Do Dimmable LED on Standard Dimmers Save Energy?

Yes, dimmers reduce energy consumption of dimmable LEDs. Unlike incandescent bulbs, the electricity used is fairly linear with the light output; at 50% brightness it should use roughly 50% of the power.

Generally speaking, dimming will allow the bulbs to run cooler and extend their life spans. There may be some exceptions for some particular bulbs with particular kinds of dimmers, however, LEDs advertised as "dimmable" should not have any problems.


Drywallers messed up tile backer board, can I still tile?

That big of a gap is a problem, especially the gap in the 2nd picture. It is standard practice to ensure that the waterproof membrane overlaps the vertical lip of the tub at the wall, so that any moisture that penetrates through the grout (yes, grout is porous whether or not you use grout sealer) will make its way down into the tub well rather than into the wall/stud bays.

This is a quote from the DensShield tech. sheet:


Can I power a german 240v spindle motor off of a USA 240v nema5-50 welder plug?

Nope, you must put a 240V 15A plug on the cord.  (NEMA 6-15).
Then, install a 15A/240V circuit with NEMA 6-15 receptacle(s)...
or a 20A/240V circuit with NEMA 6-20 receptacle(s) (which will accept 6-15)...
or a 20A/240V circuit with 2 or more NEMA 6-15 sockets (e.g. duplex recep).
Trying to re-task that 50A welder circuit to serve that purpose will be much more trouble than it is worth, and would be a one-way operation (meaning you could not plug 50A appliances into it anymore).  Just run a new circuit.
You could look at fitting a 240V-only subpanel where the welder socket now is.  You can put any number of 240V-only circuits ranging from 15A to 50A.  (you cannot use more than 50A of them at one time obviously)>

However you must be careful not to put any 120V circuits in it. I strongly disrecommend using the subpanel's neutral bar for a ground bar.  I recommend isolating the neutral bar (remove neutral-ground strap or screw), hook nothing to it, and add an accessory ground bar ($5) for all grounds.  That will warn "the next guy" that 120V loads do not belong here. If someone hooks up a 120V load anyway, it won't work, and troubleshooting will soon expose that no neutral feeder is present.
One notable problem with 240V-only panels is it is difficult to run AFCIs or GFCIs out of them.  They need 120V to power themselves (their own detection circuits).  This is relevant because as of NEC 2020, 240V circuits must be GFCI.


How can I frame and hanging large prints?

I'm assuming you aren't the type of person that would just stick it to the wall using thumbtacks.

The best solution would be to get this print professionally conserved, and then have a reputable frame shop make a custom frame for it.

This process will probably cost in the $500 - $1,000 range including the frame, but depending on the print, it might be worth it.

The conservation process would stabilize the paper, and prevent it from further damage. It would entail flattening out the print, cleaning the dirt with special solvents, and then most likely putting a backing on it and then sticking it into a vacuum press to get all of the bubbles and folds out of it.

Once it has been conserved, a frame shop can walk you through the details of making the frame such as the style of frame, the type and color of matting, the glass, etc. The frame shop will then wire up the frame so it can be hung securely on your wall. At the end, it should look like something that could be easily found in an art gallery.

There are other options such as building the frame, and cutting the mat yourself, but the results won't be anywhere near what it would be if it was professionally made. The tools and supplies would also be expensive. The mat cutter kit alone is $200 or more. It definitely would not be worth investing in those tools yourself unless you plan to frame many other pictures.


Can I remove the doors before installing a sliding patio doors frame?

Don't do that!  You will never get the frame aligned properly in the opening if you take the doors out.  If you can't handle the door yourself, get someone to help.

To elaborate a bit more.  The doors in the frame provide 3-dimensional stability to the frame.  Then you take them out the frame will distort in nearly all possible ways.  You will never be able to get it straight or square enough so that the doors will work properly.

If you really can't get anyone but your wife to help, try building a supporting base to position the door at the height you need it.  Then you can stand the door up there and with your wife's help, all that is needed is to push it back into the opening.  If needed, add some blocking to prevent the door from falling into the opening.

It can be done with one helper, but you need to use suitable precautions.


Unusual wiring in receptacle connected to switch

Are you sure you rewired this exactly the way you found it?
Any chance you flipped the outlet upside down in the course of swapping it (putting the two wires on the side with the fatter pin, neutral, rather than the shorter pin, hot)?

Previously, were both receptacles switched, or only one?
Did the old receptacle have the split tab broken off on either side (that bit of brass between the screws)?

One of the white wires is a switched hot, and that's fine.  Today, that wire Should be marked with tape to show it's not a neutral.  In the past, that was only required if it was not "obvious".

The bare wire can only be the safety ground.  It cannot be used as a conductor in any way, shape or form, so that setup is illegal as heck, and needs to go.   But first you need to understand what the crazy person was trying to do.  The white and bare wires both attached on the neutral side could mean one of two things.

If you inadvertently flipped the outlet and that was formerly the hot side, and the tab was broken, that would mean he had split the outlet so only one socket was switched, and the other always-hot. And he was supplying those from the switch, through white (OK) and bare (NOPE).  You'll have to look inside the switch to see if he did this.  And if he did, undo it and make it a normal switch loop and have it switch both sockets.

If those two had previously been conncted to the neutral (taller prong) side, with the tab not broken off, that would suggest he was having problems with the neutral wire, so he bootlegged ground.  Normally nothing damages a cable in a wall, so wire problems are usually at terminations -- so you may be able to fix it.  If the damage is in the cable itself, take the entire cable out of service - a screw which cut neutral may have cut halfway through other conductors, or be touching hot, waiting for a child to find it.


Is This Wood Still Good? (Water Stained or Rotten)

It looks like water stains. Take a screwdriver and press it into the surface especially in the groves. If the wood is rotten the screwdriver will dig in. If the wood is sound it will just leave a mark. This is how home inspectors test around suspected areas for rot.


The mixer needs to be replaced. I had the same issue a year and half ago! Find out the brand and get a compatible mixer- youtube instruction of you have not done this before but I will say its very straightforward. Remember to turn the water off!


Why my thermostat is cycling on and off immediately?

Q:  Why cycling on and off?  Air is not blowing out with the same speed as before.

A:  Insufficient airflow at the furnace is causing the high temperature limit to trip.

One potential cause for this is an obstruction, such as a clogged filter or partly closed seasonal damper.  Another potential cause is that the blower motor is pumping less airflow than it should, possibly due to a failed run capacitor or worn bearings.

On most furnaces the high limit will not self-reset in a short period of time like the OP describes.  Instead, the furnace will lock out with an error code or trip a switch that requires a manual reset.  The high limit control needs to be carefully inspected to verify it is being tripped and to ensure that it has not been compromised in some way.  If in doubt, higher a professional.


Assuming that the sides are parallel, since you called it a rhombus, and the framing is attached to the sides of the post as the drawing seems to show:
You can definitely add shim pieces to the posts on the side that is at the top and bottom of your drawing. Depending on the load that the fasteners take, You may need to attach a block of some sort to support the end of the joist, since it won't be properly attached to the long side anymore.

You could also frame the walls square, and have them overhang the short corner.

Ideally, you should not finish paying the builder until he fixes it.


Why is one mounting screw left behind each electrical panel's cover?

If I am seeing your photos right, it's a mild security feature. When I worked in electrical contracting, that was done so that a panel could have a lock installed on the door, and then (theoretically) prevent unauthorized access by surreptitiously removing the panel front.

Like most locks, they are meant to deter rather than completely prevent access. If someone wants to get in, they will, but the unauthorized access will take some effort and will be detected.


Is there a check valve in the bathtub valve that would prevent water from going reversed through the valve?

I can't be certain without checking it out in person, but I would be surprised to see a check valve in that line.


What kind of glue is best for a black plastic kitchen appliance (ABS plastic)?

The surprising (to me) answer may be ABS cement.  You probably won't find this in the hardware store glue isle, instead head over to plumbing:

You'll want the smallest can possible (e.g. 4oz), and after use to seal it in a zipper lock bag and store in a cool dry location.  The stuff goes bad in the can pretty fast.

The ABS cement worked for me far better than any of the other glues mentioned above.  You can also cut out a small piece of ABS drain pipe, or other ABS item, to use as a patch for the repair.

Note that ABS cement is a mix of a solvent and ABS powder: in the end you really end up welding the plastic more than gluing it.  For this reason clamping is recommended.


I assume you are talking about this.

I have seen this product used twice before in this type of application.I have never used it in a french drain, however, I packed some into the end of a downspout so the water wouldn't drill a hole into the ground.

I have also seen it used as a substitute for rock in a drainage ditch along the outside wall of a house. Months later they wound that the rubber was compacting under its own weight and the weight of the dirt above it and began to lose its functionality and actually prevented water from leaving the area. The surface area is too great along lateral edges,(it lays flat) so it begins to clog up.

I assume that your question steams from worrying about the difference between rock and rubber. In your case I would NOT use the rubber because the rubber mulch could settle in the drain and block up the pipe, especially if the mulch is longer than it is wider. I'd use rock. It won't bend or flex, plus it's proven.


How can I fill a hole in masonry so I can redrill?

Unless you are considerably more than "on a slight angle", you are unlikely to have a problem. If you are slightly more out, the screw should still hold the clothesline, just the screw head won't sit as neat on the surface.

Take your time, let the drill do the work, and don't force it.


Which are the hot wires and is there a ground present in my recessed light?

It looks like a metal box, with yellow and orange wires it is probably a commercial installation using conduit and the box is the ground in that case.
Commercial or building requiring conduit because of the location the colored wires are the hots. White and gray are neutral, green is for ground and every other color is for hot.
A condo above 3 stories and some single family homes in locations like Chicago require wiring in conduit.
You will need to identify the color that is switched it may be the orange twisted around the white, I would verify at the switch.
If the orange is on a switch put the black on the orange and white with white. The fixture can be grounded by adding a screw to the mounting plate or box by adding a machine screw (grounding screws are supposed to be green and are usually 10-32 on the box I have seen 8-32 and 6-32 on the mounting ring these are usually shipped with those screws in them.


