Do I need a stairway for egress from a balcony that's off a second floor bedroom?

Spiral staircases are allowed if they meet the specs (780 CMR 5311.5.8.1), but as with any bedroom, you have to have a second means of egress in an emergency (Sec. 5310). This can be a window in the bedroom, provided it meets the requirements. I don't see any requirement that a window be under a certain height from the ground. I recommend calling the local building inspector to be sure--your county or city may have more stringent requirements than the state building code.


How can we connect a smart thermostat to our heating system, which is a gas furnace and wood fireplace?

Do you get much heat flow out of the fireplace without the fan running?  Would it be possible to locate a Tstat to sense the heat from the fireplace?  I'm thinking of using a Tstat that supports air conditioning, but repurpose the A/C terminal and connect to the "fan on" terminal on the furnace. That way, when the Tstat detects warmth from the FP it would turn on "A/C" which is now actually just the blower on the furnace.   When the fire goes out and the house cools down, the Tstat would turn on the furnace normally.

I'm not an HVAC guy, so take this with a grain or two of salt. You might need a pro to get this right. But it seems to me like an approach that might work.   Ed, Jack and Harper?  Ideas? Comments?


Is there a limit to length of notch cut in "rear" stud in staggered stud wall?

The most important thing is you mentioned is a non bearing wall. You can cut out the whole section, just to exaggerate the point.

Since it is a sound wall, I would cut out 2" to totally clear the cabinet so no sound transmits through the cabinet.


The Ring Floodlight is designed to replace a traditional floodlight, and has the motion sensor built in. But it's expensive and requires a base station.


What's behind laminate flooring AC rating

I've managed to find a table by one manufacturer (Kaindl) that has some actual data.

Basically AC3 vs AC4 comes down to twice the resistance before IP is reached in a Taber test, which uses sandpaper basically. IP is defined as: "The IP is reached immediately damage over an area of at least 0.60 m2 is suffered by the printed design in two quadrants and over an area of max. 0.60 mm2 in a third quadrant." I suspect there's a typo in there and the first measure is also 0.6 mm2 not m2.

Also AC4 is more resistant to impacts as well, about 50% better; I'm still a little confused about the precise meaning of that IC data.


Water coming in below sump pit corrugated pipe! Is this normal?

Your house is probably surrounded by a drain pipe laid on a bed of gravel to allow water to flow from the ground into the pipe. Gravity drains this pipe to the lowest point, your sump pit. The pit is also filled with gravel to let water perc in from the ground so it can be pumped out and away from the structure.  As long as your pump is able to keep up with the water coming into the pit it sounds like it's working as designed.


I would use a brace from the foundation to the top left corner of your fence with a jack - foundation won't move and use a thick plank to spread the load either end...


Bowed Wall / Running Corners: Help Me Tackle Getting Studs in Plane

I'd be concerned about removing 3/4" from the studs on an exterior wall. I'd consider using 1/2" and 3/4" sheetrock or plywood to shim the sides as close as flat with the bow as possible, then use paneling, floor underlayment, or thin sheetrock over the whole wall to get a smooth surface for tiling. Since you're planning to open the wall anyway, another option could be to plane the existing sheetrock - not the studs - then sheet over it for a smooth surface.


I see some exposed copper on the white wire if this is what you are talking about I would suggest shrink tubing, it can be shrunk with a match as most don’t have heat guns, the better types have an adhesive sealant that holds and seals much better than electrical tape, tape tends to slide off and move around more than electrical tape but inside a box a proper tape job with 50% overlap would protect the exposed copper from being hazardous.

50% over lap is starting the wrap at least an inch prior to the damage after the first wrap the over lap of 50% creates 2 thicknesses of tape , for added thickness a second pass provides 4 thickness.

I would recommend a quality shrink tubing over tape.


As long as the fireplace draws well you won't have impossible & ugly staining of the marble, so go for it. A rough base is great & will provide the best holding power, an uneven base is bad & needs to be leveled for a uniformly even coat of Polymer Modified White Thin-Set or Mortar...white so the marble doesn't get stained from the backside by your choice of adhesive. This area shouldn't get anything more than warm with a raging fire going.

If you have room for 1/4" or more cement board then great, but be conscious of screw (Tapcon) depth not entering the fire chamber & don't just mortar the cement board on. Screws should only go into the bricks mortar joints & not into the bricks themselves.


What's the deal with half-walls behind the kitchen cabinets? Can I cut into it?

Aside from electrical and plumbing interference, you can do pretty much whatever you want with the framing. That wall is mostly decorative (it saved some money by not requiring the cabinet makers to finish the backs of the cabinets).

If you have smooth walls, open the drywall enough to work. Frame in your opening, replace the drywall, add corner bead or wood trim, and line the opening however you had planned.

If you want more specific help, strip out the kitchen's life story up there in your post, put up a photo of the actual project area, and we'll do our best.


Before you purchase the extenders you should have in hand the extra large cover plates and check to see that they will cover the extra large rectangle in the paneling and that they fit your receptacle shape.

These extra large extenders might be all you need.

But you should have a package of the plastic shims and/or the RACO sheet metal ring support because if you use the Arlington extenders, the fins might not be large enough to bridge across the top and bottom gaps and you might need to use shims under the extender box fins to provide a firm physical connection. The top and bottom fins don't need shims if the wall around the box is close but if there is a large gap they need support of shims or the RACO sheet metal flush fit device.

Arlington box extender

sheet metal ring support


LED downlights working in conjunction with bathroom fan

I think you may have a wiring problem. From your description you circuit is acting like you have hooked your fan up in series with the lights. In a series circuit the lights will all stay the same brightness if they are all the same wattage and type. Once the fan comes on part of the voltage is dropping through the motor and the rest is distributed through the lights.

Take a close look on how the fan and the lights are wired up and if you have a meter verify that all equipment is wired in parallel and check for any crossover wiring.

I am only using the information you have given us. If the problem persists, you might edit your question and give us some photos or diagrams.

Good luck.


Do I have to turn off "everything" when replacing thermostats?

You should turn off the breaker/fuse that powers the furnace as you could accidentally short circuit the 24V transformer when installing the new thermostat.  If this ever did happen there is usually a 5A fuse on the circuit board you can replace.


How is a septic system different from a cesspool?

Septic systems leach out into the surrounding area (called a "leach field"). This helps reduce the number of times the system needs pumped out. Liquid (and some solid) waste is broken down and leaches out into the field. Some municipalities don't like this because it has the potential to contaminate local water sheds (most notably if you're near a river).

A cesspool is a sealed tank for holding waste. Since it's sealed it doesn't leak but frequently needs drained. More expensive than a septic system but more environmentally friendly.

Most places in the US that don't have city sewer services have a septic tank as far as I'm aware. I haven't heard of many cesspools.


Is a NIOSH mask advised when sanding a fully dried hardwood floor?

NIOSH (National Institute Of Safety and Health) does not manufacture respirators or dust masks, they conduct research and make recommendations for prevention of worker injury/illness. If their name is on a respirator it means they approve of it's use for the manufacturer's stated purpose.

Generally. you should wear a particulate mask or respirator when sanding, mostly because of the chance for lead in old coatings. For old varnish the chance of significant lead exposure is slim and no volatile organics will be released.

However, you should wear a N99 dust mask or P100 particulate respirator anyway because breathing airborne dust when you don't have to is dumb. Ever blow your nose after working in a dusty field? Do you really want that stuff in your respiratory tract?


When installing hardwood floor which room should I start with?

For purposes of this discusion, Top, Bottom, Left, Right are oriented to the drawing.

I've done my share of flooring, and one thing I found out is that working backwards is a pain.

You can lay boards perpendicular to each other if they have the same tongue and groove on the ends as along the length. -- But only at your starting end.  At the finishing end, it's nearly impossible to get a tight join.

You can convert a groove to a tongue, but not the other way around.

If you start in the bottom left, You'll have to work backwards in the two bedrooms.  If you start in the Master bed, you'll have to work backwards in the living room and spare.

Might I suggest the following, but unorthodox technique:

1) Lay the Office first, Parallel to the long wall. When you finish the office, Leave a TONGUE in the middle of the threshold.

2) Now start laying in the hall, from (drawing) up to down.  The groove END of the boards should fit nicely into the tongue of the board in the threshold.  You can choose to continue into the bedrooms now, or leave them until later, leaving a clean tongue in the threshold.

3) Carry along the upper line of the hallway, and extend that row of boards across the living room to the left side. DO NOT NAIL!.  Temporarily lay in a couple of rows, squeeze it all tight, and make sure your line is straight.  Three rows total should be good.     Now, with a couple of friends, lazers, chalk lines etc. Screw down a straight piece of wood to the floor up tight against that first row.  You can now pull up the temp flooring and use the piece of wood you screwed down as a backstop for your nailing.   You can rip it up after you've nailed down a few rows, but leave it down as long as possible.  (This should be about $15 for 2x4's and good screws)

4)  Now go to the store, and buy yourself a groove/tongue converter.  This is a hardwood strip that you stick in the groove of a board, that converts a board into a double tongue.  Now you can lay the rest of the living room in the other direction.


How to seal between sill plate and foundation wall with wide gap?

Remove ALL the mortar throughout.

Fill gap with Great Stuff / expanding spray foam.

Let cure and then cut off square.

Drywall the face of the sill plate to cover the foam for fire safety.


Are fence posts sturdy enough to support an addition of a wooden cover?

Vernacular architecture - what's the worst that could happen?

Build it and see if it fails.

If it fails, build it again stronger. Seems unlikley to kill anybody or ruin your house if failure happens.

Vernacularly sturdier - don't cantilever it, add two more posts on the open side. Or let it fail, if it's going to, then do that when rebuilding.


Reset furnace (heater) often to get my fan to work.

You might need a new control board in the furnace or just a relay replacement. Anything more than a once a year reset means there's a failure somewhere.


