Take a look at Trello. I use it set up as a Kan-Ban board (think of loads of post-it notes in columns for "to do", "doing" and "done").

You can also add your own columns (so you could have a "suppliers" column for example).

You can add images and ideas, as with Pinterest, and assign dates to cards to in order to track them.

There are various plugins available too, so if you wanted to view the project as a Gantt chart, for example, you could do this too.


What is the difference between Moen Moentrol 3510/3520 and 3550/3570?

3570 has shut off valves on the valve itself. Allows you to swap out 1225 cartridge without shutting off water to house


Is there minimum clearance from gas stove to door?

There is no code requirement in the IRC specifying minimum distance between stove and doorway.

Doesn’t make it a good idea, but it’s not banned.

http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/built-in-appliances-and-systems-home-inspection-and-commercial-inspection/21577-range-distance-door.html


Why is all the plumbing draining slowly in my old farmhouse?

I would locate the septic tank, have it pumped out, then call a plumber with a snake and camera to check out the piping from the toilet to the septic tank. In my area a septic system is subjected to a rigorous test to see if it works properly. If not, it has to be fixed before the sale or can be sold with an "as is" sales agreement with the prospective buyer.


Removing 2x4 strapping and still meeting Ontario building code

No, RC-1 channels are not replacements for strapping, bridging, etc., even though it will be installed across the face of the basement ceiling and the strapping, etc. is installed 6’-11” o.c. (Please note that the strapping MUST BE fastened to the sill or header at ends. This is so the joists won’t “parallelogram” over when fully loaded.)

Yes, SOLID blocking is an acceptable substitute for strapping, bridging, etc., (but very time consuming. )


fed from an obsolete GE sub panel with no separate grounding bus. I had new Square D breakers installed in the sub panel.

Am I reading this right that you put Square D breakers in a GE subpanel?  Who did this work?

You can't put random brand X  breaker in brand Y panel.  Yes, I know some will "fit" and feel like they snap in, if you completely ignore what insertion force is normal. But the buses won't match up, and they will arc.

If you stick with the OEM breakers/panel combo, those are UL listed to work together.  UL will also classify certain specific breakers to work in certain specific other panels: Take the 3/4" wide Square D "QO" panel. Eaton CHQ (not CH) or Siemens QD breakers are UL-classified because they have passed design review and every safety test.

Are Square D HOM breakers classified for GE panels? No they are not, they are definitely not. I know that because Square D has decried the entire concept of classified breakers, condemns use of ANY other breakers in their panel, and refuses to make classified breakers for anyone else's panel.

So those breakers definitely do not belong in that panel.  Now if you get us photos of the panel and particularly the labeling, we have experts here who can tell you exactly what breakers are UL listed (or classified) for that panel.

Yeah, yeah, your guy has been doing this for 20 years and never has any callbacks on any of his alien breaker swaps.  That he knows of.

  the electrician used the existing feed from the GE panel, thus no ground. The light fixtures and outlets all have ground wires connected together but this ground is just floating. When I bring mu induction tester to the vanity fixture it beeps, even if the wall switch is off.

Where is your induction tester getting a ground reference?  can you try it with a solid ground reference taken off a panel cover? Any wire will do to bring ground for testing. Phone line, ethernet, RG58, whatever you can lay your hands on.

  He installed standard duplex outlet just outside the bathroom connected to this floating ground.
  Apparently enough coupling from ground to neutral exists to allow the ground test neon light to illuminate in a tester so the circuit read good.

Are you sure? That would be an awful lot of coupling.  I have never seen capacitive coupling deliver enough EMF to move the needle on a mechanical voltmeter, nevermind light a light.  That's why we see it  reported so much of late: modern DVMs are sensitive enough to detect it.

  A home run to the bathroom would have been easy when the walls were open, other new runs were installed within a few feet. Don’t know how they missed this because I told them at the start that I didn’t want shortcuts and wanted a real ground in the bathroom.

Are you entirely sure he didn't retrofit ground? That is perfectly proper and legal as of 2014 NEC.  There is no need for the ground wire to travel the same route as the conductors, since ground wires only carry fault currents.

In fact, a ground retrofit doesn't even need to go back to the panel.  It can reach anywhere that has a ground wire that is thick enough, though it's supposed to be something served out of the same subpanel.  It can also go to any non-flexible metallic conduit, or the grounding electrode system.  (Not water pipes, though).

  I’ll try to route a ground wire to the new dryer outlet on the other side of the (concrete block) wall.

Maybe that's what they did.

But do it also, sure.  Worst case you have a redundant parallel ground, and that is allowed because current only travels on grounds during fault conditions. (DON'T use the same logic to parallel anything else).


A tailpiece   is the solution if the top of the piece in your photo is a slip connection. You may have to get one that has a slip connection on top to accept the tail piece you buy.
If the cut tail piece is to short to work with you can  exchange the long IKEA type basket (you called it a sink drain)  for a more traditional basket, they do not extend down as much.
Then cut down a 6" tail piece to give you the distance you need for the dishwasher tail piece.


How do I get out the remnants of a rake handle using a drill?

Drill a series of holes with a 3/16" or 1/4" drill bit.
Use a flat blade screw driver to pry and work and brake up  the wood.
Use a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the pieces out.


How will a granite countertop on a floating island affect the laminate floor it sits on?

A granite slab of the size you describe and 1 1/4 inches thick would weigh about 300 pounds. A 3/4 inch slab, about 200 pounds.

This is on top of an island that may weigh 100 to 300 pounds, depending on how it is constructed. if you add some contents, the total weight with the thicker granite will probably be between 500 and 700 pounds. If people lean on it, this could add another 50 to 100 pounds of pressure.

The maximum weight of the island, top contents and dynamic pressure is probably about 800 pounds. This is divided over four (or more) support points. Each support is carrying about 200 pounds of weight. This is comparable to a good sized person standing on something the size of the area of the support point. If this were a tiny, sharp metal leg, it might well damage the surface of the floor. If it were a wide 3x6 inch board, the risk would be very small.

Tiny metal glides might do damage. Broad teflon slides, probably not. If you need to use wheels, large diameter rubber ones would probably be fine. Using the thinner granite (if it is well supported and doesn't have a significant overhang) might be better.


Graywater overflow plumbing… which design to choose?

1 is better (so long as that valve has essentially no restriction). Otherwise you might need some height above the valve to keep the flow happy.

In version 2, turn the tee on the greywater line around so it goes where the overflow would go, and put in a trap (currently it allows sewer gas to vent into the greywater plumbing.) In fact, if the valve does what I expect, it forces septic venting into the greywater plumbing. So, not good.


None of the above?

It's structural steel, you can just leave it rusty (if it happens to be corten, the rust actually keeps it from rusting further...) This may lack Wife Approval Factor for your backyard BBQ, however.

Least marking (and least direct effort, dust, noise) electrolytic rust removal - submerge it in a tub of water, outside, with sodium carbonate (washing soda) mixed in. Connect a low-voltage DC supply to the thing you want the rust off of, and a sacraficial electrode. Polarity is - to the thing you are derusting, + to the thing you are sacrificing. Both should be in the tub, but they should not touch. Turn on the power, let it bubble (that's hydrogen, which is why you do this OUTSIDE, only, not inside.)

For mechanical rust removal when looking for effectiveness/speed rather than "least marking" I use a knotted wire brush in an angle grinder. Conditioning disks will probably mark a bit less and definitely work slower, IME.


What tools and techniques do I need to recreate this piece of furniture? (pic in description)

It appears that those are thin pieces of tin nailed to a wooden cabinet with brass tacks. I think it is quite cool actually, sort of steampunk.

To do it large scale you would be best served with a sheet metal shear (think of a heavy duty paper shear), a pinch roller (adjustable twin steel rollers mounted vertically which you spin with a handle whilst passing sheet metal between, to set a curved bend), and maybe a sheet metal "brake" (a sheet metal bender for straight bends as opposed to curves). Also various metal working tools: vise grips, awl, tin snips (straight, right-hand, left-hand), various files, ball-pene hammers, small anvil, etc.

You can buy some "DIY" sheet metal work contraptions that combine a roller, shear, and brake for fairly cheap. Check on e-bay.


Should I connect the ground to the box when relocating a dryer to the basement?

The risk with not grounding the box would be the hot wire touching the metal, and with no ground the breaker won't trip, this could result in it grounding through you if you touch the box (electrocution). Some outlets are "self-grounding" where no bonding wire is needed for the box. Check the outlet to see if it is self grounding. You can add a screw to the box for a bonding wire if not. After installation, check with a meter- one lead in a hot receptacle and the other lead touching the box, if the meter reads 120v, the box is grounded.


They sell extenders just for this.

They come in metal, aluminum, plastic, different thickness for many applications, single gang, double, etc...  Visit the electrical aisle of your home improvement store.


Water heater temperature and pressure relief valve plumbing

The plumbing is not "incorrect" per se.  The only thing we try to have is the bottom end of the piping from the TPR valve exposed vs plumbed to a drain so you can see if something is awry with the TPR valve.

It is a curious thing what is coming off the cold water line.  What ever is coming off your cold water line is surely designed to release and drain like the TPR valve in its own way for its own reasons.

You TPR valve plumbing that is visible (which is in question) is fine though.


240v 4wire power supply 30 amp breaker,240v 3wire air compressor switch

EDIT: I am assuming this question is saying the compressor has white, black, and green leads in the peckerhead.

In the US, the four wire supply should be

Black - L1 (maybe L2 - doesn't matter)
Red - L2 (maybe L1 - doesn't matter)
White - Neutral
Green - Ground

To test, you should see the following voltages:

Black to Red = 240V
Black to White = Red to White = Black to Green = Red to Green = 120V
and you should read continuity between White and Green.

If the compressor is 240V, it doesn't follow the typical color coding;  the white wire is ungrounded.  The Green on the compressor should be ground, to test you should see continuity between the Green wire and the metal frame of the compressor.  That leaves the black and white on the compressor for the 240V power.  The white on the compressor should NOT show continuity to the Green wire or the metal frame.  (Neither should the black wire on the compressor, for that matter, but it's the white that's off color code and I'd want to carefully verify is power.)

