Simplest solution from scratch: - put the deep well pump on a timer that only lets it run for a short length of time when filling the cistern. Say 15 minutes every hour, or whatever ratio actually works with the pumping rate and refill rate. So you'd have a (float switch?) calling for water into the cistern, and you'd have the deep well pump set to pump for 15 minutes (or whatever time works) and be off for 45 minutes (or whatever time works) when the cistern is calling for water.

You can try restricting the flow from the pump (which will, counterintuitively to most, reduce its power draw) but this will result in high pressures in the piping from the pump to the restriction - possibly higher than is advisable, depending on the pipe and fittings.

Simplest solution if the parts are already in place: If the deep well pump was set up with a normal pressure switch and bladder/pressure tank, you could also simply use that arrangement as the source of a restricted fill to the cistern, and the pressure switch would act as the "timer" and the restrictor valve would act as the restriction, without any excessively high pressures. The cistern float switch (or the float itself, mechanically) would control a valve in line with the restrictor valve. Set the restrictor valve for a flow slightly lower than the well refill rate.

Well--Pump--Pressure switch--bladder tank--restrictor valve--float-controlled valve

If your pressure switch has a low-pressure cut-out it will shut itself off (until you reset it) if the water level gets too low in the well. In that case, you could close the restrictor valve some to reduce the flow before restarting the pump, as you'd know the pumping rate was exceeding the refill rate.

You do not mention but presumably must have either an additional pump on the cistern, or you have located the cistern sufficiently far above your dwelling to provide gravity flow from the cistern; but that does not materially impact this question.


What would cause these bubbles in texture?

It's either poorly prepared compound or poor application technique.
I assume you're asking this because the are finished with the work.  If that's the case, this is substandard work, in my opinion at least, and should be corrected.


Rather than bypassing the various safety systems, either replace it (23 years is not an unreasonable retirement age for a mower) or have it properly repaired (since your "repair" methods don't appear to be oriented that way, take it to somone who is oriented that way.) Rendering the safety systems inoperable is a good way to find out why they were installed in the first place. Perhaps you'll have a child mowing the lawn someday with your customized mower...


Why does my central heating unit continue to run after reaching its set temperature?

If this is a forced air system, the blower will continue to run for a specific amount of time after the unit stops producing heat. The unit will no longer be producing heat, but the blower will continue to run to spread the heat that was produced when the unit was full on.  If it didn't, a lot of the heat produced would be wasted.

Some units use a heat detection circuit to determine when the blower should turn off. Most however, simply keep the blower on for a predetermined amount of time.


Does a garbage disposal and/or dishwasher need to be on a GFCI?

There are no requirements in National Electrical Code (NEC) that a residential disposal must be GFCI protected. However, there may be requirements in the installation instructions, which would make GFCI protection required.
210.8(A) requires receptacles serving the kitchen countertop to be GFCI protected. It also requires GFCI protection for receptacles within 6' of a sink, but only sinks not in a kitchen.
The 2014 edition added 210.8(D), which requires dwelling unit dishwashers to be GFCI protected.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 210 Branch Circuits
210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel
(D) Kitchen Dishwasher Branch Circuit GFCI protection shall be provided for outlets that supply dishwashers installed in dwelling units locations.


Probably just replacing the winding mechanism makes the most sense.

If penetrating oil fails and you want to try a more extensive rust removal approach, either soak them in a citric acid solution or try electrolytic rust removal (washing soda, water and low-voltage DC electric current.)


Can we install a slide in gas range with convection oven outdoors?

I'll answer with a practical suggestion, rather than precisely answering the "Can we" question with "you can!".
A complex appliance designed for indoors, full of electronic controls and sensors, and lots of hidden inaccessible crevices where moisture and insects can collect, is unlikely to last long outside, or to work at all in some extreme outdoor temperatures.
Look at specialty outdoor cooking web sites and vendors.
Buy a gas cooktop designed for outdoor use.  They exist, and they are designed in a way that can withstand most of the things that the outdoors can throw at them (sun, snow, etc ... maybe not bears).  Outdoor ovens are harder to find.  There are lots of pizza ovens designed for outdoors. They can be used for more than just pizza. And if there are some things that require a conventional oven, you can cook those inside.  Why do you need to, for example, bake a cake outdoors?  That's probably not how you'll get most of the enjoyment from your outdoor setup so move that bit back inside.


Try using a single edge razor blade. Don't just use the tip or you'll scratch the cabinet, use the entire sharp edge and lightly push it across the surface. You can add a little water and it will make it easier. Use a blade similar to the one below, you want the rigid edge so the blade doesn't bend and scratch the cabinet.


What is the proper procedure to apply multiple coats of Polyurethane?

When you apply multiple coats of urethane, any dust or small flaws will be amplified with each new coat. If you want the smoothest finish possible, then wait until it is dry, very lightly sand with very fine paper (220 or finer) to remove any dust bumps, wipe it clean with a slightly damp cloth or tact rag, let it dry or buff it dry with a dry cloth, then apply the next coat. There is no reason to use mineral spirits, actually I would advise you not to use mineral spirits.

I see no advantage to applying successive coats with, then against the grain. As long as you apply an even coat with a good quality brush or foam brush and don't overwork it, any brush marks should disappear. The finished product should be so smooth that you couldn't tell which way you brushed the urethane on.  Also, if you are using a satin finish urethane, be sure to mix it well, stirred, not shaken. The dulling agents tend to fall to the bottom, so it is important to mix it well. No matter how many coats you apply, it should not become "glossy".


Can I apply joint compound over drywall primed with PVA?

You can absolutely mud over cured primer. (Or cured finish paint, for that matter.)

Use all purpose mud (not a setting compound) and scuff the primer gently with 120 grit.


Rectangular steel tube bolted connection

Tube steel can be bolted or drilled and tapped if you don't want to weld. It can also be riveted but this can be tougher than welding (not talking pop rivits here but steel pins that are heated and flattened) . I believe welding is more common because there are less holes in the steel but it can be done and depending on your hole placement and wall thickness bolting can holdup and still be able to disassemble without grinding or air arcing the welds off.


How to remove this PVC to cast iron adapter?

If it's all one piece I'm inclined to believe you have a donut and coupling similar to the ones below installed in you cast iron pipe.

I have only used these one time, but I had to hammer the piece of PVC into to rubber donut because it fit so tight. Some PVC fittings have a lip at the tip, like the one below, that would  make it harder to remove once it was installed. I think you're going to have to work it out, pulling and twisting, using a lot of elbow grease.


How should I connect to an existing threaded ABS sink trap fitting?

It looks pretty standard.  You'll need (obviously) the right set of pipes to construct a J trap that reaches from your wall pipes to the bottom of the sink. A kit might be available in your hardware store.  Measure the pipe diameter (likely 1.25 inches in the US ) to be sure.


Junctions and terminations must be in a box, and the box must be accessible. You can't bury it under a floor. Unless you have an idea where the source is, you'll need to treat the wires as though they're live.


Can I break up stones and overlay soil to grow lawn?

I don't think that expanding foam stuff will split granite.  (Looks like granite in your pix)

To directly answer your question:  If you can break up the rocks, then go for it.  I think you need 6" to lay decent grass.  Normally grass will send roots several feet deep.  The areas where there is thin soil over rock will turn brown earlier in the summer, tend to grow more slowly, be more sensitive to over/under fertilization.

So:  If you can, remove the rocks completely.

Your pic looks like some of them are flat rocks that were laid in place.  If so, buy a rock bar (think 6 foot long straight prybar) and sink it into the ground beside one, put another rock as a fulcrum and pry.

The narrow one sticking out further back I suspect is the upper edge of a chunk of bedrock.  While you might be able to remove it, I suspect it's more work than it's worth.  How about putting a ring of earth around it for a flower bed.


Hubbell-raco receptacle and switch boxes

How many boxes would you have to manufacture in order to cover everything we use a 4 sq box for. It's just not financially feasible from a manufacturing standpoint. Plus, it would be hard to mount and work inside the box from interference of the plaster ring. So when you say "most of the boxes" you are using them in situations you are working in and does not consider the uses in other types of construction. In fact I would debate that more boxes are used commercially and most of the boxes there are blank covers and you would finish out devices on 5/8" drywall.


Is it ok to have a french drain right against a house?

Placing the french drain against the building's foundation wall is common and the correct way to remove moisture from around the structure. Remember, the moisture will be removed down to the "flow line" of the perf pipe. Here, we encapsulate the perf pipe in an envelope of drainrock and place it a few (6") inches below what we're protecting, (I.e.: 6" below basement slab, etc.)

If you move the perf pipe (and encapsulated drainrock) away from the foundation wall, then that allows moisture to lay AGAINST the wall and potentially leak through the foundation wall.


Clay and Gravel Liquefaction for Paver Installation

You’ll continue to have that “liquid” action until you remove the water.

I’d provide a way for the water to “runoff”, like a perimeter drain, drain rock at the perimeter, etc. that will remove the excess liquid. (I’d make sure the drainpipe extends to a ditch or something, to carry the water away. Water will run in the direction of least resistance.)

Your Class A gravel will give you a good base and the sand will provide a layer for you to set the bricks level, but I’d provide a filter fabric between the sand and the gravel. Otherwise, the fines in the sand will “wash” down into the gravel and the bricks will soon be uneven.


Toilets don't really go "bad" unless they're cracked or rusted. Changing the internals might be a solution but I'd give one thing a try. I ran into this problem a few years ago and the solution was fairly simple. Get some good cleaning solution and maybe some of that CLR stuff - the chemicals that clean calcium deposits, rust, and lime scale. Apply it generously to the underside of the bowl rim (where the water flushes into the bowl). Let it sit and then scrub it really well. Use a small screwdriver (or even better - some chopsticks) to make sure all the holes are clear and fully open too.

What might have happened is that the lime scale has built up and is partially obstructing the flow of water into the bowl. This can cause a "crappy" flush (punn intended).