Changes in conditions can kill equipment in environments like you're describing - especially involving high humidity. When the temperature falls at night, the moisture condenses on every available surface. The next day as the air heats back up, the moisture evaporates. If the day/night temperature swings are big enough to cause significant condensation, then you're essentially dousing any metal surfaces in water every 24 hours. I had a home years ago with a poorly built uninsulated garage, on a cool summer morning there would be significant condensation - any tools left out there would look like they'd been sprayed down by a hose. Sometimes the condensation would be so great that the tin roof would drip water and it would "rain" inside the garage. It killed a few tools. I quickly learned to deal with it (and made structural improvements) and things were fine - I still have and use some tools that had been stored in that garage for a decade, once I learned to protect them.

There are ways to combat this. Wipe down metal surfaces with a rag and some light machine oil every time you use the tools. The oil will help repel condensation. If you can, store the tools in tightly-closing cases or bags, and then put the cases in airtight storage bins. This will cut down on the condensation significantly by capturing a more-stable environment directly around the tools. For the cordless tools, it probably makes sense to store the batteries in your house regardless of the temperature or humidity, so they can be on or near their chargers (I'm assuming you don't have power at the shed).

You said there is no floor to the shed - if the floor is earth or gravel, it can be a big source of moisture. For the larger items like the lawnmower, it may make sense to store them on a pallet or at least on a makeshift floor of 2x4s or other scrap lumber - the idea is to allow air circulation under and around the tools, so they're not just sitting directly on the damp ground all the time.


How can I estimate the percentage of electricity (bill) is due to heating and cooling?

Your method works to a first approximation. One big assumption is that you had no (or little) costs to heat and cool during that smallest-bill month of May. The other big assumption is that all of your other loads during that month of May are representative of the loads the rest of the year. If both of those are true, then your method should be quite accurate.

One fairly obvious difference is in your water heater. As the temperature warms up, the temperature of your incoming water supply warms, too, meaning you need less energy to heat the water to the desired temperature. And, as the temperature drops, you need more energy to heat the water. It's kind of the opposite of your AC.

One other thing to consider is not cost, but actual energy usage. $143 in May be more energy usage than $143 in August, depending on your utility rates. It might even be that your rate differs during the day, or with usage. To be sure, check how much energy you actually used, in kWh, and compare those values from May to the rest of the year.

There are various estimates out there for what uses the most electricity, but HVAC always tops the list at 30-50%. Water heater is usually next, followed by laundry (dryers mostly). Unless you've done something specifically to reduce your usage, yours probably follows a similar profile and would be a good cross check of your estimate.

If you want a more accurate assessment, your local utility may be able to provide an energy audit. You can also look into installing a whole-home energy monitor, such as Sense (not a recommendation, just an example), though I'm not sure how accurate those are. If you have a smart electric meter, you may be able to glean higher-resolution usage data for your whole home (mine reports usage every 15 minutes), rather than the monthly usage reported on your bill. This might be easier to correlate with days you know the HVAC was not running. You could also install smart thermostats, some of which can report minute-by-minute usage.


Wiring Pool Subpanel for Pump and Receptacles

Wire from main panel to subpanel is protected by the breaker in the main panel.  So its size is decided by the breaker.

30A means 10AWG Cu
40A means 8 AWG Cu
60A means 6 AWG Cu / 4 AWG Al
70A means 4 AWG Cu
80A means 3 AWG Al

All these numbers for <100A feeders come out of table 30.15(b)(16) working out of the 60C column because of NEC 110.14(C)(1)(a). Nobody is going to recommend working out of the 90C column, and the inspector is unlikely to approve it.

Additionally, #10 Cu wire will be limited to 30A because of 240.4(D)(7).

You are welcome to use  #14 copper wire to lighting or convenience receptacle branch circuits.  It must be breakered at 15A due to 240.4(D)(3).

If you want to breaker it at 20A, then use either #12 copper or #10 aluminum.

Although 240.4(D)(6) allows 25A on #10 aluminum on receptacle branch circuits, use of a breaker other than 15 or 20A is outlawed by Table 210.21(B)(3).

Your expectation of being able to work out of the 90C column is weird.  That's generally not allowed.  Generally in <100A circuits you must work with the abovementioned table, plus

15A means 14 AWG Cu.
20A means 12 AWG Cu.

There is an exception in Code for certain large motor loads on dedicated circuits, which allows an enlarged breaker.  This is to avoid nuisance trips and has nothing to do with wire thermal rating, to which 240.4 still applies.  One of us is an expert on this clause and hopefully will discuss it.   However, using this exception draws a lot of heat from inspectors and you will often need to defend the choice.

However, 110.3(B) still bears force: If the labeling or instructions for the motor, breaker or panel requires the larger wire, you must use it; end of subject!

I personally would use EMT conduit for distribution past the subpanel.  I also think use of #14 is a mistake.

As things are, you will need to buy 6 wire sizes and colors:  Black, white and green #12; and black, white and green #14.  That's six spools, what a waste of money! I use EMT conduit and would buy only black and white #12. EMT provides the ground. Actually, I own 10 colors of #12 and no #14.  The price difference 12-14 isn't worth it.

Lastly, it is far past time to talk about GFCI.  GFCI protecting the pump would not be a bad idea.  The other circuits require it.  You may be reluctant to protect the pump since the cost of all these GFCIs is really stacking up.  However you can protect them all with one GFCI device:  Either

a GFCI breaker in the main panel that feeds the subpanel (about $90) or
a "hot tub" subpanel which includes GFCI protection onboard.  Obviously it will need enough spaces to support the pump and lighting/recep circuits.  One option is a 2-space "hot tub" subpanel that supports a quadplex breaker.  (not all brands do).


Vinyl Flooring: Wet glue underneath and pink and black stains on top

The obvious answer is that something was done improperly.  What, exactly, is anyone's guess at this time.  Some possible explanations:

The adhesive used was the incorrect type, was past its expiration date, was not applied properly.
The surface over which the adhesive and flooring was applied was unsuitable for this application.  Here it helps to read and understand the manufacturer's installation instructions.
There is some contaminant on the floor that is interfering with the adhesive.
Your floor has excess moisture that is breaking down the adhesive.  Generally there are limits listed in the installation instructions.

At this point I'm sure you're well past the point of making a claim with the installations company but you might contact the manufacturer and see if their support folks have any suggestions.  Otherwise I think you're looking at a total tear-out and re-installation, likely at your cost.
You definitely want to understand why this happened so that you can avoid a repeat on the new installation.


Proper way to apply plumber's grease to a two-handle bathroom sink faucet?

Hardwicke,
  I opened up the file in your letter. It is the 5.1 and 5.2 cartridges that you need to lubricate. These come apart by hand and that is what you need to do. I recommend one at a time and pay close attention to put them back exactly how they were. Or the handles may operate reversed.
  I would not use lithium grease, rather I would recommend a good food grade product like super lube 3 oz tube synthetic grease sold at home depot.
  And next time consider a higher quality faucet. This would not be happening with a Moen.


Can I repurpose an unused 6" radon pipe as an electrical conduit?

It depends.  The pipe is not listed as a wire way or conduit so it would not be allowed for individual conductors you know that by your question.
If you limited the number of cables using MC for example it could be allowed.
However more than 6 current carrying conductors may be flagged since it is basically just a hole not a listed gutter.
Would I do it as a professional? Yes even with NMB if I cut the pipe so it is completely enclosed in the wall.
Code allows wires run in walls with the finish or covering and doesn't require stapling.
This is even safer for NM, or MC wire types than just in the wall but since it is not a wireway we have to limit the number of conductors and use cables that can be run in the walls, then limit the number so the inspector won’t call out bundling.
Fire block may be required to plug the openings since this bypasses all blocking.


What size circuit breaker is required for a GE model JBP68HKWW range?

It depends on the wire going to the range.

If the wire is 8 AWG you can only use a 40A breaker, regardless of what the range's instructions may tell you.

If it is 6 AWG, you should use 40A or 50A depending on what the range's instructions say to use.

While you're in there... this is a very good time to make sure you are using the modern, grounded 4-wire connection including a NEMA 14 plug/socket if it uses a plug.  The old 3-wire connection is hazardous, as any problem with the neutral wire will electrify the chassis of the range.  No kidding, and this problem has a body count.

It's especially a shame if the house is wired with modern /3 cable +ground, but someone downgraded it because their used range had a 3-prong connection.   If it doesn't have a ground now, the rules now allow you to add just a ground wire, either back to the panel or anywhere else with a 10AWG ground wire back to the panel.


Garden building (UK) 2.5m rule where measured?

Based on the info in your question;

If the structure is within 2m of the boundary then the height  of that structure is restricted to 2.5m.

That would mean that if your structure is within the 2m of the boundary then you can not have a structure  that is 2.75m in height   as it would violate the code.

Is that 2.5m measured from the immediate boundary or the actual
building itself?

The 2.5m height restriction is measured from grade (the ground), to the the top of the structure. Grade would be the ground at the bottom of the fence, not from the bottom of the hole you dug. Dig the hole deeper.
Again, this is based on how your question is worded.


My yard is eroding away and taking my house with it: what's the cheapest way to build a retaining wall to stop it?

I've recently purchased used railroad ties from home depot for my own landscaping needs.  They were the cheapest by volume that I could find about, $15 for an 8"x10"x8' (nominal), and if you want something that's going to match the worn look of an existing railroad tie retaining wall, well that's as good as it gets.

Concrete blocks will be more expensive and probably will stand out.  If you're not going to cement and rebar them in, I also find blocks harder to get set in so they look professional.


GFCI Circuit begins and ends with GFCI receptacles

Perfect Solution
The GFCI in the breaker is all you need, so replace the other GFCI receptacles (whether inside or out) with regular receptacles and you will be fine. Except, as noted by Harper, the receptacles that need GFCI protection (and have it but "elsewhere") need to be marked GFCI protected.
There are three reasons why there may be GFCI receptacles in addition to the GFCI breaker:

Previous Owner Confusion - Previous owner didn't understand how things work and had GFCI deliberately installed in both breaker panel and receptacles for perceived extra safety.

