What could be causing the grinding noise in my washing machine? Recently my Kenmore Series 80 washing machine has developed a grinding noise, which occurs just as the washing machine starts doing a spin out to remove the water. It last maybe 3 seconds, and then after that normal sounds of the water being emptied is all I hear. Last year I replaced the motor coupling, but am wondering if that might be what it is? Or what else might cause that problem?

You don't have a lot of info there.  But it sounds like your bolt that is holding your main bearing for the main drum is coming loose.  If it is a front load this is really easy to get to.  Take off the back and you should see a large bearing.  I had to replace mine for the same reason.  It is held by one screw and has teeth that make the main drum spin.  If the teeth are still in ok condition - which it just depends on how much you used it with that noise - then you just need to put the bolt all the way back in with blue loctite.  If it isn't glued in it will works its way out quickly.


Door Bell transformer box My door bell transformer is on an outside wall in my ceiling. I want to know if I can put the whole thing with the wire behind the drywall?  Concerned about it over heating.

That bell transformer mounts on a mains power electrical box. The electrical code requires that all electrical boxes remain accessible and not be enclosed. This means that you will also not be able to cover over the box + transformer behind drywall.

You may have the option to move the bell transformer to a completely different location and re-run the low voltage wires to the doorbell. Then you could just insulate the wire ends in the box and cover this existing electrical box with blank cover which you then paint to a color to match the wall there by the ceiling. The result would be much less of an eyesore than the transformer hanging there with it's exposed wires.


Do I have emergency heat? Why is my compressor making crazy noises? We have hit record low temps. High temps only reaching 17 for several days. I have recently installed a nest thermostat, about a month prior to the cold snap, and everything is working fine. I noticed the other day the outside compressor making a very loud noise, like a huge air compressor/ jackhammer. I turned off the heat pump as quickly as I could. I sent the video to the hvac guy and he said to turn it to emergency heat. There is no setting for emergency heat only aux heat.Could it be the temp outside is just too cold? Could the nest thermostat cause the sound?
Here is a picture of how the previous thermostat was wired.

here is a pic of how the nest is wired.

When it gets extremely cold outside air to air heat pumps don't work very well.

That is why they are usually set up with auxiliary resistive heating coils. Referring to it as "emergency" heat is a little over the top since you will probably have to use it often in the deep winter.

Just turn the auxiliay heeting on and see if your compressor quiets down.


Water Damage Between Paint and Wall My mini split had filled the drip pan and was not draining properly. When the wall was painted some of the paint had gotten onto the mini split and it seems like it had created a channel so that when it overflows the water would travel between the wall and the paint. You can see from the picture it traveled a pretty good distance.

Now that the leak has been fixed I was wondering how do I repair the damaged paint? Do I need to remove it and repaint the wall?

Whether or not your theory about the path of the water is correct, you will need to remove any unsound material (i.e. loose paint, wallboard paper, wallboard material, plaster itself). There is no way to "re-bond" the damaged area(s).

I would start with a scraper and start taking out damage until there is nothing left but firm material. It is very likely that you will need to do some wall patching along with repainting...


Glass cooktop stove with scratches on it Yesterday my exhaust hood broke (short circuit, I guess) and all of the plastic melted on top of the stove... I got it cleaned and the exhaust hood removed.

Now my stove has scratches on the glass (caused by heating or cleaning, I don't know) and I was wondering if it has to be replaced entirely or they wouldn't cause any problems when the stove is being used.

Here's an image of the scratches

The photo looks like the glass is pitted rather than scratched.  They don't look to be very deep but it could have weakened the glass enough for it to crack when you turn the heat on.  The worst thing that will happen when you turn on the heat is the glass will crack.  In that case you will need to replace the glass for sure. Just be careful that when you are cleaning the stove top you don't cut yourself if the pits are sharp.


Electrical outlets go dark and then come back on their own I have two outlets on a circuit and a sprinkler controller that went dark a couple days ago unexpectedly.  Nothing I know of changed in the house that should have affected the circuit.
I checked the breakers and none were blown and I reset them anyway just to be sure.  I used a contactless tester to check each outlet, even taking off the plate and checking against the black/hot wire directly.
The outlets are about 20 feet apart.  One is outside and therefore on a GFCI.  The sprinkler is direct wired behind the GFCI (so not in series) so I know the GFCI was not the cause.
I do not know what else is on this breaker. We had solar installed 5 years ago and they did a shit job relabeling the new breaker box they put in. I know now I need to remap it.  My point being is that it’s possible more outlets are on the circuit that were not affected, though I don’t know at the moment.
Anyway, today I went back to the outside outlet as I was going to take it apart and see if I could find anything—literally anything, and noticed before I got a screwdriver on it that all the power was back on.  I did nothing.
Does anyone have any idea what could cause this?

This is a fairly common failure usually seen when backstabs are used. Backstabs are the push in connectors when under heavy load they can open up and sometimes later they reconnect.
This also happens with loose wires in wire nuts and even broken wires.
The loose connection heats up moves apart and the circuit is dead , after cooling down or some vibration it reconnects until a load is on the circuit.
If you want to find the source of the failure but a plug in heater or hair dryer on it and turn it on this will usually open the circuit.
Why the circuit is not complete test each receptacle or device until you find the last working one or first non working one in that circuit. The problem will be at one of those 2 places 98% of the time. If you pull the receptacle out and don’t find a problem and turn the power back on and it works if it was back stabbed that is usually the bad one and you need to replace the receptacle or move the wires to the screws.


How do I test a 220v tanning bed without an outlet? I have been blessed with a tanning bed that runs on 220 plug, which I do not have in my home. Before I pay someone to put a 220 outlet into my home, I wanted to know if there is any way I can test the tanning bed first to see if it works first?

One option, if you truly don't have any 220v outlets in your home, is to take it to a local RV park/campground.

Most campgrounds have multiple outlet types and are easily accessed by a truck so I think this could be a great way to test an electric appliance before moving it into your home. You'll need a site with a 50 amp hookup. I'd try public campgrounds before private ones.


Availability of using 2 pole circuit breaker instead of 4 pole circuit breaker I have a lot of 2 pole circuit breakers, can i use 2 of them instead of one 4 pole circuit breaker (3 phase AC)? And what will happen if one phase has a problem, will the 2 circuit breaker trip or only one?

No you cannot. It's a requirement that if a breaker senses an overload or short circuit, that it open ALL poles, so multi-pole breakers are made with what is called a "common trip", meaning all poles open at the same time. By using 2 x 2-pole breakers, you could have a situation where only one of them trips, leaving the other energized. that is extremely dangerous.

And for those in North America who may be reading this, there are some systems elsewhere in the world where the Neutral must go through a breaker, hence a 4 pole breaker (we don't do that here).


Why is the mouse eating the cabinet shelves only I have a mouse that is getting in some way and only eats the edge of my freshly painted cabinet shelves.  There are lots of food in there that they usually eat like stuffing, bread crumbs etc, but they don’t bother any of the food only eats the outer edge of my cabinet shelf.

I asked my cat about this and she says she knows how mice operate and doesn't even need to see pictures of the damaged cabinets.
She says no doubt the mouse is entering the cabinet in a shelf that has no food on it, and is trying to chew his way from that shelf to another, where the stuffing, bread crumbs, etc. are stored.
If you leave the cabinet doors open overnight, the mouse will leave your shelves alone and confine his depredations to more traditional fare.
Of course, cats are supremely arrogant and often present mere guesses as qualified opinion, so she could be wrong.


Avoiding Satin Paint Streaks with Roller I have a wall that is 8 feet tall and about 20 feet wide with a strip of chair rail that runs the length of the wall. I used Sherwin Williams satin white paint. I gave the wall a light sanding with fine sand paper before I painted. I cut in the top, bottom, and the chair rail with a brush. Then rolled on the paint with a Purdy roller. The wall is now full of streaks (even after a second coat). I used the "W" technique (always worked fine for flat paint). I plan to repaint it again with the same paint and hopefully do better. I am reading to roll top to bottom from some sources while others say the "W" technique. What is the best way to avoid streaking with satin paint?

By streaking in satin paint I assume you mean flashing. Flashing is when you can see differences in sheen at certain light angles that looks like you just went over some areas with wet paint and other parts look dryer.  It's more noticeable with higher sheen paints and oblique lighting like you might find from a nearby window on an adjacent wall. Does that sound like what you mean by streaks?

Flashing was something I always had a problem with. One of the things that leads to flashing is I believe an uneven coat. When I keep the roller consistently loaded I don't get flashing.

The W technique never worked for me and I don't think I've seen a professional painter roll on paint that way. What I've always seen them do is roll up and down the wall just the width of the roller. Then reloading and doing the next strip.

What I do is load the roller, roll off the excess in the pan, start in the middle of the wall, roll up, then down only 3 or 4 times. Reload, roll of excess, overlap the next section a bit. When I'm done rolling the next stripe I will roll back over the previous area slightly to even out any roller marks. Also I stopped trying to squeeze the most I can out of the roller when I'm almost done painting and I'm almost out of paint and too lazy to deal with opening another can. Keeping a consistent level of paint on the roller, not pressing it too hard and just letting the paint do the work has helped a lot.

If you move down the wall and notice you may have missed a spot on an earlier stripe, just leave it. Touch it up after it has dried enough for the next coat.

I also have one of those Wagner power rollers that pumps paint into the roller which makes it easy to keep the roller consistently full of paint. When I use that I've never had flashing issues.

Lately I've started using Benjamin Moore Aura which is really good when it comes to flashing. I wasn't sure if it was just the paint or my technique until a few months ago when I had to do some painting with a non Aura eggshell finish paint and I didn't get any flashing even though I did it fairly rushed using a roller and tray. The other paint is a good paint but I've had trouble with flashing in the past. Especially on ceilings.


