What are my options to level a concrete driveway?

Faced with the same dilemma I went with French/trench drain in front of the garage.  It fixed the water issue and really wasn’t hard to do with a diamond blade, skillsaw and pick.  The sections of drain were $40 each and the blade was $15.  It would have taken several bags of leveling/topping cement at $15 each plus renting a float and I don’t have the same finesse that it takes to have a good looking finished product, plus I feared it would crack or look bad after all that.


Water Heater pilot light blows out after burner ignites!

Check the flue area from above the flame to the flue pipe, the flue pipe, and the chimney for any type of blockage or flow restriction such as a build up of dirt, rust, soot, or even a bird that may have gotten into the flue pipe or chimney.If you do not get rid of the burned gases the flame will go out slowly as the available oxygen is depleted. It is also possible to have a bad heater control, but I would check the flue first. The problem is probably not the thermocouple since a thermocouple will still produce voltage for some time after it's flame goes away.


How to seal swamp cooler wires going into roof

The best way would be a total do-over.  Penetrate the roof with conduit rather than liquidtight and use two boots for two pipes.  The conduit is optional - the boot will work better cinched to a conduit that doesn't flex or move than it will with liquidtight.  But using two boots really isn't optional.
If I really had to try to make it work as is I'd try filling the boot with expanding foam.
I'd remove as much of the debris as possible, and keep the two liquidtights at least a half inch apart.  Then I'd fill the boot a couple inches at a time, letting the foam set up each time.  I'd use the low-expansion type foam made for doors and windows.  I'd top it off with some roofing adhesive for UV protection.
But I'd only do that in a pinch, and I wouldn't be surprised if it leaked, you should do it the right way, use two boots.


Can you use an Orbit Sprinkler Timer with Rainbird Valve

it should work. find out what kind of rainbird valves you have, then look online to see what their voltage/current requirements are. you have to match voltages between the timer, and the timer must provide at least as much current as the valve require.


If you are able to construct a waterproof cover which overlaps the edges of the sandbox, consider it to be of the same structure as a roof with eaves. Build into the design a bit of tenting or pitch. The underside of the waterproof cover would have a mesh material stretched over the surface when flipped upside down, an umbrella of sorts with a drum-head type of configuration.

When the cover is placed on the sandbox, the mesh would provide for airflow while the waterproof portion keeps the box dry.

A quick and dirty sort of design would be a child's wading pool, the hard plastic type. Window screen or landscape screen stretched around the perimeter provides the airflow, while the hard plastic gives the waterproofing. Of course, the pool would have to be a larger diameter than the sandbox and the rim may collect water unless that aspect is mitigated.

Every photo is improved with the inclusion of a cat or dog.

UPDATE for economy version options:

Create a frame of lumber slightly larger than the sand box. I'd aim for at least six inches air gap all around, plus the width of the lumber used. If the frame has legs at each corner and perhaps one or two in the middle, they would keep the main frame at the same level of the sandbox edges, perhaps an inch lower to cause the screen to remain in contact with the sandbox.

The screen material would be stretched across that frame, tightened appropriately when fastened. The waterproof portion can be as simple as a plastic tarp, large enough to cover the entire frame, plus a bit more, enabling the construction of a tent-like structure.

Triangles are going to be the lightest and strongest method to support the "tent" over such a large area. 8' x 12' feet is not a square (says Mr. Obvious) which means that you'll have a center spine or ridge, with an angled structure at each corner and maybe one each on the long sides.

You would not need great elevation, only enough to shed water, keeping material costs to a minimum.

If you used plastic sheeting in place of the heavier tarp, you could get away with using inexpensive 1" x 2" lumber, making the structure that much lighter as well. Stand the 1x2s on edge to get the stronger dimension in line with the greater forces. It would not hold up well to being tilted or stood on edge in this configuration and would require two people to remove and replace if constructed of this light lumber.

My apologies for the drawing below. Not the best program for the job, but too much work to use the sophisticated stuff!

The left part of the image is the top view, while the right side is a butchered view or one end. The side view would be a parallelogram and is left as an exercise to the reader.


Boiler Won't Fire after adding Taco Relay 506-4 to Existing HW l8124a,c setup

The issue ended up being that my aquastat was busted. After exhausting all other possibilities I bought a new one and hooked it up and everything works fine.

I have no idea how the original broke, but it's safe to say that it did.


Having the foundation a reasonable distance above adjacent grade is an important aspect of deterring termites (if that is your problem). It will not stop them, but it will make access much more difficult for them. Having wood at or below grade is like leaving your front door open with a big sign on the wall saying "Come on in! Take all you want!"

One thing to maybe consider, especially if you are replacing wood anyway, is to replace all wood too close to grade with pressure treated material that meets the standard for All Weather Wood Foundations. It specifies higher preservative content than typically seen in material available at big home improvement stores, as well as specific standards for the use of corrosion resistant fasteners.


Can I pour a concrete footing on very wet base material?

I'd wait. You said a footer for a retaining wall. If the wall is 4' high or more and only holding back earth (no car or house surcharge,) then the footing should be about 3' wide. Also, the rebar should be on the side of the wall closest to the earth.

The force from the earth will push on the wall and will make the wall and footer ROTATE about the footing. If this soil under the footing is soft, it will compact the soil and cause the wall to lean.

By the way, don't forget to install a perf pipe at or near the bottom of the footing encased in drain rock.


Metal plates will be nice and fast to repair that, but in my opinion, You need one for each side and - the longer the better. Some glue for wood may be nice to use before fitting.
Remember not to use too-long screws to avoid matress damage. Alternatively You can use bolts and drill holes for them before fitting together.

Optional fix can be done by removing all of these wooden bars (these come bound together from Ikea as I recall - my kids got similar beds) and remove broken one with new one (You can buy it in probably every shop like Castorama in Eastern Europe). Replacing this would be most elegant way, I guess.


How to square plywood using the 3-4-5 method?

This is not far off from your original description, but consider that a set of yard sticks of reliable precision will do what you require. Drill a small hole in each one at the 1/2" point (or 1" if you like) and again at the appropriate multiple plus the 1/2" or 1" offset. Place a brad at your zero point, which could be a salvage board under the edge of the primary surface and place another brad at the appropriate distance. You now have two arc-devices which will provide you with the third point when the brad-holes align at the ends.

If precision is required, use your salvage board with the two brads and tap the edge of the brad into the work surface until half the diameter is "buried" to compensate for the thickness of the brad.

You can use any material, of course, and drill holes to your specifications in order to fit the working surface.


Power in my house is not all working,only half

Call the utility, and have them come check the service drop.  If that doesn't resolve it, contact a local licensed Electrician.

There's not much troubleshooting a DIYer can do in this situation, especially if the problem is with the service.


No, this isn't normal. Your anchors don't fit to your screws. What is happening is that the tip of the screw reached the concrete, and, of course, you can't force a screw into concrete - not even with a drill or a electric screwdriver, and certainly not by hand.

This picture shows how anchor and screw should fit into the hole. The hole definitely needs to be longer than the screw. The screw should be a bit longer than the anchor, but not as long. Maybe the clerk saw that you have picked an wood screw and gave you anchors suited for the second situation. It doesn't hurt to use wood screws with anchors in a concrete wall, you'll just have the cap jutting out a bit. But the length of the screw should be only a bit longer than that of the anchor (the surplus should equal the length of the tip + the length of the attached thing), and your cap will stick out a bit if the thing you are attaching isn't soft enough for the cap to sink in.

The table shows how to determine the correct hole depth. It also tells you what diameter of anchor and drill to choose for a given screw. As for the length of the screw, it is determined by the weight it will have to carry. Vertical screws are more problematic than screws in walls, because gravity is pulling in the direction of the hole, not at 90° to it. Light curtains will be OK with your size screw, but don't put any molton on them.


If garage door circuit board is fried by power surge, wouldn't outlet also be fried?

Anything with sensitive electronics is more susceptible to damage due to power surges. Receptacles don't have any electronics (unless they're GFCI or AFCI receptacles), and it's doubtful that a shop light has any either.  If a surge is not large enough to trip the magnetic protection, or long enough to trip the thermal protection, then the breaker will not trip.

It sounds to me like they have no idea what caused the failure, and are simply guessing.


While I appreciate this isn't an answer to the question, I'd like to point out that power tool safety is as much a state of mind as anything. All saws (with the possible exception of the sawstop and similar systems) can bite you, and correspondingly, all saws can be used safely.

So, my advice is to learn from experts how to use your chosen saw. Don't slip into bad habits. If there's a voice at the back of your head telling you that you aren't focused on the task, stop cutting.


Very low water pressure coming out of cooper tub spout pipe

My Co-op's "plumbers" came this morning and they finally used a hand tool which they refer to as a "Blaster", they first used it on the hot/cold valve with the cartridge removed - the flow got a little better - then I asked them to use it on the tube spout copper pipe - after several attempts BINGO, FULL pressure water flow has returned. There was evidently "something" between the hot/cold valve & the tubs copper spout that needed a really strong push to get knocked out.  All we saw was some brown water and a few very small pieces of rust.  This is the 3rd time this has occurred this year, so I have become an unfortunate experienced person at what needs to be done.  If I had a "blaster" I likely could have taken care of it and I might just get one.


You could frame below the level of the rough floor and have the subfloor flush with the joists. That would give you room for 7/16 hardie board, glue, and tiles. (But what a huge pain!)

Alternately, get vinyl and your thickness problem goes away.

I'm concerned that if something as mundane as a floor failed, then what of the shower stall? Isn't it going to have the same (if not worse) problems? If that's a goner, then you don't have a thickness problem any more...


How to convert Light Switch from 2 red, 2 black, and ground to 1 traveler, 1 neutral, and a ground?

YOU decided which one was "traveler".
What you are looking at is a 4-way switch.  It goes in the middle of a 3-way switch string to allow 3 or more control points.  Like this.

