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Why is my plaster covered ceiling magnetic? tldr; Why do magnets stick to my ceiling? I have an old house, built in 1905 in the Boston area. I want to install a light fixture in a room that does not currently have one. I tried using my stud finder to find the joists, but it proved futile. I switched to trying to use ...	I would assume it's because you have plaster ceilings that use metal lath.
Leaving the extra wire from a 12-3 run un-connected I'm embarking on a re-wiring of my Garage/Workshop. I've identified 3 new circuits I'm adding. I have a large roll of new 12-3 wire, which I'm looking to use up in this project. After completing the wiring I'll be insulating and covering the stud-bays. I am thinking ...	There's nothing in the code that says you can't pull unused wire. Just cap it with a wire nut and blank off the pantry box. Resetting tripped breakers is a lot easier than going back into the house. As long as you don't have anything else on that circuit but those areas you are within code.
Water heater pilot lights but burner doesn't ignite My hot water tank heater won't work. I held the knob thing down, clicked the ignite button, and the flame came right on, but the status light won't flash and I don't know what's wrong. :( Any help would be of great use <Q> If I understand correctly, your pilot flame i...	Thermopile is not sensing the flame correctly, or Circuit Board in the Gas Control Valve is defective.
An extra long closet and the rod, mounted in concrete, keeps falling off. I have an extra long closet and the rod keeps falling off. It is in concrete and the anchors keep coming out. I guess I could put a pole up in the middle to brace it, buy any other ideas??? <Q> If you want it to be bomb proof, (and why wouldn't y...	Drill holes through the wall and use a section of iron pipe longenough to fit all the way through the walls as a closet rod.
Is the insulation/jacket of UF cable rodent-resistant/rodent-unpalatable? Is there something in the insulation/jacket of type UF cable that makes it unpalatable to rodents or resistant to rodent attack? Or does it need to be protected from rodent damage when run outdoors, esp. aboveground? (Say, by pulling it through ...	If you are going to run power in conduit for rodent protection, you don't want to run UF, run single conductor wires rated for wet locations, such as THWN.
Winterize my lawn mower I have a Toro self propelled lawn mower that I am getting ready to put away for the season. The manual says to run it until empty then put some oil in the spark plug chamber. I read an article that states you should not drain the but instead fill up with fresh fuel that has stabilizer added. ...	Personally for my small engines I switch to stabilized fuel sometime in the fall so that it works its way through all the hoses and into the engine, then when I'm done for the year I run it dry.
Thermostat is completely blank. How to troubleshoot I have a thermostat that is completely blank (no display). I'd like to troubleshoot it myself even if I do ultimately hire a pro! We're in sunny southern california, so it's possible it's had no display for sometime, but when I first noticed it was after we flipped ...	Check for line voltage (120VAC) between the HOT and NEUTRAL terminals on the board. If there is no voltage, the low-voltage power supply for the furnace is bad or not getting any power.
Can I build a wooden floor over an occasionally moist garage slab with a drain? I would like to install a subfloor in my garage and turn it into an office. The floor is slanted all towards the middle where there is a drain.There has never been any water (that I've seen in the last 5 years anyway) come out of it. Howeve...	Compensate for the slope and use pressure-treated lumber where it contacts the concrete. These types of systems combine a subfloor base with a water barrier that has channels underneath to allow small amounts of moisture to drain or evaporate. You will need to create a faux stair and again this is kind of awkward.
Occasionally floor around toilet is very very wet. Why? A couple of times per week the bathroom floor will be flooded from the toilet. Not sure why since I'm not there when it happens. Can flush the toilet over and over again and everything seems fine. Help. <Q> it is possible that the wax ring is damaged, when another...	If You happen to have other drain pipe, like from a sink or a bathtub, it may be that's the problem.
What's the best method to chalk a line parallel to a wall? I have read some great listings on setting a chalk line but remain with a question ... if you are trying to get the line to run perfectly parallel to a wall, it is for hardwood flooring, so that the line will be parallel to a wall that may not itself be at a ri...	Another technique, if you can't square up everything, is to butt the ends of the hardwood planks against a problem area.
Can I use a nailer with a higher consumption than my compressor's SCFM rating? Can I run a pneumatic nail gun with a consumption of 4 SCFM max on a small portable 1HP compressor with a SCFM rating of about 3 SCFM @ 90psi? What about tools that with higher SCFM consumption say 5 or 7? What would I expect if I try to us...	You can use a smaller SCFM compressor than what your nailer requires the only drawback is you will need to nail at a slower pace or your nail
50 amp breaker being replaced by a 60 amp breaker I have a 50 amp breaker that runs the auxiliary heat on our heat pump. It keeps tripping. Can I replace it with a 60 amp breaker? <Q> Larger amperage requires larger wiring. <S> It's possible but probably not likely that the existing wire can handle the larger curre...	Increasing the breaker size could lead to damage to the equipment and/or property, injury, death, and fire.