What key do I need for this valve? This is the drain valve for the Megaflow immersion heater tank. What key do I need for it? It is about 7mm square, which is bigger than a radiator key. Also, which is this type of valve called?

You are looking for an "outdoor spigot key" or a "sillcock key".  Googling those terms returns several options, including a 4-way "universal" chuck from Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware and more.

Most options seem to be $5-10 USD.


fridge warm and freezer cold My fridge is warm and my freezer is really cold and freezing things a lot. The things in the fridge are soft or bad. Why will this be happening?

Normally, the freezer is where the "cooling" coils are, heat is exchanged with the refrigerator compartment through interconnecting vents (sometimes fans assist with air movement). The vent ports are often adjustable.

Sometimes these vent ports get iced up, this is a very common cause for the description of your problem. Check out this video.


Scratched Quartz Countertop When I was installing a quartz countertop, i had it upside down so I could mount the sink to it.  When I flipped it over, there was a small scratch in it (the quartz was brand new).  I assume there was a screw or something protruding from the cabinet underneath it.  I have seen you can use super glue technique to mask the scratch, but I was hoping there would be something else that would work better.

Do you have any adhesive/sealant left from the install you could fill it with?

Mine came with color matched adhesive for the back splash pieces.


How to glue PVC wall tiles to old mastic? There is a small section of poured concrete wall in the stairwell of our basement that had vinyl tiles glued to it with tar-like black mastic in the 1960s (already tested, neither contain asbestos).

I'd like to install Dumawall PVC wall panels over it.  Trying to remove the mastic is not a very enticing option.  Will Liquid Nails or something similar adhere to the old mastic?  Thought about priming it first with something like Zinsser Bulls Eye but fear that it won't adhere well or will chemically react with the mastic and create a gooey mess.

The Dumawall panels click together and will also be framed with an overlapping wood trim that will help hold things together but still require an adhesive.

Ran a test with a sample size square of Dumawall and some Loctite Heavy Duty Power Grab adhesive that I had on hand and it seems to hold just fine.  Certainly strong enough for this application.


removing old bolts from brick wall I've got a rusty old downpipe on my external brick wall that needs replacing, however the bolts on the brackets don't seem to have useful heads.

See photo:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0HOZkGABny5a01DdEZmUkNXS2c/preview

Any idea how I would get these out without ruining the wall?

Cut the heads off using a reciprocating saw. If you do it correctly, the bracket will prevent the blade from damaging the wall.


Should I refinish Spanish stucco in winter or wait until Spring? The outside if my house is Spanish stucco, painted over with what appears to be an oil-based paint. In certain areas the paint chipped off or looks loose (rain probably infiltrated) I live in NYC and it is winter time: is it better to remove the chipped paint and leave the stucco unpainted (bc the paint won't cure well when it is cold) or wait until spring to start the repairs? The damage is not great, there are a few areas and a few cracks.
Thanks for the help!

Widen the cracks to an inverted "V" shape and fill with a good quality latex caulk (do this on the next mild dry day). Water wont penetrate a sound stucco wall but the cracks may allow it to seep through. If the forecast calls for warm weather, 60 degrees or better, for 2 consecutive days than it is alright to do some painting. Wrap up early afternoon before it gets cold.


Reinforce chair stretchers with screws? I have a set of dining room chairs and a table. Some of the chairs have their stretchers come loose. They were just held in with glue. Two years ago, I re-glued them and applied pressure with clamps until they set. Now they've come loose and one side comes out every now and again. It's hazardous to sit on these chairs because they could collapse at any moment.

My first thought was to glue them up again. But, what do you woodworkers think about reinforcing the stretcher by installing a screw from the opposite side of the joint into the backside of the mortise and into the tenon? I'm sure it would require a pilot hole and a proper sizing of wood screw as to not split the wood.

In addition to @Tester101's advice about clean joints, you also need tight joints. In general, most glues need to be squeezed to a very thin layer to obtain maximum strength.

In many new chairs, there is cut in the end of the stretcher tenon. A very thin wooden wedge is coated with glue and is driven in that cut to expand the end of the tenon and lock it into the mortise.  This is sometimes a blind wedge (if the tenon does not go all the way through the leg) driven in by hitting the end of the mortise pocket. Sometimes the mortise goes through the leg and the wedge is driven from the outside and then trimmed flush. These techniques give the tight fit that enhances the glue bond and creates a better mechanical fit as well.

The problem with many stretcher repairs is that the mortise hole in the leg has been expanded by shifting and rocking of the tenon. A close fit then becomes impossible.

What you may have to do is tighten the fit of the tenon. You could build up the mortise by gluing in shims and then shaping them to make a tight fit with the stretcher. This is fairly hard to get exact unless you really build up the mortise and then redrill it with a drill press. It may be easier to insert the stretcher and then tighten the fit by driving in very thin hardwood shims alongside the stretcher tenon. The shims should also be coated with glue.

Screw attachments through the leg into the end of the tenon was a fairly common attachment technique on lower end furniture in the late 19th, early 20th century. It was also a fairly common repair technique. However, A screw in an end grain, especially one experiencing both expansion pressure (pulling straight out) and lateral shift is a fairly weak connection. But if other techniques fail or are too hard, it might hold for a while (maybe even a decade or three).


What are Filament Style LEDs and how do they work? I've been seeing lots of references lately to filament style LED bulbs. These seem to look exactly like traditional bulbs in that they have filaments. Are these any good and how do they work?

This is not a new technology, but simply a new manufacturing process.  They are "normal" LED's but each "filament" is a "long and skinny" arrangement of several small LED's in series.  Each individual LED within the filament puts out much less light than a typical larger LED, but they add together to make more light.

It is a nifty new way to package LED's.  Can look really nice when used well.  The individual filaments are available on eBay nowadays, and several bulb manufacturers have started working on making "bulbs" that use these filaments in various ways.

There are some negatives to be aware of.  Since each filament is a series array of many small LED's, the filament will die completely once any one of the many LED's in the filament goes bad.  So an expected failure mode with these would be to see a bulb that has several filaments, and one or more of them would be "burned out".  No doubt manufacturing advances over time will make this less prevalent.

"Are these any good?"  They have some benefits and drawbacks.  Biggest drawback is that they are new, and have not undergone the same set of engineering improvements that other LED bulbs have now gone through.  I would describe them more as "promising" and "interesting" rather than "good".


uk wall socket switching off and back on again I've got an extension lead coming off of a socket that powers a washing machine and a dryer. Sometimes, possibly when they're both on at the same time, the power to the extension goes off. What's weird is that a few minutes later the power comes back again, so nothing's tripped. This socket lives on a spur that comes directly off of the main fuse board. Everything is fine when plugged into a different socket.

Any ideas what's up? Thanks

It looks like your cord have a self-healing over-current protection, your washing machine and dryer may exceed the maximum load your cord may hold so the protection kicks in, then it cools off re-establishing the connection and so on.

Another issue may be a loose contact in your outlet or in your fuse-box.


Gating access to large corridor I would like control access to a "corridor" as shown here:

Photo shows front side of corridor, back side is similar.  The corridor is slightly over 2 cars wide.  This is a commercial building and customer vehicles must occasionally traverse the corridor to gain access to second building on the other side of the corridor.  The gating mechanism should be as effective as a garage door / fence to keep out cars / people / dogs.

I must decide on a gating mechanism:

Garage-door type gate
Fence style
Other??

The goal is to eventually automate and keep out unauthorized vehicles / people from traversing.  To constrain the problem, I can not consider a guard, or expensive ($3K or more) ideas.

Questions

Can a custom garage door be sized to fit the corridor?
Would the garage door be more reliable \ simpler to maintain than a sliding fence?
Have I missed any other cost-effective \ practical \ modern gating mechanism possibilities?

Any experience gained from lessons-learned / pitfalls to avoid are appreciated

If you plan on automating it, you should go with a garage door. Standard sizes would be 10', 12', 14', 16' wide by 7' or 8' high.  The sides and top can be framed in with 2x6es and covered in white PVC board to make up any size difference.


How to cut pipe squarely using an angle grinder I am trying to build a simple bench using wood and steel for the frame. The frame is made of square steel tube (25 mm, 1.5 mm wall thickness) which has to be cut to length. I have recently purchased an angle grinder (meaning I am a complete beginner with it) and using a cutting disk was able to easily cut through the tube. However, although the cross cut was straight, the cut in the vertical direction always seemed to lean outwards. I removed the excess material using a grinding disk (fortunately the cut had excess material).

Is this the typical way of using an angle grinder to make cuts? Am I doing something wrong? And how do I get more precise cuts?

What you're describing is just inexperienced workmanship.  You did a guillotine cut, like you would saw through a piece of wood.

A better plan would be to use masking tape wrapped around it to designate the cut point, then cut through each face individually.


Is it okay to insulate a basement wall when an interior french drain is installed? As I mentioned earlier, I've got some extensive repairs to make to my house following water damage from some improperly installed siding.

One of the things I discovered when I pulled the wet drywall off was that the cinderblock portion of my basement wall was not insulated. There were furring strips and nothing else. It's a split-level house, so the basement wall is half cinderblock below grade and then wood frame above grade.

There is an interior french drain that runs back to a sump pump in the basement, and there is flashing where the cement drain cover meets the wall. I'm assuming this is to allow any water that makes it to the inside side of the wall to run down the face of the wall, hit the flashing, and then enter the drain.

We bought the house with the basement finished, and for four years never noticed any water problems with any sections of the drywall. I don't think the water problem was with water coming down the walls, I think it was coming up from under the slab (the home inspector had stated that was the primary point of the french drain - to relieve water pressure under the house and not against the house.)

Now that I'm in a situation where I have to gut and re-finish the basement, is it okay to use foam insulation over the cinderblock wall? Or am I setting myself up to grow mold? Does the foam get taped to the top of the cinderblock or do I leave it open?

