How do you stop the floor from squeaking?

The main cause of wood floors squeaking is wood shrinkage around the nails. If you can localize the areas that are the worst, a common way to minimize squeaks is to drive screws up from the bottom through the subfloor into the hardwood. Be absolutely sure to use screws that are long enough to grab the hardwood, but short enough not to stick through.

If you do not have hardwood floors then you'll have to decide among a few different techniques appropriate for specific floor coverings, ie. carpet, tile, vinyl etc.

With carpet, for instance, there are special breakaway screws (such as these made by McFeely's) that can be installed from above. With tile or vinyl, the screw from under method is often the way to go.


Hooboy.  This may be prohibitive to bring to full code, so let me discuss some options to get the most safety increase for the least buck.

Romex NM-B is not legal for direct-burial or for running in conduit. But what really has me spooked is bootlegging a neutral off that ground wire.  If anything breaks in that ground wire, it will energize every ground in your electrical system at 120VAC - touching a conduit, the panel, light switch screws, all the things that are supposed to be safe will be dangerous!   Far away from the house you could be dead before they find you!  Do not leave this situation to fester merely because bringing it all the way to current code would be hard:  Don't let "perfect" be the enemy of the "good".   Every option here restores the proper function of the safety ground and separates neutral from it.

Ed Beal discusses an issue with the ground rod.

I am willing to assume some defects may be grandfathered or permitted via local exemption.

Option 1: Go 120V-only

If you can bear having only 120V, then remove all markings from the white wire.   In the main panel, black goes to a 120V breaker (or one side of a 240V breaker), white to neutral bar, and bare to ground bar (they may be the same in the main panel).  In the sub-panel, black wire goes to one phase, white to the neutral bar, bare to the ground bar which are isolated.   Every other row of breakers will not work - just move your needed breakers to rows that do work.

Cost: $30ish  per building, for a separate neutral bar for the sub-panel

Option 2: Go 240V-only - temporary transformers for 120V

If your primary loads are 240V-only and/or multi-voltage loads (lighting, some gadgets), and your 120V loads can be hooked up temporarily as needed, easy - just reconfigure for 240V-only.   Stop using neutral; the bare wire is ground-only.

Mark the white wire with tape on both ends to designate it a "hot".  In the main panel, black and remarked-white to a 240V breaker.  Bare to the ground bus.    In the sub-panel, black and remarked-white to opposite "hots", bare to the ground bar.  No neutral bar - no neutrals will exist in this panel!  No exceptions!  Every white wire in wiring will be marked with tape as it's not a neutral.

To power 240V loads, done.  Many machines will run on 120-240V.  Lighting particularly - check your fluorescent lights, the newest ballasts are 120-277V automatic switching, if yours isn't, just change ballast, they're $10-20.  Good time to upgrade to T8 bulbs while you're at it.  Many LED bulbs are 120-277V, I've been replacing 175W barn lights with 15W LED lights that are $10 and multivoltage.    Old mercury, sodium and halide lights have transformers, and they are often jumpable for 240V.  For plug-connected devices that can accept 240V, change your wired receptacles and plugs to NEMA 6-15 or 6-20.

To temporarily power loads that are 120V, use a common step-up/step-down transformer.

Cost: est. $250 per building for new bulbs, ballasts, outlets, plugs, power supplies and a step-up/down transformer.

Option 3: Go 240V, install a 120V transformer permanently

This is like Option 2, except with a permanent 120V transformer feeding a third panel.

I often find 5KVA transformers around "used" for about $100.  These have 240V on the primary, and 20 amps of 120/240V split-phase on the secondary (jumpable for 40 amps of 120V only).   Do the sub-panel per option 2, and add a 20A breaker to feed this transformer.   The third panel gets its hots and neutral from the secondary of the transformer.  It gets its ground from the ground rods feeding the sub-panel.  Because the third panel is fed from a transformer, it's actually not a sub-panel at all - it's a main panel, and you do bond neutral to ground here.  The transformer makes this safe.

You only have 20A per leg (or 40A at 120V-only) - so keep the loads here to a minimum.

Cost: est. $300 per building for used transformer, enclosure, additional mini-panel, breakers and wiring.

Option 4:  Use a transformer for all loads.

Here, we use a larger transformer (12 KVA or larger, single phase) to feed the entire sub-panel.  Like above, this makes it a main panel.

In the house's main panel, we mark the white wire with tape, and punch it down into a 240V breaker.   Ground goes to the ground bar.   At the transformer, we jumper the transformer's primary for 240V and attach the black and marked-white wire.  Ground goes to the transformer chassis or enclosure.

We jumper the transformer's secondary for 120/240 split-phase.  Its hots and neutral go to the 2 hots and neutral bar.  Being fed by a transformer makes it a main panel, so ground and neutral are bonded together and the ground must go to the rods and also to the transformer chassis.    The now-main panel is hooked up in the normal way.    This gives you best of all worlds at higher cost.

Cost: est. $500 per building for a used transformer and wiring; $1000 for a new one.

Option 5: Pull 4 wires (in existing conduit??)

ThreePhaseEel addresses this well in his answer.  You're pushing the limits of what that conduit can handle, out and in, and it's going to be one miserable pull. I prefer to install conduit much larger than the wires need, mainly to make the pull easier (and provide room for expansion).   I would bring in an electrician for this - simply because they'll have all the right pulling tools on the truck, and the skill to do the pull without tearing up the wire.  The right tools make all the difference in the world.

Keep in mind if there's any damage to this conduit, the pull will fail and you will end up digging up the yard.  Water in the conduit is no big deal; that's why you use THWN wire.

And don't presume it's in conduit.  If it's direct-burial cable, Code requires the cable exit the ground in conduit.  That would explain using barely-big-enough conduit that he couldn't possibly pull 200 feet through. If it's direct-buried, you'll have to re-trench it.

Cost: est. $700-1200 per building: $400 for wire; $300 for tools or $800 to hire an electrician for the pull.   If the conduit is not pullable, more.


That sillcock appears to be soldered on to the water pipe. There should have been a female adapter soldered on to the water pipe and then the sillcock would just screw onto the water pipe. You've got a few options here:

1) Cut the water pipe, solder a female adapter on the water pipe and screw in a new sillcock.

2) Cut the water pipe and get a SharkBite sillcock and shove it onto the water pipe.

3)Unsolder the existing sillcock, clean up the water pipe and solder a new sillcock onto the water pipe.

I would be doing the first option as it makes future replacements easier.


How can I upgrade a 3 wire appliance receptacle to a 4 wire receptacle?

Both of the previous answers are completely accurate. New ranges all come with the new four wire plug, however you can convert to a three wire configuration if your box is grounded (in this case your's is) by connecting the ground lug to the box in the female plug. Although this would not meet current code requirements, it is perfectly safe and this three wire configuration has been used for over 50 years before the new 4 wire config was established. This method is a "common sense fix", but the totally proper way would be to run a new 8/3WG Cu or 6/3WG Alu wire to the panel, assuming a 50 Amp breaker is being used.


What does the gravel provide:
The gravel helps allow you to build the drainage slope for the pipe and provides a back-up drainage medium for leakage.  In commercial projects we spec the drainage starts with perforated pipe then truncs into main drainage that is non-perforated and we require the gravel to be carried throughout, as a secondary drainage path.

Why do I need the extra drainage in gravel:
If the pipe connection has a flaw or if the ground shifts a pipe crack could form.  If the pipe is backfilled directly with soil the water will collect against the pipe and soil without somewhere to go. This collecting of water will make the soil saturated, cause additional issues and water infiltration. The gravel will allow the water to drain away from the pipe and down the path of least resistance in the direction of the pipe to the outfall.


How to safely block French doors to nowhere

In my area, they often build homes that have an optional deck, but the deck is not built at the same time as the home. In these cases, the home builders simply build a small section of railing, and attach it directly in front of the door.  In your case, you will not be able to open the doors (since the railing will prevent it).  In the case of sliding doors, you can open the door, but will not be able to go out it.

You can buy nice looking barrier railings to put up, if you're going to leave it up for a long time.

If it's going to be temporary, the builders around here usually just tack up a cheap section of railing.


It doesn't make a lot of sense that there's a gap the entire height of the door. What's preventing it from making contact?

As for the twist, one of two things is likely the culprit:

One or both of the doors is warped, due to excessive moisture and/or prolonged sun exposure. If that's the case, you'll probably just need to use extra force until it dries out. If it doesn't relax, you may need to replace the doors.
The wall has shifted, or the door frame has shifted in the wall. You'll need to apply some carpentry-foo and reset the door so that it's plumb, level, and square.

A close examination of all gaps and corners will reveal which is the problem. Post more photos if you like.


How to get dried paint out of washing machine?

I would try a latex paint remover if you don’t want to try that let it cure once it cures it may chip off a little at a time my wife sprays my paint clothes with a latex paint remover and washes them .


I recommend the ISR-10 by NSI Industries or equal. They splice and are completely insulated. Pretty much foolproof. You can Google them and you will see what I mean.

http://www.nsiindustries.com/catalog/nsiproducts/polaris%E2%84%A2-mechanical-connectors/polaris%E2%84%A2-black-insulated-connectors/isr-1-0

This might get you there. You can probably buy them online or from a wholesaler or someone like grainger.


What is best caulk for a 3/8" wide X 1" deep gap between a shower floor and wall?

I'd grout it. Then when the grout fails I'd do it again. The third or more time gets caulk as a last resort before gutting it.

Before the picture was up I had envisioned where the floor meets a tub; grout always fails there after a few years, but by then it's all pretty well settled and a touch-up grouting usually lasts much longer.

However what you have there... erm, what do you have there? Any idea if that was a kit or home made? Is there a watertight, factory manufactured basin down there or what? I'm going to assume there is and someone added walls and a floor for aesthetics. Otherwise,  gut it! So, it kinda doesn't matter what you use, until it starts growing mold. This is where the breathability of grout wins, over the moisture trapping capabilities of caulk.

