What happens if I have two water heaters and one's over-pressure relief valve fails?

An over-pressure in one water heater tank should be relieved by a pressure relief valve on the other tank, IF both tanks are fed by the same cold water supply and there is no check valve between them.

However, this would not be a acceptable situation because the valve on a tank is a temperature or pressure relief valve. If there was a runaway on one tank and the relief valve had failed closed, this would lead to water at a temperature at or above the normal boiling point, then this scalding water would enter the hot water supply system. It would be injurious to users and could damage PEX hot water supply lines which are not intended to be in contact with pressurized water at 212 F (100 C).


Prevent home door to freeze during winter

I've seen similar situations (although not with 4cm of icing!) in situations where there doesn't seem to be any leaking of exterior air, but the interior humidity was quite high in a localized area of freezing. Simple answer: consider dehumidifying, or venting to interior air, the affected area. [Since there is no further work to be done with the door, according to your post.] Heating the affected area may also work, but I'll explain why I consider this a last resort.

The problem

It sounds as though you have an entryway (or foyer) enclosing this entry door, for practical purposes of airflow (or limiting air flow). If you are using this area as a "mudroom" or area where wet/cold/snowy coats/boots/outerwear can be left or changed from, then the moisture brought in by that wet material could be evaporating, then condensing on the sub-freezing surface of the door, then of the ice as it builds up.

The Solution

Removing this moisture from the air will assist in limiting the amount of icing occuring. This could be done by any combination of the following:
- Remove clothing/outerwear/footwear that has moisture from the affected area after initial entry. Moving that snow-covered coat in from the foyer will mean that it dries inside the main dwelling, instead of in the foyer. This could be drips/puddles in the house, but this evaporating water will also humidify the main living space, and not condense/freeze on the entry door. A rubber mat/tray can also help with this. Footwear can be removed to bang off loose moisture on the exterior of the dwelling, then set to dry in the living space.
- Dehumidify the entry. A simple dehumidifier can do this, or simply open the door to the outside/inside for a few minutes each day. The air exchange (although wasteful of conditioned air) will also exchange the moisture in the air. Depending on the amount of moisture, however, the air exchange may need to be done multiple times daily. On the up-side, this air exchange, if done to the interior, may warm the space enough to thaw the ice off of the door itself, giving a "reset" of the situation.
- Heat the entry. I'd consider this a last resort, because heating will not solve the problem. The problem is a sub-freezing surface, which you will not be heating - the air surrounding the sub-freezing surface will be heated, and the heat will be quickly conducted through the thermally-efficient conductor of the door surface to the exterior of the dwelling, once again returning to the state of maintaining a sub-freezing surface on the door.

Provided there is truly no leakage of air, this is actually a humidity issue. It may be worth it to buy an inexpensive (but accurate) humidistat to check the humidity levels. The tool would have future uses, so it's not a one-time purchase without future utility. Lowering the humidity level in that space is the best way to solve the problem.

For the future

In the future, (or perhaps this can be done in the short-term as well,) consider treating the interior surface of the door. A non-stick spray (silicone lubricant) or wax (for skis, cars, even just regular candles) would help the moisture (and ice) be more easily removed from the surface. If the condesation cannot be stopped, it could at least be mitigated by quick removal when someone passes through the doorway. 4cm of ice isn't good, but 1cm of ice that falls off everytime someone slams the door closed coming or going may limit the thermal compromise of that room, and ease in operating the door. There's also the added bonus that ice is solid moisture - so dehumidifying the room of that chunk is a simple as throwing or sweeping it out the door.

A long shot

There is one other option, but it's not necessarily adviseable. Venting the room completely to the outside or inside of the dwelling will provide constant air circulation, especially if induced via convection. This would circulate the higher-humidity air with the larger vented-to area. However, this would provide a heat-sink if vented to the inside, and/or a very cold room if vented to the outside. (You may also transfer your freezing problem to an interior door if ventin gthe room to the outside.)


I would staple up some Wire soffit screen to the underside of the roof decking. No screwing thru the roof membrane required.
It unlikely the critter will die in there, if they can not pass thru then they will exit the same way the got in if they get hungry enough.


can two fixtures share one vent at a connection?

Yes they both can share a vent. The distance between yours is 4’ if I read it correctly so you are well within the distance between the vent and fixtures so you should be golden unless your local code has some bizarre requirements.