:EDIT:

Here's a picture of what I'd like to do, if you could imagine the cinderblock wall only extending halfway up and then a sill plate and wood framing the rest of the height.

Just noticed this question was never answered, but I did wind up closing everything up later that year and never had any issues. I sold the house earlier this summer (2020).
I figured that, if rigid foam insulation was acceptable, then any kind of moisture barrier would be, too. The rough texture of the cinder blocks and mortar joints would allow for at least some air movement, and worst-case, any mold that might happen to form would be trapped behind the moisture barrier.
So I covered the wall in the thickest plastic sheeting I could buy. I stapled it to the sill plate at the top to keep it in place, then tucked the bottom edge into the flashing for the interior French drain. Any water that comes through the brick wall now hits the backside of the plastic sheeting and runs into the interior French drain.
Once that was done, everything else was generally finished as pictured in my question. I used pressure treated lumber, ripped it into furring strips, used concrete anchors to attach them to the wall, removed the vapor barrier from the fiberglass insulation (to allow the wall cavity to breathe into the room, because the plastic sheeting is a vapor barrier to the exterior, insulated the cavities, then drywalled over everything.
I did everything on the up-and-up so, while I'd bet someone has something to say with how this was done, it passed framing, insulation, electrical, and finish inspections, and the house passed the home inspection when I sold it.


Is there a benefit to cutting a 2x4 in two passes of a mitre saw? So I was just watching Holmes on Homes, and they were showing a quick close-up of cutting a 2x4, making two passes, cutting the top half first, then finishing it off:

I've never seen (or at least noticed) anyone do it this way before, nor can I find any info on it. I usually just cut straight down, or go across the whole board in one pass. Is there some benefit to doing it this way? What's the "proper" way to cut through dimensional lumber?

I watched the vid on Utube, very interesting. I don't use a slide chop saw for 2X4's (I use a 12" fixed) but that technique looks good to me. I think the reason is that taking two shallow passes is just as fast and doesn't load down the saw as much as a single pass. Since the angle of contact using a slide saw is much different than a fixed I can see why the double pass is effective. Leave it to Mike Holmes to find a better way to do most anything!


How can I insulate my attic in southern California? I live in Southern California (San Bernardino county), and I'd like to add insulation in my attic.

cathedral ceiling; 1/2 of entire roof has no attic space how do i insulate this space? the other 1/2 traditional attic space (bedrooms above this space) except there are no soffit or ventilation at the fascia, the only ventilation is at the gables (2) at each end of the house and 1 power attic fan. the only insulation i have in the attic is blown insulation about 15 inches high, how do properly insulate this attic space

If it was originally built correctly, the cathedral sections should already be adequately insulated...  There is actually a vapor permeable membrane that is used between the decorative side you see indoors and the functional side your roofing is attached to.  While this insulation is relatively thin, it serves the purpose as an air-tight barrier.  The rest of the R-value (in essence) of this style of ceiling is known as thermal mass, where thicker wood or material is used to prevent temperature fluctuations.  For some references to answer your questions in more detail see:  http://www.applegateinsulation.com/Product-Info/Technical-Pages/249234.aspx or https://web.archive.org/web/20120629164116/http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11430


Is there an issue using a stainless steel bolt with a hot-dip galvanized nut and washer? Question says it all. Will there be a problem  using a stainless steel bolt with a hot-dip galvanized nut and washer? This will not be a load-bearing application, will be exposed to outdoor conditions (snow, rain, etc.).

Depending upon the thread cut, it may be a sloppy fit even if the threads per inch, and diameter are the same. I believe it is  galvanized after the threads are cut, therefore the threads might be cut deeper before the galvanization. Dissimilar metals don't often get along, but if it is a non-critical application and the nut is not a sloppy fit, you should be okay.


Would untreated timber develop issues after being left out in rain for 2 weeks? I ordered a log cabin that came untreated. I'm almost done building my log cabin now but it's been soaking in the rain for the past 2-3 weeks now. How bad can this turn out in the future? Is there anything I can do now to fix any potential issues? I've been looking at the Roxil Wood Preserver. Would something like that help?

Were the logs kiln dried before you started? Even if they were they'll still be almost as dry inside as when they were delivered. How much time did they spend in the rain at the factory and on the truck on their way to your place? Sure, they'll have picked up some moisture over the last couple of weeks, but the same will happen when it rains 10 years from now. Yes, you'll have some sealers on them by then, but wood will absorb moisture from the atmosphere - it's almost impossible to prevent it. If you're really concerned, go pick up a moisture meter and see where they are currently. Contact the kit vendor with the current moisture readings to be sure.
Since you're "almost done" the logs have been built into walls, etc, so they're not "soaking" in the rain, it's shedding off due to gravity. Even the bottom one should be on its foundation, not soaking in the mud. Honestly, I'd be more concerned about any plywood/OSB sub-floor that's sitting horizontally collecting water than I would be about the log walls where the water can run off very easily.
One hopes you'll get some nice weather soon. Let everything dry out according to the instructions on whatever sealer/stain/whatever you're coating them with and you should be good to go.


Water around furnace: culprit? Problem:

After heavy rain, water pools around our basement furnace. After climbing onto the roof, I found a mysterious (plumbing?) vent.

This post seemed relevant, but 0.5 gallons comes in after a good rain. It seems more than just a flashing issue.

There are 2 such vents on the roof, in addition to the original chimney.

Question

Would putting some sort of cap on top of the vent fix this?
What would such a cap be called?

This looks like a newer “vent “ & exhaust, I haven’t seen one quite like that but it looks like a coaxial vent & air supply for a closed system. I wonder if it is rain or a plugged condensate drain that is the problem because that small area would require much more rain to provide what I think you reported even at biblical proportions, I don’t think it has rained that much in our life times. So will a cap help , maybe but probably not. A hvac pro can probably find a problem in short order but I don’t think it could be rain.


How do I get the glass cover off of a shower light? I have a recessed shower light in my shower with a burned out light bulb that needs to be changed. The glass cover screws into the metal flashing and is sealed with a cork gasket.

However, I cannot turn or twist it off. I have tried to pull the flashing off, but I do not want to damage it. It looks like it may be secured from the inside and accessible when the glass cover is off.

I would greatly appreciate any ideas or helpful ideas to remove this. I have also tried using a rubber mat for extra grip, but that wasn't enough either.

Its been painted, and badly at that, which is going to make everything stick together. Get a utility knife and score around the edge of the flashing, a.k.a the baffle, and see if it will come off after that. Modern day recessed light baffles are held in place by three metal tabs that push on the side of the can. They are like springs. When I take my down to replace the bulb it feels like I"m going to pull the whole thing out of the ceiling. The thing has a death grip on the can. Could be similar with yours, in which case the flashing will pull straight down. On my cans I had to use a metal L shaped dental pick to get under the lip of the can so I could get my fingers under it and start pulling.


Type of insulation between exhaust flue and chimney flue? We converted a wood stove to a propane fireplace. It's a direct vent but we're only using the exhaust insert. The intake air will come from the interior.

Anyways, as such, we have a gap around the new flue insert and the flue. What kind of insulation can I use to plug up that gap at the bottom to prevent cold air from pouring down in the winter?

Mineral or rock wool is what it is called, I believe Roxul is a brand of that. Check its properties to make sure it can handle that kind of heat. It is approved for firestopping in framing of homes.

Here is a video of it's benefits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rbRYs0XEAM


Is this Fafco valve actuator actually a Jandy? My pool's solar panel valve actuator is not working any more. The temperature panel lights up but the valve seems broken. It doesn't move and I can't manually adjust the handle. I bought the house a couple of years ago after it was foreclosed on. I don't have any info on what was installed by the previous owner but the housing says "Fafco" on the top and "Jandy Valve" on the handle. I can't find any valve actuators made by "Fafco" online and nothing comes up for what appears to be the model number on the side.... Can I replace it with the Jandy 2444 valve actuator? They look exactly the same from the pictures I've seen.

This is what I've got...

And this is what I am looking to replace it with...
http://poolandspasupply.com/jandy-4424-jva-2444-aqualink-valve-actuator.html

If you can't manually operate the handle, the actuator might not be at fault - the actual valve might be jammed (or the actuator might be jammed, keeping you from operating the valve by hand, I guess.)

In any case, you should probably take the actuator off and verify if the valve can be operated by hand without it in place - if not, the new one won't have much joy either.


Why is my toilet tank filling too slowly? The inside of my toilet tank was just replaced. For some reason after I flush, the tank refills much slower than before. It looks like the person who installed it put the overfill pipe in a different direction than the picture shows.

Can this make a difference? Should the refill hose be inside the refill pipe?

With a new fill valve, the slower filling could be a result of either:

a different fill valve itself
blockage in or a failing cutoff valve outside the toilet
debris in the fill valve from not purging water through the valve during the install

New styles may fill slower to reduce the effect of large pressure swings when flushing the toilet (no more screaming from the shower after every flush). If this is your problem, then it's "working as designed."

When operating any cutoff valve, there's always the possibility that it will fail, particularly with the old gate valves. Many have been moving to the quarter turn ball valves for the shutoffs within the home due to their increased reliability.

The most likely cause of a slow fill is not completely purging the fill valve during installation. After all the internals have been connected, there is usually a step to open the top of the fill valve with the water turned off. On one of the more common fill valve styles, this requires the float to the lifted up while pressing down on the top of the fill valve and then give it a quarter turn like you would a medicine bottle. With the cap off, you clean and set aside any small parts, put a cup over top of the fill valve, and turn on the water supply for 15 seconds. The cup is to keep the geyser from shooting all over the bathroom and stay inside the toilet. You then reassemble the valve with the above procedure in reverse.

