with.


What kind of paint should be used to protect gas meter? During our home inspection, the inspector mentioned that the gas meter wasn't painted and could be subject to rusting later but he didn't elaborate on what paint to use.  Anyone have suggestions here?

Are there paint types specifically made for this?

-M

The one at my house is new and it appears to be powder-coated. I'd let the gas company fix it though.


Does flaw in asphalt driveway need to be repaired; and if so, how? I put in a new asphalt driveway a couple of years ago.  There is a visible "joint" where they stopped laying asphalt while waiting for a second load to arrive.  At this joint a chunk of asphalt has come loose from the surface.  So, basically, I have a small irregular chunk missing.  It's not large, maybe 2-3 inches wide, and only maybe 1/2-inch deep, at most.

I live in New England, so ice definitely happens.  This isn't a crack, which would definitely need sealing, but I do worry that over time ice and vehicle traffic over it will enlarge the chunk.

Do I need to seal it?  And if so, with what?  It doesn't seem like it's deep enough for cold patch to hold, and I don't know if sealant would accomplish anything.

First of all, what you describe sounds like job done improperly. Perhaps you can even use the contractor warranty and have it fixed for free.

Asphalt pieces put from different loads will usually have perfect adhesion to each other - the previously put asphalt is still very clean when the newer asphalt is put, so new one will attach to it perfectly as if it was a single piece with almost no joints. Since you see asphalt peeling off there's likely a problem - most likely the asphalt or the base underneath it got dirty and that prevented good adhesion. No good adhesion - prepare for more peeling off as time progresses, especially since you have temperature variations and freezing water.

IMO it's worth cutting asphalt at the flaw spot deep enough and sealing it with a cold patch to prevent further destruction. If destruction progresses along the joint the same should be done along the whole joint.


Does this look like asbestos insulation? Found some spare bits of it in the attic, was curious what it is. Fibre glass?

No, that is fiberglass.  When it comes to asbestos insulation, it is found only in loose fill types, and in a solid board configuration.  Asbestos was never used in a batt form of insulation which is what your picture is of.

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-identify-dangerous-asbestos-insulation-4119906


How can I determine why my A/C runs all day? I have a Bryant AC/Furnace unit.  My house is 10 years old.  A heat wave hit this weekend & temps got up to 95°F outside.  I had my thermostat set to 75°, and it ran all day.  The thermostat never dropped below 80° during the day & eventually cooled down towards the evening.  How can I tell if it's a problem with my AC or with the insulation in the house?  The attic has insulation "blown" in it, and from what I can tell, was done recently before we bought the house 5 years ago.

Does the "blown" insulation have to be re-blown every so often?  Or is it more likely a problem with the AC unit?  I've never had it serviced since I bought the house, but I have changed the air filters monthly.

Edit

Something else I remembered:  my house is bi-level.  I keep the downstairs vents closed because if they're all open, it gets pretty cold down there.  With them closed, it's maybe a little warmer than upstairs.  We're upstairs most of the time anyway.  Would that affect anything?

Your question almost exactly sums up the situation I had at my home last August.

What I found then was that despite a properly sized air conditioning unit and what I believe to be good insulation (the house holds heat well during the winter), the unit still couldn't keep up.

I don't have full proof, but I think a few factors caused my situation and might be worth checking for you:

The condenser (outdoor unit) sits in an "inside corner" with the house on two sides of it and a chimney and small storage shed that partially blocks a third side of it. This prevents good airflow across the unit. [I can't do anything about this without relocating the unit, which is not a DIY job for me.]
We had very little wind at all during the heat wave, which also added to the lack of airflow across the condenser.
The condenser was visibly dirty, which makes heat transfer to the outdoor air less efficient. Lots of dirt, dust, pollen, grass clippings, etc. build up on the fins over time. Normally rain will clean it off somewhat, but we hadn't had rain in ages.

Despite some advice I've seen not to do it, I used a garden hose to wash off the fins of the condenser (it gets wet from rain, right?) very gently, taking care not to make it full of mud or to bend the fins.

I could see water evaporating immediately on contact, and I have an infrared thermometer I used that showed a 30F or so drop in temperature in short order. The AC performed much better after that, but we also started to get a gentle breeze that helped things along.


Refinish stucco on exterior with new texture? I have zero experience with stucco, but would like to learn what it would take to refinish the stucco on my house with a new texture.