Should ceiling fan mounting screws thread into the box or the framing behind?

Screwing into a ceiling joist through holes in the pancake box is a sound method for securing a fan bracket, if the wood screws are rated for the purpose. I have installed Hunter fans that way using the special wood screws supplied with the fan. If this is a new fan, read the instructions and examine the hardware supplied.
The black screws in the OP's pic however do no appear to be rated for holding a fan. If the fan you are installing does not have wood screws for this purpose, then you will have to source some that will work.


What fastener to use to attach 4" circular pan to steel stud?

If the steel stud is of sufficient thickness/strength you could fasten it with self-drilling Tek screws. I would personally be more concerned with the weight bearing capability of the steel stud (assuming it is the lightweight steel studs commonly used in commercial build-outs in my area).

Most ceiling fixtures (you use the term stud rather than joist so I am assuming wall mount) that are expected to hold any weight should be attached to a cross-brace which is attached to two joists.

Consider using a long pilot drill and drill through both the front and back sides of the steel stud, then use a long self-tapping screw to penetrate both sides of the stud.


Power out on just one section of the house

Thanks for your question, you describe a common issue. When troubleshooting electrical circuits, remember electricity must have a complete path back to its source. This means you not only need a path to the load but a path returning to the source from whence it came. A connection in the neutral path could be loose.

You are doing well not to ignore this intermittent problem as it points to a probable loose connection somewhere on either side of the path. Loose connections quickly build up heat and can very easily start a fire.

Since the entire circuit is having trouble, do not forget to check for loose connections at the panel, especially at the neutral bar, and of course the breaker. Try wiggling the wires while you have a multimeter checking voltage. If the voltage suddenly drops you may have just found your loose wire. Trim, restrip, and reconnect.

Next, pay close attention to the connections at each outlet. Look for obvious signs of heat (melted insulation on conductors, smoke residue in the box), but also for anything that may not be making a good connection. Wiggle the conductors on the screw terminals. If they move around or slip on the screw, voila! Loose connection. Another culprit is insulation that is a little too long and is actually tucked under a screw, preventing a good metal to metal contact between wire and device. Over time, with usage and vibration, the screw may loosen enough to create the intermittent problem you are having. Try tugging on each conductor individually in each wire nut. There could be a loose wire that falls right out of its splice, and bingo! there you are. If you see any of the aforementioned, trim (if possible), restrip and reconnect properly. Sometimes it is better to start fresh with a new tip of conductor that isn't going to break from past stresses. I like about 3/4" of bare conductor laid evenly in wire nut splices or with a nice candy-cane shape for screw terminal connections. Also, be sure to test each spliced connection by tugging on the individual wires to be sure you've got a tight splice. With the screw terminals, think of the candy cane's short end as the pointer and make it point in a clockwise direction going around the screw.

While you are searching for loose connections in the outlet boxes, you can have the circuit turned off for safety; however, another method I've seen involves having the circuit on: Plug in a lamp or something that will indicate when you've got power. Take a piece of wood or something non-conductive and go around poking and prodding into the open boxes and their wiring. If the light suddenly goes on (or off as the case may be) your issue is probably in the box at hand.

Don't forget light switch boxes, which may have been used as a junction box for your circuit and which get vibration daily. One last place to look for loose connections, a junction box in an attic or basement, although that would probably be the least likely place as it wouldn't get much traffic.

These are the best recommendations I can think of, although your electrician friend may have already done them all. Hope you find the issue, Nancy, these things can be quite irritating!


How do I install a wall mount lighting fixture when there are 2 black 2 white and 2 ground wires from the wall

It appears likely that one cable, with a black, white and ground, is the feed (source of power), and the other is a pass through to the next fixture or outlet.

In that case, you would simply join your fixtures wires to the existing bundles, matching colors.

This assumes that switching is already in place, or the fixture has internal switches.


Repairing water-damaged paint (possibly drywall)?

If it was indeed just recent & not an ongoing for years situation. Then, let it dry for a week or 2 & see how solid it is then. As long as it feels as solid as before & the rest of the walls, then definitely scrape off what bubbled, split & wrinkled paint you can so there are no lifting or flapping edges.

You'll want to fill those new low spots with Joint Compound or Spackle for a nothing ever happened end result. Lay that on in very-very thin coats just as thick as the paint you have surrounding the scraped areas. Dry-Sand with sandpaper to perfection & a lot of dust or Wet-Sand with a wet sponge for no dust. Let dry & do another Compound or Spackle coat, if needed & sand again.

