Advice on soldier course and first course of laying pavers in I-Pattern I'm about to start laying my pavers. I am going to use the I pattern. I have three pallets of pavers, of 6x6 and 6x9 blocks. 25:75 ratio.
I'm not sure how to start the "soldier course" that's the course at the very edge of the patio field.
I was thinking if I lay just the I's (6x9) all the way down, that's two pavers horizontal and two vertical, then come back and fill the spaces with the 6x6 blocks, it should work.
But I want to check here and see what others have done to see if I'm on the right path.

You seem to have two different questions, somewhat vaguely asked. I'll attempt to address both the questions I see:
The "soldier course" is the rectangular blocks that "stand" on their short end to make the border. The all go in one direction along each edge, no matter what the field pattern is. A quick DuckDuckGo search for "paver soldier course" got me this image:
Source: Western Interlock. No endorsement intended or implied
I'd suggest that you'll want to start with the soldier course of 6x9s to outline your paver area, then lay the field.
You'll need to measure (or do a test layout along each edge) to see if you need to cut any blocks at any of the borders. If you do, figure out where to best put the cut edge (where it's least visible and annoying). If you do the field first, then get to the soldier course, you may discover that you need to cut the soldiers and that will look odd. Of course, you may be able to extend the pavered area just slightly to avoid any cuts, and, if you need to have a row containing a series of less than half blocks (long way), you may be better off expanding or contracting the area to avoid those cuts.

I was thinking if I lay just the I's (6x9) all the way down, that's two pavers horizontal and two vertical, then come back and fill the spaces with the 6x6 blocks, it should work.

Based on this description, I believe you're doing this "I" pattern:
Source: Angelus Paving Stones No endorsement intended or implied
I believe you can, in that case, lay out all the 6x9 blocks, then go back and drop the 6x6 in the holes. However, you may discover that keeping them lined up nice and straight with all those holes gets to be difficult. It also increases the chance of someone knocking pavers around when moving on the partially laid surface. I'd suggest that putting the 6x6 in as you go will help hold everything in place and ensure that you maintain your straight lines and help provide a professional looking finished job.


Hanging heavy things on old walls. Running out of options. What would you do Just moved in to an old victorian home and the wife wants shelves in the mud room.  Now I know what you are thinking "Shelves?! Seriously?!", Just hear me out.

These are 6 foot shelves with 4 steel gussets each.  It's laundry room shelves so they will most likely hold liquids. I figure, 10-20 lbs per linear foot.

I started out be knocking and looking for studs.  No luck, not that I'm very good at it anyway.  I found a sheetrock seem above the doorway about 8 feet away.  I measured over 16" and drilled to see what was underneath.  Just sheetrock.  Lots of it.  I drilled a couple of test holes in the sheet rock beneath the height of the washer/dryer (the shelves will be above them).  I only hit sheetrock.  Once again, a lot of it.

Next I noticed that there was a 1/4 gap between the floor and the poorly installed trim.  After looking at what I'm up against, it appears to be a rotted and crumbling plaster and lath wall, with a sheet of something that appears to be a thin layer of MDF and covered by plaster, covered by 1/2" sheetrock.

My first long shot of a hope what that I could sink a 3" decking screw deep enough to hit the MDF-ish stuff.  If I hit it, it still wasn't holding.

Next I tried 3/8" toggle bolts.  The longest screw I could find was not long enough to allow the wings to clear the wall.

Finally I gave in and tried 150lb plastic anchors but I couldn't get them to hold.  Honestly I wasn't surprised.

I've had problems like this before in older houses and I considered hanging a piece of 3/4" waferboard first, but with all the trouble I had getting anything to hold I'm actually worried about the wall supporting it.

Any recommendations?

See my answer for this question.

How do I properly mount hardware to a wall covered in AirStone?

Those anchors will give you the depth and the strength that you need. I would consider using the shelving that has a mounting bar that mounts at the top of the wall and then the shelf standards all hang off of that bar.


How to repair hole in plaster ceiling I had to remove a section of plaster and wooden lath from my living room ceiling the size of about 48x48 because of a leak.Would replacing it with drywall be the best option and what would be the best best joint compound to use.

Put drywall up and use spacers to get the surfaces level.

Then fill the gaps with filler and use the edging tape or webbing which helps prevents cracks as things move.

But looking at that construction I guess movement will happen...


Can I wire my entire music studio on a single circuit? I'm building a small music studio on our property and I'm looking for some advice on the electrical end of things. The building is almost 130 ft. away from a proposed sub panel, and another 70 ft. away from the the main panel of our 48v solar system. I'm hoping to do this on one circuit after the sub panel (130ft. away)

The known items for load will be two 450w speakers, one 200w speaker, a 60w amp, 40w analog mixer, 6 10w LED lights, 60w computer charger.. some other chargers/peripheral devices, etc. that I can't account for yet.

Here's the plan so far. I'm wondering if I can run this all on one circuit by branching off in a few spots to the lights (in pink).

I don't have the reputation to comment so I'll jot this down as a partial answer.

Install 12A wire in the building You are outfitting an accessory building to do music production; not just lighting a room. By July it will occur to you that you need a small AC window unit and a mini-fridge. Don't skimp on the wire now.

Strongly consider installing a sub-panel This allows you to run separate circuits for lighting and electronics. Not to mention a 20A circuit for your future wet-bar.

Think about lightning risk; think about ground loops If lightning strikes this building what is the path to earth? If you ground the sub-panel locally you can introduce a ground loop. Especially since you probably have a mix of grounded electronics (computers with 3-prong plugs) and un-grounded musical equipment (amps with 2-prong plugs). I suspect the best approach will be to avoid a separate local ground and tie back into your main house ground. So make sure your grounding conductor back to the house is of sufficient gauge. I don't know if putting the dimmers on a separate energized wire from your wall outlets will help avoid magnetically induced hum. If it does, this would be one justification for running MWBC as others have suggested.


How long do I charge the battery for a "Power Grinder" brand rotary tool? I was given a "Power Grinder" brand(made in China) rotary tool, and its cordless. I've plugged it into the charger, and the red light came on, and is still on 6 hrs. later. The tool works, but I don't know if its fully charged. It didn't come with any sort of manual, or instructions. I searched for a manual online, but couldn't even get the tool to come up in the results. I don't know if I'm damaging the battery, or if it actually takes this long to charge. Any help is much appreciated! Thanks, Mark]1

It's normal for a battery to self-discharge over several months.
It's normal for a cheap tool (Black & Decker tier) to take 12-18 hours to fully charge.
What damages such tools is being left on the charger for days and days.

The reason is because their charger is not using "everything we know about batteries". By contrast, a Tesla supercharger can calibrate charge rates to take a Tesla Model 3 from 25% to 75% in 25 minutes at a rate that would take another Tesla from 90% to "fiery explosion".  Most batteries want a bulk charge rate in the middle of their range to about 85% and a low current taper charge near the end of cycle.

In the case of cheap chargers, rather than shift gears from "bulk slam-charge" to "low taper" to "maintain", the cheap charger simply does the taper charge continuously!

Which makes the charge comically slow.  But results in de minimus risk to the battery.

Note that it doesn't transition to a maintenance charge either; that's why you can't leave it on charger indefinitely.


What is this connector part called and where can I buy one? I am trying to find a replacement for this connecting part on a ballet barre. It's kind of like a long tee clamp but internal. The poles it connects to are aluminium. Essentially 2 of the key locking mechanisms have jammed so I can't tighten them and I've bent 2 allen keys trying to lock them. Thanks in advance!

As a generic term, those are called "structural pipe fittings" and that is a "Tee". As to the specific brand and type with the internal connections, that's likely something proprietary to that supplier, most likely because it is being used for ballet, so they wouldn't want things protruding that could cause injuries.


How to wire 2 lights to one switch Ontario code now requires 14/3 between the switch and the light. Can someone provide a diagram showing how to wire 2 lights controlled by one switch with power coming into the switch & 14/3 between the switch and the first light?

I've heard some places are requiring fan-capable wiring to all ceiling boxes.  IDK if your code states the motivation but maybe that's the motivation.   The third wire allows future installation of a ceiling fan. If that is what your code requires you to install, you don't need a diagram. Just daisy chain the two lights from the switch in the normal way with 2+ground wires.  In the switch, and in the light at the end of the chain you cap off the third wire.  In the middle (first light) connect the third wires together.  That way you can later install a fan at the second box without opening the first box.  You probably don't HAVE to do it this way, you can just cap off the third wire everywhere ... but why not go with the spirit of the code?


What type of insulation can I use to insulate around my furnace exhaust? I've got a cold breeze blowing through my basement, originating from where the furnace exhaust turns vertical. What type of insulation can I stuff in around the exhaust, to stop the cold air?

This exhaust is 5" rigid metallic duct that runs horizontal (with a slope) for 6', before turning vertical via an elbow and round to rectangular transition boot.

"Rockwool" or mineral fiber - looks sort of like fiberglass, but good for higher temperatures - most fiberglass is coated with a plastic product that smokes off (helps to bind the glass into a batt) otherwise I think fiberglass would be as effective, but given that (the plastic stuff smokes off) rockwool is the material of choice where you need high-heat resistance.

If the gap is very regular, there is a fiberglass product that would take the heat - stove gasketing - a rope-like product available in several sizes.


How to remove the handles from this faucet My bathroom faucet is leaking around the base of my right handle.  With previous faucets I've been able to use a set screw to loosen the handle and replace the washer.  With these, though, I can't seem to pop off the faucet handle.  Does anyone know how to remove this handle?  Does anyone know the brand of this faucet?

Update -- Nov 29th

I've already tried to get those cap ends off.  I tried to use some pliers and unscrew them, but couldn't remove it.  I tried taking a small flat head and popping off the ends.  Still nothing.  It doesn't seem like the come off.

I also tried unscrewing the handles, but they just don't see to turn for me.

Also there is definitely no set screw on the handles.  I've searched all around the faucet and found nothing indicating a set screw.

I have THE EXACT faucet. There is NO screw. JUST PULL UP!  May have to do a slight pry on the base but that is what it is, no screws.