There will be no "in situ" re-tiling those walls and floor without ripping out all the shower and other fixturing. Then remove all the old tile back to the base surfaces of the building structure.

As far as the surface mounted plumbing and electrical conduit it is really necessary to wait till you get everything stripped away to see what is behind to make a judgement call. In the worst case you may have to arrange to shim out one or two walls with wood studs leaving enough space behind a new wall surface to accommodate the plumbing and electrical.


What to insulate first? Attic, walls, kneewalls?

Insulating is actually typically the last step in a major whole-house energy efficiency retrofit. If you insulate before you've air-sealed, the air will simply bypass the insulation. If you air-seal without fixing any water leaks or flashing errors, you've created a mold problem. If you air-seal without adding mechanical or passive ventilation, indoor pollutants will rise and combustion appliances may backdraft, potentially poisoning the occupants. And so on.

Step 1: remove or vent indoor combustion appliances that are not sealed and vented. Give a gas range an exhausting range hood and replace sub-90% efficiency water heaters and furnaces that are within the house with sealed combustion versions that pull their combustion air from outside.

Step 2: Fix any roof leaks, window flashing errors, or any other water entry points into the building envelope.

Step 3: Make sure the bath fan works and run it constantly.

Step 4: air-seal as well as you can.

Step 5: insulate.

Step 6: test the air quality for CO2 and the combustion appliances for backdrafting and see if a better ventilation system is needed.

To finally answer your question, once you get to insulating, your biggest bang-for-buck is anywhere you can add insulation where there is none, which would be the walls in this case. If you're not planning to remove the drywall or siding, find a crew to blow dense-packed cellulose into the wall cavities. Make sure it's dense-pack and that they have a track record of success. Don't do blown fiberglass and don't do anything that;s not dense-packed, as it'll settle. If you are planning to remove the drywall, then put mineral wool batts in the walls yourself. If you are planning to remove the siding, then dense-pack the cavities and add 2 inches or more of rigid foam or mineral wool over the sheathing, and use this opportunity to replace the windows or fix any overt flashing errors. If the wall has no water-resistive barrier or if it is deteriorated, replace it with a new layer (tar paper, Tyvek, etc) on the same plane as the windows and integrated with their flanges/flashing.

Attic insulation is often very cost-effective too but it can be substantially more complicated. The attic floor must be airtight. And where you insulate depends on what's in the attic and what it will be used for, if anything. An attic that has mechanical equipment in it, that will be finished, or will be used for storage needs to have spray foam at the roofline or rigid foam under the roofing. And if there's any knob-and-tube wiring where insulation should go, that needs to be replaced first. Otherwise, the attic can have a few feet of loose-blown cellulose or fiberglass piled up on the floor and that'll work very well. This approach is DIY-friendly, too. You need to pay close attention to any chimneys or flues, too. Insulated that isn't specially rated (usually some type of mineral wool) can't be installed touching it, and an air gap may be mandatory. Depends on the chimney or flue.


Can I hang a mirror by anchoring into furring strips?

Hm, wouldn't furring strips look odd? Why not use heavy duty wall anchors (10 lbs. is not a lot, but just to be safe since it's a glass mirror) or toggle bolts? You could hide those behind the mounting hardware.


Identifying positive and negative speaker wires

Note that the wire doesn't care which is positive and which is negative. Nor do the speakers, really; what matters is that both/all speakers be in phase with each other.

So if the same side of the speaker wire is always hooked to the same terminal at the signal source (amp), and the same side is always hooked to the same terminal of the speakers (even if all the speakers are backwards -- as long as it is all of them), everything will work properly.

(I usually adopt some mnemonic such as "ridged to red", to help remember which convention I've chosen.)


Which wood turns grey, and which turns black with time?

You don’t want to leave the wood unstained. When wood weathers “naturally”, it will be 1) uneven and 2) blotchy.

1) Siding under an overhang will remain its natural color while siding with direct exposure to the sun and elements will fade quickly.

2) Wood will fade and weather differently based on where each piece is cut from the tree.

Most paint manufacturers make a “weathering” stain. It helps all siding to quickly weather uniformly.

Wood should not be left untreated. Even wood siding near the ground will have water (and dirt) splash up on it and stain it.

BTW, we use Western Red Cedar, White Cedar, or Redwood for siding. You can order it with 3 sides surfaced and the face “rough-sawn”. It comes in shiplap, bevel, and board and batt.

Any wood left to the weather long enough, will eventually turn black without some protection (stain).


How important is carpet warranty when determining which to pick?

From what I understand, carpet warranties are all but useless. They have so many conditions that it is effectively impossible to actually make a warranty claim. For example:

You must have your carpet cleaned professionally every 16-24 months. You need to produce receipts showing a professional company came to clean this frequently since installation
Stain resistant warranties not covering non-food/beverage stains, such as caused by animals or cleaners
Other limitations on stain warranties, like "there can be some slight loss of stain resistance in high-traffic areas such as stairs (and hallways, in front of doors). The warranty excludes any residual stains that my occur in those areas."
Warranty may only cover replacement of the affected area (so say a 5x8 area is affected, they'll just cut out and replace that bit), and may not even be 100% - apparently they can degrade, so after say 3 years, they'll only cover 60% of the cost. They won't replace your entire carpet because there's a problem in one small area.
Warranty may not cover labor after some period of time. Worse, you may be forced to use a specific installer at whatever rates they charge (thanks, shirlock)

I have no direct experience trying to get warranty on it, but because of all of this, I would put very little faith in the warranty numbers. If you can never effectively never file a warranty claim, they may as well offer a 25 year or even lifetime warranty. What's it matter - if you were 2 months late having your carpet cleaned 4 years ago: warranty voided.


Is it okay for wires at the C terminal to touch?

There's no problem with those wires touching. However, screw terminals are commonly only rated for one or two wires to terminate at them. If you're adding a third, it might be time to use a "pigtail".
Creating a pigtail

Remove the wires from the screw terminal.
Combine the two wires that previously were under the screw terminal, with the wire you're adding, and a short bit of scrap wire of the same or larger (smaller gauge) size using a twist-on wire connector (or other approved means).
Attach the short bit of wire (pigtail) to the screw terminal.


How to operate generator transfer switch?

Each switch has 3 positions, as labeled on the right hand side of the panel: GEN OFF and LINE.
In their current position, the normal electrical feed is going to each circuit.
If you move the switch to 'GEN' it will then take power from the generator. OFF lets you kill the circuit entirely (connects to neither line nor generator).

If the panel was properly installed there should be no need to kill the breaker at the main panel: Flipping the switch on this panel disconnects the given circuit from the main panel.


Furnace blower motor makes buzzing noise and won't start

I can only add that the high current is normal for a motor that is starting.  It's called locked rotor current.  But if left in that condition the motor will indeed overheat.  I would have suspected the cap but you eliminated that...


Troubleshooting a String of LED Recessed Lighting Fixtures

I think what everyone is suggesting is that there is something else wrong other than your cabling. If I was called to your home and you described this problem, I would not just come out and say "we need to replace the cabling". What a good service electrician would do is try and isolate the problem.

He would probably pull the switch and inspect it and put a meter on it just to make sure it was working properly. Then he would go about disconnecting all of the recessed cans inspecting each one for damage or burnouts. Once he finished disconnecting the recessed cans. He would then test all of the wiring for any problems. If it is not the wiring or the switch (which it probably isn't) and he hasn't found any defective splices or damage to the can lights, then he would begin to connect each light back up and see if he can duplicate the problem.

What a really good service electrician would do first is to call the manufacturers tech support and first find out if this has occured before and get their input.

Good luck


Wrapping fibreglass/ rock wool to seal in fibres in acoustic panels (bass traps)

You would do fine using simple burlap. Given the wavelengths of the signal that must pass through, cotton fibers will pose no problem. They are also considerably smaller than the coarse fibers found in commercial acoustic panels. In fact, any material used as speaker cover would work for your application. Incidentally, fiberglass is a very hard and acoustically very reflective material. You may do better with a panel of dense open cell, soft urethane-based foam; they may be found at a local craft store.


The shower pan curb must be a minimum of 2 inches above the top of the drain.  This is common building code in the U.S.  For example, if you have a 1/4 inch per foot slope, and the curb is 3 feet from the drain, the curb must raise 1 1/4 inch from the shower floor.  Of course, this is for the finished shower.  The curb will be higher before you put in the pan.  The 6 inch figure you are finding is for the shower pan liner.  The liner should go up the shower walls at least 6 inches.


How do I know when a water heater's relief valve should be replaced?

Pressure relief valves (PRVs) on boilers, at least in my area, are usually 30psi. Normally systems run at about 20psi hot and are set to 12-15 psi cold. Your first step is to determine what your system pressure is supposed to be. Then determine what your system pressure is. If it all checks out you need to change your PRV. They often continue to drip after they start dripping due to sediment build up on the valve seat, so regardless you may need to change it anyway. 15psi PRVs are usually used on steam and you have to be very careful if you are indeed running a steam system as you could easily get burned.


Since you have a union right there changing the T should not be that tough. There is a nipple to the right if lengths change. I might try the existing But any time another appliance with no restrictions turns on the new one may starve for fuel. I have seen your plan work but since doing it right would not be much more work and possibly only changing the T, I would do that so I would not have to go back and do it over with all the new pipe in place needing to be removed to upgrade the T if it doesn’t work.


What is required clearance from mechanical exhaust to garage door?