The stucco is peeling off in a lot of areas on my exterior walls. What would the process look like to remove the existing popcorn finish, and replace it with a smooth stucco finish?

Two long for a comment but I think it answers your questions. From how thin that top coat is and colored below that was probably an over coat, my guess that the old surface was not well prepped or the stucco was put on too dry.

The first thing you will need is to get all the loose stuff off. I usually use a industrial pressure washer and target any bubbles or flaking areas; at 5000 psi you can rip off an over-coat that is in ok shape and it will etch even a very solid wall. I like this kind of power because it provides a great base for the new coat to stick to. One advantage to a complete over-coat is you can use tint in the mix for color that lasts decades; for light colors it is best to use white Portland cement instead of gray. Now for a smooth surface once the base is prepped I think it's easier as a heavy texture can be tough to maintain a consistent texture unless sprayed. The next step after prepping the base would be to build up the areas that have failed. After that it is time to fill and build a slightly thicker coating, when I have done this I use a little extra cement and water in the mix (with the sand and lime if hand mixing) the extra water helps the mix to flow and makes it easy to trowel with a larger blade leaving a smoother surface that locks into the base.  The one trick when resurfacing I found helpful is with a loaded trowel work it in moving up then smooth it out pulling down this helps to work it into the wall. Note repair those cracks prior to resurfacing or they will show up again. Where I have cracks like this I will strip several inches on either side and really clean it out even surface grinding on occasion and adding mud and mesh this ends up adding strength and it may not crack as bad or at all if the wall is stable. If there is pest damage or rot that should be repaired first or the new surface will crack as the wall moves.


fluorescent light wiring in garage I have a 4 foot fluorescent light that I want to hang in my garage for better lighting. I have an outlet on the ceiling next to my garage opener that I know I can use the power from.
The question I have is, instead of opening up my drywall and fishing wires across the ceiling, would it be safe if I used the PVC wiring duct covers (reference the the photo attached)?

Also what would be the best kind of wiring for this project?

Generally if a thing is installed, it can't have a flexible plug-in cord.  However, there's an exception for luminaires; it is permissible there. Don't make it super obvious; don't use an extension cord for instance.  If you need a receptacle closer to your light, you can extend off existing receptacles (i.e. for your garage door opener).

You can't use just any cable tray for this purpose.  Most of them are intended for ethernet cable, USB and the like.   You need to use surface-mount conduit that is UL/CSA/TUV listed and rated for power cables.

For extending hard-wired circuits, proper surface-mount conduit is a thing and it is sold at local big-box stores.  However the systems have many parts, and the big-box stores have computerized inventory systems and they don't stock the parts that don't sell well. This always leaves me in the lurch.  You are much better off going to a proper electrical supply house, where they will stock all the parts for that particular system.  Buy it all there.


cabinet hinges, crooked,uneven some will not close cabinet doors I recently removed all cabinets to redo them. I had old brass or copper looking hinges. I wanted to change to nickel to match the rest of my kitchen.I have returned 4 different types of hinges because they cause bad overlap.the hinges I now have are made by same company as old ones they are 3/8 inset non self closing. Still having issues. I only have 2 sets hung on both right door is higher than left and on 1 pair doors have to close at same time otherwise there is an overlap.trying to use same shape and size to cover the black stain left by old hinges. I really do not want to cut doors. Any advise would be appreciated.

For anyone who may be struggling with this issue, there I a simple solution. My cabinets are partial inset, using plain 3/8's inset hinges that were close to my originals in order to cover black markings left on my stiles. I added toothpicks and glue to original holes.so that my screws fit well. But after installed had to close double doors together or they would overlap just a little. I was over my head I couldn't figure out how to fix. I started getting estimates to repair. 100.00 to mill down one side of cabinets. 300.00 to rehang and move hinges over slightly. My last estimate was from Mr. Fix it. He tried to tell me how on the phone. Close the doors together on a paint stick. I had already done this, to hold my gap while installing. He came out with a 5 gallon paint stick. 1/4 inch thick. He closed the doors together,gently, on the stick twice and my problem was gone. He called it setting the hinges. I couldn't believe that's all it took. Wanted to share with anyone having similar issue. So that they wouldn't have sleepless nights and wasted tears, and messed up cabinets.


