You don't need to ground a hamster run, either.

Suppose you had a hamster habitat.  And instead of fiber optic, you were using this EMT to extend the hamster habitat to an outdoor maze.  Would this habitat run require grounding *solely due to using EMT as a building material?  Of course not.  That would be silly.

Well, as far as NEC is concerned, fiber-optic cable that has no DC wires running it counts the same as a hamster.  It simply does not count for anything at all, and is completely out of its jurisdiction.

The only time fiber-optic cable is in NEC's jurisdiction is when you intermix it in a conduit with electrical wires.  But even then, they consider it disregardable if there is nothing metallic in it.


The black mark is the result of a careless plumber nearly setting the kitchen on fire when installing that cutoff valve. If your place hasn't burned down by now, you can ignore the burnt spot.

The green discoloring is oxidation caused by a slow leak higher up on the pipe. Tiny leaks sometimes seal themselves via corrosion, so if you don't find any moisture on the pipe, this is another thing you can ignore.

If you want more peace of mind, you could clean the green oxidation from a visible section of the pipe and see if it reappears in a few weeks. Clean pipe = no worries.

If you want less peace of mind, consider this: if the installing plumber was careless enough to burn the wooden cabinet with his torch, and to leave a leak causing that much visible corrosion, what else might he have done incompetently? You may have sloppy plumbing throughout your house.

Welcome to your new home, and good luck.


My line of thinking is to leave the pump running 24/7 when it is uncovered.  Reason being is turning the motor off and on daily will wear out the motor faster, and getting a motor replaced isn't cheap.  My last motor lasted 10 years and only went out due to a mistake on my part on letting it run dry by accident.


How to correctly fasten a 2x4 spanning garage celing joists?

Assuming you're putting the 2x4 on TOP of the joists, then the fasteners holding it in place are not supporting any load and just serve to keep it from moving around.
I'd just nail or, preferably, screw it in place with some wood screws.
With a 70# load, you're not going to be approaching any limits structurally with a normally built garage but be sure that your pulleys are well secured and the lines are not able to come loose on their own.  A 70# kayak landing on a human is likely to cause injury or death.
I would put the 2x4s ABOVE the joists.  So that will mean getting into the attic above the finished ceiling.  You could attach the 2x4s to the underside but that will be more difficult.  I'd recommend a through bolt (such as a carriage bolt) with washers and nuts.  Something like a 1/2" or 7/16" size.  If you use a screw, I'd use something substantial like:
Structural Screws
Be sure they are long enough to pass through your 2x4, through the drywall and well into the joists.


GU10 LED lights strongly strobing (no dimmer) UK

a regular switch (i.e. not a dimmer).

Although dimmers are the main culprit for this sort of problem, there are other devices that can cause similar problems when used on the same circuit. Especially devices that operate in switch-loops without neutral. Perhaps you have a switch-locator light or a smart switch?

  they work at mains voltage so there shouldn't be any transformer or led driver behind the fitting,

There will be a small driver circuit inside the GU10 lamp housing. Due to size constraints it will be a very simple circuit and cheaper products may be more susceptible to this sort of problem.


Why do well pumps need 240V when the wattage is not that high?

Need is not the right word here.  Preferred is probably a better choice.  240V is preferred because submersible pumps are often well away from the house and deep down in the hole and you must run a wire there capable of supplying its power needs without too much voltage drop in the line.
While you could do this with a large AWG wire at 120V, you can use a smaller and less expensive wire at 240V.  So this is commonly done.
I've not shopped for one but I suspect you may be able to locate a 120V submersible pump if you needed one.  By the way, keep in mind that a 500W pump may need a 1500W inverter to start it up.  Check the specs for your specific pump.
Apart from that, why not get a 240V inverter for your battery backup instead of a 120V one?


How can I fill a small hole in fiber cement siding?

"If you have some small cracks and holes in your siding, you can fill them in with patching material specifically designed for this purpose, available at your local hardware store. Keep in mind that the patching will be obvious, whether or not you paint over it, so this is the best solution if the cracks and holes are in out of the way places that aren’t readily noticeable. If you have really big holes and cracks, then the siding will probably have to be replaced altogether."

Source: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-repair-fiber-cement-siding#b


Should I avoid working on my newly installed patio stones?

If you're careful it won't matter too much if you do the patio first. What you do first depends a lot on how close the fence line is to the patio. Digging post holes and pouring concrete can make a mess and you'll want to keep access open to bring material for the patio into the worksite.
Having done a few of these jobs I would suggest that you first dig your post holes and concrete in your fence posts. This will get the digging and concrete pouring out of the way beforehand. I would then lay the patio. It will be easier not having the fence in your way as you bring in pavers, sand, etc. After the patio is done finish the fence.
Good luck.


Lost shower pressure when switching from double handle to single

Does this person have the professional competence to know the difference between water pressure and flow?

Because the new thing in showers is "low flow" showerheads (often by law).  Meanwhile, any 1-handle valve must have an anti-scald feature which throttles back the hot water.  It's hard to make that work over a wide range of flows. So of course they optimize for the low-flow heads common in new-construction.  With a "classic" head, it may come out limp-wristed.

You can do a bucket and stopwatch test on yours and (with her cooperation) hers.  I bet the difference is significant.

I prefer a nice deluge, but even more, I prefer a long shower. Low-flow showerheads are not some sad wimpy affair. They feel like normal showerheads.  If flow is too low, They can be a little jumpy when used with classic valves.

The dirty secret behind the dial valve is they are being forced down the throat of the American public by government agencies to reduce the statistical occurrence of scalding in showers, that itself is on the rise due to government recommendations to set water heaters to scalding temperatures to kill bacteria which can cause Legionaire's disease. (Thanks Jim Stewart, for the knowledge, not the disease).  Sigh.  Pull one string, and three other things unravel.  In all fairness, Legionaire's is a new disease only first seen in the 80's and has taken quite some time to figure out.

Or, do as many of us have done, and get an on-demand hot water heater set to a sane temperature... And keep your valves.

Oh, and here's another trick.   The notion of drywalling up the shower valve is most decidedly non-Victorian.  In most Victorians I've lived in, on the wall behind the mixing valve, there's either a tasteful cabinet door with a latch, a closet, or a built-in bookshelf with a false back.  That makes it ridiculously easy to gain access to the mixing valve and tub drain linkage, which makes a swap a very practical DIY.


Will this 10-foot wide gate design be rigid enough?

If you were my client and I was taking money for your project, I'd put wood on a metal substructure, have wheels on the ends, and make sure the posts were extremely well stuck in the ground. (You might be able to skimp a little on the post as long as the wheels are in contact with the ground at all points in the arc, but the other two points would be non-negotiable.)


Are there any consequences to not running air conditioner in a hot and humid climate?

There shouldn't be any permanent damage to anything structural, or furniture or appliances.  Those may absorb some humidity, but will return to normal when the AC is fixed.  But I would worry about a mold bloom.  I would consider running a dehumidifier (which, unfortunately would add heat), or getting a portable AC unit that you duct out a window.


How can I install a curtain rod on a drywall?

Typically most wood framed houses will have wood framing running from floor to ceiling on either side of the window.  If you mount an inch and half away from the edge of the window opening you will most likely hit wood.

But the best way is to head to the store and buy a stud finder.  It's a small hand held device that will find the wood/metal framing under the drywall.  It's a handy item to keep around the house when ever you need to hang something that needs more support.


What do the buttons on a Comelit Okay Simplebus2 Intercom/door entry system do?

It can be configured to turn on an external light


How does a two-piece water softener work and what maintenance does it require?

The reservoir of your unit needs to have a reasonable amount of rock salt in it in order to create a brine. You can fill it with salt, then check it occsionally and refill when you can see water over the remaining salt.

The Costco unit you linked still has two tanks, they are simply contained in a single package. Ion exchange water softeners all work on the same principal. Other methods of softening include chemical treatment, reverse osmosis, and distillation. Hard water is caused by dissolved minerals, mostly potassium and magnesium, in the water. These minerals can precipitate out and cause deposits of scale, as well as prevent proper functioning of soap chemistry.

Water can be softened by exchanging the undesirable mineral ions with sodium ions which do not precipitate and do not interfere with soap chemistry. This is achieved by passing water over resin beads that have been soaked with a brine solution such that they are saturated with sodium ions. Because of the way the resin is chemically charged, water would rather have sodium ions and the resin would rather have potassium and magnesium ions, so an exchange occurs and the water is softened.

Eventually, the resin's supply of sodium ions is depleted and must be recharged. This is done by exposing the resin to a concentrated sodium brine. The high concentration forces out the accumulated magnesium and potassium ions and replaces them with sodium ions. The recharge water, containing unabsorbed sodium, as well as potassium and magnesium ions is then flushed away.

It is unfortunate if your unit recharges once a day no matter what. Most softeners have more flexible methods of determining when to recharge, either by time passed or amount of water used. Measuring water used directly addresses the important variable, but timers generally work well once you determine the typical water usage of your family.

Ion exchange softeners are pretty much maintenance free other than replenishing the salt supply. The manufacturer of the softener in my home suggests adding a half cup of household bleach to the brine every time the salt is replenished to keep any potential growths of algae or bacteria from gaining a foothold as the only other maintenance item.


What could cause a digital circuit breaker finder to not find a breaker?

I can not help you with that particular tool.  But a word of advice.  Sometimes I have to put down my induction testor, or magnetic resonance testor and grab the radio.
plug in radio to outlet in that room and turn on high.  Turn off all breakers.
turn them back on one at a time, listen.  Do not stop if you hear the radio. Go through all the breakers.
You may have two circuits feeding that room.

Tools are nice but sometimes there is no substitute for direct observation.


Seeking clever ideas \ suggestions to pole mount water timer

I have a battery powered timer that is similar to what you have and it looked not so sturdy so I purchased a hose hanger like this and drilled 2 holes for the hose to enter and exit. The small storage space keeps the unit dry and out of site. It still looks new after 3 years. The second unit on the back side of the barn failed in less than 2 years (not protected). Now both have these hose hangers that look nice and the controllers are protected and the grand kids don't play with them.