Note that this is but one example. There are many different ways to physically route cables in a 3/4 way switch complex.
Now, when you install smart switches in any 3/4 way system, the whole system must be engineered to work together with matching switches.  Generally, the systems for sale in the US make best use of the existing wires, but they use them in quite a different way.
Since every 3-way switch layout is different, you really need to study how the existing 3-way complex is wired, and then adapt wires as best you can.  As such, there is no stock answer for "which colors where".   We would need to see, at least, pictures of each switch box, and possibly the lamp box as well.
Even more than that, you are re-tasking the 2 old traveler wires to new purposes.  Since you are the one doing that, only you know which color you have chosen to assign to which purpose.
In other words, we can't tell you unless we know what else you did.  Honestly, it sounds like you installed the "master" at one of the 3-way points, and happened to stumble upon a wire combination that worked based on how the other 3-way switches were set at the time. You can't do that with electrical wiring.  You can't "try stuff and stop when you find one that works", because there are lots of combinations that will work and will kill you.
We see many smart switch products where correct installation is simply impossible in many 3-way routings.  However GE is a shrewd company; this looks like a "remote" switch that takes only 2 wires: a comm wire and neutral, so it should be possible to adapt to any 3/4 way complex.


Which side of double sink do I connect garbage disposal? NEWBIE

You will probably find the right side easier to plumb as there is just more space.  Disposals have sort of a weird offset discharge pipe that isn't just a drop in replacement for the existing extension pipe.  As you noted the dishwasher piping already runs to the right as well, and that is generally connected to the disposal.


For a hole of that size or larger a hole saw might be an easier method as it removes less material and may be more likely to stay centered due to its pilot bit.

However using the more standard bit you have is working and you should be able to get all the way through. The type of vibration and unevenness of the hole from that type of bit is not uncommon in my experience, and may not really matter in the end if the exact hole size does not need to be very precise.

While the bit might be dull, more likely it is harder to cut as you go deeper because initially more and more material has to be removed on each revolution, and also friction of the bit against the hole increases.

Tips:

Some lubrication (cutting oil - but in a pinch any oil may help) may stress the tools less
You can push hard but if you seem to stress the motor of your drill (you'll hear this) back off somewhat. Also pay attention to how hot the motor / casing is getting. Warm is OK but very hot or a burning smell is obviously going too far.
Be cautious as the bit starts to pass through the far side. Unique to drilling metal (as opposed to wood) the flutes of the bit may tend to "bite in" and you could get a sudden and significant wrenching action on your arm, hand, thumb, etc. Hold the drill very securely, use an extension handle if you have it, and maybe brace it with your body. For the last bit of depth I would push more lightly but spin the bit quite fast.
The hole may turn out to be a little smaller than 3/4" (or whatever exact size the bit really is, such as 47/64ths). That may seem impossible but if you think about what the cross-sectional shape of a slice of the bit looks like it may make more sense (its not a circle).
If the hole is rough you may need to file it down by hand before using it. Whatever goes through it is likely to get damaged.


Check Valve Or A Flapper Valve For My Sewer Drain

There are back flow preventers they cost about 50.00 and do keep others sewer from coming in. They need servicing on occasion but with a pair of rubber gloves are much easier to clean than your tub filling up.


Ground size for 100 amp sub panel 200ft away

You start with an 8AWG copper wire...

You are correct that for a 100A feeder, the associated ground wire needs to be an 8AWG copper or 6AWG aluminum wire.  If you are using a four-wire direct burial cable, then just use the ground wire in the cable as it will be quite amply sized for the job it is doing; if you are using PVC conduit, then bare 8AWG copper would be my choice to keep conduit fill down.

...and then upsize from there based on how much upsizing of the other wires you do

When you start upsizing wires for voltage drop control, the size of the ground wire is governed by NEC 250.122(B):

  (B) Increased in Size. Where ungrounded conductors are
  increased in size from the minimum size that has sufficient
  ampacity for the intended installation, wire-type equipment
  grounding conductors, where installed, shall be increased in
  size proportionately, according to the circular mil area of the
  ungrounded conductors.

For instance, using 1/0 aluminum wire for the hots and neutral in your example vs. the 1AWG that is required to meet Code ampacity rules gives us a size ratio of 53.49mm2/42.41mm2 based on the NEC Chapter 9, Table 8 conductor sizes (we can do this math in mm2 since the conversion factors cancel out here) or about 1.26.  Multiplying that by the 8.367mm2 area of an 8AWG copper conductor gives us about 10.55mm2 for the resulting wire.  This isn't a standard conductor size though, so we should use a 6AWG copper conductor (which has 13.30mm2 of area) or a 4AWG aluminum conductor for this ground wire.


Can I change the plugs on low-voltage lights to allow connection to dimmable outlets?

Assuming by this that you mean UK standard 13A 3-square pin plugs and 5A 3-round pin plugs then yes.

I have done this for my lights for several years.

You do have to bear one thing in mind.  While 13A square-pin plugs contain a fuse within the plug, 5A round-pin plugs do not.  They are protected by the circuit breaker at the main fuse box.

I assume your 13A plugs actually contain a 3A or 5A fuse if you're using them just for fairy lights.  Check the ratings and where your round-pin sockets are actually protected.


Code requirements for adding several outdoor outlets around my garage

You're almost there, but not quite

First off, matching breaker brand isn't quite enough to get you there, you need to use a breaker that your panel is labeled as compatible with (either via the loadcenter UL label or a labeling supplement provided with a classified breaker), as Square-D and Eaton (Siemens was this way too, but recent changes have ameliorated the situation) have two mutually-incompatible loadcenter product lines, and some loadcenter assemblies use other folks' breakers for one reason or another.

Second, an outlet can be more than 6.5' off the ground, but that means two things.  First off, that outlet no longer counts as the outdoor outlet required by the Code in 210.52(E), so some other outlet has to do that job instead.  Also, that outlet cannot have a GFCI put there, because said GFCI is no longer readily accessible.

Finally, you need an "extra duty" while-in-use cover (hood) on the outlet to keep water out of it, as well as a weather-resistant receptacle.  These combine to mitigate water damage to the receptacle, but aren't perfect -- in particular, the plastic while-in-use covers are prone to breakage especially in cold conditions, so a metallic type is recommended instead for the extra robustness it provides.


Can I add an HVAC supply vent directly to the trunk?

That should be fine (I've seen it done many times in basements), with a few caveats:

You're right that there will be more flow with that setup than with a length of round duct. Add to that the smaller room you're feeding, and you can see that you'll need to dampen with an adjustable vent.
By doing so you may introduce noise. You have a shorter sound path from the furnace itself, and adding a damper vent will likely cause white noise at that location as well.


How do I lay hardwood over a transition in a room that is not level?

Dave Welch may have answered this to a degree But I will put my spin on it.

Break out the mortar bed to expose the subfloor it covers, get either 1/2" plywood which is in reality, slightly less than 1/2" thick and lay it all over the lower floor level bringing it up to withing working distance of the other floor. If that will be too thick, OSB is 7/16" and use that. No need to get anything that is rated as underlayment that will go under a nail down floor. Underlayment is geared more towards vinyl and other thin flooring installs. Screw it down then add your paper and flooring. Re-secure the diagonal subfloor with screws before you add the flooring over the older subfloor.


Can i paint over this semi sanded gloss door?

Can I just sand down the first layer so the gloss paint is semi removed and then paint over it?

YES - there is no need to sand all the way through the existing paint. You just need to de-gloss the paint and the new paint should stick fine.
Concern- the fact that you repainted previously, without sanding, may cause one or more layers of old paint to start to peel up. This is a problem that would require more thorough sanding. In fact, you would need to sand off all paint that appears to be peeling.


Few questions about concrete/cement wall inside of the apartment and which screws to use

Cement is a powder, so I doubt your walls are cement!  You might have lathe-and-plaster walls.  (What country are you in and what year was the apartment built?)

If your wall covering is sandy plaster, then you would attach light shelves and pictures by pre-drilling holes with a masonry bit and using expanding anchors or toggle bolts.

Heavy shelves or cabinets will require screwing to a stud (which you are referring to as a beam)


Particle board subfloor - cover with additional plywood/osb for luxury vinyl plank flooring?

particle boards don’t tolerate well humidity so remove them if your place can get humid. They will fail and whatever you put of top of them won’t be properly supported.
For subfloor, both plywood and OSB will work fine.  Many use OSB because it is much cheaper and the appearance is not a factor.
If you plan on stacking boards, always overlap the seams for more stability.  Align the seam near the center of the board above.
If you put a board on top of the existing PB, make sure you take in consideration that you floor is now raised. For example, you might have to trim around door casing.
1/4 board is okay if there is another board under it.  Certain not good enough if they are directly on top of the frame.  They will flex.


How can I prevent bugs from entering my apartment through air vents?

You're barking up the wrong tree
First, as pointed out, cicadas, while numerous at the moment, are quite utterly harmless.  However, if you keep getting them in your apartment, it's not the fault of your HVAC system (unless they're getting in through a dedicated outside air grille, which is somewhat unlikely given the vintage of your building).  Instead, what you're dealing with is the fact bugs can squeeze in through small gaps and holes in the envelope/sheathing of the building left by the way frame or frame/veneer construction works.  These holes are often found around penetrations for electrical cables, hose bibbs, and AC lines, or at joints between different types of framing components, such as between the foundation and the wall bottom plate.  The ceiling drywall on the topmost level is also a common place for air leakage to happen, as there's no sheathing above it to back it up before you get to the "outside", aka your attic.
So, I'd take the clingwrap off before you kill your HVAC system with it due to the fan building up pressure, and if you get a bug parade, tell your landlord they should look into improving the air-sealing of the building as a whole.  The good news is that air-sealing doesn't just help with bugs, it reduces heating, cooling, and humidity loads as it plugs holes where uncontrolled outside air can infiltrate into the building.


Unsure why GFCI outlet is showing orange indicator

No GFCI is possible here, sorry.

See where the GFCI receptacle is on the ceiling? GFCI receptacles are not allowed on ceilings.  GFCIs must be accessible (to reset), so they're not allowed here.

You have to convert that back to a plain receptacle, and call it quits.  Whoever told you that had to be a GFCI receptacle, must have used that page of NEC to roll a joint.

The plain receptacle should hook up exactly like the old plain receptacle, except I recommend using the higher quality types that use screw-and-clamp rather than the notoriously unreliable backstabs.  (which don't work on #12 wire in any case).