Landscape Lighting Wiring: Looping vs Straight Context

I'm looking to install some low voltage (12v) landscape lighting in front of my house. I had helped a friend in the past install some in their front yard using the straight method. However, I was reading through the manual that accompanied my transformer. It mentions two wiring methods: Straight and Looping. The manual isn't descriptive (with poorly drawn pictures). It seems that the difference between the two is that the looping method prevents voltage drop, but requires more wire.

Before stumbling upon the looping method, I was thinking that I would do the straight method in two directions from the transformer (denoted by T). I would take one cable to the left and one to the right to avoid daisy chaining them all together wasting additional cable. After reading the manual, I'm thinking of doing the looping method with 2 loops for each side respectively. I'm having my landscaping re-done professionally which gives me an optimal time to put the wiring in - so I would rather get this right while everything's tore up.

Question

Are there any other advantages, disadvantages, or gotchas between the running the wire as a loop vs straight? Should I be running two wires to the left and right respectively? Any recommendation on what I should be doing?

Reference

I'm using a 12v 120W Transformer all with 11 - 7W LED lights and 2 - 9W lights. I'm planning to use 12g wire landscaping wire. The image isn't drawn to scale, but I did put some labels of the approximate distances. The grey lines are my edgers. The yellow stars are the lights.

transformer manual for reference

Don't loop if you don't have to

The only advantage of the looping method is that it reduces voltage drop - this is not a problem for you. You have 95W of lights and with 12 gauge wire you can go 150 feet - your longest run is 59 feet.

Run one pair left and another right and go from light to light until you get to the end.


How do you replace a section of cast iron drain pipe? circa 1929, Boston

The kitchen sink connects to cast iron inside the wall. Just below the connection the section of vertical cast iron pipe is rotten and leaking. A couple of feet above it ties into the vent and right below it connects into a hub, part of a ginormous cast iron fitting that has the  4" stack, the outlet to the WC, a, vent for the WC, a Y out to the tub/lav: 6 connections in one fitting. It looks good, doesn't seem to have any of the rot.

Why is it rotten? Does it bode ill for the rest of the system?

I plan on cutting it out from above the kitchen TY to the hub below. It's kind of tight for any type of cutter. Is there a particularly good sawzall blade for this? Any tricks on getting the pipe out of the hub below? What is the best way unpack the fitting. What do I repack it with; can you still even get lead?

You're going to have to cut out the pipe, and replace it with PVC drain pipe.  You can get rubber connectors (fernco) for the transition.

Here's a youtube how-to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFaJyIzyiYA


What type of island hood do I need? I have a 30 inch induction cooktop and a 15*20 inch electric grill on a peninsula. The peninsula separates the kitchen from the family room - no wall on that side.

We use the grill a lot for chicken, fish, and steak, so it's important to have a good vent system. We have a 48 inch downdraft with an 8 inch blower, and it is totally inadequate (the installation is correct with no turns, solid vent piping, and a short run to the outside). The vent/blower is rated for a max of 600 cfm's. Even with the help of a small room fan to direct the smoke, the downdraft can't suck out the smoky air when grilling steak. When we test the downdraft, it sucks air from only about 5 inches or so away (not good when the grill is 20 inches long).

Bottom line: the down draft simply can't do the job for the grill. After a lot  researching, looks like our best bet is to buy an island hood. Our primary purpose is to vent the grill - the cooktop really doesn't create much smoke. Island hoods come in many sizes, with varying CFM levels, and duct diameters.

Questions:

If two hoods have 900 CFMs, but one is 36 inches, and the other 30 inches, will we get better exhausting from the smaller hood? 30 inches will still be wider than the 15 inch grill. It's OK not to have much of the hood over the cooktop.
Does it make any difference if we have a flat glass or curved glass for the hood?
Is a 600 CFM 42 inch hood with an 8 inch duct better (meaning will exhaust more smoke/air) that a 500, 600, or 900 CFM smaller hood with a six inch duct?

We want an island hood with the best exhaust capabilities, and can't figure out what combination of hood size (30, 36, 42, or 48 inches), CFM, or duct diameter.

I hope someone can help us!

The size of the hood does matter. As well as the distance from the cooking surface since this impacts the capture of the smoke and odors.

If two hoods have 900 CFMs, but one is 36 inches, and the other 30 inches, you will probably get better exhausting from the smaller hood. Because the velocity of air entering the hood is higher with the smaller hood area.