You're probably going to get a few opinions on this based on individual experience. Is there a reason you excluded aluminum?
I have installed composite, vinyl and aluminum sliding doors and all of them have preformed well to the best of my knowledge (no complaints). They all require little maintenance. I've replaced the rollers on my aluminum doors after 30 years and really appreciated the strength and durability of the aluminum doors. I've also noticed the track for aluminum doors are narrower than for the other types as are the frames so there's more glass to look out (and clean,lol). Because of the strength of aluminum, it can support a larger area so you can get by with fewer doors.


The first thing that comes to mind is to:

Pick up all of the tiles
Excavate a few inches under where they were
Put some small gravel down and compact
Put some paver sand down and compact
Reinstall the tiles

Another way to go would be to lay a bed of mortar down over some gravel.  That would lock them in really nicely as well.


Why is my Central Heating taking so long to heat up?

A very blind shot: Air in the heating system? You have to de-air the central heating radiators, there should be a special vent on it, which might look like this:

You better put some bowl on the floor before you open the vent. If water starts to run out of it immediately, eveything is ok. If not and you hear the sound of leaking air, there's air in the radiator which has to be let out. Be careful, the air is usually quite smelly and water which starts to run out of the vent is usually very dirty and dark at first.


Filling gaps in hardwood floor - what's the easiest way?

Since you are looking for fast, cheap, easy -- lay a single solid piece of linoleum over the hardwood.  Best to leave the hardwood alone in case someone wants to repair it properly in the future!


How can I move this water supply line so that I can frame a wall?

Either make the bathroom 2" smaller or 2" bigger.
If you are committed to moving the line then use a hammer drill to put a hole where you want and reroute the water main from the outside in (this will require you to dig outside, cut the line, and install a new line).  If you go this route then I recommend installing PEX as that will be easier to work with (well, easier for me anyway).
I would not recommend trying to make the current hole bigger and push the current line out of the way.  This puts it under tension and increases the risk of it breaking.  Galvanized pipe gets brittle with age, so it loses what little flexibility it ever had and you run the risk of cutting the line while expanding the hole.
###EDIT###
I just took another look at your photo.  Don't know why I thought that was a galvanized pipe.  Looks like PEX to me.  I still recommend against expanding the hole and putting the pipe under tension.
###EDIT 2###
The updated photos and detail helps.  Thanks for the updates.  I didn't realize this was coming through the floor.  Here's my recommendation.  These are not load bearing walls, so I would either keep the framing and plumbing as is, but not take the corner framing all the way to the floor (as others have suggested).  Just notch out the bottom.  Or, get rid of that elbow and run the PEX straight from the floor to the ceiling (I assume it goes there anyway, but it's your call).
Personally, I think your best bet is to do as little as possible with the plumbing and work around it by notching your bottom board.  This will allow future access when things break.


Moen Shower/Tub Valve Identification / Water temp issue

This is neither a pressure-balanced or scald-protecting valve. It is very simple Moen mixing valve that mixes cold and hot and adjusts flow according to your manual input with the knob.
There are various tricks to help reduce the effects caused by other users; the simplest is to install a flow-restricting shower head.
Changing the valve for a pressure-balanced unit will help but only to a point. If you really want to solve the problem you need to take a hard look at your water delivery scheme and investigate options like up/down-sizing parts, adding a hot water recirculating strategy, etc. Maybe consult an expert (licensed and bonded reputable plumber sourced through personal recommendations).


Assemble and dissemble tools for vanity table

Ikea tend to use these widgets whose name you may have temporarily misplaced:

"Furniture bolts"
"Cam and pin" fixings

Just because Ikea doesn't stock it doesn't mean you cant do an Ikea hack


Should I connect a new ceiling fan as the old one was?

I think the switch was originally on the neutral (downstream) side, which should be corrected. Here's your correct configuration:

Cable 1 is the supply (home run). Cable 2 is the switch loop.

Blue and black from the fan should connect to 2-black (the return from the switch).
White from the fan should connect to 1-white (the source neutral).
The remaining black (source hot) should connect to the remaining white (switch supply).

It's pretty much this, but you'll have a blue along with the black from the fixture.


Wiring of two fans with individual switches and outlets

As the drawing shows at each fan:

Red to blue on fan
Switched Black to black on fan
White to white on fan.
Blacks tied to one white are permanently hot, keep them tied back and do not wire to fan.
Not shown: Bare copper to green.

Assuming the wiring at the switches and outlets was not altered, that should be good.


What could cause an under-sink reverse osmosis filter to have low pressure?

What you call a pressure tank is actually a storage tank. RO filters always produce a very low flow which gets stored in the storage tank to supply the user.

You probably need to depressurize your storage tank below your water supply pressure so that the storage tank will accept the water from the filter.


they drilled the mortar just fine. They also have been used for drilling metal and wood just fine too.

They are probably ordinary "HSS" drill bits mainly intended for drilling metal but also usable for wood (and, with care and low speed, most plastics)

HSS bits will get blunted quickly if used to make holes into mortar or brick. You can sharpen them if you have some suitable tools.

For drilling holes in bricks, you'll get the fastest results from

A masonry bit. These have a piece of tungsten carbide brazed into the tip.
A drill with hammer action.

A corded drill will usually perform better than a battery-powered drill of the same price.

An SDS drill would be the very best but purchasing one is probably overkill if you only have a few holes to drill.

Other experts herebouts have previously pointed out that you can succeed with an ordinary electric drill and an HSS bit. I have found that to be hard work (different types of brick vary a lot in hardness) and much prefer using a masonry bit in a hammer (or "combi") drill.


It would be normal to see a few ohms of resistance in a cold heater coil. So your reading of 8 or 9 ohms is not unrealistic and probably indicates that the heater element is not burned to an open circuit.

To check the other components you will have to locate them in your dryer by using common sense and any electrical diagram you can find for your dryer. Often times such diagram is located pasted onto some panel of the dryer unit.

The most common wiring for a dryer is that the thermostat and high temperature cutout fuse are wired in series with the heater element and so you may be able to find them by tracing the wires that connect to the heater element. If you use your OHM tester you should be able to place your probes across each of these and read a low reading of just an ohm or two (not more) for each one. If it shows a high reading or an open circuit then you have located the faulty component.

Be aware that there is a good probability that the dryer may have overheated and caused one or the other of the thermostat or the high temperature cutout to go to open circuit. After you replace the faulty component it will be necessary to determine why the dryer may have overheated in the first place. It could be a vent line that got crushed, a vent line clogged up with lint, an outside vent screen jammed with lint or even a snow bank that blocked off the vent outlet.

Update:

The 000 reading for the thermostat indicates that the thermostat is a closed switch at room temperature and is a strong indication that this component is OK.

Your meter appears to read a 1 in the left most digit when the meter is detecting an open circuit. The fact that you do not see any change in the reading when you check across the high temperature cutout indicates that this is the faulty component. Something caused the cutout to open circuit and this is then causing the heater coils to not get any current to create heat.

If you feel that the high temperature cutout has opened up due to age or a one time overheating event then it should be OK to replace it with a new one and start using the dryer again.

I know you said in comments that the vent is clear. Do be aware that the overheating event could also have been caused by a lint capture screen in the dryer being clogged up and not being cleaned before every load is started.

There is also the possibility that if you have a bad lint screen in the dryer or were operating without one in place that lint can build up right inside the dryer air flow path and cause overheating even though the venting may be fine. So be sure to check the air path inside the dryer as well.


What do I do with the red wire on the new switch if there are only three wires in my box?

Uh, nope.

Looking at the large view of your picture, the wiring diagram is clear, and that switch will not work in that location without re-wiring.

You would appear to have a "switch loop" where the black (usually) is carrying hot from the supply at the fixture and the white (usually, and it should be red-taped but often is not) is carrying the switched hot back to the fixture. This was common and met code years ago, but does not meet current code, which is designed to support switches like the one you have as a new switch, that need a neutral to support some power use in the switch itself.

That will only work as is with a similar mechanical switch.

The switch you have is expecting to get hot, neutral and ground, and then to run the switched hot to the load out the red wire. Problem being, you don't have a neutral in that box.

You either need to use a similar mechanical switch, or you need to replace the wire from the fixture to the switch with a cable that has 3 wires and ground (typically black, white, red, bare) so that there is a neutral in the switch box.

If you use a mechanical switch, do the next person (it could be you) a favor and put red tape (or use red paint or marker) on both ends of the white wire (the one at the switch and the one at the fixture, which should be connected to the fixture's black wire, or, if fed abnormally, to the incoming hot wire at the fixture.)


Hardwood or softwood for paneling a workshop wall?

I like (and use a lot) softwoods. They are easier to install (nail) and is more forgiving with respect to movement.

Hardwoods (especially if it’s being milled on site) will tend to split as it dries. You’ll probably have to pre-drill any nailing at the end of each board too.

However, your biggest problem with either choice is going to be shrinkage. Using green lumber you’ll need to be careful about twisting and shrinkage or it could be unsightly quickly.

BTW, any wall common to a habitable space requires fire rated gypsum board on the garage side of the wall. Check with your Building Department to see if you need to “rough-tape”.


Although I couldn't find specific reference to tempered glass on the model you listed, other Maan hoods do refer to having tempered glass. The final authority on this would be the manufacturer.

Unfortunately, you can't cut or drill tempered glass. (Essentially, the glass has been treated such that it breaks into small and hopefully less lethal bits when it's broken.)


Is purchasing a valve necessary when shopping for a bathroom faucet?

The first product is a 3 finish piece faucet and in this case Moen has turn it into a feature where you can just swap out the 3 finishing pieces without touching the underlying valve.  You need to buy the valve separately and it is specific to that series of three piece faucet.

The second link you have is a single piece faucet that has everything in it.