Then, roller-on a Stain Blocking Primer & let that cure for 2-days, you shouldn't need a 2nd coat but do that if it's needed. And finally, roller-on your paint, 2-coats over the primer-ed areas & even do the rest of both walls to get everything uniform & to use up your paint...of course do this with the Primer too, prior to the paint, in order to use that up as well.


Why do my pot lights flicker randomly when not at full brightness?

Dimmers have to be compatible with the types of lights in use. The bog standard dimmers that have been in use for years generally work fine for incandescent type bulbs and the halogens that work at direct line voltage.

With the advent of CFLs (compact florescent lamps), low voltage halogens and LED types it talks special types of dimmers for these to be used in a variable brightness mode. Do note that not all items are even dimmable and you can get into serious overheating issues in either the dimmer switch or in the light module if you try to operate with a dimmer. Similar issues can happen when a non-compatible type of dimmer is in use.

My suggestion for you, if you need to keep the mix of light source types, is to convert over to simply using a switched on-off control instead of dimming. If dimming is desired then switch all of the light sources on the circuit to the same type and then select a dimmer that is compatible with that type of lamp. Modern dimmers should show on their box what types of lamps they should work with. In the realm of the light sources themselves you may need to do some additional research to determine if a particular low voltage halogen, CFL or LED lamp assembly is actually dimmable. It may come down to specifically only purchasing items that are marked as dimmable on the box or product information sheet.


A simplification of @spicetraders answer:

Pump up switch

You can do this with a "pump up float switch", which operates at line voltage and thus avoids the need for a relay, separate power supply, etc. These cost tens of dollars.

These often have a plug on the end so they can control a plug-in pump directly (be sure to get one with the appropriate plug type, voltage and power rating for your pump), but they can also be hardwired (just like you would with a regular switch).

Essentially the float operates on a wire, and the only concern is to ensure there's nothing for it to get hung up on:

By adjusting the length of wire, you can adjust the on/off setpoints.

Low water alarm

We used to often install a second float near the bottom of the tank, with a very short distance, that activated a warning light or alarm to indicate "tank almost empty" indicator. This would signal something was wrong with the main switch, pump, water supply, or simply that you were using water faster than the pump could keep up, and could take appropriate action.


Can I repair light scratches on a laminate countertop?

It's worth trying a high-quality paste wax before going too crazy with more involved fixes. Applied correctly you shouldn't even notice the wax. If you mess up or dislike it, wax is soluble in acetone so it's easily removed. You can't really make anything worse, in other words.


Aprilaire 500 humidifier on an Amana AMS8 furnace

For the automatic humidistat, aka what you have

Since you're using the automatic humidity controller, this gets somewhat...interesting.  Wire up the R, C, W, and Gf terminals as directed to the furnace terminal block -- you will need to pull the G wire from the thermostat off the terminal block and send it to the G terminal on the auto-humidistat as well.  Then, jumper the R terminal from the furnace to one H terminal on the humidity controller, and connect the humidifier valve wires to the other H and the C terminal on the auto-humidistat.

If you were using the manual humidistat

There is a yellow wire going from pin 10 of the 12 pin control board connector to the blower pressure switch i.e. the yellow wire that goes into the pin on that connector closest to the terminal block -- you'll need to tap into that wire and send it off to the humidistat as well as to the blower pressure switch.  Your other wire from the humidistat goes to one terminal of the water valve, with the other terminal of the water valve getting spliced into the blue C (Common) wire from the transformer.

In general, a wire tap like that would be done by cutting the wire, crimping a female tab terminal (faston, quick-connect) on one end and a male tab terminal on the other, and then using a female/male tab terminal tap connector to make the 3-way connection.  (So called "vampire tap" terminals aren't as reliable as properly made crimps.)


This is actually a common problem today since most gasoline has added ethanol.  The ethanol creates all kinds of problems for small engines, particularly ones that site for long periods of time between uses.  The ethanol tends to attack parts of the carb, and also absorbs water.  Further, the ethanol and water will separate out in the tank over time.  The water, being the most dense, settles at the bottom of the tank where it is pulled out first.  On top of that will be a layer of ethanol, since it is the next most dense. Finally, gasoline will be floating on top of all that.