Mounting a TV wall mount to stud where A/C is detected I want to mount my TV on the wall and just purchase a wall mount for it. I've done this kind of install before, but when I was using my stud finder, it is indicating that one of the studs has AC current. There is an outlet on this stud ~ 1 foot from the floor, but ...	If you take your time and are careful you should be able to avoid the electrical cable in the wall and still get the holding power of the stud. If you hit the other stud with two lag screws and use two sturdy drywall anchors on the other side, you'll be fine. Personally I'd be real careful
How to limit bathroom shower water usage by time? I have a teenage daughter whose showers are getting longer all the time and I am getting tired of fighting with her about taking all the hot water. Therefore, my question is about installing a device that controls the flow of hot water only to the shower that she uses. ...	If everyone else in the household doesn't mind taking shorter showers than you can lower the thermostat on the water heater.
How best to cut & tie into cast iron pipe I have a 2" section of ductile cast iron pipe that's in the way of a framing repair job. This pipe needs to move. The cast iron dates to the original construction, 1938. As was customary at the time, the cast iron was joined with oakum and pure metallic lead. In the middle is...	Of course re-locating most pipe can be accomplished especially with present day rubber connectors, but for the sake of expediency (if that is a concern), take the joist route. You can connect plastic drainage pipe to to an existing cast iron hub by use of a rubber donut insert: You can also cut cast iron with (in order...
How to clean brush after polyurethane? I used a brush to apply polyurethane on some trim work. I tried cleaning it thoroughly with paint thinner after but still got poor results--the brush bristles would stick together and the brush was unusable. I also heard mineral spirits and acetone may work. Should I try...	To clean I merely soak in paint thinner a short time shake it out and dry with a paper towel.
What type of brush to use with polyurethane? I used this brush and got good results but I was wondering if there is even better. Are there brushes that are made specifically for polyurethane? <Q> Back in the day, it was natural bristle for oil finishes, nylon bristle for water based. <S> Polyester bristle came along to...	any natural bristle brush will give good results.
Do I need an extra deep old-work box for a stucco wall? Do I need a deep rework box to fit to the 1 inch wall thickness. Do they manufacture one that the tabs are back about 1-2 inches? How does one get the tabs in the hole to secure them tight? <Q> Old Work Box <S> Mounting Accessories Link Option One: Old-work Sw...	I would opt for 2, as it may be easier for those not familiar with item 1 and thick walls. When ever possible i use this old work box.
Moisture Resistant Drywall unavailable in 5/8 I am getting ready to start all the drywall processes. Starting with the ceiling, I have trusses 24" on center. The code here requires type x (so 5/8") firerock on the ceiling. It is also a common issue where you can't install 1/2" drywall on 24" centers and have to use ...	Make sure to use a longer screw on the second layer to reach the strapping, 2" would be plenty, 1.5" may be too short.
Why does my boiler vent steam? My understanding of a boiler system is that it is closed, meaning the water stays in the pipes and constantly recirculates. However, there is a vent (3" PVC pipe) that is connected to it that periodically blows steam. Where does this steam come from? <Q> Assuming that your boiler and mi...	The other vent is a safety device; my fitter said "if there's a fault and the water tries to boil, it squirts out of there, rather than exploding or squirting scalding hot water inside the house."
Threaded hollow wall anchors spin out partway in Today I tried to install one of those Ikea kids storage units on my daughter's wall. It's a stud partition wall in a newly-constructed house. Before attempting it I spoke to one of the builders who called round to check the house etc, read various guides, spoke to the g...	If the anchor isn't keeping a grip in the wall when the screw is tightened than you may exerting to much force or over tightening the screw.
Is this outlet wired for 240 volts? I wired an outside outlet plug on my back porch and ran it off my breaker box, used a 20 amp breaker, used 14/2 wire, hooked the white and black wires to the outlet plug and cut the ground wire off short (the guy at Home Depot told me to do it that way). I used a double 20 amp break...	Recheck your wiring and make sure you didn't connect the white wire to a breaker or your cable to a circuit that is wired for 240 volts. A ground is there for your safety and to protect anything plugged into that outlet. Don't listen to a guy at Home Depot for electrical advice unless he is an experienced electrician. ...
replace half a drywall ceiling? I'm redoing my kitchen which adjoins the eating area. Part of this was removing the soffits or fur downs, which has now left my ceiling without large strips of drywall on 3 sides. The kitchen area is 10' deep and then another 10' of that is eating area, where the drywall is intact....	If you have any small pieces of drywall up on the ceiling, I'd start by removing those to get back to as many full sheets as you can which should also minimize the cuts you need to make.
Tighten 1 1/2 nut under the sink I just installed my new peerless kitchen faucet. I used my hand to tight the hex nut because the space is pretty small.(I think that the size is 1 1/2) It is temporary. I tried Basin Wrench and adjustable wrench . Both of them are not working because the handles are long. See the s...	For a larger nut like this, it was designed to be either hand tightened, or with a wrench like the channel lock or adjustable wrench you linked to.
If I want to add an additional receptacle, which wires do I tap from an existing receptacle? I have an existing receptacle that used to have both the top and bottom outlet controlled by a switch. I made the entire receptacle permanently hot by disconnecting the switch and connecting all the wires that went into the sw...	Going to a deeper box won't quite get you enough space to tap here, either -- a 3.5" deep single gang has room for only 9 14AWGs without a device or 7 with one, and you need 8 14AWG wires (2 existing blacks, 2 existing whites, 1 existing red, 1 EGC allowance, 1 new black, and 1 new white) + a double allowance for the r...