No power to circuit after coffeemaker plugged in for random amount of minutes

So, I finally paid an electrician to come fix this; at long last, the power had failed to the outlet and stayed off.

I had two problems:

The breaker was corroded and needed to be replaced.
One outlet on the circuit was "upstream" from the others (I'm not sure the exact terminology here, but it was closer to the breaker than the others) and had gotten corroded badly, likely due to a window leak I'd had fixed years ago.  The neutral wire running from that outlet to the "downstream" outlet that I had my coffeemaker plugged in to needed to be replaced.

The outlet that the coffeemaker was plugged in to was replaced with a GFCI outlet.  The electrician did not see any corrosion in it (naturally, as I had replaced it last year) but given that he was already here and fiddling with my wiring, it seemed prudent to have him replace it.

The cost for this job was just under $300, which was more than I was hoping for but less than I feared.


What are the code requirements for installing a ceiling fan alongside a fire sprinkler?

It depends on what jurisdiction has authority where you are doing the work. Some sort of electric code applies, but there's nothing unusual involved. There's a requirement for the fan to be securely anchored to the structure. That could be electrical, mechanical, or building codes. They are unlikely to be very specific, "securely anchored" will be roughly all the detail you'll see.

The main issue is the sprinkler head. It seems every jurisdiction has their own requirements, though at least in the USA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes a model code from which most jurisdictions either adopt by reference or base their own code upon it.

The main provision here will be nothing can be installed to obstruct the dispersal pattern of the spray head, which normally means the head needs to be lower than the fan. However, one could argue if the fan were pendant mounted by a narrow tube, one could actually get a better dispersal with the head at ceiling height because the head is higher and the tube provides minimal obstruction. This argument may or may not be viable, depending on exactly where the two components are located relative to each other.

Since this is a judgement call, only the authority having jurisdiction can make such a ruling.


I want to connect one outdoor stove and one grill to the gas line in my backyard . Could I put the Y connector after the gas regulator?

The gas regulator is keeping your appliances safe from the relatively high gas transmission pressures. The only risk is that the regulator is set for one appliance and adding another one with the Y connector causes a pressure drop so that neither of them work. But if you are not going to use both at the same time, that may not matter.


Does the head of a pump depend on pipe diameter?

What you are looking at is really just the static lift height. The Total Dynamic Head (TDH) is what you need to look at when sizing a pump. For a well pump, to simplify:

TDH = Static Lift Head + Pressure Head + Friction Loss

So to answer your question: pipe diameter directly affects friction loss, which largely influences TDH.

You can get charts that show friction loss for different materials of pipes (I can only find ones on commercial sites so I won't link them), but the smaller the pipe, the higher the friction loss. Fittings also introduce friction loss, and there are charts that show equivalent distance each fitting adds (for example, a 1" elbow is equivalent to +7' of pipe).

As an example of how diameter affects TDH, to get 12 GPM with 200' of pipe with a vertical rise of 80':

Diameter     TDH
--------     ---
3/4"         159'
1"           99'
1 1/2"       83'
2"           81'

There are many TDH calculators that simplify all of this (again, I won't link since I can only find commercial sites), and that's the easy way to figure this out.


I suppose you might be able to find one fitting do this connection, but it's going to be much easier to use two that are very common at home stores.  First, you will need a 3/8" compression to 1/4" MIP (male pipe thread) adapter and then a 1/4" FIP (female pipe) to 1/4" barb (or whatever size you need) adapter.

These two adapters will connect with the common pipe threads (with teflon tape) and provide the barb you need on one side, and the compression fitting needed for the faucet.

Barb fitting

Compression fitting


Will switching to LED lightbulbs make a significant difference in my electric bill?

Say your electrical bill is $100 a month.

Now say you have a refrigerator, a computer, a window fan and your light bulbs in your house as your only electrical devices.  Everything but your light bulbs are on 24/7.

Fridge: 725W **NOTE MOST FRIDGES DON'T ACTUALLY RUN 24/7 THIS IS JUST FOR EXAMPLE PURPOSES*
Computer : 125W
Fan: 150W
Lights (on 8 hours a day, 100W)

Fridge, computer and fan on all day = 1000W * 24h = 24kWh
Lights on 8h a day = 0.8kWh
Total daily usage = 24.8kWh

In that scenario your lights represent 0.8/24.8 or 3% of your daily electrical consumption.

If you replace your light with a 15W bulb, you've dropped from 24.8kWh to 24.12kWh a day, a savings of only 2.7% of your total daily consumption.

Addendum:  I am not saying lighting is going to be 3% of your bill - I'm only making an example.  You have to do the math - you have to figure out how much total power you're using (check electric bill) and then how much power your lights use (look at the bulbs and measure how long each one is left on each day) and that's your total % of energy for lighting.  If that % is 15 then you can only reduce that 15%.  You can cut your lighting costs in half, but half of 15% is only 7.5%.


Unless you are happy betting your house (which you will be) the correct answer is to pay a local licensed professional engineer to inspect and be sure. The cost is a small fraction of "Whoops, I broke my house because some folks on the internet said..."

They can also tell you what needs to be done if it is load-bearing and you still want to remove it. You may or may not find that affordable.


Bathtub starts draining normally but then slows down

Sounds like the kitchen sink line has a 'fat berg', albeit a mini one. If the water is backing up along the sink line it could easily affect other connected pipework i.e. the base of the vent stack etc. I'd be tempted to start at the kitchen sink anyway as it's very often the cause of problems due to the gunk which goes down it. Hot greasy stuff goes into the sink, but as soon as it hits the cold pipes a few metres away it solidifies and builds up; often where the pipes head outside.

Grab yourself a spiral drain cleaner and remove the trap under the sink and gently clear out the run away from the sink. Finish off with a chemical cleaner if you like and plenty of hot water to flush away any remaining debris.


Short answer. Your fine to upgrade to a 40A breaker. Remember the breaker is being used to protect the feeder conductors. If you feel you need to use the breaker to protect your inverter you should install protection just before the unit.


Kitchen plumbing problems: disposal shooting water in the opposite sink and new dishwasher leaving food on dishes. Is my plumbing setup causing this?

You should be using a baffle tee to connect the disposer drain to the other sink outlet, prior to the trap.

This will require significant alteration of the existing setup, but will fix your problem.


I-joists on an old dimensional lumber floor

I think an I-joist is a good solution.
Your existing 2x10 floor joists have dried out over time and are stable enough to mix with I-joists.
However, I question the 7” allowable hole size. I’d double check with your I-joist manufacturer and follow their guidelines for size AND distance from bearing point.
There are many sizes and grades of I-joists, so be sure to coordinate all that with the manufacturer. I have no doubt the 9 1/2” I-joists will be strong enough for your 13’ span.
I’ll give you a third option: Option 3: Use the 9 1/2” I-joists at 12” on center. Align the lower chord with your existing 2x10’s (this allows you to use the existing bearing walls, beams, etc.) so no adjustment for replacing the ceiling. Then, use 1/2” plywood subfloor instead of replacing your 3/4” subfloor. (1/2” plywood on 12” centers is as “stiff” as 3/4” plywood on 16” on center.) You won’t notice the difference.
The underlayment can be reinstalled or the existing underlayment or it can be removed throughout the space and new installed for uniformity.


Can I splice a chandelier cord to reach a junction box?

The reason is because splices that are not in boxes are not code compliant.
An electrician can lose his license for installing devices that do not meet code.
So it can’t be done done by a licensed professional with a splice in the wire outside a box.


Correct circuit breakers for 4-wire connected Maytag dryer?

Service panels have two poles of 120V each.  Most loads you are familiar with, draw from one pole and return the same current to neutral, which is "in the middle".  240V loads draw 30A from one pole, and return 30A to the other pole.

Generally there are 3 possibilities here.

A 2-pole breaker, which is a double-wide breaker with a factory handle tie.  This has both common trip and common maintenance shutoff.  Both are mandatory for a single 120/240V appliance wired with a neutral, such as a dryer or range.

One thing about 2-pole breakers is that the "common trip" is actually an internal mechanism inside the breaker, it isn't the handle tie.

Two 1-pole breakers with a handle-tie, which is a UL-listed device that is field-installed.  This has common maintenance shutoff only.  This is acceptable for 240V-only (no neutral) appliances like water heaters and air conditioning units.  It is also required for multi-wire branch circuits, but a 30A MWBC would be excessively rare unless you had two travel trailers.
Two individual breakers with no tie.  These are only good at 30A for plain 120V circuits, such as ... um... gosh... small travel trailers that use a TT30 connection, and that's about all I can think of that uses single 30A.  However, two 30A breakers can be handle-tied for use on plain-240V loads as mentioned above.

I have seen panels where a handle-tie was conspicuously missing, and then I look closer at the dust in the bottom of the panel, and there it is.  It had fallen off while someone was moving breakers around.   So check the bottom of your panel.

I accidentally bought a bunch of 30A 1-pole breakers.  That's why I know so much about what they can and cannot do.


Is it a good idea to chisel out the edge of rafters for wires?

The top or bottom edges of a beam are the worst places to cut. It is where the most stress occurs. This is one of the reasons why it is best to run wiring/plumbing through holes in the center of your beams. Will it cause a problem? That is impossible to know, unless we also knew how much of a load you would be adding up there, the dimensions of these beams, etc.

While it is very possible there would be no problem, remember that those rafters were put there with no plans for a floor above. The structure may not have been designed to take a load. So if these are 2x4 rafters, on which you will then install a waterbed or a hot tub, expect problems. If you will be just using that floor to store a few light boxes, it probably won't be an issue.

If the floor that you add consists of 4x8 sheets of plywood, they will add considerable stiffness to the floor, but they will also add weight. As an alternative, you might consider adding sleepers on top of the rafters, which would allow you to avoid cutting into these members at all.

Finally, remember to be very careful in nailing/screwing down the new floor. A nail through an electrical line tends to be bad news.


Do dryer sheets interfere with the dryness sensors in a dryer?

Yes.