Home Inspector or Real Estate Agent - A well-meaning, but not knowledgeable, home inspector or real estate agent told the previous owner to put in the outside GFCI in order to meet current code, without understanding that the GFCI in the breaker took care of everything safely

Retrofit - GFCI receptacles originally installed where needed to meet current code. At a later time, the breakers were upgraded (either an entire panel replacement or individual breakers replaced with GFCI breakers) to include GFCI, but the GFCI receptacles were never removed.

In any case, you can get rid of the GFCI at the receptacles. They are more vulnerable to weather-related problems (even with weather-resistant covers) than regular receptacles. If moisture really does get into the receptacles in a way that causes a ground fault, the GFCI breaker will protect you.
The only advantage of a GFCI receptacle over a breaker is that it is convenient to reset. However, there is no guarantee as to whether which GFCI (receptacle or breaker) will trip first - or they may both trip at the same time - so that advantage goes away when you have GFCI in more than one location.


It's essentially an external kidney stone.

You can use various types of acid - sometimes a alternating approach of chlorine bleach (by itself) to kill the biofilm that's exposed and acid (by itself) to remove the "more or less limestone" is beneficial. The biofilm can prevent or slow the acid from getting to the underlying stony material, and it tends to have a layered structure.

Vinegar works, but slowly. Citric acid should work better (it's a stronger acid) but can be harder to find. Muriatic (aka hydrochloric) makes me a bit uncomfortable, personally, but there are commercial toilet cleaners that contain it. Be sure to use gloves and goggles if you opt for the stronger stuff.


Why is the top step of a stair a different thickness than the other treads?

The top step is not a tread. It's flooring.  You buy the stair nose as part of your flooring purchase, not the stairway build.  Most manufacturers of hardwood will provide a matching stair nose, but you may have to order it.

Note that the stair nose is a groove.  You can also purchase a double-tongue that will slip in that groove converting it to a tongue should you need to.


Cheap way of attaching canning jars to a concrete wall?

Perhaps a hose clamp:

Find one large enough to fit around the jar (bigger is better). Being mindful of how the clamp closes so you don't interfere with that operation, you could use a small screw through the slats of the clamp into the wall or a board.

Depending on what you're trying to do, you could attach the jar and ring assembly to a nice piece of barnwood or something if you're going arty, and then attach the board to concrete through any number of methods- tapcon screws, 3M adhesive, etc.

This would also allow you to remove the jar for cleaning or refill by simply expanding the ring's closure to remove the jar


Single cylinder set-up for geothermal heating and hot-water

There's an easier way to do this

Your first issue is that you are using the domestic hot water as your buffering medium, which forces several constraints on your original proposal, including the need for two heat exchangers connected in series, as well as having to keep the tank at or above 135-140°F to keep your tank from turning into a Legionella nest.  Furthermore, the two-exchanger configuration would require two feedwater trains, two air separators/air vents, and two expansion tanks, which adds needless cost and complexity.

Instead, I would use a reverse indirect hot water heater such as a Turbomax or Ergomax as the buffer tank.  This uses the boiler (heat pump) medium as the buffering medium, running the domestic water through a heat exchanger coil in the tank; thus, you effectively get tankless performance without many of the tankless drawbacks.  It also provides a convenient hydraulic separation point between the heat pump and the load, and helps separate that ever-present pest known as air from the water in your heat pump system.

On one side, you'd have your heat pump and its associated circulator, controlled by the tank aquastat in order to keep the tank at an appropriate temperature, with the supply and return lines connected to tappings on the tank.  On the other side, you'd have your radiant loop, connected as a mixing loop with its own circulator and a mixing valve in the supply side, mixing return water with supply water to feed the circulator suction.

Unfortunately, there's no clear place to put the water feed and expansion tank in this system, because of the apparently-packaged nature of the heat pump/circulator combination; if its circulator is indeed external, then I would put the expansion tank and such immediately on the suction side of the heat pump circulator.  Also, don't forget to put a suitable backflow preventer on the water feed to this all, especially since you're planning to use glycol in this loop.

And yes, having a hydronic professional work with you on this system design would be a good idea; all I can do is give you a starting point for this, but they'll be able to figure out pesky things like where to put the expansion tank much better than I can, as well as being familiar with local backflow prevention requirements and such.

So, you want to add more heat sources to this?

Fortunately, because we have the reverse-indirect/buffer supplying hydraulic separation in our system, we can add other heat sources to this system, even "wild" ones, quite simply, without the need for extra heat exchangers and their associated complexities.  This is done by manifolding the supplies and returns of the heat source loops together at the tank, or by using additional tank tappings if they are available, for that matter.  Each heat source has its own circulator and flow-check/non-return valve; the main complexity is in the control logic to decide which source(s) should supply heat when the reverse-indirect's aquastat calls for it.

If you want more information than I can give in a Stack post, by the way, I would recommend John Siegenthaler's articles (which are largely collected into a set of 5 e-books), as well as Dan Holohan's "Pumping Away", and Caleffi's idronics series of design journals.


The real question is the rating on that terminal block.  Is it rated for bare stranded wire?   If so, just discard the ferrule (that's a ferrule), strip the wire back and go.

Fixture makers are required to supply those things on new CE rated fixtures, and I can see where they play well with Euro style terminal blocks. It's not clear to me whether the installer is required to use them; if so, that would be "basics" and every shop would sell the ferrules and correct crimp tool.

In America, we just cut them off.  I get fixtures all the time from China with very flimsy ferrules, and they are incompatible with our primary splicing method: the wire-nut.


How should I connect a chandelier from France?

If the device was wired using French conventions, the ground is yellow, blue is the neutral wire, and brown is the live wire (ref).

That said, the ground should be apparent by inspection.  Look at where the yellow (or green and yellow) wire goes.  It surely is attached directly to metal on the chandelier.

As for the other two wires, it doesn't matter electrically which is which:  a/c (alternating current) works forwards and backwards the same.  :-)  For electrical safety reasons, it is best to get them right.  That way if one unscrews a bulb while power is applied, it is harder to get a shock:  The power will be at the bottom of the socket.  With neutral and live reversed, the sides of the socket is energized relative to ground, so a casual bulb-swapper could get shocked.


Is our flooring contractor extending our hardwood floor correctly?

I have seen glue down floors with no paper, it was a wider board, but still solid flooring, not engineered. When I was coming up in the trade when I was in my 20's I was told paper was used as a cushion, I thinks it was wrong. When nail down wood floors move as with a cushion under it, they squeak.

The paper is used to prevent I think, and you may find elsewhere, to prevent the mass migration of moisture from below to the flooring above, and perhaps to keep spills from going through below. Moisture going through a floor is inevitable and necessary. The rapid transfer is harmful and will damage the floor. The paper slows the transfer down. The floor finish and cleaning up spills asap is part of that.

Where the paper is missing at the joints can only be repaired to a degree, the driving of the new floor will have a tendency to rip the strips up as it is being driven in if they are narrow. Narrow strips will have many joints anyway so in the long narrow areas it may be a moot point. I think some areas may have been able to have been detailed better, like sliding the paper up under some of the ends to cover a little better, but if the action doing this loosens up the existing, then it is better not to do so for creating squeaks.

IMO, they are doing an somewhat acceptable job on the paper, their toothing is excellent, tying in new to old and finishing it usually stands out a bit, but spreading out the toothing long into the old floor helps blend it in. The ends of the flooring where they are driving it in, leaves a little to be desired, I see the ends are getting dinged up from the hammer by not using an effective drive block to protect the new floor while being driven.


I ran out of space composing an comment response to Rick's last comment, so I'm going to just make everything into an answer. First my original comment:

This heater appears to be much more than 20 years old! I agree a new installation is the best option. However, if money is tight, the valve alone should be replaceable for little money and will fix the leak, but not the other deficiencies. But with old plumbing, you are as likely to break something as to take it apart, so you may end up with a new heater anyway.

And my response to Rick's comment:

I doubt the water is very hot by the time it drips out, any hose should work, use a washing machine hose if you want one that is heat resistant in case the valve actually blows. You will need a male pipe thread to male hose thread adapter fitting to connect a hose to it. Alternately you could fabricate a drain out of CPVC pipe and fittings.

To replace the valve, take the old one out and take it to a hardware store and find a "Domestic Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve" of similar configuration. Ensure the pipe thread that goes into the heater is the same size and gender. Also insure the temperature probe is similar in length or at least is long enough to extend through the heater's internal insulation and protrudes into the tank proper. While you're there, get some pipe dope and enough CPVC pipe, glue and fittings to extend the outlet to near the floor. You don't want a family member sprayed with scalding hot water should the valve release when someone is nearby.

Honestly, you should avoid the sink/hose drain option and replace the valve, they are not that expensive. Just don't break anything removing it. If something feels like is about to break on disassembly, then maybe the hose/sink option makes sense. But for your own sake, please start saving money to replace the entire installation. It's not going to last a lot longer.


What is this stuff at the bottom of my brine tank?

Usually a brown color discoloration in a water system, such as a softener unit, is due to iron. Iron combines with oxygen to form iron oxide which is reddish brown in color.

You may be more familiar with rust on metal parts made of iron. Rust is simply iron oxide.


New Main Panel & Sub-Panel - Hooking up Ground / Netural - Connecting to Plumbing / Ground Bar

I'm fine with the idea of a main panel with only 2 things in it feeding a sub-panel with everything in it.

Question #1 - I'd rethink putting a service panel outdoors at all. Weather is rough on panels, even if they claim to be outdoor rated.  I'm a little nervous about a 100A breaker supplied from the normal bus bars, but if the manufacturer stands behind it, okay.  The 100A wires are going to be a mother to wrestle onto that 100A breaker.  Are you quite sure the power company has provisioned you 125A service?  100A is more common.