Why would a central vacuum breaker trip once every time I used it? This will be a hard one to find out. I have a central vacuum Drain Vac 2G20028-c , 12.5 amp at 120 volts . It has a mini 15 amp breaker on the unit. The power going to the vacuum is on a normal square D breaker 20 amp breaker. After a few weeks of b...	High-magnetic breakers can tolerate the high in-rush of current that occurs when high-performance appliances start, preventing nuisance tripping. If the problem doesn't occur, then the problem is likely in the old circuit. Your suction exhaust pipe (or flapper) may have a partial obstruction or a stuck flapper that tem...
How to bid a job repairing hidden damage in stages to avoid a "time and materials" job My bathroom has some water damage from a poorly designed tile job. The window sill is low enough to get wet but is simply tiled rather than a solid shelf. It's also not properly sloped. This has allowed water to leak into the wall...	Other times things are worse than expected and completed for an APPROVED increase in cost via a change order. Do the demolition on a DIY basis and clear away all the debris. For permit reasons, you wouldn't close in the repairs, so be sure to move that to the remodel phase.
How to level an old cement floor? I have an old garage where I want to make an office. The floor is not 100% leveled and has some holes. I read about self leveling material for the floor. Is this something one can apply? is it easy? Are there other diy solutions? <Q> Self-leveling material may be appropriate depending...	you can level any floor with self leveling mortars, but they have to be the right ones.
Is it possible to power/turn-on LED lights through a lamp switch? I'm trying to make a lamp from my gf's favorite beer. It's a bomber(16oz) bottle that I'm running a DIY lamp kit through. I'd like to add two little red LED lights that are connected to the switch of the lamp so that the lights act as little red eyes o...	The main thing to remember, the 120VAC is dangerous, don't get creative with it, low volt DC is pretty safe, but nothing is perfectly safe. You could run a separate cord from a pluggable DC power supply, aka a "wall wart," to the LEDs. You'll need a current limiting resistor wired in series with the LED. Please do not ...
Shopvac drywall attachment too restrictive? I have : 5HP 16Gal. Shopvac A drywall vacuum attachment , to suck up the dust while sanding. a brand new filter ( made for fine particles like dust) The Problem : When I start the vacuum, it seems okay.. but quickly slows down and starts to smell like it's overheating. ...	That smell you detect after the motor has been running for awhile is its' death knell.
What else can I use to clean glass windows? I have a job scheduled that involves getting a house ready to sell. The customer wants it cleaned and polished as she is putting it on the market. It's a 3 story 1950's era house that has a lot of glass windows and doors (a lot). The windows are original single-pane casement....	They use dishwashing liquid solution (not an ammonia based glass cleaner like *%$dex). You might think about blasting all the windows with a water stream first, to remove as much loose dirt from the sashes and mullions as you can.
Can I use a bat handled toggle switch instead of a boring standard toggle switch on the wall? I want to create a steampunk-themed chandelier, including a steampunk-look switch on the wall. Is there a fundamental difference between the standard light switches sold for home lighting and a similarly-specced bat handled li...	Soldering is NOT an option as this is expressly forbidden in the code. I don't recall any articles in the NEC stating you can't use a bat in place of a toggle switch, but than again the NEC book I refer to is copyrighted 1999.
What kind of walls are these? What hardware should I use to hang up some canvas prints? I'm looking to hang up some canvas art (already on stretcher bars). However, I don't know what kind of hardware I need to use, because I have no idea what kind of walls they are. They don't seem like drywall because they seem like t...	The walls from your video sound as if they are made of plaster.
Garage Door stops and returns to original position Lately my garage door has been stopping when it gets about 2ft from the closed position and then returns to the original position. Nothing is blocking the sensors and the tracks don't seem to have any bends or anything that would prevent the door from moving freely. ...	Over time the bottom of one of the rails worked itself a little loose and I found that the vibration of the door coming down would rattle the rail and disturb or misalign the sensor to the point that it would read an interruption and the door would reopen.
How to determine how many gallons of oil your oval tank holds? I'm not sure if my tank holds 250, 275, or 300 gallons. Is there a way to determine the size? The tank is oval shape and 60" X 40" X 27". <Q> Your tank is in fact not oval, but stadium in profile. <S> (Yes, that's where the sports facilities got their n...	The most common size is 275 gallons, which measures 44”
MDF (particle board) edge sealing for smooth painted finish I am working with CNC routers and a lot of MDF, which is great UNLESS you need to paint the edges which are furry in some spots and all open and porus everywhere else. I build plinths that need to be enamel smooth and show no seams or texture changes. I have...	You could try brushing the edges with glue.
Should I install drywall panels parallel or perpendicular to ceiling joists? I am going to be putting drywall up on my ceiling soon and I am not sure which is the best orientation\layout for the drywall. The ceiling joists run horizontal to the following images. The section of the ceiling is approximately 33' by 11'....	Also, some brands of drywall aren't designed to resist sag parallel to the mounting lines and should only be installed perpendicular to the framing. Option 1 is the only way to do it.