If you MUST use caulk, use silicone. Latex caulk gets grubby much faster and is otherwise unsuitable in a wet location; insure that your silicone is suitable. I personally don't agree with the answers there about always using caulk at changes of plain; I try to get away with grout for as long as possible, everywhere. You can always come back and hack-job some caulk at it. When the time comes to readdress it, I'd rather be dealing with lose chunks of grout than removing old, moldy caulk mess. And if you use caulk, you will be readdressing it at some point, instead of the maybe you'd get with grout.


Here is my take on this.  If your cabinets are a standard size and they aren't on legs there is no reason you should remove them for a flooring upgrade.  Even if the cabinets were replaced they should be able to adjust the toe-kick to where it currently is to overlap the new floor.

Notes:

It is a MUST to move cabinets if they are on legs.  You cannot have a seam of old flooring visible.
You need to get the new flooring under the fridge.  It is too heavy and if you leave old flooring under it and need to move it the lip will probably damage new floor.
I would suggest putting it under stove for same reason.  Unless your stove has a completely flat top - most don't and have ridges, the addition 3/8" will probably be completely unnoticable as the heights already didn't align.  I personally like my stove slightly higher so things I am doing on counter don't just slide onto (hot) stove.  From a technical standpoint you can install flooring until legs of stove but like fridge you may have issues with the lip if stove needs to be moved.
There is no reason to have flooring under dishwasher.  They are light and have adjustable legs.  You really want your dishwasher sitting as high of the floor as possible too.  The dishwasher is only removed for major repair and extra height just makes that harder (or it could possibly prevent it from fitting to counter).
If an island is permanent we never floor under it (as we would just damage flooring securing island) if it is floating, we floor it.

For the most part I wouldn't even think of removing cabinets.  I like doing things in a long-term way and people can make a point that flooring should be continuous but after demoing and remodeling 20-30 kitchens I have basically put in new cabinets and never once had to worry about flooring unless I was removing a peninsula or something like that.  It is just not worth the money, the effort, and the potential damage to the cabinets.  Now if you are trying to get new lowers, now is the time.


Can I run two 72" 7.2amp 240V baseboard heating units on one 12-3 wire supply

12Ga wire is rated for 20 amps, so derating for continuous load nets you 16 amps, [16Amps times 125% = 20 amps] and 14.4 amps is less than 16 amps, so one 12Ga wire should be adequate for two heaters.

Whether the thermostat is rated for that load will depend on the thermostat, but from a wiring point of view 12Ga wire is adequate.

Pending your response to comment, I'd expect a resistive heater that draws 7.2 amps on 208 volts to draw ~8.3 amps on 240V, at which point one 12Ga wire won't run two (but each could be run on a dedicated 14Ga wire, which is good for 12A continuous load.)

From comment to the question: Examining the 240/208V 72" heater, Part #: 09956

Watts at 240V: 1500  - Amps at 240V: 6.3
Watts at 208V: 1125  - Amps at 208V: 5.4

As expected, being a resistive device, when the Voltage goes up, the Current goes up, and the Power (which is also heat delivered) goes up. Running a 208V (only) heater on 240 V wil also result in more current, and more power, but will probably also cause the heater to overheat, as it is not designed to deliver that much power/heat.


GFCI outlet with led light not on but have power

The light should only come on when the GFCI is tripped in most outlets.  There are GFCI outlet testers available; big box home stores carry them.  If the light doesn't come on when the outlet is tripped and the outlet tests correctly, it's probably the outlet.  Replacing the outlet would be the way forward to fix that.  The GFCI tester may show other problems which could cause unexpected behavior and should be fixed.


What are these blue and yellow cables coming out of my house for?

As best one can see from that resolution those are twisted pair cables.  The blue is probably a Cat5e or Cat6, for ethernet, and the yellow is probably Cat3/VG for phone.  If you look closely you should see the rating on the jacket.

If your area has or is scheduled to receive fiber-optic com utilities then some vendors (like FIOS) put the fiber terminal outside and split off the various services from there.

If they're not connected on either end they're safe to remove, but I'd leave terminals in case you want to connect service so you don't have to drill back through the siding.


Stated another way, your options are to make the best use possible of the cable that's already installed or install new cable that suits your need better.

Ethernet outdoors

There exist environmentally hardened Ethernet switches designed for outdoor use, but you won't find them on the shelf at the local big box electronics store and they'll cost more than consumer/SOHO indoor-rated gear. Then again, indoor-rated gear might perform acceptably for you even outdoors. So there's one option: install an Ethernet switch near enough to all those cables outdoors so that they can be patched into the switch. You'd have to get power to it from somewhere and it would require some kind of protection from water.

Turn cables indoors

Think about what's on the interior side of the wall from that outdoor junction box. Would it be acceptable to place a patch panel near that location? You could cut an opening in the interior wall, pull all the cables from the junction box into a new box inside, and repair the wall.

Modify, abandon, or replace

If all else fails you'll have to install some new cable. Some of the existing cable might run through accessible areas like the attic. Any existing cable you can find and re-route to the new patch panel location saves work in fishing new wire through walls. Consider whether it's useful to have more than one patch (and switch) location to so that everything doesn't have to home-run to a single place.

Don't go to great pains to rip out wire you're not using -- if it isn't hurting anything, just leave it in place. Maybe you or a future owner will think of something to use it for later.

Retrofitting cable is something of an art form, but it can be learned. Things to consider as you plan a retrofit are which direction the floor joists go and where there are mechanical chases (ie for duct work) that you might be able to push wire through.


There are potential safety concerns using a pressurized vessel for use outside of its design parameters. An air pig can easily be purchased with known ratings and pressure relief built in. Couple an air Pig with a pressure regulator and you'll have yourself a portable pressurized vessel that is safe and dialable. This is an example of an air pigwww.homedepot.com

A regulator
https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjr1pjM-4HhAhUMGWkKHb2FARAYABABGgJpcQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD20JjDAVGqz-qgNA4TwoqW&sig=AOD64_2SRn-l4VT0e71n6VYTSpO7n5oFqQ&ctype=46&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjRpZPM-4HhAhXo1IMKHYNtBjIQzzl6BAgLEAc&adurl=

You won't get much use out of it in between charges due to the volume of the pressure vessel. To get a usable amount of air in the tank you may need to recharge frequently in order to do that you may want to get a portable air pump.

Battery operated air pumphttps://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi7mov9_IHhAhWXtcAKHd3XCHkYABATGgJpbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD2amOzOw3QuE2L556cw1ed&sig=AOD64_2n1jgSPZIA_daVlU_5O156gmhCYA&ctype=46&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjp-IP9_IHhAhWO_YMKHVMCBokQzzl6BAgLEAc&adurl=

Milwaukee also makes an digitally set battery operated air pump but I don't know the range. My friend has it. But I don't know if it goes down to 12psi.

Edit

It does, here's a link. It's available in m12 or m18

milwaukee m12 pumphttps://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m12-cordless-inflator-review


What tool should I use to cut memory foam?

For thicker pieces you might find you get better results by compressing the foam before cutting it. You could make a simple straight-line clamp out of a couple of 2x4s linked with a door hinge -- just put your foam in between, clamp the open end shut with a C-clamp, and use one edge of the wood as a guide for your cut. For your curved cuts it might make more sense to make a plywood die to match the final shape and press it down by hand or with something heavy before cutting around it.


If you are talking about water backing up in the drains there is a down line obstruction and a snake or jetting may be required as the problem normally continues to get worse until totally plugged.


Need guidance and advice for a mixing valve

If your existing shower is a two handle type (independently controlled hot and cold) the simplest solution would be to install a temperature actuated flow reducer. This devise can be added inline between the shower head and the shower arm. It will reduce the flow out of the shower head as the temperature gets too hot. This will give you time to adjust the temperature before getting scalded.

The best solution is to replace the existing shower valve with a modern pressure balanced one. This type of valve will adjust the flow of the hot if there is a drop in pressure on the cold side due to a toilet being flushed. This would require you to open up the wall in order to replace the valve (easy if the back side of the shower wall is accessible).

Update: Some manufactures sell a cover plate for converting two (or three) handle shower valves to pressure balanced ones. The cover plate conceals the leftover holes in the tile from the old valve. Here's a clip from Ask This Old House on installing one.

If you’re not able to replace the valve, but the water lines are accessible (in an attic or basement), you could install a point-of-use thermoplastic mixing valve on the hot line that feeds the shower valve.

You can also adjust the temperature of your hot water tank, however you don't want to set it too low as you would increase the risk of pathogens.

Lastly, adding check valves will not help if the issue is pressure balance.


Maximally Sealing Window Air Conditioner

I also like the rigid foam @jimmy fix-it commented. it is easy to cut to size. I did see a person that used plastic wrap and injected expanding foam, the plastic kept the spray foam from sticking to the window. He folded the plastic in 1/2 and used the nozzle to shoot the foam in but not two much the plastic keeps the spray foam from sticking to the foam board and window it also locks everything together once dried and is easy to use a box knife or steak knife to cut the spray foam on 1 side then it pops out the foam board can be used again next year.


What can I use to clean my brick fireplace

What we did with our 32 year old brick fireplace was paint it white. It was a lot easier than trying to clean the brick and grout.


Why do painters seem to prefer brush to spray gun?

It isn't the quality of the paint, though the different processing (cars: paint then bake it on, buildings: paint, let air dry for days) may be part of it.
It has to do with preparation and control.
A new car is NOT spray-painted after full assembly. To do that, you would have to mask the tires, windshield, windows, chrome, etc. Literally the entire metal shell of the car and nothing else is spray-painted. There is no harm (except wasted paint) by spraying where you shouldn't.
A house, even new, is not setup for spray-painting. You have electrical (though if you see paint inside junction boxes, that could explain it), plumbing, windows, etc. all of which are installed (to varying degrees) before the main paint job. Plus houses are routinely painted years later as a house may last 50 years or more - few cars last anywhere near that long.
Even over a relatively long car lifetime - e.g., 20 years - the original paint job will generally need only touch-ups as it is typically quite rugged, with multiple layers designed to hold up against years of use, UV radiation, weather, etc.
When repainting a car, typically after accident damage, spray-painting is used. The extra effort involved is significant, but brush marks on metal car body are a bit more of a problem than on house walls and it is the only practical way to match the original finish. But it is an ordeal - and most people never repaint their car unless it is seriously damaged.


