The "mini-joists", as you call them, are placed there to mitigate the overhang that is longer than 6". So if they are properly installed you would have nothing to worry about. Proper installation means that they are securely fastened to the ledger board and the cross header.

When you have the deck surface removed in that area you may want to look closely at how the mini-joists are secured in place. It there is any concern you may want to add an angle corner bracket at the ledger end and a support hanger at the header end. (Since the spacing is extremely cramped it may be necessary to temporarily remove the mini-joist and attach the bracket/hanger to the member before putting back in place).


Enlarge opening in porcelain tile already tiled

A rotary bit designed to cut tile, which are made for "cutout tools" (essentially a rough and lightweight router) - they will have a diamond pattern on the SIDES of the bit, as they are made to cut sideways more than to drill, and a drill bit is not what you want.

You can use one in a drill you probably already own for a small cut like this, if you are patient and wear appropriate safety gear (eye protection and dust protection. Ear protection as well would be wise.) If you happen to have a cutout tool already, you'd probably have thought of this already, but perhaps not if you think of it only as a drywall tool. For a job this small I doubt it's worth purchasing the power tool specifically, but the fact that the bits are made for it will allow you to get the job done with what you have - or you could rent/borrow one.
I would NOT put one in my router, simply because the tile dust is prone to damaging tools/motors, and a cheap cutout tool is far better to abuse than an expensive router.


How do I measure for a table top inside a (slightly irregular) nook/alcove?

One of the simpler ways to do this is with a framing square (a good tool to have on hand).

You need to measure the top at the height where the tabletop will be. Mount cleats (long strips of wood running horizontally) to hold up the top along the three walls. Cut the two side walls a bit short so the cleats do not show once the tabletop is in place.

Now it's time to measure for the top.

Start with the back wall. Measure its length and draw on a piece of paper. It doesn't need to be full size or strictly to scale. Put the corner of the framing square into each of the back corners. Choose the corner that allows you to get the square's corner into the wall corner. Measure the length of the tabletop along the side wall. Be sure you indicate the measurement at the actual point of the edge of the tabletop, not the end of the cleat, which may be shorter.

Have the 24" leg pointing outward. There will be a gap between the end of the square furthest from the back wall and the side wall at the outside edge of the planned top. Measure that gap and transfer it to your drawing.

Flip the square and do the same thing for the other corner. But this time the end furthest from the back wall may have a similar gap to its side wall. Or it may be square. Or it may have a gap at the back wall. Whatever it is, measure the length and the gap. Transfer the measurements to the drawing.

With measurements of the back edge, the side edges and the gaps, you can lay out the exact dimensions on your tabletop material. While theoretically you do not need to measure the front edge, it couldn't hurt and it will serve as a check to indicate that your other measurements are correct. If you carefully record the measurements, the angles will take care of themselves.

If you want to be super sure, transfer the measurements to a cardboard pattern and fit into the space on the cleats. You can fine tune the pattern before cutting the final material.


Replacing a switch where power comes thru the fan to the timer switch, with only 2-wires?

You got the wrong timer switch.  You grabbed one of these digital jobs because you're too cool for school.  Unfortunately your wiring is not.

What you need is the trusty dusty mechanical model, available in any "max time" you like.  That one's an hour, you can get 15, 30, 2 hours, all the way up to 12.


Solder debris in multi zone hot water baseboard boiler heating system blocking valves

Whether a screen will fix your problem or not depends on several things.

Particle size. Only if the screen is fine enough it will retend the particles.
Amount of dirt. If the debris in your circulation is more than the few particles it might sooner or later just clog the screen. Perhaps the screen needs more regular service than every other device.
Origin and distribution of the particles. You mention that the problems rose also after service. Then particles might migrate against normal flow direction during service periods when the pumps are shut down for longer time. A single screen before the pumps and their respective check valves then won't protect you. Where the affected check valves before or after the pumps (from flow direction)? If after this could indicate debris coming down against normal flow direction during times with no water flow.

The HVAC-company servicing my parent's home added kind of siphons in the system. It was to catch spurious air bubbles but also catches debris. They consist of short vertical tubings with at least twice the normal piping diameter. On top of the tubes they mounted an automatic bleeding valve. The water entered the big tube from the side and left it at the other side. Air was catched on the top and debris on the bottom due to the reduced flow speed inside this vessel. I don't know if this works in your case, but you might talk about this with your HVAC company.


Those are not the correct nails, period.

A "Box" nail is thinner than a "Common" nail, and unsuitable for framing.

Per chart found here, 0.162" .vs. 0.135" which is 144% more steel in the common nail (review geometry if you don't get that.)

Box nails, being thinner, are easier to bend, as well; but predrilling can help if you are not a skilled framer - however, the fact remains that box nails are not suitable framing nails. You may find pre-drilling the 2x8 for 16d common galvanized nails to be beneficial, depending on your hammer skills.


I finally got a licensed engineer out to take a look at this.
The working theory is that the truss was damaged when the home was built, some 30+ years and 2+ owners ago. The rest of the truss system looks like it's in good shape. Sounds like I'm either the first person to notice this or the first person to care.
The solution they drew up was to put a 30" 2x4 on either side of each damaged truss member and secure it with six 3" structural screws on each side of the break (so 24 screws total per damaged truss member). Took about an hour to do this myself, and aside from some sore legs and a serious amount of sweat it wasn't too difficult.
The lesson here is to call around. The first person I talked to was a builder who suggested taking off part of the roof and replacing the truss. Later it was suggested to me to consult with a licensed structural engineer who came up with this solution.


Go to Autozone and purchase automotive weatherstripping adhesive from 3M (8008). That stuff is seriously sticky and long lasting. It will take a few hours to set up, though. I have a test plate of glass that I've glued all sorts of things and have left outside in the elements for the last 5 years and still cannot pry anything off without breaking the glass.


How can I get rid of a yellowjacket nest under a flat roof without using poison

You might consider building a "bee vacuum" from a box with some screened holes and a shopvac, like the one in this video by Matthias Wandel: Wasp Sucker.  This would enable you to catch most or all of the adult wasps (you might need to do this a few times over a week or so, I'm not sure about the yellowjacket lifecycle) and then dispose of them through drowning in soapy water, controlled posioning (since your concern with using posion seems to mostly be about residue on-site), freezing in a block of ice, or whatever method suits you.


Remove tiles (and plywood underneath) around toilet without removing toilet

Anything is possible, but this falls under the Why On Earth Would You category.

Removing and reinstalling a toilet is a fairly simple job for even a novice DIYer. Don't let that intimidate you into making your project far more difficult than it needs to be.

Without knowing the details, here's a basic outline:

Close the water supply valve at the wall.
Flush the toilet to (mostly) empty it. Wet/dry vac the remaining water out of both the bowl and the tank (if convenient).
Detach the water supply at the underside of the tank. It's likely either a hex nut or a plastic wingnut. Be gentle. This stuff isn't cast iron.
Remove the caps for the base mounting bolts (2 or 4), and then remove the nuts.
Cut any caulk present against the floor with a utility knife.
Wiggle and twist the toilet until it loosens, then carry it out. Optionally detach the tank for easier carrying.

Reinstallation is basically the reverse, but there's the wax ring to deal with. Do a bit of reading here and elsewhere for tips on that.


Boo?  There's a reason it doesn't have a cord.  First, most such machines are hardwired.

Second, look closely at the power: 11,500 watts @ 240V (this is a 240V single-phase machine, right?) is 47.916666 (repeating of course) amps.  That's a peculiar number.  Remember that continuous loads must be provisioned for 125% of their rated power.  47.916666 amps x 125% = 59.9 amps.  That's even more peculiar. It's perfectly sized to be provisioned for a 60A circuit, and that is why that size was chosen!

Normal plugs and sockets stop at 50A.  60A plugs and sockets are not common, and not standard.  If they had given you a cord and plug, Murphy would have a surprise for you on setup day.

The plug in your hands is the obsolete, dangerous NEMA 10-50.  Aside from being too few amps, it's NEMA 10 -- hot-hot-neutral.  Neutral is not ground. You don't need neutral and you do need ground. You could use a NEMA 14 (hot-hot-neutral-ground) or a NEMA 6 (hot-hot-ground) if you can find those in 60A.  But this begs another question.

When the faire provisions power to your booth, what receptacle do they provide?  Because you need the plug that fits their socket, at the risk of stating the obvious.  So your next step is actually to have a conversation with them about that.

If the faire is providing you 240V 3-phase, and you have more than one of these fryers, then things just got a lot more complicated.

Answers:

The cord is way wrong.  So moot.
Lugs generally take one wire, a wire being a distinct thing from a cable. Lugs are perfectly able to take stranded wire.  In fact, solid wire is rare in #6.
Don't carve it up, because you'll be returning it to Lowes for credit.
You don't buy a solid conductor cord, since there's no such thing - it has to be flexible after all.  Once you figure out which connector the job actually requires, you will surely not find it in a pre-molded cord, but many shops will be happy to build it for you out of a component plug and proper legal cordage, which is cable specifically made to be power cord.  You can do that yourself with the right cordage. A proper electrical supply house can sell you that don't go to Lowes or any big-box; they are incompetent and it's too specialty for them, they will cheerfully sell you a super-wrong thing like #6 SEU-AL.


Chargers for NI-CD versus NI-MH batteries

There is a small, but non-zero, risk of overcharging NiMH batteries when using a NiCd charger.
The charge profiles of NiCd vs NiMH are very similar but not quite the same, since the 'peak' in the NiMH profile is less pronounced than for NiCd.
It's possible that a NiCd charger will miss it and carry on trying to charge a NiMH which is already full.


Can I add a dimmer switch to adjust the brightness?

Yes, the dimmer would just be added in series with the timer.

  And change the timer switch to a three-way switch

Normally, a timer controller goes on the feed to the circuit for outside lights without any other switches. However, you can wire things any way you have the imagination for within reason. If you connect the timer as a 3-way the other switch will override the timer anytime it is operated. If that is how you want the circuit to operate then it can be done.