Why are baseboard miters not straight even after tuning saw? I'm installing baseboard for the first time and I keep noticing when doing 45° cuts the top is sticking out a fraction more than the bottom, see picture. I'm using a dewalt 716 miter saw and have used multiple tools to test and the saw in tuned in properly bu...	Either the cut is not square, and the saw is still not adjusted, or the wall is bumped out at the bottom.
Privacy for lower level room I have a quad level home. The family room windows are pretty much ground level outside. If our neighbors walk by, they can pretty much see everything. Not to mention our homes are pretty close. We have film in the bathroom but, that seems to block a nice amount of light and obviously we ...	These shades let the light in while protecting your privacy and the sun’s intensity.
How should I treat mold under the caulk around my kitchen sink? I've got a tiled kitchen countertop and have noticed some mold under the caulking around the sink, especially where the tile dips. Should I clean out the old caulk and re-caulk the area, or pop the sink out then clean and start over? <Q> Never caulk an o...	Always use a caulking labeled 100% silicone and mold resistant for this application and being that you have mold already there its not a bad idea if you have the means to remove the sink and clean the area below the mounting where you can't normally access for cleaning.
GFCI equipped machines into GFCI receptacle I have a personal bowling ball cleaning machine that states "plug to a non-GFCI outlet" which means it has built-in GFCI however, in the area I am living, all receptacles must be GFCI protected and this comes from the main breaker board to every receptacle in the facility. S...	If, as you mention, the GFCI protection is in your breaker, you are correct that there aren't any outlet tricks you could perform to create a non-GFCI outlet, and in most cases you should avoid removing this protection anyways.
Use impact driver or impact wrench for lag screws? Assume 100 ft lb on the socket for impact driver and 300 ft lb on the socket for impact wrench, what's appropriate for driving 3" lag screws? Would an impact wrench break the screw? If the torque is adjustable, the wrench seems like it's potentially more useful for r...	The impact driver is likely to be more convenient, more likely to have interchangeable bits and batteries with your power drill and or other tools, but may not be up to driving hundreds of bolts per day.
Why is our faucet under power? Sometimes, ~about once a week we get a "peck", a "pinch" from the water when we touch it. So there is something wrong. We live in a 10 story building. I tried to measure what is happening: I got myself a multimeter. I put one of the wire from the multimeter to the water, the other wire ...	Probable cause is the electric boiler, the heater could be damaged and it is leaking current into water and this is what you feel.
Is it Possible to Coat the Subfloor Around a Toilet Flange to Prevent Rot? I'm renovating a bathroom. Is there some kind of paint or chemical that I can apply to the subfloor around the toilet flange to keep it from rotting? <Q> As Tester said there shouldn't be any leaks and therefore no rot. <S> Any leak from the wax...	However, pressure treated lumber will last longer in a wet environment if you are concerned about overflows, sweating, or other reasons the floor may get wet in that area. If you're putting in new wood, a patch of pressure treated would be the way to go.
How to choose laminate flooring What should I be looking for when I choose laminate flooring? I am building a smallish house, I plan to put in laminate flooring in it. But I heard some horror stories about how some laminate flooring started peeling after a couple of months use. I am looking for something durable for i...	Avoid really light tones. In terms of comparing products, go to a store (either home improvement or dedicated flooring) and try and get a hand on whatever flooring you are looking at. In a wet area caulk the edge so water can't sneak around the edge ofthe floor an wreck your subfloor.
Refrigerator fail due to adjacent chest freezer I recently moved into a rental property and within the first week the refrigerator stopped keeping things under 50ºF. When the guy came out to look, he said it was due to my chest freezer being near the refrigerator and it caused the compressor to burn out in it. The re...	If it is an older unit chances are it would have never worked inside the cabinet..
What breaker size for box containing two GFCI circuits? What should the main panel breaker size be to control a 60amp GFCI for a hot tub and a 15amp GFCI outlet. The gfci's are mounted in a box that will be wired to the main panel. <Q> The breaker feeding the sub-panel must be sized not exceed the rating of the sub-pan...	If it calls for a 60 Amp circuit then the wire size needs to be at least a #6.
Circular saw won't cut vertically I'm cutting dimensional lumber with a circular saw (a cheap 7.25" Ryobi I got at HD). I can't seem to ensure that the cut is vertical. Meaning, with the piece lying lengthwise while cutting, the cut should ideally be in a perfectly vertical plane, but turns out to be at least a few d...	With a hand saw, it's pretty easy if you mark the cut nicely and follow your mark. The issue may be a combination of flex in the saw blade and your technique.
How can I find the circuit breaker that my outdoor outlet is on? I have one outdoor outlet where there is no power coming in and I am unable to determine which circuit breaker it is on so I can restore the power. <Q> The first thing to check since this is an outdoor outlet is to see if there is a GFCI device built-in...	A breaker that is tripped should is identifiable because the switch is in the middle (neither ON nor OFF).
Pure sine wave or modified for a Trane HVAC? Winter is near and I want to be able to run my Trane HVAC 1 hp motor and my Dell abd Mac desktop computers off an inverter or generator. Should I get something that puts out a pure sine wave or can I safely use less expensive, modified sine wave equipment? <Q> the laptop w...	Modified sine (really a stepped approximation) is usually close enough and cheaper; it has much weaker harmonics than the old square-wave sources and the remaining ones don't generally cause problems.