Must trim paint (for baseboards) be gloss or semi-gloss, or can it be flat?

Primer or primer/sealer is only necessary if the surface has not been previously painted (the question does not state whether or not this is the case) or for certain specific situations with "problem" surfaces.

Trim (like door/window casing, baseboards, etc.) are usually treated with a coating that has some sheen (gloss, semi-gloss) to facilitate easy cleaning and for resistance to scuffs and marks. Trim boards exist to protect walls and surfaces from scuffs, marks, and impact damage in vulnerable areas, hence the likelihood of receiving such and the necessity for more durable finishes.


matching max electrical load of count down timer to heated towel bar

These are compatible.  Your towel bar will draw less than 1 Amp and that is much less than the max load of your timer.


How can I independently control a light and fan, where only a single hot wire is used?

You could (spend money) replace the controller and the switch. Or remove the controller and just wire everything to the fan switch (free). Either way, if the wire is in conduit and you have to pull the fan down, just run another wire.


Can I expect any problems (sagging?) if I build my fence with 6'x8' panels like this?

I have seen one cedar fence installation in a very shady yard in Dallas where the cap board has kept the top fence rail from drying out. This is a 1st rate cedar fence in which the top rail is rotting from staying wet. The cap board is very attractive, but if this is the result it should be rethought.


What's the best way to seal a small leak on a sprinkler pump inlet PVC pipe where a siphoning system has been tapped?

Tighten the joint  slightly.

Pipe threads are tapered - the PTFE thread tape (or pipe dope - I'm currently more of a fan of PTFE pipe dope than of PTFE thread tape, though I used to be a big fan of the tape as opposed to old-style dope) provides a seal for the "helical leak path" (the fact that the female threads are a bit sharper than the top of the male threads) and some lubricity for easier tightening.

A slow drip type leak is often just a 1/4 turn from not leaking.

If you take it apart, you need to clean off the remains of the old tape and apply new tape (one reason I now prefer the modern dope - you can just add a bit more, with no need to clean off the old, and you don't have all the tape shreds to deal with.) Excessive thickness of tape won't help the seal - more is not better.


Can I make the contractor redo a roofing job because he didn't replace delaminated plywood?

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  The plywood is not typically supporting a load of more than the paper and asphalt shingles that were placed, even more so if you have a considerable pitch on your roof to where it would be difficult or impossible for a person to walk on.  It basically serves so that you have something to nail the shingles down securely.

Most newer homes use plywood, I have an older home that used what looks like rough cut deck planks and those are mostly still original.  The last time I had my roof replaced, they had to change out a few boards that were terribly dry rotted and some that were badly damaged from previous water damage by the oh-so responsible homeowners who had the home before me.  Other older boards look noticeably damaged by the most recent nails but they continue to hold down the shingles and I would still feel safe to stand on my roof.

As long as the shingles are doing their job then the plywood will not be exposed to any water, and as long as your attic has good ventilation during the summer time then you should have nothing to worry about for the next 15-20 years at least.


How to repair this scratch in laminated countertop?

Short of replacement, I don't think there is much you can do to completely hide the scratch.
You might be able to make it less noticeable by coloring it a darker shade so it doesn't stand out as much. The simplest example would be to draw in the scratch with a thin brown marker, although since this is a kitchen you might consider a food safe dye of some sort (they do make non-toxic permanent markers).


Fridge works for 2 months if I unplug it for 2 hours

Side-by-side or top/bottom?

When this happens do you get high temp on refrigerator, freezer or both?

Some side-by-side refrigerators have a vent between the two sections which can ice up - in which case my guess is you would see different effects on each side. A couple of hours might be enough for that to melt and then everything works fine for a while.


Need Assistance Wiring a Duct Booster Fan

Should I just pay them the $700 and be done with it?

Depends on ..

  Am I too far out of my depth?

Can you operate a screwdriver, watch you tube, turn off a circuit breaker .

  Am I likely to be bumping up against so many safety and code issues
  that I should just pay to have it done?

Only the fan matters - UL Listed, GFCI Circuit if the location has high humidity like a shower (probably already is if that is the case)

  Many of the in-line duct fans I've seen plug directly into a 120v
  outlet. I was thinking I could just rig the relay to energize a 120v
  outlet and plug the fan into that. In this way, I can just plug a new
  fan in if/when needed. I know codes differ from location to location.
  But is controlling a 120v outlet with thermostats and a relay ever OK?

Why do this you don't need to!
Your current fan is 120V or possibly but not likely 220v - just use the three wires on your current fan (Black , White , and Green/copper) which are probably wire nutted in a junction box by the fan motor and swap out with a new fan.

You can probably buy a new fan of the exact same type as yours online for $100.. Do an online search of the model number found on the motor faceplate.

  Let's say #2 is a no-go. I need to identify a proper relay. Can I use any old 24v to 120v relay to power the fan?

Your HVAC relay that is 24V - that is the solenoid side - not the load side - the load side is 120V or 220V and is what turns on your fan.

I'd love for all of this to be stuffed into a junction box, but it looks like any relay I see is mounted outside of the junction box. I assume this is to keep the low voltage and line voltage separate. So I take it that it's never OK to hide the relay inside a junction box?

  You misunderstand: the relay is inside the junction box with Low
  voltage on the COIL side (which pulls in the contact side) and 120VAC or 220VAC on the Contact side.
  This is perfectly fine and good that they did this.

Here is an electrical Diagram of what you probably have and should see..


How much clearance is required around a kitchen island?

Ideally, there should be enough room for a person to get by while there is someone standing at the island working.

So enough room for two people to stand side by side across the gap or pass comfortably. If you have to cater for people with mobility problems you will probably need to make this gap wider to accommodate the extra width and lack of flexibility of someone using a wheelchair or walking frame.

However, depending on your design you might be able to get away with less - especially if there's going to be little to no traffic in that area.


A light switch shows power going to it when in the off position

it sounds like the switch was installed in the neutral,  that should be corrected.
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/518257/what-is-switched-neutral


What type of lattice should I use for a privacy screen?

I would recommend you build it yourself.  None of the building supply versions that I've seen can stand up too much more than 3 years of weathering.  They use cheap fasteners that rust and stain the second year.

Self construction will allow custom size openings.  Weaving is another possibility.

Teak, ipe, redwood and cedar, in that order, would be my top choices for natural or stained.

Stainless fasteners are a must.

Lattice construction atricle

Google image search for lattice


outlet not working but grounding screw is hot

Rewrite

It's not metal conduit, those are Romex clamps.

The first problem is that you have power on the receptacle somewhere when you expect not to.  So keep using that voltage tester.  There are lots of ways to use a voltage tester wrong, but this for sure: it should never light up on a dead circuit. if you have turned the circuit off, and it is not dead, it is now very important to find out which other breaker you must turn off to make it actually dead.  It's likely these two breakers together form a multi-wire branch circuit, which share a neutral in an engineered way which works. However there are certain rules MWBCs must follow, and if they do not, they become nightmares, with symptoms like these.   We need to know if 2 breakers feed that circuit so we can work that issue... if it's an issue.

Looking at that melted neutral, it would also matter to know exactly where in the service panel those two breakers are.   That super matters.

It would also be good to know if this installer was habitually using white for hot and black for neutral. (Maybe he was British?)

It would also be good to get a length of wire so you can get a reliable ground from some place like a sink, spigot, water pipe etc.

Aside from that,  screws shorting against the metal box could contribute to the problem.  Wrap the receptacle with tape edgewise to stop that from happening.


Proper toner/probe use to track coax behind drywall

The point of coax cable is to protect a weak signal from outside noise. That also protects the outside from a signal on the coax.

What you need is something that puts out a signal that can be picked up when connected only to the shield, so there isn't a balancing counter-current on the interior conductor.

I am fairly sure such exist; I can't recommend any specific products.


How to finish edge of tiled shower with metal outside drywall?

If I understand correctly, the question is how to finish the 90degree transition where the metal trim meets the drywall.
First, I would clean up the metal trim. Scrape off or use some kind of adhesive remover to remove any residue. You may need to buff/polish it with some fine grit sandpaper.
For the transition i would use caulk, If you feel it may see a lot of moisture then use 100% mold/mildew resistant silicone. (after painting the wall)
If not then a paint-able caulk (before painting the wall)  that would be able to accept the paint color you choose for the wall.


Do I need to install dry wall in my basement?

What drywall will give you includes:

Insulation. Concrete is not a good insulator, so drywall will help here, and as @ChrisF points out in the comment, you can add insulation behind drywall for some extra.
Soundproofing. A bit of soundproofing, anyway
Somewhere to run cables behind, so they aren't exposed. Depening on where you are this may be a requirement
Simplified shelf mounting etc.
Much easier to cover/paint - you can use normal paints on drywall


How to make sure a dampen floor and wall is caused by a leaking pipe?

There's no way to positively say whether it's the pipe or the pressure washer.  The water meter readings may, or may not, be meaningful - that water could be going somewhere legitimate as Daniel Grissom said, and it's a very small amount of water.  To check the pipe you'll have to get access to it, which means tearing up the tile.  So what's more likely - a pipe started leaking at the same time that you pressure washed the patio, or that water got into the wall while you were pressure washing?  If it was me, I'd get several fans blowing on the damp area for a few days to see if it drys up.  If it makes no difference after a week, then maybe you need to dig into the tile.


What makes a certain fixture burn through bulbs?

The metal tab in the base of the outlet has been pushed down too far (usually by overtightenig a bulb), and no longer makes good contact with the bulb. This causes sparking that gets worse as it gradually burns away the solder blob, and increases wear on the bulb.

You can tell this is happening be examining the base of the failed bulb; there will be a large divot in it.

To fix it, just pull/pry the tab up a bit. Be careful not to to electrocute yourself.


