It looks like your current switch is on a switch loop.  The wires you've labeled A1 and A2 are not neutral and hot, they are always-hot and switched-hot.

That means that to convert this to a 3-way configuration, you need to wire it like this:

As @Harper pointed out in the comments, since A1 and B2 aren't acting as neutrals, you should mark them with black electrical tape to designate them as hot.  It's also a good idea to mark the ends of B1 and B3 with yellow electrical tape to flag them as travelers to make it clear what purpose they're serving as well.

I've not drawn the grounds in my diagram, but they should be connected to all of the other grounds.


I have 240V cable on a 120V circuit. Should I be worried?

It looks like the cable was indeed originally run for a 220V stove.

When the stove was replaced with a gas stove, rather than run a new cable they just used the existing cable. This is fine as long as both ends are properly terminated.

I don't like the way they terminated the outlet though. I think they should have used a 12 AWG pigtail. ( assuming it was a NEMA 5-15 or NEMA 5-20 outlet ) Other than that I might have done the same thing depending on the difficulty of running a new cable.

( NEMA 5-15 is the designation of a US 110V 15A outlet )

If it is easy enough, I would run a 12 AWG cable from the breaker box to another box near the first with a NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 outlet.
Then either put an appropriate outlet on the existing cable with a 40A double pole breaker (assuming it is 8 AWG wire); or just put a blank cover on it.
If you do just use a blank cover, you should either ground out all of the conductors or remove the cable from the breaker box.
This way it can be left wired for both gas and electric stoves.

If it is difficult to run a new wire, I would just do what they did; except use a pigtail to connect the outlet. Don't cut back part of the wire, use an appropriately sized wire nut.


You are adding nailing edges to the edges of the existing drywall to provide support for the edge of the new drywall sheet and the edge of the existing.  A lot of people will just get some 1x4 and span the old sheet to the new sheet.  The two sheets then align at the joint.  They might not be "sucked up" as much as if you adding a nailing edge that was connected to the joists but sheets of drywall are typically supported 16" on center so at most the existing sheet will have support < 16" away and the new sheet will have support < 16" away.  The 1x4 between the sheets then lends support from one sheet to the other.  These pieces don't even have to be continuous.  You also have texture on the ceiling which works to hide all kinds of defects so your work can be even less precise.
As far as your question goes, you can notch the blocking between the joists.  The solid blocking between the joists allows your floor assembly to work as a single unit.  Often cross bridging is installed instead of solid blocking and they have comparable performance.  Blocking is also routinely knocked out by plumbers.  A notch to the bottom of the blocking is not going to effect the function.  The bottom of the blocking is not being loaded in tension.  If you are worried about it


ICF block comes in core sizes of 4, 6 and 8 inches, and the insulation is 2.5 inches per side. Most of the ICF houses I've worked on were exterior and load bearing only. In Ontario, other jurisdictions may be different; any time you're dealing with load bearing walls you need to have an engineer certify it and submit it to your local building authority. I've never heard of any engineer putting their stamp on someone else's drawing (I'm sure it does occasionally happen) because they are absorbing the liability for someone else's work.

From my experience, foundation walls are always 8" + 5" for the insulation and I've seen 6" on upper levels. The 4" blocks, I would imagine, are for partition walls. They are very comfortable houses to live in. The rated insulation is pretty much what you get, as opposed to a wooden structure. With lots of extra framing and pack points, along with poor insulators and difficult spots to insulate, the actual R-value of your typical wooden structure is far less than the R-value listed on the bags of insulation or what the spray foam guy is telling you. Wood is a poor insulator.

ICF is also very tight so a HRV or ERV in a warmer climate is a necessity. Also, consider concrete floors over corrugated metal with radiant floor heating, if you are in the north. The drywall can go on a stud wall directly on the face of the block. Most seem to use steel studs. Hope this answers at least some of your questions.


Is a reduced neutral conductor acceptable on a cord for use with a generator?

Take that range cord back and get the correct cord for the job

50A generator inlet boxes, as well as many generators with 50A outputs, do not use anything resembling the NEMA 14-50 that is certainly on the end of your range cord.  Instead, they use locking type connectors; unfortunately, there is no such thing as a NEMA L14-50, so California had to step in and set their own standard for this, the CS6365C/CS6375 family.  Furthermore, the type SRD cordage that is used for range cords is not rated for wet locations or hard/extra-hard usage, making it utterly unsuitable for use outdoors, even if your generator uses a NEMA 14-50R for its 50A receptacle.

As a result, you're better off taking all your stuff back and getting the proper generator cord for your generator.  This will have a CS6364C cord-connector on it to mate with what is almost certainly a CS6375 inlet on the generator inlet box, and be made from extra-hard usage, wet-rated cordage such as type SOOW, with a 6/4 wire configuration, and either a NEMA 14-50P or a CS6365C plug on the other end, depending on what your generator uses.


How can I hang my cupboard on a stud wall?

You must not support shelving with plasterboard anchors except when there are no other options. Plasterboard just is not that strong. It's important to locate the studs and attach the shelf supports with wood screws through the plasterboard and into the studs directly.

There are stud locators available for minimal expense, but they are not fool proof. One type works by locating the fasteners in the studs by magnetism. Since fasteners only occur intermittently, this is not the best method IMO. Another works by relative density, but is easily fooled by other masses in the wall and is confused by nearby metal. With all your power equipment, this type will not work well unless there is a section you can test that is free of confusing artefacts, such as near the floor level. You can typically assume the studs are reasonably vertical for their full length.

For determining adequate screw length into studs, I'm not sure of common UK construction practise, but you could assume most plasterworks to be from 1/2" to 1" thick. It's less critical for wood screws than plaster anchors to get the exact depth correct. For wood screws, ensure they penetrate into the stud at least 7 shank diameters depth.


Slow spinning ceiling fan that won't turn off: dangerous?

I had the same problem just recently, and learned that our space heater was sitting just right to create a draft and make the fan spin very slowly.


Your question is more about your personal grinding skill. A grinder is pretty rough and you could expect it to break the slate and look pretty ragged, unless you are just awesome. Perhaps a dremel tool would be ok... which will probably take much longer than you want.

A better idea would be to use a diamond bladed (a concrete blade) circular saw, because it will probably not completely shatter the slate.

If I was beveling a 4" piece, I would maybe sandwich it between to other pieces of slate with water based glue to help hold it and prevent the edges from breaking. Then soak it in water to remove the glue.


Should the smooth side or the rough side of a urethane bandsaw tire go against the wheel?

I actually have the same question. I recently bought
Blue Max bandsaw tires and out of the package
the rough side was out. Also on a YouTube video
where Blue Max tires were being installed it looked
like the smooth side was against the wheel.
It is my guess that with Blue Max at least the rough
side is out.
Hope this helps.


Is it possible to control the speed of the fan on my central A/C unit?

There are numerous instructional videos on how to change the air speed CFM on an airhandler, so YES.  Rather than a switch, it is achieved by the wiring.  There will be a chart and a wiring diagram on the unit that will direct you.  One speed of air does not match all configurations.  A specific CFM on a 3 ton unit with a single trunk line feeding a shotgun house might not be the same as a 4 ton unit with a different duct set up, yet the air handler itself might be the same.


OK to drain humidifier into basement floor drain

The humidifier should be draining either to the outside - like rainwater, away from your house - or to a real sewer drain. I have a floor drain which actually connects into the main sewer pipe. It sounds like your drain does not, so I would not recommend draining into that hole.

Many people have a similar problem with the condensate drain from their central air conditioner. Those who don't have a drain below the condensate output have to put in a condensate pump to get the condensate to a drain or outside - and failure of those pumps can result in a flood.


What should I do about nonmetallic sheathed cable that was wet?

The water alone was NOT what tripped the breaker. Water alone does not cause shorts and arcs. You have another issue somewhere in that cable run. Check every connection, box, splice, etc.

And yes, you could be doing more damage to the wire or breaker by repeatedly trying the breaker and tripping it so many times.

On another note, if you only have 12/3 going to a typical electric dryer (in the US I assume) that is NOT the correct cable. An electric dryer requires 10/3 on a 30A breaker.


Do I want low-SHGC windows on the east and west sides?

Using LBLs solar gain modeling software (RESFEN) can be instructive. I don't know if they have finally made a less cumbersome version of it yet - last I used it it was still Windows-only and ripe for redoing as a web app. Looks like it's still stuck on Windows PCs only. There are few other tools there on the page linked to as well.
E&W actually have more summertime gain than S (northern hemisphere - swap north for south if on the other side of the equator) due to the solar angles being low during the morning and evening. South windows are more easily made seasonal with shading that keeps the sun off them in summer and on them in winter.
If blinds are on the inside of the window, the heat is still inside the house, with the blind that stopped the sunbeam - exterior blinds or awnings are needed to really keep heat out with a shading product, AFAIK.
I think the most effective way to make use of solar heating for winter is to separate it from your windows, using dedicated collectors. In addition, it's actually become quite difficult to source windows that are good heat collectors (I do understand that what you are really doing is choosing between levels of SHGC - but I wanted some high solar gain but well-insulated windows for my south facade and ended up giving up, as the only ones I could find to buy would have been importing from Canada at 3 times the cost of the low SHGC windows that were all I could get locally - in a mostly-heating climate.) I can build or buy solar collectors with the cost differential I would have had to come up with for the windows I wanted as opposed to the ones I got.


How can I repair rust damage on a steel shed?

Exactly how you would in a car.  Get rust out, bondo, prime, paint.  Just painting the areas well to keep the moisture out will help a lot although not a long-term fix.  Could also just replace that piece of metal or add another piece on top of it.


