Why don't I see water being pumped outside when my sump pump runs?

If the float is triggering it to start the pump, but there is insufficient water to where the pump sucks air via a vortex, it will not pump out. That then means your float is not adjusted properly; it should not trigger on until there is enough water to avoid it sucking in air.

Sometimes when there is heavy inflow and a pump that that was too small, people lower the float switch trip point in order to get the pump started earlier if it was having trouble keeping up with the flow. That's not the way to fix that problem, the fix is to get a bigger pump.


What to do about subfloor covering sole plates?

If you have open studs on the side walls and then want to add inside finish panneling or drywall to those walls after the flooring is in you would need to go along and glue/nail in a spacer block in between each pair of studs so that there is something to nail the bottom edge of the wall material to.


How should I wire a Trane air handler & heat strips?

Unless I'm missing something in your explanation, using the 2/0 AL wire doesn't seem to be a problem, except that it's AL and the unit does not specify AL. What will probably be simpler than running all new wire is to just get AL-to-copper splice connectors.

And in response to:

  if I run two separate circuits/lines, do I need to tie together to the (2) 240 volt 2-pole breakers

No, you don't. If the heater circuit trips, you'll just lose your heat. And if the air handler breaker trips, it will shut off the heater strips. So no problem there.

In response to your update:

If the breaker is visibly damaged, then replace the breaker. If you decide to keep the AL wire, then make sure the breaker is rated for AL. Again, replacing the breaker will be cheaper than running all new copper.

A partially melted lug is a bad sign. You need to get an evaluation from a professional.

Having two breakers is still not a problem. If breaker for the lone heater strip trips, you get reduced heating capacity. If the other breaker trips, the air handler will shut off the other heater strip automatically.


What size wire needed for 100a subpanel 120ft away from house sub panel? Biggest amp draw will be a window A/C unit, and a pool pump

You want 3 1AWG Al XHHW-2s here with an 8AWG ground

Since we are running a feeder here (and a 100A one at that), we can use the 75°C column in the ampacity tables, which gives us a 1AWG aluminum wire for 100A.  However, SER cable is the wrong type of thing to use here; instead, we want individual 1AWG aluminum wires, preferably with XHHW-2 insulation as that withstands the rigors of outdoor use the best; with this, we can use an 8AWG copper ground wire, either bare or THHN insulated, your pick.

Go big or go home!

You will want a 100 or 125A, 24 or 30 space (note I said space, not "circuit", as double-stuff breakers aren't nearly as useful as they seem), main breaker panel at the shed, or a larger one if you can get it, for that matter.  It is not an issue if the panel's main breaker is larger than the feeder breaker in the main panel, by the way, as all the main breaker is in this case is a convenient way to get a shutoff switch at the shed.

TORQUE ALL LUGS TO SPEC

One other thing you will need to do with this installation is use an inch-pound torque wrench to torque all loadcenter and circuit breaker lugs in what you are installing to their marked tightening torques.  This is required by 110.14(D) in the 2017 NEC, and is a good idea anyway even if your AHJ has not adopted the 2017 edition of the Code yet, lest your electrical system get a case of the loose lugnuts!


Can I use domestic hot water from a gas combination boiler temporarily, while the pressure in the central heating circuit is low?

Sure, it is safe, as it's meant to produce domestic hot water in the first place.  The problem is it won't start up because there's no water in it as it all has drained out. You need to put some sort of stops on the inlet and outlet heating pipes and re-pressurize the system before it will produce hot water.


Knowing nothing about your particular boiler, if you are adding water to the loop and water flows out the exhaust pipe, it sounds like your heat exchanger is leaking, as that's where a connection between the loop water and exhaust would be.

Whether that's a simple part replacement or "new boiler time" will depend on the design of the boiler and price of replacement parts.

When it's fixed, I would personally want to have a pressure or pressure/temperature gauge (analog/non-electric) installed on the loop for my own information/peace of mind/ability to quickly check. Rarely used, but nice to have when there are problems.


I would get some J-channel from your nearest siding store. It's almost universally available. Cut the opening a bit taller, fit new top and side channel, and flash around whatever surface treatment you like.


Can a structural ridge beam be used in a hip roof design?

This is the typical structure of a hip-roof:

As you can see, the ridge board, or ridge beam, is holding up the "jack rafters" at the top of the incline.

Arguably the 4 diagonal boards - the hip rafters - are holding up the ridge board on their own, but simply for load bearing purposes, place supports under the ends of the ridge board (and possibly one in the middle depending on length) because structurally speaking, the diagonal supports are in a weaker configuration than vertical ones.


Broken wire inside Rangehood, advice needed

I think you were wise to turn off the power to be on the safe side.

I also agree that the simplest thing would be to turn off the power to the hood, or safely disconnect the wiring to the hood, until you can get it repaired or replaced.

Turning off the breaker for the stove may or may not turn off power to the hood.
It's almost certain that turning off the main will turn off power to the hood, but in multi-tenant buildings, it's not that unusual find some of the wiring crossed up - there is a chance that hood is on another tenant's service.  If that's the case it will still be live when you turn off your main breaker.

For this reason you want to verify things are safe with a voltage tester, whatever you do.  When you're done, you'll want to test those exposed terminals to make sure they're safe.

Disconnecting the wires from the small gray cable but leaving the wires from the big cable, secure in the connector after you re-tighten the lugs should safely disconnect the hood until it can be repaired.  It should not be necessary but just to be safe, I'd cap the exposed ends of the small gray wire with small connectors of some kind.  But you really ought to use a voltage tester to verify those wires are safe (no voltage) before working on them, and test again when you're done to verify those exposed terminals are indeed dead.


Is there a special low temperature thermostat?

Yes.  One example is the  Honeywell CT50K1028/E which is your basic low voltage thermostat it goes down to 35 F. I'm pretty sure it will work for your application.  No hacking or electronics work reqired.   There are others.  Do a search for " Garage thermostat"


Is the ground wire connection grounding all switches in this box?

Looks like the left switch is grounded, the middle switch is not grounded but should be and the right switch may be grounded (can't tell from the pictures). Since the box is plastic, there is no way that they are all grounded. Run a wire to pigtail the middle switch (and possibly right switch) to the ground wire.


Question about fixing footer drains with no access

I encountered a similar situation. After extensive research I found a drainage contractor in North Carolina who recommends digging up each plank as needed and digging a ditch for channel drain. It looks like their deck in video below had wider planks so easier to dig in that slot after pulling off wood plank. Hopefully yours is wide enough.
FRENCH DRAIN UNDER WOOD DECK, Apple Drains, Charlotte North Carolina
23K views
https://youtu.be/Z-mAzGY8-Zw


What is this device connected to my cold water pipe?

Suspicion coupled with an image search says yes, it's (almost certainly) a trap primer for the floor drain. Makes sure the floor drain trap does not dry out when disused and allow sewer gas to vent into the space.


Are non-GFCI outlets that are downstream of a GFCI outlet ground fault protected if they are fed from the GFCI outlet's load side?

Yes, that is the entire purpose of the load terminals of the GFCI.  You can imagine that the protection element of the GFCI extends both to its receptacles, and then just imagine the load pair as another "receptacle".

As to the second part, yes, if you just connect the terminals together "before" the GFCI protection is in place, the GFCI will have no effect - remember, it can only sense problems on its own receptacles and its load terminals.


The relevant professional are structural engineer or civil engineer.  Internet advice cannot suffice for a complex matter like cracking or settling, especially if there is a chance a structural wall was removed in a multistory home.  You should start by getting a copy of all relevant permits at the building department and taking photos to document the current cracks.

Your local building department may be willing to come out and inspect the home: but beware they have the ability to force you out of the home if it's unsound.


Will mineral oil help prevent smelly basement traps during extended vacations?

Yes. RV antifreeze (propylene glycol) is also said to work well. Anything that doesn't evaporate, doesn't rot, and isn't damaging to the plumbing or the environment will do. You could also stop them with rubber mats, test plugs, or rags, as appropriate.


Is my Kenmore HE4T Washer repairable for a reasonable price?

Everything is repairable, even a car that has been under water for years.  It's just a matter of if it's financially feasible to do so taking into account the cost of parts and labor.

My advice would be to get an opinion and quote from a few different service technicians.  If they all say that it would be cheaper to just replace the unit, then you can make your own decision as to whether you want to just replace or it attempt to fix it.

If you think it should be covered under warranty then you first need to have someone determine what is actually broken (there might be a cost to you for this which would probably be refunded if it was a warranty issue), then based on the warranty, figure out if it is covered or not.

I had a crappy washing machine in my old condo (cheap unit that the builder installed). It was going to cost $600 to fix and the same unit new was only a couple hundred dollars more.  I just bought a new (different) unit instead of trying to fix it.


3 led pot light in bathroom blink when turn fan on for a second but stay off

It sounds like a bit of counter EMF is being generated by the fan motor. Enough to cause a flash on the LED’s . This would not be seen with incandescent and maybe just a slight glow with LED’s.
I have seen induced current from a hot tub induce enough to light (dimly) 2 led flood lights when the pumps and heaters were running on separate circuits. Moving the conductors away from each other helped but to completely eliminate the glow I had to shield 1 cable in the wall where they ran in parallel for several feet. After that there was no light emitted.


Why does my toilet intermittently run continually?

I would first try to replace the flapper, it may be old and worn and not creating a proper seal.  If that does not work try replacing the ballcock (float valve), as these too can become old and worn and not function properly.


How do I plumb an outside line to a roof deck faucet?

Well... since nobody responded.

I used 2 10' straight pipes as well as a 10' of soft copper tubing, and a bunch of couplers and 45 degree elbows.  I used copper clips and masonry screws to attach the pipe to the wall and to the upper hanger, and used sweated joints througout.  Was much slower than using PEX!