To identify model of Liftmaster garage door opener

Like many "brands" of opener, it's really a Chamberlain, and has a Chamberlain part number there on the label.


Low Height Deck Joist Support Options on Concrete

You are going to building a series of joists that presumably terminal at rim joists and then shim this floor assembly level.  Are you putting plywood on top of it so that your tiles sit on the plywood?

If you make a 12'x 14' floor assembly out of 2x2 joists with rim joists and this is for the most part sitting on the ground, you could shim with composite shim or make your own from decking offcuts.  Another option is you could use a non-shrink structural grout in any space between the joist and the slab and use get a mortar bag to apply it.  If the heave in the slab is making the assembly not level chip/grind it out.

Your deck is covered, the concrete base is porous, assuming water is not pooling under the deck in a storm I don't think you have to worry too much about drainage.  If the water has previous pooled on the concrete then you might want to worry more about it.

To keep the shims in place you could either use the grout or use an adhesive (PL Premium).  Direct contact between the PT 2x2 and the concrete is fine assuming there is no puddling of water.


Converting closed tread stairs to open tread stairs

A stringer is what supports the treads of a staircase from below. The treads sit on the stringers. There are likely three - one at each end and one down the center, continuous up any single run of steps. The walls that skirt your steps on the outside and hide the step’s edges are merely decorative and can be removed or modified without affecting the structural integrity of the staircase.

Take down the walls you need to, to uncover the ends of the steps, then reframe the walls so the framing is flush with the outside face of the outside stair stringer. Then finish with new drywall, wood, whatever you fancy.

The staircase you have with the switchback in it with the wall in the middle - that decorative wall in the middle can be taken down to the level of the middle landing and made flush with the floor there, creating a little shelf.


How do I prevent my security cameras from being stolen?

There's a couple of ways to play this, depending on how easy it is to get above/behind the mount point above the camera

Attach a smooth-face bolt to the bottom and put the nut above/behind. If you're mounting to a soffit or plywood, this is the best way to do it because you have no native access to loosen the bolt from the outside. All you see is the smooth face
Use a one-way screw. Not impossible to remove, but not doable with hand tools

Use a non-standard screw head. Star bits are a bit harder to come by than Phillips or straight. There's even some rather exotic heads, with the goal being security through obscurity

Mind you, there's nothing to stop a determined thief from drilling the fastener out and taking the camera (which would involve noise), but these ideas should make it more difficult than using a regular pocket screwdriver.


It's possible you have a short.  From your question I don't know if you disconnected D by removing the connection at C or D.  You could try this:

I'll assume since you did all this you're basically OK working with electrical.  Get yourself a non contact voltage detector and use that through this whole process to confirm things are dead before you touch them.

With the breaker off, and the switch off, look at the wiring in the box at D.  Look for any place the bare conductor of the hot wire could touch the bare ground wire, the neutral, or metal inside the box.  Look for nicks in the wire, places where stripped wire extends past the wire nut, etc.
If that doesn't reveal anything, with the breaker and switch still off, remove the last light fixture (D) and cap the hot and neutral wires with wire nuts.  Turn on the breaker, turn on the switch, see if it trips.  If so, there is probably a short between the hot and neutral wires or hot and ground wires in the cable between C and D.
If it trips with the D light disconnected and the wires capped, turn the breaker and switch back off, remove the C fixture, undo the wiring and cap the wires that feed D, and reconnect C as if it was the last light in the line.  Turn the breaker back on, turn the switch back on, and confirm that the breaker doesn't trip.

If it does, then something's not consistent.  I'll assume it doesn't.

Turn off the breaker and switch again, and test for continuity between the hot and neutral wires from C to D, and between the hot and ground from C to D.  If you see continuity with the wires disconnected and capped at both ends, you've found a short.  The wire from C to D will have to be replaced.

If this doesn't lead you to a fix, you might want to call in for reinforcements, and leave that breaker off until they arrive.


How do I determine what pieces of vinyl siding to buy?

If you can remove one panel carefully you might find the manufacturer stamp on the back. It will narrow down the search down a little bit. Otherwise just a small sample would be nice to have when visit the stores. I've seen websites on the web that identify manufactures based on the sample that you send. Both Lowe's and Home Depot sell some vynil siding. Not a huge selection.

Honestly, it doesn't have to be exactly the same. The previous owner used a similar siding on the addition and i didn't notice until i had to replace a panel.


Rough-in Inspection of Existing/New Circuit Breaker

For a rough inspection the inspector needs all the physical wiring and clamps to be in place.
Since your switches are on an existing circuit and live they need to be in the boxes they can be pulled and angled to put the Sheetrock up later.
Make sure you have 6+ inches wire in the boxes,
Make sure at least 1/4” of the nmb or Romex outer sheath is inside the box.
Make sure you staple the wiring 8-12” from the box (8” if no clamps).
Make sure any cable that is through a hole is 1-1/4” back from the stud face
If stapling make sure cable is stapled 1-1/4” back from face(s) of studs.
These are the things my local inspectors check on a rough inspection.
Depending on your version of code (you did not provide location) you may need a neutral in the switch boxes.


The photo appears to be of a very old, possibly nickel-plated brass fixture with the plating worn off and a significant copper-based corrosion process ongoing.
I doubt that you'll find any quick fix here as you'll either need to replace it entirely or completely disassemble it, remove all corrosion from it, re-plate it as appropriate, and replace all of its worn parts before it will work as new again.
I'm sure you can find some articles online about this process. Cleaning off the corrosion is likely to be easy enough. I'd start with a product such as CLR or similar that is sold where you live. That, plus some steel wool, should yield a cleaned-up surface. Plating takes special equipment and while it can be done yourself, if you want nice results you should find a local shop that does this.


Yeah, that roof's pretty beat. I'd actually go heavily at that seam with Mortar Caulk (its gritty & gray), the whole length of the seam if you don't know where the leak is. But, spraying a hose at the seam & very slowly moving the spray up the seam should give you a good idea of the problem area.

Still caulk the whole seam, but then do under the shingles in the leak zone. Be careful & don't pry them anymore if they're brittle & chunks start snapping off. I caulked a flat roof in the rain 3-years ago & it still hasn't let in a drop.


Install Ultra Short-Throw Projector Mounted Onto Ceiling in Residential Home

...you buy a projector mount, install it to the ceiling (normally requiring that you find the framing to get adequate hold) and provide it with power and signal cables (normally requiring a considerable amount of ripping drywall open to get those run - do yourself a BIG favor and run conduits, not wires, so you don't have to re-do the drywall work when things change.) Then you repair the drywall and paint.

It's not magic, it's just work. Either you do it, or you pay somebody else to do it, and aside from "companies out there who do it for cheap" being specifically off topic, there's also the little matter of getting your house burned down by some cheap fly-by-nighter cutting corners on the install. Always remember that "the US Electrical Code" is written by folks in the "fire prevention" business. Do you really want to bet your house on doing it wrong?

Alternatively, you live with exposed cables attached to the ceiling. It's much easier, and when you remove the projector it's just a few screw-holes to spackle & paint. I've done quite a few projectors for work, and most of them are exposed wiring.

Or, depending on the size of your proposed whiteboard, you discover that large TVs are remarkably affordable and brighter than most projectors, and skip the whole whiteboard & projector thing (done a lot of those at work, too, at half the price of the projector, and able to work in rooms much too bright for a projector to work in.)


A gas range needs a gas pipe. I'm not seeing one in that photo.   How hard it will be to install a gas pipe depends on how your house is constructed and whether or not you already have a gas supply to it.


How should I safely replace Central Vacuum faceplates?

If the brush gets power from a separate outlet, then more than likely the voltage going to the vacuum outlets is very low (maybe 5v), just enough to detect a connection.  But it doesn't hurt to shut the breaker off to the central vacuum, if for no other reason than to keep the thing from turning on and sucking up your screws.


Will removing the insulation from an unfinished basement cause it to be a lot colder?

Good question. Under the circumstances, I feel you would be better off leaving the existing insulation alone, or simply cover it with a more attractive plastic sheet or some inexpensive fabric. perhaps a curtain type wall over the insulation?  If you remove it without a plan to replace the insulation, the basement will be somewhat cooler. There are several ways to insulate the walls without framing, but adhering rigid foam insulation is expensive, up to $80 per 4X8 sheet, and spray on foam is more expensive than that and should be professionally applied.


This is a fairly typical basin waste ...

See where those rods intersect, there's a clamping block there.

Some people call it a "Basin Waste Arm Pop Up Rod Link Connector Metal Linkage" - but that's a bit verbose.


It depends on the inspector, and whether or not they consider it exposed to physical damage.


From looking at your pictures I have extracted what appears to be the key parts. Please verify for yourself but it appears that the RED wire from the transformer goes off to the thermostat cable terminal block. If that is the case then the opposite terminal of the 24VAC transformer would be where the C wire would connect.

My suggestion for connecting to the transformer terminal, where there are presently a brown and a black wire connected, is to make sure the wires are terminated properly with spade terminals rather than trying to just twist a wire around under the screw.

If you wanted to make this a clean upgrade you would look at changing out the current terminal block with one that has three positions. This way the thermostat cable can just terminate at the terminal block and you can add an additional wire from the terminal block over to the transformer.

(Picture and Supplier Source: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bussmann-Eaton/TB300-03?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsntO7gZZwOWCUaS%252b%252blAGE8Ob7nLJyRNq0%3d)


How to wire two light bulb sockets inside a ceiling fixture?

If you pulled the wire from the socket then the best way to repair this is to replace the socket unless it happens to have screw terminals on it (I doubt it).  If you mistakenly removed a wire nut then you can easily correct this.  Wire all black wires together, all whites together, and the grounds together with wire nuts (often they are supplied with the fixture).

The lights should be wired in parallel (white-to-white, etc.), not series.  Do not wire black-to-white and black-to-white.

If you are unsure of how to make this repair then the safest thing to do is replace the fixture and/or consult an electrician.


Can I replace two 15 amp fuses with 10 and 20 amp fuses?