So after all that testing, it's simply

Supply Black to Compressor Black
Supply Red to Compressor White
Supply Green to Compressor Green


Is there anything I can use to remove gorilla glue from hardwood?

I would first try a plastic scraping tool to see if you can physically remove it.

This page, under the FAQ tab from the Gorilla Glue site states:

  Wipe off excess glue immediately with a dry cloth or standard paint thinner. Do not drag glue over material, instead make small swipes to remove wet adhesive. Make sure you avoid skin contact. Cured glue can be removed with a chisel, scraper or sandpaper.

I'm not positive if a solvent would work, but before you try a solvent, test it on an inconspicuous spot of your floor to ensure it doesn't damage the wood finish.  Try denatured alcohol, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, etc.


What is this moth-like insect that come through my window screen?

I opened the photo again and I am leaning to a termite swarm. Wings look thicker and even, I can’t quite see the antenna but they don’t look like ants and although the body looks thicker than an ant I am not a pro but have remodeled both termite and carpenter ant / flying ants houses in Oregon. And the heavy wings straight thick body to me remind me of those wood munching home wreckers. So I would suggest that, killing them with spray would be a good thing, if a swarm they may have come from someplace else and resting up looking for a new home. If you can spray some and get a couple bodies if the antennas can be zoomed in on and the body maybe we could tell with confidence.


How can I tell if I have interior or exterior drain tile?

Yes.  You can look for yourself!  Trim back the corrugated tubing a bit, then run a usb borescope camera down it.


Will 1/4" plywood on existing 1/2" plywood suffice under 1/2" cement board for ceramic floor tile?

Yes, if you bond the layers of plywood together as a single structure using construction adhesive. Multiple thin layers that aren't bonded don't offer the same level of rigidity as a single, bonded layer. I'd use a v-notch trowel or a 1/8" bead every 3" (or closer) perpendicular to the joists.

If you were me, though, you'd drop in 3/4" plywood over your 1/2" and call it a day. It's more rigid than the cementboard, will perform perfectly well as a mortar substrate, and saves you a bunch of fitment and fastening of a third layer.


The window handle should have an eye (ring) on the end of it.   You use a stick with a hook on the end to open and close the window.


How should I approach red oak crown molding?

Your crown molding is going to have to be special cut.  You could do it yourself, however there is a certain pattern that crown mold is cut in to give it its shape (As I am sure you know).  One thing to think about in trying to cut it yourself, is that you are going to need a table saw to make your top and bottom cuts.  The top and bottom edges are angles either at a 45 degree on both sides, or the more standared 38 degree and 52 degree angles.  Without a table saw, you are not going to be able to cut this right, so it will not sit against your wall properly.  Also, if you happen to slip you are going to have a noticable spot in your crown molding (and solid wood molding is not cheap).

There are lumber stores that will cut it for you, or you can find one that has this type of crown molding availible for you to order.  Just Googole it I am sure it will not be hard to find one that will do it for you, or have the material you need.  The machines that are used to cut crown molding get it done with one pass though.  the machine also acts as a planer in case there are some thicker spots that need to be evened out.  If you need any advise on how to mount your molding look at my answer linked here on How to install crown molding .


For networking, use fiber optics, or point-to-point wireless.
By the time you provide adequate lightning suppression (UL497 Primary Protection) on copper ethernet, fiber is likely cheaper, and it's definitely more robust. I've never replaced a fiber for a nearby strike, but it's not uncommon to need to replace surge protectors after a storm.
If there's a clear shot, point to point wireless also works well, and may feel more accessible (fiber is not all that difficult, but it can feel daunting to get started with.)
There's really no advantage to using copper wires .vs. appropriately sized aluminum wires for the other two circuits. A thing you might want to consider would be skipping the DC circuit entirely by putting an inverter at the barn.


Options for a small, single room AC with no windows, no drainage possibilities, and not water vapor based

Congratulations - you have eliminated all the ways this might actually work.

Either deal with it being hotter, or add a few options that you say are "not an option" with the most logical one being a connection to the central A/C.

With a bucket, you could go with 50 pounds of ice, a fan blowing over it and a bucket for it to drain into as it melts. That will get you 7,200, perhaps 8,200 BTUs before you need to get another 50 lbs of ice...or the equivalent of about an hour's run time for a medium window A/C. Not very practical without a large supply of ice and labor to carry ice and buckets of water.


You appear to be exceeding the amount of water (or rate of water per unit time) that your pump (or well itself) can supply at once.
If this is a change from past behavior, it could reflect a pump degrading with age, or a change in the hydrology around the well.

In the case of a degrading pump, there might be plenty of water in
the well, but the pump can only pump it out so fast.
In the case of a change in hydrology, the pump could be pumping out
all the water in the well faster than the well refills from the
ground around it.


I'll let others chime in with gutter ideas.  Just keep in mind that you'll need to make sure they can handle the expansion from ice without cracking.  But I did want to mention a few alternative solutions you may want to consider.

If you want to keep the lawn, you may consider at a french drain, possibly with some ground level openings to handle severe weather (install these in a way that you can close them in the winter).

If you want to change the look, consider some raised beds on either side of the driveway (which has an added benefit of keeping cars off of the lawn).


How to add additional speeds to a box fan

I used the variac and got the noise level down from 74-84db to 45.  Pleasant white noise, vs Is that Industrial Music you're playing?

I researched various approaches, that fall into the basic camps of a
variable resistor (like the sun court-variable speed, speed bully) and variable transformer.

The resistor ($20-$30) absorbs part of the power, thus generates heat, and the reviews of which almost always were super low, with burnout of the device and or fan, heat noise etc.

After trying to find the power requirements of the fan (which was not well documented anywhere), i figured it was about 1.5 AMP Max.  So I got a 3AMP Variac Variable Transformer ($65) which there are several that all look like rebrands of the same thing from China.   It is big, beautiful in an industrial manner, smooth dial, and works perfectly silently (no buzz hum), so I can choose whatever noise/airflow I need.   That said it's not calibrated correctly, so 100% on it's dial does not correspond to 100% when no variac is used, but it does go above 100% to make up for it.


Is there any way to stop a low-profile desk from racking back and forth?

The "very minimalist look" is a bit too minimalist for boring old function. You may regret "living with it" when it fails and a hunk of rock lands on your foot (or other body part), or someone else's.
Failure is very much an option. Fasteners can be ripped out pretty easily, and wood can fail when you have a long lever (legs) attached to them.
Adding a stretcher (compression brace) at or near floor level on the back side and X-Brace cables would still be quite minimalist, but far more functional. There are other ways to achieve the same end with various "looks." Since you want "double-sided access" some sort of angle braces on the corners are one option, and longer center braces from the top to the "foot cross bar" are another option.
Making something that "looked like this" but which was "actually stable" would be quite a design project and probably involve welded steel and sneaky tricks like getting some depth of bracing hidden within the depth of the table-top. You can rip welded steel apart with a lever-arm, too, if it's not well designed.
Unless the top is very low, an apron (not a terribly wide one) is in fact a very normal approach to this issue for tables, and it will be designed to let your legs slide right under it. Here you could use a curved apron with more depth (and thus better bracing) at the ends if the intent is to sit "in the middle" of each side, rather than "all around" as with the typical dining room table that typically has an apron for exactly this purpose.


What causes hammering from a new diverter when other faucets are quickly turned on and off?

I'm not sure why you're suddenly having trouble with water hammer, the old plumbing may have been installed in such a way as to mitigate water hammer. Since I have no way of knowing what the old plumbing looked like and/or what you changed, I can't say for sure why you're having trouble.
So I'll simply talk about a couple ways of stopping the hammering.
The old way
We [plumbers] used to try to stop water hammer with 12-18" capped risers, and this method worked great, just long enough for us to be on to the next job.

The idea was that air would be trapped in the capped riser, which would provide a "cushion" for the fast moving water.  This effect, however, is short lived. The air is eventually absorbed into the water, and the riser becomes completely filled with water.
The new way
Modern water hammer arrestors separate the water from the air, which allows them to function properly for much longer. Most devices either use a flexible bladder, or a piston type design to cushion the water and prevent hammering.

These devices are usually less than 6" long, so they can fit in much tighter places. Cost wise they are comparable to the old method, so they are not going to break the bank. They are available with different connector types, so they can be connected to the existing plumbing in a variety of ways.

As with the old style standpipes, water hammer arrestors should be installed in line with the flow of water. Water hammer arrestors should be installed near all fast acting valves, to prevent water hammer.


Water is useful to soften drywall mud.  Be aware, however, that it may take some time.

You might try a wet rag placed over the connector and then try to remove the bulk of the material with tweezers or a small tool.  Be careful not to bend any of the pins inside the connector.


What is the purpose of tape when finishing drywall?

Nope. Go ahead and try it if you don't believe me! I certainly did...

The problem with wood frame houses is that they shift in weird ways as the wind hits them and as the foundation settles. The 8 foot long side of a standard drywall panel has a LOT of mechanical force to it if it moves even somewhat independently of the sheet next to it, and the joint compound rapidly turns to powder without tape to back it up. The same can happen if there is too much or too little compound or the compound is the wrong type, you can also see this problem.

This is akin to the reason that drywall is gypsum between two sheets of paper... All you have to do to break or cut the gypsum is to disturb the paper.

The best practice I've seen/used is to use Durabond to bed the tape, and then normal green stuff over it to feather the joint.


Can new sheathing be laid over my original roof decking?

So your existing roofing is either wood shingles, wood shakes or tile ( clay, concrete, etc.) These types of roofs can span across gaps in the roof sheathing.

Your new roof is going to be composition shingles that need solid sheathing.

Yes, it is quite common to add solid sheathing over the top of the spaced sheathing. The added weight will be off-set by removing the heavier existing tile roofing and the heavier wood shingles and shakes (when they are soaked with water).

