How should I connect a light fixture to this box with four cables?

This is not even close to the box from hell.
Why are there 4 bare copper , your home was wired with grounded NMB type cables each cable has a ground so there are 4 how can I tell? The number of and colors of black white & red wires. All the grounding conductors or bare copper should be connected together.
Why is there only 1 red wire. This cable is quite normal in a ceiling fixture, if you pull the light switch you will probably find the other end of the cable in that box. Red and black are “hot conductors” normally 1 for a light and the other for a fan. What is the brown cable for? Without knowing how things were connected we can only guess but there are many colors of nmb cable I have seen brown in the past there is nothing special about the color in this case modern coloring identifies the wire size white is 14 awg , yellow is 12 awg and orange is 10 gauge. This is not always the case as this is a more recent change in the past they were all white for the most part. Gray usually             identifies the cable as UF or underground feeder.
You ask if this is safe? Was a light hooked up previously? And how was it wired? I would say it probably was safe but now to get it back to a safe state we will need to know where the wires go to connect them up safely.  The red cable that is all tied together is probably a spare we can’t tell if this was a switch loop or how it was connected but be aware that white is quite often a switch leg or loop where white carries the power to the switch. To give more information on how to connect things properly we will need to see the connections at the switch(s) and we need to know which cable provides the power.  If you took photos prior to disassemble i it that could be quite helpful also.


Should I have current running through my neutral wire in breaker box?

Is this on all your circuits?  Are half your circuits under 120V while the other half are over 120V by about the same amount?
If so, turn your main breaker off IMMEDIATELY. Call your power company and report an OUTAGE.
It actually is a genuine outage.  One of the wires from the pole has broken.*  It's a 30-minute fix for a power company boom truck, happens all the time, they know what to do. Nobody else can do it.
Call the emergency outage number and report your power is out. **
When it happened to us, they had somebody out in an hour on a Sunday.
Fix it right away.  Don't fool around with it.
What's happening is that without a neutral wire, your voltages are a "teeter-totter".  It's like all the 120V loads on one leg are on a teeter-totter with all the 120V loads on the other leg.  When the loads are inbalanced, one goes down, the other goes up, and then it destroys appliances that are only made for 120V.
This teeter-totter changes instantly based on load. The coffeemaker auto-starts, and boom!
When it hit our complex, several people had their microwaves and refrigerators destroyed.

* Because of the weird way North America does electrical power, all single wire breaks don't seem like outages.  Both legs will work but with weird voltages.  Above I describe how lost neutrals behave.  When a hot wire is lost, the dead leg will still work (weakly) because power is backfeeding through 240V loads like water heater.    Some people observed their lights come back on when they turn on their oven.  That makes sense.
** DON'T go so far as mentioning that the power is out because you turned off the main breaker :)  We've had reports of service agents telling people that because their lights partially work, they don't have an outage.  That's wrong. The agents don't understand what I just said above.


You'll need to add a blower relay to your system
Unfortunately, you have an oddball among electric furnaces in that your furnace controls its blower autonomously using the sequencer relay, much like a gas furnace does with its blower thermostat/limit.  As a result, your electric furnace doesn't support a G wire natively.  Fortunately, it's not too difficult to add one on by splicing a fan relay in at the right spot.  In your case, you (or your HVAC tech of choice, if you're not comfortable modding your furnace) need to:

Get a fan relay with a 24VAC coil and SPDT contacts, as well as appropriately sized female quick connects (1/4" wide, and rated for the gauge of wire in question), and some 18AWG TF(F)N in blue, yellow, and green
Install the fan relay in the wiring compartment of the furnace
Move the existing blue wire from the sequencer over to the common terminal on the fan relay
Make up a jumper of blue TFFN with quick connects on each end and use it to connect the normally closed terminal on the fan relay to the sequencer terminal that the original blue wire connected to
Make up a jumper of yellow TFFN and use it to connect the terminal of the sequencer directly opposite the blue wire (it has a yellow wire and nothing else connected to it from the factory) to the normally open terminal on the fan relay
Make up another jumper of blue TFFN with a quick connect at one end and a stripped end at the other and use it to connect one coil terminal on the fan relay to wherever you connected your C wire to
Crimp a quick connect onto a length of green TFFN and strip the other end, then run that from the other coil terminal on the fan relay to where the thermostat wires connect; this will become your new G wire, when wirenutted to the incoming G wire from the thermostat

Once you're done hooking everything up, you can turn the system back on and test operation both with the thermostat fan switch in AUTO and the thermostat fan switch in ON, then enjoy your upgraded furnace!


The problem you are describing is one of a lack of pump capacity. If when the water is being used in the house, the pressure cannot get past 40 PSI, it's because your pump is maxed out. If it USED TO work and has become worse, you may have a pump problem that should be looked at, i.e. sand infiltration, low water table, worn out impeller etc. etc.. If it has ALWAYS been like this, then your pump is too small, or rather too small to give you any more.


How to clean a really dirty and dusty attic?

I'd go with sweeping compound.  It's a kind of sticky granular product that you can get from janitorial stores.  It's used for sweeping areas like warehouses that kicking up too much dust is a concern.  Follow the instructions on the packaging and dust will stick to the sweeping compound rather than becoming a haze in the air.


In the attached picture is 9/16" referring to the compression fitting end's internal diameter? What 90 pushin should I buy to work with this hose?

23-9/16" means 23 tpi and 9/16" in diameter - tpi is threads per inch.
Standard sizes so any decent hardware / plumbing store can help.


Like you I recently bought a house on a septic system that also had some storm water drainage issues, so I'm answering not as an expert, but as someone with recently-acquired insight.

How seriously to take the initial inspection..

First, since your initial inspection was performed by a different company than the one handling your yearly pumping, and since their review differs from the opinion of your regular crew ..and since you say the system is performing as it should be with no apparent issues, I'd retain some "cautiously optimistic skepticism" of the initial inspection. ESPECIALLY since those inspection notes say the drain field (absorption area) was saturated, and this corresponds with your mention of drainage issues in your front yard. It's probably obvious but, if rain events are causing ponding in your yard, then clearly your drain field will suffer compromised performance.

Lifespan of septic systems and common points of failure..

Second--a 42-year old system would concern me too, so I wonder what the potential lifespan of your actual tank is. This page suggests..

  Steel tanks can last anywhere from 20-30 years, and usually deteriorate from weathering. Plastic tanks last a bit longer, with an average lifespan of 30-40 years. The longest lasting option are concrete tanks, which can last 40 years or more. ... People love concrete tanks because they last almost indefinitely, but low quality concrete that is not poured properly will fail in just a few years.

And this page says..

  A concrete septic tank can last 40 years to nearly indefinitely.

So if yours was built well, and I suppose we can assume it was, then maybe your tank is hanging in there. Also since your regular pump crew thinks the system looks good from the perspective of the most easily-observed component (the tank), maybe you can feel comfortable betting on it.

..specifically, drain fields

As I understand it, when these systems fail, the drain field is the weakest link and the most likely point of failure, particularly if it was originally packed in dirt rather than gravel. (Which I think modern systems are packed in gravel?) Also FWIW, it's very possible, maybe even likely, that your drain field has been replaced at least once.

As mentioned here..

  The most common and most expensive failure of private systems occurs as soil clogging and failure of the absorption system to continue to accept water.

So it may be that--if there is truly a problem--the whole system isn't in jeopardy, just the drain field beyond the distribution box.

The drainage issue..

But your mention of a drainage issue affecting your yard hosting the steptic is potentially important, especially if it's ponding over your drain field! ..in which case, I'm guessing you're considering a french drain to help move the water. It's my opinion that moving ponding storm water out and away from your drainage field should come first, for two reasons: 1) Standing water in your drain field means oversaturation is competing with your distribution lines' ability to leach effluent ..because the soil's potential to accept that effluent is reduced or eliminated. So fixing the drainage issue should automatically help your drain field. 2) You wouldn't want to replace your drain field with a known drainage issue, particularly a ponding/pooling issue, unless you handled them at the same time.

Personally, I think it would be easier to know you fixed the drainage issue if you tackle it first, rather than at the same time you replace your drain field, because that would give you the opportunity to evaluate if your drainage solution was working before you ventured into more costly overhaul of one of your home's mechanical systems. There is a caveat to this, though, you will want to make sure when your drain field is replaced, that they do not also destroy your french drain in the process ..for example by driving over the top of and crushing any drain lines.

How I'd approach this..

If I were in your shoes, I'd tackle the drainage issue first. It needs to be handled anyway, and it's definitely working against your current system, and it would be a lingering impediment to a new system.

Next, assuming your tank is concrete, and based on the observations of the pump crew that the tank itself appears to be in good shape, I'd get some quotes to replace just the drain field, rather than the whole system. Nobody likes to dump a ton of money on repairs for stuff, but if you're not too put off by the quote, I'd consider just having it done to avoid the anxiety and move on with your life.

Finally, the yard. Unless you're anticipating trying to sell your home in the near future, I would limit any landscaping I did to stuff that wouldn't be destroyed by the sort of equipment that would be used to drive over your yard digging up the system components.

To be ultra-specific, I certainly wouldn't lay sod over a potentially 42-year old drainfield, or even one under suspicion. I'd probably gamble on replacing my drain field and keeping my old tank unless the expense of replacing just the field vs the entire system (tank, distribution box, field lines) is similar enough that it's a no-brainer.

Since you're asking this in a DIY community..

If you're ambitious, and if your setting is rural-enough, you could consider replacing the drain field yourself. Be sure to look into the legality of this, but there are tons of videos on YouTube that go into the anatomy of septic systems, what they look like in various states of failure, and how to repair the failed components. Of course your old lines would need to be dug up and disposed of. You'd need a lot of gravel for below and around the lines, and you'd want to start immediately after having the tank pumped.