For the overfill pipe, the only position inside the toilet that matters for this is the height. It needs to be below any openings inside the toilet tank (e.g. a gap in the back or an opening for the flush handle), and then you adjust the float to stop below the overflow. I tend to give myself between 1/2" to a 1" margin of safety for each of these heights. Then the refill hose goes into the overflow tube. The fill valve sends water two directions, most out of it's base into the tank, and the rest out the refill tube to refill the toilet bowl itself. If you remove this refill hose, the bowl will not refill and you'd get sewer gasses coming out the toilet when the water level drops the slightest bit.


Suitable surface to cover old harvest table for use as desk I use an old harvest table as a desk. Most of the time it doesn't matter that its surface consists of four fairly rough planks because I use a keyboard and a trackball. I seldom use a pen. Still it would be nice to improve the appearance of this thing.

It would be nice if it had a resilient surface softer than high-carbon steel and harder than balsa wood.

Is there something that I can buy as a sheet that glues to wood? I do occasionally scribble notes on paper with a ballpoint. Is there some material that stands up to that?

You can buy plastic deskmats. For example, I have some that are about 2-foot by three-foot. These are suitable for writing on unless the underlying surface is extremely uneven. The old-fashioned alternative was leather or blotting paper (in a "desk-blotter").

Otherwise I'd use a sheet of attractive wood of some kind, planed flat and edge-jointed to whatever size seems appropriate. Finished to taste (e.g. varnish). You'd still cover it for writing.

The cheapest is a pad of paper (e.g. 50 A4/Letter sheets with a cardboard back).


Code compliance - how do I pass EMT conduit through an interior wall? I live in Fairfax, Virginia.  I need to know how to pass 1/2 inch EMT conduit through an interior wall while complying with code.  In more detail, I have a subpanel in an attached garage.  From that subpanel, I plan on adding three circuits -- two circuits for outlets inside the garage, and one circuit for an outdoor outlet.  All are being done with surface mounted outlets and surface mounted 1/2 inch EMT conduit, using THHN wire.  For the outdoor outlet, I plan on running the EMT conduit to the back wall of the garage, and then through the garage back wall into an adjoining storage closet.  After another about six feet of EMT conduit in the closet, I will transition the THHN wire to a short length (couple inches) of outdoor Romex in an interior junction box before penetrating the exterior wall to mount the exterior outlet.  The storage closet has doors that open only to outside of the house, it is not a closet inside the house.  What are my options to pass the conduit through that interior wall?

There is no magic here

Conduits can simply go through drywall at will, as they're legal to use for both exposed and concealed applications.  If this were a penetration of the house-garage fire barrier, I would firestop it with an appropriate caulking product for the application, but since it's not, simply jabbing the conduit through a saw-cut hole in the drywall will do the trick.  Don't forget to double-check to make sure you aren't about to try to run the EMT through something other than drywall though!


What happens when you accidently connect a neutral wire with a hot wire with a screw? So i am worried about a fire hazard.  My hot and neutral wire are packed together into a metal conduit.  If there was a screw that accidentally gets screwed into the conduit and connects the hot and neutral wires together, what would happen?

Normally if the proper breaker or fuse was used it would trip the breaker or blow the fuse. Normally the conduit would contain all the damage. Less commonly the fast arc in the pipe will vaporize enough copper that it will clear the fault before the breaker trips.
The wire could be very hard to pull out until the screw is removed, or if the wire is blown clear you can use the wire length to determine where the pipe was damaged.
The damaged piece of conduit should be replaced because the screw penetration will leave a sharp point in the conduit that will tear the insulation on new wire.


Insulation board for my unfinish garage ceiling I live in central Florida.  My single garage is concrete block, with unfinished ceiling, just rafters and a ridge vent with new shingles on the roof. Is there an inexpensive insulating sheet that I can tack up to the cross members (ceiling joists) so I can run a 8,000 btu portable a/c just to cool the inside air from 90deg. to 75?
I thought a 1/2 in foam board with foil side facing up to roof.  Will that be ok?  will it cause moisture to build up in what is then an attic space? Plain drywall has negligible R-value and is heavy to install.

Really any insulation will do enough to make your air conditioner do the job. Obviously the more the better, but only to a point. I'd guess that anything more than about R-15 won't improve efficiency much given the small temperature differential. The key is to reduce overall conditioned space volume and prevent mixing with outdoor air. If you use foil-faced I might install it foil-up, since its purpose is to reflect radiant heat.

Your garage should have vents down low to allow a full circulation path. Soffit vents are typical. without that there's very little movement in the attic, and moisture buildup could be a concern.


Wiring switch+outlet combo? The box used to have just a switch controlling an overhead light. It has 1 white and 1 black (Canadian wiring btw). I got a plug and switch combo and want the plug to always be on, with the switch only controlling the overhead light. How should the wiring look?

You can't. You don't have a constant hot conductor at the box. You have a switch loop:

You can probably pull a cable from another nearby box to power the outlet, depending on how the device is set up. You want to keep the circuits separate. If it only has one hot screw this won't work.


How to fix stuck pocket doors? I moved into a house with a number of sliding doors. NOT external, sliding glass doors like the sort that lead onto a porch. These are the wooden kind that separate rooms and slide into the interior of the wall when opened.

The problem is that several of these doors are essentially broken. They seem to have come off their track somehow and can barely be moved more than a foot in either direction. No amount of jarring and shaking the door has produced any effect in getting them back on the track properly.

Without tearing the entire wall open, is there any way to repair these doors so that they slide open and closed with silent ease, as they ought to?

This type of door is called a pocket door.

The first possibility is that the door has simply come off the track or the door has come unattached from the hanger that runs along the track.  In that case you can figure out which side of the track it should be hung from and pick the door up and rehang it or attempt to fish the hanger out of the pocket and reattach it to the top of the door.

The more likely case, in my experience, is that the hardware is broken and will have to be replaced.  Here is a good guide to replacing the hardware on a pocket door: http://www.ronhazelton.com/projects/how_to_repair_and_replace_a_pocket_door


How do i upgrade my wall sconces I am a DIYer here in St. Louis.

I am attempting to change the wall sconces in my 1920's home.

I want to replace these sconces with upgraded wall sconces ( Permo Vintage Industrial Wall Sconce Lighting Fixture to be exact).

I've removed the old sconces. I'm not down to the attached screenshots below.

Is this some type of hickey that i need to remove?

If not a hickey, exactly what is it?

There appears to be some sort of metal band with a screw in the middle. I'm not sure what it is

I also have Knob and Tube wiring (of course).
Basically, how do i attach my new sconces to these old skool features.  Thanks for your help in advance. - James

The first problem you need to address is the state of  the insulation on the existing wiring. It appears that there is little, if any insulation on the wire on the right as it enters the existing old school pancake box. That is an invitation to a short that risks blowing fuses/popping breakers (at best) and electrocution or conflagration (at worst). Can't see the condition of the other wire from the angle shown.

If you cannot get a good wrap of electrical tape over the exposed wires before progressing, you will need to rerun a new cable to the boxes.

Assuming you can solve the wiring issue, you need to mount either the new fixture or a mounting strap to the old box. If there are screw holes in the box edge that align with the mounting holes in the new fixture (doubtful from the pictures), you may be able to screw on the new fixture directly. This assumes that the center stud/hickey does not stick out too far, and that you can get the mounting screws with the bare ends extending from the box to receive the cap nuts for the fixture.

If the holes do not line up, you need to use a mounting strap on the box, then attach the fixture on the strap. It is likely that the fixture comes with a strap that might work, or you can find universal straps that have multiple adjustments to fit most hole patterns.

If there are no mounting holes on the rim of the box, you may be able to use a center hole strap that can mount on the existing hickey. If all that fails, you will need a new box, and removing the old will further strain the insulation on the wiring.

Seriously think about replacing the knob and tube.  Even if you an cobble together a solution with existing wiring, the insulation on the old wiring is inevitably crumbling and you are waiting for an accident to happen.


Unistrut Spacing - Electrical Conduit When suspending electrical conduit from the ceiling in a warehouse (EMT or Rigid), that runs perpendicular across unistrut, how far apart are the unistrut allowed to be?

What type of conduit is allowed?  EMT or Rigid?

Support is required as specified for the conduit - unistrut does not make any difference in the required support spacing.

For EMT, the required support is within 3 feet of each termination, and a minimum of every 10 feet.

I'm not as familiar with the support requirements for rigid, it's too rich for my blood. Whatever they are, they are not influenced by the support being unistrut.


How to: Electrical Wiring Distance & Voltage Drop Electrical plan shows exterior receptacles on 4 sides of house. House is 250 linear feet.

Considering the voltage drop calculations here:
What is the maximum 12/2 wire length from a 20A breaker to a baseboard heater?

What is the best approach for wiring these 4 exterior receptacles on the same circuit? What about running a 6-2 gauge wire to the center attic in a junction-box, then branching from that using 10-2 to all 4 exterior receptacles? Will that meet NEC code if i drop it in conduit from lintel-level to receptacle box?

The drawing is cut off and we can't see most of the exterior receptacles, but it looks like they're mostly on the far side of the building from the panel (lower left and I really hope the panel isn't outside, that's asking for trouble).

Your building is EDIT: 54x58, that's 76' on diagonal, plus 10' twice to get to the attic; 96'.  That would be about 5.6% voltage drop at full 20A, or half that at 10A.  If you strictly follow the 3% voltage drop on max current rule, you can only get 51' out of 12AWG... but that's not the rule.  The actual rule is try to stay around 3% for the actual ampacity you expect to use, so for a 12A electric lawnmower you're a tick over 3% for a 96' run.   No big.

Seriously, one guy strictly following the 3% fake-rule was about to install 600kcmil for his 1600' run to a couple of 10-watt post lights.  I showed him how to do it with 14AWG.

Nothing says you must wire in a string all the way around the circumference of the building.  You can wire a separate homerun for each receptacle.  Or more likely, you can wire in a star configuration, or even more than one star.