What glass for an interior, mainly glass, wall?

If it is in a frame 1/4" glass will be sufficient.  Your options for glass will be tempered glass or laminated glass because of it's proximity to the ground.

Tempered glass will break into very small pieces like a car window for a door.  Tempered glass is stronger than normal glass.

Laminated glass will break like a car windshield.  It breaks normally but it is two pieces bonded together with a plastic.  The plastic prevents most injuries as well as the mess from breaking.  Laminated glass is more often used for safety/security applications.

Although 1/4" is suitable for the application, I myself am always weary installing it as an interior partition.  My family business has built all glass offices in buildings and we use 3/8" tempered glass.  3/8" Tempered is extremely difficult to break.  When you get up to thicknesses that large as far as cost goes the difference between 3/8" and 1/2" thick glass isn't very significant.

If you go with a thicker size be sure that your trim is strong enough to withstand an impact of the weight of the glass, the weight of a person, and the velocity they are traveling.  This is due to the fact that it is more likely to break from breaking out of its frame and falling down, especially in wood.

If the beams are not structural I would recommend you use a router to create a slot in each beam deep enough to slide the glass in far enough to place it where it needs to go and then slide it back towards the other beam into the slot you created there.  This is commonly done with metal storefronts and is called a flush glaze.


Do I need to cut this shop vac hose adapter when I use it?

Yes you are supposed to cut this at the point which gives you the correct diameter.

Collecting dust from tools requires large amounts of airflow (cfm) and static pressures can be very low and still effective. In your case, you will have high pressure but low airflow due to that restriction.

Also helps to ensure there are minimum bends and turns in your hose and keep the hose as short as possible.


I assume by "bed base" you are referring to the box spring?

Take some long strips of cardboard and staple it to the bottom of the box spring, over top of the fabric covering. Use some double-sided carpet tape or another type of adhesive to secure the strips to the cardboard.

This has the added benefit that it's easy to remove and doesn't damage the box spring.

Alternatively, you could do something to the bed frame itself: add some slats (1-by material), or even use some small corner brackets to add a strip of wood around the inside perimeter, and then attach your lights to that, rather than the box spring.

Also, either way, use some type of strain relief on the cord, so if it gets pulled (someone yanks on it, trips on it, or pulls out the bed without unplugging it) it doesn't tear everything down. This may be as simple as using a zip-tie around the cord and a leg, or a screw-in style ziptie to actually screw it into part of the frame.

Without knowing details about the bed frame it's hard to recommend something more specific.


How should I install a partition wall perpendicular to a finished exterior wall?

If this is just going to be a partition wall, why do you need the header? There will be no load-bearing issue to address. Thus, no need for a header.

If you want an opening through the partition wall and you want to drop the frame down from the ceiling, just use cripple studs, or put a header just over the opening.

I would strongly consider cutting a channel in the sheetrock. attach the top plate of your wall to the joists above, then build the wall directly under that. Again, no load-bearing issue, no need for a big header to bear the non-existent load. ;-)


Improperly installed or nonexistent brick ties in a wall

Obviously the ideal solution if the birckwork is generally poor is to rebuild the wall.

In this case this doens't seem to be an option. To replace existing ties that have problems or sections of the wall where ties are missing you can get drill and fix wall ties. I believe you can get this type of system from Helifix in the UK but I'm sure similar systems exist around the world. You can get systems that rely on some fairly unattractive face plates but other systems do not rely on this but have a resin bond to the brickwork. You will probably need specialist advice on what the right system for you is and to identify if there are any other issues associated with the poorly constructed wall other than the lack of ties.


Front door frame increasingly out of square

This could be a case where your home has been built on soil that moves with changes in moisture content, such as an area with expansive soil. There are expensive and intrusive methods for reducing the effects of soil expansion, but you can't really eliminate it.

A 2 year old house should still be under a warranty of some sort, I would procure blueprints and foundation details from the builder and call a home foundation specialist to ensure that the underlying structures were built appropriate to the soil type.


Can cutting pressure treated wood harm my saw blade?

You have to cut the wood somehow... You can give your blades a wipedown with a slightly damp rag to remove sawdust particles (let them air-dry well afterward), but I wouldn't worry too much.

Corrosion involving PT lumber is mostly a problem with long-term contact; the copper compounds in the chemical treatment are more "galvanically noble" than many common metals including carbon steel, and so an electrochemical reaction will result in the less noble metal (here the steel or iron) oxidizing. The same happens with ordinary zinc-coated or uncoated iron or steel fasteners in PT construction. To prevent this, stainless steel alloys (containing low carbon and higher concentrations of even nobler metals like chrome and nickel) or hot-dip galvanized fasteners (which cover the steel with a thick protective coating of zinc oxide which shields the fastener against further corrosion), are recommended for long-term contact with pressure-treated wood (on the scale of years).

However, your carbon-steel/carbide saw blade will only be in contact with the wood and its chemicals for some seconds. Your saw blades will dull naturally through age and use before the chemicals have any detectable effect.


Can you have a GFCI breaker protecting a GFCI receptacle?

Yes, it can be done. There is no problem having a GFI fed from another GFI. The only down side is troubleshooting. If something is causing a trip you have to isolate one first to see where the problem is.

My advice is to replace both receptacles with GFI and install a standard breaker. You get the same protection but more convenience. All for only a few dollars more.


Is an LED light strip safe to use under a bed?

You won't be able to shock yourself with 12v, but you can shock yourself with whatever power supply you find that'll do 5A at 12v. Assuming you'll only use one strip at 6a just grab a laptop power supply (I'd recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812203037) - that way you really don't need to worry about whatever engineering decisions went into building that laptop power supply.

If you cleanly splice the wires, you won't have any issues. Solder them correctly, twisting them to have a mechanical connection and soldering to have an electrical connection.. then heat shrink it.

The LEDs will not give off enough heat to catch on fire or burn your bed, ever.

This project could easily be the fusion of 2 well engineered products to do something cool without any risks! Have fun!


@Mysterfixit was right. Teflon tape on the setscrews has eliminated all the slop on one fixture, and almost all on the other. The status quo is now fine with me.


How many 240 volt fluorescent fixtures can I connect to a 30 amp breaker?

Sounds like europe?  Total Wattage divided by voltage = Amps  or Volts x Amps = Watts.  so 240V x 30A= 7200W.  I would personally not hit that 7200 total watts and have the circuit totally loaded.  so the wattage of the lamps is the determining factor as Niall said.


Feeders wires to sub panel in garage with generator wires to main breaker box in the house in same conduit

Sounds like you're doing everything right and side-stepping the usual mistakes we see in this arena.

Well, I can tell you the derating part.  You'll have 4 live conductors (neutrals and grounds don't count for derate purposes). There are 3 columns in Table 310.15(B)(16).  You must use the lowest temperature that both the wire itself and the terminations (connections) can bear.  For instance if you have a 75C lug on the breaker and THWN-2 wire good for 90C, but your generator inlet is 60C rated it drags you down to the 60C column for your practical load (e.g. for #6Cu 55A rounding up to 60A).

However, when you derate, you derate based on the highest temperature the wire is possibly allowed.  So that's 90C for THWN-2, for #6Cu that is 75A.

With 4-6 wires (that count) in the pipe, you derate to 80% (but off the max the wire is allowed).  80% of 75A is 60A.

Why don't you derate off the 55A number since you are terminating on a 60C lug?  Because the 60C lug is not inside the conduit.

NM-B and UF-B cables have an exception.  They are 60C wire through and through. But  you are allowed to derate of the 90C column anyway.


Power out, but no GFCI, no breakers tripped

Typically this ends up being a failed connection at a receptacle or other device in the chain.  Effectively the connection acted like an "amateur" circuit breaker.

90% of the time this is due to the connection being a "backstab type" where the wire is stabbed into a hole.

If you know the topology of the wiring, the failure must be either at the last good outlet, or the first bad one.


Insulation in the attic with ridge vent and eaves

Yes.

They make thin foam inserts for the eaves to keep the insulation from filling the eave.

An example like these.

Good luck!


Could bad grounding cause sparks and fire when connecting the cable box and TV?

This is a very suspicious situation.

Adding a proper ground to every receptacle in the house is no small feat, it's weird that the handyman just casually mentioned that he did it. I believe the only correct way to do it would be to run a new ground wire of the proper size back to the service panel where it can be connected to the grounding rods.

Perhaps the handy man just used pigtails to ground to the box, as @SpeedyPetey says. Or maybe he connected the ground to the neutral, which would be good enough to fool an outlet tester. Or maybe he accidentally connected the ground to the hot side, which might explain your sparks. (Many appliances have their metal housing connected to ground. If the exterior of one of your appliances was actually electrified that would explain the sparks.)

If you have a simple outlet tester you could start with that, but it will not detect all faulty conditions like a ground / neutral swap or connection. You could also shut the power off and pull one of the receptacles off the wall, to see if you can tell what kind of grounding, if any, is actually there.

I suspect you will want to get an electrician and your real estate agent involved.


Inserting bulb into fixture causes circuit breaker to blow,

The GFCI is miswired

It's quite common for GFCIs to be miswired in bathrooms where a light switch is right next to a receptacle.

I bet if you look at the backside of the GFCI, you will find that the "For Wizards Only" warning tape has been removed from the LOAD terminals,  and a wire has been connected to one of them but not the other.

I would speculate it is the white wire on LOAD, and the black supply wire loops through the switch and then hops to the GFCI, or vice versa.

This is typically done when a novice installer has hooked up the GFCI, but has a wire left over.  They see a spare screw behind the "Not For Novices" tape, and go "this is the easiest way to solve my problem, what could go wrong?" In your case they never hooked up a fixture up there, so they were never aware of the problem.

