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What size wire for 150 A main electrical service Recently had the electrical panel upgraded and relocated. The electrician showed me the main wires coming from the street (in to the meter) and indicated they were 1/0 aluminum. The breaker panel had a 125 A main breaker, and he put in a 150 A main breaker on the new panel (the new panel is a 200 A panel). He replaced the wires from the meter to the panel with new copper (forget the gauge). From what I've seen around here on DIY.SE, though, 1/0 Al is sufficient for only 125 A, not 150. Should I be worried? I'm in the Houston, Texas metro area. We never tripped the 125 A breaker, but did add a 50 A 240 V receptacle for EV charging. No EV yet, and its breaker is off, so we're not drawing any more current than we used to. I'm not really worried about an immediate problem, only once we get the EV. <Q> It depends on when the work was done, and which version of the code was being followed. <S> In the 2011 code and before, there was Table 310.15(B)(7). <S> This table listed the service and feeder conductor size for 120/240 volts, 3-Wire, Single-Phase Dwelling Services. <S> The table listed 1/0 AL to be used for 125 ampere services. <S> The 2014 version of the code omitted this table, because folks were simply using the values, and not applying correction and/or adjustment factors properly. <S> The 2014 version allowed you to size the conductors to 83% of the service rating, which usually worked out to about the same as the old table. <S> Looking at your 150 ampere service as an example (Excluding any temperature or other adjustments). <S> 150 ampere x 0.83 <S> = 124.5 Table 310.15(B)(16) says that 1 AWG copper is good for 130 amperes at 75C. <S> So if no adjustments were needed, 1 AWG would be allowed as service conductors for a 120/240 volts, 3-Wire, single-phase dwelling service. <A> Depends on the setup. <S> If the power company furnished the service to the meter pan, it does not fall under the NEC. <S> The meter pan should have a minimum #1 copper wire to the main breaker. <S> If so, then you're all good. <A> They do not have to follow the same wire sizing gauge as specified in the NEC because the NEC does not govern utility companies. <S> The recommendations provided on this site are generally taken from NEC tables which does apply to work performed on most residential and commercial spaces in the United States. <S> Assuming that your locality approved your panel upgrade per all required permits and contacts and the utility company was notified and involved to remove power, it should be fine. <S> However, if you have concerns about the utility company's involvement/approval in the upgrade process, you should contact the utility company.
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Main wires coming from the street are engineered to provide adequate power by the utility company.
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Going to be away for 4 months, should we turn off the refrigerator or leave it on with water inside? I have found people saying it's better to leave it on with water inside because then mould will not form. Is there any other downside except for electricity bill? It's a smallish refrigerator which will cost around 60$/year in electricity costs if left on. Some more detailsWe are in India in an apartment. So problem with electricity turning off(breaker etc., is not an issue).However, there can be rat problem. Will they damage an open fridge? We have two babies at home, so turning it 24 hours before we leave is very difficult. So I guess, we will put in 10-15 water bottles in the fridge, and 1 open container of water in the freezer, and leave it on? Is it possible that the fridge gets damaged if the door is not opened for 4-5 months? <Q> If you're gone for a long time, it's good to turn off anything that doesn't really need to be on. <S> Not only does that not waste power, but it reduces the chance of something bad happening. <S> The issue with fridges is that they collect moisture inside and they seal well. <S> That's a bad combination if moisture starts out in the box. <S> The way to deal with that is to address the two issues. <S> After the fridge has been off for a while, make sure there isn't a pool of water in a tray or someplace. <S> This includes the result of ice melting inside the freezer. <S> Once everything is dry, address the second issue by propping the doors open. <S> The fridge will be no different than any other box then. <S> There is no reason for new moisture to collect, and it's ventilated anyway. <A> If you're going to turn off a fridge, you need to prop the doors open . <S> If you don't, humidity in the fridge will cause the growth of mold everywhere , including potentially, places behind panels you cannot clean without some serious disassembly. <S> Can't you just wipe out all the water? <S> No. <S> Some of the moisture is ice which has accumulated behind the panels in the freezer. <S> This policy can be harder to implement than you think. <S> The vast majority of humans are conditioned to close a refrigerator door on sight , so you will need an intrusive and official looking device that looks like it's designed to hold the door open, so as to jar them out of this habit. <A> This depends a lot on where you live. <S> Here in Florida for example, going away for a long period, you would NOT want to cut power to the fridge and leave it open. <S> It would still grow "samples" all over the place. <S> Instead you would want to add some water bottles (milk jugs with tap water in them) to the fridge, turn the temperature UP as warm as it will go, and then let it run while your away. <S> The water in the fridge compartment just gives the fridge something to cool. <S> It makes the work cycle more normal. <S> An empty fridge would have more start and stops then one with something in it. <S> Another example (un-related) is the A/C. <S> In Flordia, specially the humid months, you do not leave the house with no A/C. <S> If you did you would come back and have to replace large amounts of dry wall. <S> Instead you turn it up to about 82 and just let it run. <S> It's the same basic example. <S> I do no know the climate in India well enough to tell you which to do, but If you do go the route of leaving it running, make sure you have a friend stop by once a week and make sure it's still running. <A> You’re going to save at most $20 by turning it off ($60/3). <S> You’ll go through effort and time to empty it and so on, plus incurring extra electric energy to re-cool <S> it when you get back. <S> I’d recommend filling both the freezer and the refrigerator compartments with random bulky objects so that there’s very little air remaining (air can leak; big boxes can’t). <S> The fridge, which will never be opened, will probably draw considerably less average power than when you’re home. <A> Usual recommendation is to turn it off and prop the door open so it airs out and doesn't give mold a chance to grow. <A> Another reason to turn it off: if it's on, but you have a long power cut (something trips your breaker for example) <S> it could be sitting there wet for a long time, which is just what you're trying to avoid. <A> I would double check the details of your fridge, Some have a Vacation/Holiday Mode you can switch on manually or is automatically enabled if the fridge isn't opened after X amount of time. <A> Emptying It, simply wiping it down, and propping open for the summer worked fine for us in Florida for many years. <S> We use a broom to prop open. <S> Lean it, tilted, into the hinge area, close door as far as you can, and it is secured by handle in the door and the bristles on the floor. <S> This would alert anyone sensible that it should stay open. <S> AND you can tape a sign on it. <S> LEAVE OPEN. <S> DO NOT CLOSE. <S> PENALTY OF DEATH. <S> ETC. <S> (We never needed to do this intil the morning of leaving.) <S> Here is something you didn’t ask about but might like to know. <S> Unless someone goes in and flushes the toilet every month, the rubber gasket between tank and bowl can dry out. <S> This results in toilet leaking like crazy when you get back, find it dry, and flush it, bringing water into tank again. <S> Then it needs repair and you must flush with bucket until fixed. <S> BTDT.
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In dryer climates, you would prop the fridge door open enough to move some air around in it and then unplug it.
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How to drain water from a plastic sandbox? I have a Step2 plastic sandbox as shown here (Step2 stock image, not my kid!): I live at a place where my options for outdoor play structures is extremely limited, plus I'm renting, so this is the best solution I can do for an outdoor sandbox. I also live in an area where we get a lot of rain. So right now, this sandbox is actually a sandy wading pool. I've been contemplating how to allow the sandbox to drain water that enters it, possibly by drilling some holes somewhere along the bottom, but I'm uncertain exactly what to do. Obviously, I'd like to avoid draining out the sand as well or otherwise ruining the sandbox. What is a good way to modify a plastic sandbox to allow the sandbox to drain water? <Q> I'd keep it simple. <S> Cut some 2" by 2" holes that wrap from the floor around to the sidewall at the bottom corner, either with a hole saw or jig saw or similar. <S> Use latex-based construction glue or another plastic-friendly adhesive to bond one or more layers of aluminum insect screen over the drain hole from the inside, using a bead around the opening. <S> You could also use pop rivets and washers to secure the screen. <S> A small amount of sand will work though the screen over time, but it'll mostly stay put. <S> The sand will retain enough water for the kids to play for the short term, but it will drain slowly and keep the box fairly dry. <A> Just drill some 1/8" holes in it, or stab it with a kitchen knife, in every corner. <S> Your kids will lose more sand out of it then small holes ever will (you're way over thinking this). <A> I would suggest to build a grid of small diameter plastic tubing, possibly PVC pipe with holes over as much of the surface as you can tolerate to drill. <S> The pipe lengths should fit snugly in one direction of the bottom of the sandbox. <S> Spacing could be 12 to 18 inches apart and likely achieve the desired result. <S> Drill matching holes at the sides of the sandbox, perhaps a couple in the bottom. <S> Cover the pipe grid with landscape fabric. <S> Landscape fabric is used for erosion control as well as weed control, as it passes water but is tight enough to prevent weeds from growing through. <S> If your sand is fine grained enough that it will filter through the weave (not too likely) <S> you could put a couple inches of pea gravel over the landscape fabric before covering the entire assembly with sandbox sand. <S> You may lose some sand from the side holes, depending on the drainage rate and also rate of precipitation. <S> If it is severe enough, sealing the pipe ends to the sandbox sides with silicone seal may solve that. <S> Landscape fabric is under thirty dollars for a roll large enough to cover four sandboxes or more. <A> Many kits are available as replacement for coolers or similar. <S> My suggestion would be to drill the suitable sized hole in the exterior edge of the sandbox and install the spigot. <S> They usually include a rubber gasket/seal, and a nut of appropriate size. <S> Try searching for "Replacement Spigot Kit" and you should find a cheap solution. <S> When there is too much water in the sandbox, open the spigot. <S> To keep sand from exiting, I would fit some kind of screen, fabric, etc. <S> to act as a kind of filter. <S> Sometimes the $5 solution is the most sensible.
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I think a suitable solution since the water entry is intermittent, would be to add some kind of valve or stopcock through one side of the sand box.
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How can I find an appropriate replacement air filter for my furnace? Background : I got a Bryant 915SA furnace with my new house and it's time to replace the air filter. Problems : The filter is not branded so I don't know what company made it. The filter is not a standard size; it's approx. 24.5" x 15.5" x 3.75" I haven't found a data source indicating who made it. I suspect the furnace installer (who's happy to sell them) is overcharging for replacements. The furnace manual lacks details on recommended air filter suppliers. Suspicions : I suspect the air filter is by GlasFloss based on comparing the Amazon picture to my actual filter (image attached) Question :How can I determine which brands and models are appropriate replacements for this air filter? <Q> You can pick them up at any DIY store in the US for about $40. <A> Have you had any luck getting information from the web site listed on the filter? <S> I've read that filters are never the size they are marked, that it's rounding for general public consumption. <S> According to this: http://www.factorydirectfilters.com/actual-vs-nominal-size <S> your filter is 25 x 16 x 4" From the same web site: <S> http://www.factorydirectfilters.com/air-filters/4inch/16x25x4.html the numbers match the ones you've provided in your post. <S> I can't assess the pricing aspect, however. <S> They sure are expensive, regardless of size, aren't they? <A> If you want a direct replacement, you're looking for a 16x25x4 MERV 8 filter. <S> 16x25x4 is the nominal size, the actual dimensions of the filter should be 15 1/2" x 24 1/2" x 3 9/16".
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It's a standard 25" x 16" x 4" filter (41625 is the size as well as the part number for that filter).
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Relocating a fibre-optic router-modem within a home I've just gotten an FTTH fiber optic internet provider in Canada. The problem I'm having is that the technician would only install the router/modem by the back of my apartment where the fiber comes in. He said it was completely not possible to have it next to my desktop where I wanted it so that I could connect to my computer via ethernet rather than WiFi. In the end I had to let him install it in the back by the back deck. The apartment is in a large mansion sectioned off into apartments and goes: back hallway with the modem on the wall with access to a back deck -- bedroom -- small kitchen -- living room. It'll be 20-30m to where the desktop will be from where the modem is right now.So... questions: Is this true that this modem really can't be moved to a more convenient place in my apartment? This makes no sense to me. What if you want your desktop hard wired to a modem? I upload videos to my website all the time that are several GB in size. I dont want to do that via WiFi on this 50mbps Fiber signal. The fiber cable is a thin white cable (not ethernet) with a small green plug that comes out of a hole in the wall and goes into the Homehub3000 modem. Can I extend this cable with a coupler or a hub or something and run more of this same cable the length I need to get to my living room, about 20m? If I run one Cat6 and split it in the living room with some hub device, can I run the fiber signal effectively to four devices at the same time the way I would with four SEPARATE ethernet ports and cables or are they essentially going to be sharing one port. And will that cause I conflicts on each device? The four ethernet ports on the back of this thing are useless to me because I'm not gonna run FOUR Cat6 cables 20m each through my bedroom, through the kitchen, into the living room to where they need to go to connect to different devices. How do I effectively "put" the four ports in my living room if moving the modem isn't an option? Thanks! <Q> The basic problem with installing fiber is it's glass, and glass doesn't bend well. <S> That thin white fiber cable has a minimum bend radius of somewhere around 10 cm, so if you pull it tight around a corner the glass inside it breaks. <S> And splices are not easy. <S> If it's an all-in-one box you can probably get it changed. <S> 30m is hardly unreasonable for ethernet, but I would buy good cable and avoid running it parallel to electrical lines. <S> By "good" I don't mean "says cat-6 on the bag", I mean good quality cable from a known manufacturer. <S> Go to a supplier not in a shopping mall or main-street-front. <S> You want the industrial-park places. <A> You can run a single cat6 cable from the modem to a more convenient location and then put a simple network switch or (wireless) router to 'split' the cable into 4 or more ports. <S> If you already have a router, you'll want to configure a new router as an access point (essentially assign static IP and turn off DHCP). <S> Cat6 will give you at least 1 Gbps speed. <S> Note that if you get a switch or another router, you'll have 4 ports but those 4 will share the connection to your isp. <S> If you only have 1 device, no worries, but if you have 4 connected at the same time each will run at about 1/4 speed. <S> The installer could of course have put the fiber drop wherever he or you wanted, though the place he chose was most likely the most convenient for him - fewer walls to drill into and such. <S> It may be possible to get an extender fire the fiber, but cat6 is easy to work with and prosit cheaper. <A> I'm probably sure that you're talking about Bell installing FTTH inside your apartment as most other providers use coax. <S> The technician should have installed a termination outlet which is single mode fiber. <S> From there, there is an optic fiber cable that connect to it and into your modem. <S> That cable is simplex, single-mode, single connector. <S> You can buy it online and route it through your apartment to where you'd like your modem. <S> It isn't cheap, it's a PITA, but it can be done. <S> However, as other have said, fiber doesn't bend well. <S> Unless you have more than gigabit connection, you'd be better to route Ethernet or simply buy a very good WiFi router instead.
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The typical solution is install the fiber modem in the best place for the fiber, and then run a single ethernet line to your router.
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Is 4 ten-feet 4x4s enough for a shed foundation? I've ordered a 10x16 shed and building a shed foundation right now. Basically I did 8 concrete piers and I'm planning to just run four 4x4 timber posts in parallel. Will that be enough of a support? P.S> - shed will have five 4x4 runners along the floor, like shown here: Edit 1: Here's the manufacturer spec for the foundation. According to the manufacturer this is according with CT building code: http://imgur.com/a/KOQ2M Edit 2: Well shoot. I've just realized that I've made a terrible mistake.Manufacturer chart called for 8 ft on center (so 1 ft would be sticking out on each side). I've build it with 2 ft sticking out -> so 6 ft between concrete posts... wow. ho w th hell did that happened. I think Ill be using sistered 2x8 now instead for support. wow. <Q> 4x4x10 <S> (spaced 4'0" apart) is rather questionable and I would expect it to sag in the middle where the shed "runners" (labelled #10 in diag.) <S> rest in the middle of the 10'0" span. <S> If the shed floor joists (FJs) (#9 in diag.) are attached to the runners (#10) <S> the sagging could be minor. <S> 4x4's are inferior to sistered 2-2x4's because the grain in 4x4s is directionally uniform, whereas, 2-2x4's will have differentiated grain. <S> I couldn't find a link to a span table for 4x4's but found this one (which recommends 2-2x10's for a 10'0" span): span table <S> However, this assumes underlayment only and your shed has runners and FJs. <S> While I think 4x4x10 is "doable", I think (sistered) <S> 2-2x6's should be a minimum. <S> It really depends on what the live weight load will be (ie. <S> what's going to be stored in the shed...especially toward the center). <S> In my 6x10 shed <S> I used 2x10x6'0" (@ 24" center) with a 2x12 rim joist. <A> Without knowing exactly what the structure of the shed's floor plate is, it's impossible to know for sure. <S> If this were a deck, for a 10' span and ~5' spacing you'd want something more like double 2x8s (which are about 10X stronger in bending than your 4x4 suggestion). <S> On the other hand it looks like the shed is built with its own joists <S> already that might do the bulk of the work spanning the 10' dimension. <S> Does the shed manufacturer provide instructions about what kind of support is required? <S> EDIT: you've said that your 4 beams are actually 8' spans and are going to be cantilevered out 1' on each side. <S> That dramatically changes the situation (for the worse). <S> First of all it means the floor joists are going to be unsupported at their ends which is a problem that needs to be resolved. <S> Also it means that your cantilevered beams are also going to be picking up the entire weight of the walls, roof, and snow (if applicable). <S> You should probably get an engineer involved to design these four cantilevered beams for you. <S> Also 6x6 posts are not really much stronger than 4x4s in bending. <S> To make a strong beam you need it to be deep . <S> I'm guessing you're looking at something like double 2x12s <S> but it depends on many factors that you have not specified. <A> No. 4x4s are literally off the charts. <S> The only place they belong is as posts. <S> If you're going to build it like a deck, then build it like a deck <S> (Chicago's deck code). <S> Beams are to be at minimum a 2x8 or a 6x6. <S> If I'm deciphering the 9.1 table right, even two Southern Pine <S> 2x12s only gets you a span of 9'11'' when spaced 4' apart (8' apart is also off the chart). <S> "Beam undersized for span" <S> Are you within the manufacturer's specifications (if you use 6x6s)? <S> Yes. <S> Are the manufacturer's specifications sorta wack? <S> Also, yes. <S> Supporting a 10x16 foot shed on three (or even four) <S> It should be more like eight of them; one every two feet.
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6x6s doesn't sound right to me at all.
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Glue to Secure Dishwasher to Granite Recently my dishwasher (DW) required service which meant pulling it out from under the granite counter top. The DW was secured to the counter top with two metal tabs which were glued to the counter top. The DW is operational again but I am searching for the type of glue that was used. Any suggestions? Thanks! Edit: The epoxy product I ended up using is called Loctite Epoxy Five Minute Instant Mix . Before applying it, I used sand paper to remove the old epoxy. Then I simply applied the epoxy to the metal tabs, slid the dishwasher back into place with the door open, and clamped the metal tabs to the counter top. The next morning, I removed the clamps and verified the epoxy was rock solid. Rock on! <Q> Two Part Epoxy . <S> But I wouldn't use it to hold the clip in; I'd use it to attach a tee nut , which is then fastened with a bolt to the clips on the dishwasher, facilitating removal or replacement in the future. <A> There are devices called Granite Grabbers, which come with adhesive strips, which are designed to fix to granite worktops. <S> Many dishwasher manufacturers also sell a Solid Surface Undercabinet Mounting Kit, which will work. <A> I am going to write an answer to an old question because I have done a lot of granite and dishwashers... <S> Clear Silicone. <S> That's it. <S> These tabs aren't to set the dish washer in place, they are tip guards. <S> You don't make it permanent with an epoxy or the first time you pull your dishwasher out you will be messing up the granite.
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An alternative with a lot of dishwashers is to not fix them to the granite worktop, but to secure through the sides to the adjoining cabinets.
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Mysterious cord running from wall. Safe? My wife and I are preparing to sell our home and are discovering some weird things. Our home was built in 1958, so it is older. We found this in a corner that had some furniture in front of it. We are wondering What kind of wiring is this? Is it safe to handle or remove? <Q> That is a wired telephone junction block. <S> The wire coming through the wall may very well be where the original land line entered the house from outside. <S> The other wire is probably going off to some phone jack in another part of the house. <A> A few things to add to the other answer <S> It was probably an older 4-pin jack that went there. <S> This was the forerunner for the modern (and considerably more compact) <S> RJ-11 jack you would recognize. <S> Interestingly enough, the wiring hasn't changed, just the jack. <S> You can actually get adapters for them since some houses still have them Even though these are low voltage, be aware that if you have copper landline service, these wires are energized with just enough voltage that it can give you a bit of a jolt. <S> It's not anything serious, but I would just be aware that can happen (especially since it has no cover). <S> Shouldn't cost more than $10 tops and it will help with the presentation of the room. <A> This is the remains of a landline telephone junction box. <S> It is missing the front cover, and would have looked similar to the picture in Machavity's answer. <S> There is a small chance that this is still live. <S> You can test this by checking the voltage by using a multimeter. <S> Take the 2 leads of the volt meter and connect them to the 2 wires coming out of the wall. <S> In telecommunications jargon, these wires are known as the ring and tip. <S> The green wire is the tip, and the red is the ring. <S> They are similar to modern headphone jacks, but were mono. <S> It is fairly safe to leave this as is, but since you are remodeling, it would be a good idea to either replace it with new wiring even if you don't plan on using it. <S> The wire you should use is known as Category (Cat) 3 wire. <S> It is fairly inexpensive, and can be bought in bulk from home improvement stores. <S> You will also need a telephone jack. <S> Disconnect the wire from the old jack, and securely tie a piece of string to it. <S> Then see if you can pull the wire from the other side. <S> It may not be attached to the framing inside of the wall, so it should just pull out. <S> You can use the string to pull the new wire through the original hole, so you don't have to do any drilling. <S> Cat 3 wire has 4 wires, but you only will need to connect the red and green wires to the jack. <S> This should be clearly marked on the jack. <S> The rest of the wires won't be used. <S> You can simply fold them back inside of the jack. <S> That way, it would be easy to hook it up in the future. <S> If it is connected at the other end, hook up the new wire exactly the same way as the old.
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If the other end of the wire is not connected, you can just coil up the end of the wire and wrap it with electrical tape to keep it out of the way. The tip and ring corresponds to the old style phone jacks that telephone operators used in manual switchboards. Remove the old plate on the baseboard, cut a hole around the wires, add the gang, and install a modern RJ-11 plate over the top. Pets and kids are the only worry there (it can scare them). If you want to neaten this up just buy a low voltage gang (orange box without a back that looks like this ).
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Tool to wipe skylight? I've got a skylight straight up in the ceiling, about 3m off the ground. Pretty much exactly this: When it's cold, water condenses on the inside and eventually starts to drip. In winter it needs to be wiped at least once a day. Now, I've had absolutely no luck finding a suitable tool for wiping without climbing up a ladder and wiping with a towel. What I need is a very absorbent sponge at the end of a telescopic arm, which, importantly, fits the extreme curve of the window. Any typical flat floor wiping tool is absolutely useless. Any advice on what I should be looking for exactly? <Q> You'll likely have to cobble something together. <S> Start with a telescoping painters extension pole (found at any hardware/home improvement store in various lengths), then add a mop head or whatever you think will work best. <A> Or normal broom handle if its long enough to reach. <S> Large sponge <S> Duct tape Cut a small hole in the end of the sponge. <S> Shove it on the end of the pole. <S> If it doesn't stay in by friction alone, wrap a little duct tape around it. <A> What you have is called a bubble skylight. <S> The older ones are notorious for being poorly insulated. <S> The moisture builds up in there because there is a big difference in temperature between the air in the room, and the surface of the skylight. <S> It is basically acting like a chimney, and causing you to lose a lot of heat throughout the year. <S> A poorly sealed skylight is nearly as bad as leaving a window open a crack all year. <S> What you need to do to prevent this from happening is to insulate the skylight. <S> Inside of the box, there is a roll of window film, and a roll of double stick tape. <S> It is pretty simple to install. <S> Tape around the perimeter of the window first without exposing the other side of the tape. <S> Measure the film, and cut it oversize by a few inches. <S> Then you can peel off the plastic from the rest of the pieces of tape and carefully install the film. <S> You want to avoid any creases when putting it on, and make it as straight with the window as you can. <S> Then take a hair dryer, and gently heat up the film until it begins to shrink, which tightens it up. <S> You want to avoid heating it up too much because it can shrink to far and separate from the tape. <S> The goal is to make it completely air tight. <S> That should solve the problem with moisture building up. <S> You may occasionally get a little bit of moisture, but it shouldn't be nearly as bad as it is now. <S> You will probably also notice that there is less of a draft, and your heating bill should go down a little. <A> For the remaining condensation I ended up ordering a bunch of different things on Amazon for testing. <S> The best thing I found there was a round microfibre swivel-head mop with telescoping pole (specifically the Leifheit 52026), which works great. <S> The fibres are on the bottom of the disc and thus it works against gravity, and the whole disc is of the right shape and flexibility to work with the curvature of the window.
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Peel off the plastic from one piece of the tape and position the film over it. In the end the correct course of action was to change the usage pattern of several rooms in the house to reduce humidity overall, so there isn't that much condensation to begin with. The cheapest, and most effective way of doing this is by installing insulating window film. I like the cheap but effective method: Telescoping painters pole. Once the film is tight, you probably wouldn't even be able to see it most times. These kits can be found in most home stores, and are pretty inexpensive.
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Hitting studs and not pipes I'm mounting a vanity and mirror in a small half bathroom and there's only 1 stud to hit behind my drywall (1990's build). However, this stud seems to be flanked on either side with pipes. To make matters worse, there is another bathroom right above this one so I must assume both the copper pipes and the drain pipe continues straight up. So my question: how do I hit this stud perfectly and not the pipes, and secondly how do I place drywall anchors on either side of the stud for additional support without hitting the pipes? Attached are some photos. The magnets are stuck to drywall screws/nails. UPDATE: Here's another picture after I've probed into the wall with a metal hanger (those are hard to find these days!) I believe the pin prick my screwdriver is pointing to is the center of the stud as the hole to the left of it just barely graced the left side of wood. But how is that possible with where the drain pipe is below this? I still don't have confidence in what I'm seeing. One more photo showing this stud's relation to the only other stud that isn't in one of the corners of the room. <Q> Besides the nails are set at an angle so it keeps hanging, not able to slide out. <A> There's no reason to deviate from your plan. <S> Drill carefully through the drywall (put some tape on your drill bit at just over 1/2"), then feel your way from there. <S> If you hit wood, drill slowly and check often. <S> However, code in the 90s required steel protection at any point where pipes were run through studs close to the surface (say within 1"). <S> One of our resident plumbers can confirm this for us. <A> I'm not a fan of the magnet trick. <S> You want to make sure it does run floor to ceiling, or there may very well be shenanigans going on inside there. <S> If I had to guess, your pinprick is the somewhere towards the right edge of the stud. <S> Looks to me like there's exactly 1.5 inches between those two pipes (one stud). <S> Stick <S> a coat hanger inside the wall through the hole above the drain pipe, and poke around to the left. <S> Feel a stud? <S> Verify that with a stud finder. <S> You mentioned in a comment that the drain immediately turns to the left, so you might not hit the stud with the coat hanger because you're slipping into a cored hole in the stud. <S> If you can't get magnets to stick all over in the place, then definitely proceed with caution. <S> That means there's either no protection plate or no stud, both of which equals shenanigans. <S> See if you can find any horizontal studs with a finder (try to figure out what they did to frame around the pipes being in the way of where studs should be). <S> But that's more of an issue for rehab jobs, not in a 90s construction house. <S> Assuming no shenanigans, I'm relatively confident of my deemed location of the stud, just by looking. <S> Still, I'd do everything aforementioned above. <S> When using a stud finder, you mark both edges of the stud. <S> Those marks tell you where the middle is. <A> There may be a horizontal member as it is entirely reasonable to terminate a vertical stud on a horizontal noggin to frame anything that needs to interrupt the vertical line (like the openings in this example <S> http://www.oas.org/pgdm/document/codedraw/images/fig-a-12.gif )
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If there's a pipe at that location, you'll almost certainly feel a gap first, and even if you don't you should detect plastic or metal, and either should move somewhat when pressed. Use a real stud finder and map out both edges of the stud, in several locations, before you proceed. If the mirror is not over 50 lbs or more you can use picture hooks that are rated for 75 lbs that go only into the drywall. Drywall will hold it, it is not like the wall vibrates or anything like that to make them loose. And the hot water pipe is attached directly to the left side of the stud, and the drain is attached to the right side (the fitting is larger than the pipe, which will skew your perception).
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How to remove screws from old decking I have some decking in my back garden and some of the planks need replacing. However, the screws are difficult to remove. Some have rusted/weakened sufficiently so that I've managed to remove the screw head entirely when trying to unscrew them while others are just very stubborn and hard to undo. I've put some WD40 on them and this has helped in some cases, but there are still many that are proving very hard to get out. The planks will be thrown away so I was considering drilling through the wood around the screw and effectively allowing me to remove the plank and leave the screw behind (possibly in a little plug of wood left behind) but then I'm stuck with still having to get the screw out. I'll also have to remove the shafts of the screws that have lost their heads but I'm hoping that using pliers will do that. What would be an effective course of action for dealing with stubborn screws in old decking? <Q> You can use a reciprocating saw (often called by a brandname, Sawzall) or a multitool <S> In either case, you need to use a blade intended for cutting metal. <S> Some blades are combination blades that work in wood or metal. <S> Place the blades between the bottom of the decking and the supporting framing and cut just the screw. <S> The small amount of wood taken out will not matter, but lean the blade toward the wood being discarded. <S> If you can't access the bottom of the deck, you can remove a section of the board to be discarded close to the screw and then cut the screw horizontally. <S> The stub of the old screw in the framing board will be covered by the new boards. <S> Images and links are illustrative only, not an endorsement of goods or sources. <A> @Bib is absolutely correct in the answer above, but in the grand tradition of skinning a cat multiple ways, here's an alternate approach. <S> I think this would be faster than an oscillating tool and easier than a sawzall. <S> (Though both are great tools to have -- don't let me discourage you there.) <S> Given that you're not trying to save the deck boards, I'd use a circular saw to rough cut them first, then use a sledge hammer to knock them off the screws. <S> Anything that is awkward for the sledge can usually be removed with a 2' pry bar. <S> If any screws remain, first hit them sideways with a hammer to see if you can break them; otherwise, twist them out with vise grips. <S> (This assumes that you're taking out a large percentage of deck boards... if you're just plucking a few strategically, this advice doesn't apply. <S> However, if a few of your deck boards are bad, it's probably not long before all of your deck boards are bad, so doing everything at once might work well.) <S> Cutting strategy: if your deck is nearly ground level, then just run the circular saw between each joist. <S> This is a lot like cutting the tree limb that you're sitting on, so care is required as you get to the edge. <S> If the deck is a little higher, (so hard to access from the ground), cut so that you've got walkways of deck boards that bridge two joists. <S> The pattern would look like this: Again, use caution, as you're relying on less and less structure to keep you from tumbling. <A> If your just replacing a few boards and you can see the screws clearly, I have had pretty good luck using a coring bit. <S> They can be a little hard to find without pilot bit, but they work very well. <S> You can also find a hole saw without a pilot and it would work well. <S> You simply put the hole around the screw, the large plank comes off, and your left with a little wheel of wood that is screwed in. <S> You can then usually just turn the wooden "wheel" and the screw will come right out. <S> Or you could use vise grips. <S> If none of that works then you can just cut the screw, and hammer the remainder into the joists. <A> When the plank is to be replaced you can cut the plank either side of the joist (I drilled a hole to start then a power jigsaw to cut). <S> Then split the small remaining bit of plank along its grain with an old chisel (not a good one, please!) <S> adjacent to the screw. <S> That will leave a rusty screw protruding out of the joist. <S> I have always found that if you grab such a protruding screw head with a self-grip wrench and rotate it anticlockwise it will either unstick or shear off. <S> If it shears off below the top of the joist all is as good as it could be. <S> Otherwise you may have to cut, file or grind off the remaining protruding bit with a hacksaw, hand file or various possible power tools. <S> Whichever, it's a lot easier with the plank gone! <S> I'd probably try giving the stuck screws a good whack with an impact driver before attacking the plank, if I had an impact driver available. <S> Quick, and nothing lost if it fails. <A> My screws had rusted in after a decade outside <S> so I actually found the easiest way was a mallet and crowbar to lift the decking planks up. <S> If you are keeping the decking this works well, if your not, like I was not, you can even saw them after lifting, but still supported buy the jousts, if you need to put them in your car for the tip.
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When the boards having the heads are being discarded, a simple way to remove them is to cut through the screws at the joint between the board.
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Sanding, staining and varnishing wood, outside I'm new to wood stuff in general and I want to build a mini closet, but my wife is pregnant, I was wondering if I can sand, stain, varnish, etc. outside and wait for the fumes to disperse and then put everything together inside, this is because I don't have a shop or empty room where I can do this kind of work, or what do you recommend? <Q> Mario, I've been stripping paint off old doors, sanding, staining, and applying poly outside. <S> It's more convenient in dealing with the mess and smells and more enjoyable than being cooped-up indoors all the time. <S> However, be aware that applying poly outdoors is best done inside a screened-off enclosure as every insect or airborne speck of dust, dirt, or pollen <S> will choose that moment to land on your work otherwise. <S> A single errant leaf or breeze-blown blade of grass can wreck havoc on a poly' job that's just become tacky to the touch. <S> Also note: too much of a breeze can dry-out stain (before one has a chance to wipe the excess) and poly too quickly for the job to be done well. <A> I just crafted an outdoor booth for spray painting kitchen cabinet doors. <S> I have a pop-up tent (that we already had) for the roof and structure. <S> I have hung 8 cheap ($5 ea.) <S> plastic shower curtain liners around the perimeter and a cheap plastic tarp for the floor. <S> (upper gaps will be closed before spraying) <S> The goal is to keep the smell and spray from my finished spaces and have enough room to maneuver. <S> Drying is going to be on a portable coat rack (that we had) <S> and I am using the European hinge hanger gizmos to create a drying rack that can return to conventional use after the project. <S> (to be moved before actual use) <A> You can do it outside, as the consensus shows. <S> To add my 2 cents worth, you do not need an elaborate cover unless the process will take a number of days and you fear material getting wet from rain or dew. <S> The insects will do you bad during the summertime, but this time of the year it will be as much of an issue. <S> My personal experience is prefinishing a few hundred linear of crown that I stained and clear coated with poly, no bugs got stuck in the finish at all. <S> At least it did on me when I was doing it in the summertime. <S> my not be so bad in the fall.
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When working outside do not work in direct sunlight, it will bubble the finish.