Question #1 (the second):  You're gonna want more slots than 24, since this box powers pretty much your whole house.  Nobody ever installed an addition and went "Gosh, that job was sure made harder and more expensive by having too many slots in the panel".  It's a false economy, especially since bigger boxes are often bundled with more breakers.  Your house may be ok now, but do a kitchen remodel and lookout!

Question #2 (the second):  Don't bond your grounds to random plumbing that happens to be going by.  It's not code, and someday you might have a plumbing problem and the plumber replaces a downstream chunk of it with PVC.  Whoops. Also, they've been upgrading customers to PLASTIC water meters. Double whoops.  Bond properly and to code.

Question #3 (the third): Bond ground and neutral only in the (singular) main panel. As such, you need 4 wires between main and subpanel.

Just for your edification, it's only a sub-panel if it's fed from a main panel. If it's fed directly from a transformer, it's a main panel.


OK first of all you cannot determine whether the box is properly grounded just using a multimeter. The fact that it reads "0V" does not mean it is properly grounded. The only way to determine that would be to confirm that there is a proper ground wire all the way back to the panel, or to confirm that grounded armored cable is used. In your case I would just forget about the ground and disconnect it, you don't need a ground for a GFCI.

Second, try to get the GFCI outlet working without the downstream outlets hooked up to the LOAD side. If you can get the GFCI working by itself but it trips when you hook up the downstream wires, that probably means there is something downstream creating a ground fault and the GFCI is tripping (as it's supposed to). A common cause might be a neutral wire touching a metallic box or a "bootleg ground" where neutral and ground are connected.

If the GFCI doesn't work even on its own, it's probably defective.


Should the plastic walls of a shower kit have air bubbles?

Proper shower systems should have a lip behind the base. Better systems apparently also have a gasket. So, in theory, no you don't need to caulk them. Bad ascii diagram:

 ++  +
 ||  | <----+ bottom of wall panel
 |+--+
 +---+
     | <----+ shower pan
     |
     +--------------------------------+

The idea is that any water that gets behind would shed down the lip and into the shower pan.

The catch is a) I'm not sure all shower systems are this well engineered and b) showers are more than water...there is dirt, grime, soap, hair, dead skin, other nasty body and soap residue. So, yea, it will still get grimy and is why most people still caulk it.


Can I use #14 wire pigtails on a 20A circuits?

You can drop to #14 gauge but you must change your breaker to a 15 amp breaker. Can you replace the shallow box with a deeper one and stay with the #12?. You really don't want to lower the circuit rating in a basement. Still pigtail the connection but use the #12. It might make fitting everything back into the box easier. You could also use a box extender to get a bit more room. Some food for thought: outlets in an unfinished basement need to be GFCI protected.


How can I open this bathroom light fixture with an arrow and tiny hole - Asonia Round Brushed

According to step 5.3 of the manual you posted:

it appears that you push the cover up and turn to the right (clockwise) with 1.91kg of force (which is very specific, but doesn't strike me as much, but I've not seen force noted that way before) to install the cover*. That implies that to remove the cover, you rotate to the left (counter/anti-clockwise), then pull down.

This appears to be borne out by step 1.2 on the furthest right panel of the instructions.

If you'll note the section of the instructions I've highlighted:

There appears to be an angled slot that will pull the lamp cover up into place as it is turned and lower it away from a key on the base as it is removed. You may need to pull down very slightly as you turn it.

Also, note that in the instructions, there is an arrow on the base (screwed into the ceiling) that points down, and an arrow on the lamp cover that points up. In the instructions snippet I highlighted above, you'll note that if you turn the lamp cover too far that's indicated as being a bad thing. Your pictures of the fixture only show the arrow pointing down - it's possible that the previous installer turned the lamp cover too far and that the lamp cover is now somewhat jammed and will require greater force than was originally intended to remove. Have you looked around the lamp cover to see if there is a line-up arrow on it that isn't properly lined up?

It's also possible that the lamp cover has been in place for a while. Since you don't know how to remove it, I'm assuming that this is the first time you've changed a bulb in this fixture. If it's been there a while, it's possible that there's just been an accumulation of crud built up around the joint between the cover and the base and that it's just a bit sticky and will require a bit of extra force or some wiggling and gentle prying to remove. (Note - the fixture does look very clean, but that doesn't mean there isn't some small stuff that has settled into the joint line that's causing it to stick.)

In general, I think that it's just going to take more force to unscrew the cover than you've been applying.

If you're renting, have the landlord come take care of changing the light bulb - if he asks, indicate that it's stuck and you don't want to be responsible for breaking it.
If you own, keep applying force until something happens. Either it will come off and you'll know how hard you have to turn it, or it will break and you'll know that it probably wasn't installed properly. If it breaks, you already know where to go to buy a replacement! Either way, you'll end up with a working light bulb in the fixture. If you don't you'll have a non-working fixture that will annoy you for the rest of the time you live there.

* It just occurred to me - maybe the warning is that the lamp cover weighs 1.91Kg. That would be a very heavy cover and would most certainly warrant a warning as it looks like very light plastic that maybe weighs 100gm.


How to prevent sagging ceilings when joists are spaced 24"

The simplest thing to do is install strapping - 1" x 3" furring strips that run perpendicular to the joists.  This makes drywall installation a lot easier, gives you a wider surface for joints, and lets you use thinner cheaper easier-to-handle drywall without it sagging.
Strapping is used a lot in some areas of the US and seldom seen in others.  I was skeptical about it, seemed like just wasted material, but when you consider the advantages and the low cost and effort needed to install it, it seems like a pretty good buy.


Installed new 3 way switch, now lights are still dim when switch is off

The switch specification calls for a minimum load of 40 watts (see page 2 of this).  Apparently it does not draw power for itself directly from the source, but relies on current flowing through it to power the electronics.

This review expresses one user's frustration with trying to use it with LED lights.

Alas, the solutions are not wonderful:

Add an incandescent or halogen bulb to the circuit, or
Replace the switch with one rated for 0 watts minimum.

An incandescent will shunt most of the current when the switch is "off" so that the other bulbs will be dark without the incandescent being visibly "on".


It is a de facto quasi-standard situation

The situation with thermostat wiring nomenclature is more or less the third case in your question: manufacturers cooperate to follow similar (albeit not identical) schemes for marking the terminals on/used with "North American style" 24VAC thermostats.  While the basic terminals are more or less universal, there is more variation in the terminals used for more exotic functions (such as multiple fan stages from the 'stat, heat pump reversing control, or humidity management).

However, there is a push in new system designs (led by mini-splits, modulating furnaces, and inverter modulating air conditioners/heat pumps) to not support this "standard" at all; instead, these systems use a proprietary communcations bus (similar in concept to an industrial fieldbus, but not based on any standard fieldbus or building-automation protocol) between the thermostat, the air handler/furnace, and/or outdoor unit.

Some hydronic systems (mostly in the European market) do use the OpenTherm standard, but due to the apparent lack of support for fan coils and air handlers in the standard, it does not see much use in North America to my understanding.  Larger commercial systems in the US are also more standardized as well, sometimes using BACNet or a similar standardized protocol for communications between the various system components.


A property piped boiler system would include a dirt separator which helps to reduce the amount of dissolved solids in the system. Inhibitors can be used to improve water quality as well. Softened water is only going to help so much as a boiler system does not consume water, it circulates it. Sometimes controlling water quality is difficult and auto air vents have a shortened life due to build up on the needle valve seat. In those cases I use a ball valve like

this one pictured

Home Depot

This allows you to either periodically allow the auto air vent to function as an auto air vent or as a more convenient manual vent. It also provides a simple method for isolation to replace it in the case of a failure. It will also facilitate cleaning the air vents with CLR, which is totally fine.


Do stairs need to be the same height after landing?

According to the International Residential Code (IRC), the 3/8" variance only applies to a "flight of stairs" not the entire "stairway".

  International Residential Code 2009

  Chapter 3 - Building Planning

  Section 311 Means of Egress

  R311.7 Stairways.

  R311.7.4.1 Riser height. The maximum riser height shall be 73/4 inches (196 mm). The riser shall be measured vertically between leading edges of the adjacent treads. The greatest riser height within any flight of stairs shall not exceed the smallest by more than 3/8 inch (9.5 mm).

Looking at the definition of stairway and flight, you can see that the the 3/8" variance only applies to individual flights of stairs, and not the entire stairway.

  Chapter 2 - Definitions

  Section 202 Definitions

  Stairway. One or more flights of stairs, either exterior or interior, with the necessary landings and
  platforms connecting them, to form a continuous and uninterrupted passage from one level to another.

  Flight. A continuous run of rectangular treads or winders or combination thereof from one landing to another.

However, you may find that changing the riser height by too much within a stairway could lead to a tripping hazard.  As you travel up/down the stairs, your body gets used to the step height.  If midway through the stairway the step height changes, you may become temporarily disoriented and potentially trip or misstep.


Repairing above-ground gaps and holes in foundation

Ultimately, I used two different types of cement for these two issues.
For the narrow gap, I used Quikrete Mortar Repair No. 8620-09, since it is advertised as a tuck-point compound. This is a light acrylic foam that hardens into a mortar-like substance. The applicator was able to inject the compound into the crack pretty easily.

For the larger hole in the concrete block, I use Quikrete Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement.

I had never used either of these before, but the instructions were easy to follow, and I was pleased with the results. The Quickrete cement dries quickly (5 minutes) so I had to work fast when using it.