Since lamp current bypasses the GFCI on one leg, but goes through it on the other leg, currents are unequal and the GFCI trips.

The answer is to rewire the switch and GFCI relationship so either a) LOAD is not used, or b) whatever is attached to LOAD is wired entirely off LOAD and does not partially bypass it.


Are fairy lights safe if you cut or break the wire?

Your lights may be fine but the end needs to be taped for several reasons. First if 120v or higher an exposed wire could lead to a electrical shock or worse. Second the exposed ends could short together tripping the breaker and causing further damage to the conductors and or insulation. Third if the hot conductor contacts another electrical device that may damage that device and trip the breaker, so putting insulation in the form of tape or wire nuts on the ends will probably make it safe but without a picture it would be difficult to say more.


Can I safely use a straight (Type 1) metal cutoff wheel in angle grinder?

I think I have enough research to make an answer to this.  I believe it comes down to the guard available for this tool and it not meeting the requirements for a "Type 1" cut off disk.

This Ridgid forum has what is supposed to be a quote from Ridgid:

  The RIDGID R1001 Angle Grinder has an included type 27 guard and is certified to Underwriters Laboratories (U.L.) product safety standards. U.L. requires only type 27 depressed center grinding wheels be used with type 27 guards. Type 1 straight or cut-off wheels have no depressed center posing a safety concern to the operator when connected to a type 27 guard. In no circumstance should a type 1 straight cut-off wheel be used with a type 27 guard. Please contact RIDGID customer for further assistance: 866-539-1710.

This is for a different model, but it does show that they do limit the wheels on their tools based on the guards.

I also found this PDF from an abrasives saftey site that shows an enclosed guard is used for cutoff wheels:

I also found a Makita manual that shows an optional enclosed guard for cut off wheels (#13):

And here is that product sold seperately:

So, all of that points to the guard being the "breaking point" for the type 1 disc support.  This is probably because the company had some legal issue in the past so they have decided to officially not support that type of disk with their tools while other brands are happy to sell different guards (speculation alert).

I guess what it comes down to is trusting the included guard to contain the explosion of a cracked type 1 disc.


Is a double 60 amp breaker really feeding 120 amps?

Am I feeding 120 amps to the basement panel or still only 60 amps?

That you are asking the question at all strongly indicates that you do not understand what current is, so step one is to understand what current is.

Imagine you have a bag of marbles sitting on top of a table. You drop one marble per second off the table. Each hits the ground with a certain amount of energy.

Now imagine that you up the rate to two per second. Each hits with the same amount of energy, but there are twice as many arriving on the floor.

Now imagine that you lower the height of the table to half its previous height. Now the marbles are all hitting with less energy, but they are still arriving at two per second.

The marbles in our analogy are charges, which are measured in coulombs.  The height that they are falling from is potential, which is measured in volts. The number of marbles falling per second -- charge per unit time -- is current, which is measured in amps.

A breaker at 60 amps means that if you exceed 60 coulombs of charge per second in the circuit -- if you are dropping more than 60 marbles per second -- then the circuit will break automatically. This is true regardless of the voltage; if the breaker is labeled 60 amps then it will not allow more than 60 coulombs of charge per second to be delivered to any point in the circuit. Remember, the current is the same everywhere in the circuit. If 60 marbles per second are leaving the table top, then 60 per second are arriving on the floor, and 60 per second are falling past every point between the table and the floor.

A single breaker gives you two wires that are 120 V apart: a hot wire and a white wire. The maximum current on both wires -- remember, the current is the same everywhere in a circuit -- is the rated ampacity of the breaker.

A double breaker gives you two wires that are 240 V apart: the table is twice as high, so the marbles deliver more energy when they hit the floor. The two wires are red and black. Again though, the amount of charge per second passing through any point in the circuit is limited by the rated ampacity of the breaker.

  My main breaker in the basement is a 100amp. How does that affect the double 60 amp feed to it?

To clarify: you have a main panel with a 60A breaker. That breaker feeds a subpanel which has a 100A main breaker and then some smaller circuit breakers in the sub-panel.

If more than 100 coulombs of charge per second flow through the sub-panel main breaker, it will trip and cut power to the subpanel breakers. If more than 60 coulombs of charge per second flow through the subpanel breaker in the main breaker box, it will trip and cut power to the sub panel. All the charge that passes through the subpanel breaker also passes through the main breaker, so the 100A breaker in the subpanel box is redundant. It will never trip because the 60A upstream of it will have tripped first.

A question you did not ask but which is highly relevant is:

  What is the relationship between volts, amps and watts?

Volts is potential: how high the marbles are falling from, so, how much energy each marble delivers to the floor.

Amps is how many marbles per second.

Power is amount of energy delivered per second, and therefore must be volts times amps.

So if you have a 60 W light bulb, a 120 V circuit, how many amps are needed to power the bulb?  amps times volts is watts, the bulb needs 60 watts, so what times 120 is 60?  one half.  So a 60 W bulb draws half an amp in a 120 V circuit.

Now you should know the answer to this question:

  Why do we use 240 V circuits instead of 120 V circuits for loads that requires a lot of power, like heaters?

Because if you double the voltage but keep the wattage the same, you can halve the amperage. If you double the height of the table then you can halve the number of marbles per second you drop off it, and the energy delivered per second stays the same.

  I had already put the 100 amp main breaker in the basement panel when an electrician put the 60 amp in the main breaker panel and ran the wire to the basement. I just thought he wouldn't have put a 60 amp breaker that fed the 100 amp I put into the basement panel.

He could have put in a 100A breaker, yes, provided that the wire run to the subpanel was safe for that amperage.

  Am I right in assuming that the 60 amp in the main breaker would trip before the 100 amp it is feeding in the basement panel.

Yes. The 60 will break when more than 60 C of charge per second is flowing past it.

  I thought he should have put at least the size of breaker in the main as in the basement panel.

The size of the breaker should depend on (1) the expected maximum load from the subpanel and (2) the size of the wire feeding the subpanel.  60A at 240V is enough to light over 200 standard incandescent light bulbs and probably thousands of compact fluorescent bulbs, why do you think you need half again as much as that?

  It just seems there now was no point putting in the 100 amp breaker.

A better question would be why did you put in a main breaker in the subpanel at all, when it is already protected by a breaker at the main panel?  I have wired in several subpanels in my house and none of them have main breakers; they are not necessary.

  I thought that you had to have a way to kill the power to the sub panel at the sub panel.

Let's clarify that.

A breaker interrupts the hot wire(s) going to the load. In your present configuration there are four breakers between the power coming from the street and the lamp you're plugging into the wall:

The main breaker for the main panel. Probably 200A.
The breaker for the subpanel in the main panel. 60A.
The main breaker for the subpanel. 100A.
The subpanel breaker for the circuit you'll be running. Probably 15A or 20A.

Each breaker interrupts the hot wire(s) cutting power going downstream. So when you turn off the main breaker at the main panel, there is still voltage coming into the house but it stops at the main breaker and does not go to any of the main panel breakers. If that one is on and you turn off the 60A breaker to the subpanel, there is now no voltage on the lines going to the subpanel.  If that one is on and you turn off the 100A breaker on the subpanel, voltage is still being provided on the hot wires from the main panel, but the 20A subpanel breaker is getting no power.

So now let's examine your statement:

  I thought that you had to have a way to kill the power to the sub panel at the sub panel.

The power to the subpanel is killed by either the main panel main breaker, which kills power to the whole house, or by the main panel subpanel breaker, which kills the power on the wires going to the subpanel.  Turning off the subpanel main breaker doesn't stop power from coming to the subpanel, it stops that power from getting to the subpanel breakers.

So let's rephrase your statement:

  I thought that you had to have a way to kill the power to the sub panel breakers at the sub panel.

That's not a requirement, because the breaker on the main panel that feeds the subpanel is perfectly capable of cutting power to the subpanel.

It might be convenient to have a main breaker on the subpanel to cut power to the subpanel breakers because then you can do work on the subpanel without walking over to the main panel, but personally that is not how I've wired my house. If I want a subpanel to be off, I turn it off at the main panel and then I know that there is no power anywhere in the subpanel. If you have a subpanel with a main breaker that is off, there is still power coming into the subpanel, it's just not making it to the subpanel breakers. Those big screws that hold the wiring from the main panel will be electrified, and when I work on a subpanel I want none of it to be electrified.

  I do believe that I should not have put that large of breaker because the wire size coming from the main breaker isn't large enough.

Ensuring adequate overcurrent protection to the wire leaving the main panel and going to the subpanel is the responsibility of the main panel, not the subpanel. The important thing is that the wires leaving the main panel have overcurrent protection appropriate to the size of those wires. If the load at the other end of those wires has additional protections, that's great, but it's not a requirement.

  Is this 100 amp breaker dangerous in any way and should be changed or just unnecessary?

I would consider the situation you're in as being somewhat confusing but not dangerous; provided that every wire leaving a panel is protected by a breaker appropriate to the size of that wire, you're all set for overcurrent protection.  Your 100A breaker will never trip automatically because the 60A at the other end will trip first.

  Thanks for your help

You're welcome! I note that of course I am not an electrician; I design programming language analyzers for a living, I just rewire old houses for fun in my spare time. If you want to know whether your electrical system is up to local code, ask a local electrician.


power to outlet until something is plugged in

Assuming the breaker doesn’t trip and there isn’t a GFCI involved, this would generally indicate a poor, high resistance, connection somewhere in the line. Your voltmeter pulls so little current that you see the full voltage but when you connect a real load, the poor connection drops the voltage.