How can I stop gutter water flow noise? My gutter runs along the bottom of the roof and not around the bay window. Because of this there is very little sound insulation between the gutter and inside the bedroom and so we can hear water every time it rains! So annoying. Only options recommended to me at this point reall...	If the sound you're complaining about is simply the sound of water dripping the 3 inches between the roof edge flashing and the bottom of the gutter, the solution may be to install a sloped flashing to allow the water to flow into the gutter rather than drop.
How should I dispose of treated wood or manufactured boards? Are off cuts of pressure treated wood for internal use or manufactured board such as loft boarding safe to dispose of in a domestic garden fire pit (not for cooking)? I have a large amount of off cuts after boarding my loft and doing various other jobs, so i...	Homeowners engaged in small projects should take treated wood to their local landfill or transfer station and place it in the designated location (i.e., the non-clean wood pile).
How to prevent heat loss over a recessed light? I have a recessed light installed in a sloped ceiling - no attic space over it. On a cold morning when there is frost or snow on the roof and I stand outside the house, I can see a warm spot directly over where the light fixture is. The light has been off all night so I b...	There may not be more than an inch of space, but any amount of insulation will help, after the air leaks are fixed.
How to prevent leaving hot tap/faucet running? Occasionally one of us in our house leaves the hot tap/faucet running, and sometimes this can be overnight, which is costly. Any good ideas on how to prevent this? So far I've thought of these: Set up some kind of electronic alarm which detects heat or runningwater and...	I was thinking that a mechanical whistle sound that blows continuously while the faucet is on could have stopped me from distractingly walking away.
What is this black coloring in attic? Curious if anyone can tell what this is? Not sure if it's mold or if it is something else. The yellow in the closeup is sap I believe but the black stuff almost looks like super small poppy seeds. <Q> To my untrained eye, it does appear to be mold. <S> The would indicate a moistu...	With any moisture sources solved, the typical remedy for the mold itself is a bleach solution, being careful to not get it on your skin, clothes, or anything else that could be damaged. If neither of these appear to be the cause, then there could be a leak in the roof. The first place I would look is bathroom exhaust f...
Can I put a PV panel on my roof and run wires into a room to a power resistor to generate heat? Maybe a dumb idea, but can I just put a PV panel on my roof and run wires into a room to a power resistor to generate heat? I have just one room that I was thinking of adding this additional heat to. I suppose I could protot...	The short answer is that electricity is not a particularly cost-effective way of generating heat, and solar panels are not a particularly cost-effective way of generating electricity, so this is not really a smart financial decision.
House has no plumbing vent — is this a solution? I've been living in a fixer-upper for a while... I've been fixing a lot that was previously done wrong. I've finally gotten around to ripping out our first floor bathroom (two full bathrooms) and I'm noticing some plumbing issues. Mainly that there's what seems to be a...	I checked it out, and there is no real need for vents, as long as you use pipes that are significantly bigger than the drain of the appliance connected to it
single zone house with forced hot water only heating on one side I have a single zone in my house with forced hot water only heating on one side of the house. What am I doing wrong? I have bled the pipes many times and still not heat on one side of the house <Q> 99.5% you need to bleed somewhere you haven't found yet...	If you're bleeding & just not hearing air purge & seeing no water, then it's very low on water. Another possible blockage - if it got really cold before you turned the heat on, there's a frozen section on the one side. You might have a very slow gravity induced flow.
Toilet bowl fills very slowly unless the shut off valve is turned off and then on again The toilet bowl is filling up very slowly. When I take the back of the toilet off, I see that there is only a little bit of water going into the fill up tube. I then found that if I turn off the water to the toilet and then turn i...	Some fill valves turn the water down if they detect a leak, sounds like yours is malfunctioning, that or scale, rust, gravel sticking in the valve.
Make a wide power connector fit in a narrow slot This seems like a bad idea but I wanted to know for sure. I am trying to extend the reach of my Christmas lights this year into a garden that is about 6 feet from my fence. I don't want to have lights on the ground as my kids would try to play with them. Same logic if I ...	Buy non-polarized plug ends and short lengths of lamp cord and build a proper non-polarized cord. Then wrap the junction with plastic wrap to seal it from the weather.
How to make this drain better The original problem was that running the garbage disposal would force water into the other sink. I assumed that happened because there wasn't anything blocking water from flowing between the two (typical t-fittings for drains have a plastic piece to prevent this) So, I tore that out a...	In a wall, pipes almost always meet horizontal to vertical or vice-versa so in your case a wye, or lack-there-of, would probably not be the problem. You might need to lower the height the drain enters the wall by cutting into the wall, finding the vertical section of drain, and connecting to that section at a lower poi...
How much drywall should I remove around a moldy area? The previous owner told me that during the last winter when snow melted, water got in the basement through the drywall and he had to wipe dry the floor. Last year we had one of the worst winters on record (New York City). I have a closet where a piece of the drywal...	We would also generally remove any other wet drywall. Fix the leak first before fixing any water damage. Hydrostatic pressure will force water through concrete. You may need to move water further away and use a french drain.