Solar panel installation on a old vintage roof

Well it depends, many old roofs of this age had 1x boards nailed to the rafters some were later overlaid with plywood But in either case I would feel better about mounting solar on a old roof than one with OSB especially if a coastal area or desert where you get high winds regularly through the year.
There are those that only look at the size of the rafters and think because they only used 2x6 and today we use 2x8 that the roof needs to be built up, this is not true the old lumber prior to the 60’s had ring counts required (ring counts were taken out of grade books in the late 60 early 70’s) what is the difference.
In your old structures especially Victorians the lumber used had 3-5x the rings and was clear no nots or possibly small ones and no wane or bark today it takes a larger rafter to hold the same load.  So your roof would be a better candidate in my opinion. Will it hurt the wood to anchor the panels, if the lags are pre drilled and not oversized then properly sealed even your old roof will be fine.
That old tight grain has more holding power than what we call lumber today, I currently work in a mill and have photos of #2 4x4 with a swirl 5 branches in other words a Christmas tree made into lumber when they used to use 150+ year old trees. I believe your roof will be fine.


Why do building contractors turn down jobs, such as when the homeowner wishes to provide materials?

Contractor here. My opinion only.

Contractors turn down jobs for a million reasons. Maybe they don't agree that your job is 'stable and high paying'. (Parenthetically, you can't know anything about their cost of doing business, so 'high paying' is an exceptionally variable metric.) Maybe they're busy. Maybe you ring alarm bells.

Speaking of alarm bells, the client buying everything sets off alarm bells for some contractors. I'm not saying any of the following applies to you, but here are some beliefs that some contractors hold:

materials are purchased by the client because the client is cheap. Or they want too big a project. Or they think they're being cheated by the contractor.
clients buy crappy materials at a big box store that are inconsistent and cause nothing but trouble during install. Install trouble costs time, which might or might not be paid for.
when the materials are a failure, the contractor shoulders the blame. (Even when it's clearly outlined otherwise in the contract.) The majority of contractors are in business to provide good service, have happy repeat customers, and get paid. Getting blamed for crappy materials gets in the way of all of that.
smart contractors buy materials to be on site at the right time. Neither too late (which causes schedule havoc) nor too early (which can cause materials to be in the way and/or get damaged). Some clients aren't responsive to those needs.
when too little of something has been purchased, the contractor has to urgently find more (sometimes paid, sometimes not paid), which again causes schedule havoc.
when the absolute wrong thing has arrived, a client has less leverage with a supplier to make it right, right away. Schedule havoc.
complications from materials cost money. Either it comes out of the contractor's pocket (bad for the contractor), or they have fraught conversations with the client where they ask for more money because 'x took double the anticipated time to install' (also bad for the contractor). Some contractors will price these complications in at the outset, which makes them seem markedly more expensive than their competing peers (also bad for the contractor).

I suspect that buying your own materials slices off the top tier of good contractors. They are busy and don't need the headache of a client that rings any alarm bells. You might be opening yourself up to the middle tier of slightly more desperate and slightly less experienced contractors that haven't experienced the trouble described above.

Rant over.

This might not apply to you if you've already purchased materials, but perhaps others will consider this. A good contractor will sit you down to talk about a project. They'll understand your budget and desires. If you are looking for something durable, the contractor will suggest quality materials that they've used in the past and are willing to stand behind. They probably have a relationship with the supplier, so hiccups in the supply chain can get fixed relatively effortlessly. If the project outstrips budget, the good contractor will try to change the scope of the project, rather than throw cheap crap at it to bring the price down. Yes, the contractor will mark up the materials -- that covers discussions with the client, ordering, delivery, checking for defects and dealing with any issues. Plus there will be some profit added. (Don't be scandalized! There's profit built into everything a contractor does. Profit is used to invest in the business, to reward risk, to ensure longterm viability, etc. It's a rare construction business that doesn't try to generate profit.)


How far can laser level dots be seen outside in the sun?

The laser beam itself will barely be dissipated by the sunlight, check the specs on each device for their range. The difficulty seeing the laser can be attributed to the sunlight flooding all* light spectra/frequencies as well as sensitizing your eyes (or camera white balance) to light. Creating a shadow with your hand near the laser point on the wall should easily reveal it. If you can find/afford it, a green laser would work better for outdoor applications, the light frequency is further away from infrared as well as they are typically stronger.

* "All" is relative to visible frequencies (and a few invisible ones) but for cases of visible light by human eyes, the near red frequencies are visibly flooded heavier due to infrared being so close.


Is it worth replace the engine of an 11 year old fridge

Unless your refrigerator is designed to be repaired, that is a drastic repair, and it's almost certainly going to be a better choice to buy a whole new one:

Consumer fridges are designed to be assembled once, and never disassembled. There are probably plenty of pipes and wires that are glued in place and/or buried inside the structure, and are almost impossible to remove without destroying something else
You think you know what's wrong with the unit, but after you've spent a lot of money you may find that you were wrong, and haven't fixed the real problem
Even if you do manage to fix this problem, the best you'll get is an 11-year-old fridge that is may fail in some other way at any moment
Even if the fridge never fails again, it will likely be less efficient and less convenient than a new fridge. Plus, when you choose a new fridge you'll have the chance to get something that better matches your needs.


Do not alter wiring of energized circuits.  ALWAYS turn off the power.

I've never heard of any GFCI that cares about about ground. The point of a GFCI is they can provide protection even when a ground is not provided.

GFCIs have an "in" and an "out".  You must not reverse these.  The "in" is labeled LINE and the "out" is labeled LOAD.  Make sure you're wiring the power from the panel into the LINE terminals.


How do I remove 4 pieces of tile in my shower?

You first cut the grout line surrounding the 4 tiles.  The cheapest tool for that task is a $10 grout saw like this https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-2-in-Steel-Blade-Red-Plastic-Grout-Saw/1000204021.  You can remove easily 5 ft of grout line in 30 minutes with this tool and elbow grease.

Then use a drill make holes in your tiles.  Use a hammer and gently tap on the tiles.  Finally, cleanup the thinset left behind.


How can I safely sand a small, thin item with a belt/disc sander?

Make a piece of board that looks like the following with some small 0.1 to 0.2 inch thick strips glued to it. This board would be long enough that you can hold it safely near the belt sander. The pocket in the middle will be the periphery size of the small item that you want to sand.

Stick a piece of double stick tape into the cavity bottom to hold your piece in place. Now you can hold the part up against the belt sander with ease. The length of the board will also help to eye the angles and keep it straight to the sander.

It may even be possible to use the double stick tape alone on the board without the containment cavity.


Spindle speed of classic Cable Porter 100-M router?

Typical portable router speed is 22-24,000 RPM, which is what the bits are designed around. Variable speed versions will be adjustable down to around 8,000RPM, but you have to be careful about the bits you use.
Feed rate is WAY more complicated, because it involves the hardness of the wood and its likelihood to burn. It's been way too long for me to remember even where to find info on calculating that.


If you're just wanting to prevent shorts until you get it properly fixed, you could wrap each individual bare wire end with electrical tape.

If you're looking to repair it, there should be wire nuts in the fan housing somewhere that fell off. Reinstall those, wiring matching wire colors together. If there are mismatched colors, post a pic & someone will guide you.


how to remove plastic stuck inside core drill bit

I would first try driving a screw into the plastic and then pulling it out. You could clamp the screw in a vice and pull on the bit so that you don't damage the bit with the clamp.

If it's tightly wedged in it might be easiest to drill out the center of it with the largest bit you have and then crack/break the rest of it out.


Here's the deal.
When you heat water, it expands.  If it can't expand freely, it increases pressure.
When you're on city water, that's no big deal.  The extra volume can just push back out the water main to the street - maybe an inch or two of water movement, not a big deal.  So there is no increase in pressure.
Imagine if we stuck a check valve on the inlet, so water CAN'T flow backwards to the street. Some cities actually want this.   Now what?  Now, water can't expand freely.  All the valves are closed, and the check valve prevents backflow into the city system.  Since water can't expand freely, it increases pressure.
Well systems effectively have a check valve at the bottom of the pump. That's to keep the column of water in the well pipe from falling back down!
So with all valves closed and the check valve on the supply, the system is "solid" with water - a state called "hydraulic lock".
Water does not compress.  So, if volume increases, pressure must also increase, to infinity if needed, until something gives or breaks.  That is why a water heater on a well is a big deal. If normal pressure is 34 PSI, this can drive pressure up to 200 PSI or more until the weakest valve or pipe joint fails.
These high pressure instances can also be simply from slamming a valve shut fast.  Water has momentum and when it's flowing toward the valve and you shut it, it "piles up" at the valve causing a pressure spike.  This is also what causes pipe knock or rattle.
The solution is to have an air volume in the system. Air does compress.  So if volume increases (a little), the air compresses (a little) and pressure increases some tiny amount (like 34 PSI to 34.1 PSI).
The expansion tank is simply an engineered vessel with an air space and water space.  And a rubber seal between them, to stop the air from effervescing into the water and being lost.
We're talking a $40 item easily added.  It only needs one pipe connection.


This depends on your walls. Assuming your walls are the typical 2x4 studded drywall, fastening into studs is probably a bad idea; studs aren't designed to withstand that sort of horizontal load, and you'd likely damage the wall and structure over time.

An alternative might be to fasten hooks for your hammock from the wall's top plate. You'd need access above the wall in order to do this, but you could install the fastener pointing down, so that you are essentially adding to the load above the wall. Your wall is probably designed to support a load in that way, so adding a few hundred pounds shouldn't be a problem.

That does seem like quite a lot of work, though. Unless you're really sure you want this hammock to be a permanent feature of your room, it's probably less work (and definitely more flexible) to make or buy a stand. Search for "how to make a hammock stand"; there seem to be several good guides.


Are torch-on-roofs the best solution for a low pitched roof?

There are many solutions that work well on low slope roofs. There are EPDM membranes and PVC roofs. Those materials are available in large continuos pieces so it's often possible to have a roof without any seams.
I would consult at least two more roofers and see what they say.
Additionally, did the current roofer locate the problem source? Even though it's often really hard lot find leak sources, he should be able to have an idea of the possible problem areas. It could be that the roof is fine and the water is coming from elsewhere. Proper flashing is extremely important.


Can you use aluminum foil around gap at floor of hot water tank then seal?