For instance as you suggest, I would establish two "stars", one at the panel and one, about I don't know, the kitchen.  I'd take each receptacle to whichever "star" is nearest. In some cases that might end up being a home run to the panel.

If you have 2 or more homeruns, you can either make them separate circuits or the same circuit, up to you.

I know some places like the Philippines use 2 breakers per circuit, and panels get pretty crowded pretty fast.  You can get panels with as many as 84 spaces - panel spaces are cheap, buy LOTS of extra.  You can also do sub-panels - that might be a good idea given the size of the house.  If you had a sub-panel in, say, the laundry room, a lot of these concerns would go away.  You'd have to do a load calculation to see how large the subpanel should be, too large is not bad.  It can't exceed the size of the main breaker obviously.


Why have an off position for the heating dial on electric showers? So - some background. I'm fairly new to the concept of electric showers - showers that heat cold water themselves with internal heating elements. With my shower, I have two dials - one for temperature, and another for adjusting the "Eco" setting. This eco dial has three positions - I'm totally blind, so not sure how these are physically labeled. During testing, it appears that if I have my temperature setting on the highest value and do the same for the eco dial, the water is at its hottest. If I then keep the temperature at the same setting but turn the eco dial down, it appears that the shower will wait until the water cools down before it will then heat some more - and on its lowest setting (which I assume is off or similar), the water doesn't appear to get heated at all.

So - my question. If no heating is performed on water when the heating/eco dial is at its lowest value despite the temperature dial being on the highest setting, why have an "off" value for this dial? Is this effectively the same as simply turning the temperature dial down to its lowest value?

Note: this answer is based on my experiance in the UK, I do not know if this are the same in the rest of the world.

Traditionally the "temperature" control on an electic shower did not directly control temperature, instead it controlled flow rate. For a given input water temperature and heating power, a lower flow rate resulted in a higher temperature.

Nowadays nearly all electric showers have thermostats to prevent the output water becoming unexpected hot in limited water scenarios, but the control scheme in normal operation (not limited by input water) remains the same. You set a power control to select how much heating power (if any) you want, then use the main dial to control the trade-off between temperature and flow, or in the case of "cold" mode to control the flow.


How do I Reconnect Knob and Tube Wiring To A New Main BreakerBox How do I reconnect my old knob-and-tube wiring to a new box. My issue is my furnace will not come back on until the knob-and-tube wiring is connected to the new main breaker box. This is a temporary fix to a costly repair I cannot make until spring. But, I need heat now for the winter. So how do I reconnect the wires?

I agree with 3phase , the wiring in many old homes is still k&t , the junctions still require to be in a box , I was trained to use western union splices 7 turns minimum for both T taps and splices after wrapping they were soldered and this is still ok today , code states you can not use solder only the wrapping is the mechanical part. Since you are going from K&T to probably romex you may not have a box so you need a new box with insulated bushings for the wires to enter you will need a pair of knobs outside the box to anchor the wires through the insulators and into the box. I use shrink tubing But fiber insulation can be used then wire nut from the old to new and install the cover. This method will pass inspection as long as your AHJ allows , I did quite a few Over the years I only mentioned the turns because to meet historical accuracy that was required , wire nuts are better today since you are converting the panel.


How can I make my woodworking project square? I understand how one checks for square.  But, what do you do when it's not square?

I put together four boards to begin forming a cabinet.  I checked for square and nudged it into place.  Then I screwed the boards together (using pocket holes).  When I checked again, it was no longer square.  Now what?  There's no back board or cross piece to hold everything in place.

Having screwed it together, and as importantly made the holes for the screws, you may need to remake one or more pieces of this frame, or choose new locations for the screws.

In some cases, one can put a clap across a diagonal of a frame to draw it into square if it is not racked too badly. Then new parts of the frame can help to keep it all in the desired shape.

Clamp it up carefully BEFORE you put in those screws. Make sure that everything is in its proper place and stays that way. A large part of doing fine woodworking well is in how much care you take in the small stuff.


Using Larger Pipe than Water Inlet My house has a 1/2" underground copper pipe providing the water supply. I am not quite sure how long the run is back to the meter/utility supply, but it's likely ~75-100ft. I actually got the chance to measure the static pressure and the pressure at 2.5GPM flow (the showerhead is the only source of which I know the flow rate). The static pressure is 65psi, which drops to 56psi at 2.5GPM flow.

I will be redoing the plumbing soon, and I'm curious whether it's worth using 3/4" for the interior manifold plumbing. Similarly, downstream of the manifold, if the pressure drop is minimal, I plan on using 1/2" or 3/8".

Does it make sense to run any 3/4" pipes at all? After all, it seems a majority drop would occur in the long run of 1/2" pipe. My plumbing segments will all be less than 40ft total. Similarly, is there a guideline for acceptable pressure drop along a length of pipe?

And lastly, if I may, does the water pressure need to be higher than 0psig at a faucet or fixture?

EDIT: I know now that the underground run is just about 100ft. It actually lines up pretty well with tabulated values for head loss in 1/2" pipe at 60°F.

I would run the line to the manifold in 3/4" and then the branch circuits in 1/2" like you said.  The cost increase is minimal and as long as you have the room for the extra 1/4" of pipe width, you won't second guess yourself.  If you put in the 1/2" and they upsize you main in a year, you're going to wish you had installed the larger diameter.

Yes, you want more than 0 psi at the point of use.  Most faucet manufacturers will say you need ~30 psi minimum for proper operation of the fixture.


Should I insulate a garage when converting it to a workshop? I am wanting to convert my garage in to a workshop and i wanted to know how important it is to insulate the walls so i am never working in freezing or roasting conditions.

I am in the UK so our weather isn't usually extreme.

What suggestions on how, or if, i should insulate?

It is breezeblock constructed with brick on the outside. The door is a regular thin metal garage door.

To insulate or not to insulate, that is the question? That would depend on the amount of time you plan on using the room, how tolerant you are to the temperature changes, and what amount of money you would prefer to spend?    Insulating a much used room (especially a work space) is the best way to remain comfortable and focused while occupying it. Insulating your space will also allow you to spend less on the energy it takes to heat or cool it.    Insulating techniques are varied depending on your budget and the material that composes the room. Here in the States building codes are becoming more stringent regarding minimum R- values and were it can be placed. For instance, the IRC states roof  insulation (for rafters) must be a minimum of R-30 (for most N.A. climate zones).    Insulating a room can be as basic as adding weather-stripping to door bottoms and sealing electrical box gaps to the most involved upgrading windows to dual-glazing and adding another layer of attic insulation.    Most everyone would agree that no matter what type of insulation or how basic, in the long run your investment will save you money and increase your comfort-level in that particular room.


Testing TV aerial connection I have been putting in some TV aerial co-ax cable into my house (in the UK). Before I put the floor down, I would like to test it to make sure I've connected it well enough. Due to the routing required, I've bough TV co-ax cable, routed it, and then put on standard connections on to the wires. So it's all done by me, by hand, so it is open to issues.

I know having a TV aerial wire is a bit old school, but it has been requested, and its easier and tidier to do now rather than after all the decoration and so forth.

Is there any easy way to test this for signal integrity? So far my ideas have been continuity testing (which will only check DC connection, so might be too poor to give a good TV signal), connect aerial and TVs (which is cumbersome) or get hold of RF generator and receiver and perform a proper RF test (very expensive).

It's old but it's new again.  A lot of people here in the US are putting in antennas to receive broadcast television, getting rid of cable TV and watching what's available online, supplemented by local broadcasts.

A signal strength meter would be the right tool for the job, but it's an expensive tester for one time use.

Best thing to do would be to set up your antenna - even a temporary antenna - and connect a small TV directly to the antenna, and do a channel scan.  Then take the TV around to each outlet and repeat the channel scan, and compare the results.

(If there's at least temporary power in the home for the builders at this point you can use a long extension cord, if not maybe you can get your hands on a UPS battery backup.)

If you get all your channels at all your outlets, you should be in good shape.

Usually RF coax cabling either works fine or fails miserably, so most (but not all) faults are easy to find.


How can I pour a concrete pad with a circular hole in it? Essentially, I'd like to put down a concrete pad for a patio, but leave a couple of circular areas within that patio unpaved (for planting shrubs).

I'm familiar with the techniques for using dimensional lumber for angular concrete pads, and even using plywood for curved ones, but is there a clever trick or something for creating say a 3' diameter unpaved area within a concrete pad aside from trying to bend plywood planks into a circle?

Metal landscape edging (the kind that's held in with stakes) should work fairly well. You could either just leave it there or cover it in plastic and remove it after the concrete sets (personally, I'd leave it).


Why isn't shed insulation working as I expected? I insulated my 3x3.5 m metal shed with 55mm thick foil lined "space blanket". Foil inwards, of course, is, not facing the metal. The metal walls & roof was initially & thoroughly lined with Ametalin moisture barrier first.(4mm thick).

There is a gap under the only door allowing air in. There are no ceiling vents (yet).

On a nice cool ish sunny 22 degree day, the shed rises to 27 degrees. Previous night was 15 C. Shed was 17C at 11pm, the night before. This was disappointing. Why the poor thermal "lag"?

Floor is concrete with 19mm thick chipboard on top, so no heat source there!
So, I don't understand why with meticulous insulation, the shed temp rose 5 degrees above the ambient air temp, especially on a day that was only mildly warm.

In contrast the house remained 2 C below the ambient air temp. (I am unsure how else I can clarify this question).

Sorry, qtron. You really should've mentioned you were using this shed as a workshop or something & trying to cool it. I realize you might say "why would I have insulated it otherwise". We have no way of knowing unless you say, we see many weird actions taken by people. Cooling changes everything!

In that case, you have the foil of the adequate insulation facing the wrong way, it's currently retaining any heat that literally seeps inside. You do want it facing the metal to literally reflect heat back out as soon as it tries to enter, that's actually the specific purpose of the shiny side.