Here are some precautions: 1) make sure the new roof sheathing is a minimum of 1/2” thick. Roofing manufacturers require a minimum of 1/2” for “holding power and withdrawal”...blow off. 2) Increase the height of your perimeter flashing by at least 1/2” to compensate for the additional height due to the thickness of the roof sheathing. (You want the same lap over the siding.)


The extra 4" on the window width requirement is from the expanding side panels, which, while expandable/collapsible, are likely a minimum of 2" wide each. If you're creative, you could use other means to close off the gap on either side of the unit (though with just a half inch on each side, you may not need to). I would check the return policy of wherever you choose to buy, though, in case it doesn't quite fit.


Replacing chandelier with new, No ground wire in old chandelier

Ground wires are there to prevent a metal chassis from becoming live in a electrical fault.   if the chandelier is out of range of human contact, the ground wire is not necessary (although, legally it may be.). For safety, look at GFCI options- either at the panel, or by taking the power to the switch off a nearby GFCI outlet.  Then, just coil the ground wire up and tuck it away.


Can I Piggyback 4 15 amp outlets off a 30 amp fuse?

Since the wire is 14/2, the breaker feeding it must be 15A.
Someone apparently changed that to a 20A breaker (presumably because they were sick of constant breaker trips every time they attempted to use two heat appliances at once). Since that was done, you have the sense of "hey, do it even more".
That "end justifies the means" POV ignores the reason we use circuit breakers in the first place, which is to prevent house fires. The National Electrical Code specifies this based on hard data, and if you're not interested in following that, then this is the end of the answer for you. We can't help you on this site.
Your loads and why they are tripping
A 15A circuit (which you do have, even if it's horribly misbreakered) can accommodate 1800 watts.
A 20A circuit on #12 wire can accommodate 2400 watts.

Your refrigerator needs about 100 watts (trivial, don't need to give it too much thought).
Your air conditioner needs 500-1500 watts (whatever its nameplate says; it may be stated as VA).
Your toaster oven needs 1500 watts.
Your hot plate needs 1500 watts (some are less).
Your microwave needs ~1200 watts.

As you can see, you can run precisely one of these at a time on a 1800 watt capacity circuit (and you get to ignore the refrigerator). A 15A circuit can't handle two.
And you know a second thing: a 20A (2400 watts) circuit can't handle two, either. So bumping the breaker to 20A didn't actually buy you anything useful, it only brought 600 more watts, and that's not enough. Since the 20A breaker is illegal, dangerous and useless, change it back to 15A.
And I bet you didn't know any of this, and were just confused and frustrated by all the breaker trips.
Now, you can make a decision whether you can live with one at a time (refrigerator not mattering) or whether it's worth the blood sweat & tears to bring more power to this room.
More power, please
For a modest power increase, I would bring up 12/3 cable, and wire it as a multi-wire branch circuit. This will yield two 20A circuits (2400 watt each). As we already established, you still can't run 2 things on the same circuit, except,

the refrigerator is no problem and
if the A/C is small, say, under 900W, then it can share a 20A circuit with a 1500W appliance.

So now, we can run the A/C, refrigerator and any two cooking appliances.
Bigger please? OK, run two multi-wire branch circuits, for four 20A sub-circuits. Everything at the same time, win!
Bigger still? OK. We'll need a subpanel. The next size up of wire is 10/3 which will give us 7200 -- oh heck, for the same price you could buy 4-wire #2 aluminum for 21,600 watts! Or for less money, #4 aluminum for 15,600 watts, or even cheaper #6 Al for 12,000 watts.
Now your subpanel will have power to spare, and you can give every appliance a dedicated circuit and use them all at once if you want to.
Both options are complicated and require a lot of knowledge, attention to detail and respect for the electrical codes, so best to hire a professional for the job.


You need to make sure the circuit is not overloaded. For residential  there is no limit to the number of devices by the NEC so you can add,  but your total load needs to be at 80% of the circuit to prevent overloading.
The one limit you may run into is box fill where the number of wires devices is limited.


How to fill in hinge and door handle mortises?

I'd put in a piece of matched wood, then use an appropriate filler to smooth the junction between the patch and the frame.

If it's painted, you can get away with other materials.


How can I add additional lighting fixtures to an existing 3-way circuit?

Yes.  You'll connect the wires feeding to the next fixture, to the wires that feed the current light fixture.

Basically, you'll start with this...

Then you'll add the additional lights like this...

NOTES:

I've excluded the grounding conductors to simplify the diagram, make sure you properly ground all the fixtures.
The black wire coming from the "3-way wiring" bubble, might actually be white, red, or some other color.


What is the "skin type" on a door? Is a door with Silicone Finish "skin type" easily paintable?

Many common interior doors in the US are hollow. There is a wood frame, with a thin layer on each side which is the "door skin".  The door may be painted, or stained to let the wood grain show.

Doors that aren't hollow, often known as "solid-core" doors, may have a thin wood veneer layer of better wood on the surface, which also might be called the door skin.

The "finish" will refer to how it is painted or sealed.  Finish can sometimes describe just the appearance of how shiny it is (flat/matte, satin, semi-gloss or gloss finish) or the material or chemicals used for the finish (painted, stained, varnished, or laquered finish).

Stain brings out the natural coloring of the wood but doesn't protect it; it needs a sealer.  The sealer over the stain is often referred to as "varnish", but there are many different chemical compounds that may be used.

In this case, the silicone finish is referring to the type of sealer over the stain.  Probably something similar to Cabot waterproofing sealer.

You will NOT have good results in painting over this finish.  Silicone definitely repels other substances.

For a door that you intend to paint, look for something either "unfinished" or "primed".  Unfinished means is just the raw wood with no paint, stain, or sealer.  Primed means it has a base coat of paint primer for protection of the wood during shipping, and it is ready for you to finish painting it.  All other things being equal, go for "primed" over "unfinished" if you are going to paint it, because the primer gives you a head start.


Turning the water off and on and getting the air bubbles back out of the pipes often loosens up "crud" in the pipes. Some of that crud may be stuck in the sealing part of the valve.

Try opening it all the way and running for a while, perhaps removing the aerator first. You might get lucky and have it work free of the valve mechanism.

In many cases the "crud" is somewhat rusty. It's generally harmless but unappealing - however, if a chunk large enough lodges in the wrong place, it can cause problems.


Fill about a 2.5" gap between drywall frame and and brick

What about just drywalling the faces of the 2x4s and letting it hang off, to fill that 2.5" gap? E.g., use a 6" wide strip. You should probably plywood the bottom sill for safety (yours and the cat's) before you drywall it.

Use corner bead and mud it for a 'temporary-permanent' solution, after you do shove a little more insulation back there.


Consider to replace the batteries and also to clean the contacts within the battery compartment.


Is it possible to use LED lamps in ceiling r80 eyeball fittings

18 Watts is a lot for LED, so not surprising for it to be warm.

Sometimes LEDs have a slightly larger diameter and this may not allow them to screw in 100%, but this doesn't seem to be the case for you.

One suggestion is to take a flash light and examine the socket of the fixture for any evidence of arching.  Look for black or burnt streaks. The slightest damage to the socket could cause new bulbs to fail unexpectedly.


What is a heavy, dense wood for a soundproof door assembly I am putting together?

I would do a hollow door like @Tester101 suggested, but instead of using Dynamat (which is expensive) I would use foam.

In high school, they would collect egg cartons so they could sound proof the audio rooms. You could use egg cartons as well or a cellular foam board.

Sound is produced by vibration. Thats why sub woofers aren't directional.

Using foam, the cellular structure breaks up the sound waves.

Wikipedia actually has a good write up on this.

Wikipedia Soundproofing

So, on the cheap - 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch plywood to make the door and inside, fill it with a not so dense (ie: a foam where you can see the cells) foam board.


Why does my gas water heater's pilot light go out when I replace the outer door?

Thermal switches (depending on models) can be really tricky.  If yours is really causing the problem I would suggest replacing it.  However, before replacing the switch, ensure you have proper airflow into the combustion area. (Not much stacked around unit, any insulation properly installed, etc.)  This really sounds like more of an air flow issue.


Does a heavy drop-in fireclay kitchen sink need mounting clips for installation?

YES Silicone caulk is actually a very strong adhesive once cured. In fact, I would say you will not be able to move the sink even if you deliberately try to. Also, there will be no significant lateral forces during normal use; the weight of the sink + the silicone will be fine.


Solved. The "light" wire in the base of each fan was not connected to anything. Brought in an electrician who hooked them up, connected the light kits and voila, let there be light. Nothing I read on this forum or others mentioned the possibility that when the fans were installed without lights the electrician could have just left the light wire disconnected. Great to know for the future. Appreciate everyone's suggestions! Glad to know it wasn't anything I did wrong.


How can I anchor to a 1" thick hollow wall with a very shallow cavity?

I think these screw in plastic drywall anchors would work. screw in drywall anchors


Wiring a C (common) wire to a Triangle Tube Prestige Excellence 110?

I think the 24v terminal is the orange one on the bottom right labeled with the ports 7 to 19. you should be able to confirm this by seeing only small (18 or 20 gauge) wires entering into these ports and a red and white wire in location 7 and 8.
I am installing a Nest thermostat and if I need a Common wire, I will add some comments when I figure this out too! I sent triangle tube a request for this information.
Scott


What's the best way to repair this hardwood floor damage? (Part 2)

You've got to get all of the rotten, water damaged wood out of there.  Have you been down in the crawlspace yet?  Looking at it from underneath will give you a better idea of the extent of the damage.  It's entirely possible that the joist(s) are compromised as well.

You will need to cut the subfloor (plywood or OSB underlying the wood floor) back to the mid point of the nearest joists (the beams under the floor).  And then lay in new material of the same thickness.

Once that's done, new flooring is in order.  Honestly, with that thin existing "hardwood" flooring, I'd tear it all out.  If you don't opt for that, linoleum may be you're best bet to match the thickness of the existing flooring.  Cheap, tough and waterproof.  Tile would be my preferred option if you redo the whole bathroom.  If you only do the portion shown, you'll have a significant lip because it will be quite a bit thicker then that wood floor by the time you put down backerboard and such.

Not sure what that blue cord is?  Does it have a wire core to it?  Any chance you have electric radiant heat in there?