Good luck!


How can I add a GFCI receptacle on a circuit with split receptacles?

Short answer, pigtail the GFCI on both hot and neutral side.  Do not attempt to daisychain any other outlets off the "load" side of the GFCI.


Do slotted screws indicate old fixtures? How old?

I'd say by around 1990 most fixtures and devices (outlets, switches) had been shipped with combination screws (both #2 Phillips and slotted drivers work, or sometimes #2 square and slotted). The transition probably started in the mid-70s and varied by region of manufacture, backstock quantities, etc.
Answer informed by vague accumulated memory, not empirical data.


What do I do about a toilet flange that is too high?

I found this 2 part video on YouTube that helped me understand what to do.

part1
part2

I ended up cutting off the top of the flange with a PVC pipe cable saw.  I then used a mini hacksaw to cut some segments into the fitting and wedged the pieces out.  After removing 2 small parts of the ring, the rest just wedged right out without much effort.  I cut down the pipe to be flush with the floor using a pull saw.  I put a level down and found the concrete was not level around the pipe.  I used a rub brick and the mini hacksaw, which I could angle to cut the inside of the pipe, to get the pipe and surrounding concrete truly level with the rest of the floor.  This took a while.

When I finally got it level, I put in a Twist N Set Closet Flange.  I drilled 4 pilot holes and put in concrete screws.  The toilet is now level and not going anywhere.  Now I just have to fix my guest bathroom which has the exact same problem.  At least I got a good deal on the house.


Safe to install a resistor (of sorts) on a wall switch to force a light to dim?

Remember a resistor dissipates heat, if you have a 50 w bulb and want only 25 w of light a resistor would now be heating the area where it is connected also 25 w resistor would be fairly large and more expensive than A dimmer. A dimmer switch would be a safer and more energy efficient way to dim the bulb as the circuitry limits what part of the AC cycle is allowed to pass. So use a dimmer not a resistor.


As Wolf says, a combination of SPDT and DPDT switches. One switch on each floor, top and bottom are SPDT, all others are DPDT. The number of switches is one more than the number of lights. Here are a couple of ways to wire it:

The left diagram shows the sane way. Blue is the neutral leg.

The right diagram shows how to use the Carter three-way pattern to save copper. I think this is now banned throughout the civilized world because sometimes when a lamp is off it is hot on the shell side. It requires turning off the entire circuit at the service panel to safely change a light bulb.

EDIT 2/4/16: The actual requirement is for two lamps to be controlled by each switch. I think that the stairway should be usable serially in the same direction (the accepted answer only allows descent after ascent). Here are a couple of ways to wire it:

The left diagram shows the safe way. Blue is the neutral leg.

Note that, except for the lowest and highest floors, it is not possible to control a lamp on the same floor as the switch. I'm sure this can be done with an additional switch on each floor. However the instructions for using the switches will become too confusing for most users. And I am drifting away from the core subject of this SE.

The right diagram shows the functionality of the left diagram, implemented in the Carter system. Note the remarkably reduced number of wires and switch contacts. Remember, this method is very dangerous. You might get electrocuted maintaining it, you might lose your license for building it, and you might get downvoted just talking about it.

This pattern, and other too-clever circuit solutions, often find application in low-voltage, signalling, and railroad block controls. It is not used in residential structures, which are typically required not to kill their occupants.


How can I have one circuit always utility powered while all other circuits are either generator or utility powered?

The THP108 PowerBack audible alert might fit your need. It is a battery-powered alarm which detects mains power via an antenna wrapped around one of the supply conductors (upstream of the main/interlocked breaker). There's no electrical connection to the conductors. I don't have this device (yet?), but from what I can tell, a person switches this thing on while they're running generator power, and the alarm sounds whenever utility power comes back on. (photo from Reliance Controls)

Still, though.. I'm interested to see whether one of our expert electricians will come along with a suggestion for tapping the supply for an extra panel as described in your question, or perhaps a code-compliant means for adding a neon (or other) pilot lamp that indicates when utility power is live.


Why do foundation bolts at corners deteriorate faster?

Corrosion is a process of moisture and oxygen on the steel bolts. There is no special reason for the bolts to “rust” at the corners than any other location, unless 1) proximity to crawl space vents, 2) coincidental subsurface moisture (uphill locations) at those locations, 3) surface moisture (downspouts) introduced at those locations, 4) leaky siding joints at corners, etc.


Which kind of locks should be installed on external wooden glass panel doors?

An ordinary door lock. Double cylinder deadbolts, which require a key from either side, are in violation of the fire code many places. It isn't a good risk trade off even if they are legal, especially considering you could change to a solid door in areas at a higher risk for crime.

Apparently, they do make key capture deadbolts which prevent removing the from the inside of a locked door. When you're away from home it will prevent burglars which are too stupid or lazy to smash a window instead.


How much clearance is needed on a gas fireplace?

You should try to determine the manufacturer and model of your fireplace and get a copy of the installation instructions, which will have detailed instructions on the required clearances.    The answer will vary depending on the construction of the fireplace.


Why do single electrical receptacles exist?

There are quite a few reasons to use a single receptacle instead of a duplex receptacle. A few that I know of:

Recessed for clock or behind a TV. In this case, it is sometimes easier to use with one centered receptacle instead of top or bottom of a duplex receptacle.
Air conditioning, range, dryer or other larger-than-usual circuit (in the US, this means anything > 120V or > 20A). I believe in at least some cases this is a code requirement.
Refrigerator or freezer in a GFCI-required area in order to avoid GFCI requirements (subject to local code and AHJ). In this case a second receptacle would be indication of intent to plug in additional devices rather than using a single receptacle for a specific exemption.
Cooktop ignition. I have this in my own house. My electrician installed a single receptacle as (a) there is no reason to ever plug in anything else inside the cabinet under the cooktop and (b) he installed it "upside down" - ground pin on top - instead of the more typical (for the US) orientation, for an extra little bit of safety (which would be awkward/confusing elsewhere but for the seldom unplugged cooktop is perfectly fine). The same logic would apply for a single receptacle for a garbage disposal.
Specialized sensitive equipment - e.g., medical or computer - to minimize interference from other equipment on the same circuit (e.g., there are devices that will reboot due to voltage drop if a laser printer starts printing on the same circuit, but which will be fine as long as they are on separate circuits - and any time you have an open receptacle it becomes "available" for a printer or vacuum cleaner or whatever).
Backup power - if you have a generator or battery backup with limited power then using single receptacles is a way to make sure that only the specified loads are on the automatically transferred circuits.

I am sure there are more reasons - if anyone has any good ones, feel free to add to this list (or make your own answer if you prefer).


How can I fix mosquito problem in my garage, sealing garage doors

You don't mention what you observed to decide that it's "relatively well sealed".
You can get strips at your local lumber/big box store, which have a built in gasket.  Cut and nail/screw them to the outside frame with gasket slightly compressed against the door.  Do both sides and the top.  That will seal the edges.  If the door bottom doesn't have a gasket, nail a rubber one  on there too.

Example product

That should take care of the door, but my garage is also vented via the soffits, so small flying insects will always find their way in.  If you have them in large numbers, investigate their ingress and any attractants you may have.


Is it a bad idea to attach inside mounted blinds to side of trim?

I owned and operated a Budget Blinds franchise for two years.  As long as you comfortable with the support provided with you mount, you should be fine.  Cellular shades are so light.  The proper way to install them would be to mount L-brackets up through the window frame header and then window brackets to install the blind to the L-brackets.  If you call the company, they have a specialty bracket for you to use.


What kind of gravel should I use to pave over dirt and grass?

It depends a lot on the kind of traffic you expect and the condition of the ground. I'm going to write from my experience, outside Seattle, WA, USA, where the subsoil is glacial till.

For light foot traffic, pea gravel can be nice. Rocks are under 1", uniform in size, and have smooth surfaces. Every time you step on it, the rocks will shift, softening the footfall. This is also noisy and causes the gravel to spread out. You can contain it with edging, or just let it spread and refresh it periodically. It's not good for wheeled traffic, as the wheel will just sink in.

If you want to push a heavy wheelbarrow, ride a bicycle, or drive on gravel, you want to pick something with sharp edges. It also helps if the rocks are a mix of sizes. They will lock together over time, providing a sturdy surface.

If the ground is soft and collects water during your rainy season, smaller gravel will just get pushed in to the mud with traffic. An initial layer of larger rock (say, 3" minus) will stabilize things, and a top layer (say 3/4" minus) will give a smooth surface. Mud will still work its way to the surface, but the ground will remain stable. In very wet soft ground, I've heard that a layer of 3" - 5" crushed rock works well under the 3" minus, but I haven't tried it.

To keep mud from working its way up, put a layer of landscape fabric down first.

Look at the shape of the land and the history of draining. Avoid low, wet areas, or reshape them to drain elsewhere. Consider how your traffic will wear and shift the ground, and how that will affect draining in the future, too (e.g. tires leaving ruts).

It a good idea to remove topsoil and other organic matter first. Keep it, though, and use it elsewhere.


Interior wall paint turned soft and gooey

I am not a painter but I have come in contact with this when I painted using oil base paint over latex base paint, or is it the other way around, any ways they do not like each other. If you can, sand the walls that are giving you the problem and repaint them.


How to independently switch a GFCI outlet?

If this is new, I would do this:

Run a wire from the panel to a GFCI outlet in your garage (or wherever -- it may even be in the same box as the switches).

Optionally, you could just use a GFCI breaker for this circuit but these are over $100 more than regular breakers, whereas a GFCI outlet is easily less than $20 in parts

From the LOAD terminals on the GFCI outlet, run power to your switches.
From here, run everything as you normally would: switch hot for each outlet, and run the switched hot, neutral and ground to each switch.


confirming LED driver input and output requirements

Using the information you provided, each LED needs 125mA so the two of them would require 250mA. This value is below the rated output of 350mA of the driver you're referring to so it would overload the LEDs and burn them out faster. Look for one that's 250mA constant current.