A switch like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-PLS750C1000-Ti072-3W-Sunrise-Required/dp/B01IAEPFD4
Can be used as a single pole or 3-way switch.

Good luck and stay safe!


Range hood fan quit working but started working again

Yes, cold weather and hardened, cold grease buildup can conspire to stop your fan from starting.
That's "the answer to the question you asked."
The fact that you have enough grease buildup to keep the fan from starting when it's cold means that it needs to be cleaned, and possibly lubricated. That can be a DIY job, or a different, specialized contractor (most restaurants are required to have their hoods cleaned several times a year by a specialist contractor in hood-cleaning.)
It's almost certainly NOT the "fan motor replacement contractor's" job, unless they are more of a generalized hood-vent service contractor. Even if the one company does it, it would likely be two different workers with jobs that intersect but don't overlap.


How do I mount a flat object on a rounded roof tile?

My pidgeon friends assure me your tawdry trick will fool noone. They laugh at your owl.

That said, you can attach the owl by creating using wax to make a dam, attach some wax to the decoy to temporarily hold it inside the dam, then pour a strong epoxy into the dam around it. If done correctly, a big block of epoxy will harden onto the roof, permanently attaching the owl.

Mortar can be used as an alternative to epoxy.


Single handle shower faucet from the 80s making loud noises

High velocity flow through a restricted opening connected to a resonance chamber causes whistling.  Things you might try other than modifying the valve:

Install a flow restrictor at the shower head.  It only needs to restrict the water a little to change the dynamics of the flow through the valve.  If you start with one that restricts the flow so much it is annoying, you can usually enlarge the opening in it with a drill.  Of course, if you enlarge the restriction too much then you will be back where you started.
Check system water pressure.  If it is above 60psi, then consider installing a pressure reducing valve on the system.


Trouble with diy wiring in basement room with afci and ceiling fan

One thing that will cause AFCI's to trip also happens to be something that will cause GFCI's to trip: crossed neutrals.

As you may know, all grounds are just basically a cloud of grounds - all grounds coming out of a panel can generally be mixed together, even if they are from different circuits out of that panel.   Back in the day, people sometimes thought the same thing of neutral, which was never true.  But it happens all the time where someone "grabs the nearest neutral" and that happens to be a neutral from a different circuit.  Or neutrals from 2 circuits have been tied together.  This mistake was undetectable; neutrals don't have breakers.

Now GFCIs and AFCIs don't like crossed neutrals, so it matters.

GFCI and AFCI will tolerate this situation as long as there is 0 load on the miswired part of the circuit (or both circuits if the neutrals are tied together on 2 circuits).  However when you add load, some or all of the neutral current "goes the wrong way". GFCI's are super sensitive to this, AFCIs less so, but will still trip.

Of course, it goes without saying that AFCIs don't work on multi-wire branch circuits (MWBC).  If in the panel, your AFCI "hot" is feeding up into a /3 cable with another hot fed from a different breaker, that is an MWBC. Safety requires you fix it: Get a 2-pole, 240V, handle-tied breaker, and land both hots on opposite sides of that breaker.  The AFCI versions of those are pricey.

So I would start by putting other loads on the outlets those devices are plugged into.  A 1500W heater should give a good test.   If the AFCI trips under those conditions, then it is a wiring problem and I would focus (in this priority)

multi-wire branch circuits first, just because it's easy to cross off the list.
crossed neutrals, as discussed, which means mapping the circuit, opening up every box in the circuit.
any loose wire anywhere in the circuit, which would cause genuine arc faults. - converting backstab connections to either screw or screw-and-clamp, as backstabs are not as reliable, and sometimes cause genuine arc faults.

"re-splicing the same wire 100 times" won't do it. Re-splicing every wire in the circuit once is a better use of your time.

Otherwise the appliance may be generating an arc fault internally. Test that by wiring an AFCI direct to a single receptacle only, and plugging the appliance direct into that, and seeing if it trips.

P.S. are you actually landing the circuit neutral on the AFCI?  Or is it still going to the panel's neutral bar?


PEX uses fittings that have a smaller inside diameter than the tubing, unlike copper where the fitting ID is typically the same as the tubing.  That smaller ID is going to reduce your flow rate vs. copper if you have a lot of fittings between the source and your fixture, as you might in a non-home-run situation where fixtures are teed off a main trunk.  In a properly installed system, this will be countered somewhat by using larger diameter tubing for that trunk line.

So that's the theory, but in practice I can tell you that I've now lived in two houses that were plumbed in non-home-run PEX and never had problems with reduced flow in the remote fixtures.  Both of these houses used 3/4" PEX for the trunk and 1/2" PEX for the branch lines.


What are the benefits of a Floating Vanity over a Vanity that is secured to the floor?

Most standard type box vanities are constructed with a back stile across the width of the unit at the top/back. We never connect them to the floor. We find the studs in the wall and screw the back stile to it. When doing this, you can correct the level both side to side and front to back. Strategic use of shims helps in the leveling process, but the screws lock the vanity in place.


Fitting a Velux blind to a modified window

I've now fitted the blind, and both the top piece and the side rails needed to be removed.

the top part was replaced by the blind cartridge, which fits flush to the frame
the side rails, while narrow enough to allow the new rails to be fitted, fouled the inside edge of the blind cartridge.

In the end all three parts were easy to remove as they had been fitted with short nails which pulled free of the frame with little force.


Perfectly fine. GFCI is needed in bathrooms kitchens laundry rooms and certain other areas, but not everywhere. However many areas now require AFCI which is best installed in or near the breaker panel.


Is it ... practical ... to wax urethane?

Well, it can be done.  You would be ill-advised to do so before the urethane fully cures.  My stuff wants 30 days, but yours is surely 1-part urethane which cures via reaction with air or moisture, so I'd give it a few months.

My concern is, I don't see how much good it will do.  Obviously you're very attached to the idea of "waxing" things, and I gather that is wisdom handed down over the ages. That is wrong-headed because coating technology changes much faster than that; all folk wisdom is obsolete.  If you were using a traditional varnish, then you should use trad maintenance techniques (but you wouldn't use wax for that).   But you went for urethane because either you wanted less work or more durability.

That said, I don't see any harm to it... though when it comes time to recoat with an actual varnish, you'll regret it.  Wax is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse when you're trying to prepare a surface for recoating (the others being linseed oil, silicones, and latex paint). It will require tedious, painstaking, complete removal with harsh chemicals, or the next coat will fish-eye and you'll have a ton of work to do.  I shudder just thinking about it.

As far as resisting UV damage, polyurethane is already pretty good at that.

Since you went after poly you presumably want a higher performance coating.  If so, avoid spar varnish.  Spar varnish is for spars.  Spars bend a lot, and normal varnishes will crack and split, admitting water, trapping it and rotting the spar.  So spar varnish has a lot of additives to make it flexible at the expense of traits you want in a varnish.  Not least, on normal brightwork you want a very hard varnish that will resist scuffing, because scuffing reduces gloss and gloss is the varnish's best defense.

They make even higher performance coatings, but you will sacrifice "easy application" or "classic appearance", depending on the product you use.


Where could all these flies be coming from?

Like others have said, there's probably a dead thing somewhere. However, depending on the fly type, they could be breeding in very dirty water or in pretty much any organic matter. For example, some will breed in rotting vegetation, some will eat wool or fleece if they have too. So looking for pretty much anything out of the way that could be rotting. You may not find it though - attics, basements, even in the walls if a rat died in there or something.

The life cycle of flies is often very temperature dependent - it slows down when it is cold and speeds up when warm. Some of the common flies found in houses can go from egg to adult in about a day in ideal conditions, so even if you kill them or let them out, this is probably how they are replenishing - new ones are hatching.

I looked up the breeding time and so on a while back, when this happened to my Mum - all these flies showed up in the lobby to the house one morning, on the ceiling. It was kind of creepy. We cleaned out the room, and couldn't find any obvious points of entry from the ceiling or floor, so you're not the only one!

What do your flies look like? Different ones eat different things and have different habits.

This interesting looking chart describes them and gives their "favourite foods" as well.
http://www.jfoakes.com/fly_identification_chart.htm

This site gives many many pictures of flies. If you click on the headers above each row of pictures, you get more pictures of flies in that subgroup, so you can keep getting more and more specific pictures and ID. Not recommended if you are grossed out by fly pictures.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/55/bgpage


You might be able to use an "EZ Anchor" (that is a brand name but there are other makers). They are only about 1 1/4" long and you can even shorten them by cutting off the tip if needed, to accommodate for restricted clearance behind the wall.
They hold plenty of weight for lightweight shelving and knick-knack type stuff (I would not use them to support a TV).

So... 1/2" for the drywall, a bit for the thickness of the shelving unit, plus an inch of space between wall and vent, they should work perfectly and you can get them at almost any hardware store. Please shop at your local mom-and-pop store and buy American made products when possible! :)


Is my bath exhaust fan pulling dust into the room?

Your exhaust fan is bringing smoke/soot into your bathroom. Your fan is operating correctly and no screen or filter on it will solve your problem. Make sure the flue for your fireplace is completely open. You might want to keep your bathroom door closed when the fireplace is in use, or at least don't use the fan.


NEC Rules for Placing Outdoor Receptacles (Residential)

The counter top small appliance circuits (2)  and the laundry 20 amp circuit along with the bathroom are dedicated other than those most other circuits can be tapped
Article 210. Covers branch circuits.


Where can I find a metal one of these online?

Here is a source for a metal bracket like you want.


Add a c-wire to 25+ year old Rheem furnace

Based on your description of the wiring, and the schematic you've provided, this is what I think is going on.

Click for larger view

It sounds like there's a white wire and a black wire, connected to the secondary side of the transformer. The white wire carries 24VAC to the thermostat, which means the black wire is connected to the C terminal.