How to find a shear force and bending moment on a slab,beam and column?

It’s complicated. Unlike wood joists and beams, concrete slabs and beams often are in “double bending”. That is to say, compression will be on the bottom and tension on top.

Determining EXACTLY where that occurs in a slab or beam is complicated and you’ll need an architect or structural engineer to help.


What is the least labor intensive way to clean these brass door knobs?

Soak them in soapy water, then rub clean and dry with a towel. That's what I do with mucky pennies.


How does the drywall meet a direct-to-tub surround edge?

It goes over the lip, but you need to add some shims (vertically along each stud),  to transition the drywall out, so it doesn't break when screwed down.

A bit of J-channel (over the lower edge of the drywall) makes a nice clean edge.

Leave the drywall 1/4 - 5/16 above the surround edge and fill with a waterproof caulk.


What is this switch plate cover with a pyramidal bulge across the top of the plate?

Commment converted to answer.

My guess is that it's an illuminated cover, which no longer works. Turn power off, disconnect the two wires to the cover, and replace with a regular cover. While you're at it, you might as well replace the switch.


Can insulation batts run on top of wall studs?

You're pretty much right. Having potential airflow between the insulation and the drywall does hamper the effectiveness of the insulation. Likewise, having the fiberglass exposed allows more airflow through it, which also impacts its effectiveness.

Now, the air in attics tends to be relatively still (except when that attic fan of yours is running, of course), so neither factor renders the insulation completely useless (after all, we regularly use loose fill insulation in attics), but it does mean the actual R value of the assembly is quite a bit lower than the rating on the fiberglass batts.


What is the best way to insulate cold water copper pipes exposed on a flat roof in California

I would try white, silver, or foil pipe tape. Even for high quality tape, it is cheap. You can simply wrap it over the existing black foam.


How do I choose which LED bulbs to put in my home?

You're missing a lot, but you might not care. You indicated longevity is not a factor, so that takes care of one category of differences. Let's note a few other common differences between cheap and expensive LED bulbs, so that you might make an informed choice based on what's important to you:

Improvements in Expensive LEDs compared to Cheap LEDs

Efficiency: usually good bulbs are more efficient, in terms of lumens/watt. With a dramatic difference (say 55 vs 85), the saved electricity can pay for the differences in the bulb, depending on power cost and duty cycle of the product's lifetime, which as noted, also tends to be longer on higher-quality bulbs.
Heat: dirt-cheap bulbs use cheaper internal power supplies that tend to generate waste heat. Better bulbs use a fancy electrical driver known as a "switch mode power supply", which can be up to 90% efficient, compared to a resistive or capacitive dropper with as low as 50% efficiency. Heat lowers lifetime, so if your bulb will be in a globe, can, or other enclosed area, this is a factor worth considering.
Color Quality: Better bulbs tend to have both higher CRI, and less color variation within models. I've gotten two dollar-tree bulbs from the same peg, and one was about 250deg cooler than the other. I've gotten two different phillips bulbs months apart and they both have identical coloring. If you don't have a lot of bulbs going at once, this is more important than when a bad apple can hide in the bunch. There's also some health/wellness concerns about an over-concentration of blue light, and it's bio-rhythm effects, and in this regard, the more-balanced light of quality bulbs would reason to have less impact.
Light Quality: Cheaper LEDs (especially those with cheap capacitive dropper internal power supplies) tend to flicker at mains. This can be more noticeable at night, and in your peripheral vision. Prolonged exposure causes some people headaches or just distracting corner-of-the-eye rainbows or flashes. If all your bulbs are the same and they all flicker, the effect can be quite pronounced and annoying.
Performance: cheap bulbs can take longer to turn on, which is especially noticeable when one switch controls many lights. This can make a good automation system seems laggy, which nobody wants. Another performance factor is backwards compatibility with existing dimmers, dusk-to-dawn sensors, motion detectors, etc. The parasitic current of such devices often causes less sophisticated bulbs to dimly flicker when the switch is off. Better bulbs use a couple of electronics-based tricks to eliminate or reduce such an effect (sensitive gate SCRs, bleeder resistors across caps, post-DC switching, etc). Also, some cheaper drivers can create audible noise, either a hum or whistle (especially when dimmed), but I've not heard that on quality bulbs. Lastly on this point, quality bulbs last longer, so if the bulb is hard to reach, like an outdoor yard light, that could be a strong consideration.

Considering all that, you still need to consider your usage as well. Weight the factors important you you (if any) and shop armed with the knowledge to get the best deal for your needs. You don't always needs the best, and I use dirt-cheap ones in some places myself, even after noting all the above!

You can likely live with a cheaper bulb you use 2 mins a day in a closet better than you can cheap task lighting. If you don't have enclosed lamps, heat's not a big factor. If you lived happily for years with mixed CFL+tungsten lights you probably won't care about color temp differences or CRI. If you don't pay a lot for grid power, efficiency isn't as important as it is for those off-grid. If you don't have dimmers or other "fancy" switches, backwards compat doesn't matter, etc.

You be the judge. You can spend $5k or $500k and get a reliable car. Same with stereos, or anything really. How much you need depends, but now you know what to look out for...


Can I spray foam up to roof sheathing when air sealing skylight tunnel?

You can use spray foam as long it is a minimal expansion type of foam.  Some brands call it door and window foam. This is usually only a 3 to 1 or 4 to one expansion factor. If you use the more aggressive expansion foam, it can cause deflection of the joists and actually cause leaks or cracked windows. Don't overfill the gaps, spray an even bead, let it cure, if you still have a lot of air space, you can put in a second bead of foam.


Can I locate a junction box in a wall that will be accessible through a vanity cabinet?

It looks good and accessible. The NEC doesn't say it must be readily accessible only accessible, in case you need to inspect or maintain it. If you are feeling like you want to help another owner or an electrician later on down the road, you might even put a label on the panel saying there is an electrical junction box behind the panel. It could save some time in the future.

Good luck.


Fuses blow and sparks appear when using my home's wiring circuits

I have recently had issues with different electrical appliances ...

Having the outlets very low down must put a strain on the leads where they enter the plug. Other than that any suspected problems with the electrical supply need to be discussed with the supplier.

  / light bulb ...

Incandescent bulbs tend to fail when there is problems with the supply voltage (i.e. surges) - that is something your electricity supply should be able to help with. Another cause is if the lamp housing/fixture gets too hot.

However, nowadays you should be using CFL or LED lamps. LEDs in particular need adequate airflow to keep them cool - many older bathroom light fittings don't allow for this as they are designed to keep out steamy humid air (and fingers)

  / bathroom wiring packing up.

That sounds very alarming. Ideally there shouldn't be much wiring in a bathroom. A light, maybe an electric shower and a towel rail, maybe a shaver outlet. Given the age and quality of what is visible in photos, I'd consult an electrician.

  a sizzle and spark often happens when taking the plugs in and out.

That shouldn't happen if you turn off the switch at the outlet first.

Sparking tends to erode contacts and cause further sparking. The outlets might need replacing (I'd get them moved higher up the wall, with wiring suitably protected in a channel chased into the plaster).

  do I need to change the switch box?

As AndyT commented - you might not strictly need to but many people would want that old-style fusebox replaced by a modern consumer unit with RCD protection (or RCBOs to make later fault-finding easier)


You can purchase a used copy of the 1975 NEC starting at $7.18 at Amazon:

1975 NEC at Amazon


Is there a simple way to convert from a pull switch to a toggle switched light fixture?

The easiest-to-install solution to your issues is a length of 14/3 run in surface raceway and used as a switch loop.  You'll want a circular raceway box at the light fixture, and a single gang raceway box at the switch, by the way.

(Also note that the non-metallic raceway recommended by dfife's answer won't work here -- Legrand, for some reason, doesn't make round extension boxes for their non-metallic raceways, just for their metal ones.)

Diagram (originally appropriated for this Stack by Tester101 and reused here):


Can I convert a LH inswing door into a RH inswing?

It is impractical, if not impossible to make a pre-hung/pre-drilled door (for knobs and locksets) change swings. The exterior is different than the interior in most models and the hinge mortises are on the wrong edge of the door. If you install it backwards, or swing to the outdoors, you may have a problem with the threshold. Many thresholds slope to the outside to shed water. If you reverse it, then water could flow indoors. Another consideration is that you cannot install a storm door if the door swings out.


Does one way check valve reduce the water pressure?

Yes: your proposed cross-connect will maximize pressure on the outflow.  But, as aaron commented, you will need to put a second check valve on the low pressure line between the cross connect and the tank to avoid losing pressure back to the tank (or, worse, blowing it out since there is presumably no shutoff valve on the tank outlet).


Can I join two switched circuits into one circuit?

There are too many unknowns here for us to help you out. We don't know which switches you intend to use afterwards (locations), what access you have to joining the circuits together, or what the possibilities of joining them would be without knowing of your personal setup.

Your setup, roughly as described to us is...

<--- S --- S --- Kitchen Lights

<--- S --- S --- S --- Adjoining Room Lights

The arrows (<---) would be your final wire running back to the source. The (S)s are your switches. And the (---) are wires between each. Now, this doesn't have to be physically wired in this setup nor does it have to be the only load on the circuit (no outlets or anything else?), but it would be how things are internally wired to control the lights. So no matter where the power actually comes in or where the switches are located in relation to the lights, this will be how the connections are made.

Then, if there is nothing else being fed from the kitchen circuit and you're intending to use only the 'adjoining room switches', you could simply disconnect and remove the breaker, wiring, and switches feeding the kitchen lights. Find the first light in the kitchen in sequence that receives power from the switch and add a wire between it and the power feeding the 'adjoining room' lights. The easiest way would be if you can get above the lighting, such as up in your attic, but where ever is accessible will work. Reconnect the hots, neutrals, and grounds and you should not be able to control all of the lights from those three switches. Your new layout would look like...