Since you replaced the breaker and outlet, the problem must be elsewhere. Wires generally don’t just fail, unless someone drove a nail through it. So you are looking for a junction box somewhere with splices. At least hopefully, the person who wires it followed code and didn’t just splice it in a wall.


Can concrete screws or the holes be reused?

If you look at the information on the manufacturer's web site, they are careful to say not to re-use the fastener, but they do not specifically say not to re-use the hole.

I am a bit surprised and even find it odd that Simpson, whose instructions and product information is usually very thorough, would leave this in a gray area.

I personally would not re-use the hole if you need to rely on these fasteners delivering their rated pullout value.  To be honest, I have used lots of this type of fastener and I find them very convenient to use, but I don't have great confidence in them.
 If you wobble a little when drilling a hole in masonry, it's going to be a little oversized, and that could significantly weaken the hold of this kind of anchor.

If you just need it to resist shear, I would not worry about it.  If pullout strength is critical, you could easily re-drill the hole bigger for use with a different type of anchor.


By selling the electricity, it can  be stored as money because the fungibility of money allows it to be exchanged for electricity. Furthermore, this is likely to be competitively efficient with various physical storage equipment. In addition money can be converted into reduced demand by allocating it toward more efficient load side equipment.

The goal is really sustained access to a particular level electrical service. Generating and storing electrical power on site are just two possible strategies for maintaining such access.


Replacing electrical panel halfway embedded in EIFS stucco

Your problem: lack of wiggle room
With around the corner off-limits due to the garage door, the space to the right of the existing panel being problematic due to what appears to be a telecom service drop that's sort of in the way in addition to having little to no room for any flashing or such that's called for by the new installation, and the 3'-from the corner limit SMUD imposes on service equipment, our options here are limited.  That limit only leaves us with 9" of space from the left edge of the existing service equipment to the centerline of the new service mast.
This, in turn, renders many EUSERC-compliant meter-mains unusable for us, as their utility-side overhead service hub fitting sits more than 9" from their right edge.  (The common designs put the meter and pull section on the left with the breakers or loadcenter on the right; this was done to allow the same meter-main to be used for both overhead and underground applications.)  However, the SMUD residential overhead service requirements do not require EUSERC approval (contrast with their residential underground service requirements, which do require EUSERC-approved service equipment), which gives us a few more options. We do need to stick to ring-style metering, though; while the SMUD requirements documents don't explicitly call it out, EUSERC-compliant service hardware is required to be ring-style, and their technicians are unlikely to be familiar with how to handle ringless hardware as a result.
As a result of these constraints, our options are limited.  We can go with a conventional over/under ringstyle meter-loadcenter such as the Siemens MC2040S1200SZ or Square-D SC816D200C; however, their 14.5" width and centered top hub leaves us with very little space to operate.  The Siemens MC0816B1200T is somewhat narrower at 12.5", but even then, that only gives us 2.75" of room for flashing and wiring between the old and new meter boxes, assuming the mast centerline can be placed precisely 36" from the corner.
A better option is offered by the Square-D C2M200S; while it uses a side-by-side configuration, it puts the meter on the right, with only 5" from the line-side hub's centerline to the right edge of the meter-main.  This gives us 4" of clearance for flashing and wiring under the same mast placement assumption as above; the tradeoff is that you get only a single auxiliary service disconnect with this option, instead of having a full panel to play with.
In-place alternatives
The other possibility here would be to install the new panel into the hole that the old one went into.  While this is possible, depending on the new panel, you may have to remove a bit of EIFS at the bottom or top to make the hole in the stucco tall enough, and you'll have to add EIFS at the sides in this approach as the new panels that can fit into that hole are narrower than what you're replacing.
In particular, I would look at an Eaton/B-Line 2M2RP for this application; while 32" tall, it is only 8" wide, and provides a secondary service disconnect of up to 50A alongside a 200A main breaker.  The Milbank U3574-RL-200 is also an option, and is an easier fit into the space at 30" tall, but lacks a secondary service disconnect, requiring a different means to be used for tapping the solar system into the grid. I'd use a pair of Eriflex SB2C250 power distribution blocks for this job, one each mounted on the upper left and upper right of the breaker compartment about 2" below the service barrier, with the "two hole" end pointing down, 4/0 Al XHHW-2s connecting them to the breaker load lugs, and 6AWG copper THHNs in the "top" holes for the tap conductors; however, insulation-piercing tap connectors such as Ilsco Kup-L-Taps may be a simpler, albeit messier, option.
If you need EUSERC hardware...
If SMUD does indeed require EUSERC-compliant overhead meter main hardware, then your options are a fair bit more limited.  The Square-D SC816D200C provides a conventional option, although with not much space (1.75") between it and the existing meter-main.  If one wishes to go with the replacement route, the B-Line 2M2RP will fit the bill; one can also use the U3574-RL-200 in this case, keeping the aforementioned caveat about tap conductors in mind.


Replacing dumb wall switch with smart one (wiring)

Based on the information you've provided; and without knowing what TL, TR, and BR stand for, I'd say your proposed wiring looks correct. However, this is assuming that TL is the feed, and that TR and BR are devices you want to turn on/off.


How can I prevent my hoop house from being uprooted by strong winds?

I'm not sure if you have already built this or not, but ideally you should build footings just like you would for a deck or a fence. How should I build the concrete footings for my deck? is a particularly good example.

Essentially, dig post holes down past the frost line or whatever is suggested in your area. The holes should be bigger (mushroom out) on the bottom. Set your posts and fill the hole with concrete. Now as long as you have a solid way to attach everything to the posts, it's probably about as strong as you can get it.


Cladding removed from sides of dormer, should it be covered if not being replaced for a week?

I would cover the openings with plastic sheet or some other water proof material. It doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to prevent the rain getting onto sensitive surfaces. The timbers should be treated and should be able to withstand some rain, but you don't want water getting into the walls etc.

The main issue I see would be how to ensure it was properly secured, but there should be enough exposed timbers for you to staple into to get a good enough seal.


Rating for the outlet does not match the breaker.

That's fine.  The two breakers offer either 20 ampere protection to two 120 volt circuits, or 20 ampere protection to a single 240 volt circuit.


A Crowfoot Wrench would work nicely. A 10 piece set of these is only $15.00


Cleaning Edwardian tiles found under more recent tiles

I did something similar on a smaller area.

I used some plastic tools - scrapers etc and some cement remover product.

The cement remover product has an acid base (stings like xxxx if you have an open cut...), but I only applied it to small areas (used a cotton bud) and never to the joints between the tiles you want to keep.

If you don’t have patience at the beginning - you will by the end. And persevere with care.


If your numbers are accurate (that seems like a shockingly low price per therm for 2020):
10.57 cents buys you 13,989.2 BTU at a COP of 4.1 in the heat pump.
14.14 cents buys you 96,700 btu in the furnace, or 95,000 in the boiler.
A dollar buys you 132,348 BTU at the heat pump, or 671,852 at the boiler, or 683,875 at the furnace ("heating fuel cost", ignoring the fact that all of them use additional electricity to move the heat around)
At those prices, you want to use the heat pump for cooling only, unless you have excess electricity to burn (Solar panels and no buy-back, just offset) or the two gas sources can't keep up on a cold day.


fireplace is a bit rusty - is it safe to use?

The comment by Tyson could very well in itself be the answer.

We should not say "Yes" or "No" to the question "Is it safe to use?" because we do not know. We are only seeing one photo. There are much more important things to be inspected before using a fireplace. You can hire a service, and in some areas the local fire department will do the inspection. The fee is typically reasonable.

Is this the main source of heat for the apartment? Has the landlord exclusively included *(or exclueded) its use in the lease? Give the landlord a call to inquire if it is available for your use, and inquire when it was (if it was) inspected & cleaned last.


I assume your asking about how to tie your sink drain to the wall stub. Standard 1 1/2" PVC drain pipe has slp compression fittings that give you a lot of flexibility in setting up your P trap and drain. In most cases you can make adjustments without shortening the wall stub.
However, in some cases you may have to shorten the wall stub. If you absolutely have to shorten it you can do so by cutting it on the wall side of the connector in the picture. Don't trim off any more than you absolutely have to. Do a square cut and debur the end. You can then buy a new connector and attach it with PVC adhesive. Follow all directions regarding priming, etc.
Here is a guide on setting up a proper P trap:


I think I may have fixed my boiler but how could this have helped?

You have probably fixed the problem - at least temporarily.

The boiler requires that this condensation pipe is clear and unobstructed and removing the ice from the end has cleared the blockage. However, it's likely that the pipe will freeze up again - especially in this cold weather.

The solution is simple - insulate the pipe. Either use something like this - the pre slit stuff will make it easier to fit as the pipe will be clamped in a number of places. If you can't get hold anything that's the right diameter for your pipe at short notice, wrap the pipe in bubble wrap. That should be enough to keep it from freezing.


You may very well be right that the wear in the lock position notches is leading to the problem. With as much wear and metal deformation showing one has to wonder if the spring loaded pin is also worn severely.

One possible fix for this is to file away the metal some where the wear in the lock notch has produced an undercut. You would have to be really careful to not file away too much or create a condition where the pin would not stay in the notch as intended.

If the pin itself is worn it would need replacement as it appears to be a specialty design with the spring hook up. Although a replacement could be made if access to a metal turning lathe and tooling was possible.


Replacing ungrounded receptacle with grounded receptacle on metal box

I wouldn't even need a pigtail jumper ground because the green screw has continuity with the 10-32 screw and ears of the receptacle anyway, right? Am I missing anything?

Since they used metal raceways you could do it this way only if the receptacles are of the "self-grounding" type. They are more expensive and have a metal clip on one end of the mounting yoke. Or, if your boxes are surface mount and you remove one of the plastic screw keepers. See (A) below.