Is it possible to reduce the diameter of a drill bit? I would like to know if it is possible to reduce a drill bit diameter (the body and not the shank). From times to times I need to work with dimensions that are not integer number or half number.... example: where I live I can only find drill bits 6mm or 6.5mm or 7mm..... however, in some cases I really need to have a dimension of 6.25mm.

Is this even possible to do, if yes how?

I would suggest that you look a little farther. Drill bits are available in many more sizes than you mentioned. One big supplier on-line, McMaster Carr shows available metric sizes for heat resistant cobalt steel jobbers drill bits in all of the following metric sizes:

If you can find access to a supplier that has drills on the numbered gauge scale or the lettered scale they cross reference to metric sizes as shown here:


Installing Pendant light which came with 3 clear wires and 1 copper/bare wire Pendant light: 3 Clear Wire and 1 copper/ground wire

Ceiling: 1 Black, 1 white and 1 copper/ground wire

I do notice that in one of the three clear wires in the pendant, there is some number written, which could be neutral wire.

For another clear wire in the pendant I also notice 1 strand of wire is made of fabric. Can someone help me to fix it without using ohm meter?

A pendant light needs 4 wires:

Hot
Neutral
Ground for the dangling lamp
Ground for the box cover

Two of them go to metal contact points in the bulb socket. If one of them is easier to touch than the other, that should be neutral.

Honestly, I'd say if the accompanying documentation or online docs do not tell how to hook it up, then it goes back to the store/into the trash.  I would question the UL or CE listing, as I doubt they'd list a fixture with no clear way to hook it up.  I can only imagine they expect a qualified electrician to beep it out.  Well, digital voltmeters are $10 at Sears if cost is a factor - for a world-class one, Fluke.


Help creating a half hot switch: 3 sets of wires I know this has been asked a few times before, but I am having trouble finding an answer thread in my combination.

I have 3 sets of wires in 1 outlet 15A. The outlet is currently controlled by a light switch successfully.  But because I want to connect my TV to it, I don’t want to let the light switch control all of it. My goal is to make the top switch always hot and the bottom one controlled by the outlet.

In the diagram I drew, I believe #1 goes to the switch since it’s the only positive power I see and the outlet is successfully controlled. #2 and #3 must go to other outlets or the box, but I am not sure.

My question is this: if I run a black wire from where the wires are capped to #12 on the diagram and then disconnect the tab between them, will that make the top of the outlet always hot and the bottom controlled by the switch?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

See pictures:

https://i.imgur.com/ixWNYJ7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kYvusIl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EGPOZOk.jpg

Some wires need to be marked here (on both ends)

The white wire that is with the blacks is not a neutral.  It has been assigned to be a hot, and as Code requires, it's being used for the "always-hot". As such, Code also requires it be marked with colored tape, paint or shrinktube, and I recommend black.  Like any marking, it should be done on both ends.

Now, I am a big fan of also marking the switched black wire "red", so it's clearer that it is the switched wire.  That's not mandatory, but it does make things a lot clearer in the box.

At this point, this gets super easy: just break the tab on the "hot" side of the recep, and connect one screw to red (switched-hot) and the other screw to black (always-hot).


Electric furnace doesn't perform a cool down stage When my electric furnace shuts down the fan also shuts down at the exact same time. I was told that it should run for a bit afterward to cool off the coils. Doing some research it looks like this is part of most, if not all furnaces. Is there setting that can be done to troubleshoot/resolve this? Possibly an adjustment somewhere?

Furnace is Central Electric, Model EB23B

Gas and oil furnaces heat a heat exchanger so they have to run for quite awhile after the burner shuts off to cool down.
Electric furnaces don't have that issue since there is no heat exchanger.
If the air is still hot when it shuts off, the sequencer needs checked.
If the air is warm, it's normal.


How do I remove the drill bit from my hammer drill? I have a HD 400 Hammer drill from Black and Decker and I have no idea how to take out the drill bit. The drill has from the top the drill bit, then I guess its called a head and then a base on which the head is mounted and then the plastic body with all the buttons etc. What do I have to do to take out the drill bit? What should be rotated in what direction?
Heres a picture of the drill machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzxuGu7rBIw

I dont want to screw up my drill or tighten the already jammed drill bit.

You may use your hands, a chuck key, or other means to loosen the chuck. See page two of the manual. Page 12 also mentions using the chuck key.


Fixing brick cracks above garage door My house had foundation issues several times which is fixed now and after every fix we get more brick cracks above the garage door. Some people say that foundation has nothing to do with those cracks and it happens because the beam above garage door bends down and it can fall if I don'replace it. Siding guys told me that it won't fall, but they can secure the angular beam screwing it to the wood. And it can all be patched.

Is it safe just to disassemble some parts of that wall (a few bricks from each side) and patch it?
Should I replace the beam or do something with it?
Any advices how it can be fixed?

https://i.stack.imgur.com/OVNxt.jpg
https://i.stack.imgur.com/55I4l.jpg

While not an answer, this is the only way I can post a picture.
Here is what a properly installed lintel looks like, at least in my mind.  Note that the bricks overhang the lintel by a tiny (1/4"?) bit.


How to fill this gap between window and brick wall? (too deep for backer rod?) I'm renovating the windows of my 1936 house. Doing the first window and I notice there's a big gap between the window frame and the wall and I was wondering the best way to fill it in so I can caulk it.

I bought a 1/2 inch backer rod, and that seems the right size, HOWEVER, the hole is really deep and gets a lot wider about 1/2 inch in. This means the backer rod keeps falling through the gap when I try to install it.

Is there something else I can use to fill the gap or should I put something behind the backer rod to stop it falling through?

Any advice here is very much appreciated!

Here's a picture of the gap:

And here's a picture of the gap with a backer rod 'falling through' the gap where it moves around freely:

If I were you I'd try this

Fill the gap with expanding foam. Give it a full day to cure (it expands so doing it too soon will potentially leave it uneven) and cut any bubbles off so it's flush
Buy some really good outdoor (oil based) caulk. The local big box sells something called Quad but if that's not available you can probably find something similar in grade. Caulk over the joint (1/2 inch is about the limit so be liberal). That will seal the window and protect the foam.


Cabinets with existing dowels in the wrong place. How do I fill for new hinges? My cabinet hinges are the sorely inadequate euro hinges that used a piece of plastic to hold the door shut.  These plastic pieces have broken on nearly every cabinet which requires the entire hinge to be replaced.  I cannot find any hinges that fit the original screw holes (not surprising), however I have an issue because the original hinges were screwed into plastic dowels.  The edge of the outside of these dowels lines up with the screw holes of every euro hinge I have tried that fits my cabinet.  How can I fill or fix the dowel space so that I can screw my new hinges into the cabinet doors?

I have added a link to photos of the cabinet door without the hinge, and with the new hinge placed in the door so that you can see where the holes intersect the door and existing dowel.

To try to plug that for the sake of getting better grip for the screws, will not be worth it.

Others may not agree but I would not hesitate to use a self-centering bit like a Vix bit and drill the new pilot hole where the hinge dictates- right at the area where the plastic and wood meet. The wood will be hard enough to hold the screw, and what little grabs the plastic insert will add a little more hold, and compress the plastic in tighter.


Is it normal for the burner in my furnace to turn on and off during a single heating cycle? During the heating time when the furnace is running to reach the temperature ask for, the burners will run for 3.5 to 4 mins.than shut off for 1 min. Then turn on again.it will do this until temp. is meet. The blower will run for another 3 to 4 mins. After furnace shuts off.

Is this sequence normal?

Probably. You'd have to inquire of the furnace maker if it is or is not. Speculating, since we have no information about what make or model furnace you have, it probably runs the burner until the heat exchanger is too hot, shuts off the burner until it's too cold, and starts it again. Very few furnaces have any ability to modulate the flame, so it's either on or off. In all likelihood the on/off time varies with the return air temperature (and thus, the heat load.)

The post-burn run to cool the heat exchanger after the call for heat is satisfied is certainly standard.


Repurpose unused 50 amp hot tub panel for 30 amp hvac? I have a sub panel that was from when the previous owners had a hot tub.

I'm currently needing a 30 amp circuit for a mini split system and was wondering if I could just swap this 50 amp breaker and then run my 10/2 ** ( correction 10 gauge wire) ** in place of the 6 gauge wire that's currently in place?
I know I could run a sub panel from this panel or replace this with a small panel and have the advantage of expanding things in the future.  However I can't see any scenario where I would ever need that.
** Update For Clarification **
The conduit and 6 gauge wire that was feeding the hot tub would remain in place just be capped and disconnected in the box.  I would  punch a new hole and run the new conduit and 10 gauge wire about 10 feet from here to the outside condenser.

You can reuse all the #6 wire and old conduit that you please to use.
There is no reason to rip out or change any wires (and some reason not to: future expansion.
ONE of the breakers needs to be 30A.
You need to change either the main-panel breaker to 30A, or the breaker in this mini-panel/disconnect switch.   No need to change both.   If you change the mini-panel breaker, then the run to the main panel needs to continue to be #6/8/whatever it is now.
That Challenger breaker must go.  The panel is a keeper.
Challenger had the same kind of "faulty breaker" problem that Federal Pacific did.  However unlike FPE, this panel bus design is tip-top, and in fact lives on today in the very popular Eaton BR line. Technically this busing requires a Type C breaker, but if you look at any BR breaker on the market, they are dual-listed Type BR  Type C.
If your main panel is also a Challenger, same deal. The old breakers must go; Eaton BR is a listed substitute.


Repair an ceramic sink / enamel, and have perfect color match There was a little hole in this ceramic sink:

and I filled it with this "GEB Enamel Repair Paste". It works very well by mixing the resin and the hardener.

After 24 hours, I finished the work with sandpaper (with smaller and smaller grain).

The result is very good when you touch it (you cannot really feel the difference), the picture here is after the repair.

The only problem is the color: the sink is white, but not so pure white than the resin.

I know it's probably not worth it because the sink could be replaced for cheap (and it's old anyway), but I take it as a challenge to learn new techniques: would there be techniques to have a perfect repair in terms of color?