You do still want some minor venting & a small air-space between the insulation & the shed walls (just a few mm's), to let any heat out as quickly as possible. Venting could be a series of small holes drilled directly under any roof edge or lip that you might have & would only be for venting the insulation air-space & not the entire shed's volume. You may also have a roof ridge cap where the same could be done. If these areas or opportunities don't exist then you'll need to attach a roof vent box & wall grills.

As well, do definitely fill or cover that door gap, even with just a sweep type strip will make a big difference. Please explain the cooling unit if it's not a rolling portable or standard window type unit that's dumping heat & humidity directly to the outside & bringing in fresh air during the cooling process.


Installing a switch that requires a neutral connection in a double gang box with two single pole switches I am trying to install a switch that will replace a standard single pole switch that is in a 2 gang box like this.

This is the documentation that I have on the device.  I tried wiring it but I must have had it wired wrong since it gave me an error when power was applied to it.

OK, so I don't know why it didn't work the first time I tried this, maybe one of the wires was loose or something.  Anyway I connected the Black from the new switch to the hot black from the distribution box.  The green to bare copper, the white to the bundle of all the whites and the red to the other black that goes to the light.  For whatever reason it decided to work.


What type of 6ft fence should I get, that can take a lot of high winds? We need to replace our chain link fence with a 6ft fence because 2 of our dogs can jump over it.  We just don't know what type of fence can take a beating from the high winds we get due to the fact that our yard faces the west and there is a huge retention ditch behind us that they us as a field for sports when its not filled with water, so when it is a windy day, a bad thunderstorm, or a snow/ice storm we want our fence to be able to last a while.  We have lived in our house for 12 years and have seen my neighbor replace their wood fence 3 times and I notice that the wood starts to splinter fast. My other neighbor has the PVC fence for about 5 years and had to replace a couple of sections twice.  Also we have had to replace our storm screen door on the back door 3 times since we have lived here due to the winds blowing them off. Looking forward to hearing what you recommend.

How much is "a lot of high winds"? I have a classic cedar panel fence (now with pressure-treated posts; it was time to redo them all and PT lasts in ground contact better than cedar), and it has withstood a couple of microbursts and the like with little or no damage. It did lose one board from one panel and a couple of post caps and cap strips over the years (which I also had cleaned up as part of this redo), but not much more than that.

Use good materials (PT in ground, PT or a weather/insect-resistant wood like cedar above ground), set the posts properly, and a wood fence can be good for 20 years with only minor maintenance.


I need help fixing a chest freezer I have a GE chest freezer FCM11PHBWW.  It simply stopped working after having been moved to a new house.  It was not dropped or not turned on end.  It was simple moved.  It was then plugged into a live circuit and was dead.  I have tried other outlets, have traced all wires for continuity.  The compressor checks out OK with the meter.  I replaced the OPL and PTC since they were cheap. The only thing left was the thermostat and it is OK too.  The ONLY thing left is the LED ‘on’ light.

As far as schematics go I understand straight lines and can see what they connect to. Not a lot beyond that.

So this LED light does not have continuity. Inside it has an LED lamp and a resistor. It can’t get the freaking thing apart for fear of breaking it although I may have to.  A replacement one costs about $30.00!  That seems a bit exorbitant for little green light.  My thought is “to cost that much this thing must be pretty damn important”.  Could it be my problem?

No the led is not your problem!
An led will only show if there is voltage. Try putting a load on that outlet a volt meter may show good but plug in a curling iron and nothing. This happens with backstabbed receptacles all the time , sometimes a loose screw or wirenut . Try a load test and you may find the power goes way.


Install nylon straps in chair This is the chair. I’m also including where the plastic steps are held. I’ll be removing the plastic straps and installing 1” nylon straps.
How can I install these straps securely without having to drill additional holes?
I can cut the end of the nylon strap so it fits in the slot, but how do I secure it?

Do you know of this thing called YouTube ?
Here are just some of the many tutorials i found.
Vinyl strap video 1
Vinyl strap video
Cross strap
Webbing You could adapt it to a metal chair and pan head screws.
rbhat, i am available for hire, you can buy me a ticket to your tropical paradise and put me on retainer. I have excellent handyman and research skills.


Should shingles have bubbles in a new roof? I just had a roof repaired (shingles replaced) because of hail damage. As far as I can tell, everything looks good. Except for one section, there's what I would only describe as a large bubble.

Are bubbles normal on new shingles, in such a way they'll work themselves out? Here's a picture, though it might not be apparent.

There are other soft spots in the roof, but this is by far the largest.

UPDATE:

Thanks for responses. I got into the attic and this is what I found:

Uneven seam where the two pieces of plywood meet. Wood doesn't look damaged to me, though (not really a wood guy either!).

Bubbles in a roof like this are NOT normal. They indicate a problem underneath. Is it serious? Possibly. It will probably decrease the life of the roof.

The shingles will have been nailed down, so this is not a case of the shingles simply pulling loose. Especially if the roof is soft there, it seems this must be a case of the plywood underneath having gotten wet and as it dried out, then warping and bubbling up underneath. The plywood should have been replaced where there were problems.

Edit: After seeing the interior picture, it looks like there was some water contact there at some time. Is it still happening, or is this old, perhaps when you had the hail damage? I find it useful to use a moisture detector - Wagner Moisture meters. It is something I have for woodturning purposes, but it is useful to resolve problems like this. You may be able to rent one, since it hardly seems worth buying one for one use though.

If there is still moisture there, it is possible that water is still getting in, that the roofer made a mistake somewhere. Water can be insidious that way, getting in the tiniest of cracks.


Does it matter where my furnace condensate pump gets power from? The existing condensate pump for my furnace recently died.  It was hard-wired directly into the electrical panel of the furnace but I was able to disconnect it.  However, when looking for a new pump, all the models I found had a standard 115V wall plug.

I have plugged it in to a nearby outlet and the pump is working fine, but is this the best method?  Would it be better for me to cut off the wall plug and wire it directly into the furnace like the previous one was?

Are there any other connectors (not power)? If these are all connected up then I wouldn't have thought it matters.

The only possible thing I can think of is that if the condensate pump power is turned off and the furnace keeps running it could cause problems - but I assume that there are alarms/indicators for this (how did you know the original failed?).

It might look neater if you do use the furnace's electrical panel - assuming it delivers enough power of course.


Circuit still powered after switching off circuit breaker and light switch I was changing some outdoor lights. I had the circuit breaker off (which stopped the lights from working) and the switch off. I used a contactless circuit tester and a testing screwdriver which suggested there was no current.

When working on the live wire I felt a slight buzz - not strong enough to call it a shock - so I shorted it to ground with a screwdriver and there was a spark.  After that there is no more buzz from the wire and nothing tripped.

Given the circuit breaker is off how was it possible to get a very small shock from the live wire? Is it residual charge in appliances on the circuit discharging?  Is there anything one should do when working in this situation?

I would be looking at a multi wire branch circuit that was not handle tied OR possibly someplace the neutrals for 2 circuits got mixed up. Kind of the same thing but if the neutral was returning current from a different breaker you have turned off you could get a shocking experience, I have found both issues in the past and that is where I would be looking.


Turning two switched outlets into a half switched outlet when only 2 wire is used. I have power coming into a switch and then proceeding on to two outlets. Only 2 wire is used. Am I able to half switch one of the outlets if there is only 2 wire available?

No you won't be able to do this without a third wire since you need to be able to supply an unswitched hot to the outlet in addition to the switched .  You might want to look into some wireless remote options if pulling a new cable is out of the question.


Where is the Main Shutoff my Cutler-Hammer Breaker Box? Kind of confused where my main shutoff is. When I read and looked at breaker boxes for examples, most had a big shutoff right at the top. Where is the switch on mine? I'd like to remove a breaker, but I'd like to turn the whole box off. Any ideas?

What you have is called a split-buss panel.

Code allows up to six "main" breakers or disconnects. The top six double-pole spaces in your panel are all main disconnects. One (spaces 9/11) is the "lighting main" which shuts off the bottom half of the panel.

The lugs at the top of the panel are unfused lines coming from the meter.

As a side note, the single-pole breakers in the top half of your panel are technically a code violation since that caused you to have more than six disconnects to shut down all power.


How to fix this drywall job? The drywall guy installed drywall around a washer box and a gas box that is recessed into the wall.

The edges around the recessed boxes are not straight.

How does one go about fixing this so it looks nice?

Not the best workmanship I've ever seen, but most washer boxes like those have a trim piece with a flange that covers the drywall about an inch or so. Your drywaller probably knew this and didn't work hard to do neat work in an area he knew was going to get covered by by a trim piece. Assuming that's the case, this is no big deal.


Can I use another grout sealer after using Grout Boost? I put Grout Boost in when I did the grout on my kitchen counter-top. Is it OK to put another sealer on top even though I used the Grout Boost in the grout?

Well... since you used it...

If another sealer will penetrate, then it didn't work in the first place.

If it does not penetrate, then its working...

It hasn't gotten stellar reviews for performance.

I did find a thread that suggests resealing with solvent based sealers rather than water based sealers.


Can I dig up next to my foundation to add height below my deck for storage? The previous homeowner had a deck. Then he enclosed it. Then he dug out underneath it about 3-4 feet, cut into the foundation, and put a door from under the basement to under the deck. It's about 7ft high under there. I'm not sure if it's legal, or if he paid fines for it when he had to get it permitted to sell the house. It also has an entrance to outside, and has lattice work on the sides. We use it to store bikes, pool chemicals, shovels, and in the winter, firewood. We don't have any water issues with it, as he built up a stone and concrete wall around the area he dug up.