So the new thermostat should be wired as follows:

White -> R
Red -> W
Extra (blue in diagram) -> C

You can verify this by measuring the voltage between the blue and white wires, in the diagram above. You should get ~24 volts AC, though it might be a bit higher or lower.


How can I clean these small, enclosed gutters on a mobile home patio?

I have a mobile home with these terrible enclosed gutters. When the leafs and crap are  dry, use a leaf blower or a shop vac to clean. I get up on a ladder and loosen stuff in gutter with a screw driver .After this, vacuum or blow . Then run waterer through gutter to get rest of crap out.

Really is a dirty, wet mess but has to be done.


Generally even luxury vinyl plank has expansion requirements and typically sets maximum room widths.  You'd probably end up with a T molding separating the rooms.  Now if you are asking about a reducing molding that steps down to a different floor height then I'd try to avoid that.

Check the instructions on your specific product to see what maximum they specify sometimes you can go over the maximum by increasing the room left for expansion in which case maybe you can avoid a molding entirely which is going to be the best look.

What installation type are you planning? floating or glue down?


It is a Ceramic Insulator for heat protection - the wires go to the heating element.

EDIT 5-8-2017

As per Ed Beals comment (Thanks for the FYI) - I will make some explanation here .

Heating elements are exactly that they heat up as the electricity flows through them, they have different ratings of wattage consequently also heat output, How hot they get. Because of this there needs to be a method of protecting the wiring of the circuit from the transference of this heat.

The heat transferring via the wire into the insulation can melt or make brittle the insulation and thereby create a potential fire hazard and or electrocution hazard. Ceramic Insulators are used to dissipate the heat and prevent this transference that would cause the insulation of the wires to melt or become brittle.

Over time the heat will cause these ceramic insulators to break  down - constant heating and cooling causing them to crack and become brittle and break. You need to use them in the replacement of your part and in connecting the wires to the heating element - unless you would like to risk the lives of the  occupants of the home to fire.

I should also add that sometimes the heating element itself has this component - and therefore a new element would need to be purchased.


What is a bus bar in an electrical switch board?

I think Wikipedia can explain what a bus bar is, better than I can. But in general terms. It's a strip of conductive material where other conductors can connect, to safely interconnect all the conductors.

If you look in an empty single split phase electrical panel, you'll see 3 or 4 bus bars. Two ungrounded (hot) bus bars running down the middle, one grounded (neutral) bus bar off to the side or at top/bottom, and one grounding bus bar off to the side or at top/bottom.


Ceiling occupancy sensor with wall switch override

What usually throws people in this situation is conflicting control schemes.  People think "If the motion sensor throws the light on, and I throw the light switch off, it should go off".  But if you can live with the "either/or" arrangement, turn the switch off and the light stays on because the motion sensor wants it, then this is easy.

Start by re-marking wires; this will make life much easier.

You'll need black and red electrical tape. Get a 5-pack of colored tape for $4-5.

Black = always-hot
White = neutral
Red = switched-hot

The black wire on the lamp itself should be re-marked red.  If the lamp is a spur line (i.e. it's not a switch loop), then /2 cable will suffice, but re-mark the black wire red on both ends, since it will be switched-hot.

Cable sizes must match what is already in the garage, and 12 AWG=20A breaker, and 14 AWG=15A breaker.

Also note that since 2011, plain switches need always-hot, switched-hot and neutral, so black, red and white needed there.   The motion sensor will need the same.

At this point, you cable it up in whatever way the wire routing best lends itself.  You need to connect the wall switch, the motion sensor, and the lamp, any way which proves most practicable/economical.  Think of that as a triangle, with power coming in any one corner.  You are only allowed to cable 2 sides of that triangle.

Supply gives black and white.
Switch needs black, white and red.
Motion sensor needs black, white and red.
Lamp needs red and white.

So "connect the dots" as it were.  Some places will need all 3 colors, perhaps some only two. If you have a segment that only needs red and white, you can use /2 cable and recolor the black as a red.  You shouldn't have a segment that needs only red and black.

  Now, if you're in an old-style (2-wire) switch loop, first, you must replace that cable with a /3 cable if that is possible. If unable to replace, then tag the black wire red, and the white wire black, due to an NEC requirement.

The motion sensor is an interesting one. They have 2 blue wires, which go to the relay... that makes sense.  Remark one of the blues black, and the other red.

Wire it up

Due to our care in pre-marking wires, this is simplicity itself: at each box, connect blacks to each other, whites to each other, and reds to each other.  And we're done.

Wow, that was easy.  This is why we did all that remarking before.  I love my colored tape!

As to how specifically to wire it, I can't tell you how, because I don't know which cable routes are easier than others, and I don't know where the power is coming into the system.   However, you can draw it yourself.  Here.

You're not allowed to make a triangle with cables.  So Scribble out one of the three cables, you can't use it.
Figure out where you want power coming in (based on what is easiest to run the cables to), and draw in a "cable" to that box and extend the black and white "wires" to it.
Staying inside the cables, connect all the whites, blacks and reds.
Each segment should now have 2 or 3 wires, depending.  If any have 2 wires, and one is red, re-mark a  wire with tape to be red.


Is this foyer (wall) load bearing, in a condo

Yeah, that plan is of no use. If anything it's just depicting where 2x6's were to be used, which doesn't mean they were used. ALL exterior walls would have to be Load Bearing. If all of the floors have the same layout then everything's Load Bearing.

The place is broken up into, roughly, 3 14-foot spans, with of course just the Linen Closet to the Entry portion having 16-foot sticks under it. And, your "Engineer" is a moron. Simply put. What's above you & what's below you is what matters & solely determines Load Bearing or Connecting. Not whether he "only knows" of 14-foot sticks ever being as the longest lumber. Laughable.

You'll have to get a Carpenter, but I think the only thing you could possibly remove would be just the wall across from the Entry Door & removal of the shelf's half-wall only, between the dining room.


This is dangerous and could start a fire!
If I understand you correctly, you have a circuit which contains a mixture of #12 and #14 wire, that is protected with a 20 A breaker. If so, that breaker needs to be changed immediately to a 15 A breaker. #14 wire is only rated for a 15 A breaker, and having any #14 wire at any point in the circuit, no matter where and no matter how little wire there actually is, means the circuit must be protected by a 15 A breaker. You must use the smallest current rating of any of the wires / devices in the circuit to determine the proper breaker size.
The breaker should be turned off and the circuit not used until it is replaced.


How can I add a chain link fence on top of a cinder block wall?

I would get posts for a six foot fence to compensate for the wall height. Then anchor the posts in the ground. Then set the fence height to be level with the cap. If they didn't fill the blocks, the caps aren't thick enough to get a good length of anchor in.


How to easily clean up or refinish cheap top coat on hardwood?

There could be a few different reasons for your situation.  I would lean towards the theory that only one coat of finish, urethane or maybe varnish was applied to a poorly prepared surface.  I'm afraid there is not quick fix to your problem.  I would be looking at stripping and sanding the entire floor, clean away every spec of dust and refinish with at least 3 coats of high grade urethane.  The surface MUST be lightly buff sanded and cleaned between each coat to give you a professional looking finish. It is a lot of work, but the results will be worth it.


How should this light fixture be connected?

When a light fixture has two wires of the same color it usually means that polarity isn't important. However, the ridges/ribs may indicate a neutral. Go with your plan.


How to solve a miswiring of neutral and ground

The ground conductors were probably functioning as your neutral return (just not very well) until you disconnected it at the light.  So not only do you have an open (or high resistance) neutral wire, but you also have too much resistance in a ground wire.  If you've checked all the boxes and terminals for loose connections, you may have a damaged wire in the structure somewhere.  The high resistance will cause heat (and risk of fire) if you continue to use the circuit.  I would probably contact someone who has access to test equipment that can diagnose the actual in-wall wiring.  (like maybe an infrared thermometer to detect a hot spot, or a voltage detector to trace wires in the walls, or at least an ohmmeter)


Can attic insulation be rolled over ductwork?

You can cover the ducts with more insulation -- just make sure to mark where they are, and provide a way for the HVAC tech to access any dampers, etal.

(Sidenote: given your location, an unvented, insulated compact roof could very well be a better bet -- this makes the attic part of the conditioned space, and eliminates the hunt for duct leaks.)


Absolutely not! Although the seam has been sealed with an adhesive and coloring compound, it provides little flexural strength. Despite the back support, and with little to support the span between the left and right side of the countertop, it will easily break, probably with little more than body weight. Again, the "adhesive" is just a waterproof binding agent for colorant to fill the seam and is definitely NOT something to rely on to keep your countertop from breaking! I would at least add support from below using low-profile 4"X 6" angle steel on both sides: bolted to your cabinets and glued to "quartz".


What are small plywood blocks between flooring and drywall edge?

They were probably installation supports or spacers for the drywall or the baseboard trim. You can remove them.


Need help interpreting panel specification

What they mean by this is known as a stab rating

What they mean by "connector" here is the tabs, or "stabs", that stick out from the busbars and make contact with jaws on the breakers.  In other words, each bus stab on your panel can handle a maximum of 125A of load, which can be split however you'd wish across the breaker poles on each side of the stab.

For instance, if you had a 100A 2-pole breaker mounted in the two bottom left spaces, you are limited to 25A on each of the two poles across from it (in the bottom right spaces, in other words), which practically limits you to 15A and 20A circuits as there just isn't that much that runs on a 25A breaker.


This is generally a contract (utility rules) problem

For just about all utilities in the US, what happens if you break a meter seal is governed first and foremost by your utility's service rules.  Typically, the primary punishment for such thing is the utility denying you service; if actual theft of electricity is discovered, they can go further by taking the thief to court.  However, for cases like yours, where a meter needs to be pulled for work, there will be processes in place, either to accept requests for disconnects for scheduleable service, or to allow the breaking of meter seals for emergency work.