The dryer sheets shed tiny bits of its fabric.  They sometimes coat the sensor.  Causing the dryer to work harder, thereby shortening the life of your dryer.  This could easily be fixed (if there was an issue) with soap, water, sponge...  The same thing goes with the lent filter.  Even if you clean out the lint, the very small particles from the dryer sheet can get stuck in the cross-hairs.  Also can be fixed with soap, water, sponge...

This is comparable to saying does soap cause tiles to get dirty.  Yes but you need to use soap in a shower and can clean a little.


How do I fix a faucet that turns all the way around?

If the tap is working at all, it must be a cartridge type, rather than a washer (screw down) type.

Fix #1 - It is possible that the cap nut (the big nut below the handle that the stem goes through) has risen to allow the handle to spin above the stops (which limits the minimum and maximum positions).  If that were the case, you would probably have a leak around the tap handle. If so, you should be able to screw the cap nut down, in which case the handle will re-engage the stops. You may have to giggle the handle as you wind the nut down.

Fix #2 - The next possibility is that the stops that are broken off.  If this is the case, you may need a new piece in the faucet that incorporates the stops (if it is separate). The maunfacturer's site may offer replacement parts.  I

Fix #3 - If there is not a separate part available, and if the tap is separate (a three hole unit) you may be able to get a replacement of just the broken one from the manufacturer.

Fix #4 - If all else fails,(or if you want a fast and probably cost effective fix),  it may be worth getting a whole new faucet set.

Fix #5 - Given that you say you haven't delved into plumbing, unless fix #1 solves the problem, you probably should call a plumber.


Thermo Pride OL5-85 oil furnace and Aprilaire 60 humidistat

Per reading more on this model of furnace on the internet... It will not in fact energize the W terminal when the heat is on. The solution is to use an A50 relay to detect when the blower is going. Make sure to wire the relay into the circuit running from the humidistat to the humidifier!


Replacing 2 inch vertical cast iron pipe going through concrete

Since this unit is one in a building of condos, an improvised DIY job is not acceptable; the job must be done right. I would assume that there is a collar that the pipe passes through, that is, the concrete is not adhering to the cast iron pipe.  I would think that you must remove the broken section by making at least three cuts with an iron pipe cutter.  Then insert a new section and connect with approved couplings.

Find out if you can use PVC or ABS plastic for the replacement section. The  replacement section may have to be in two parts if the hole is tight. Really sounds like a professional job to me.


My VOSS oven makes a clicking noise when cooling down

It sounds like something's wrong with your oven's controller board. Assuming you speak Danish, you can search for Voss parts here; I believe your specific model's parts will be here. (Note, though, that I don't see a controller board available, although my nonexistent Danish might be misleading me.)


If your vacuum is blowing each breaker in your house, it is drawing way too much power, and you need to fix it before you have an electrical fire to deal with.

For a 20 year old appliance, I would look at the power cord, the brushes and the bearings, as failures in each of those could cause the problem you are experiencing.  Your problem could be something different, like a shorted winding in the motor.  This can happen when the motor overheats, which can happen when using long extension cords, and therefore having voltage drops with increased heating in the windings.  On power head units, sometimes the wires running through the handle will chafe and that can cause a frank short, but that is more rare.

Regardless of what the cause is, you should discontinue testing relying on the circuit breaker, and fix or replace the appliance.


How to build up (or repair) this toilet outlet

I would absolutely be cutting concrete. You have an ideal opportunity to do so since you're overlaying the floor anyway.  You don't want to deal with clogs later due to pipe reduction from an extension, and you want the stability a proper flange provides.
Rent or borrow a diamond saw, cut out a 24" square, and fix this up right with a full-size pipe. Mix up some bagged concrete and pour it to the level of the new subfloor for a stable base (just as you describe). Use strips of the foam and sheathing as a form.


Skim coat with plaster of paris mixed with joint compound

Don’t mix use the correct product.
 Mixing can affect the strength and texture.
For a light skim coat use a topping mud or topping compound or add water to standard joint compound or mud.

Prior to coating make sure to clean the surface, the leading cause of failure is surface contamination. Dust is a big one, smoke , oil all of these may be hard to see but can cause failure. I love TSP Trisodium phosphate, make sure to use gloves.  After cleaning a nice wide knife and topping mud I can skim a large room in no time.


What could cause a water pressure dip at the cut in pressure?

Reduce the differential - raise the cut in pressure to 52 or 53. Or lower the cut-out to 62 and play with the air pressure in the tank, perhaps - I'm familiar with how bladder tanks behave, and got most of any answer written before noticing that you mentioned a diaphragm tank, specifically.
30PSI is an unusually large differential pressure (20PSI is what most tank charts assume - 20/40, 30/50, 40/60 and most pressure switches come pre-adjusted for that - but most are also adjustable. Read the directions for yours, and remember to turn off the breaker supplying power to the pump circuit before removing the pump control's cover)


What is a proper high-quality sub-floor preparation for porcelain tile floor installation

One comment on the advice you read is that I don't see a thing in there about deflection - evidently Mike Holmes is sure that if he merely has 1-1/4" of subfloor, all is good. Real tile specs tend to involve a concept called deflection, and that's the distance part of the floor system moves when loaded, relative to the span you measure over. L/360 is a typical spec - L/180 is twice as bad. (It's usually a lowercase L, but on the computer I'm using a capital to be clear that it's an L.) I happen to have a 3/4" subfloor that's L/587, so it really doesn't need another half-inch on that basis.

Consider what a tile manufacturer has to say...
(I'm not going to cut and paste their extensive text here, or rewrite it all) but for one thing they specifically mention setting the backer board in a mortar bed, not "gluing" it down. I'd also venture to sneak in that if you really want "the best" (and will you pay for it these days) look at the "old fashoned mortar bed" (TCNA (Method F145-02)) mentioned at the end of their article. That, of course, means you need to establish an adequately rigid base 3/4" or 1-1/4" + tile thickness below the surrounding floor level, which is why it's not popular these days. But it was a VERY good method, as a lot of old houses demonstrate.

Kinsman Tile


I'd tap the rest of the wall and see really how much you need to repair. From the photo it looks as though you will have another inch or two upwards and at least another inch going down. This is a really easy fix though. You can get a tub of mud (plaster patch) at any home improvement, hardware or even your local department store and even large grocery stores carry it. Get a putty knife and it would help if you got a 6" or 8" drywall knife to make a smoother coat (saves sanding time). Then lookup how to patch drywall and/or drywall finishing on YouTube. There's a ton of great short videos that will show you better than we can tell you.


Central curtain rod support is ripping out

Curtain rods are a cantilevered load, meaning they will pull on the anchor. Drywall anchors don't do well with pulling loads.

The better fix would be to add some supporting bracing to take the cantilevered load and transform it into a shear load. For example using a steel wire to a hook a foot or so above the support.


Is it safe to replace a switch with a dimmer on halogen spots?

Unfortunately, my lack of Dutch comprehension prevents me from giving a definitive statement on your situation (do you have an English translation for those switches?).  That said, I live in England and all of the halogens (with their transformers) in my flat are on dimmer switches, so it is absolutely possible to have dimmer switches on your lights.

However, you are going to have to make sure that the transformers that are currently installed in your house will work with a dimmer switch (it is possible that yours will not) by checking the manual or looking it up on the internet.

And definitely take care when working with your electrical system.  If you at all feel uncertain or uncomfortable, it may be worth the peace of mind to talk to or hire a professional.


Your heating/ac system was designed to distribute “conditioned” air (heated or cooled) throughout your house. Covering a few registers will cause air to be redirected randomly to other parts of your house. This causes over-heating in some rooms and over-cooling in other rooms, depending on what the thermostat is calling for.

Yes, you can remove the existing damaged ducts and reinstall a new balanced system and cover the registers that are in the wrong location. However, the new ducts will need to be sized properly. I’d have a reputable heating and air conditioner contractor layout a new system. If they can’t, I’d contact a mechanical engineer (not civil engineer).

We’ve done this many times and we always search out and find where the rodents are entering the house and the system. As @Ed Beal said, rodents will tend to return to a warm environment.


Your inclination is correct. A straight pull outward could chip the new paint. Your second inclination is also correct. You should carefully cut through the paint at the paper with a sharp utility knife (sometimes called a razor knife). Hold it horizontally, with a very slight downward angle at the join of the molding and paper.

If you have difficulty keeping the blade from rising up the molding, you could use a metal straightedge to protect it.

You may be able to cut it and remove the paper under the molding rather than through it, but if any is left behind, it should not show and will cause no issue.


Toilet bowls not filling with enough water

The level of water in the bowl is fixed and depends only on the geometry of the S-bend that is part of the toilet

If you add one drop of water into the bowl, it will raise the level at the left side and one drop will fall down the waste pipe.

The only exceptions would be

installing the toilet on a slope would change the amount (but still fixed)
if the waste pipe is not at atmospheric pressure due to inadequate venting

water can be sucked out
excess pressure would push water back into the bowl (and there would be a flow of bubbles into the bowl)

None of which helps you. To get more water in the bowl you need a different design of toilet.

The syphonic action might mean that if the flow from the tank cuts off sharply, there might be room for more water. However the toilet is designed so that the flow from the tank continues, refilling the bowl completely, after the syphon has initially drawn out all the bowl's contents.


How to build a removable bench for a sit-in window?

Too long for a comment. A photo of the area would help, in my last house I had a large window seat that I cut tongue and groove boards to cover the seat and make a removable deck that fit the space we put our downstairs tree on.

This is reverse to what you want to do but may work for your needs. I cut each of the boards to fit tight in the space. Your miter saw saw is all that will be needed for this. After making sure everything fit well, I attached a small piece of wood molding on each end to hold them in place. I then sanded the tops and stained the boards. When we wanted to put the deck in the smallest board first pushing them together it held in place nicely. We had 4" foam covered cushions made to fit the seat I did add some Velcro strips to the bottom of the cushions to hold them in place. We never had any problems with the windows being leaned on (the sill was less than 12" above the seat).