The stove may be one of the more modern types known as having "dual fuel". I have one of those and the cook top burners above are using natural gas while the oven operates on electricity. In fact even the oven has two operating modes selectable between static heat generation and convection with the hot air being moved around.

As such the stove unit has a 50A electrical hookup and a gas line hookup.


How can I prevent my outside heat pump coils from icing over?

Heat pump?

Keep salt away from the unit. Salt will attack and totally decompose the fins and will create electrolytic corrosion in the joints between aluminum and copper leading to destruction of the system.

Icing during operation in a damp climate is normal, it's supposed to have a defrost cycle it runs through to remove the ice.

Heat Pump Operation: Heat pumps work on the standard phase change refrigeration cycle. In summer time for AC mode, the inside unit acts as the refrigerant evaporator and the external unit as the condenser. This is reversed in the cool season for heating, the external unit basically cools the outdoors in order to extract heat from the air and gives it up by condensing the refrigerant in the inside unit.

Heat Pump Defrost cycle: Since you're cooling already cool air that contains some water vapor, it's natural for frost to build up. In extremely damp climates, the fins can actually clog. To take care of this ice buildup, the heat pump system uses its shuttle valve to momentarily go into AC mode, shuts off the air circulation fan and extracts some heat from the house to be given up when the refrigerant condenses in the external units coils.

Operational failures that cause extreme icing: Older systems run this defrost cycle off a timer, newer ones have temperature sensors to determine frosting and the heating necessary to clear the coils. Failures in these can stop the defrost cycle from being run.

You can also have the shuttle valve relay fail or the shuttle valve freeze into the heat position which prevents the cycle reversal needed to do the defrost.

For Heat Pump systems that run as flooded evaporator type systems, low freon levels will cause extreme icing of the evaporator. This can cause the internal unit to become a solid block of ice during the AC season and for the external unit to do the same during heating season.

DIY Remedies: You've taken care of one major problem, keeping water from entering due to roof drain-off.

The unit must also be in a location that allows for water to drain away. Ponding allows for excessive water vapor in the atmosphere and is to be avoided. A drainage system that removes this would be a good idea.

So if you've taken care of drainage, it's probably time to have your local HVAC tech come out and give it a through inspection to figure out what's failed.


How do I deal with vapour barrier for central vac inlets in exterior walls?

"I am thinking to just form a small pocket around this whole thing, and then tape up the holes where the wires go through, and tape around the 2" suction line."

Seems like you answered your own question.  I like that you're being fastidious about the vapor barrier, but I have some questions for you.
How new is the house?
How comprehensive is the existing vapor barrier and what does it consist of?  Typically here in coastal California we don't emphasize the vapor barrier as an integral part of the construction process because the indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity differential is not so great.  This disqualifies me as an advisor on this aspect of the project but I'm interested in learning more.
Is the garage at all a conditioned space?
From Wikipedia:

An interior vapor retarder is useful in heating-dominated climates while an exterior vapor retarder is useful in cooling-dominated climates. In most climates it is often better to have a vapor-open building assembly, meaning that walls and roofs should be designed to dry:[6] either to the inside, the outside, or both, so the ventilation of water vapor should be taken into consideration. A vapor barrier on the warm side of the envelope must be combined with a venting path on the cold side of the insulation. This is because no vapor barrier is perfect, and because water may get into the structure, typically from rain. In general, the better the vapor barrier and the drier the conditions, the less venting is required.[7]
In areas below foundation level (or, subgrade areas), particularly those formed in concrete, vapor retarder placement can be problematic, as moisture infiltration from capillary action can exceed water vapor movement outward through framed and insulated walls.
A slab-on-grade or basement floor should be poured over a cross-laminated polyethylene vapor barrier over 4 inches (10 cm) of granular fill to prevent wicking of moisture from the ground and radon gas incursion.
Inside a steel building, water vapor will condense whenever it comes into contact with a surface that is below the dew point temperature. Visible condensation on windowpanes and purlins that results in dripping can be somewhat mitigated with ventilation; however insulation is the preferred method of condensation prevention.

Based on the information you've provided it seems that your house varies from cooling to heating needs depending on the season.  This implies to me that the integrity of the vapor barrier is of minimal importance.
It has been my experience that condensation problems primarily happen where the air-flow in uninsulated locations is retarded by improper insulation installation.  A small (<1 ft. sq.) area where the vapor barrier is nonexistent because of fixture installation is unlikely to be a problem.  E.g. everywhere you have an electrical box.


Unable to remove shower handle due to stripped allen screw

I had this problem on a moen.  The plumber cut through the plastic cartridge between the handle and the valve and was then able to replace the cartridge and re-use the handle.
For a stripped allen/grub screws I've had decent luck with micro grabit.


Forced air system blowing cold air through bedroom vents, hot through the rest

It definitely sounds like that section of duct has a leak or travels through an un-insulated part of the structure. Sometimes the cavities between walls or under floor joists are used as duct or returns and they are not enclosed. Leaks in the building envelope, especially with such cold weather, could keep that area cold all the time and any warm air blowing through it will get cooled down right away.

If you are feeling a draft out of that vent when the heat is not blowing, that is concerning and may indicate a large air leak. There are a variety of methods for testing for duct leaks. One common method is by using a blower door on an external door to get a baseline leakage number for the home. Then, all of the vents are covered and another leakage number is obtained. The difference indicates the leakage of just the duct system. A service that does this is usually inexpensive (under $100) and can tell you just how much air the ducts are leaking in additional to helping you find other sources of cold air leaks into your home.

If the landlord isn't willing to pay for investigating it, you may want to pay for it yourself since you could then bring him/her hard numbers and ultimately save on your heating bill once repairs are made. If the landlord still will not budge, I'd make the claim that warm building air mixing with cold duct or external air could cause mold growth and make you sick.


Mounting outlet on drywall furred out from cement

You have three choices here:

Run the NM cable in-wall with a sheet steel protector at least 1.6mm thick between the cable and the wall surface (to keep those pesky nails away)
Run conduit in-wall -- a 3/8" trade size EMT should squeeze down there OK although you'll be tight on wire fill with that.  You might be able to fit 1/2" EMT -- I'd try it at least, and use the 3/8" if 1/2" doesn't fit in the gap.
Run surface raceway or conduit, if you'd rather the industrial aesthetic.

All three will meet Code -- it really depends on cost and what skills and materials you have available to you.


Installing Hammock Chair from Ceiling with Metal Joists

I think you probably ought to abandon the project at this point.  Metal joists can be surprisingly light gauge steel.  Sheet metal screws would not be strong and reliable enough for the pullout strength you need, especially holding a moving object.
Toggle bolts would probably be strong enough, I don't see the bolts ripping right out of the sheet metal, but I could see the sheet metal flexing enough to mess up the drywall and possibly deform the joist, which would be a very expensive repair.


They plug right in
If you wire the blue pair (4,5) for phone service (or the blue and green (3,6) pairs for fancy two-line phones.)
No adapter is needed.
I do it at work all the time (my employer's employer's employer uses 24 port Cat5e patch panels as voice patch with a 25 pair cat3 run to them. One pair to each jack and one spare pair. I don't know why they do it that way, but they do. Anyway, an RJ11 or RJ12 plugs right in, no fuss, no muss, connects fine if the pairs are connected - which might be one reason you are not finding an adapter "that stands out." Any such adapter is a scam, unless it's doing something like breaking out 4 single line or two double line RJ11's (RJ14, technically) from one RJ45.


Rigid means something that will hold its shape on its own.  Wood (except veneer), drywall, backer-board are all rigid.

A piece of thin paneling made from plastic/fiberglass would not probably count.

However, the definition is somewhat subjective.  In the context of Green Glue, I presume they want to ensure no movement between the layers.


Insulate space above ceiling in 3 season room?

The insulation will probably let you get more use out of that room.  Usually fiberglass between the rafters works pretty well.

You have to leave some space between the top of the fiberglass and the underside of the roof so that moisture can escape in that air space.  They make plastic baffles that keep this space open even if the insulation is too high or gets disturbed - good insurance.  There also has to be some ventilation at the top and bottom so air can flow in from outside at the bottom, flow up the space between the rafters, and out again from the top.

The vapor barrier depends on the local climate.  There are some differences of opinion on this subject, but if you're calling it a three season room, I am going to guess you're in a climate with cold dry winters and warm humid summers, and suggest insulation with a vapor barrier, installed with the vapor barrier down.


heavy duty workbench leg from metal pipe?

I would put a threaded floor flange on each leg and use that. It also has the added benefit of having a slightly wider base than the cap would and it would have a flat bottom, since it's designed to sit flush against a surface, while the cap is not designed for that.
A threaded cap would work, as well, using the threading as your height adjustment. It may not be completely flat, however, so this might not be ideal (allowing for some of the rocking you're trying to adjust out) and concentrating weight on smaller spots, increasing the likelihood of damaging the floor below.
You could drill a hole in the end cap, tap it appropriately, and run an adjustable furniture foot into each one. This would take a lot more work, however, and would only be of value (IMHO) if you needed more adjustment range than the cap itself could provide. If you do this, you'll have the adjustment range provided by the cap and by the foot, so if you were to set the table outside on a lumpy lawn, you could probably get it leveled even there.
If you use a floor flange, you could lap it smooth using some wet/dry sandpaper on glass until it was smooth enough for you to feel that it won't damage the floor. By doing this, you might not feel it's necessary to provide any protection between the metal and the floor. If you do, be sure to ease the edge - as you're flattening the bottom, you'll also be creating a sharp corner that could scratch the floor or scrape a bare toe.
For any of the metal-on-floor solutions, you could use felt of an appropriately dark color (black to match the metal, or brown to match the floor) as a pad to protect the floor from the wood. I would think that a good double-sided carpet tape would hold the felt on just fine. The cap may need to be smoothed for additional stability and that would have the added benefit of helping the felt to stick better.
I can't envision your third "conical piece of steel" option, so I'm not sure what you're after there, but, all-in-all, it sounds more complex than either of the two above.