I think your best bet would be to get a can of spray foam sealant. It expands to tightly seal gaps. It's very easy to use and you can get it just about everywhere. It won't smell as good as your peppermint oil but will probably do a better, more permanent job. Good luck.


Finishing basement... level floors with SLC or install stud wall first?

You will have better surface to screw/nail bottom plate working on original concrete as is. You can and should always level before getting floor done.


How can I tell if a drill clutch has been damaged?

I would not worry about it because it still works, but is no longer brand new
I have multiple dewalt drills and multiple impact drivers that have had the clutch trip probably 1000 times or more on the impacts. is there a little play?  Yes more than when new, probably, possibly.
Do I worry about it?
Nope they still work both at home and at work, when they don’t work any longer I will worry about it.
It’s kind of like a clutch in a car but here there is no adjustment right. When it will no longer work you then know it’s worn out.
It will take a long while based on my experience my drill and impact at work are 6 years old regular use, home ones older but kids and grandkids abuse and they all still work.


HOT prongs on 30A 240V electric dryer socket (10-30R Socket)

The reason that certain sized wire must be used for a given amperage is because the wire gets hot when electricity is pulled through it.  That said, some equipment from China isn't known for complying to all the regulations we have, and the conductors in the adapters could be undersized.

Many conductors and connectors are rated for 75C, which is 167F, and certainly hot enough to burn you.  However I don't think anything that you can easily touch should get that hot while in use, so I would assume that something is wrong.  I would suspect the adapter first, but you should also measure the amount of current the equipment is using.  It could be pulling a lot more than you think (closer to 7000W) which would overheat an adapter that was probably meant for closer to 4000W.

If you wanted to tinker with the wall outlet, you can make sure the wire clamping screws are tight, and they have a good, solid connection.  The dryer works, and the computers work, so I don't think anything is "wrong" with the wiring itself.


Get a meter.  Set it to measure Volts, AC, in the 250 v range.

Stick one probe into the short side of the upper outlet, and the other in the short side of the lower outlet.

If it reads ~240 volts, then this is a split outlet, that is both outlets are on separate breakers, and the neutral is shared.  This is old code, and was done so you can plug in both a kettle and a toaster at the same time without blowing the breaker.

Current code requires a 20 amp circuit, GFCI protected.  This will require pulling new wire (12 gauge).

Using the existing set-up, You would want to run a 14/2, tapping into EITHER the red/white pair, or the black white pair.


Please suggest to me some thermally resistant plastic similar to PVC and Polycarbonate Plexiglass?

Plastics that are thermally stable at this range would be VERY exotic to the average person just going to a hardware store or ordering online (without a very large budget). Plastics by nature tend to be something that can be injection molded, vacuum molded or similar , that is to say easily deform-able/mold-able with heat, which is not what you're looking for.

At that temperature range, unless you're looking into fast temperature swings, I would suggest a glass or ceramic material. Even then, Pyrex is an incredible material used in lighthouse lenses where they must deal with the intense heat of the light source, and be durable in often cold/wet areas. Even your average pyrex baking pan carries these properties. I seem to remember my mother even having a stove-top pan made from this material.

If you could elaborate on your intentions/projects, I'm sure we could make some more specific suggestions.


No, heat will usually mar it further.  I've had some success in simply buffing the white discoloration with a soft cloth.  I have a terry bathrobe that has be relegated to rag status that I use.


Shower valve washer on hot needs replacing constantly

That washer presses up against another surface called the "seat" inside of your valve. If that seat becomes damaged or there is a buildup of corrosion on the mating surface, it tears up the rubber very quickly whenever you close the valve. Some valves have a replaceable seat. You need a special tool to remove that seat, but they are relatively inexpensive. See the picture below.

The thing is, some people wont buy that tool no matter how cheap it is and attempt to remove the seat by jamming in a screwdriver or something. That seat is soft brass, so if the screwdriver can't do the job and slips in the hole, it creates even rougher edges. They give up and resign themselves to replacing the washers much more often. Remove the stem again and take a look inside at the seat. Replace it using the tool if it looks at all rough, which I suspect will be the case.


Weird junk accumulating in kitchen faucet aerator?

That may be the rest of whatever, though I'm doubtful. But, the aerator will restrict flow, so run the faucet without the aerator at full force with the sink plugged for both hot & cold & see if anything noticeable flushes out. If it seems to clear out whatever then just put the aerator back on & see if it ever returns.

If nothing really produces from the unrestricted run, then it's probably a (or more) bad cone washer in your flexible supply lines under the sink. Those lines are only supposed to be very-very lightly wrenched on.

I suspect yours were way over tightened, which severely damaged the cone washers. They would be splayed out into the water stream & slightly eroded with every use of the faucet. If that's the case then it's nothing dangerous & just an avoidable nuisance.


How should I connect a fixture to this outlet?

Warning: You'll be working with live electrical wires during this procedure. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a local licensed Electrician.

Set up your multimeter (or voltmeter) to measure volts AC.
Very carefully remove the caps from the white wires, making sure the wires do not come into contact with anything.
Turn the switch to the ON position.
Touch one probe from the meter to the bare grounding conductors.
Touch the other probe to the exposed end of one of the "white" wires.
Touch the probe to the other "white" wire.

You should have measured 0 volts to one "white" wire, and line voltage (~120 volts) to the other.  Using a bit of black tape, or a black marker. Mark the "white" wire that measured line voltage to ground.

Turn the breaker off, and verify power to the circuit is off.
Connect the white fixture wire to the unmarked "white" wire from the ceiling.
Connect the black fixture wire to the marked "white" wire from the ceiling.

  Warning: You'll be working with live electrical wires during this procedure. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a local licensed Electrician.


Will I be able to run a duct over the wall to a soffit vent for a bathroom fan?

Welp, it worked out just fine! Still need to caulk it and paint it, but it installed easy and it's amazing the difference a properly vented bathroom makes.


Is there a mechanism to prevent a door from closing violently?

Yes, they tend to just be called Door Closers. They have a spring and a damper (oil or pneumatic) to slow the closing. They look like this:

Taken from http://www.doorstuff.co.uk/door-closers.php


Your UF cable can be easily spliced to either add in a new piece of cable or to rejoin a break in an existing cable. The splice kits are typically specified for copper wire only and consist of some set screw cylinders that join the wire ends and then some heat shrink tubing that has a very sticky adhesive inside. The splices can be buried and it may be preferable to do so from an appearance standpoint so just new wire shows above the ground level.

One product I am aware of is from 3M company and is called their "UF Splice Kit" as shown below.

Another very similar product from Tyco is available at Home Depot stores.

Do read the customer comments on the Home Depot page. One thing to learn from there is that a torch is not right tool to use for shrinking the tubing. Instead I recommend using an electrically heated hot air gun. (Although do use care using an electrical appliance outside, particularly of you are working in a wet hole in the ground). Another point of note is that successful sealing of the UF cable with these splice kits is to clean the wires very well before applying the tubing.


How to replace on old 2 wire single light switch with a 3 wire?

Your original switch sounds like a single pole single throw (on off). Your new switch sounds like a single pole double throw (referred to as a 3 way)
You can make this switch work by connecting 1 of the wires to the black screw. Then the other wire to one of the 2 other screws (notice a 3 way has no on off) turn the power back on and see if up on, if correct turn power back off and push switch back in, if backwards decide which would be better.
Turn switch and stuff it back in or move the 2nd wire (not black screw) to the other terminal. With old wiring I prefer to not twist the wires as the insulation may be brittle so moving the conductor over to the other connector may be best, then push it in and tighten.


What could be causing cable signal to be lost?

The equipment required to properly test a digital cable signal - not just the presence but the quality of is expensive and is unlikely to be something you would want to acquire.  If a temporary cable runs works correctly then it would seem like the technicians assessment was correct, especially if it is run from the same splitter as your other line.

The existing cable might show continuity (i.e. there is no physical break), but if the cable or terminations are damaged then you will not be able to utilize this run.

Typically I would replace both ends of the cable before doing any further troubleshooting as these can pull off the cable if not installed well.  You would also want to do this on the end of the cable that connects to the other side of your wall plate, and where the cable connectors to the splitter.

As for the unsightly cable, you could either get the cable company back to run it nicely, or if that is not something they will do (a lot of times they will not do any in-house runs) then you can contact an electrician or cable installer (alarm installers will often do this too) to run a new cable in your walls if it is not something you feel comfortable doing.

If you search for running cables on this site you will find some information on how to do so.


Many dishwashers have adjustable feet that may help.

The other thing to consider is the floor - is that level? And matching the worktop?


Is it okay that framing in houses is sloppy?

Ten years ago I would have said getting any fussier than what you see average framing crews doing would be a waste of time. But in 2009(10?) I was involved in a project that had the framing done by a local Amish community. Hand planes, old timey plum bobs, brace and bits, the works. They didn't spend the time that we, the cabinet and trim guys, spend on our fit and finish (it would take a century to build a house to that level of exactitude), but they were much more conscientious about compensating for the defects found in modern building materials than what we were used to seeing.

The difference it made when it came time to set our cabinets, hang trim, etc. etc. etc. was unbelievable. You could have gone around that house with a fine tooth comb and not found anything out of plum, level, bulged, sagging, crooked or otherwise wanged up by more than an 1/8 of an inch, and that is no exaggeration. To put this in perspective, well let's put it this way: we usually have to add 1/2" scribes to all of our end panels and so forth just in case the framers were having a particularly bad day.

It might have taken them longer to do their part, but the labor saved down the road was well worth it. The trick is knowing where to spend your extra time/effort up front so that it pays dividends down the road.


Do modern washers heat the water if below cycle temp?

It would be rare indeed, and obviously it would matter what your specific brand and model was.

In general, assume no. If you want a warm-water wash with a broken hot water heater, heat up some water on the stove and pour it in as the machine is filling.

On the other hand, you might find that you can get perfectly decent results with cold water.