PVC isn't actually a proper material for exhaust, despite what the manufacturer says -- use stainless instead

The exhaust gas temperature of a high-efficiency condensing tankless heater operating at 140°F water thermostat will hover around 170°F out of the box, and this simply gets worse with time and scale buildup, reaching 300°F or more as scale is a much poorer heat conductor than copper is.  This causes a PVC vent flue to "cook" (it will turn tan, then yellow, then purple/brown) and sag (PVC pipe is rated to 140°F), leading to leakage and eventual total failure (in a decade or less) with its attendant CO(!!!!!!!!), hypoxia, and moisture-buildup hazards.  In fact, failed PVC venting (due to heat) on a condensing boiler system is suspected in the CO death of a family of four on a high-end rental property in Aspen.

Instead, a stainless steel concentric or double wall vent system listed to UL 1738 should be used; stainless steel vent systems, applied according to their listing instructions, will neither corrode nor fail due to heat.  If that is absolutely not an option, then high-temperature polypropylene venting (rated to 230°F) can be used as a fallback, but this requires an external, engineered interlock to shut down and lock out the burner fuel supply if flue gas temperatures become excessive for the material used, as tankless heaters aren't smart enough to do that on their own (yet) and will continue to turn up the fire as they scale up in an effort to keep up with demand.

Whatever material you use, keep it clear of the garage door

The 4' horizontal or 1' vertical clearance you mention, though, should be applied to a garage door, as per IRC M1804.2.6 point 2, which applies to any "door, window, or gravity air inlet" -- in other words, any opening where natural circulation of significant quantities of air is expected when the opening is open.


Honeywell L6006C Aquasta wiring to a Taco 006-BC4 Hot water Circulator Pump

I looked at the instruction manual for the switch, and it says:

  Switching action is as follows:
  Upon a drop in boiler water temperature (to dial setting,
  less differential), makes R to B burner contact; breaks R to W
  contact, preventing circulator operation. Upon a rise in boiler
  water temperature (to dial setting), breaks R to B burner
  contact, makes R to W circulator contact.

Manual link

That said, I don't know much about how the circulator should work, and what temperatures to set, but if you want the pump to come on when the temperature drops, you would wire it to terminals R and B and if you need it to come on when the temp goes up, it would be terminals R and W.  One is typically meany for heat (B) and the other for a circulator (W), but your installation might be different.


What is the definitively correct way to hook up a 3-prong electrical dryer cord?

There is no way to make a 3-wire connection safe.
It's only legal on a legacy basis, with certain cable types because the appliance industry complained and moaned that they'd lose appliance sales if it was outlawed.
What they are actually doing is connecting chassis to the live neutral.  The concept is that neutral is supposed to be safe... as long as there aren't any loose connections... and loose connections are unlikely since these plugs and wiring are rarely disturbed. Uh huh.
So it is leeeegal to jumper the appliance chassis to the neutral wire and then call it a day.  Would I do it? Heck no!
However in my experience many installations either have a 3-wire receptacle  needlessly because they actually do have ground behind the receptacle... or they are using a cable type that was always illegal (/2 + ground NM or UF).
You are really, really better off upgrading to 4-prong receptacle and plug ASAP.  That will give you a separate neutral and ground.
If your installation is old and uses a legal cable type (/3 noground or SE), then it's legal to retrofit a ground from the socket to anywhere that has a #10 or larger ground back to the panel - water heater, grounding electrode wires, any metal conduit, or back to the panel.
If it is infeasible to retrofit a ground, you can change the receptacle to 4-prong anyway, wire the appliance for 4-prong anyway (meaning: isolate neutral from ground, very important!), and then use a 2-pole GFCI breaker to feed it.  This is labeled "GFCI Protected / No Equipment Ground".


Feedback on creative ways to sound proof - insulate existing finished ceiling

Check out 4x8 sheets of "sound board" available in the lumber department of your big box stores. Using thermal insulation to muddle sound doesn't add up. My neighbor, a drywaller, put it up throughout his condo unit then drywalled over it. You could just screw it directly into your ceiling then add drywall on top of it. Electrical boxes would need box extensions but this is a lot easier and more to the point than trying to shove thermal insulation into narrow spaces filled with pipes, vents, conduit, romex, and maybe some speaker or other low voltage wires....and which only mitigates heat loss with a bit of sound insulation. Go for the real thing and don't let those cloggers get you down (sorry Geico, or whosever ad that is on tv)...


How can I connect floating 2x6 wall plates to 4x4 posts?

You could add PT 2x4 to each side of the 4x4 post cut to the length between your 2x6 top/bottom trim boards, then screw your 2x6s into the end-grain of the 2x4s.
This would give you a 90° screw connection, but honestly, toe-screwing them in (from the bottom side so water doesn't collect in the holes) would probably be sufficient. If you're feeling fancy, you could even use a pocket-hole jig and screws to make nice neat holes in the 2x6.
Considering that people use pocket-holes/screws for assembling cabinetry that can hold 100s of pounds (I've got a tool rack in the garage that's pocket-screw assembled), that should be sufficient for your purposes.
As a side note: You may consider leaving a bit of a gap between your 1x8 PVC trim to allow wind to blow through a little easier. I doubt you'll have issues, but being in a coastal region, wind is an issue, and a bit of a gap will make it easier on the whole structure.


Can you use/store your air compressor (horizontal cylinder type) in vertical position?

Storing a oil less compressor in just about any position will be fine but make sure to blow the water out of the tank prior to storing it.


Fine for wind - bat houses are small and the surface area of the post and house is also small.
You or someone else could push it over though.  A single post isn't very strong laterally.
Why not dig the hole, it would be exponentially stronger.


Craftsman Screw Drive Garage Door opens too far

There should be a panel on the right side of your unit.  It will have 4 adjustments on it.  2 are for the force adjustment and 2 are to adjust the upper and lower limits.  They usually have a sticker to show you what each one does.


How do I wire a brand new cooktop that has no white neutral wire?

In this case, you would simply not hook up the neutral wire.  Instead you can just put a wirenut on it and tuck it neatly into the electrical box.

Typically 240V appliances require the neutral wire so that they can run the electronics at 120v or provide a plug on the appliance.  In this case, these devices are hooked up to one leg of the hot and the neutral, giving 120V.

If no neutral is required, then the device can only operate on 240V/208V, though at 208V you should expect the oven to take longer to heat up.

What it means by "Connect only to a 3-wire, 120/240-volt power supply; the neutral conductor is not required for the operation of the appliance,"  is that the 240V needs to come from two legs of 120V service; this device won't function on 240V mains like you'd find in Europe.


Can a ceiling fan brace/box be in direct contact with insulation?

The ceiling fan electrical box would not generate any heat in normal operation. It should be fine to have it in contact with insulating batts.


How to remove very stuck stripped screws?

Locking pliers, which is the generic term for a class of product often called by the name of one registered trademark (Vise Grips® - no particular endorsement implied, but some of the cheaper knock-offs are quite useless. I believe Mole Grips® in the UK)
You need them clamped on hard enough that they actually bite into the screw head. With that presentation, you'll only get a fraction of a turn at a time. And depending on how hard they are stuck, you might break the screw (at which point you drill around the screw with a hollow bit and remove the wood plug and screw carcass together)


I've installed many drain tile systems in Minnesota, and none of them used perforated pails. Really, you don't want to be collecting water from that far below your slab (and typically don't need to). All drainage should occur in the drainage medium via the tile.

If the drain tile (pipe) is perforated, there's no reason to have holes in your bucket unless you have a particular need to drain that deep. You're more likely to get sediment if you collect from down there as well.

Response to your answer/comment:

Your drainage medium (the clean rock I assume is below your slab) acts as the drainage path to the drain tile, which is simply a collector. If they're doing their respective jobs, no significant amount of water is present at the slab underside, and the question is rather moot. You don't need perforation unless you don't have drainage media under the slab, and if you don't, a perforated bucket only serves to allow drainage in the immediate vicinity of the bucket anyway. It won't keep your basement dry throughout.


Accidentally splashed surgical alcohol on a plaster wall

Alcohol acts like a paint remover. So rather than thinking of this as a stain on the surface that can be washed away you have to realize that the paint finish has been partially degraded.
This means you will have to repaint a small area of the wall. Often you will find that touching up does not blend very well so you may need to repaint the affected wall from corner to corner to get a good result


How do I install fire blocking while finishing a basement?

OSB would be easier and faster, it gets installed BEFORE the top plate goes up. If you plan to use 2X4 framing set 1" away from the wall or if you follow the detail provided in another post, you can still use it as fireblocking.

When you layout for your top plate and chalk your line for setting the top plate by, before you do, measure over to sill plate that the joists set on for the dimension to rip the OSB. I would suggest to rip the OSB a little shy of the chalk line. that way you will always have it as a reference. My carpenters had ripped the plywood wide enough to cover the line to supposedly follow it but when the wall was finished framed it had a 1/4" bow in it.

Set the plywood, then the top plate, and build the rest of the wall.


That's not a split bus (Rule of Six). For one thing, it is too new - Rule of Six panels were outlawed before CH panels started getting branded Eaton.    For another, all the breakers are accounted for, there would need to be a  "Main Lighting" breaker.

By the way, CH is a great panel.

I wonder if the main panel used to be here, and is now on the other side of the wall, and this one was installed as a subpanel to handle the dozen or so circuits that were impracticable to route to the new location.


The longer and less direct the run,the more light you will lose to absorption. And of course the split would mean you lose light in the original location.

If you really want to do this anyway, I'd consider real optics -- half-silvered mirror, focusing lenses, front-surface mirror at far end -- but cost would be high.

A second sun-tube/skylight seems a better bet. Or solar panel driving (a) full-spectrum bulb(s), though I agree that isn't the same thing.


No C terminal on furnace to connect a wifi thermostat

The blue wire coming off of the transformer is what you want, but there might be a better place to tie into that.  Look for any wires that are simply screwed to the metal chassis of the air handler.  You can check with a continuity tester, but those chassis grounds are usually a connection for that other side of the transformer (the blue wire).