Pretty sure you have crossed up the hot wire. Disconnect all three wires from switches, temporarily connect or bump all three two-wire combinations. Only one combination will power neither light, the solo wire will be the hot that needs to be jumpered between switches.


Commenters are right: Everything sags under its own weight. The question is how much you'll tolerate.

There are simple formulas for the deflection of simple structures like this. For a uniformly loaded square plate with simply supported edges,

.

And for a plate with clamped edges,

,

where d is maximum deflection, W is the load, L is the length of a side, E is the elastic modulus and t is the thickness.

Your acrylic is uniformly loaded by its own weight. For now let's ignore extra deflection caused by poking fingers. Since you might attach your acrylic square to the rest of the table somehow, its actual deflection will probably be between these two numbers.

Let's do the worst case, where there is no overhang and you're supporting the acrylic right at the edges:

W = 1.18 g/cc * (36 in)^2 * 0.236 in * 9.81 m/s^2 = 58 N

L = 36 in = 0.9144 m

E = 2.6 GPa

t = 0.236 in = 6 mm

For supported edges d = 3.8 mm, for clamped edges d = 1.2 mm.

To a decent approximation, leaving a one-inch border just changes 36 in to 34 in:

W = 1.18 g/cc * (34 in)^2 * 0.236 in * 9.81 m/s^2 = 51.8 N

L = 34 in = 0.8636 m

For supported edges d = 3.0 mm, for clamped edges d = 0.9 mm.


How to install drawer slides when the drawer cutout trim is not flush with the cabinet's interior side panels

Your cabinet has what is commonly called a face-frame. There are many, many drawer slides available that will work with face-frame cabinets, either by specific design or by use of optional mounting hardware. A "gap filling" strip is not necessary if you use the proper (sometimes optional) face-frame brackets for your slide.
I think you may be approaching this the wrong way. Instead of looking for special brackets, which would not be "universal" and would only work with a particular drawer slide brand and model, you should be shopping for drawer slides that will work on a face-frame cabinet. Virtually every slide maker has options for face-frame so you would narrow your selection by other necessary (or desired) specifications such as: length needed, full-extension desired?, weight rating needed, soft-close feature desired?, etc.


How smooth does a shower pan need to be?

It only needs to be smooth enough to get the water in the pan to go to the drain, and not poke a hole in the pan while working the mud bed for the tile over it. If there are any sharp ridges even a trowel can scrape those down flat enough to be of no concern.


ITE bus stab amperage limit for tandem breakers

If I am reading your question right, then the answer to your question is yes. The reason being is that there it is highly doubtful the two non tandem breakers will be carrying full and constant loads at the same time. Of course you have to use the non-tandem breakers properly and not be using a 240V load off of them just 2 - 120V loads. This is set up to prevent overheating and damage to the bus. I am sure the manufacturer has "crash tested" these scenarios and that's why they have a restriction.

Added for clarity see comment.

I always try and use the contributors vernacular rather than trade nomenclature since it tends to  confuse people. So let scrap that and insert some definitions.

A panel is divided into pole spaces.
A full size breaker takes up one pole space and service a 120V circuit.
A two pole breaker takes up two spaces and if it serves a 240V circuit the poles are interlocked mechanically or internally.
A half size breaker serves either two single 120V circuits or one 240V circuit in a one pole space. This is sometimes referred to as a tandem or piggyback breaker. (see the confusion).

You ITE Panel states that you shall not connect two pole breakers opposing each other (one on the left side and one on the right) in the panel, if the overcurrent protection adds up to 110A.

So I believe you question is can I install one two pole breaker and two one pole breakers in opposition even if they add up to over 110A? And my answer is Yes because if for no other reason it doesn't say you can't. For further explanation I tried to explain that the reason was to prevent overheating and damage to the bus.

I also tried to explain that you can not use this as a go around to install two, two pole breaker beside each other and then just remove the mechanical tie and say "Hey its really just two single pole breakers". Which by the way violates other code rules.

I am not sure what you meant in your comment about drop. I can tell you I am not talking about voltage drop. I am talking about overloading which will burn up the breakers and bus in you panel, and I am pretty sure that is what ITE has in mind also.

Hopes this helps


Hole suddenly opened in the sink siphon?

I believe you are talking about the p trap or U bend. The old metal drain lines do wear out because of acids in food, I know  many years back I bought a place that looked good but the chrome plating was all that was left on some of the pipe it developed a small leak when I went to pull it it crumbled like an eggshell. Most of the modern drain cleaners won’t harm pipes. If the cleaner has acid that is a different story and the will damage pipes to tell the truth 2 times is probably not enough for even acid based to cause the problem, things like tomatoes and citrus have more acid in them than drano which is usually a strong base and is great at dissolving organic but really doesn’t hurt pipes.  If the pipes are a shiny silver color they are probably chrome plated brass this is very common and what I have had crumble.


First of all, as I edited in the question, wire normally refers to a single conductor. Multiple wires inside a outer covering is referred to as a cable. 14/2 and 14/3 are common cables, each containing multiple insulated wires (2 or 3) plus a bare ground wire.

  First question: for Room #2 from Box #2 to Box #3 - Am I correct in saying it needs 3 cables? 1st cable - Power/neutral in 14-2 2nd cable - Power/neutral out to box #3 for switch #4 and then to switch #5 3rd cable - Traveler wires (2 hots/1 neutral) 14-3 between boxes for 3 way between switches #2 & #3

That is the typical way to do it, though it uses a little more wire than the minimum. You could use a single 14/4 cable between box 2 and box 3. This would have hot (black), neutral (white), 2 travelers (other colors). The advantage is you save one wire because the neutral can be shared since this is all part of one circuit. However, if you already have (or will be getting) 14/3 for other 3-way switches then running 14/2 + 14/3 is probably cheaper than getting 14/4 just for this one installation. As noted by Harper, if you use separate /2 and /3 then you must keep the neutrals matched to the hots/travelers and not connect them together in room #3 (i.e., switches #3 and #4).

  Second question: At each box would you just pigtail the power in / power out and power to the switch?

Correct. Pigtail hot (black), neutral (white), ground (bare) and connect to switches as appropriate.

  Third question: Is 14 the correct gauge wire since the whole load is less than 3 amps?

Correct. Just make sure that the circuit breaker is also 15A to match.


Operation with better feedback from the thermostat should always give performance that is as good or better than operation without as much feedback.  The obvious trade-off is that installing more stages of control may mean running extra wire which may not be easy to do.

If you have a two stage Ecobee3 and you can connect it to the furnace and set the furnace for two stage control, then that should be an improvement over the furnace controlling its own staging, which is usually just a timer that runs the furnace at stage 1 for awhile and then switches to stage 2 if that does not satisfy demand.

I do not know exactly which Keeprite model you have, but the self-control scheme for a single stage thermostat signal is probably similar no matter the model.  Here is an excerpt from the Keeprite G9MXT installation guide:

  For single_stage thermostats, connect thermostat W to W/W1 at furnace control terminal block. (See Figure 7) For single_stage thermostats, the control will operate for 12 minutes on low heat, then switch to high heat if heat call remains. Setup switch (TT) must be in the factory_shipped OFF position. See Figure 7 and Figure 15 for setup switch information.
  If a two_stage heating thermostat is to be used, move setup switch (TT) to ON position before starting furnace. This overrides built_in control process for selecting high and low fire and allows the two_stage thermostat to select gas heating modes. The W2 from thermostat must be connected to W2 on control terminal block.

The ultimate in precise control is a digital communicating thermostat if your furnace has that capability.


Given the lengthwise span and the truncated support at the right end, I'd use cleats on the ends and two brackets across the back. 25mm MDF won't handle that load without a lot of bounce and some chance of collapse.
On the left, I'd use four 3/16" x 2-3/4" concrete screws with hex heads. Phillips heads are fine also, but they're difficult to keep from stripping, in my experience.
On the right, two or three such screws.

Across the back, either use screws every 20cm or so, or use two large steel brackets mounted with 3/16" x 1-3/4" concrete screws. Such brackets are unobtrusive to the user and don't catch the eye from across the room. The stability is well worth their use.

If you choose not to use brackets, you may find that you need a stiffener running lengthwise to support the front edge of the desk. It wouldn't need to be at the front edge--it could be back 1/3 or so. An aluminum angle or a tall wooden rail might do well.
Notes about concrete screws
I'm not familiar with what metric screw sizes are available, so I listed fractional sizes. The key is to get at least 30mm of penetration into the masonry.
With concrete screws it's critical to pilot properly. These don't grab like wood screws, where almost anything goes. If your pilot is too small they won't go in or they'll break off. If too large they'll immediately strip.
If you need to remove a screw, drill a new hole. As the threads cut they disintegrate the surrounding material, and a second run-in isn't likely to hold as well.


Semi-rigid dryer duct in contact with PVC drain pipe

The floor level vent being the damp air exhaust it will not get hot enough to melt the PVC or do any other damage unless there is a lint fire in the pipe. Cleaning the pipe once a year will keep a fire from having fuel to burn.


Can you split washer/dryer and share with standard 3 prong

I would say NO based on the info provided. a 30 amp circuit will first normally be 240v.  But even if it is something I have not seen the Dyson will only be rated for a 20 amp circuit so making a splitter would create multiple code violations if regulated by the NEC.
If it is a 20 amp 120v people all splitters all the time I do not allow them at my work if they need additional outlets I put in new circuits. However there are UL listed splitters so in that if used they would be “safe”.
the code for the laundry circuit is that it has no other outlets so it would be a minor issue and you would only need to worry if the code police show up. (Code police not real a joke)


What architectural roofing feature is this?