How to get a GFCI anyway - conduit version

Now it looks like the connection between the two pictured receptacles is cable on a cable clamp.  However it looks like the other connection might be conduit (note the red wire) and the Romex cable doesn't look like it's held in a cable clamp.  EMT conduit is common in cinder block and poured ceiling construction, so there's a possibility that Romex cable is actually running in conduit. You could reach up and pull on the Romex cable sheath.  if it has about 1/2" of free play without any real effort, it's in conduit.  Otherwise there'll be a cable clamp right there and it won't move at all.

So if it's in conduit...

Go down to the other receptacle and confirm it's conduit there too, and the same cable.    So...

The GFCI fits in the lower (accessible) receptacle. A plain recep goes in the ceiling.

Tie a pulling string to that Romex cable and pull it out of the wall.  Leave the string.  Now, call around to electrical supply houses and see who will sell you the following by-the-foot, in THWN-2 12 AWG, preferably stranded but solid will do.   Get them 1' longer than the Romex cable (bring with you).

White #12 THWN-2
Red #12 THWN-2
Gray #12 THWN-2
Purple #12 THWN-2, and if they have gray but don't have this, then pick orange, yellow, brown, blue or whatever they have that isn't black or red.
SOLID green or bare #12 THWN-2  (stranded is very nice, but too hard to put on terminal screws, and they don't have screw-and-clamp for grounds).

Purple (or whatever) and gray are going to be hot and neutral in the GFCI protected zone.  You only need one ground wire.

The plan is:

Green or bare wires: go to each other, any steel box case, and both receptacle grounds.
Red wires: go to each other and also to the GFCI LINE hot. Use wire nuts for splicing.
White wires: go to each other and also GFCI LINE neutral.
Purple wires: Go to the GFCI LOAD hot and to the ceiling receptacle.
Gray wires: Go to GFCI LOAD neutral and to the ceiling receptacle.

If you use stranded wire, spend $2 extra on the good receptacles with screw-and-clamp back-wire attachments, and clamp the stranded wires down HARD. Give it a firm pull test.

Attach the purple and gray wires to the plain receptacle, along with a 6" ground pigtail. Do all this at comfortably at the bench.

Then, pull all 5 wires, receptacle attached, from the ceiling downward. Look at that! The ceiling recep is almost done!  Sure is easier to work on the bench.

Now attach all wires as discussed above.

If the lower junction box has another cable with onward wires, decide whether you want them in the GFCI protection zone, and attach both to LINE, or both to LOAD, appropriately.

One more problem.  The upper box is overfull, because they don't have room for 6 wires and a recep and a ground.  So add an extension box, ideally for aesthetics a Legrand Wiremold surface conduit starter box.   You will probably need to do the same thing at the lower box, as GFCIs are too bulky for those simple metal Handy-Boxes.

In fact, while you're at it, why not just run surface conduit down the wall from that box to just above the fume hood?  Then you can plug in the fume hood there instead of having a dopey looking cord draping up to the ceiling.

How to get a GFCI anyway -- Romex in wall version (simple)

Read the conduit version, especially the part about using a surface conduit starter box to cope with the additional cubic inches, and then using actual surface conduit to bring the ceiling receptacle down to a more appropriate place.

Do that thing with the surface conduit. Except continue past the fume hood, to an outlet at a convenient and usable location, and put the GFCI there in a surface conduit junction box.

Then, look at the stuff I said above about extending with red and white for the non-protected wires, and purple/gray for the protected-zone wires.  Do pretty much all that same exact stuff, except in the surface conduit instead of in-wall.  Surface conduit is conduit, after all.

Now, if this location would make it a kitchen countertop receptacle, and the circuit serves other loads besides kitchen countertops, oven fume hoods and clocks, then NEC says you cannot add a kitchen countertop recep on this circuit.  So don't - if necessary use a GFCI deadfront (a blank-face where the receptacle should be).

How to get a GFCI anyway - no surface conduit, please version

Restore the ceiling outlet to a plain receptacle, since that's the endgame there regardless.

Turn off the circuit breaker feeding this recep.

Scour the house for every single receptacle that lost power when  you did that.  Look at the ones where it'd be legal to put a GFCI (not ceiling ones).  Open them up, remove and cap one hot wire, and power the circuit back up.  Test if the ceiling receptacle lost power.

Once you've found a location where that is true, put the GFCI recep at that location, attaching only one cable to the LINE wires, and using that to identify which cable is supply and which is onward.  Once the GFCI powers up, attach the cable to

GFCI anyway, the "I hate fire and cost is no object" version

I'm not sure why you posted a pic of your service panel, since no one asked for that, but since you did... That has two problems.  First, it's an infamous Zinsco "firestarter" panel, and it is beyond redeeming - nobody makes safe breakers for that because the busing itself is also defective.  So the panel needs to go at some point, fairly soon.

And second, nobody makes GFCIs for that.  (A pity; if they made AFCIs it would mitigate some of the issues with the panel).

Once it is replaced with a modern panel e.g. Eaton, Square D, GE, or Siemens -- you will be able to fit a GFCI breaker for that circuit, and you're done.  Get a very large panel. Not only is this panel full, it's double-stuffed.

In the panel department, I'll also mention to the audience that on the off chance this circuit is a MWBC, Zinsco duplex/twin breakers have 2 clips that can be on opposite poles, allowing them to double as 240V or MWBC breakers. Very slick, it's too bad they are also bombs.


How do I patch a gap between my bathtub and wall?

Depending how badly it was cut, sometimes the only complete solution is a new tub. At minimum, you need to re-cover the wall so that water on the wall runs into the tub - this may require new tiling or a tub surround. Any time a tub is replaced, the walls around the tub need to be done over, or leaks are almost guaranteed. The image is from a ceramic tile site, but the general idea is the same regardless of material - the wall must overlap the tub.


How do easements work? Who can use them?

Generally, no. The utility easements are for use by utility companies, not individual homeowners. If you tried to ask for official blessing, you wouldn't get it as you are not a recognized utility.


Turning on light fixture trips GFCI on a different circuit

It's the 3-way switch
Note that you have a 3-way switch where you have black and white on the travelers, and no red wire exists.
In mains wiring, currents must balance each other (be equal) in each cable or conduit.  You have power coming into the BathroomTimer box, then going down either black or white depending on 3-way position, then going to the BathroomGFCI box and if the other 3-way matches, power goes up the lamp cable.  And how does neutral return? Not that way.  The lamp's neutral returns on the BathroomGFCI circuit's neutral. (!!!)
You're not allowed to do that.  Neutral needs to return the way it came.  You cannot wire a 3-way switch this way at all.   3-ways are supposed to be wired more like this.

There are many problems with this. But just one of the problems is, neutrals don't have breakers.  So you have the BathroomGFCI circuit's 15A power returning on its 15A neutral. And then, you have the BathroomTimer circuit's 20A power returning on the BathroomGFCI circuit's 15A neutral.  That's 35A on that neutral.  Did I mention? Neutrals don't have breakers.
So this deal is nope.  You cannot have 3-way switches this way.  I know it works, and it's hard to tell you that you can't do something that works, but lots of things in electrical will work and will kill you.   Also, it doesn't work.
So you have 3 options: the switch can be in either location ,or both with a lot of work.
Wiring it for BathroomGFCI box only
You start by removing the BathroomTimer box's black jumper between the 3-way switch and the tan wire-nut. Then take both traveler wires of the 3-way cable out of service. Cap them off and stop using them for anything. Don't destroy them; someone may use them for smart switches later.  Blank the 3-way switch in the BathroomTimer box.  Put a jumper from GFCI LINE in the BathroomGFCI box, to one of the travelers on the 3-way.  And you should have 1 plain switch now.
Wiring it for BathroomTimer box only
If you want it at the BathroomTimer box, then you convert the former travelers into an old style switch loop (though, this is not legal). You start by removing the BbathroomTimber box's black jumper between the 3-way switch and the tan wire-nut.   That goes away.
Now on the BathroomTimer switch, remove the white traveler, mark it with black tape, and put it on the Common screw you just liberated.  We're done here.
Back in the BathroomGFCI box, remove the switch altogether.  Take the white former traveler, mark it with black tape, and put it on the LINE side of the GFCI with the other black wire.    The two black wires that used to be on the switch, join those with a wire-nut.
Wiring it for BOTH
If you want it BOTH places, then you need to some cunning shopping for a smart switch.  You start by removing the BathroomTimer's black jumper between the 3-way switch and the tan wire-nut.  Put the "Remote" smart switch here, with LINE to former traveler black and NEUTRAL to former traveler white.
Now, in the BathroomGFCI box, ALL whites go together under the neutral nut (including the master smart switch's neutral).  The black that goes to 3-way common gets marked red and goes to the smart switch's LOAD/LAMP red.   All other blacks get joined together - the supply (that now goes to the GFCI LINE), the smart switch black, the former traveler black and the GFCI LINE hot.


What should inside of a brick chimney look like?

The chimney should be uniform no chunks missing. Cleaning with a brush is not difficult but if it has not been inspected by someone that knows what to look for you can be taking risks.  My current home passed inspection when I purchased it and the chimney was not lined with fire brick just flat field rock cemented together. Needless to say it was a huge fire risk and I have removed it. If you need to use it prior to a proper inspection get a chimney brush and extension poles open the damper and close off the opening with a tight fitting card board or something to prevent the falling debris to cover the inside of your home. scrub the soot and cresode use a high quality flashlight and look for missing chunks. Now the fun part cleaning the debris off the top of the damper. We used industrial vacuums with hepa filters to suck up the soot and cresode if you just have a shop vac you might try to find some better filters for it or have it outside the home because the fine soot will make a huge mess with a standard filter. Once the soot and chunks of cresode are cleaned up make sure the damper will close and open with several cycles (occasionally chunks will get stuck and prevent the damper from operating correctly). Same process for a wood burning stove inserts but there should be a pipe (much easier to clean and inspect) make sure to get the correct size brush for a stove and the job can be done in a few minutes once the cap is pulled.


How can I make these bath valves easier to use?