It looks like a tire lug screw.  You could try a multi grip universal socket like the one below depending on the actual size of you screw.

What I usually do in cases like this is get out my Dremel tool with a cutoff disk and grind a slot in the middle of the screw and then use a large screwdriver to undo it. When that hasn't worked, I pounded a copper pipe close in size into the screw and made a makeshift socket, flattened the pipe and used an adjustable wrench to turn it out.


Using leveling compound on plywood subfloor (second story)

That looks like an almost non-issue (especially if the flooring will run the same direction as that level, if not you'll need to do something about it). If it's a low traffic area it might not concern me in the slightest.

I HATE, quote, "self leveling" compound. It should called: aww crap, now what? (you had better know how to trowel concrete) And if you're going to use nails instead of glue, then leveling compound is out of the question. It will crack when you shoot nails into it and the flooring won't sit right on all the crumbs.

I'd either floor right over that, or lay down a new 3/8 plywood sub-floor over the whole thing (with none of the old seams lining up, and nowhere shall four corners meet; T junctions only).

I would not use felt and I wouldn't worry about having to tape that seam if you're going to use leveling compound. But you could try using strips of luan (1/8" plywood), cut to fit that gap as large as possible, so long as they're still underneath your level (a high spot would be worse IMO).

I've never glued a hardwood floor down, but if you're going to, then this probably would be an appropriate use of self-leveling compound. However I recommend neither process.


Help with re-wiring a two circuit outlet with one controlled by switch

Yes, it looks like this is a switch loop type wiring arrangement.  The black in the /3 cable brings "hot" from the breaker panel.  It then goes to the TAGGED/MARKED white wire in the /2 cable, which is the always-hot wire going up to the disposal switch.

The switch does (or does not) connect the TAGGED/MARKED white "always-hot" wire to the disposal's "switched-hot" wire, which is the black wire.  That goes to the disposal outlet.

Code now requires several things missing from this installation.  Partly that is because this installation is a "multi-wire branch circuit" (MWBC), two circuit hots sharing 1 neutral.

The white wire must be tagged/marked a color (or black) to indicate it is in use as a hot wire.
The two circuit breakers which power the disposal and dishwasher need a handle-tie so that when you shut one off, the other also shuts off.  The handle-tie must be UL listed specifically for the breakers. Finding this correct handle-tie is often hard, so we recommend simply replacing both breakers with a 2-pole breaker.  Such a breaker inherently has a "handle tie" built in from the factory.
Your situation might be grandfathered, but if not, the dishwasher needs GFCI protection.   The only way to accomplish this, given your circuit layout, is a 2-pole GFCI breaker in the service panel.   This will also take care of the above issue, and provide GFCI protection for the disposal as well.
It is vitally important that this MWBC not be fed off a duplex/tandem/double-stuff breaker (2 breakers in one breaker space). People often confuse double-stuffs with 2-pole breakers, but the giveaway is that the handles are not factory tied.

If you need guidance selecting a suitable breaker for your panel, ask - we have experts on that subject!  Do not just slap in any random breaker into any random panel; they may seem to fit but will arc and damage the breaker and panel.


How much less power does a three-phase air conditioning unit use than a one phase unit?

Think I'll chime in here and add my two cents to these other good answers.  There are two components to the original question:

How much less power does will the 3 phase A/C compressor unit use?
Longevity of three-phase motor versus single phase

Power
Motor Efficiency = Power Output / Power Input
It takes a certain amount of power to run the compressor regardless of single or three phase power... this is the power output.  The power input is what you are trying to minimize, thus you want to increase efficiency as much as possible.  The trouble is this metric (efficiency) is a hidden combination the components inside the compressor unit (compressor, fans).  It is not necessarily true (but it usually is true) that three phase is more efficient than single phase.
I would look at the SEER rating which 'automatically' includes the motor efficiency for a better indicator of "cost to cool".
Longevity and Reliability
Three-phase motors and compressors are generally more reliable than their single-phase couterparts.  But like anything else, there is more to it than that one attribute.  Using Philps' automotive engine example, a 4 cylinder Honda might be more reliable that that old smallblock V8.
Vibration
Certainly less in the three-phase motor.  And generally less vibration equals greater reliability.
Motor Starting
Three-phase motors have lots of starting torque and don't (typically) require any special circuitry to start (capacitors, centrifugal switches).  And of course fewer components means fewer things to go wrong.
Cost
Is disappointing that the three-phase equipment is more expensive.  Almost always, three-phase motors are actually cheaper than an equivalent single-phase motor.


Is there a simple way to make these rough sawn, exposed joists level and flat?

The Code requires the floor joists to support 40 psf Live Load (people, furniture, etc.) plus Dead Load (permanent flooring, insulation, etc.).

It appears your joists are about 24” on center (based on the size of the bricks).  Therefore, your joists (rough sized) will support about 120 plf at 13’ span depending on the species and grade.

If the joists are at 24” on center, then your floor will support about 60 psf (Live Load and Dead Load).  Your dead load should be between 10 psf and 15 psf. So, your joists are adequate.

However, in kitchens we always add a joist (or 2) under the refrigerator.

Notching the bearing end “about half way up” is serious. This limits the support strength in “shear” but not “bending”. (Notches in the middle third of the span affects bending more than shear.)

With that big of notches, I’d guess (without actually doing the calculations) you’ll loose about 20% of the total strength of the beam.

Therefore, you can shim each joist to get the joists level, but I’d keep the added weight (shims) to a minimum and I would not add a ceiling finish under the joists. I’ve seen leveling done with a transit and level, but it’s time consuming. Start at the highest point in the room and work out in all directions.


Hot water suddenly stopped working at kitchen faucet

Turn off the hot water valve under the sink and remove the hot water hose to the faucet.  Put the end of the water hose into a pail and turn on the valve slowly.  If the water flows freely, then the problem is within the faucet.  If it doesn't then you have a blockage in the water hose.  Either try to clear it or purchase a new hose.  If it flows freely, then you should disassemble the faucet in accordance with the diagrams in the manual and look for some kind of blockage or a damaged part.


Draining sediment out of my hot water heater

One common fix for smelly hot water heated in a conventional tank style water heater is to replace the magnesium type anode rod with an aluminum or zinc made rod.  For some reason the magnesium rod coming into contact with certain water chemistry results in a less than pleasant odor. As to the water quality in your flushing the tank, you are over-thinking it.  Put it back into service. That is not your problem. Areas with severe iron content problems often have to consult with and get help from a professional water quality expert.  It can take very special chemistry to deal with problem chemistry. Good Luck. P.


What should I do about mold in the corner of a bedroom?

Fix the underlying problem before. There is a reason why you still have mold. I would personally rip that wallpaper and locate the source of humidity/water causing this mold. If the water infiltration was fixed correctly, there shouldn't be any mold unless the affected area wasn't let to dry before sealing the area. In order to properly clean mold, you'll need to properly protect yourself N95 mask and gloves and wash thoroughly the affected area with a solution of water and bleach. 1cup of bleach per gallon of water i'd say. Good Luck


For the second question you might apply some septic dye into the old pipes. But often things get into the basement any old way, and then get trapped in the sump pit, rather than entering via the sump pit.

If you have a cleanout you can look into, septic dye might also address the assumption  that they connect to the sanitary sewer line at all. Perfectly common (but also not to be assumed without checking) that they just go out to drywells in the yard.

If they do connect to the sanitary sewer, you need to be careful not to plug the sanitary sewer if you are plugging the pipes. Inserting an expandable "test plug" to seal the pipe is a reversible means by itself, or can be a way to make sure that concrete does not go down the pipe too far and plug up what it should not. A balloon is a cheaper method for the latter, though one should put only a small quantity (2" or so) of concrete on it at first, and apply more concrete after the first section has hardened, so that excessive force is not applied to the balloon.


Can I leave ports open on push-in type wire connectors?

Yes.  If you choose to use push-in type wire connectors, you can insert 1 to #of_ports wires into them.

As mentioned in the comments... Some folks don't trust these push-in devices, because of the failings of their back-stab brethren. These devices are listed, and allowed for use by the National Electrical Code. But you have to keep in mind, so were the failed back-stab connectors.  So use at your own risk.


I had my own "green" start up company that I sold off 10 years ago- and I use the same guys to install most new systems I put in.  Really for most cases all the data will come back to is the average temperature that a home is kept (given that insulation and other thermal constraints are constant).

Really the most effective thing to do is to always have your heat pump on at a constant that would give you the lowest temperature that you could stand.  Most of this comes from the ducts/pipes being used are always heated to level.

There are numerous numerous studies that will show you that if you turn off your heat pump for a large period of time of the day or turn it down dramatically you can save a lot of money.  The energy.gov study shows that turning off/down your thermostat for 8 hours a day will save you between 5-20% of your heating bill.

You might say - well that shows you that it cost more to heat up your house because the heat pump is off for 33% of the day but you only save 10%.  Now remember the point I made earlier, the cost is really based on the average temperature of your house - not when/how long your heat source is on.  So if it is 20F outside and you normally have your thermostat set at 70F but turn it off 8 hours a day you may come back to a house around 59F.  Now your average temperature is 66.33% and you can expect savings of 3-5% per degree around ambient temperature so about 10-20% savings which is directly in line with energy.gov stats.