I think this is a good possibility for a DIY project the only question is the support from the shelving units. Or adding a small ledger frame on each side to support the seat and a center support because of the span.


Power line noise can couple into low voltage signal cable easily when the cables travel close to each other in a parallel direction for any amount of distance. As you may guess the longer the parallel run and the closer the two cables the more chance of coupling and disturbance.

There are additional considerations to consider as well...

Coupling potential falls off dramatically with increased separation between the cables. Doubling the distance can make a huge difference.
Quality of cable can make a huge difference. There are many grades of TV signal cables and ones with high quality construction and internal shielding can make a huge difference.
Noise on the power line can often be attributed to other equipment plugged into the circuit. This can even include equipment that is plugged into other circuits in the building but fed from the same power panel. Sometimes noise on the power line can be significantly reduced by using a plug-in power line filter between the noisy piece of equipment and the wall receptacle.


How do I know my current R-Value for my attic?

Ok that's fiberglass bat insulation, approximately R-3 per inch so a total of R-9.  You can easily add more insulation on top of that - either buy more rolls of bat insulation (UNFACED - which means no paper layer on either side) - or you could blow in cellulose insulation (buy at Home Depot and get the blower rental for free.

Downside to cellulose is you need a body suit, respirator mask (not just a simple dust mask) and two people (one to feed the machine, one to blow it in the attic).  Upside is it's 3.70 per inch so adding 15 inches would get you R-55, plus your existing R-9 is R-64.

Fiberglass bats, they're easier to install (roll em out, each layer criss crossing the previous) - but they usually come 3.5 inches thick - so you'll need to add 5 layers, which adds up pretty fast cost wise.

WELL worth it for the energy savings - but for a newbie, I'm gonna say spend more $ and get the bat insulation that's easier to roll out.  And wear gloves, long sleeved clothing, and heavy socks and tape your pants to your socks and your shirt sleeves to your gloves...

Fiberglass itches.


#1 is it normal to have a 100A-breakered panel  downline of 60A overcurrent protection?  Totally legal. But I'd use a 225A panel.  One thing many of us here agree on is running out of panel spaces is bad, and panel spaces are cheap.  Both better and cheaper to get a 42-space panel today and only ever use 18 spaces, then get a 12-space panel today have to retrofit a 20-space panel tomorrow and a 30-space panel later still when you add an electric car -- that's just dumb.  The big panels we prefer come with big 150-225A breakers, and they often come with "bonus breakers" and ground bars included, so the extra cost can be a wash.

#2 Breakers and fuses protect wiring downstream. Without the 60A fuse, the jumper into your house (#6?) would have no overload protection at all, and if the cable became shorted, nothing would interrupt current and it would burn your house down.

#3 If you want to increase service above 60A, talk to your power company  Your service capacity will be limited by the lowest of

what the power company is willing to provide
the ampacity of your service conductors (frop top of service-drop pole to shutoff switch, which size using the service-conductor rules).
the ampacity of your feeder from shutoff switch to main panel (using feeder sizing rules).
the max ampacity of your meter pan
the max ampacity of your shutoff switch.

It's possible to get combination meter pans/main breakers, with the main breaker serving as the shutoff switch and replacing the fuses.  The main breaker and the feeder rules decides the wire size downstream of that breaker.

As far as where is the main grounding point located, some sticklers say the grounding point must be the outside fusing/shutoff switch.  However that is awkward in your situation, and for ground-siting purposes I am very comfortable disregarding the outside shutoff and putting the grounding hub in the main panel.  They're built for that, and shutoff switches are not.

This presumes there is one main panel. If you fork lines to two panels off that outdoor switch/breaker, things get really complicated.


Switching out an LED recessed light with no neutrals to a pendant

The color codes are a dead giveaway.  Red/black is DC power (or very old UK 240V wiring).  AC power must have a white or light blue neutral.

It appears based on this PDF that there is low/mid voltage DC on the red/black wires.   What you removed is the "LED engine" (ie the emitter proper) and the red/black is regulated power coming from the LED driver module.**  This regulated power is specific to this particular family of LEDs; it can't drive any product not engineered to work with this driver.

Apparently this system has a lot of stuff that lives up inside the ceiling.  There's a metal junction box of considerable size (like a 3-gang) which takes connections for 120-277 volt AC power, as well as 0-10 volt dimmer control.  These are in separate compartments, since AC power and low voltage DC control lines must be separated.   The junction box lid can be released by snaps, and built into the lid is the LED driver module, which taps the 120-277V power and 0-10V dimmer signal.

The whole idea of the snap-off lid with the driver in the lid is for ease of service, the driver being likely to fail first.  After the LED "engine" is removed (as you have done), the cylindrical skirting can be removed too, and an installer can get a hand up there, release the junction box cover snaps, remove the cover with driver module, swap another one in and snap it down...  all presumably one-handed.

If you wanted 120V you would need to tap it out of that junction box.  A few problems with that.

If you have 0-10V dimming, you are going to lose it.
You would need to find a new route to send 120V from the junction box to the lamp housing, i.e. knock out another knockout on the AC side.
This would require flexible cordage which is legal for that purpose.
Push aside the original cordage, as this is a quality lighting system and wrecking it would be a waste.
Disconnect and ignore the LED driver module in the box cover plate.
You'd need to do all that one-handed while reaching through the hole and standing on a ladder.

The only other option is to make some drywall dust and come up with a new physical routing for the power, and just use the hole and box.  Again don't irreparably wreck the Halo hardware; it's a really nice system that the next homebuyer may want.

It seems like it will be a challenging project.

** (By contrast, here is a HALO system that does not use a driver and sends 120V straight to the lamp.  Note that it uses white and black wires on the leads.)


Yes, for a short time, and then there will be a BANG and a fire will start.

Whether that happens in 5 minutes or 5 days is based on the quality of the build of the equipment.  Siemens >> random junk off Alibaba.

If you plan to do that, then buy a 240/480 autotransformer in the first place, which can also be used for 120/240 at half the VA.  This type is more likely to be available as an isolation transformer, for what that's worth.


breaker breaker.. the breaker keeps tripping

White wires don't go to simple switches. When you put them on the switch, along with the black pigtails, you create a direct short that trips the breaker (thank goodness!)

The hot wire should be tied to the outlet line (directly) and to two pigtails to the switches. The black lines for the light and fan should be on the other side of the switches.

The white wires should be tied together, but to nothing else.


Do under cabinet electrical outlets meet code and be passed by NEC in new construction?

They are a royal PIA to install. This may be why he is discouraging you, even though he is not being truthful.

They are fine as long as they are not higher than 20" above the counter tops, and are GFI protected.


How can I test a radiant heated driveway in warm weather?

Wait until night time, then turn it on and look at it with an infrared camera?


Help – keep garage dry and well-ventilated (dryer exhaust hose)

My neighbor had a handy man run about 20 feet of 4" PVC sch 40 pipe and 3 elbows through his garage and exit through the wall. The dryer runs fine with no change in the dryers performance.


How should I repair small tears in the kraft paper insulation caused while running a new water line?

You're right that your bathroom will have a lot of moisture in it, but if that much gets through to your insulation you're not ventilating enough. Make sure you run your bath fan regularly and for long enough, and don't overthink the repair. Use any tape that will bond well to the craft paper, except not masking or duct tape. Neither have adhesives that are suitable for the long-term.


"Dirt", really soil, is made up of components that varies by locale, but almost always contains a significant amount of silica and other silicates, in the form of sand or finely ground quartz. It also contains other hard minerals in addition to softer organic materials.

Silica and silicates are the same materials that are used in abrasives, such as sandpaper and grinding compounds.

Running a sharp metal blade through abrasives dulls them.


How to run water through winter with bedrock?

I would strongly suggest an "in the pipe" electric heating solution. Not to run all the time, but to be there if you need it, since this can be imperfect, to say the least, and it's a lot easier to plan ahead (and just be able to flip a switch until the water runs again) than to fix it when it's already frozen. I would not recommend this "instead" of the insulation technique below, but in addition to, as a backup. It just needs to run long enough to permit some water to flow, then you can shut it off and run water until the pipe is fully cleared of ice.

The non-electric approach (other than blowing a channel into the bedrock) is to excavate a WIDE trench to the bedrock, and place rigid foam insulation over the pipe. If it's down 2 feet and insulated sideways 4 feet, it's morally equivalent to being down 6 feet. That means an 8 foot wide trench and insulation, to get 4 feet to either side. You could also mound additional soil on top of the pipe run.

Running a "controlled leak" through the winter is an additional technique - typical well-water is 50F/10C, so running a little water all the time helps to keep the pipe from freezing.

You might also look up the well driller or plumber who ran the water from your well to the house and ask them what they did, if it's working.


Are radiator reflectors as effective as claimed?

As it turns out, the Wikipedia article itself actually points to some (albeit Radflex funded) reports.  The second report BRE shows ~45% reduction in heat lost to the wall behind the radiator.

Tables 4 to 11 of the BRE report show a range of figures to do with efficiency and energy saving. Table 4 shows the amount of energy you could save on an annual basis, broken down by the energy loss (insulation efficiency) of the wall:

Assuming an area of 1 meter per radiator and 10¢ per kWh (rough average of US price), you this will save $2-$9/year for each radiator.  However, these are all back-of-the-envelope calculations based on a study paid for by Radflek and they don't even have full distribution across the EU (let alone the US)5.  AFAIK, the heating hours are calculations done for climate emissions ratings, so it's a big average of heating of UK(?) homes.  Will a competitor be as efficient?  Is your wall going to leak heat the same as an averaging of a bunch of houses in another area?  Who knows!

So is it worth the $29 (£18) price for the minimum order of 6 reflectors to UK address?  I am personally placing a ~50% penalty on evaluating cost effectiveness (note that I even work on pro-climate change policy research).  So I would start to recoup the material losses after ~2 years.


how do i take the rain away from 2 sloping roofs meeting in the middle?