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Is there a tankless water heater with instant hot water? I used to have a tankless water heater and loved that I never ran out of hot water in the shower. What I didn't like is that it took about 60 seconds for the water to get hot, which is really annoying when I just wanted to wash my hands with warm water. Is there a system that combines unlimited and instant hot water? Maybe a hybrid – an on demand unit with a small, heated tank? <Q> The tank is not the issue. <S> The distance and pipe size is the issue. <S> There is a considerable length of "hot water" pipe between your hot water heater and your shower or sink. <S> That pipe is always full of water. <S> Over time, this water cools off. <S> It is now cold water, even though it's in the hot-water pipe. <S> When you turn on hot water, hot water starts flowing into the pipe from the far end . <S> The cold water already in the pipe must be pushed out before you feel warm water at the faucet. <S> How long depends on faucet flow rate, length of pipe, and pipe diameter squared . <S> That "square" rule is a real problem. <S> Go from 3/8" to 1/2" pipe, your delay doubles. <S> Go from 1/2 to 3/4, it doubles again. <S> And some dummies think 3/4" pipe is deluxe and will give them better showers. <S> Nope, it just makes them wait. <S> Downsizing pipe as much as possible will help. <S> Also, you can move the hot water heater closer to (right next to) <S> the shower or sink. <S> That's easy with electric tankless heaters. <S> However in practice, most tankless heaters are simply installed where the old tanked heater had been (which itself was chosen because of the ugly, awkward bulk of the unit) -- in which case obviously there's no speed improvement, and speed may be worse since flow rate is limited on on-demand units. <S> The solution is to install the tankless unit much closer to the point of use. <A> Tankless water heaters are great unless you have a large home then multiple units are needed. <S> In my early years we built very large custom homes and installed recirculating pumps that cycle the water in a loop using the cold water line the only problem here is that the cold water is now warm and it takes more power over all but the units are not that expensive and quite easy to install on the furthest hot water tap from the water <S> heater here is an example . <S> If your home has 3/4" pipe to prevent the pressure drop that causes a shower to go cold when some one uses water in another part of the home this is one way to not have to wait for minutes for hot water. <S> The timer will need to be adjusted based on the length and size of the pipes and if the pipes are exposed under the home they should be insulated to reduce the power consumption but this is one way to have hot water quickly. <S> The only drawback is I don't think they will work with a tankless system but not positive about that. <A> As @Tyson said, that's water in the pipes that had cooled down to ambient temperature. <S> The water coming from the heater is hot, it just has to get to the shower, flushing the cool water out in the process. <S> There's not a whole lot you can do about that without moving the heater closer to the shower. <S> Since it is so close to the faucet, there is little cool water to flush out of the pipes until the hot water gets there. <S> There may be similar units you can install for showers. <S> You'd probably need an access panel of some sorts, either on the shower wall, or on the opposite side of that wall.
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There are on-demand inline water heaters that install under your sink, and provide instant hot water to that faucet only.
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Do two layers of 1/2" drywall provide a fire rating equivalent to one layer of 5/8" drywall? On an existing 1/2" drywall partition, does adding another layer of 1/2" drywall over the existing bring the partition wall up to an equivalent fire rating as 5/8" drywall ?? <Q> Just to shed common sense on this. <S> Almost in all cases is it cheaper and less of a hassle to demo the 1/2" and install 5/8" than to install 1/2" over 1/2". <S> So to answer the question, just install the 5/8 <S> " so you aren't having a philosophical debate on fire rating with a local inspector. <A> There are many factors to look at, like wall type. <S> Fire testing was done on many type wall construction example Shaft Walls, Separation walls, Wood Studs, Metal studs, with insulation and without. <S> Also the type of gypsum panel used Type X board or Type C board. <S> Fire code C has a better rating than Type X. To include the installation of the board joints Two layers of 1/2 inch require the first layer to be horizontal stagger joints face layer vertically staggered joints. <S> Just adding a layer of drywall may have very little effect on the rating. <A> A second layer will increase the fire rating. <S> The drywall seams are staggered. <S> Some inspectors require the second sheet to be horizontal. <S> I always thought the seams staggered vertically was better <S> but maybe it is easier to verify the offsets with the second sheet horizontal.
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The type of finish could effect the rating like adding Veneer plaster could increase the rating.
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Can I run constant power and a three-way switch with three conductors? Picture this> I want to run power from a house to a garage. I want power at the garage at all times I want a three way switch with one switch in thehouse and one in the garage to activate the outside light on thegarage. Here is the problem. I believe I made a big mistake. I ran four wires. (black, white, Red, GreenGround) through PVC. Unless I am missing something I don't think there is any way to wire this the way I wanted without one more wire to run to the garage making a total of 5 wires. Am I right? or, is there a way? <Q> There is a way <S> but it is no longer acceptable by code. <S> Edit: This method is dangerous for this reason. <S> The lamp socket shell, which is always supposed to be neutral, can become hot creating a shock or electrocution hazard. <S> If you can, run a fourth wire. <S> It can be any color save for green and white. <S> I'd go with blue. <S> Make the red and blue the three way leads and let the black stay live the whole time. <S> Or, Consider a motion detector and leave the red wire disconnected. <S> Or, Use the red wire for a light only controlled from the house. <A> there is another way you can do it, and its all code compliant, but its more complicated. <S> you run the power there with two of the conductors (lets say black and white as line and neutral) and green as the ground <S> you use the red wire as a signal wire. <S> now all you need is another switch and signal wire at the garage end. <S> both signal wires get wired into a programmable logic controller at the garage side that is supplied with power at the garage side. <S> you put in a 24vdc power supply at the garage side to give power to the signal wires and wire them to ground, through a standard switch, at their respective device boxes. <S> when you hit the switch, it grounds (or ungrounds), the plc sees that as a change of state and uses that as cue to energize/deenergize an output on the plc I/O rail, and that energizes a relay that you use to control the light. <S> you can do it yourself pretty easily with some of the siemens plc's. <S> but you may need someone to program it for you. <S> its a more industrial way to do it, but quite normal in industrial and hvac type installations. <S> and its completely legal because your conductors are within conduit. <A> Yet another solution, similar to ppa'a solution but off-the-shelf: run unswitched power, and use home automation equipment to control switches at the far end
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The reason is the method used will constantly flip the polarity of the hot and neutral lines to the light making either wire and lamp socket parts hot depending on the switches.
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Are foam brushes suitable for applying wood stain, or is a cloth necessary? Is "rubbing in" required? Before staining a hardwood floor, I sampled the stain on a scrap to test the color. The floor is oak, but the sample I had was birch. The oil-based red mahagony stain appears far darker than I expected, and far darker than I recall the sample in the store looked (though I'm not doing a side-by-side comparison). Since oak is darker, I expect the final result to be even darker. But I used a foam brush, not a cloth, to apply the stain. I find a foam brush a bit easier (and faster) to handle than cloth. Do foam brushes soak up too much stain and inherently result in darker tones? Is a cloth really necessary to apply wood stains to produce the "official" tone? A foam brush doesn't really allow for "working it in". You soak it and swipe. If you attempt to rub it in, the foam will shard quite quickly. By comparison, a cloth could handle rubbing. I can't quite appreciate whether rubbing will insert more stain inside the grain, or will spread the bit of stain on a larger surface. I'm wondering: is rubbing in the stain required? Or might the issue be simply one of perception, and once an entire room has the tone it will no longer look quite as dark? <Q> Most stains don't need to be "rubbed in" but of course that depends from can to can. <S> Read what your can says for how to apply. <S> If it doesn't mention rubbing in then don't do it. <S> Almost all stain (unless otherwise stated on the can) has to be removed shortly after it has been applied. <S> The longer you leave it on for before you wipe it off, the darker it will be. <S> Try to be consistent on your floors for whatever time you choose to keep the color consistent across the room. <S> Of course it will be much easier to remove the stain with a cloth. <S> I personally like using Viva brand paper towels as they are very rugged for this <S> but you can choose whatever works for you. <S> As an aside, if you are staining floors, you may want to look into water popping as I feel it produces a much better end product. :) <A> I'm wondering: is rubbing in the stain required? <S> Double check the directions on your can of stain. <S> Many of them tell you to let the stain sit for a little while <S> and then remove the excess with a cloth. <S> That will obviously result in a lighter color than letting all of it soak into the wood. <S> As suggested in the comments, you should also definitely do a test on the same type of wood if you want to see the exact result. <A> Will a foam pad leave too much paint? <S> Yes, absolutely. <S> Is rubbing in with a cloth necessary? <S> Perhaps. <S> It depends on how you apply the paint. <S> If you dip the cloth in the paint can for too long or too deeply, you will almost surely end up with a lot of paint in the cloth. <S> You then have one of two options. <S> Just leaving the extra paint is not an option. <S> It will take far longer to dry. <S> The VOC released will be considerably, and unnecessarily, more. <S> (And you'll get far less mileage out of your paint can.) <S> The first option is to wipe the excess paint. <S> You'll need a clean cloth or lint-free paper. <S> The second option is to spread the paint until you get as close to uniform color as you can. <S> This second option will take some effort from you. <S> It's your call whether to do it that way. <S> Returning to the foam pad. <S> A foam pad is great for polyurethane, when you will want to leave a more or less generous coating. <S> But a generous coating of paint is most likely not what you want. <S> Most foam pads will also disintegrate if you attempt rubbing. <S> Even if you plan on replacing them often, they do not give you a good enough control of where to apply more paint or where to take paint off because you put too much. <S> If the instructions on the can recommend a second coating, it will be hard to avoid that second coating. <S> No matter how carefully you applied the first coating, there will be areas that will look lighter and that will need more paint. <S> Notice that having a few patches with too little paint is not a big problem, since you can always add more stain. <S> But ending up with patches of too much stain is a problem, because you will have to add stain everywhere else (or else sand the surface and start again, but sanding again is unlikely what you'd like to do, since one side effect of staining with a cloth is that the surface becomes clean from all specs of (saw)dust.
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Using a cloth or foam pad doesn't really matter for the applying part.
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Black and white wires crossed in the ceiling Replacing a ceiling fixture in a house (1989); removed the old fixture, which worked perfectly fine, but now I see up into the box there are 3 cables to this box that includes two blacks and one white that are pigtailed, as you can see in this short video clip . I am thinking this qualifies as a TAR (That Ain't Right)? Should I be calling in the big guns, or can I sleep at night with this scenario, if I just connect the new fixture as the old one was installed? <Q> It looks like an inline switch to me, which is usually indicated by a mark on the wire. <S> Are there any black markings (Eg sharpie or electrical tape) on the white wire? <S> You should be able to wire in your fixture to the old wires exactly as is. <A> I have a 1950's house Pennsylvania (USA). <S> I have found some strange wiring like you describe. <S> Undo the wire nut <S> , separate the wires so nothing is shorting or touching, and turn the power back on. <S> Then see what doesn't work. <S> In my cases there was 3 strand wire going to the light from an outlet to the light to another outlet. <S> The first time I found it I disconnected the light in the garage and found it also feed power to the outlets in the bedroom above. <A> So you have 3 wire sets here <S> A line-in (from the circuit breaker or previous light fixture on the circuit) <S> A line out (to the next light fixture in the circuit) <S> A light switch <S> Just as a general FYI, you normally will have 2 line wires run to switches. <S> So, for instance, it looks like you have a switch on the hot(black) wires. <S> Because the wire in the wall to the switch will have a black and a white wire, you will want to hook the white to the black wires. <S> It sounds backwards, but the logic here is that, when the current comes back through the wire (i.e. you flip the switch), you want to be able to hook it to the right wire (not terribly important for a basic light fixture, but a lot more important for, say, a ceiling fan). <S> In other words, it would be completely confusing if you pulled the fixture off and found it wired into two white wires. <S> You would have to figure out which was the neutral and which was the switched hot. <S> Just hook it up as you're thinking. <S> Black to black, white to white and your ground.
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I have found the often the "extra" wire is feeding power or ground to an outlet or another light.
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Can I cut a hole in a 2" x 8" joist that is less than 1/3 the height of the joist, leaves at least 2" above and below the hole, but is 10" wide? I would like to redirect a 5" air pipe to the other side of a 2" x 8", second story, floor joist so that I can have the vent exit a bathroom vanity kick plate. I realize I cannot just drill a 5" hole through the joist, however I was wondering if it would be feasible using the method below. It is my understanding you can only cut 1/3 the height of the joist and you must have at least 2 inches above and below the hole. Would it be generally acceptable to place a side end-boot on the 5" pipe that transitions to 2-1/4" x 10", cut a oval hole just large enough to accommodate the 2-1/4" x 10" and pick it up on the other side of the joist with a 2-1/4" x 10" box vent? This would leave 2.5 inches above and below the hole. I would then sandwich 1/2" ply between a second sister 2x8 joist and glue and screw each layer (and bolt if recommended). As a very general test, I cut this size hole in a 2"x8"x8' joist, supported it at each end and bounced on it. I realize this is not really a sound structural test but I just wanted to get a basic sense as to the remaining strength of the joist. It was surprisingly resistant to deflection. I would be interested in your comments/suggestion. I have attached a couple of photos as well (one of the joist test and the other is the duct work described above). The other option I was entertaining was to do basically use the same method above but instead of cutting the 2.25" x 10" hole; I'd drill four 2" holes side-by-side with 0.66" between each. Then I'd screw and caulk the boot on one side of the joist and the box vent to the other side (rather than passing the entire 2-1/4" x 10" box vent through the joist). The advantage would be that there would be 3 support "posts" between each of the four holes. The disadvantage would be air flow restriction. Obviously I would not want to create a structurally unsafe situation, but I was wondering if one or both of these methods would satisfy the rules for joist cutting or is it just wishful thinking. Thanks for taking the time to read this post! Thank you to those who commented. Below are two images to help further explain the project. The green line indicates the future location of the vanity kick plate. The yellow line indicates the proposed new location for the 5" duct (transitioning to the 2-1/4" x 10" as described in my original post). The pink lines indicate the location for the 2x8 sister joists and the blue would be the plywood sister. All sisters would be glued, screwed and or bolted. The red "X" indicates the location where I'd like the vent to exit the kick plate. (The water supplies are old and will be moved and the new drains have not yet been installed). The next diagram below shows how I was intending to sister the joist with two 2x4 with plywood in between. I would also bridge the joist with vertical or horizontal 2x8 pieces where possible. If the plan above is ill-advised; I am also considering capping the 5" duct and heating the room with under-floor electric radiant heating. However, I'm not sure if Under-floor heating can serve as the sole heat source where temperatures can get as cold as -25 degrees. I am also concerned about the reliability of Under-floor heating. If it failed; I'd be without heat in the bathroom. Thanks again for any comments or suggestions. <Q> A wooden beam like used for a joist will typically face bending loads. <S> You'll have a great deal of compressive stress on the top of the beam and a great deal of tension stress on the bottom beam. <S> The center serves primarily to keep the top and bottom of the beam aligned so they act as a single beam, and is under shear stress parallel to the grain. <S> As such, a hole like you pictured (in the center vertically and horizontally) will probably be fine. <S> I'd be leery of doing that closer to the end of the joist because if the shorter remaining center portion of the beam (hole to end of joist) was too short it could fail in shear and the top and bottom of the 2x10 <S> would act as independent 4" beams (weak). <S> I'm not a structural or mechanical engineer, who would obviously be more qualified to determine this, but I am an engineer. <A> I cannot find a definition of "hole" in the 2015 IRC, but my guess is that they are referring to circular holes only in the language in sections like R502.8.1 listed below: <S> Relevant excerpt from 2015 International Residential Code, Section R502.8.1 ... <S> The diameter of holes bored or cut into members shall not exceed one-third the depth of the member. <S> Holes shall not be closer than 2 inches (51 mm) to the top or bottom of the member, or to any other hole located in the member . <S> For the four 2" holes side-by-side with 0.66" : Holes must be spaced 2" apart. <S> For the 2.25" x 10" hole option: <S> If only circular holes are implied by the IRC as I strongly suspect, then you would again be violating R502.8.1 because you are effectively creating a bunch of circular holes right next to each other (again, violating the 2" spacing rule) in order to create a single elliptical hole. <S> You would again need structural engineering approval to determine if it is acceptable in your application. <S> This answer explains some of the logic of why circular holes are allowed to be bored in structural members without compromising structural integrity. <A> Thanks for your comments. <S> I ended moving the forced air duct over 10 inches (from the starting point in the basement and in the main ground floor wall) so that it comes up in the bathroom on the other side of the joist. <S> It was extra work but at least I did not have to compromise the joist. <S> In addition, I also strengthened the floor further by running four sister joists, which were glued and screwed the full span of the bathroom - (from supporting wall to supporting wall). <S> I decided to add the extra joists since the sub floor was already up and I could do so without too much difficulty. <S> I had also discovered a "Deflecto calculator" on a tiling website which indicated my floor was barely strong enough to support a tile floor even without making any holes in the joist. <S> On this site you enter your joist size, wood type and spacing and it lets you know if the deflection for the joists is within an acceptable range to accept tile. <S> In the end I ended up with a strong floor than I started with <S> so I will sleep better now :). <S> Thanks again <S> too everyone who shared their opinion. <A> Other than the obvious answer of "you should go see an structural engineer about this"... <S> The 0.66 inches between the holes seems too weak. <S> The other option I think would be safe with the existing oval hole is to sandwich 2.5"x0.375" steel bars onto the joist to reinforce the top and bottom of the beam. <A> Note: I didn't read your whole explanation because, per 2006 IRC 502.8.1, "bored holes min. 2" from top, bottom, or other holes , max. <S> size 1/3 depth". <S> Note: this would preclude several holes 0.66" apart. <S> I know, you figure if it's less than "1/3 depth" in height one <S> can, maybe, make it greater than "1/3 depth" in width. <S> Nope. <S> Because this max. <S> size for holes also pertains to notches of any height. <S> I know, notches are different than holes. <S> However, the spirit of these limitations is in regards to the stresses on the wood framing members and "1/3 depth" is the universal length restriction for holes and notches. <S> If you posted a sketch of the vanity kick plate, in relationship to the air vent feed and floor joist, I might be able to tell if a 5" to 4" reducer would work with the box vent. <S> I can't visualize your explanation regarding the plywood and "second sister joist".
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For minimal impact on the joist strength I would drill the 2.25 inch holes spaced 2 inches apart, and run 2 ducts If i need the airflow. Where the member is also notched, the hole shall not be closer than 2 inches (51 mm) to the notch. This proposal is in clear violation of the above clause and would require structural engineering approval to determine if it is acceptable in your application.
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What's the reason to sand after priming? I'm painting my kitchen after some hired help put up drywall and skim coated. They sanded the wall, I cleaned up and wiped the walls clean of dust. My contractor said that I should prime, sand with 100 grit before I paint. What is the reason and benefit of sanding after priming? <Q> My father-in-law does cabinetry and explained it to me like this: When you paint, the paint has to have something to hold on to. <S> So, for instance, if you just slapped latex paint over old lacquer, it likely wouldn't hold very well, if at all. <S> Primer helps by bonding to the old surface and being bondable to the paint. <S> Sanding cuts holes into the surface. <S> It increases the primed area for the paint to hold on to and improves the bonding. <S> 100 grit is a bit much tho. <S> I would suggest something more like 220 (most sanding blocks come around this grit). <S> 100 would be if I were priming something else. <S> For instance, I had an old bed frame that was just stained and lacquered. <S> I sanded it with 150, primed, sanded 220 and then painted a final coat. <S> It was very nice after I finished. <A> Also when painting, like others have pointed out, can raise little fibers from the drywall, going over the surface with a sheet of sandpaper can help get rid of those lose fibers. <S> I usually sand between each coat of painting/priming (though most paints now come as paint/primer combos. <A> From my knowledge sanding lightly is ok after priming new drywall, but manufacturers suggest only sanding a light first coat. <S> The reason behind this is that primer is only good for about 7 days to be topcoated. <S> Primer is sticky within that time to take paint. <A> If it's a high-build primer in an aerosol spray can (more for automotive uses) then sanding will it will help the primer do <S> it's job to fill in the little pin holes and scratches. <S> This way the primer can perform like a really thin skim coat of auto body filler or spot putty.
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I can speak from experience when I say it really does help. Sanding after applying primer should help keep your surface as smooth and flat as possible, eliminating brush marks, or extra little globs.
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Best way to remove old paint from door hinges I've got a number of nice heavy brass hinges with splotches of paint on them. Unfortunately this paint appears to be decades old and is rock-hard. It appears to be old oil-based paint but I'm not sure. The most visible place where paint was applied is the decorative pins that have ball shaped ends. Scraping or sanding without scratching the brass seems impossible. So that leaves soaking in some sort of stripping agent. Are there any concerns with using such products with brass or any specific products and/or approaches recommended? <Q> I would remove the affected parts from the door and wall and drop them in a small container which can be a) placed outdoors (for fume abatement) and, b) have paint thinner or Goof <S> Off to soak for minutes or hours. <S> Except for possible varnish finishes on the hardware, paint thinner has no effect on brass, stainless steel, etc. <A> I have just recently done this. <S> I had some 90+ year old doors with so many coats of paint on the hardware that the doorknob would not even turn. <S> The ball ends of the hinge pins looked like mini onion domes. <S> I did not care about preserving the brass finish, so I had no qualms about using wire brushes, etc. <S> You might try applying heat on a part of the hinge leaf that will be hidden from view to see if the finish is affected before you tackle the ball ends. <S> Good luck! <A> What I've done in the past is to put the hinges into an old crock pot and let them "cook" for a few hours in just plain water. <S> This will heat the metal to a point where the paint should come off. <S> A little elbow grease and maybe a stiff plastic bristly brush should help get the rest of the paint off. <S> I've also used wooden skewers to help scrape off the paint to save my fingernails. <S> If you choose this route, I would get a crock pot at a second hand store to use solely for projects like this as I wouldn't want to eat anything out of a slow cooker that was used to soak paint. <A> Brake fluid wreaks havoc on some types of paint! <S> If you're lucky, and can wait a day or three for it to work you may find it peeling and bubbling off of its own accord. <S> (Use glycol type fluid, most common anyway dot3 or 4 <S> I believe. <S> Observe material safety recommendations). <S> Should be perfectly safe on any metals commonly found in braking systems
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I used a basic cheap heat gun to loosen the paint and then a combination of brushes and scrapers to clean everything up.
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what flooring can be installed over existing vinyl? Bathroom remodel; plumber doesn't do flooring. Husband and I have limited talents but will need to do it ourselves before new vanity and toilet can be installed. Existing floor is linoleum from 80s but could be as old as the 60s. Glued down and also as baseboard 4" up on wall. Not sure about trying to remove it and tear up floor and wall. Is there a vinyl we can install over existing vinyl? <Q> I've had great luck with vinyl planks that are sold by Home Depot under the TrafficMASTER name (and now some other names). <S> See: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Luxury-Vinyl-Planks/N-5yc1vZbzjz <S> It is a consumer grade of what was originally a commercial flooring. <S> It is slightly thicker than vinyl tile or linoleum, so it doesn't significantly change the floor height (you use a matching transition strip at the edge, like at a doorway). <S> It is like a vinyl tile with a laminate wear surface, somewhat similar to the surface of Pergo, although the woodgrain tiles have an embossed surface resembling wood. <S> The appearance is very nice. <S> There are two versions. <S> One has a pre-glued surface that bonds adjacent planks together. <S> The other has an interlocking edge rather than glue. <S> It can be installed on pretty much any flat surface, including vinyl tile or linoleum. <S> It "floats" on top <S> , there is no adhesive needed to bond it to the old floor, and you can put it on embossed vinyl or grouted tile without needing to fill the irregularities in the surface. <S> It is designed for untrained consumers to install themselves (it comes with instructions and there are online videos, they may even offer free classes). <S> A room the size of a bathroom would be a fast job. <S> To give you a rough idea, I did an area over 800 sq. <S> ft. <S> by myself, beginning to end, in a little over a day, just reading the instructions. <S> The area included complications like closets, cabinets, irregular shapes and bump-outs, and a laundry room where I had to move a washer and drier. <S> About the only tools you need are a tape measure and utility knife (and something for your knees). <S> The transition strip and quarter-round molding take simple tools like a miter box and hammer. <S> Where you need to cut the planks to length at the end of a row, you just score it with a utility knife and then bend it to snap it (I used a tool with a round blade that looked like a pizza cutter). <S> The cut edges don't have to be perfect because they are hidden under molding. <S> It is impervious to moisture, so it's great for a bathroom. <A> But the toilet is the issue - needs to be raised. <S> There's a great video on the This Old House site where the guys do this. <S> They remove the old toilet and there is enough flex in the old flange to simply lift it up and slip new underlayment down under it. <S> Look for that video. <S> Issues: <S> If this is just aesthetic then the flooring guy at HD or Lowe's can sell you something that will go down on your existing floor. <S> If you add a new floor on top, you'll need to raise the toilet - needs to be removed to make this judgement. <S> (I reread your question and I think I read that the toilet is not there - <S> so this is just an issue of the flange sitting on the floor correctly). <S> You can do this. <S> None of this is difficult. <S> However, if this is the only toilet in the house, then you'll need to plan to get it done in one day - or have nice neighbors. <S> There are probably 100 million videos on how to replace a toilet and lay down a bathroom floor on youtube. <S> Actually, probably 200 million. <S> edit 4. <S> You can lay down new underlayment on top of the old floor. <S> Or you can demo the old floor. <S> Without more info there's really no "best practice" here. <S> In some cases demoing the old floor is just asking for a bigger, longer project. <S> But if there are leaks you are trying fix or plumbing issues, then taking out the old floor will be the long-term right solution. <A> Some vinyl flooring will be approved by the manufacturer for install over existing vinyl. <S> However, it generally requires that the texture of your existing vinyl be smoothed with a product called "embossing leveler", so that the new floor doesn't eventually settle into it and cause damage or aesthetic problems. <S> Talk to your flooring salesperson.
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You can install anything over the linoleum. If the floor isn't rock solid (eg has some bounce), don't use tile - it will crack.
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Cutting a thread deeper in metal. I am trying to put together a TV Stand with 3 legs- 2 of which are supported via 18 inch metal rods within plastic tubes, screwed into the base. The depth of the hole in one of these is too shallow so the rod is easily loosened- rendering it useless. How can I increase the depth of the threads in this (aluminium) hole; or increase the rigidity of the rod? <Q> If the hole is there but not threaded you can cut the thread deeper with a tap . <S> You need to be sure of the size, which is easier to measure on the external thread of the mating part. <S> Often the hole is also too loose though. <A> If the hole is not deep enough it will need to be drilled deeper, first the correct tap size would be needed once the correct size/ pitch of the tap is identified then the correct drill size can be found online. <S> Don't use a clearance drill size or you will wipe out the threads use the tap drill size to make the hole deeper, once the hole is deep enough a "bottoming" tap can be used or a standard tap <S> (a bottoming tap has a shorter tip so the hole dosent need to be as deep if there is not enough material to drill into. <A> Sounds like the hole is badly threaded. <S> You have several options: <S> There are thread repair kits like the Helicoil in which you install a wire effectively creating new threads. <S> There are repair kits in which you drill out the hold and tap into it a plug which bites into the sides of the hole and has a threaded center. <S> You could epoxy the original rod into the existing hole. <S> Clean both sides first. <S> (Kind of permanent). <S> You could try and fill the hole in with something like JB Weld and redrill and retap (possibly weak).
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You could drill out the hole, thread it for the larger size and get a new rod threaded for that.
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How can I extract more heat from my enclosed wood stove? I recently moved into a house that has a working wood burner/multi fuel. It's the first time I've had a wood burner/stove/multi fuel and I'm unsure how to use it efficiently. It's unlike conventional stoves that I see (it's all metal with no glass doors).The heat output has so far been uninspiring and I was hoping it would be better. So far we've been burning coal and some wood. I'm looking for some pointers on how to maximise the heat output; should I run it with the doors open or shut? I have 2 vents on the bottom of the doors and something on the flue that turns (which I imagine shuts off the flue/chimney), do I run the top flue/vent wide open? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks :-) <Q> You should definitely run it with the flue open, all that smoke/CO needs to go outside, not in the house. <S> You mentioned two vents on the bottom. <S> Those are likely there to allow you to close the front and allow the fire to still get air. <S> As SqlACID mentioned, spending $100 or so on a reputable chimney sweep to come take a look at it in person would be a good idea; they would be able to help you use it to its best advantage. <S> I would experiment with closing the front and see what effect it has on the burning rate as well as the heat produced. <S> It is also a good idea to try to move the warmth produced by the stove into the rest of the house, so running a fan to pull that warm air away might also be something to try. <S> What make/model of stove <S> do you have? <A> I have had a coal/wood stove for years. <S> It will take you a while to master. <S> You do not want the flue all the way open, you will lose all of the heat out of the chimney and your fuel will burn fast. <S> You will need to mess around with the dampers to figure out your optimal settings. <S> These will change some with outside temperature. <A> The best stoves and fireplaces have integrated fans that route air though the interior of the structure, but keep it isolated from the combustion chamber. <S> I'd be looking to emulate that somehow. <S> Either investigate add-on kits, or simply place a small fan behind the stove, at a safe distance, and direct it at the fireplace. <S> You'll probably be amazed at how much heat is available at even low fan speeds. <S> To really make it work well, connect the fan to a thermostatic plug, and place that under the fireplace to automatically shut off the fan when heat diminishes. <A> I only have a woodburner to provide heat in the house. <S> First year I did similar and had the flue open, the heat just went up the chimney, burnt a lot of fuel and was mildy warm. <S> I would recommend running it with the doors shut and balance the draw going up the chimney, almost completely level but only move it down after a few minutes of it being a light so the flue is warm, otherwise you'll fill the room with smoke! <S> You should have sliders in the bottom of the doors which you want open. <S> This will circulate air into the stove and it will burn hotter. <S> Coal burns longer than wood and gives longevity, wood is quick burning but gives a higher heat output. <S> So burn a coal bed and add wood on top. <S> When adding fuel you probably want to move the flue fully open first, otherwise you'll fill the room with smoke, close doors again and then move the flue back to almost closed. <S> Because the stove is in the chimney breast rather than set out from it means the air circulating around it is reduced which gives you the heat, rather than the fuel (fuel is heating the stove which is heating the air) <S> but you should still get a good level of heat from it. <S> Also get a carbon monoxide monitor if you are worried and make sure the flue is swept yearly. <S> Good luck <A> Congratulations - you appear to have a knock-off of a Ben Franklin stove. <S> Yep, that Ben Franklin, design nearing 250 years old, though most extant examples were produced in the wild and wooly 1970's when "the oil crisis" hit and there were no regulations to speak of applying to wood stoves. <S> If yours happens to be a lot older it might be worth some serious money as an antique, but it probably isn't. <S> The best way to get good heat from one of those is: sell it (as an antique, or as scrap, preferably not as a wood-burning appliance), and buy something remotely modern, efficient, and clean burning. <S> None of which that is - I know, I have replaced one myself. <S> Be sure to save the lovely brass parts, (or scrap them separately) they are probably worth more than the entire rest of the stove. <A> First of all, safety should be your top priority. <S> Unlike a regular furnace, a wood stove represents a serious safety hazard. <S> Before using it, at a minimum you should: have the chimney / flue inspected and cleaned if necessary. <S> make sure you have a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm installed nearby. <S> Note that alarms have a limited lifespan (5-10 years), so check the bottom for an expiration date. <S> (This would be a good time to verify the whole house's alarms, for that matter: one smoke alarm in every bedroom, one outside each sleeping area, minimum one per floor. <S> For CO alarms you only need one per floor.) <S> make sure your homeowner's insurance knows that you have a wood stove. <S> They may have questions about the type, installation, last service, etc. <S> Make sure you are 100% legit since if the house burns down and they find out you lied about it, they will deny your coverage. <S> Having said all that, you generally want to keep the doors closed while using it to prevent all your warm air from being sucked up the chimney. <S> Adjust the vents on the bottom to let fresh air in. <S> If the stove is properly designed the vents should provide sufficient airflow. <S> On some stoves you might have to leave the door ajar while the kindling lights; if you can find a model number you should be able to look up a manual online.
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Damping the flue can retain heat in the firebox, but the real key to heat extraction is airflow outside the fireplace. I might try googling the make/model to see what comes up on how to best use it.
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When is it necessary to do two coats of paint over a primer? The existing walls are various colors in different rooms. They range from light brown, to yellow to pink! We are using a white primer on our walls. The consultant at the paint store recommends priming and then painting two coats.The skeptic in me thinks that want us to buy more paint by suggesting two coats. Realistically, when would I need two coats? If the walls look good after one coat do I need another coat? <Q> You should add another coat if you don't think it looks good enough. <S> If you think it looks good with one coat, don't put on a second. <S> In more concrete terms, you generally add another coat if the color or finish is not even. <S> That may come with one coat, or it may take two, three, or even more. <S> It depends on the surface, the primer, the paint, any existing finish, technique, thickness of the coat of paint, etc. <S> Using a tinted primer generally means fewer coats are needed. <A> For painting over previously painted surfaces you do NOT need primer. <S> High quality primers do not hide colors very well because they are designed to adhere to a raw surface and typically do not carry many "solids" to cover. <S> In fact the highest build and cost primer we use turns almost clear when it dries. <S> I also suspect one coat of paint will not give you the results you would like if you go over any darker colors; even with higher quality paint because you will not get even enough coverage to hide the old colors. <S> That being said, I would recommend simply 2 coats of just about any paint if you are simply trying to recolor; even cheap paint; and no primer. <S> Just know you get what you pay for in paint beyond simply changing the color. <S> On average, high cost paints will adhere better, hold up to abuse more, and generally last longer than cheaper paint. <A> I am not a contractor, however I do paint often. <S> My first advice is use quality products (always), Kilz 2 is a good primer, and Sherwin Williams is good paint. <S> I know there are many others, but these are what I use. <S> Secondly if you put a good solid coat of paint on your first coat, take a look at how it looks. <S> Don't try and conserve your first coat... <S> painting the wall is your goal so put a solid layer of paint on evenly. <S> Each room may differ, so take a good look at it during different parts of the day- <S> you may not need a second coat if everything looks good and the old paint cannot be traced anywhere. <A> I just painted a 3000 sqft house <S> so here is my 2 cents. <S> When we got the house, there were dark red, dark green, brown and yellow, we wanted to make it pure flat white. <S> I started with the red wall, it took 4 coats to cover, but I doubt that there might have been some psychological factor since I always thought it's not white enough yet, but 3 coats definitely won't cover evenly. <S> You don't want to recoat when the previous one is not completely dry, wait at least 3-4 hours under ideal conditions, because the result changes after it dries, <S> so you want to wait. <S> Also, the worst thing you can do is to retouch an area right after you put on the coat since it's drier than the fresh paint, it will become a mess. <S> I use behr primer & sealer, it's about 1/3 of the price of paint and covers the dark colors really really well, although it appears thinner in the can but covers better than paint <S> so it's a much more cost effective approach in my case.