Are there some enamel paint that I could buy, with different shades of white?

I know it's possible: I saw a Youtube video in which a dental technician used many ceramic paints to match perfect color with dental prosthesis.

I am very dubious of the possibility of "a perfect repair in terms of color". Perhaps you should be simply asking "How could I tint this epoxy repair paste?".

You can use regular paint pigments to tint 2-part epoxies. Using a flat board as a pallette, stir up some dabs of paste and start adding small amounts of various pigments to each dab. When cured, compare each dab to the surface to be repaired until a close match is found. Keep careful track of dab size and pigment used so you can duplicate for the actual repair.

This is an art, not a science. You might get close right away, or you might go through 20 "test" packages of epoxy and 100 (1000?) dabs of paste before you get it right.


Filling holes in a timber workbench top I got an old workbench with a top made by a pair of railway sleepers (I assume this is timber).
It was very old and sticky with paint stains and not very plane at all, so I tried to use a router and a planning jig to make it nicer to use.

I've almost completed the process and it only needs a last router pass to be "almost as new" but it has a few big holes (about 10cm/4 inches long, see picture below) that I would like to try to fill to avoid them being always filled with sawdust or trapping screws and other small things that like disappearing in holes. I'm also concerned that since they are close to the edges the outer part may break away and make an even bigger hole.

I heard about something called "liquid wood", but also of "epoxy glaze" and some peoples seems to use wood glue mixed with sawdust, but I have no idea which of those solutions (or another one) would be the best in this use case.

I don't want to have a "mirror finish" (this is a workbench, and I'm planning to use it) but I'd appreciate if it could still look good.

My questions are:

Which product can I use to fill those holes
Should I fill the holes before the last router pass or should I finish with the router and fill the holes later (then presumably sand whatever I put in the
holes)
Extra question: My router has variable speed (6000 to 26000 RPM); what would be the
recommended speed to use in this case for a better looking finish (I'm using a 1
inch diameter router bit like this one and I'm removing about
3-5 mm at a time)

I should add I'm pretty new with routers or woodwork in general so feel free to add anything that seems obvious to you.

I would use a wood patch called a dutchman.
If your router has a plunge feature, make a small template to aid in cutting in a dutchman. The article the link refers to does it differently than I do, since it cuts out the damage and the  repair piece with the router using one template and two different guides. Where I use one guide only to cut the bad spot out, and a table saw or miter box, or sometimes both to cut the repair piece itself, depending on how big the repair is.

You would be able to get a dutchman in plane pretty easy with the surrounding material, but as with any repair of this nature, I would do it before the last pass of the router over the whole surface, then sand everything uniformly afterwards for the fine finish. This will clean up any glue mess from the install of the dutchman.

The router speed to use on that is not critical, but for the larger bits, you can go too fast. Sanding will take out anything the router leaves behind. I would keep it a the lower half of your routers speed range 10,000 RPM max. The rule of thumb is, the larger the diameter of bit, the slower the speed. Some router bit manufacturers list the maximum speed a bit should turn. Other than that, listen to your router while it is cutting, its distinctive whine will change as it is pushed into the wood. Do not let it change in pitch too much. The amount you are cutting in one pass is a good amount, take no more on a full cut pass. As in each pass of the router cuts the full 1" width.

Learning to make templates and using bushing guides are one of the more handy things you would do well by.


Should wall tile or a countertop be installed first? We are remodeling our bathroom.  The vanity top goes wall to wall. Do I install the wall tile first, or the vanity top?

Normally a countertop is fit to a finished wall, so that if the top is changed the wall remains intact. The exception would be a backsplash, which is almost like an extension of the countertop.


How to clean large area of marble I am trying to help someone who has moved into an old house which has marble floor (huge tiles ~4' x4'). The marble is dirty and stained all round (looks like dirt or dirt on oil which has 'baked' over time) - continuously around the skirt of the house (from the base of the skirt to up to 2 inches) and randomly like so :

I made a mixture of cooking soda and hydrogen peroxide and it has helped git rid of the corner stains. Because of the nature of this mixture, I can't pour it in a spray bottle as the soda will block the pipe. I have about 3000 square foot to go so taking a pad and scrubbing such a large area is out of the question. What is the easiest way for me to get this marble clean ? It will be very helpful if I can make the cleaner at home.

Bar keepers friend is a decent idea.
Do not pressure wash!
Marble is soft and you will ruin it. My advice it to call a carpet/floor cleaning company, or better yet a marble/granite installer.  Even if they do not clean themselves they will tell you what to do or where to go.
Marble is soft and will soak in certain liquids badly.  Once you get it cleaned, which should probably be done professionally, have it sealed.  It isn't 100%, but it will help a lot.
If you can afford it, get it professionally done by a trusted organization.  Be careful of handymen and others who do not specialize in it.  In the long run a professional cleaner will save you a ton of money and frustration.
If you want really cheap and easy, recover it and wait until you can afford the professional.


which wires to connect when installing a dimmer switch? I have a new dimmer switch that to replace an old standard light switch. The old switch has 4 cables coming into it as in the picture.

and the new one purchased from amazon is Lutron GL-600H-DK. It has 2 black wires and 1 green as in the picture. I watched some videos on youtube but still have doubts on which wires go with which and where does the extra black wire in the in the old switch go?
And would this work with standard light bulbs?

Edit: From your picture and descriptions you appear to have a three way switch.

Your dimmer is a single pole dimmer.  Meaning it is designed to operate in one location.

A Lutron three way dimmer that is similar to what you have would have one red, one red/white striped, one solid black, and a green.

The two blacks off the switch wire to the black on the dimmer.  The one red goes to red, the one black goes to the red/white striped off the dimmer, and the green goes to the bare copper.

Be sure to turn off power first, and make sure the dimmer is rated for the correct load: Incandescent, LEDs, total wattage.


Usage of 125V 20A receptacle for 240V 1A circuit I need to instal a receptacle in my 240VAC, 3 phase machine for a 12V, 1A adapter. Adapter is good for 120-240VAC input. I happen to have a 125V, 20A duplex receptacle on hand. Is it okay to use it because of low current or is there an insulation or gap requirement for 240V that 125V will not meet. Thanks.

Use a 12V/1A enclosed chassis mount (or DIN rail mount, for that matter) supply
Your problem here is that you are trying to apply a "wall wart" in an application (inside a control panel of some flavor) where you'd be provisioning a receptacle solely for the wall-wart's use.  This is a waste of a receptacle, and also poses NEMA 5/NEMA 6 confusion hazards, so why not use something more fit for the job instead, such as a DIN rail mounted supply like the one shown below? (It's a CUI PDRC-24-12, BTW, and is fully cULus listed to UL508 for field application in industrial control equipment.)

Of course, more traditional enclosed chassis mount supplies will work, although they don't usually carry a full UL listing the way the supply I linked does.


How do I put up a travertine tile backsplash? I'm trying to put up a tile backsplash in the kitchen (approx 25 sq ft) and I'm having trouble deciding between mastic and thinset for putting it on the drywall.  For that matter, is it OK to put the adhesive directly on the drywall?

For a backsplash, it's fine to tile directly to the drywall without anything behind it. For travertine, you probably want to avoid mastic. Mastic should NEVER be used on any natural stone because it is an adhesive and will discolor the stone (the adhesive has chemicals in it that will leach out over time). Use unmodified thinset. You'll also want to use a non-epoxy and unmodified grout (no latex additives) -- sanded or unsanded is fine. When the whole thing is done, you will want to seal it very well.

Travertine is VERY trendy right now, but you should be aware that it's not a renewable resource (it's mined limestone formations that accreted over thousands of years), the quality varies drastically, it is very porous, and it stains very easily. These things all make it close to my last choice for a kitchen backsplash. Even with a good sealer, it will still retain bits of food that hit it and will stain very easily if you splash something like tomato sauce on it. The sealer needs to be reapplied annually at least; preferably bi-annually. There are many porcelain products that look like travertine but are better suited to a kitchen environment.

As for how you'll mount it -- Decide on what kind of pattern you want. I have a soft spot in my heart for running bond with travertine. Mix a relatively small amount of thinset. Apply the thinset to the wall using a 3/8" notched trowel and rake it out. Stick the tile to the wall. Wait 24 hours for thinset to dry before grouting.

Pro tips:

Use chalk lines on the wall to keep things level to your countertop.
Cut all your tiles ahead of time if you can before you work on an area.
Mix small batches of thinset, and only work a few tiles ahead. It sets up faster than you think.
Keep a sponge and a bucket of water handy to wipe up any thinset that leaks between the tiles as you set them in.
I really like Tavy Tile Spacers because they help you keep the tiles level to one another.


No hot water after teeing to outside spigot I recently saw an outside cold and hot water spigot on This Old House.  After checking out prices, I decided I'd make my own redneck warm water spigot by bringing a hot water line close to the outlet and teeing into the cold water line.  It worked ok, the water out of the spigot was warm enough to wash off without gasping for air.  However, the house no longer has hot water unless the spigot is running....

I believe this is due to an overall pressure reduction of the water running through the hot water heater. It must be easier for the cold water to run back through my new tee into the hot water line then for it to run through the hot water heaters...

I installed a valve on the hot water line prior to the new tee, and when closed hot water is restored to the house.

I realize I could solve this situation by either doing it right... or by installing a back-flow preventer, but I'm now curious why this doesn't occur at existing facets, showers, bath tubs, etc.?  Do the valves on those components contain back flow preventers?  Specifically the ones that only have a single handle, it makes sense if you have two separate valves why the water would not mix.

Here's a quick drawing of the system before the valve was installed:

In the normal faucets and showers in your house, the valves governing the flow of hot and cold water are before the mixing of the two. Even when these valves are wide open, the water pressure will decrease across these valves, so that where the water mixes is at a substantially lower pressure than in the source pipes. This prevents the mixed water from pushing back up the cold/hot water lines.

Here, though, your valve is after the mixing, so there's no pressure differential keeping water from backflowing. Depending on your pipe routing, the altitude change (hot water rises), and whatever's in the middle, you could get all hot, all cold, or some mixture in between. Generally not what you want.