Since you already flushed the bad gas, I think the carb is fubar and needs a rebuild.


What am I missing/How do I rehang my closet's bi-fold doors?

You need to prop the door into the upper track and then unscrew the bottom pin to tighten up the door. you might want to tighten up the upper track and fix that shim job.


Brass screws stripping and snapping, what am I doing wrong?

Brass screws are soft. You can easily twist the heads right off. This means you MUST be careful.

Pre-drill pilot holes for the screws.
Lubricate the screws. I use a stick of beeswax that I keep on hand. Just draw the threads across the stick to get a bit on them. You will be ASTOUNDED how easily a lubed screw drives. Some use soap on screws, which is probably ok for brass. It is bad for steel screws as it can cause them to rust.
Use a drill-driver that will allow you to limit the torque applied to the screw.


standard European color codes for power cables

I gather that you hail from the world of low voltage electronics, breadboard spaghetti and all that 5 volt stuff.  They use the term "GND" or "ground" to refer to Vss, the current return or common, typically the negative in a 5/12V system.  (which actually makes it the current source, but nevermind that.)

Here, we work in AC, because it is transmittable over long distances.  That changes a whole bunch of stuff, also it can kill you.

Equipment Safety Ground

Separate from the power conductors proper, the "positive" and "negative" as you call them (wrongly)...

... we also wrap the entire kaboodle in a metallic safety shield.  This safety shield is not a conductor (meaning: power should never flow through it normally.)  If it does, something is dreadfully wrong, and the goal of the metal is to keep the misguided current flow away from humans.  And also to allow enough current to return to source that it trips circuit protection systems - overcurrent trip devices (circuit breakers) or ground fault detection systems (GFCI/RCD).

What we call "ground" in mains wiring refers to that safety shield.  This is a very different thing than in DC electronics.

AC: blowing your mind twice

Positive and negative are not concepts in mains wiring -- at least not half the time, since it is AC.  AC itself is bizarre idea to understand - why reverse polarity 16.67, 25, 50, 60 or 400 times a second???? Why bother? The generator is barely simpler - slip rings instead of a commutator. The reason is transmissibility.  It goes through transformers without outlandishly expensive M-G sets all over the place.

Of course, being AC, what happens if two feed wires are out of phase?  Hoo boy.  There's a whole science just to syncing two generators (once sync-locked, push-pull forces keep them in sync, except solar, whose digital synthesis can't be pushed).

Mind-blow #2: What if they're out of phase intentionally?   Great for motors -- just like you can't start a bicycle if you're at top dead center, a motor can't start on single-phase without some electromic trickery.  Having 2+ phases means having 2+ cranks so one is always in the power stroke.   There's no point having two phases 180 degrees out of sync with each other - you could swap the two wires and have the same effect.   So a 2-phase system is 90 degrees apart, and takes 4 wires - two for phase A, and two for phase B.  If you drew it on graph paper, thinking of the phase as a vector, it would be a plus sign.

A 3-phase system has each phase 120 degrees apart (or 60 degrees if you also consider mirror "phases".)  Drawn on paper, you could draw it like an asterisk and take 6 wires.  But you could also draw it like a "Y" (wye) or a triangle (delta) -- and now you are down to 4 or even 3 corners!  That's right, you can do  the 3-phase "delta" configuration with only 3 wires.  Now, next time you're out and about, look up at the power poles and what do you see, up there on top?  BINGO.  You see wires in threes.  (you might also see a lightning arrestor wire.)

But you won't see 3-phase in residential unless you're in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia or South America.  There, they deliver 3 phase to your pole, but in a "wye" (4 wire) configuration. Each phase is 230V from neutral.  They only deliver to your house one phase and neutral. So your house sees 230V single-phase.

Some large European houses get 2 or 3 phases delivered to the house, but this is simply to provide more power.  Individual circuits are still songle-phase.  Very heavy-draw appliances like stoves or on-demand water heaters can be wired to spread their load across 2 or 3 phases.  And of course if the homeowner has a serious home machine shop, he will make good use of 3-phase for motors.

What does polarity mean if it's AC?