Chicago has their own Electrical Code but I would be surprised if it is any more lenient than the National Electrical Code. They are usually more strict. The NEC allows self grounding receptacles to be used for grounding in this article, attention to (B):

  250.146 Connecting Receptacle Grounding Terminal to Box.
  An equipment bonding jumper shall be used to connect the grounding terminal of a grounding-type receptacle to a grounded box unless grounded as in 250.146(A) through (D). The equipment bonding jumper shall be sized in accordance with Table 250.122 based on the rating of the overcurrent device protecting the circuit conductors.

  (A) Surface-Mounted Box. Where the box is mounted on the surface, direct metal-to-metal contact between the device yoke and the box or a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) shall be permitted to ground the receptacle to the box. At least one of the insulating washers shall be removed from receptacles that do not have a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) to ensure direct metal-to-metal contact. This provision shall not apply to cover-mounted receptacles unless the box and cover combination are listed as providing satisfactory ground continuity between the box and the receptacle. A listed exposed work cover shall be permitted to be the grounding and bonding means when (1) the device is attached to
  the cover with at least two fasteners that are permanent (such as a rivet) or have a thread locking or screw or nut locking means and (2) when the cover mounting holes are located on a  at non-raised portion of the cover.

  (B) Contact Devices or Yokes. Contact devices or yokes designed and listed as self-grounding shall be permitted in conjunction with the supporting screws to establish equipment bonding between the device yoke and  flush-type boxes.

  (C) Floor Boxes.......

  (D) Isolated Ground Receptacles......

Check with your inspector to see if you are under the Chicago Electrical Code and if it allows this.


3 prong plug to 4 prong outlet adapter? (Welder outlet)

The simple solution (unless you drag it to other places with different receptacles) is to put the appropriate 4-prong plug on the cord, with the neutral prong of the plug not connected.
Another option is to add a box next to your box with the 4-prong receptacle and install the correct 3 prong receptacle in it. If you plug in and operate two things at once you may trip the breaker, but it spares you the "extra cord and plug" that your self-made adapter would have.
Edit to add: If you don't actually have something that uses the 4-prong receptacle, you could just replace the receptacle (capping the neutral wire in the box) and (if you are nice) write a note on the wall that there is a neutral available if someone wants to change the receptacle back to 4-prong later.


How do I remove adhesive from outdoor concrete deck that is textured?

I think your best bet in this case is a pressure washer.  If that doesn't work by itself you can put some solvent on it to soften it up, let it sit a few minutes then pressure wash.


I don't think cleaning the coils is going to solve the clicking noise, that is probably a more involved repair.

Since the coils are not in the compressor compartment shown in your photos (which would have been my first guess), the coils may be literally on the bottom of the refrigerator, usually accessible from the front panel at the bottom of the fridge. You can use a coil brush (like GE's PM14X51 brush) or perhaps a vacuum cleaner crevice attachment to clean them.

If you can't gain access to the coils from the front, it's possible that you'll need to tip the refrigerator over slightly to access them, but I haven't yet run into a case where that is necessary.

I can't quite make out the compressor tubing in your pictures, but you can probably follow that tubing to see where the condenser coils might be located.

If you have access to the fan, try to brush loose dust off the fan blades as well.

Make sure the refrigerator is unplugged when you clean the coils just in case you come into contact with the fan or live wiring

It's also possible that the coils are at the top of the refrigerator, but I've only seen that on built-in models, and they typically have an obvious vent or access panel to let you gain access to them.


Proper Procedures for Regrading Under a Deck?

Regrading the soil is a must since the soil level was 6" below the rest of the area. The landscape fabric keeps weeds out but not water so I wouldn't be using that. The plastic would have a limited life and you don't want to be ripping up deck planks to check it. I'd be thinking about installing flashing under the deck planks and sloping it down away from the foundation where you think the problem exists. You can get flashing in 50' rolls 20" wide at most home stores. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.


Strange light switch wiring... why would neutral and hot be connected?

You have some pretty weird wiring to the light fitting. It looks like at the light fitting (fed from top-right romex at box) you would find

the "ground" wire (green or bare copper in the US?) is being used as a neutral return from the light bulb.
the "hot" (black) is a switched hot to the light bulb.
the "neutral wire (white) is being used as a permanent hot for some other purpose.

So I'd expect an ordinary light fitting to be using the false "ground" and switched hot wires only.

The permanent hot (false neutral, white) might have been used (now or previously) to power some kind of device that needs live power. For example a remote light control or a ceiling fan that is operated by a pull-cord independently of the light bulb itself.

I would check the wiring in the light fitting controlled by that switch. Then I'd label the wires at each end to make clear what each wire is really used for. Alternatively, you could rewire it properly - that would be best if the light fitting is a normal conventional simple light only. I'd double check that something else (an extra outlet?) isn't already wired from the light fitting end - disconnect the white wire from the three black and see if an outlet or something stops working.

If you can't figure it out it might be best to call an electrician.


Is a combination of sheet EPS and closed cell foam between rafters feasible as a combination?

If you spray by yourself, you might run into problems. Check out you tube for horror stories using incorrectly sprayed on foam.

Next. You could place 3 1/2" unfaced insulation between the rafters. Use thin wire and tiny nails nailed to the bottom the rafters to hold the insulation in place like a zig zag pattern. Then add 4" closed density foam to the rafters using long screws with washers.

When you said rafters I hope you were talking about the part that is connected to the roof.

If you were talking about the wood that the ceiling below is connected to, those are called ceiling joists and that is a whole different procedure.

Also, you didn't say trusses, which is another different procedure.

You could add a ridge vent and soffit vents.
This would give you a pressurized vented attic.
See youtube.com for more info.


In my estimation (and bear in mind i'm no mechanic) your engine is seized up, and do you really want to spend half your summer rebuilding a mower engine? You have two options:

Take it to a small engine repair shop and get an estimate. Diagnostic services vary but will generally be less than $100. If the cost of repairs is less than a new mower, maybe its worth fixing. If not see point 2.
Hold a tasteful memorial service in the back yard, say some kind words about your late mower, and then buy a new one at your earliest convenience.


Adding recessed lighting to room with ceiling fan/light already installed

That will work. Code depends on where you live, but I can't see anything wrong with making the junction away from the switch.

You might have issues doing all this in the fan box. It might be cleaner to put a small box in the ceiling and do your connections, then have a small run down to the fan.

And be smart with placement of recessed lighting above a fan. You can get a strobing effect which is annoying (and gives some folks headaches).


No. "Romex" is a trade name and is actually a brand of non-metallic cable or NM cable. Article 334 of the National Electrical Code.

If your house was wired with NM cable in the 50's or before, it most likely has no ground wire.

Smart switches require either an equipment ground or a neutral wire to power the smart switch while it is waiting to turn on the lights. You should not depend on visualizing wires in the boxes. You should test your system to determine if there is an equipment ground available at these locations. There was a method in the 50's of taking the equipment ground and wrapping it around the cable and then clamping it into the box. So, you boxes may be grounded after all.

If you don't have an equipment ground, all is not lost. You can run separate equipment ground wires to any of the boxes where you need one. It will be a hassle but the switches will not work without it.

Good luck!


The wall is not load-bearing. The angle of the studs is not a structural problem, but they cannot be unseen. If it's going to bother you you can attempt to fix them.
To straighten those studs you'll need to detach the drywall. That's potentially messy.  Maybe you can cut the drywall nails with a hacksaw blade, hammer the studs to the correct location then toe-nail the studs in position and finally glue the drywall to the studs. Or maybe you'll make a mess of the drywall, and have to fill some holes or replace it. To keep things interesting that cable and those boxes are going to complicate matters.


Generator carburetor problem, is it the float?

Bottom line:  your float isn't doing its job.  Perhaps it's cracked, and thus doesn't.... float.

As the float comes up, it's supposed to close the needle valve.  And you've shown that if you manually manipulate the float, the needle valve is working.  So your float isn't floating.

Time for a new float, I'd surmise.


Adding a electrical outlet in a closet for wireless router

I don't think it's legal to power an outlet that's not in the kitchen off of one of the 2 required kitchen branch circuits (i.e. counter outlets). I think it would be OK to tap off of the un-switched side of a light circuit for the kitchen.

Since you have access through the attic, is there another general purpose branch circuit (that is non-kitchen) that you can tap into for the closet outlet?

There may be exceptions to the "kitchen branch circuit" restriction in the code that I'm not aware of that would allow you to do what you want.


How can I paint concrete pavers with scenes?

The one word answer is "Paint." If you're just going to hang them on a wall as art, then you're done.

But I'm assuming you're still going to be walking on the pavers after painting them, so it's not quite that simple and you'll need very durable outdoor paint, and/or a durable clear topcoat to protect the paint from wear & water & sun / UV damage. Perhaps:

Outdoor art paint & clear coat, this "PAINTED ROCK GARDEN MARKERS" site recommends

  Patio Paint or outdoor craft paint
  Patio Paint clear coat or clear outdoor sealer

A deck finish like Natural Clear Transparent Waterproofing Exterior Wood Finish
"A 1-2 punch consisting of an epoxy sealer and a marine varnish" - the page says it's great for weathered wood, but it should be good over painted stone as well.

Whichever finish you choose, be sure to check that it's compatible with the paint you use.


How can I get a shock from a circuit when the breaker is off?

Well, if there is something leaking current onto "ground" and that thing is connected to your metal box, and the metal box is not connected to the ground in your breaker panel, no, that's not great.  I would take a multimeter, turn off the breaker to the house, and check the resistance between neutral and the box.  If it is large, then they are not not bonded together at the panel, but yet something somewhere is connecting them in your house.  Try using a 3-prong tester on some outlets in your house and see what results you get.