As shoemaker said lever handles are a lot easier for the elderly to use, you may want to consider changing to ceramic disk lever handle taps( the whole top assembly) as this don't get harder to turn off as the washer wears out because they don't have one. They have a ceramic disk which usually last about 3-5 years before needing replacement.

If you decide to keep the old taps you would want to disassemble the "shaft" or spindle and replace the washers in it (jumper valve and spindle o-ring/s), clean the thread inside the spindle housing and put some tap grease in there to make it easier to use.

This link shows the tool for cleaning the inside of the spindle and you could also reseat the brass that the washer seats against with a reseating tool p.s. I wouldn't recommending using the one pictured as they are rubbish and leave a ridge In the seat but it will do for illustration purposes.

Then make sure what type of handle you need the porcline lever handle set in the picture has a centre external screw, which doesn't look like it will fit with your spindles as they all have an external nut to hold the handle on, but just check the old ones before purchasing new ones to save wasting money on taps you can't use.


Can I run computer network wiring next to the furnace exhaust?

Any chance of running it outside the wooden box? In my old house, there was a small gap down they one side that I was able to push a metal fish tape down all the way to the basement.


Electrical design for a house with an ADU, solar, and backup generator

Accessory dwelling units are complicated

While outbuilding feeders and standby generators are both common things to have -- your combination of having an accessory dwelling unit in the outbuilding with standby generator support for that accessory dwelling unit, alongside having shared, or "house", loads, such as the well pump, that will also need standby power, makes this a significantly more complex problem.

Why? Because accessory dwelling units throw a kink into the way NEC 210.25 is interpreted:

  210.25 Branch Circuits in Buildings with More Than One
  Occupancy.

  (A) Dwelling Unit Branch Circuits. Branch circuits in each
  dwelling unit shall supply only loads within that dwelling unit
  or loads associated only with that dwelling unit.

  (B) Common Area Branch Circuits. Branch circuits installed
  for the purpose of lighting, central alarm, signal, communications, or other purposes for public or common areas of a two-family dwelling, a multifamily dwelling, or a multi-occupancy
  building shall not be supplied from equipment that supplies an
  individual dwelling unit or tenant space.

This code section, more commonly seen in the context of full-fledged multi-family buildings, basically requires one of two power configurations for any property that has more than a single dwelling unit in it:

Master metered, where all dwelling units and the shared/common loads are fed off of a single meter
Individually metered, where each dwelling unit gets its own meter and the shared/common loads are metered separately from all dwelling units/tenant spaces.

Furthermore, the master-metered approach is discouraged (albeit not prohibited!) by PSE in their General Rules and Provisions:

  The Company may refuse to connect service to a master meter in any new building with
  permanent occupants when: there is more than one dwelling unit in the building or property;
  the occupant of each unit has control over a significant portion of electric energy consumed
  in each unit; and the long-run benefits of a separate meter for each customer exceed the
  cost of providing separate meters.

Given all this, and that the general Code requirements for accessory dwelling units are a complex and evolving affair, with local code amendments often written by folks who mean well, but do not always understand the NEC impacts that result from their writings, we need to design our electrical system with the individually metered approach in mind, even if we can get by with a master metered approach for now.

As a result of this, we need to rigorously separate the equipment for the three systems (main, accessory, and shared/"house") everywhere beyond the meter-main.  This means we need 3 main-unit subpanels, 3 transfer switches, and 3 standby subpanels, in addition to the existing main panel in the house, which can be reused as a subpanel, or replaced as needed.  We also need to make sure that we don't paint ourselves into a corner that prevents the setup from being upgraded to 400A.

How can we size this?

Service and feeder sizing is determined by a set of relatively complex rules located in the NEC's somewhat-infamous Article 220.  These rules cover just about every sort of building under the sun, but have several special cases that apply to dwelling units (aka houses and apartments), as well as a simplified set of rules for that dwelling-unit case (220.82), which we will not be using here as they are difficult to apply to multiple-unit situations like yours.

The current situation

Our starting point, of course, is the house you have now, with:

3500 ft2 of floor area (times 3VA/ft2 for a total of 10.5kVA of general load allowance)
3 kitchen branch circuits & a laundry branch circuit (6kVA at 1.5kVA apiece)
A standard, tank-type electric hot water heater (4.5kVA)
An electric clothes dryer (assumed at 5kVA)
A separate cooktop and oven, with the cooktop at it's 7kW nameplate rating and the oven consuming as much power as a 30A branch circuit will let it (aka 7.2kVA)
The existing 3/4HP, 115V drainage pump (1587VA using the 13.8A@115V figure from Table 430.248)
And the existing HVAC system, consisting of a 5 ton heat pump with a 32.3A outdoor unit and a 57A air handler/auxiliary heater. (We are assuming the basement heater is shut off for the purposes of this load calculation to simplify things.)

Applying the Part III (standard) method from Article 220, we start by applying the 35% demand factor for receptacle loads (general lighting and small appliances) over the baseline 3kVA, giving us 7.725kVA of factored general load.  Atop that, we add the water heater, dryer, and cooking appliances, giving us 31.425kVA of non-motor/HVAC load overall as no demand factors apply here.  Finally, we apply the motor and HVAC loads, with the outdoor unit at its branch-circuit selection current as the largest motor as per 440.7 and the Exception thereto, giving us 9286VA for our largest motor (the outdoor unit), another 1587VA for the drainage pump, and 13.68kVA for the indoor unit, for a total load of 55.978kVA, or 233A at 240VAC.  (The alternate calculation in 220.82 yields around 150A, so you probably are not overloading your service at the moment, but this is tight.)

As we shuffle things around...

Of course, this will change as we add loads.  We start with the new factored load from the ADU and shop space, consisting of the general lighting load from both spaces at 864 ft2 each * 3VA/ft2 = 2592VA per space as well as the 4500VA small appliance load from the ADU.  This sums up to 9684VA, which all gets demand-factored at 35% for service calculation purposes to yield 3389VA of additional factored load on the service.  However, the ADU feeder needs a separate factored-load calculation, yielding 4432VA of factored load for ADU feeder sizing purposes, and 2592VA of factorable load, with no demand factors applied, for shop feeder sizing purposes.

From there, we then add the HVAC loads for each space.  The representative units I have chosen to provide an appropriately conservative load calculation are 18kBTU (1.5ton), 20 SEER, Mitsubishi inverter units that consume 12A at 230VAC, or 2760VA, apiece -- the real units used will likely be smaller still as modern building methods can produce vastly better envelope load performance than 500sf/ton.  This is the largest motor load in the ADU, as well, which means that we must apply a 1.25 factor to it for ADU feeder sizing purposes, resulting in an additional 3450VA of ADU feeder load, an additional 2760VA of shop feeder load, and an additional 5520VA of service load.

We then add the loads specific to each unit.  For the ADU, we have 4500VA for a separate, tank-type, electric hot water heater, 5000VA for its own dryer, and 8000VA as a range allowance, permitting up to 12kW of range as per Table 220.55: this all adds up to an additional 13.5kVA of ADU feeder load and service load.  For the shop, we add a 28A@230V (5HP) dust collector, our largest motor here, which adds 8050VA of load by itself, as well as a 13A@230V tablesaw which adds another 2990VA of load, and a 1500VA allowance for an additional tool that is in use at the same time, yielding an additional 12.54kVA of shop feeder load, and 10.93kVA of service load (as the dust collector is not the largest motor on the service).

At this point, we can compute the loads on the ADU and shop feeders.  The ADU feeder has 3389VA of factored load, 3450VA of HVAC load, and 13.5kVA of fixed appliance load, adding up to 20339VA of feeder load, or 85A@240V.  This is within what a 100A feeder can handle, and also means that there is very little chance that we will need anything larger than 125A for the ADU.  The shop, then, has 2592VA of factorable load, 2760VA of HVAC load, and 12.54kVA of machinery load, yielding 17892VA of feeder load, or 75A@240V.  Again, this means that a 100A feeder will be sufficient for the shop, with a 125A feeder available as a future upgrade option.

We then move onto the shared-loads feeder.  We start with the factorable load, which consist of 320VA for the 16x20 storage shed, 200VA for the 200W streetlight, and 360VA to account for exterior receptacles (180VA for one on the shop/ADU building, and another 180VA for a premises receptacle, if present) for a total factorable load of 880VA.  We then add on a 17A@230V (3HP) well pump motor, or 3910VA of service load and 4888VA of feeder load, for a total of 4790VA of additional service load and 5768VA, or 24A@240VAC, of feeder load.

Finally, we return to the main house.  The 13.68kVA from the auxiliary heat goes away, but we add a 24A@240VAC car charger for an additional 5.76kVA, yielding a new main house load of 48.058kVA, or exactly 200A@240VAC for that feeder.  The service load, though, is computed by adding all the factored and non-factored loads separately, yielding 80.427kVA of total service load, or the need for a 335A service at 240VAC to accommodate the full scope of this.  In other words, you will need to make sure that the service upgrade to 400A happens shortly, or else you will have issues with the main breaker in the meter-main tripping (if you have a single main breaker, that is).

Starting with the meter main...

There are multiple types of meter-main hardware out there -- meter-breakers, meter-loadcenters, and multi-meter-breaker stacks.  Due to their lack of flexibility, full-fledged meter-loadcenters (combination service entrance devices, "all in ones") are a poor choice in many applications, so we will not consider them further here, although many manufacturers do not cleanly distinguish between devices that are closer in nature to meter-mains from devices that are designed solely as all-in-one meter-loadcenters.  We will first consider the meter-breaker approach, as applied to your existing 200A service, and then discuss the 400A upgrade options available to you.  Finally, we will talk about multi-meter hardware, as it has some complications in it that are not present in single family metering.

During all this, we also have to keep some requirements imposed by your utility in mind:

As an EUSERC utility, PSE requires ring-type metering hardware
PSE considers "house panels" for common loads in multi-family dwellings to be commercial loads, requiring a manual (test block) bypass facility in the meter socket for the common loads meter
PSE forbids test block bypasses on 200A meters feeding individual dwelling units, but requires a manual block bypass on 320A residential meters
PSE requires engraved identifying plates on individual meters in a multi-meter setup -- any shop that can engrave trophies can handle this for you
PSE also requires a production meter in-line with the solar feed in some (many?) cases, colocated with the rest of the metering

The simple case -- breaking out what you have now

While I would normally suggest "rule-of-six" meter-mains for an application like this, the heavy oversubscription potential of the existing 200A service with this additional wiring is a legitimate concern, and there are a couple ways to handle this.