Beyond this, there's a number of other things that could be issues - clogged/restricted waste or vent pipes (does your sink gurgle when you flush?) or as previously mentioned - the toilet internals.

Good luck.


Why does my water pressure / flow rate drop sporadically?

Probably city pressure not yours many stations were affected and others are pulling up the slack.  There are some MUD's that are running 50% due to pump lose. If it happens at peak usage times then probably that.


you can water down white primer/paint and rag it on to do it. That is the cheap n sl-easy way to do it.

Much of it depends on the type of wood though. Red oak can become pink, pine usually works out okay etc...

With any finishing it is often best to test a few options before getting "sold" or fixated on a certain technique because you saw a picture somewhere that looked good. If you are going to DIY it is better to practice a few techniques before committing and getting all bummed out because it didn't turn out how you wanted it to.


If the receiver needs a real ground then going the GFI protection route is NOT adequate. It is code legal and safe, but does NOT provide a valid grounding path.

For this the only option is to provide a real ground, which in most cases simply means running a new circuit and receptacle to the location. You do not need to "re-wire" anything, just add new.


Need to hang 60 lb water heater on exterior stucco wall

Yes- there are toggle bolts that can support 60#. The real issues is the stucco wall. Plus in earthquake area, the wall-mounted water heater should be mounted on solid support members.

A better way to mount the water heater is to have two horizonal wooden spans that are bolted to the studs behind the stucco wall with the proper size lag bolts into the studs.  The purpose of the second span which is below the first spand is to provide support to the bottom section of the tank since it is now 1 1/2" from the wall. The water brackets are screwed into the top horizontal span.
And alternate method is use a 3/4 plywood panel, the width would span the two available joist and additional width to where you want to hang the water heater.  The plywood would be mounted to the at the top and bottom of the plywood plate on the studs.  Brackets of water heater easily screwed into the plywood sheet.
My preference is the 2x4, because your screws for the bracket will have more backing to screw into.  With the plywood plate, only 3/4 of holding power.
Yes there are toggle bolts that will hold the weight, but would not recommend this in stucco for a suspended water heater.


What could cause a false positive report from a line tester?

When wires that are not connected are in close proximity to live wires a voltage may be transferred through induction this is how transformers work. When voltage is traveling on a wire there is an electric field created the higher the load on the wire the stronger the field. Placing a piece of wire where it is affected by the field will allow it to pick up some of the voltage but there is really no potential or current. Many people call this voltage a phantom or ghost because as soon as the wire is connected to a load like a light the voltage is gone.


New water heater sometimes cold, sometimes hot

Most water heaters upon initial start-up can take several hours to heat the tank water to the setting on the thermostat. Also, if the setting is not at the hottest temperature and it is a large tank 12 hours isn't unreasonable.   You should also be aware that if the entire tank of hot water is consumed for say a long shower it will take the incoming water awhile before it is heated to the set temperature.   If you still feel that there is something mechanically at fault with the new water heater than there is only very few parts that can not function. The first is the thermostat that controls the water temperature. You may have one that is faulty or intermittent. Second is the heating element(s). These actually are responsible for heating the water. They work by becoming extremely hot when electricity is applied to there terminal ends. The heat is then transferred to the surrounding water until the thermostat switches the power off at the proper setting. Heating elements will fail eventually and need to be replaced with one of the same wattage rating.   Since the appliance is so new and working on it will void the warranty (and can be dangerous) you should first contact the installer (if any). It is possible an installation step was over-looked. Next, contact the store from where it was purchased. Most reputable stores will readily accept a faulty appliance for refund with only a receipt of purchase.


How to fix a through hole in stucco on the outside of the house?

The best way is to knock out enough stucco to find the studs, mount a backing plate to the studs, and stucco over that.

Now, that's a lot of work, so there are quicker& easier ways.  Perhaps you could cut a small plug out of plywood or similar material which press-fits each hole, then do a skim-coat over it to match the stucco.

It comes down to time vs. quality, basically.


Sounds like a non-conductive soil probe.


Ideas for covering vents to stop pests getting in?

You can purchase stamped louvered foundation vents and attach with (stainless) screws and wall anchors or make a frame with window screen frame parts and mesh and attach in similar fashion but with swivel screen clips. The open screen has a higher air flow rate than the louvered vent.


Can I really use construction adhesive to attach hardwood stair treads and risers?

Simple answer... NO!!! As someone who's done a lot of hardwood flooring, as well as stairs, adhesives are not enough to hold a stair tread down. Treads should be attached with a combination of adhesive and nails. Nail length being a minimum of twice the thickness of your tread and of 16 gauge or larger.

You can just glue the risers but that's not something I'd personally do either. I'd use adhesive and a few Brad nails ( 18 gauge ) will suffice.

Most construction adhesives dry hard. And over time, simply break their bond to the stringer.


Mortar is not waterproof. However, there are products that can be applied to mortar (and other concrete materials), that can make the mortar waterproof.


Short answer, because there are a ton of details.
A 70A breaker does not connect directly to 15A or 20A receptacles (the "standard outlets").
There are basically two possibilities:
Subpanel
A 70A breaker can be connected, with appropriate wire, to a subpanel. A subpanel typically has a bunch of breakers, which can include 15A or 20A breakers that can be connected to 15A receptacles. This is commonly done either to serve a second building (garage, workshop, shed, barn, office) or to serve the main building if the main panel runs out of spaces for more breakers.
Beyond that, there are many details, depending on the specifics (type of panel, wiring method, power requirements, etc.)
Replace the Breaker
Sometimes you have an existing large breaker that is no longer in use but want to add a circuit for 15A or 20A receptacles. That is most common with, for example, an electric hot water heater that has been replaced with gas. But it can happen with other things as well. If that is how you ended up with a 70A breaker, you will need to replace it with a 15A or 20A breaker. The specifics will depend on the size of the wire and possibly some other factors. In addition, a 70A breaker would normally be 240V = 2 hots, so you would actually replace this with either a double 15A or 20A breaker or two separate breakers, again depending on a number of factors.


installing bathroom exhaust fan in drop ceiling

There's really no extension involved. You'd suspend the fan flush with the drop ceiling tile as you normally would with drywall. The specific hardware used depends on the fan. You could DIY by simply adding metal or wooden crossbars with sheet metal screws to the fan housing that rest on the tile and extend over the grid rails. Some kits may offer bars similar to what you'd get with a recessed light canister.

You'd also need to create clearance in the drywall ceiling. If there's no insulation there, that's easy. Just give yourself enough room to work and hack out a rectangle.

If you're in an insulated ceiling you'll need to box it out and be sure to replace the insulation above, along with any vapor barrier present.


The load of a vacuum combined with the refrigerator was probably more than the wiring could handle. I state this because most vacuums are at the max of 15 amp circuits and now the refer kicks in another motor load with high in rush current. Depending on the wiring method it could be just loose connections that sparked but the gfci could in fact let the magic smoke out and this is an easy fix, turn the breaker off, buy a new gfci outlet, pull old outlet and install new oulet making sure to have the wires for line and load in the correct positions. Turn the breaker back on. Make sure the fridge is working , and use another outlet in the future.


How can I fix a toilet that flushes incompletely?

One thing you can try is to shorten the chain to the flapper.  Sometimes a long chain leading to the flapper will not allow you to open the drain fully (you are only lifting the flapper just a little bit).  A partially lifted flapper will not allow the maximum volume of water to flow into the bowl in the shortest amount of time possible, causing a weak flush.


Are expansion gaps necessary in a plywood shed floor?

For a floor of that size you don't need them, and you wouldn't want them under tile anyway (you'd need expansion gaps in the tile). It's really only necessary for large home and commercial building floors.


I received replies from both companies.

Liquid Nails wrote, "They will not react per say but there is a good chance they will not adhere properly. Unfortunately there is nothing that we can recommend for HDPE because nothing will adhere."

True Line Mold, the manufacturers of Timberwolf Composite Shims replied, "What we have found with Liquid Nails and Elmers Glue-All Max is that they will adhere to the shims, but require a longer cure time to completely set-up. Thus why I believe the Liquid Nails states not recommended for use with plastic, vinyl or composite lumber because most applications do not allow for an extended cure time. You should not see any degradation in the shims, it may simply be a case of the adhesive not being as strong of a bond as you desire provided on the cure time."


I'm assuming you don't have access to the backside of this conduit.  If you did, you would just disassemble it - find the nearest coupler, uncouple it, and remove the pipe.

Remember to remove these orphan wires entirely; all the way back to the previous junction box (or past it, if they go past it).  You're not supposed to leave orphan wires, though.


Why hot without neutral going downstream

It sounds like at one time this was a 240v circuit but it’s not now and you need a proper neutral.
Get some white or gray paint, or tape and coat both ends of the old cloth braid.
In the panel move the wire from the breaker to the ground buss (if a newer panel and the grounds and neutrals are separated to the white or grounded buss).
Then use the neutral at the receptacle. Break loose the neutral to ground jumper at the receptacle.
Connect the receptacle green screw to the box with a jumper wire or if self grounding receptacle the screw and box contact is all that is required.
These changes will make it much safer than using the conduit for a return path.


I would strongly advise against trying to make an ad hoc mounting for a TV. Its a lot harder than you might think. Use a production mounting arm of some type. A typical example shown below:

If you screw it into the window frame it will probably hold.


How close multiple holes can be drill in top double plate?

This is not critical. You need 2 holes. If you have the space: 3 inches apart. Feed 2 wires per hole. Keep holes 1.25in from edge of plate.


How would I make a whiteboard for an odd sized space?

Dry erase paint is available from a few different manufacturers.

IdeaPaint
Rust-Oleum Dry Erase Paint

Are a couple examples.

When I was in college, I bought a sheet material from Home Depot that had a smooth white finish.  I don't remember what it was, but it worked well as a makeshift Whiteboard.  If I remember correctly, it was a thin sheet of MDF coated on one side with acrylic. They sold it in 4x8' sheets, which could be easily cut to fit. The only down side was that if marks were left on it for a long time, they had to be cleaned off using dry erase cleaner spray.