Adding insulation to attached garage I have an attached garage I use as a workshop, and I'd like to insulate it since I plan on running water and sewer lines into the garage for a utility sink*. Right now, the garage is just studs and exterior wall. I don't plan on drywalling this garage. The ceiling is drywalled, sinc...	On top of that, you might also consider adding foam panel insulation to the garage door (if yours is not already a solid core garage door).
A small air compressor for cleaning? I'm looking for a small air compressor for a small air compressor that I can use instead of a compressed air can for dusting my home electronics. From looking at websites like Amazon or Home Depot, most air compressors either fall into the 12V ones used for inflating car tires, or b...	While I have used an air compressor for dusting electronics, I don't recommend it.
How can I properly secure these tarps? I'm in the process of building my home and need some way to temporarily cover the garage door openings. I purchased a couple of tarps and secured them from the inside using some #10 ½" wood screws. This didn't stay up long due to the winds. I also tried securing the tarps using th...	Secure the tarps by trapping the material between the studs and some lath strips.
Reinforcing a shelf supported only by pins Our liquor cabinet has the usual row of holes drilled on either side for height-adjustable shelves, with typical shelf pins: I think the wood is MDF + veneer. It might be plywood. It's not holding the pins very well. The end result was sudden catastrophic failure followed ...	There are alternate types of shelf bracket pins that are designed to keep the pin at 90 degrees to the side wall thus keeping it from torquing out of the hole.
Shaky, noisy and hard to open bi-fold doors I have multiple closets with bi-fold doors and they all have the same issue: shaky, noisy and hard to open. It looks like the doors were installed using cheap sliding hardware. The doors are so shaky and noisy that I try to not open them. I am dreaming of seeing those bi-fo...	Replacement plastic rollers should be available at any hardwarestore.
Do I need to protect my new basement slab from freezing air temperatures? We are building a new house with an exposed basement. I had the floors poured a week ago while still warm in December. We have not framed the house up yet, meaning no deck, walls, roof, or HEAT. My concern is how cold does it have to get before I...	To be on the safe side rent some concrete blankets to hold what heat the curing concrete generates.
Why would a bulb need a 30mA RCD for the bathroom? So I have bought a new light fitting for our shower room ( This is the bulb. ) On the instructions it says if fitting in a bathroom a 30mA RCD is required. We have a fairly old fuse box, so wired fuses no RCDs. I see the lighting circuit has a 5A fuse on it. Does this...	In non-technical terms, if the RCD device sees current "missing" on a circuit - more leaving than returning - it shuts down power, based on the idea that that missing current may be starting a fire or shocking someone. I'd interpret that to mean I can change an incandescent lightbulb to an LED bulb, of same or lower re...
How do I stop my recliner from scratching wood floor I have hardwood floors and recently purchased a recliner. The recliner slides around on the hardwood floor. Is there a product that will stop the recliner from sliding and more importantly stop it from scratching the floor? Also, the bottom of the recliner is a b...	A rug pad might work well.
Should I remove this saddle valve, if so what is the best way to do so? Currently this saddle valve is exposed but I would like to close this wall up. Before I do I'd like to know if I should leave the valve as-is or if I should remove it. If I remove it what is the best way to do so? This used to be a valve that fe...	If this is copper tubing, it might be pretty easy to replace this valve with a slip coupling.
Mount for a drill with 50 mm collar Having just moved into a house (from a flat) for the first time in my life), I am about to buy a corded drill. I would like to get something "universal", suitable for drilling the walls to hang a TV or get a cable through the wall into the garden, and also to drill in the laminate an...	You don't want an SDS plus chuck, that drill is going to be mostly for drilling masonry. From the useful accessories for 50 mm collar, Metabo offers a dust extraction set 630828000 .
Hot and Cold water seem to be mixing Having a problem with hot and cold water seemingly mixing in my house where some locations can't get cold water and others get a mix of warm/cold from hot settings. The scenario Moved into a new house. Has a brand new water heater and probably not new water circulation system. It ...	From your comment "re-plumbed for code reasons" and the odd behavior you're experiencing, I suspect the hot water circulation system might have been patched/crossed into the cold water system and/or the pump is faulty.
Can I use self leveling compound to level old thin set over plywood subfloor? The previous owner of my house tiled all the bedrooms on the second floor. I would like to remove all the tile and lay down hardwood flooring. So far I have removed the tile and now have all the thin set underneath. My question is whether it...	Most thinset will disengage with heavy vibration. If the thin set is clean the self leveling cement should bond well and hold up for a hardwood floor on top. It sounds as if the industrial grinder worked well on the first floor. Try a hammer or mallet on a small area.
Elegant method of punching a hole through a wall to run cables? What is a clean method of running cables from one side of a wall to the other side, in a typical residential house? On one side of the wall will be a computer tower, and on the other side will the the user interface devices (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speak...	edit After you cut in the first bracket, move any insulation and poke the drywall saw through to the other side, just enough to pierce the drywall so you can place the bracket on the other side of the wall. The answer from batsplatsterson is great if running a wire through a wall (or even up a wall from a low point to ...
heating zone stays hot even when the thermostat isn't calling we're trying to solve a very strange hot water heating problem (drawing below). We just separated the the 2nd and 3rd floors in my house into two separate heating zones, and the 3rd floor is now staying at 75 even though its thermostat is set for 65 and isn...	You need a check valve on all three return lines from the 3rd floor to prevent flow from the second floor loop going through 3rd floor radiators.