If you wish everything in one box, the Milbank U5169-XTL-200 is an EUSERC-compliant, 200A meter-main setup that uses a backfed 200A main onto a 12-space main lug loadcenter, leaving 8 spaces for branch breakers.  For this unit, you would be using a Siemens QN2200RH for the house main, with a pair of Q2100Hs for the common-load and ADU feeders.  However, it would mean that you would have to feed the shop through the house panel until you upgraded to 400A service.

The other alternative here, at the cost of an additional enclosure, is to use a single-breaker, ring-type, EUSERC-compliant, single-breaker 200A meter-main, with a 2" nipple with 3 4/0 Al XHHW-2 wires in it connecting it to a 12-space, 200A, main lug, outdoor (NEMA 3R) panel with matching 200A and 100A breakers, as well as accessory ground bars and lugs for any large ground wires exiting.

Either way, you will need to clean up your existing panels at this point.  In the split-bus panel (a Murray, by the way), all the bare wires need to be moved to the left-hand bar (the ground bar), all the white wires need to be moved to the right-hand bar (the neutral bar), and the bonding screw that electrically connects the right-hand bar to the case needs to be removed.  If the right-hand bar is not sitting on black plastic insulators, you will need to replace it with a Murray ECINSNB33 insulated neutral bar kit at this point, as well.

The small outdoor subpanel will need some more extensive work.  Once you banish the cobwebs and debris from the cabinet, you will need to replace the interior trim (deadfront) with a Square-D 4055802102 (as per here and here), mounting the new trim piece using a Square-D 4020513001K fastener kit.  While you are in there, you will need to fit a Square-D PK7GTA ground bar to the loadcenter, remove the bonding screw from the neutral bar, and move all the bare wires from the neutral bar to the new ground bar.

Alternatively, you could replace the subpanel with a brand-new HOM612L100RB with its bonding screw pulled and a PK7GTA ground bar fitted, reusing the existing breakers.  This does require the extra labor of pulling the wires out of the old enclosure and swapping them over to the new enclosure, though.

Going bigger

When you want to go to 400A service, your hardware selection becomes much more limited.  Fortunately, Square-D does make something suitable in the QO line: the CU12L400CB provides a 200A disconnect with space for a second 200A disconnect, as well as a 200A, 8 space QO interior providing room for up to 4, 2-pole, 125A maximum QO branch breakers.  This allows us to put the main house on the factory-fitted 200A breaker, the ADU on a QO2100VH, and the house loads on another QO2100VH, while leaving the spare 200A space available for either more power to the main house or a larger ADU feeder and permitting a separate QO2100VH for the feeder to the shop space.

Giving everyone their own meter

While the normal "go to" for this would be some sort of meter-pack type setup, since you want (and need) 200A to the house and 100A atop that for the shop, you'll need to go with a split setup.  The main house and shop feeders in this case are handled by a CUM400CB with a BMK2Q400 kit used to fit QDL2200 and QDL2100 feeder breakers for the main house and the shop, respectively.

With that, we use two individual meter-mains for the other two meters.  One of them needs to be a 100/125A, EUSERC-compliant, underground-feed meter main with a test block bypass function and a 22kAIC main breaker, such as a Milbank U214MTB/22, an Eaton CHU214MTBLB (with a BRH2100 main), or a Cooper U214MTBH, for the common-loads meter, while the other is  a 100/125A ring-style meter main, also with a 22kAIC main breaker, for the ADU's meter.

Last but not least, we need a way to connect the various service-entrance conductors from the meter-mains to the utility service lateral.  The simplest approach would be to use the meter sockets to house splices, but that doesn't work as PSE's rules forbid using meter bases as junction boxes.  Double-lugging the 400A meter-main doesn't work either as Square-D does not support that, and we can't use a regular NEMA 3R pull box to house the splices as EUSERC rules require a special two-bolt arrangement for the utility service lateral conductors to land on instead of having them land on a customer-provided lug.

This leaves us looking at the approach used in commercial work, where a termination box is used to land the service lateral from the utility, connecting it through to a bussed gutter that distributes power to the various meters.  However, given the constraints of our setup, a bussed gutter is a costly piece of overkill; it is far simpler to splice the service-entrance conductors directly in the termination box using insulated mechanical splice connectors, connecting them to jumpers to the termination box's customer-side lugs.

For this, we use a Milbank TB-014 box, some 600kcmil Al XHHW-2, some 1/0 Al XHHW-2, and three four-port, Al9Cu insulated mechanical tap connectors capable of accepting wire from 1/0 to 600kcmil, minimum.  The 600kcmil conductors from the tap connectors run onward to the 400A meter main via 2.5" EMT and a set of CMELK4 lugs at the meter-main end, while the 1/0 Al wires run via 1.5" EMT to the 100A meter-mains with prefabricated EMT elbows to turn up into the bottom knockouts on said meter-mains.

As to the feeders...

Once we have the meter-main(s) out of the way, we then run a feeder out to the new panel for the main house, using a 4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 aluminum type SER cable. (Normally, I'd use XHHW-2 aluminum singles in conduit sized to allow for upgrades for such heavy wiring, but accommodating a 400A feeder requires a larger conduit than will fit within a 2x4 stud wall, making that approach rather impractical.)  We can also use this same type of cable to subfeed the existing 200A panel from the new main house panel location in case it is desired to keep that panel in service.

We do use the conduit approach for the other two feeders, though, as the common loads panel can live on the outside of the house, and using conduit allows for easy upgrades of the shop/ADU feeder(s) as well, saving upgrade costs tremendously over using a direct burial cable.  The common loads/solar production feeder, then, uses 3 1AWG aluminum XHHW-2 wires in a 1.5" EMT run off to a convenient spot on the outside of the house where the associated panel can live.

As to the run to the ADU/shop outbuilding, we will use 2.5" conduit here. This provides sufficient space for whatever you wish to run to there, up to 3 2/0 Al XHHW-2s for 125A to the ADU alongside 3 more 2/0 Al XHHW-2s for 125A to the shop space although 1AWG Al XHHW-2 will be adequate for both feeders for now, 3 4AWG Al XHHW-2s for a 60A generator feed to the ADU, and two 6AWG bare copper equipment grounding conductors, one for the shop space, and the other for the ADU (as this avoids splicing in the T-body).  While you have the trench open, you'll want to lay a second conduit (1.5" suffices) to serve as a communications duct between the main house and the ADU, considering that those wires can't be run in the same conduit as mains wiring.  Furthermore, this smaller conduit can also carry the control wires running to the generator set from the transfer hardware in the ADU, as these run at 12VDC.

Alongside this, we have three other conduits to run, all 1.5" in diameter.  First is the conduit carrying the control wires to the generator from the communications box at the house; next to it, we have another 1.5" conduit for the generator source lines, which consist of 3 1/0 AWG Al XHHW-2 wires and 2 10AWG THHN wires (for the generator's battery charger) alongside a 6AWG bare copper ground (really, a supply-side bonding jumper as per NEC 250.35(B), but it basically serves the same function as an EGC). The remaining conduit here can be another 1.5" conduit carrying 2 10AWG copper THHNs and a 10AWG bare copper ground for the well pump branch circuit.

Finally, we have the feeders to the storage shed and solar panels from the shared-loads panel enclosure.  These feeders can be simpler than the rest, due to the relative paucity of loads present there: 3 4AWG Al XHHW-2s and 3 10AWG Cu THHNs in 1.5" conduit with a 10AWG bare copper ground will handle both feeders, with room to spare in the conduit to go up to 2/0 Al XHHW-2 with a 6AWG bare copper ground, while keeping the existing 10AWG shed feeder wires, if you want to expand the solar panels in the future.

And the panels themselves...

The main problem with using conventional panels for this is that we would need 8 panels -- 2 each for the main house, the common loads, and the ADU, as well as a subpanel for the shop and a breakout panel for the generator feeders.  This, along with the 3 automatic transfer switches, the meter-main/meter-pack, and the existing panel(s) in the main house, would make for a simply unmanageable morass of distribution hardware.

Fortunately, Siemens makes what they call a "GenReady" panel.  This is a convertible (between main lug and main breaker) split bus panel that can be fitted with either a manual generator interlock or a power controlled transfer switch that lives within the panel, allowing us to consolidate the number of new enclosures down to 7 from 15 if we are reusing the existing main house panel as a subpanel.

While the transfer switch hardware that normally goes with this is designed to work with certain Generac generator controllers that also provide transfer "brains" themselves, it is possible to get a third party module, the PSP Products KGC-1, that provides the transfer control and generator start logic itself, allowing the use of any 2-wire start generator. (The documentation for the module only mentions Kohler generators, but the "4" output from the KGC-1 is really a standard 2-wire, 12VDC run signal.)

Starting right at home

As a result, we can accomplish this starting with a 12-space, NEMA 3R panel with a 100A main breaker, such as a Siemens PW1224B1100CU with an ECSBPK04 interlock kit fitted, that is used as a generator distribution board to provide individual standby feeders for each part of the system, along with 3 of the Siemens generator panels, and a 30-space, 125A, main breaker panel for the shop space.

The reason we are choosing a main breaker panel with a separate main breaker space for the generator panel, by the way, is it allows us to fit it with an interlock kit, 50A breaker, and CS6375-type inlet to allow a portable standby generator (with its neutral-to-ground bond pulled) to be plugged in and used in case the hardwired one breaks down during a power outage.  You will need a set of ground bars for this panel if it is not factory shipped with them, and you also will need an ECLK2SC lug for the neutral to the main house.

From there, we move onto the main house, which receives a Siemens G4254L1225GEN generator panel as it's new primary subpanel, fitted with its matching GENTFRSWTCH ATS, a PSP KGC-1 ATS controller, and an ECLK2SC neutral lug if needed for the generator feeder neutral.  The existing was-a-main-panel then gets subfed from this panel using an ECLK2225 subfeed lug kit with an ECLK3 neutral lug and an ECCS2 grounding lug to fit more of that 4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 aluminum SER cable for the subfeed run.