Looking at that schematic, I can see a few places where a wire terminates to "ground", but I don't necessarily see any terminals where the "C wire" would be conveniently exposed.  Also, when you find a ground screw use a volt meter to make sure you get a good 24v there between the ground point and the red wire from the thermostat and/or transformer.


Why do my LED lights stay on, even when the switch is off?

Some light switches run a small amount of current through the bulbs even when off, usually to power small devices at the switch like a timer, motion sensor, or night light. Do your switches have either of those features, or something else like that?

The way those devices work is instead of having a hot/neutral pair powering the switch, they just sit inline with the hot wire and draw a very small amount of power. Old fashioned incandescent bulbs won't light up if there's only a small amount of electricity running through them, so you would never notice this current, but LEDs are much more efficient and apparently are getting enough power to run.

If that is the cause of the problem, there are a few solutions:

Swap out the light switches for regular ones. You'll lose whatever additional functionality they have.
Upgrade your switches to ones that have both a neutral and a hot wire, instead of just the hot wire. This may be relatively straightforward or extremely difficult, depending on whether the neutral for the light goes through the same box as the switch. (Note that even if you do have a neutral at the box it may be a little tricky to wire it up, since you might have to cut it and then add a pigtail or two.)
Put back your old-fashioned incandescents.
Install one incandescent and one LED


You can cut a hole through the back, with a nipple less than 24" long you can fill it to 60%, it's hard to tell from the photo what the fill is, in the past with exterior boxes I have punched 2-3 holes installed bushings and run my wiring from a gutter where I spliced it to some thhn/ thwn and ran that outside. In my last county the inspector felt it was safer not to splice in the gutter and to run the romex into the outside service panel, I would check with your local inspector as they may allow the romex into the service panel (2 out of 3 counties allow this to a nema 3R service panel in my area). The panel must be mounted on the dwelling so the wires directly enter the home.


What is this red sediment inside our sink aerator?

My guess is it's from some of the renovations in the building. They probably changed a sink or two and dislodged some rust from an old pipe. The rust with some pipe dope and clog up the aerators. Just clean the ones you have. This is a very common problem when changing faucets in multi-occupancy buildings.


Is there any alternate of conventional Air Conditioner?

Geothermal Heat pumps are more efficent than a traditional Air Conditioner/Heat Pump - if they are possible/practical/cheaper depends on your circumstances.

Simpler alternatives are opening the windows, a house fan, swamp coolers - depends on how hot/humid it gets


Removing a decorative cover in a moen faucet

That piece could be press fitted into the valve body and heavily corroded but since the cartridge screw is accessible with just the handle being removed (unusual), try removing it. Never use a pipe wrench on chrome. Even if you could remove it now, you'd never find a replacement unless you lucked out at a plumbing supply store.


Should I use wood or metal for an 8" gate post?

Depending on where you live may change the answer slightly.  For instance, I live in the Seattle area, and an 8" cedar post is used frequently.  It's usually quite wet up here, so metal posts often rust, especially if they're not cared for.  The other plus for a wood post is that it looks better (in my opinion).  Downside of a wood post is potential warping.  I've seen some 6x6 pressure treated posts returned at Home Depot that were literally twisted almost 60 degrees.

If you live somewhere a little dryer I would think a galvanized steel post would work well and last longer.


This is absolutely fine. There is no rule or code prohibiting it that I know of.


Possible causes for sound of water running through house pipes when water is off?

I suspect the sound is from the drain pipes, and comes from a leaky toilet, beacause that's the most common thing that has a stored reservoir of water to keep leaking after you shut off the main valve.

You might try leaving the main water valve shut off for several hours. If the sound eventually stops, go around and look in your toilets to see if any are now empty in the top tank (without you flushing) - or speed the process up and flush all the toilets after shutting off the main water valve and see if the sound then goes away shortly after that.

If you'd like to check on @Tester101's theory, try shutting off the main electric breaker and see if the sound stops or not.


Insulating and reducing boominess of plywood subfloor

Stuffing the open area with fiberglass will absolutely help, as it will dampen/absorb the sound waves resonating between the joists.  It will only go so far, though, as a significant amount of energy from foot fall traffic will still be transmitted through the floor and into the joists, causing the sound vibrations in the first place.

To combat that, you'll want to dampen the energy (convert it to heat) before it gets to the joists.

Step one is to add mass, if you are able to.  If you can raise the floor a bit, then add one or two more layers of some kind of dense sheathing.  Concrete board works great, but is expensive and hard to work with.  3/4" (19mm) OSB would work great.

Step two is to add a damping layer between the layers, to break up the resonant frequencies between the like layers.  At minimum, something like 30lb roofing felt would work.  A custom-created product like Green Glue would work even better.

Step three might be to add a final damping layer designed for foot fall traffic.  There are quite a few brand names out there and they all work roughly the same, by maintaining a densely flexible layer just before the subfloor.

This site has some really good info on this topic.  They are trying to sell you a product, but even if you don't go that route, the rest of the info is very solid: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-floors/


You (or someone) has used pipe thread couplings to adapt the 3/4" faucet inlet to those supply lines, this is not (IMO) the best practice.

Stainless braided flex supply lines with a 3/4" connector are available, specifically for your application. Decorative covers (generally called "shrouds") are also available with which to hide the supply lines if you don't like their look.

Specifications:
Overall Length: 37"
Rough-in Connection: 1/2"
Faucet Connection: 3/4"
Braided Stainless Steel


What type of radiator/baseboard is this?

OK I got it.  I had one of those in my kitchen, under a counter.  Not sure of the official name for it, but I've heard it called a "heatilator".  It's basically part of your baseboard hot water heating system.  I think the purpose of the metal cover is to provide a sort of chimney effect, where the rising air gains a bit of velocity and helps pull cooler air from the floor through the fins.

Here's picture of mine from when I was tiling the floor.

Sounds like you might have some air in the lines.  There should be provisions to bleed them - a little valve of some sort near the highest point in the run.  Could also be multiple bleed valves.

Bleed valves vary in shape and size.  Sometimes they look like a garden hose spigot, and other times they're more like an automobile tire Shrader valve.


How can I mount a projector to a concrete ceiling?

Berkeley, CA has a tool library for just this kind of rental.  Major home stores have rentals, and there are chains of rental shops like Hertz Rentals.

You'll need a drill, a masonry bit, and a concrete anchor.  Your local hardware store can supply the last two.  Each anchor will have a specified hole size.

The ceiling is almost certainly not cinderblock.  But it could be reinforced concrete, which is a good strong material to anchor to.


Need help finding washing machine terminal

For anyone attempting this repair, I don't recommend reusing the terminals from the original connector. It's very difficult to remove them from the old connector without bending them up and making them unusable. Just cut them off, preserving as much of the wire as you can. I had to replace a section of the white wire because the insulation was toasted and the wire was tarnished for a couple of inches. I used a lineman's splice with solder and heat shrink tubing.

When the new connector arrived, I found the manufacturer's name and part number stamped on it. Whirlpool WP2172937 cost me $11, but it's actually a repackaged Molex 43335, which can be purchased from mouser.com for $0.55. I found the connector terminals using the Molex website. Their part number is 43375-0001. You can get them for a few cents from mouser.com, but I opted to buy a package of 10 from Amazon because they have cheap fast shipping. (It's good to have some extra terminals for practice, anyway.)

You'll need a crimper for the terminals. The official Molex crimper is $500. Fortunately, I found a much cheaper one that works well. It was $21 from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073VH2WJC?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

The crimper comes with 5 dies. For these terminals, use the "1.5-2.5" slot on the "LG" die. It does the conductor crimp and the insulation crimp at the same time. Make sure the terminal is oriented the right way, then insert it into the crimper without the wire and close the crimper just until the first click. The crimper will then hold the terminal securely, making it easy to insert the wire. After the wire's in, squeeze the crimper all the way.

After the terminal is attached to the wire, you can slide the terminal into the connector with little effort and it will click into place.


A multi span joist with intermediate bearing (3+ points of bearing) can clear span more than a simple/single span joist (2 points of bearing.) One span benefits from having the other span connected to it.

Your dropped LVL is called intermediate bearing. It is typically sized to L/360 live load deflection, and the floor tributary is 5/8 of the joist span because of the added load from continuity.

When you flush that LVL, you typically size it to L/480 live load deflection, but you only use 1/2 of the joist span as the floor tributary. Obviously you have to cut the joists, so they can't span as far as joists that are continuous over the LVL.

These small differences mean that sometimes it matters if you flush or drop the beam. Just make sure you check the joist span works as a simple span, and that the LVL deflects less than L/480 live so that you don't reduce the floor's performance.

In my experience, going from dropped to flush with the same size LVL (which is what you're doing) works 90% of the time. You still need to check it though.

Doing the opposite and going from flush to dropped can add 1/8 more floor tributary to it, so it's more likely to fail in moment or shear with the added load.


Well this is working just like a travertine shower should.

Travertine is porous.  You can apply sealer but honestly unless the travertine was honed specifically to take sealer - which most residential tile is not - sealer may help a bit but in no way will seal your tile shut.  Trust me I have been there.

So water is getting into the tile and the grout probably and will travel the course that gravity tells it to.  It is perfectly normal to see water coming out of grout in a shower floor - especially on a porous stone.

So why could this be an issue:

You do not have proper backing behind the travertine.  Meaning you do not have some sort of concrete backer or waterproof membrane.  If you have drywall behind the travertine you would basically need to paint on the sealer every other week and that might not help.  I seriously doubt anyone installed travertine on drywall but you never know.  The only way you can tell is open up the wall behind it.  Even then you always install drywall+plastic+thin backerboard which works - but would make you think it was installed on drywall.
If the water is making it outside of the shower area from below.  You are on a slab which takes away 95% of the issues.  But you still don't want water spilling to the next room.  If the water is contained in the shower... well that is what the system is supposed to do.

A properly designed shower system isn't supposed to keep water from going in grout, it is supposed to last and keep water in the shower.  If it is doing those two things it is doing its job.