The building feature that you have indicated in your picture is designed in this case to provide an overhang over the front sidewalk. In this case the overhang provides cover during rainy conditions for persons coming to and leaving the business. Similar style overhangs such as this are also used for:

adding a false front to the building to make it look like a bigger building that it really is.
hiding unattractive heating and cooling equipment that may be mounted on the roof of the building so that it is not visible from the front.
Producing a prominent space to display the business name.

Often overhangs like this are built out from the face of the building and not tied into the original flat roof structure of the building. In these cases it is a lot easier to re-roof the original structure of the building and then separately address the roofing of the overhang unit and any flashing that deals with diverting water from the overhang onto the original roof.

In cases where an overhang like this is built up quite a bit higher than the original roof then it may be tied into framing that attaches into the original roof and cantilevers over the edge. This can make for a much more complex job in re-roofing the building.

As far as removal it will depend on a number of factors some of which include:

If the owner of the building wants to eliminate the overhang.
Need to evaluate if this overhang was added onto the original building structure after the fact.
If the overhang framing is integral to the original roof structure it could be a big added job to remove the cantilever framing and patch the original front roof edge.
The type of construction used for the overhang can be a driving factor for removal. For a plain wood facade it can be easier to remove than something covered in stucco as you indicated that this one is finished with.


If you've modified any wiring recently, you may have accidentally connected two separate circuits.  Otherwise, the only thing I can think of that could cause this is a short-circuit.

Either case is (very) potentially dangerous.  If you don't feel comfortable tracking down electrical issues yourself, I would call a licensed electrician right away.


Turning on Dishwasher With 4-Hour Delay During Extreme Cold Weather

Turning the dishwasher on it shouldn't make a difference as long as they leave their kitchen tap run a little stream of water.  This should keep the main service from freezing.  Inside the house as long as you have a heater (which you said setting the thermostat to 70F) which is what I keep my house around at all winter.  They will not freeze inside the house.
It has been -40 here for a couple weeks now.  As long as you have a slow stream of water the lines should not freeze.  I do live in Canada and most of our water and services lines are 8 feet or deeper outside however.  I cannot attest to how or where your water and sewer services are ran inside or outside of your home and how much insulation is in your houses.
We have had to run garden hoses across lawns in the middle of winter to supply houses with water when their main services get frozen.  As long as the water flows it should not freeze.  DO NOT turn it off however.
Depending on the depth of your sewer lines and where they run you could possibly freeze them up.  (Like I said ours are usually deep in the ground when they leave the basement of the house).  A larger stream of water would prevent this but would use more water.


How do I mitre exterior trim when the pieces are canted?

It is not possible to have crown molding on the rake and eve that are identical in both size and profile if the spring for both is stipulated to be identical. It is geometrically impossible.

The simplest example is zero spring and 1x stock.  It is impossible to use, say, 1x6 for both the rake and the eve without leaving a triangular cheek of the rake board hanging below the eve (which is typically removed with a horizontal saw cut)

That is one of the issues solved by 'returns', as in the following sketch:

The spring on the rake and on the eve necessarily must differ if the crown moldings (even 1x) are to be the same size and profile.

Try this thought experiment.  Install crown moulding in a room that has an 'outside' corner.  Convince yourself that if all the crown moulding has the same size and profile, then the spring must necessarily be the same on all walls.  Now take down the two lengths of moulding that meet at the outside corner, then reattach them at the mitre into there previous 90 degree L configuration.  Now hold that assembly up as if one length were the rake and the other length were the eve.  You'll see that the spring on the rake is the same as it was in the room, and spring on the eve is much greater.  No way around it.

The thought experiment shows how to figure out the angles for rake and eve crown moulding: do it the same way as if your were trimming a room.  When installed, the spring of the eve will equal the spring of the rake plus the pitch of the roof.

Given that, here is a method of obtaining the correct mitre angles that does not require any 'figuring out'.

choose a spring angle for the rake, say 38 degrees
from 3/4" plywood, cut a couple of small triangles to have that angle
attach the triangles to a scrap of 1x4 by screwing through the 1x
mount the assembly in a chop saw  with the triangles bearing against the backrest
swing the chopsaw to make a standard 45 degree cut
if it is a compound chopsaw, set the vertical angle to 90 degrees
cut the end off the 1x
detach the triangles from the 1x
measure the angles, or simply adjust the setup using the 1x as a template

Note that using a 1x4 works even if the actual crown moulding has a radically different size or shape.

An minor alternative is to subtract the spring angle from 90, then cut the small triangles to that angle, then mount the assemble on a chopsaw with the triangles bearing on the bed as opposed to the backrest.  If you made right-triangles, they are one-in-the-same.


What is the correct tool/method for digging out existing concrete holes for fence posts

I doubt you can get the broken off posts out and new 4x4 posts in with the holes intact. In one case on this site the poster had clean holes and put in steel posts which are smaller enough in diameter than the original wood posts that they could be inserted plumb into the existing retaining wall.

If your concrete is relatively weak, you might be able to break down the concrete on the two "outer" sides flanking each post using manual tools, such as a heavy steel concrete breaker bar or a heavy mattock with pick on one end.   An alternative is an electric jackhammer which you can rent.


How can I prevent my AC condensate pipe from making my soil soggy?

Connecting condensate and sump pumps to sewers is rarely legal these days in most places, so concentrating on a dry well approach is probably best unless you have dedicated storm sewers you can legally connect to.

One "crude but functional" test of "size of hole" is to dig it (and not fill it in, though depending on accessibility to the public you may need a temporary fence to keep children and people who should know better from falling into it) and either add water or let the condensate drip, and see how fast it goes away. The point of a dry well is to provide storage, and a larger surface area to drain away into. If you get lucky (don't count on it) you might get through the clay layer and have much better drainage - but in any case you will have a larger area to absorb water. Most dry well systems are amenable to put one in, if insufficient, add another, (connected by pipes underground) until you get sufficient percolation into the subsoil.


Go to any site where they are building homes.  80-90%+ of drills there will be cordless.   Until the past 5-10 years most consumer cordless drills were almost worthless for heavy duty jobs.  But that simply isn't true anymore.  The big boxes carry good brands and you can get more than enough power from a $200 cordless drill that comes with two batteries and a charger.

The downfall of the corded drill is you need electricity.  I would say 1/3 of the time I am using my drill I have no or poor access to electricity.  If you are drilling on a bench next to a socket then this shouldn't concern you.  Also if I am working around a house it is rather annoying having to plug and unplug drill or keep it from getting caught on something.

I have a corded drill.  It has two uses.  I use it when I am mixing cement/thinset or something similar.  Doing this with cordless isn't a great idea.  The other is when I forget to charge my batteries.

Note: one negative is that I misplace my makita almost daily.  Doesn't happen with corded.  But then kids don't get to play "find dads makita".


What are the drawbacks of not attaching deck to house?

Doing this has the advantage of not having to attach a ledger board to the house, which must be flashed carefully to keep water from getting in.

The big disadvantage is that you don't get stability of hooking to a big immovable house, so if the deck is a second-floor one, you will probably want more diagonal bracing on the posts to keep things stable. If it's a low deck, this probably doesn't matter.

So, no real reason not to do it detached. There are a number of builders who do it this way.


Why aren't my three-way switches working?

This sounds like one of the traveler wires failed open.  To troubleshoot:

Turn the circuit off, of course!
Take a continuity tester, and attach a long piece of wire (as long as the stairs) to one of the probes.
Attach the other end of the long piece of wire to one of the travelers (black wires) at the upstairs box.
Probe the black wires in the downstairs box with your continuity tester -- one of them should have continuity.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other traveler in the upstairs box.

Once you verify that it's a broken traveler...you can either:

Reuse an intact white wire between the two switches as a traveler by disconnecting it from the neutral junctions at both ends and rewire it in place of the faulty traveler and tagging it black or red with paint or tape at both ends.
If you don't have two white wires running between the two switch boxes, or if your wiring is in conduit, you'll have to pull new wire for the traveler -- either a new wire through the conduit after fishing out the broken traveler, or a /3 cable of the same type and gauge as the existing cables if there simply isn't a wire to repurpose.


Installing floor threshold/transition - should I remove existing grout between wood laminate and ceramic tile?

I would advise you to remove all that old grout.  Give the laminate room to expand and contract.  When you put the new transition piece in, if possible to make it secure by only glueing it on the tile, that would be best. If that doesn't seem to hold it secure enough,  glue to the tile and use a caulk that stays flexible on the laminate side. That laminate wants to move in temp and humidity changes.


I agree with Tester101's comment. The current "header" in each closet opening appears to be just one flat 2x4. You will want to install a pair of 2xX framing members on edge that can span the total new opening width without sagging. The ends of this should sit on top of the jack studs at the sides of the opening. A convenient way to make this header thickness match the width of the 2x4 studding is to put pieces of 1/2" plywood in between the two 2xX members.

Adding details from comments responses...

As I have already said, the header should span the entire width of the opening. Since we were not told the overall width I have to leave it up to you to determine whether or not 2x6 lumber is appropriate or not. This is the right way to do it. You can choose some other kludge box way to cut corners if you wish but I certainly could not sanction it.