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Covering up dark colors with light colors generally requires more coats, but a good primer can reduce the number of coats of paint needed.
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What is the feasibility of an elevated home extension - versus adding a floor inside a 16-foot high basement? Following on from my previous question: Can I have two storeys in a 16 foot space? It looks like the "best" use of that crawlspace area would be to build a new floor inside the 16-foot crawlspace/basement - a large livable/usable finished day-basement room with a somewhat unfinished storage area underneath. But I'm wary of the cost involved in inserting a new floor into the existing house structure. Another option for adding more square-footage to the house that I'm looking at is extending the top floor of the house by having an elevated extension (on legs/stilts). It would not surprise me if it did end-up costing the same because while more "new" work is needed (i.e. adding new exterior walls) I believe it would be less hassle - "greenfield vs brownfield". Here's what I'm proposing, via MSPaint: So the top-floor would be extended northwards by about 2-3m, greatly increasing the floor-area of the two bedrooms, as well as adding a walk-in closet for Bedroom 3 and a Jack & Jill shower-room (or two separate shower-rooms). I think adding a deck/balcony that stretches the length of the house would be nice (as the north face of the house faces a wooded area) - it could be covered too, and then the bedrooms would both have their own french-door access to the deck/balcony. Of course, note the problem is that it's essentially 30-feet from the west-end down to the ground below. I'm assuming a builder can source structural timbers long enough for that. But an advantage is that the entire foundations don't need to be massively-extended, a set of pile-driven single foundations would be all that's necessary (would you even need a pile-driver?). Is my proposal feasible? And if so, how much is this likely to cost in comparison to installing a floor into, and finishing, the basement? <Q> Based on your drawing, and the picture from your previous question, your basement/crawl space does not appear to be a good candidate to turn it into living space. <S> The only thing that basement is really good for is storage. <S> It would not make a good living space because there appears to be a moisture problem there. <S> It also doesn't appear to have many windows, so those would need to be added. <S> That is not a DIY job, and it will require you to hire an engineer/architect, general contractor, carpenters, plumbers, roofers, etc. <S> You would also need to have accurate architectural plans drawn up and submitted to the local building inspector just so you can get a building permit. <S> If you are building close to the edge of your property, you may also need to have a survey done to make sure it is set back from the property line far enough. <S> Unfortunately, it is not like the old days where a home owner can just slap up an addition by themselves. <S> There are a lot of rules and regulations that need to be followed. <S> If you do build without permission, the town or city can force you to demolish the entire addition. <S> Another thing to consider is that you would also have an increased tax liability. <S> So the bottom line is how much you are willing to spend to make your home larger. <S> It may be more feasible to make better usage of your existing space, before making the leap. <A> The original poster lives in an area that is overdue for a nearby 6.6 - 7.4 earthquake, and is in a region that is overdue for an 8.0 - 9.0 earthquake. <S> In an area at risk for a major earthquake, building a house on top of vertical stilts is a bad idea. <S> There would need to substantial reinforcement against shear forces: <S> Think of the X-bracing in newer Seattle skyscrapers, or reinforced walls. <A> (Sorry for the long reply time) <S> While my plan for upstairs was was structurally doable <S> I was warned it would be very expensive - and is also contingent on the local planning/construction laws because it's right-up against the north edge of my property parcel line. <S> The company put in a request with my city and county to find out what the building restrictions were and would only do a thorough feasibility assessment if it was legally okay. <S> When we got the site planning docs back a few days later, we learned that there's a minimum easement of about 10 feet from the parcel-line for normal construction and 3-6 feet from the parcel line for decks/elevated construction and the existing north-side wall of my house is already right up against the 10 foot line - because there's a 1m-wide walkway next to that <S> it means there is literally no room for any building extensions along the north side of my house - even without stilts/supports/columns. <S> TL;DR: <S> Turns out I can't legally extend my property north, so this question is mooted.
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When the construction is complete, the tax adjuster will reappraise your home, and the amount of taxes could jump significantly depending on the extent of the renovation. Any kind of construction material placed down there would get damp and moldy. An addition would be a good way to add some additional space. However, that would be very expensive. About 2 years ago I hired a building consultant (the kind that does both architecture and civil engineering) to do an assessment of my house to look at both this upstairs extension and the basement .
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verify if the Ground cable is connected to Neutral cable I want to verify if electricity outlet is grounded. For this I did a test using a bulb connecting it to Phase and Neutral and it lit (to verify if bulb works). Then connected with Phase and Ground and the bulb lit up again. As I still doubted it, I found out where the grounding rod is installed and removed the cable connecting it to the mains (at the grounding rod). Then did the same test and found out that the bulb still lights up. My understanding on this is ... either there is another grounding point or the Neutral is connected to the Ground plug point. Am I correct? How can I verify if the Ground cable is connected to Neutral cable? Thanks <Q> In Canada (and probably US) <S> the Neutral and house Ground are connected in the main breaker panel, and that point is connected to a earth ground rod nearby. <S> The power company also connects the Neutral to an earth ground at each distribution transformer. <S> The specifics of Earth ground and Neutral/Ground connections may vary in different jurisdictions. <A> Further to what Peter Bennett says above, here in the UK the two main systems are TNS and TNCS as we call them. <S> TNS is a system in which Earth and Neutral are supplied to the consumer via separate conductors, whereas in TNCS they are combined as one conductor as far as the consumer unit and then separate after it. <S> So it depends what you have. <S> The Earthing rod in your installation is probably there not as the Earth path, but to, er, Earth the earth, which ensures that the local Earth (literally, the earth) is at the same potential as the common Earth of the electrical distribution system. <S> So it's unlikely that disconnecting the Earth rod will disconnect your Earth from the Neutral, since they are connected either at the incoming service head or at the supply company's transformer. <A> @d_esTin_y <S> It is common to see improper residential upgrades even in advanced urban areas like Toronto. <S> done improperly, by <S> immigrant trades people with no professional training, just trying to make a living. <S> In my previous home the previous owners had contractors upgrade the house with 50 ceiling pot-lights on all floors and when I went to add a 2 way stair/hallway switch, I found they mis-wired it <S> and I had bulb current glowing thru the safety ground in the attic and in wall switch. <S> There is an allowance of 5% of Vac for line voltage on neutral from conduction loss and ground resistance can be as high as 100 Ohms or so at the pole in dry areas in dry weather. <S> Check your breaker panel to sub-ground water plumbing <S> then check L1 to N L2 to N then N to Gnd in different places with load ON. <S> A $10 DMM is a good investment if you don't have one.
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You are doing a good test but trace it back to the breaker panel and check earth water mains copper for a ground reference with a Voltmeter.
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Trimming or spackling the edge of a tile schluter to drywall (Large Gap) I would like to get any suggestions for closing this gap. The bathroom studs were out of plumb in an older house. The edge of the schluter goes from 0 at the bottom to 3/4" at the top on one side. And the other side it goes from 0 to 1/4". I attempted quick dry spackle to fill the gap and it looks horrendous. Does anyone have any ideas of certain trim (corner round won't lay flat) or possibly doing a second coat of good smooth spackle? <Q> Sometimes aesthetics are more important than "level, square, and plumb". <S> Try scraping that stuff back a bit and doing it over with lightweight topping compound . <S> Hit it with primer and paint and it will look as good as it is going to. <A> DuraBond works great in bathrooms, and anywhere else, that you have a large gap to fill. <A> Are you concerned about the actual little gap/indentation in the joint compound or the fact that the reveal on the schluter trim and the filler that's under it <S> is inconsistent? <S> You can float the surface of the wall up with joint compound to make the reveal of the schluter trim and space below it more consistent with the trim. <S> This is typically done in lots of instances. <S> For example, if window casing is proud to the wall and <S> the window jamb cannot be planed, contractors often float the surface of the wall up to the trim so that a gap is not evident. <S> It is a PITA to clean.
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I would use a setting type compound (durabond or USG easy bond type) for this because it will enable a deeper fill with less shrinkage and also, in my experience, does a bit better with humidity over time in bathrooms and other wet settings. Use a smooth clean knife and the stuff goes on like butter, and it's easy to sand smooth after it sets. Do yourself a favor and tape the edge of the schluter trim very well with good blue tape before you do any more compounding or painting near it.
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Can I use (share) a 120 leg of the 240 with the neutral to a 120 duplex receptacle in the same box coming off the 240 circuit breaker? I have a 240 volt 20 amp receptacle in 4x4 box. There is a neutral wire not being used in the box. Can I use (share) a 120 leg of the 240 with the neutral to a 120 duplex receptacle in the same box coming off the 240 circuit breaker? There is nothing on the 240v line now, but I want to have it available just in case I want to plug my table saw in and have 120v available at the same time. This is in my man-cave and every 240v and 120v receptacle is on it's own separate circuit breaker. <Q> Check what breaker you have first! <S> Amazingly enough, this is actually permitted by Code under certain (common, but not universal) circumstances! <S> What you are creating is a multiwire branch circuit as per 210.4. <S> Normally, only line-to-neutral loads are allowed, but IF the breaker for this circuit is <S> a two pole common trip unit (most two and three pole breakers are, although if the circuit is fed from the outer sections of a quadruplex breaker, you definitely can't do this as there is no way to get two common trips in that form factor), Exception 2 to 210.4(C) allows the circuit to feed both line-to-neutral and line-to-line loads (and even three phase loads for wye connected three phase MWBCs) <S> 210.4 Multiwire Branch Circuits. <S> (A) General. <S> A multiwire circuit shall be permitted to be considered as multiple circuits. <S> All conductors of a multiwire branch circuit shall originate from the same panelboard or similar distribution equipment. <S> (B) Disconnecting Means. <S> Each multiwire branch circuit shall be provided with a means that will simultaneously disconnect all ungrounded conductors at the point where the branch circuit originates. <S> Informational Note: <S> See 240.15(B) for information on the use of single-pole circuit breakers as the disconnecting means. <S> (C) Line-to-Neutral Loads. <S> Multiwire branch circuits shall supply only line-to-neutral loads. <S> Exception <S> No.1: <S> A multiwire branch circuit that supplies only one utilization equipment. <S> Exception No.2: <S> Where all ungrounded conductors of the multiwire branch circuit are opened simultaneously by the branch-circuit overcurrent device. <A> (Erroneous statement removed) <S> The one way I'm fairly sure you could do this <S> would be to rewire so the current line feeds a secondary breaker/fuse box, with separate breakers for the 240 and 120 coming off that. <S> (I may be wrong, though.) <A> So, to do this would require a hot device screw with two connections. <S> Or a pigtail in one hot. <S> Not a good plan. <S> Secondly, one leg of the circuit could potentially have more load than the other if both a 120v and a 240v load were engaged. <S> Also not a good plan. <S> A small sub-panel would be my first answer.
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Branch circuits recognized by this article shall be permitted as multiwire circuits.
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Why did my drill stop when trying to pilot a screw hole in framing lumber? I am trying to mount a 23" monitor to a wall. I located the stud and used a bit to drill through the drywall into the stud. I went as far as I could before it started to smell and smoke. I then attempted to drill the large screw into the new hole. The screw got so far, then stopped. I tried to push through as much torque as I could but the drill died on the spot. I've seen a drill battery died before, usually it wines, slows and dies. This went from full power to dead instantly. I plan on using a hammer drill tonight to try the same thing with better results. Before I do: Can you think of a reason I couldn't get through the stud? I have a 12 volt drill (hardly heavy duty). Is this too weak to do the job? Any comments or thoughts are appreciated. <Q> Without knowing anything about the building, I would first suspect you drilled (partially) into a steel pipe or a nail plate which is protecting wire, tubing, or conduit. <S> Yes, a nail. <S> Otherwise the nail will bend or curl or the screw will snap. <S> I use a sharp 1/8 inch drill bit for pre-drilling. <A> I think two things happened: <S> You didn't periodically back the drill out to clear the bit's grooves (flutes). <S> Not doing so results in wood filings being packed tightly into the fluting. <S> It then becomes impossible to proceed, heat builds up, and the wood burns. <S> Your drill may have a Lithium ion battery. <S> They have built-in circuitry to prevent over-discharge, which can prevent future charging. <S> They stop suddenly when remaining voltage reaches a prescribed threshold. <A> I have found those to be very tough to work through.
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In my 1950s house which uses 2x4s from a bygone era (dense Douglas-fir), I have to predrill any stud into which I intend to drive a screw or nail. Even if you have an older NiCad battery, the strain of this situation could bring the drill to a sudden stop as the wood heats and binds. It could be possible you hit a knot in the stud.
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Keep bedroom doors closed or open with radiators? I see that with induced hot air heating it is advised to keep (bedroom) doors open, but I am wondering if the same advice applies for heating with wall mounted radiators. I have a two bedroom apartment on two levels. Should I keep the upstairs bedroom doors closed or not? Does the decision depend on the structure of the house or is there a general rule that applies to homes heated with radiators? I see a lot of conflicting opinions on the matter. <Q> It depends on how the radiators are controlled. <S> Does your apartment have baseboard electric radiators with independent temperature controls in each bedroom, or do you have a central boiler (steam radiator) or furnace (forced hot air) that is controlled by one thermostat somewhere towards the center of the house? <S> If you have individual controls, you'll want to keep your bedroom door closed so that the temperature in that space is better regulated per the setting for that room. <S> If you have one central thermostat, you'll want to keep bedroom doors open so that the entire living space is at an equal temperature. <S> With central heating, you'll likely find that some rooms/radiators run hotter than others due to distances from the central heating source, poorly placed radiators in some rooms (e.g. under a drafty window) or the location of the central thermostat. <S> You can adjust the flow to each radiator at the source to tune the heat going to each room. <A> If all rooms are meant to be the same temperature it doesn't matter. <S> But if you've got a spare room that you're not using, you may want to turn the radiator down or even off. <S> In that case you should shut the door to that room. <S> With two levels it's possible for hot air to rise and get the bedrooms too warm, especially if there's a vent to allow the air to leave (e.g. an extractor in an en-suite bathroom). <S> In that case you may again want to close the door, or turn a radiator down (the hall one in my house). <A> It warm up little faster if you keep doors closed (convection is little increased), anyway if your corridor is about same temp. <S> (+/-2°C) <S> as bedrooms are there's no difference. <S> It makes difference if there's a moderate air current from the door, this will decrease convection and increase heat-up times.
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You can close off doors - and the radiators within - rooms that are not used (guest rooms, e.g.) so that you are not heating those spaces.
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What is the min. voltage cordless drill should I use to drill a hole in a 2 cm thick stainless steel I have a 2 cm thickness (3/4 inch) stainless steel that I would like to drill some holes on it. What is the min. voltage cordless drill should I use? Are there other alternative beside drill to create holes on the stainless steel? (The holes diameter range from 0.5cm to 2cm [3/16" to 3/4"]) <Q> When drilling stainless go slow (do not over heat the metal) <S> If the metal gets hot it will "work harden" and is hard to drill with a drill press. <S> It may take a while but can be done with a good quality 1/2 drill motor and good drill bits. <S> If you are purchasing a drill get one with at least 2 speeds and a 3 speed would be best used on the lowest speed. <S> Cutting fluid or a light oil will help reduce heat and improve the cutting. <S> Last you will want a high quality drill bit something with a titanium nitrite coating or carbide. <S> I have a full set of carbide cutters for stainless but these are very expensive and if you drop them on cement they can shatter. <S> If you only have 1 battery stop when the motor starts bogging down and recharge the battery. <S> I have drilled 1-3/8" holes through stainless with my Dewalt <S> but it did take 2 5AH batteries and part of a 4AH battery <S> the stainless was only 3/4" thick. <A> It has nothing to do with voltage. <S> You can use a 7.2v drill if you have enough batteries (or patience) on hand. <S> Like others have said, a corded drill is the best bet, and a press is better for thick metal. <S> Binding is a potential problem. <A> If you are drilling 2cm (0.78inch) holes in stainless... and it absolutely has to be battery operated. <S> You do not have many safe options here. <S> Any of the common battery powered magnetic drills will work, the voltage does not matter. <S> Other common hole making options besides drilling 2cm stainless steel would be water jet cutting and plasma cutting. <S> If you have to use a hand drill I would suggest using a step drill bit as those are fairly stable for hand drilling.
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There is only safe and portable drilling process I can think of, clamping a 12+mm mild steel plate to the stainless steel and drill it with a battery operated magnetic drill.
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Help getting a consistent stain across different types of wood I'm working on a project with a few different types of wood and I'm struggling to get a consistent stain across them. They're all pine, but the troublesome piece is plywood. I'm using minwax pre-stain and minwax wood finish, both oil-based, and I'm not doing additional sanding beforehand -- not sure if any of those are factors. I've also been leaving the stain on the same amount of time for all the pieces (~10 minutes). Any advice on getting a more consistent look? After one coat: After two coats: <Q> This will still take some experimentation. <S> Plywood will always take the stain harder than solid wood. <S> If you are using conditioner on the plywood only, that is a good start. <S> You will definitely need to sand the plywood over the original, in one direction. <S> The sanding from the producer is too coarse and will make the stain take darker besides the dryness of the veneer from the laminating process. <S> Start with 120G and do a sample with the conditioner and maybe that will do it, <S> A finer grit, up to 220, maybe what you need to go to. <S> be sure to sand with the grain. <S> A tip to insure complete sanding is lightly mark the top with a pencil and sand until the marks are gone, that will have the same scratch pattern everywhere. <S> progerss your sanding with 100g 150g, then 220g <A> From my own personal experience of trials and errors, I would not recommend using a stain on pine. <S> The wood is too porous and the grain too varied across the board. <S> The pine will never absorb a stain completely evenly and the oils in pine contribute to this issue as well. <S> Even with a wood conditioner, and oil based stain, the results I have had were all unsatisfactory. <S> (If there are others here who have had success with staining pine, please clue us in on your tricks!) <S> Using a shellac lacquer in a natural Amber hue (cutting down the first layer with denatured alcohal by 25%) and using a gravity feed paint sprayer to create straight even strokes that overlap by about 1 cm, will give the pine an even and natural tone. <S> The next layer you don't need to cut with the DA. <S> But do not exceed more than 2-3 coats with Shellac. <S> Shellac will of "eat itself" after multiple coats. <S> Good luck, hope this helps someone! <A> From my own personal experience of trials and errors, I would not recommend using a stain on pine. <S> The wood is too porous and the too grain varied. <S> The pine will never absorb a stain completely evenly, and the oils in pine contribute to this problem as well. <S> Even with a wood conditioner, and oil based stain, the results I have had were all unsatisfactory. <S> (If there are others here who have had success with staining pine, please clue us in on your tricks!) <S> Using a shellac lacquer in a natural Amber hue (cutting down the first layer with denatured alcohal by 25%) and using a gravity feed paint sprayer to create straight even strokes that overlap by about 1 cm, will give the pine an even and natural tone. <S> The next layer you don't need to cut with the DA. <S> But do not exceed more than 2-3 coats with Shellac. <S> Sheac has the funny property of "eating itself" after multiple coats. <S> You can also experiment with sanding sealer when using a stain on any wood following stain application and light sanding, as this will essentially lock on the work you have done before adding another layer. <S> Good luck, hope this helps someone!
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You can also experiment with sanding sealer when using a stain on any wood following stain application and light sanding, as this will essentially lock on the work you have done before adding another layer.
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How bad is Latex Paint down drain and how to remove it? This falls under the category of "I should have asked before starting the job"! I've been painting a bedroom with latex paint and to clean the brushes/rollers/etc at the end of the day I take them to the outside sink in garden (basically just a basin with drain that leads to main drain and then out to sewer system in street). I fill a bucket with water and throw everything in, then a few hours later, I wash everything in the sink and put away. I'm noticing that the sink is starting to back up. If I leave it, and come back in 1 hour, it's drained, but it's worrying. I do throw the bucket of painty water on the garden but apparently the paint still on the rollers/brushes is still significant when I squeeze them and brush them to get paint out over the sink. My two questions are: How should I clean up brushes/rollers/etc that are covered in latex paint to a) get them clean and (b) not clog up my sink. Should I worry if I've poured latex paint down sink in terms of clogging up sink? If so, what should I do about it? Thanks, Dave <Q> Latex paint uses water as it's thinner. <S> It's water soluble and won't dry as long as it's wet. <S> If you wash your brushes and rollers with plenty of running water you should be fine. <S> I clean mine with the sprayer and even then it takes quite a while to remove all of the paint. <S> You can also set your brush in a bowl of water and let water run over it for a few minutes to thoroughly flush it. <S> Hopefully your problem is just in the p-trap, which you can easily remove for cleaning or replacement. <S> If it's still slow you might need to get the drain camera'ed to see where and what is blocking it up. <S> As far as disposing unused paint, either leave it until your county/city/ <S> whatever has a free haz-mat drop-off, or add kitty litter to it to dry it out before throwing it away. <A> I try to let as little paint as possible go down the drain (& eventually into lakes & rivers) & I’d never dump paint water in my garden. <S> It’s a pollutant, after all. <S> What I do is this. <S> When breaking for a few hours or days, I toss my brushes or roller into a plastic bag (after getting out as much paint as I can by brushing or rolling onto a newspaper or something) <S> then I put them in the freezer. <S> (They thaw out fast.) <S> When I’m completely finished with the job I again try to get as much paint out of the brush as I can before soaking & washing it. <S> The roller I throw away. <S> Rollers are cheap and you can never make them like new again anyway. <S> They’re impossible to clean. <S> (Brushes should be dried bristles up, by the way. <S> Any paint residue will flow downward and stiffen the bristles if you dry them handles up.) <A> First, don't do it. <S> I just finished cleaning out a bathroom sink drain clogged with latex paint. <S> First, if your tub/shower and toilet are draining properly the clog is probably in the trap. <S> Get a bucket and some rags and get down and take it off. <S> Use a flashlight to shine down the drain to make sure it isn't clogged. <S> Take the trap and trap arm outside and rinse with the garden hose. <S> Use the flashlight to look into the drain in the wall. <S> If there is a clog there try to fish it out with a bent close hanger. <S> Finally, put it all back together and check for leaks under the sink. <S> If the water still doesn't go down, remove the trap arm and use a snake to clear the line... or call a plumper. <A> I doubt that diluted latex paint could clog a drain, though personally I wash latex paint rollers and trays in the yard. <S> Only a final cleaning when necessary with warm detergent to remove the last traces of paint is ever done in the utility sink which drains to the sanitary sewer. <S> Is the next drain in line with the outside sink draining properly? <S> Are any other sinks draining slowly? <S> Is this garden sink the first drain into the sewer line or does it drain into a middle branch off the main line?
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If you dumped it down the sink, you might have a problem but should be OK if you flushed it down with plenty of water. I'd remove the trap, clean if possible and replace if not, and see how your sink runs.
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What do you call conventional wood staining that doesn't result in a glazed effect? I am shopping around for a new kitchen, which I want to have finished in stained wood. What seems to be quite popular these days is "glazing" which seems intended to highlight any texture, relief, milling, etc. in the wood surface, darkening grooves etc., often imparting a sort of antique look, but this is not the effect I want. My question is: is there a specific term to describe the absence of this glaze effect - a stain finish which only brings out the natural grain of the wood, but otherwise gives a uniform coloring to the wood, regardless of how the wood surface is cut, milled, etc.? <Q> I'm not sure there is a term that exists for cabinets without glaze. <S> As you mention, this effect is really popular right now, and it's going to be difficult to find non-glazed cabinets from a big box retailer. <S> You could try working with a dedicated cabinetmaker and express your interest in some non-glazed examples. <S> To others who are confused by the question. <S> Glaze is not a stain. <S> After a stain is sealed, a glaze can be added (to add highlights, shadows), which is then sealed again under the finish of choice (e.g. polyurethane). <S> One can buy glaze, or they can make their own by mixing acrylic paints (the dye) and some sort extender (e.g. paint thinner and linseed oil, or clear acrylic glazing liquid). <A> The difference is that I know of without looking it up for greater detail, which I am sure it is in Wikipedia, is, stain will accentuate the difference between the hard and softwoods within a wood surface, dye will color or for the most part color all the surface the same color irrespective of hard or soft wood on the surface <A> I think you are referring to 1) pre-stain, and 2) the sheen. <S> 1) <S> In order to make the grain less noticeable when staining wood, a pre-stain is used. <S> It will make the final “color” more uniform across the grain surface. <S> 2) <S> Sheen is the amount of gloss of the “finish”. <S> Most stains can now be ordered with gloss, semi-gloss or flat finish (sheen). <S> There are top-coats that work too. <S> That is to say, after the stain is installed, then a clear top-coat is applied. <S> It too can have a flat or gloss finish. <S> However, be careful to select a finish that is appropriate for UV, hardness, humidity, etc.
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The term is stain, or there are occasions where wood dye is used.
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How can I cut a vinyl chair mat to shorten it? I need to cut a few inches from this PVC chair mat (if this isn't PVC, can you tell me what material it is). How do I achieve this? I though of using an acrylic knife; will it work? The line will be straight and 40 inches long. <Q> Then secure a metal straight edge along the cut line. <S> (In my case I clamped a long piece of aluminum bar stock in place to the work surface with the mat in between). <S> A utility knife with a sharp blade was then used to score a cut line along the straight edge. <S> Chair mats are a relatively soft plastic and it was not possible to use a score and break off type process. <S> Instead I cut in the same place along the straight edge 3 or 4 times. <S> I then removed the straight edge and clamps and positioned the cut line along the edge of the work surface. <S> This allowed cut area to be opened slightly as the part to be removed was bent down over the edge of the work surface. <S> Once the cut line was opened like this continued passes of the utility knife blade in the cut groove allowed the cut to be made deeper and deeper and eventually finish the cut. <A> First I tried scissors, but was not getting any results but a sore hand. <S> Then I tried my tin snips, worked much easier, as these are designed for much harder material than paper. <S> You can get tin snips at hardware/tools stores. <S> There's a particular tools store known for discount tools that has tin snips for under $8. <A> I used tin snips for cutting a chair mat. <S> It cut very easily and did not make jagged edges whatsoever. <S> I used a Sharpie to mark off my cuts. <S> I didn't want to cut too small, but am a millimeter or two larger than I wanted. <S> Secondary cuts along the already cut edge are more challenging so my only regret is not going a smidge inside my cutoff lines.
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I cut my chair mat using tin snips. I've cut chair mats by laying them on a flat work surface.
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Grounding a 3 switch metal device box Is it acceptable to ground outlets or switches through a metal device box (not pig tailing)? The switches are connected to a long ground wire going to the light which are also screwed to the back of the box. The Ground form the lead (cut short) is screwed to the back of the box as well. My question is if the metal box is an acceptable method for connecting all the ground wires together completing the chain to the earth. The dark green dots in the diagram are screws fastening the ground wires to the box. (This is in Ontario Canada) <Q> Everyone seems to be answering a question that was not asked by the OP. <S> He is asking if using the bonding screws without also pigtailing the bonding conductors will suffice for bonding. <S> Yes, the picture you have shown is an appropriate way to bond the devices. <S> Edit: <S> Additionally, there is no requirement to bond the switches in the CEC with a separate bonding conductor, unless doing so is stated in the manufacturer's instructions. <S> The screws used to mount the switch to the box suffice as the bond. <A> (C) Metal Boxes. <S> However, what I would use instead here is called a "self-grounding" switch or outlet -- they have a spring clip on each of the yoke ears that ensures that the receptacle makes solid contact with the box even if the mounting screws loosen. <S> This is explicitly allowed by NEC 250.146(B): <S> (B) <S> Contact Devices or Yokes. <S> Contact devices or yokes designed and listed as self-grounding shall be permitted in conjunction with the supporting screws to establish equipment bonding between the device yoke and flush-type boxes. <S> Note that using plain metal-to-metal contact between the yoke and box for yoke bonding is only allowed in surface <S> mounted metal electrical boxes (i.e. a conduit box sitting on the garage wall), not on boxes that are mounted flush with the wall -- the verbiage in NEC 250.146(A) that allows metal-to-metal contact between an ordinary yoke and a box to bond the yoke only applies to surface mounted boxes: (A) Surface-Mounted Box. <S> Where the box is mounted on the surface, direct metal-to-metal contact between the de vice yoke and the box or a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) shall be permitted to ground the receptacle to the box. <S> At least one of the insulating washers shall be removed from receptacles that do not have a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) to ensure direct metal-to-metal contact. <S> This provision shall not apply to cover-mounted receptacles unless the box and cover combination are listed as providing satisfactory ground continuity between the box and the receptacle. <S> A listed exposed work cover shall be permitted to be the grounding and bonding means when (1) the device is attached to the cover with at least two fasteners that are permanent ( <S> such as a rivet) or have a thread locking or screw or nut locking means and (2) when the cover mounting holes are located on a flat non-raised portion of the cover. <A> The metal box must be grounded. <S> but if there is an insulating washer it needs to be removed. <A> I did this once in an exterior metal box. <S> It was a double-gang with explicit ground screws (one on each side you need to connect to). <S> My understanding ( I am not an electrician here, nor do I know NEC, FWIW ) is that you can pass it through the box. <S> Here's an image ( source ) depicting doing just that <S> For most interior junction boxes this is riskier because they have no native junction points explicitly for this purpose. <S> Generally, you want the bare wire to contact the box in some fashion. <S> The risk with the method you're talking about is that all the wires must contact the box in some secure fashion. <S> Just sticking them in is crossing your fingers that they stay connected to the box. <S> Without some way to explicitly connect them to the box, I would be leery of doing it this way. <S> It seems like grounding clips would be the way to go if you choose to do this.
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A connection shall be made between the one or more equipment grounding conductors and a metal box by means of a grounding screw that shall be used for no other purpose, equipment listed for grounding, or a listed grounding device. U ground outlets and switches in a metal box do not require the ground be on the switch or outlet itself As to the configuration in the diagram, it is allowed by 250.148(C):
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How can I mount outlets securely where drywall was cut from around outlet ears? My contractor's worker (son) cutout the drywall from around the outlet ears on my receptacles in each room. Apparently, he didn't know what he was doing... Now my outlets are loose in the wall. If I tighten them up they fall far behind the plates on the wall and are not flush. Its unsightly not to mention an big gap between the plate and the outlet... Are there any brackets I can use to flush the outlets? <Q> The cut outs should have been filled with mud. <S> large spaces around the box would not meet building code requirements. <S> The contractor should be repairing the problem. <A> They make device leveling plates for exactly the need you describe. <S> While I've only linked one, and it's a popular brand (Caddy/Erico), there are others on the market. <A> There are two fairly simply ways you can go here. <S> Leave the outlet loose so that it fits the plate well. <S> Inject a gob of pure silicone behind the ears and around the screws. <S> Install the plates, check position and adjust if needed, and discontinue use of the outlets for 24 hours while the silicone sets.
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Purchase some small washers and stack them in appropriate quantities behind the outlet, around the screws.
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Why is electric heat capacity calculated using floor area instead of space volume? Doing some homework for a customer who wants to install electric baseboard heat. As I am trying to determine how many feet/watts I need. I ran across some guidelines that make sense, except they use the "X" number of watts to square foot ratios. Why wouldn't it be "X" number of watts to Cubic foot of space? Wouldn't that be more accurate?? <Q> The temperature of a room results from a balance between the rate at which heat enters and the rate at which it's lost through the walls. <S> The rate of loss, in turn, is proportional to the surface area of the walls, floor, and ceiling, which, for a normal-shaped building, is roughly in proportion to the floor area. <S> Floor area is easier to measure. <A> Doing this properly involves far more than square feet or cubic feet: you need to do a heat loss calculation . <S> Inputs include: Outdoor design temperature (how cold it might get) Surface area of the building envelope, divided into types (wall, door, window, attic, foundation) <S> The U-factor of each type of surface <S> The amount of air leakage through the building envelope <S> The result will be the amount of heating power needed to keep the inside of the house warm enough at the design temperature. <S> Then, you can throw in the efficiencies of the heating system, and end up with your heating requirements. <S> This is not to say that you must do a heat loss calculation; back-of-the-envelope techniques can give you a ballpark estimate. <S> Do note, though, that it's incredibly easy to over -estimate your heating needs, which can lead to a more expensive and (for oil or gas) less efficient system. <A> The guidelines are probably set up by the manufacturer. <S> Since there are so many variables related to heating they are probably just trying to keep it simple. <S> In fact some types of heating are probably more efficient when used all the time vs. barely used. <S> And really the thermostat can adjust for issues <S> if heat loss/needed is off by 20-30%. <S> Your baseboard heaters could be on an hour a day or 10 hours. <S> Usually electric heaters are highly inefficient if they are being turned on and off all the time. <S> I would try to install the minimum. <S> Really the biggest concern with setting up heating elements like this are, how much is the air circulating? <S> Meaning <S> if I heat this room, will it bleed over to a surrounding area. <S> Much different having one open space vs. 8 small rooms. <A> Hence, as Mark and Dan mentioned in their answers, you need to only find the amount of heat that escapes through the exposed surfaces and add an infiltration factor and "shazam" there is the heat requirement. <S> You will still need to add a pick-up factor to get the correct wattage needed in each area. <S> Go buy a book at your local book store on heat loss calculation.