Use metal flashing to create a waterproof channel where the roofs join, making sure it is tilted enough to drain to the gutters at the edges. Apply roofing so it overlaps and directs water into that channel.


You have a roof leak that is dripping either directly onto the fan assembly or onto or into the vent tubing. Probably the leak is around a roof penetration, but we had one due to a defect in the roof decking right above the fan. Water dripped onto the fan assembly, through it, and into the bathroom.

EDIT
Another possibility is condensation of water in the tubing connected to the outlet of the fan. The tubing is in the cold attic and so water vapor will condense on the walls of the tubing conducting the exhausted air to the outside. If there is a lot of condensate in the tubing when the fan is turned off, and if the routing of the tubing is level and upward then this would drain down into the fan assembly unless there is a drain to catch it and conduct it away.


Make sure everyone using the bathroom uses the fan.

The exhaust fan has some how moved. Inspect it to see why and check to see if there are any issues with the duct. Also make sure it is sized appropriately for your space. See this guide on bathroom exhaust fan sizing from the Home Ventilating Institute. You may want to consider a larger fan (or better fan) if it's not working.

They have a number of different options for fan switches that have timers that keep the fan running even after the lights have been turned off. I've even seen one with a humidity sensor that automatically turns the fan on and off. Consider getting one of those.

You're going to want to repaint. In a bathroom that means you have to thoroughly clean the walls whether you have mold or not. Too much stuff accumulates on walls in bathrooms to get good adhesion without cleaning. That might be why you're seeing peeling more so than from the steam. Scrape off any peeling paint and sand the edges to feather them and repair any large dips or gouges.

Paint with a high quality paint meant for bathrooms. Most good paint these days seem to have mold inhibitors in them. You don't need to go with a higher sheen paint. In the past I've used Zinsser Perma-White, which I believe was one of the first paints with mold inhibitors. It is available in eggshell. I recently used Benjamin Moore's Aura Bath & Spa paint which is in their Matte finish. It's somewhere between flat and eggshell, maybe leaning more towards eggshell. Happy with both but really thrilled with how well the Aura went on and has been holding up.


How do you retrofit attic baffles in attics with very little room?

Two obvious but invasive ways are to:

Take up the roof sheeting and work the baffles from above the rafters.
Remove the ceiling drywall under the baffle area and install the baffles from below.

With a low sloped roof trying to work within the confines of the attic will be very difficult. If there are protruding roofing nails the tight areas can be dangerous if you bang your head or arms against the nails. And hope that the workers are not claustrophobic.

I have a roof pitch of 5//12 over my garage attic and I can say even at that slope it is very difficult (but still possible) to squirm down into the spaces to work at the outer wall area. With a pitch of 3//12 I think I would be contemplating one of the invasive measures above. If the roof is shot and needs replacing use #1 else go with the ceiling removal as in #2.


How do I wire a humidifier without a 24 VAC IN terminal?

Your furnaces controller is typically powered from a 24VAC transformer.  Trace the incoming line-voltage power source - it should connect to a transformer. You can verify the output voltage is 24VAC with a multi-meter.  Even if there is not a dedicated terminal, you can connect to the transformer output in parallel in order to power your humidifier.  Often there will be a wirenut already present, but if not you can cut the transformer output leads, strip both ends and as well your output to your humidifier and connect all the stripped ends with a wirenut or other sutiable connector.

Alternatively you can power it with a dedicated 24VAC transformer.


Look around for a tripped GFCI - or just press the reset buttons on any GFCIs you can find.
Also, TRY turning the correct breaker (hopefully they are properly labelled, if not, correct that this week) off and then back on - sometimes they don't "look tripped" but they are. (or was that what you meant by "turning everything off and back on again" - not clear where you did that.) If it's a GFCI breaker, try the test/reset on it as well.
The GFCI may not be in the bathroom - people make odd choices when laying things out sometimes. It might be in another bathroom (since you can share a bathroom circuit) or some other room entirely.


Lighted bookcase with capacitive touch hinge

Yes, there are prepackaged touch switch modules whose input wire can be attached to any convenient piece of metal.


What can be done about this unattractive dryer vent?

Before you do anything, you must figure out where it goes. It really has to vent outside. If it vents into the attic, you are going to have serious issues, including the potential of mold and rot as the hot, moist air is vented into an unconditioned space. It is (usually) against building codes to vent into the attic for this reason.

If it is venting through a roof or soffit vent, or out a wall, you're probably okay. It's best to keep runs as short as possible and with as few bends as possible. Dryer lint building up in the pipe can pose a fire hazard, so the shorter and straighter it is, the less chance there is to have anything build up, and the easier it is to clean out if needed.

Assuming it's vented properly, then I think boxing it in with drywall is a great way to go, and in fact is exactly what I did (in the corner):

You should also consider an in-line lint trap (I probably would have put one in if I knew about them):

I'd also recommend using straight vent pipe where possible, as it is smooth inside which reduces the opportunity for lint to attach and block the pipe. The rigid stuff you have is alright (way better than the white plastic crap) but it is still ridged inside.


Negative Pressure relief duct work for home

When I add a make up air duct I usually do install it in the cold air return this usually filters prior to the air handler and conditions the air when the system is running.


How to get a wrench into this location to remove this nut

Remove the valve motor (and housing), then you have access to the fitting.

Possibly you won't need to remove the valve itself, and the noise comes from the motor.


how many outlets can you put on a 15amp breaker?

It depends on your local Building Codes, Local Electricians, what you think might end up using the circuit & if there's carpet...An average Upright Vacuum Cleaner sucks up (pun intended) most of the 15-amps. But, some used to say 6, then 8 then 10 & now I'm hearing 12. Some go with a "Rule of Thumb" being 1.5 Amps per outlet to arrive at the 10 number.

I prefer to do Home-Runs for each average sized room & might hit 8 which includes a single light. But, I also use 12-gauge regardless of whether I'm doing 15 or 20-amps on both ends, in case a 15 needs to have both ends bumped up to 20's in the future.


wrong coloured lead used on replacement window

Back when I did some stained glass, there were two methods of doing the fitting.

The "old" way, with lead came.  This is typically an H-shaped long lead channel that the lead fits into on both sides of the channel, then the pieces of lead are soldered together at their joints.  Then would be finished with a putty of sorts, worked into the joints to seal things up against weather and moisture infiltration.  This method typically is not then finished to give the lead a different color, but rather typically is left the dull dark gray of the lead.  This is still used nowadays, but not as common as the more modern method outlined next.
The "more modern" way, is with copper foil.  This method was popularized by Louis Comfort Tiffany for making stained glass lampshades.  It involves wrapping the edges of the pieces of stained glass with narrow copper foil strips (sometimes adhesive-backed, sometimes not, depending on the era).  The pieces are then fit tightly together, and all of the joints are soldered together all along the joints, covering all of the foil with solder. At this point, the solder is a somewhat dull silvery shiny color.  The solder lines can then, optionally, be chemically treated to get to a shiny silver, copper, or blackened look, depending on desired outcome.

Without seeing a picture to be sure it's hard to know 100% what you're seeing and describing.  But based on your description, I would be guessing that your repair person used the copper foil method, and then chemically treated the solder to give a black color.  Whether it's possible to re-treat the solder lines to get the bright shiny silver color you're wanting, I have no idea.  Your stained glass provider/installer would better be able to answer that question.


Is there a recommended distance between fasteners on sole plates?

I'm assuming none of these are structural shear walls since shot pins are inappropriate for such use. There is some arbitrary lateral load that interior partitions are supposed to resist, it's only 5 or 10 psf from memory, I can't find the reference at the moment. I'm not sure what the shot pins are rated for either. So without any more specific data, I would judge that a 4 foot spacing should be about right. There's really no need for doubled fasteners at the ends, as long as there's at least one good shot at the ends. You do not want to place shots too close together, the second shot weakens the first.

There is some minimum spacing determined by the shot pin manufacturer to achieve a certain rated strength. This is usually outlined in so called "ICBO Reports" or similar. I would guess a 5-6" minimum spacing would be safe. The only reason to place shots this close is if the first one spalled out the concrete.


Refrigerator cools once but then doesn't start up again

I think it is the thermostat switch. They fail when they age and can be replaced. They have a bimetal plate in there and sense the temperature with a long tiny pipe which transfers the temperature from the cooling elements. Normally there are two for each area of the fridge.


I maintain 100 year old electrical systems.

Knob & tube is legit. Notice that most of the people telling you it's bad are people who stand to profit from your worry.

Cities and the NFPA are not nearly as worried.

AFCI is a superb way to protect any wiring you're worried about.  I recommend it for aluminum wiring, backstab connections, you name it.  It will prevent arcing/sparking of the sort which makes connections hot and starts fires, not that K&T has a problem with that. Like most electrical work of that age, K&T splices are wildly overbuilt by modern standards: wrapped, soldered and insulated often with two kinds of tape. We use backstabs.

People of that age didn't have our tech, but they were serious about their craft. Nobody had to tell them not to eat Tide pods.

Add GFCI protection to stop even small current leakage from wet wires,  and you are safe as can be. You can even put 3-prong sockets on those receptacles.

One more thing. There was a concern that blown-in insulation packing around knob and tube wire would cause it to overheat. However, the states of Oregon and Washington did an extensive survey on this, and found it to be false. As such, they liberalized their laws to permit blown insulation around knob and tube.


Cat 6 PoE Parallel To Power Cables (just for 2 feet) - What should I expect?

Sorry, but I don't think you are allowed to do this. See Cat 5/6 in same conduit as power: is NM-B required, or is THHN acceptable? for more information.

So while there may or may not be any actual technical problem, there is a code problem. Would there be a problem running your Ethernet outside the conduit, just inches away? According to code, no problem at all (as far as I know). Would it cause any technical (signal quality) problems? My guess is probably not, especially for just a few feet.

But you can't run it inside the same conduit. You can (and this is a frequent suggestion when pouring concrete or digging a trench) run multiple conduits and have a small one for network/phone/etc. and a large one for power. But you can't just throw everything into one conduit.