Nope, either way

First, "upgrading" the 15A fuse is not allowed.   A few people are talking about the rules by which the circuit might've been wired for 20A.  That's dreaming.  If the circuit met those requirements, they would've used a 20A fuse in the first place and you wouldn't be having this discussion now.  So I wouldn't go getting my hopes up on that.

Now, it's not illegal to swap the 15 for a 10. However, it's a bad idea because then, the next guy won't know what fuse is supposed to go there.   You may notice something about that fuse box, there is absolutely nothing on the box that tells you what the fuse should be.

That 30A rating is the rating of the fuse box itself.  It is saying that you could hypothetically use that fuse box with dual 30A fuses, 10AWG wire and feed an electric dryer.  However in your case, the wire is almost certainly #14 AWG, which only allows 15 amps.

I would be surprised if the refrigerator were the "other" appliance.  They tend to be quite low draw unless they are older units, and if they are older units, most electric companies will be happy to give you a new fridge, because it's cheaper than adding generating  capacity to power your old one... and I would be amazed if your landlord would oppose a free new fridge.  He probably just hasn't bothered to ask because he doesn't pay the electric bill and doesn't have time to deal with it.  This is an opportunity for you.

Now it may be a different appliance, perhaps one that you consider inconsequential, because most people frankly don't know what devices draw.  They think "$20 toaster must draw a tiny fraction of the huge expensive fridge" nope, it's the exact opposite.  If you can identify that other appliance, that may solve it.

Most kitchen appliances which use heat use 1500 watts (12.5 amps) whether large or small.  It wouldn't matter if you had a brand new house with fresh 20A wiring, no kitchen circuit can support two 1500W (12.5 amp) appliances at once.

It's also possible you have a large deluxe microwave that pulls 1500+ watts and cannot share a 15A circuit.  Take it back and get a 1000W mini.


Can sewage smell be from water heater if water DOES NOT smell?

Since you said your gas lines are copper I would guess you have a gas water heater.
If your water heater is not properly vented AND has a sufficient source of fresh air this is probably the source of the problem.
What is happening? The most common problem is insufficient make up air. We know the gas water heater requires a vent and I have never run into a no vent problem.
The cause I have found quite a few times is not enough fresh air so the exhaust vent takes the air out but then the home goes slightly negative as far as pressure.
When this happens the room air is consumed and the exhaust gasses circulate in the air space leaving the foul odor you have when the water heater is running for a while.
To prove this open a window in the basement a bit if there is one or make sure there is a fresh air source to the basement to verify this would fix the problem.
To make a permanent fix a fresh air source should be ducted to the water heater area and in most areas this is required by code.
Give a fresh air source a try and it will probably solve your smell problem.


How to fix newbies deck stain mistakes without sanding the whole deck

Well, let's see what the instructions say.

  Apply using an exterior paint pad, brush, roller, dipping or compression driven sprayer. If over applied, remove excess before it dries by redistributing to dry areas or wiping off...

Make sure you did that. Honestly when working with a coating for the first time, I cut my teeth with brush/roller/tip-out or whatever is the "normal" way to apply the product. I only upgrade to more "efficient" methods after I have Popeye arms from doing it manually.  A lot of people leap straight to the most tech-heavy or "efficient" method, only to get snagged up in unfamiliarity with the product or tool.  Case in point.

  Only one coat is recommended. A second coat can be added if more color is desired.

This is paint company talk for "Two coats required" :)

  Allow the first coat to dry approximately 2 hours. Second coat must be applied within 4 hours of initial application.

Every product has "recoat times", when the coating is stable enough to take a second coat, but still soft enough for the next coat to chemically bond.  Here are the rules for this coating.

When you miss your recoat times, you must now "scuff-sand" the layer.  You're not trying to tear it down; you're just trying to lift the gloss off the surface, and give it microscopic mountains, to make the surface rough enough for the next coat to *mechanically bond.

This isn't a full-on sand-down.  You can get it done with green Scotchbrite pads or steel wool, or a wirebrush.

Then I would try a second coat and if necessary a third; so plan your day so that you can hit that 2-4 hour recoat window.

  Keep the leading edge wet and distribute waterproofer evenly. This will help avoid lap marks and keep the color uniform.

And pay very close attention to this. When you don't keep a wet edge, your overlap becomes a second coat, deepening the color.   This is yet another reason not to be "exploring" a new combination of product and application equipment.  I would expect the normal application method to be roller/tray; stick with that.   Google "tip out brush" for a way to make rolling even more uniform.


It's possible you have a ground wire nicking a hot or neutral. The easiest way to remove that issue is wrap the outlets and switches with a couple loops of electrical tape so the screws are covered.  I do that in metal boxes/EMT, and that doesn't even have ground wires.  Also, if the screws are all the way out because they came that way from the factory and you use the backstabs, that creates a larger surface area for that to happen, and the answer is stop using backstabs!

However the more likely threat is your wiring topology.

The most basic rule is currents must be equal in each cable.   Now, the rule is relevant to EMF emission (on a balanced cable, all currents cancel each other out, so their EMFs do also).   However, it's also relevant to GFCI, AFCI and CAFI, since those are looking for differential current as a sign of a ground or arc fault.  But this rule has a very valuable corollary:

Tree topology is safe. Mesh topology is dangerous.

If you consider a tree, it has many branches, but the branches never rejoin. Quite different from a roadway system, which is a mesh - you aren't obliged to go back the way you came.   Consider ants exploring a tree all day and going home in the evening. Ants can't jump branches.  You could put an ant turnstile anywhere on the tree, and if 130 ants went up past that point, 130 ants come back down.  Currents are equal anywhere in the tree.

So as long as your wiring topology is that of a tree, it's hard make a shared neutral mistake.

Now, sometimes your cable topology needs to enter a box from 2 separate directions (e.g. that 3-way case). You can either use 2 boxes, or you can use a box divider (real or mental) to fully separate the cables so it's effectively 2 boxes.

Nowadays with GFCI you have to be really fastidious about this stuff. Before, you could play fast and loose and it would "work" if nobody put a clamp meter around the cable, but that GFCI or CAFI is the clamp meter.

Multi-wire branch circuits need a 2-pole GFCI/CAFI

Perhaps you are using an older trick: the Multi-Wire Branch Circuit or MWBC, also called a "shared neutral" circuit.   Two hots on opposite poles share a neutral. Perfectly safe and proper when done correctly, but doesn't play well with single pole GFCI/CAFI. You need to use 2-pole GFCI or CAFI for that.


Outlet stopped working, found it is only two wire

Note that if you can't put in a grounded outlet, a gfci outlet is an acceptable alternative for safety. I've done that at several places in my old house. When installing without a ground, there's a sticker that should be applied essentially saying "yes, we know there's no ground, don't panic if the tester tells you so but also don't expect to use anything plugged in here as a ground."


The sliding screen door is completely independent of the the sliding glass door. There is no need to remove the glass door to install a screen door. If you are not experienced at removing sliding glass doors and you try to do so, even with a helper, you risk damaging the door and personal injury.

The light sliding screen doors I am familiar with have two spring loaded rollers on the bottom (possibly on the top too). Insert the top of the door into the top slot and position the bottom as close to the bottom track as you can. Use a flat metal blade (e.g. a putty knife) to lift up one roller, push the door over the track and release the roller. Repeat on the other roller.


PEX is usually rated at 180° F (82° C) -- it should say on the side of the pipe what the actual rating is. As long as your water heater temperature is below that, you're fine.

From wikipedia:

  There are two seemingly conflicting safety issues around water heater temperature—the risk of scalding from excessively hot water greater than 55 °C (131 °F), and the risk of incubating bacteria colonies, particularly Legionella, in water that is not hot enough to kill them. Both risks are potentially life threatening and are balanced by setting the water heater's thermostat to at least 54.4 °C (130 °F). The European Guidelines for Control and Prevention of Travel Associated Legionnaires’ Disease recommend that hot water should be stored at 60 °C (140 °F) and distributed such that a temperature of at least 50 °C and preferably 55 °C is achieved within one minute at outlets.

As @Michael points out, a T&P safety valve is rated to go off at 210°F (100°C), so if something does go wrong and your water heater overheats, there is a possibility the PEX will fail. If the PEX does fail, it almost certainly will happen right above the tank (which will be the hottest place, obviously). It will also serve somewhat the same job as the T&P valve, except that a T&P valve will close once the temperature/pressure has lowered, while a burst pipe will just keep gushing water until someone shuts off the supply.

The chances of water heater overheating like this are quite low: electrical heaters have thermal fuses in them that serve as an electronic safety (very hard to find the temperature rating of these: seems like it's anywhere from 167 to 210°F). In addition, the electronics are pretty reliable, and just very unlikely to fail "on", and without drawing too much current that would cause the breaker to trip.


I just found that they are used for the outdoor condenser.


Can I use a US-bought chandelier in India?

If the chandelier is simply controlled by a wall switch (i.e. no internal electronics), it should be safe to do so because you'll be using bulbs that draw about half the current that the wiring in the chandelier can supply: 60 W / 110 V bulb will draw approximately 550 mA from the US electrical supply, whereas a 60 W / 220 V bulb will draw approximately 270 mA from the Indian electrical supply.

However, if the chandelier has an integral dimmer, then it probably won't work with the different supply voltage and frequency.


This may not be the ideal solution but I did get it connected an working.  I did not realize that I could put more than one of the wires on a single screw on the switch.  Once I figured this out, I simply connected the formerly backstabbed wires to their corresponding screws and doubling up on the screw that already had a wire on it.
Thanks for the help, and if you have suggestions on making it better, let me know.


How do I get the insulation blower into the attic?

The blower doesn't go in the attic. The hose and the control cable do. If you took the blower up there you'd also have to carry the insulation up after it.
If you don't have enough hose, request an extension. Leave the blower in your truck or on your trailer unless you can't park near the door or window nearest the attic access point.


There is no reason why you cannot install a larger meter base than the one required. Keep in mind that equipment is rated to handle maximum currents not minimum. In your case a 100A meter base can only handle current up to 100A. Whereas a 125A handles up to 125A and will handle a 100A current without a problem.