It may have been Thrifty White.


Is there a way to prevent mildew/mold from forming on vinyl siding?

Rustoleum sells a mold/mildew-proof paint called Perma-White.

They also sell a fungicide (Tiabendazole) additive called ADD-2 you can mix into your preferred paint.

Either of those should at least help some.


How do I prevent water from leaking down my chimney?

Is there a chimney cap? If not, start there. If there is a chimney cap, and it's a brick chimney, odds are you have cracks and/or missing mortar--at which point I'd say your chimney is unsafe...both as a combustion exhaust (you don't want fumes leaking into the house) and as a safety issue (falling bricks hurt). I'd call out a licensed chimney inspector/cleaner/sweep.


That is a wood burning fireplace with a gas starter. The intent is to use the gas starter to get your log fire burning. You can then shut down the gas starter jet.
Since it's a foreclosure the flue may not have been maintained properly. It would be a good idea to have a professional come in to inspect the chimney liner to ensure it is in good condition and doesn't have soot buildup.
Wood burning fireplaces require chimney cleaning every year or two, depending on use, to prevent flue fires.


Where should I start tiling my bathroom wall?

Two things:

Most corners or window frames aren't square, so don't use them as the guide.
You will have odd-cut tiles at the edges and around the window.

What you really want to avoid is having the un-cut edge of a tile close to a corner or the window frame. If it's not square then you'll have the straight grout line right next to the not-square line of the wall or window. Your eye will be drawn to this, and you'll indeed get cross every time you lie in the bath. Worse, you may have to cut a tiny sliver of tile to fill an annoying large gap...

In the ideal situation the width of the wall will be an exact multiple of the width of a tile plus the grout line. Then you can adjust things so you have half-a-tile width at the left and half-a-tile at the right. In this case, draw a vertical line dead-centre of the wall and work in both directions from there.

If your wall isn't an exact multiple of the width of a tile plus grout line, start between one-quarter to one-half of a tile to the left or right of this line. It may be best to lay out the tiles on the floor (with spacers!) so you can get a good picture of where the verticals will end up.

Finally, rent or purchase a good diamond tile cutter. Being able to cut tiles easily and quickly is really important, especially if your tiles are large!


Is the light intensity from inverter type welders different from transformer type welders?

I've seen this myself and agree, yes, there is a difference in the light outputs between inverter and transformer type welders (even at the same amperage setting). I also have seen a difference between different models of inverter MIG welders.  I don't precisely know what makes the difference, but I am guessing it has to do with differences in the switching characteristics. Also, different types of welders have different output... e.g. a stick welder, IMHO, seems to have much more UV output (at least the ones I've used).  I can get a bit of a "sunburn" from only a couple of sticks if I don't make sure to cover up.  I've never had that happen for an equivalent amount of welding on a MIG.

But we need not rely on anecdotal evidence...  The link below is to a paper published by the German equivalent of OSHA, where they actually measure the light output from various welders at 180 Amps.

http://bit.ly/1zKakL1


How to rehang vertical blinds on a damaged bay ceiling?

The brackets have pulled out because they were not properly attached to a structural member. The best fix in this situation would be to take the blinds down, and reinstall them properly by attaching them to studs/joists.

While most blinds come with those small "anchors", these are almost never sufficient to support the blinds.  The best way to install any type of blinds is to locate structural members inside the wall/ceiling, and use longer screws (usually not included) to attach the brackets to these members.

If it's just not possible to attach the brackets to structure, the next best option is to use toggle bolts. Toggle bolts will give you greater support, and will be less likely to pull out.  These driller toggles from COBRA are a great combination of screw-in drywall anchors and toggle bolts.  They provide a good hold, while still being very simple to install.

To rehang the blinds you should be able to use the same holes, if you're using a toggle bolt that is about the same size as the existing holes.  If you are moving the brackets to a new location (to attach to a framing member), you can patch the existing holes with joint compound.


How to find and fix a bad smell of moisture?

It sounds likely that you might have a minor leak somewhere perhaps. You haven't really mentioned where you live as that can have a big impact on the expected environment in the home. If you in a low lying area and have a basement it could be related to ground water in the area seeping into your basement.

More than likely though you simply have a leak somewhere. I've seen thermal imaging solutions advertised as a great solution to this but have not personally used a service like this. Here is a link to a site that details the process pretty well so you can get an idea of how it works. You'll have to call around your local area and find a company that offers these services though.

Once you've fixed the source of the problem and know the extent of the area affected your best option for clearing up related problems is going to be a dehumidifier. In most cases you want to aim for 40-50% humidity at most.

If you live in a humid environment and the ambient humidity is upwards of 60% inside the house regularly than that may be the sole cause of your problem. Either way your first step is going to be finding the source of the problem.


This is completely normal and is the reason it is suggested you drain and flush your tank periodically.   Even better than just draining a gallon of water is to turn off the tank (either kill the electricity or turn off the gas valve), shutoff the water to the tank, drain the entire tank, and then with the drain open, run the water to flush any remaining sediment away.

The discharge will be any colour from white to black depending on the mineral contents of your water.

Be careful when draining the tank as the water will be very hot.

Once complete, re-fill the tank completely and then turn on the power or re-light the pilot and turn the gas valve on.


Regular Outlet to GFCI Outlet with four wire connections and no ground

Regular receptacles have screws for splits (one switched, one always on or two switched but different circuits or two on separate circuits for higher total power) & for convenience (the way you and most people use them). GFCIs can't do splits and use them for convenience to connect another receptacle only by properly identifying and using LINE vs. LOAD.
Two ways to do this:
Line Only
This is by far the simplest. Pigtail the two blacks together with a short piece of black wire and connect it to the hot screw on the LINE side of the GFCI. Pigtail the two whites together and connect to the neutral screw on the LINE side of the GFCI. Nothing goes on the LOAD side. The new receptacle is protected. No other receptacles on the circuit are protected by this GFCI.
Line and Load
You need to identify which hot & neutral goes back to the panel and which goes on to another receptacle. There are a number of ways to do that - simplest typically is to disconnect all 4 wires, turn the breaker on and see which wires cause a non-contact tester to light up. Connect the "panel" (may be other receptacles in between, and that's OK) wires to the LINE side and the other wires to the LOAD side. Now the new receptacle and everything following it via the LOAD side is protected.
Note that the second method is generally OK and provides additional protection. However, if any of the LOAD side receptacles are things you don't want on a GFCI - e.g., anything like a refrigerator that would have problems if there were a trip of the GFCI and you didn't know about it for a while - then go with the first method.


Install door handles on opposite sides of a pocket door

I think you’ve got the wrong type of door hardware. Pocket door pull handles is like this:
https://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/collections/pocket-door-pull/products/5977ec6101925b619487597b?cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=C4017&gclid=CjwKCAiAyc2BBhAaEiwA44-wWwjZiKLZl6cZuvH4-hMghtLEze3cgeAgOheeq_23q20v5e0mF4F7gxoCerQQAvD_BwE
You can Google “pocket door hardware “ and you’ll see many styles to choose from.


10 gauge whip off disconnect box fed from 12/3 on 15 amp breaker for Mini Split?

As long as the terminals on your mini-split accept 10AWG, you're fine
I'd go ahead and use the 10AWG whip as long as your mini-split's terminals can accept 10AWG wire (most power connections can).  If they can't, then I'd get some black and green 12AWG THHN  to replace the 10AWG the whip came with.


How can I support a heavy sink in a homemade bench table?

I think the general bench idea is fine, but depending on the actual weight and positioning of the sink, it might need a middle leg to support the weight.  My plan would be to build wooden framing that would support the weight of the sink on its own so the choice of top material wouldn't matter as much.

In other words, build a top with a framed out rectangle of boards that would fit the sink and support the full weight.  For the choice of top material, think about what is going to be durable in the possible wet conditions of a sink.  Plywood would work fine, but will need to be sealed well against water.  Wooden slats might work well also, but again it will be more of an aesthetic choice if the frame is made (or reinforced) to hold the sink on its own.

Just general guidelines - for a 6' long bench and a 60lb sink, I don't think you would need a middle leg if using 2x4's for the "frame" of the top and the sink on one side.  If you needed longer and the sink is moved more to the middle, you might want a middle leg.


Wiring receptacle(s) controlled by a switch

If I understand the diagram correctly, you connected hot from the duplex receptacle to the switch (correct) and then from the same screw on the switch to the single receptacle (wrong). You also connected neutral to the switch (wrong). Basically, you treated the switch as if it were another receptacle, when actually it should only be in the hot wire.

Remove both wires going to the bottom of the switch and connect them to each other (but not to the switch) with a wire nut. These wires should both be white because they are carrying neutral.
Disconnect the wire going from the top of the switch to the single receptacle and connect it to the bottom of the switch. This is switched hot - when the switch is on, it carries power from the hot wire (top of the switch, coming from the duplex receptacle) to the single receptacle. This wire (and the wire to the top of the switch) should be black (or any color other than white or green).

It doesn't matter whether you have hot on top/switched hot on bottom or vice versa - with a simple switch it doesn't matter.


Delineation between drywall and cementboard

I see no problem at all with your plan, even if there's a 1/8" thickness variation. That's not enough to tilt your cabinets substantially out of plumb. If it's a concern you can always shim behind the cabinets, since any resulting gap will be covered by the tile.


toliet backing up after roter rooter and replaced toliet

Left as an answer because with the information provided I believe you were taken advantage of ( screwed in common terms)
Wow, I would call the bbb and state exactly what you did here. Sounds like a really scum type of business!!!!!!!! Sorry but old toilets have more water and actually clear the piping better,  to tell the truth you should have a case and find a different plumber and get some of your $ back !!!!!!!!


How do I fix a leaky toilet that only leaks from underneath?

You can try replacing the wax ring.  Usually, that will fix the type of leak you describe.

Essentially, there is a wax gasket which seals the area between the flange (in the floor) and the porcelain (on the bowl).  Due to age/movement/etc, this gasket will eventually fail, and cause leaking when the toilet is flushed.