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All the heating needs come from the transfer of heat through the outside surfaces, and not the interior of the room. Floor area is used for two reasons:
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Add light and outlet to attic I would like to add lighting and an outlet to my attic. Very similar to this project here with the exception that I would like to have a hard wired light fixture rather than a plug in. The attic is accessed by a hole in a closet from a 2nd floor closet, with no permanent stairs or ladder. I have to disassemble my closet and put a ladder in the space to get to it. The only thing in the attic is the air conditioning air handler and duct work. Currently, there is one single light near the access hole, which is a simple pull chain light, mounted vertically against a king post with an electrical box behind it. For the outlet, I believe switching out the light fixture for an outlet would be simple enough. I would then connect another run of wire to the outlet for the lights. What would be the best way to get wiring to the other side of the attic? I would have to cross a lot of trusses, perpendicularly. Is it enough to run it high above and out of the way and staple across the edge or should I put the wiring in conduit? Or something else entirely? If I need to split the wiring to add more than one light fixture, does this change the suggested wiring paths? (i.e., lights on both halves of a truss. ) <Q> So you have a keyed light (the pull chain is your switch). <S> That likely means the power to the light is always on. <S> What I would do is add a double gang box below the light box. <S> Disconnect the wire going to your light fixture (shut the breaker off first), and then wire it to an outlet. <S> You can buy an unkeyed fixture or just keep the keyed and stop using the pull chain. <S> Add a light switch to the double gang and attach the neutral to the outlet, while attaching a hot shunt to your switch. <S> Then add the wire to your light. <S> You can then daisy chain additional lights off this light (they're generally designed to be wired in series) Unless your attic is considered a livable space, you don't need armor clad. <A> Thanks for the link in your question. <S> That adds a lot of detail. <S> For the Romex vs. Armored cable question, in an attic, check with your local code. <S> If it isn't specified, it can be a matter of preference. <S> Armored cable will be safer, but will cost more and is a little harder to work with. <S> Also keep the Romex up and out of the way as you suggested. <S> To add additional lights in the future, all you would need to do is add them to the "end of the run", connecting them to the first light. <S> Then both lights will go on and off with the switch. <S> If you want to add a 3rd or 4th light, just do the same thing. <A> What would be the best way to get wiring to the other side of the attic? <S> What I have done, for lighting only, is to run new wire from the existing lamp to the new location following the style of existing wiring in the attic. <S> That meant attaching the wire to side (not bottom/underside) of the ridge-board, rafters or top chord of truss. <S> Where there is no suitable woodwork running in the right direction <S> I added some suitable spruce stripwood (small stuff but strong enough to hold the wire over the span). <S> I used wire clips at the same intervals as the existing wiring in the attic. <S> I did assess the existing load on the circuit and the length and diameter of the cable (existing plus new) to make sure I wouldn't have a problem with overloading the circuit, dropping too much voltage etc. <S> With modern LED lighting, load isn't much of an issue. <S> If you are adding power outlets, you need to consult local code.
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Now, run a new wire from this new box into the existing light fixture. Armor clad is to protect wires that are exposed to high traffic areas where the wires could be damaged. If you use Romex, do keep all the wire on the trusses and not on plywood of the roof slope (to protect the wire in case the roof is replaced at some point in the future).
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Making a bookcase look perfectly flush with the wall when the wall is not a true 90 degrees How would one go about fixing this highlighted gap in the photo: The bookcases are attached together and level (though the potato quality photo may not make it appear that way) But as you can tell from the zoomed in version, since the wall is not a true 90 degrees, there's an annoying little gap. What is the best way of remedying this? <Q> One method is to take a board of the right height, plumb it with the bookcase next to the wall. <S> Start at the bottom where it's closest to the bookcase. <S> You don't want to leave such a thin edge that it's hard to cut. <S> I'd probably want half an inch minimum. <S> Cut the scribed line with a jigsaw. <S> Then attach to the side, flush with the front edge and it should sit against the wall with no gaps. <A> The best way to mask the variation is to move the book case unit away from the corner a small amount. <S> Having a margin that is overall 3 or 4 times larger than the gap you see now will make the difference not be noticeable unless you really go measuring for it. <A> Quick & Easy Solution: <S> if there's any chance that the shelving may jiggle: use shims to prevent most, if not all, of the jiggle <S> (score shims w/ box cutter & snap to trim excess shim flush w/ shelving) using a paintable, flexible caulking, fill in gap about 1/2" deep along the space between shelving and wall (using finger to create a very slight concave profile... <S> like one would when caulking a shower stall) <S> paint caulking to match wall.
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I might cut another board and put it along the side of the bookcase at the bottom so I can shove the bookcase into the corner and not stress the facade piece. Then take a compass or something to hold your pencil at the right distance and scribe a line along the board following the wall contour.
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Continue to use hardwired smoke detectors? I am going to replace all the old hardwired smoke detectors in my house. In my research I have found some of the features available include 10-year batteries and dual sensor types (photoelectric & ionization) . However the 10 year battery doesn't seem to be available in a hardwired detector. Would it make sense to switch to the 10 year battery model, which means not using the pre-existing wiring in my house? Even with a hardwired system there are batteries to replace annually, so moving to the long life battery would be nice. But I feel like it might be silly to ignore the hardwired setup that I already have. <Q> I strongly recommend continuing with the AC with battery back-up models. <S> They are required by code for new construction (in my area) for a very good reason- <S> the potential for someone to remove the battery. <S> Also, they are available with a wider range of features, such as described in your question. <S> This battery removal behavior is very common in rental units. <S> So much so that landlords now are obliged to pay for replacement batteries, to remove any financial incentive for not replacing them. <S> Even if you will personally be in control of the units, you might decide to remove the battery for some reason, then forget to put it back. <A> To add to ThreePhaseEel's comment, the best answer here lies with whether your smoke detectors are interconnected or not. <S> If not, go ahead with the 10 year model. <S> Note that the 10 year models are designed to be completely replaced at the 10 year point. <A> Interconnectability is a huge advantage and the wiring in place will (hopefully) facilitate that. <S> Hard wired does not necessarily mean interconnected. <S> My electrician disregarded my instructions to interconnect but he did hard wire. <S> Grrrrrrr <S> In regard to battery units versus hard wired - It seems sensible to use the hard wiring in place. <S> Battery removal is a discipline matter. <S> You may come up against the issue of photo electric versus ionisation. <S> The radioactivity is so small it is not an issue. <S> Politically correct organisations and individuals will generally promote "photo electric' but <S> their main motive (IMHO) is to avoid critisism from generally il-informed people. <S> Ionisation and photo electric work differently but the performance is not huge. <S> false alarms are in some circumstances less with photo electric. <S> I believe that the odd alarm caused by genuine smoke is a good thing because it re assures you that the alarm is working. <S> some people however feel it necessary to attack the smoke alarm with a broom on such occassions. <S> I think if all else is equal I would go for photo electric but don't lose sleep over the choice. <S> The problem was they were biased towards a cheap as possible solution. <S> I qualify this answer by declaring - I am from New Zealand <S> so there is a possibility of local differences.
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Some people simplify the difference by saying "photo electric" see and ionisation - smell. 10 year batteries are available for you to install in your AC w/battery back-up units: If they are interconnected, then it would be advantageous to keep that system, so that when one alarm detects smoke, all of them alarm. Most of the AC units let you know (with an annoying chirp) that the battery back-up is dead or is not installed, whereas "battery only" units just sit there dead with no indication to the user that it is not functioning. I know of an organisation that installed many hundreds of 10 year alarms which lasted between 1 and 4 years before they needed batteries changed.
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Can I get 240v out of a 120v generator? How do you wire the neutrals and is it safe when running a 240v home appliance (a window air conditioner in my case) from a 120v generator by wiring a 240v breaker that pulls from two of its 120v outlets and outputs to a 240v plug? <Q> What you describe won't work, and it's not safe for you (or anyone else) <S> to do what you describe. <S> If you have a single phase 120 volt generator and you need to supply power to a 240 volt split phase load, the safest way is to use a transformer with a 120 volt primary connected to the generator and a 120-0-120 volt secondary connected to the appliance. <A> Transformers are your friend! <S> Easy peasy, if the numbers work. <S> Start by looking at the air conditioner. <S> You need to know the number of "watts" the air conditioner uses, probably between 1000 and 3000. <S> This number is often called VA instead. <S> Next, look at the receptacle (outlet) on the generator. <S> If it looks like the totally common AC power outlet, then you can't do it if the A/C unit takes more than 1800 watts. <S> If it has an extra horizontal bit (like this), then you can't do it if the A/C unit takes more than 2400 watts. <S> Next, you'll need a 240-120V step-up/down transformer whose watts (or VA) rating is larger than the air conditioner. <S> You set the transformer for 120V input, plug it into the generator, and plug the 240V A/C unit into the 240V receptacle on the transformer. <S> There's one more hitch: <S> what's the capacity of the generator? <S> (again in watts or VA). <S> If the generator doesn't have enough watts, then it cannot start the air conditioner. <S> That's likely. <S> Generators which are 120V-only tend to be small, and air conditioners which are 240V tend to be large. <S> (By the way, most 240V window air conditioners are 240V-only, don't need neutral, and use a NEMA 6 connector. <S> I've never seen one that is NEMA 10 or 14 needing neutral.) <A> To put it simply no the confusion come in that you house is supplied with 220/240 Volts AC. <S> You would be better off just buying a Generator that will supply 220-240 VAC if you have your own engine <S> already you can just buy the generator head <S> Harbor Freight has a 30 amp 240VAC for around $300. <A> Now, here is an option if you want to use a 120v generator: It is not cheap, but it will work. <S> Connect the generator to a distribution transformer that have a primary input voltage option for 120v, secondary voltage 120/240v. <S> Like this model: Low Voltage Distribution Transformer - Single Phase, 120/208/240/277 - 120/240V, 10kVA by Acme ElectricCatalog ID: T279746S <S> https://www.hubbell.com/acmeelectric/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Power-Quality-Conversion/Low-Voltage-Distribution-Transformer/T279746S/p/1655262 <S> Consult with a register professional local to you, and size it correctly.
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Your best option will be to get a generator with 120/240 output.
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what is the name for this type of air intake gap on a residential roof which has no overhanging eaves and lacks soffit vents What is the name for this type of vent, that is, an approximately one-inch gap above the fascia trim, and where in the IRC is it referenced, if it is? P.S. I'm not referring to the louvered drip-edge/vent but to the gap itself, which is located above the fascia trim. <Q> In my neck of the woods, Mass, some builders call those "Hicks" vents. <S> Not sure if that was a manufacturer or inventor or what. <S> I refer to them as drip edge vents. <S> I have these on my house, <S> I HATE THEM! <S> I'll tell you why. <S> On my house, unlike your diagram, there is a normal soffit and <S> the drip edge and gutter are on the rafter tails. <S> More typical construction practice around here, puts the attic venting in a continuous soffit vent, a gap in the underside of the soffit, covered with a ventilated aluminum flashing. <S> I am slowly retrofitting them into my house. <S> My problems with the drip edge vent are two fold. <S> 1) they were installed them poorly and in some places the water doesn't drip off the edge, but runs behind the gutter and down the siding. <S> I fixed this by retrofitting some more drip edge. <S> The more serious problem is in the winter. <S> If my gutter fills with snow and ice, additional water (melt or rain) will go up through the vents, and into the soffit and then down inside the wall. <S> I have had to put up gutter heaters and maintain them to prevent this. <S> And it caused multiple siding repaints before I figured out the extent of the moisture problems they are causing. <S> (not to mention carpenter ants) <A> There's probably no specific technical term for the gap. <S> You're dealing with "roof edge venting" or "drip edge venting", and the gap is implied as a requirement. <A> Proper term is eaves ventilation <S> I believe. <S> At least that gave me lots of google hits.
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If you like, call it a "roof edge vent gap".
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How to confirm screw is attached to stud through wood plank and dry wall? Vaulted drywalled angled half ceiling (15'X13') and would like to attach barn wood planks . It's an aesthetic ceiling - meaning it does not actually follow the roof. Rather, it is an angled "box" inside the attic, over that room, with a 2 foot gap between the top of the box and the inside of the actual roof. The "ceiling box" does have seven 1.5" joists running down it, however, they are not very straight, they slightly curve all over the place. The plan is to attach 3/4" thick by 6" wide reclaimed barn wood planks to the inside ceiling ( as shown here ) with wood screws (and construction adhesive), perpendicular to the joists of course. The wood all together is very heavy. As a quick test, I held the plank up to the ceiling and checked for a known joist with the Zircon 740 - and NO reading, it is too dense I suppose ? So, started marking the drywall with the center stud finder looks like this so far (not too good): Next, when I place the 6 inch wood plank on the ceiling to attach it, it will obviously cover the line made for those 6 inches, so I will have to "project" where the line is for each plank as it goes up. Between these two issues, I have less confidence that I will be drilling into the ceiling joist. Given the situation and plank install - is there a way to confirm I have actually screwed the wood plank into the joist? Thank You. <Q> You can use painter's tape if you don't want to make marks on the planks. <S> At minimum mark the entry and exit points of the projection of the joist across the face of the plank and make a line between them (a first order approximation). <S> You'll hit a joist most of the time. <S> If you want to be able to better detect a joist hit, then pre-drill holes in the planks or use partially threaded wood screws with a shank longer than your plank depth. <S> The screws are primarily going to hold the planks in place while the glue sets. <S> per square foot. <S> You're adding about 12.2 cubic feet of wood to the ceiling (15'×13'×0.75"). <S> You say it's barnwood, so I would assume something like western cedar. <S> That's 23 lbs/ <S> ft³ <S> (plug in a different value from here if it's not right). <S> So you're adding a total about 280 lbs of wood plus screws/glue. <S> Say 300 lbs. <S> It sounds like a lot, but it's spread over the entire ceiling which is 195 square feet. <S> That's about 1.5 lbs. <S> per square foot, which is approximately the same weight as the drywall itself. <S> I'd be surprised if doubling the drywall was enough to make the ceiling collapse, but I'm an electrical engineer, not an architect; so I could easily be wrong about that. <S> Do check with a local contractor/inspector if you're concerned about it. <A> There's no good reason that your stud sensor shouldn't work (try a new battery and be sure your technique is correct), but you can simply use a hammer and nail or a drill with a small bit to conclusively locate your trusses. <S> Do checks every 4 feet or so by one of those means and move on with your day. <A> See this . <S> Screwing each plank would be very tedious and since the screw heads would show you would want to get them in straight line. <S> A pneumatic nailer is so easy to use and if the planks are nailed into the furring with 18 ga brad nails (~1.5 inch long) <S> the heads would not show and might not have to be filled. <S> The furring could also be nailed to the hidden joists with 2 inch 18 ga brads or with a 16 ga finish nailer. <S> Or the furring could be screwed if you want. <A> When I started commenting and answering I forgot that these are 3/4" barn planks and so would be very, very heavy. <S> Are you sure the truss system can take this weight? <S> You don't want the whole thing to come down. <S> For the ceiling you could use pressed 'tin' squares.
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I think you might consider nailing or screwing furring strips to the ceiling and then nailing the planks to the furring. I suggest you keep marking the centers like you've done and as each plank goes up, copy that mark to the face of the plank. You may not hit a joist every time, but I really doubt that you actually need to. If you have got to have barn planks, maybe they should be on a wall. Concerning the weight: You're adding 1.5 lbs. This would be very hard to do. I think you ought to get an engineering opinion on this.
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Framing an appliance opening in a load bearing wall? I bought a fridge that is much too deep (first time buying a new house/new appliances) and unfortunately the appliance place does not take exchanges or returns. I am considering recessing the fridge into the wall and framing a door would be practically what I would need to do. Everything is already finished including the cabinets that surround the fridge opening and I am hoping to not have to do anything too destructive. Working around/behind the cabinets would be ideal. I've looked into putting door openings into load bearing walls and read about king studs/jack studs and their construction but am inexperienced in framing. I've also seen the charts on header size but just want to double check my numbers. The fridge space is on the 1st floor of a 2 story home with a basement. The fridge would sit against an inner wall. The wall in question is framed by 2x6s and is one side of a set of stairs going to the second floor. The fridge is 36" wide. So if I am trying to figure out what I need to work with in terms of lumber and going of a building width of 36ft, I would need 2 2x8s for the header and 2 jack studs on each side of my span? I understand I would also have to relocate the water line and outlet. Thanks in advance! <Q> I see no problem with recessing this into the wall and if it gives you more fridge for the space, do it. <S> Things to think about: <S> Just overdo it. <S> Buy a 2x12 from big box, cut it into the three pieces you need, put two jack studs on each side and a king, 3 cripples on top. <S> I would try to keep the drywall on the other side <S> If you have electrical you should put it in armor to protect it. <S> Since you are taking out a bottom plate, thinking that will be lower than floor. <S> You will have to fill this in with flooring or some other stable material that will not move when pushing fridge in our out. <A> I found that I'd need proper permits to do anything structural legally. <S> This beam is supported by a post close to the top of the stairs and very close to the fridge. <S> This one post seems like it is supporting about half the home. <S> Not the greatest place to learn framing. <S> I came to the decision rather quickly to leave the wall alone when a builder rep reminded me that my structural warranty would be void if any structural changes were made to the home and gave me a ballpark cost for it to be done properly. <S> Ballpark cost making the price of a new fridge look like a steal. <S> So, the risk is worth much less than the reward. <S> I will eat the cost from privately selling the brand new fridge and I have already ordered a smaller one. <S> It has been a very educational experience however and I am thankful for everyone's suggestions. <S> I have learned quite a bit. <S> Thanks! <A> Just to be clear - Are you referring to cutting the wall studs and installing a frame in the main load bearing wall that runs through the center of your house? <S> Without adding any bracing on either side when you cut out the studs but before you add in the header? <S> Please seriously consider having a professional <S> at least look it over and give you an estimate of the scope of work before cutting into your main load bearing wall. <S> Putting a frame into a partition wall is not big deal but anyone that recommends to someone that has never done framing before to just start cutting into a main bearing wall is being irresponsible. <S> While the points on how to implement the frame are all valid there are clearly many additional considerations - and several details are not clear:For example the location of the Stairs - they're located on the opposite side of the wall that you are putting the door frame into? <S> How will they be impacted? <S> How much space are you needing - will 5" be enough?How much air space <S> will the coils behind the refrigerator require? <S> As far as what size header to use and asking for tips - no issues with the answers. <S> But asking an open ended question about this type of change without a lot more information - your not going to get a complete picture of the scope of the modifications needed.
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Make sure your fridge will lay flat. If you have a water line, I would protect it up the wall to a point - lots of ways to do this. I would also likely need to have a structural engineer look at it due to the location of the wall - there are 2 beams, 1 longer one that runs from the front to back on the other side of my home and another shorter one that runs perpendicular and is aligned with the wall that I was thinking about working on.
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Test Connection for vintage lighting fitting Out apartment has one of those vintage light fittings, with the edison bulbs in. It also has 4M high ceilings. One of the bulbs has popped and repeatedly pops if i replace it. so i'd like to take the fitting down from the rose and check the connections both in the base and the bulb fitting. The question is, can I use a wall socket and a kettle lead to create a supply, so that I can work on this and test the fittings out without it hanging from the ceiling? My thinking is, that a plug, with the appropriate fuse (3A) and a long lead, would mean that i could easily test the fitting, using the switch at the wall to make it safe whilst i checked all connections. Basically, is the 240V in the Wall Socket, the same as the 240V in the lighting circuit? <Q> As a temporary test setup it's fine. <S> Assuming that you know what you are doing and you monitor the thing while it's in use. <S> However the switch at the wall will probably only switch the live wire while the neutral will remain connected. <S> So it'll be safer to pull the plug out of the wall when you go to mess with the connections. <A> is the 240V in the Wall Socket, the same as the 240V in the lighting circuit? <S> Yes, so long as you use the 3A fuse (or better yet a 1A fuse if you can find one) <S> I'd second ratchetfreak's advice to unplug the cable when working on the connections. <S> There are things you can buy to make the temporary wiring safer and more convenient Cliff <S> Quick-Test <S> WAGO 224 wiring connectors <S> Related <S> When doing electrical work, what do I use to check wires are safe? <S> Electric shock - was I stupid, unlucky, or a combination of both? <A> Lamps and wall socket have the same voltage. <S> Before these operations you must switch off the electricity if you have not enough electrical skills or your screwdriver has no isolation from end. <S> Check the entry switches of your appartment and switch off the switcher responcible for ceiling illumination. <S> You just have to refine both contacts with using the Slot Type screwdriver, and then use screwdriver to unfold the central pin of lamp socket for having stronger pressure between both items. <S> Finally you will have strong electrical contact <S> , it mean you will have no blinking, no noise, good durability of each next lamp.
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Your problem seems in poor contact between the central lamp pin and central pin of lamp socket.
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Caulking around base of toilet I just remodeled my bathroom by the master bedroom and the toilet needed to be shimmed since the tile around the flange was a bit higher than where the toilet bowl ends. After shimming there is a slight gap exposing beneath the toilet. I attempted caulking it on a whim but it did not look good. How do you caulk around the base of the toilet and make it look good? a.k.a. how to make the caulk even and smooth. I tried a spoon as well, that did not work. <Q> Two words: clear silicone. <S> You can match any toilet to any floor effortlessly if you use the clear stuff. <S> It transmits the colors of the toilet and the floor and doesn't create an ugly, wavy visual line. <S> I usually use a finger if I'm dealing with a larger gap. <S> Silicone wipes off skin cleanly enough that it's not a problem. <S> Err on the side of too little. <S> Note: While I don't agree that toilets should be left completely uncaulked to show failure of the wax ring seal, I do think it's wise to leave the back portion open for that reason. <S> It's often difficult to reach that area with a caulking gun anyway. <A> When I re-caulked my tub <S> I used painters tape on both the tub and the wall with a gap in-between. <S> I then caulked the space between the two pieces of tape, smoothed out with a plastic spoon and then pulled the tape away. <S> The lines were straight and even. <S> I imagine you can do the same with your toilet, put tape on the floor then slightly above the bottom edge of your toilet, fill the gap and then remove the tape. <A> When my toilet wasn't caulked, small roaches crawled from beneath the toilet into my clean bathroom. <S> The toilet sits on ceramic tiles. <S> I do not like sewer roaches in my bathroom, <S> even if they are baby-sized. <S> I vote, caulk the toilet. <A> When (not if) <S> the wax seal is compromised you need to know right away. <S> Caulking the base will hide the condition until you are made aware by other catastrophic means. <S> Don't do it, I have replaced dozens of toilets and seen many damaged floors due to hidden leaks.
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DO NOT CAULK AROUND THE BASE OF YOUR TOILET. Try to fill the void fairly flatly so you're not pulling a lot of caulk along as you tool it out.
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Can I splice a clock cord to a lamp cord so I only have to use one part of the power outlet I am trying to combine my clock cord and my lamp cord into one so that I only have to plug one thing into the power outlet. Would it be OK to splice them to a single plug? <Q> What you are proposing is unsafe and unnecessary. <S> This will be much safer than an amateur cord splice. <A> Electrically, no problem: splice away. <S> Both clock and lamp will work fine. <S> And, the plugs may be polarized to ensure that the "hot" side of the outlet connects to the right part of the lamp or clock; if so, it would be easy for you to get this flipped around, leaving the lamp socket <S> invisibly energized even when its switch was turned off . <S> It would be far better to buy an outlet tap or strip <S> so you have more places to plug your lamp, clock and other items into. <A> You're proposing an unsafe mod that is at best short-sighted. <S> Use an extension cord. <S> This has the advantage that it's designed for the purpose, and you can separate your clock and lamp later if you so desire. <S> Best of luck. <A> "Safety" here will be the key of your work. <S> I assume, that you do not intend to use any of the other possibilities, and combining the power cords is the only option you pursue. <S> If possible, make a photo of each device and how they are located, this might help to improve my tips, and here they go: <S> Since you are asking such a question, I assume that you are not very experienced. <S> And ask them to check onyou every few minutes. <S> Don't use (electric) tapes . <S> They are ugly, and only good for temporary solutions. <S> Use shrink tubing instead. <S> "Twisting" of wires is only good as a temporary solution. <S> Solder them instead. <S> If you don't know how shrink tubing or soldering works: leave it to somebody else. <S> Use a safe environment with circuit breakers for testing your mod, before using it in your house. <S> Check if the cables get warm (or even hot) - they should not. <S> (Leave them plugged in for 2-3h and check every 20 minutes or so). <S> Probably one, which would have two channels for the cables, If not: drill a hole of appropriate size, so that your second cable will move in under high pressure . <S> If it should be loose: apply hot glue or similar. <S> If you want that one of the devices should be connected to the other: decide which goes first, drill a hole in it, then continue as above. <S> Prepare your insulation (shrink tubes, or fluid insulation), solder the cables and insulate. <A> Make sure as you separate the wires of the clock/lamp notice the one with the groves in it. <S> Those are your hot wires. <S> Twist both them together, wire nut then tape ( electric tape ) then twist cap and tape your two smooth ( neutral )_wires.
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Safety-wise, you really shouldn't do that. It would be easy to end up with a cord that could be pulled apart, leaving house voltage exposed and ready to make your life overly interesting . Thus: before starting any modding with electrical devices: tell somebody that you are going to do it, and where. If you want to connect the cables somewhere in the middle (which I do not recommend), empty the part of the cables where you want them to connect out. If you want to connect the cables at the plug: buy a good plug, where you would be able to pin two wires into one connector. Use one of these: It's called a cube tap. Yep it can be done!
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Fixing hole in ceiling for recessed light after water damage I recently had to deal with a little water damage from a leak in the second floor bathroom. The ceiling appears to be dried out after a few days of pushing air through it and the only real water damage occured around the edge of a recessed can light fixture just like this one The problem is that while removing that can light to get to the water the wet drywall around the hole crumbled away. Now the hole is too big for the can light. The flange around the edge of the fixture that should press against the ceiling almost fits right through. What is the right way to go about fixing this? Cut away a larger square of drywall, replace it and re-cut the hole for the can light? Is there something easier that doesn't involve taking out more of the ceiling? I know I could just get larger bezels and hide it but I'd rather not replace all the bezels in the room. Plus the light doesn't fit very securely any more. <Q> There are two issues: support and cosmetics. <S> For the support, you could remove the can, insert thin, long pieces of wood (something like a paint stirrer) in the space above the lip of the can, overlapping the newly opened area. <S> I would put in two strips, opposite each other. <S> I would hold them in place by putting screws upward through the solid area of drywall, one on each end. <S> This should give more body to hold the can in place after filling the gaps. <S> For cosmetics (and some support around the new strips) <S> Then, after drying, sand the whole thing smooth before inserting the can. <A> You might just use an oversize LED recessed lighting adapter, if the ceiling is structurally sound and the existing can and fixture are not corroded. <S> Pick a suitable color temperature: 2,700 <S> -3,000 K is a "warm", reddish-yellow, 4,000 K and higher lamps have a bluish cast. <S> In my house, I've replaced a few fixtures that way for efficiency. <A> The easiest repair, may in fact be, to go ahead and just knock out a bigger hole, patch it, and cut a new one.
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Piece working, close to fixtures that rely on the drywall for support, never ends well, and usually looks worse, if it doesn't fall back out; landing on something important... something like this, really needs to be secured properly. I would use a hardening spackle (not taping compound or a lightweight filler) to fill below these new strips and build up the edge around the hole.
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Figure out if I have gas or electric heating I have a year 2000 house in Bay Area California. The Honeywell RTH2520 thermostat that came with the house doesn't work anymore because the metal things on the side of the AA batteries became aqua colored and corroded. So I'm replacing it with a Honeywell RTHL2310B. This new thermostat asks me to flip a switch to gas or electric. I looked at the back of the old one and it doesn't have a switch at all. I don't know which type of heating/cooling I have in my house. How to I figure out? The old existing wiring: Left: New. Right: old. <Q> Actually, the old thermostat DOES have a "gas/electric heat" jumper. <S> It's labeled "JP2" and the "HG" setting is for gas. <S> The "HE" setting is for electric. <S> It appears to be the exact same thing, just poorly labeled. <S> Look closely (don't touch) and its setting should be apparent. <S> A Google search revealed the manual in PDF as the #1 result and section 2.4 discusses the JP2 jumper. <S> P.S. <S> Another way to find out if you have electric heat is go to your electric service panel and look at the labels on the breakers. <S> For electric heat, it would be one of the large (double-wide) breakers. <S> Turn the breaker off and see if your heat still works. <S> The thermostat should continue to work, because it is fed from a 120V circuit (which uses a single-wide breaker). <S> If the breakers are not labeled, you know electric heat must be a double-breaker. <S> You can find it by trial and error. <S> Generally it won't do any harm to turn a double-breaker off. <S> They control a single device: air conditioner, water heater, and the like. <S> That device will stop working and that is all. <S> I would label what you can. <S> (now in older homes or ones with well-wired outbuildings, sometimes a double breaker actually feeds a sub-panel, which has many other things running off it. <S> I don't see that as likely in a new-build California home.) <A> Have you ever ventured into the basement? <S> Do you have access to it, or someone else owns that part? <S> If not, and you bought the house, the heating description will be in your purchase disclosure. <S> You could ask your realtor for it if you can't find it <S> and it was a recent purchase. <S> If you can access the basement, you'll have some options. <S> If there is NO furnace (nothing with big vents or lots of pipes coming out of a single 'box'), and you have many baseboard heaters, with perhaps a box that sites outside your house that looks like an air conditioner that has hoses that go into the house? <S> Then Electric. <S> If you have a furnace, does a little thin bendable tube come to the furnace from the outside (or inside) tank? <S> That would be an oil furnace. <S> Or, do heavy thick and sturdy pipes with shut-off valves go to the furnace from a meter outside? <S> Then that's gas! <A> Your question: "How do I figure out what type of heating is in my home" <S> Answer: There are two types of heating solutions: radiant heating and forces air heating. <S> From my understanding radiant heating does not use the type of thermostat you have. <S> So you have a forces air heating system. <S> This means there is a furnace somewhere in your home. <S> This should be installed on the lowest floor in your home. <S> Locate the furnace and examine it. <S> If not, then look at the pipes/lines connected to it. <S> Posting a picture would be best. <S> If you cannot, then if there is an iron or flexible pipe connected to your furnace, this is a gas line and therefore a gas furnace. <S> Otherwise it's probably electric. <S> But since you said your gas bill spikes in the winter, you have a gas furnace unless you have a gas fireplace that you run during the winter.
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While it's running, if you seem flames or light coming from it, it's a gas furnace.
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What are the risks of sending low-current neutral through the ground wire? I have an existing switch that controls an outlet. I'd like to replace it with a smart-home switch, which requires a neutral wire to power the switch itself. However, there is no neutral wire at the switch. It's infeasible to run a new wire because the switch wasn't run with conduit, and I'm not willing to tear up my walls. It's my understanding that I could use ground as neutral for low power applications such as this. Are there any risks, either safety or electrical reliability of doing so? <Q> Yes there are risks to safety. <S> If anything interupts the ground conductor that leads back to the service entrance, suddenly your switch is energizing the ground on that circuit, so anything connected to it is also going to be energized (i.e. a printer that has a grounded metal chassis suddenly has a live metal chassis). <S> You guess that this is only a few milliamps, but do you know under all operating conditions that this is the case? <S> Just 10mA is enough current to cause muscular paralysis -- and 100mA is fatal . <S> You may think that "well yeah, <S> but it would take multiple bad things to happen for this to be a safety hazard"... <S> but you're already doing one of the bad things it would take, so you're one conductor away from a very unsafe situation. <S> There are some smart switches rated for use without a neutral (but they generally only work with incandescent lamps). <S> Since you're just controlling a receptacle, the easiest thing to do is use a plug-in lamp or appliance module. <S> But if you were controlling a ceiling light fixture, you could use an in-line switch module that wires in at the lamp fixture itself instead of at the switch: <S> You could keep the switch on all the time to supply "line" to the lamp fixture, and use the existing neutral at that fixture, then let the switch module control power to the lamp. <S> Then you can use a batttery operated wall switch to control the lamp module. <A> Well here's the thing. <S> You say the switch is controlling the wrong outlet anyway. <S> (this is the scourge of modern construction; electrical code allows builders to connect the mandatory switch to an outlet and provision no lights in the room at all. <S> Leaving random tenants responsible for safety lighting is a disaster, ask any first-responder.) <S> One option is to re-task the switch-loop wires to be an actual hot and neutral. <S> (they are probably black and white already.) <S> You now have always-hot at all outlet locations and at a switch location. <S> Now install a smart-switch which is powered, but uses wireless or power-line communication to communicate with a remote module at the location you want to switch. <S> You now have a great deal of liberty as to where to put that. <A> There are smart switches that do not require a neutral. <S> By design, they "bootleg" some neutral / return current on the ground wire. <S> However, if they are legal and listed, they are tested to limit the bootleg current to some tiny amount that is considered safe by UL. <S> Generally bootlegging a neutral - using a ground wire as a neutral - is an unsafe practice: <S> The equipment grounding system (EGS) provides a path so that in the event of a ground fault, there is a low impedance path to complete the circuit, so that sufficient current will flow that the breaker will trip. <S> In typical residential systems in the US wired with nonmetallic cable (Romex) and plastic boxes, the bare wires make up the bulk of the EGS. <S> Generally the EGS is not carrying current, not energized, even with the power on. <S> Faults generally create a dead short and short circuit current is very high. <S> There can be some sharing of EGCs between circuits, retrofit EGCs not run with branch circuits, etc. <S> In these cases even with the circuit you're working on turned off at the breaker, the EGC could carry current from another circuit. <S> So in some of these circumstances, even things like plumbing pipes could wind up carrying some of that bootleg current. <S> If there are multiple not-so-smart devices bootlegging neutral current, it could become more dangerous. <S> I think most would agree bootlegging a smart switch does not constitute a huge, immanent danger where you ought to get the children out of the house immediately until it's rectified. <S> But all would agree it's a code violation, and most would agree that re-writing the code to be more convenient for you, or picking and choosing where you're smarter than the code, is some dangerous hubris. <S> As mentioned in another answer, smart switches with remote units that can be installed at the light are a safe alternative. <A> First things first. <S> You asked two important questions I shall answer them in bold. <S> It's my understanding that I could use ground as neutral for low power applications... <S> Fact is, per the NEC, manufacturers of smart devices have up to the year 2020 to redesign all of their devices so the do not use the equipment grounding conductor "Green/bare wire" as a neutral. <S> There are exceptions too. <S> The Code reads as follows: <S> 404.22 Electronic Control Switches <S> Electronic control switches shall be listed. <S> Electronic control switches shall not introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor during normal operation. <S> The requirement to not introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall take effect on January 1, 2020 <S> Exception: <S> Electronic control switches that introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall be permitted for application covered by 404.2(C). <S> Exception: <S> Electronic control switches that introduce current on the equipment grounding conductor shall be listed and marked for use in replacement or retrofit applications only. <S> Are there any risks, either safety or electrical reliability of doing so? <S> Parallel paths is the main reason. <S> Electricity doesn't take the shortest path back to the source, it takes every path possible.
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If someone working on the electrical system, testing, troubleshooting, etc. assumes the EGC is safe, but it's carrying bootleg neutral current, they could receive a shock. In the event of a ground fault it will very, very briefly be energized until the fault is cleared. Enabling alternative paths can create shock conditions.