Does air trapped in water pipe disturb the meter reading? I have about 7 meters of PVC pipe connected to the water meter. Some of this pipe is above the meter level so some air sure gets trapped inside.

Is it possible that the air in pipes expand and contract changing the meter reading? In a 24 hour period, my meter registered 50 liters of water. I checked the pipes many times and haven't found any leaks (the pipes are exposed). At that rate the leaking should be pretty visible, right?

I was watching the meter now (noon, full sun) and I could see it registering some hundred ml in a few minutes, but no drops anywhere.

It is a long time ago since you posted your comment, but I will answer anyway, as I believe it can help many people. I live in Brazil, and here we have had many issues like you described, due to changes in the pressure of water supply company. It makes that much air comes into the piping, and when this trapped air comes to the home meters, it is registered as a normal water flow, and you pay for it.
Some small companies here have developed a kind of a valve that blocks this air, and keeps it trapped before your meter, while permitting the water to pass. This is reducing the water bill for almost 50% in some cases.

Please look for "bloqueador de ar". I did not find nothing like in english language.

Hope it helps, and good look!
Paulo


3 way switch problems I have power coming in SW1 and leaving SW1 is a 12/3 wire. I have 6 lights connected serially in between SW1 and SW2. (black to black, white to white, red to red, etc) and the lights are connected to the blacks and whites accordingly.

How do I get the 3 way switches working?

The red is the only wire not connected to anything else along the way.

Go to a smart switch

You just don't have enough wires to pull off a traditional 3-way connection, as you need 2 messengers and you only have space for one.

Typically you put the smart switch master in the first location, and the smart switch remote in the second location.  Most will want a communication wire, and you can use the red wire for that.


How to remove outdoor drain cover to clean insides and prevent overflow? I want to know what tools I need to remove this drain cover. The insides are starting to get clogged and I'm afraid of overflow.

Can I remove without sawing it off?

Either stick a screwdriver/crowbar in the gap round the edge and lever it up, or just stick a crowbar into the grillwork and lever.  Be careful with the second option though - if it's fixed in hard, you might snap the grill.

Check the small holes at the top and bottom of the picture - they might contain some sort of bolt which needs to be unscrewed with (eg) an Allan Key.


How do I replace a wooden fence post that was set in concrete? I need to replace a wooden fence post that was set into concrete. The post has snapped through rot at the base and the rot has set in so far that the post snapped about 2 inches beneath the surface.

I had contemplated digging out the concrete to set in a new post (again with concrete) but have found the concrete is part set into submerged wall beneath the surface of the soil. The house is Victorian, I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the wall is.

I think I have a number of options (I have also attached some pictures below)

Dig out the concrete and re-do. It looks like it will be a difficult job but maybe the only solution.
Use a repair kit (something like Metpost Repair). The problem with this is that I don't think there is enough post in concrete for the repair kit to attach to. Even the post that is left is very rotten and I don't think it would work very well.
Place the post in another position. The problem with this being the wall running along the line of the fence beneath the surface is in the way of this.

I just went through the process of removing a broken-off fence post without removing the concrete pier. Tough job! I expected it would only take a couple of hours, and that replacing just the post would be easier than digging out and breaking out the old pier, disposing of the concrete, and pouring a new pier.  Maybe not, though, especially if the old post is not rotten clear to the bottom of the hole so that it breaks apart easily.  But I digress.  What I need to relate here is how I got the post out.

First, I carefully pulled out the nails that attached the fence to the post.  I could have cut them off with a reciprocating saw, but I could get to the nails pretty easily and so I just pulled them. The post, then, being broken off that ground level, just fell over.  I used a piece of 2x4 and C-clamps to clamp the two pieces of fence together to keep them from falling over.

Next, I dug the dirt and debris out from around the top of the pier and used a shop vac to clean that up so that I had nice unobstructed access to the part of the post still buried in the concrete.  I used a 2-9/16" drill (kind of expensive) with an 18" extension to bore all the way down to the bottom of the post (about 24") and vacuumed out all the resulting wood debris.  You will need a pretty substantial electric drill to do that, by the way.  Your battery powered drill will probably not be up to the task.  Getting the drill going was harder than I expected because the broken off top of the post was not flat and I couldn't cut it off flat because it was broken off below ground level.  Consequently, the drill bit bucked around a lot trying to get some wood to bite into.  I finally got the drill started, though, and after that the drilling went pretty smoothly.  The drill bit was pretty much trashed by the end of that, by the way, but oh well.

Having drilled out most of the post, I expected to be able to work a crow bar between what remained of the post and the concrete pier and break out the rest of the post pretty easily.  Not so easy, though, and in the end I could only break the post out down about 13" below ground level.  Below that, I couldn't get enough leverage with the crowbar to break out anymore of the post.  Also, I couldn't manipulate the crowbar into the corners of the hole to break out the pieces of the post that stuck to the concrete at the corners.  So, not only could I not break out the entire post (i.e., down 24"), but I couldn't even get a totally clean hole down 13".  Pretty clean, but not sufficiently clean that a new post would just slip down into the hole without some trimming.

I read somewhere on the web that you can burn a post out.  The website even had a picture showing a little pile of briquettes piled up around a broken off post.  Given that the post is wood, burning it out didn't seem like an unreasonable thing to try.  I did realize, though, that I would have to get oxygen down into the hole to keep the fire going, and so I hooked up a small fan I use with my Big Green Egg barbeque (duct tape works wonders) to a piece of 1/2" galvanized pipe, stuffed the end of the pipe down the hole, filled the hole with charcoal, and fired it off.  That REALLY made a hot fire, literally roaring.  Sounded like a blast furnace.  My idea was that the charcoal would get the fence post burning, and then all I would have to do is keep the air going into the hole and eventually the post would burn itself up.  Well, I kept this roaring fire going for 2 hours and at the end of it the post was absolutely unscathed!  Barely singed it!  Didn't even burn out the pieces of the post that stuck to the corners of the hole.  Also, when I said I had a roaring fire going, I meant it.  There was enough heat coming out the hole that the fence itself caught fire.  Fortunately, I had anticipated that possibility and had a squirt bottle and a hose handy.  Anyhow, burning the post out didn't work worth beans.

In the end I decided that getting the new post down 13" was probably sufficient, and so I used my belt sander to round the corners of the post (remember, there were still pieces of the old post stuck in the corners of the pier), slipped it down the hole, filled the space between the pier and the new post with sand, and then nailed the fence back to the post.  You will probably want to drill pilot holes in the old fence because the wood is probably about shot and won't take a lot of abuse. Anyhow, it's all back together and it looks like it will last another couple of years until my neighbor and I decide to replace the whole fence.

An additional thought:  I used a piece of finished 4x4 for my post for a couple of reasons that we don't need to go into here. Suffice it to say that a finished piece of wood is a little smaller than the original post, and so I had little space between the new post and the concrete pier that I just filled with sand. If you use a treated post or a regular fence post, you will probably have to sand or plane it down a bit to get it to slide down into the hole, and then, as I did, you will have to fill the space between the post and the pier with sand.  You DO, by the way, want the post to SLIDE down into the hole.  If it is a tight fit and you pound the post in with a sledge hammer and you then need to take it back out again for some reason (maybe it didn't go in quite plumb, for instance) you will have a whole new problem to deal with (ask me how I know that.).

So, the bottom line is if you want to take out a broken off post without taking out the concrete pier, it can be done...sorta.  At least you can get out enough of the broken post to set a new one. But if your broken off post goes down 18"-24" below grade and you want to get the whole thing out, you may not be able to do that. At least, I wasn't able to.


Remove yellow stains on toilet I have the following stains on my toilet

I tried to remove it with bleaching product but to no avail.
I was thinking of white vinegar but not sure if it would work as the surface is wet.
Any ideas are welcomed.

These appear to be rust stains.  I've had reasonable success with a product called Wink:
Wink on Amazon
there are also similar products that may be as effective but I have not tried them personally.  I do know that chlorine bleach does not work on these.
Be VERY careful with this product, however.  It contains HFl (hydrofluoric acid) which is nastier than HCl (hydrochloric acid).  Always follow the instructions carefully!


Splicing in a LB, is it allowed by the NEC code? I'm adding a circuit, but I need to make a splice. Can I splice in a LB? Will I still be compliant with the NEC code?

Absolutely not.  No splicing in a conduit body. They are only to help fish wires.

Now -- there is an utterly useless exception.  If the conduit body is stamped with a number of cubic inches, then you can apply the junction box fill rules instead. In any size of conduit that's reasonable for your wires, there aren't nearly enough cubic inches in the conduit bodies!

You are better off just swapping the conduit body for a junction box. Play with several sizes of box to see which one will line up without having to cut conduit. Been there done that.


Outlet installation in metal electrical box I am replacing some receptacles that are contained within metal electrical boxes in my shop.

Is it proper technique to wrap the outlet with electrical tape to prevent shorts with the grounded box (See New receptacle tripped/sparked for example)?

If wrapping the outlet is correct, does it need to be de-rated due to the potential higher temperature caused by the insulation effect of the tape?

In my opinion, no, this is not "proper".  If your receptacle moves enough when plugging thing in to short out to the box, then you have other problems. The receptacle should be rigidly attached, so that it does not move during normal use.

A mistake I have seen made, is where the unused screw terminals are not tightened down. Depending on the size of the box, this can put the terminal screw quite close to the wall of the box.  Which means it only takes a slight bit of movement, to get the screw to make contact with the wall of the box.

Another mistake is to carelessly tuck the grounding conductors into the box, so that the bare ground can come into contact with the ungrounded (hot) terminals.

If you do decide to wrap the receptacle in tape, you should not have to worry about higher temperatures.


How to notch out fence posts so rails are flush with post? My posts are 100 x 75mm and my rails are 70 x 45mm. What would be the best way to notch out the posts so the rails are flush with the outer face of the posts?
I can't notch out the posts the full width of the rails as the posts are only 75mm thick.
Could I cut the end of the rails at a  45 degree angle and cut an angled notch in the posts?