What should you do?

Look for water in surrounding rooms - you don't have to go all Mike Holmes here.  I would personally just point the shower at this wall maybe 3-4 times for 20 mins in one day.  Let it get really really wet.  And then see if that day or the next there are any moisture issues in the next room - you should be able to put your hand on the wall and feel this or pull up a bit of trim or carpet.  You do not need to open walls.
If you do find water you need to open walls though.  See what is behind the travertine.  It is usually at this point where you have to seal it from behind or figure it was made wrong and start over.
However the most likely scenario is you don't need to do anything at all and let the shower function.  I would not under any circumstance caulk the bottom.  You know the water is getting in the wall - why would you want to hold it at the bottom?  If you feel the need that you HAVE to caulk the bottom leave drainage gaps in the caulk.  I would personally not seal the travertine if I thought (and I would assume this until proven otherwise) there was proper waterproofing behind.  The reasoning is that with something like travertine you are never going to seal it perfectly.  So water will get in, but if sealed well the water may take much longer to leave/evaporate.  There is a good chance that you adding sealer already has caused more water at the floor because it is not evaporating and it can escape there.  Nothing to be alarmed about concerning past sealing - just telling you why you are getting the result you are.


Most modern lamps do not need a burn in period. You can just install them. As far as "infant mortality" I know of no field test other than install them and if you get a bad one it will usually burn out in 30 days or less. After that they shouldn't go bad for quite a while.


How should laminate flooring be secured next to brick?

When we did this, we purchased edging to match the laminate.  The edging snaps into a channel, which can be attached to the floor - either glued or screwed, depending on the sub floor.

I found after a couple of years the edging came up a bit, but a bit of glue in the channel fixed that.


Issue with residential electrical system in Brazil

Well, it isn't unusual for neutral current flow to differ from hot current flow, when the circuit is a multi-wire branch circuit.

Brazil uses a compromise voltage of 127V hot-neutral and 220V hot-hot.  This lets them be compatible with USA's 120V hot-neutral and 240V hot-hot (within 8% anyway, which is fine). This allows them to deliver 3-phase power to the house. (127 x sqrt(3) = 220).

So on a Brazilian multi-wire branch circuit, there may be up to 3 hots sharing the neutral.  Activity on the other hots would account for the differing current.


Why is there a wire through the top ears of a clock outlet?

I can think of two possible reasons for the hack.

The top screw holding the receptacle to the electrical box stripped out.
They used the brilliant scheme as a way to provide a hook to hang the clock.

I have to guess that there was also no cover plate on this outlet behind the clock.

To undo this will require a number of steps.

First off shut off power at the breaker/fuse panel for this circuit.
Use a needle nose pliers to bend and twist the top side loops till they break off the screw tab on the outlet. These normally come off easily as they are pre-scored.
Remove the two straight slotted screws that hold the outlet in place.
Pull the outlet out away from the wall. (This step to help prevent the brittle looking outlet from getting broken).
Use a hammer, pry bar and/or pliers to hold and work the staple down out of the wall.
Now evaluate the outlet. Now would be a good time to replace it if the bakelite/plastic looks brittle or if the contacts do not hold a plug securely. New ones are low cost.
Push the outlet back into position.
Reinstall the two retaining screws.
Apply spackle to patch the holes where the staple went into the wall.
Patch paint the area above the outlet when the spackle has dried.
Install a new cover plate over the outlet.
Turn the power back on at the breaker/fuse panel.
Rehang the clock if it is a treasured antique heirloom.


What unpowered bladed tool can make deep beveled cuts in sheet material?

You could make some utility or razor blade holders from wood. Saw a rectanglular block down the length at the desired bevel angle, clean up with a hand plane, then clamp the blade in the centre using predrilled screws, from both sides.

You can then use it by drawing it against a fence, either plunging like the mat cutters or starting from the edge of the material.

It would be inexpensive to make a few standard angles; you could extend the range by placing thin shims along the part closest to the fence to achieve steeper intermediary angles.


Sounds like a blown compressor.
Bad contacters don't usually pop fuses. And if it was simply the fan not coming on, the compressor should trip its own over-heat, not your breakers (unless it's old and grumpy: same prognosis; dead compressor).
If I were to keep trying to fix at that unit, the first thing I would do is install a "fused" (circuit breaker) disconnect for the condenser outside and a convenience outlet (both are now required by code).
That's step one of installing another unit, so it's no big loss if that doesn't help the diagnostics.

Air Conditioner Not Cooling : Tripping Breaker And Blowing Fuses –YouTube

My suspicion is we've got a bad compressor. Let me go grab my multimeter and get this thing tested out. Again, I'm going to go ahead and discharge the capacitor and then pull all the leads off the compressor. Then I'm going to go ahead and leave the fan motor connected and test. If this doesn't blow the breaker then that means our compressor's bad and it's time for either a new compressor or as old as this unit is, it may just be time for a whole new unit.
... It is as I suspected; the compressor's got a short in it. We're going to need either a new compressor or a whole new condenser unit. If I wanted to, I can recycle the fan top, the fan motor, and fan blades. That's a little bit more advanced troubleshooting and proving that it's actually our compressor that is down. We can replace the compressor if it's a clean change out. On this one, I think it's probably just maybe time for a new unit.

I've replaced compressors on commercial units (whose construction is conducive to such); it's not a very common practice for split systems, because that's  the same amount of work, and you'd still have old equipment throughout.


Ideas for fixing 8cm gap between laminate and wall

If your floors have their seams lined-up like the diagram (very wrong), it looks quite bad already so adding a bunch of scraps on the end won't hurt. The best solution is to literally start over & use as many of the old pieces in the manufacturer's instructions followed new & proper floors...that have at least 3 rows laid as a dry fit so you don't have any pieces shorter than 30cm.

Each row of planks has its butt seams offset from the next row & at least the same for a third row before you repeat. One main reason for this is exactly your situation here. Be careful & conscious with your measurements & cut 1 board at a time...do I leave the line, cut-out the line or split the line.

With varied lengths meeting the wall you can custom cut & even scribe each piece's end for a flawless fit or common very minor manufacturer's gap. Also, any ridges, popped nail heads, splintered subfloor faces, heavy paint or glue deposits, etc. should all be flattened, leveled, sanded, chiseled & removed prior to installing the new floor.


How do I clean thick primer out of a paint brush?

The results I get for that product name indicate that it is oil based.
As such, water cleanup won't do.
You should (before painting, with a clean brush) dip your brush in paint thinner and wipe it out so that the deep parts of the brush are -pre-loaded with thinner rather than paint.
When done painting, you need to clean the brush with paint thinner, not water.
You can also use paint thinner to make the thick paint, thinner (better just the tray or cup you have out to paint from, not the whole bucket, and if you are painting from the whole bucket directly, stop doing that & use a tray or cup...) but don't overdo that (there are typically directions on the side of the can/bucket for what range of thinning is acceptable.)


Pouring concrete slab against 2 block walls and an asphalt driveway

be sufficient as screeding surface to get the slope right and an expansion joint?

No. And neither would the stuff I normally use; Fiber Expansion Joint, 1/2" x 3".

Tapcon a screed guide board to A (and/or B), at a height that will allow a board that's screwed to the top of the actual scredding board, to ride on it. That's how you screed something with only access to one side. And it's what you put the plank on to reach the corner to trowel it.

Ideally the guide board is an inch or so above the finished surface, otherwise you can't get a trowel in there. E.g., use a 2x4 for the guide and a 2x6 for the screed. Screw a scrap 2x4 to the top of the 2x6 so that it sticks out 1.5". Have fun jiggling it back and forth 3/4" at a time.

What should I use to frame side D

Frame as usual with 2x, well buttressed. Remove later, add expansion joint, and then fill/sculpt by hand.

Once the pad is poured...

You're SoL. The expansion material goes in before you pour. You cut them to length, put them in, and they fall over. Start filling and then stand them back up.


Necessary to sister joists in skylight frame?

If you have the opportunity to double them up, then sure...more is more. Otherwise no, it's not required as you're only carrying one rafter and not creating a dormer, which does indeed require double or more for the end rafters.


How do I know what wood was used to construct our attic? Need to know how much load it can tolerate

It is not redwood it looks like fir. At the age of the house almost the wood was fir back then. Nice tight grain like what you have is almost impossible to purchase now unless you just won the lottery.


How can I get floor paint to stick better on our outside stairs?

Peeling paint is caused by poor adhesion to the underlying surface. For stone and concrete a professional would recommend grit/sand blasting. This ensures removal of all surface contaminants which could affect adhesion.

If you insist on doing it yourself: remove all existing paint, wire brush entire surface, wash surface with mild acid solution (we use pool acid called Muriatic Acid, it is actually weak hydrochloric), rinse clean and dry. Use a high quality outdoor concrete coating and apply as directed by the manufacturer's instructions using high quality applicators (brushes & rollers). Some of the epoxy coatings do not require a primer. Do not use an additive unless directed to by the manufacturer.

It has been my experience that you will find the best coatings (and advice) at a paint shop or commercial/industrial supply house, rather than at a "big box" store.


Do Knockdown texture walls and ceilings usually contain asbestos?

The answer is it may have asbestos in the mud that was used for the knockdown texture if built prior to 1980.

Most earlier joint compounds did have levels of asbestos in them, I am not sure of the amount and I used to sand walls all the time in the 70’s and most of the time did not wear a mask, today any kind of sanding I use a dust mask we get smarter as we get older and realize we are not invincible. I would get the material tested to be sure as not all mud was made with asbestos.


What type of pen do I need for my rabbit?

Why not something like a baby play yard (also called baby fence or baby gate).

Some of them are expandable and have adjustable footprints.

 Images and links provided as examples. Not an endorsment of any goods or source.