We don't want the output side of the transformer rattling and floating at crazy voltages.  For instance if there was leakage in the 9600V transformer which serves your neighborhood, it could inadvertantly pull your 230V service up to 9600 volts from earth - which would overwhelm normal wire insulation and kill everyone in the neighborhood.   So the transformer's 230V output is biased (by way of a grounding rod) to keep its voltages from drifting too far from earth potential.  (other than of course their intended voltage).  Often, the bias is done very simply by a grounding strap, so it is a 0 volt bias.  You could have a 3-volt bias if you really wanted to, but 0 is simpler.

In single-phase, you have two wires, and you bias/bond one of them.

Now suddenly the system has a polarity: one wire is biased near ground, and the other one operates at a significant voltage from ground.  Take an Edison style screw-in bulb socket: the easily-touched screw-threaded part of the socket should be which one? The one near earth hopefully!

The one near earth is called the neutral.  In the US, the lawyers call it a "grounded conductor", since it is a conductor, and it is the one that is biased/bonded/pegged near ground.

Neutral is not ground and should never be abused as ground or vice versa.  I'm talking to you, NEMA 10!  Nothing really enforces this except ambulances and RCD/GFCI devices.


How can I change this light fixture in my closet?

If the old fixture worked, Then you should be good if all is connected properly. When you say you "wrapped" the new wires onto the wire in the ceiling, I take it you mean just that, and perhaps taped them up (given the first picture) - I'm guessing they came untaped and shorted out when you put the fixture in place.

Cut and strip the wires in the ceiling, and use a correctly sized wirenut or other suitable wiring connector to connect them to the fixture wires.


Why are some of the outlets and light circuits out in my home?

This is an outage.  Call the electric company.

They should respond immediately, 24x7, and for free... unless coincidentally it's right after an ice storm or windstorm that clobbered power to thousands of your district's customers.

If you're going "I can't, it's the weekend and the office is closed until Monday" - wrong office.  Every power company has an emergency number to report downed wires 24x7.  That number is entirely appropriate for reporting outages.  Yes, they do keep a bucket truck and crew warmed up 24x7 because wires go down, and that can't wait.   Our PoCo sent one out on a Sunday afternoon, and I stuck around to run around and notify neighbors and shut main breakers.

Sometimes the problem is inside your service panel, and the PoCo doesn't fix that... but odds are what changed is outdoors, and thus, in their wheelhouse. Service panels don't have weather inside them.


How can I fix my uPVC window that won't close properly?

The pin you see is the part that secures the handle to a shaft that sticks out of the window latch assembly.

To get the handle working you are going to have to carefully observe how the moving parts of the good window work and then compare that to what you see going on with the bad window. This may include activating the handle back and forth while the window is open. Look from below, outside and the edge end of the window. Doing this you may notice that something has blocked the mechanism and is keeping the latch from working.

It is possible that the latch mechanism is just flat broken in which case either it or the window would need replacement. Many times these latch mechanisms have nylon or pot-metal parts inside which break if forced too hard.

For a temporary fix till you can get the actual window and/or the latch replaced there are number of things you can do cut down on the cold draft through the crack. The simplest may be to simply apply some blue painters tape over the cracks to cut off the air flow. Duct tape of "gorilla" tape are other possibilities too but will take a lot more work to clean up after the tape is no longer needed. There is also a stretchable clear plastic product available that you can stretch over the entire window opening that acts as an inside window seal that can be used in the cold season. This method has been recently discussed here on DIY.


Is there any acceptable way to cover a junction box?

You cannot cover any junction box that still has live wires in it.  Your best bet is to either remove the box all together or just put a cover plate on it. Your other option is to run a new circuit to the new box and de-energize the circuit to the old box and mark the source wires as "NOT IN USE" at your panel in which case I believe you could cover it over.

If there are live wires in the box, sooner or later you will need to get to the box again, which you can't do if you've covered it over! You'll thank yourself later (as will any future home owner).


Breaker box one 120 slot left but need one for a second 220 or 240 breaker.

If your panel can take more half-height (sometimes known as "cheater" or "tandem") circuit breakers, you can replace two existing 120V breakers (on the same phase!) with a tandem pair of half-height breakers; this will then free up a slot in your panel that you can then use for a full-height 240V double pole breaker.

If your panel does not accept tandem breakers, or has all its tandem-capable slots filled already, you will need either have the panel replaced or a few circuits moved into a subpanel placed next to the main panel.

If you can't tell what your panel is capable of, the listing label (usually on the inside front cover) should provide a diagram that will mark tandem-capable slots in some fashion (you can also tell by comparing the number of circuits the panel is listed for to the number of physical breaker slots in the panel).