Now the big GOTCHA that I didn't see data on is the ability for the heat pump to source heat from the outside.  (Let's take your heat pump being old out of the equation.  Most new heat pumps are anywhere between 150-300% efficient.  Older ones are all over the place so this may or may not pertain.)  If it is below 20 or just too cold and you kick your thermostat off for 8 hours a day and your house gets to 59F when you back... now let's say your heat pump then has a hard time getting the house back up to the desired temperature - and yes you would kick it off when you are at work and when you get home with cold house the temp outside is dropping too.

So the kicker is with a heat pump is you never want to turn it off to the point where you ever need to use the emergency heat.  The emergency heat is probably electric and might be close to 100% efficient for new models, but no where near the normal range of efficiency.  So putting yourself in a situation where the temp fell so much that it kicks on the emergency heat on a heat pump is the very last thing you want to do.

But even in this case it does not mean you don't turn down your thermostat, it just means you only turn it down to a certain level based on the outside temperatures.  (there is a lot more I could have probably added to this but it is already starting to get long)

Physics discussion that is a little more involved on the science side than my answer.

Really good case study by Institute for Research in Construction

There is also a lot of discussion that could be included in maybe a different question that is more specific around:

dealing with different types of heat sources (heat pump vs central air - forced vs rad)
the thermal properties of your house
the way your house deals with heat loss at variable levels of heat differential
the inefficiencies of your heating solution (ie is there anything that makes your heat source inefficient and how to limit that)
the humidity effects and other climate effects


Water began flowing from some taps even with whole house shut off

Okay, we gained more info in the comments, and now the order of events seems clear:

You turned off the water to the whole house,
opened taps on the first floor AND second floor to drain the pipes
closed taps on the first floor and then went to work
after about an hour, the taps on the second floor start to drip

We can now see the reason for the delay: Clearly the 'whole house shutoff' was not completely closed, and the water had to slowly fill all the pipes up to the level of the second floor.  If you had left a tap open on the first floor, you would have seen the drip almost immediately.


This is a relatively easy DIY job.  The sockets are most of the time removable.  I can't tell exactly from your picture, but they are usually held in place by a screw below, the socket itself screws in, or the sockets sometimes have a thread on the top and a bolt holds it down.  Remove the reflector/glass and take a look to see if you can figure out how to remove it.  There will be two wires attached, usually with a screw terminal.  Unscrew the wires and remove the socket.  Go to Home Depot or your local hardware store and find an exact replacement (they are 99% of the time standard sockets).  Re-attach the wires (doesn't matter if they are reversed in this case), re-attach the socket and enjoy your handy work!


What type of substrate should I use to install pavers over an existing poured slab patio

Since nobody else it going for this, then I'll give my two cents (based on limited experience, so please, anyone else feel free to chime in).

When it comes to concrete roads, for example, after patching it a few times the road eventually becomes too worn out, and the concrete is rubblized (into crush and run). Then fresh pavement is layed on top. Here's a look at some overlaying options for roads: Concrete Pavement Overlay Design. This isn't a manual and it's not extremely helpful but some of the pictures might help you visualize your own possible solutions.

With that being said, I realize this is just a patio... but the similarities to highways is not so remote that you couldn't glean something from studying how they're done. I think the biggest issue you have to deal with is levelling the area. I'm afraid that I don't really know what's going to work for you. Your idea of whitetopping may be okay... but you also said something about 2 inches... so, I think that the official answer must be that you have to remove the old stuff... it's the only way to be sure it's done correctly... and yes, soil compaction is important. After leveling and compacting the soil you need a full 2" to 3" layer of crush and run before laying down 1" to 2" of sand and new pavers.

Edit- After giving this some thought, my worry would be that the underlying pavers would cause the sand and underlayment to wash out due to non-drainage... so a soil base (which drains) is probably better. Plus, you need room for the crush and run (or gravel), sand, and pavers (but perhaps you already have that depth). The grade should be about 1/4" per 12 ft.

Otherwise if you pour a concrete pad over the old structure, and want to add pavers, then you probably shouldn't use anything beneath the pavers, so that there is nothing to wash away.


That is fine. The Electrical Code is silent on the issue, except for NEC 110.3B, which requires you to obey the unit's labeling and instructions.  So if they do not disallow painting the panel, then have fun.

Do not cover up any labeling or numbering, and do not paint the breakers themselves.

If you have a panel with no door, and you don't want to be looking at breakers, then contact electrical supply houses (not retail stores) until you find an authorized dealer for that brand of panel.  Ask them about panel covers with doors, or retrofit doors.  Paint the door.

The only exception is if your panel is the CH type.  Cutler Hammer's choice of color is pure perfection.  To make it match,  paint the rest of the house that color! :)


Where do i connect a "C" wire into my circuit board ? Goodman gmt140-5

Connect your C wire to the junction of the the fat light blue-grey wire and the thin white wire

While it does not look that your furnace has a control board, we can use another heuristic to identify the C wire in your furnace's connections.  Since it appears you have central air conditioning, we know that the thermostat is connecting the red and yellow wires in its cable to turn the cooling system on; from the furnace, as we can see, the yellow wire continues on to the compressor contactor as the red wire in the outdoor unit's control cable.

That 24VAC, then, has to return to the furnace's control transformer somehow, and it does so via the white wire in the outdoor unit's control cable.  Hence, that wire must connect to C in order for your air conditioner to work, and we can thus make our C wire connection at the point where it joins with the furnace's control harness.  Hence, just add your C wire to the nut where the fat light blue-grey wire from the furnace joins with the thin white wire from the air conditioner.


Running appliances during a Power Outage

A word of warning though. You CANNOT just "plug the generator into an outlet", because 1) when you do that without isolating your house from the now dead utility lines, the power from the local generator will go backward and try to power up EVERYTHING on that line, which might KILL a line worker trying to fix it; and 2) WHEN (not if) the utility power comes back on and the generator is running without being isolated, it could damage the electrical system in the entire house AND fry the generator.

Hire a professional to install it correctly and per code using a "transfer switch" sytem of some sort. it doesn't need to be automatic if that's too expensive, but there MUST be something that meets code in the system. It's literally a matter of life and death.


Steps to renovate uneven oak tiled Parquetry on cement?

There may be a better ways of doing this but I could see either laying down backer board of the thickness needed to make the parquetry the same height as the existing. You'll want to lay the backer board in a bed of thinset and a few concrete screws. Or depending on the size of area you may be able to get away with pouring self-leveling concrete mortar to the desire thickness and then the parquetry. The existing concrete will need some prep to get it to adhere well.


How much weight can the studs in a non load bearing wall support?

Non-load bearing means that it doesn't have the weight of the roof and ceiling bearing on it, basically, it can be removed with no ill effects. This has no bearing whatsoever on its capacity to hold a load, which has more to do with how the wall is tied in with the floor and roof joists. If you had a modern home I wouldn't worry about it. Since your home is (probably) not up to modern building codes you could have a professional mount it and thus bear any liability for the failure of the wall. If that isn't an option, inspect the condition and spacing of your studs and the anchoring of the wall into the floor and ceiling.


When there is no room to stabilize a nut, what then?

I'd try simply wedging something in against the head of the bolt if you have any accessibility at all. Otherwise, an impact tool may break it loose even without support on the bolt. Often the inertia of the bolt's mass is enough to hold it against the tool's force.


Safe to use 220V electric clothes dryer when building has been bridged down to 110V?

It won't work.  Your 220V (really probably 240) outlets will actually have 0V, not 110V.

The reason for this is that normally the 220V outlets make their 220 by taking both 110 lines that are out of phase with each other, such that while 1 is at +110, the other is at -110 for a difference of 220.  Since the power company bridged one of the 110 lines to make up for the dead one, that won't work -- they'll both be at +110 or -110 at the same time, for a difference of 0.


How do I connect a new fixture to a box with two black and two white wires?

Assuming only one fixture controlled by that switch, you seem to have a typical switch loop here. Connect per this diagram:


Find other exit of empty electrical conduit

Okie doke.  It appears I'm stuck with writing this one up.  I wrote a lot of comments because the remedies associated with your problem typically lack the certainty I associate with an "answer".  That said, you have a mystery pipe.  Multiple mystery pipes in fact.  You haven't mentioned what kind of conduit it is, but it matters whether the pipe is plastic or metal, embedded in a slab, and even what type of pipe if plastic.
First thing to get out of the way is safety.  Blind fishing is a 2 person job, partly because you need someone to look and listen, and partly because you may need someone to call EMS.  The tool typically used to fish pipes is a "fish tape" and you can get versions made of metal and fiberglass.  If you're pushing a fish tape to a mystery location, there is a chance you'll end up somewhere live.  A fibreglass fish tape poses little risk in this situation, whereas a metal one in a metal pipe will cause a flash when it shorts something to ground, and if it touches something with a high current limit, the results can be spectacular and in a very bad way.  A box or panel or parts of them can literally be blown right off the wall.  A metal fish tape in a plastic conduit will instead be energized and if you're not lucky enough it is touching ground somewhere, you become the path to ground and because of the way a fish tape must be gripped to feed it, there is a high risk of "lockup" where a voltage is sufficient to keep your muscles flexed and prevent you from letting go.  As far as I've seen, lockup on 240V and lower is rare, but you could still receive a bad shock, or if you're not lucky, be electrocuted.  If you're in a large building, a pipe could have been abandoned because it was misconnected to a different system which may have a higher voltage.
So you need a fibreglass fish tape, right?  Weeeeeeeellll it's not that simple.  Fibre tapes are less strong, durable and rigid, and they dampen the noises they make in some ways, so if you have a metal pipe and you run a fish tape all the way into it and then ram the fish tape so it ripples and hits the side of the pipe, with a metal fish tape you can often sense some vibration on the whole length of the pipe, with a fibre tape, much less so.  If the pipe is plastic it'll be harder to hear either way, and if it's embedded in concrete or insulation you won't hear it this way anyway.  The other way the tape can make noise is by the ramming end, and again, metal boxes and pipe tend to resonate better.  One other thing to note, locating pipes falls into hard use for fish tapes, and the name brand tapes like GREENLEE in particular vastly outperform cheaper generic fish tapes for hard use in my experience.  My comments about fish tape durability are about GREENLEE tapes, and I have absolutely had to buy the odd cheapo tape and wreck it doing something mickey mouse easy for a GREENLEE, and have also bought a cheapo tape when I was absolutely sure whatever tape I used would be wrecked.  You'll have to make your best guess what's right for you, but that's the background.
Sometimes a "just in case" pipe that is not later used is simply taped off in duct tape or not even capped.  In this case the fish tape can be pushed through the tape and typically it's possible to make a fair bit of noise by rattling it if it happens to land in a void or run into drywall or steel stud.  A fibreglass fish tape can be wrecked trying to push through 3 layers of decent duct tape, 2 layers if the tape was put on well.  A steel fish tape can take probably 10 or 20 times the force and can usually be straightened if it kinks, especially if you were using good technique and the kink is limited.  If you push a fishtape into a mystery void, there is a chance it will bind or jam or hook on something and you will be unable to withdraw it unless you find the other end of the pipe, potentially costing you valuable fish tape length and occassionally it can't be removed from the other end, sacrificing the pipe.  I could write a few pages on how to extract a stuck fish tape, but this will be bulky enough anyway so we'll cross that bridge if we come to it.
Soooo, strongly preferring a metal fish tape I would approach your problem.  Is it possible to eliminate the chance of fishing into something live?  If it's an apartment building or has adjoining units, there could be multiple power systems, but if the buiding is stand alone, I can check for any additional pipes coming into the service side of the main panel (there should be none) and look at the load side of the panel.  If I turn off the main disconnect, is there any hole big enough for a fish tape that leads to the service side?  Better securely block that.  Once the main breaker is off, I can use a metal tape without fear with the caveat that if my fish tape gets jammed in something and I can't extract it, I might have to check every live box in the house just to be sure before re-energising.  On the other hand, if my fish tape ended up in an existing box, I'd want to know about it, so guess what?  I'll strongly consider opening every reasonably accessible box in the area (or because you have multiple pipes to check, possibly the whole house.  I'd also check above the suspended ceilings for any end points to watch for.  Conveniently for an electrician, mystery pipe recovery is typically done during initial construction, before energisation, and typically before an area is closed up.
Hmmm so how do I feed the fish tape?  Well to start with, your fish tape either does or doesn't have a leader on it.  If it doesn't, you want a good head to fish with, so look up how to put a head on a fish tape and preferably use a torch to make the tight bends.  You want a relatively low chance of hooking on an edge if you come out of pipe and have to extract your fish tape, so you can tape the back of the loop into a nice cone shape with tightly wound tape.  If you're using a leader, the square back edge can catch too, especially if something presses it to the side, so it's wise to tape a cone onto that.
Ok so now I can put the end of the fish tape into the pipe and start feeding it in, noting any bumps I have to jiggle to get past or things that feel like constrictions or bends I'm pushing through.  I'm thinking about how I'm applying force to the tape so the force translates well to feed it down the pipe rather than bending it or kinking it.  I usually have one hand about a foot out from the pipe to produce the bulk of the pushing force and the other hand with my fingers a few inches out to support the curve from my pushing angle into the pipe.  This also gives you additional sensitivity to how much you're "helping" when it arrives at a new curve or restriction.
Ok so I've fed the fish tape in and what I'm pushing against feels like pushing on a brick wall.  This may mean I've hit an end of the pipe that is taped off in concrete, I've reached a box and I'm wedged in a corner, I've hit the end of a pipe that has been capped off, like with a PVC cap that may or may not be glued, or the bends in the pipe are pushing the tip of the fish tape sideways and it is caught on some slight ridge like a coupling or connector not done up all the way or a ridge in core line (smurf tube in countries where it's blue).  Another worst case this could indicate is that some fastener has been driven through the pipe.
At this point, I'll strongly consider adding a butterfly to my fish tape and fishing the pipe several times with lube. Especially if being jammed on a coupling or just friction could be the issue.  The butterfly helps the tip of the fish tape bounce past obstructions at the same time as spreading lube on the inside of the pipe.  To make a butterfly, take pulling twine or baling twine and run loops through the loop of the fish tape so you have one end of the twine and two 10cm loops sticking out on each side (one 10cm loop each side for 1/2" pipe).  carefully and tightly tie the ends to each other with a square knot, preferably sitting inside the loop of the fish tape, and then tie the opposite loops tightly to eachother with a square knot, one on each side of the tape.  Then pack a bunch of lube into the pipe, lube up the butterfly and try fishing the pipe again.  The tip of the fish tape won't be able to rattle, but if you can get to the destination, it can still tap.
I get it as far as I can and arrange the part around me so I can pull it back 8 inches and repeatedly ram it against the end of the pipe.  I note if it feels soft or hard, and anything else I can notice in the ten or twenty minutes I do the tap tap taparoo while my apprentice looks and listens.  Then we switch jobs and try again.  While you're tapping, you may as well be trying to feed it farther, so you can try tapping and bouncing with timing to make the end jiggle in case it has just caught a ridge on the inside of the pipe or something.  Sometimes in your efforts to make noise you simply get the fish tape in another few metres, which might be the information needed to look in the right location.
If what I'm pushing into seems soft like duct tape, I may try twisting the fish tape.  As long as it hasn't gone through too many bends, with a metal fish tape, you can hold an S shape in the part sticking out and turn it like an augur.  If it turns easily it's a straight pipe, so you have some information.  If the pipe has bends, the fish tape will act like a spring, storing force as you try to twist it until it flips over with a loud snap.  You can wreck a fish tape this way, but if you're good you can also do this many many times before wearing a tape out.  What you're trying to take advantage of is that up to a threshold bending a metal it acts like a spring before it reaches the greater amount of force that will permanently deform it.
If you have good 9 inch linesman pliers, you can also attempt to make loud noises or bounce past obstructions by rippling the fish tape.  Feed the fish tape in as far as you can, and keep feeding it until you can't push it any harder by hand.  Without releasing the pressure, grab the fish tape an inch or two out of the mouth of the pipe with your pliers, gripping the pliers as far from the jaw as you can for maximum grip strength and keep pushing.  Either the fish tape will smash through, or it will have to absorb the extra length by rippling back and forth inside the pipe.  By either applying more force or angling the pliers back and forth, you can often get the fish tape to snap back and forth, which can cause the tip to bounce off the side in addition to making noise.  If you make a mistake angling the pliers you will kink the tape.  For upward or sideways facing pipes, you can put your elbow on your hip and push with your legs, using your arms only for control, positioning and grip strength.  A 150lb person can typically push a metal tape through 4 or 5 layers of duct tape or through a forgotten plastic knockout with this method, although it can be exhausting.  A fibreglass tape will almost certainly be ruined.  You may kink a metal tape this way, especially if you slip or grip it too far out of the pipe with your pliers, but it is typically recoverable.
Some box types meant for plastic pipe in concrete can have a pipe installed without the knockout being removed.  If I think this is a possibility, I'll be sure to listen for tapping at those boxes, or even simply smash the knockouts with a flat blade as there is no risk to losing the knockouts once concrete is poured.  If a plastic box of this type is not poured into concrete, you cannot lose the knockouts, so you can't preemptively do this.  If you however believe you have this problem with a screw mounted plastic box, you risk unmounting the box smashing it out this way, although I've had success using a 90 degree and flexible cord attachment for a Dremel to drill a hole in a knockout and either rout it out with a side cutter like a drywall bit or put a screw into the hole and use the screw to pry the knockout out.  Some boxes are too thick to pry out and you're back to routing it out.
Ok so what if your fish tape is going a suspiciously long way or feels too unobstructed?  First, stop.  You may have entered a void space and the fish tape may be bouncing and coiling into a knot that you won't be able to pull out.  Mark the fish tape with tape so you know how far you got and pull it out.  Measure if you think the information will help.  Feed it in again, this time being conscious and ready to sense when it exits the pipe.  You can shake it vigorously by feeding it back and forth 60cm as fast as you can and carefully continue to feed it a few feet at a time while shaking vigorously.  This has a really good chance of producing an audible noise, just don't go too far and make a knot.
Other than making sound directly with the fish tape there are a few options.  You can project sound into the pipe, and it carries fairly well, but you need to isolate the person listening for the other end as much as possible from hearing the source of the sound directly.  If you're a few floors apart you can yell or whistle in to the pipe, or use an actual whistle as Ed Beal suggests or a device like an electronic rape whistle to produce a noise at the other end.  If you have some core line or EMT available you can use it as a trumpet to blow into the pipe as suggested by NoSparksPlease.  These methods do not work very well with a capped pipe, so the airflow test with air bottle or vacuum before this point can be valuable, or the puncturing of duct tape if applicable.  You can potentially also create sound from the tip of the fish tape by building a piezo buzzer onto the head of your fish tape, as they are the loudest thing I'm aware of that will fit in a pipe.  You could also take apart a skinny electronic rape whistle for parts and likely build something that will fit in a pipe.
Alright, camera time!  Or more accurately, camera time may come before extreme fish tape methods depending on how far into the pipe I am, what size the pipe is and how far away my cameras are.  I have one camera that is best of the the cheap versions of a pipe fishing camera.  It only cost me $40 but I would have to wait up to a year for another similar sale, so I still treat cost of replacement as $100.  It'll fish 1/2" pipe but it's hard on it and even 3/4" pipe inevitably wears it out.  I estimate cost of one inspection in a 1/2" pipe to be $2.  On the other hand, if the problem is within 15m range, you'll know exactly what is wrong.  Screw through pipe?  Screw dropped in pipe?  Silt or sawdust or concrete?  A kink in a bend or a gap from a coupling or a ridge in a transition coupling are all plain as day.  You may be able to tell that you've entered a box or a void, although figuring out which way is up is hard.  If you know which way was up when you inserted the camera though, you can say "Ok it turns right so it's going east then it turns up so it's going south and then it turns left and ends so it's probably stubbing up into the floor above right about... here!  Oh, I see it got blocked by a pre cast wall so they just ran a new pipe.".  Another option is to get cheap USB inspection camera from AliExpress, and I've had one work with my phone with its own 10 foot cable plus a 10 foot extension cable.  It's not rigid enough to fish with alone, but it's skinnier than a rigid inspection camera, so I use it for looking in tiny holes or sacrificial uses.  Because it twists with the fish tape you feed it with, guessing which way a pipe turns is much more difficult.  Both cameras are branded as waterproof and I have wrecked both types by fishing a wet pipe after it had been worn out enough.  Even once a fish tape or string has been gotten through a pipe if the quality of pipe is in question (you should be able to pull the correct size "mouse" or "clean out" through the pipe in both directions, which will also clean out loose solids like bits of concrete and screws.), you may still need it to be camera checked to be sure if you pull something through by force you aren't pulling through an unacceptable pinch or into a pipe with a screw through it.  If the cameras you can afford can't cut it, you may have to rent a camera or hire someone who has a high-end one.
While we're on the topic of things you may have to rent or hire, depending on the type of conduit and construction, a toner may be of use.  The type you use for this has a transmitter that energizes something conductive with a signal and a receiver that looks like a metal detector, sometimes with a horizontal bar instead of a round head.  If it is a metal conduit, you can't sense a wire through it, but you can energize the conduit itself, which will light up everything grounded.  If you have mostly wood construction, this can be a good way to trace a metal pipe.  If you have steel stud or too much rebar too close it will find the signal everywhere.  If the pipe is plastic, you can energize the fish tape and easily sense it without much interference.  If sections of the pipe are plastic, you can attach an insulated wire and feed it in with your fish tape and energize that.  You won't be able to sense it though the metal conduit well but if you're lucky you can find a plastic section in concrete near the wall where it stubs out or some such.  If you fish out of the metal pipe and into a void you'll also be able to detect it there.
By now it may or may not have also been vacuum or air bottle time, again depending on how far the job box is that has what you need.  This works better on sealed types of pipe, but can even work with EMT and screw couplings.  The more powerful a vacuum you have, the better it will work.  The first difficulty is attaching the vacuum to the mouth of the pipe so that all of the suction is applied to the pipe.  With an air bottle an assortment of rubber nozzles are available designed to get to knockouts in the back of a box, but for a vacuum, you may wish to use duct seal and duct tape to seal off the rest of the box and attach the vacuum to the mouth if you don't have a suitable hose to seal well to the knockout.  Turn the vacuum on before you attach it and note how much it labors when you attach it.  Lower quality vacuums can be burned out this way.  If the vacuum is working extremely hard I'll use it 30 minutes at a time max, and I may be able to conclude that the other end of the pipe is completely blocked, which is valuable information.  Once I have the vacuum set up and air is flowing I can search for the other end by listening and feeling for air movement and or using smoke in likely areas to see if it reveals something.  If the pipe happens to be core line, it will also often shreik like a banshee which can be revealing and very irritating.  If the pipe is screw coupling EMT, you lose some pressure at every coupling, so you may have to be very sensitive of the suction that remains at the other end.
Be ready for surprises when using a vacuum or air bottle.  An abandoned pipe could be full of water which will blast everywhere if you use an air bottle and could indicate the reason the pipe was abandoned.  This usually happens when a plastic pipe gets filled somehow during construction, so a pipe that was sealed and has had years to evaporate is little concern.
Maybe we'd like to try a more extreme option and risk the pipe since we've run out the other options.  If it's a type of pipe that is reasonably air sealed and mechanically solid, like pipe run in concrete, continuous plastic pipe or rain tight EMT and you think it comes out inside a void, You can place a Marette or ball bearing (Smaller than the pipe or it could jam and note it could jam anyway) in the pipe and use an air bottle to fire it as a projectile.  You want listeners everywhere as you may only get one try.  The most extreme version of this I've seen is an outside company brought in to fire a "pig" which is a large metal version of a cleanout with two full rubber seals down a larger run of PVC.  Comes out the other end with enough force to smash a wall, so it was done to clean out and fish a difficult 4" pipe before walls were put up.  If the pig gets stuck you can put the air compressor on the other end to free it and try again, but if that doesn't work, the pipe and the pig are lost.
If I think of something else I'll add it, but this should at least get you putting information together in the right way to solve your mystery pipes.