Installation of the header would involve removing the drywall from the upper inside face of the closet. Remove the flat 2x4's. Decide on the proper size of header material whether that be 2x6's or some other size. You will have to shorten any cripple studs that went from the flat 2x4's up to the top of the closet opening. The 2xX's are 1.5" thick so two of them will be 3". The existing studding is 3.5 inches wide so a 0.5" thick plywood between the 2xX's makes the total thickness of the header come out to 3.5 inches to match the studding. Cut the header pieces to length so they go all the way across the opening over the top of the jack studs at the side of the full opening. Nail the ends of the header in place. For this type of installation you will most likely end up toe nailing it to the king stud and top end of the jack stud. Once in place any of the shortened cripple studs would be toe nailed to the top of the header. Note that there may be nails or screws into these cripple studs through the drywall on the room side. Use care not to exert too much racking on these as you toe nail them in so as not to tear out these fasteners. If you had not done a real careful job measuring and cutting off the bottoms of the cripple studs they may be too high off the top of the header to toenail effectively. You can correct for this by putting a new cripple stud, cut to the right length, right next to the existing one and then screwing or nailing the two together.

End of added details...

This header plays an important role in making sure that the door opening stays straight and properly supports what ever type of door you intend to install. In this case of a bump out closet, where the top of the closet does not go all the way to the room ceiling, the header plays literally no role of supporting the overhead room ceiling. It does of course bear the weight of the overhead drywall across the span and whatever "ceiling" is in the closet top.


How should I seal a 2 inch gap between my driveway and garage slab?

I'm not sure caulk is the right approach in the first place for a gap of two inches. There are commercial products that do a good job (seen in cases such as pre-cast building walls), but you'd need the appropriate applicator tool and large quantity of material. Typical caulks are only suitable for gaps of up to half an inch or an inch, depending on the product. I'd be surprised if any claim usefulness to two inches.

I think I'd use asphalt patch mix. Clean out the channel to 3" of depth, rinse and compact with water, and install using a suitable tamping tool (a sledge hammer and 2x4 on end to set, flat to finish).

If both of your slabs are concrete, consider renting a diamond saw, cutting the channel to 12" or so, and pouring a proper slab segment with a few bags of ready-mix.


Please help! We have an air conditioning and breaker issue

Your air conditioner is broke. Call a reputable cooling service contractor.

This is not a DIY type propblem.


Can I connect the ground wire for my dryer to a different hole in the chassis?

Taking a closer look, there is another ground symbol hiding behind the terminal of the red wire, just above and to the left of the strain relief bracket (see first photo in the question---the first horizontal line of the ground symbol is just visible above the terminal for the red wire). This is more consistent with the diagram in the installation instructions than I had thought.  Between that and the text of step 7 of the installation instructions (which states that the hole for the ground screw is above the strain relief bracket rather than on the strain relief bracket), I feel fairly confident that I've connected ground to the correct spot. Thank you everyone!


How can I protect an electrical box embedded in rough masonry from weather?

Generally, it's a matter of providing a flat, smooth surface to apply any outlet cover to. This is a masonry/carpentry question, and not an electrical one.

Your photos are so close I can't see the design context, but I'd fit a block of cedar or vinyl around the box. Shape it as needed on the back side to fit fairly well, then caulk and fasten it to the brick using a non-shrinking urethane or pure silicone.

Extend the box to flush with the new surface, and mount a modern weather-resistant cover.

On a related note, you can probably salvage the mount screw tabs by drilling out the broken-off screws with a very small bit. It's tricking to keep centered, but it can be done.


Is it safe to put a radiator pipe through a load-bearing brick wall?

I see no reason why the location through the wall cannot be changed to bring the feed water to the radiator.  A good sleeve for this situation would probable be two pipe sized larger of Sch 40 iron pipe.


All portable a/c units must be vented to outside. Usually this is through a window, but some apartment buildings have ports through walls for venting portable a/c units.

The idea that one could vent it into a bucket of water is not factual. It is either an innocently spread myth or an outright hoax.


The best answer is to remove the paint. Get the sandstone dry - really dry, camped out in the desert for a day dry. I have found something like this, can convinced a block that gets no sun to dry/tan itself.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/some_guy/17000465161/

The stone will need to be at a temperature inside the bounds of the paint label.

Paint with something like

https://www.flickr.com/photos/some_guy/16381291883/

Paint with exterior paint of your choice (with paint you get what you pay for. Going to sherwin-williams is not throwing away money.)

As far as removing paint: Stainless steel brush of your choice. One for a grinder is not wrong, but it is easy to remove too much stone. Take note, removing paint from stone will really be removing the stone to which paint is stuck. Sandstone absorbs paint, you can not remove just the paint.


Can I attach drywall directly to a wood beam?

In general, there is no problem in screwing drywall (or most other materials or light weight fixtures) into any framing members. This includes 2X studs, beams, steel studs or other variants on these.

There are restrictions on notching and drilling large holes. Dimensional lumber is most forgiving of these modifications, but manufactured beams have especially strict rules about what size and shape holes can be punched through them, and also restrict where they can be put.

Screws, especially thin drywall screws, present no such compromise. If there is some reason why you don't want to screw into the beam, you could use construction glue, but this is much harder to remove if there is some need to change or repair the area.


what are the safety requirements for scraping old drylock?

Your primary concern would be with any lead-containing coating beneath the Drylok. Your secondary consideration should be for silica.
According to the CDC, an N95 is NOT adequate for lead dust, you need a P-100 or equivalent rating on your respirator.
For airborne silica dust, an N95 is acceptable.
So if you are relatively confidant that there isn't an old lead-containing coating beneath the Drylok, the N95 would be sufficient.


What to do about a switch without neutral, in MA, USA?

First, stop by the store and look at all the different combinations of  colors you can get 14/2 cable in.  There's black/white, and, um, let's see... No, that's it, just black/white.

There's also a rule that says all conductors must be in the same cable or conduit. So if you are using a cable wiring system, you can't run 2 cables for the same leg of a circuit (e.g. to get the colors you want).

So clearly, if you are going to use a cable wiring method...

You are stuck with the colors that come in cable

And you have to accomplish all your wiring in those colors.  That said, there are  rules about wire colors and  cateories of wire.

Grounds are always Green, yellow-green or bare, and vice versa. No substitutions.
Neutrals can only be white or gray.
Hots can be any other color.
If a cable doesn't need any neutral wires, its white/gray can be re-marked to be a hot.  That is the only remarking allowed.  In conduit, use the right colors.
Other than that, you can't change a wire's category with marking, unless it's very large feeder.
Marking a wire within its category is OK.

There's an answer to this, however: colored tape. To start with, most people have black.  But nothing keeps you from getting a $4 five-pack of colored tape, and color-coding each wire to correspond with its function.   I'm a big fan of red for switched-hot, blue for "alt" switched-hot, yellow for travelers, etc.

When marking wires, mark both ends of the wire.  Otherwise it will get very confusing later.

Recent Code changes

There are several recent Code changes that affect switch loops.

In a switch loop without a neutral, white must be the always-hot.  That way it is easier to use a non-contact tester to detect that it's not a neutral.
A white wire re-tasked to be a hot must now be marked a hot color.  Previously, the rule was that the marking was not necessary if the usage was obvious.
In cable installations, actual neutral must now be included in the cable, unless the cable can be easily refit. E.G. if you have attic access to the lamp and down the wall to the switch.  In conduit, actual neutral is not required because it can be easily fished.

It sounds like your switch loop predates these recent Code changes.  That is fine; that means the work is grandfathered.  You can update it if you please to.

However, I very strongly urge people not to proceed with home electrical work "armed with only a little Google knowledge".  First, you need a well-rounded basic knowledge of electrical, otherwise you will constantly be finding things that are new to you, and that interacts very badly with "judging the last guy to be a moron".  For instance, I had to "learn cold" what an MWBC was and why that isn't wrong, and only later did I have enough knowledge to realize 3 hots on an MWBC actually was wrong.

The best place to get well-rounded knowledge is honestly a book on home electrical, and the best place to tire-kick for a good one is the library. Find one you like, devour it. Use Google or us to fill in the details. Just watch out for obsolete books.


What different types of remotely controlled light switches exist?

I've seen every type of "home automation light switch" system, but they all require some sort of "hub" by a company. Some communicate wirelessly and others do not. They also have varying levels of security.

If you are still against a hub, there is one more option you have:

Solid state relays. You can wire them inline before all your lights, then put an arduino with it. Example: http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Controlled-Relay-Box/?ALLSTEPS

However you will not have physical switches any more- you will need to replace them all with some sort of momentary switch which ties into the arduino and relays.


Rooms without a clear, unlikely to change, definable purpose (i.e kitchen, bathrooms, etc) are better referred to by compass direction than current function (2nd Fl NW rather than christy's bedroom or guest room or office...) and likewise if there are multiple bathrooms per floor, say.
Or, go commercial, print out a floorplan, assign numbers to rooms, and use that. If doing that, convention is 3 digits and the first is the floor, even if there are not more than 9 rooms per floor.
(not that it helps with inspection, but it can help YOU or future owner if you also label each outlet/switch with a breaker number - under the faceplate if you don't want to see it normally.)


Is my Uponor ProPEX supply line plan efficient?

I see your plan as basically sound and a good design.  One additional thing you may consider.  Many people use softened cold water for toilets, showers, clothes washers, dish washer and sinks except kitchen.  Don't use softened water for drinking, cooking & ice machine for health reasons and not to hose bibs because of volume. The softened water is less hard on your fixtures and they will be easier to keep clean.  Softened water in the shower is a little more pleasant and will extend the life of your soap products.  And as long as you have spent the money for the softener, you may as well reap the full benefits. You will also add apparent value to your house with softened cold water throughout the house.


What is this bug? And should I be concerned?

I vote stink bug. They like to come inside in the winter, and it seems like the population or territory has expanded recently.  I'd never seen them till a few years ago, now they're all over in the fall.  (Central NYS)


I think you may have a problem brewing there.  I have never heard of bricks being glued in a situation like this.  Normally paving bricks will be set on a compacted base of stone dust and very fine packing gravel, then the joints are filled with fine mason sand.  Mortar is rarely used, especially in cold climates as it will crack with any movement associated with freezing or heaving.