Replacing the ring is a relatively straight forward procedure:

Remove the toilet

Turn off the water to the bowl
Disconnect the flexible water pipe from the shutoff valve
Flush the toilet, holding down the handle to get rid of as much water as possible (use a plunger to push the remainder out)
Loosen the bolts on either side of the bowl (These may be corroded or completely stuck.  You may have to hacksaw these off)
Gently rock the bowl side to side to release the seal, and then move the toilet off of the drain
Invert the bowl, exposing the seal on the bottom of the toilet.

Install a new wax ring

Remove the old wax material from both the bowl and the flange with a putty knife (you will likely also find a plastic "funnel", which can be removed as well)
Take your new wax ring, and install it on the bottom of the bowl (the rounded portion will be facing up towards the bowl.
If you were forced to hacksaw the bolts from the flange, install the replacement bolts to the same position on the flange.

Reinstall the toilet

Lift the toilet back up, and thread the bolts through the holes on the side of the bowl (do not let the wax ring touch the ground until you are ready to drop it in its final position).
When the bowl is in its final resting position, sit on the bowl to seat it in place.  Rock back and forth gently to squeeze the wax ring.  The base of the toilet should now be resting on the ground around the entire base.
Reinstall the washer and bolts holding down the toilet.  Be careful when tightening these bolts (do a little at a time, switching between the 2 as you go).  You do not want to break the flange or the bowl.
Trim up the bolts with a hacksaw to adjust the length (if necessary). Reinstall the plastic caps over the bolts.
Reconnect the flexible water line to the shutoff valve
Turn on the water


How can I get 30 Amps @120V using several 12AWG and/or 14AWG cables?

Let's go over the ground rules and we'll build up to the solutions.

Code is your friend.  Code can seem annoying when you're trying to do something, especially when you get fixated on one style of solution.  And many Code requirements seem rather silly, especially to someone with an EE background.  And newbies tend to think they can "outsmart" it.  But the more you know Code, the more sense it makes.  This isn't indoctrination, it's understanding the why's.

The Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is the decider.  This is your local city inspector, the one who requires you pull a permit.  If you don't know much about Code, you may not know about the need to pull permits.  This means an electrical inspector will look it over, and this means you better be Code.  Cheating around the permitting process will get you in big trouble later.

Redundant circuits disallowed.  With outdoor work, you cannot have 2 circuits going to the same place unless they are different somehow: voltage, switching, etc.  That means if both circuits from the main panel are 120V, you should put a switch on one of them. Nothing says you ever have to throw the switch.

Mixing disallowed. Each neutral must stay with its partner hot(s).  Grounds can mix, but only with other grounds from the same panel. This is relevant since you have circuits served out of different panels in close proximity.  You can't even mix their grounds.

The RV site needs a grounding system of its own

This is true no matter what you do.  There are several ways to create a grounding system, but the usual method is to drive two 8' copper rods into the earth some distance apart.    This is needed because under some conditions, earth under your feet is not at the same voltage potential as earth 200 feet away.  This eliminates the possibility of being shocked while standing in a puddle holding a grounded thing.

This local earth ground does not replace the equipment safety ground wire brought over with the conductors.  Ground needs to return enough current to assure a breaker trip in the case of a bolted hot-ground fault.  Dirt doesn't conduct well enough to do that.

This is important because some people don't like installing a main service as now you need a grounding system.  Makes no difference, you need it anyway.

Plan A (and revised) is hopeless

There are too many reasons to even discuss.  Some of them sneak up on you because it's unexplored territory. (a bit like aluminum wire seemed like a keen idea until...) For instance, what about overcurrent protection for the neutral wires?  Not an issue for a single neutral, so nobody thinks about it.  You'll just keep running into more and more.  What if the neutral between main and sub breaks? Dissimilar wire lengths. Dissimilar wire gauges.  Eddy current heating. On and on.  Given McCarthy evaluation there is no reason to deeply analyze this hopeless dead-end.

Plan B: Do as every RV owner does, everywhere.

Get a cheater cable with 30TT socket to 5-15 or 5-20 plug, and and be careful with use of RV accessories not to overload the circuit.  Since a cheater is a removable cord and not part of fixed wiring, it's outside the permitting/inspection process. It's not Code, but doesn't seem to cause much trouble.  RVs have lots of other trouble with 22% of all RVers report being shocked, but this won't do that.

Since you mentioned this doesn't work out for you, I assume you really need the full 30A at 120V - 3600 watts or 3600 VA (3.6 KVA).

Now things get fun.

Plan C: Take the red pill: 3.6 KVA

We use any one cable to send 240V @ 15A  (3600VA) from the house.  At the RV site, we use a transformer to turn that into 120V @ 30A. (also 3600VA).   The transformer absolutely needs several properties.

Outdoor rated
240V primary (240-480 is a common type, that's fine).
120V secondary (120-240 is fine if it the label says it can be jumpered parallel; most can).
3.6 KVA or larger (5 KVA is common).

These are commonly seen on eBay or Craigslist for $100.   Of course a new one is likely to be quieter.  Shop around, prices vary a lot.

Since the long haul is 15A, you can use any cable. I'd use the 12/3 simply because it goes to the right place.  In that case, neutral would be unused.

Now we go down the rabbit hole.  Read my answer here, particularly plans 3-4, about how using a transformer makes it a main service.  That's why you need a local grounding system, so you can have the one neutral-ground bond that every main service must have.

The post-transformer side is freakishly simple.  The transformer secondary goes directly to hot and neutral on the TT30.  It doesn't matter which one. However it does matter that the "neutral" side is bonded to your locally derived ground, and the ground pin on the TT30.  This is the one place on this side of the transformer where a neutral-ground bond occurs.  As ThreePhaseEel mentions, this is allowed under 240.21(C)(1).  All of the overcurrent protection is provided by the 15A breaker back at the house (ah, the long walk).

Plan C-2: A panel, and a little more load: 4.8 KVA

Same as plan C, but use a 12AWG circuit, and breaker it for 20A. Since this is 4800VA, you would definitely need a 5K VA transformer. The transformer secondary goes to a main panel as discussed, and neutral and ground are locally derived, and bonded in the panel (the one place).  It has a 30A breaker going to the TT30.  If the RV trips the breaker, it'd be more likely to trip here.

You could also put 1 or 2 more circuits in there to other things, but the combined load could trip the breaker back at the house.

Plan C-D: Get ready

Same as plan C-2, except you use a 10KVA transformer, which definitely has 240x480 on the primary and 120/240 wiring on the secondary. This will allow you to later bump to plan D with only one more transformer.

Plan D: Now you're playing with power

This plan delivers 9.6 KVA over 12/2 cable, allowing you to power a larger RV which takes 240VAC/30A (7200VA).  It uses particularly hazardous voltage, so you'll want professional help for this.

In this plan, you use two 10 KVA transformers: The one I mentioned in plan C-D, and a similar transformer at the house.

The transformer at the house will be back-fed (which is fine). Jumper both transformer primaries for 480V and connect them back to back.  The power will be transmitted over the long wires at 480V and half the amps.  That means you can deliver 240V/40A (9.6 KVA) on 12AWG wire - or if you prefer, you could jumper the transformer to serve 120V/80A.  This would need to go into a "main" panel again with locally derived ground and neutral.

This should scare you a little, but the 480V will only be present in 2 places, and only inside transformer enclosures.

Plan D-2: power any RV

This requires the rarer 120/240V to 600V transformers, at 12 KVA or larger size, and the 20A circuit.  The house side gets breakered 50A.  The RV side is now allowed a full 50A of 120/240v.  You can now install one of those RV multi-stands that supports 240V/50A, 240V/30A, 120/30A and 120/20A (one at a time obviously).

By the way, the absolute limit of insanity here is 21 KVA over the 12/3 cable, by using a 3-phase converter and a transformer that sends the power as 20A/600V 3-phase "delta".  That's enough for 6 of your RVs.


SER cable Through Crawl Space (encapsulated)

I would simply run it attached to the side of the joist
I would simply attach your run to the side of the joist so that it's set back upwards of 1¼" from the joist edge (to avoid the need for a nailplate).  Attaching it to the joist can be done with straps or staples designed for 4/0 SER cable (note that SEU cable staples/straps are not usable for SER cable as the two are shaped differently).


You never switch a neutral

That principle should make it clear how this should get wired. Based on your picture, this diagram should help:

You take the hot (typically black) wire from your breaker, connect it to the single black screw on the set of switches. The black screw indicates it's the "Line Side." You take a bunch of wires and connect them to the silver screws (which indicate "Load Side"). Those wires then go to their respective connections at the light/fan/heater. There should be a single white wire to pigtail to, which is your neutral return. That should not be switched anywhere. You probably also have a chassis ground on your light/fan/heater. Be sure to wire that.


Due diligence preventing leaks between condos

I am not sure how technical your board members are but I think an easy thing to do is waterproof the entire bathroom.  I feel like I am giving you some Holmes advice (totally overdoing something) but you can lay a Kerdi membrane over the entire floor and up 4-6 inches on the wall and of course your whole shower area.  You could virtually take a bath in your entire bathroom if this was installed correctly without a leak.

Now as Henry pointed out the plumbing can leak almost anywhere.  So maybe they want all of the plumbing along a wall or two.  If these are the things they want (I wouldn't bring it up) then you could configure your layout plus the waterproofing to hopefully meet their standards.  If your association is like most then it is probably more of how you get along with everyone vs. what you are looking to do.


How can I make a park bench more sturdy?

One way you may be able to lower the amount of springiness in the seat slats is to add some hardwood strips to the bottom of each slat. These could be attached with sturdy wood screws similar to as shown below. These can be added as long as possible but just short of the current slat mounting to the cast iron frame.


S bar 4 head light fixture 1 head not working

As spoken above, I can only assume that the individual socket is bad.  I would look for a replacement.


How Can I Fill Screw Holes In Beam So I Can Move Screws Slightly?