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Why does my house feel toasty when it's very cold outside, but cold when it's only a little chilly out? My house has gas-powered hot-water radiators for heat. Ever since we moved in, I've noticed that if the temperature is just a bit chilly outside (40°F to 50°F), the house feels very cold and everyone needs to put on sweaters and sweatshirts. But if it gets very cold (17°F or 30°F), then the house feels perfectly comfortable. What could be going on here? I have a programmable thermostat, so I never change the settings. Depending on the time of day, it's set to betweeen 67°F and 70°F. <Q> It probably has to do with two things: Perception and mixing. <S> When it's very cold the radiators are on more often. <S> You feel the heat coming off them, which makes it feel warmer in the home even though the average room temperature is about the same. <S> Also, when the radiators run less often in warmer weather, parts of the house (or each room) cool off faster than others. <S> Because the radiators aren't in use, causing convection and mixing, more temperature variation may occur. <A> The first thing you need to do is keep a thermometer near you. <S> see what temperature the house actually is at in each of the scenarios you mention. <S> Next, see if you can get a hygrometer (humidity measurement tool). <S> The RH can strongly affect your sensation of cool or warmth. <S> And you didn't specify, so make sure you do these tests when the house temperature has stabilized. <S> Otherwise you might be reporting comfort levels while the system(s) is still running to adjust the temperature. <A> Is your house a 1 floor ranch style house or a multiple floor or 2 story house? <S> Are there radiators in every room? <S> Check the pressure gauge reading when the boiler water is cool/cold, record that pressure. <S> Does the pressure rise when the boiler is on and the water temp is rising. <S> The pressure should rise only a few pounds between cold and hot. <S> If the pressure rises more than this you probably need a service tech to look at the system. <S> Possible problems; expansion tank flooded, auto fill not working, system not balanced, outdoor reset control not working or not set properly if you have one. <S> Does the system have a pump to move the water in the system or is a gravity flow system. <A> I finally asked my plumber about this, and he explained the problem and how to solve it. <S> Our house has cast-iron radiators, so when it's very cold out, the boiler runs for a while and <S> the radiators get very hot and continue to radiate warmth into the room. <S> He said that when this happens, just set the thermostat up a few degrees higher than what we actually want. <S> This will force the boiler to run longer and make the radiators heat up so the cast iron continues to radiate heat out into the room. <S> Once the temperature is reached, you can lower the thermostat back to its original temperature and the house should remain comfortable.
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But when it's just a little cold out, the boiler doesn't need to run as long, so the radiators don't build up a lot of heat. This results in cool pockets that you notice, if only subconsciously.
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Should the outlet that my space heater uses be getting warm? I have purchased two different types of home heaters - both worked well for many years. Last year I wanted to plug in a clock radio and noticed that the wall where the heater was plugged in was slightly warm. I checked all the outlets in the room and found them to be a bit warm. I turned the heater off and the warmth went away. Now I'm a bit concerned. Do I need an adapter, stop using small portable home heaters, what? <Q> 110v and 120v are more or less interchangeable, nominal approximations. <S> 117v is (was?) <S> an average. <S> The current spec is 120v +/- <S> 5% if I'm not mistaken. <S> Your heater draws a lot of current, and weak points in the circuit, such as plug connections, will often show some heat accumulation. <S> It is a bit odd that other outlets would be warm as well, though. <S> It's possible that the wiring runs through the outlet side jumpers, but that should be a sturdy connection that isn't a high-resistance point. <S> Anyway, "slightly warm" isn't too concerning. <S> Many devices will do that, such as battery chargers. <S> When it approaches hot to the touch you have a real problem. <S> Keep a close eye on it and try not to rely on portable heaters for long periods of time. <A> Flexible cords used in small appliances usually use smaller wire than the house wiring (as allowed in table 400.5.a.1 of the NEC) <S> These cords will get warm to the touch on space heaters. <S> If the outlets are getting warm in that room they are probably daisy chained using the back stab connections. <S> Back stab connections have a very small contact area and heat is created with a heavy load at the outlets. <S> To eliminate the heat from the additional outlets the wires can be pig tailed (incoming hot and out going hot tied together with a short piece of wire also going to the outlet <S> ) pig tailing the neutrals and hots should eliminate the heat at the other outlets. <S> You ask should the outlet get hot? <S> No it should not be hot but may be warm. <A> Undersized Romex and the actual outlet amperage rating will cause heat. <S> For example, if the builder used the cheapest Romex available and the cheapest outlet you'll be lucky to be able to pull 9 amps reliably, although the outlet is rated at 15 amps. <S> Normally most household outlet or wall outlet circuits are connected to a 20amp breaker, usually not more than 6 outlets are serviced by that breaker per NEC code. <S> However, I have found that code isn't always followed. <S> If your outlet is getting hot by utilizing a source, AKA space heater, this means that the outlet and the wire supporting that outlet is to be questioned.
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In layman's terms , you need to have the electrical checked by a professional, to continue to utilize an appliance that makes said outlet hot is only inviting a fire. Line voltage varies slightly by home and by region.
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What should be used between a concrete tub and wall tile? I have an older home that has a large, decorative concrete bathtub/shower with tiled enclosure walls. The walls behind the tile and tub are poured concrete. (Yes, the house is very sturdily built.) I am refurbishing this area, and when I started removing the (very) old caulk between the tub and the tiled walls, I found that the tile had actually been grouted completely down to the tub; there is no expansion joint. In a way, this makes sense, because all of these materials (concrete tub, concrete walls, tile and grout) have about the same thermal coefficient of expansion so there is no need for an expansion joint. I'm not seeing any cracking or separation that would indicate an expansion mismatch, and the grout looks to be in excellent shape (considering its age), although it looks like in places it has softened behind the caulk. I'm thinking that this is probably because the caulk, as it has aged, has allowed water to be trapped behind it, against the grout, for extended periods. My feeling is that this was originally not intended to be caulked, but that someone caulked it at some point because, well, this is a place that is usually caulked. Is it okay (maybe even preferable) to have the grout only, or does this angle between the tub and the tiled walls need to be caulked? Water does not stand there; it gets wet for brief periods during showers. This is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the humidity is almost always low, so it has no problem drying off fairly quickly. Addition on 12-10-16: The photos are of about an 18 inch section. This is an indoor fixture (master bedroom's bath), so it is not subject to extremes of temperature, etc. The green tiles you see in the pictures are glassy, different shades of green, 1000s of them in all, that have been fairly precisely grouted in with a grey grout to make a kind of abstract under the water scene on the walls. As I say, the grout extends to the decorative concrete tub; there is no open space. Looking at some of the edges, it does appear that the tub itself extends significantly back behind the tile surface. As you can see, the tile is worked essentially down to the tub; however, there are very thin sections of grout between those lowest tile pieces and the tub. I had forgotten to mention another important point, which is that when I was removing the caulk, it was adhered strongly to many of the tiles (there is no possible way one could caulk this junction without getting caulk on the lowest tiles) and wanted to peel flakes off the tile faces. I proceeded very carefully once I realized this, slow and tedious hand work scraping the caulk off every little tile, so it wouldn't take flakes with it. Even so, there was some flaking. These tiled walls are so unique, I really don't want to do something that could cause additional damage. Caulk seems to be problematical. <Q> Using some wet room type silicone should work just fine for that joint under the conditions you mention. <S> You can usually find transparent variants of it as well, leaving the design intact. <S> And it takes no real time to apply. <A> I did not see mention of whether your bathtub/shower is indoor or outdoor. <S> However, I recommend you use typical Portland cement based mortar just like an outdoor, poured, Gunite swimming pool mason would probably use to attach the ring of tiles around the pool's summer water level surface. <S> I maintain a house in Maine with an outdoor swimming pool (so it sees extreme summer heat and winter freezing cold) <S> and I used Portland cement based mortar between the tiles and the Gunite surface. <S> This joint is particularly susceptible to cracking from tiny amounts of water getting between the Gunite and the tiles and then freezing during the winter. <S> But in your NM application, I would think your constraints are much less demanding (especially if it is indoor), so Portland cement based mortar would seem ideal to me. <A> The one question would be is the tub back-damned so water that does get there doesnt find a path underneath the tub where you might get rot/mold. <S> If the entire bath assembly and walls are cement/cmu/etc and no wood <S> then maybe it doesnt matter anyway if water gets under given that the low humidity equals fast drying. <S> I'm not an expert <S> so this is only food for thought.
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I would agree with your assessment about leaving the caulk off which would allow a seepage plane through the porous cement mortar.
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How to Hang Projector Screen from ceiling against wall? Let me start off with a diagram This is the projector screen in front of the wall. The vertical bars are the studs. There are probably 4 or 5 more studs between the edges of the screen). The frame of the projector has about a 3" gap from where the keyhole slots or loops for hanging are located. I'm trying to figure out how I can attach the projector screen to the wall or the ceiling. I don't seem to be able to attach it to the wall because of the positions of the studs. I would only be able to attach to one of the studs with brackets or a screw. I would prefer to hang the projector from the ceiling, but the joists run parallel to the wall, so the nearest one is 18" from the wall, which is much too far for where I'd like the screen to hang. <Q> Rather that attaching into the drywall or cobbling up short mounting blocks I would strongly recommend that you mount a board to all the existing studs that is just a bit longer than the width of your screen. <S> This board can be a straight forward 1x6 pine board (actual dimensions 0.75" x 5.5"). <S> This will make a nice sturdy place to attach the hangers for the screen. <S> Once it is all attached in place the board can have holes filled with filler or spackle. <S> Then prime and paint to a color that matches the wall. <S> Note that once the screen is hung in front of the board it will hardly be noticed that the board is there and it will still look nicer than other kludge solutions. <A> You could screw one side into a stud, and use a 1/4" toggle bolt for the other side. <S> I would avoid using the toggle bolts to hang it from the ceiling. <S> Toggle Bolt Ratings <S> Your best bet, however, would be to cut the drywall, install backing, and then patch and paint the hole. <S> Either on the wall or the ceiling. <A> If you're not too far off from the stud, you could screw a block into the stud (like a 6" piece of 1x2) and then mount your projector onto the block. <S> Of course, you would need a similar block on the other side to keep the screen parallel to the wall. <A> I commented to ask, but then noticed that you did mention hanging loops as well as the keyhole slots (as is fairly standard for projection screens.) <S> The hanging loops make it easy to run a short section of chain or cable to hooks solidly in the studs. <S> The chain or cable can run at an angle (indeed, the screen is more stable with the suspension at an angle, rather than vertical). <S> \ <S> / \ / ================================= <S> Kinda like that. <S> I prefer chain, myself. <S> You can go at a more extreme angle than ASCII art allows. <S> If you are super cautious (or seismically concerned), use screw eyes in the studs and a screw-link at both ends of the chains - otherwise a screw-hook and one screw-link where you connect the chain to the hanging loop should work, at lower cost. <S> If you are quite relaxed about it you could use non-welded lamp chain for such a light load and skip the screw links entirely (you just twist loops open/closed to connect) <S> but I've always had the concern of being absolutely, positively sure it's not going to drop on someone's head win over the minor cost savings, so I overbuild them. <S> Still, they hang light fixtures over people's heads with the stuff...
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Since you want the screen up near the ceiling anyway just slide the board all the way up against the ceiling and attach it with screws right through the drywall and into the studs.
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How to determine the polarity of a lamp? I have a lamp that has a damaged plug. I have a replacement plug, but I'm not sure which wire on the cord should be connected to hot plug and which wire to the neutral plug. I know that the plug had a polarity (it had one large blade and one small blade), but I don't know which wire was the "hot" wire. The cord doesn't have a ground wire. Is there a way to know which wire should be connected to "hot" or neutral? This is in the United States. <Q> The shell of the bulb socket (i.e. the part with the threads on it) should be neutral. <S> There are many ways it's possible for you to be on contact with the shell: while handling a fixture, i.e. to keep it from falling or to steady it while screwing in a bulb using cheap LED bulbs with metallic heat sinks (many of them either bond the heat-sink to the screw-base shell, or the insulation is so thin it could easily breach there.) <S> All of this is for nought, if your lamp does not have a polarized plug: note the extra-wide blade on one side in this photo. <S> This keys it, to make it impossible to insert wrong in a NEMA 5-15, 5-20 or 1-15 socket. <S> If it doesn't, you should get a polarized plug or cord with plug. <S> The ribbing is meaningless on a user-attached plug, or non-polarized plug. <S> To be sure, either measure with an ohmmeter (zero ohms from shell to the wide blade on the lamp's plug, infinity to tip in all switch positions) measure with a voltmeter, with lamp plugged in, from the shell to holes on a nearby receptacle - near 0V to ground (that could also mean a bad connection) and 120V away from hot (sure, but more dangerous to measure). <S> dismantle the lamp and visually follow the wire, noting the rib/marking on the wire. <S> Check the plug to make sure the rib/mark does indeed go to the wide blade. <S> Lamp cords with pre-molded plugs can be readily had from a proper electrical supply, McMaster-Carr, or by hacking an extension cord of appropriate gauge (typically 18 AWG unless it's one heck of a lamp). <S> Use cords that are white, translucent yellow, brown or black - avoid obvious "I hacked an extension cord" colors like dark green. <A> In the united States most lamps are wired with STP cord. <S> STP cord is polarity marked. <S> In this photo you can see the "rib" or raised stripe. <S> The other conductor of the cord will be smooth. <S> The rib is neutral and is associated to the wide blade of the plug. <S> Now that you know the secret walk around your house and look at lampcords, they all follow that convention. <A> You all forgot to mention which of the two screws on the socket is the Hot Connection. <S> It is the Copper Screw, not the Steel Screw. <S> The Copper screw connects to the center copper tab inside the socket that looks like a "tongue". <S> The Steel Screw connects to the outer threaded part of the socket and it needs to be Neutral. <S> If you try to change a "burned out" light bulb without turning off the socket and its Hot, you could inadvertently touch the bulb's metal threads and get shocked or worse.
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On a cord with a pre-molded plug, there will usually be ribbing or marking, and that should be on the neutral side, which is the extra-wide blade.
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how can I Soundproof a room without wall modifications My My room is right next to the staircase and basically I have two neighbours that does a lot a noise, the ones right next to me and under me, the noise doesn't go through the floor but by the staircase/hallway and then straight through the walls see diagram : I saw a few things like using rockwool etc but they all require construction and I rent this flat so I can't do any hard work on it. Is there anything I can do to soundproof these walls that doesn't costs a ton and that can be placed and then removed when I leave ? I don't mind if it's ugly I'd rather sleep in an ugly room than stay awake all night in a pretty one <Q> Update: with all the concerns you can also use what is called Mass Loaded Vinyl which is normally used in a non abrasive method which is good for places such as rentals, flats, homes etc. <S> Mass Loaded Vinyl is used to reduce airborne sound transmission through walls, floors and ceilings. <S> They are typically comprised of a limp-mass material sound barrier made of high-temperature fused vinyl and no lead fillers. <S> With a typical weight of 1 lb. <S> per square foot, these barriers are as heavy as lead, but only 1/8" thick. <S> This improves the sound transmission loss (STC) of a construction assembly without losing valuable space. <S> It may be used in new and retrofit soundproofing construction. <S> The standard offering is a non-reinforced barrier for use in typical construction. <S> Other configurations include lag and wrap materials for pipes and ducting, a transparent version to allow line of site or light, a surface mount option and a reinforced version that may be suspended. <S> These materials are often combined with other materials in soundproofing applications to help provide a complete sound blocking solution. <S> You can check it out here. <S> I am in no way affiliated with acoustical solutions. <S> https://acousticalsolutions.com/product-category/sound-barriers/mass-loaded-vinyl/ <S> Each will require at least some glue. <S> foam egg crate flats <A> Purchase or make bookcases. <S> Cover the problem walls with them. <S> Old phone books, readers digest condensed books, outdated encyclopedias, etc.) <S> - if you like, space them out a little bit from the walls, and fill in between the bookcases and the walls with rockwool. <S> `Put a trim board over the gap at each end to keep it tidy. <A> Since the goal is to block sound, absorbing it (like in a music studio) is not a requirement. <S> Block air gaps between your room and the source of the sound. <S> Stuff to check for between your room and the sound source would be like gaps under doors, outlets, etc. <S> If your house uses forced air for heating and/or cooling, you will need to make sure sound is not leaking from those vents too. <S> Then use large amounts of mass spaced with air gaps between the layers to block the sound, for example you can loosely stack multiple layers of cementboard or heavy gypsum board against the existing wall. <S> You will need to make sure the entire wall is covered though. <S> Making a sandbag wall will also work very well for this. <S> Though this will not be cheap.
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You can use soundproofing foam, this is how we soundproof recording studios or if you want something cheaper, you can use egg crate flats. Another super ugly but effective solution is just stack rock wool from floor to ceiling until the entire wall is covered. You can tape air gaps or fill gaps with a towel or something. This is likely the most fire resistant, cheapest, and ugliest solution too. Fill them with books (free ones work just as well as expensive ones, and are not terribly hard to find.
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Can I connect a 3 Pole on/off switch to 1phase 120v? My scenario: Installing new VFD (1phase 120v input with 3 phase output), 3 phase motor to Lathe I want to install a disconnect or on/off switch between the house 120v plug outlet and the VFD input. So I'll plug the VFD into the 120v wall outlet, but I want a on/off or disconnect switch between plug and VFD so I can shut off power to lathe completely. I'm looking at switches similar to this and to get over 20A, everything switch seems to be 3 pole. Katko KU325 I'm going to need to figure out which is neutral in the power cord, right? How can I make the 3 pole switch work? <Q> The hot (line) from your 120Volt supply will connect to any one of the three poles in your disconnect switch (unless it has guidance for a particular pole for single-pole use in its labeling) <S> The neutral and ground connections pass through, with the ground connection bonded to the case, assuming it's a metal-cased switch. <S> As commented, you may have some issues supplying more than 20 amps of 120V without some custom wiring, and it's often easier (for the many VFDs that will happily take 240VAC input - or swap yours if it's 120VAC-only input) to switch to 240VAC if you are facing custom wiring anyway. <S> In a standard line cord, neutral is White (or gray) (USA Standard) or Blue (IEC standard, not uncommon on imported equipment even if intended for the USA market.) <A> You could use one contact, two, or all three. <S> If using more than one, you could put them in parallel to reduce amperage through each one, which would increase service life (however if any stick "on", you cannot turn the device off). <S> Or you could wire them in series for a higher capacity to interrupt voltage ( <S> but if any stick "off", you cannot turn the device on). <S> The latter is a better fail-safe. <A> With 3 phase the neutral is not needed but an equipment ground is needed. <S> Other than fuel dispensing the ground is not opened for most normal installs. <S> The switch you linked would make a convenient local disconnect. <S> When using a 20A or larger 120V disconnect <S> only the hot lead is needed to be opened many times a 240V disconnect is used with only 1 leg <S> and there are many of these available with 30-60 amp ratings at most big box stores.
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Note some VFD's when disconnected will fault on start if the VFD output was active when disconnected (requiring a reset at the VFD).I originally read this as a safety disconnect at the motor using the 3 phase outputs of the VFD.
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setting up long runs of hardwood flooring: where to square from? So I have a 3 bedroom house, middle room being the smallest. The master is the widest covering the width of the house, and the 3rd room at the back is long and 2/3 the width of the master. I am doing the install one room at a time as there's stuff I have to move around to make room. Currently I occupy the master with furniture etc. I would like to set up long runs of wood that span the length of the house, going from master all the way to the back end of the 3rd bedroom. I'm also going to run a piece of flooring centered across the bottom of the door to break up the rooms and divide the floor, but keeping the long run. The middle room steps out into the middle of the hall. offset right and across the door is the bathroom, offset left is the stairs down. So here is the issue I'm attempting to plan around. I'm trying to get the runs parallel to the hallway so it's straight. It also has to be parallel to the door opening to the middle room, this might turn my install a few degrees in the room, which is fine. What I'm having trouble with is carrying the run into the master and into the 3rd bedroom. I've pushed out a parallel guideline into the hallway from the middle room transition, using this as an anchor as best I can that will be parallel to the door when it's closed. This guideline seems to match the nose for the stairs. It extends into the master where the entrance steps into the right side of the room. From my line to the right wall I have maybe 1/2 inch out of square for a room that's about 12 feet wide. measuring the left wall corners off my guide, I find I'm only about 1/4 inch off from one corner to the other off the far left wall. That's very tolerable, though could be better, but it's a 30 year old house, I expect rooms not to be square. They aren't. So I'm very willing to take 1/2 out. Here's where things go south. Using my laser square, I project the guideline into the 3rd bedroom. To one wall, I believe I might be 1/2 out. Which is not bad, but I can also hide it since the closets are on that side and I can hide that under the sliding door tracks. Where I will make the transition into the closets. The problem is the other wall, over 11 ft it's almost a whole inch off. My boards are 3 1/4" wide, and 1 inch over a run of 11 ft is going to be very noticeable. I won't be able to hide that under molding, in fact the shoe mold might make it look worse. Should I run with this and chalk it up to the house not being square, or is there a better way to approach this measurement? I'm thinking I could put a screw into the sub floor of the master and run a string all the way to the back of the house and try and measure perfect square from that, but I might run into an issue where the transition on the middle room will no longer be straight across the door frame. <Q> If flooring is to run into all room eventually and it is a wood floor, start on your longest wall which is usually in the hallway leading to the bedrooms (a sketch would have really helped on this). <S> More adjustment can be made by setting the nails harder on one side of the room compared to the other. <S> I have used that technique in "steering" the floor over a long run after the rows are well established. <S> Any room that the flooring runs into can be adjusted slightly as well without seeing a noticeable curve in the floor. <S> I also have done so much as slightly tapering flooring to aid in "adjusting" the floor going into a room. <A> nothing left to do but to believe my measurements are good. <S> Worse comes to worse I will taper a cut at the door to meet the threshold piece that will be the base of the runs into the hallway. <S> This set of measurements if they are right are only off 1/2 inch tops in the other 2 rooms, but this room was then sacrificed a bit. <S> The back wall is about 3/4 of an inch out. <S> I ended up splitting a run to offset the back wall so a seam didn't cut out from under the trim. <S> As a result I'll need to rip a 2 inch strip to finish the room at the door. <S> The table saw scares me, but I managed to clamp a bunch of pieces together into a jig and ran the pieces through using the clamp as a push rod, in addition to a push rod pushing down. <S> I was able to rip the 3 1/4 down to 2" and then ran the pieces through again on the edges nibbling away until I had a new groove. <S> I hope I don't have to do that again, <S> though with so little blade exposure and pushrods up the wazoo, I felt reasonably safe doing that. <S> Keeping the faith that my measurements are still good. <S> I might have been thrown off a tiny bit, nothing to do now but to carry on and deal with the ugly seams at the end of the other 2 bedrooms if they show up. <S> At least the view down front to back of the house will be straight. <A> I was doing a single room and it was out of quart a good bit and the wide plank engineered wood had beveled edges. <S> I was also going to end up with a thin plank at the last row. <S> So I trimmed my first row to split the difference. <S> I think I may tapered the first row as well to split the difference with tapered/out of square room on the other side. <S> It was so.much fun!! <A> the table saw scares me lol. <S> But I managed to clamp a bunch of pieces together into a jig and ran the pieces through using the clamp as a push rod, in addition to a push rod pushing down. <S> I was able to rip the 3 1/4 down to 2" and then ran the pieces through again on the edges nibbling away until I had a new groove. <S> I hope I don't have to do that again, <S> though with so little blade exposure and pushrods up the wazoo, I felt reasonably safe doing that. <S> keeping the faith that my measurements are still good. <S> I might have been thrown off a tiny bit, nothing to do now but to carry on and deal with the ugly seams at the end of the other 2 bedrooms if they show up. <S> At least the view down front to back of the house will be straight. <S> lol.
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if the rooms off of the hallway or out of square, the adjustment can be made at the door where the wood floor is the shortest, by tapering that joint in the door by 1/8" in a 32" joint will change the lay of the floor going into the bedroom by a 1/2" in a 10' room.
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Oil Viscosity in Snowblower Got a brand new snowblower. The manufacturer calls for 5w-30 oil but I do not have and can't get to the store before I need to use it. I have 10w-30 full synthetic and I have 5w-20 conventional. Which would be a better choice? <Q> Use the 10w-30. <S> If you store the blower in a warm place then you need do nothing further. <S> In the meanwhile, double or triple the warm-up period before engaging any load. <S> The first number is the viscosity as tested under cold conditions. <S> The different oils are tested at cold temperatures particular to each viscosity. <S> See the chart on this page . <S> The second number is the viscosity at typical engine operating temperature (around 100°C). <S> If the first number is too high, the engine will not get enough oil flow when very cold. <S> (Also it may be hard to start.) <S> If the second number is too low, the oil will not protect the bearings enough when hot. <S> In your case, the 10w-30 may cause some excess wear for the first few minutes of operation if you store the blower outside, but the 5w-20 certainly won't provide enough protection once the engine is warmed up. <A> depends on temperature. <S> check your manual and it may have a chart that shows how cold it has to be to change over to 5w20 and how hot it has to be to run 10w30. <S> if not, i would run the 10w30 synthetic if its above -10 deg celsius. <A> NEVER go thinner than recomended oil. <S> Full synthetic 10w-30 will function just as well as conventional 5w-30 when cold.
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If you store the blower in a cold place (around -20°C) then you should replace the 10w-30 with 5w-30 as soon as practicable.
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Is the receiver for my ceiling fan defective or do I need to modify my wall switch? I just got this minka aire wave ceiling fan an completed the installation but it will not turn on (neither with remote nor switch) UNLESS i take the receiver out altogether and just operate it with the wall switch. I wouldn't mind doing this except there is no drop string to change the fan speed. There are two possibilities here:1. The receiver is dead 2. The fan does not support wall switch and remote at the same time I don't care to control the speed or dimmer from the wall just simply need a on/off option. I did not find any information in the manual but I just want to verify that a ceiling fan with a remote kit installed should not lose operation from the wall switch? <Q> If your wall switch is a simple mechanical switch I don't see how it could possibly have anything to do with the problem. <S> You can easily rig up a test apparatus to determine if the receiver/transmitter is working properly. <S> (This worked for my Hunter fan with light fixture, but of course I can't say whether a pure resistive load would test the receiver for a Minka Wave fan. <S> In summary, cut the cord of a working lamp with say a 40-W incandescent bulb and insert the receiver into the cut as if it were the fan. <S> I used this to determine that my receiver was working and the failure must have been due to a poor connection. <S> I have now replaced the receiver, re-stripped and tinned the wires (on the receiver not on the fan, those were OK) and the fan/light are now working. <S> See <S> Why doesn't my ceiling fan's light kit work? <A> I know I am a bit late here <S> but the answer is to NEVER trust the seller! <S> The fan was never programmed to begin with; it was suppose to be plug and play type <S> so I disregarded the programming instructions assuming this was not applicable. <A> It sounds like the receiver is quite dead, yes. <S> (While a fan receiver may not support having a wall switch yanking its proverbial powercord out from under it <S> well , it ought to function still when the switch is on!) <S> I would take the switch out and wirenut the hot and switched wires connected to it together, and then try the fan again -- if it still doesn't work, then ask your fan manufacturer for a replacement receiver. <A> Only use the on/off button on the remote to turn the fan off and on. <S> If you want a wall control in addition to a hand held one, you should buy a wall remote, which has all the functions as the hand held including on/off. <S> It will also have a small switch that sends power to the receiver, which should always be powered on except in the case of an emergency. <S> There's a lot of electronics involved here which I will not bother to explain, but doing this will prevent any of the above problems from occurring.
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When using a remote system, the power to the receiver should always be on. I had noticed on removing the receiver that at least one of the stranded wires was poorly stripped (most of the strands cut away).
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Why does my laundry machine trip the GFCI when I plug it in? My washer/dryer machine stopped working, and now when whenever I plug it into the GFCI it automatically trips the outlet (both the top and the bottom). I called an electrician in to come fix it and he said it's a problem with the laundry machine and to call an appliance repair guy. I plugged in my iron to both outlets and it didn't trip the GFCI. Any idea what might be causing this on the washer/dryer? <Q> So, your GFCI ( Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter ) trips every time you plug in your washer/dryer, but not when you plug in other equipment. <S> A GFCI detects ground faults, where the power supply line is shorted to ground; it then interrupts the circuit to protect you. <S> (This is a feature , not a bug.) <S> There's lots of things this could be: a failed motor, a wire with worn-through insulation, a circuit board failure, etc. <S> etc. <S> etc. <S> Figuring out which would take a lot more information, but an initial test would be to measure the resistance between ground and the hot or neutral plug terminals. <S> If you measure the resistance as anything other than infinite, you've confirmed your problem. <A> Why is it tripping your GFCI? <S> Because it's faulty. <S> Specifically, it manifests a ground fault. <S> The current that comes in the hot wire is supposed to all go out its neutral wire. <S> But what's happening instead is some of that is leaking into the chassis of the device and going back via the ground wire. <S> (Or even worse, it's leaking out through a water line, or the floor, or dryer vent.) <S> This could kill you. <S> Specifically, have an electrical leak test performed. <A> If I were you, I'd go to your local home improvement store and buy an outlet tester with a button for testing GFCIs. <S> Plug it in. <S> If it lights, make sure it's showing proper wiring (there's a legend on top). <S> If the wiring shows correct proceed to Step 2. <S> If it just trips, the GFCI is bad. <S> Replace it. <S> Click the button on your tester. <S> Does the GFCI trip when you click? <S> Go to step 3. <S> If not, it's probably gone bad. <S> I would replace it. <S> At this point, it looks like the GFCI is probably not the problem. <S> I would get a service man out to check the washer. <S> Because you've done your homework, you can make sure the service man doesn't just wash his hands of it by blaming the GFCI.
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Sounds like your washing machine has a ground fault, and your GFCI detects this and then trips. Get the appliance serviced.
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Remove a light switch to an outlet - knob and tube I have an outlet with a light switch that currently controls it. What I would like to do is remove the switch so the outlet is always hot. I considered just removing the switch and connecting the two wires, but it's knob and tube and changing anything makes me nervous. Is this safe to do? <Q> The best solution is to replace all old cloth insulated wiring. <S> If you are forced to touch a cloth wired circuit, re-insulate with either heat shrink tubing or electrical tape everything exposed while working on it, and upgrade the breaker to AFCI. <S> Given the likely age of any cloth wiring you encounter today, all circuits that you can't rewire should be upgraded to AFCI breakers. <S> Unfortunately, if your circuits have any of their neutrals crossed or shared AFCI won't work and using the new breakers would still require a rewiring. <S> As another response pointed out what you are doing is safe and legal as long as the insulation is in tact, which is always the question with this type of wire. <S> Where the wire's only contact with anything else are the glass knobs, it is safe even without insulation unless something does come in contact with both wires for any reason. <S> I completely rewired my house, the original wiring was approximately 100 years old, most of the insulation was still in very good shape, but there were also places where it crumbled to dust the moment it was disturbed. <A> I have been in construction since the early 80s and a General B contractor, and have worked on everything from lake size ponds, to high rise buildings and everything in between. <S> My point is not that I know everything, because I do not. <S> But, there are 2 things I would never recommend a person doing unless they are very knowledgable or have someone who is that walks them through the process and that is.. Plumbing <S> Electrical <S> There are just so many things that can go wrong that it really is not worth the risks, especially with electrical. <S> It does not take much imagination to think of the outcomes from the slightest mistake. <S> Plus, if something does happen and you do not pull a permit on something that most likely will require an upgrade to present codes, things can really go wrong and insurance will not be there. <S> I say just get a licensed, insured and bonded electrician and you will all sleep better. <A> This would be a legal junction box any changes outside the box would require inspection changing a switch or eliminating one in this case is legal. <S> K&T wiring can still be used maybe not the wisest plans <S> but it is both safe and legal if the insulation is intact.
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If you can't replace a section of cloth insulated wiring the next best solution is to not touch it at all, because deteriorating insulation will deteriorate much faster every time you touch it. If you want the outlet to be hot all the time and the insulation is still good remove the switch install a wire nut and put a blank cover on the box.
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Sealing space between counter and stainless stove What's the best material to use to seal the gap between my counters and the stove? It's a pretty tight fit but we don't want any crumbs and food bits to get in there. If we use caulk will it stick to stainless?Will it leave a mark if we decide to remove the caulk? <Q> I use foam rubber weather stripping gaskets: <S> Alternatively, rubber hose works equally as well. <S> Just buy it in a profile slightly wider than the gap, then tuck it in the gap. <S> And easy to replace if you ever need to pull the stove out. <A> Those gaps are rarely sealed because the stove needs to be moveable for cleaning and service. <S> Food will get behind and under the stove, and you'll want to be able to pull it out and clean. <S> If you must do it, clear silicone (not a silicone blend) is typically the right product. <S> It'll bond well to the countertop and the stainless (if properly cleaned), and it'll remove fairly cleanly when the time comes. <A> https://www.amazon.com/Stovetop-Extender-SE24BLA-Oven-Guard/dp/B0027DW4QG . <S> The tops of "slide-in" ranges cover the gap, but there is a gap when a "free-standing" range is used. <S> These cover pieces work well for covering the gap. <S> They keep anything from falling in, but allow cleaning under the cover strip. <S> They also reduce heat transfer from the hot stove top to the counter top (compared to sealing the gap). <A> As isherwood noted, you don't want to do this in any permanent way. <S> However, there are lots of companies that sell plastic/rubber strips that are meant to fit in this gap. <S> Just Google strip to block gap between stove and counter and <S> you'll find lots of fairly inexpensive options. <A> Google or search for "caulk backer rod". <S> These are round foam strips for filling up gaps prior to caulking <S> and I've seen them used to fill small gaps around kitchen appliances. <S> You probably want the smallest one you can find for those gaps (well fitted BTW!). <S> Gently push it in using a small, thin, flexible scraper until it's just out of sight. <S> Incidentally, it's also common to adjust the stove until it's level with the countertop, but it's personal preference, (or technical limitations) and won't affect the taste of your curry... <S> ;-)
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There are metal and there are silicone rubber pieces with a T cross section designed for just for this purpose. Friction will hold it in place. As mentioned above you shouldn't seal the gap as the cooker will almost certainly need to come out at some point and even a small silicone bead can hold like heck...