If your bricks are moving under your feet, then they were not seated properly or the base is not properly leveled or compacted.  It is not acceptable to have any movement in the field from foot traffic. If your contractor says that is normal, or won't come back to fix the problem, You have a problem. The glue comment throws me. If your contractor said he "glued" the bricks in place, then I think you may have hired the wrong contractor. Maybe he specializes in hanging wallpaper!


How to remove the handles from this joint bathroom faucet

Tough to tell exactly from the pic but it appears the only way to access the cartridge/washers inside would be to close both water supply lines, and carefully unscrew the flange (round top piece) that mounts to the valve body with a pair of pliers using caution not to scratch the chrome finish. Once that flange in removed the entire faucet handle and guts should screw out.


Can I use 1x4 boards for raised platform support?

Joined perfectly, 1x4 boards would work. However, you'll get more nailing (/screwing) surface, possibly lower cost, and only slightly greater weight from 2x4s.

You mention center support beams... I'm not really clear on how you plan on putting those in, but you probably don't need them with 2x4s.

I'd suggest at least 1/2" plywood on top.


New thermostat for hydronic heating, no wiring labels, 3 wires

You say, "the fan would come on with a manual switch".  Do you mean the "fan" switch on the old thermostat?   Or a line voltage switch elsewhere, like on the fan itself?

Normal T-stat wiring is 24v with one wire as the "hot", another as the common and the third as "switched", IE controlled by the t-stat set point, turning on or  off the heating equipment.   The advantage is, assuming the new t-stat is a modern programmable type, that under normal operation, the t-stat is powered by the 24v transformer and the batteries are used to maintain the clock and settings during a power outage.  Other wise the t-stat runs off the batteries all the time and you'll have to replace them about once a year or so.   If you are trying to control both the fan unit and the heat source (heat pump? Boiler?) separately, you don't have enough wires unless you run the new t-stat on batteries all the time.   Was the old t-stat strictly mechanical?


Replaced an outlet and a switch. Switch works but outlet doesn’t. No voltage measured

You appear to have connected a black wire to the grounding screw on the switch. I would guess that is the black wire that connects to the outlet that now has no voltage.
Presumably this is, in fact, NOT the way things were wired before. You likely need to connect that black wire to either the "always hot" or "switched hot" on the switch (dependng on whether the outlet should be switched) and either connect a bare grounding wire to the grounding screw and a ground screw on the box, or let the contact between the metal box and the metal yoke be the grounding connection for the switch.


Is radiant heat in a concrete floor unpleasant in a super-insulated house?

I suspect that if it is cold enough to require any heat, even if the furnace only runs a few times a day, that the slab would stay comfortable.   If your climate is such that you will go extended times without the furnace, you may be correct that it will feel cool.

Also, if you have south-facing windows, you may be able to get some passive solar gain using the slab.   We have an upstairs bathroom with a dark stone floor that gets afternoon sun (from a window that goes down to floor level) in the winter and the floor can be noticeably warm for a while after sunset.


Do I just cap the wire ends, shove them back in the box ...

Yes

Before doing any work, check the light turns on OK, then go to the main panel and turn off that circuit. Go to the light and verify power is off by toggling the switch and checking the light remains off. After removing the light fixture, check the wiring is not live, use a non-contact tester if you have one but double check with a Cat-II voltmeter/tester. If in doubt wear electricians gloves and stand on an electricians fibreglass stepladder.

Before undoing any wire connections, write down which wires are connected where. Taking a photo can be useful. If necessary, mark multiple wires which are connected together at the same connection point - with tape a marker or something similar.

Keep the wires separate and use wirenuts (or similar approved insulating arrangement) to prevent the metal of the wires touching other wires or any nearby metal parts (box, coverplate etc)

You should only tie wires together if you are certain they were tied together before in connections for the working light.

Generally you don't see black connected to white (which would normally blow a fuse or trip a breaker) though there are exceptions.

It is always safe to completely isolate all unused wires. If you have only two wires (excluding any obvious ground wires) keep them separate regardless of color.

  and stucco over?

No, the wiring needs to remain accessible in most jurisdictions. You could screw on a coverplate.

  Bell blank covers are designed to provide weatherproof protection when a box is being used for junction. Blank covers have a flat face profile. Cover includes a gasket, mounting hardware and installation instruction.

These things seem to be well standardised, based on diameter (e.g. 4") but it may be prudent to measure the distance between screwholes in the box (hole centre to hole centre) before buying a coverplate.


Polymeric sand is a fine sand that is combined with additives that form a binding agent when exposed to water. Silica is such as an additive and is often used to help lock the fine sand particles together. As the sand particles fuse, the joint between two patio pavers becomes impenetrable and the pavers are locked in place.
https://unilock.com/articles/what-is-polymeric-sand-and-how-is-it-used-for-locking-patio-pavers-yorktown-heights-ny/

Through particle bonding a solid surface is formed that resists weed growth. Pavers move, though, and cracks will exist that allow some weeds to establish. Periodic herbicide application or weed-whacking may be required, depending on traffic, sun exposure, etc.
"Paver sand" sold at home improvement stores may be polymeric sand. You'll need to read the label.


How to remove a bolt with a broken-off head

I think some evaluation needs to be done here. First off it would be helpful to understand why this bolt needed to be removed in the first place. It appears that this bolt and the large washer were used to keep a hinged piece of the equipment on to the round metal shaft that the bolt was threaded into. I see black grease material there which tends to support this observation.

So was the removal just an attempt to loosen the washer against the hinged piece so it would allow the hinged piece to rotate more freely? I ask this because maybe it can continue to operate OK without the bolt even being replaced.

On the other hand if the hinged piece now wants to come off the shaft it will be obvious that the bolt replacement is essential to restore useful equipment operation. This will be a difficult repair operation and require some special tools. If it were me doing it I would investigate first removing the hinged part from the shaft. From your picture it is not possible to fully evaluate if this is easy or hard. Lets assume it comes off easily.

Remove the hinged part from the shaft.

Clean all the grease and oil from the stub of the shaft.

First step trial at removal will be to use an tool similar to that pictured below. (Often called an Easy-Out). Success with an Easy-Out in this situation may not be better than 50-50.

You select the proper size of one of these and then carefully drill a hole down the center of the broken off bolt that is inside the shaft. The Easy-Out is then inserted into the hole and turned in the direction that it wants to screw down into the drilled hole whilst at the same time applying torque on the bolt stub to want to screw itself out.

It is clear from the picture that this bolt was originally secured in place by some type of thread locker material. It will be necessary to apply some fairly significant heat to the shaft to loosen this thread locker so that the Easy-Out has half a chance at removing the bolt stub. There may be some value to heating and let cool the shaft multiple times before even attempting to apply torque to the Easy-Out. Then when you do begin to work with the Easy-Out I would have heat applied to the shaft. High heat will make the shaft expand some and make the bolt stub easier to remove.

Be aware that an Easy-Out is made of extremely hard material and with too much applied torque they can snap off in the hole and make further repair attempts even more difficult.

If the Easy-Out is unable to remove the bolt stub, or just strips out in the drilled hole then you will need to move on to the next level of the repair attempt. You may choose to go right to this step in the first place.

The idea here is to drill out most of the bolt stub using a good quality drill bit. The drill needs to be nearly the diameter of the bolt stub but not quite as big. It will also require a small guide hole to keep it centered. This can either be the previously drilled Easy-Out hole or if just starting here a small drilled hole that is pre-drilled right in the center of the bolt stub.

Once the bolt stub is drilled out you will use a threading tap (they look like as pictured below) that is a size that matches to the bolt and ideally to its thread size as well.

Note that threading taps are also extremely hard material and can break off it too much torque is applied to them. If it does break off further repair becomes extremely difficult.  Using one in this repair application requires extra care because as the threading process occurs parts of the old bolt thread will come loose and try to jam up the tap. Successful use of the tap requires screwing it in a way (quarter turn or so) and then reversing for part of a turn. If a lot of debris is created it may be necessary to completely remove the tap to clean out the hole and then start again.

Be aware that this tapping process does not leave perfect new threads in the shaft. In the best case the tap will try to follow into the original threads and simply remove the remaining parts of the bolt stub. In the worst case the drilling out of the bolt stub was off center, the tap threads do not match the bolt stub or the tapping operation attempts to cut some new thread paths in the hole. My experience has been that typically the result is still good enough to accept a new replacement bolt but you may want to be careful to not tighten it too much or it could strip out.

There is always the possibility to drill out all of the old bolt stub and the threads in the shaft and then thread the shaft to the next larger sized bolt.

Once you have managed to re-thread the hole you can re-grease the shaft and reinstall the hinged piece. Keep an eye on the new bolt. The rubbing of the hinged part on the washer will have a tendency to loosen the bolt over time so it will have to be re-tightened. This is the reason the original bolt had thread locker on it in the first place. The thread locker is also the reason the bolt head twisted off when you tried to remove it.


Do I really need to stud nail all my crown molding?

Crown moldings, or any corner trims really should be nailed to a stud, not simply into unbacked drywall. Without good support, the molding will warp out from the wall causing gaps in coverage  to open along the edges.

With real crown, there is a hollow gap behind the molding as only the top and bottom edge touch the wall. The wider the molding, typically the deeper the void behind them.  This gap results in having to use longer nails to reach the wall and support wood behind the sheetrock.