Usefulness of Cord Reel with 100-ft Extension Cord I may be missing something, but how useful is a cord reel such as the one pictured with a 100-ft long extension cord? I'd like to think that a 100-ft extension cable with a pretty good gauge (12) would act as a substitute for a 50-ft and even for a 25-ft cable. But a...	There are a variety of approaches to make the inner end reachable, such as clipping it to the side of the reel.
Want to cover up nail points in attic ceiling I'm in the attic every so often to store empty boxes and I'm planning to do some wiring (non electrical) so I'm afraid that I might stand up and have nails through my head. My plan isn't to cover the whole attic ceiling, just a small section of the attic ceiling. Any ideas...	Cut the tubing into pieces about 3/8" to 1/2" long depending on length of exposed nails in your attic, then push a piece of tubing onto each nail point. I think I will by some cheap long rolls of chicken wire to staple on the bottom of the roof rafters. The next step up would be to cover it all with OSB with vent openi...
What kind of caulk to use in order to caulk the toilet to the floor? My toilet was replaced and it has no caulk around the bottom of it. A little water does seep around it from time to time. What kind of caulk should I use to do the job? It sits on ceramic tile, and the tile is on a cement slab. <Q> It is best NOT t...	The type of caulking used prominently by most installers is any good exterior latex or siliconized brand.
Paint thinner can leaking I hope this is the right place to ask. I noticed earlier tonight I had a very old can of paint thinner that is now leaking. There isn't very much paint thinner left in it but I went ahead and put it in a bucket and left it out on the balcony - it is cold in my area. I also covered the parts th...	The best solution would be to pour the liquid into another metal or glass container that can be sealed to prevent evaporation. Short term, I would drain it into a glass or steel jug or can and leave the empty container outside, capless for a month to evaporate the residue.
Hollow-core door shelves bracketed with 3 pieces of 1x1? I want to build shelves for a linens closet. I plan to use hollow core door as the shelf material. The doors are 15" deep, and after cutting will be ~70" long. I need to come up with a way to brace the shelves to the wall. I had two ideas: Affix 1x1 lumber to ...	I agree with other posters that a hollow core door could be problematic and you should consider other material options for your shelving material. A 1x1 is just too flimsy, can bow between studs and after accepting one screw through it there is not much meat left to the piece.
How to repair anchor holes and re-mount bathroom tissue dispenser I need to repair the holes where tissue bracket was installed, then re-mount it. About 3 inches behind the drywall are bricks. I thought about re-mounting it with 1 inch toggle bolts after repairing the holes with drywall tape. <Q> If you are repairing ...	You will need less mud/tape and you won't worry about the expansion of the bricks pushing on the drywall/material - if you decided to just fill the space - which would probably show after time if not done right.
How to connect a 14-30r outlet with only three wires? I am trying to wire a 14-30r receptacle. I only have 3 wires (black, red, and ground). There is a system ground and equipment ground on the wiring diagram. Do these both attach to the ground? <Q> A NEMA 14-30R requires four conductors. <S> Two ungrounded (hot) ...	Often, only a few watts of 120v is necessary to power a clock, controls or convenience lighting (so you can use common 120v bulbs instead of hard-to-find 240v bulbs). If you only have three wires, then you cannot install a 14-30. Both the grounded (neutral), and equipment grounding conductors are connected to ground.
Adding push button to Chamberlain opener Added a doorbell push button to newly installed Chamberlain garage door opener...linked push button wires to same contacts as the incoming control pad inputs (red and white). Doesn't work. Is this wired incorrect? <Q> A regular push button either normally closed or open will not...	They use resistors or some other mechanism to vary the voltage going back to the motor controller.
how do I replace an unknown brand casement window? this is an old house. it has double paned casement window. some of them are foggy and need to be replaced. I dont know what brand it is. but on the casement window operator, it saids "entrygard truth". not sure if only that operator is made by entrygard or the whole wi...	There are shops that will "fix" the old unit by drilling a hole in the glass and evacuating the moisture out of the cavity and leave a "breather hole" in the glass.
What's the best material to use to fill in a 1/2" gap between drywall and stairs? The previous owner of our home had a shoddy job down on some stairs leading to a rec room carved out of some of the attic space. There are four stairs leading up to the room, and under each one is a gap about half an inch wide and deep. ...	If you have verified that each step is level so that it doesn't need to be re-secured to the tread than the gaps can be filled. The easiest and most used product to fill each gap would be a latex caulking. It than can be painted if desired, but there are plenty of colors to choose from which may not make painting neede...
How should I wall mount a TV with one metal stud and a gap between the drywall and exterior block? I am mounting a TV on a wall (see photos). There is a 7/8 inch gap between the drywall and the exterior, and a single metal vertical stud (Florida) as indicated. I want to center the TV, which is also indicated. I gene...	The 7/8 inch spacer will prevent the screws from collapsing the drywall as the screws are tightened. You maybe able to trim the toggle bolts down to a size so that they can open in the 7/8 inch gap. I'd use a bunch of auger anchors, probably four on top and four on the bottom, as well.