It is highly likely that your beams are made of pressure treated wood.  If so, you should try to use the same type of wood in repairing them.

SHIM - When there is a slight gap between a beam and a joist, that can often be cured with shims, slim pieces of wood (preferably of the same type, or if not available, a rot resistant type such as cedar). Shims should be forced in (tapped in with a hammer) so they are tight. Often you can drive shims from opposite sides. Since they are tapered, opposing shims can make a tight level gap filler.

LEVEL - If you cannot shim them adequately and need to move the joists to meet the beams, you need to make sure they remain reasonably level. They may have a slight pitch down away from the house, and that would be ok. You do not want to cause them to shift so that they slope toward the house. In some circumstances, that could lead to a drainage problem.

FILL - The holes in the beams can be filled with slivers of pressure treated wood that are coated with exterior glue. Force several narrow wedges in to pack the holes. Let the glue dry and then saw or chisel the surface flat. You can then drill new holes even close to the old ones.


Do I need a vapor barrier on an 8" pour + carpeting over tile?

You don't mention what your climate is or whether you've had moisture in the basement. My answer is therefore in general.

Vapor barriers are rarely "barriers", and generally act as retarders. In this case, your tile is a fairly effective retarder. I'd discuss it with the carpet supplier/installer. It's often the case that carpet pad has a built-in moisture barrier as well.


Can I combine two 12-2 cables to serve a NEMA 10-30 socket for dryer?

Are you trying to break a record for "most code violations"?  Code exist for a reason, the reason is safety.  Tech is supposed to serve us, not kill us.
Your entire logic is that "Code is a bunch of nonsense legalese" simply because you don't understand it.  No, every rule has a safety reason.
Further, you have a bunch of beliefs that are wrong.  And all your beliefs happen to support your plan.  Coincidence? Not. You are "making these facts up" to justify what you want you do. That's the road to perdition.
NEMA 10-30 receptacles haven't been legal for 30 years.
Old ones that were installed properly prior to 1990 are grandfathered (you don't need to rip them out) but you're certainly not allowed to install any new ones.   All dryers which might plug into a NEMA 10-30 are required to use a 14-30 today, and all are able to do that.
NEMA 10-30 has a neutral. Not a ground.
Neutral is not ground.
The whole problem with NEMA 10-30 is it doesn't have a ground.  That pin you think is ground is actually neutral.
All the dryers you think don't need neutral, actually do need neutral.   They are using an archaic exception in Code that allows plugging them into legacy NEMA 10-30 sockets if the socket was installed over 30 years ago.
The reason usual/cheap dryers need neutral is they have 120V tumble motor and controls.  I don't know why they don't just make those 240V, SMH, but that would cost $10 more, and we can't have that!!  They also use electric resistive heat strips to dry the clothes, which is the most expensive and inefficient way to do that thing.  Cheap to buy, expensive to run.
If you want hot-hot-ground, use NEMA 6. But most dryers can't use that.
For instance your 12/2 cable could support a NEMA 6-20 recep, which indeed may be able to feed certain high-tech dryers such as the condensing types you don't like for some reason.  (perhaps you do not pay the electric bill).
It doesn't cost $5000 to run a branch circuit.  5000 pesos, maybe.
Paralleling is right out.
It requires special equipment on the supply side that is specifically UL-listed for paralleling. That means it needs to meet the safety regs in the UL White Book also.  Also paralleling is not allowed below #1/0 wire size (125A), and realistically nobody does it below 4/0 (200A). So you simply won't find appropriate equipment, nor would you want to pay for it if you could.


What should I do with a 3-way light switch that is no longer needed?

You can't really remove the wire from the 3-way in the kitchen without tearing the wallboard out and removing it that way.  It's probably stapled above the boxes that it goes to or from.

You first need to determine if the receptacle is being fed from the 3-way.  If so then you might have to connect 2 of the wires that feed from the kitchen 3-way.  If the receptacle is being fed from someplace else then you still might have to connect the wires in the kitchen 3-way or open the receptacle up and remove the wires from the kitchen 3-way and then change the the other 3-way to a single pole.  The kitchen 3-way can have a blank cover put on it or you can buy a switch - blank plate or whatever configuration you need.  Make sure you turn the power off when working around the wires and when the power is on use a non-contact tester to determine what wires are hot.  When the power is on, keep one hand in your back pocket.


The hot water is working but the radiators will not heat up!

You did not give enough information (see my comment). But here is a guess for you anyway:

5 PSI is equivalent to 11.5feet of water. To me that means your radiators are filled to that height above the gauge and no more. (i.e. if the boiler is in the basement probably only the bottom of the radiator has water.) So no wonder they are cold - there is no water in them to carry heat.

But this is just a guess.


In general true low voltage readings indicate a loose connection in the circuit somewhere. Identify the circuit by turning the breaker off and now find all of the devices and lights that are off or reading 0 volts. Then turn the circuit breaker back on and trace the circuit. If you can find where the devices and fixtures are reading 120V nominal and the next device or fixture is reading 80V. There is a good chance you have found the area of the problem.
Check all splices and connections to see if there is a loose wire. Look for decolorization of the conductor or burnt insulation since loose fittings create heat. I think it would be good advice to check the entire circuit to make sure the problem does not reoccur. If you find more questionable connections. You should schedule to go through all of the circuits and check for the same problem.
Hint: If you check the the conductors at the problem with the voltmeter. Check voltage across each conductors. If you read 80V between the hot and neutral, and read 120V between the hot and ground. You have a malfunctioning neutral. If you read 80V between hot and both the neutral and ground your problem is with the hot conductor.
Safety note: As I stated above loose or malfunctioning connections create heat and do not trip the breaker so there is a chance if a fire hazard. Needless to say it is a dangerous situation and must be found and repaired. If you are having trouble finding the problem. It might be a good idea to call in an experienced service technician and let them deal with it.
Good luck and stay safe.


How to make pressure treated wood look old quickly

Using a light gray and/or brown stain would be the only option I can think of that would work in that timeframe on PT lumber. If you apply it by dabbing/daubing with bundles of rags it might get a less uniform look, more "naturalistic" - particularly if you use a few different shades in multiple applications that are not (each) covering the whole surface.


New light fitting coming on with wrong switches

The solution was that the wires were connected correctly but somehow the switch had stopped working during me changing the light fitting, I tested all the wires and the switched wires were showing continuity constantly despite the switch being off.
I tried the switch itself directly with no wires to check it was definitely the switch and it was, switch replaced and all worked fine.
When I first started I thought it seems like the switch wasn't working but I ruled that out in my head as it worked fine with the old  light so not exactly sure what the reason for it failing was or just coincidence, but it was a cheap fix in the end.


Dishwasher - valve on water pipe designed as not to be opened

The photo is washed out so it's hard to see exactly what's going on, but it looks like there might be a small screw on top of the shut-off lever, can you take that screw off, remove the lever, and turn it 180 degrees so it's no longer blocked?


Should I use nails or screws to refasten my subfloor to the joists?

Screws:

It doesn't sound like you're reattaching the entire floor; this is more like strategic intervals to solidify the fastening. Your nail/screw rate is not as important as if you were attaching a new subfloor from scratch.
Glue and screw is popular for more reasons than just rhyming
You're going through this effort to make it right. So do it right.


Do I need a ground for a new 240 volt 20 amp circuit?

If you're in the United States, a grounding conductor is defiantly required for all new work.

If the system was installed before grounding was required, you're not required to update the system and add grounding when the code changes. However, if you add anything to the system after the code change, you must do so in a code compliant manner.  This might mean bringing the entire system up to current codes, or at least enough of it to allow the new work to be code compliant.

You might be able to simply install a proper grounding electrode at the building, and use that to ground the circuits on the secondary side of the transformer. You'll have to contact your local government to find out if that's adequate, and also to have the work inspected to insure it's done properly.


What should I check after my kitchen cabinets are resurfaced?

In terms of the look, if it looks good to you, it is good. In a more empirical sense, in our finishing room we look for consistency/homogeneity of color, evenness of sheen, texture, and uniformity of application among other things (depending on the specifics of the finishing formula). One way to see problems that don't immediately jump out at you is to look across the piece into a soft, raking light. Defects in the film that you never noticed will scream out loud. Having said all that, the most important aspect of a refinishing job is its long term durability. Unfortunately I don't know of any way to definitively tell when a finish will fail prematurely just by looking at it. There may be indications in the general workmanship that might speak to the professionalism of the guys doing the work (runs and sags, orange peel, over-spray, etc. etc.) but that's not a guarantee. Not to mention that if you're seeing these things, the work is already done and therefore the damage is already done. I would suggest looking for these red flags before the work begins:

The vibe: Typically when you contact a company to do work like this, the process begins by them sending out an envoy (often the owner/operator) to come and asses the situation and give you the homeowner an idea of what to expect in regards to time frame, budget, and start date. If you get a bad vibe during this meeting, that's a red flag. Trust your gut. Also if you're taking bids and one of them is half the price of the others, it is not a bargain it is a red flag.
Appearances can be revealing: A crew that shows up wearing nice uniforms (even if they're just matching t-shirts and painters overalls) in lettered company vehicles is a crew that has it's collective poop in a group. On the other hand if the workmen, or worse yet the boss, show up dressed shabbily in a battered junker vehicles, that's a red flag. Guys that are good at this make a descent living and they tend to invest that back into their company. If they look like they're near poverty there's probably a reason for that.
Investigation of the preparation: When your crew is done prepping the site, you should be impressed (maybe even stunned) with the thoroughness and tidiness of the masking/tarping job. It should look like a patient prepped for surgery. If the masking paper is haphazardly applied and your floor is tarped off with old bed sheets, that's a rouge drapeau. That's "red flag" in french.

Hope this helps, cheers!


Front loading washer leveled but acts out of balance

Should have mentioned the washer is mounted on a pedestal.  It seems the screws holding it to the pedestal needed to be tightened.  It's working fine now.

Thanks for the help.


Ceiling lamp makes clicking sound after switching on lights?