Given the texture of the wall, I'd try with just a 2-3 inch brush, one coat of primer, then two coat of the same exact paint as the rest of the wall. Ideally some leftover from the original painting.

Needless to say, let dry between coats and clean/dry your brush thoroughly.
Edit: For cleaning the brush, run water over it until the water runs completely clear, then run some more water. Personally, I use a regular fork to comb the brush as I rinse.

You'll remove the hanger while you paint, right?


How to open a GE Hotpoint HTW200 washer?

I'm not certain what part you're referring to replacing, but PartSelect has diagrams of all the component parts (and sells some of them). If you need to get completely into the cabinet, it doesn't look like there's a panel to remove & may need to be accessed from above. It appears the top panel is held in place by spring clips (328) and a couple screws (570)? But it looks like you may have to take off the controls to get to those screws.

I'm not an appliance repair technician, so take my ideas as you would any other from a stranger on the internet.

HTW200ASK2WW General Electric Washer - Overview


Box in knob and tube wiring between ceiling and cellulose?

Code doesn't say that anymore,  at least not in WA and OR.

Serious study was done on the question  of whether blown insulation on K&T was really having an impact on house fires.  The studies determined it was not.  And so states have been rescinding their laws against blown insulation with K&T.

Of course AFCI is a magic bullet that intercepts many wiring faults, and I would put it on any K&T.

Sometimes K&T has problems with neutrals being crossed among several hots -- that was Wrong then, just as it is wrong now.  However MWBC is a method where two hots share 1 neutral, and that was legal then, and it's legal now.  The hots simply must be put on opposite poles, and the breakrs handle tied. Regardless, some of the newest AFCIs don't care about shared neutrals, but apparently only from certain makers.

If the house has blown insulation, you might downbreaker one size, merely out of an abundance of caution.

Other than that, I would continue to use it indefinitely.


Should I worry about a siphon with my sump pump?

The output pipe should contain a one-way valve not far from the pump.  Otherwise, your 9 foot column of water would drain back into the sump bucket when the pump shuts off.  This also prevents any siphoning when the pump isn't running.


How do I replace the toilet shutoff valve?

That looks like a 1/2" copper pipe with the valve soldered on. Definitely check it with a magnet before trying to wrench it off.

If it is copper and you are not handy with soldering, you could replace it fairly easily using a valve with a compression fitting inlet:

You will have to carefully cut the pipe behind the existing valve, and use steel wool and/or some emery cloth to clean up that oxidation/corrosion on the copper pipe.

My personal preference is to solder a threaded male adapter onto the pipe and using a new threaded supply valve with 1/2" FIP inlet:


How to clean pigment stains from vinyl siding?

First take away chalk. If the siding is old and drying out. Stain is sucked in. May be in time will fade. Mild soap and water is best bet. Without damage to siding .Mine was white,red chalk stayed for weeks.


14/2 is a cable.  It contains 3 wires if you count ground.  I will use those words that way.

On your existing switch, note the black that goes to the other blacks.  That is always hot. The other wire, mark it with red tape. That is switched-hot.

Run a /3 cable from this switch to the other switch.  Mark the black and white wires with yellow tape on both ends.  Those are travelers.

In this box, connect the /3 cable's red wire to the wire you just marked red.

Wire up your 3-way switches as follows.

the 2 yellow traveler wires go to the 2 brass (yellowish) colored screws on the 3-ways.
now there is one wire still not connected in each box. That goes on the 3-way black screw.

And we're done.

This simplicity brought to you by the maker of colored electrical tape.


Is hand nailing more stable than power nailing for rough framing?

In the early days of air nailers hand nailing was better because the heads were moon shaped. I believe the moon shape was outlawed but not sure, but full round heads used with a properly adjusted gun are just as good in my opinion. If you think
hammers are better to save your arm set the gun so the head sits up 1/8 inch and finish it off with the hammer. Go


There are gravel driveway stabilizer products made to solve this kind of problem.

They typically take the form of a mesh/lattice of some sort - sometimes flexible/fabric

while others are a ridgid plastic


As long as the concrete and some time after pouring to set up, water won't hurt anything (they make swimming pools out of concrete). Granted, you'll want it all pumped out and dried out before framing, though.

As for the wood, no real damage should come about after 5 week of being exposed to the weather.

You certainly don't want to leave your framing exposed all winter. And if you are using chip board for subfloors or sheathing, you want to avoid having that exposed at all (unless they are rated for exposure). But for the most part, most houses are exposed to the elements for a few weeks. It's fine as long as things are given a chance to fully dry out before they close it all up.


Non-Permanent Plastic Pipe Sealant or Join Improvement?

It appears to me that since it is on the roof, subject to extremes, that the joint needs to withstand the expansion and contraction of the PVC pipe. That joint you are referring to is just that, it is a slip joint that allows the pipe to grow and shrink in length and presumably still not leak, since is a closed system, or supposed to be. There should be a rubber or neoprene "O" ring that allows it to seal with movement. It should just need replacement and reassembled using a silicone lubricant.


Can I add a sub-panel near the main disconnect outside my house?

You can do it -- you'll need a subpanel loadcenter in a NEMA 3R enclosure, though, as well as watertight conduit/raceway and fittings for the outdoor runs, which will be done using THWN in the conduits.

You will want to put a 30A 2pole for the dryer and a 20A GFCI for the laundry outlets, as well as a spare 20A breaker (if you want a lighting circuit there, or an extra laundry outlet circuit) in your subpanel, which does not need a main breaker of its own, so it can be a four-slot NEMA 3R loadcenter, such as an Eaton BR48L125RP with a GBK10 ground bar in it, as the neutral and ground will be on separate, isolated bars in the subpanel.

As to the feeder breaker, the NEC calls for 1500VA for the laundry outlet circuit (220.52(B)) and a minimum of 5000VA (a 20A dryer) or the wattage of the dryer (whichever is higher) for an electric dryer load (220.54).  Assuming your dryer pulls the full 30A (7500VA) and you have 1500VA of laundry circuit load, this yields 9000VA or 37.5A, which requires a 40A feeder breaker in the main panel, and 8AWG THWN for the feeder wires.  In reality, your dryer can't sit there and pull 30A continuously without tripping your breaker, so this is a conservative calculation.


It's called a pressure reducing valve (PRV)
That's a PRV with a shut off and set point. The knob on the bottom is the shut off and the bigger knob with the screw is the set point. Now that you've adjusted it with pressure in the system you may have lowered it and you may need to remove some water to determine the set point. From the picture it looks like you're set at about 2 bar which is about 30 PSI in my neck of the woods 30 PSI on heating system is the upper limit and close to it or much beyond it will cause the pressure relief valve to pop.
What the pressure does
I'm not going to do the exact math but one BAR will push water up about 10 meters. So if the highest radiator in your house is around ten meters high from the point of measurement you would want your pressure-reducing valve set to maybe 1.2 BAR to compensate for errors.
What to do
If the only thing you did was turn the bottom one then no harm done. If you did adjust the top one you're going to need to remove some water but before you do that you're going to need to determine what the correct pressure for your system is. Often on that type of pressure reducing valve the screw on the top is what actually makes the adjustment and the black plastic is just a cap covering the housing therefore turning it has no effect.
In conclusion
It seems like you have not done anything to negatively impact the system but the fact still remains that if it is indeed a heating system the pressure may be set too high (depending on local codes and regulations). If it's a PRV for your domestic system (tap water) then 2 BAR is most likely close to the correct number (also depending on local codes and regulations).


Obviously the root problem is too much humidity in that area and fixing that properly would mean adding ventilation to get the warm and moist air outside.  Short of that, I can think of two things you might do:

Clean the area with a chlorine bleach solution (not 100% bleach) but something like 1 cup to a gallon of water.  Wear gloves as this will burn your skin.  And scrub the visible mold/mildew off.  The bleach will help to kill what's there.  Use a brush if you need to in order to get into cracks.  After that, you might treat the area with a commercial mold/mildew inhibiting product.  You should find something at a local grocery or home center.
After using the bath or shower you might place a portable fan in the room to help extract the humid air from the enclosed space.


How do I remove a stair tread under linoleum without damaging the linoleum?

You can try heating a section near the edge with a hair dryer to see if it softens the adhesive.If you are lucky only the edges were glued.Use a stiff joint knife to gently lift the edge.


How do I fix my seemingly improperly ground outdoor lighting circuit that trips my RCD when it rains?

After a bit more research, I understand that since the supply wire into the junction box is SWA steel armoured cable, I can use the armour as ground for the whole circuit.  Just need to check it is properly terminated in the breaker box so its earthed on that side , and also properly terminated in the junction box with an earthing plate I need to buy. I can then connect all the ground wires to the earthing plate and we should be good, no extra cable.

I'm buying a bigger junction box that comes with earthing plates to terminate the SWA cable. I'll come back to this thread when all the components arrive and it's installed with some nice pictures.


Why does my gas stove smell like burnt gas when turning on the oven and burners

Have the orifice checked in the gas regulator. The will come with either a natural gas or propane orifice. Depending on what you have in the way of gas, you may need them swapped. The spare orifices are stored with the regulator.

We had the same problem when we moved in to our house. It came with a new stove, the house has propane, but the smell got progressively worse and the oven was sooted up. We called the installer and the came and swapped out the orifices, problem solved.


Why do only some drill bits slip out my drill chuck?

Drills do not work in reverse
The reverse setting on the tool is for use with screws and bolts, and maybe for taps if you have a power-friendly tapping situation.  It is not for use with drills.
Drills are only made to go one way, ever.
When withdrawing a drill from a hole, you are to continue running the drill in the forward direction, and pull it out of the hole while it is spinning forward.  It is normal for the drill to start to bind as you pull it out.  The sharpened flutes of the drill will make short work of whatever is binding it.  The spiral will continue to pump material out of the hole.
If you run the drill backwards, there is no cutting edge there, and so cruft and debris tends to be plowed into the space between drill and the wall of the hole.  This quickly causes the drill to bind.
With the drill binding in the hole, pulling the tool out will cause the drill to come out of the "hex" quick release in your tool. It is not designed to firmly clamp the bit, it is designed for quick release of screw bits.
The drill would behave similarly  in a proper chuck, by the way, but a chuck has much more gripping power.