He also installed a patio that's not doing too well. I want to break it up and replace it with a deck. As an added bonus, I want to use underneath it as an extension of that storage space... But I'm not sure how much foundation is allowed to be exposed, or if this is safe at all. I will, of course, pour a concrete floor and walls for the underground portion of this.

This is Massachusetts, by the way... pretty sure I'm not on bedrock, and I know there's gravel and pipes underneath the basement floor if that information is pertinent. Part of the exposed foundation may end up being garage foundation, which may not even be as deep as the house foundation.. I'm not sure, though.

You packed a lot of info into that question. Maybe break it into a couple of questions.  Regardless, the main question is about the excavation next to the foundation. I can't say for sure if that is a code violation in your area of Mass. I will say that in the Northeast, it is important to bury at least 4 feet of foundation or footings into the earth to prevent movement from frost. Depending where you are in Mass, the frost line probably runs from 2 to 4 feet below grade. The other problem with having a well entrance to a basement is the introduction of water, or the buildup of snow and ice in the well. I seriously doubt any permit was pulled for such a modification. Had this reduction in the frost wall depth been done at the time of a building inspection, I think it would have been frowned upon. usually extra depth of the frost wall and some type of drainage would be recommended.


Use interior door as shed door but under cover I have a shed with a front porch and roof cover (5x8 feet). I plan to put an interior door at the shed wall but under this cover area. Is it OK? This won't be soaking wet. It will be slightly wet if rain with strong wind. I am guessing an interior door hollow core can stand lightly wet once in awhile and cold/hot temperature for at least few years. Let me know if you have a different take?!

If it's a hollow core, then no, it won't be okay.
A solid core or panel door of some kind will be okay for a while, but you'll get the longest life out of an exterior grade door.


Water off/ still leaking My hot water leaks from the tub faucet only. We have shut the hot water off at the hot water heater and it is still leaking hot water. How do i fix this?

Hot and cold lines can communicate through single lever delivery faucets. But the shutoff valves will stop this. Turn off the hot supply at the shutoff at each single handle control. Usually it is the kitchen faucet doing this, but it can be any where.


Can light cover to soften harsh led bulbs We are replacing 6 incandescent bulbs in our kitchen ceiling cans with LEDs. The light is now so bright and harsh it looks like a hospital operating room in a bad horror movie.
Any suggestions on covers or filters to go over the cans to soften the light and maybe shift to warmer / more yellow than white?
Thanks!

Not sure of covers, as the cans need to open for ventilation to avoid overheating the led from long operating periods.
Things you can do to remove the harshness

Select warm white colour(3700k) led bulbs if you dont like daylight (6500k)
Get bulbs with pearl coating (led bulbs come in two variants clear
and pearl(diffused light) , if you can replace the bulb (not sure on your fitting , some are hard wired vs some are socketed)
Get different brand of led light (some leds have a broader led lens to spread the light)
Use a universal dimmer to control brightness of leds


Troubleshooting Clamp Meter I have a Mastech digital clamp meter and I can't for the life of me get it to display any reading other than 0. I was wondering if there are any tricks I'm simply not aware of?

Here is what I have done:

Replaced 9V battery with a brand new one (tested at 9.66V)
Removed the leads
Set the dial to, respectively, 20A (AC), 200A (AC), 1000A (AC)
Turn unit on
Clamp around a live 120V AC cable powering a desk lamp (turned on)
Align cable to the guide marks to center it within the clamps
Observe the reading (0.00)

I have also attempted to read AC voltage using the clamp and get readings of 0.

Finally, I have tested voltage using the leads and that WORKS, so the device itself is functional, at least partially.

Is there anything else I should be doing or do I have a defective unit?

You say that you put the clamp around a live lamp cord, but for a clamp meter to work, you have to put the clamp around only ONE of the conductors.  If you clamp around both wires, you will not get a reading.  For most situations, it doesn't matter which single wire you clamp around.

They have devices that you can plug in that give you holes to put the clamp meter:

Image source: Line splitter at Home Depot website

The one pictured also has a hole for a "10x" measurement.  It just has 10 loops of the single wire in it so measurements taken there will be 10 times higher (good for getting more precise measurements with a less precise meter).

Or you could make one with some single conductor wire and a male and female plug.


Storm Door modification I'm trying to install a storm door on the back of my house.  The house is older and the door jam seems to have been modified to an odd width on the exterior of the house.  A 36" door will be too large and a 32" door will be too small.  The actual width is around 35-5/8".  Any idea's on how to add additional framing which will accommodate a 32" door? Thank you.

Your first option is to see if there is any addition to the door jamb that can be removed to give you a standard width.  Sometimes there is additional molding added that may appear to be one piece, but it can be removed.  If it's not trim, you may even be able to modify the jamb with a router to give you a little extra size on either edge (more advanced, but cost effective if you have the tools).

If the jamb is an odd size, then you can get odd sized storm doors.  They might not have them in stock, but sizes like 34" can be ordered.  Get the closest size available and add trim to make it fit.

As a random example, this Andersen door can be ordered at 33", 34" or 36" (not recommending this door, just a quick example of odd sizes).  If you call around, you might even be able to find a 35" door.  There are shops that specialize in doors and windows and they might be your best bet.


Is there a special type of screw to hang a light fixture onto the ceiling? I am trying to hang a light fixture on the ceiling of my kitchen. What i have noticed from other light fixtures that I have hung is that it takes a special type of screw (or at least it seems like it) that has a special cut on the top of the screw. What type of screw is this?

If you are replacing an existing fixture, the answer is likely no.  What it sounds like you are describing is a thread cutting screw:

or:

These tend to be included with mounting hardware to make it easier to screw them into unthreaded holes in plastic or fiberglass electrical boxes. Unless you are using a new electrical box without threaded holes for the fixture strap (or the attachment points on the strap are not threaded) there is no reason to use them.


Plumbing jacks without cover on top, is it normal? It seems that two plumbing jacks on my roof do not have a cover on top, and I used a DJI drone to fly over, and cannot see cover on the surface too. Is it normal to have a plumber jack without cover like this? Is there any concern that some animals or rain can get through it?

Plumbing vents (in the USA, anyway) are normally not covered.
Rain will end up the same place as any other wastewater in a properly built system, and does not amount to much, given the size of the pipe.
Animal entry is not unheard of, but is rare. In the unfortunate event, they also normally end up (dead) where the wastewater goes - I've see a sewage pump jammed by one - exactly once. Not a common occurrence.
The vent freezing up in winter is one reason NOT to put a cap on it. That becomes much more likely with additonal restriction and cold surface for frost to form on.


Smart Thermostat for Electric Baseboard Heaters I've seen some posts on line about smart thermostats for electric baseboard heaters but they all seem to be about installing Nest with relays and some complex electrical work.

Is there a method of controlling 240V electric baseboard heating using remote programable thermostats without cobbling together a makeshift system? I am asking about an approach, not a brand recommendation.

Maybe I'm missing something but I can't find any information  out there!

Any help here is appreciated. Thanks!

A proper transformer-and-relay system is not cobbled together and not makeshift.  It is not particularly complex, and is an excellent and safe way to control electric heaters.

Relays, readily available in several packaging types, are easily installed at/near the service panel.  This gives a short and simple run of the heavy power wires: breaker to nearby relay straight to the heater.   This also allows both sides of the 240V to be switched, so the heater is fully de-energized when off.

With a line voltage thermostat, heavy power cables must make a lengthy detour first to the thermostat location, and then to the heater itself. (Which hopefully is not too near the thermostat).  Those thermostats leave one leg of 240V connected at all times.

Heavy cables and heavy power switching makes heat.  It is better to make that heat at the relay, rather than at the thermostat where it can affect the thermostat's calibration.  You may have heard line voltage thermostats being very sloppy at holding temperature... this is why.  A smart thermostat does nothing to fix this fundamental flaw.

24V thermostats handle only a tiny switching current, so they do not get warm from the wiring.

Lastly, line voltage thermostats lock you into only a few products.  Once you go transformer/relay, you can use any modern thermostat, e.g. the Nest.


Can you use wirsbo/uponor/expansion pex for underground sprinklers? I cant find much information around this online, it appears that its possible.

Yes to pex all types, some sources:

https://www.landscapemanagement.net/benefits-of-evolving-irrigation-pipe-products-2/
http://blog.supplyhouse.com/pex-crimp-vs-pex-clamp/
http://blog.supplyhouse.com/direct-burial-of-pex-tubing


How are multiple switches in "or" setup functional? I've come across a light controlled by three switches. It's unique to me because any combination of switches must be in the "on" position for it to work. All three must be "off" for the light to go off. It's not a typical multipole switch.

I can naively imagine that three normal switches in the same circuit connected to the same light would behave this way but I've never seen this before.

Is this safe? Is it a code violation? What is the appropriate terminology to describe this setup?

Your switches are in parallel as the other answer.
You only have 1 phase of power - so there is no way the same phase can be out
of phase with itself in your example.
I would venture a good guess a DIY'er replaced the 4 way switch with something other than a 4 way switch like a 3 way or something else and passing through the hot to the load.
While not a code violation - the possibility that something could pose an issue exists .. my reasoning is that it is not normal and I suspect a DIY'er was in the switch boxes and wired things - the possibility to have a live wire floating around or some other unknown is enough to make me fix it right.
So here is what you should do to fix that - take a look at the wiring of the switches and see if they match the drawing below.

Grey in drawing is Neutral (really your White wire), Red is your travelers (they are hot at times), black is the hot wire, green or copper is ground.

Example 4 Way Wiring source first load last:


How does a boiler pump circulate water? I read this article (link) but I'm having trouble seeing how a tiny impeller like this (link) can actually move water up my seven-story building. I understand it's connected to an electric motor, which spins it.

But does the spin on that impeller (at a high velocity) really create enough momentum to move water up seven or eight stories?