Looking for ideas on how to attach piece of wood to eye bolt

I'd cut a strip of aluminium or similar sheet metal, fit it around the wooden rod and clamp it to the eye-bolt using a separate nut and bolt that pass through holes in the clamping strip and through the eye of the eye bolt.

If I didn't like to look of the bolt I'd see if I could find a large enough rivet or other type of fastener.


Baseboard heat register makes loud banging sounds

It sounds like there's water in your system. When you have a hot-water based radiator system, sometimes air will get in there and start making banging noises.

If it is a water boiler, I also highly suggest getting a new tech.

When I bleed (let the air out) of my radiators, I turn the system on and let it run at a hot temp, then turn it down and let it cool off. Starting at the radiator closest to the boiler I turn the bleed valve and let all the air out until water starts to come out. It helps to have a bowl or something to catch water when it comes out.

Repeat this process until you make it to the top floor. You may have to repeat the process again in a day or so, but this should take care of the issue.

If you need a more detailed guide read here


You should be able squeeze one of the connection heads and pull them apart. Some light kit also have a little tab on the side of the connector that have to be push in or pulled apart to release them.


At 2am, this is almost certainly the roof itself (or the gutters) cooling down overnight and contracting.  Ticking during the day would be the roof expanding in the heat.

A 13C temperature range is quite enough to do this.

There probably isn't a fix.  If it is a gutter you might be able to lubricate where it passes through the brackets.


Is it Ok to mount a bathroom extractor fan at floor level?

First off, you misunderstand the intention of the extractor fan.  It is not to remove hot air.  It is to remove moisture from the air, and that's done to help protect against mold and mildew buildup.  This is particularly important in bathrooms where the door is usually left shut.

(It still helps with open door bathrooms too but in those cases the moisture will dissipate into the rest of the house on its own if a fan isn't used so it's less of a concern.)

Typically the moisture will be in the form of steam and will tend to want to rise to the ceiling.  In the "door shut" scenario the air will be coming in through the base of the door - so putting the fan on the floor won't really help remove any moisture.


Why is lots of water bad for septic, and how can I take long showers without hurting it?

It is similar to changing the water on a tank of fish, not quite but the best comparison I think of on the spot. Your septic system works by natural decomposition aided by bacteria, surprising similar to your stomach. Putting that much water into a septic field at once can disrupt decomp process by "shocking" the system or flooding/shaking it and moving the bacteria away from their food source. There are companies and even apartment complexes using septic so it all depends on the size of your system and if/how much you feed you system bacteria (there are quite a few products for this). If you find yourself needing to pump out your septic too often, or at all depending on the system, then I'd look into supplementing it with some products.


Alternatives to knobs for kitchen cabinets?

Using a “hook-type” cabinet knob
Like this: https://www.build.com/top-knobs-tk500-cabinet-pull/s973468

seems like a “red-neck” way to solve this issue.

Taking the time (and effort) to drill a hole through the cabinet door, finding longer screws at a hardware store and installing each knob seems much better.

Like one of these: https://www.houzz.com/photos/cabinet-and-drawer-knobs/

Or you could install a surface mount pull like this
No need to drill through the door or drawer just  drill a small pilot hole and use 1/2-3/4 inch screws that usually come with the pulls .


Is there a safe way to splice multiple lamp fixtures on the same cord?

You might want to look into using something like this...

Designed for paper lanterns.

Notice that the weight of the lights are supported by the cable and the socket, not the junction itself.  The problem with the product you linked to, is the weight of the lights are supported by the junction (given that it's not mounted properly). Over time the weight (or accidental yanking) could cause the junction to separate, leading to a potential shock/fire hazard.


What shape/bends should a bathroom sink drain pipe have to generally comply with US code and avoid clogs?

You should be able to find a P-trap assembly available at any local hardware store.

The horizontal section should attach directly to the drain line coming out of the wall, while the vertical end should accept the tail piece from the sink.


Is it OK to apply a coat of one brand of paint over a coat of another brand?

On the face of it, that's not a bad idea.

I would only be worried about a few things, though:

One, is about the actual sheen that each brand presents. You really want to try both out on a scrap or hidden wall and make sure the brand you want to have show up on top is carefully selected.

Two, is about how easy will these varying coats be, for patch repairs as life happens.

Three, you generally don't double-coat your cut-ins. For example corners, around trimwork, etc., are mostly just a single coat (and you would roll as close to edges as possible), and doing two separate brands' coats on the entire wall surface will take a lot of (possibly thankless) work.


Why does my interior paint absorb water and darken when splashed?

Assuming the paint returns to the original color once dry, this is perfectly normal with flat latex paints.  When I wipe my walls, the spots that I wipe look darker too.

You can observe this on many surfaces, even inpermuable ones like glass and metal - ever notice that your cars paint looks different when there are drops of water on it?


Torque delivered by a hand ratchet with 1/2" socket

Okay my curiosity was piqued. I am an average 60 something year old guy who turns a wrench for a living.   I clamped my old school Beam Type Torque Wrench in a vise. Using a 1/2" square x 3/8 drive drive socket on the torque wrench and an 8" ratchet I hit 70 ft-lbs. This was just a straight steady pull. I did not test to see how long I could hold that number.