For the former, Duke Energy simply has you call their residential customer service line (7AM-9PM EST) and ask them, with 24h notice, of wanting to "drop service" at a specific time, and then have it "re-tapped" when the work's done, as per their page on the topic.  For a true emergency scenario, they also have a procedure by which one can cut the meter seal, then call, but that will require them to come out in person to reseal the meter when done; with modern smart meters, they can drop your service remotely by triggering a disconnect internal to the meter, which makes this sort of request far easier for them to handle.


Is it bad to leave batteries in my cordless tools?

Most drills (all the ones I know about) have a physical switch that connects to a relay that actually completes the circuit that will get the drill to spin (like in this circuit). So unless there is a display or something that requires constant power (like if those LEDS had their own switch) the batteries should hold their charge as long they are chemically able to do so. The NiCad battery may have issues maintaining its charge compared to the LiIon battery but you should not be able to tell the difference after one day. Even though neither of them should be dead after one day.

The LiIon battery may have been close to dead without you noticing since they tend to put out a constant voltage even while at low power levels; however, the NiCad should have showed some signs of being low.

Regarding the weather, NiCad should be able to tolerate the cold fairly well. LiIon on the other hadn can have damage to the cells from really cold temperatures but i've left tools out overnight in freezing weather (0F-10F) many times and once they warmed up a bit they worked fine (ignoring the fact I probably lowered amount of recharge cycles they had left).

All that being said I also think its really unlikely that both batteries/ drills (or any combination of the 4) have issues... So other than the fact you angered the pixies living in your tools by leaving them out in the cold, I would guess the long term storage in a place with large temperature changes shortened the capacity of your batteries.

PS The reason LiIon batteries are stored at roughly 40% capacity is that part of the trade off of being able to have a bunch of small charge cycles going up and down a lot (like cell phones) is the fact they don't do too well at the extremes (0% & 100%) because one way chemical changes are more likely to happen (lowering their capacity and cycle life).


When buying a rental home after many years of our occupancy, is a home inspection still necessary?

Yes, unless you are an inspector yourself. Inspections often catch things owners don't know about. The owner may have maintained it meticulously, but he can only fix the problems he knows about. My home inspector caught a few safety issues like pitch of the exhaust from the water heater and a sharp edge around a flexible gas line in the fireplace. You should also plan on the house being inspected when you eventually try to sell it to someone. Inspections aren't expensive, but they can catch expensive issues. Mine noted the condition of some of the windows was poor and I was able to negotiate $2k off the selling price. When you have a home inspection, it gives you the power to negotiate a better deal for yourself.

As far as what level of inspection to get, I wouldn't hesitate to spend up to $200. So whatever that gets you, but that's just my opinion.

Since it is a condo, I'd also be concerned about the health of the condo association's finances. Is the roof on the building 20 years old? Have they collected and saved enough money to re-roof the structure or will they require an extra $15,000 from everyone next year?


Shower stall leaking water in the corner

In your third picture there is still a small crack right next to the door track. That corner will do a great job of catching water and letting seep down the wall. Caulk is better to use when changing plane. The caulk on the floor is starting to separate.


A "regular" dimmer, when used on a fan, will slow the fan to whatever setting is selected. This is awesome except for the fact that most settings will set up a very unpleasant harmonic thrumming sound. That's why a "fan speed controller" will have 3 distinct settings on it that match precisely with the 3 distinct settings you get by pulling the fan control chain on the fan itself.
You can do this, but you probably won't be happy with the results.
Instead, what you'll probably need to do is find a remote control dimmer that can be installed in the light housing and will control the dimming from the remote. You would want to find a system where either

the remote/receivers are programmable/pairable, or
there's one remote and 3 receivers, or
any remote will control any receiver

You would install the receivers in each fan, then use the one remote to control them all. You'd still have master control by flipping the switch on the wall to turn them all off/on (to the last brightness setting selected by the remote, assuming it has a "memory" function).


How to repair pierced refrigerant line in chest freezer?

If you're going to pay and HVAC tech to refill the system for you, then why not have them do the copper repair, too? But why an HVAC tech? Call a refrigerator repair company.


Is it OK to mount outdoor electrical outlet box to deck trim board?

As long as you can secure the box rigidly to the trim board in accordance with the box's listing and the trim board itself isn't flopping in the breeze, you have it made according to 314.23(A):

  (A) Surface Mounting. An enclosure mounted on a building or other surface shall be rigidly and securely fastened in place. If the surface does not provide rigid and secure support, additional support in accordance with other provisions of this section shall be provided.


The change is we are regulated in some cities and or states to energy star requirements, if I put in a massive system I can get in trouble, not true in all areas but this may be why. Can you have a split added to make 1 room a “freezer” sure.
Call your local HVAC company and tell them you want a split in your room that you want cold, tell them you have poor insulation and how many square feet and the number and size of the windows, and ask what is the size unit needed to really cool this room down (some controllers are limited to 68f) and let them know what your desired temp is for this room, if they can do it they would love the work, that or you get a massive window unit and put some insulation on the temp probe. That’s kind of how I made a walk in cooler in my garage using a portable ac unit.


Those aren't termite tubes. I am pretty sure they are moth larva cases. Here's another example of one. There's lots more kinds if you do an image search.

We had them on the outside of my home in CT growing up. That was aluminum siding so they weren't eating it.


What could cause a Trane furnace to not start heating?

I have the same issue... I did the filter change, checked all the thermoswitches then it worked for a few hours then no heat LED flashing 4 times. Then I measured the voltage from the 24V transformer and the voltage would vary from 11V to 19V max. Replace transformer and furnace is working perfectly.


Coiled copper wire around 15a power cable for AC

What you have there is basically a transformer. There would have to be some voltage induced in the copper conductor, but across only a couple turns of the paracord (the width of an infant's mouth) the voltage would have to be quite minimal because 1) the paracord is wrapped around both hot and neutral so the magnetic field will be near zero and 2) the distance between the paracord and the conductors in the power cord is relatively large. There doesn't appear to be an increase of risk of fire or damage to the power cable on account of the paracord being wound around it.

Unless the infant makes quite a routine of it or bites very hard, I'd guess he's unlikely to pierce the insulation on the power cord anyway.

You could consider treating the cord in some other way if you desired:

apply something bitter/unpleasant but relatively non-toxic to the cord as a deterrent: soap, or water with a heavy dose of salt or hot pepper powder mixed in
some other physical protection: make a sheath by splitting a few feet of vinyl tube obtained from a local plumbing store, use split loom tubing, etc
place furniture, a box, or other object to obstruct/conceal the cord until the child finds interest in teething on some other thing


intermittent compressor on elderly dual-fuel heat pump

The capacitor adds a boost for the initial startup of the compressor and fan. It can sometimes intermittently fail before going bad entirety. The only way to know for sure is to pull it out and test with a multimeter, comparing with the rating on the side. This can be risky since it is a high voltage device and you might not have a working disconnect (make sure it is actually off, since some installers cheat by bypassing it).

Beyond that, this is very doable for a DIY. Just be careful.


How should I deal with a full ground bus bar in an electrical panel?

Seeing that this is your main panel the ground bar, neutral bar and the metal of panel should be bounded, usually with a bonding screw, in some way. So putting the new ground wires on the neutral bar is okay. Now with that said,  if you don't want to do that, why not add another ground bar if you have the space?  If you look at the sides, top or bottom of the panel you may see holes (with a ground symbol) for another ground bar to screw down to. If you see this turn off the power and add the bar.


How much insulation? What size are the framing members in the floor?

1953 house, unless it has already been updated, is probably in desperate need of more attic insulation. That will cost you money all year, every year until it's done.

Any house, plywood on top of the insulation will compress the insulation and cause it to lose effectiveness if the insulation is thicker than the framing members. And barring a few things you won't likely find in a 1953 house, the insulation probably should be thicker (potentially quite a lot thicker) than the framing members.

Finally, an attic that was built as insulation-only, no floor may not be up to carrying much, if any storage load. Your "ton" of storage may come down on your head.


Plumbing - Particles / Debris In Faucets and Toilets - Water Softener Going Bad?

No disrespect to you or your plumber, but I would be suspicious of any person who is able to predict the demise of an appliance by reading mineral andiron deposits in an aerator screen. It is common after replacing a water heating tank (or doing any work on the plumbing) for debris such as hard water minerals, silt and bits of metal and rust to break free and "go with the flow" (as it were). Their final resting place is the faucets aerator screen. Of course, my assessment is based on what information you posted. If you could include the model and how long it has been in use I could offer a more insightful answer.


How can I get my ceiling fan lights working again?

There should be black, white and green (or bare) wires at the fan.

The green or bare connects to all metal work-box and/or green screws.

The white, neutral connects to the fan white and the light white.

The black goes to the light via any switch it may have.


Are ultrasonic ant repellents effective?

Not sure about how effective they are specifically on ants -- but I do know one major drawback with these devices: they don't work around corners or behind objects.  In other words, they are line of sight only.  If the ants are behind cabinets, appliances, in the walls, etc, these devices won't work.

My own approach to this issue has been to use pesticide in the yard so they don't get into the house in the first place.  That, and I try to make sure the house is clean (floors vacuumed, counters wiped, food in sealed containers, etc).


Does a run of 1000 feet of CAT6 line need to be in conduit?

To directly answer your question, there is direct bury ethernet cable. You would probably want to go at least 18" deep with it. But there is still a chance it will break, and then you'll be replacing the whole run, so it might make sense to place it in conduit right away to make future replacement easier.
However, the real issue is that 1000 ft is much too long for Ethernet to work properly. For CAT6 cable, the general limit is about 300 ft, which can probably pushed a little, but not 3x as long. In your case, the best best would be to either run fiber optic cable, coax, or use a wireless bridge. There are some reasonable options available for either of those. Fiber is not trivial to install unless you get pre-terminated cable. For either fiber or coax, you would need some sort of converter at either end. The wireless link would probably be easier. Wireless would also require devices at each end to convert wired/wireless. All options would require electricity at the end points.