A self leveling cement may reduce the standing water but if the pad has no wire mesh or rebar it may continue to settle. I would acid etch the surface and rinse then use the self leveling cement . after that I would probably epoxy coat the entire surface to try and seal it. the more water that gets into the cracks the more it will settle. I use a 10-30% Muriatic acid and water solution. Remember to always add acid to water. Muriatic acid can be purchased at most home stores and pool supply stores.


Installing OTR microwave with 15" deep cabinets

The simplest and most cost effective solution is to use a wood frame. The frame can be painted or stained to match the cabinets or wall.  Most of the OTR microwaves I have installed have a metal track at the bottom that screws to the wall first that the microwave hangs on and two screws at the top that connects it to the upper cabinet. If this is the case you could recess the frame to better conceal the lumber.


Very low hot water pressure entire house

Your house was built at a time when galvanised pipe was common, the problem is most possibly your pipe has slowly corroded closed in 1 or more places, thus when you turn the hot off the pipe charges open and you loose pressure the longer it is on with a new water heater and old house that is what I would look at a switch over to Plastic with some of the new shark bites is not really that hard and you may get all the pressure you have on your cold by just replacing the main line worth a look and cheaper than another water heator that may end up with the same problem


Whomever did this fundamentally misunderstood how three-way switches work. A three-way switch changes which wire (in your case the white/brass screws) is connected to the black screw. One of the two brass screws will always be hot. We call the wires connected to them traveler wires.

There's no easy fix with the existing wires here because they tried to make one cable do the work of two. I put in a three-way last year and my setup is

Line (hot and neutral)
Load (2-line cable going to my fixture)
3-line cable running between the switches (two travelers and the switched hot)

That's all going into what is your B switch. In other words that's three cables where you have two. The good news is the 3-line cable can still be used. The bad news is you really need a 2-line cable run between B and your fixture. I suspect they tried (and failed) to use the unused white wire to do that. The problem is that you can't run a multi-way without two travelers.
Per the images you've added here's how I would fix this

Go buy some equivalent gauge metal-clad (MC) cable. I can't tell if that's 12 or 14 from the jacket so use a wire stripper to confirm size. You'll need two cable clamps as well. I think both boxes are a combo 1/2" and 3/4" but measure a knockout to be sure (1/2" clamps are sometimes confusingly labeled as 3/8"). It's also a good ideal to buy some cable clamps to secure it to the wall
You need to bond your metal boxes. Buy some ground screws (they're green) and add some wire between the box and your ground nut. Some places have ground pigtails if you don't have enough spare ground wire.
Run your MC cable between the B box and the middle box. You do not need to remove any existing cable. Knock out a hole in each box and clamp the cable
Inside the box, disconnect everything except the ground (hopefully you bonded in step 2)
In the B box add your MC black wire to that black wire nut for the other switch. Add the MC white to the white nut.
B will now hook to the 3-line black screw, and the 3-line white and red go to the brass(white) screws (order does not matter). Hook the ground wire up as well. B is now done
Rewire C to swap the black and white (this helps the sanity of wiring). Black is now on your black screw.
In your box hook the B and C 3-lines up as such: C-black to MC black, C-red to B-red and C-white to B-white. I would mark the 3-line whites with a black sharpie so you know it's a traveler and not a neutral.
The 2-line is your load to the fixture. The white from this goes to your MC white (neutral), and the black connects to the B-black (switched hot)

When this is all done what you're doing is piping your hot to C, creating two proper travelers back to B, and hooking the fixture to the switched hot from B.


Need help wiring two lights from a switch at the end

It's your ground wires. They're on top.

They're biffing onto a neutral or hot terminal.

Also, you need to use the #10-32 screw in the steel box and put a pigtail on that, and join that to the ground wires.  Alternately you could use ground clips to attach to the sides of the box.

The key here, however, is to push the grounds into the back of the box behind all other wires.  You should do this as the very first thing, and then never think about them again.  This will greatly aid troubleshooting; often people wire grounds last after testing, and discover connecting grounds breaks the circuit. This leads them on a snipe hunt looking for a ground problem, when it's something else.

The next layer above grounds is everything that doesn't tie to the lamp, i.e. those black bundles one of which will soon be a black-white-marked.

Then finally the wires go in that actually attach to the lamp socket.  That should solve it; there's plenty of depth in a 1.5" octagon box to keep the grounds far away from the socket back face.

Your switch loop is wrong

Code requires a /3 cable for a switch loop so neutral is present for smart switches etc.  Use of a /2 switch loop is allowed if changing the cable is easy without tearing apart any part of the building, i.e. Conduit or unimproved work.  However you must do BOTH these things:

Use the white wire for always-hot, not switched-hot as you have.  That is so the white wire will definitely test hot at all times, and it's not likely to be confused for a neutral.  AND
Mark both ends of the white wire with colored paint, tape or shrinkwrap.


A part like that is often used as a retainer pin. It would be fitted through a close fitting hole in two parts to keep then from pulling or rotating apart. The small stamped groove on the end is bent after the retainer pin assertion to keep the pin from pulling or vibrating out of position.

Later removal of the retainer pin can be done by bending the tip back inline or simply cutting it off. Usually a pin of this type is replaced when removal and rebuild is done on an assembly that uses such a retainer pin.


Conduit through wall with low power and AC

No, you cannot mix AC mains and low-voltage wiring (such as network cables) in the same conduit.  The length of the run is not important, it's prohibited.
Run two separate conduits and you'll be good.


Is it possible to splice this garage door safety sensor wire with some other wire?

Garage door sensors and buttons are low voltage (usually 24vdc), and low enough current that for the short runs typical in a garage you don't need very large cables.

18awg "thermostat wire" will work, but you can go even cheaper with 22awg wire, usually sold as "security system" or "central vac" wiring (2 conductor), or telephone station wire (4 conductor - though you only hook up two).

Also, a little bit of heat shrink tubing goes a long way to making a neat and professional looking splice.


Water heater pilot tube keeps getting condensation in it

To me it sounds like you need a drip leg. A drip leg is usually installed after the local shutoff valve it is a simple T with a 6" or longer nipple that is capped pointing down. With a drip leg the moisture and some rust fall into the nipple, I have had a home that I had to clean the drip leg every year, others never needed cleaning 1 drop of water in your gas valve or pilot is enough to cause problems and a 6" drip leg is usually enough for most homes.


Using Recessed Lighting with a 6 pin connector instead of a 4 pin?

Just pigtail off to another 773-104

I would simply get another Wago 773-104 or equivalent connector and use a short length of 12AWG wire to pigtail the connector on your recessed lights to the new connector.  Repeat this for the neutral and ground, and you should be good to go!

As an aside -- one could pull the wire out of the connector, but it tends to nick the wire up, in addition to rendering the connector useless.


Does my kitchen sink trap have a removable cap?

No it doesn't have a drain cap. You can remove the entire trap by loosening the trap union and the tailpiece adapter. You will probably spill stinky water. That's what the drain on traps is for. So clear out under sink and get wide short container to catch dirty water.


How can I tell if this is a gas or wood burning fireplace

That is a wood burning masonry fireplace with a gas log lighter. Gas fireplaces aren't supposed to have dampers, so the damper lets you know that it was originally designed for wood. The log lighter is a convenience to help you light wood fires, if it had fakes logs or a different burner then you would know its a gas fireplace. Its a good idea to get it inspected by a chimney sweep.


That's not a problem and easy to do in 12V. Not only are 12V motion sensors readily available, they are about half the cost of 120V ones!

I do not recommend running lamp power 150' at 12V.  I would have the 150' run be signal only (and power for the sensor[s]) and have a relay or electronic module operate the lamp proper.  The reason is voltage drop at that distance. A mere annoyance at 120V, it is critical at 12V.

Voltage drop is proportional to actual current flowed, so keep that bare minimum on the long run.


It seems that it's commonly called a Shower Arm Escutcheon or Flange.


Electric breaker tripping without anything plugged in

I would bet that the breaker is toast. GFCI receptacles for outdoor use are required to be WR or weather resistant rated. I have not seen this listing on the GFCI breakers I have installed. So if it got wet from the door being open and trips it sounds like time for a new one.
You could always swap a working one with the one that keeps tripping to see if it’s possibly a real circuit issue.
If that breaker continues to trip it’s time to replace it. Molded breakers when faulty are by code not repairable. Could it be dried out like a cell phone? Maybe I have never tried this.


Close gap between bathtub border and wall

It's a bit hard issue to handle, because, as @isherwood indicated, that tub's destiny has been changed.
I can think of two groups of 'fixes' depending on how much You are motivated:
a. change of usage - bathing while standing must go, fix the shower head lower, try to use it kneeling or so, check if sutiation changes, consider using the tub as a bath tub
b. change of environment - consider changing the cloth, but this time let it start under the showerhead to let water be gathered by it before it reaches places You want to avoid getting wet; this must include change of cloth's suspension


Replacing Tall Baseboards with Smaller Baseboard

I guess it's too late to consider 5-1/4" trim?

Hit the line of old caulk with a long blade utility knife (like an Olfa), a sharp chisel or a wallpaper scraper. Then sand lightly to knock down any other lumps and apply a coat or two of mud. (Premixed if you have time; 20 or 90 minute setting compound if you're in a hurry.) When dry, sand lightly.


Tile overlapping existing toilet flange - flange extenders don't fit

This is honestly a 30 second job with an angle grinder (plus diamond wheel).   Wet area (rewet wheel and area if this takes any significant time), make sure grinder is pretty close to 90 degrees, if worried about hitting something under then just go halfway and chip out.   Your cuts don't have to be great as they will be covered by toilet.   Would also suggest taping the area you are cutting.


Fortunately, in your case, the fat blue wires in your first photo are the transformer return -- connect the skinny blue wire from the thermostat cable to the fat blue wires. Since the air-handler maker used quick-connect terminals for the internal wiring, you can crimp one of these onto the end of the thin blue wire and slide it on in place of one of the fat blue wires somewhere, then slide the fat blue wire onto the stacked end the linked terminal provides.