Now, we can tackle the common loads panel. This panel is a Siemens W3042L1225GEN, again fitted with a GENTFRSWTCH and a KGC-1.  This will feed the streetlight, well pump, and any other loads that are common to the property as a whole, such as receptacles and lights that are not attached to either building or on the outside of the ADU/shop building, since the latter is fed from two different sources.  It also is where the feeder for the storage-shed originates, as well as having a 125A meter base for the production meter attached to it with a 1.5" nipple.  Last but not least, here, the 14/4 TC from the transfer switch to the comms/control pull box can be pulled through a 1/2" EMT to protect it.

Heading for the outbuilding...

From there, we move onto the outbuilding.  The 2.5" power and 1.5" communications conduits go up the outside of the building, with an Arlington 936NM in a TB configuration for the branch off to the shop panel and a pair of LBs routing the rest of the conduits into the ADU on the second floor.  The communications duct, by the way, will simply exit into the wall at each end, terminating in bushings to protect the wire edges.

We then fit a G4254B1200GEN for the ADU's panel; once again, this panel sports a GENTFRSWTCH transfer switch and a KGC-1 transfer controller.  From this transfer controller to the main house, we run a 14/4, wet location rated tray cable in the communications duct; these cables are more commonly seen in industrial work, but work just fine closer to home as well.

Finally, we fit a P3030B1125CU for the shop panel.  This panel requires no special treatment, unlike most of the other panels here.  However, the shop cannot share any "utility" loads with the ADU; this not only means it will have its own mini-split, but that it will need its own hot water heater as well, considering that the shop will have a washroom space associated with it.  Fortunately, this is a good application for a small tankless hot water heater in the 3-6kW range.

Dealing with that other shed

Now that we have the rest of this in place, we can fit the panel for the other shed now.  This will be a BR1224NC125R, with a BR260 fitted for the main using the supplied hold-down screw and a BR220WH fed using the shed load feeder for the light and outlet circuits.  This does require using a wirenut in the panel for the shed load neutrals instead of landing them on the neutral bar and using a receptacle or deadfront type GFCI for the shed outlets, but allows us to get everything here into a single box.

If you want to use standard ATSes instead...

If you wish to use standard automatic transfer switches instead of the decidedly non-standard/adapted hardware mentioned above, you can still do this with the Siemens GenReady panels -- each panel, instead of getting a GENTFRSWTCH with its associated Q215 voltage sense breaker and Q2100 generator breaker alongside the KGC-1 controller, will have the factory fitted molded-case switch for the utility power replaced with an ECLK125 subfeed lug kit, reusing the existing hold-down parts.  The factory jumpers are removed, and then the bottom half of the panel becomes your standby subpanel, with the factory utility breaker in the panel feeding the transfer switch utility input and the transfer switch output feeding the bottom half of the panel via subfeed lugs.

Another approach to this that gets you by with the same number of additional enclosures is to use standard 200A or 225A panels for the unit main panels alongside ATSes that have built-in standby subpanels.  This does limit your ATS selection more than the former approach, though, but does provide more panel spaces for non-standby loads.

Of course, both of these approaches mean you have 3 extra enclosures in your system compared to using the full capabilities of the Siemens GenReady panels, but if you need transfer switching functionality that the GENTFRSWTCH/KGC-1 combination cannot provide, these alternatives can get you there.

Other notes

First off, the communications duct to the ADU and the control-wires conduit to the generator should terminate in a NEMA 3R pull box on the outside of the house.  This provides a place to connect the control cables from the transfer switches to the control cable to the generator, as the KGC-1 control contacts can be connected in parallel; it also can house things like the house-side primary protector for any telecoms lines for the ADU.

Next up, the outbuilding will need a grounding electrode system of its own.  If you're building it from scratch, a concrete-encased electrode in the foundation is highly recommended (and required by some local codes).  In case that's not an option, though, there is always the old standby of using two 8' ground rods, driven 8' apart.  You'll need to use a 6AWG copper GEC, by the way, run to both panels in the outbuilding (shop-panel and ADU-panel).  This will also need to be bonded to the water service line coming into the ADU with a 6AWG bonding jumper and split bolt if a metal pipe was used for it, as well as to the communications raceway if it is made of metal, and to the primary protectors on the communications cables run to the ADU, using an intersystem bonding termination block as per NEC 250.94 and some bare 10AWG copper for the communications bonding jumpers.

While we are grounding outbuildings, the shed will also need two 8' ground rods driven 8' apart and connected to each other and to the shed's panel with a 6AWG bare copper GEC.  A split bolt and another 6AWG bare copper wire can be used to tap it at a later time if a second panel is added at the shed.

As to the grounding electrode system at the main building, you will want to take the existing GEC, remove it from the panel, then pull it out and re-route it to the largest meter-main.  In the multi-meter-main configurations, you will also need to tap the GEC with split-bolts rated for 4AWG wire and lengths of 6AWG bare copper wire for the tap conductors to the other two meter-mains.  Finally, you will also need to fit an intersystem bonding termination block to the new GEC and run any communications ground wires present to it, again as per NEC 250.94.

Finally, and importantly, you will need to use an inch-pound torque wrench or torque screwdriver to torque all electrical connection screws and bolts to the manufacturer's specified torque.  This requirement was introduced with 110.14(D) in the 2017 NEC, but is a good idea even if your jurisdiction has not adopted it, lest your electrical system do what Greg Biffle's infamous lugnuts did.


is the rain getting into the gas lines, and watering down the gas?

No. That isn't possible. Any way for water to get in would be a way for gas to get out. You'd have noticed this - it would be a life-threatening emergency.

  Any suggestions

Maybe check the flue and vent?

Maybe call a gas engineer?


Will three pairs of 12' 2x4 lumber provide a safe work platform for one person?

Long story short: don't do it.

Some of the most dangerous words you'll ever hear:  "Aww, that ain't going nowhere."  Over the years I have seen a lot of mishaps with homebuilt contraptions.

I am still not super clear even after you added to your description, I get the gist but the details are very important and you're way short on details for my taste.  It sounds like you're building a scaffold or temporary floor over your basement opening to work on the ceiling above.  You're going to build it with doubled 2x4 joists spanning 9'.  Assuming the width of the stairwell is about 3' they'll be about 18" apart.

In construction you usually use span tables to determine the distance you can span with lumber.  You can do engineering calculations but that's a lot more work, and error prone.  Your scaffold / temporary floor won't be constructed like a real permanent floor so they don't really apply, but they still shed some light.  Here's a link to some span tables, they are not hard to find online:

https://up.codes/s/allowable-ceiling-joist-spans

Now 2x4's are never used as floor joists any more, so the span tables for floor joists don't help, they start at 2x6's.  However 2x4's are still used for ceiling joists, and ceiling joists support attic floors.  The span tables for an attic with limited storage allow right around 9' of span for 2x4's spaced 16" on center, depending on the grade of wood.  So with doubled 2x4's, I really don't think a 200 pound man on a ladder is going to snap them.

However I still think it's a bad idea because I don't think snapping the lumber is the main danger here.  I think the most likely trouble is fastening this temporary floor / scaffold to the permanent structure securely and safely.  You haven't discussed this at all.  With the heights involved just about any accident that happens will be a serious accident, so I would not attempt this.

If you google "stairway ladder" and "stairway scaffold" you'll see that there are lots of options available to do this kind of work without trying to build something yourself.


Measuring AC Voltage Behind Light Switch

Yes, multimeters measure potential differences: phase to ground, neutral and also phase to phase.
Measuring at a switch, you'd need a hot and a neutral. You can measure to ground if a neutral is not in the box and while you'll get the correct voltage, you can't run a circuit off the two.
Grounds aren't normally floating but neutrals can be. If you have a hot, any ground will work it doesn't have to be from the same circuit.
If there is no neutral or ground at your switch or anywhere near it, you could take an amp reading and then get an accurate resistance reading of the circuit and work it from there: E=RI


How do I remove a stuck kitchen aerator tip?

If you look closely, many aerators have a couple flat spots on them, that you could tighten an adjustable wrench on to.  That or a strap wrench would have been my first tool.  But failing that, and the lack of desire to preserve the original finish, the curved jaw vice grips pictured above should work.
The next level, replacement wise, would be to file some flat sides onto the doomed aerator and use a wrench.

Dave.


Does lowering the regulator setting of fan minimize electricity usage

In general, yes slower speeds use less power.  The fan motors typically are synchronous AC motors and use different windings or capacitors on the motor to create different speeds.  There isn't a "dimmer" circuit or resistor speed control when you use the pull chain switch.

If you try to use a dimmer switch instead to change the speed that isn't designed for fans the quality of the power (power factor) can drop which can lead to additional inefficiencies.


Complex continuous run vs easier single junction boxes

It seems the heart of your question is topology. "Bus" topology is what you have for your outlets, in which power comes from the distribution panel to one outlet, then to the next, and so on like a chain. "Star" topology is one in which power comes from the distribution panel to a central point and then branches out in multiple directions. It sounds like this is what you're entertaining for the lighting.
Both bus and star are acceptable. Wire sizing, demand calculations, and so on are the same regardless of the topology.
As for the junction box at the heart of the star topology: it needs to be in an accessible place, and it needs to be sized appropriately to contain the wires.
"Accessible" means it can be reached without removing any part of the building. Drop-in ceiling tiles seem to be accepted as "accessible" virtually everywhere, so if you make the junction in a box (don't forget the cover) and put it above a drop-tile ceiling that'll be fine.
Junction box sizing is determined with an exercise called "box fill calculation." It considers the number and gauge of conductors being joined or merely passing through, any devices like switches or outlets also in the box, etc. Boxes are marked with their cubic inch volume; the box fill calculation tells you the minimum number of cubic inches needed.


Replacing 2 wire switch with 4 wire switch, box has 3 wires. Help?