Correcting Electrical Subpanel With Two Unsheathed Hots Going Back To Main Panel

This thing is a disaster at so many levels.  First let's tackle the instant (immediate) case.

The fundamental rules being broken here are that: every hot must travel in the same cable with its partner neutral, hots cannot use neutrals from different circuits, and hot, neutral and ground must be sourced from the same (sub)panel. **

There are two radically different approaches to fixing this, assuming the main panel is full.  Both of them involve a favorite trick of mine: putting a large steel junction box smewhere appropriate (usually quite near near the panel, with a <2' short run of EMT conduit into the panel).   Site the junction box so all the cables can make it with their existing length.

Approach 1, pull the 2 circuits in question out of the main panel, and terminate them in this junction box.   Then, double back from the subpanel with two runs of /2 Romex of appropriate AWG, bringing that also to the junction box.  Splice their hot-neutral-ground all separate, except for grounds which can be a big clump with a ground pigtail from the junction box.  The junction box is now the subpanel's grounding system, but it doesn't matter if the EMT also provides a grounding path, since you also grounded the subpanel.**

approach 2: find two other circuits or one 240V circuit now landed in the main panel, which lend themselves to be  easily rerouted to the subpanel.   Again you can use an intermediate junction box, but the box must remain accessible.  Now, with two breaker spots freed in the main panel, move your two problem circuits back to the main panel.

Other stuff

On the subpanel, you see that Romex flopping around wingle-wangly.  Nope.  Staple that stuff properly, find a way to use any extra length or shorten it in the panel**, and if its already too short, either put some lumber there for it to run along, or junction box/splice/extension.

**Related, your subpanel does not have a ground nor ground-neutral separation, but that's a pretty easy fix.  Buy and install two ground bars that are correct for that panel (get these at a REAL electrical supply house which sells that panel type, GE Q line?) one at the top, one at the bottom, so all the ground wires will reach. Move 'em to the ground bars.  Remove any neutral-ground bonding straps or green screws on the neutral rail.  Then, get some probably #4 bare ground wire and run it from the main panel to the sub.  It is legal to retrofit grounds in this way.  There may be a way to weasel out of this using Code grandfathering, but it's easy and cheap to do it, using the routing the blacks are now using.   The dusty old neutral bar and shiny new ground bar will impress the inspector.


How do I go about framing a half wall into a full wall?

If you were to just frame up the current opening above the half wall, you're going to run in to problems with the wall flexing, possibly cracking the drywall.

Therefore, at a minimum, I would put at least a doubled-up stud at the end of the half-wall that runs from the floor to the ceiling. (But first remove drywall and trim from the end and top of the half-wall.)  The floor-to-ceiling double stud will resist the flexing. Then you just fill in the opening with a header, footer and studs; hang some drywall; and patch and paint.

However, to do it "right" you would remove the half-wall and just frame in a new wall using traditional building methods.

Personally, I would choose the right way. It's probably not much difference in effort and price and you end up with a more standard finished product.


Nope, you need to re-prime.

That's why care while sanding is a good idea, and that's also why it's very common to prime 2 or more coats.  Honestly it's almost inevitable to blow through the first coat on sanding; this is just you exposing the high spots.

Leveling is one goal of priming; you're using the primer essentially as a filler to fill the low spots.

As you get the surface more the way you want, switch to finer sandpaper and less pressure.


electrical range - oven temperature not set

The oven control problem could be either the temperature sensor or the thermostat.

In the case of the temp sensor the heat control system looking for an input from the sensor to indicate that the oven is heating up will never get that indication from a broken sensor. It will thus keep heating away with continued hope to get a reaction out of the temp sensor.

In the case of the thermostat the control mechanism may be broken in an number of ways depending upon the type of control that it is. Some thermostats use direct electrical contacts to gate power to the heating element and these contacts can sometimes arc and weld shut causing power to be continuously applied to the heating element. Another thing is that some thermostats use a flexible metal strip as part of their mechanism that responds to temperature or pressure. These flex with usage and can eventually fatigue to the point of no longer moving.

In both cases the faulty part would need to be replaced. You may find it advisable to replace both, particularly if the oven unit is quite old.


Make outlet controlled by switch, constant hot

Normally the wire colors in cable distinguish the wires in the cable and absolutely do not indicate wire function.

However in your case there appears to be a happy accident. It looks like every white wire is neutral, every black wire is always-hot, and every red wire is switched-hot.  Even happier, these are the preferred color codes for those functions.

That makes this super easy.

You don't want to use switched-hot anywhere in the photographed areas, so simply cap it off on both ends.
You will not be using the switch.
The always-hots get connected to each other and also to everywhere always-hots go, i.e. Brass screws on receptacles.
Neutrals likewise (silver screws).

Next time, a couple things.  First don't take everything apart like this. Remove  only the wires which were attached to the device, and take pix first.  I get the impulse, but we call this "trying to learn electrical by dismantling your house".  Won't work, it is very inefficient and will give swiss cheese knowledge (as will Google) - instead, get a book on home electrical and read it cover to cover for a well-rounded primer on the subject.

You got lucky, but this can also end at an impasse, having to call an electrician to spend a couple hours sorting/ringing everything out.

Second, stop forcing the screws all the way off.  They are captive screws and you are supposed to stop turning them when they get stiff.  Often the captive screws hold essential parts of the device (e.g. Screw-and-clamps), but in any case you will gore up the fragile brass female threads so they won't hold well or pass current well. Once you've descrewed a rceptacle, throw it in the trash.


How can I drill through rim joist/sheathing for a dryer vent?

Your house is more than likely Balloon Framed. Stick and Platform framing hadn't come into being in 1900. In a balloon-framed house, the studs you see in the basement run all the way up to the roof. The filler material is a concrete mixture that was used as a partial fireblock and also to hold the spacing of the studs.

You can put a hole through the concrete using a 4" coring bit and a coring drill. Google for "coring drills rental" and you find plenty of places that rent them. Your local home center probably does, if they rent tools.


Replacing exterior door sill - making it fit

The rubber thing is called a door sweep and they come in many styles and materials. It's purpose is to seal off the bottom of the door from drafts. The swing orientation and threshold style usually dictate the sweep. Some mount under the door, on the front side and the back side. Bottom sweeps are often a softish D shape with the crest pointing down. Fronts and backs are often a bristle or rubber blade.

Undercutting the door is an option. If it's an exterior wood door undercutting is easy.

Also relocateing the threshold towards inside or outside may help your situation. If you are able to move the threshold to the exterior and put the sweep on the exterior of the door, the door will not need to close over the threshold.


If it turns out that you cannot insulate a cavity, it is possible to insulate either the inside or the outside of the walls.

If you insulate the inside then:

your walls will be "cold", this means that the materials in them will have to survive in whatever conditions you have outside, with much less additional heating from inside the house.
you will lose internal space
you will have to redecorate, move skirting boards, etc.
your windows will be recessed more on the inside.
this kind of insulation will leave cold bridges for example between the floors and where the joists meet the walls, etc.

If you insulate the outside then:

the walls will run "warm" so the materials will be kept near the temperature of the house
the walls remain part of the thermal mass of the heated space which may help you maintain a more consistent temperature inside the house, instead of it getting hot quickly when the heating is on and cool quickly when it is off.
you will have to move any external fixings (drain pipes etc) away from the wall by the amount of the new insulation layer.
your windows will be recessed more on the outside.
the external appearance of your house will be altered (although there are many finishes available, including brick veneers).
good at eliminating most cold bridges as you can cover the whole surface of the house in a continuous layer (apart from penetration by pipes, windows, etc).

In addition to thinking about how much insulation you will need and where to put it, you should also consider moisture control. Adding additional insulation anywhere will move the dew point (the temperature at which the water in the air in your house will condense), this could lead to condensation forming within the wall (interstitial condensation) and may require a vapour barrier, more/less insulation, additional ventilation, or for you to ensure that the wall can "breath" so that it can dry out when the conditions alter.


When making kitchen cabinet doors out of plywood, what details will impact the final product?

Your main concern is the wood warping. I've used plywood for cabinet doors in the past and they have all warped to one degree or another.

Your best bet might be getting marine ply which is designed to withstand moisture and hence less liable to warping.

If you can get a thicker ply (7 or 9 ply perhaps) then this will also minimise the amount it will bend.


Best shoes for walking on a standing seam metal roof?

What you did was fine for the task at hand. A good sneaker/trainer is all you need, but yes, ANY moisture and you can go for a ride easily with little chance of stopping before the ground.

Metal roofs can be spooky.


The flue is just a duct, either plastic or metal, so you could create your own offset using standard fittings for the given diameter. If it's a plastic flue you can box it in. If you want an exposed metal flue you could ask someone to weld one.

You can also get flexible concertina-type flues, both metal and plastic. Not as nice to look at nor as efficient as a smooth flue but they might work for you.


What is this glue layer on top of the slate stone flooring?

The mesh was a heat activated glue strip to join carpet usually found at doorways and if the room was wider than the roll 2 pieces are butted together and a iron that heats the glue and carpet is used to melt the glue and make a seam. Some of the heated glue sticks to the floor but it is used for the splice. Most places use 4" wide but I prefer 6" as it holds better.  This stuff releases with heat a heat gun is what I use but a hair dryer on high heat low air flow may be hot enough. A razor scraper will shave and left over glue, and a bit of heat makes it softer (think hot glue gun) for the type of glue used.


You're on the outside of the door, and given both the unlock mechanism appears to not be working, and the "credit card" method don't work, here's another option: remove the hinge pins and take the whole door off.

You just need a hammer and a screw driver (or nail punch, or nail, or something similar) and then push the hinge up from the bottom. You'll probably want a second person to help just in case the door falls over while you're working at the hinges.


Removing Pool Stairs From In Ground Pool

There's a metal tube set in the deck that the stairs drop into, the bolts push a metal wedge against the stairs to keep them in place. Your problem is most likely bits of sand/dirt/stone dust have gotten in there and are acting as a bunch of tiny wedges. Hours of sunlight can cause the stairs to expand slightly aggravating the situation.