It would take a lot of work to get a clean notch on the posts but it would work. If you are not concerned about the look of the post itself, you could rip the corners of the posts off with a saw at a 45 degree angle with the face of the cut the same width as the face of the cut as the rails, then toe screw or toe nail them in place. It would not be as strong as notching each one in, but it will be much faster. It would be a stronger attachment than just cutting them between the posts. but that is an option as well.


A different tank for the commode I purchased a 1.6 commode that was made after the year 2000. The tank busted. I have another tank I found at a salvage store. Actually the whole commode. I removed the tank and wanted to put it on this one.. Will this work? I put it on the bowel and it leaked but I think it was just the seal. It was old. If I replace the seal with this fix the leak..Every thing seemed to line up ok...

The tank to stool interface for most units is pretty much the same. So if it looks like the two holes used to secure the tank to the stool match up and the center water passage hole under the flapper valve is in the same location you should be good to go (at least in the USA).

Re-using old seals can be a problem and lead to leaks. When you mount up the salvaged tank you should replace the bolt seals and the seal that sits between the tank and the stool.

The reason the seals need replacing is that they harden with age, lose compliance and can even sometimes crack. Part of this relates to the chlorine in the water. The tank to tub seal also can take on a compressed shape and if the salvage tank is not exactly the same form and fit in the seal area you can have a leak problem.

I would recommend getting a tank mounting kit that includes the seals and new tank attach bolts and throw the old parts away. Probably also a good idea to replace the flapper valve at the same time.


What tool or special bit do I need to remove this (will add the name later when I know it :-) ) I do not know the name of the hardware that I need to remove, please see the picture below. The brass like colored piece is stuck there really well. I have tried with a screwdriver, I pushed with a hammer...no results.

I need to remove it and to somehow recover the functionality of this casement window operator which stopped functioning because this thing was loose and it was coming out. I guess the thread is gone

Edit: it seems that this is what I need (Universal Adjustable Angle Grinder Pin Wrench)

Edit2: they are quite expensive, here isone that you can make yourself, provided that you have the right size for the rod

the tool you need is called a pin spanner

http://www.mcmaster.com/#pin-spanner-wrenches/=12f7p7g


How to add small 220 Volt Heater from an existing 220V 30 Amp receptacle I recently upgraded my laundry room from an electric dryer to a gas dryer. The 30 amp circuit was left in place including the receptacle for for the dryer, which was very handy for the floor refinisher to just plug in to. Now that it is getting colder I would like to add a small electric baseboard heater and thermostat to keep the room warmer. I would like to tap the existing 30 amp circuit (my service box is full even if I didn't mind pulling the extra cable) for the heater, possibly by just running a 30 amp plug from the thermostat into the outlet.

The best way to tackle this issue is to remove the 30 amp plug and replace it with a junction box. Locate a sub-breaker box on the wall and feed it with 10-ga 2-wire +ground cable from the new junction box. With the sub-box you can create two or 3 circuits with different amp loads (15, 20, 30) and wire sizes. Be sure to enclose the feed and any load cables in conduit if they are exposed to the living area.  And follow all safety rules, including shutting off the breaker at the main box while the work is ongoing.


Filtered water in a glass container So I'm tired of carrying mineral water bottles and recycling the glass. I'd like to switch to filtered tap water, but I'd like to avoid the plastic jug and the plastic container in which the filtering material is sold (from that famous and well-established brand—left of the picture).

I'm considering the following idea. Carefully slice open the plastic filter container, take the beads, which are apparently a combination of a polymer and activater charcoal, to absorb this and that undesirable elements, and put them in a glass container (right of the picture). Glass is guaranteed not to transfer chemicals and can be dropped in the dishwasher for cleaning.

Have you tried something like this? Can you think of any reason why it may be imprudent to do it? The activated charcoal is available on the market by itself, but it's unclear where I'd buy the polymers that absorb the other half of the undesirable elements, and the strong brand name is reassuring regarding the composition of the filtering material (although I'd rather avoid drinking water that sat in a plastic container, regardless of the brand of the plastic).

Or, you could get a faucet filtration system and a glass jug. This is basically a water filter that clips onto your faucet. No taking things apart, and no water sitting in a plastic jug.


Explain voltage readings on NEMA 10-30 socket The clothes dryer in the garage is plugged into what appears to be a NEMA 10-30 socket (receptacle).

Reading the voltages on the socket with a multimeter, the voltage between the two diagonal blades is 240 V.

But the voltage between any diagonal blade, and the L-shaped blade, is 120 V. How come? If the L-shaped blade is connected to ground, shouldn't I read 240 V between it and one of the diagonal blades, and 0 V between it and the other blade?

Or are the diagonal blades in opposite phase with each other, each carrying 120 V relative to ground, and therefore 240 V relative to each other?

I'm asking because I need 240 V for a small Everlast PowerTig 200DX welder - it could be connected either to 110 V from a regular AC socket (through a short passive adapter) or to 240 V. But the 240 V plug on the welder is not 10-30 but 6-50:

I've found a 10-30 to 6-50 adapter but I need to make sure I won't fry the welder if the wiring is wrong.

The welder can sense whether it's being fed 240 or 110 V and switch automatically (the 110 to 240 adapter that came with it is passive, just a short cable with specific connectors on each end).

EDIT: I should add that the machine, according to the manual, draws less than 30 A continuously even at 100% output settings. Not sure why it has a 6-50 plug - probably because that's pretty standard for welders?

In a 120/240V single split-phase system, there's two ungrounded (hot), one grounded (neutral), and in most cases one grounding conductor.  Measuring between the two ungrounded (hot) conductors should yield 240 volts +- 5%. Measuring between either hot and neutral, should read 120 volts +- 5%.

In the case of a NEMA 10-30. Each angled contact is one of the ungrounded (hot) legs, while the "L" shaped contact is grounded (neutral).  Therefore, measuring between the angled slots should give you 240V. While measuring between either of the angled slots and the "L" shaped slot, should measure 120V.

As for plugging a NEMA 6-50 plug into a NEMA 10-30 receptacle, forget about it.  NEMA 10-30 recepracles do not have a grounding conductor, whereas a NEMA 6-50 requires a grounding conductor.   NEMA 10-30 is an nongrounded 120/240V device (hot, hot, neutral), NEMA 6-50 is a grounded 240V device (hot, hot, ground).  A 10-30 receptacle will be protected by a 30 ampere breaker, and supplied by wires only rated to carry 30 amperes of current.  If you plug a 50 ampere load, into a 30 ampere circuit. You will overload the circuit, and (hopefully) trip the breaker.

If you need a 50 ampere circuit for your welder, have a proper 50 ampere circuit installed by a licensed electrician.

You should NOT plug a 50 ampere device into a 30 ampere circuit!


Can someone help me identify this spiral staircase system? I am thinking of buying this spiral staircase to use to get to our loft, but was curious if any of you could identify the type of staircase that it is.

What is pictured is the section that sits on the floor, supposedly after that each step is a separate bolt-on unit.  Also odd about this setup is that there is no center pole.  I cannot seem to find a photo of a similar setup all put together.  The guy that is selling this does not know that much about it.

I would go check it out in person, however it is 3 hours away!  I welcome any information you guys can offer.

This isn't a spiral staircase, but rather a helical staircase.  The difference is the lack of the centre pole (As you noticed.  It's otherwise known as a newel) and that it has handrails on both sides, whereas a spiral staircase only has a handrail on the outside.

I was able to find this example of what appears to be a similar design, though it looks wider than your's.


Does water-proofing have structural benefits in cinder-block foundation? We have a cinder block foundation in our 1920s home. When we moved in, the basement was somewhat damp with elevated humidity readings. We can see some efflorescence on the foundation walls, but no visible water. The surface of the wall is crumbling in a few places. There is no evidence of hydrostatic pressure from below the slab. Currently, we manage the humidity quite well with two small dehumidifiers (~45%).

Is there any structural benefit to applying any type of coating to the walls (e.g. hydraulic cement or epoxy), or would that only be for the purpose of water-proofing? Would it extend the lifespan of the foundation?

Surprisingly, introducing water to the CMU will actually increase it's strength because you're providing more fuel for the chemical reaction that turns it from a liquid to a solid. The only time water will cause a structural issue with the CMU is if it susceptible to frost. If you feel the wall is wet on the outside of the building on a regular basis and you live in a region where temperatures drop below freezing then it can cause freeze thaw damage and destroy the blocks over time.

Typically, waterproofing is applied to blocks strictly for architectural purposes. They don't want to allow water in to prevent efflorescence, they want to keep humidity in the building down, or they want to keep actual water out of the building.


Pierce fitting leaking There is some sort of pierce fitting on the cold water supply to my kitchen sink. It began leaking yesterday (I hope no sooner) anyways, I need to fix it.

My plumber friend said I could plug it, but that I should just call a plumber to completely remove it with a few inches of pipe and a quarter turn angle stop, which is probably what I will do. I tried to google pierce fittings, but that didn't really yield anything. Does anybody know what this is called? That way when I talk to the plumber on the phone they know what I am talking about?

thanks.

Does anybody know what this is called?

This is commonly called a saddle valve; they are frequently (and notoriously unreliably) used to tap into cold water for supply to refrigerator ice maker, hence the 1/4" compression type outlet commonly used for 1/4" diameter tubing. IMO you should not try to plug it, you should get rid of it.

If you do not need to supply an icemaker, cut below it and solder fittings to restore the faucet supply valve. If you do need to supply an ice maker, put a tee in the line and get a high quality 1/4 turn valve with the same compression type outlet.


Which fence wood and paint/stain is this? I was looking at this example

https://anchorfence.wordpress.com/2014/04/

Can cedar be prepared to look like it? Is it paint or stain? Because it looks so shiny and smooth.

"Is it paint or stain?"- neither, that fence is made of plastic. It is manufactured that color.

"Can cedar be prepared to look like it?" - the grain uniformity and absence of knots and defects is unrealistic, natural cedar will have natural imperfections. If you choose your lumber carefully you can select pieces that look nicest to you. A high quality semi-transparent exterior stain will give you some sheen with a bit of tint, along with a lot of sanding to make it smooth, is probably the closest you will get to the unnatural look of PVC fencing.