Don't use alcohol to clean an oven.
If your oven has a "self cleaning" mode, try that.  It basically puts the oven on full blast (2-3x the normal baking temperature) and "burns" all of the crud out.  Sometimes there will be some charred stuff behind that you have to wipe out after it is done (see #3).  Because of the extreme temperatures involved, there is usually a safety latch on the oven door to lock out the self cleaning mode.
Use oven cleaning spray.  Easy-Off is the most popular example of this.  You spray it on, wait a few hours, and then wipe it out with a damp sponge (follow the instructions).  All of the crud in your oven will turn into a brown sludge that just wipes away.  Be warned, oven cleaners are extremely caustic.  Use rubber gloves, and don't rub your eyes while you are working.  The fumes are nasty too.  They have newer low-odor ones, but they can still make you gag.

Option #3 will make your oven look shiny and clean.  However, it takes a lot of manual labor to get it looking good.  Might take more than one cleaning session.


Attaching sill plate to concrete, how do I attach framed wall to sill plate?

Drill a hole, or a recess, into the bottom plate of the prefab wall, so the bolts holding the sill plate to the concrete just slide right in/through.

Or, drill a similar recess into the sill plate, recess the nut into the sill plate (probably with a washer to spread the load over the thinner wood), and grind/cut the bolt off level with the top of the plate.

Whatever you do, make sure this doesn't compromise the structural integrity of the sill plate or wall (shouldn't) or introduce any potential for leaks or collected water inside the recesses or holes (again, shouldn't, provided the skin of the shed remains watertight and you're not saturating the inside with a hose on a regular basis)


Am I using a multimeter incorrectly? Or is there a short in the cable?

You are doing correctly. All grounds should be connected together and should all read the same. The readings you are getting indicate that the ground in your cable is disconnected (“floating”). You are getting non-zero reading due to phantom voltage. That is to say, your volt meter is high-impedance and so picks up stay energy.
To verify this, you can do the following with the power turned off (I’d suggest turning off the main breaker): switch your meter to resistance and connect across ground and neutral in your cable. These should be tied together back in your main panel and should read close to 0 ohms. I suspect you will see a high resistance or open (display just shows “1”).


Hot water heater and gas-stove not working at the same time

Usually the gas pressure regulator is near where the gas line first enters the house. After the regulator is where the gas line will split off to go to your appliance.
When the gas company person said the regulator was bad they were referring to this common regulator. It's going bad is why it affected both of your appliances.


Is it possible to use my window A/C unit without actually installing it in the wall?

You may be able to rig up something whether the compressor-side air intake and exhaust are piped outside, but the efficiency will be low and you may risk burning out the compressor by working it too hard.

If you want something you can install in a small opening, you might consider wheeled portable AC units which come with a flexible duct.

If you're still determined to try it, note that window AC units have two sets of air intake & exhaust:

the "inside" side that takes air from inside (usually through a large filter on the front), cools it, and blows it back inside
the "outside" side that takes air from outside, heats it (with the heat removed from the cool side) and blows it out the back.

On a typical window AC unit the "outside" air comes in through vents on the side and top of the unit and is blown out the coils at the back. So you will need to make sure both of those parts are getting the airflow they need. And they can't be the same duct, or else you will just get super hot air recirculating through the unit.


What's the key to sawing straight by hand?

I can think of two possibilities:  1) you're beginning your cut with the saw out of alignment, or 2) the saw teeth are not set correctly. ("Set" is the distance of the tip of each saw tooth from the center.  If you look, you'll notice that the saw teeth are bent slightly away from the saw plate in alternating directions).

Let's assume you have already worked out your body geometry and you're holding the saw straight to begin with.  It's possible that the saw teeth are set more on one side than the other. This can cause a saw to drift off the intended cut line.


Do natural gas furnaces have internal breakers?

The bottom line is it does NOT matter. Even if you did do something like this intentionally there is still NO way in hell you should be charged for ANY service call to a place you rent.

To answer your question, yes, it is possible, but to know for sure we'd need to make and model number of your furnace.

I hope you did not pay the $82!


I've done something similar recently. Our system was wired into the same fuse at the consumer unit as the upstairs lighting circuit (despite the control box being downstairs). It was powered via a fused spur located in the under stairs cupboard which is adjacent to the control panel in the hallway. I can't say if this is typical but it might give you some idea where to look.

The problem was that the control panel and the alarm box on the outside of the house both have backup batteries, and if you tamper with the system the alarm will go off, or if you leave the power off too long the alarm will go off. To avoid this, I put the ladder up to the alarm box on the front of the house and disconnected the battery. I had someone on standby to key in the code in case it triggered the alarm. Then I cut the power to the control panel by removing the fuse in the cupboard and disconnected that battery too. This is what I understood from the alarm company to be the proper procedure. Then I started cutting wires to the sensors and the wire that goes to the siren.

Possibly, in your case, the system has been disabled for so long that the batteries are flat anyway, but you still need to confirm that you've properly removed mains power from the control panel. If you really can't find a switch or fuse for it, you could switch off power to the whole house, open up the control panel, remove the mains wires and cap them with a choc block. Safer than working with a wire that connects to who-knows-where and could become live at any time.


I'm having a hard time articulating this without a visual aid, so bear with me.

You can eliminate the need for paper tape by leaving one side of the paper on the drywall patch after you score / snap it. So instead of cutting the other side of the paper after the score / snap, you peel it back an inch or two on all sides, and cut the paper so that you'll have a sheetrock patch with a built-in "tape" to overlap the seam. This youtube video demonstrates the idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOSzbX92ttM

This is easier for patches with straight lines that you score easily, but I think with some finesse you could do the same thing for a circular patch, especially if you have the right sized hole saw.

What the other guy said would work great too - and I 100% agree that any texturing should be done afterwards. You may even want to throw on a layer of primer before you texture to make it hold better.

Also, you can get canned spray-on texture to use on a patch job like this, which should make the job simpler if you don't have all the other equipment. They come in a few varieties so you can match the existing texture.


Half my breaker panel went out and the other half when turned on has AFCI light

I called an electrician and it's usually a problem with the electricity provider (PG&E in our case). We called them, they sent a tech, and it was fixed the next day.

This answer also shared similar causes: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/58744/104493


A handyman abandoned his tools at our place, won't answer calls

You don't need a license to operate a plumbing torch. There's no danger of it spontaneously exploding if you keep it away from heat sources and open flames.
He hasn't dealt with you punctually because he's an unreliable flake. Look up laws for abandoned property in your locality.
Eventually his tools become your tools.


Can you use an outdoor paving stone for indoors?

I'd be concerned about the weight. 25 mm is pretty heavy, and you'll be putting a fridge on top.


What if my Trane 3 ton 13 seer heat pump is unable to generate enough heat to reach the set point on the thermostat?

In the heat mode the larger copper pipe going to  the AC unit outdoors should get very hot, if not then the refrigerant might be low or the reversing valve which switches modes from Cool to Heat may be bypassing. the fact it shuts down tells me its getting overheated likely due to low refrigerant level.


How to insulate my garage walls using sheathing

I can't quite picture what you're describing, but covering studs is always better than placing insulation in between when doing so is practical. Studs do not provide good insulation and turn into a heat sink. The dead air space left also provides a bit more insulation. Even better would be to insulate that space, then put more insulating sheathing over that and the studs.


I don't see in the photos what type of plastic connectors you are using, but if they are the typical twist-on wire nuts, then the amount of exposed copper you have is much too long. As mentioned in the comments, it also looks like you've nicked the insulation on the hot (black) and ground (green) wires, right after they are separated out from the outer sheath. If that is true, you should cut it back to remove the damaged part. If that's absolutely impossible, what you should definitely not do (but some people might do this anyway....) is carefully cover the nicked portion with scotch 33 electrical tape (not cheap no-name brand).

It should be easy enough to figure out where the problem is: on the inside of the junction box, right over the screw mounting hole, it looks charred due to the arcing that happened. If the box is charred, there is going to be an equally charred wire that was on the other side of the arc.

Also, where it appears the arc occurred (right under a screw mount) could be a hint about what you might have done that caused this (did you drive a screw through there when installing the cover and inadvertently drill through a wire?).


Does a GE TM3215CCU Accept GE Thin Breakers?

According to this link your panel DOES NOT support the use of 1/2" mini breakers. If your panel is full, your only option is to add a subpanel. This will involve some work and I highly recommend hiring a licensed electrician. Also note, that your panel is rated for 150 amps.


Where to place a radiator under a window seat?

If the existing radiator is not covered now and you want to cover it with a seat of any construction type, it will drastically reduce it's heat output. Remember cast iron radiators heat by both radiation and convection. If you cover the radiator, you will loose the radiation aspect of that cast iron radiator greatly reducing it's heat output. Radiators, were "made to be seen", and not covered. So if you cover it you may have to add more heat output into the room. This could be somewhat offset if all radiators were zoned. This may not solve the problem but it could help. Also the cover would need to have a long register mounted directly above and be the full length of the radiator to allow for the convected air to escape. I have seen many cases where covers were installed and the areas could not be heated to the desired temperature. If your heating system is hot water, and not steam, the added heat required could come from cast iron baseboard radiation, which is still made, looks decent, and is very expensive. Finned tube radiation,  not usually installed in combination with a cast iron system, could be utilized if, and only if, the whole system is zoned. On a steam system convectors and/or  finned tube baseboard units made for a steam system could be utilized in addition to the now covered radiator, to provide the necessary additional  heating for the room. Zoning would not be required if the extra radiation were sized correctly. I would be very careful in choosing the heating company you choose to do the required work. Most residential heating companies are not schooled in steam. Placement of the radiator under the cover will not greatly affect its heat output, correct installation will.