If you have access to the frozen pipe or the cavity in the wall/floor where it is you can use a hair dryer to heat the air around the pipe (a cheap hair dryer blowing up into a wall from a basement unfroze a pipe within minutes for me).  I would not apply high heat (e.g. heat gun) to the pipe directly as you can cause the water to expand and damage it.  If you have direct access to where the pipe is frozen, applying a towel soaked in hot water is another option.

If you own the home, look into insulating the pipes and the cavity they are in.  If you rent, inform the owner of the problem.


Concrete caulk vs expanding polyurethane crack sealant

You are really brave to finish a basement with a known moisture issue.  I for one wouldn't spend a penny on finishing my basement until I have seen it go through a wet season without failing.  Not telling you to stop but would warn to slow down.  Get your framing/electric/plumbing/whatever done and let it go through at least 4-5 months before finishing touches.

As for cracks, if it has leaked before then I would suggest that you always go with an epoxy.  There are too many on the market for me to give a recommendation.  I have used at least 10 and was happy with 8 of them.  Concrete caulk is not your answer to seal a leaking crack but can be used on the outside of the house to keep issues at bay.  Also make sure you read the instruction on the epoxy.  You are probably going to have to chisel out the crack to make it larger so the epoxy can fill it.


What should I keep in mind when altering the drainage around my basement?

I've only done the french drain thing; I have no idea what would be required with tying into a storm sewer; you'd likely want to contact the local government and/or water company to ask.

Anytime you're digging, you'll want to be aware of where underground utilities are.  In the DC area, you call 'Miss Utility', and they'll mark out everything.  (I think technically, you're not required if you're digging by hand, but it's still a good idea).

You might also want to take a look at what large trees are nearby, as you might have to deal with roots -- you can cut them as you go, but that might end up killing the tree or weakening it so it sheds branches, and large branches falling on your house or car is not a good thing.  (especially when you have no power, so get trapped in your (damaged) home).

You'll want to look at what's down-slope of the area you're dealing with, and how much area you have to absorb the water once you move it down there, if you're going the french drain route.  If it's an area that already gets pretty marshy after a rain, it's not going to absorb anything, so you'll need to go far enough out 'til you find somewhere that'll take the water.  You also don't want to try to force it out near the property line, or you might piss off your neighbors (and if they're lawyers, or just happen to like suing, it could get messy).

...

And after all of that, you might want to look into if the area's abnormally wet -- one of my friends had problems for years, and dug up his yard multiple times, trying to get everything fixed, redid his basement at least twice because of water damage.  And it turned out that there was a broken water pipe next to his house that was saturating the lawn, so any significant rain couldn't be absorbed.


Will I draw more power/use more energy if I add an additional heater?

The question doesn't mention how your home is heated, but the general answer to this is yes.  A forced air furnace will use more gas. An electric baseboard heater will use more electricity. A hot water/steam system will use more electricity/gas depending on how it's powered.


Can I lay an attic floor over electrical wires?

If you have wires/cables that run across the top of the attic floor joists, you could build up the joist with ripped 2x4's that would provide another 1-1/2 inch clearance above the joists for the wires.  You would have to provide a gap between the added sections of wood to provide a channel for the wires to lay in.  Or lay 2x4's flat perpendicular to the joists, running parallel to the wires.  Then lay your attic floor down on the new 2x4's.

EDIT1:

One other thing to consider is you probably want to provide protection for any of the wires that end up under the flooring.  Might want to put nailing plates over the wires so that an errant nail doesn't find its way into a wire.


What is a typical lifespan for a sump pump?

The life span of a pump is hard to evaluate, yes constant cycling can shorten the life but it’s usually the float switch that fails.
The quality of the pump is a major factor in life span a quality brass housing with sealed bearings is going to outlast a plastic housed pump in most cases but not all. The water being pumped is the next thing is it clear? Dirty or even muddy. Clear water with a normal ph will be the easiest on a pump, with muddy water eroding the impeller and housing.
What is the “head” the pump needs to pump, how many feet is the water being raised the higher the head pressure the harder the pump has to work.
The size of the sump pit and flow needed to keep the basement dry
If you have a 10 gallon pit the pump will cycle more often than a 55 gallon pit even with a small pit if your pump is cycling two often a better choice can be a smaller pump that runs longer (you always want a cycle or on a heavy day the pit will over flow) I know of several homes that have 2 pumps a smaller one for most of the time then a large one for the heavy days with the large pump being set to cycle above the small ones set points so it cycles less often and prevents flooding if the small pump is not keeping up this method extends the pumps life and reduces energy costs in homes that have more than winter high water issues.

So there are many reasons it is hard to find an answer perfect sizing and setup may last ~8-10 years +-. Most pumps last a few years, keeping the pit clean of sediment and adjusting the cycle time with a properly sized pump will give the longest life. This is in my area that when we need them they are used most of the year.


My kitchen has no real walls. Is this going to be a problem?

It depends partly where you live whether it is up to code or not. In Mass., for example, exterior bracing (plywood is required).

Where is the house? I could probably dig out the building codes for you.

As far as what to do? I'd call a lawyer if it isn't up to your city/county/state building code. You probably don't want to fight that battle yourself.


Is a threaded brass drop ear elbow really the right fixture for in-wall attachment of shower head?

The shower head arm is usually part of a particular shower head and sold with the shower head. Therefore, it has to be installed after the wall is finished and has to be removable when the owner wants to replace the shower head and arm. That's when the threaded part comes in handy.
As far as "threaded implies 'will leak eventually'", if the threads are prepared correctly with the Teflon tape and the arm is tightened enough, it will be leak free. I've installed many arms and have never had one leak on me and have had to repair soldered joints that were leaking.
Yes, the threaded brass drop ear elbow is the right fitting. It provides a strong mounting to the stud behind the wall allowing you to really tighten the arm. There are PVC elbows but they will break when tightened.


Industry standard blocking placement for shower mixer valve?

Different brands and models of shower valves require different wall-depth installation. You should always follow the installation instructions that came with the valve assembly.

Most valves come with a temporary plastic or cardboard "plate" that illustrates the location of the finished wall surface in relation to the valve-body installation depth. If you do not have that "template" anymore, you can often estimate depth by assembling the trim to the valve and measuring from where the wall surface would be to the mounting holes. You need to locate the supply piping according to final installation depth of the valve, not the other way 'round (not an issue with flexible supply tube like PEX).

Except for special application products, they are made to fit a standard wood-frame wall but may not allow the use of 2 x 4 lumber as a mounting support; in fact, some recommend use of a manufacturer-specific mounting strap/stringer.

Example of depth mounting instructions for a random Delta valve model:


How do I fix a broken nipple under my sprinkler head?

A picture would make it easier to help, but I would guess the white "nut" you see is probably the PVC female adapter that is glued to the pipe.

If you can do it, the fastest fix is to unthread the nipple from inside the hub, then just replace it with a new nipple.

If you can't do that, you'll have to cut the adapter off, and then glue a new one on (PVC glue is permanent -- once it sets, it's never coming apart). If there is enough room you can just glue a new adapter on, and then get a slightly longer nipple to keep the sprinkler head at the same height.

If there's not enough room, you may need to dig it up some more, cut the elbow or T below off, and replace everything.


I wouldn't recommend working in a live electrical panel unless you are very experienced and understand the considerable hazards.  Especially in this situation where there is no obvious upstream overcurrent device.  Slip with your screwdriver and you could have a pretty serious fire, arc explosion or electrocution.

I highly recommend consulting with a electrician licensed in your area.  Not just for the task of adding the circuits but also to investigate why there is no upstream overcurrent device/disconnect. (edit: ThreePhaseEel reminded me of the "Rule of 6", where a panel does not need a main breaker if all the power can be turned off in 6 switch flips or less.  This installation may be correct under that exception.)

If you are worried about cost you may be able to reach an agreement with the electrician where you do the majority of the work, with them just doing the final hookups.  You'll stay safe, and guarantee a safe installation.

As to your question you cannot know if it is correct to connect the ground wire to the same terminal bus as neutral without knowing more about the overall electrical system.  Neutral and ground should be connected (bonded) in only one place, usually the main panel.  If this is the main panel, ie the two heavy gauge wires in the lower middle come straight from the utility or meter, the installation is probably correct and you can wire additional circuits like the range circuit is wired already. If this is a subpanel (perhaps in an apartment or multi-tenant situation) the panel may need to be corrected to separate neutral and ground.


Why is there no hot water from sink tap unless shower or bath has been run?

I think you are right.  There is a minimum flow rate required before the boiler will actually kick on.  I have exactly the same thing with my tankless hot water heater.

Aside from getting a separate "point of use" hot water heater for just the sink, The only way I'm aware of to get around it is to turn the water all the way over to hot and on full blast.  That usually gets enough flow going to start up the water heater.  Once hot water starts coming out, you can adjust the temp a bit (at which point the water heater will probably shut off, and all you have is the hot water left in the pipes).


Safe assembly of antique Italian four poster bed frame

3rd pic down, that gap proves it is not assembled correctly. Clamp it to get rid of the gap and then tighten the bolt.
A spanish windlass would work for this. A long rope goes round the bed frame 4 times then a bar is used to twist the 4 strands and tighten.
Protect the wood as the rope can cause a huge load and damage it.


should I have safety concern of this rusty fireplace gas burner?

It's difficult to assess the degree of rust, especially in the pipe feeding into the floor of the firebox.   Natural gas can have a certain amount of moisture in it, which may be contributing to (causing) the rusting.  If this is the main source of moisture it would be more pronounced on any vertical pipe run.

I would suggest you remove as much of the visible rust as possible.  This will help indicate how much the vertical run might have.  Also check that portion of the pipe that is exposed below the floor (you indicate there's a shut-off valve beneath).

If there's more rust than what a wire brush can remove in a few (several) swipes then a plumber should be called.  Otherwise, if the rust can be quickly removed, a mixture of 1 part dish detergent + 1 part water sprayed on the entire exposed pipe (while gas is on) will reveal leaks via ensuing bubbling.  It's best if one person turns on valve while another sprays pipe assembly.