I don't like to hear that you have a ticking sound, possible heat expansion.  It is clearly not installed properly with old support eye still in place.  I recommend a complete proper redo of hanging of the fixture.  Make sure all connections are clean and tight. Get all obstructions out of the way.  And no pinched wires.


Why do my fluorescent lights turn on slowly or not at all in the summer?

Almost certainly the ballast, unless old enough to actually have a separate starter, at which point it becomes a tossup between ballast and starter - probably not from 1992. But a 1992 ballast is certainly ripe for replacement 22 years later. They don't live forever.

I have a few older ones I have not gotten around to replacing that are very humidity-sensitive (a little bit heat, a lot humidity...at least in my case.)


Can I use a paint pad to apply floor varnish?

I would recommend a "mohair" roller. This is a very short nap, lintless roller cover that applies varnish and urethanes fast and extremely smoothly.  I don't like pads at all, as they always seem to streak.


You should be careful in your choice of wall paneling material and its preparation. Not all T&G planks are suitable for walls period, and fewer still are suitable for bathrooms. Ensure your planks are sealed on all sides to minimize risk of warping.

For more flexibility, install a standard drywall wall surface. Then you can attach decorative paneling over that without compromising critical functions of the wall.


Replacing a thermal store - hot water cylinder?

Just opening the taps will not drain the cistern, as the supply piping only runs through a heat exchanger inside the unit.  Disconnect the power supply long enough ahead of time that the water cools down before attempting anything - per the manufacturer the water in the cistern will be around 55°C, which is hot enough to cause scalding.

With the exception of the cistern, disconnecting this will be similar to disconnecting a tankless hot water heater here in the States. Turn off the cold water supply first, then put something to catch water under the connection for the hot water outlet.  If there's a cut-off on the hot water side, close it.  If not, make sure all your taps are closed while you disconnect the hot water supply from the unit.  This will be kind of like holding your thumb over the top of a straw - it keeps gravity and atmospheric pressure from draining all of the pipes in a torrent as soon as you disconnect it.  After you have the pipe open, have someone go around and open taps one by one to allow the supply side to drain out while you catch the water.

I can't tell from the documentation I could find if there's a drain for the cistern or not, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't.  Look for one at the bottom of the unit (you can see the drain on the bottom of the new model you linked to).  If there isn't one, you may have to resort to sucking the water out through the cistern fill port with a wet-dry vac.


Why are the contractors leaving lambs wool fibers in my floor finish?

They are using new clothes on final finishes.  New wool will shed maybe the first 10-20 times you use it and for finish coats I have only used older clothes or microfiber.  They could also be buffing a little too soon and this will definitely cause more wool to pull out.   I would hit the areas with wool with 320 grit sandpaper or just leave them in there and they will work their way out with more drying and usage.


Using steel conduit as a ground intermitantly. Any problems with this?

First, EMT or other non-flexible metal conduit is totally valid as a grounding path, as long as you are using the fittings correctly. (conduit nuts on the boxes, coupler clamp screws or sleeves tightened).  You do not need a ground wire also, unless you're really into belt-and-suspenders.

Second, multiple circuits in a conduit can share 1 ground wire. So even if you were in plastic conduit, 1 ground wire big enough for the biggest circuit will do it.  But don't do this with neutrals, ever!!! Neutrals can't ever be shared (except in an MWBC, that is designed to do that).

As a sidebar... Current flows in loops, and neutral is the return half of the loop.  It's completely unlike ground, which is only a safety shield.  So even though we seem to treat neutrals and grounds equally (no breakers or switches, bars tied at the panel), neutral is actually an equal partner to hot. We don't breaker it because it can't overload since it's only returning current for its partner hot(s)... but that requires getting it right.

When you transition from Romex/NM/UF to metal conduit wiring, look for (or make) a ground hole tapped for a #10-32 screw in the back of the metal junction box.  You can attach a ground wire to that and pigtail it to your Romex/NM/UF grounds.

Conduit fill limits.  You are only allowed so many wires in a conduit due to physical space, but Ecnerwal has that covered.

Conduit circuit limits.  You are only allowed, short version: 4 circuits in 1 conduit.  The gory details are 9 wires. However, that only counts for wires that are able to carry the full circuit current if all loads drew max amperage.  So for instance if you have two 3-way travelers, only 1 is hot at a time, so those 2 count as 1 wire.  A neutral in a 120/240V split-phase circuit doesn't count, because X amps on neutral means X fewer amps on a hot.

But for instance, say you carry hot+neutral up a pipe to a GFCI recep, and then carry protected hot and neutral back down the pipe to protect other outlets.  That counts as 4 wires/2 circuits because the downline could be maxed out.

Mandatory marking. When putting multiple circuits in a conduit, you MUST mark them in some way to distinguish which wires are with which.  It may seem like "ehh, 3 white wires all to the neutral bar, and 3 black wires all to 15A breakers who cares", but that's a codevio and you'll pay for it later with difficulty maintaining that circuit.  I recommend using colored tape, which is sold in 5-packs for $5 at the home store.  In conduit, if you tag a white wire with colored tape, that does NOT make it a hot wire (as it would in cable).

So for instance you could have "Blue Circuit", with both hot and neutral marked with colored tape near both ends.  You could even have "Green Circuit", since you're not allowed to remark wires to be ground wires (anywhere in >=6 AWG wire), so a green tape marking doesn't make them grounds.

You use THWN individual wires, readily available in 11 colors.  Here, native green must be ground. Native white and gray must be neutral.  All other colors are usable for hot.  I own 11 colors of THWN wires for that very purpose.  (don't have pink, but do have blue/red stripe).

For much easier handling, you can use stranded wire.  However you can't use backstabs, and it is difficult for novices to terminate on a screw terminal (socket or switch). They make "Screw-and-clamp" sockets and switches that make this easy.


I am by no means an expert, but I don't think what you're looking for is something inherently compatible with the idea behind track lighting.

Track lighting is, fundamentally, a hot rail and a neutral rail separated by insulating materials.  When you install a "head", it contacts the rails and completes the circuit, so when you energize the circuit, you get current through the head, producing light.

The hypothetical wireless device you are describing would have to interrupt the rails somehow, turning off power downstream of them.  This would not divide your circuit into segments, however, it would just turn off everything past your device.  A multi-rail track would allow you to get around this, but would also solve the problem inherently by giving you multiple parallel track circuits.  Short of modifying an existing track to permit a third-party device to open and close the circuit, I'm not sure how this would be done, or if it has been done commercially.

An alternative is something that exists between the head and the light bulb (or integrated into the light bulb itself) that allows you to connect and disconnect the bulb from the circuit.  Smart-home-based lighting might be an easier (albeit potentially pricey) alternative, permitting you to group different lights together and issue them commands wirelessly.


My toilets are filling with HOT HOT Water and we have no water pressure

Plumbing issues are not small things and should be the responsibility of the landlord.

It sounds like there is a  toilet mixing valve that has failed or was installed improperly.   In  places where the water supply is very cold  a mixing valve is used to  take the chill off of the water going to the tank to eliminate condensation on the size of the tank.

It is possible that the mixing valve was not set properly and that you could adjust the screw that regulates the amount of hot water mixing with the Cold water.

If you can locate the mixing valve that is a simple fix that you could take care of yourself anything else I would inform the landlord that it is their responsibility to remedy the situation.  The valve is usually located in an accessible place such as the crawlspace under the house or in the mechanical room where the hot water heater is  or it is possible  but not probable that there is an access panel on the backside of the wall that the toilet sits against.

If your mixing valve is like the one that I linked to there is a screw adjustment on  One side of the  valve that can be adjusted with a slotted screwdriver, screwing it in reduces the amount of hot water aloud through the valves.

If it is a mixing valve issue I don’t think that would account for the lack of water pressure. That is something that is certainly going to have to be addressed by a professional plumber.

Is the water pressure issue a problem with all of your Faucets or just the toilet?


how to fix jammed integrated dishwasher door?

If it was moved out of alignment, you should be able to move it back into the correct alignment to allow you to open the dishwasher door again.

If you cannot get a decent grip on the door sides to force it, you can try using a glass suction cup to get a hold of it and force it back into position.


How can I straighten pipes behind a wall?

Can you cut the wall on the other side of the pipes? That might let you get at them without breaking the tile.

Be aware, however, that if you do, it may not help - if the pipes are at an angle, and you straighten them out, you're going to end up with the pipes wanting to come out at a position slightly to the side of where they are now. In other words, the holes in the wall and tile may no longer be in the right position. You may be able to flex things to make this work, but not necessarily.


What wire should be used for modern thermostat

24VAC HVAC control circuits are a type of class 2 low voltage control circuit, and can use any cable suitable for that application.  This means that any UL listed type CL2 (optionally CL2R/CL2P) cable can be used, provided the wires inside are correct -- in practice, 18AWG is adequate.

As to how many wires to have in your cable, the correct answer is as many as possible -- big-box stores may only carry 5 or perhaps 8 wire thermostat cable, but you can get CL2 cables with more 18AWGs in them if you're willing to reach out beyond the big box.  Talk to your electrical supply house, or check electrical/electronic catalog suppliers, as both Carol/General Wire and Alpha Wire make CL2 cables with more wires still -- in fact, the Alpha Wire 881812 (CL2, 12wires/18AWG stranded) is available through Newark as a stock item (in 100' spools).


How to isolate dead animal odors in crawlspace?

First make sure the area is clean making sure you have no more obvious contributing factors. Then install an exhaust and vent the area 24-7.  As the moisture is displaced and it will eventually be displaced, the odor with dissipate. If you live in a northern climate you will need to monitor the temperature to protect against freezing.


Can I run these plumbing lines like this?

What is the total number of fixture units that you have on your 3" line?  The clean out is not necessary, provided you can access it from the roof or another clean out is further up line. additional venting is not necessary. From viewing your photos, I would call in a professional plumber and have the repair done correctly and have someone that can be called back if some thing goes wrong. One last bit of advice, contact your local authority and have them look at your sketches of what you are doing, this could be the best way to get the information that you are looking for.


slow draining bathtub - is a frozen pipe a possibility?