It won't make much difference if you buy a flat glass or curved glass hood because the shape of the entrance of the air didn't change much if it's still a rectangle.

The CFM to duct size question is mostly a matter of actual CFM, the flow will be reduced with a smaller exhaust duct.

You can use a smoke stick or matches to test the capture affect of your existing exhaust. Start far away from the stove top and move closer until you can "see" the air moving towards the exhaust. You can get an idea of how well your existing exhaust works and what you need to improve the design.

You could try cutting some cardboard and covering the existing opening. Either a flat piece with a rectangular opening or a more elaborate reducer. Then apply the smoke again and see how the capture changes. Put your and at the opening before and after you do this so you have somewhat of an idea of how the air velocity changed with open area.


Should I take my deck apart to fix a 1/2" lean? I am building a 15'x23' deck in Knoxville. I built a sandwich girder at the end using 12" x 16" deep concrete piers, 4x4 posts sitting on galvanized metal brackets and pressure treated 2x10's sandwiched together using 3" nails and 1/2" lag bolts 6 inches long. I left the braces I used to hold the 4x4 posts on and staked to the ground.

I have installed around 10 joists that are 2x10" p.t. lumber. I noticed a gap at the top of the joist about 1/2" wide. I should have stopped to assess the problem but being anxious to finish I just kept going.

I noticed when I placed a hammer on the girder that it was no longer level. I thought about using shims when I lay the decking but that seems so, shall I say, unprofessional. I also noticed that the girder is beginning to snake in the middle.

My instincts tell me to take it apart and fix the girder but that is something that I dread doing. This is my first time building anything. Are my instincts right or can I do something else.

Without pictures and maybe a diagram of some kind it's impossible to give you exact advice, so I'll give you more general. Decking is something you want to last for years, and if done right will add value to your home. Done wrong at the beginning it is likely to get worse over time, and could detract from your property later.

It may be that you can fix the problems without that much effort, or it may be the only way to get it right is to take it apart completely, in which case that is what I'd do.

I would also urge you to get some local help whether it is from a pro or an experienced amateur. Pictures are good but someone with a good eye who can actually see the situation would be better placed to give you advice then this forum.


Are Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels installed after 1986 considered safer? All info I read about Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels reference 1982 and older panels. Are the newer panels different and considered to be safer?

I do home inspections and I always throw up a red flag and recommend replacement of any and all FPE stab-loc panels manufactured prior to 1984. After a federal investigation that ended in a very shallow "Duh, we don't really know" kind of conclusion.

FPE panels kinda disappeared for awhile.  I'm not sure if they were bought out or retooled, but the newer panels and breakers do have a legit UL listing.  In my opinion (backed with 40 years experience), if yours is pre-1983, replace it. A new GE, ITE, etc. panel is not that expensive and you can sleep easier knowing you don't have a questionable electrical distribution in your home.


How to hang hard to hang picture I have a picture frame where the wood is narrow, maybe 1/4 inch. The backing board has sawtooths near the top.

If I hang by sawtooth it seems I’ll be hanging on nails, not hooks (most hooks I see don’t stick out as much as the nails). I have toddlers, this doesn’t seem safe around them.  If they were teens and I could expect them to ignore it I’d do this way.

I wanted to get clips to clip to the side of the backing board, then wire across those. Those seem hard to come by. Maybe for a reason?  I’ve seen them as mostly stable though a little bit of shift.

Every kit I see has D rings. To me I’m worried about splitting the wood. Again, very narrow frame.

So, are there clips I can get (I have an ikea frame that I used this on) or do they slide too much?  Is there some other option to hang these, non sawtooth non D-ring and wire, that I’m missing?

Thanks.

I would hang the frames on nails or screws with suitable heads, and then secure the frames at the bottom using double stick tape or poster putty. This will prevent them from being inadvertently lifted or bumped off the anchors.

I have found that drywall nails have the right combination of size and a wide thin head for this purpose. if you need to use hollow wall anchors, some drywall screws have a head with enough of a flange that they might work well.


Door sweep install, why can't I make a hole in my metal door? I have a drafty door and attempted to install a door sweep like this.  When I try to drill holes for the screws, nothing happens.  I mean, I started with my power drill and a general purpose bit, but it barely made a small divot in the door surface, then the bit broke.  I tried getting a nail and hammer and punching through the door, but I didn't even cause it any damage.  I tried various other drill bits and self tapping screws, no effect, even after running the drill for several minutes.