What should we do about asbestos tape on heat ducts?

In many jurisdictions, a plumber is allowed to remove a limited amount of asbestos pipe insulation or tape.

Or put on a mask, douse the whole thing with water, and cut it off.  Not rocket science here.


Sewage coming out of concrete in basement floor

I think that it is very like to almost surely that your basement is related to the city sewer drain being full. Note that while it is often referred to as the sewer or sewer system, it does not contain sewage but rather it is for rain water runoff. The system that carries waste water from your home is (depending somewhat where you live in the world) a completely separate system.

So the good news that the water in your basement is probably not sewage but just rain water. Which explains the lack of smell. The particles that look suspicious might just be dirt or other debris from the basement (these can't go through concrete anyway)

If you have not contacted your city about the water situation then I would do so, and tell them the situation and that it's flooding your basement.


It depends on the chemicals used if the glass can be damaged. Removing the wooden strips holding the glass should be sufficient to take out the glass.
After the strips are removed you should carefully verify if the glass is completely free.

Paint remnants could still hold the glass.
If so you have to loosen the glass very carefully not to break it.

Push the glass carefully from below with little pressure upwards and watch it move. If not then you need remove old paint as good as you can and try again. Go along the whole window that way before trying to lift the glass from the door frame.

Be carefull not to break the glass and good luck


Concrete block water wall footing requirements

To answer your question, the bottom of your footing needs to be a minimum of 12” below finish grade, where you live. However, I feel you don’t understand the complexity of this project so I’m going to layout a few issues you’ll need to resolve.
First, this wall will weigh about 4,800 lbs. (plus weight of your stone veneer) so if it falls over it’s a dangerous big deal. (The footing will weigh an additional 7,200 lbs.)
Also, you want to know the size of the footing, which is going to be approximately 6-8’ wide x 12” deep with a “ton” of rebar in it.
You call your soil “expansive clay”, which is extremely difficult to design stable footings in it AND may require the footing to be 2-3’ deep (which will increase the weight of the wall by an additional 2,400 lbs.)
You say wind loads could reach 60 mph, but my experience is you’ll have 120 mph gusts every year.
However, you live in a high seismic zone so special consideration should be designed for the connection between the wall and the footing.
I strongly suggest you have a structural engineer (not civil engineer) or architect help you with the design.


Device to detect where heat or cold air is escaping or entering a structure

A thermal imaging gun will show you all the hot and cold spots inside your house, but they are very expensive.

What I did was I purchased a infrared thermometer gun at my local harbor freight. It cost about $15.00 Then I went around took all the temperatures throughout the house.

I found in my basement the rim joists were not insulated, I also found my attic hatch was not insulated. After doing that and caulking the windows, the cost for the insulation and caulk paid for itself the first winter.


Adding 48" planks to widen a 36" bridge with no support at ends

Assuming reasonably equal weight distribution, each wheel of a 600 lb. mower and a 200 lb person would carry 200 lbs. Any 2x4 or wider SPF lumber that's reasonably free from large knots will suffice.

The actual calculations are difficult due to the unknown weight distribution (front/rear, tire width, tire pressure, etc.), but experience tells me that you certainly will not break 2x4 or 2x6 (or larger) lumber in that application, especially if you were to run a sleeper under the ends to tie the boards together and distribute load. I consider that overkill, though, and I'd only bother to do it if you see substantial flex in the individual boards as you roll over them.


Should electrical wiring be placed above or below plumbing pipes

It makes absolutely NO difference. Even if the water pipes broke and flooded the stud bay the cable would not typically be damaged or harmed. NOR would it"short out" even in the slightest, even if it got into a device box.

Worrying about having electric and plumbing in the wall together is tantamount to worrying about having gas in the gas tank of your car with the exhaust 6" away.


Can I run THHN for separate washer and dryer circuits through the same conduit?

It is permissible to run more than one circuit in a conduit as long as the conduit is sized to carry all of the current carrying conductors. In your case a 1/2" conduit should do it, but I would go with a 3/4 for ease of pulling.

2(a). One of the advantages of pulling in one conduit is that you would only need a single grounding conductor sized to the largest circuit.The ground is attached to the receptacles and any metal enclosures and there are places marked for that purpose. You will attach the ground to the neutral bus in the main panel. You might check to see if there is a proper ground in the panel and make any necessary upgrades.

2(b). Most jurisdictions require any work to be permitted and installed by qualified personnel. We really can't be certain of every jurisdiction since codes vary by state and municipality. A quick call to your AHJ can solve that problem.

Good Luck.


How much expansion space is need for solid oak flooring?

3/4" gap all around has been the norm that I have seen on old house installs. If the drywall is high enough to make that gap to the framing all the better. That way the gap could be bigger and the base will still cover if you choose to not have shoe mold as many new installs nowadays go that way.

The biggest issue for solid wood floors over a large area is getting the wood acclimated. This usually means leaving the flooring in the environment in which it will be laid for 2 weeks. In the get it done now mentality of today, that never happens. then it is a matter of making sure the wood is within an acceptable range of moisture content that is compatible with the subfloor. If you can get or have a moisture meter, that will tell you what you need.

If you are coming out of a heating season, you home will be really dry, somewhere as low as 2-4% Moisture content (MC) Material as it comes from the suppliers, as long as it has not set in a warehouse for a long time, is supposed to be about 6% MC. This is not a bad difference. Usually if the floor is within 2% of the subfloor, there will be no issue. During the summertime the humidity will increase the MC to perhaps as much as 10%. Still the wood flooring needs to match this closely or it will try to swell rapidly to match the MC of the subfloor. Buckling may occur.

If it all goes in at the same MC or close it will all move together and have minimal issue. If the wood does swell up too much, that is what the gap on the long edges are all about, insurance. The ends to not need the same concern, then length of the floor only changes ever so slightly as the MC changes. In my experience ther has been no other need to make any other accomodation for expansion than the gap at the walls, no "T" strips needed.


Trouble matching paint color - should I try again?

I don't think you'll ever get it.

Paint the entire wall where the touch up is needed, no need to paint the entire room.  If it's close, you will not notice the difference between walls nor even breaks in the wall, with mouldings, etc..


Add mortar with either fiberglass or a kerdi membrane let set then add another layer of membrane to the corners as required for usual install.


How to fireproof steel beam in existing (45 year old) house

Adjacent houses had one of the nastier asbestos boards in the groove seen between the joists and under the metal. Then the regular plasterboard layer. Fireboard is what we put up in the same position, then plasterboard. "Grandfathered in" being the position re regulations.
Legally, we need fireproofing to regulations for steel beams as:

in the case of a small fire, the dwelling should no collapse beyond what would be expected. This is to protect people (say firemen/women) who may be there at the time, or in the aftermath. The fire protection for beams allow them to survive longer without collapsing and perhaps benefit from a water via a fire hose (say) 30 mins after the fire started.

Your insurance claim could be invalidated if there was no fire protection for beams, or the fire protection was inadequate given regulations.  This reinforces the home owners willingness to attend to #1 above.


Can a dishwasher be installed 8 feet from sink

High Loop/Air Gap is the Issue
Dishwashers get water in & pump water out. Water coming in is under pressure so there is no issue. Water going out from MOST fixtures is not an issue - a simple modest slope for gravity feed will do. However, a dishwasher is required to have an air gap of some sort. This prevents sewer water from flowing back into the dishwasher, which could happen easily if you did not have an air gap and your sink backed up even a little bit.
There are two solutions:

Air Gap - A traditional air gap is a metal/plastic gadget on the corner of your sink. A hose runs up from the dishwasher to the air gap. The water pushes out of the top, literally through the air, and down into another hose. The second hose connects to your disposal or to your drain pipe above the trap.

High Hose Loop - Many areas allow a high hose loop instead. This is one hose that goes from the bottom of the dishwasher up as high as possible under the counter (must be higher than the bottom of the sink) and then down to the disposal or drain pipe above the trap.

If you install a dishwasher next to a sink then this all works great. If you install it with other cabinets or appliances in between then there are two ways to route the discharge hose:

Up & Out Use either a High Hose Loop or Air Gap very close to the dishwasher, and then route the hose, making sure that it slopes down the whole way, to the disposal/drain. This requires space inside the cabinets, which may be really easy or may be a problem. For example, if you have a cooktop/oven in between the dishwasher and the sink then there may be very little, if any, room to route a hose up for a high loop or air gap. In addition, you definitely do NOT want to use an air gap as any excess water spray (which should never happen, but it can) will end up on your counter instead of in your sink. However, this should be just fine as far as the dishwasher pumping capability as the exact same pumping would be needed as with an ordinary installation.

Out & Up Route the discharge hose horizontally until you get to the sink and then up to a High Loop or Air Gap. This is likely to be easier as you can use the toe kick area and/or the very back of the cabinets to route the hose. However, the pump has to do more work to push out and then up than to simply push up and there will be more water potentially pooling from the end of the cycle because the hose (up to the high loop or air gap) will hold more water. I believe this is the manufacturer's concern.

I don't know if any other brands work better than Bosch in this regard. I don't normally see dishwashers except either right next to the sink or one bay over (typically that is with 2 dishwashers side-by-side).
8 feet sounds like a lot. That is ~ 4 bays away based on typical cabinets. If you can't mount a high hose loop close to the dishwasher then I would be very concerned as to whether it will work properly or not.


Yes, you can use service mode to debug anything wrong with your washer! it will debug item by item till you locate the abnormal function then you can find right solution to fix it.

From the behavior, it mostly like the water pressure component has some problem,which will cause it can not detect water is enough to trigger spin process. for example: water pressure controller abnormal or the water pipe leak water,which will cause water pressure detection fail also.