Metal to wall adhesive I need to glue a metal corner bead to a plaster corner. Normally, I would nail the bead but it's masonry so nails won't go in. Should I use Liquid Nails or more like something like contact cement?

If the construction adhesive is one of the type specified for metal usage then it should work just fine. Working just fine is also assuming that the plaster is solid and not a crumbly surface.

One issue with construction adhesive is that you would need to devise a way to hold the metal beading in place till the adhesive sets up. On the other hand contact cement, provided you find one that can work on the metal part, (I have used a 3M product that sprayed on to a stainless steel backer sheet behind a stove) is applied to both parts and set to dry for a short while. Then the metal piece could simply be pressed into place without need for clamping. With the contact cement you need to be sure to get your piece lined up right and press gradually into place from one end. Usually once it is stuck on it is there to stay so you do not get 2nd and 3rd chances to line things up.


How can I combine constant and switched power circuits to power a security light I've searched round the forum and web, and found others asking similar, but slightly different questions.

I have a security light currently wired to a constant circuit so that it trips whenever there is motion.  Which is a good thing.

However, I also want the light to turn on and stay on, when I turn on two other light in the front of the house that are on a switch.

I know that these lights generally have a flicker over-ride that would work, if I were to hook them up to the same switched circuit the other lights are on.

But how can I also wire the light to a constant source as well?

Please excuse me if I am lacking the correct terminology.

Thanks in advance.

You might be able to accomplish this by replacing the existing front light switch with a three way (SPDT) switch and running a new 3-wire plus ground cable from that switch to the back lights.

It's basically a three way switch with a two way switch in series on one leg, where the motion detector is the two way switch.

This would only work if the motion detector in the back is OK with this type of connection.  You'd have to consult with the manufacturer of the motion detector about that.  It's never come up for me so I have no idea if that runs afoul of the listing of those devices.

At the back light, splice the black on the light, the red from the new cable, and the red from the motion detector.  Splice the black from the new cable to the black from the motion detector.  Splice all three whites.  Ground wires as usual.

In the switch box, connect the black going to the front lights and the red from the new cable to the "up" position traveler terminal on the SPDT switch with a red pigtail.  Connect the "down" position traveler terminal on the SPDT switch to the black wire from the new cable.  Connect the common terminal on the SPDT switch to the black wire feeding the switch box.  Splice all three whites.  Ground wires as usual.

When the three way switch is on, there will be 120V on the motion detector's red wire and 0V on the black.  That is not how it is usually wired, and may not be OK for the device, that's why I mention checking with the manufacturer above.

EDIT:

I gave this some more thought because I think it's an interesting problem / exercise.  I thought of another alternative that may or may not be worth the trouble.

If you can't find a motion detector that's manufacturer approved / listed for parallel wiring, you could sidestep that by using a DPDT switch rather than a SPDT switch.  The second pole would be to disconnect the motion detector from the light and the parallel power when the front lights are turned on.  You'd have to run an additional 14/2 or 12/2 from the front switch to the light.  You probably see where I'm going with this but I'd have to make a sketch to explain it any better.

That may be more trouble that you'd want to bother with.  Complicated is never good.  You may have to install a bigger switch box up front and / or a bigger box / second box in the back.


Switch Constantly Tripping Breaker can someone tell me why the switch circled in red is tripping the breaker? I was swapping them around. The other two seem to work fine. The far left is a fan timer (works), the middle is a simple switch (works), and the far right is a dimmer switch (not working).

I’m sorry for wasting everyone’s time. I made a complete mistake and I appreciate everyone’s suggestions. But after troubleshooting more I had an epiphany. The day before this started I did work on another switch that was on the same circuit and one wire came off and happened to touch the other. I reattached the one that came off and problem solved. Had nothing to do with anything in this box, but another.


Can a sink drain into a shower venting pipe? I'm trying to add a sink next to an existing bathroom. Sink will be probably 3 feet from shower vent pipe. Floor is a concrete slab so all existing drains are underneath. I'd like to minimize busting thru concrete. The picture below is a pretty good representation of the existing piping, except for the pipe below grade that are probably running horizontally.

Can a sink drain/vent into a nearby shower vent pipe (e.g. connection in red on the picture)?

If this is not allowed, what's the best solution here?

I wanted a utility sink installed on the common wall of our garage and house. There was a vertical vent inside the wall near a bathroom and near the washer/dryer alcove. The plumber plumbed the drain into that vent saying that this was allowed by code if done in the right way. I didn't understand what would make it code compliant and would make it work properly, but he put it in and it has worked for 20 years.


1 1/2 story upstairs bedroom very hot So I just bought a house and discovered the upstairs was what felt like 5-10 degrees difference from the main level. I'll try and add pictures of the insulation below. It seems well done but for some reason it's still very hot up there. I'm an hour away from Canada located in the far north of Minnesota so my climate zone is very cold. Not only do I worry about the heat in the summer right now but I'm also worried about it's performance this winter. It seems like it has adequate insulation, R-39 on the attic floor and around the 20 mark for the knee walls if not more. It has a ridge and soffit vents however the soffit vents seem small to me? There are quite a few of them however.

So I think the issue lies in either poor ventilation or poor air sealing, maybe both. The other issue could be that there's only 2 AC vents in the entire upstairs. One in each bedroom and no return vents anywhere (the upstairs consists of a large master suite, a walk in closet, and one smaller bedroom).

What do you think the problem is?

I want to check to see if they smothered the soffit vents or didn't allow for ventilation on the slanted part of the knee wall. I also want to seal the power outlets, switches, etc with spray foam. Should it be fire rated foam? The next thing to look at is air sealing but I would hate to have to tear into a wall insulation job done so well and have to redo horizontal fiberglass like that.

And yes I know I have to fix that pipe venting into the attic.

(EDIT)
Okay so I climbed into what little attic I have access too and found that the soffit vents are not working as it's clogged by insulation. Under the Fiberglass is dense pack cellulose, quite a few inches of it, well above the joists. In the addition they did put air channels to the ridge vents but the only supply with the soffits clogged is a small gable vent. In the older part of the house, the room with the pipe in the picture there's no ventilation to speak of. Soffits most likely clogged I didn't climb all the way to it. There's nothing connecting this space to the mini attic above, where the ridge vents are.

The soffits need to be cleared of their insulation. Otherwise you risk having mold forming due to the humidity not being able to get out.

There should be vent baffles installed to allow the air to continue to flow over the insulation.

You may have an HVAC contractor install additional events to push more air into the area.


Repairing broken epoxy interface on aluminum My fridge fell over and the hinge between the freezer door and refrigerator door broke. This aluminum part is crucial, so I took the gamble of repairing it with epoxy (see image). The part held for a month but the epoxy in the interface broke today. This part is subjected to shear and pulling forces so maybe epoxy is not worth a second try. How do I repair this part properly now that it is covered with epoxy.

If the original part is aluminum, that implies a home-made aluminum part would be of sufficient strength. You can use the existing part to create a sand-casting mold. The epoxy repair should hold your existing part well enough to create the casting mold, which would then be filled with molten aluminum.

One might consider that aluminum casting is not quite a home skill, but there are many instructables to cover such activity. If you have a makerspace in your area, you may also discover that a member has the necessary forge and perhaps the casting sand and mold material as well.

Here's a link at instructables.com to provide some background:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Learn-to-Do-Aluminum-Sand-Casting/d


Why does it seem all new faucets are using braided hose instead of stainless steel? I have been looking for a new kitchen faucet recently at all the box stores, and noticed that pretty much all pull-out/pull-down faucets are now using a black braided hose instead of a more rigid stainless steel hose. For example, the black braided hose:

And the stainless steel (sometimes segmented) hose:

The last time I went looking for faucets, the more expensive ones (~$200+) all seemed to use the stainless steel hose, while especially on the cheaper ones (eg, <$100) used the black braided hose. What I've noticed is practically all faucets -- even $400 ones -- have the black braided hose, or sometimes a silver braided hose (which may be made of steel).

I previously had one of the braided hoses in my laundry room, and one thing I noticed was it didn't seem to be as durable. If pulled too hard, it could actually be pinched against the spout and block water, and it seemed like a lot of this use would cause it to break. The stainless steel / segmented hose is effectively crush-proof and doesn't seem to have this issue.

There must be some reason the industry is going to the black braided hose, but what is it? I could see this being a cost-saving measure, in that most people don't consider the hose type when purchasing, but I'd still expect the $300+ faucets to use what seems to me to be the higher-end hose.

Durability - I have often seen the stainless/chrome plated hose breaking up after a few years... this is where the hose splits along the seam of the hose... This will not happen with the braided hose due to the fact that you have a netted sheath.
Also. the braided pattern is more flexible than its counterpart.

Cost -  This hose is substantially cheaper than the corrugated style hose.

Ease of manufacturing and assembly:  this hose can be crimped during assembly, the alternative is to use more complex and expensive screw clamps to assemble the unit.

You will probably also find the regular stainless braided hose like this:


Water has quit running thru my humidifier. Furnace humidifier dry as a bone.  have changed the filter, duh, that is the only thing I know how to do! Bottom line, there is no water running through it.

Novice
Check the humidity
The humidifier should only turn on if the humidity is below a set level.  Make sure the humidity is actually below this level.
Clean the inlet
Check the inlet (where the water comes in), and make sure it's not all gunked up.
Check the valve
If the humidifier supply line connects to the water supply via a saddle valve, close and reopen the valve (and consider replacing the valve, which will require shutting off the water since the valve pokes a hole in the pipe).
Set the humidistat
If a humidistat is used, make sure it's set properly.
Intermediate
Check for water at the solenoid
Close the valve supplying the humidifier, and remove the supply tube from the supply side of the solenoid. Open the valve just a bit, and make sure water is coming from the tube.
TIP: Wrap a rag/towel around the open end of the hose, and hold it tight when opening the valve.  The rag/towel will prevent the water from spraying out the end of the tube. Also, don't forget to hold the rag/towel wrapped tube over a bucket.
Check for power at the humidistat
Open up the humidistat, and use a multimeter/voltmeter to make sure the humidistat has power (most likely 24 volts).
NOTE: Depending on the installation, the humidistat may only have power when the furnace is running.
Check for power at the solenoid
With the humidistat open, and the furnace running. Set the humidistat to the highest setting, and check to see if you have voltage going to the solenoid.