<--- S --- S --- S --- Adjoining Room Lights --- Kitchen Lights

However, again, this goes off of the assumption that you're fine with controlling them all from just the adjoining room location. If you're hoping to split the switches up between the kitchen and that room; then it'll all come down to how everything is currently wired, which switches you want to use and which to remove, and what wires are ran between each and from where. To get a complete answer, we would need a lot of information. However, a licensed electrician would be able to figure this all out on his own and get the job done for you.

Lastly, as I've had to mention recently in another post, four way switches are only used between two three way switches. You might have a four way switch setup in the adjoining room, but that does not mean that all three switches are four ways - two are three ways and only one would be a four way.


How do I turn off the programs on my White Rodgers thermostat?

Many thermostats are always running a program, and you can adjust the times & temperatures (varies a lot, but typical is 4 changes per day x 7 days per week) but can't actually say "don't run any program". In that case you generally have two options:
Override/Hold
Most thermostats I have worked with have a "override" or "hold" setting, typically by pressing & holding a particular button for a couple of seconds and then adjusting the temperature. In some cases, the "hold" is set & forget. In others, there are two "levels" of "hold" - temporary and permanent (but terminology may vary, or one may be "override" and one "hold", etc.). With a "temporary" hold, at the next program set time, the program resumes. With a "permanent" hold, the hold stays until you manually release the hold or change the thermostat mode (e.g., heat vs. cool).
Constant Program
Let's say you want 72 degrees all the time. Set the thermostat program for each day:

6:00am 72
9:00am 72
5:00pm 72
10:00pm 72

The thermostat will continue to cycle through the program - doing exactly what you want!
One other problem you might find:
Occupied/Unoccupied
I had a commercial customer years ago that wanted constant 72 degrees since their offices and/or warehouse were in nearly constant use (midnight to 7pm or longer) and they didn't want to worry about people coming in at different times and finding the place too hot or cold. But they also wanted the fan running all the time to keep from feeling "stale" when the ambient temperature didn't require much actual heating or cooling. But the fan would only run 1/2 the time (plus when the heating or cooling was actually running). The HVAC people couldn't figure it out.
It was actually quite simple. I read the poorly written manual and figured it out: The programs (which could not be turned off) alternated between occupied and unoccupied. In unoccupied mode, the fan would NOT run constantly, even if set as "On" instead of "Auto"! The solution was quite simple: I changed the times of the programs so that unoccupied was 2 15-minute chunks (smallest possible) at odd times of the day (so as to affect the fewest people). Problem solved.


How to stop concrete slab floor from absorbing water

If you don't have gutters and the grading around your house isn't sloped away, I'd start there. It's relatively cheap to do and will eliminate most problems. It's also nice, if you have a door at the bottom of a roof edge, to not enter under a waterfall.

Once you've done that (or if it's not possible to fix the grading) and the foundation is still wicking water, then an exterior water proofing system and french drain makes sense. This involves a painted on sealer, a free draining membrane that's attached to the wall (this gives a direct path for any moisture that reaches the wall to run directly down to the drainage pipe), and a perforated drainage pipe running around the perimeter of the foundation that drains well away from the house. If a system like this isn't installed during initial construction, it's often left to a last resort because of the expense and labor of removing any landscaping and soil that is against the foundation.


I need to know if I can run a 30 amp dryer off of a 20 amp breaker

No the dryer is two large of a load for a 20 amp.  Code requires the size for calculations at 5000w, this would require a double pole 30 amp breaker to be properly sized. Number 10 wire from the breaker to the outlet.


How to power Honeywell wifi thermostat with external transformer

There should already be a transformer on the unit. I believe it's on the back of the unit, mounted to a junction box. There should be two exposed terminals on the transformer. One is R, and the other is C. To determine which is which, use a volt/multimeter to measure AC volts between the R wire going to the thermostat and the transformer terminals.  One terminal will measure 24 volts, while the other will measure 0 volts.  The terminal that gave you 24 VAC, is the C terminal.  Run a wire from that terminal, to the thermostat C terminal.


The bloke at the big-box store is out of his mind.  Having multiple GFCIs fed from the same feed is not a problem whatsoever -- it's something that's done all the time (just imagine a panel loaded with GFCI breakers).  Furthermore, the requirements for fixtures in 410.10(D) only hold for a zone that extends 3' beyond the edge of the tub or shower stall and 8' high.  Ordinary fixtures can be used outside this boundary.

In your case, given that your choice of fan/light combination apparently must be GFCI protected in order for it to be used in a damp environment, your solution is a reasonable compromise given that you are using a dimmer here.  However, it is possible to make it so that the shower light is GFCI protected while the cans are not, while dimming them both synchronously, but that requires a fair bit of extra hardware.

In particular, you'd need to use a 3-wire fluorescent dimmer such as a Lutron Maestro MAF-6AM or Skylark SF-103, as well as two Lutron PHPM-WBX-120-WH units mounted in their own two gang or 4" square boxes to go with the 3 gang box you're already called for.  (Other manufacturers make similar products, but both the Leviton and Eaton/Cooper versions are FCC Class A devices i.e. not intended for residential use.)

If you're curious as to how such a crazy setup is wired up, see the wiring diagram below.  If you're not comfortable following the diagram below, ask your nearest electrician to follow it for you.


How can I replace a tilt up garage door, with near zero clearance, low overhead?

If the problem is only the track/hardware (and it looks like your door is in pretty good shape from the photos) and you could stand to wait for a little while, I have an alternate suggestion. Get friendly with a local door company, not a chain company, and see if they could come up with some used track or hardware (whatever is causing you problems) from a door they take out. Chances are they could come up with it within a month (I took a 7' one piece out today. I'd offer you parts, but I'm in Arkansas and I don't see you making the trip for it). It's a bit of a trick to put an opener on a tilt-up door but it can be done in most cases.

Torsion to the rear should be able to work if you do replace you current door. Tell them to bring the cables over the top of the drums so they are up higher.


What is the likely cause of a hidden leak from shower and toilet use?

Unfortunately, there could be multiple causes for this issue you are seeing.  Without seeing the inside of the wall or the configuration of the waste/soil lines it might be impossible to give a definitive answer.

It is very likely the leak is always occurring when the water is running, it is just noticeable once the wall material become saturated to the point it cannot hold any more water, and then begins leaking into the room below.

I think is unlikely the drain pan for the shower is the culprit if the toilet is actually affecting the rate of water intrusion.  The toilet would have to push enough water up the shower drain to fill the trap and flow into the pan. If it could do that, then you have another problem further down the soil line.

Given your description these are the places I would inspect:

Check for blockages.  Even if a blockage is the culprit, there is still a problem. Ideally the overflow should appear in your fixtures first, not hidden behind the wall.

I would check the joints in the stack.  Typically, a toilet soil line is separate from the waste line of a sink or shower until the soil stack, where they collect and run to the sewer.  If a joint at the stack has failed, the waste water flowing through the fittings is seeping through the joint and down outside of the stack to the cut-out in the plate between the floors and then into the ceiling.

If the toilet and shower are sharing a drain line check the joints in this line too.  Pay attention to the traps, while installing a new drain pan or toilet if too much force was applied it could have damaged the joints of either the shower or toilet. E.g. remodeled floor changes the rise of the toilet flange above the floor; new toilet is installed and tightened down, pushing against the soil line, stressing the joints and forming a leak.  Cast iron is not forgiving of this abuse.  Also check that the pipe is being supported at regular interval so it is not sagging and causing unnecessary stress to the joints.

Check that the shared line is sized for the flow, is sloped correctly, and doesn't run too far.  If any of these factors are incorrect, air-locking can occur.  This can decrease the amount flow the pipe can handle, which leads to water filling or backing up in the line until it breaches, say the toilet flange, where it flows over the flange edge and down the pipe into the space below, all hidden by the toilet pedestal itself.  Your pipe should not have a slope of greater than 0.25" per 12" run.  The pipes size from the toilet should be at least a 3" pipe, perhaps bigger if the shower is joining it; a pipe of such duty should not run more than 6' to the soil stack.


How should I re-fit a coat hook onto a door?

You might consider a hollow door screw. They are similar to the drywall anchors that look like giant screws but are designed for the flimsy type of wood that hollow doors are made of.


What is the process for draft proofing windows

Start by removing the trim from around the window, this will give you a good look at the problem.  Once you have the trim removed you'll be looking at something similar to this...

You may notice gaps between the window frame and the wood frame or between the wood frame and the wall, these are the areas you'll want to fill to stop the draft.
Get a can spray foam (like GreatStuff  they make some specifically for this purpose, which is "low pressure" so it will not bow the window frame), fill any gaps (be careful not to use too much, this stuff can expand quite a bit).  Once the foam has hardened (about an hour), use a sharp knife to trim the excess foam so it's flush with the window frame.  Reinstall the window trim, and your done.


What's the name for this piece attached to the kitchen faucet hose?

This is a proprietary part and versions of it are common on "pull out head" faucets.  I've installed them from Delta and Moen, and from what I remember they are slightly different. I've never seen them sold as a replacement part from DIY retailers.

Your best bet is to figure out what brand the faucet is and call customer support for a replacement part.  Sometimes companies send out small parts for free because they know they break easily and are proprietary, but usually there's a small cost but much better than buying a whole new faucet!


Are all ground wires inside electrical junction box grounded?

Use a pigtail to tie the screw to the existing bundle
Use a pigtail (short length) of bare or green 12AWG copper wire to connect the timer's ground screw to the existing bundle of grounds, assuming from your description that the timer has a ground screw on it and not a ground lead coming out.


Why do I still read voltage on outlet when I turn off breaker?

Using a Digital meter you can pick up phantom voltage fairly easily - an analog meter typically not so. Reading 2.1V  is typical of a line that crosses any other circuits. Regardless of that reading - ALWAYS work on the lines as if they are hot! You never know who has done what - if the home was owned by someone else - maybe they did something 'creative'. Even some ' pro's ' if they are not followed up on might do something that maybe it is in code but not really what should be done.

Now it sounds like you are replacing that GFCI outlet- make sure you follow the instructions of the new GFCI outlet - your neutral is very important - of course so is your ground. Connect them correctly. In the USA White is neutral, black is hot and green (or un-insulated copper) is ground. The color of the Jacket that contains all three wires is not of any significance.