Are there other impellers or pumps along the way that help it? Or is it just that one pump attached to the boiler? (I live in an apartment complex with around 100 units.)

does the spin on that impeller (at a high velocity) really create enough momentum to move water up seven or eight stories?

It doesn't have to create momentum as it isn't throwing water ballistically. It just has to create a small difference in pressure.

Note that you ask about circulating water, not pumping it up into a tank. The pump does not have to overcome the head of water because the water is in a sealed circuit that also returns downhill. The weight of the water in the down-pipe balances the weight of water in the up pipe.


Ceiling radiant heat Each room has its own thermostat and heater. The bathroom hasn't stopped but isn't working correctly. When I touch the ceiling I can feel heat but the room doesn't get warm. I'm trying to fix this issue myself and cheaply as possible. Any answers/ideas/ things to try would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I live in the Pacific Northwest where ceiling cable heat used to be very popular. When I have found heating problems with not getting hot enough where it did heat properly in the past it has always been the thermostat with 1 exception. The 1 exception was a parallel cable set in a large room where a swagger lamp toggle bolt was drilled through 1 of the cables. Other than that my experience has always been bad contacts in the thermostat for partial heat.


When to wipe off grout Haze So I just finished my first tile job and grouted it. I got most of the grout off with the float then smoothed the joints with a sponge while getting some grout off. What I can't seem to find a clear answer on is when to wash off this grout Haze. I've read as little as 3 hours to as long as 3 days. Most of the how to is pretty similar, thinking I'm going to try vinegar and warm water sponge with 2 buckets, but how much longer do I wait? It's been 24 hours right now.

The longer you wait when trying to remove the grout the harder it gets, in your picture that is more than a haze, it should have been sponged more, but it's ok, you still need to remove the access by hard scrubbing with and plastic scraper, sponge with a corse side and water, if it does not have a high gloss look you can use a steel wool.


Can I run a ground wire from a cheater plug to another 3-prong outlet to ground it? I live in an old house with my parents (who are the homeowners), and have a problem where some of the electrical outlets in the oldest parts of the house have not been upgraded from two-prong to three-prong outlets. There are two outlets in particular that we have various electronics plugged into, one powering some networking gear and the other powering a TV and a desktop computer setup. In order to use modern electronics with these outlets, we use a combination of cheater plugs and extension cables, then run surge protectors off of those as needed. This setup has worked for years with no issues, but I remain concerned about its safety and efficacy over the long term. I have inquired with my parents to see whether they would be receptive to hiring an electrician to properly rewire those outlets, but they are of the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality and do not wish to spend the money to update those outlets.
One idea that I had to help address this was to attach a wire to the ground tab on the cheater plugs and run that over to a grounded three-prong outlet on the same circuit to ground them. To do this, I would utilize one length of copper wire like so with closed-end wire terminals to connect the ground tabs from both cheater plugs together, then I would run a second length of wire from one of the cheater plugs to the nearest three-prong outlet and connect it using a ground adapter like this. All three plugs are located on the same circuit, with two of the plugs in the same physical room, so I do not believe there should be any major issue electrically doing this.
Would this be a viable solution for protecting these important circuits from ground faults? If not, is there a better solution that would provide a similar result? Remember, fixing the root cause of this issue is not possible at the present time, so an external solution is necessary.

The problem you may encounter is that in many areas, even with a homeowners permit, you have to rip drywall to get grounds to the ungrounded outlets to properly fix them.  It sounds like the ground makes it to the first outlet in the chain, so you may wish to consider replacing that outlet with a GFCI and putting the other outlets on the load terminals.  This alleviates most of the safety concerns of the ungrounded portion of the circuit.  GFCI breakers can be used as well although they are often more expensive.
I'll leave to someone else to figure out the legality of stringing a surface ground, but my instinct tells me done properly it would be better than nothing.  It would be wise to add information about where you live for a properly informed answer.


Hooking up a home theater system with both analog and digital devices? Last night I tried hooking up the new AV Receiver [Yamaha rx-v477] that I bought for my dad, but I had trouble getting a video signal from his old DVD player. This is the basic setup:

Devices going into the receiver:

Cable box [HDMI video + audio] -> HDMI2.
Chromecast [HDMI video + audio] -> HDMI6.
DVD player [Component video + Optical audio] -> AV1

Then I plugged the receiver into the TV via HDMI. I got audio from everything, and video from everything except the DVD player! I tried using composite from the DVD player to the receiver and had the same issue; no video, only sound..

I'm going to work on it more today, but I thought I'd seek advice first. So, how can I hook this up correctly? I was under the impression that the receiver would handle all the various input devices and simply send video to the HDTV via HDMI and audio to the speakers. Do I need more than just a single HDMI connection from the receiver to the HDTV in this type of setup?

I have the same receiver and hit this problem when initially setting it up as well.

Essentially, the receiver outputs the video signal in the same format as the input, so: for HDMI inputs use the HDMI output, for component inputs use the monitor out (component) jacks, and for composite inputs use the monitor out (video) jack.  For your scenario, you'll need to have a component video connection to the TV as well to show the video from your DVD player.

This isn't made very clear in the manual, but you can find information about it on page 19 under the "Component / composite video connection" section.


Wall outlet only works when AFI breaker is OFF? Bit of a mystery here.

We've got an outlet in our 2nd floor bedroom that I assumed was dead or disconnected. I poked it with my AC voltage detector to confirm — yep, nothing. I was wondering if maybe the outlet itself was mis-wired, so I went to the breaker box and turned off the 2nd floor lights (15 amp AFCI breaker) so I could safely open up the outlet and take a look.

Good thing I thought to double-check with the voltage meter before sticking my fingers in there. Turns out, now that the breaker for the rest of the floor was off, suddenly I'm getting current to this outlet! Confirmed that plugging a floor lamp in works, which it didn't before. Confirmed that turning the AFCI breaker back on renders the outlet dead again.

...WHAT?

Any insights on what could be going on here?

Mystery solved. We had a bit of a Car Allergic to Vanilla Ice Cream problem. Turns out the bedroom outlet is on the same switch as the basement lights. Whenever I went down to the basement and flipped a breaker, I left the basement lights on when I came back upstairs, since I was planning on going back down to flip the breaker back. So, because the basement lights were on, the outlet in the room was powered when I got back upstairs. Not the most intelligent wiring decision in the world, but not rampantly dangerous either.


2 sets of line wires? I was replacing a GFCI, and noticed 7 total wires:

2 load wires

4 line wires

1 ground

It is my understanding that the line wires are the power source coming to the GFCI, and the load wires are providing power to the next receptacle (or switch, etc).

Does anyone know why there is 4 line wires? The instructions on the new GFCI explicitly stated not to use if more than 4 total wires (e.g., 2 line, 2 load) not including the ground.

Do I replace with the new GFCI exactly as found? Or does this pose some type of hazard?

The additional connection holes at the line terminals are provided to extend an unprotected circuit to a location that doesn't need GFCI protection or to a location that GFCI protection will be individually provided.

I don't know what the installation instruction included with your receptacle says, but step 6 in the Leviton Installation Instructions doesn't actually prohibit installation with more than 4 wires, but instructs to have a qualified electrician do the installation. This is probably an overly cautious step to make sure somebody doesn't inadvertently connect wires to the hot terminals that were previously connected to the load that serves a location where GFCI protection is required. It could also be remotely possibly addressing cubic inch fill limitations in NEC 314, but there is little evidence of that.

Replacing wire for wire should work if it was previously working properly, but I am cautious to recommend that since nobody over the internet can completely determine that no areas being served by the unprotected hot are in areas that now require GFCI protection.


What is my drill hitting and not penetrating when I hang curtains? I'm living in an apartment. So far I've put up 2 sets of curtains and had the same troubles with both attempts.

One set was over a sliding mirrored closet door (tacky!) and the other set was over a window. What's happening is there's something behind the drywall that's very solid and I can't seem to get my drill into it. In the last apartment, self-drilling anchors like a metal version of these did the trick but in this apartment they couldn't penetrate either.  My first thought was some kind of stud, but I ought to be able to drill into wood, right? My next thought was perhaps the doors/windows had some frame that jutted into the wall for support, but the last set of curtains was 4" above the windows. I've never seen a window that had 4" of metal surrounding it.

What the devil could it be? Is this something common? How would you approach this?

Are you sure the walls and headers are wood?  It is possible if the construction is new, it is built with steel studs. Check with your landlord. If they are steel, you can pilot a hole with a titanium bit or use self drilling screws made for steel framing.  It would be very unlikely to find wiring and nail guards that close to the edge of a window or door frame.


Two Wires in One Breaker Panel Lug One of the configurations in this question on feeding two nearby subpanels from one main breaker has two wires screwed into each lug on one of the subpanels. Do I need to have a two-wire lug like this one

or can get away with something like this

instead? I've managed to find a digital spec sheet for my subpanels here (both are identical). I intend to have a 6GA Cu and a 2GA Cu wire entering each lug and it seems the current lugs are large enough to accommodate both wires, but I don't know if it's code legal.

Since I don't know when I'll get to feeding each subpanel from a dedicated breaker in the main panel, I'd rather make it code legal in case it stays that way for a while.

Go with 1-wire per hole and get a 2-hole lug, the cost is too minimal not to do it right. This is especially true in your case with 2-different gauges of wire, your situation is not the 2nd picture (using 2 of the same gauge wire). Meaning, differing gauges must have dedicated mountings to be solid and secure.


Is there any additional sealing operation required after grouting for the bath shower For re-grouting the bath shower, is there any additional sealing operation (like using sealant) after applying un-sanded grout on it?

All Portland cement based grout benefit from a sealer.  I prefer the distillate based sealers, but I hear good things regarding the newer water based sealers.

One grout type doesn't need any sealer: 2 part epoxy grout.  A bit more care and effort during install, but nearly bullet proof afterwards.  Shower floors and foyers really stay clean.