Any insight?

I'm not a pro but I've done a good bit of building and diy before and have never not been able to put a hole in something before.

Here is the door, and the attempted screw location.

The drill bits, by request

I tried for a close up

I think it's definitely your drill bits. I got a special bit for metal when I drilled a gigantic hole in our metal front door to install a viewing port.

While you could install the kind of door sweep you're attempting to install, I'd suggest you go with an alternative. We installed this on the same door recently: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-Slide-On-Door-Sweep-Stop-UDB77/203231840 It does not require holes, and as one formed piece that you slap on, you will be less likely to have issues with whether it's on straight, whether the screws or door holes strip, etc.

While it was hard to close/open the door for the first 1.5-2 weeks or so, it eventually broke in and has been working like a charm. Your door-threshold gap looks pretty tight though. Luckily many home improvement stores have generous return policies. We bought several types and screwed around until we decided which was likely to work best.


Why isn't my thermostat working? I have an old Lennox (gas heat only) thermostat. There are 3 wires coming from the wall. Black, yellow and a light blue color (could be a faded green or an old dirty white).
The thermostat wouldn't click on, so I opened it and saw that the black and blue color. I think they are supposed to be connected to the same screw. Any ideas?

Lennox T99
catalog# A100A109 (?)
Serial# J9C

The colors are mostly irrelevant - while there is a "standard", really what is important is that when changing the thermostat, you write down what terminals the wires are connected to and that you connect them to the same terminals on a new thermostat.

The "click" of your thermostat is a relay - it is possible that your thermostat is no longer functioning properly.

It is unlikely that two wires would be connected to the same terminal at the thermostat. I would suggest purchasing a new thermostat and ruling out whether the thermostat itself is the issue.  If a new thermostat also does not function, it is likely that there is an issue with the controller board in your furnace, or an issue with the wires running between the two.


Will frequent sliding while wearing socks cause noticeable wear and tear on hardwood floors over time? Light hearted, but very serious question here. :)

We recently installed hardwood floors. Stranded Bamboo to be exact. It's beautiful!

Now, besides the sheer beauty of it, one of the main benefits to having hardwood floors in my opinion is that you can slide on them. I slide every chance I get. Need to run to the fridge? Sliiiiide. Doing dishes, and need to put one away in the cabinet over there? Sliiiide. I can't help it. It's just the natural way for me to get around on these slick floors. It's wonderful. Try it!

My wife is afraid that since I do this almost all the time, it will add up, and eventually start causing signs of wear prematurely on the wood. She has a point there. I don't want that to happen, either. But since the wood is sealed with something, and my socks are a nice soft cotton material, I feel like it's probably a negligible thing even with how often I do it.

One thing I can't argue with is that if I ever accidentally had something hard stuck to my socks, and I slide with it, I could cause a scratch. And this dark wood really shows scratches easily. But I am careful about that.

So I'd love to hear from someone knowledgeable about the care of hardwood. What kinds of wear and tear could we expect to see over time, and what activities cause it the most? Do even the smallest things like walking on it cause wear over time? And of course, what about sliding on it with soft socks? :)

Nothing short of laminating it in acrylic 3" thick and never putting anything on your floor, ever, is going to keep it from getting some damage eventually.

If you find the proper stain color, practice a bit matching the color, and learn how to refinish the floor, you needn't let it worry you too much.  Hardwood is extremely resilient and eminently restore-able - even bamboo can be reclaimed and restored to beauty.

I refer you and your no doubt lovely and certainly conscientious wife to this example of how good a really ugly floor can look (written by yours truly...)

Romancing The Floor


Are wood boxes sturdy enough to support a loft bed? I am planning on getting "wood crates" to be the legs of a lofted bed.
Each box measures 18" x 12". For thickness, the long sides are strips of 1/4" pine and the short sides are solid 3/4" pine:

I want to make the legs 54" (18*3) tall in front, and stacking four crates with some 2x4s at the top (to fill in the gap to reach 54".

Starting in the bottom left corner and going clockwise: I plan on cutting out slots for two 2x4s in the crates for stability. Then, along the back left, there is a 1' 2x4 for support (and will probably add another one in the middle). Along the back bottom is a 1x2. Inside the front bottom is a 2' 1x2. Last, the top frame is made of 2x4s.
Will this design be strong enough to support a sheet of plywood under a mattress? Is there a good rule of thumb related to figure this out?
Edit
The wood crates are pine and they are all the same dimensions. They are fastened together with staples as seen in the picture. (These are commonly available at home improvement stores.) My qualm is how these are marketed as decorative boxes.