This is indeed the standard R/W setup for a heat-only system.  You have it correct that you can attach the blue wire to the C terminal on the board and then use it as a C wire for your new thermostat.

If you want to make sure -- you can use a voltmeter to measure 24VAC between R and the Ground terminal between the fuse and the 6 pin connector.


Locating buried electrical cable/conduit in yard

Step zero - to reduce any nerves associated with digging, turn off the breaker supplying the shed at the house end.

Step one - assume a straight line from the endpoints you can see, as the most likely path in many cases. Dig a little bit, carefully, along the conduit as it enters the ground, and see if the direction it points underground matches up.

Step two - very carefully go prospecting along the straight line. Try close to one end and dig with a trowel or very gently with a shovel, looking to see if they were smart enough to put "buried electric line below" tape in the top of the trench. Not would be no surprise, having it would be a helpful and pleasant surprise. You'll also get a sense of the depth, and whether they used conduit the whole way or not. You may also see a different backfilling (soil type) the immediate area of the conduit, which you can use as a clue later.

Step three - go further out and dig again - go to the middle if step two supports the "straight line" path.

Alternate step one - hire a private contractor to trace the line, or try renting equipment to do the same yourself. It's tricky enough to use (sorting out confusing signals, etc.) that the experienced operator might be better, but DIY can work. Check with your tool rental place.  Something like location service might be a heading to look for a contractor, or you might ask the irrigation folks if they know who to call.


While there might be other uses for them , typically in your home there is not a real alternative use.

Drop them off at a Habitat for Humanity Restore store.


How should I set up a camera for monitor my baby?

For a cheap and dirty solution, you can get a light bulb socket that contains a power outlet, e.g., here. If the camera uses a USB for power, you could try this DIY solution.

If you want it neat and tidy, then put in a new power outlet on the wall, either routing the power cable through the wall (requires identifying a suitable place from which to pull the cable: may be relatively easy if you have a basement or attic from which you can access the closet walls above/below), or over the wall in a conduit.


Electric Lawnmower - Is The Problem With the Mower or the Extension Cord?

The connector is worn and/or damaged.

The best solution is to replace both connectors (male and female). This is easy for the extension cord but you may need to order a spare-part for the lawnmower connector.

As an alternative, You could probably hard-wire a line connector rated for outdoor use (wet conditions) but you'd need to open up the lawnmower connector and make modifications to remove the existing connector and provide strain relief for the new short cable to the line-connector.

Typical outdoor-rated unearthed line-connector for (double-insulated) lawnmowers etc used in the UK. There will be equivalents for US and other countries.


How should the disposal be wired without running neutral to ground?

2 circuits, 1 receptacle, 0 problems

The extra cable running to the problem receptacle is indeed your saving grace, as it provides an always-hot and neutral to go with the switched hot and neutral from the switched circuit.

So, to fix this, you need to:

Make sure both circuits feeding the receptacle-box (the disposal circuit and the dishwasher circuit) are off.
Take the two white wires in the switch box that are nutted to not-white-wires (the one going to ground and the other going to the bundle of hots), unnut them from where they were nutted, and nut them to each other instead.  This provides a neutral to the switched side of the receptacle.
Remove the nutted together bundle of white and bare wires in the receptacle box.
Pull enough cable from the cable lurking in the back of the box into the box and strip its jacket and wires back so you can use it.
Make sure the tabs on both sides of the receptacle device are broken off.
Nut the two bare wires in the receptacle box together and to a pigtail going to the receptacle's ground screw.
Wire the white wires to the silver screws on the receptacle and the corresponding black wires to the corresponding brass screws on the receptacle.
Button everything back up and turn both circuits back on.
Enjoy your new half-switched receptacle!


Why is my cement cracking near the wall?

That crack looks too uniform (straight) to be a structural crack.
The concrete under the masonry wall is probably the top of the foundation wall. I suspect the slab was poured up against the foundation wall and the edges of the slab have spalled off.
If you notice there’s a control joint running perpendicular to the masonry wall too. This helps keep the slab from having random cracks.
Yes, the joints are a little rough. You can grind down the high spots and fill in the low spots with a concrete filler or sealant if you’re concerned about expansion. (Concrete continues shrinking as it ages, unless you live where the sun could heat the slab and make it expand.)


If I am reading your question right what you are looking for is a jewel light, which you won't find in a big box retail store but you should be able to find on line. This is an image of a red jewel light.

If that seems a little more than you want to handle, you might try and install a switch with a lighted handle and buy a wall switch blank for the other slot.

These can be found in some big box hardware stores, usually in white. If not then you can also order these on line.

Good luck.


How do you know that the wire is on the same circuit as the lights??

I can clearly see the wall so you can open it.

If you are not opening the wall how are you installing a dedicated circuit for the new microwave and where are you putting the outlet for that?

"Can in install a box where the wires come through"

YES. You can install a "old work" box there, (made expressly for retrofit). Cut a hole around the wire carefully just big enough for the box, use the box as a template and trace around it with a pencil.  Run the wires in to the back of the box and cap them with wire nuts,insert the old work box and tighten the screws that pull the tabs which old the box to the drywall, put a solid cover on the box.


Plenty of 1950s/60s gluelam post and beam that are attached with a straight steel heavy strap going from the post to the beam, with bolts through to one on the other side. No need for an angle-bracket, per se. They could also be lag bolted in, but through-bolting with machine bolts and nuts is what I've seen on those buildings. Then again, a stock nailplate truss connector would probably also work (if you need anything - might depend on your earthquake exposure, but then you get back to "what did the engineer specify?")


How can I repair and repaint a deck whose planks were caulked?

Eight months probably wouldn't be enough time for standing water to have caused much significant damage to the decking, and from the pictures it looks like it is fairly sound. Also, in that the timespan we're talking about was over the winter, it wouldn't have been a whole lot different than normal ice and snow accumulation.

The one thing that you should check is the ledger attachment to the house. If it wasn't properly flashed, this could have been directing more water (than it would have before) down the side of the wall the deck is attached to. If it isn't flashed, you'll need to determine if the ledger was compromised since the deck was built and address that issue.

From a more practical standpoint, if there are planks that need to be replaced, you'll find them when you're doing your surface prep. I would personally remove all of the nails and replace them with quality decking screws - having popped up nail heads on an eight year old deck isn't out of the ordinary. Nails aren't ideally suited for attaching deck planks.


What options do I have to seal the top of the concrete base of a galvanized steel post? Should I seal it?

A galvanized post that is "fixed" into concrete should not be an issue with regard to rust, it would probably rust on the top of the post first. But if you are concerned then the main things to consider here are:

Can water get into the post and sit, normally there are holes drilled
for water drainage is the galvanized coating damaged in any way.
Normally when I handle galvanized metal,  i may grind or weld near the posts.
if this happens and you expose the raw metal, it will become a rust
spot and spread over time
Will the post separate from the concrete.This is common issue when setting a square post into the cement, its always better to have a t-piece welded to the section of post that you would set into the cement.
Lastly, if you are concerned about pooling water around the base of the post, then its a good idea to set a slope on the cement so that there is runoff. this can be above or below ground and will work as effectively.  There is no real need
to seal the cement, since it is porous any way and will absorb moisture from all directions, but if you are really concerned, then you can add some additive (acrylic bonding agent) into the mix to make it more waterproof


How can I secure a plastic toolbox to the wall?

If the tool box is not actually designed to be mounted to the wall then there is a strong possibility that doing so may deform the box so that it does not function in the way intended. This could be especially true if the box has a hinged lid. I think that your best bet would be to build a small shelf for under the tool box and secure that into the wall studs. You could then secure the box to the shelf possibly by even gluing it in place. Gluing the base of the box to the shelf would have far less chance of deforming the shape of the thing. Using a shelf idea also allows easier adjustment of where to place the box so that a possible lid does not interfere with the wall.


How to repair this shower/bathroom wall for bathroom remodel.

A floor drain is no problem in a bathroom, in fact that's a bonus! Just don't let it dry up.

As for where to start, here is a general guideline:

Tear out all the drywall and to expose any rotten areas.
Replace rotten studs, one at a time (full-length, don't patch). You don't won't to remove a whole wall at once, it may be load-bearing. Put in temporary studs for any iffy areas.
Fix the plumbing.
Choose your shower-surround (tile, fibreglass, etc...) and finish accordingly.

Also, whichever product you choose for waterproofing your shower will usually have their own specifications on how to waterproof on their websites. For example: Kerdi and Nobleseal. These two companies also have very helpful technical support departments and local sales reps.

An example of an "iffy area": If there are multiple studs all really rotten next to eachother and you are taking out one to replace it, the remaining load of the floor/roof over your head is now on all those rotten studs... That is an iffy situation, in my opinion.


The basic wiring would look something like this.

Since code requires a grounded (neutral) conductor at each switch, you'll have to carry it through all the way to the last switch.  Because of this, the cables between the switches will need an extra conductor.

You'll have to pull 14/3 with ground between the light and the first switch box. Then you'll pull either 14/4 with ground if you can find it, or 14/2/2 with ground between each switch location .

NOTE: If this is a 20 ampere circuit, use 12 AWG conductors instead of 14 AWG.

The first and last switches will be 3-way, while the two in the middle will be 4-way switches.

Adding more lights is as simple as tapping off of the wires that connect to the first light.

NOTE: Grounding conductors are not shown in the diagrams, make sure all devices and enclosures are properly grounded.


Can you power LED strips from both ends?

Your plan is workable.  However, it relies too much on the internal "power bus" running the length of the strip.  The absolute max for using the internal power bus is 10 metres, but that's a bad idea because you will see quite noticeable dimming, and if the strips are not made perfect, they will fail.  What's more, if one of your power supplies fails, you will be driving 5 strips (25m) of load through that internal power bus, and that will fry them for sure.