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Should I add venting to my solid soffit, and how? I am in the process of replacing some fascia boards on an eave that goes around one corner of my house. I notice that the soffit is just a plain painted board with no deliberate venting. Although after 100 years gaps have opened up in the soffit's joints so there is accidental venting. Before I install the new fascia boards I was planning to recondition the soffit and seal it, but I have heard that it is recommended that soffits be vented. If there is a plain board, what should I do? Drill holes in it? <Q> Most roofs have intake and exhaust vents. <S> Soffit vents can be used for intake, but they are not the only means of intake. <S> If you have a vented roof and already have adequate intake venting, you don't need to add more. <S> Additionally, not all roofs need to be vented - there are "hot roof" designs where the rafter bays are insulated and sealed up. <S> You wouldn't want to add intake venting to a system set up like that. <S> Given that your house is 100 years old, you probably don't have one of those types of roofs, but it's possible that it was renovated at some point. <S> So, figure out what you have and go accordingly. <S> If you do decide to vent, you should take a look at all the products out there and install according to what you like best. <S> For example, there are round vents you can install by cutting a hole out with a hole saw and pushing the vent in place, ones where you cut out a rectangle, ones where you cut out a long strip down the length of the roof, etc. <S> I would not just drill holes - soffit vents are cheap and have screens to keep animals & insects out. <S> This PDF has a good explanation of how roof venting works. <S> They're selling Cor-A-Vent products, but the explanations are good regardless. <S> They do make a good under-fascia vent, but GAF, Owens-Corning, and other roofing suppliers do as well. <S> Here are some GAF vents you can use for soffit venting. <S> Others manufactures have similar products. <A> Ultimately what I did was use a hole saw to make three holes of 1.5" in diameter in the soffit. <S> In each hole I put two screens of stainless steel. <S> One was kind of a cup-shaped screen that fit into the hole so that the bottom was flush with the outer face of the soffit. <S> Then a second screen was stapled over the top of the hole on the inside of the soffit. <A> Drilling holes will certainly work, however there are vents made specifically for soffits -- called soffit vents, believe it or not -- and they're quite common and will look better than drilled holes.
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There are also vents that install under or in place of fascia board, which might be good for your situation (in place of soffit venting), since you say you're removing the fascia anyway.
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Thermocouple measured okay, but replacing it fixed the problem? So the pilot on my furnace wouldn't stay lit. I tested the thermocouple with my multimeter and got 29 millivolts which meant it was still working. Assuming I was in over my head, I called the plumber who proceeded to change the thermocouple and now everything is fine. Family is warm, what more can you ask for? Is it common for thermocouples to test fine but still not actually work? Everywhere I looked said over 25 millivolts means the thermocouple is fine and there must be a different problem. <Q> Voltage is not a universal indicator of effectiveness. <S> Ask anyone with a dead car battery. <S> Like many providers of power, it is not uncommon for them to have a reasonable "open-circuit" (no-load) voltage, only to fail when the load attempts to draw its ordinary and reasonable amount of current. <S> That qualifies as "defective" and the voltmeter did not tell the tale. <S> People use voltmeters because it is easy, not because it is thorough. <S> Examining current is more useful but harder, because it must be detected "in-line", and particularly with DC, that means splicing something in series with the current flow. <S> Or unhooking the load and hooking up a dummy load of known value. <S> Or permanently installing an "ammeter shunt", a resistor of known and low value, and measuring a small voltage drop across it. <S> We just had a $10,000 problem because of not knowing a large engine's normal cranking current, because there is not ammeter in the starting circuit. <S> Putting one in is hard. <A> Huh, I've changed a lot of thermocouples but never heard of measuring the voltage like that. <S> Did your plumber measure voltage? <S> As for what's going on, we can't know without the old thermocouple to test, but here's some possible causes in rough order of likelihood: <S> Inadequate flame. <S> And the plumber adjusted this when changing the thermocouple. <S> Suboptimal thermocouple position and/or flame director -- corrected by plumber as part of replacement. <S> Dirty/corroded contacts on old thermocouple. <S> Intermittent break in old thermocouple. <S> Bending or expansion causes an open circuit. <S> Draft condition that was corrected by the plumber (misplaced vent louvers, covers, etc.) <S> The thermocouple measures okay, open circuit, but not under enough load to actually drive the valve. <S> (No-load Voltage testing is often misleading. <S> This is true in a multitude of trades/scenarios.) <S> For pilot light issues, I use this rough checklist: <S> Is gas actually supplied and clean? <S> No sputtering, sparks or off-colors indicating water or contamination? <S> Is the flame adequately sized to not blow out easily? <S> Is the thermocouple properly positioned in the flame? <S> Are metal flakes or water droplets present and could fresh falling flakes <S> /drops strike the pilot flame? <S> If yes, the whole unit is usually due to be swapped. <S> Is there a gusty draft condition present? <S> Does the unit operate correctly otherwise? <S> Was maintenance recently done? <S> If so, check for a loose or misinstalled or damaged thermocouple. <S> If all of the above is okay, replace the thermocouple. <A> I rarely tested the voltage of a thermocouple since it was not cost effective from a labor cost standpoint. <S> This heating can cause the dissimilar metals inside the thermocouple to break apart temporarily dropping the output voltage to zero. <S> When the bottom cools the connection is remade so that the thermocouple will work when relit
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If you are wondering, Intermittent thermocouple problems can occur if the pilot flame heats the lower 1/3 of the thermocouple.
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My eq-3 Bluetooth Radiator Thermostat CC-RT-BLE is just showing "UPD". How can I "unbrick" it? The thermostat just shows "UPD" and there is no way to return to the operating mode. How can I complete the update when I didn't pair the device before or deleted the device from the app? <Q> The official statement is that if you have no calor BT app that is currently paired, you are lost and should return the device to the dealer as broken. <S> However, there is a way out <S> - the following steps are written for a Linux environment but probably can be adapted to other OSes: <S> Install <S> a current (!) <S> VirtualBox and VirtualBox Extension Pack for USB support <S> Blacklist <S> btusb module and possibly more specific device drivers like ath3k <S> if it applies to your system to keep the Bluetooth USB device unoccupied (revert this later!); give chmod a+rw permission to the USB device file under /dev/bus/usb/xxx/yyy , see lsusb Install RemixOS in a VirtualBox VM, add a USB device filter to expose your Bluetooth chip to RemixOS Install calor <S> BT on RemixOS, run it at least once <S> Determine the device <S> Bluetooth address: <S> M001A22XXYYZZ <S> (I had to take a picture, crop it <S> and then run the QR scanner on the image); the Bluetooth address then is 00:1A:22: <S> XX: <S> YY:ZZ ; replace the cover, again gently pulling the turning knob outwards, turn it to make it fit the turn encoder; screw the cover Manually set up the calor BT configuration to address the bricked device. <S> Save this as container.json , replacing all XX: <S> YY:ZZ by the address determined above: {"clients":{},"devices":{"00:1A:22: <S> XX: <S> YY:ZZ":{"availableFirmwareVersion":null,"firmwareVersion":null,"groupId":"17f51411-4be0-4155-98f6-9a03bbde5681","groups":[],"id":"00:1A:22 <S> :XX: <S> YY:ZZ","label":"Device","lastStatusUpdate":0,"lowBat":false,"unreach":false,"updateState":null,"operationLockActive":false,"temperatureOffset":0,"valvePosition":null,"type":"HEATING_THERMOSTAT"}},"groups":{"17f51411-4be0 <S> -4155 <S> -98f6 <S> -9a03bbde5681":{"channels":null,"devices":["00:1A:22: <S> XX: <S> YY: <S> ZZ"],"homeId":null,"id":"17f51411-4be0-4155-98f6-9a03bbde5681","label":"Room","lastStatusUpdate":0,"lowBat":null,"metaGroupId":null,"unreach":null,"activeProfile":null,"actualTemperature":null,"boostDuration":0,"boostMode":false,"controlMode":"AUTOMATIC","maxTemperature":29.5,"minTemperature":5,"nextSwitchPoint":null,"profiles":null,"setPointTemperature":17,"windowOpen":null,"windowOpenTemperature":12,"type":"HEATING"}},"home":{"absenceEndTime":"","absenceType":"NOT_ABSENT","availableAPVersion":null,"clients":[],"connected":false,"currentAPVersion":null,"deviceUpdateStrategy":null,"ecoDuration":null,"ecoTemperature":0,"groups":["17f51411-4be0-4155-98f6-9a03bbde5681"],"id":null,"lastReadyForUpdateTimestamp":0,"location":null,"nonAbsenceGroups":[],"pinAssigned":false,"powerMeterCurrency":null,"powerMeterUnitPrice":0,"timeZoneId":"","updateState":"UP_TO_DATE","dutyCycle":null},"metaGroups":{},"weather":{"temperature":0,"weatherCondition":"UNKNOWN","weatherDayTime":"DAY"},"homeGroup":null,"inboxGroup":null <S> } Maybe use http://www.jsoneditoronline.org/ to edit this. <S> Now, install this configuration inside RemixOS <S> : make sure the VM is shut down Mount the RemixOS VM image, first making the VM image available as a block device (using qemu-nbd from qemu-tools ): <S> modprobe nbdqemu-nbd -c <S> /dev <S> /nbd0 --partition <S> 1 <path to RemixOS.vdi <S> > <S> Now mount it: <S> mount <S> /dev/nbd0 /mnt <S> Copy <S> container.json to /mnt <S> /android-2016-06-30/data/data/ <S> de.eq3.ble.android/ <S> app_data/ <S> (might vary depending on RemixOS version) <S> Unmount the RemixOS image: <S> umount /mntqemu-nbd <S> -d /dev/nbd0 <S> Boot up RemixOS <S> ; run calor BT; go to "Room", then "Device", then "Update firmware" Firmware should be transferred (showing moving bars next to "UPD" on the device), then rebooted, device is then going to "InS" mode, turn it off and on again to enter date setup, etc. <S> If this fails during firmware transfer: Keep trying, set the VirtualBox USB mode to 3.0 - I had to try really hard to get this done. <A> NOTE: <S> Two years have passed since the original post and it's possible that this trick only works with newer devices <S> I have just tried the following trick that worked : remove one battery press and hold the dial put the battery back <S> hold the dial for some 15 seconds <S> release the dial, start update from the "Calor" app Good luck! <A> When I tried to update my thermostat the update process failed at ~10%. <S> Luckily I still had the app installed and paired but would consistently fail between 0-25%. <S> The solution for me was to disable 3G-Network, Disable WiFi and go .. outside .. <S> ~100 <S> m away from my home. <S> There I could consistently get ~80-95% .. and finally after half an hour it updated. <S> I can only assume that my mobile/the thermostat or whatever combination is very suseptible to transmission disturbances or something like this.
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Open the device by unscrewing the four screws, then gently pulling the turning knob outwards, remove the cover; locate the "ADDRESS" QR code printed on the front of the circuit board; scan the QR code to retrieve the Bluetooth adress in form
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What would be a good option for a non-slip entryway surface in an anteroom where the door is very nearly flush with the floor? Our home has a tile entryway/anteroom. The door to the outside is nearly flush with the floor, If you place and secure 3 post-its (i might be exaggerating a bit here, but it is far less than a centimeter of room) on the ground and open the door, the door starts giving some real resistance when the edge encounters the paper. I have a 1 year old child, and I myself have a minor issue with balance (birth disorder) so when we enter after rain or sleet or snow (Im in Northern Massachusetts) I invariably slip across the floor. Like walking out of a shower with a marble tile floor that doesn't have a mat. Given all of this, we have not found say a floor mat that wont stop the door from functioning properly. However, I am wondering if anyone has an idea for a solution for an issue like this. I cam to my own impression after looking at an old stick-on mouse pad that maybe theres a 3M device or something that is more like a low profile stickon nonslip surface. Ive seen something similar on say basement stairs . Obviously my wife was less than thrilled at having Black sandpaper on the floor being the first thing one sees when entering our home. Thanks! <Q> I've used these on exterior pre-cast concrete stairs before with great results. <S> There are also several brands that are specifically marketed for pool decks that are part of a "coating system" that is designed to be used over tile. <S> If you have a local pool supplier, they may be a good place to start. <S> Note - since the tile is already laid, I'd either use a spare (if you have access to one) to test the adhesion or trial it in an inconspicuous place before you go forward with the whole thing. <A> I agree with @Comintern that a non-slip paint or coating seems the most likely answer, at least in the short term. <S> However, if the tiles are exceptionally smooth resulting in shrugging off paint and coatings, it might be appropriate to remove some of the tile—especially in the door swing area—and replace with a rougher or textured tile : <S> Tiling is not very hard to do well and is extremely satisfying when done. <S> If you have not installed tile before, find a handy relative/friend/neighbor to closely supervise your first effort. <S> That should be good enough <S> that you need do it only once. <S> Or you could just plunge in and give it a try. <S> If it doesn't turn out, rip it up and try again; the materials are—usually—inexpensive. <S> It's not rocket science. <A> Put in a raised threshold and cut off the bottom of the door to match the threshold Then replace the existing floor with ceramic tile which has a high coefficient of friction. <A> What's the flooring? <S> Wood? <S> Tile? <S> There are sand additives for paint to give it grip... <S> it may not be terribly attractive but you could add it just as well to a clear finish and coat the flooring <S> ... say polyurethane or tile sealer.
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One option may be to use a non-slip paint additive mixed with an epoxy or compatible tile sealant.
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Do I need to staple cable when installing lighting fixtures? I understand that when doing new installations (not fishing wire) you need to secure the cable with staples or another approved method, but do I have to secure the cable within 12" of light fixtures in my ceilings since it's not an outlet? The light fixtures are those recessed lights that you just insert into a hole in the drywall. They are not secured to anythings besides the drywall. The ceiling is a basement ceiling so the wiring is going through some joists. This is for a new installation. The ceiling drywall isn't installed yet. This is the fixture I am using. <Q> NEC 334.30(B)(1) allows Nonmetallic-sheathed cable to be unsupported when fished though <S> finished buildings or structures and supporting is impracticable. <S> Answer provided by @Tester101 here as comment . <A> If there is no drywall on the ceiling, it qualifies as new work regardless of the advertised box type. <S> The main reason cables get stapled in new work is to keep drywall screws (or the now-less-commonly-seen drywall nail) from penetrating the wiring. <S> The linked product advertises "NEW CONSTRUCTION READY: with Globe Electric 90141 <S> Mounting Plate (ASIN B00C6WHN6E)", and you will need to use this for your new work installation of these fixtures. <S> You will need to secure and support the NM cable every 4.5 ft and within 12" of the junction box attached to the recessed lighting fixture per section 334.30 of the NEC. <S> Per Ed Beal's comment: Where the wire runs through a hole in a joist or other framing member, this contact with the framing member counts as supporting. <S> Otherwise, some form of cable staple, cable strap, or other listed hanger/fitting will be required to secure and support the cable. <S> Relevant excerpt from 2014 NEC, section 334.30 Securing and Supporting. <S> Nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall be supported and secured by staples, cable ties, straps, hangers, or similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable, at intervals not exceeding 1.4 m (4 1⁄2 ft) and within 300 mm (12 in.) <S> of every outlet box, junction box, cabinet, or fitting. <S> Flat cables shall not be stapled on edge. <A> Yes. <S> The nonmetallic-sheathed cable should be stapled within 12" (per NEC [334.30] of where the light fixture penetrates the drywall. <S> However, code does allow one to have up to 18" of a lead, from the secured point, so one can remove the fixture and have about 6" extra nonmetallic-sheathed cable (extending into the room) to allow one to replace the fixture (per NEC [410.67B,C] re: nonmetallic-sheathed cable length req'd. <S> to isolate low-temp nonmetallic-sheathed cable from fixture). <S> This length also allows a gentle bend in the nonmetallic-sheathed cable from the stapled point to the fixture (min. <S> 5x dia. <S> of cable per NEC [334.24]) <A> Code allows a non-metallic cable to a lamp fixture (called a luminaire in the code) to be unsupported up to 4.5 feet if the cable is concealed, as in a drywall ceiling. <S> You also need to allow at least 12" of cable slack to allow easy replacement of the fixture. <S> NEC 334.30 (B) and (C) <A> As a homeowner, I would staple for two reasons. <S> Also, if the ceiling is the top floor and abuts the attic stapling the wires prevents trip hazards.
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If you ever need to replace that light it will be nice to have the wire secured while it dangling from the ceiling and not putting stress at other junctions. It's not really a concern in old work where the drywall is already in place – hence why the cable can be fished behind drywall in old work applications without being secured/supported.
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Is it safe to use portable electric stove as space heater? TLDR: I have an unused portable electric stove . Can I use it for heating air around without putting anything on top? Long explanation:I am cleaning up, repairing and adding insulation to a basement so that I can live there. I bought a 1200W infrared heater to make it warmer while I do stuff there, but it's not enough. I don't want to spend money on another heater because maybe I won't need it after I install the hatch and insulate it. So I thought I can temporarily use stove as a space heater. <Q> Appliances are designed and manufactured with safeguards appropriate for their intended use. <S> They also have features like "tip-over" switches that shut them off if someone trips over the cord, and over-temp thermal cut-off switches if they overheat. <S> Your burner is designed for short term supervised use as a cooker, not a heater. <S> I can't say that it won't work as a heater, but I can say that you should not use it for that, especially in a basement that could become a deathtrap for the occupant if there was a fire. <S> p.s.- <S> the manufacturer user guide says: Do not use appliance for other than intended use. <A> I have to agree with Jimmy Fix-It. <S> Boiling a pot of water may or may not meet legal nit-picking, but it still won't be any safer when it gets knocked over. <S> Buy another space heater, on EBay or Craigslist. <A> Even products designed and manufactured as consumer space heaters are somewhat notorious for causing office fires. <S> I really, really do not recommend trying to kludge this. <S> If you need a space heater, get something designer the purpose and designed for serious long-term use. <S> The "electric radiator" designs, which use a liquid to spread their heat over a large area, are probably best for residential spaces. <S> For workshops, IR heaters desogned for that environment are often the most efficient choice; they don't warm the air as much but do warm the solid objects they are pointed at, including people. <A> Got a dehumidifier? <S> Put a huge pot of water on it and let the stove fight the dehumidifier. <S> Don't? <S> Buy a proper heater, they cost $15. <S> Both machines will make a lot of heat doing their job. <S> Which is your purpose. <S> What you're doing is using water as a working fluid to move the heat, which is something the stove is designed to do. <S> Since you are using both machines for their design purpose, you are not breaking the law and your fire insurance is not in danger. <S> Of course this rig needs to be attended.
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If you look at radiant heaters they have protective grills over the exposed heating elements to prevent some unfortunate person from touching the hot part, and to prevent combustibles from inadvertently contacting the heating element. Don't sacrifice safety and set yourself up for trouble when something gets knocked over. When you are done with the project, sell it again on EBay or Craigslist.
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What is the proper way to measure the cut-out for the kitchen range? I want to upgrade my kitchen range. I currently have an old 1987 kenmore drop-in. The manual lists it as a "30 inch drop-in", but when I lift up the cooking surface, the distance from counter top to counter top is about 29.5 inches (give or take a few cm). I spoke with several appliance retailers and I get varying answers. Some say that the cut-out should be slightly less than 30, others say they won't install unless it is 30 or more. Which is it? Also, I want to upgrade to an induction cooktop. The circuit breaker for the stove is rated for 50 amps, but my old stove is only 20 amps so I don't know if they installed the proper gauge of wiring for 50 amps or cut corners and used wire that was rated for 20 amps. <Q> Typically a "drop-in" range will rest on the adjoining counter top surfaces. <S> That the actual cabinet is narrower, gives you the wiggle room you need to drop in the unit to install it. <S> If you want to change to a cooktop installation, that is something that is only supported by the counter top, then you'll need to build a cabinet, and provide a counter top with cutout to fill that space. <S> In any case, as others have suggested, check the exact measurements of any product that you select. <S> In this age of the internet, most manufacturers have their Installation Guides online, you can pull a copy in spite of the retail staff. <A> There should be fairly standard dimensions for this type of thing but the best advice is to carefully measure the existing cutout and then take that information with you when you shop for a new unit. <S> There may very well be unit to unit differences that will need to be taken into account. <S> One factor to consider is how much of a hanging flange the new unit has. <S> Often the width of the flange can accommodate a range of cutout width. <S> Also you should evaluate how the existing cutout is situated in the cabinet and what type of counter top there is. <S> Sometimes it is totally possible to widen a cutout gap of 29.5 inches out to 30 inches if the cabinet sides below are wider apart than 29.5 inches. <S> Of course you would only do that if needed but do know that widening may be all from one side or could be some from each side. <S> As far as the electrical wiring goes the cable jacket should have marking along it that shows the gauge of the wire. <S> You can then determine the ampacity from the size of the wire. <S> If you are at all uncomfortable with working with the electrical wiring the best advice is to hire a professional electrician. <A> The cutout in our soapstone counter is 30 3/8" wide. <S> The range circuit is protected by the original GE 50-A 240-V double-pole breaker, now 47 years old. <S> The range is connected with a cord and plugs into a 4-wire receptacle. <S> The wire is some very thick stranded aluminum, not sure about the exact gauge. <A> The 30" specified in the description of appliances is due to standard cabinet sizes 12" 18" 24" 30" 36" 48". <S> It does not mean the unit is that size exactly, in all cases the nominal and maximum size of hole in countertop is specified in the installation instructions. <S> Be warned these sizes can range wildly between brands. <S> Always double check install sizes required for any appliances in the manual before purchase. <S> It will save you headaches later☺
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We have a GE slide-in electric range with single oven that is exactly 30" wide with an overhang on top of 3/8" on each side.
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Electrical: Is this tangle of wires in a 100 year old house cause for concern? Just bought a 100 year old house and it has knob and tube wiring along with newer wiring running to the kitchen and parts of the finished basement. There's a whole bunch of wires in the basement. I'm not sure what is still being used, or what isn't and is just old that was left in place. There's a couple places where a bunch of different wires are all tangled and connected together, seen in the photos below. Is there anything I should be looking for? Any cause for concern? The inspector didn't mention anything about it during the home inspection. <Q> The first photo shows home telephone wiring. <S> One of the cables is the two-conductor service wire from the phone company. <S> It is most likely the black cable passing through the knob insulator, but it could be that very old cloth-insulated three-conductor cable caught between the subfloor boards. <S> You may be able to trace it to where it comes into the house, and you can see if it continues on to a utility pole. <S> The remaining wires are all runs to various and sundry phone extensions throughout the house. <S> The photo shows samples of every type of house internal phone wiring ever used from 1920 to 1990. <S> Look around the house for phone jacks; you probably have samples of those spanning 70 years also. <S> The inspector didn't say anything because the wiring is completely safe, even it <S> it's still connected to the phone company. <S> Depending on where you are, if you can find a suitable telephone to use, you may be able to make local emergency (e.g. 911) calls even if you are not a subscriber. <S> The second photo could be of anything. <S> If the inspector didn't go into cardiac arrest, it must be low voltage and therefore safe. <S> It's most likely for your doorbell. <A> In the first photo, the flat whitish cable with 4 wires inside it is definitely a phone cable. <S> The fat blue one is a CAT 5 network cable, but some of the wires aren't being used. <S> It looks like somebody needed to add a phone line, but only had a CAT 5 cable, so they used that. <S> Unconventional, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. <A> Agree that the first photo is simply telephone stuff and nothing to worry about. <S> However, you need to get your hands on a multimeter to better understand what's going on in the second pic. <S> (If it leads back to your phone mess, ignore me.) <S> Maybe that means a quick visit from a real electrician. <S> (Money well spent if you compare it to having your house burn down.) <S> Problems occur when people touch it, and I'd suspect a whole bunch more horrible hidden inside the walls based on pic #2. <S> FWIW, home inspectors are human. <S> Some are great; some are utterly terrible. <A> Grounding POTS 48V across your heart can stop it (your heart, maybe the current, too), so if it's someplace where that could happen (say via water pooling from a leak), get it fixed/replaced. <S> The second shows what I would guess to be 16/18ga tying into similar size Romex, normally used for household level voltages/currents. <S> The buttsplice connectors are used inappropriately here; note that you could stick something metallic and pointy in the ends without wires. <S> Highly unlikely, but still, it shows an unprofessional or lazy installation. <S> I'd want to know where they come from and go to before I dismiss them, since this could be the smallest mistake the installer made; what else did they do down the line. <S> And don't forget, just because it reads 0V across them <S> doesn't mean it won't go hot when someone flips a seemingly unrelated switch somewhere. <A> Following from the answers regarding the first photo and telephone connections: There is one thing to worry about in the first photo: your DSL internet connection speed will likely be impacted by so many random telephone wires/spurs. <S> You'll likely get much better internet speed if you get a completely new copper line from the street to a single port for your modem, with no spurs heading off to other rooms etc.
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I agree that the first picture consists of telephone and CAT5 grade wiring, but I wouldn't summarily dismiss it. To step back for a moment, knob+tube is a really robust way to wire a house.
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No Ground Wires - Can I connect a wire to the metal box for ground? I want to install new z-wave light switches that require a ground, but it appears that none of the electrical boxes in my house have ground wires and the previous light switches didn't use a ground. Is it legal to have no ground wires? Im in Chicago and my condo was built in 2001, so it's not super old. Can I simply connect a wire to the screw on the metal box for ground? how do I know if the box is grounded? <Q> Congratulations, you have EMT conduit or better. <S> This is the good stuff, much of the "pipes" you see in commercial and industrial buildings are this. <S> Look at the ceiling at CostCo. <S> Your box looks exactly like it's supposed to. <S> All my boxes look like that. <S> The metal conduit serves as the ground wire. <S> How do you attach a device ground? <S> Look in the back of the junction box. <S> There are several holes, but one of them is different. <S> It is tapped for a 10-32 screw. <S> Often, it sits on a little "dimple" to give the screw threads somewhere to go. <S> Any short 10-32 screw will do, but for a professional flair, they make green screws for the purpose, and even will sell them with pigtails attached. <S> Do not use sheet-metal screws . <S> However, this may not be necessary. <S> The device has metal tabs (ears) where you screw it into the box. <S> Pay close attention - if the ears "bottom out" on the metal of the box, you do not need that ground wire. <S> If they bottom-out against drywall, you need a ground. <S> Unrelated, one more tip on the device-mounting screws. <S> Some are shorter. <S> Look behind the lower right mounting screw on your box. <S> See where a pipe is coming in? <S> That screw needs to be shorter, or it'll hit the pipe. <S> (the screw will suddenly get stiff to turn; stop or you can strip out the threads on the junction box, a painful repair even when it's not in drywall.) <S> The old screws may be captive on the old device; they are held on by a square of cardboard or plastic, easy to move. <S> (that's what it's for). <S> source <A> Don't worry about the ground wire <S> Chicago is an oddity Code-wise in that they require the use of metal conduit for wiring instead of allowing nonmetallic-sheathed cables. <S> Note the threaded entrance and locknut in the bottom right, along with the lack of any ground wires in the box -- that's a dead giveaway that this was done in metal conduit. <S> NEC 404.9(B) point 1 allows the mounting-yoke of the switch to be part of the ground-fault current path: <S> (B) <S> Grounding. <S> Snap switches, including dimmer and similar control switches, shall be connected to an equipment grounding conductor and shall provide a means to connect metal faceplates to the equipment grounding conductor, whether or not a metal faceplate is installed. <S> Snap switches shall be considered to be part of an effective ground-fault current path if either of the following conditions is met: (1) <S> The switch is mounted with metal screws to a metal box or metal cover that is connected to an equipment grounding conductor or to a nonmetallic box with integral means for connecting to an equipment grounding conductor. <A> That looks like wire in conduit feeding that box, however I cannot tell the type of conduit from the picture. <S> Some types of conduit are effective grounding paths. <S> If the condo was built in 2001, in order to pass inspections, all boxes would have needed to have been grounded. <S> Assuming you are the original owner and no friends, relatives, or handyman types have done uninspected electrical work to the property, I would say it is a safe assumption that the box is correctly grounded. <S> However, if you are not the original owner or if there is potential for some uninspected electrical work, all bets are off without tracing the circuit ground path all the way back to the panel through your walls (which would mean opening the walls to find out). <S> However, that is a bit extreme and likely unnecessary. <S> As a quick sanity check, you could measure the voltage difference between the box and the neutral (white) wire that feeds from the panel--make sure you have turned off all breakers feeding this connection first (if you do not know or do not feel comfortable doing this safely, please contact an electrician for further investigation). <S> The voltage difference should be on the order of a couple of volts or less if there is an effective grounding path.
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Since the box is grounded through the conduit (which is as good a ground conductor as any), you don't even have to terminate the ground wire to the box as long as the Z-wave switch has a metal yoke that contacts the box, although you can get a grounding screw (any 10-32 machine screw will do in a pinch), screw it into the back of the box (there is a hole there tapped for a 10-32 screw just for that job), and terminate the Z-wave switch's ground wire to that if you wish. Note: This is only a sanity check and you cannot know the true ground path continuity without more drastic measures because there are ways for dirty-rotten prior homeowners to unsafely fake the appearance of a correctly grounded connection that cannot be easily detected with tools priced for a homeowner's use. Or you can buy short ones (1/2") at the hardware store, or cut them to length with the screw shear on the a multi-strip tool
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How do I prevent white film forming on utensils in dishwashers? I've installed a Bosch SMS60L18IN dishwasher , best in its latest series. We were very satisfied with its first wash when it gave us clean utensils without any problems. We put a 3 in 1 tablet then. Now, I use a special salt, detergent and rinse aid, all from Finish. From the second wash onward, it leaves white film on almost all utensils and food residues are not cleaned on some. I tried all workarounds that I found online like changing detergent amounts and using the vinegar trick. The issue I was thinking and the company engineers suspect is the water hardness which is around 900 (or 920) ppm. They changed the hardness level in the machine to H7 (this is the max one for 8.9 mmol/L hardness that the company specified) suggested me to run the machine for a few cycles to get rid of water residue from previous cycles. I've already ran four cycles and the issue still persists. Is the water hardness the cause alone? Would be there other issues like the detergent or salt? I observed: The first wash was perfect. We haven't used salt here. Second andthird washes are a bit okay. In the second wash. We put a 1.5 kg of specially recommended salt (Finish brand) Issue worsened from the fourth wash. I realized that I haven't filled the salt reservoir with water (the company recommends to fill it with water when you use the machine for the first time) and then filled it with a glass of water. The technicians said that is not a big issue as the machine will itself dilute the salt with water after 2 or 3 washes. I ran the machine by pouring a cup of vinegar as suggested in some articles and I found that the white layer on the machine's door was gone and utensils in the next wash are somewhat clean. Also, I tried changing detergent amounts, rinse aid quantity settings and switching hardness levels with each wash. Tried changing the size of the load with each wash Even if we purchase a budget softener like this , it may have low output rates and that gives new problems. importantly is that it's too noisy (it gives knocking sounds while rinsing) like a clothes washing machine. The company staff said it is normal or I guess it is not that loud when they are around:) More details Name of the detergent, salt and rinse-aid's brand is Finish I am not using all-in-one tablets now The company staff recommended water softeners (of a different brand as they don't sell softeners). But I fear if it brings new issues like the change in flow rate (individual tap softeners have low flow rate, i.e., 2 litres per minute where as the dishwasher requires 6 litres per minutre). Ours is a rented house so I can't install a permanent or full house water softener. Could anybody tell me if you find any other issues here other than the water hardness? Any suggestions or solutions are welcome. <Q> is it wise to spend on dishwasher maintenance and water softeners when we have the water with too much hardness (900 ppm)? <S> Well, the whole point of a water softener is to reduce the hardness. <S> So I find it odd that you ask if it's wise to use a water softener when your water is excessively hard... <S> In short, yes, that's what you do to fix this problem, normally - install a water softener with appropriate capacity to deal with the hardness of your water, at least for the appliances you care about that for. <A> Look for packaging that defines some amount of phosphorus content <A> Like @RobertNubel, I had a similar symptoms too. <S> A glass fragment ended up in the diverter valve (which directs water flow either through the drain or through the washing jets). <S> While the dishwasher was washing, it was also draining slowly. <S> Take out the lower rack and look carefully at the water intake area and under any grills and covers for debris. <S> If there is, you might need to disassemble the pipes to look for and clean out any more crud.
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I've had issues with white film before and I solved them by switching to detergents which have some amount of phosphorus in them.
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How to install floor baseboard on drywall frame with metal studs? So, I can't use a nailer, and I would rather avoid screwing it and having to patch holes later (the baseboard comes prefinished). Can I just apply a few strips of silicone on the back of the trim, and hold it against the wall for a few seconds until it sticks? I could use some double sided tape every 40cm (16 inches) or so to hold it firmly while the silicone sets. If the silicone does work, does it have a risk of warpage? If so, what would happen? Would the board (18mm thick) be strong enough to damage the drywall? Also, do I have to caulk between the baseboard and the wall and the baseboard and the floor? What should I use for that? Clear silicone works? <Q> If the walls and baseboard is all perfectly straight, it would likely work -- but everything won't be perfectly straight. <S> I used finishing (or brad -- I don't remember) nails to both hold it while the glue sets and provide some re-enforcement where needed. <S> Install two nails nearby at opposite angles -- essentially forming an "X" if you were looking straight-down on them. <S> This is a lot stronger than nails going straight in and will resist pulling out. <S> You can caulk the edge between the baseboard and wall. <S> It makes it look significantly nicer, IMHO. <S> I use bright white for that. <S> Normally the edge touching the floor isn't caulked but if it makes sense in your situation you can do that. <A> This is highly dependent on the baseboard material. <S> With enough pressure and time almost all baseboards would conform to the wall but let's be reasonable. <S> If you just want to get done with it <S> and it look OK, then go MDF baseboards. <S> Yea I would never install them but they would do exactly what you want. <S> However you will need to put some moisture or weights on them if the wall is really bowing, in or out. <S> And when I say weights I used 25-45 pound olympic weights at sites for this exact thing. <S> Going to something like pine or oak, they still bend. <S> It just takes more moisture and pressure. <S> I had a curved wall in the last bathroom I did in a basement. <S> Dipped the pine (just factory primed) <S> boards in water, then pushed them in place with plates. <S> I had to do a lot of wetting and used almost 300 pounds in weights for the wall. <S> So weight is one thing. <S> You can use various things (not just real weights) but it depends on how bad the wall is. <S> But you do want a lot of pressure because if you put a couple of 20lb weights on a long board, it will probably push out a 1/4" on the wall and you start over then. <S> Also the silicone is a good idea. <S> Do not use liquid nails or similar as it is a PITA to deal with if the board pops out even a fraction. <S> The liquid nails type of adhesive seems to dry "bigger" and can also create issues. <S> Silicone cleans up easier (scrapes off with putty knife) <S> so go that way. <S> Depending on the type of wood if your walls are close to flat you should be OK. <S> Note that if there are variations more silicone is needed there to help during the first few weeks. <S> The wood will conform to the wall eventually. <S> I would suggest that each piece has pressure for a full day meaning you may have to do sections if you don't have enough weights. <A> Sooner or later there will be a water leak and baseboards will have to be removed. <S> You do not want the attachment to be so strong or extensive that this is difficult or causes damage to the drywall. <S> In my opinion people are too concerned about small gaps between the top of the baseboards and the drywall. <S> Will angled finish nails hold in metal studs? <S> Alternatively, one can use square-drive black finish screws and accept that they will show and consider that as a feature rather than a deficiency. <S> Then if the baseboards have to be removed they are just unscrewed. <S> This would work well with prefinished baseboards. <S> Editing <S> In installing some thick 4 inch tall pre-finished stained oak baseboards I used (rather plain) base blocks (corner and middle) <S> so all cuts of the baseboards were square. <S> I wanted to be able to remove each section independently without having to deal with overlaps. <S> In preliminary experiments I used Velcro to hold a section of board on while I was deciding how to fasten the boards. <S> I was hoping to figure out some practical system for having removable baseboards, but was not able to do so in a finite time. <S> In the end I used square drive black phosphate finish screws for the blocks and 18 ga brads 2 inch long to attach the boards through 1/2" drywall to wooden studs and bottom plates.