Should I replace my magnetron? Is there anything else upstream of the mode stirrer?

Somewhere on the magnetron is a thermal fuse or cutoff. When the magnetron gets to hot, it shuts off power to the device. Some of these fuses reset once the device cools, some don't. Sounds like you have one of the later. You can replace the fuse, temp rating is usually written on the device itself.
While you're in there, clean the cooling fins on your magnetron with 409 or similar cleaner and a toothbrush. Buildup of kitchen grease on them can make the magnetron run too hot. Also check that the cooling fan, if any, is working, has a free air path, and is pointed at the magnetron fins.
When my microwave started cutting out, all it took was a good magnetron cleaning to get it running again. Sounds like your thermal fuse is a one-shot though. You might replace it with a auto-reset version.


Oven has 2-prong plug plus earth wire. Socket is modern 3-prong. How to connect?

You could install a replacement three-prong plug and wrap the cable and extra wire with loom to keep them bundled. It's probably not strictly legal, but it's generally safe.


Ok to hook up water filters to a regular kitchen faucet?

Good idea. There's really no problem with that approach aside from the stagnant water that will accumulate in the faucet's hot water stub, which could be a health concern (or just gross).

Instead, split your filtered water supply and run it to both the hot and cold sides of the faucet. This has the additional benefit of making the faucet flow full in all temperature modes.


Can I make a switched outlet constant hot

First, be careful what you assume, and verify that it's true. Your description leaves considerable room for doubt that your assumptions are correct.
Second, to make a switched outlet always on, you simply move the wire feeding the outlet from the switched side of the switch to join with the always-hot side of the switch. That can be "remove the switch and replace it with a wire-nut" but since it sounds like you want the switch to keep working for the fan, and you want to add another switch, it's more likely that you may need a pigtail at the "always hot" wire to connect the (formerly switched) outlet and switch to always-hot, and possibly an additional switch to always-hot as well.
An alternative layout for your cables that appears more in line with what you describe as the function (fan and light are switched, so we expect TWO connections on the "switched" side and ONE connection on the "always-hot side") is that power comes from the panel to the fan location, and from the fan to the switch location on the red wire (which you state goes alone to one side of the switch), and is switched to go back to the fan on the black wire in the same cable, and on to the outlet in the other cable's black wire (since you state two black wires are connected to the other side of the switch.)
You would disambiguate and remove assumptions by determining which wire is actually Always-Hot via turn off, disconnect & isolate, turn on and see what is affected. There could be things going on in junction boxes you haven't opened or described that might make this guess at your layout incorrect, so verify before proceeding as if it was true.


Yeah, go ahead

If you look at the Y terminal on your control module, you will notice that the pressure plate under that terminal screw is already clamping two wires, one to each side.  So, this means that you are safe to slide the stripped end of your blue wire under the free side of the C terminal screw's pressure plate and call it good!


Can I wire both a 50 amp hot tub and 50 amp RV plug in the same box?

Most people in the general population seem to believe that the size of the breaker indicates the size of the load, but that's nor true. Breakers (overcurrent protection) are installed to protect the circuit. We don't know the actual load of your RV. We only know that one of the standard feeders for an RV is 50A, but if yo are just parking it and the only thing running in it is the refrigerator and the water heater. Then what's the load? Or are you using it to park an RV for someone to live in/ Then what's the load? Are you going to be using the hot tub and the RV at the same time? Once again what's the load? It appears you are using this panel to handle a current feeder of 100A. What's its current load?

So you can see that we really can't answer the basic question of whether or not the service to the panel can actually operate since we need addition information about your entire dwelling. Can you add 2 - 50A/2P breakers into the existing panel? It looks like you can, but the photos don't even show if you have a ground and it doesn't show that you have a neutral. Are you going to have any 120V load? Also it shows your line in was attached to your bus by drilling two holes in the side of the panel. This is a very dangerous situation since the current carrying conductors are not bundled and this is causing mutual induction in the panel itself. This can cause electrical shock and potential melting of the insulation of the conductors.

In short you are wise to get an electrical contractor on your project as soon as possible and let him work the through the details before you start your projects

Good luck.


You get a usb charger, and wire up the lamp in 5V, going to LEDs. (There are 5V LED bulbs, or you could hardwire them in, depending on the type of lamp you're building.) There is no ground wire, but it's low voltage, so there's no safety issue.

EDIT: 12V is also good; you can use whichever is most convenient.


Should baseboard trim be in contact with the flooring?

Best practice is that something at the lower edge of the wall should come down on top of the finished floor surface. If you install baseboard alone then that should be installed last over the finished floor. On the other hand if the plan is to install a base board plus base shoe then you could choose to install the baseboard first and then run the finished flooring material up to the baseboard and cover the final installation with the base shoe.
Since many modern choices of flooring used these days are typically installed with a 1/4" to 3/8" gap of the finished flooring from the walls this can be difficult to cover adequately with just a base shoe as the material is fairly thin. In these cases it would be strongly recommended to install both the baseboard (and baseshoe if desired) after the finished floor surface is installed.


125amp feed from garage to house, required wire size, PLUS a separate 3-way light switch

While it appears that your AHJ and utility have given their blessing on this setup...

It seems that you are in a situation where your utility has provisioned you with an additional service as they were unable to increase the size of your existing service (as per 230.2(C)(3) and section 4.1 of Xcel's service standards).  You will indeed need permanent signage at all service or building feeder disconnect locations (engraved placards, most likely -- any shop that does engravings for trophies and such can make such for you) that denotes the location of all disconnecting means on the premises that control power to that structure, as per 230.2(E) and 225.37, as exception 2 to the latter does not apply to your situation.

There are some practical downsides to this that you need to be aware of

There are practical issues with having power derived from multiple services in a single building unit (dwelling unit, tenant space, ...), though.  Chief among these is that you effectively must create an electrical "firewall" in the building plan -- only equipment grounding conductors are allowed to cross this firewall, lest you create a colossal current loop/parallel path (300.3(B)/310.10(H) violation) by inadvertently cross-connecting neutrals or hots derived from the two services.

Given the maintenance difficulties this causes (it's very difficult to keep multiple neutral sources from being commingled by accident when cable wiring methods are used, since you can't do something sane like making all the service #1 neutrals white and all the service #2 neutrals striped or grey) , I would not do it this way; instead, I would rearrange things so that the existing 100A service is routed to solely power the garage and the new 200A service solely powers the house.  This limits the concerns about mixed services to the garage/house 3-way circuit (which can simply be run as a switch loop in a separate conduit in this case, with the boxes separated as well), and also allows us to simplify the disconnect provisioning considerably compared to having the house on a split service, as having conductors on the outside of a structure is typically not cause for requiring a disconnect to be placed there.

In other words, we can run the service-entrance conductors (3x 250kcmil XHHW-2 in a 3" PVC, if I were in your shoes, to leave room for the outside chance of a service upgrade, although the 2" PVC will work, and if the existing meter socket on the garage is a meter-main, you'll need a 200A breaker for it and a 6AWG copper EGC in the conduit) from the meter socket on the garage to the house, while the existing service-entrance conductors from the barn are re-routed to feed the panel already in the garage, and the existing 100A panel becomes a subpanel of the new house panel, fed from the new panel in the addition using a 1/1/1/3 aluminum SER cable run and 100A breaker.

Panel selection matters here

For the new panel in the house, there is one cardinal sin that you should avoid, and that's being stingy with panel spaces.  Given that you are feeding part of the house with this panel, a 42 space panel should be adequate, but it is best to leave room for a second panel adjacent to the first in this case.  It will need to be a main breaker panel, of course, and will be configured as service equipment in this case unless the garage has a meter-main, in which case the house panels will both be subpanels.

Getting the details right

There are several details that we must mind when installing all this.  First off, there is a new NEC requirement in 110.14(D) that all terminations must be torqued to specification -- this means you or your electrician will need to use an inch-pound torque wrench or torque screwdriver when tightening down loadcenter, meter base, and circuit breaker lugs.  Second, you will need to use duct seal at all underground conduit termination points as per NEC 300.5(G) -- this keeps any nasty things that manage to get into the conduit from proceeding merrily into the building via the breaker panel.  Third, you'll need a structure disconnecting means for the garage (the existing disconnect may be a meter main, which cannot be reused for this, requiring you to convert the garage panel to main breaker from main lug or install an enclosed circuit breaker ahead of the existing garage panel if it's not convertible to main breaker at all), and to blank out any knockouts in existing equipment that are no longer used as a result of this reconfiguration.

If you're OK with the consequences of two services into the same building...

If you really want to deal with having two services into the same building (i.e. stick with the existing plan you have in mind), and the potential for trouble down the road this will cause, you can still use the 2" PVC, but you'll need to run four wires through it since you are running a feeder, which requires a separate equipment grounding conductor.  The appropriate wire sizing for this 125A feeder is 1/0 AWG aluminum or 2AWG copper, with XHHW-2 insulation either way, for the hots and neutral with a  6AWG bare copper grounding conductor.

As to that 3-way...

I would run the 3-way for the carriage lights in a separate conduit from the main wires going to the house -- if you are on my plan of having the wires from the garage to the house be the sole service for the house, then  you can't commingle service and non-service conductors in a raceway like that due to NEC 230.7, and if you are sticking to your guns, then the NEC 310.15(B)(3)(a) derate would force an upsize of the feeder conductors if any more current-carrying conductors were commingled with them.