What is purpose of the slot at the base of my drill's handle?

I think Tyler Durden is correct. Have a look at the D25013K model; there are 4 similar holes on either side, with a separate lanyard attachment point. For what reason other than air circulation would you add such holes? Seeing that they also let contaminants in, there must be a good reason beyond good looks for placing them there (maybe the trigger switch units heat up?).


Heat Pump - emergency electric strips - how controlled?

Being that you are only talking about 1 degree difference I would think it is possible that the tstat began the heating cycle while the outdoor temp was at 35 and rose to 36 mid cycle.  Also, it's been 10+ years since I have been involved with Goodman, but they used to have a timer on the defrost control board so that if the unit ran for 30 ~ 120 minutes it would shutdown the heatpump and bring on the backup heat strip. The timing is set via a small dial on the defrost control board.  I believe that the default value is 90.  At 36° ambient temp, depending on the outdoor relative humidity, your heatpump certainly could have been running long enough to exceed that time.


How do I disassemble this shower screen without damaging it?

It is difficult to be certain, but removal of the screws at the top corners should allow the top crossbar to be removed. There may be other screws that join the sections of the frame, or once the top bar is removed, the side panels may be able to slide out. The tracks against the wall are probably held in by screws hidden under the side panels.

To get to a screw in a tight space like the top corner, you can use an offset screwdriver

You need to be careful in removing the panels. They may be heavy, and significant flexing may lead to breakage.

Links and images are illustrative only and not an endorsement


What can I do about flooring height differences when installing laminate flooring?

There are two ways to install flooring in areas of different heights. The cheapest and easiest method is to install transition pieces or thresholds between the areas of different heights. These transitions are available in different matching shapes and heights for most laminates. Common use is to join carpeted, tiled or other floors, to new flooring height.

The second method is to install new sub=flooring of a correct thickness over lower floors to make all the floors match in height. This is a bit more expensive and will add a day or so to your labor costs, and possibility require some extra trim work. Having all the floors at the same level will make for a nicer looking install, especially between larger rooms with wider passages.


What size wire for a 50amp rv receptacle from 200amp breaker box 50feet from breaker box

Short answer, UF 6/3. I'm assuming part of the run is outside.


Insert eyebolt into steel tube without using nut?

What can you get at a typical hardware store?

Rather than focus on that one hole that you do have, look at other types of hooks.  They have eyelets that are fixed onto metal plates.  These plates can then be screwed to the pipe using some self tapping sheet metal screws:

Harder to find, but another option...

There is something called a rivnut, and as the name suggests, it is a cross between a rivet and a nut.  You can secure them from one side only like a rivet, but they have a threaded hole that you can then thread an eye bolt into.  They require a special tool to insert them, and you'll probably have to drill the hole that you have bigger to accommodate the outside diameter of the rivnut.  If you only have a few to insert, you might be able to get by without the special tool.

Low strength option

If this is light duty, and the metal of your post is thick enough, you might be able to cut some threads in it with a thread tap and correctly sized drill bit. You'd only get maybe one good thread cut into the pipe, but that might be enough if what you're holding is light enough.  You could also force an eye bolt with wood screw threads into the pipe.  Again, not very strong at all, but might work for you.


Modifying electrical boxes with field mounting and knockout provisions

As long as the box is rigidly secured, you're good to go regarding the box mounting arrangement

Considering that the concrete wall can be considered to be a structural member, not an exposed building surface, and that the box is mounted independently of the finished building surface, NEC 314.23(B)(1) applies here, which permits the field-drilled mounting hole and screw arrangement used provided it secures the box sufficiently and the AHJ is OK with it upon inspection:

  (B) Structural Mounting. An enclosure supported from a
  structural member or from grade shall be rigidly supported
  either directly or by using a metal, polymeric, or wood brace.

  (1) Nails and Screws. Nails and screws, where used as a fastening means, shall secure boxes by using brackets on the outside
  of the enclosure, or by using mounting holes in the back or in
  a single side of the enclosure, or they shall pass through the
  interior within 6 mm (1∕4 in.) of the back or ends of the enclosure. Screws shall not be permitted to pass through the box
  unless exposed threads in the box are protected using
  approved means to avoid abrasion of conductor insulation.
  Mounting holes made in the field shall be approved.

Field KOs in a box should be OK as well

Making knockouts (whether of standard or nonstandard size) in electrical boxes in the field is a long-standing practice in the electrical industry (in fact, some enclosures ship without knockouts, expecting the user to make their own).  As far as I can tell, as long as the cable is adequately secured to the box with a standard cable clamp (as per 314.17(C)), it makes no difference whether the KO is factory or field made.

However, a box that shallow doesn't have enough fill for...much of anything

The shallowest Carlon nonmetallic boxes (at 1.25" deep), while technically deep enough for a receptacle (at only 0.69" for the receptacle + the minimum 1/4" of extra depth required by Code), do not provide enough box fill at 8in3 to accommodate a hot, a neutral, a ground, an allowance for a cable clamp, and the double allowance for the receptacle yoke -- for 14AWG wire, this would require 12in3 of fill.  As a result, you'll need to slap a 5/8" deep non-metallic single gang box extender (or construct one using a 1/4" and a 3/8" stacked atop each other) on there to gain that extra couple of cubic inches of fill.


If you have pulled on them and demonstrated that they are sufficiently solid, it sounds like you have a relationship issue involving physics vs. "alternative facts".

Personally, for anchoring in wallboard, I prefer "zip-its", also known as auger anchors, tornados, and even wall-drillers, based on their part number at a certain manufacturer.

By the way, the plastic sleeve anchors that your partner likes are, I believe, better suited for cinder-block and concrete.  In plaster-board, it's zip-its or toggle-bolts that you really want.


wire size for a 150 amp sub panel from a 150 amp breaker added to a 400 amp main panel

For your 150' run depends on whether or not you use Copper or Aluminum (aluminum being cheaper).
You would need

Copper        1/0 @75 degrees C or better 90 degree c
Aluminum  3/0 @75 degrees C or better 90 degree c

http://www.cerrowire.com/ampacity-charts

Grounding Panel to the building - the following article gives a more complete answer than I should write here.

https://fyi.uwex.edu/mrec/files/2011/04/W4.-Biesterveld-NEC-grounding-MREC2010.pdf

NEC code section 250 should be of some help to you.


Sink upgrade - single sink double wide...any cons?

Having done this same thing myself a couple years ago, I think the only real downside is not having a built-in divider. And, for me, it's not really that much of a downside. Some people like the divider, since it helps with dishes (you have a wash side and a rinse side), or helps organize dirty dishes. I like having the extra space, and the double-wide single-basin sink allows me to wash bigger pots and pans more easily.

With a single basin, if the drain clogs you're out of luck until you fix it. Or if the disposal leaks. At least with two basins, you could use the other basin until you fix it, assuming the clog isn't past the junction of the two. Unless you clog drains often, though, this is really a non-issue.


If the ladder sections (base and extension) are not square and plum to each other there is a chance that it will not preform safely. Depending on how much deviation there is between the two sections you should be very cautious when using the ladder fully extended.  The top extension is secured and guided by an inter-locking rail built into the bottom ladder. If the guide is not straight and true there is a possibility for failure (accident). Again this is dependent on how great the warp is.  Fiberglass ladder's can be cleaned similarly when cleaning any fiberglass material (hot tubs, boat hulls, etc.). Using a 220-300 grit Wet/Dry sandpaper and backing block wet the section to be cleaned and gently, at first, work the paper rinsing occasionally. If needed change to the next highest grit.


How do I fix a broken window in my aluminum framed sunroom?

I'd replace just the sheet of glass, which can be obtained cheap/easy/quickly at nearly any hardware store or similar.  The store will cut a piece to your measurements.

Taking care to not damage anything else, I'd remove the outside bevel, cutting/ripping it out, destroying the bevel if necessary.  By bevel, I mean the triangular piece that normally presses up against the glass.  It looks to be about 1/2 wide. This would not involve drilling out any rivets or using a rivet gun.

I'd then insert a new window pane, then either reinstall the old/new bevel, or just caulk it place with a silicone caulk.

The important thing is to not damage anything else.

For measurements, you can cut a piece of cardboard to size and test it out in the opening. Bring it in to the store to show the employee and to compare it to the piece that they cut, just to double check that it is the right size.


Automatic sprinkler valve will not shut off

Opening a drain valve downstream will not raise downstream pressure, it will increase flow and lower total system pressure.

If there is any flow the valve should close, as pressure above the diaphragm equalizes with supply pressure upon closing of the solenoid pilot port.

Get the brand and model # of the valve and order a rebuild kit for it as your problem is very likely to be mechanical. Turn off the supply and remove the valve bonnet, inspect and clean internal components (flush all ports to remove debris, check the diaphragm and support rings for damage or cracks, inspect the sealing surfaces and seats). Replace the washers and diaphragm with new ones from the rebuild kit.


What could prevent a motorised CD player drawer from opening after not being used for an extended period of time?

The grease on the pinion gear could have dried out or the bearing surfaces, usually plastic on plastic. There are things that could cause this that we may not think about, but if you have ever opened one of these up the motors are tiny and many are monitored or they open and close based on how much current is being drawn, two much current you hear them try to cycle but they cannot. A paper clip or large needle will usually release a stuck tray (small hole usually just under the tray that opens) manually opening the drawer can sometimes get them working again for a while.


Is it legal to install 3 prong outlet without ground in the State of Georgia?

A 3 prong outlet with no equipment ground(2wire) needs to be protected by a GFCI and the protected outlets need to be labeled with "No equipment ground" to be legal. Since 2014 code you can add a ground wire that goes back to the same panel seperately from the existing cable then they will be grounded in compliance with the latest code. Both of the above methods are code compliant methods of updating your outlets.