As an FYI:
Your yellow wire as you call it ... You should have what is often called Romex wire - which is a collection of conductors each insulated in their own insulation material (in their own colors.) All contained with in a jacket assembly. See an example at this link.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-1-000-ft-12-2-2-Solid-Romex-SIMpull-CU-NM-B-W-G-Wire-55048401/202528018


AC switch with two mutualy exclusive power lines

What seems to be happening is something like the function of the diagram shown below. The light switch is a single-pole, double-throw switch. When it is off, 230 the OFF contact supplies 230 V to the relay contact labeled CR NOTO. That contact is normally open, so no power is supplied to the fan motor. When the switch is turned on, power is supplied to the fan motor and the CR relay coil. When CR is energized, CR NOTO immediately closes. When the switch is turned off, 230 V is supplied through contact CR NOTO. That contact remains closed because the contact has a normally open timed to open function. It closes immediately when the relay is energized, but does not open immediately when the relay is de-energized. It opens only after the set time has expired. When the time expires, the contact opens shutting off the fan.

Such a relay should be available to buy. You may have difficulty finding one with a 230 V input or coil. You also need to be concerned about where and how to mount it in a manner that conforms with electrical safety regulations.

Rather than restoring the original operating scheme, it might be preferable to just disconnect the wire wire that is live when the light is off and install a timer switch for the fan next to the light switch. There may also be such a thing as a combined light and timer switch that could replace the light switch. Two switches may require a larger wiring box for the switches. The available components and preferable configuration will probably be whatever is common in your part of the world.


Things can yellow for a variety of reasons, water, smoking, etc etc etc.  It really depends on the materials you are working with as well.  If the wallpaper came off that easily, water is a good guess.

What should I do?  Lots of options, I have two suggestions (see below)
Is it normal?  for a house that old, normal is a relative term, Ill go with yes
Is it moist or something like glue behind paper-like sheets?  There is likely glue of some sort, it could also be moist.  You should ensure there is nothing (a leaking pipe perhaps) behind the wall.  Its also entirely possible that there was water at some time in the past but it is no longer an issue.
Should I consider putting «placoplâte» in french (Plasterboard in english I guess or draywall) to cover all over these walls?  I wouldnt go over the walls, see my suggestions below
Is there anything I must do to ensure my walls a really dry?  Its definitely worth checking into.  If you are already patching it wouldn't hurt to cut a small hole where you suspect moisture and verify there is nothing behind the plaster.
Will it "sweat" over the paint I'll put over this or it stays only on my plaster patches?  Not sure what you mean here.  Will what sweat?

In my mind you have one of two options:

The cheaper, easier option:  Prep the walls to make them smooth and clean (in this case meaning free of dust and other things that can mess with paint).  Repaint the entire room with an oil or alcohol based sealer/primer.  Anything that is in the plaster (I am guessing this is plaster you are working with) this step will seal it in; odors, chemicals, stains...including the yellowing you mentioned.  Once you have done that, paint the walls to your taste with a latex paint.
The more expensive option:  Get yourself a dust mask and a sledge hammer and some tarps for the floor and tear the plaster out (demolition is fun, but test for lead paint first).  Replace with drywall.  This option is obviously a lot more involved.

Good luck.


Rain can run down the inside of the chimney, in my last house with 2 fireplaces 1 on each floor the stack was quite large and I ended up adding a rain shield 18" above the opening to reduce the amount of water coming in. Also if the flashing on the outside of the stack has not been maintained water can run down the outside.


Hot water heating system: Renew or replace?

In slab water temp should be around 100 degrees but that is just for efficiency. So if it has been running for 50 Years without one I am sure you are fine.
As long as there is no leaks in slab heating I would stick with it. In floor heating is becoming popular again. It is much more consistent quiet heat.


Can I replace a 30 amp breaker on my panel with a 25 amp for my new hot water heater?

Read the instructions carefully.   30A is an industry-standard convention in North America for tanked water heater circuits.  The NEC derating rules require you to provision service for 125% of the actual water heater draw; water heater manufactureres know this, and size their water heaters to take about 23 amps. (Which derates to just under 30 amps, voilà).

Underwriter's Laboratories (who pretty much writes the book on what is acceptable, and harmonizes that book with NEC), goes in lock step with this.  They certify the labeling and instructions as part of the UL listing (which is why instructions are often so bizarre, it's because they are copy-pasting instructions UL has approved in the past).  So I would expect approved instructions to state 23-ish and require a 30A breaker.

Because 30A circuits are so standard, and 25A breakes such an odd duck (and difficult to find, encouraging misuse of alien breakers), I think UL would expect poor compliance with any "change the breaker to 25A" instructions, and would push back on the water heater manufacturer to make the heater safe with a 30A breaker.

The only advantage I can see to a 25A breaker is if you are using 75C rated wires (not NM/Romex!!!), you could wire it with 12 AWG instead of 10 AWG.  But that would encourage another badness: up-breakering 12 AWG to 30A when the owner gets any other water heater on the market that of course requires 30A.

Any existing 30A circuit should be 10 AWG wire, and 25A is well within its limits.  So changing the breaker will suffice.


Can we set up 2 water pumps such that they never run simultaneously?

There are something called "alternating relays" or "alternating switches", not to be confused with alternators for cars/trucks. The good thing is they aren't a "one off" configuration, they are industry standard. The community water system I helped support used one to alternate between 2 pumps. Worked great.

https://www.macromatic.com/blog/relays/typical-applications-for-alternating-relays


Upgrading thermostat: 2 baseboard heaters (6 wires)

When you see 2 wires connected to supply/LINE side, it simply means that one of them is supply from the panel, and the other is supply going onward to somewhere else.  They are both supply, and it doesn't matter which is which.
You need to connect them both to supply/LINE, or to be more precise, connect them to each other, and then, connect a pigtail to your device's Supply input.


How can I repair and level the settled edges of a basement slab?

If you plan on using dri-core then you don't need to level the floor with self-leaving concrete or any similar method.  Instead, you'd just shim the dri-core panels to make them level.

If you are just going to put down standard OSB then you'd want to use self-leaving concrete.

A big advantage to just shimming the dri-core is that most basement floors slope towards a drain and with shims, you'd maintain this slope so any water that gets beneath the dri-core would still drain properly instead of sitting underneath the OSB.  And of course this is why dri-core has a rubber bottom layer.


Attaching to the studs would be best practice but you already have them up and they are "relatively" strong

BUT

I would had one toggle anchor to to each bracket on the upper most hole just for good measure and peace of mind.


Why is my sewage ejector pump running so long?

OK... so the mystery has been solved. :-)

The problem got so bad today that the failure rate reached 100% (every time the pump came on it would churn for >30 seconds)... I got a lot of text messages. When I got to the pump, I noticed that during these failures there didn't seem to be any flow at all, and I could feel the pressure build up around the coupler just below the flow control check valve (the one above the ejector pump).

I began to suspect the issue was with this valve, so I took it off and found it was basically just a disk inside a cylinder.  It was not attached to anything (no hinge to keep it from flipping over freely).  This effectively made the valve stop flow in either direction.  I guess that the valve was originally something like this:

The issue may be similar to the issue described in this video, except my valve (American Granby SPCV200) was a swing check valve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W65Si-PhMDk


Many boiler control systems keep the boiler hot at all times (especially if the boiler is providing domestic hot water as part of its load) and that does have the logical effect that the burner fires on a regular basis, regardless of an actual call for heat, due to "standby losses" (the self-cooling of the hot boiler, requiring more heat to keep it at an elevated temperature so it's "ready to supply hot water as soon as you ask for it."


Pros and cons of walling off window from inside only or removing window and sealing wall totally

The pros are simply that it saves you siding repair and may add visual interest to the outside of your home. The cons are that you now have a window that you can't maintain from the inside.

I did this at my family's lake home, but it was only intended to be that way  for a few months until warmer weather. We framed inside the window, insulated, and applied vapor barrier on the inside as is standard here. There were no problems at the time we removed the window and repaired the siding later that year.

Whether you have mold issues is going to depend on the quality and condition of the window. Some moisture will get behind the window due to air movement, but it shouldn't be a problem unless heavy moisture gets trapped.


Could stove element be powered through fan switch?

Original answer: no

Edit: Maybe

With the revised diagram and the path highlighted, the possible L1-heating element-L2 path via the fan switch is now discernible.  Theoretically, yes, you could have a heating element "shorted" through the fan switch.

However...

Cooktop switches (especially ca. 1983) aren't on-off switches, they are simmerstats - like slow, analog PWM controllers for resistive heating elements.  They function by drawing a small bit of current through a heating element inside the switch, which causes a bimetal strip to deflect and "pulses" the L2 contact.  A cursory Google search suggests the deflecting L2 contact is more likely to fail (open or closed) than for the relatively static L1 contact (held in place by the knob itself).

Therefore...

Your concern is at least somewhat validated because there is the potential for a short there (barring any fuses or fail-safe devices that aren't shown in the diagram).  However, since the L2 contact is left alone in your scenario, you should still be able to turn the burner off and control it normally, even if the L1 contact fails open.  It also seems as though the more common problem is a failed switch in general, resulting in a burner that either can't be turned on (relatively safe) or can't be turned off (decidedly unsafe).

Also...

Your primary concern is the voltage rating on the switch, which is rated at 6A @ 125VAC or 3A @ 250VAC (or 1/4HP @ 125-250VAC), but in the scenario you describe could see as much as 10A @ 250VAC.  Given that the switch is rated for motor loads, it is designed to handle high-inrush current levels at the moment the switch is closed.  So how well it fares in your scenario may depend on whether or not the fan was already running.  Given the unlikely nature of the scenario, it's plausible the engineers designing your stove weren't concerned about the possibility of powering a stove element through the switch in the event of an abnormal switch failure mode.


What should I wash my walls with prior to using "peel and stick" tiles except TSP?

Borax is a great substitute for TSP. Mixed with water, it is a very good degreaser. Just scrub your walls with it and let it dry completely. Any ammonia-based cleanser will also do the job. With peel and stick tiles read and follow all the manufacturer instructions accurately.