As to the conductors and conduit themselves, 12AWG THHNs in 1" conduit is fine (even if you want smart switch shenanigans later, 4 conductors is adequate as one can put the "main" switch at the garage and the "accessory" switch at the house).  This is a good time to use the rainbow of colors you can get THHN in to your advantage -- the ground must be green, of course, but you can say make the travellers blue and the hot/switched conductor pink or the travellers both yellow and the hot/switched conductor purple -- this makes it easier to tell what's what.


How should I apply brick to an interior wall?

If you don't have the proper structure under the area, you're not going to want to use full sized bricks for this project.  Brick walls require proper concrete footings to support the massive amount of weight, if you don't have the ability to add the footings you won't be able to build a brick wall here.
In situations like this, veneer will likely be your only option.  There are different types of veneer available, depending on the look you're going for.
Faux Brick Veneer
If you're looking for cheap and fast, you'll want to look at faux brick veneer. This is typically a sheet material made from plastics, which is molded and colored to to look like brick.

This is very easy to install, goes up fast, and is cheap-ish.  Though it tends to look just as cheap as it is, so it may not be suited to your tastes.
Installation
Follow the manufactures instructions.
Real Brick Veneer
If you're looking for an authentic look and feel; without all the weight, real brick veneer is where it's at. It's simply really thin brick (usually ~1/2" thick), and comes in many different varieties.  Some veneer bricks are made by cutting actual reclaimed bricks, which can make matching older existing brick much easier.
Choosing real brick veneer over a full brick wall will save you a huge amount of weight, and allow you to have a brick wall almost anywhere you want.
Real Brick Wall
A 14' x 2' wall made from real brick, will take about 182 standard size bricks (3/8" joints).  At about 6 pounds a brick, this is going to weigh 1092 lbs + the weight of the mortar.

That's a massive amount of weight for your floor structure to support.
Veneer Brick Wall
Since 1/2" veneer brick only weighs about 0.8 lbs, you can cover the same wall with a fraction of the weight. That same 182 bricks, is only going to weigh about 146 lbs. Not to mention the load will be spread across the wall, not sitting directly on the floor.

Installation
There are a few different ways to install it, but it's going to be quite a bit of work either way you choose to do it.
Wall Tracks
One method of installation, is to use a track system.  This involves attaching specially designed channels to the wall, then attaching the bricks into the channels.  This method takes a bit of extra prep time, but getting straight, even joints is made easier by the track design.
Wire Mesh
Another way to install brick veneer (or any masonry veneer), is to use a wire mesh backing.  You'll simply attach wire meshing to the existing wall, apply a scratch coat, then install your veneer on top.  This method takes more prep time (since you'll have to wait for the scratch coat to set), and will require more time and skill to place the bricks.
Directly on the Wall
Some types of brick veneer can be applied directly to a wall, in the same manor as tile is installed. This method is going to involve the least amount of prep, but will require a lot of time and skill to set the bricks (Hint: Start at the bottom, and work up).
Whichever product or method you choose, make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions. And as with all DIY projects, don't ever be afraid to ask for help.


Always hard to tell before opening things up, (and from limited pictures) but you appear to have a "thicker section of ceiling" out there in front of the closet, as compared to the underside of the presumed stairway (based on clues like the angled section of ceiling but it's a first floor location, and the open to second floor bit.)

If so, you can probably just punch one hole in the wall that goes through to that space, and one into that space from the closet, and have far fewer places to patch than if you run it through the studs, only one of which needs to be nice enough for company to see. Connecting between the holes is a matter of "fishing" a stiff-but-flexible fiberglass rod or spring-steel tape either through, or in from each side and hooking the two. I can't guess if that will be of any help with the room above, as I don't know the relationship of that room to this room.

That is, of course, if the space is not completely full of something else (like ductwork.)

If you do go up to the attic, run a conduit to save trouble the next time - there's almost always a next time.


How long should I let caulking dry before exposing to water?

Check the directions of the caulking product you used, but usually 24-48 hours.


Can I do two circuits on 12/3 and still have GFCI?

This applies to all MWBCs

That type of configuration is called a multi-wire branch circuit (MWBC). In this arrangement, you connect a receptacle to one hot and the shared neutral. It is a Code requirement that neutral be pigtailed (i.e. don't use the receptacle as a splice block for neutral). The rule is to assure that neutral is not severed for the other half of the circuit. (this can cause all sorts of bad).

This applies to GFCI on MWBC

You can absolutely install GFCI+receptacles at the beginning of the wall run. You just won't be able to use the LOAD terminals to carry the circuit onward - you will need to pigtail both hot and neutral.   Because you can't use the LOAD terminals, only  those receps will have GFCI protection - you can't pass it downward to the remainder of the MWBC.    You'll need one GFCI per outlet that you want to have GFCI protection.

If you want to GFCI-protect the whole circuit in one shot, use a GFCI breaker at the start, then plain receps throughout. .  Mind you, the circuit may require AFCI also, in which case you'd use a GFCI+AFCI breaker.


Big fans and heaters (heat).   That's basically all you can do at this point.   If you act quickly the dehumidifier isn't really needed.   You can open up windows as it gets drier to do that.
The two issues I see is the water potentially holding (and not drying) underneath the cabinets and getting the carpet padding dry.
We do not know how your cabinets were made but if you could pop out the toe kick that would be ideal.   It does look like you do not have tile under your cabinets... And normally water would find its way out through the grout line, here it could be trapped.   So either you drill a couple of small relief holes at the very bottom - which still may not be the "real" bottom - or you just leave it and risk it.
A couple of hours of clean water is not a huge deal.   It's not like it sat there for days or was sewer backup.   I would just raise heat and buy/rent an industrial fan (or like 6-8 box fans).
The carpet... easiest way to get up water out of a pad is using a steam cleaner vacuum (hoover makes an $80 variety in the US).   These suck up water the best on carpet.   Note that you want to move this thing around because water will drain to probably one spot and it could be 10 feet away from your kitchen.   Drying out a pad is easy and relatively little chance of ruining the carpet and pad as long as it is dried in 1-2 days.   After you aren't getting any water in steam vac you just make sure a fan is pointed at the wet areas.


Sliding contact, bathroom, expect failure.

Using a ribbon cable in the manner of a cable carrier (should not actually need a cable carrier, though if you wanted to go there you could get a small one) would be far more reliable. Fixed contacts, cable moves. Seen on many inkejet printer printheads (the "doing it with a ribbon cable method", that is.) The real things are common on CNC tools, equipment with extendable booms, etc.

The "point that's not obvious until you use this method" is that the cable ALWAYS has a 180 degree bend, even at full extension. It leaves the moving part facing away from the fixed part then bends back to the fixed part - the bend moves as the item moves.


Would the service breaker or sub-panel breaker trip first if they have equal ratings?

Your question depends on very many variables.

1) Are the breakers magnetic trip or thermal?  Which is which?

2) If you are using thermal breakers, which breaker is exposed to the highest ambient temperature?

3) What is the current profile of your high-current loads?  Relatively constant or fluctuating?

In general, it is a crap shoot as to which breaker trips first when two identically-rated breakers are in series.  The breaker with the smallest amount of internal thermal heat-sinking will usually trip first but there are no guarantees.

Your best bet is to either change the breaker that you have access to down to 100 Amps or increase the feed breaker to 150 Amps.  I'd have to check, but I think that your 3/0 feeder cable is rated for at least 150 Amps.  Check with a qualified electrician to make sure.


Plumbers putty is for specific purpose and may or may not solve the problem. You must find the root cause of the issue. You need to investigate and troubleshoot. it could be leaky faucet components, leaky tub shoe, leaky overflow pipe, leaky trim, etc. Remove all the faucet trim and run water, look in the wall with a flashlight. You made need to open the wall from behind or the ceiling from below. This very well be much more complicated than jamming putty everywhere.

If you do not understand the above and/or don't want to do some serious work... call a plumber.


Polyurethane Curing - will blue tape or dropcloths damage it?

I actually know the answer to this.  We have Bona Traffic on our heart pine floors.  They were finished years ago and the blue painters tape lifted the finish.  I would not use tape on any flooring unless it was a waxed or oiled finish.  Luckily the floor person that put the finish on was able to fix the finish we messed up by pulling up the tape.


Ceiling light junction box multiple wire detection

It appears, at one time, that the circuit took way too much heat.  I would not be comfortable leaving it like this, but I have done wiring for years.  When the breaker to the light is off, determine what else is on that circuit.  Then look at what these normally pull.  I am assuming this is a house 30+ years old.  I see 6 ground wires going into the electrical cap, but only 5 white neutrals going into that cap.  A question I have for you is why are you changing the light?  Was it a "honey, I don't like this light" or the light was not working correctly?  Do you have access to the wiring from above, like in the attic?  You can always just switch the light out and what you did by changing the light will not increase your chance of fire, but I would still check out what else is on that circuit.


Replacing Door Header After Pocket Door Removal

You indicate there is an “I-beam” located above the pocket door. (I presume that’s a steel I-beam.) The I-beam will support all vertical loads from above and transfer them to the footings. The wood beam above the pocket door is merely for supporting the pocket door.


GFCI Won't rest. shows no LED Light but has power

GFCI receptacles very rarely go bad. So before your run out, buy and replace a GFCI. First let's try and determine if it is bad GFCI or something else is wrong. First unplug every appliance and turn off every light on the circuit and see if the GFCI will reset. If it does reset then try plugging in and run every appliance and turn on every light one at a time. If any appliance trips the GFCI then your appliance is bad and it needs to be replaced. If turning your light on and the GFCI trips then the fixture is probably malfunctioning and needs to be repaired.

If the GFCI trips when no load is on it, then after you turn your power off, pull you receptacle out and disconnect the load side conductors of on the GFCI. Carefully turn your power on and see if your GFCI resets. If it does not reset then it may be bad, but if it does reset then you have a problem with you downstream wiring. Now you have to go through the entire circuit and check to see what is in failure.