Why do I have voltage on a plumbing ground strap, and is it dangerous? We have been having problems with the lights in our basement for awhile now (few weeks), sometimes they will work, other times they just won't turn on. Today I noticed a thin metal piece in the basement closet and I accidentally broke it off. I am ...	Disconnecting the ground wire from the pipe shouldn't be dangerous, but it can't be assumed to be safe, because there may be an undiscovered issue waiting to bite you. Once fixed, you can reconnect the grounding strap to the pipe IF the main breaker is off, and IF you carefully measure no voltage or current between it ...
How to connect power inverter to standard lighting circuit I'm interested in installing a solar power system in my garage and am wondering how to connect the three-prong receptacle output of the power inverter to a NM-B lighting circuit that was previously hooked into a switch in an electric box receiving power from th...	Depending on the wiring in your garage, it may be possible to use your light switch to switch between mains power & inverter power, but you will likely need to install a pull switch light fixture to control the light & do some rewiring inside the light switch box.
How to connect metal conduit to in-wall NM cable? I have NM cable in metal conduit running along a wall. At a corner, the conduit enters wall space, and ends at a metal box in the wall. The line is continued by in-wall NM. How should I handle the point where the conduit enters the wall? Just a hole in the sheetrock? <Q...	The conduit is just to protect the wire from being easily or accidentally nicked, the wall takes over that duty & the transition can be as pretty or ugly as you want...by Code.
How to cut 45 angles in quarter round shoe molding with circular saw? I do not own a mitre saw, which seems like the best tool for cutting skinny quarter round shoe moulding at 45 degree angles. While I can manipulate the angle on my circular saw, which worked very well for my baseboard 45s, the quarter round's small ...	When doing something more accurate like your quarter round, a miter saw or a miter box are the best tools for the job.
Lightbulbs burn out 3 seconds after turning on the light I was sitting at my desk in my home office and I wanted to turn on the room light, but I couldn't reach - I was off from the switch by about 3 inches. Being too lazy to get out of my chair, I picked up my external battery pack (exactly the same one as shown below...	One likely reason is that the light bulbs came from a defective batch. The voltage in the circuit is over the normal household 120 volts.
Does a GFCI receptacle provide overcurrent protection? Does a GFCI receptacle provide over-current protection? (note that I'm not referring to GFCI circuit breakers as may be found in a service panel, nor to specialty devices such as an inline plug-in GFCI that may offer over-current protection) I've checked some GFCI...	Typical GFCI outlet units do not provide any over current protection.
How do I drywall a corner with a lally column? I'm finishing my basement and I've come across this lally column which is supporting a steel beam. I want to frame an external corner for this interior wall at this "corner" but the distance from where the back of the drywall would be to the column (especially on the righ...	Screw a 2x8 & 2x10 into a corner with corner bead (guessing what it is to each end stud), then screw those flats to the wall end stud faces (only half the width of those studs so drywall can lay & screw)... Using a full piece of plywood makes a straight corner really easy.
Removing basketball hoop from asphalt driveway I've got an old basketball hoop pole sunk in my asphalt driveway, about an inch away from a concrete pad. I want to get it out, at least enough to cover over with an asphalt patch kit. I don't want to leave any of the pole exposed. What would be the best way to do this? I ...	The way I found to lower an embedded pipe below grade is to first cut the pipe as low as possible. A grinder or circular saw will get that asphalt.
GFCI installation in bathroom switch box doesn't work as expected My bathroom wall switch controls the old light above the old medicine cabinet but it only has 1 cable with a black and a white wire. I took off the old switch and put the black wire on the hot side of the GFCI and the white wire on the other side both in...	You made an assumption about the wiring: that power came from the breaker panel first to the light switch, then up to the fixture. Since the light switch only switches a hot, they didn't bother bringing a neutral to that location. For outlets, you need neutral. Especially if you chose a GFCI, and its next to a sink.......
How to repair chipped glass My tabletop glass corner was chipped about 1 square cm in area. How can i reattach this chip to glass so there is no trace of breakage. I am looking for a cheaper and best approach. <Q> I agree that replacing with tempered glass is your best option. <S> But if you want cheap, there are o...	You can use a cheap UV light ($15 or less) to cure the glue.
How to install wheels on shelves? I am looking at this product, and wondering if I can install wheels on them. <Q> You don't want to install wheels on those shelves. <S> They will fall apart on you. <S> Instead of trying to find a way to install wheels on shelves, find shelving that is already on wheels and buy that....	I guess the other option would be to mount a support below the bottom shelf, screwed on through the corner holes, and attach the casters to that.
Is there a Dremel attachment for removing Gorilla Glue? I find myself having an on-off love affair with Gorilla Glue but can't quite commit to it. It's the mess due to the foaming behaviour during cure. I try to glue small things together with it and then clean off the glue during the foaming phase. These items are ...	If the material is a type of metal attach a wire wheel or cup brush to the multi-tool and gently remove the dried glue haze.
How to install recessed lights without bar hangers? I'm sure I can figure out a way to mount the recessed I reclaimed, which are missing the bar hangers; however, does anyone have any previous experience in doing so? <Q> Sure, just rotate them 90° and attach them to a ceiling joist with nails or screws through the brac...	This gadget, the Caddy TSGB16 , would probably work with the keyholes in the plate in your picture.

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