Her's an idea. When I was working we always installed a 200A meter base since know you have the ability to upgrade a service if needed later, and comparing material cost the upgrade was minimal and labor is more or less the same. The only reason we would install a smaller base would be because of space restrictions.

Good luck


How to clean cement smear from concrete?

Muriatic acid is the usual way of cleaning up cement-based products. It may act more readily on the newer concrete, but use caution and be prepared to rinse thoroughly if the outcome isn't ideal.

If the concrete is very new, try a water rinse along with a wire brush and some elbow grease.


Should I attempt to fix a sink leak myself?

Are you talking about the threaded joint between the white pipe and the gray pipe leading down from the sink?  You could just try snugging the joint up by turning the nut clockwise.  If it is loose you can do it with your hands and then just snug it up with a large pair of slip joint pliers or a pipe wrench.  Be careful not to over do it and break anything.  All those joints are like compression fittings.  The mating ends of the pvc pipes are compressed against each other by the plastic nut that you can see on all the joints.

If the joint is just seeping, chances are that just a little tightening will stop it.

If you are talking about the black pipe that connects to the bottom of the sink you may have to loosen the nut connecting the black pipe to the gray one so that you can tighten the black pipe up against the sink.  There is a threaded pipe inside the sink (the metal pipe that the sink stopper goes in) that threads into that black pipe and holds it firmly to the sink.  Normally plumbers putty is placed as a sealant under the flange of that pipe, which is then inserted into the drain hole in the bottom of the sink and then threaded into the black drain pipe you can see in the photo.

Again, a little snugging up may be all that is needed to stop the seeping water.  If not you will have to disconnect the plumbing under the sink so you can remove the drain pipe from inside the sink and reapply plumber's putty and reinstall.  Look for Youtube videos about installing sinks for more details.


What could be the cause of a washing machine hose coming loose?

Washing machines vibrate - an inevitable side-effect of an unbalanced drum turning - so anything not very tight will work its way loose over time.

The clamps usually used to compress the seal/o-ring are designed to be tightened using a screwdriver, and you want to get these clamps really tight. The o-ring will deform quite a lot as you compress it, but it is designed to do that.

Also, before you put the hose on, make sure the surfaces which will connect together are clean and dry - this will help reduce slippage.


What size breaker is required for a 220v 50w tool?

Any plug will do, assuming your in a country where 220 is standard.

50watts at 220volts is less than an amp.  (To be exact it’s .22 amps.)


Making a ridge for a tile roof - Any cheap way?

I think standard half-round tiles, if large enough, would be your best bet, other than "having saved all this money on the roof tiles, I can afford to put on the correct ridge tiles, even if it feels like a lot of money, comparatively."

Third way would be casting your own.


How do I fill cracks between stone steps and mortar?

First of all, I hope the mortar wasn't concrete. Concrete and mortar, while related, are two different things. Mortar is meant to be softer and give (rather than the brick or stone giving and thereby cracking).

The proper solution is to re-tuck-point the joint. That means chip/grind out the old mortar and put new mortar back in.

Alas, mortared steps are a maintenance nightmare and you'll likely be doing this forever at least bi-annually. I eventually caved and tore out our aging brick stairs (meaning half the brick was spalling and flaking, and weeds were in every joint) and replaced them with colored concrete. Not quite as rustic, but a whole lot safer (the old bricks were slick) and maintenance free.


How do I attach storage shelving/rack to the floor?

I actually have a workbench from the same company and it came with feet that allow you to easily secure it to the floor with a couple screws/lags/etc.

I would inquire with their sales to see if these are available for the shelving unit you are looking at, or if not, a similar unit.


How to fill 3/4" gap between tub and tile floor

You could use a bead of silicone adhesive to attach a baseboard and then run a bead of caulk where it contacts the tub and another bead where it contacts the floor.  This will keep out most incidental drips and splashes.

The other option is to insert a backer board into the crack and install a curb tile.


What is minimum height a wall junction box must be from ceiling?

I agree with 3phase there is no height limit by the NEC but there may be a limit by the manufacturer on how close it can be as not to start a fire or scorch the sheetrock, a bit more info would be helpful, if it is led or CFL there is probably nothing to worry about, incandescent or halogen can be converted to led but both of those types of lamps put out a lot of heat.


door frame 1 inch smaller on each side of door opening

Normally,the frame of a prehung door is a bit smaller than the opening.

When it is installed, that space allows you to use shims to fine-tune the frame's poisition so it is straight and level snd square even if the opening isn't. Mounting screws are then driven through the shims and into the structural framing to hold the door in that position.

Gaps around the shims are filled with insulation, and trim boards attached inside and outside cover that gap.

From your description I agree with @edbeal and @brhams that either they ordered a door that is entirely too small for the space, or they are trying to use unreasonably narrow trim, or both. The trim around my doors is a full 3" wide; that could cover many mistakes.


What type of sealant to use on skylight to seal glass and frame

Just don't use silicone sealant as you cannot paint it, leaving the window doomed to future failure.

I use paintable caulks which are advertised for use in marine type environments (read boats etc.), on the principle that if it's good enough for a boat, then it should be great for a window etc. as they face a similar weather lashing.

It's pointless mentioning brands as they vary country to country but just make sure what you choose is paintable and very expensive! Cheap stuff usually has hopeless durability, whereas the big brands make stuff which lasts decades.

Most of my customers are regulars and I'm old enough to see some of the work I did 25 years ago plus, and some of those old sealants are still going strong.

Incidentally, what is the original sealing system used frame-to-glass? (rubber seal, putty strip, etc.).


Howto convert old basement slab into finished concrete floor?

From your images it appears you're looking for a polished concrete floor. The process isn't very complicated, but it can be messy and time consuming. It's not unlike refinishing hardwood floors.

Ensure floor is suitable for polishing

Sources I've seen state that nearly any concrete floor can be polished, so long as it is structurally sound. Floors that are very porous, need extensive patching, or are wavy are probably not good candidates. New slabs need to cure for 28 days before polishing.

Grind floor flat

The actual polishing consists of a series of progressively finer grinding and polishing steps. They can possibly all be performed using the same piece of rented equipment. The first, coarsest grinds (typically performed with metal-bonded cutters) flatten the floor and open up the concrete's pores.

Densify, and maybe stain

Then a chemical densifer is applied, which seeps into the concrete, hardening its surface and filling voids, while preparing for the final polish. Around this time is when a colored stain could be applied if desired.

Polish

Next a series of progressively finer polishing grits (typically abrasive grit in a resin binder) is used until the desired level of shine is reached.


If the window is of the type to accept a window unit (single or double hung, up sliding) use a window unit in the window. I think the cold air will spill out into the room just fine, but, if necessary, you could get an inexpensive pedestal fan or floor box fan to increase circulation.

As far as the BTU rating, how large is the room?


Indoor or outdoor paint for wheelchair ramp inside garage?

It's pretty much a porch, despite being in the garage, so I'd use porch paint on it, at least for the floor/stair treads - with grit or traction aid of some sort. It will get water from foot traffic when it's wet out, to some extent.
I would not choose stain in part because you have a large expanse of plywood, and stained plywood is not a look I'm fond of. YMMV - and in this case the first M is Mother, not Milage.
If the paint wears, just as with a porch, easy to add another coat.


New kitchen cabinets and floor, which first?

If you plan on doing both, I would suggest having the old cabinets replaced first, then having the flooring done.

This typically keeps the various contractors out of each other's way, and allows the project to progress smoothly, and should you decide to change your flooring down the line, you won't have to remove the cabinets.


How can I remove or cover thick, crackled paint on drywall?

The 2nd pic looks like the "crackle" texture is intentional, but the fact that it ends in pics 1 & 3 leads me to believe that this is simply a failing paint job. I'd guess that it would scrape off reasonably easily. The problem is that it may take the paper covering that makes up the outer layer of the drywall with it when it departs. Then you no longer have drywall, you just have chalk (effectively).
Since the landlord has give you permission to do the painting yourself, I'd follow up with written notice that you're going to try to scrape the old, cracked paint off, but are concerned that it could cause damage to the drywall, and request written permission to proceed despite the risk and a commitment to replace the drywall (at no charge to you) if your attempts don't work/end up causing damage.
That way you're covered either way.
I'm somewhat surprised that this was rented out to you like this, especially since you mention "management company". Usually corporate owned places get a repaint of builder's beige between renters if there's any significant damage or modification (like a questionable paint job) by the previous tenant. If it was an individual who owned a house or two that he leased out, I could see that happening.


Should lintels above wall portals be considered for smoke alarm placement?

Yes and fantastic question, the lintel/header/apron will absolutely delay detection...by quite a lot. Therefore, I absolutely agree with Jack that you need to place the detector closer (the lintel side that's closer to the threat) to the known threat area or even just within the shortest path from that area. Which, may not involve this lintel nor these rooms.

An abundance of appliances is always your biggest culprit indicator, not that a TV or outlet's wiring could be faulty... though they would've typically revealed themselves with early symptoms.

I would suggest either a ceiling placement of the detector or a high wall placement that results in the detector being very close to the crown molding. The ceiling will fill with smoke long before it escapes beneath the lintel/header/apron.


How can I keep my storm door from dragging on the threshold?

Try tightening attachment of hinge to door and jamb.
If the attachment gets loose the door can sag.  It looks like you are missing a screw on the jamb side; center hole is empty.  I cannot imagine anyone would throw out a funky screw like this so maybe the escapee is still nearby in a drawer.
You should be able to tighten these with a hex wrench.  It might help to have an assistant lift the door slightly to oppose the sag and take the weight off the hinges when you tighten them.
Tighten all of them.  If there is a way to tell which hinge is the culprit I don't know it.
If this works that is great but it will happen again.  You might need to augment the holes in door and jamb to get a tighter purchase.


Is installing a tankless water heater outside a good idea?

Are you OK with "beautifying" your house by adding a post-industrial or modern "style" water heater on the outside of your house? Is there some other interior hidden space close to the bathroom that will be less conspicuous?