That means you reconnect the load side conductors and remove each device in sequence and test to see when you get a trip. Once you get a trip you have isolated the problem and repairs need to be made.

It's really a step by step procedure, but it is also why when you call an electrical contractor they can't give you a set price since they don't know how long it will take find and repair the problem.

Hopefully it will just be a bad appliance or GFCI. Good luck.


What are these copper pipes and do I need to do anything to them
before covering them with a wall?

Since they have been open behind a wall for nearly 40 years without an issue i think is is safe to assume there is no problem.
If you do not want to try and figure out where they come from and re-purpose them then just  solder caps on them and build your wall.


Is it possible to add a ground to a vacuum?

Not being grounded is not going to affect the way the vacuum cleaner functions. In fact, most vacuums I've had/used are not grounded. They are mostly made from nonmetallic parts and insulated in such a way that grounding isn't needed or impossible to achieve.

Now, if you're using an ungrounded vacuum to clean electronics, computer motherboards, etc.and are worried about static charges, then by all means you could remove the two conductor cord and install a 3 conductor cord and a three prong plug.


Inaccessible outdoor PEX piping lost its insulation - what to do?

As Michael Karas' answer said, cost will be minimal and it will be easier just to run a new pipe.

Additionally, do you use the outdoor sink in the winter? Insulated or not, you should probably winterize that plumbing if it's susceptible to freezing.


Drop in kitchen sink to replace an under mount

I use razorblade 27 abrasive cutting disks on a 4" grinder . razorblade is a brand that holds up well but there are others very thin metal cutting blades that will do the job in minutes, yes on sparks but I have never started a fire and have cut every kind of metal with this method. I just measured a disk and they are 0.075" thick.


Phantom Voltage on Hot Wire from Another Circuit

The induced voltage you were reading is from the electronic lines of force crossing the non energised conductor creating a voltage (this is how transformers work or inductive coupling) any meter that has a high impedance will detect the phantom voltage, most meters are high impedance or have over 1 mega ohm /volt internal resistance this prevents the meter from loading the circuit and affecting the reading. There are also low Z or low impedance meters that have an internal resistance that is low enough to eliminate the phantom voltage without affecting the measurement. These low Z meters are not sufficient for electronics trouble shooting in my opinion due to the circuit loading. Low z meters are fine for power measurements. you have no problems to worry about. Note if you turn on the light switch after replacing you may see the voltage drop to nothing depending on the type of lamp or load on that circuit.


There are many types of "basement paneling systems" on the market that do what you want.  I have personally used Owens Corning which is top of the line.  I thought it was pretty good.

Some general advice:

I have renovated 50+ basements and have gone the paneling route twice.  It really should be a last resort.  Basically you should fix the water problem if you want things in the basement.
using paneling, cost about 3-4 times the amount I would spend on drywall and lumber.
the paneling isn't the easiest thing in the world to install.  Maybe it is because my team wasn't used to it but we are much faster going through the traditional method.
no matter what anyone tells you the paneling will not look as good.  At best it looks like a well done industrial office space.  At worst it looks like you are on a bad movie set.
the benefit of being able to take out the panels easier is pretty cool.  On one basement we did it wasn't even about the outside water it was that the house had plumbing along all the walls in the basement (don't ask me copper must have been free back then - and changing this would have meant redoing pretty much the entire house)


How safe is it to mount a TV tight to the wall with steel studs?

If the TV will be on a pivot arm the answer is absolutely not.  If it will be tight to the wall, as you say, and generally nobody will be physically handling the TV (tilting or moving, e.g. to plug in game consoles or whatever) then it can be quite safe especially if you use several (4?) toggle bolts along the top edge of the bracket.  You don't need them on the bottom edge, use self-drilling drywall plugs.
You don't need a special bit to drill a metal stud, a good wood bit will do it and if you know how to use a toggle bolt you just use it the same way in the stud as you would in the drywall ... but you get a better result.
Why don't you go buy a sharp new drill bit and a metal stud to practice on?  They cost like $4.  If you live somewhere with metal studs it'll be the best $4 you ever spend.  The only special trick you might want to consider is getting the toggle flat against the inside of the stud wall ... you have to spin it and feel that it's not half on the outside and half on the inside of the channel.   You'll need all of 2 minutes of practice to master this.
Here is what the toggle will look like from the back, with drywall and a metal stud and an appropriate hole having been drilled for the toggle.  The model you mention would require a smaller hole.  And you can see here what I mean about spinning the toggle so it rests flat on the metal joist.


Just installed aprileaire 700 whole house humidifier. Furnace takes air from outside

Had to move controller (with sensor on back) farther away to where only in house air was moving through duct. In my house this was at the ceiling as the return plenum area was mixed with outside air and inside..

Sort of like a  "T" shape. Top Right side of T duct brought air in from outside, left side brought air in from return vents, and the middle (body of T/ Plenum) is where the air mixes together.. And of course outside air will have higher humidity, so it was messing with the readings.

Hope this helps someone else one day.


What is the proper way to run Category 6 underground?

Cat6 is capable of very high speeds (by today's standards; hi 2021!), but only within a bunch of additional constraints over lower-speed cable.

Especially difficult is terminating the cable. When you untwist enough to terminate, it's easy to expose yourself to interference. Some people buy long, pre-terminated Cat6 and pull that, instead of pulling bulk cable, for this very reason. You'll need larger conduit if you take this approach.

Another difficulty is strains during the pull. If you tug hard to get around a corner, you can damage the cable enough to stop top speeds from working. Limiting the number of elbows, wide sweeps, conduit bodies, larger conduit, and having someone push while you pull all help.

You may decide that you don't need 10G speeds. In that case, save the money and pull Cat5e. Since you're running conduit, it's easy to upgrade later if you change your mind. It's a good idea to leave a pull string, but if you forget, just suck a new one through with a shop vac.

If there is any EMF in the same trench, a shielded cable will help. Ground the shielding at both ends.

If you are sure you need maximum speed, consider using fiber. You'd put a fiber-to-ethernet converter on each end. Very long runs and EMF are non-issues. Cost scales well with distance.

To make sure I've covered your questions:

Is there a specific kind of Category 6 cabling I should use?

Solid conductors, since these cables will be immobile. (Stranded is for wires that move often, like from your laptop to the wall.

Shielded is good for protecting against EMF, especially for long runs or if there is a power cable in the same trench.

Gel-filled cable protects against water intrusion that could cause corrosion.

Direct Burial cable has a tough jacket that can tolerate abrasion underground. If you're in conduit this matters less, but you might choose it anyway.

UV-resistant jacket is important if your wire comes out of the PVC where sunlight can get.

Can I simply run the cable through PVC pipe for most of the way?

Yes, and this is a good idea. Schedule 40 gray is the normal choice around here.

I read that Category 6 needs special grounding?

I dunno about that.

Is there any major benefit to running more than one cable through the same ditch or pipe?

You can run multiple low-voltage cables through the same conduit if you want, but don't put power cable in the same conduit as low-voltage. Use a large enough conduit that you can pull additional cables later.

Are there any pitfalls I may not be aware of?

Many, but I can't think of any more.

EDIT: Since power will be in the same trench, I recommend staking the conduits to their respective sides before filling, to make sure they keep a good foot space between them. I wish I had known to do that!

For future-proofing, consider installing an additional conduit. A contractor friend likes to install an extra 4" conduit, which can be used for a lot of stuff. Other people think he's nuts. I think they're both right. :-)


Additional wire on light switch with no 3 way

Without KNOWING how it was connected (which it's always good to document before you tear stuff apart, but too late for that) I'm going to GUESS that the outlets were getting their power by being joined to the unswitched hot feed to the switch.


Light socket to outlet adapter not working

I find this with cfl lamps quite often and think your adapters have the same issue.
The problem in most cases the center conductor is not touching.
But they worked last year the same fixture and adapter.
The center tab quite often gets folded down sometimes because of a extra tight light bulb sometimes because of heat.
The fix:
With the power off!  pulling the tab away from the fixture or lifting it a little bit has always fixed this issue for me, 150w incandescent lamps were really hard on fixtures and this method worked on them even with the “high current draw / heat”.
Don’t get crazy it usually won’t take much just a 1/10 of an inch or possibly up to 1/4 but that will usually fix this problem, give it a try.
Again with the power off raise the center tab it is usually a brass colored metal tab that is bent, just straighten so it contacts the adapter.


Yeah, that's fine.  Plan your breakpoint carefully based on the loads you expect.

For instance I like to break circuits mid-room, so BR1 has half of circuit 1 and half of circuit 2, and BR2 has half of circuit 2 and half of circuit 3 etc.  That way if you make one the computer room, and need to plug in both a gaming PC and laser printer, you can put some on each circuit.

Make darn sure you're not making a loop.  Check that by sticking a load in every outlet, and go through each breaker, turning it off while the others are on.  Make sure every outlet turns off with exactly one breaker.


How can I repair this rotten entry threshold?

Hard to confirm without pictures, but you might have a void below the wood where water gets in and is causing the wood to rot.
Remove the rubber gasket, then remove the metal threshold (if you have one). Next remove the rotted wood. You may have to cut away since the wood will run under the jamb.  Fill the void (if there is one) with quick setting concrete. Then just replace the wood. Use pressure treated wood to prevent rotting.
OR, just hire a repair/handyman.


What could be causing the light in my basement to heat up and turn off?

First check the Bulb as it is the easiest thing to check.  Next would to verify the wiring to the fixture.  And last, check the fixture itself.  Since it looks like what you have is a fixture/bulb, you might need to move it to another location and see if it exhibits the same behavior.