That's impossible to say because not all such boxes are built to the same specifications. Wood species and size, fastener type and schedule, and other factors vary widely. If forced to answer it would be no out of an abundance of concern for safety.
I would follow your plan, but lay 1x4 posts alongside the boxes where appropriate and aesthetically pleasing. Fasten the boxes to the posts and to the bed frame. Make sure it all has enough diagonal bracing, which is the most likely failure concern. That gets into design a fair bit, which isn't really on topic here.


What kind of portable electric heater should I use in my kitchen? My landlord doesn't see the need to install a heater in the kitchen, but I do as it's like 12°C (54°F) in it this morning. I'll buy an electric one then. But I realize there are many types: fan heater, oil filled heater, and convection heater.

My kitchen is very small (6 square meters or something), and I want to spend as little energy as possible, as well as the least amount of money possible for the purchase.

Typically I will turn on the heater few minutes before using the kitchen then turn it off when I'm done.

With this in mind, which kind of heater should I buy?

The most important issue in a portable heater, even before the issue of heating is safety. Dangers involve tipping, brushing a hot surface, things falling into, in or on it.

This risk is even more pronounced in a kitchen which is a busy place (unlike a quite reading room). People move about, often quickly and carry (and drop) things.

While your particular room setup may allow any of the above types to work, I might be inclined to get an oil filled because they have little risk of things being harmed by brief contact, and seem fairly safe if tipped (although I think, in the US, all modern types require auto cutoffs if tipped).


What adhesive/glue is best to join PVC pipe to MDF? I'm running a piece of 90mm diameter PVC pipe through a sheet of 20mm thick MDF. I've cut a hole the right diamater in the wood to fit the pipe through, and I'm wondering what the best glue would be to join the pipe in place.

I've been using liquid nails for the rest of the project but I'm not sure how well it will bond to the PVC. Should I use this, two part epoxy or something else?

It needs to be as strong as possible since the joint will be under a fair load.

Two part epoxy works well (maybe JB weld), just rough up the pvc a bit and clean it first. How much of a load are you talking about? If it is substantial, you may have to attach the PVC mechanically to the MDF.


Why does light switch not use ground wires inside of box? I was replacing some toggle type light switches to rocker type and ran into something I thought was unusual. There were 3 switches boxes (2 boxes had 1 switch, and the other had 2 switches) I was replacing where in all scenarios, all of the ground wires indeed came through and into the box, but were just bundled together and not used. There was no individual pigtail coming off the bundled crimp with a ground to attach to the switches. One of the single pole switch boxes had a single ground (no bundle) that came through into the box and was tucked to the back of the box. That was the most confusing because how simple was it just to connect to the ground screw on the light switch. However the 2 other boxes had a bundle come through and just pushed to the back. The boxes are plastic and not metal so not a natural ground; the house was built in '88 so looked at that too.

Should those bundled ground wires in the back have an individual copper pigtail coming off to connect to each switch? Why would the original installer not use the ground wires, and do I need to get this fixed by an electrician or myself to run the ground bundle all the way to the new switch ground screws?

In 1988 switches still didn't require ground screws. Safety protocols have ratcheted up since, and switches installed today do. Someone may have replaced that switch and not bothered to connect it, or it just wasn't used initially to save time.

If you like, add a pigtail. As Jim Stewart says, "Each switch must be grounded. This could be done with separate pigtails from the ground bundle, but if that is inconvenient then you could use a single pigtail which has a "U" loop around the ground screw of one switch and goes on to the second switch."

The risk is minimal without grounding, though, if the rest of the wiring was done to high quality.


Connecting Motor wiring I'm trying to connect Live Wires (L/N/G) to this electric blind receiver and can't figure out the way to do it. Motor Has 4 Wires

Blue = Neutral
Black = Direction 1 (I assume UP or Down)
Brown = Direction 2 (I assume UP or Down)
Green/Yellow = Earth

If someone can shine some light on how do I connect this would be much appreciated.