You could also run a dedicated ½" or ⅜" PEX hot water line to the bathroom, which will store much less water and therefore result in faster hot water there.


Rock Pigeons (or Rock Doves) live almost exclusively in human structures. There must be a bridge or old mill building or something nearby.

Then, pigeons, like all other animals, operate under the guidance of their instincts. They're instinctively attracted to perches that offer a good vantage point to watch for predators, socialize, and move out to feeding areas. This home happens to be in a location that suits those biological imperatives.

I doubt that there's anything particular about the construction of the home that's attractive to the birds. They're mostly happy with its location, or rather the location of the perching surface.


Replacement cords are very inexpensive and should be available at most hardware stores or home improvement chains.  If you're uncomfortable wiring one onto your range's back panel, ask a friend (:-) -- obviously one who's experienced w/ wiring) to do it.


Is a permit required for replacing the front exterior light?

Every location can be different, but this hasn't required a permit anywhere I've ever lived. The only difference between changing this fixture and plugging a different light into an outlet is that the fixture is hardwired. Upgrading your service typically involves an addition to your home, or running a new circuit for something like a kitchen remodel. Anything at or after the junction box should be able to be changed without getting an electrical permit.


How do I join pieces of wood tiles, 12" by 12" pieces, to make a larger slab?

Use a biscuit joiner.

Then glue and clamp to dry.

But depends what you using them for.

There not going to be heaps strong if the timber spands over a distance.


How to manage one heat zone with two thermostats?

With one zone, there's only one thing that can be controlled by a thermostat: how much hot water is pumped through that zone. For example, if your main house is a little cold, there's no way to add heat to the main house without also heating up the addition (and vice versa).

If you're ruling out adding more zones, or somehow adding controllable radiators, then all you can do is balance out the heating effectiveness between the two areas. It sounds like for a given level of heat, too much is pumped into the main house relative to the addition. So, you need to either a) increase the effectiveness of the radiators in the addition, or b) decrease the effectiveness of the radiators in the main house. My guess is that you'll have to do b), which you can do by closing radiator louvers, blocking the air path, etc.

If this is done properly, and you don't change the heating needs of one space relative to the other (e.g. don't leave the addition's front door open) then you may be able to get the temperatures to be at least close to each other.


Replacing steel expansion tank with diaphragm expansion tank. Is location critical?

The old tanks had to be pressurized to provide an air space the newer bladder based systems are better in my opinion and will work fine as long as rated for the temp/pressure.


What is this rectangular device on my apartment wall?

It looks like a doorbell to me.  Can't be sure though unless you pop off the case, which should come off fairly easily if you pull it straight out from the wall.


You do not need to be concerned, assuming that your lag screw is anchored into the framing.

That's a result of a pre-existing gap behind the drywall. Maybe some insulation or a wrinkle in the vapor barrier held it out during initial hanging, and your lag screw pulled it in tight. Because there was a drywall screw there holding it out the surface bulged as the rest pulled in. There are no apparent structural concerns.

If you ever remove the tv, you'll want to put a pair of drywall screws above and below the bulge before removing the lag screw. Then remove the tv mount, cut away the bulged drywall and repair.


Does cork flooring underlayment have to be glued down?

You don't have to glue it but it needs to be secured somehow - duct tape.  Don't want the pieces rolling up on each other over time.

You would just be duct taping the underlayment to the outside flooring or in the inside seams.  And duct tape isn't hillbillying your floor.  It is used because how well it handles moisture.  Maybe someone has a specific underlayment tape they like to use but several manufacturers (I read directions) said to use duct tape.

Also try to get some duct tape attached to the subfloor for each piece - clean subfloor.  So around the perimeter you are taping your cork to the subfloor directly along the outside edge.  In the "middle" you want to tape cork piece #1 to the subfloor.  Then you tape some of cork piece #2 to the subfloor.  Then you add additional tape to tape #1 and #2 together, where ever they join.  This is not more work either.  If you only attach the pieces together at the seams they will slide on you.

(anyone who edits this to give a better picture if free to do so)

So your choices are glue everything down. Or tape the seams to each other and subfloor.  I have always had the choice to do both and always chose tape.  Not sure when I would glue - generally this would scare me because lets say you spill some lemonade on the floor and it gets to the subfloor.  The acidity could eat through the glue (duct tape wouldnt be affected).  Yes I understand that it would have to be a lot of lemonade to make a difference but if it happens right at a seam and two pieces lost their glueing...


Is it legit to use this disconnect this way

There is one major problem with your plan -- GFCI circuit breakers have LINE and LOAD terminals, and thus cannot be backfed according to Code and their Listings (according to this Square-D document, you'll fry the trip solenoid if you try).  What I would do instead is change the existing 30A breaker in the main panel out for a 30A GFCI and then backfeed a disconnect switch installed in place of the subpanel's GFCI instead of using a backfed breaker or main lugs at the subpanel.  This provides a single disconnecting means for the branch circuits at the subpanel.


How can I be sure I connected the electric power socket correctly?

There are small plug-in devices with LED indicators that you plug into the socket; you can probably get one at a hardware store. The LED lights will indicate any wiring problems such as lack of ground, or confirm proper installation.


How to seal new PVC to old Lead pipe "toilet bend"

Long Term Update:
I did use one of these "expanding" repair flanges and it was fine. It's been over two years since the repair with no issues!

Toilet Flange
OATEY Mfr #: 43539


How do I fix a hot tap that doesn't turn on properly anymore?

How do I fix this?

You will need to disassemble and inspect/repair/replace the valve assembly

  how do I do this without flooding my house... will I have to shut off all the water in the house?

Your picture does not show where the flexible supply hoses originate, that would be the logical place to look for local shut-off valves. If you can't find or access local shut-off valves then YES, you will have to shut off the water to whichever side you will work on - hot, cold, or both/all.

Once the supply is shut off, you will remove the handle to access the valve assembly. There are literally hundreds of different brands/styles/types, but most are fairly intuitive to disassemble using common household tools. To repair/replace,your best bet will be to take pictures of the fixture and take those along with the handle/knob and valve assembly to a good plumbing supply shop.


Packaging braces are used because shippers aren't concerned about being careful, and appliances may travel thousands of miles by any number of carrier types.

Use reasonable caution when you lift and convey the washer and it'll be fine.


What is the best tool to grind down a smaller metal rod?

You can use a Dremel cutoff wheel to cut off a piece of the rod but you may have to remove the rod to do this.  You can use Dremel grinding wheels to grind down the end of the rod.  If the rod is not protruding out of the hole, you could use a wooden plug to seal off the hole.  Sand the plug flush with the bench top.


How does polarization and/or grounding of outlets affect time for breakers to trip?

When you talk about the safety function of "breakers", one generally expects to be talking about overcurrent protection.  There is also ground-fault (residual current) protection in GFCI/RCD+overcurrent combo breakers, and there is arc-fault protection in AFCI+overcurrent combo breakers.

There are several kinds of safety at work here.

Polarization

Is generally about life safety.  The general idea is that of the two conductors, hot and neutral, one of them is fairly near earth potential because neutral is pegged to earth in the main service.  You are unlikely to be shocked if you get between neutral and earth, as there'll only be a volt or two of difference there.

Therefore on a polarized machine, the "hot" part of the machine is made innermost - the least likely for you to come in contact with.

This will not make overcurrent protection more likely to trip. If a faulty polarized machine came in contact with a well-grounded feature like a water pipe, the part coming into contact is more likely to be at neutral potential, which will not make overcurrent protection trip.

It may make GFCI protection trip, and the arcing could cause AFCI to trip.

Grounding/Earthing

This is about both life safety and fire prevention.

The idea of grounding is that if the machine has an internal problem, and "hot" goes somewhere it should not be going, the first place it will go is the grounded surfaces/chassis/etc.  This impacts life safety because the "hot" goes to ground instead of via a human to another ground.  Electricity takes all paths in proportion to their conductivity (1/resistance), and the ground provides a very, very good path which should carry virtually all of the current.

So yes, ground gives a very good path for a faulting device to trip the overcurrent device. You were told correctly.

It impacts fire protection because if it flows enough current to start a fire, the current will be efficiently carried back to the main panel and through the neutral-ground bonding back to source (neutral), allowing high currents to flow, which the breaker will detect and overcurrent trip. In other words, the goal is to turn a ground fault into a bolted ground fault and assure a trip.  Without this grounding, a much lesser amount of current could flow, not assuring a trip.

A GFCI breaker will trip on even a very small leakage current.  Again, ground helps even a small current find its way back, to assure that the GFCI will trip.  By giving current a path to arc against, this also helps an AFCI trip.


Exposed wire on outdoor Christmas lights

You do not want to tape this. If that plug is going into a 120V outlet, cut it off and replace the plug with one similar to the one below.

If that plug is going into the low side of the power supply, you can get some insulated splices at your home store and repair the wires.
UPDATED
Based on the new photos, the damaged wires are on the secondary, low voltage, side. So the insulated splices would be the way to go.


Where can I find a temperature sensor that tweets?

There are many ways to do what you want.. but none of them seem very easy as networking remains quite a complex thing to use, wired or wireless.

Obviously you want to just plug in the power and forget about it.

Using the Raspberry PI is most probably a very good idea, Its cheaper version (Model A) about £20, it can run Linux, you can use a WiFi dongle with it. You can remote into it using SSH.. so yes it is actually a very good solution.

Not so long ago

Before the Raspberry the popular choice would most likely be Arduino Ethernet board on it. The costs are slightly higher for this though, There is a Library for use with network available making http communication pretty simple. The drawbacks as of today are obvious, much slower processor, no OS like Linux on it, no SSH, no wireless..(available with other shield + wifi module) and the costs start to pile up.

But today

I am still waiting for my Raspberry to finally arrive and then I can experiment with it. But from my understanding it does have GPIO as on the datasheet page 89 and are available on the PCB it self as double row pin headers. I suspect you can use these to read analog values such as voltages so you could easily connect a temperate sensor like LM335Z. I still have not seen any code on how to do that though but this does seem like the best solution now a days.