It seems pretty unlikely that the drainpipe would freeze in your crawlspace.  Even if there was a 20 degree wind whipping through it (which there isn't: it's enclosed), the only way that could be is if there was standing water in the pipe to freeze.  That would mean a trap in the crawlspace which would be highly unusual.  And if you really had a frozen pipe, it wouldn't drain at all.

Most likely you have a hairball in the drain. Try a "drain zipper" and/or a drain auger.  When buying a hand auger, it's worth it to pay more for one with a toggle lock as opposed to a thumb screw.  It will save you a ton of time and your hands will thank you.


Which kind of board is easiest to work with?

Pine.

It is the the only one of the choices (other than plywood) that will give a natural wood finish easily. Also its edges do not need special treatment, unlike plywood. While veneer makes all of the other choices feasible for finish, that is a complex process on a multifaceted model. Every face and visible edge needs to be precisely laminated.

Pine is the softest, can be easily cut and drilled, and glues well. I cannot speak to laser cutting.

Pine is more easily deformed, but a model is not likely prone to much stress. Shrinkage and swelling might be a bit more of an issue, but less so if well sealed.

A slightly more forgiving wood is poplar. It is a bit more stable and tends to be clear (knot free). It is also a bit more expensive, but not prohibitive.


As Dan says, there is a maximum to the number of connected segments you can run. After that, you can get "RGB amplifiers" that are powered, and run the next set of segments.

You should take into consideration:

The max length of a segment on a single power source (as published by the manufacturer)
The size of the power supply needed, and the space you have for supplies
The cost of amplifiers and power supplies

It may make sense to have several small(er) power supplies rather than one or two large ones.


What is the standard distance a closet rod should be from the back wall?

As far as I know, there is no "standard" for this. I've looked for them. The only standards have to do with the actual closet dimensions that are specified in building codes. A common convention is 12" from the back wall to the center of the rod.

People typically put the closet rods in the middle of the closet. Minimum closet depth is 24" so that puts the closet rod at 12" too.

Certain types of clothing tend to extend past the edge of the hanger. The sleeves of jackets and dress shirts for example. So you want to have room for them. Good air circulation is also important to minimize chances of mold and mildew. Especially important if the back wall of the closet is an exterior wall.


What's the name of this wood-eating animal and how to purge it?

One possibility is to remove all wooden furniture and have it destroyed.

Then have the house professionally fumigated to kill any of the pests that might be in the structure.

Worth having the structure checked as it may be that the pests came in with the furniture and are not in the structure so saving you some expense.


Will 1/4" drywall with 2x4 studs hold a TV wall mount securely?

TV wall mounts should always be mounted directly onto studs if the total weight is that much. If all mounting screws are going into studs, the drywall thickness is irrelevant. Drywall anchors are a great invention, but not suited for the kinds of load and forces a swivel wall mount exerts.

If you can't mount the wall mount onto studs for some reason (like, say, because the studs are spaced 24" and the mounting screws on the wall mount are <24" apart), mount a length of 2x4 lumber onto the wall and secure it onto the studs. Then mount your tv wall mount onto the 2x4. I suggest 2 strips - one for the upper and lower rows of mounting screws.

And of course read the instructions that come with the wall mount to see if they have specific recommendations for dealing with your situation.


What capacity of heat pump is needed for a residence near Phoenix, Arizona?

The Number of Windows and sliding glass doors also play into the calculation, it sounds like you have good insulation, but that area gets much hotter than where I live. Some of the calculators on line are focused on energy savings and provide questionable advice in my opinion. The best way to find out would be to talk to neighbors with similar sized homes. Ask about Thier unit size, power consumption and if the units cool well when the temp gets into the 100's . If they want to size the unit on square footage alone (unless the company can show a very similar home) find another company because Windows and doors add a large cooling load even if double Payne. Many years ago before I got my HVAC license I had a 2900 sf home with 26 Windows and 3 sliding glass doors. The company recommended a 3.5 ton unit, I thought that would be two small after talking to a neighbor with a similar home that had a 4 ton and said it was not enough. I had a 5 ton installed and on the hottest days that was not enough to keep the home at 78F.


Why is my solid oak entry door cracking?

Solid wood doors with panels are to be constructed so the panels float in their groove (dado) or perhaps the panels are held in place by an applied molding. Regardless of panel construction, or other types of joinery used in door construction, the panels are not to be fastened in place. They will expand and contract. Because of this, with some makers that pre-finish their doors, the panels are finished before installation in the door. On larger panels, since the possibility of a panel shrinking so much that an edge may fall out of the dado, one single fastener is placed in the center of the panel so the movement will be divided up at both sides, instead of possibly moving all from one side.

There is a chance that any finish you have applied may have "bridged" the gap, and sort of glued the panels in place so they will not move, and therefore cracked.

If I remember right, tung oil is a great finish for furniture, easy to apply, can be touched up easily. For doors as long as they do not get wet from rain  or snow melting on them, the finish should not fog up.


Concrete brick patio, -how do I temporarily divert the water around a raised deck post?

Why not create a flashing dam around the post areas?

You could use a roll of sheet aluminum, maybe 6 inches wide. Put a crease down the middle to form an L shape.

Scrub down the blocks and when dry, duct tape the bottom flange of the aluminum to the blocks. You can bend the corners by cutting the bottom flange to the crease or cut separate pieces and duct tape them together. Add some duct tape to the inside seam along the bottom of the well formed.

When ready, it should pull up with little to no residue. If necessary, some mineral spirits should remove any remaining adhesive.


Is this rotary hammer capable of driving a ground rod into hard soil?

Here's a video of just that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kfjhRYAUHg
But why not just rent the tool?  But if you must then check out this guy who modified a bit, then used some rubber hose, to get the ground rod in: http://www.n4lcd.com/groundrod/


use 2 pole circuit breaker for both basement light and plug

Depends what you mean by "2-pole".  There's real 2-pole breakers, and then there's double-stuffs (twin, duplex, tandem).  Not the same at all.

It's always OK to run 2 simple circuits -- i.e. each circuit has its own cable and the cable contains its own dedicated neutral.

However, if the 2 circuits are in 1 cable and share the neutral, it must be a 2-pole - a double-stuff will overload the neutral and potentially shock installers.

If the breaker is a true 2-pole, then they will common trip, meaning if one overloads it will trip the other.  There's nothing wrong with that, but it might be a nuisance.

If the 2 circuits do share the neutral, that is called a multi-wire branch circuit.  Common trip isn't required, but common maintenance shutoff is... and a 2-pole breaker does provide that.  In fact, that's what we recommend for this type of circuit, because a 2-pole breaker is the easiest way to do it!   Further, this is the only way to do GFCI on this type of circuit.


Drywall shouldn't be in the shower.  Take it down and replace with cement board.  This will cost you $50 and will ensure the money and time you put into the tile last more than a year.

If for some odd reason you are using a Kerdi membrane or something like that (which your question leads me to think you are not) than you could keep the drywall.  You would have to scrape off the mold and hit the drywall with a anti-mold spray.  If the mold doesn't scrape off then you need to replace that section of drywall.


Fix garage door sitting on asphalt driveway

You can cut it back and pour concrete.
A bag of asphalt cold patch would fix it cheaper, quicker and simpler, in keeping with the way it is presently done, by just building up the low corner.
The fact that the corner is now open implies that movement is continuing on the cracked slab from whenever the asphalt job was done this way (evidently to compensate for the cracked slab's movement up to that time.) As such, your proposed concrete repair may not last if the cracked slab is not done moving yet.


According to the installation manual for the spout, the nipple for the spout should be installed a min of 3/8" to a max of 3/4" past the finished wall. There is a pipe adapter that you screw onto the nipple. The spout slides over this adaptor and is set in place with a set screw located on the bottom. This allows for the correct orientation of the spout.

The hole for the spout through the tile and back board should be about 1/4" to 1/2" larger than the nipple diameter allowing for an 1/8" to 1/4" gap between the nipple and the tile.

There should be installation instructions for the diverter valve that will include the vertical location of the valve relative to the spout, as well as the set back distance in the wall. There is usually a plastic over on the diverter valve that is to be set flush with the finished wall. This cover also provides the opening required for the valve. Check the diverter valve instructions.


We have a light switch in the kitchen that is wired to the central ac?

I think it means Alternating Current (AC) voltage only, not Direct Current (DC) voltage.


Venting Range Hood into Attic Space, Temporarily

The biggest issue you have venting into the attic is warm, moist air being blown into a somewhat closed area (aside from the grease and particles you have a filter for).  If the attic space you vent into is large, and has good ventilation this shouldn't be an issue.  If you have to vent into a small portion of the attic and it looks like the moist air will get caught by insulation then there might be an issue depending on how much it's used.

The warm air will condense readily in a cold attic, so knowing that, look around and imagine what the moist air will do.  The other issue is that things can come up and "only temporary" ends up being 3-4 years...  Ultimately you'll have to answer for yourself, but for light use an "only a couple months", it's probably fine.


Assuming that you have drywall next to the Kerdi board it doesn't really matter.  The backer board should reach the outside of the wet area.  After that it doesn't matter what is behind your tile - drywall/backer.  I often just run the backer to the point where I don't have to cut it or to the closest stud.  Actually running your kerdi board to the edge of the tile is what you should not do because that seam would be more prone to crack.  On most of my installs I try to hide the backer to drywall seam behind tile.


Meross 3-Way Switch installation where the first box connects the power source, light, and second switch cables

Yes, you understand how that works.  However.
When neutral is not in a cable, and always-hot is in a cable, white must be always-hot.  (and it must still have marking tape indicating that it is a hot).
So you may reverse the 3-way configuration to take always-hot to the far switch.  But this means you must change (on both switches) which ones are the traveler wires.   White must become always-hot, and black/red become the travelers.