Well it seems completely straightforward:

tien li kou huo xien <--> xien xiu qi "L" t'ou
tien li kou leng xien <--> xien xiu qi "N" t'ou

tien tung ma t'a lan xien <--> xien xiu qi "N" t'ou
tien tung ma t'a huang xien <--> xien xiu qi "A" t'ou
tien tung ma t'a hei xien <--> xien xiu qi "B" t'ou

and of course

tien tung ma t'a qing xien <--> tien li kou ku chiang (qing) xien

I can't imagine why anyone would be confused by this.


What does "1/4 turn waterless ceramic disc valve" mean -- will the handle only turn 1/4 way? I am purchasing a replacement faucet/spout a for very old (1940s) kitchen sink with a curved backsplash. The backsplash limits the turn space of the faucet handles -- they may bump into the back at a full turn.

Since the specifications include the  statement "1/4 turn washerless ceramic disc value cartridge" would that mean the handles only need to move 1/4 turn?  If so, I can use the longer handles, otherwise not.

Yes, 1/4 turn valves are inline=on, perpendicular=off, no multiple turns needed.


How to remove caps on circular faucet handles? My faucet is leaking from the base of the handle so I need to replace the cartridge or rubber seat.  I'm having trouble removing the cap to the handle to change the cartridge and rubber seat.

I don't know what brand the faucet set is but it might be Delta since all the other faucet sets in the house are Delta.

As the photo shows, the handles are circular.  The caps on top of the handles don't seem to come off by twisting counter-clockwise.  I also looked around to see if there's a notch to stick a screwdriver into to pop it off.  No notch either.  I checked for a set screw too.  No set screw on the handle.

Someone else suggested there might be some mineral deposits around the caps so I tapped the cap/faucet with a rubber mallet.  It still doesn't come off.

As an example of why I thought we need to twist counter-clockwise, one of our shower handles have a similar handle type.  I was able to twist the cap off with a counter-clockwise motion to expose the screw to remove the handle.

I tried to find installation instructions on Delta's website for their Monitor faucet set that looks like what I have but again, no luck.  I'm running out of ideas on how to remove the cap without resorting to using an oscillating tool to cut the cap or faucet off.

Can anyone tell me what else to try to get the cap off the faucet handle?  Thanks.

You're correct, its similar to the shower control.

You need to unscrew the cap anti-clockwise.
There is a good chance that there is a decades worth of crud jamming the cap.  You could trying pouring hot water (from a kettle) over.  this may dissolve some crud, and may also loosen it by expansion.
You could try using a "jar-opening" gripper, to ensure you have a really good grip.
Alternatively, try wrapping cello-tape around the knob as protection, then CAREFULLY using multi-grip pliers.


Is it safe to add shelving to truss members in my attic? I have a (I believe it's called) "W" frame loft:

(sorry about the quality of the pictures - maybe I should ask in the photography Stack Exchange how to take such pictures)

There are no floorboards, just ceiling joists, but I had an idea that I could create some additional storage by lashing some lengths of chipboard between the frames (making an upside-down A on the two arms of the W).

My question is: could this affect either the structural integrity or the airflow in the loft; or, generally, are there any reasons this should not be done?  Further, if there are no reasons to not do it, then are there any considerations to bear in mind (for example, it occurred to me that I shouldn't screw anything in place to allow the beams to expand and contract).

EDIT:

Following a request in the comments for more detail, I have (badly) sketched what I'm trying to achieve.  This illustrates the loft / attic space currently:

And this illustrates what I'm contemplating doing:

Trusses are engineered to support loads that are applied in certain ways.  It would often not be practical to make a truss support all of its required loads without it also being able to support some additional load applied in other places, but it's generally unwise to expect trusses to support much additional loading beyond their own weight.  For example, a truss which intended only to hold up a roof above it (and not a ceiling below) might well use a thinner bottom board than would be required to support a ceiling, and one which is intended only to support a ceiling might use a thinner board than one which is designed to support both a ceiling and a storage area.

Adding loads to a truss which are small relative to the weight of the truss itself (e.g. an attic light fixture) should be safe, but adding loads beyond that could be dangerous.  Note that applying a load in the middle of a truss member will create stress on that member proportional to the ratio of its length to its thickness.  If a truss has an 8' long 2x4 board with nothing attached to the middle of it, each pound of loading to the middle may increase the stress on some parts of the board by more than twenty pounds.  It's not hard to design trusses to withstand interior loading, but such trusses would cost more than those that aren't designed for such use.