Are neutral wires linked to the neutral bar in the fuse box safe to touch

If and only if everything is working

For a theoretical panel, neutral is theoretically safe to touch if:

the panel is wired to modern spec
the panel is wired correctly
workmanship is all proper
no wire/hardware failures (note: this is a different thing than "wired correctly")
The supply transformer is isolating, and not leaking enough 9600V primary current to override the transformer's grounding rod (dirt isn't much of a conductor, that's why we don't just wrap it in insulation and call it wire)
you are not in the Philippines

But then, if all that was true, you wouldn't be opening up your panel, would you? :)

But yes.  If things are in order, there will be a grounding electrode system going from ground rods, metal water pipe or Ufer tie-in to your basement's reinforcing rod, which establishes contact with earth proper.  There will be one at the transformer tying to neutral, and one at each building's most main panel tying to ground.

Next, in every building the grounding electrode system will be bridged to the service-wide network of green, green/yellow or bare wire, or metal conduit, known as the equipment grounding conductor, or colloquially "ground" in the electrician's context, not to be confused with GND or Vss in electronics, which is why I steer out of my way to call this equipment safety ground.  No current ever flows on this except during a fault condition.

Finally, one place in every service (i.e point fed by an electric meter, customer demarcation point, etc.), typically at the service point, has a neutral-ground equipotential bond.  That has several jobs. Relevant to your question, it is to do exactly what you are concerned about: clamp neutral so it is near ground and cannot kill you.  No current sgould flow on it because no current should be on ground, and transformers shouldn't leak.

By the way, the neutral-ground bond is a great place to put a clamp ammeter. Helps to wire your panel so that is easy.

In a residential setup, you optimistically have several houses sharing a transformer, and the transformer and each house's neutral-ground bonds are all wrestling neutral down to safe voltages. In an industrial setup, that is not the case, and I got a real eye-opener when a transformer's only neutral-ground was not actually attached.

  I was working on a branch circuit, and to make sure the breaker was off, I brushed hot across the edge of the steel junction box.  There was no blinding arc flash, but something else - the light changed subtly.  Doing it again, the circuit powered back up, and a fluorescent light came on.  How could that happen? If hot is grounded, neutral is --  I measured neutral-ground: 120V. Crossed wire, in my work!? No.  I checked other circuits, it's the whole main panel.  HMMM!  Where's that coming from!?  Well, after shutting off 1 circuit at a time, it finally extinguished.  Turns out an unrelated circuit had a bolted hot-ground fault, which was bonding hot pole L1 to ground, for lack of a neutral-ground bond to argue the other way.  Normally this would cause unlimited current in series from L1 via the breaker, L1 wire, fault, equipment safety ground, neutral-ground bond and back to neutral, and snap the breaker.  As it was, it only flowed current when a second ground fault occurs, which I induced by flashing my circuit's hot to ground.

Neutral could have bitten me at any time, why didn't it? I like to credit good practices: I treat neutral and other ”known”-dead wires as if they're live.  The takeaway is this:

Neutral is live until you have done a physical inspection that all the earthing hardware is in working order, and done an electrical test to confirm.


In the majority of UK-based traditional boiler setups, what does the hot water thermostat look like?

A boiler cylinder thermostat is usually a small rectangular box, often with a temperature adjustment knob (which may be recessed for screwdriver adjustment), which is fixed to the side of the cylinder with a strap or cord going round the cylinder horizontally. Sometimes this is an elastic wire like net-curtain fixing wire. The insulation between the thermostat and the copper cylinder should be removed so the thermostat is in good contact with the cylinder metal. It will have an electric cable coming out of it to a junction box connecting to the boiler control circuits.

In some cylinders the thermostat will have a probe on the back and this will slide into a pocket in the cylinder to make good thermal contact.

If the thermal contact between the cylinder and the thermostat is poor, the boiler will not recognise the water getting hot enough and your hot water will be too hot.

The other thing(s) actually on the cylinder will be immersion heaters, and they will usually be at the very top or the very bottom of the cylinder, be fixed into bosses on the cylinder, and have a stiffer, thicker, electric cable to a switch on the wall.

The immersion heaters will have thermostats under the covers to control the water temp when using the immersion heater, but this won't affect using the boiler.

Older boiler installations often don't have a cylinder thermostat and rely on the boiler's internal thermostat to control heating and hot water temperature, which is wasteful.

Larger boxes connected to the pipes are likely to be zone valves to change-over between heating and hot water. They'll thunk when they operate, and will often have a manual override lever on the side.


Is it okay to use two 20x20 air filters instead of one 36x20 for my home AC?

In order for your air filters to work correctly, they must be the exact size made for the filter box otherwise yes, dirt, dust, etc. will get sucked right through the gaps. Even if you were to seal the gaps with duct tape, it would only last a little while before it came off. Your AC system will last much longer and be more efficient which will save you more money than the little savings you get from the previous occupants cheap fix.


This is a guess!!!
This is only a guess. Further investigation is needed to determine how the circuit is wired, and nothing further should be done until you have a complete understanding of the current wiring.
Based on your description, this is how I think it may be wired.

If this is indeed the case, then changing the wiring as follows, should get things working.

Notice I've swapped the black and white wires at Switch 2. I've also swapped the black and white wires from Cable #3, in the first switch box.  Finally, I've marked the white wire from Cable #2 at both ends, to indicate that it is being used as a ungrounded  (hot) conductor.
WARNING!!!
This answer is only a GUESS. You'll have to verify this wiring yourself, before making any changes. Trial-and-error wiring is not safe, and should never be done.
If you need further assistance once you have more information,  please comment on this answer. I will be happy to help you.


What are some at-home options for pest control?

We've had crickets getting into our basement, I believe through a gap somewhere in the basement egress window edges.  Those windows have timber-lined window wells, and they like to sneak around between the timbers.  I just threw down a bunch of Ortho Home Defense MAX all around the house last night, paying special attention in the window wells, and it was like a war zone down there this morning...dead and dying crickets abound.

If I remember, I'll come back in a few days with a report on the population trend inside the house.


Cutting a stainless tube - without a grinder

Welcome to DIY Home Improvement!

1/8" thick really isn't that bad.

You could use a:

Hack saw (cheapest method)
Reciprocating saw
Band saw


Can I use leveling compound between plywood and cement backer board?

Yeah not sure I share their opinion. I did it 5 or 6 years ago and everything is still good. Just make sure that you use long enough screws in the area with the dip to hit the subfloor.


In my part of the world, PVC P-traps for sinks and basins are universally designed so that you can easily remove the U-bend from below without tools.

I wouldn't hesitate very long before undoing all the obvious nuts visible in your picture† and attempting to gain access to the U-bend.

In some cases a strap-wrench may be useful, but usually those joints between PVC sections are sealed by a simple rubber ring and shouldn't have any kind of putty or sealant applied (which can make them hard to remove by hand)

† Obviously, except the one on the flexible tap connector(s)!


Replacing square flush mount light falling out of ceiling

Replacing that light seems like a solid plan, but I think you still need to repair the sheetrock and put in a standard ceiling electrical box.  The hard part of drywall repair is taping the seams and floating, texturing, etc.  The good news is that you don't need to do any of that.  Do the absolute minimum job of replacing the square of drywall and cut a new hole in the repair for the round ceiling box.  The repair needs to be strong, but it doesn't have to be pretty.

The new fixture will cover the rough repair, but you will still have a standard light installation.


Fix issue with 2 independent lights on single source

Oh my, I understand your frustration. I've recently moved from an 1856 + 1880 post and beam "building" house.  I have not found any nobb and tube, but plenty of tar-paper covered 2 wire, and a ton of BX, all probably 14 & 16 g.  There are new pulls of 14-2-G to junction boxes with the old wires, back to two 100A breaker boxes, installed in the 70's. Everything I've done is 14-2-G, 12-2-G or 14-3-G clear back to the breakers. The breaker boxes were "upstairs/downstairs" but I couldn't keep that. I feel your pain.  You will probably need to (add to your tool box) get a circut identifyer for AC.  IDK what they cost, but know I saw one the last time I was at Lowe's.  I did find junction boxes burried below floor level from a remodel in the 1940's. They hacked a lot of things that time.  This building had between 2 & 6 remodles per room.  Yes, it was a blast!  Getting the AC tracer will help you "find your way".  I bought a Cat 3/4/5/6 set for pulling & finding network cable.  That is the best way I can think of, if cutting a LOT of holes is not your plan.  Good Luck.  JLH


Should I leave splices when pulling new thermostat wire?

It is always best to have unspliced conductors. I would make sure to leave a small service loop (extra wire length) for other possible changes in the future.


Water usage when some sprinkler heads are capped off

The answer is, "it depends", but you will probably be using less water.  If the section the sprinklers were in was overloaded, removing the few heads might just give the rest of the sprinklers extra pressure and allow them to use much more water.  If the section already had good pressure, removing the heads will probably not affect the other heads much and water usage will go down relative to the number of heads removed.

The best way to measure this yourself is to look at the water meter and record the number, then run the sprinkler section for 5 minutes and record the meter reading again.  You can divide the gallons used to get a rough value for "gallons per minute" that the section uses.  This can help you plan your water usage, and even alert you to leaks if your water usage is way off of your estimate.


How to trace corrugated drain pipe without digging up my whole yard?

Any decent plumber with modern equipment can run a line-locating snake down from where the gutter drains into. The tip/head has an RF transmitter and the plumber walks around with a detector that tones at different pitch the closer he/she gets until they are right above it. Should cost no more than like $100 max. Save yourself some trouble and call someone in to do it.


How to install a proper deck ledger AFTER the fact?

Ugh.  Your plan sounds like a lot of work, but seems sound.

As an alternative could you convert this to a freestanding deck?  Add post and piers near the house.  Install some blocking to replace the crummy ledger you'll soon remove.  Pull up your one row of floor boards and chop the deck shy of the wall.