One method that works well to make installing the molding easier is to first install a backer/nailer to the wall. Depending on the size of the hollow behind your crown, cut or rip some scrap board, plywood or even strapping, then nail it along the top edge of the wall against the ceiling. You can shoot as many nails as you want to assure the backer if firmly attached to the studs or wall plates, as it will never show anyway.  Now, when you go to nail your crown up, there will always be a solid wood backer anywhere you shoot a nail. You can also use shorter nails, or at least not have to use extra long ones. This method is also helpful when your walls are not perfectly flat and an extra nail is necessary to draw the molding in tighter to the wall in irregular areas.  Good Luck


Do twin-blade circular saws reduce tearout?

I purchased one of these dual blade circular saws and to be honest they are no better than the persons talents using any power tools. Save your cash to buy the best quality saw that will give you the ability to do anything you want. My best investment to date in circular saws was my worm drive. It is heavier than others and needs more room but it doesn't kick back and has the power to cut anything I put in her path.Everyone has to try everything themselves so try to find someone who owns one and will let you try it out, plunge cutting is their major asset but this is no problem with my worm drive either  ;) :)


Paint

All the answers posted so far entail shielding devices which themselves will require paint to last very long under UV light bombardment.  So with or without them, you will need a suitable primer and paint.

I recommend running a Scotchbrite pad down the wire or shield before priming, to give the material some microscopic "tooth" for the primer to lock into.  Then a solvent based primer.   Then an exterior rated paint of your choice.

If you want to match what you have on the house, find a way to remove something that is painted in that color, and the hardware store can match it with their scanner.


How to prevent Epoxy from sagging/dripping

Microballoons. Tiny glass or phenolic bubbles. They are the standard product for mixing into epoxy when you need a paste. Should be available at any place that caters to boat repair.

Plugging the hole with masking tape or similar may also work perfectly well in this case. If you can arrange to hold the bolt in with pressure, you could also use a large washer and a nut to hold a rubber or felt washer/gasket against the wall to keep the epoxy in place until it cures.


How can I remove a broken plastic packing nut from a faucet?

I'm assuming this is in reference to an outdoor garden faucet. If you can't get the old packing out, replace the entire faucet. But first, make sure you don't have a dope of a builder that would solder the threads. Try to unscrew the fixture from the wall (shutoff the outside water first). If it unscrews, then all you need to do is pickup some pipe dope and a new faucet from the store. Clean the old threads, put some pipe dope on the threads, and screw on the new fixture.


Found Well in Backyard -- How to install pump?

I would recommend that you call a local "well guy" and ask him the same questions. They have the expertise to do everything "well" related including determining if that pipe or casing is really for an old well. If it is a well, he may have even been the guy that drilled the original well or knows who drilled it to get the specs of that hole in the ground.


The maximum riser height is 8”. So, if the dimension from floor to floor is 16” or less, then you only need one tread. (See IRC R311.7.5.1)

Treads can be a minimum of 9”. (See IRC R311.7.5.2) However, I’d caution you on using a 9” tread with a 8” rise. Very awkward and I think dangerous.

Stair width is 36” minimum. However, a little known clause allows a 30” wide tread if there are at least two stairways leading to the same space and one of the stairways is at least 36” wide. (See IRC R311.7.1, Exception #2.). (I presume you have a stair from the front door to your overhead garage door that would be acceptable.)

BTW, the code discusses “walk lines”. I would make sure the edge of the steps align with the doorway opening...not the door trim, but the edge of the door opening. In your picture, it looks like you could reduce the step 2” or so from current length.


what should I use to cover a table made out of a broken bookcase?

Your most "microbe resistant" option would be what you already thought of: a thin plastic sheet. Just glue it down with contact cement, rather than drilling and screwing, if you are worried about the screw holes (I would not be so worried about the screw holes myself...)


There was no neutral path present at the junction box in the ceiling. I went over all 3 switch boxes and the other 2 ceiling light junction boxes in this lighting circuit and was never able to determine the source of the trouble. I wound up pulling a new cable (always-hot, neutral, and ground) to power the circuit and supply a neutral path.
Additionally, there were 3 extra wires in the junction box in the picture that did not serve any purpose for the lighting circuit (both the black and white in the 12/2 cable and the red wire in the 12/3 cable). I capped those off and tucked them up into the junction box.
There appears to have been a lot of DIY wiring done in this home over the years leading to very irregular wiring. This made troubleshooting the issue challenging.


How can I install closet doors for a very long closet opening?

I would suggest that you make the doors yourself out of 3/4" birch veneer lumber core plywood. Using a conventional double track system for sliding doors you can install three doors, one on the front track and two on the back track. The front sliding door was normally kept in the center position but could be pushed left or right (you pick which choice is suitable for your application) to access the center portion of the closet.

For sliding doors like this it is typical to have the doors overlap some so that floor guides will stay engaged with the doors. In an application like this you install two sets of floor guides and then install a stop on the front track to restrict the slide range of the center door to be left or right only.

For a 120" opening to allow for about 2" door overlap each door would be about 42" wide. This can be easily cut from a 48" x 96" sheet of the lumber core plywood. You would need three sheets total.


Is too much of my home connected to one circuit breaker?

There's really no substitute for painstakingly mapping your house, going to every outlet (by which I mean "point of use", including hardwired loads) and figuring out which breaker serves it.  I have done this A LOT.  It helps to own a bunch of dollar store nightlights, strings of Christmas lights, whatever you can plug into a receptacle.  If I were king, it would be required to be marked on the outside or inside of every outlet.

If you're exceptionally clever, you can put a card with each breaker number on it, at each outlet.  Turn off half the breakers, go through and if it has lost power, cross off the still-on breakers, and vice versa.  Turn off a different half and repeat.  Soon you narrow it down to 1 possibility.

After you've done the mapping, you can think about the likely route of the wires, and ways to access that wiring to add "home runs" back to the box.  For instance if your wiring goes Panel-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L, and you can route from point I to the panel, then you run two 12/2 cables there, feed I-L with one cable, E-H with the other cable, and in box D and E, disconnect the cable that interconnects them.  So now your segments are Panel-A-B-C-D   E-F-G-H-Panel  Panel-I-J-K-L.

But this will only be the result of your particular mapping, and the logistics of pulling cable in your particular home.  As such we cannot begin to advise you.

** Using the formal definition of "outlet", anyplace a load connects, including hardwired loads like lamps and fans.


One thing to consider is that metal pipes are often grounded and may even have electrical connections using them as a ground (think appliances). Running a section of PVC will interfere with this so be certain that nothing is connected or run a seperate grounding line back to the other pipe or to the nearest feasible point.

Using the larger pipe will be better especially if it has solids passing through it (kitchen sink for example), don't be afraid to use online stores to find exactly what you're looking for. One option is to buy from the hardware store and return the fittings if they don't fit (although if you've used solvent weld etc then that may cause issues but nothing stopping you from sliding them over and checking before installing).

Bring your tape measure to the store!


If the exit of the proposed pipe is lower than the entrance, this will work fine, but it will leave standing water in the pipe itself below the exit. If the exit is the same level or higher than the entrance, this will not work and you will need a pump.


Can I convert a 240v hot tub outlet to 120v?

Usually it isn't too difficult, most hot tubs are fed by a 4 wire connection: a ground, a neutral, and two opposing 120v hots. Either of the hots can be connected with the neutral to create a 120v circuit. The two hots can also share the neutral creating essentially 2 circuits in a configuration called a multiwire branch circuit. Since they use the same neutral the breakers need to be handle tied or fed by a two-pole breaker. The tub was already on a two-pole breaker, but you need to change the breaker size(s) to a 15 or 20A, since those are the largest sizes allowed for typical receptacles or general purpose lighting.
The biggest complication is the existing boxes may be too small. The NEC has specific calculations of cubic inches for size of the box based on sizes of wire and devices in the box. Too complicate things the wire that fed the tub is too big to terminate in the terminals of a typical receptacle. You have to pigtail them off with smaller wires to fit the receptacle. You don't have to add inches for the pigtails that start and end in the box, but they still add bulk. Plus you wan't to add some wires to go off and feed another location and those do add to the count.  It's easy to select a box that's too small.
Outdoor receptacles require GFCI protection, you can use individual receptacles or a gfci breaker to satisfy that requirement.


Adding an outlet to an existing light switch: Can the outlet be switched along with the light?

Yes, that can be done.

Connect the neutral from the light, and the neutral from the receptacle to the feeder neutral.
Connect the feeder hot to one side of the switch.
Connect together a wire from the other side of the switch, the hot to the light, and a wire to the hot side of the receptacle.
Connect all grounding conductors.

If you're a more visual learner, search google for "switched receptacle wiring".


Can I wire a light with 3 switches in a 4-way switch configuration with one switch being a dimmer?

Here is a page I just found with diagrams for various 4-way configurations, including one with one of the 3-way switches being a dimmer.

Here is a 3-way dimmer switch from Lutron.

Looks like I'm all set!


How to adapt caster wheel to tubular table leg?

If you have a right sized hole saw or a dowel you can shove in there, up to the screw then you can put on another caster on or the old caster if just its mounting was broken. If you don't have those, then a square peg in a round hole will do the same.

With those wood options it would be best to have pieces long enough to go past the screw above, so you can drill a hole for the screw to go through & be Support 1. Support 2 would be a metal plate at the bottom of the wood to shoulder on the leg's tube.

3rd option would be to use just a thicker metal plate on the bottom & fill the tube with washers the height of the caster's stem...if the caster has a hog ring or C clamp atop the stem, your top washer would need to be snug to the stem's diameter.

4th & easiest option is to get a new cup-mount caster. The cup just slides over the outside of the leg's tube & can be glued or drilled & screwed on.


When touching up a wall, were the paint has fully cured. It's best to prime and paint (or just paint, were priming is not required) the entire wall, rather than touching up small spots.