A good first step is running a hose or dumping a couple of buckets of water from the pool over the connectors. The water will solve any heat problems while hopefully flushing enough junk out of the hole to free the stairs.

If that doesn't work then tapping on the stairs to dislodge or crush the trapped grits should. You don't want to use a hammer though, because it risks marring the finish. Use a rubber mallet if you have one, or a block of wood between the hammer and stairs.

A short length of 2x4 works well if you have one. You're a lot less likely to mar the finish tapping on the stairs with that than a hammer. As an added bonus if the tapping doesn't work you can slip it beneath the curves at the top and jerk straight up.

FYI the bolts are threaded into pawls which compress against the stairs when you tighten the bolts. After removing the stairs you'll want to thread the bolts back into the metal piece which is loose in the hole so you can put the stairs back in the spring.


You haven't said what the foundation (referred to as a "beam") is built of. A poured foundation can span gaps of several feet temporarily. A block foundation may be supported by adequately reinforced footings. A temporary beam carrying some of the load on the floor joists could also be employed.

As to how... a shovel. Despite our many evolutionary regressions due to over-
abundant modern conveniences, we're still able to grasp and manipulate simple tools fairly effectively.

It's also possible that a backhoe could cut in from outside the foundation and bore underneath.


One Flickering LED Bulb On Switch with 4 Bulbs

This is not necessarily an answer as to exactly why the flickering was occurring, but I replaced the "Eveready" bulbs with nearly equivalent Amazon Basic bulbs and there is no flickering. As was suggested above, I also suspect that these bulbs are not genuine Eveready. Either way I'm returning them.


How do I safely get glue off of wood that's to be stained?

Mineral spirits should work.  If not, I would use Goof Off (or similiar).  There's lots of glue solvents, and wood glue should be pretty easy for any of them to handle.  I think it would dissolve right off, but I'd probably test it on any scrap red oak you have just to make sure it doesn't discolor.

Cotton may work, but I wouldn't be afraid to use a fine steel wool here, probably 000 like you would use for finishing polyurethane.


Toilet water input tube getting dislodged

Unfortunately, there's no separate replacement clip nor specific hose. Of course, yours doesn't use a clip anyway and would only be included with a whole new fill valve assembly.

But, you may be able to remove the hose and take it to the Hardware, Automotive or Aquarium store for a replacement...a tiny bit thicker or fatter is ideal. Just be careful, you're dealing with that plastic garbage and aged plastic can snap.

Otherwise, with your situation. I've done very well with a 1/4" or more length of drinking straw, some fine sandpaper, tinfoil or just tape wrapped around the end of the hose. It makes for a much snugger fit for the hose to be re-secured in its hole.


Does a 4x8 sheet of 1/4'' pegboard need support across the middle of the board?

The board should hold the weight you describe vertically. The board will probably bow a little bit naturally even without tools on it.  I would add the extra stud because it's cheap, easy, and better to do things right the first time.

I think 2" x 4" studs are a bit over-kill here.  You could probably use 2" x 2" boards to make it lighter (easier to mount) and not stick out from the wall so much.

Pre-drill all your screw holes.  If you try and screw into it near the edges without pre-drilling, the board could tear.  That sounds bad; it really isn't, just looks noticeable.


Good technique for squaring-up hardwood edges?

You don't say what saw you used to cut the wood, but if you use a tenon saw you should get a cleaner cut in the first place that requires less sanding. This is because the saw has finer teeth for a smoother cut and a stiffening spine that means you get a straighter cut.

Clamping a second piece of wood to use as a guide is another alternative.

Alternatively you could use a plane to remove the excess wood - but make sure that you clamp a piece of scrap wood to the end of the plank to avoid it splitting:

------> direction of plane
+---------+---+
|         |   |
|    ^    |   | <- Scrap
|    |    |   |
|    |    |   |
  direction of grain


Is it possible to convert a two light circuit into a four light circuit (one switch)?

The circuit you are talking about is probably rated at 15-Amps.  The electric math looks like this:  15 (amps) x 120 (volts) = 1800-watts.  It is always a good idea to derate your circuit at by 80%.  (This gives you a margin of safety.)  1800 x 80% = 1440-watts. All things being equal you can install this kind of wattage on this circuit.  It doesn't really matter how you do it.


Warning, U.S. English ahead.  What you purchased would be known as a "nipple", which is a short piece of pipe with male threads on both ends.  You wanted a "coupler" which has female threads on both ends.  I'm not sure if nipple and coupler are used outside of the U.S., but they have specific meanings here.

However, a threaded coupler will normally only work when the piece you are connected can be screwed in (like connecting two straight pipes).  Since the valve you are connecting too looks like it's connected to the shower unit, you're not going to be able to rotate it around in place to screw it into the elbow in the wall.

What you really need is called a "union", and looks like this:

The two ends of the union can be separated and screwed onto the elbow and valve separately.  Then, the large "nut" in the center is used to join the two halves without rotating either end.


What are possibilities of balancing 3-phase consumption?

Instead of rerouting load, intelligently adding home-made power production is the future.
Disconnection of something with a cpu in it (everything beside a hot iron)is a bad idea.

In Europe, where even the smallest villages have 3-phase connection to every home, solar panels with LiIon buffer battery are hot. A 100W panel is ~300€ all inclusive. The DIY part would be the intelligently giving the selfmade power to the most loaded phase and only when it's assymetriccaly.

A friend did that with a small river generator in order to save penalty from the power supply company.


Tile should never be placed directly onto wood, especially in a wet area like a bathroom. The wood expands and contracts. You will have some nasty cracks in the grout and the tile will probably come loose. Make them rip that back out and do it right.


The first piece of information you will want to know is the power requirements of the heater. It is common for an electric "personal" heater to be about 1500 watts, which is also a very good figure for a blowing-type hand-held hair-dryer.

Rough calculation means that 1500 watts on a 110 volt home system in the USA will draw about 15 amperes of current.

For this application, it is a good idea to have a dedicated circuit for the outlet that will provide power and use wiring and a breaker appropriate for 20 ampere current. Circuits are typically designed for eighty percent capacity. A twenty amp circuit would then provide safely sixteen amperes for the heater, but would have no reserve capacity.

No GFCI may not be a problem if you have no water contact involved (sheltered area?) but code may require otherwise.

You suggest that the heater will be on continuously, but a 1500 watt heater will generate enough heat that it is likely to cycle on and off to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Note also that many of these heaters will have low-grade power cords which may get hot and pose sufficient risk, regardless of the other portions of the circuit.

Designs such as the one pictured above will also have tip-off safety switches, although contact with oil-filled heaters are not as serious as contact with exposed resistance element type heaters.


This looks like someone didn't want to cut tile to do the job right. I'm not sure the skirting material is even being used correctly. Yes, you could use white silicone caulk on both edges and seal up that corner but it would still look bad. If this was my tub, I'd pull all that skirting out or using a utility knife cut it out. Clean all the surfaces and scrape off any old caulk. Then get a bunch of 2"x 6" pieces of bullnose tile and make a border around the tub, fastening them to the wall with silicone caulk or some other adhesive within 1/8" of the tub. If planned  right, you could get two bullnosed corners and take the border down to the floor. Then caulk with a white silicone caulk all around the tub, all around the top of the border and in the vertical spaces between the tiles where you would normally grout.

This actually sounds like more work than it is. It takes some planning and you'd have to decide on the border color but afterwards you'd be glad you did it.


Kenmore 465 Stove / Range with range missing a pipe and insulation exposed?

I'm unsure how to proceed

First find the make and model number of the range.
Next, Use the internet to search for the make and model of the range to see if you can find a service manual or user manual in order to see if there is a diagram of the parts. If you can find the name of the part then you will be able to search the internet for an appliance parts web store.
If there is an experienced appliance repair shop in your area they may be able to tell you the name of the part or even order it for you if you can give them the make and model of the range.


How do I improve specific gravity in a 4 year old battery

In most cases, take it on a trip to the recycling center, or trade it in to be recycled when you buy the replacement. Lead acid batteries are a consumable item in solar service, and more so if the solar service is poorly managed such that they are not brought to full charge, or are over-discharged on a regular basis. They are a finicky and fickle part of the system, but less costly than batteries that are more tolerant of imperfect operating conditions.

You can charge the heck out of it, but it's probably past saving that way. You may be thinking "I can just add acid" but that does not actually work since the problem is not lack of acid, but where that acid has gone, chemically. Add sufficient distilled water, only, but I very much doubt you'll bring it back from the grave.


How to control system with 2 condersors+evaporators and 1 blower

This is an unusual setup, it would help to know more about what you're trying to accomplish.

There are a few scenarios that I can imagine:

You've mis-wired something
Your thermostats have the Blower and Cool terminals connected together. -- In this scenario, when either Thermostat energizes the compressor and blower, then other compressor would also be energized through this shared connection.   You could use relays to isolate the blower (the thermostat energizes the relay, which in turn energizes the blower).  This doesn't seem likely, as that would preclude the use of a fan-only setting.
If your aim is to create a 2-stage system, where the second compressor kicks in if the first one isn't providing adequate cooling, you may be able to connect the power on the second thermostat to the compressor lead from the first thermostat, this would engage the second compressor only if the first is already engaged AND the second thermostat is calling for cool; in this case, the second thermostat would not need a connection to the blower as it would already be on from the first thermostat's call.


How can I prepare a wall for reasonably heavy tiles in a shower area?

A membrane (whether thin sheet or liquid) applied over the backerboard, is a vastly superior means of waterproofing,  This is because it sits immediately under the tile, as opposed to behind the backer.

Red Guard and HydroBan are some liquid membranes and Kerdi and NobleFlex are thin sheet membranes.


How to attach wall on top of french drain in basement?