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I've used liquid nails to attach baseboard before (in a similar situation), and it does work except where there are bows in the wall or baseboard.
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Door Does Not Close Properly I have a door in my home to one of the bedrooms, that will not "catch" when you close it. If you lift up on the doorknob then it "catches" and will remain shut. I was curious, if I put a "stronger" screw in the top of the door hold (or maybe 3) would this "lift" the door enough that you no longer have to lift the door to close it? Or is the issue deeper than that and adding a new screw or two would have no benefit? EDIT The strike plate is maybe a 1/4 inch too high. None of the hinges appear to be loose or lower than they should be, however if I lift the door at the hinges I can hear the door raise, which would signify that a hinge is loose, would just need to find a way to determine which one and on which side (door or frame) <Q> However, if the door is sagging 1/4", then the top of the door must be sagging down from the header jamb and leaves a giant gap between the top of door and jamb. <S> Also, the top edge of the door must be rubbing badly against the jamb. <S> If this is occurring, you'll want <S> to re-secure hinges (re-tighten all screws) and re-plumb the door. <S> Best way to move strike plate is to chisel the jamb out to receive the strike plate and then reset the strike plate. <S> I'd also cut a small piece of wood,the amount you moved the strike plate down (1/4"), and glue it into frame to match rest of frame. <S> (Then do a little touch-up of paint or stain to match rest of frame.) <S> The hinge should not be loose enough to pick it up 1/4" or so. <A> Often the correct solution is to lower the strike (what the latch catches in, on the frame.) <S> This requires some minor chisel work, normally. <S> If the hinge is loose, your method might work; or you might place a small shim in the bottom hinge (between the hinge and the frame, or the hinge and the door) - it depends how the door is fitting, overall. <A> Start at the striker itself. <S> How is it misaligned? <S> It can be misaligned in four directions (though usually too far "out" merely results in it latching while not entirely closed). <S> If the strike is too high, see if there's any slop going on in the door hinges, typically the top hinge starting to gap on one side or another. <S> If there is, tighten it up, with longer screws if necessary. <S> If the screw holes are chewed out and not holding screws, then I like to stuff matchsticks or decent size splinters into the hole, with some epoxy to hold them in, that way you are putting additional "meat" into there for the screws to grab. <S> If it's particularly bad, drill it out and epoxy in a dowel. <S> Then pre-drill <S> the new holes since the dowel is probably hardwood. <S> Otherwise just move the strike. <S> I like to fill in the old screw holes in similar fashion; however in this case it's so <S> if I have to move the strike only a tiny bit, the screws won't get sucked into the old holes. <A> Alternatively, you may not even need to move the strike plate. <S> You can just use a Dremel with a #952 aluminum oxide grinding stone bit and grind out the necessary portion of the strike plate. <S> Use lipstick on the latch to enable you to see where it contacts the strike plate when you close the door. <S> Then grind the necessary portion of the strike plate indicated by the lipstick.
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It's better to just move the strike plate. Re-screw all the hinges down tight before you move the strike plate. There is a way to tweak the hinges to move the door up or down, but its for small amounts like 1/16", not 1/4".
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Are nail plates required on the exterior wall side of the wall studs? My steel building has 2"x6" wall studs and 2"x4" exterior purlins. The steel siding is attached with screws to the purlins. I've run my wiring behind the studs and attached it to the top of the purlins. Thus the wiring lays on the purlins behind the 2"x 6" studs. The inspector stopped by and informed me that nail plates are required where less than 1 1/4" of wood is between the wall face and the wiring. Since there is actually 5 1/2" from the inside wall face to the wiring, he's now referring to the exterior wall. I thought the purpose of nail plates was for protection from nails or screws being inserted from the inside of the building. Why would anyone be needing protection from nails or screws being inserted from the outside wall? I didn't argue but I don't think he's correct. I guess I'm wondering if he NEC defines the wall face where nail plates are required? I'd be surprised if the face wall refers to the outside exterior side of the building wall. Thanks <Q> The code does not differentiate which face of the stud. <S> It simply says: "300.4(A)(1)Bored Holes <S> In both exposed and concealed locations, where a cable- or raceway-type wiring method is installed through bored holes in joists, rafters, or wood members, holes shall be bored so that the edge of the hole is not less than 32 mm (1¼ in.) <S> from the nearest edge of the wood member. <S> Where this distance cannot be maintained, the cable or raceway shall be protected from penetration by screws or nails by a steel plate(s) or bushing(s), at least 1.6 mm (1/16 in.) <S> thick, and of appropriate length and width installed to cover the area of the wiring." <A> If you are in WA then in WAC <S> 296-46B-010 General <S> it states that:(a) <S> The exterior shear panel/sheathing nail inspection must be completed by the building code inspector and, where siding nails or fasteners which penetrate into the wall cavity are to be used, all siding must be installed; or(b) All wiring and device boxes must be a minimum of 2 ½ inches from the exterior surface of the framing member <S> ; or(c) <S> All wiring and device boxes must be protected by a steel plate a minimum of 1/16 inch thick and of appropriate width and height installed to cover the area of the wiring or box. <A> It only applies to cables passing through a hole in the member. <S> It sounds like in your case, the cables are run on top of the purlins, so technically, you do not need nail plates there. <S> The thing is, the steel siding does not get attached with puny, short drywall screws, but rather long ones probably. <S> So you may still want to consider changing your plan and running the cables either through drilled holes in the studs, or adding some kind of protection. <S> If that siding ever gets replaced, an errand screw can quickly go through your cables.
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If your cables don't go through drilled holes in the framing members (studs or purlins), 300.4(A)(1) would not apply in that case.
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Suggestion to "Networkify" a dumb USB Security Camera Some background: I live in a small condo complex where we're having an issue with our collective back yard getting an unsightly amount of uncollected dog turds. The HOA board decided to put up a camera to help catch the "pooper-no-scoopers". One of the members went out and got a camera that's USB powered & stores its video on a 32gb micro SD card. ( THIS ) and I installed it for them as a favour. Where we're at now: It's been a few days and turns out, it is a significant chore to manually plug it in to computer and check it every day. Basically, someone has to unplug the camera from the USB-wall-plug adapter and stick it into his laptop, grab the files, and plug it back in to power. Extra hassle since it only retains about 8 hours' worth of video. Where we want to be: I'm thinking we can potentially put something between the power and the camera to let it act like a network drive, potentially allowing us to access it from the internet (password protected of course). I'd like to just hook it in to the wifi of the unit that's powering the camera itself. Would like some suggestions of maybe a device that could do this, bonus points if it could survive being on a (covered) patio? (And before anyone asks/lectures, we have signs up already informing the general public that CCTV is in use :) ). <Q> As I understand there is an USB option on the camera. <S> The easiest solution I can think of is connecting it on a raspberry pi which you can connect to you wireless network and retrieve the data daily. <S> You can check out this totorial https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-webcam-server/ where they are doing the stuff you want to achieve. <A> Sell it (or leave it as a decoy/deterrent somewhere else you need that) and get a deer camera. <S> Hunters use them to plan their hunts. <S> They are motion activated and, you know how many consumer products use those bitsy AA batteries and have a short runtime as a result? <S> (or even worse AAA)? <S> Not deer cameras. <S> They not only use hefty D-cells -- many have space for a SECOND stack of D-cells if you want to double your runtime. <S> Their runtime is on the order of months. <S> Also, they don't look like cameras, so non-hunters have no idea what they are. <S> They also have a large array of infra-red LEDs (not visible to human/deer eyes) and will take "flash" pictures in IR if ambient light is not sufficient for the camera. <S> If you want to catch this person, you want them unaware they are being surveilled and not knowing where cameras are. <S> Otherwise they will just poo outside of camera range to spite you. <A> You could try a wireless flash drive like the one below. <S> I don't have personal experience with it <S> and you're likely to spend more money on it than you would just getting an IP camera <S> but... http://www.staples.com/SanDisk-Connect-32GB-Wireless-Flash-Drive-SDWS2-032G-A57/product_579069
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Deer cameras are designed for sticking out in the woods to surveil potential deer activity along trails.
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How do I get rid of fruit flies in my fridge? Sorry in advance if this is the wrong place to post this. In my fridge there are scores of dead fruit flies lying on the bottom. I rarely see any live ones in or outside the fridge, but, daily, there are dozens of dead ones both in the main part of the fridge and freezer compartment. I've taken apart the seals and cleaned them to no affect. I've tried the juice and liquid soap trick and caught none at all. I've cleaned the fridge too, of course. None are on any of the food in the fridge either. It's like my fridge is the elephant graveyard of fruit flies - they just go there to die. Would anyone know how I could get rid of them? <Q> If there are any drain traps or any extra covers for electric/whatever take them off. <S> Spray <S> the entire fridge with a spray cleaner that has bleach. <S> If during the exercise you find holes that are good possibilities of breeding grounds, plug them with tape. <S> After it sits for a day we clean with soap and water and let it dry. <S> Then plug it in and almost all of the time - given seals are good never - no insect issues. <A> It's fruit fly season, again. <S> The flies are in some sort of bag or container in your fridge. <S> If there is a bag of black liquid in there, chances are that's where they were bred. <S> If you have an open can of veg or fruit they were bred in there. <S> Take everything out of the fridge and you will find something disgusting in there. <S> You'd be surprised what they can reproduce in. <S> They are not only attracted to fruit but anything decomposing, like meat. <S> Once you find the source, dispose of it outside in the garbage can. <S> Then use a dry paper towel to sweep out the dead bugs onto a paper plate or something else easily put into the trash and get them outside into the trash can because the cold might have put them in suspended animation and once warm they can swarm your home. <S> Go disinfect your refrigerator with a solution of water and white vinegar (ratio of water to vinegar formula available online, somewhere) <S> so your refrigerator has no toxic chemical in there and is clean and sweet-smelling but not the kind of sweet that attracts bugs. <S> White vinegar is a perfectly effective and safe means of house cleaner. <S> Obviously, your fly traps need to be IN the refrigerator back in a corner out of the way and out of your sight, not out on the counter as you don't see them outside the fridge. <S> Oh, and for your piece of mind, fruit and veg come already loaded with the little darlings; they don't just materialize out of nowhere and they don't migrate over the miles to you from the farms because you're dirty. <S> The protein in fruit and vegetables is probably due to the fruit flies already being in the food waiting to be released once we take the fruit and veg home from the store. <S> We most likely eat a certain amount of fruit fly larvae which is microscopic and allowed by the FDA. <S> Good luck! <A> <A> I learned from university about fruit flies . <S> . . <S> for some reason they go into a state of inactivity or cryogenics <S> and they are not dead. <S> They come back to life to give us hell when they are ready and who knows when they decide to do that. <S> But for sure if they can stand that much cold i wouldn't doubt their intelligence of breeding in the cold too. <S> Fruit flies are immensely intelligent which is why scientists study them. <S> Cryogenics is something else.
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Then unplug fridge and let it dry out. We find fridges that are very usable in this state very often during flips and the first things we do is bleach the inside (409 makes a spray and a gel that works good - the gel on the bottom). I like to spray alcohol on fruit when I bring it home from the supermarket, it seems to eradicate the unhatched. The fruit flies have laid eggs somewhere in your fridge.
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Green residue on the joints of copper water pipes I was renovating my house and have to open up the ceiling. Once the ceiling was opened up I see that our copper water piping has some green residue only on the joints. I was doing some research online and seem that the conclusion is mixed, some say not to concern while other think that it needs to be fixed. There is one or two drops of water on the joint where there is green. Do I need to worry and replace the pipe with PEX and copper fittings ? If I were to do something now is the time as the ceiling is open up. I have attached a picture for reference. Thank you everyone ] 1 <Q> emphasized text <S> The connection is leaking. <S> What more do you need? <S> There is water on the outside of the pipe. <S> It has been leaking for possibly decades and evaporating as quickly as it leaks. <S> More importantly, the leakage flow is verrry gradually eroding the sides of the small opening. <S> The opening is growing, the flow is growing, and eventually, it will start dripping and then pouring on everything below... <S> I've seen this in a pinhole leak in a copper 90 degree elbow. <S> The elbow had been installed for at least 30 years in the ceiling over the entrance hall. <S> The first visible symptom was water dripping from the ceiling light fixture. <S> When we opened the ceiling, there was an extremely fine mist coming from the pinhole. <S> All the nails and screws in the joist space were rusted out... <A> Somewhere in the past there was a lazy or ignorant plumber - they presumably used an acid flux when soldering, and they failed to remove/clean the excess from the pipes after the joints were soldered. <S> It's been quietly corroding ever since. <S> If it's reached the point of leaking, you definitely have a problem, though droplets of water on pipes CAN be caused by things other than a leak, such as condensation if the water in the pipe is cold and the air around it is humid. <S> but in that case the droplets would normally be all along the pipe. <A> Drops of water on copper plumbing are not acceptable. <S> At the very least there are pinhole leaks developing and the sections with that must be replaced. <S> We had 10 to 20 pinhole leaks in the middle of a vertical run of 1/2" copper from the hot water heater. <S> The water ran down and soaked the carpet in the back of a walk-in closet. <S> This resulted in the loss of some valuable items. <S> The cause of these pinhole leaks is in dispute and the phenomenon may have multiple causes. <S> In your case it is not clear whether these are leaks from failing sweated joints or are the failure of the copper itself. <S> If I were you I would replace the green sections with copper, but when using rigid copper tubing be sure to avoid the thinnest wall (Type M) and use the thicker wall Type L (maybe use thick wall type K if that is used for water pipes). <S> Soft copper tubing may all be thick wall or there may be different wall thicknesses available. <S> All of the different types in a given nominal size have the same OD so they all fit into the same sweat fittings. <A> Lighting traveling through the ground and exiting through the roof can create pinholes, especially in concrete foundations. <S> As you've likely learned in school lighting travels from the earth to the sky, or from one cloud to another. <S> These pinholes are Too expensive to find and repair. <S> New plumbing should be installed through the ceiling. <S> Happens quite often in Florida in older homes.
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The moisture, along with the solder and possibly flux, has corroded the outside of the pipe, leaving the characteristic green-blue color of dissolved copper.
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Making a path less slippery I have a path (in Indonesia; rainfall 4000 mm per year) that is a combination of steps and slope. This picture shows a relatively steep slope over a brief section that's a bridge over a hole. The total path length is around 50m and I guess it climbs around 10m over that distance. It probably had some sort of gravel finish at one point, as on this part of the path: but now it's basically just slippery. Basically I'm constantly falling over, and I want to fix it up. Is it sensible to just try and resurface it, subject to some sort of maximum gradient, or am I better just to make the whole path completely flat with stairs? <Q> Anything you add on top will likely wash away. <S> So I agree with the rest that steps would be the best solution. <S> Then fill in behind it with stones or gravel. <S> The boards, be sure to use pressure treated, would keep the gravel from washing away. <S> The gravel would give you flat sections to walk on which would reduce the slip issue. <S> I think this would be much easier then building an entire wooden or stone staircase. <A> Are you able to use the handrail? <S> I do not think you should convert any of the ramp to steps because the injury potential from falling on steps can be far worse than a ramp. <S> Can you reduce the slipperiness of the surface by cleaning the surface of the path with some relatively non-polluting cleaner and a scrub brush on a pole? <S> Or is the surface glazed? <S> If the latter, you might have to roughen it with an abrasive. <A> It kind of looks to me like there is some stuff caked on top of the concrete. <S> Maybe try pressure washing first? <S> If that doesn't work, yea <S> I guess some stairs would be fine.
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An easy way to add steps may be put a board on edge the width of the path every 3-5 ft.
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Identifying cause of light flickering? I've got 2 lights in the house that have an intermittent flicker (we can go for days without having it at all, then it'll happen for a bit). I've not seen them do it at the same time. They are on the same circuit (but different switches). It's not much of a flicker really, closer to a very subtle change in light output, just enough to annoy and concern me (my wife didn't even notice until I pointed it out). They are 2 of the highest power consumers in the house, one being 200 watts, the other 180 watts. For comparison, our third highest consumer is 160 watts, is on a different circuit and has never been seen to flicker. There is also a 60 watt bulb on the same circuit as my flickering lights and on the same switch as the 200 watt fixture. This one never has been observed to flicker (but perhaps I simply can't notice it as the light output is so much lower). I'm at a loss as to how to narrow this down further. I've observed other light and appliance usage in the house and it doesn't seem to match up with anything. The closest I've gotten to a pattern is that the 200w unit seems most likely to flicker when used between 5-6am and the 180w when used between 8-9pm. I'm not opposed to calling an electrician, but since I can't reproduce it at will, that seems like I'd probably end up throwing a lot of money at it for no results. edit I've now been able to isolate as the other light on the circuit has started flickering (very faintly) now. It's only when the lights are on due to both (3-way) switches being "down". If they're both "up", the lights are flicker free. I'll be checking the connections at the switches now. If not the connections, is that failure usually a bad switch or a bad connection wire for the 3-way setup? <Q> It was a bad switch. <S> The isolating it to when both switches were in the same position was as far as we could get for diagnostics. <S> All connections were inspected and seemed fine. <S> I finally gave in and just bought 2 new switches. <S> Upon trying to install them I noticed mismatches in wiring colors so I brought in an electrician who was able to sort things out (and tagged the wiring for me). <S> He then removed the oldest looking of the 2 switches and replaced it with one of my new switches. <S> The flickering problem is gone and I have a spare switch now... <A> For old fixtures with a screw-in lamp base, I think the cause of flickering is often that the center hot contact is not making firm contact with the bulb. <S> I pry the center contact up slightly with a screwdriver or a crochet hook. <S> I also scrub oxide off the contact with a pencil eraser, but I'm not sure that does anything. <S> Naturally be sure the switch is off and check the socket with a non contact or contact voltage tester before inserting anything in the socket. <A> I will tell you what I found with some flickering lights. <S> I had two light bulbs flickering on the same circuit. <S> Which in my mind would indicate it's not the bulb ( <S> the fact that I had two bulbs do it <S> at the same time is also a good sign there, heh). <S> Next step is to isolate the problem. <S> You can either start "close" or "far" <S> If you're starting close, go to the switch, pull it out from the wall, put your voltmeter lead on the incoming power, and one on "common" or "ground" <S> it should read 120. <S> When the lights flicker does it change? <S> If not then the problem is somewhere between the incoming lines and those bulbs (hint: <S> might be the switch itself, or maybe where it connects to one of the fixtures). <S> You could also try putting your voltmeter leads on the wires leading out of the switch, do they drop? <S> If voltage is still dropping there, go to the power box, identify the breaker it's on, and put one voltmeter lead on the breaker output, one on common. <S> Does the voltage drop? <S> You can also try the same thing with the main large incoming line (though that's pretty scary, might want to have a pro or a friend help). <S> Does the voltage drop? <S> If it's still dropping from the main coming in, time to call the power company and ask if they can look into it (in my neck of the woods they can install some kind of "meter" to monitor it for you temporarily). <S> In my case I tested the "main" and it didn't drop in voltage. <S> I was then about to test the breaker when I noticed "that's odd, one of those breaker looks like it's sticking out slightly more than the rest" and <S> sure enough, it was the one feeding my "periodically flickering" lights, so plugging it in more firmly <S> I believe solved it for me. <S> If it's LED's (especially on a dimmer) then there are other things that could be at play , but still worthwhile to check if voltage is a problem. <A> the best way to understand any of this is are the fixture from China and the bulb from USA? <S> I notice that all bulbs have a different degree of width, <S> if you use the tightest fitting ones, you leave the bulb socket loose for the smaller ones, you can replace the ceramic lamp socket or put a tiny amount of tin foil around the loose bulb so the contact is snug, do this with the switch off, and only wrap the outside with the threads, not the bottom contact <S> , I've don't this, on many china ceiling fans, if it mine the foil trick is a fix, if it's for a customer, I just replace the socket and charge the player $$$ <S> IT'S <S> UP TO YOU, now as far as these advice thread, it's been almost 100 percent with bad info, as a handyman I always run across a crazy scenario, and I've found that most people posting insight are full of it, <S> if you need help just find my facebook, chances are I've fixed just about everything in the last 40 years
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I inserted a voltmeter into one of the sockets (removed the bulb), and when the other light would flicker, I would see the voltage drop momentarily in the socket I was looking at.
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An electrician put a double 60 amp breaker in place of two 15 amp breakers A remodel was done in the kitchen, and now half the house is on the same two 60 amp breakers. When too many items get turned on, the lights flicker and sparks fly but the breaker do not kick off. I have never seen this done during 42 years in construction in homes. What is the solution? <Q> Assuming this description is correct, The solution is to fire that electrician, get another to fix it (I wouldn't trust this guy), report him, and possibly ask a lawyer whether it's worth suing. <S> What other answer did you expect? <A> You need to have an electrician (a different one) remove those breakers, analyze the wiring and install appropriate breakers (and possibly new circuits). <S> Even if there is a heavier gauge wire at the breaker and the smaller circuit wires are attached downstream, no conventional household light or receptacle circuit should be on a breaker larger than 20 amps, and then only if all the wiring in the circuit is at least 12 gauge. <A> Ordinarily this means sub-panel. <S> But with 42 years experience you know this isn't that. <S> This is a "pop the service panel cover off Right Now <S> " situation. <S> This is to get photos and sanity-check yourself that there isn't, in fact, huge 4 AWG wire coming out of that breaker to a new sub-panel. <S> If you can't wait that long to get it back in service, shut off your PCs then the main panel, and yank that breaker outta there, and replace with a 15A double breaker until this can be sorted out properly. <S> Don't touch anything metal even if it's "off".
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If you don't see that, shut it off and don't use it again until you can show it to the electrical inspector, because the guy who did that needs to be run down and asked about all the other work he's done. If there is 14 gauge or 12 gauge wire coming out of those breakers, this is a serious hazard and a code violation.
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Rigid foam board in walls between studs, plus fiberglass batt? I've got access to some discounted (factory seconds) of rigid foam board and looking to cut it up and place it against the exterior walls on the inside of an old (1894) converted house that is now four 1br apartments. Thinking of going with 1" of rigid foam board and then adding a fiberglass batt on the inside of that. With the old house, the 2x4 studs are actually at least 4", not 3.5.It's in southern Illinois and I'm trying to get some good advice on whether I should be concerned about vapor barrier and if the fiberglass batt makes this better or worse? <Q> I am doing exactly this, but the reason for the rigid foam is to create an air channel along the underside of the roof to allow airflow up to the ridge vent. <S> The layering is, from the outside inwards, roof, 1 in. <S> airspace, rigid foam, batts, vapor barrier (plastic), drywall. <S> Understand that the function of the vapor barrier is to prevent moisture from migrating from the warm side into the total thickness of insulation towards the cold side, where at some point the temperature gradient will drop enough to cause condensation. <S> You do NOT want this to occur inside the insulation. <S> The fact that the rigid foam is also a vapor barrier is not a problem as long as you have a correct barrier immediately behind the drywall. <S> If by "adding batt inside" you meant "inside the wall - towards the roof", then I would not rely on the rigid foam acting as a sufficient vapor barrier unless you made a point of carefully sealing all the edges with Acousiseal. <S> Preventing air migration past the insulation is critical to its effectiveness, and you must also provided for ventilation of the roof material itself. <A> Well, it depends: <S> What is the thickness of your fiberglass insulation? <S> However, if you end up compressing the fiberglass then you will greatly lose the rated R-Value with an improper installation and almost certainly negate any possible benefits from the foam board. <S> Poor insulation installation invites irritating inconsistencies in hot and cold spots within a room. <S> With regards to the vapor barrier, you should place a vapor barrier on the drywall side of the fiberglass insulation. <S> (You can use insulation with kraft paper - which counts as a vapor barrier. <S> Otherwise, you can use a thin sheet of plastic.) <A> I would not put in rigid foam along with fiberglass batting just because you have access to some product cheap. <S> You do not want to trap fiberglass between two vapor impermeable layers. <S> The designs of insulation products have been arrived at by scientific principles and by trial and error. <S> It would be far better to have an incompletely filled cavity than trap moisture in the walls. <S> In a cold climate the kraft paper side of fiberglass bats is normally next to the interior drywall. <S> This keeps the moisture generated inside the house from permeating the fiberglass where it would condense.
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The vapor barrier keeps moisture out of the fiberglass so it doesn't saturate and effectively insulates. If you can use the foam board and fiberglass - without compressing the fiberglass batts, then I say go for it. If you try to cobble something together, thinking you are going to get better results on the cheap, you are likely to make a mistake.
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Low voltage wiring ideas for house I'm looking for ideas for low voltage wiring for new house/renovation. My house is gutted due to a massive flood. Walls are open so now's the time to upgrade. I am already pulling cat6 around the the house. Nearly 20 years in IT taught me to always pull 2 runs even if you're only going to use 1 right now. Most everything is wireless now with mesh connected light bulbs, thermostats, speakers, etc. I don't see that changing. I'm not sure what else we would use. <Q> I recently had the opportunity to do this on an out-room on the other side of the garage. <S> It just had wood veneer and no insulation, so the gut was pretty pain free. <S> I'm a forward thinker, but dropping RG6 or Cat 5e/6 into the wall would have been too expensive (and I have no idea where to run it to). <S> What I opted to do was add a low voltage gang and then drill through the top plate. <S> Then I added a screw terminal to the box end (to hold the conduit in place) and pushed 3/4" PVC conduit out of the top. <S> So I have 3/4" conduit in the wall, running into a box. <S> If/when I need any low voltage wiring, I can easily put it into that box without any wall fishing. <S> A single 10' section of conduit, the screw terminal, the low voltage box, and a blank plate cover, was maybe $5-7. <S> I had to buy a spade large enough to go through the top plate as well. <A> Don't guess. <S> Pull conduit and add whatever the future calls for. <S> The main thing to be thinking about in low-voltage is POWER. <S> Solar panels continue to get cheaper, and batteries are getting cheaper too. <S> It is very reachable to have a 12 volt system capable of powering chest freezer, auxiliary LED lighting, Internet modem and router and USB charge outlets. <S> Some furnaces even work electricity-free. <S> It's entirely possible, with careful energy budgeting and design choices, to have a home able to have key loads failover onto battery, so it remains habitable during power outages, with solar, generator or your automobile providing makeup power. <S> Obviously you won't be running A/C or washing clothes, but your chest freezer (or your fridge with a bit of upsizing) will continue to stay cool if you don't open it a lot. <A> What's the low voltage for? <S> Your main concern is should it be a twisted pair (signal) or a straight pair (power). <S> Ethernet is +-/2.5 volts <S> but you will get massive voltage loss on a straight pair sending only 12 volts over 50 meters. <S> See: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/17928/why-is-there-a-voltage-drop-in-a-twisted-pair-wires-of-an-utp-cat-5-cable <A> Single mode fiber is pretty future proof in terms of data rates but termination costs and end equipment tend to be relatively expensive, a good choice for inter-cabinet connections in larger buisnesses but not appropriate for end device connections. <A> Data Ethernet over copper will be "good enough" for the next decade minimum, and probably two decades. <S> Wireless still needs APs to plug in. <S> Put cat6 to places where you'd mount an access point, so center of ceiling. <S> Wire ALL your twisted pair back to one patching panel. <S> For cost reasons this is often fairly central in the floor-plan. <S> You might end up with one patch panel per floor, or details might make it impossible to have just one panel. <S> Internet <S> If your ISP is cable-based, they probably won't use any wiring you supply. <S> Same goes for Fibre-based internet service. <S> The best you can do there is make sure there's some way to install those services, which means conduit, large radius bends, and possibly draw wires. <S> ADSL/VDSL/ISDN based services are a bit different - they'll run quite happily over your ethernet wiring, but won't be Ethernet. <S> Its not uncommon to use the center pair to carry phone-cable data over twisted pair to your router. <S> As a bonus, you can relocate your router around the house by repatching. <S> Neat AND tidy. <S> RF / aerials <S> Do you have a satellite dish or external FM radio antenna ? <S> That's another thing that can't be carried over twisted pair copper. <S> Power Power can be sent over ethernet, but you're limited to about 18 Watts. <S> That's enough for a camera, or an AP, but you're not going to run a computer off 18 watts. <S> So put in enough power sockets that you could do away with multiboxes / multiboards totally.
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In your desk area, consider the wall plates that contain USB charging sockets too - they're cheap and if they go out of flavour can be swapped for the next big thing in a decade. Do put tie cables between patch panels, if you have more than one. Run at least 4, maybe more to the back of your "tv area" and one to where ever you might put surround speakers. IMO conduit is the way to go for future proofing data connections in a home/small buiness environment. Multi-mode fiber is not much better than twisted pair in terms of future proofing.
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Can I use epoxy repair putty as a permanent fix for a screwed through water pipe? Someone (cough cough) screwed through a water pipe under the floor boards in my mother's house. It's a 22mm copper pipe that I'm pretty certain is running hot water from the combi boiler. I removed the screw and replaced it with a shorter and slightly thicker screw to plug the hole. The screw itself did a pretty good job of stopping the flow of water (to something like a few drips a minute). The pipe runs parallel to the floor boards but has a 90 degree turn a short distance after where the screw went in to the pipe, which means pulling the pipe up and getting a pipe cutter in to replace a section of the pipe would be a massive pain and involve me pulling up at ton of floor boards, which I really don't fancy doing. So, I got some epoxy "Quick Leak Repair Putty", specifically this stuff : I put two layers of this stuff over the screw and it seems to hold perfectly, no issue with water pressure and no drips or movement in the putty. Here's a picture of the pipe with the putty: It's been there for a week or so now (with some heavy use of the heating... it's cold) and it seems pretty solid to me. I spoke to a few people though and a plumber friend said in no uncertain words "Never, ever use that"... which seems to be the general consensus. I'd rather not rip up half the floor and I'd rather not pay through the nose for someone to essentially cut out a piece of pipe though. So my question; How temporary or not is this fix? <Q> Supplies Tool to cut the pipe (Oscillating saw should work). <S> Solder <S> Flux <S> Torch (MAPP gas preferably). <S> Steel wool or sandpaper. <S> Heat shield (preferably non-asbestos) Appropriately sized coupling without a stop. <S> Procedure <S> Use an oscillating saw (or any other means) to cut the pipe near where the damage occurred (preferably right where the damage occurred). <S> Use the steel wool/sandpaper to clean <S> /mar the pipe on both sides of the cut. <S> Lift one side of the pipe, and slide the coupling all the way on. <S> Realign the pipes, and slide the coupling so that the cut in the pipe is near the middle of the coupling. <S> Solder the coupling in place (careful not to start a fire). <S> NOTES: <S> How well this repair holds up, is dependent on your soldering skills. <S> If you can't solder well, you may want to get help. <S> You might consider installing metal protector plates over the pipes, to prevent further mishaps. <A> It appears that this is 1/2" (or equivalent metric) copper water pipe. <S> In the US they make a 1/2" to 1/2" Push on fitting. <S> This requires only that you cleanly cut the pipe. <S> I prefer to use a rotary pipe cutter (the kind with the adjustable jaw and 3 cutting wheels). <S> Cut the damaged section of pipe out, and using 2 couplings and a length of pipe OR use on coupling and only remove approximatey 1/2" of length of the pipe. <S> Clean with steel wool, and press on the fitting as per the instructions provided. <S> I've use these push fittings several times over the last 2 years with no failures yet. <S> This solution will require the least experience and the least number (and cost) of tools. <S> Small bonus:It also avoids burning you mother's house down! <A> Because you can't get a cutter in there you may want to try a hacksaw with very fine teeth for cutting metal. <S> I'd be concerned with deforming the pipe, and I'd go nice and slow with it. <S> After cutting the pipe clean up the ends that I'm sure will be jagged after the hacksaw and then find something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBite-1-2-in-Brass-Push-to-Connect-Slip-Coupling-U3008LFA/202270515 <S> I'm not an expert, but this situation is almost exactly what this product is made for.
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You may be able to repair this yourself, if you know how to solder. I would not trust it, especially in a concealed area where a leak could go unnoticed for quite some time.
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Can I use marble tile on a shower floor I would like to use mosaic marble tile on my shower floor. Is this ok? If i do it do I need to seal it? My concern is not friction (this tile has plenty plus will have lots of grout lines) but the pourousness of the stone. Here is what Im considering from Lowes Home Improvement incase it matters. <Q> The porosity of the tiles doesn't matter - the waterproofing happens on the layer below. <S> You'll want to use something like Kerdi (the Kerdi shower pan kit is nice) or a similar product, or RedGuard, or another form of waterproofing. <S> The problem with marble is that it's a limestone type of stone, and susceptible to chemical attack. <S> Over time it will lose it's gloss and go dull. <S> How long this takes will depend greatly on your water and the products you use. <S> It might only last a few years or it might outlast you. <S> When it dulls you can either polish or replace. <S> JohnBridge.com is a tile forum, and the topic of marble showers has been discussed there. <S> You might get some good info by browsing old topics. <S> And John Bridge himself has a marble floor in his shower and wrote an article about it . <S> He lists a recommended sealer and has some brief instructions on using it, too. <A> No you can't. <S> My first thought on looking at this is that it isn't rated for flooring (marble breaks pretty easy if thinly cut). <S> And then looking at Lowe's specifications here <S> it is not rated for any flooring use, including bathrooms. <A> I see no problem in using that tile for a shower floor other than the glossy pieces may need some light sanding to remove the fine finish: between soap and water, those pieces will become dangerously slick. <S> These tiles will certainly NOT break under body weight as marble can typically sustain compressive loads of many tons per square inch, even the flexural strength of these small pieces is likely very high as well. <S> The stated breaking point of 0-250 lbs. <S> makes no sense whatsoever. <S> It may refer to the entire 12"x12" "tile" which actually has no strength to speak of. <S> Water absorption is also not a problem. <S> Being a carbonate, however, means that acids will react with your tiles and over time, may chemically wear them down. <S> Depending on the mineral content of your water, these tiles may discolor into a dull, unattractive white. <S> I suspect that these tiles are (generically) "unsuitable for flooring" because marble scratches easily and wears down relatively quickly in most non-barefoot environments, especially when cut down into small sections like these. <A> From an installer’s point of view, the closer to Italy and Greece a stone is sourced, the better it will hold up in a wet environment. <S> I’ve also noticed that more veining often indicates a higher iron content, causing the stone to change in appearance over time.