Help needed on thermostat wiring with Ecobee and Fast-Stat 5000

The Fast Stat device consists of two boxes, one located at your furnace and the other located at your thermostat location.  They connect to each other using your existing two-wire thermostat cable, and they provide 6-wire connections between furnace and stat.  You need to read the Fast-Stat documentation and make sure that the furnace and Ecobee are each connected to the Fast-Stat in a way that meets the needs of all three devices ... i.e. the furnace, the Fast-Stat and the Ecobee.
None of your photos shows the thermostat half of the Fast-Stat.  It might be buried inside the wall.  You need to find it, and you need to figure out which color wires are being used with it to correspond to the Ecobee's needs.
They have a web site with instruction manuals available for download.
If you have specific questions about how to apply the Fast-Stat installation instructions to your particular furnace, you can follow up here.  But I think it's probably already installed correctly ... you just have to find the other end and map out the colors.


Do I need to sand before recoating a worn polyurethane finish?

You only need to sand to the degree that you're satisfied with the smoothness of the surface. If you have scratches or chips, deal with them. Then apply urethane in multiple thin coats, allowing appropriate dry time between and optionally buff with steel wool, until you're satisfied with the finish.


How can I remove a parking block from my garage?

In the installation instructions for water heaters that I could find, they all say that this "parking block" is required.

Installation, Operation, AND service Manual for Residential Storage Type Gas Water Heaters

  THIS WATER
  HEATER MUST BE LOCATED OR PROTECTED TO AVOID PHYSICAL
  DAMAGE BY VEHICLES OR FLOODING.

Installation Instructions and Use & Care Guide

  NOTE: The water heater shall be located so it is not subject
  to physical damage by moving vehicles or area flooding.

In fact, this is also mentioned in the IRC.

  International Residential Code 2012

  Chapter 13 General Mechanical System Requirements

  Section M1307 Appliance Installation

  M1307.3.1 Protection from impact. Appliances shall not be installed in a location subject to vehicle damage except where protected by approved barriers.

As well as the IPC

  International Plumbing Code 2012

  Chapter 3 General Regulations

  Section 305 Protection of Pipes and Plumbing System Components

  305.7 Protection of components of plumbing system. Components of a plumbing system installed along alleyways, driveways, parking garages or other locations exposed to damage shall be recessed into the wall or otherwise protected in an approved manner.

If it's not specifically mentioned in your local codes, most codes stipulate that the manufacturers installation instructions should be followed. So if the instructions for your heater have this; or similar text, you might be stuck with the curb.


Samsung Fridge Freezer RL39WBMS - Fridge Not Cooling But Freezer Working Fine

Sorted.

One of the interesting 'features' of this frost free freezer is that it builds up ice at the bottom so that frost doesn't form throughout. Although this means that you need to get the hammer and chisel out on a regular basis to remove the iceberg from the bottom of the freezer roughly every few months.

On this occasion I was a little slow to get around to doing this. Believe it or not, de-icing a freezer is rarely on the top of my priority list. Anyhow. Thinking back to when the fridge broke and before I replaced the temperature sensor, I remembered that I de-iced an enormous iceberg which had actually grown up behind the bottom drawer to about 15cm tall which I chiselled away as much of the ice that I could get to.

And then it triggered, a note on this fridge at the back mentioned that it was a "multi-flow". Didn't really know what that meant but thought it must mean that there is one cooling system which flows cold air between the freezer and the fridge. Since the back of the unit it basically a completely solid unit, it didn't look like I could do much there.

I noticed a few screws on the back of the freezer panel on the inside of the freezer though. So I turned off the electricity (safety first...) and decided to unscrew everything. Naturally when you have all the food out of the freezer, time is of the essence. As such, a hammer and chisel ( or screwdriver) come in really handy here and worst case scenario you puncture a few holes in the unit (whoops...). A heat gun is also a cracking tool that you really need to do this as well, thankfully a random purchase on ebay a few years ago came in handy :-) .

Back to the point though, basically there are two plastic panels at the back which come of. Behind these two plastic panels, when you finally get them off by chiselling the ice and melting it, you'll see the cooling unit at the bottom. For me, this was completely iced up at the bottom inch of the unit. After much de-icing, I noticed that behind the metal panel about 2 inch wide, towards the bottom right of the unit, this is actually covering a small vent. This vent was also blocked full of ice. So I de-iced that until I could finally stick my fingers up inside it to confirm there was no more ice there.

Then just screw everything back together and bob's your uncle. Job done. The fridge is now cooling again.

Just a note to Samsung, this is a really poor design. This appliance needs too much TLC, it should just work without needing regular attendance. And it is an absolute nightmare to sort when things like this happen (due to your shoddy design). But hey.

If you don't have the skills/confidence to give this a go yourself, you should be able to basically fix this problem by turning the appliance off for about 2 weeks (keeping the doors open) and the melting process will happen naturally in a normal household. Your food on the other hand may not quite be in a usable state by the end of those 2 weeks sat at room temperature....

I think I'll be adding Fridge/Freezer Repair Man to my CV!

@Ed Beal - By the sounds of things that would likely also exhibit the same problem, thanks for the suggestion. For those wondering and if in doubt that the fan may have gone, once you take off the first panel I mentioned above, then you can see the fan, so if you turn the device back on you can check that the fan is spinning (make you've nothing touching the electrics though... electricity, water and you mixing rarely ends well...)


Adding a 50a breaker in main panel to feed 30a rv breaker and plug

If you want to wire in 50A for a future, larger RV, then you need to run the cabling with 6/3 UF cable (not NM/Romex, you cannot use Romex because you will be going outdoors).
If you were to do that with e 6/3 cable, with the panel you have bought, that would be fine.
However, it's a common case for someone to buy the wrong thing and then go into backflips doing even more wrong things trying to make the wrong thing work.  Don't bother; get the right thing.  If you are mail ordering this stuff, thats a mistake - local electricians must shop somewhere; shop there.
They make RV panels which have all the breakers and sockets necessary to support all of

a 240V, 50A large RV (with NEMA 14-50 receptacle)
a 120V, 30A small RV (with TT30 receptacle)
typically a 120V/20A plain old outlet for hand tools etc.

This works off a 50A breaker because it is presumed you will only be powering one RV at a time.  But you still need 6/3 outdoor cable; 10/3 won't do.


From what I can tell these appear to be hinges made by GRASS. A look at an online retailer seems to point to these hinges:

http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/cabinet-hinges/blum-european-hinges-grass-european-hinges/grass-european-hinges/grass-830-and-831-hinges

However the above appear to be obsolete and they recommend replacing with these hinges:

http://www.hardwaresource.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3987

These appear to require two separate order parts.


How to fill the joint between tiles and cabinets in a kitchen backsplash?

I would use white caulk for this, hand-squeezed from the small tubes available at the hardware store. It's flexible enough that it won't crack as the wood cabinets move against the tile, and dries rubbery and impervious to water. Smooth it into the crack with your finger and it'll be nearly invisible. Takes about thirty seconds.

Over time, you'll need to wipe it clean of cooking grease, and it will eventually crack and peel, at which time you can dig it out and reapply it quite easily.


How to simply turn heating on/off with VRT 340f thermostat?

I reviewed the manual for your VRT 340f thermostat online. It does not appear that this unit is intended for use in a simple on/off on demand mode. From the description in the manual it appears that unit is intended to be operated on a schedule.

Your most logical choice may be to replace the thermostat with a different model that offers the simple level of control that you desire. Since this thermostat communicates with the heater unit using a radio link your choices of replacement unit are going to be limited to what is compatible with the heater.


Yes and no. You can certainly tape all the joints as you would with drywall and skim the rest of it to achieve a smooth finish, but you can't just skim coat it and call it a day. You have to reinforce the corners and any flat seams with paper or mesh tape.


C wire Hooked to Compressor but terminated at Thermostat

Go ahead and use it

The fact that there is a C wire going out to the air conditioning compressor is normal where air conditioning is installed.  In fact, in systems with air conditioning where the C wire isn't clearly labeled, tracing the wires out to the compressor is a good way to find where to connect a C wire to.

So, go ahead and hook your blue C wire up to your new thermostat -- there is nothing else you need to do to have a functioning C wire.


Can I pigtail #10 and #14 wires in my service panel?

Don't do that!  What you're proposing, using two 15A breakers as a substitute for one 30A breaker, is called Circuit Breakers in Parallel and is the topic of NEC 240.8:

240.8 Fuses or Circuit Breakers in Parallel. Fuses and circuit breakers shall be permitted to be connected in parallel where they are factory assembled in parallel and listed as a unit. Individual fuses, circuit breakers, or combinations thereof shall not otherwise be connected in parallel.

Paralleling is only allowed for really big connections - typically 100s of Amps, where otherwise wires would be so large that installation would be difficult and the wires very expensive.
What you may be able to do is replace the pair of 15A breakers with a double-pole 30A breaker. Why double-pole? Most 30A devices are actually 240V, not 120V. If that's the case, you actually do need breakers, but they need to be 30A, not 15A, and they need to be common-trip, which means a double-breaker rather than 2 separate breakers.
10/2 is black & white. While generally speaking black goes on hot and white goes on neutral, pure 240V circuits are an exception. Black goes on one breaker and white goes on the other breaker. No neutral because neutral (in a US 240/120 system) is only used for 120V circuits.
It sounds like you may be trying to do something extra dodgy!  Don't!


got to this site, hopefully can help you out.
http://video.bobvila.com/m/21319451/installing-a-pocket-door.htm


Old electric baseboard heater thermostat wiring

This is 240V split-phase, so both hots are equivalent.  The white wire should be remarked one of the 8 legal hot colors, since it is not a neutral.  If I were wiring this in conduit, with the choice of any of 8 colors, I would use black and black because the hots are interchangeable; no need to distinguish hots from each other.

This thermostat is single pole.  They make a double-pole version where terminal 1 is populated, that one connects 1-3 and also 2-4.  This one simply leaves in terminal 3 as a convenient splice block, it connects to no other terminal ever.

Pick one wire from each cable; join them (I don't care how as long as it's code legal; feel free to use terminal 3 as a splice block).

Of the two remaining wires, put one on each of the terminals 1 and 3.