The black wire from the box, old switch, gets connected to the black wire from your new switch with a wire nut. The red wire from your old switch gets connected to the red wire from your new switch with a wire nut. The white from your new switch gets connected to the group of white wires under the yellow wire nut, those are the neutrals. I can't tell if there's a ground wire in the box from the cables or if it's FMC. Verify the box is grounded with a meter going from box to black (hot).


How do I fix leaking sprinkler line from this valve?

From the corrosion, I'm guessing this has been leaking for a while. If it's just a bad threaded joint, then you just need to unscrew the fittings, starting at the closest union, clean the threads, reapply some pipe dope to the male threads, and screw them back together in reverse order. It's a pretty easy repair requiring a couple of large wrenches, a wire brush, and pipe dope. If you have an inside shutoff to just this line, it's very DIY.

If the valve is leaking from the stem, and that's a 1/4 turn shutoff, then you should simply replace it. These tend to be very nice valves, but there isn't much to repair when they fail.

If a soldered joint is leaking, then the pipe should be cut and soldered again with new sections of pipe.

Unless this has been leaking ever since the installation, I'd guess it failed from freezing. Make sure these lines are fully drained in the winter, or wrap them with heat tape and insulation, to prevent freezing and damage in the future. And if you don't have an inside shutoff to this line, you really should get one added, along with and a drain line.


Can i run my cables from the outside box to the inside breaker box through 2x4 studs?

National Electric Code calls for protection of the cable or raceway (conduit).
National Electric Code (NEC)

300.4 Protection Against Physical Damage. Where subject to physical damage, conductors shall be protected.
(A) Cables and Raceways Through Wood Members.
(1) Bored Holes. In both exposed and concealed locations, where a cable or raceway type wiring method is installed through bored holes
in joists, rafters, or wood members, holes shall be bored so that the
edge of the hole is not less than 32 mm (11⁄4 in.) from the nearest
edge of the wood member. Where this distance cannot be maintained, the
cable or raceway shall be protected from penetration by screws or
nails by a steel plate(s) or bushing(s), at least 1.6 mm (1⁄16 in.)
thick, and of appropriate length and width installed to cover the area
of the wiring.
Exception No. 1: Steel plates shall not be required to protect rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, rigid nonmetallic conduit,
or electrical metallic tubing.
(2) Notches in Wood. Where there is no objection because of weakening the building structure, in both exposed and concealed
locations, cables or raceways shall be permitted to be laid in notches
in wood studs, joists, rafters, or other wood members where the cable
or raceway at those points is protected against nails or screws by a
steel plate at least 1.6 mm (1⁄16 in.) thick, and of appropriate
length and width, installed to cover the area of the wiring. The steel
plate shall be installed before the building finish is applied.
Exception No. 1: Steel plates shall not be required to protect rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, rigid nonmetallic conduit,
or electrical metallic tubing.

Building codes dictate how large the holes and notches can be.
International Residential Code (IRC)

Any stud may be bored or drilled, provided that diameter of the
resulting hole is no more than 60% of the stud width and the edge of
the hole is no more than  5/8” to the edge of the stud, and the hole
is not located in the same area as a cut or  notch.  Studs located in
exterior walls or bearing partitions drilled over 40% and up to  60%
shall also be doubled with no more than 2 successive doubled studs
bored.

Which means for bearing walls with 2x4 studs, the maximum hole diameter is 1 3/8" and maximum notch depth is 7/8".  For a non-bearing wall with 2x4 studs, the maximum hole diameter is 2 1/8" and maximum notch depth is 1 3/8". For bearing walls with 2x6 studs, the maximum hole diameter is 2 3/16" maximum notch depth is 1 3/8". For non-bearing walls with 2x6 studs, the maximum hole diameter is 3 5/16" maximum notch depth is 2 3/16".
Check local codes for amendments before proceeding. It might also be a good idea to consult with an engineer, to insure structural integrity is maintained.


Yes if you buy no name china with no UL listing you will be changing the fixtures out regularly.
I would suggest LED and to assure long life you want a fixture that is DLC and UL certified UL underwriters laboratory, Design Light Consortium requires a 5 year warranty.
I purchase a large number of fixtures and lamps Every year and find good prices and the above 2 certifications in many products they sell.
Check our LEDMYPlace.com and 1000bulbs.com
I have no connection to either company other than having purchased at least 100 from each and the very few problems I have had are quickly taken care of.
But in any case the DLC certification in a lamp or fixture has provided long life in rough environments where non DLC from other parts of the world have had many failures in fact not many have lasted beyond their warranty.


How do I remove dried gorilla glue from stainless steel sink

Abrasion.

Sandpaper, steel wool, non-woven abrasive pad (better known as the brand name  Scotchbrite® in many places.) Also Bon-Ami cleanser, Lava soap, etc.


Black stains in wood, identifying the cause

It appears like mold, I found a link that goes over some simple ways to test if something is mold.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/how-to-test-for-mold/
I personally would check if the wood is soft, if the wood has an earthy smell... like the smell of dirt and decomposing leaves, both strongly indicate mold.


In the same situation ( 8' span) , I glued and screwed 5/8 plywood to the bottom of the 2 X 4 s. Making something like a wide flange beam. It worked as even some furniture was stored up there ( about 7' to the peak). Plywood ,not OSB or particle board.


What gauge wire do I need to supply 15A to small building 440 ft from the main house?

Using one of the many wire size calculators on the internet, for 120v single phase:

  1 conductors per phase utilizing a #3 Copper conductor will limit the voltage drop to 2.59% or less when supplying 15.0 amps for 440 feet on a 120 volt system.

Also, please be sure to use the actual wire length, not just the distance between buildings (eg taking into account depth in ground, height to panels, farthest plug on your circuit, actual path wire will take, etc). With the same parameters, it looks like you can go to about 510 feet before you need to use #2 wire.


Both safety and aesthetic.

It keeps fingers from touching the circuit which is most likely directly connected to the mains (no isolation). Removing it would create a serious safety hazard.


Insulation inside AC unit has mold and falling apart

I've done similar repairs to AC units. The yellow insulation can easily be replaced with fiberglass insulation from your home store. It can be cut to fit and just set in place.

I would not be replacing the insulation inside the plenum as you would weaken the structure. I'd spray some white vinegar in it and let it dry. Vinegar is great for killing mold, surface and below the surface. Then lightly vacuum it out but don't break up the insulation. Make cleaning the drain a yearly task and don't wait for it to leak first. Many AC units have a safety float in the drain piping that will shut the unit down if water fills the pipe.


How to remove a bathroom fan vent grille for cleaning

It does come off. You squeeze those wire clips together and the ends pop out of the slots they are in. Then you can take the entire cover off. After that there is usually just one screw holding the fan motor in place, take that out and unplug the fan so that you can remove it and clean it thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner.


Will a door rubbing on the carpet cause excessive wear?

Depending on how much of the pile is being rubbed it could wear off some of the pile. It will also cause more wear if it's a berber type of carpet or some other type of looped pile where the door could wear off the top fibers.
What it will cause, especially on pile carpets is a 90 or 180 degree arc in the carpet where it rubs. However if it's not a deep rub it should look better after vacuuming or shampoing.
Bottom line is try to minimize the amount of contact between the door and carpet by trimming the door so it just contacts the top of the pile and you should be fine.


What parts are needed to add a shutoff valve to 1/4" refrigerator water supply?

Saddle valves normally have a T handle that acts as a shutoff:

These are notoriously troublesome. The original one in my home crusted shut, as did the replacement by the previous owner.

In any event, you'll give yourself a more reliable service and vastly improved pressure with a proper valve at the supply pipe, such as those found near toilets:

Of course, you can always add an inline valve if you wish to keep things simple:


Why would a furnace overheat with a standard density filter?

It could be that the air return system is blocked or insufficient, and cannot provide the proper air flow.  Make sure your air return vents are not blocked by furniture or rugs, and possibly clean the return air system.

You will also want to make sure the heat vents are open and clear of obstructions, if the warm air has nowhere to go it will not flow properly.

You could also check the blower, as it might be getting old and not have the strength to move the correct amount of air.  The blower can also become dirty and be blocked with dust and debris, which will cause a decrease in performance.

The final thing to check would be the high limit switch itself, as it could be on it's last leg and need to be replaced.

Remember to change your filter monthly to prevent it from clogging.


How to replace thick set tile with wall?

All things considered you will probably find it much easier to simply remove the existing wall down to the studs.  Demolition is hard work but its fast work if you prepare the edges properly by cutting a seam along all the edges that goes the depth of the wall.  Then you just pull it all out and get rid of it.

After you're down to studs you can put up new, clean drywall.  Overall it's going to be faster than trying to "save" the old wall - which you won't really be likely to save anyway cause its nearly impossible to remove tile w/o destroying the wall underneath.  Tile from concrete sure, but tile from backerboard or plaster wall?  Forget it.  Demo the thing.


Do freezing temperatures damage tung oil? Age?

If it's not set up in the can, it's probably fine, but making a small test is always a good idea with old finish, just to make sure it cures properly.


Can I do an external splice to my chandelier wire?

Ok like with a swagger lamp. It might be possible. A swagger lamp has a connection inside the globe. Some chandeliers have a wiring space where a junction can be made. All junctions need to be in a box or inside the fixture So it may be possible to do it legally by cutting the line and chain it may end up slightly higher depending on the style but now that I understand what you are asking it could be done with the right new fixture.


Replacing a ceiling fan with light kit on 3-way circuit

Black is fan , red is light. In other words.,black to black ., red to blue, white to white, ground/bare to green. it will still be a three way and use pull chains individually when power is supplied to the fan.


What you are showing is bare wood apparently without any treatment or coating.  In that case the wood will shrink and swell due to humidity and, since this appears to be outside, rain, snow, etc.
Wood changes dimensionally the most at right angles to the grain.  In your case the grain is going horizontally and so the dimensional changes will happen most in the vertical direction.  That, of course, is exactly what you are seeing.
If you don't want this to happen, there are two options that I can think of:

Treat the wood (usually this means primer, paint) with a product that will seal it against humidity and moisture.  This will likely need to be redone periodically.
Replace the wood with a product that is not subject to moisture.

Otherwise, what you have is entirely normal.  You could just live with it as it is.


Is there a "standard" height for towel bars in bathrooms?