A further issue, as Ecnerwal helpfully pointed out, is that a heavy-duty heater may simply be too much additional load for the panel itself to handle.  In that case, you're stuck.


Code requirements for adhering wall light to electrical box - does the light need to be attached to the box?

Actually, the code requires larger (heavier than 50 lbs) fixtures to be mounted separate from the junction box. This one is not that heavy but as long as the wires are not exposed it should pass inspection.

The key here though is to discuss it with your local inspector ahead of time if it will have to pass an inspection. This will save you much time and grief.

I think it looks pretty cool but I am not your inspector.

Good,luck!


Installing a solid wood tabletop on this steel frame

What do the purveyors of this table top say about mounting? If it might be a problem, one could consider straps which go over the metal frame and are attached to the underside of the table with two screws for each strap.

Personally, I would just mount it as shown in the picture and see how it performs. You could leave the table top in its intended location lying on the metal base, unattached, for a week or so to allow it to stabilize to the ambient temperature and (especially) humidity . Then drive the screws just barely snug for a month or so and only then tighten to full snug, but not hard tight. It looks like the screws shown have a little wiggle room in the holes in the metal frame.

Edit
You could consider using heavy, large flat washers between the heads of the screws and the metal frame so that the heads of the screws don't bite into the metal frame and so resist sliding.


How can I find joists in my heavily-textured garage ceiling?

Studfinders should work fine regardless of texture. Most have a deep scan mode for such situations, but I'd be surprised if that's even necessary.

If that's really not working, look for clues. Your overhead door is probably suspended from ceiling joists. You may have an outlet or light boxes attached to them as well. You may find nails in exterior fascia indicating rafter tail location.

Most modern truss systems are 24" on center. Older hand-framed roofs are likely 16" on center. Once you find one you should have them all.


Can I put the sub-panel for my attached garage in the attic?

Yes: Accessibility and working space.
You need a zone 30" wide x 36" tall x 78" high in front of the panel, so the electrician can stand and work on the panel. This space must be clear at all times; it cannot be blocked by anything.  Ingress to the space must also be clear.
Why is this required?  Because quite often, when a person is being injured or shocked by a machine, the only sure way to stop the injury or electrocution is to shut off the breaker.  For that to happen the breaker has to be accessible.
The problem with your flop-down ladder is that invariably, that space it flops down into is blocked by other things.  Like in a garage, a car parks there.   Can you imagine the absurdity?  You're being shocked by a saw, and your partner has to run into the house, find the keys, pull the car out, lower the loft ladder, climb the loft ladder and cut the power?  No sale.
The ideal place for a panel is in a threshold or pathway, so that the working space is inherently kept clear because it's a pathway.
Also, go big on your panel.  You'll thank us later.
Breaker spaces are worth their weight in gold when you're trying to expand your electrical. It's very frustrating and expensive to find yourself "out of spaces". Yet, spaces are dirt cheap when you are initially installing the panel. Therefore, we recommend you always install a Very Large Panel. Like, absurdly large, like "will never use all of those spaces" large.  You'll use more than you think, especially when you have a surplus.  The cost is very small compared to total project cost.
There are lots of other places to scrimp (why on earth spend on copper feeder?) but the panel is not one of them.
A 30-space panel is not excessive.
Since you're using a 50A breaker to supply a 60A panel, you know that panels are allowed to have busing that is larger than the supply breaker.  So it could also have 125A or 200A busing.  There's not a problem there.


Danger!
Working hot is problematic, especially if you are not a pro.
Rental
A rental is not the same as owning your home. For the same reason the electrician owner had to pay someone else instead of doing it himself, you shouldn't be doing any real electrical work here either.
Use As Designed & Tested
Most current models of over-the-stove microwave ovens (I checked a Whirlpool and GE but have no reason to think others are different) are designed to plug in to a standard outlet. Unless specifically authorized by the manufacturer, replacing with a hardwired connection will likely void the warranty and could lead to other problems.
In addition, if you ever need to repair the oven (and I've actually done that successfully on a similar oven after a thermal overload due to user error (a.k.a., food cooked way too long and caught on fire...)), you would not have an easy way to shut off all power while you work, because you couldn't simply pull the plug.
Proper Installation
No matter who is doing the work, all splices (with certain exceptions) must be inside equipment or junction boxes, not in ordinary cabinets.