How to fix capillary action on anti-condensation coating on box profile steel roofing sheets? We have some carports here that were installed by a previous owner a few years ago.  They have side walls, but are open front and back, and have a steel box profile roof.  Big green sheets like this:
https://www.roofingsheetsbyrhino.com/box-profile-roofing-sheets/
The sheets have an anti-condensation coating on them, which probably does the job it's supposed to... but sadly wicks water from on top of the sheets all over the underside.  I initially naively thought it was coming up from the drip edge, so I scored the coating and tore a 4" strip of it off all along that edge.
That has helped, but I can see now that it's also problematic wherever the sheets overlap, especially on the end laps.  I think the coating should have been stripped off the sheets wherever there's an overlap, and some lapping tape put in there, but as far as I can tell they did neither thing.
I'm not sure how best to solve this.

take all the sheets off, trim the coating, add lapping tape, and re-fit...

seal the laps from above with some flashing tape or similar.  The roofs are very visible from further up the garden and the house, so I'd want some tape the same colour as the sheets which feels like a big ask!

other....?  Any ideas?

Thank you!

PREPARATION & FITTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANTI-CONDENSATION ROOFING SHEETS
INSTALLATION
Note! This product is designed for use on roofs with a pitch of 10 degrees or greater.

And that's pretty typical of all steel roofs, and yours is the reason why.
The only way you can make a steel roof work on installations like this is if one piece of metal can span the entire roof.  Not half to a peak. (because you can't make the peak seam work either, same reason).  You can't have seams.
The simple fact is, you have a flat roof.  1-3 degrees is pretty much the minimum slope required to keep a flat roof from becoming a swimming pool, and is required by most roofing systems.  You need to use products appropriate to flat roofs, such as EPDM rubber.


Do i need a subpanel for a single circuit with less than 4 receptacles equaling less than 600 watt load. Washington state I'm trying to get a few opinions as I have had 1 electrician tell me i need a subpanel but his whole reason was so i could expand in the future and he didn't really listen to what I wanted.  I have had another tell me no I can run a direct burial cable from my main breaker on a single 20 amp circuit to the livestock shed to power the light, 1 outlet for a water pump/heater and 1 outlet for a electric fence controller but I wouldn't be able to expand by much more.  Given I only need these specific items,  i'm looking at a total of 25 watt pump, 500 water heater, 1.6 joule output for electric fence, 60 watt lightbulb I believe I can do it all on a single 20 amp circuit as I'm sitting at less than 600 watts (assuming I converted the Joules correctly) which is nowhere close to 20 amps
90 feet is the distance from the current panel to the shed.

You state in your comment that you plan to run conduit.
In that case, do NOT use UF cable. Use THWN wiring - the conduit protects it, and it's much easier to pull than UF cable. It may also cost you less, and it can indeed be easily upgraded if or when you or a later owner wants to upgrade.
12Ga should be fine for your planned use. If your use increased, pulling one more wire and changing the feed breaker to a two-pole 20A GFCI breaker and making the circuit an MWBC would double your available power at the building.


How can I both insulate and get a latch to work on this window? Foam kerf insulation strips After trying many options, I've finally found something that might work to reduce drafts and noise through these 1925 historic windows:

But that latch.  Original brass, matches the house, but won't work well with the insulation.  Is there a latch style that might be better available in a vintage style?

I went to the foam kerf style because the more modestly size rubber bulb insulation is so stiff it can't make for good compression, given the relatively wimpy single latch on each window.  Sticky foam on the casing similarly failed because the gap ranges from zero to 1/4" or more.  The window swings out on hinges.

Why not just add a piece of blocking behind the latch and move the latch receiving hole into the kerfed board?  You could paint the blocking black or something that matches the latch hardware.


Which wiring configuration is better? I have a dimmer where the output goes to a junction box in the attic and from the junction box it goes to a light fixture.  I want to replace the light fixture in question with 2 pendent lights in different locations.

The question is: Is it better to have the junction box have two outputs so each pendent light fixture only has one wire or is it better to run one wire from the junction box to the first pendent light and in that pendent's box will be a splice to the other light?

option 1:

       -------pendent light
J-----<
       -------pendent light

option 2:

                                first pendent light in same box
J------first pendent light box <
                                --------second pendent light

Makes no difference, generally speaking. Do the method that saves you wire and/or distributes connections more uniformly to meet box capacity standards (and make life easier).


Open Neutral in Circuit - Need Help Troubleshooting I recently lost power to about five outlets on an eight outlet circuit in the kitchen.  For what it is worth, there is a GFCI on the first outlet and the last outlet.  The last outlet (GFCI) is showing no power (no LED) and will not reset.  When I connect my Epsilant tester to the four outlets that are not working, only the green center light goes on indicating "missing neutral". The first GFCI works fine and I can trip any outlet in the circuit and it will trip the GFCI.  In addition to the GFCI, two other outlets work.
Why would some of the outlets in the circuit work, but not others?  What should I look to do to troubleshoot?  Is it likely a faulty outlet, or something else?  I'm guessing that the last GFCI in the chain is not operating because it just isn't getting power?  Any help greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Check for a bad splice or connection in the neutral at the last good outlet
Between the outlet-tester results and the lack of power to the GFCI at the end of the chain, this is likely a bad splice or connection at the last good outlet's neutral.  Backstab-type connections on receptacles are commonly to blame for this; if you see any, converting them to side-screws is a better bet.


Disconnect electrical panel - Can arc occur at 400V? I'm planning at restructuring my electrical panel. Therefore I want to disconnect the whole panel  from the supply wires. The supply wires are 3*400V plus neutral and ground. What is the minimal distance between the supply wires which must be maintained to prevent arcing?

You need to de-energize the wiring
I realize you're very cocksure, but...
Really, really, you need to de-energize the wiring using the normal methods for doing that in your country.
Absolutely no one on this forum is going to counsel you to do that work "live", even with the much more docile American 120V-to-ground (2 or 3 phases).
Here are the real facts about arc flash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hpE5LYj-CY
I recognize this panel as being a common American industrial 480V board. (277V per leg). In America this is considered "industrial-scary" and is treated with grave respect.
However your voltage is only 18% less than this.
You may say "But that's so much more current than I deal with" - nope, when you do stuff like this, the current is limited only by the wires.  US power companies guarantee that the wires will limit current to 25,000 amps or 10,000 amps.  Even if we assume yours limits to 5000 amps, do you really want to mess with 5000 amps?
This just doesn't work. Pull the meter.


What is a reveal cleat (and why do I need it)? I am DIY installing a wall oven.

Schematic calls out 3/4" reveal cleats.

I already have 3/4" lip in the cabinet.

Why would I use a reveal cleat?

EDIT: Update, I installed the oven (without the reveal cleats) with the dimensions given in the manual and it worked great.

It appears to me that the reveal cleat serves two functions.

It keeps the oven set in the middle of the opening  so that the reveal on the face frame of the cabinet is equal on both sides.

The reveal is the amount of the narrow strip of face frame that is visible between the trim of the oven and the edge of the face frame opposite it.
It maintains an equal space between the side of the oven and the cabinet sides. ( inside the space of the cabinet )


I have a light dent in my wooden door, what is the best way to fix it? I had created this small dent in my door and I am wondering how to fix it.

You could try a steam iron over a linen cloth it works on dents on solid wood. I appears on the picture your dent might be a break in the wood. Give the steam a try.


Wiring electrical outlets from a single outlet I'm building an entertainment center unit, and on the unit I want to embed wall outlets into it so I can plug things like my receiver, NAS, consoles etc in a clean method. I thought the entertainment unit could be plugged into a single wall outlet.

Unfortunately I'm not much of an electrician but I have a lot of respect for 120V AC and don't want to mess with something if I'm unsure.

Now, I could use a power strip, but there's two reasons why I don't want to. For one, I want the outlets embedded into the unit so it is clean, with some of the outlets that have built in USB ports for fast charging mobile devices. The 2nd reason is I have this cool Wattmeter that I want to mount to the unit. I thought it'd be neat to watch the gears turn and see how much power my stuff is consuming.

From my understanding, this is how I'd wire everything up:

Obviously the cable that comes in from the right is the cable that plugs into a single wall outlet.

Is this design feasible? Are there caveats to the design that would not work? I can't seem to find this kind of information online.

The best solution here, would be to find a UL approved device that can satisfy your needs. Building your own device can be risky, and fraught with unexpected dangers. There are tons of UL approved power strips available on the market, it hard to imagine you wouldn't be able to find one that suits your needs.
If you must build your own solution, you'll want to be aware of at least a few of the dangers.
Exposed wiring
First and foremost, you'll want to make sure nobody can ever touch anything that could be energized. This means that all connections, splices, junction, etc. should be contained within an enclosure. You'll also want to make sure the enclosure is listed for the use, so that it will also contain any sparks, heat, etc. that might be produced.
Most areas now require tamper resistant receptacles in living spaces (living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, etc.), so you'll likely want to use TR receptacles for this project.
Overcurrent
While there are no hard-and-fast limits on the number of receptacles on a circuit, or the number of devices that can be fed by a receptacle. You'll want to be cautious not to overload your wiring. In industrial and commercial settings, 180 Volt-Amperes is the value that's used to calculate receptacle loads.  If you use this as a guide, you should have no problems with overloading the circuit.
While the circuit breaker should protect the house wiring, you may want to protect the wiring in your cabinet from overload as well. You can do this with a fuse, or circuit breaker. You'll want to wire this in as the first device, possibly putting it in the same enclosure as the watt meter.
Surge protection
Since you'll be dealing with expensive electronics, you'll probably want some form of surge protection. There are receptacles available that offer surge protection built in, but they may not offer the level of protection you require, or that can be found in a manufactured surge strip.