I believe it's 48" for a bath towel.

I just put up new towel bars in my bathroom, and my method was to hold the bar up with a towel on it and have my wife tell me if it looked right. Just to be sure, she even acted like she was drying her hands to see if it felt right too. If I remember correctly, it came out to 46". (We're both short - the next owners can either complain about it or raise it themselves.)


Should my dormer flashing look like this?

NO, at the very least it is an indicator of shoddy craftsmanship. At worst, it may indicate that no angled flashing was installed below the shingles and roof paper.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

You said there have been no leaks; so while you should have some concern, it should be tempered by the fact that it is not leaking (...yet)

How do I address something like this?

The proper way (if you are comfortable with roofing repair) would be to carefully remove the ugly flashing and each section of tab shingle adjacent to it, from the bottom of that lame old flashing all the way to the top under the dormer eave. Then properly install angled flashing or Z/angled flashing combination along that run. Then replace the shingles.
OR, hire a reputable roofing contractor to do that for you. The bonus with a contractor should be that he/she will guarantee the work to some extent.


How do I make my bathroom pipes more practical?

The relatively fixed elements are the drain  pipe going trough the floor and the vent pipe running to the left. It is complex to change where these exit the room (go into the wall or floor).

As other comments and answers suggest, you can probably shift these pipes toward the back of the vanity.  With the vanity removed, you can put in a "sweep elbow" (a shallow curve rather than a sharp 90 degree) from the pipe coming up through the floor toward the back of the cabinet area.  You can then turn it upward, again with a sweep elbow, and join the P-trap to that upright pipe.

If the sweep elbow is higher than the floor of the vanity, you can open up the floor to lower it or you can take out a channel in the vanity floor to accomodate.  This should still leave enough room higher up to accomodate drawers on one side ot the other.

The vent stack can also be turned toward the back to meet the newly routed drain stack.  Elbows in vents are less critical than waste elbows.


How could I use 40lb Propane tanks in a residential hook up?

Call suburban, tell them that you don't want the tanks any more.

Make sure you are present when they unhook so there is no damage to your connection.

I recommend that you use a pair of tanks, so that there is always a spare on hand. One is disconnected and capped.  (Bugs love to nest in the opening...)

Note that for emergency heating you can go through a tank of propane in a hurry.  There may be merit in buying your own 100 lb tank, and parking it next to your hookup.  You need a friend to horse it there, but it may be there for a LONG time before you need to refill it.

Also:  Here in Alberta, you can get an older tank recertified (Pressure test and a new valve) for much less than the new cost.  Not worth it for the barbecue size but for 40's and up it may be worth it.  Many propane dealers are set up to do this.

A final thought:  While $5 a gallon is too much, your project is going to save you only a hundred bucks a year, and the first year of that is gone to get your tanks.  Is it worth it?

Keep your tanks painted to stop rust.  Either aluminum or white.


Generally this is either a leaking flapper valve, or a leaking fill valve.

Look in the tank.  There is a tube that sticks up above the normal full water level.  This is the "overflow tube" which prevents the tank from overflowing - it connects straight to the bowl.

When you flush it (DON'T), the tank quickly drains, then it refills up to the normal level, maybe an inch below the top of the overflow tube.

If the flapper valve is leaking, water will slip below normal until the fill valve kicks in to bring it back.
If the fill valve is leaking, water will fill to normal, then slowly fill above normal right up to the top of the overflow pipe.

So, if you find the water at the top of the overflow pipe, it's the fill valve.

Otherwise, we don't know. Maybe you just flushed it.  Find other tasks in the bathroom.  If it's the flapper, you'll occasionally hear the valve do a moment of refilling.  If it's the valve, the water will slowly rise.


Need help replacing this super old shower handle!

If you can't find matching parts, you will need to open up the wall and get a new shower diverter. You might be able to do it without damaging the tile if you approach it from the other side of the wall. You can do the work with push fittings and it will be relatively simple that way.


How do I measure the leg positions for a three-legged table with a circular top?

An equilateral triangular set of legs is easy for a circular top.

Take a pair of dividers (for those who do not know what I mean, this is just the standard school compass used by kids), set to the radius of the circular top.

Step around the perimeter of the table top using the dividers. There will be EXACTLY 6 such steps until you return to the start point if you had set that distance carefully. Mark the steps you take with a pencil around the perimeter. (Adjust the dividers if you do not return to the start point, then redo the steps.)

Once 6 points are located around the perimeter, choose every other mark. Draw a line from the center of the table top to the corresponding mark on the perimeter.

Finally, with that same compass, draw a circle around the center point. Where that circle crosses the radial lines you have just drawn will be the location of your legs, so choose a reasonable radius here. Stability can be increased if the legs splay out a bit, but not too far as you don't want people tripping over them. Rungs that connect the legs can make them more robust.

The process I described above works because a regular hexagon can be inscribed inside a circle such that the vertices lie on the perimeter of the circle. The length of the edges of that hexagon are the same as the circle radius.

Theta = 360/12 = 30 degrees, Sin(30) = 1/2  So the chord length is R.

Edit: You often have the center of the circle from when you made the table top. Some circle cutting jigs will actually leave a hole in the center.

But, if you don't have that mark to use, that compass will come again to your aid. Set that tool to mark a distance larger than the radius of the circle. With one point at the perimeter of the circle, draw an arc across the rough center of the top. Now repeat, but from the opposite side of the table. Those arcs will cross at two points. Draw a straight line between them.

Now, rotate the entire process by approximately 90 degrees, drawing a second line between a pair of intersections of circular arcs. The two lines we have drawn will intersect at the center of the circle.


Is it safe to connect two extension cords to reach 75 feet to a generator?

Yes, you can run extension cords in series.  The wires have to be sufficient size for the ampacity from end to end.  The cords and in particular the junction between the cords would have to be rated for the environment, they'd have to be weather proof if they are outdoors.

The voltage drop would be additive, you'd calculate voltage drop from the source voltage on the first cord, then calculate the drop of that adjusted voltage on the second cord.

There is no issue with a 10-4 cord at 30 amps for 75' - that would be less than 2% at 240V and less than 4% at 120V, which should be no problem at all.


That one may be a builders grade .99 special get a spec grade for 3$ they are heavier and you won’t have the problem any longer. In past positions I had to test outlets (hospital electrician) now they use hospital grade outlets crazy expensive but they last longer and have a higher withdraw force than new .99 specials, the spec grade have very similar withdraw rates as the hospital grade. I mention the 3 basic grades because they all wear out but the cheap builders grade fail much sooner than the other 2. You know the blender is good it works in another outlet, get a new quality outlet, turn the power off and replace it.


Is there any way to fix a hinge pulled out of particle board cabinet door?

Particle board is generally pretty glue-able. Apply wood glue to the raw particle board and clamp the two pieces together overnight.


Vapor barrier on heated entertainment shed

The insulation goes in the stud bays between the studs. There are several options for insulation some of which are fiberglass bats, spray foam or solid foam  sheets.
Once the stud bays have been insulated then you cover the entire wall with a sturdy visqueen or plastic. 4mill will suffice, but 6mill can be used.
I like to staple the visqueen around the perimeter and leave enough so that it wraps around to the adjoining wall and ceiling and then staple and caulk that wall or the ceiling’s plastic on top of that.
For added Insurance  you could run a bead of caulk all the way around the perimeter of the wall before you staple the plastic on but you do not need the caulking on each stud.
If you puncture the plastic anywhere make sure you repair it with a suitable plastic tape.
Do a search on YouTube for how to install vapor barrier in new construction and you will Have much information at your disposal.
Caveat: Not all information found on YouTube is correct so be sure to watch several videos,  And research in other places.


What are these funnel-looking green things in my yard?

These are Hose Guides.  They're usually placed near deck posts and similar obstructions to stop your water hose from kinking when you pull it around a corner.  They're also used near gardens to stop you dragging the hose through the garden and ruining your planting. Possibly this one:


It's always better to add paper or mesh tape at seams in walls or ceilings. You can use plaster instead of joint compound, mud, but mud is easier to work with. In corners, it's good to use a preform interior or exterior corner. Some don't need to be taped because they come with tape installed on both sides of the corner strip. Check your home stores for the types they carry.


How to add wireless capabilities to a doorbell button?

Here is my suggestion of what you can do.

Go to good old eBay and purchase a kit that looks like this:

You can find these for very reasonable prices using a search string like "wireless remote control".

The fob is battery operated and activates a relay on the receiver board when the buttons are pressed. The particular model shown comes with a nice looking wall mountable plastic enclosure to cover the circuit board. (Do not mount the plastic box outside however).

Connecting into the existing doorbell is simple. Just access the wire pair between the door bell and the push button and splice in a new pair that will connect to the relay of the receiver box at the NO (normally open) and COM (common) contact points. This connection will allow the activated relay to act as a parallel button with the existing button with no modifications to the existing button.

The relay receiver box requires a 12VDC source to operate. This can be supplied from a surplus AC wall adapter that you could also purchase on eBay or visit your local GoodWill store where you can find a huge assortment of adapters. If you chose to mount the receiver in an attic or crawl space you could find an electrical junction box and mount an outlet cover plate on it to get a convenient place to plug in your 12V adapter.

You could mount the dongle out on the gate directly (the dongles I've used had a sealed inner liner inside the case that keeps moisture out of the inside electronics). What may be preferable is to modify the dongle with a wire pair soldered across one of the button contacts and then run those wires over to a more conventional style of doorbell button that you would mount on the gate. The hacked dongle could then be enclosed in a plastic hobby box that is sealed and then mounted to the exterior in an unobtrusive area while at the same time the plastic box letting the wireless RF signal come through the box and make its way to the relay receiver board. You will occasionally have to replace the dongle battery but they seem to last a year or more with moderate use.

I've used almost identical kits to replace my very old non-functional garage door openers with the relay module wired across the manual open/close buttons that are inside the garage. The dongle is then easily carried around or kept in the automobile.


What is the size of the transformer? Usually excessive heat in a transformer means it is undersized. Larger transformers actually have there temp increase listed on them. If you get one the same voltage but a larger kw / kva output it will not run as warm if you are concerned.