Material for stud cavity cold air return

Thermopan and similar material is a good alternative to sheet metal joist lining. It seals better and doesn't tin can like metal joist lining.

![enter image description here]

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/Q4Yw1.jpg)

http://www.thermopan.com/

It's ba fire rated cardboard but it works well.


At 100 years old, there's a good chance that the finish on that piano is Shellac. The stuff can get sticky over time. As the linked article points out, the stuff is soluble in alcohol. I've use a cloth soaked in denatured ethanol to swab away sticky spots on a few of my hundred year old oak doors. Doing so gently, not scrubbing so hard so as to remove all the finish, left me with no obvious discolored spots on the wood and no stickiness, but of course, your mileage may vary. I'd suggest trying it on a small, discrete bit of the piano before going whole hog.


Spot repair hardwood floor due to Goo Gone

You need to start by getting rid of the Goo Gone.

The Goo Gone should be volatile enough to evaporate unless it's getting trapped under your polyurethane. Try hitting the spot with a heat gun or hair dryer and if you are able to notice any progress visually, then just keep hitting it with heat for 20 min at a time and giving it a break for an hour or three. It may take a few days to lift it fully.

If you don't notice any progress, you may need to strip back the urethane layer using a thinner to allow the goo-gone to dry, then trying the hair-dryer method again. Because this is a water based poly, you'll want to really limit this to the area you are trying to fix rather than gradually feathering the poly.

You want to avoid sanding if possible because sanding down deep enough to remove the soaked in Goo Gone is likely to create a physical and visual low spot. However, be aware that the Goo Gone, due to it's coloring, will leave a slight ring stain once fully evaporated.  Rather than totally refinishing your floors (or a good span around that spot) My advice, once you are sure all the Goo Gone is evaporated, would be to just go a head and apply some touch-up poly over it anyway, and wait it out until the next time the floor is due to be refinished to fix it.

To touch-up, apply the thinnest coats you can using an applicator meant for water-based poly, building up and feathering into the poly you stripped. Unfortunately you choose a water-based poly which makes any touch-up blending more difficult / less perfect as it is usually in advisable to thin down water based paints as it can cause the emulsion of oil inside to break up (athough you won't have to worry about toxic fumes while you do it, so that's a plus). In the future, choose an oil based poly and touch-ups / fixes will be a lot easier.


Why is one bedroom always colder than the rest of the house?

For a quick and dirty fix, I have had some success with a Register Booster Fan.

This has alleviated most of the problem in my house.  I still plan to install more insulation (and upgrade to a multi-zone system), but this is a lot less work up front.  You can use it as a stop gap until you figure out what permanent fixes you need to make.


Wiring 3 wire well pump to 4 wire supply

Neutral is not needed here as the pump is 240V only with no N connection.  Connect the green to ground and you should be all set.


There's just not enough power there

A 15A 240VAC circuit can only supply 3.6kW, or slightly under half of what your cooktop draws.  You'll need to have a bigger radial circuit put in, dedicated to the cooktop/cooker setup; I presume a 32A circuit would be a standard size in Australia, provided you are served with a single phase.


How do I replace a 7' drop ceiling so it matches an 8' ceiling with 2 layers of drywall and popcorn texturing?

What is the thickness of that second layer of drywall in your great room?  Chances are it's very thin, which you could hide by simply fanning out your joint compound to make a "ramp" 1 1/2 to 2 feet wide where the kitchen meets the great room.  Nobody would ever be able to see the difference.  Another option is to put a fake beam between the two rooms - basically a thin piece of wood trim that looks like a fancy support beam partially buried in the ceiling.  Again, nobody would ever notice the difference in the ceiling heights between the two rooms.

There is a VERY easy way to get rid of the popcorn ceiling.  Get a paint roller with a fairly thick roller sleeve and put it on a long handle.  Dip the roller into a bucket of water, and then "paint" the popcorn ceiling with the water.  Use a bit of pressure to actually get the water into the popcorn, but don't overdo it and soak your drywall underneath.  Let that soak in for a minute or two, and then the popcorn will come right off.  Every time I paint a popcorn ceiling, half the popcorn wants to fall off with the roller, so I tried simply rolling it with water when I wanted to remove the popcorn one time, and it worked great.


Raising interior prehung door before installation?

Most places set the jambs on a scrap piece of 1/2" plywood, setting the bottom of the door at a minimum of 1 1/4" from the subfloor. If the subfloor is not level, make the lowest side a little higher, so the gap will be slightly bigger.


Can I have 2 45 degree angles in my wall from drain to vent?

If those are the only bends, and they are horizontal, and the total trap arm length is less than 5 feet, then yes. Trap arms can go thru no more than 90 degrees of bends without a clean out. Not including the vertical bends at the trap and at the drain/vent connection.


All foundations settle. Problems occur when there is “differential” settlement.

Footing sizes are based on the soil conditions and the load they are trying to support. So, soil that is mush will need to be bigger (wider) to support the same amount of load.

Generally, there is better soil bearing capacity the deeper you go, because the soil on top compressed the soil below. So, if you make the footing wider or deeper, it should stabilize.

Piling is a trickier. Driving piling can 1) shake the surrounding ground (soil) and cause settlement, and 2) stop all settlement while the remaining foundation continues to settle causing additional cracking.

Digging a hole for a concrete pier can 1) cause the surrounding ground to become unstable, and 2) add a significant amount of weight causing the foundation to settle even more.


How to install Kitchen Cabinets on a Drywall?

When installing cabinets, the "go-to" method is to "hang" them on a rail that you install first. The idea is that the rail, being much lighter and less bulky, is easier to put in place, get level, and then screw into the studs. Sometimes it's just one rail, sometimes two; depends on the cabinet system. The rail should be securely screwed into every stud along its length, to provide a solid anchor for the cabinet's weight.

Then, the cabinets will have a complimenting hanger hardware that will allow the cabinet to hang on the rail(s). That's enough to support the weight of the cabinets and what they hold, but you should still secure the cabinets to the rail, and thus to the wall, with screws through the backing and/or the back edge of the cabinet side panels. Again, how this works depends on the cabinet system; most cabinets have a pretty flimsy backing, but pre-drilled holes to put screws into the rails behind. Then, you put some trim around the back to hide any gap caused by the rail hardware, and you're done.


Choosing depth of ceiling electrical boxes?

The number of wires in your box determines the size of the electrical box you need.  I personally find 1.5" boxes rather shallow for a fan install since you are often hiding some of the fan wires in the box - this is a bit brand dependent though.

Also the depth of your box shouldn't effect insulation.  We are talking about the difference of an inch.  The insulation will have a little hump and will perform the same.


How do household radiator thermostatic valves work

I know it seems crazy but those thermostatic valves actually do detect room ambient temperature and increase or reduce the flow of water through the radiator based on that temperature.  It does not care about the temperature of the water flowing through the lines.  If you set it to '5' and the room is cool, it will allow a lot of the water circulating through the system into that radiator.  As the room warms, the valve starts to restrict the amount of water into the radiator.  When the room hits a predetermined level, the valve will shut all the water off flowing to the radiator.


Can an LED Driver be mounted in a Ceiling Electrical box

There is nothing wrong with a lamp having an internal DC power supply.

There is also nothing wrong with embedding a DC power supply in a junction box, provided there is a separator between mains AC voltage and DC.  For instance many furnace transformers are packaged as the lid to a standard junction box, or to fit in a standard knockout, with the AC power inside and the DC power outside.  I am unaware of any 12V LED power supplies in those packages, but I haven't really looked.


I think it's a push latch or a push to close latch for sliding doors- like the one pictured below:


Do I need to remove cap nails before re-roofing?

That's between you and your roofing manufacturer. The new underlayment may be more likely to wear through on the protruding caps, nuking your warranty. (Plastic caps are always protruding somewhat.)

I'd hire a couple teenagers to pull them. With a cat's paw nail puller it shouldn't take long. Many re-roof jobs I've done have required several thousand roofing nails being pulled individually as well.


Shut off cold water supply valve on the heater, now can't turn it on

That appears to be a gate valve.  There is a threaded portion inside the valve that goes inside of a block of metal that moves up and down when you turn the handle.  Since you can turn the handle, but the flow of water doesn't seem to increase, the gate has somehow become detached from the screw.  Maybe the threads have stripped out, or maybe the screw shaft has broken.

Even if I'm wrong about the exact type of valve, that one is broken one way or another and will need to be replaced.  Ball valves are a good choice for water heaters because they tend to be less likely to stick and are easy to turn off (only takes 1/4 turn).  This shouldn't be a big deal using modern push-to-fit connectors on that nice copper pipe.

Feel free to post an additional question if you run into problems with the valve replacement.

Now that I think about it...  Before anything else, try to push down with a good amount of force on the handle while turning the valve to open it.  Perhaps you can get the threads to bite down and pull the gate up.


How to prevent galvanic corrosion on water tank inlet

You need to use dielectric unions between the copper pipes and steel water heater.  They prevent electric current from flowing through the metal, which prevents galvanic corrosion.


This type of situation happens when the main neutral fails and all imbalanced current is redirected to a improper/loose connected grounding electrode, and/or improperly sized grounding electrode.

As mentioned by peter and Tester101, this requires immediate attention. Your 1st move is to cut off the main power. 2nd call a professional (unless you already have the main power off and are comfortable with Harper's advice).


How can I make MDF more resistant panels?

MDF is actually a pretty durable material, and these panels should certainly hold up to occasional hand touch.  However, if furniture or other hard objects get banged up against the panel it would be possible to damage any crisp edges, and I don't think there is any finish you can apply to prevent that type of damage from occurring.  The finish will make it easier to clean and act as a barrier for moisture.

I think that spraying the finish would definitely be the way to go no matter if you go with clear coat, paint or anything else, since brush marks would detract from the pattern.  Considering the cost of the panels, that you probably would prefer to finish them in place after they are installed, and how difficult it would be to perform a 'redo' on a panel with texture, you might want to consider hiring out the finishing.  At least experiment on some cheap panels of normal MDF before attempting the real thing.