Turning light on turns power to fire alarm off

Updated solution per comment:

The fire alarm should not be connected to a switch at all. It's likely that it is connected to the same switch as the light but with the wires reversed. The solution would be to remove the fire alarm black & white wires from the switch and splice them in the box to the cable that feeds the switch, but before it "hits" the switch.

Old answer saved for posterity... i.e. it may help someone else:

There's so many ways to get into this situation and it's impossible to guess which one you're in but: Take a look at this site: https://www.homeimprovementweb.com/information/how-to/three-way-switch.htm It contains diagrams for all the different ways of wiring a light with two switches. Something you will notice about the diagrams is that there is no other load (device that consumes electricity) in the diagram.

In your situation a separate load, the fire alarm, was introduced into the two-switch system and it should not be. In each diagram you will see a section that says something like From power source. This is where the electricity is coming in and this is where your fire alarm should be spliced in. i.e. The fire alarm should be connecting to the power supply before the two-switch system.

Now, how to fix this? If you're lucky the electrical box that feeds the fire alarm will have two separate three-wire cables running through it and it just happens to be spliced into the wrong one. In this case you just need to re-splice. But it's also possible that there is no 2nd wire in which case you will need to splice into whichever light-switch box (or possibly the fan box) and run a three-wire cable to your fire alarm. Yes, this could be just as painful as it sounds. If you have drywall up you may need to get into the wall to thread the cable between the boxes and then have to repair and paint...

In any case, good luck.

P.S. It's also possible that the power supply is coming into this system from the fan's electrical box. If this is the case then your worst case (having to bust through the drywall) becomes a little easier.

Here's a sample diagram (modified from option #1 of the web site given above) of where a separate cable may be spliced in so it doesn't behave the way you're describing.


Are these drywall screws driven too deep into the sheet?

I'm sorry to say, and hate to criticize other's work, but those screws are not driven properly. The screws need to be driven with a sheetrock screw gun or a dimpler bit in a regular screw gun. The screws need to be slightly counter sunk with an indented dimple around the screw head into the sheetrock to hold some joint compound. The screws should not break through the paper. The proper bit indents and stops driving the screw at the right depth automatically.  What I see in your pics is badly torn surface paper with shards of paper higher than the rest of the surface. This will be hard to mud and make flush and smooth. Many of these are going to have to be indented with a strike from a hammer to create a void for the mud to go into.  The other problem with driving drywall screws with a regular #2 phillips bit is that screws driven too deep will not have the holding power and the sheetrock screws will pull through, leaving the sheet unattached to the studs. This is especially important when hanging rock on ceilings.

These are the proper tools and bits.

Be careful using Angies List, many of the reviews are fake and made by the contractor themselves. Personally check local references with a phone call or sometimes with a visit to see finished projects. I know that many of my customers are happy to talk to my potential customers and also proud to show off there new completed projects.


How to use grounded European plug of coffee maker correctly in middle east countries?

The how would be to find an adapter that accepts and properly grounds a French CEE 7/5 plug to any other plug, then find an adapter from that plug to the Israeli SI-32 plug. Or just find a direct adapter, though I couldn't find any such thing.

Alternatively, buy an Israeli plug, cut off the French plug, and wire in the Israeli plug in its place. If you're not planning on taking the appliance out of Israel at any time, that might be easier.

All the adapters I saw did not have the fixed male grounding pin that the French plug relies on for its ground connection. Perhaps they would make a connection between their center ground and the metal around the pinhole, but I don't know.


How do I wire this Australian ceiling light?

Warning: Contains Dangerous Discussion.  Call an Electrician.

I did a quick search on Australian wiring, and found out that A is "Active", which would be considered HOT in other countries.  N is Neutral, and Loop is for carrying on to other outlets or switches.

This link https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/toolbox/electrotech/toolbox1204/resources/04diagrams/04lighting/05loops.htm shows loop being used, in two different instances, on both the neutral and the Active sides of the circuits.  So in your situation, the best answer can only be: It Depends.

My suspicion is that there is another light connected to this one -- Did two lights turn on at the switch under the old install?  If so, you need to pigtail (See below) the Loop wire to either the A or N wire (But we don't know which!!!) to carry on the circuit to the other light.

My starting assumption would be that the Loop should be pigtailed to the A, but it's dangerous just to go ahead and try that.  You have a 50% chance of being right, and a 50% chance of shorting out the circuit.  Hopefully, this would result in a breaker tripping, but it could result in a fire.  So call an electrician.

Pigtails - Two wires in a circuit twisted together with a small (4-5 inch) length of wire. Typically this is used to both carry on the wiring to another device, with the small length being used as a tap, feeding the local device.  All three wires are twisted together with the appropriately sized wire nut.   http://electrical.about.com/od/wiringcircuitry/ht/pigtailwireconn.htm


Replace portion of slab for radiant heat

After you remove the floor, dig 2 inches lower for the insulation and pour the new slab to the same thickness as before.


How can I repair rotten siding around my hose spigot?

As a rule I don't like using short pieces of siding mid run. But you may need to run pieces shorter than 4' to do this repair. Make sure your final cuts do not line up with another joint above or below the next course. Plan your cuts from top to bottom, since cutting an upper piece of siding first, may make it easier to cut the next piece down. Also locate the new joints over studs.
When adding the new siding, use material behind the joints to divert the water that will come in during foul weather. There are materials available that are specific for this purpose, but I have used aluminum, sheet plastic, or tar paper to use as a "slip" behind joints.


Can you tile on finished plaster wall in a shower?

I have repaired tile jobs that were over 20 years old that the tile was applied directly to regular sheetrock and plaster walls. This was back in the 80's. It used to be very common to put tile up on whatever the wall was and seal the the tile. More recently I have seen some contractors still put tile up with out a backer board to save $ for the owner especially for flipping a property. Is it the best way? NO. Will it work? Yes. Maybe several decades if well sealed. All the frame work around showers and tubs I have installed has been wood, again if sealed it will last for quite a while if there is a slight angle to prevent water from pooling on the ledge or box. You should have received a quote prior to the start of work that you agreed to (the law in my state) it should define the scope of work and materials. For what it is worth if cement backer is not included the contractor may be matching the existing tile job.


Deep scratches and broken edges are a bad sign.  If you want to learn about stone polishing, this would be a good learner project.  Don't expect to be able to craft a Michelangelo.  A matte finish would be reasonable, and expect to leave the deeper scratches in place.

Matte marble finish should be polished out to 1500 grit.  Gloss finish out to 3000 and buffed

These diamond pads are meant to be used wet and no higher than 4000 RPM.  Buffers are the usual motor, but there are a few angle grinders that are variable speed and slow enough (Metabo and Makita).

A velcro back is handy to changing the pads.


Can a GFCI power a light and a switch in this order?

What was done was called a switch leg the black hot from the GFCI was tied to the white wire in the cable going to the switch. Both ends the wire taped or marked to show hot. Then that re identified wire on one side of the switch and the black on the other back at the light the black wire from the switch is the switched hot Or connects to the black of the light.
Next the white wire from the GFCI is the neutral that goes to the white of the light.
Once these connections are made it should work.
Note this is now an old method of wiring and we are supposed to take the neutral down to the switch location (or feed the switch first is the easiest without needing expensive wire or conduit (smurf tube commonly used).


my hayward electric spa heater isn't heating as well

Because you're measuring the whole circuit!
I'm sure you'd agree the measurement on the left is correct.

So why does the right side read the same?
The wires connect all those points with an extremely low-resistance path.   So even though you are trying to point to only one resistor with the probes... the wires connect it to the other resistor whether you like it or not.
If you connected the left probe to *anywhere along those wires left of the resistors, you'd get the same thing again.
This is the inherent problem with in-circuit testing of components.  The component must be isolated to get a true reading.


Don't do this -- it'll expose some of the threads on the bulb, which are connected to the neutral.  (It's a good way to get bit if you need to change the bulb again.)

An E26 to E26 extender should fix this without causing any safety issues.  You can also try turning the power off at the breaker and bending the back (hot) contact of the bulb base up with a wooden tongue depressor or other suitably nonconductive instrument so that it makes contact with the hot contact on the bulb.


Replace 3-way switch with one single pole dimmer

This is a pretty common problem. A three way switch has 3 posts for connection 2 posts are for the carriers between the switches and one post that is for the line/load. So line side (hot wire) attached to one side of the 3 way and the load side (switch leg) attaches to the other and up to the lights being served. Your problem is the one of the line/load conductors is attached to one of the carrier posts and off course the carrier is reversed also. So it's just a matter of having the right wires on the right posts.

If you want to abandon switch 2 you can simply remove the wires from it and connect the line/load conductor to a carrier then find that conductor in the switch 1 box and use it as the new line/load conductor then connecting it to your dimmer. Be sure and wire nut off and make safe the extra carrier conductors.

The problem is that the next person living in the house may want the 3-way back. So might I suggest you repair the original problem. Then purchase a three way dimmer and leave them both in place.


Is it more important for your baseboards to have a consistent reveal (height) or for them to be level?

When putting a narrow item on a wall hang it level. When putting a wide/long item on the wall hang it parallel to the floor or ceiling, whichever is nearer. The eye can see a picture frame askew because it just doesn't "look right." But something long like a 10 foot long dry erase board, a wide painting.. or trim work like baseboard or crown molding.. will be judged by its parallelism with the adjacent floor or ceiling. Nobody can tell whether the floor or the ceiling is actually level; we all just assume that it is.
Likewise, don't adjust the width of a baseboard so that the lower edge can track the floor and the upper edge remains level. The resulting wedge-shape baseboard will stick out like a sore thumb. Choose some spacer stock (scraps of 1/2" drywall, scraps of the baseboard itself, etc), support the section of baseboard on several spacers to keep consistent distance off the floor, and nail it in place.