I recommend you run "feeder wire" and tie it into the strip buses as many places as possible.  The more places, the less dimming; and yes, it's totally fine to feed the strip from many places.

I take it these are monochrome LEDs and you aren't controlling or dimming them.  In that case, yes, you can 2-wire power them, but it's even more important you use feeder, as the power-bus traces on 5050 strips are even smaller, particularly the common.  If you wanted to dim/color-control them, you'd need amplifiers and would want to segment it so 2 amplifiers are not in parallel.

There is nothing wrong with having two DC power supplies in parallel feeding the bus.  DC can be inter-mixed like this, provided they are the same voltage (otherwise the higher voltage supply will do most of the work).  If the DC is "dirty" the power supplies might interact, but that can be solved by putting a diode between each supply and LEDs.

You are right to use 2x500W power supplies; those cheapie "fell off a truck in Shenzhen" products such as you linked should be derated at least 2x.   With 60-per-metre LED strips I assume 400mA per channel per metre, so 1.2A per metre for 5050s, and 6A per 5m.

Another way to deal with the voltage drop is use 24V (yes you read right) strips. They are harder to find and more expensive.


How to remove hair dye stains on hardwood floor?

You could try hair dye remover (intended for use on previously-dyed hair) but I can't guarantee it will work or won't damage the floor finish.


Which side are these washers supposed to go?

It looks like the U-channel on that side came bent - If you compare it to the other side it seems to be bent quite a bit, judging from the pictures.  This is why the caster plate isn't hitting the other side, and why you though to put the washers behind the plate.  However, the washers are meant to go underneath the nut, not the plate.  I would suggest trying to bend the channel back into shape - try using a hammer and a block of wood - place the block of wood on the side of the channel, and then whack the block of wood with the hammer.  The block should help to minimize any distortion as you bend it back.


What are my options for resurfacing or repainting my old concrete steps?

You can't stain over epoxy. Epoxy paint/concrete (epoxy=2 stage, mix the stages, chemical cure) coating is a very resilient and good choice, but is expensive and more difficult to work with, and will wear about the same as a one-step paint in an outdoor environment.

Otherwise, choose something like a high-hide masonry primer and paint it -- or choose a one-step masonry paint. Don't just use your average latex house paint.

Behr makes a good one-step masonry paint. I haven't used an epoxy, but they're most common indoors (in garages) -- Only ones that I personally have seen/used outdoors are very expensive combinations intended for traction in marine environments. My favorite paint company, Benjamin Moore, makes a primer and paint combination. The primer affixes to the concrete and then the paint adheres to the primer. I personally believe that a high grade paint and primer combination is the longest lasting solution. Your local Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams paint store will guide you to the best application for your location and climate.

Regarding patching, see this post: Is it possible to patch concrete stairs? -- Basically, you can re-coat the entire stair set in cement and dye that, but it will chip off.

And regarding primer or paints for concrete, see this post: Do I realliy need to use primer when painting an unfinished concrete floor?


How to deal with upside-down insulation?

Nearly all of Virginia is considered to be in the "mixed-humid" zone.  On an annual average, moisture migration is fairly evenly distributed (alternating toward the interior and toward the exterior).

Moist air tends to migrate toward the cold side of a wall.  The vapor retarder is installed correctly, in your crawl space, to discourage exterior humidity from migrating toward the interior, during the Summer, especially if air-conditioning is used.

By maintaining space between the un-faced side of the batt insulation and the ceiling drywall (R-19 in a 2x8 stud bay with faced-side stapled to top of Floor Joists [FJ's]), an air channel was created to facilitate drying (of sorts) via the wood FJs.

In areas (climates) that have a distinct Summer vs Winter there is a good chance (depending on humidity, the use of air-conditioning, and moisture permeability of the structure's siding material) that the air retarder of batt insulation will be on the "wrong" side of the building's heating/cooling envelope half the time.

One reason why old (19th Century U.S.) homes don't suffer from moisture damage, mold, mildew in the exterior wall cavities (unless caused by some drainage or structural failure) is that the wall cavities either had no insulation or the insulation (sawdust, newspapers, sheep's wool, etc.) permitted fairly quick drying of the wall cavity.


Whole House Humidifiers for Ductless Furnaces?

Your installation sounds as if your house originally had a coal furnace installed many years ago. Your description sounds like my grand mother's house. That being said, If the supply pipe is a rectangle with a flat surface, and you have a return air duct, almost any bypass type humidifier could be used. If the supply pipe is round, you would have to have a sheet metal shop make you a transition piece that would adapt to the round pipe and give you a flat surface to mount the humidifier on.This may be a lot for the average home owner to do but yes, it can and has been done.


How much does cement weigh after it has set?

Several things affect the final weight of concrete.

Concrete has many different densities based on its composition.  Standard "ready mix" concrete is often engineered for structural strength of 3000psi.  Since concrete is not this strong when it is first poured, a standard was created for when to test concrete.  This standard calls for the strength to be determined at 28 days old.  At this point, concrete has achieved about 99% of its strength, and will continue to very slowly strengthen over the next few years.  At 28 days old, I use a density of .085 pounds per cubic inch (146.9 pounds per cubic foot) when calculating structural load.

Concrete is porous.  In humid weather, concrete will absorb moisture from the air while in dry weather it will release moisture.  Even if you made the "perfect" weight today, it may decrease or increase over time.  This is why, when you buy concrete weights, they are encased in plastic.

Regarding your question on adding more or less water:  Contrary to popular belief, concrete doesn't "dry" to for it to cure.  Concrete hardens as a chemical reaction.  Adding more water than what is optimal to create the chemical reaction will only weaken the concrete without changing its final weight.

As a side note, concrete cracks easily.  This is another reason why, when you buy concrete weights, they are encased in plastic.  With that not being a reasonable option here, and based on your application, I would strengthen the concrete mesh or fiber.  You can order "ready mix" with fiberglass fibers in it, or you can use a large hole mesh.  Too small of holes will create a fault line.  Aluminum works well because its density (.097) is close to concrete's density.  In any case, this type of weight is not to be dropped from any height.


What is the best technique for shaking a can of spray paint?

Whichever way you find easiest.  Seriously it probably doesn't make a whole lot of a difference.  Put a drop of food coloring in a bottle of water. Stir it, shake it, invert it - eventually it will mix.  All of the cans I've bought suggest shaking it for a minimum duration and that is probably meant to ensure it is mixed regardless of method.


8,000 BTU vs. 10,000 BTU Portable A/C Unit - Will the 10,000 BTU unit cool the same room X degrees more if all other variables same the same?

Basically, a BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water (at or near 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by one degree Fahrenheit

So, an AC unit with the capacity of 10,000 BTU's per hour can cool more air (a bigger room) at the same rate, or the same amount of air faster than a unit with a capacity of 8,000 BTU's per hour.

So, in the exact same room under the exact same conditions, the larger AC can maintain a lower temperature than the smaller one.

If you have the AC set at 62°F and it never reaches that temperature and shuts off then the unit is overloaded and has to rest the compressor to keep from freezing up. Or it is possible the freezestat is shutting the compressor off when the evaporator coil freezes up. Either way, setting it to 62° is futile since it apparently cannot get to that temperature.

It appears your current unit can only get to 68° so that would be your maximum low set point for that unit.

A larger unit should be able to get to a lower temperature under the same conditions. But it still may never make it to 62°.

Good luck!


What's the right tool for painting joist bays in my basement?

A true paint sprayer (spray gun, air compressor, etc) is the fastest option in nearly any household painting project (aside from trim).

The airless systems that run via electricity like the wagner system isn't nearly the same thing. I used that system to paint our picket fence and while it was faster than brush alone, it wasn't THAT much faster and not nearly as fast as a true spray gun would have been.

So, I suggest that now is a perfect excuse to invest in a serious air compressor! ;)


Usually in the indoor unit. They leave the fan on slow so that the sensor has air drawn across it.

Putting the sensor in the remote risks it being left on top of a TV, or in your hand, or another warm place. It could also be left somewhere out of range of the indoor unit.


How to fix roof shingles that has paint splattered on them?

Properly speaking, this is something the painter should make right.

Since we live in an imperfect world, I'd suggest you get a spray can of somewhat matching paint and give the overspray a bit of overspray. It's not terrible for the shingles and will improve the look from the street.


How can I improve the water pressure in my shower?

This is an effective trick a plumbing contractor once told me.

Go to your local home improvement store and buy a cheap shower head (the one I picked up cost $1.50). If you look down inside of the showerhead you'll see a washer which constricts the water flow. If you take a drill and enlarge the hole, thereby increasing flow, the water pressure will increase. I didn't think it would work but it did!!

If you want to go the expensive route, there are pumps you can purchase that will attach to the piping and add pressure to the water. I've heard of such a thing but never looked for one.


Unless there is more to this than you've shown, this was added AFTER construction to permit the installation of the squat rack.  As such, it's NOT a part of the garage's structure and so removing it will not compromise it in any way.


Both answers so far are correct to a point. Older oil based enamels can be very difficult to cover. NOTE OF CAUTION, many older enamels contain LEAD and should not be sanded without first testing for lead and if positive,  proper precautions taken. Lead testing kits can be purchased at most paint departments. Read the directions carefully, but they are really quite easy to use and are very accurate if used properly.

As mentioned, cleaning the walls is very important. Use TSP and scrub with something like Scotchbrite pads or green scrubbies. Use an oil based primer or sometimes pigmented shellac (Bulls Eye Primer) works well. If you still have an adhesion problem, there are liquid sandpaper prep liquids available that are good to use if you have lead based paint or high gloss finishes. They are kinda nasty to use, stink and are caustic, so follow the directions carefully and wear protective eye wear and gloves.  If the surface tests negative for lead, sanding may be the best way to prep the surface. Using a DA sander with 100 to 150 grit paper, then cleaning the surface should do the trick.  Be careful and Good luck.