But having a few points for monitor can start to cost too much

The nice thing about Arduino still today is that you can buy a small chip like from the tinyAVR that is compatible with Arudino libraries to certain degrees. Using these baby MCU which have built in clocks(fairly accurate now a days)(cost about 1-4usd per chip)with a temp sensor and a cheap as chips 433/800mhz transmitter that sends out temp readings every hour or so. These guys can run on a battery back for 8-16 months.
Then using the Raspberry plug in a USB 433/800mhz receiver and just listens to data and the OS level program decides what to do with. Store it in a database somewhere on-line and sends you tweets or text messages via on line gateways in case of emergencies.

This kind of project will require some design time but you could monitor up to 20 places in your home with a total project cost under 100USD ... hmmm. Pretty neat.

Ref:

Online Thermometer

Shrinkify Arduino


Adjustable-height, side-mount, heavy duty casters? Need to move a heavy air compressor

What about thinking above instead of to the side? Attach the large casters to a hefty beam that extends wider than the base. The casters would have to be taller than the current top of the base, or spacers added to the beam to make it thus.

The beam then hovers above the base, one beam per side, with long bolts, perhaps lag bolts extending through the beam. As you tighten the bolts into the base, it is lifted from the floor.

This is a suggestion for a temporary transport, although it could be modified or left as-is for permanent movement options.

EDIT: The reference to ten inches of air brought to my alleged mind a product known as an airbag lift:
Amazon link to airbag lift

The text references five hundred pound capacity (per bag) and a 3/32" thickness. You'd have to use a bar to get that space in there, but it's less than an eighth of an inch and certainly doable. Three inch lift capacity means you might have to step-lift your pallet, but you'd eventually get sufficient height to attach ordinary casters within your existing footprint. US$28 isn't particularly expensive.


How can I work around a broken faucet handle?

That is the stem, but looking at your pictures it appears the faucets are 1/4 turns. So if you can turn it more that 1/4 of a turn and not get water, you need to turn it the other way. If the other way doesn't work you'll need to replace it, because that's all the knob/handle would do. You may have loosened it and need to turn it back to where it was to start. Guessing from photo on the 1/4 turn, if they aren't you may need to just turn more or try the other way.

You can also remove the screw holding down the other handle and use the same handle on both.


faint led strip glow with negative voltage levels when turned off

Talk to the manufacturer
This is an artifact in the behavior of the dimming controller (SD-V1).  There aren't any stock answers on what to do about this, because controllers aren't supposed to do that at all.  It is a unique, um, characteristic of that controller.
The manufacturer will be able to advise whether this is a defect vs normal behavior, and what options they can recommend to eliminate it.
Understand the way this type of dimming is done.  It is not like the "triac dimming" used for AC power light bulbs.
How PWM works
24V DC LED strips (and 12V ones also) use "PWM Dimming".  It does not vary the voltage or current.*   It turns full voltage on, and off, hundreds of times a second (frequently enough to avoid any visible flicker).  It varies the "duty cycle* (percent time "on") based on the dimmer setting; i.e. "Pulse Width Modulation" or PWM.
The upshot is that under PWM, when the lights are on, they are on at full power/brightness and illuminate at full spec.  When they are off, they are off.
PWM is preferred because it makes different lights (or the same lights with manufacturing variances) perform equally at every dimming level. If they are balanced and look good at 100%, then when you turn them down to 30% they will still be balanced and look good (because they are still on at 100%, just 30% of the time).
So what's going on here?   There might be a leaky MOSFET inside the controller, but I doubt it.  I suspect the MOSFET switches just fine, and the software in the PWM controller is choosing to turn the MOSFET on and off at a low duty cycle e.g. 1%.
And I suspect that is happening because of a communications snafu, either internal to the controller's design, or because of the way the dimmer/remote communicates with the controller.  That's why I recommend consulting with the manufacturer.
So what's up with the weird voltage reading on the DVM?  I suspect it is a reading error from a simple DVM, which is made for flat DC, or sinewave AC.
Capacitors, no
However, PWM systems need to be able to distribute that sharp square-wave signal to all lamps. Capacitance is the worst enemy of PWM light wiring, because it muddies the PWM square wave -- too much capacitance will reduce it into a "varying voltage" system, and that does not perform well with LEDs.  It may also burn out the controller, because it is not designed to drive into a capacitive load, which will draw inordinate amounts of current to charge the capacitor.
The capacitor you mentioned acquiring, "Konoq LED Adapter Capacitor", is for a totally different problem space: AC Mains dimming using the "sinewave-clipping" method with a triac. (which obviously doesn't work on DC). It cures a problem with simple 2-wire (no neutral) triac dimmers which need to leak current through the bulbs, but the power supplies in screw-in LED "bulbs" don't permit that.  That product definitely is not made for PWM dimming.
While you are talking with the manufacturer about the "won't go off" problem, I would ask them about the capacitor solution.  I am fairly sure they are going to say "no, no, no".

* It does not vary voltage, because it would be ineffectual: LEDs are highly non-linear, and dimming would not occur linearly from 0-24V as one would desire.
It does not vary current because of the construction of 12/24V DC LED strips, which are comprised of many, many series strings of 3-6 LEDs + a resistor, in parallel with each other. Many strings or other types of 12 or 24V lighting can be paralleled as well (in the normal way).  That works great with PWM, but a variable-current approach would cause current to favor some parallel paths over others (due to design differences of dissimilar lights, or manufacturing tolerances of similar ones).  That would cause the lighting to be uneven, with visible differences in dimming between different series segments or different types of light.


What is the use the plugs over this deadbolt's bolt holes?

Those are screw caps, to prevent nasty people from tampering with the cylinder. They are generally removed by drilling them out.


What type of underlayment should I use for an above ground pool?

Per request, I'll expand my comment into an answer:

as for the joints in the concrete, I'd use polymeric sand (typically used for locking pavers).

Then the key is to create some sort of smooth pad in between the concrete and the bottom of the pool. Some options:

roofing felt (tar paper).
Ice and Shield roofing membrane
rubber pond liner
epoxy (if it's not terribly rough, a few coats of epoxy concrete sealer might smooth it out)


You'll want a few extra parts for this

The wiring runs in this box appear to have been made using new-style armored cable (AC) that has a bonding strip in it, which means that you don't have a ground wire; instead, the combination of the cable armor and bonding strip serves as the grounding path.  As a result, you'll either need to return your receptacle and get one with a self-grounding feature (in addition to tamper-resistance, that is!), or get a ground pigtail that you can screw into the designated grounding hole in the back of the box to provide a ground wire to the receptacle's grounding screw.  (You also may need to return the receptacle anyway, since it won't fit the existing faceplate as it's decorator-style (big rectangular opening) vs using a standard (two roundish openings) receptacle opening on a faceplate.)

While you're there, get a short length (3-6") of black 12AWG THHN and a wirenut suitable for three 12AWG wires.  Once you return with the right things, you'll then need to strip the insulation off the ends of the black wire you bought, and use the wirenut to combine it with the existing black and red wires in the box -- crank it down tight and make sure it passes a pull test!  Then, you can install the ground pigtail and wire it to the green screw on the new receptacle if you went that route.  Once that's done, the black pigtail goes to the brass screw and the existing (yellowish) white pigtail goes to the silver screw on the receptacle; once the receptacle's all wired up, you can button things back up, turn the power back on, and enjoy your work!


Looking to Replace a 32 Watt T8 Fluorescent Bulb in an Office: What Are My Options?

Bulbs that give off light closest to the spectrum of daylight seem to be the choice for reading by.

From your description the "plus" aspect of the original bulb adds in light to the blue end of the spectrum.


Is it safe and legal to make this gas plumbing connection?

Your flex tube looks like it has a flare fitting with light colored pipe dope. Flare fittings are metal to metal seal and dope interferes with the seal. Even if it does not leak now it can leak in the future. I investigated a house fire -death caused by this situation. Only a problem if you have a flare connection with pipe dope.


Is hardwood flooring safe from termites?

If you have a traditional wood framed house, termites in the flooring would be the least of your problems. Structural issues due to termites in load bearing walls would be much worse.

Are you on a slab or crawlspace? If you're on a crawlspace, you already have a wooden subfloor anyway.

Do you have a current termite problem, or are they common in your area? If so, you'll want to have a pest control company come out and do an inspection. Get a quote for remediation if they find any, and ask them if they offer termite bonds. This is essentially insurance against termite infestation in the future. The pest control company will usually come out once or twice a year (for a fee) and either spray termiticide or put out poison bait traps. If they find termite damage while you're paying for the maintenance, they'll cover the cost of remediation.


power to the receptacles but nothing is working.?

The problem you are describing is known as an open-neutral.  Essentially, all of the black wires are connected properly, but one of the white wires is not.

You will likely have to go back through all of the light/plug/switch boxes that are on that circuit until you find a loose white wire.  You may have to double check that the connections are secure by removing the wire nut.

Be sure to turn off the circuit breaker before opening any neutral connections, opening these connections with the power on can be very dangerous!


Ceiling fan replacement motor amperage difference, is it a problem?

In this case, the amperage does not matter.
What you've got there is a slightly more powerful fan.

A typical outlet is on a 15 or 20 amp circuit.  You can safely turn on devices adding up to 80% of the capacity.  Thus even with your fan running you've got 90% of the capacity of a 15 amp circuit left for other devices.


How do I make an non-toxic, low cost DIY cleaning solution for laminate floors?

Pure water is not good for dissolving greasy residue. I use warm water with a small amount of dish washing detergent in it to mop the ceramic tile in the kitchen and throughout the house. I do not do a second mopping of the floor with water. The small residue of detergent left on the floor presents absolutely no risk. I figure if this detergent is safe for dishes (of course I do rinse the dishes) it is safe for the floor.


Can I connect a drain for my new washing machine to an existing toilet drain?

You can tap in to the existing stack to drain, the only issue (like bcworkz said above) is you need proper venting. If you were to tap in to that stack without a vent, you could potential pull the water out of any traps above (via suction).