Use construction adhesive and the occasional drilled fastener, such as concrete screws or plastic plug nails.


grouting or caulking? bottom of tiled wall at tub rim

Caulking always! Fill the tub 50% with water and caulk it. Allow the caulking to dry then drain the tub. If you caulk with no water in the tub poly, fiberglass and composite tubs stretch and tear the caulk when filled. Cast tubs are usually solid enough to not make a difference.


I think the Liquid nails adhesive you have may be the basic interior grade. Take a look at the PL urethane adhesives, ie: PL200, PL400 etc. I don't have the specs in front of me, but I think you will find one that will perform OK in lower temps. Obviously, you may need to pick a nice sunny day, keep your new planking material inside and warm  until you are just ready to set it in place. What is the reason you can't use some 16 or 18 Ga finish nails or small diameter finish screws to secure the planks? If you have access under the planks there are some good screw type systems that will attach to joists and screw up from the bottom into your new decking.


What is the proper way to convert a pair of three-way (SPDT) switches into a single two-way (SPST) switch?

Use a smart switch capable of supporting a wireless remote, so when the AHJ flags you for failing to have requisite switches, you can just glue a wireless to the wall.

Black and white are currently travelers.  The red is switched-hot, which is awesome because it'll stay that.

Re-task black to be always-hot, by moving it in box A to the always-hot bundle on the wire nut.

Re-task white to be neutral, by moving it in box A to the same bundle of all-whites that the lamp uses.

At this point there are no wires on the upper switch in the duplex switch. Convert to a single switch.

Now install the smart switch in box "B".


Replacing a dimmer out of a 2 gang switch

Its very common to split or chain light circuits in parallel. Outlets too.

If you wanted to be quick about it, turn off circuit breaker, cut and strip those two wires that are comming out of the dimmer, and screw them to the brass terminals on the new switch. Btw, you can remove the green screw since its not used in this class of wiring. I would take re-tighten any wire nut splices so that there is no copper wire showing, Looks like the one in the picture needs to be redone.

In some areas, the feed wires are not labeled, so when I see one like this white wire used as a feed (power, instead of common) I mark it with a black marker.

btw, they do make led lights that are compatible with dimmers.


Put it back, call the landlord

Two things are true anytime electrical work is done on an apartment.

The work must be done by an electrician with an actual license.
The landlord must give permission for the work to be done.

The landlord doesn't have a choice, the electricians only rule is not waivable.   And any smart landlord catching someone working on electrical would evict them and charge them to have their electrician inspect/fix everything in the apartment. All pre-existing faults would be blamed on your tampering, and what could you say?

One thing about electricians is they have the tools and know-how to "ring out" wires. They can find out where the wires go, and if they are broken.

That's the first thing I would think he would do, identify wires and cables.  Not a simple or easy job.

But this isn't going to work; him working the problem and you looking over his shoulder and asking us. You won't be able to give us the information specific enough to solve the problem, so it will amount to commisseration, and that's better done with friends.   Second, where would this go?  If you look over his shoulder and say to him "try ringing out the travelers", he may have some questions about where that came from.

Really, the person who is actually working the problem should be asking such questions, and you may have heard this too often in your life but in this case, you are better off leaving that to a licensed electrician owing to the "electricians only" law.


how strong is 4x6 Pressure Treated wood laid flat on top of drain rock?

Where I live this is a standard way of building short retaining walls for small garden plots.  1/2" or 5/8" rebar at least 2 feet into the ground every 3/4 feet.  pack the gravel and if it's deep you may need longer rebar.  Large drain rock can be very hard to pound through.  Usually it's not necessary, but you can put a point on the rebar by cutting it with an angle grinder.  Pre drill the wood ties with an augur bit for a good pressure fit.


What type of squeegee should I use when oiling a floor?

It's the type of rubber you use for the blade.

Neoprene or Viton will not dissolve in oil. We used a heavier form of Neoprene squeegee for cleanup after mopping the garage floor to remove oil and grease in our automotive shop. Squeegee'd floors dry a lot quicker.

It's necessary to use an oil resistant synthetic rubber compound for the squeegee blade in this instance, especially if this substance has mineral oil or paint thinner as an additive. Petroleum and natural rubbers don't mix.

So window squeegees which often are natural rubber or a mix of synthetic and natural rubber are definitely out. They work extremely well on windows, just not for situations where oils are present.


Your plan is solid and well thought out in my opinion.
The one thing that may give you problems with GFCI receptacles is wire fill and box size. GFCI receptacles are big and sometimes a real bugger to get in some locations just be aware of this but I prefer GFCI’s locally even when they are tight.
You don’t have to pull a ground for every circuit back to the service panel you can run 1 ground from the panel to a central location and splice other grounds from there to your receptacles, this method is allowed as long as the circuits all come from the same panel. This is a fairly new change and makes running new grounds much easier.
Replacing the wire is it needed? I have worked on much older homes that the old cloth was in surprisingly good shape, where we run into issues many times is the service panel or lack of a modern panel.
There are some panels I will only remove there are a couple of brands like FPE stablock (federal pacific) another brand Zinsco if in good shape I recommend replacement but will still work on these. Anything with screw in fuses I recommend upgrading to a modern panel and other panels that the companies went out of business and we cannot get GFCI or AFCI breakers.
So if your wiring is in good condition is it required to be replaced? The answer is no knob and tube wiring is still allowed but if you can afford it it can be just as easy in many cases to pull new wire compared to just a ground wire.
If the wiring is in poor shape electricians have ways of working with it but trying to keep from pulling new wire thinking that will save $ cost more in time.
If you can find a electrician that is good with replacing old wiring you may find only small patches are need at mid wall or that’s what I do to minimize the patching and that may be needed to bring the grounds to the circuits with surge protection.
If you can post clear photos of your service panel we can advise you on that also.


Convert line voltage heating system to use low voltage thermostats

The device you linked to will work. You are essentially converting to a SPST "thermostat" from your current DPST thermostat. Some people feel a SPST thermostat is dangerous because the heating device is always connected to a hot leg of the power mains. Both legs are disconnected with a DPST device. Yet this SPST practice is common and acceptable in many jurisdictions. It's quite safe, there is no way to contact energized components in a proper installation. And when the heat is on, all components are energized under either system, and yet it's still safe.

The only conceivable danger is if someone assumes it is a DPST system and foolishly attempts to work on the heater without turning off the power at the breakers. If you're OK with this marginal increase in risk, check with your local building authority, ask them if you can use a single pole line thermostat on a 240 volt (assuming US/Canada voltage system) resistive heater. The remaining details aren't pertinent.

If all is OK, the device's installation instructions are fairly clear on how to hook up both 2 and 3 wire low voltage thermostats. Just ensure you order the correct device for your heater's voltage and power or current rating. To be safe, the device rating should be 125% more than your heater's actual power or current draw.

If you or your building authority do not like SPST type installations, you should be able to find a similar relay that is DPST, even if you have to supply the transformer separately. Any possible solution will certainly involve some combination of transformer and relay, it's just a question of packaging and proper ratings.


How can I seal this hanging electrical outlet in my horse barn?

Silicone caulk works wonders in all kinds of situations. The screws that are missing to hold all parts together can usually be replaced at any Home Depot or electrical supply store for just a few cents per ea. The hanging outlet box I have seen used several times in barns, however if a 2 by 4 can be attached to a  ceiling crossbeam and placed perpendicular to those beams it will offer more stability to the box and wiring. It can be installed high-up still rendering it useful and out of the way of any horses but will provide more stability to the whole thing.


Windows typically have 2 or more studs on each side. Use a stud finder to ensure you are installing on a stud, then predrill with a bit slightly smaller than the solid part of the screw (not the threads themselves).

You can put a little soap on the threads of the screw if you want to try to make them easier to install, but I would focus on maintaining pressure and keeping the drill in perfect alignment with the screw. A skipping bit typically indicates that you aren't properly lined up with the screw. Also note that drill bits do wear out over time, particularly if you are skipping them on the screw head a lot, so it could be time for a new one.

See also:

What is the best technique for using a drill to insert screws?

When pre-drilling for screws, how do you determine the correct bit diameter?


How do I seperate three lights from 1 switch?

The only way you could do this, is if the wires feeding each light came all the way back to the switch. Which is not a common wiring method, so not a likely situation.

In any case, without more information, a more accurate answer cannot be provided.


The thermostat cable could have been pulled loose or broken at some point.  When the thermostat is turned on, it should supply voltage to a relay on the AC unit and that normally makes an audible "click".  Checking the voltage on the thermostat wires leading to that relay should show 24vac (alternating current).

If there is no voltage, you can check the wire for breaks along it's path.  Because it is low-voltage, it doesn't have the same rules on splices and how its run as the main electrical wiring so it can get damaged more easily.  An existing splice could have been pulled loose.


If the clothes  dryer (possibly Kenmore Elite) was included in the sale it may be the shelf unit that allows you to dry sneakers without them banging.


Every stick built house has mold of some type. I have worked in construction since the 70’s and well as a gopher 60’s , I currently work in a lumber mill , the boards are sprayed with a fungicide , plywood when I worked in that plant I could not believe how fast the “mushrooms” and other fungus grew on the edges of the veneer prior to being assembled. So don’t panic , proper ventilation is needed, high moisture can cause mold growth even with concrete structure. If there is real mold issues up there make sure soffit vents are clear and a ridge vent is clear I have not seen many metal vents get plugged but it can happen.


How do I remove teak oil from a granite kitchen counter top?

Definitely acetone. You can buy acetone at any hardware store. Get an ace bandage and soak the acetone in a bowl in the sink. Do not ring it out, and place it over the stain spreading it out to completely cover the stain. Pull saran wrap over the gauze with plenty extra to secure the gauze so the acetone will not evaporate. Leave it on for a couple days. Easy and it works. You can use anything that absorbs from gauze to a old cotton shirt. Acetone will evaporate fast so that is why you cover it with the saran.


Why does my Central A/C Keeps Blowing its Fuse?