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Unlike many limestones, marble is relatively non-porous and absorbs very little water.
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How can I trip a breaker from the outlet One time at my job we had some electrical work that needed done. The electrician had a small homemade switch box with a 120v mains plug running out of it and a switch on the front. The device basically threw whatever breaker that plug was attached to so he new which one needed work on and made the circuit safe. Where can I get one of those boxes, or a way I can trip the breaker from the outlet? <Q> That box should have been a warning that the guy was incompetent; it's a very bad idea. <S> If the breaker malfunctions, it can start a house fire. <S> There are cheap devices available in most home centers and hardware stores which can put a signal onto the wire and pick that up at the breaker to identify which breaker controls that outlet. <S> There's a better version that a pro should have which can do a few other things. <S> Or there is the traditional homeowner solution: plug a radio into the outlet, turn up the volume so you can hear it from the basement, and try breakers until you find the one which silences the radio. <A> That box works by connecting the live and neutral wires of the circuit to each other, i.e. it makes a short-circuit. <S> If all goes well, the fuse trips/blows. <S> But as @keshlam said, it's a dangerous way to make a breaker trip: you're overloading the circuit. <S> I did this once by accident, and had a 10 cm long flame blast out of the breaker box as the fuse tripped. <S> Not the kind of thing you want to do on a regular basis. <A> To answer your actual question: you could build such a device in about five minutes. <S> Take an extension cord, cut it in half, attach the white and black wires to an ordinary light switch, and wrap the whole thing in a handy box. <A> You see this phraseology in certain NEC rules. <S> Their work is done to a higher caliber than home wiring; THHN in metal conduit, no backstabs on the premises, frequent inspections, most circuits meggered, etc. <S> Doing this in a residential location with lax residential rules and work of unknown provenance is suicide. <S> Obviously the switch is basically dead-shorting the hot and neutral to induce a trip, but if you do that in a residence, you have about a 50/50 chance of inducing future arc faults at a backstab, or at the least, fusing it open. <S> You also have a chance of other stupidity, like discovering why FPE and Zinsco panels are panela nongrata . <A> The safe answer to this would be to have an electrician install <S> remote controlled circuit breakers , with a suitable trip circuit installed at the outlet where you want to remotely trip the breaker. <S> (Eaton says they come in a CLR form factor for residential panels.) <S> Of course, properly labeling the panel, perhaps with a map showing where outlets/lights for each circuit would be a much cheaper and easier solution, and arguably more useful.
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When plugged in and the switch is closed, a short circuit is created that will either trip the breaker if it is working, or start a fire inside the walls if it is not. The answer which states that this is a bad idea is correct. The reason this isn't completely deranged at that industrial location is that certain industrial sites follow slightly more permissive rules owing to having on-site electricians with scheduled, proactive maintenance. We get lots and lots of "plugged in a (well within legal range) large load and a backstab failed" questions.
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How do I easily remove silicone? Since some parts of the siliconed area of my bath tub are damaged, I need to replace the silicone. Is there an easy method to remove that silicone? <Q> I use a plastic putty knife . <S> Some of my guys even use plastic knives (yes the kind you use at bar-b-ques). <S> The whole purpose is to scrape it off without damaging what is underneath. <S> The plastic knives add a serrated cutting tool and the shape is better for cracks/smaller areas. <S> Some things life (others) has taught me: WD-40 <S> helps for some reason. <S> If I give the area a quick spray, wait 10 mins, it cleans up easy 80-90% of the time. <S> No idea <S> the science behind this. <S> Razors/metal knives aren't worth it. <S> Yes they are faster. <S> But all it takes is one chip and that ends up taking longer to repair than the total removal of the caulk. <S> I have learned my lesson 5-6 times. <S> Hair dryer is a mixed bag too. <S> Unless you are 110% sure it is silicone, I wouldn't be aiming a hair dryer at it as it may make your mess bigger. <S> On tough jobs I go back to my fix for 90% of cleanup. <S> Bucket of steaming hot water, Dawn, and bleach. <S> Sponge some of the hot water to the problem area <S> - I use a kitchen pad which is a sponge on one side and a mild scrubber on the other. <S> Wait about 30 seconds and repeat until caulk residue is broken down enough to remove with a light scrub. <A> To remove the last traces ready for the new layer, a product is available. <S> It's called "silicone eater" or "silicone remover" here in the UK, and is sold with the sealants wherever there's a good selection of them. <S> You really do need to get most of it off mechanically first, and it's always worth seeing if it just peels once you've made a start - <S> sometimes it isn't very well stuck. <S> Angled scrapers are sold in the same place, made of plastic with a fairly sharp edge. <A> "Easy" is relative. <S> A hair drier, razor blade scraper, needle nose pliers, patience and care. <A> I use a box cutter to cut it out myself. <S> I've had good success with it, but be careful if you have a fiberglass tub. <A> I will follow up with a wipe with acetone or alcohol to clean any residue before reapplying. <A> Putty knife (spade) and 8 in one tool works well. <S> If you are looking for a solvent try Zep degreasers. <S> They also have industrial strength removers and for a great price. <S> Silicone is made to withstand moisture. <S> On occasion I even cut my cleaning products with isopropyl alcohol. <A> Patience, elbow grease and a few tools worked for me to remove silicone from a glass door insert for a tub. <S> I used a plastic scraper (pictured) for the initial few passes. <S> A razor blade scraper (pictured) for detail silicone removal and the silicone solvent (pictured) for final passes. <S> This may seem like overkill but results were great and no tub damage.
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Mineral spirits (e.g. paint thinner) will soften silicone caulk, use that with your scraping tools as mentioned in DMoore's answer.
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Is there a method to transpose specific pilot holes? Bathroom drywall with wood beam behind it. In a very specific location, created 2 pilot holes (through the drywall into the beam). Want to attach a wood plank, exactly into those 2 pilot holes. When the wood is held over the 2 pilot holes...I don't know where those two holes are....but I want to drill the plank specifically into those holes. Any input on this method?: Drill pilot holes. Place small amount of ink/paint around the whole. Place the wood plank on the wall where it needs to be attached. Remove plank and drill holes where the ink is (on the back of plank). Place plank back on wall, align holes, fasten with wood screws. Any other methods? <Q> cut the head off of two bolts or nails that fit snugly into the holes, and extend out from the drywall some amount - may 1/4". <S> Line up the board over these pegs, and hit the surface of the board with a mallet over each peg. <S> This will make an indent on the back surface that you can drill. <S> Be careful that your first hit doesn't mess up your alignment for the second one. <A> Do a rubbing of the holes. <S> Rub holes with a pencil before placing the board and remove paper <S> Place the board and put paper overtop of it, with the reference marks in place <S> You'll see an outline of the hole. <A> Scribe a vertical pencil mark from the center of the holes. <S> Hold plank to wall (if using a tape measure isn't an option) and mark , on the plank, where the lines from the wall would be on the plank. <A> Yes, of course there is. <S> Dowel centers. <S> Pop them in the holes, push or tap the board, remove the board, drill the board, remove the centers. <S> This is a common problem with a standard solution. <A> Since you only have two pilot holes, you could put marks on the wall a specific distance from each pilot hole to form a dotted line of 4 dots (the inner two being pilot holes). <S> Then just measure from the outer ones your set distance to find the covered pilot holes. <S> o---O-O--- <S> o <-- Like this, or at any other angle
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Put piece of paper up to holes Mark two reference points on the paper outside the perimeter of the board so you can see it while the board is up (perhaps use a small finishing nail or something rather than a simple mark so you can pull the paper out in front of the board)
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Are brass picture hooks ok for a 30lb mirror on a plaster wall? I've got a 30 lb mirror with D-hooks on the back and cable that can take its weight appropriately. I've put this mirror up on plaster walls before but I just want to make sure because this time it's in a 120 year old building (very good condition mind you) but on a plaster wall that is above a non-working chimney, so that plaster probably has brick behind it. I've got 50lb brass 45-degree picture hooks, I plan to use two. Is that ok or is there a better way to put this mirror up on this wall? <Q> There are 2 alternatives as I see it: <S> Drill holes to accommodate wall anchors using a masonry bit or use strips of two-sided adhesive to keep mirror flush against wall, using the mantle as a base. <A> There are many anchor and hook options that could work for this situation. <S> You say you want the "securest" option, but something less than "bomb-proof" should be sufficient. <S> Two should be sufficient, positioned appropriate distance apart such that the wire is hidden and the weight is equally shared by both hooks. <S> Be careful to drill the proper diameter hole the appropriate depth, using a masonry drill. <S> I use a strip of gaffer's tape around the drill bit as a marker for hole depth. <A> Just wanted to add my update to this... could come in handy for someone one day. <S> Someone on another forum suggested concrete screws that don't need anchors. <S> So, I got a couple that are rated for 200lb sheer load and 180lb pull. <S> Not because the 35lb mirror needed it but because it was the lightest load I could find.
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I would use anchors that are long/deep enough to actually get into the underlying brick, then use self-tapping screws to mount hooks to the wall.
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Asbestos in 2005 pellet stove? After removing the brick liner for cleaning, I found a rectangle of white insulation behind the center liner panel. The manual says removal of the panel and vacuuming behind it are part of annual maintenance. Is it possible that the insulation is asbestos? See attached photos. <Q> It doesn't look like asbestos; it also does not seem likely that a stove manufactured that recently would incorporate asbestos in a "user serviceable" area. <S> Problem is that some countries still do not regulate asbestos. <S> The only way to know for sure is to ask the maker or have it analyzed at a lab. <S> It <S> does look like it could be refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) wool, which is also used as insulating material and is a suspected carcinogen when airborne particles are inhaled. <S> I think it's mostly a problem with chronic industrial exposure in the workplace, and is not an issue unless/until it has been "fired" above certain temperatures. <A> Vanishingly unlikely because of the legal situation with asbestos. <S> There's a whole cottage industry of lawyers who sue factories or mines that worked with asbestos. <S> American TV is spammed with mesothelioma commercials, and that's the most expensive word on Google Adwords. <S> Asbestos is legal kryptonite . <S> Being a "manufacturer" who imports such a thing... being a retailer who sells such a thing... <S> instant financial suicide for the company. <S> So extreme the Board of Directors could be sued personally by the stockholders for their losses. <S> That said, any sort of mineral wool material from rockwool to fiberglass has some risk of having the same effect on the human body as asbestos did, via the same mechanism. <S> So it should be treated with respect, and eliminated from the design if practicable. <A> Asbestos can be differentiated from rock wool and fiberglass with a jewelers loupe. <S> Man-made fibers are generally uniform in dimension, color, and lustre. <S> When viewed through a loupe these fibers will generally look like shiny, translucent hair, brittle enough to break when bent with tweezers; like glass. <S> Asbestos fibers, on the other hand, are not individual fibers (like fiberglass) but bundles of fibers that can pulled apart into smaller and smaller bundles of fibers until they are only visible through a microscope. <S> Asbestos is not a glass, but, at the molecular level, a tubular crystalline arrangement of atoms. <S> Through a loupe, asbestos "fibers" will look varied in size from thick as a pencil lead to barely visible wisps. <S> However, asbestos is still found in many important applications for which there is no substitute, automobile brake shoes, for one. <A> That is almost certainly some from of ceramic wool insulation, not asbestos . <S> Not wise to make a lot of dust and breathe it, but not asbestos at all. <S> Kaowool is one brand name, Superwool is another. <S> Look at a ceramics supplier if you want more general information about the stuff. <S> Comes in various grades from rockwool at about 1900F rated to some that will go to 2700F.
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As others above have noted, it's not likely to be asbestos.
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I'm replacing my outlets and I have too many hot/neutral wires, what do I do? I'm going through my new home and replacing my outlets. This was mostly fine, as the first outlet was very easy to replace. But, I ran into outlets that have multiple hot/neutral wires. For the most part, I just copied how the old outlets were setup by plugging in the wires into the holes in the back and the "extra" ones screwing onto the side screws, and this worked fine (I hope). The problem I ran into is I wanted to replace some of my outlets with the newer USB/Outlet combinations, which only have one set of screws (and one pinhole in the back). Basically, I don't know what to do here; I don't think it's smart to put multiple hot/neutral on the same screw. A few questions: Why on earth are there multiple hot/neutral wires for one outlet? What do I do for the USB outlet which does not seem to have enough screws to handle 3 hot/3 neutral/1 ground? Can I do anything to deal with all these extra wires? They make it harder to screw in the outlet because it is so crammed in there. <Q> There are multiple wires because that is how wires are connected to gather to get from the distribution box to the farthest outlet on the circuit. <S> If there is not enough space, you change the box to a deeper one or a wider one. <S> Where you are installing a larger device, that may be required by code. <S> Code has formulas and tables that specify minimum box size. <S> It is a bit difficult to follow and I don't recall how it applies when a different type of device is installed. <S> I think different types of devices are assigned "fill factors" that may be marked on them. <S> The box size may also be marked on it and be readable by looking inside closely with a good light. <S> Your photo appears to be a USA type device. <S> If you are in the USA , the applicable code is based on the USA National Electrical Code (NEC). <S> There may be local exceptions and additions, but there are usually not many. <S> That and the NEC guide book are often available in public libraries. <S> I believe putting two wires on one screw as suggested by @Tom_Carpenter is not allowed by NEC. <S> Also NEC required any connection to be inside junction boxes that can be opened for inspection. <S> Nothing like that is allowed to be hidden inside a wall. <S> State and local codes specify who is allowed to install or modify wiring, what permits are required for each job etc. <S> You can get away without following codes, but you could run into trouble when you go to sell your house. <S> Also, ring wiring as shown by @Tom_Carpenter is not done in the USA. <S> The Leviton site makes it clear that the side screws are designed for a wire to be looped around in the shape of a shephards's hook. <S> NEC requires terminals that are designed for more than one wire to be so marked. <S> Those types of terminals generally have a groove for each wire or some other mechanism to hold two wires securely. <S> NEC requires all devices to be used and installed in the way they are designed to be used and installed. <A> Extra wires go to downstream sockets or loads <S> Circuits are usually in strings of junction boxes, daisy chained. <S> They can fork, too, and in that case you'll have 3-4 cables needing to be spliced. <S> Shoddy workmanship <S> If you're finding places where the backstabs AND the screws were used, you're looking at shoddy workmanship. <S> Generally you're only allowed to use backstabs OR screws. <S> That only allows 2 connections on a common socket. <S> (4 on the better ones). <S> In any case, if you have more wires than screws, use a pigtail . <S> Put a 6" section of wire on hot and neutral on the socket, then wire-nut it to the other relevant wires. <S> (but the illustration shows orange wire-nut, but yellow or red would be better.) <S> source <S> In fact, many electricians dislike backstabs. <S> They don't grab well. <S> They're single-use: prying out the wire and reusing the hole makes them weaker. <S> Heavy loading heats them, which weakens the spring. <S> They're not even legal for grounds. <S> What do you expect with 4 backstabs in a 60-cent socket? <S> Use side screws, or up-spend on the $4-tier "screw-and-clamp" sockets . <S> Those allow up to 2 wires per screw, or 4 wires per side. <S> UK is unique <S> Above <S> (below?), Tom describes ring circuits which are a UK idiom. <S> Don't hook up branch circuits like that anywhere else , least of all North America! <A> The reason for multiple hot/neutral wires for one outlet is that the outlets are daisy-chained together. <S> This means hot/neutral is only coming from one of the wires and it is being sent to the other wire. <S> This saves on the amount of wire needed since nearby outlets can be daisy-chained instead of requiring wires from the circuit breaker to each outlet. <S> Take a look at the general schematic for wiring outlets below. <S> You can see that each outlet is wired in parallel like I said. <S> In addition, the point where the first and second outlet connect, that is where you would screw both hot/neutral wires to the screw. simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab <S> For your second question, I would recommend you try putting both hot/neutral wires on the screw terminal if you can. <S> I have had to do something similar when there are many hot/neutral wires to worry about. <A> Install pigtails if there is more than one cable in the box. <S> Using a scrap of the same type of circuit cable, cut 6-inch lengths of each type of wire in the cable and strip 3/4 inch of insulation from each end of the wire. <S> Join the bare copper (or green insulated) <S> ground wire to the ground wires in the circuit cables <S> using a wire connector, following the manufacturer's directions. <S> Do the same with the white (neutral) wires, then the black (hot) wires, so you have one ground, one white, and one black pigtail. <S> Note: If the electrical box is metal, install an additional grounding pigtail and connect it to the ground screw on the box, as described in the next step. <S> The outlet will have its own separate grounding pigtail. <S> How to Wire and Install an Outlet
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Where there are not enough screws, you attach the outlets together with a connector with an additional short "pigtail" that goes to the device. Only one wire actually contains the hot/neutral power (the one coming from the circuit breaker), while the other one is meant to pass along the power to the next outlet.
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How to deal with halogen lights hurting your eyes? I have gable roof and there are 4 halogen lights on ceilings. If I am sitting upright, it's good but due to the angle of the ceiling, if I move slightly to any direction the light goes directly to my eyes. Even if I look at my tablet or phone the light reflection hits my eyes. It's very annoying and I searched to find some sort of diffuser but they are only used for light bulbs and halogen lights are flat and screwed inside the wall/ceiling. Any solution that helps is appreciated. I am looking for something that is also good looking. I don't want to have something like a patch on the ceiling. <Q> Well... if they are halogens, they are bulbs. <S> Replaceable bulbs. <S> Replace them with something else . <S> You have to be cautious when selecting LEDs because some LEDs can be even harsher than halogens, depending on how they're diffused internally. <S> However, you can count on a CFL bulb being gentler light. <A> If you are happy with some DIY work - grating type diffusers which have an array of holes each maybe 15mm square, with the array mounted "some distance" below the light surface will provide full illumination downwards with a quite sharp cutoff at an angle. <S> Adjusting "some distance" and tilting the array will allow you to customise vision lines Can be known as egg crate louvres - several examples here <S> One example - many styles exist. <A> I'm assuming the lights you refer to are <S> in-ceiling recessed (a.k.a. "pot") luminaires using a PAR20 type of halogen lamp. <S> Depending on the manufacturer and model, some of these come in two parts: the basic housing (which contains the electric box and wiring) and the trim (which is the visible portion). <S> If you replace your trim with a gimbal trim, this allows you to swivel the lamp so that it points in a non-objectionable direction. <S> Check out this gimbal trim as an example: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.flush-gimbal-par20-trim-gloss-white-4-inch-aperture.1000169488.html <A> They look to be adjustable on the direction so first step would be to try and change the pointing angle to be less disturbing. <S> I can not zoom in enough but the first picture looks more like a LED type. <S> If you can confirm the actual model installed then you could add an appropriate dimmer to reduce the strength when desired. <S> Last they make light shields and diffusers for ceiling cans to help reduce the directed glare. <A> Turn off the halogen recessed lights you find so annoying. <S> Use a different light source.
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If the lens are spots a switch to flood bulbs would put out a wider light "beam" reducing concentration of light making them more acceptable. You can purchase an alternate trim for these luminaires.
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What type of screw is the most resistant to rust: galvanized, stainless steel, or deck screws? How do the following screw types fare in an outdoor (wet) long-term application? Galvanized screw: Stainless steel screw: "Deck" screw: <Q> The stainless steel screw will absolutely be the best screw to resist rust. <S> Stainless steel screws are rust-resistant throughout the entire screw, not just on the surface. <S> The other screws are only covered with a rust-resistant coating on their surface, which will break down or wear off over time. <S> Galvanization is a process that coats with zinc. <S> Other screws may be zinc coated as well using another process, or they may be coated with something else. <S> I have some screws on an outdoor fence which have rusted inside the slots in the screw head, because the screw driver tip wore away some of the coating in the slots at time of installation. <S> Phillips-head screws in particular are notorious for getting ground up when the tip "cams out" and jumps out of the screw head. <S> Why, then, would anyone use anything other than stainless steel outdoors? <S> Two reasons: <S> (1) Stainless steel is slightly softer than the hard steel used in deck screws or other similar screws. <S> You can't just "go crazy" with the power tools and slam the screws into place. <S> It is easier to chew up the heads on stainless screws, or to snap the heads right off by over-torquing them <S> (though that is more of a problem with bolts than wood screws). <S> You have to slow down and be a little more careful. <S> (2) Stainless steel screws are more expensive. <S> Galvanized or other coated screws are just plain cheaper. <S> Despite those drawbacks, the rust prevention is unmatched by other screws. <S> I live in a rainy wet climate, so <S> I use stainless screws on anything outside that I might need to ever take apart again. <A> Stainless requires exposure to oxygen to avoid rusting; it's the chromium oxide layer that protects the steel. <S> When completely buried, the chromium oxide layer breaks down and the residual oxygen starts a process called crevice corrosion. <S> Passivization restores a fresh layer of chromium, but passivization cannot be done once fasteners are buried. <S> This is why bronze fasteners are used on wooden boats; the bronze does not need a supply of fresh oxygen. <S> Unfortunately, bronze fasteners are very expensive. <A> Steel , galvanized or coated, start failing in a deck at 10 years and all fail by 20 years. <S> SS will last "forever". <S> Because SS can only be cold worked. <S> the shanks are soft ( The heads and threads are cold formed so stronger). <S> So they need a clearance hole in the top board and a pilot hole in the bottom board. <S> SS are not used in sea water because the chloride is very corrosive. <S> Copper alloys are used because they inhibit marine organisms and are corrosion resistant. <S> One nuisance of SS fasteners is there is no standardization of the drive so you could need 4 different drivers. <A> Stainless fasteners are subject to crevice corrosion where not exposed, and are not acceptable for underwater fastening by the U.S. Coastguard on inspected vessels. <S> 316 stainless steel has the best corrosion resistance but stainless steel fasteners commonly sold are 18 series. <S> I've seen stainless screws on boats almost completely corroded away at the joint between two boards. <S> Bottom fasteners accepted by the Coast Guard are hot dipped galvanized steel and bronze. <S> Stainless steel and brass are not accepted.
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Stainless steel is undoubtedly the best material for resisting rust and corrosion in screws.
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I have a swinging garage gate that is hitting my driveway when open, how to mitigate? When the gate is closed, there is about a 3 inch gap from the bottom corner of the gate to the driveway. When the gate opens, it comes up against a higher part of the driveway and skids on it, getting the garage gate arm stuck. Right now, I've propped up some bricks near the fence to stop the gate from hitting the driveway fully (it only skids when it's nearly fully open), so that the arm knows to stop before. I have an idea of putting a caster wheel on the corner that skids with the wheel as close to the bottom of the gate as I can get, so that when it hits that part of the driveway where it skids, it instead rolls and the wheel helps lift up the gate a bit. The complicating part is that when closed, there's that gap. My thought is to get a wheel that has 3 inches of 'give'; when the gate is open, there is no give left and the wheel is fully supporting the weight of the gate; and as it closes, the wheel falls down its 'give' until it's fully extended at the end. Does such a thing exist? I've seen gate casters that have springs, but I believe those springs are mainly to account for shock absorption. Alternately, should I not care about the state of it being closed and just get a static caster (which is touching the ground when open, but hanging off the corner when closed)? <Q> If you angle the gate pivot slightly such that the line passing through the pivots is tilted slightly forward at the top, the gate will rise as it opens. <S> If you accomplish this offset on the gate side rather then the post side, the gate can still be vertical when closed, but that might take a bit of fabrication. <S> For a small rise, it probably won't be very noticeable, but that depends on the length & height of the gate. <A> I would install a caster as you planned, but mount it so that it projects just slightly below the bottom of the gate. <S> In this way it only makes contact with the ground (and noise and vibration) when it's actually needed. <A> While I can cook up 3 ways to make the wheel spring-loaded, I don't see a need to do so, so I won't bother trying to write those out or make drawings. <S> If feasible, CoAstroGeek's answer is another way around it with no wheels.
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Let it hang - I don't see it making a bit of difference if the wheel only touches down when it's needed, and hangs the rest of the time.
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Best location to install floor door stop What distance from the hinge is the best spot to install door stop? <Q> Farther from the hinge the better. <S> When possible I use base mount door stops, one would work here as well. <S> But if you prefer to use the floor mount, keep it a few inches from the edge of the door. <S> Do not use hinge type door stops only when absolutely necessary, if the door swings back too hard on it it will either pull the screws out of the hinge or if it is a hollow core door it will put a hole in it. <S> Been there, done that. <A> The door stop should be about two-thirds of the way from the hinge if you want to minimise the forces on the hinges and flexing of the door. <S> The distance two-thirds is the centre of percussion for a flat sheet of uniform density hinged at one edge. <S> You might be able to fine-tune the location by using a bit of 2x1 wood butted up against the baseboard and testing where the least unsatisfactory bang and rattle occurs. <A> I'm using wall mounted soft stops that match the location of the doorknob (or even cover the hole left by not having a stop). <S> For what you show, the best place is at the edge of the door. <S> Just like it’s easier to push a door at the farthest point from the hinge <S> (as opposed to in the middle or close to the hinge) it is more effective at stopping the door and less like a lever for ripping the stop out of the ground by placing it as far from the hinge as possible. <A> When you screw it in to the floor, leave the screw a bit loose so the stop can pivot. <S> Then gently open the door to the stop, allowing the stop to "square" to the door. <S> Then tighten down the screw. <S> Also, think about how far the stop should be from the wall. <S> If the door is a typical hollow core internal door, it can flex quite a bit. <S> You want the stop far enough from the wall that if the door is opened forcefully, the handle doesn't touch the wall. <S> Otherwise, you could could end up with a ding or hole in the wall. <A> Like others have said, install solidly with long screws going down into the substrate.
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The correct place to install it is vertically under the position where the door-handle would strike the wall if the stop were not there. The farther from the hinge, the better.
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Is the max current draw of wall outlets reported in RMS or peak? In the United States, the voltage of typical wall outlets is 120 Vac (RMS). Maximum current draw is 15 A or 20 A. Is this "maximum" expressed in terms of RMS or peak ? The "maximum" seems to imply peak. Extension to this question: If I plug multiple devices into a power strip with a 15 A fuse, should I be worried about the total peak current or total RMS current of the devices? <Q> Like Brian said, it's measured in RMS. <S> For the extension: RMS again. <S> For fast-blow fuses, the current rating is the maximum current guaranteed at which the fuse will not blow. <S> But the fuse won't immediately blow at 15.1A -- the time vs. current graphs are provided for most fuses. <S> Here's an example: As we can see, a 15A fuse is guaranteed not to blow at 15A. <S> As the current increases, the time it takes for the fuse to blow decreases. <S> A 15A fuse may take a minute to blow at 20A, but 0.3 seconds to blow at 30A. <S> Even though your 15Arms current is actually over 21A peak, the time that it goes above the 15A rating (~4ms per half cycle) is not sufficient to blow the fuse. <S> Due to the fuse's thermal inertia you may want to derate the curve a bit, but at 15Arms you should be fine. <A> This is explicitly set out for voltage ratings in the Article 100 definition of voltage: Voltage (of a circuit). <S> The greatest root-mean-square (rms) (effective) difference of potential between any two conductors of the circuit concerned. <S> but is implied for current ratings in the Code. <S> This is because the current-carrying capacity of a wire is determined by what temperature <S> the wire can reach without damaging its insulation, terminations, or surroundings, and RMS currents are used when the heating value of a given current is at stake. <S> Likewise, fuse and circuit breaker ratings are RMS currents as well -- fuses operate on heat, and so do the thermal trips on circuit breakers. <S> Most fuses and breakers rated under the UL scheme, however, are not intended to withstand 100% of their rated current continuously, and this is reflected by the 125% derates for continuous loads found in several places in the NEC. <S> (This differs from the IEC fuse rating scheme, which does allow fuses to be run at 100% of their rating continuously.) <A> It's RMS, but not for the extra reasons given in the other answers. <S> It's nothing to do with the power calculations, or the time lag of fuses, or the temperatures of conductors. <S> Of the several options (peak, RMS, rectified DC average etc), RMS is the one that's been chosen . <S> Once a standard way of making the measurement has been chosen, all the other ratings can be adjusted to suit. <S> For instance, if we measured voltage and current as peak, then we would simply rate our kettles at twice their present wattage as peak watts, and our cables at 1.414 their present current as peak amps. <S> No domestic user 'knows' or even cares whether a 2kW kettle is 'really' 2kW, what they need to know is how fast it will boil, and can it be connected to this socket? <S> Experience and the ratings will tell them those. <S> The measurement scientists will understand what's going on, and make the appropriate calculations. <S> As it happens, RMS is convenient for the measurement scientists, it does reduce the number of conversion factors. <S> But convenience rarely has a look-in around electricity supply technology, look at the conversion factors needed to use AWG rather than mm2 for cables?
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All ratings in the NEC are in RMS.
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How do I remove this marker mark on painted drywall? I have a 4-year-old boy, who loves to draw on the wall from time to time. He does it with his Washable Markers, which should be easy to clean with water. He left his marks for a while on the wall until we forgot about them. Recently, we repainted our kitchen. The contractor painted the primer and paint over the mark. It looked OK at first. However, when the paint dried, the marks showed through. What should I do with minimal effort to remove these marks? Updated: The paint that the contractor uses in this project is Valspar Signature Semi-Gloss Latex Interior Paint and Primer in One (Actual Net Contents: 124-fl oz) <Q> Once it's been painted over, there's no way to remove a stain - you'd have to remove the paint to get at the stain, which is definitely not "minimal effort". <S> The simplest thing to do at this point would be to call back the contractor and have him actually <S> paint the wall, rather than just slapping on some paint-like substance and calling it good. <A> It has been my experience that certain types of markers, particularly the permanent type that have an alcohol base, can telegraph through even 4 or 5 layers of even good quality paint. <S> I had some doors once that had some artwork from previous owners done on them with markers. <S> When I tried to paint them with blocking primer and paint it still came right through after some weeks or months. <S> In the end I had to strip off the paint and sand off the marker and underlying original finish to clean wood before starting over. <A> Your notion that "washable markers SHOULD wash off walls" is totally unrealistic. <S> House paint does not work that way. <S> Common house paint is actually pretty fragile and is designed not to be touched, and that is necessary to get the aesthetic that adults are interested in. <S> Yes, whoever invented that did not have kids, or those kids didn't write on the walls twice after the sore bottom <S> they got the first time. <S> If you want high-durability paint that is resistant to kids, they do make such a thing, but it'll be way glossier than most people want in their home. <S> That paint job is just horrible. <S> It might be print-through from really cheap paint ... or paint that really needs a second coat ... <S> or it might be the paint repelling from the still-greasy spot <S> they didn't bother to clean. <S> Anyway, this contractor has to go - he just doesn't care about quality. <S> If this is the quality of contractors available in your market, you might just want to learn to DIY. <A> An ordinary primer won't do it. <S> You need a real good stain blocking primer. <S> I would wait until all your children are about 35 until you fix anything that breaks. <A> I have run across variations of this over the years and in almost every case there was only one solution to completely remove a marker from being visible. <S> I had to physically remove the marker's mark from the wall. <S> At times, that meant cutting slightly into the drywall and peeling the paper layer from the middle layer of gypsum. <S> Then covering cut out area with drywall mud, prime and paint. <S> Once, when the marker had not been able to completely penetrate the paint layer I was able to use a razor to remove the paint layer without going into the drywall itself. <S> I wish there were a better answer, but I have never seen a primer permanently block a marker. <S> The color pulls itself through every layer.
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There is simply no way those marks would still be showing through if the contractor had done a proper job, with a stain-blocking primer and a good-quality paint.
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Repair the overflow drain under a Corian sink where the tube and box has come unglued My bathroom has a Corian sink that uses a tube for the overflow drain. Unlike most overflow drains, this one is not molded into the sink itself. The sink is 20 years old. The box at the end of the tube appears to have been glued onto the under side of the sink, but now the glue is old and it has come off. Should I remove the glue from the old box, or buy a new box? I can remove the box from the tube, it is just held there with friction and some ridges. Do they sell the boxes? If not, how should I remove the old glue? When re-attaching it, what adhesive should I use? I'm thinking of using clear silicone. Is that a good choice? <Q> I ended up using a utility knife to cut off the old glue <S> then I washed the part. <S> It turned out pretty well: <S> I used clear silicone (applied with a caulking gun) as the adhesive: <S> Because the silicone doesn't adhere very strongly, I followed the advice to find a way to put pressure on it. <S> I cut a wedge that can go between the overflow and the cabinet: <S> This overflow drain is in the front of my sink, although I have another similar sink where the overflow is in the back. <S> In this case because the overflow is in the front, I figured out how to remove the front panel of the cabinet to make access easier. <S> Here it is installed with the silicone and the wedge: <S> I used a screw from the outside of the cabinet to hold the wedge in place. <S> The front of the cabinet ends up covering up the screw, so it isn't even visible once everything is back together. <S> So far it is working for minor overflow problems. <S> I can splash water down there. <S> I tried filling up the sink up above the overflow and it isn't perfect in that case. <S> I didn't glue the top of the overflow because it looks like it isn't meant to be glued there. <S> Because the water level can get high, that means that water eventually comes out the top of the overflow into the inside of the cabinet. <A> The newer Corian sinks are made differently. <S> There is no box around the overflow. <S> The overflow tube has a 90 degree bend and glues into the sink without a box. <S> Even with the new design, mine let go. <S> Since there is not big box, it may be an even more difficult repair. <S> It appears to have used hot melt adhesive from the factory. <S> I am trying super glue because that is what was suggested at another site. <A> Use two part epoxy after cleaning both the box and underside of bowl. <S> Hold in place with duct tape over night. <S> I sealed the next day with silicon but the epoxy alone was already tightly adhered and water tight. <S> This was my third try in fixing using different sealants.
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I also cleaned the underside of the sink and sanded old glue off. The overflow drain doesn't take water as fast as the faucet can put it in the sink, so eventually the sink will overflow. I think I have repaired this the best that I can, but it appears to be a very poorly designed overflow system. I then added some more silicone around the outside, connected the tube, and put the front of the cabinet back.
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