You probably won't notice the small color difference between two adjoining walls. You will, however, notice a small blotch in the middle of a wall.


GFIs don't actually measure "ground fault", they measure the difference between the current (amperage) going in and the current going out.  It sounds like the current is leaking a little bit on each one, but maybe in not sufficient magnitude to trip the GFI.  Try doing 2 or 3 and seeing what happens..


What is a normal drip rate for a condensing tankless hot water heater?

That seems high to me, but it's mostly dependent on your gas supply moisture level (they have tolerance for moisture inside your gas line) and the humidity in your combustion air supply. Do you live in a moist or high-humidity area?  Has it changed recently, i.e. more water being discharged all of a sudden?


How can I inspect 6" horizontal ducts to locate a rattle?

I can't imagine needing anything more than a cheap borescope and a fish tape. The trick would be attaching the borescope in such a way that it doesn't collect gobs of lint as you work it down the duct.
I'd actually forego the camera to start and just knock a fish tape or light plumbing auger around a bit. Maybe you'll knock the thing into a more favorable position.
You could also work a powerful vacuum down there with hose extensions. Be sure to tape them together well to avoid a worse situation.


Gas hot water tank quit working and leaked

These are all signs that the tank has corroded through. Looks like you should be in the market for a new hot water tank.


Is it possible to install flush mount floor vents in a laminate wood floor?

I know I've seen stain grade wood grilles that could be flushed to the floor. I doubt they were 8mm, but you may be able to rout the subfloor to make up the difference or and/or bevel the grille edges. You would stain and finish to match, but you won't be able to perfectly match the stain. It's unlikely it's even the same wood specie. This wouldn't bother me, but would bother some.

Mind you, drop in vents usually have mechanisms to adjust direction and volume of air. Wood grilles are simply fixed slats of wood with no adjustment. They are also low on free area, which will diminish flow in comparison to similar sized metal vents. But they do look infinitely better.

For that matter, if you're handy, you could fabricate your own. If the least dimension isn't too wide, you could even use flooring. Either drill holes or rout slots, then paint the exposed edges. Just don't locate the leg of a heavy sofa right on the center of it.


What is the difference between GU10 and GU10+C?

Traditionally, the -c just means "cover". Google "GU-10 vs GU-10-c"


Repurposing outdoor LED security floodlights for an indoor sconce

Maybe.  A lot of LED floods actually use a 12V motion sensor as they are half the price of a 120V sensor.  What's unclear is whether the motion sensor switches lamp current, or if it just gives a pilot signal to the circuit board.  I suppose you could try it.

However in your haste to remove bulky, heavy metal "packaging", I hope you didn't remove the essential heat sinks.  If so, you'll need to get some data sheets on your LEDs or comparables and then do some learning about how to craft heat sinks.  The efficacy of the heat sink is what's important, the LED doesn't care what it looks like... if it looks like a stylish sconce, that's fine.


Yes, that will have a big effect on it.  If you're familiar with the difference between Watts and VA... that.

Watts and VA normally differ when the load has poor power factor, but it could also be when the output is not sinewave and the load wants sinewave (e.g. a motor).

Perhaps it is drawing the correct wattage (or VA) but your tester is misreporting due to not knowing how to handle non-sinewave supply.


How to accurately measure CFM with Digital Anemometer and Duct

When I worked in a clean room we had to certify the flow hoods and the flow in the pipes. With pipes  we had to measure multiple locations and average the readings close to the outside ends up being slower flow than 1/3 way to the center. On a square plenums we had to take 9-12 reading depending on size. Prior to doing this many times I would have thought the outside was the fastest but the drag of the sides slows the air down, in the center close to the fan there is very little flow unless squirrel cage blower. So try taking multiple measurements and average the results it may be more accurate.


Preventing Rodents (rats) from Returning to existing burrows

Rats leave behind a scent as they enter and exit burrows. When you "evicted" those rats, that scent was still there and at some point, another rat came across it and thought "Hey, someone else was digging here, there must be something good there!" and started digging again. That's how you always end up with rats re-digging tunnels or chewing through a blockage in a hole, they appear to be pre-programmed to investigate anything that another rat has done and given that they tend to be prey for so many types of predators, its a good survival strategy for the species.

The thing that I found has worked is to get fox / coyote urine crystals and sprinkle them around the area after you evict them. That overrides their curiosity factor with a danger factor. You can order it on-line from numerous sources. Just be forewarned; your dogs will be VERY VERY interested in that smell too. This by the way also works to keep skunks away from going under porches and decks.

I am currently experimenting with pouring liquid ammonia around their excavations to see if that has a similar effect, based on the fact that urine eventually breaks down into that at some point. So far so good actually, but right now is the peak of their invasion season as they begin looking for places to raise their babies, so it remains to be seen if it really stops the onslaught.


Drilling Countersink for Acrylic Tub-Shower Surround Fasteners

Countersink the heads if you want, use shims where the tub is away from the framing. use weather resistant screws if you want, the screws will never see water. When I was living in Maryland, we always shimmed the wall to let the drywall go over the shower flange. So with that you really don't need to countersink depending on other conditions, like if a door is in the same wall and you do not want to order custom jambs or add something on site to the jamb.

Since I have been on the west coast for a while I have never seen the wall shimmed, unless I am the one who did it. On the other jobs the drywall was ran to the flange, fast set mud filled the leftover and then it was taped and finished. Looked great to me.

And there has been other jobs where the drywall was run over the flange when the flange was set with roofing nails. Made me cringe, and when the wall was finished you could fairly easily pick up on how the wall curves out from the last stud or at the inside corner how the drywall covered the flange. That does not happen in either the shimming or the packing with fast set.


What's the best way to run a wire from inside my garage to the outside?

The way you suggested will be fine.  On the exterior, make sure to leave a drip loop in the wire in order to prevent water from running down the cable.  Drill the hole high enough so that standing water next to the foundation won't leak into the hole.

(source: chicagopropertyinspection.com)


Moentrol is the type of valve, the single knob that pulls out and pushes in for flow control and rotates right and left for temperature control. There were numerous trim styles offered with that valve type, so just saying "Moentrol" does not adequately describe your needs. Some of the old trim plates were marked with the word Moentrol, but many were not. If you contact www.lasco.net they will direct you to a dealer. They have a huge line of plated trim in all finishes (ask for the Simpatico line) at reasonable prices and of good quality.They call it Satin Nickel but it looks like brushed nickel. You might need to take your old trim to the dealer to ensure proper size/type, rather than risking an on-line purchase.


Forget switch loops, those went out years ago. If your wiring layout would be happier with "cables running off to switches" like a switch loop used to do, pick up some 14/3 cable to run neutral and hot to the switch, and carry switched hot back from the switch. You'll need that for cabling between any three way switches anyway.
1: Code doesn't give a fig if you run a dedicated lighting circuit or not, so long as you meet code minimum provisioning. My opinion having grown up in a house with shared receptacles/lights is that a dedicated lighting circuit is far better, people who have not had that experience often think otherwise. You do need to provide 3 VA per square foot for "general lighting and receptacle loads", but code does not specify how you split up that 3000 VA (25 amps) for your 1000 square feet. These days you probably want a good deal more for receptacles and don't need a huge amount for lighting unless you abhor efficient lighting.
2: The required 20 amp bathroom circuit cannot* be used for lighting. (*if it serves only one bathroom it can)
3: You don't need a separate circuit for a GFCI. Just put a deadfront (no outlet) GFCI on the bathroom lighting feed. That can be fed from the lighting circuit if you choose to use a lighting circuit.
4A: Code doesn't give a fig how you arrange the wiring, just that it meets code. You can wire it 17 different ways that all meet code. None of them are more right than the others. What makes sense tends to depend a great deal on the actual physical layout of your walls, switch locations, and light locations. Lights need switched hot and neutral. Switches need hot, neutral, and switched hot. How they get there is up to you.
4B: You CANNOT pull from the dedicated countertop circuits NOR from the dedicated laundry circuit. Those circuits (and the bathrom circuit) also do NOT count towards the "general lighting and receptacle loads."
5: see 4A.


How can I convert a single light/fan switch to separate switches?

Assuming that you currently have 2 wires (plus ground) going from switch to fan, you will need to do the following:

Add a 3rd wire. If you have individual wires then you just run another wire (make it a different color from the existing wires) through the conduit from the switch to the fan. But it is quite likely you have a /2 cable - black (switched hot) + white (neutral) + ground in one cable. In that case, replace the cable with a /3 cable - black (switched hot 1), read (switched hot 2), white (neutral), ground.
Remove the existing switch. You may need a bigger box to properly handle 2 switches - that is based on box fill rules, which I conceptually understand but I am not an expert on that.
Attach the black wire (hot) from the panel to either the common hot connection on the switch (some dual switches include a common hot connector, which makes things easier for situations such as this one), or wire nut (pigtail) the black wire with two short black wires and attach each of those to the hot of a switch.
Connect each of the two switched hot wires (typically one black, one red) to the switched hot screw on a switch.
Use a wire nut to connect the panel white neutral to the neutral wire going to the fan/light.
In the fan/light junction box, connect each switched hot to one of the hot wires on the fan/light. Note that the colors may vary - typically black, red or blue.
In the fan/light junction box, attach the white wire (neutral) from the switch box (which is connected to the white from the panel) to either the common neutral connection on the fan/light (some fan/light combinations common neutral connector, which makes things easier for situations such as this one), or wire nut (pigtail) the white wire to the separate white (neutral) wires for the fan and light.
In both switch box and fan/light box, all grounds should be connected (wire nut) together.

Note that this is based on panel/power -> switch box -> fan/light. If your configuration is panel/power -> fan/light -> switch box then the setup will be a little different.