How would you fix an inflection point on engineered hardwood? Looks like I didn't have a perfectly level subfloor and now, there's a slight inflection (peak) in the finished installation of the 1/2" inch engineered maple hardwood floor.

Other detail, my girlfriend thinks I'm insane with this. She's probably right.

Matt, your install looks good. Replace the board, should take a whole 20 mins takes us 5-7 mins. You might realize something small was under the wood. Worse case, you replace both and issue is gone. Remember to rip the bottom of the groove.


What are the brown stains showing through my white paint? Should we be worried about these? We have some brown spots like these in the top floor, in the wall and some spots in the ceiling. Mostly around the ceiling nails like in the first picture. They are pretty small, but still. I tried to clean these kind of spots and they don't disappear, however they get lighter. We live in Northern Europe so we get some pretty harsh temperatures and climates, and it's a very old house.

It’s tannin oil bleeding out through the paint.

The first picture has a round (oval) shape that would normally indicate rust from a nail head. However, there is no blistering, so it can’t be rust. Tannin often will bleed out from knots.

The second picture shows the brown-ish stain in a long linear pattern. This is typical of tannin seeping out of siding (especially Cedar and Redwood siding).

All paint manufacturers recommend cedar and redwood should be primed prior to painting. Some paint types cover / block tannin better than others...oil based primers are best.


Need help removing KitchenAid range's control panel I have a kerc700LBL0 KitchenAid electric range (glass top).  The oven temperature on the display gets pretty dim.  From what I've read online, it's the control board (capacitors).  I'm having trouble getting the control panel (the glass touch panel) off so I can get to the electronics underneath (the control board).  I removed three screws and the front now lifts up a bit, but something in the back is holding it.  It could be some clips, or maybe screws, or maybe I just need to pull harder (don't know).  I called KitchenAid and they couldn't tell me.  Anyone know how this comes off?

This is a a similar model (to show you where the control panel is:

This is a the control panel:

Here is a parts diagram that doesn't show any screws in the back, but I'm not sure how much I can trust it.

One website said this model is made by Whirlpool, but I haven't confirmed it (nor do I have any further information like model number(s)).

Thanks!

I finally figured this out.  The rear is kind of held on with a loose "clip".  First, clean out all the gunk that accumulates in the crack between the display/touch panel and the glass top (I used a thin putty knife).  I think that "glues the back on" which was part of my problem.  Then, (after you remove the three screws), just lift the front display up like the back is hinged.  You may need to pull forward just a bit after you pull it up an inch or so.  As the front lifts up, the back eventually pulls away.  (There's very little force holding the back).


How to make small wheels with minimum equipment (No lathe) I'm always looking for cheap wheels of various kinds, and rarely find anything for under £1 a piece.

How can I make a nicely round disc out of metal (aluminium) or wood with a central hole, if I don't have a lathe?

The best idea I've had is to use a scroll saw or similar to cut out a near-circle from a piece of plywood, then drill a hole in the near-centre with a pillar drill arrangement, and some how attach it to a power drill, using a block of sand paper or similar to make the outside more circle-like, around the axle hole.

Can anyone recommend any alternatives? E.g. for 4cm diameter wheel, 10mm thickness, 5mm axle hole?

A hole saw. Nice and round, complete with a center hole.


Light switch to switch/outlet combo I have an older house and want to change a light switch to a switch/outlet combo. The current switch has two wires only in the box. The new combo has a ground (green), and two lines on one side. The other side has a load and neutral (white).
My question is, if this combo can be hooked up with the existing setup, how can it be done?

if this combo can be hooked up with the existing setup,..?

The answer to this question is NO

The box only contains a source or hot leg down to the switch and a switch leg back to the light fixtures. You will need to install a neutral and a ground into the box. Updated NEC now requires neutrals to be installed in boxes unfortunately your dwelling did not.

Hope this helped.


GFCI Breaker - Good or Bad? I have a GFCI circuit (GFCI breaker in the breaker box). If I attempt to test this circuit by plugging in my GFI Tester into a standard outlet that is on this GFCI circuit, the GFI Tester lights illuminates showing the proper wiring, however, it does not trip the GFI breaker in the breaker box if I press the test button on the GFCI Tester.
If I press the test button on the GFCI Breaker, it does kill the power to the outlets on that circuit.
So, my question is, what should happen at the breaker box on this circuit when I press the GFI test button on the GFCI Tester? I thought it should trip the breaker or cause the test button at the GFCI breaker to trip but it doesn't.
Does this mean that a device plugged into the receptacle is Not protected or is it still protected even though the breaker doesn't trip?
I have noticed that on another circuit that has a GFCI Receptacle (but not a GFCI Breaker), that if I plug in the GFCI Tester in either that receptacle or one beyond the GFCI Receptable and press the Test button on the GFCI Tester that it trips the GFCI test switch in the GFCI Receptacle.

It depends on the grounding setup.  The pocket tester creates a GFCI fault by using the ground wire.  If ground isn’t wired properly, weird stuff happens.
If ground is present and wired correctly:

the tester will light 2 yellow lights
the GFCI will trip

If ground is absent, and wired correctly (for ground being absent):

The tester will light 1 yellow light
The GFCI will not trip

If ground is illegally BOOTLEGGED to the outlet:

the tester will light 2 yellow lights
The GFCI will not trip

So it sounds like your tester is indicating that some son-of-a-Be-Nice-Policy decided to “bootleg” ground on those receptacles, specifically to fool an inspector running around with a tester.
Bootleg grounds are dangerous setups, and they are more dangerous with GFCI because the GFCI hides their hazard.  If you get between “hot” on that circuit and “bootleg ground” on that circuit, the GFCI will not protect you.


Leak underneath flooring, hot tiles, please help! RESOLVED I appreciate any advice on how to fix a leak from under my bathroom shower floor.

Water was flowing from the baseboards of the walls (about 1 liter), causing them to bulge and become disfigured, but I shut off the main supply valve upon seeing this.

With the main supply on, the leak is aggravated when I turn on the boiler cold inlet valve and the shower floor tiling gets hot over time as the boiler heats the water--which leads me to believe that the hot line is leaking somewhere beneath the bathroom shower floor.

There is also noise of running water coming from the other side of the wall in the dining room, where a sink used to be--I cut a hole in the wall here but did not see much leaking going on, but then again I couldn't see the base of the floor due to the cramped location.

If I turn off the boiler's cold water valve, then the noise and leaking almost stops entirely, but I now hear running water from the boiler's cold supply line, despite the valve being shut off.

Adjacent to the bathroom wall on the other side is the dining room sink, where the noise of the leak can be heard--I tried to cut the wall and peek but could not locate the leak.

Update: Today, I cut into the wall a bit more and I found that there are three connections going down into the ground from the hot side.

When I turn on the cold water inlet valve of the boiler, I can feel the middle pipe vibrate compared to the other two. I'm thinking this is the line to repipe... Any thoughts??

Thank you for any help!

Cheers,
Edmund

RESOLVED: I discovered that the middle pipe was leaking where it met the slab, so I cut it, put a stop, and voila! No leak :) Thank you for all the help everyone!!

Here's a brief video I made summarizing the problem and solution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UEjCwygSKo


Can I use joint compound over primer? So decided to redecorate a bedroom ourselves.
We removed wallpaper, scrubbed, sanded, cleaned, primed (Zinsser B-I-N White Multi-surface Matt Primer), skimmed (Make Good Plasterboard Jointing, filling & finishing compound) and one coat of primer/undercoat (Dulux Universal White Multi-surface Primer & undercoat). My issue is I have a few areas where I can see 'steps' from where I've skimmed, my fault for not sanding well enough in these areas.
Can I use joint compound again and skim on top of the primer/undercoat OR should I be doing something else? Please help. Go easy on me, I'm a rookie :) learning as I go. Thanks.

Yes you can overcoat the primer with more joint compound.
If you have some left just use that, but if you need to purchase more consider topping mud.
Topping mud is made for feathering places like you have and it sands just a bit easier.
In either case standard joint compound or topping mud will work on a primed surface.
Remember to prime the freshly mudded areas or it will absorb the paint and look different.


New GFCI breaker keeps tripping I have an older home without GFCI outlets in the bathrooms. The electrical boxes are too small to fit a GFCI outlet. I was hoping to change the breaker in the electrical panel to a GFCI breaker but when I do it keeps tripping. My tester indicates that all of the outlets are properly grounded and the regular breaker never tripped. Could the surge protector on my computer be causing this problem or what else should I investigate without hiring an electrician to start tearing apart my wiring?

Mixed Up Neutrals
GFCI does not, despite the name, care about the ground wire. In fact, GFCI can be used in certain circumstances where there is no functioning ground wire in order to improve safety.
GFCI is all about making sure that the amount of current on the hot wire(s) + neutral matches. Anything that doesn't match is current leaking "to ground", which can be "through a person and deadly."
Regular circuit breakers do not do anything with neutral. They don't even check to see if there is way too much current on neutral, the way they do for the hot wires. There are all kinds of ways that neutral can be messed up that won't trip a regular circuit breaker but will trip a GFCI.
In addition, older houses often have a lot of stuff on a single circuit - e.g., lights, receptacles, fans, etc. for multiple rooms. Any problem in any part of the circuit can cause a GFCI trip.
Actually, there is one place where "ground" can mess up a GFCI: If a device uses ground instead of neutral (oops, no neutral here, ground "works" so I'll use that instead...) then GFCI is also guaranteed to trip.
The NEC currently requires bathroom receptacles to be on a bathroom-only circuit, but that has not always been the case, and people break the rule anyway. So this becomes a detective job:

Figure out every single device (light, receptacle, fan, etc.) on this circuit.
Open up each box in the circuit and look for neutrals mixed together with other circuit neutrals (e.g., two circuits in one box with all the neutrals together), neutral (white) wires connected to ground (green, bare or a screw into a metal box) or ground wires connected to neutral or other "strange" things.
If you can't find something obvious, start disconnecting things (take pictures and label every wire so you can put everything back together again) and see whether the GFCI problems go away. Once the problems go away, fix that specific problem (post another question here if you need help) and put everything else back together.