Long-term darkening of a fuse on a high-draw circuit like an AC is not unusual. However, darkening as quickly as you have described means the fuse is operating right at its limit for too long.

The first thing I would do is call an electrician and have the fuse replaced with a breaker. At least that way you don't have to touch a hot fuse to replace it. They may also find a problem with the wiring (corrosion or a break) that could explain your problem.

Next is I would buy/borrow a multimeter that has an amp clamp on it. Measure the current used by various parts of your system (blower motor, compressor, condenser fan) as well as the main power feed to find out how much current you are pulling. This may help you identify which component is causing the problem.


How can I paint inside corners of textured walls at the ceiling or baseboard?

Use a paint shield as pictured below and an Angled brush as mentioned in your link you should get your desired effect - straight clean lines.


There should be a couple of threaded rods that are screwed into the body of the tap and stick out about an inch, pointing the same direction as the hoses. There should then be a rubber washer and a steel washer in a horseshoe shape with a couple of holes in them that slide onto the threaded rods from underneath the sink. When you tighten a nut on each of the rods, the washer clamps the tap onto the sink.

If yours are missing, you might search for a "monobloc tap fixing kit". Here's an example for illustration but you'll need to make sure you get one that fits your tap.


If three corners match but the fourth is off like you describe then it means that either the door jamb is not a vertical flat plane of that the door itself is warped. It is most likely to be the door because presumably at one time the installation of the door frame/jamb and the door matched up.

The most normal fix for a warped door like this is to replace it with a new one. And if you are going into that level of work it is totally a good idea to carefully evaluate if the door jamb should be replaced at the same time. Sometimes a new door will fit and work better with a new jamb because the opening can be cleared out all way to the rough opening framing. Then the new jamb can be properly plumbed, checked for square and shimmed on installation.

If an old door is a particularly unique period piece that you would like to try to preserve it may be that it could be worked on to eliminate warpage. This can be labor intensive and end in no hope for recovery if the wood of the door styles is already twisted. On the other hand an antique door may have come apart in the joints and allow the door parts to move around. In this case it may be possible to strip the whole thing back to bare wood and see if it is possible to re-glue the joints. Sometimes this can also be achieved by attaching surface mounted brass plates on both sides of the door at the bottom or top.


3-way switch for light with fan controlled by switch built into fan. Odd wiring layout. Wiring assistance required

I think I get what you're describing. You need to get switched power from the living 3-ways back through the common box and bathroom box on to the fan/light in the living room, all the while powering bath and dining lights as well as the fan, all with only 14-3 cables between boxes.

I think where you are going wrong is supplying power to bath and dining using the red conductors from the common box, because the black is for the living room power. You don't need to do this, they are all on the same circuit. Use black as common power to all switches and fan. The red is then free to be used to run switched power through all the boxes to the living light. And except for the switched white, all neutral whites tie together. Do not ever connect switched power white to neutral whites. Instant short circuit once any switch is on!

In the dining/living 3way switches box, black from common box to common of BOTH 3-way switches. Travelers OK as connected. Switched living white to red from common box.

In common box, connect all like colors together.

In bath box, connect all like colors together. Pigtail from black to bath switch.

In living room. Black to fan power. Red (switched) to light power. White to common neutral.


LED landscape lighting. Adding one more fixture causing all to strobe

You are overloading the power supply.  The problem is, low voltage systems are susceptible to voltage drop over long distances -- and your LED lights have an ability to compensate for voltage drop by drawing more current.

The fact that you said "transformer" says you're dealing with a low voltage system.  It's actually an electronic power supply, because it's crowbar'ing - a protective circuit is shutting it down and then restarting/reclosing.  That is the blinking.    Generally those are either 12V or 24V.  They are rated in watts (300W) but to understand the problem we need to work with amps.  Wth 300W, a 12V supply is 25 amps capacity. A 24V supply is 12.5 amps.

Your 200W of load is 16.7A at 12V and 8.3 amps at 24V if voltage drop down wires was not a factor.  So let's look at the numbers, assuming that your lights are on average 100 feet down the wire.  (you can work it out individually per lamp, but it gets recursively complicated because these loads draw more current at lower voltages.)

At 12 volts

If it flowed 16.66 amps. your average 100' of 12 AWG wire (round trip) will have 5.8 volts of voltage drop (when using this voltage drop calculator, insert a big number for percentage loss permitted, otherwise it will tell you to use very big wire).  At 240V, nobody cares about 5.8 volts.  But at 12V it slaughters you - leaving only 6.2 volts for the light.  Now remember -- the LEDs will increase their current draw to still hit their 200W design target. 200 watts at 6.2 volts is 32.5 amps.  This exceeds the 25A limit of the 300W power supply.

Adding that last lamp on the string, especially at the far end where the voltage drop is the worst, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

At 24 volts

If it flowed 8.33 amps, your average 100' of 12 AWG wire (round trip) will have 2.88 volts drop, reducing voltage to 21.1.  Your lamps will increase their current draw in proportion, drawing 200W/21.1V or 9.47A.  But at this current flow, we must recalculate, and we find the voltage drop will be 3.3 volts. 200 watts at 20.7 volts is actually 9.66 amps. A few more cycles of recalculation and we approach about 9.8 amps at 20.4 volts.  The 300W power supply's capacity is 12.5 amps.  This is workable at 24 volts, but you are near the limits of the wire.  You are wasting 15% of your power making the wire warm, but it would be silly to run expensive 8 or 6 AWG wire.

How to fix it

You never got back to us about the model of lamp, but many LEDs (especially the kind that increase their current draw in this way) will work on both 12V and 24V.  That means the problem could be solved as easily as switching to a 24V power supply.

Another way would be to run 120V down the wire.  At that voltage, 200W is only 1.66A, which will transmit easily down 150' of 12 AWG.  Then, have local 12/24V supplies at each lamp or group of lamps.  12 or 14 AWG is fine for 12V if it isn't going very far.

P.S. if you think this is tough, try the guy who puts his 900-watt windmill 500' from his house. And wants to make 12V to charge batteries. 900W at 12V is 75 amps.  Go punch that into a voltage drop calculator and see what happens.  Upshot: they don't make wire thick enough! 12V is really hard to carry a distance. That's why AC won the war of the currents.


How long do I charge the battery for a "Power Grinder" brand rotary tool?

It's normal for a battery to self-discharge over several months.
It's normal for a cheap tool (Black & Decker tier) to take 12-18 hours to fully charge.
What damages such tools is being left on the charger for days and days.

The reason is because their charger is not using "everything we know about batteries". By contrast, a Tesla supercharger can calibrate charge rates to take a Tesla Model 3 from 25% to 75% in 25 minutes at a rate that would take another Tesla from 90% to "fiery explosion".  Most batteries want a bulk charge rate in the middle of their range to about 85% and a low current taper charge near the end of cycle.

In the case of cheap chargers, rather than shift gears from "bulk slam-charge" to "low taper" to "maintain", the cheap charger simply does the taper charge continuously!

Which makes the charge comically slow.  But results in de minimus risk to the battery.

Note that it doesn't transition to a maintenance charge either; that's why you can't leave it on charger indefinitely.


Should I run RMC all the way from panel to sub-panel, or are there cheaper options?

Think aluminum
Since you are concerned about costs, I would try to nudge you off novices' preconceptions about copper vs aluminum wire.   Novices tend to "stay with what they know" (having worked with copper in 15/20A branch circuits), and tend to believe all the scary stories about aluminum wiring in 15/20A branch circuits.  This extrapolates into only ever looking at copper for large feeder, and never even thinking about aluminum feeder.
Actually, aluminum was never a problem with large feeder wires.  Heck, the lugs are usually aluminum (since aluminum lugs are a "universal donor" that plays well with both copper and aluminum wire). So insisting on copper "to avoid dissimilar metal problems" actually has the reverse effect lol.
The normal approach for large feeder is aluminum.  The power company also uses aluminum pretty much exclusively for distribution, and service entrance wiring is typically aluminum as well.
However aluminum is -2 numerical sizes larger, and will often require physically larger conduit. That appears to be the case here.  However the savings on wire will plenty more than pay for the larger conduit.
Marking wires
Code requires that if wire is #6 or smaller, the neutral wire must be natively white color.   If wire is #4 or larger, you are allowed to use electrical tape, sleeving or paint to re-mark a black wire as a neutral.
This gives an advantage to #4 aluminum over #6 copper, since  you only need to buy one color of wire.
Amps
There's actually no such thing as 60A feeder.  In fact since you are in conduit using THHN, your choices are 50A, or 65A breakered at up to 70A.
Your #6 copper wire, since you are using THHN in conduit, is actually good for 65A of actual ampacity.  Noting this means 65A of 240V... or two poles of 120V at 65A each... nominally 130A of 120V loads.
You can only provision 65A/240V of loads, however, since 65A breakers are not made, you "round up" to the next available size breaker, 70A.
If you want that same ampacity (65A) in aluminum, #4 aluminum will suffice.
If you only need 50A, #6 aluminum will do, but you'll need to take care to get a white neutral wire.
Power is not provisioned at breaker trip capacity.  It is perfectly normal to "oversubscribe" a panel, i.e. the individual breakers total to much more than the service or feeder capacity.  Look at your own main panel, for instance!  That's because not all loads are used at maximum at once.
The upshot is that a 65A feed can support a lot more stuff than you might think.  So get a much larger subpanel. Extra breaker spaces are dirt cheap when you're buying the subpanel... chintzing out on the panel and thinking "Oh, I'll just change to a bigger panel later if it comes up" is a whole lot of work.
There is nothing wrong with a 100A or even 200A subpanel on a 50A or 65A feed.
Assemble conduit, then pull
Note that with conduit, you must assemble the entire conduit run and have it complete and finished... before you start pulling any wires into it.  This means you must assemble the conduit in a fashion that is pullable.  While many conduit novices are aghast at this requirement, I assure you, it's much easier to work with overall.  I wouldn't do it the other way even if it was legal!