From the 2014 NEC:

210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets. This section provides requirements for 125-volt, 15- and 20-ampere re-ceptacle outlets. The receptacles required by this section shall be in addition to any receptacle that is:
(1) Part of a luminaire or appliance, or
(2) Controlled by a wall switch in accordance with 210.70(A)(1), Exception No. 1, or
(3) Located within cabinets or cupboards, or
(4) Located more than 1.7 m (5 1⁄2 ft) above the floor

The reference in #2 is a switched receptacle for lighting in a room. If you had a receptacle installed next to the switch and is less than 5 ½ feet above the floor it could be considered serving the floor line. However, practically speaking it would be of limited use to cord connected equipment at the floor line.
So, #3 means you can't use receptacles inside cabinetry to satisfy floor line receptacle spacing. The receptacle inside the home theater stage doesn't count as a floor line receptacle. There is no exception for accessibility within a cabinet through a "hatch", the code just says they can't be used to satisfy the required outlets, period.

210.52(A) General Provisions. In every kitchen, family room, dining room, living room, parlor, library, den, sunroom, bedroom, recreation room, or similar room or area of dwelling units, receptacle outlets shall be installed in accordance with the general provisions specified in 210.52(A)(1) through (A)(3).
(1) Spacing. Receptacles shall be installed such that no point measured horizontally along the floor line of any wall space is more than 1.8 m (6 ft) from a receptacle outlet.
(2) Wall Space. As used in this section, a wall space shall include the following:
(1) Any space 600 mm (2 ft) or more in width (including space measured around corners) and unbroken along the floor line by doorways and similar openings, fire-places, and fixed cabinets
(2) The space occupied by fixed panels in exterior walls, excluding sliding panels
(3) The space afforded by fixed room dividers, such as freestanding bar-type counters or railings
(3) Floor Receptacles. Receptacle outlets in floors shall not be counted as part of the required number of receptacle outlets unless located within 450 mm (18 in.) of the wall.

Finally, receptacles are required within 6 feet of a door on both sides to prevent people from running extension cords across the doorway. Hopefully, you can see that would be a unsafe practice.
Good luck on your project!


How much sturdier are through mix pavers vs face mix?

A quick search reveals that face-mix pavers have a concentrated wear/color/texture layer on top. I don't see any indication that this substantially affects strength. If you install a proper base, strength probably isn't a concern anyway.

Prior to Face-mix technology, pavers were a blend of aggregate, pigment color,  and concrete pressed together.  When the thru-mix wear with age, the coloring fades and the coarse aggregates in the pavers (which are used to increase the strength of the paver) starts to show through the top of paver, which can ruin the look of the paver.
Face-mix technology adds concentrated color and fine wear-resistant aggregates on the top of the paver, in addition to the coarse aggregates at the base of the paver.  So not only is the paver structurally strong, but the color and finish of the paver lasts for generations.  The Face-mix process eliminates the risk of the coarse (and ugly) aggregate from appearing through the top of the paver.
https://unilock.com/paver-technology/thru-mix-vs-face-mix/

Of course, through-mix sellers have their own arguments:

If the concrete paver is brand new someone may not notice the difference, over time however it becomes obvious. If a face mix paver should become chipped the gray core will be exposed to the surface. The core of a through mix paver is the same color as the surface so this is not an issue. Since the color for a face mix paver is not mixed throughout the entire paver it tends to fade at a faster rate than a through mix paver. We manufacture all of our pavers using a through mix allowing for more intense longer lasting color.
https://castleliteblock.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/what-is-through-mix-and-why-we-use-it-exclusively-for-our-pavers/

It's really a matter of your priorities. If you don't expect rough treatment, face-mix might give better results over time. If you expect chips and scratches from hard objects, through-mix is probably the best choice.


How to fix small holes/separation in caulk around bathtub?

One more thing is to keep water in the tub when you caulk until the caulk dries. It's a pain to work this way, but flex in the floor under the tub when there's weight in it can help open up a gap in the caulk over time if it was caulked with no weight in the tub. Given that your caulk is doing a critical job it shouldn't have to do means you don't want to miss a trick. You definitely do not want water getting behind or under the tub. It creates a superb natural habitat for mold and rot. Long term, it would be best to install a tub surround (or equivalent) that correctly overlaps the lip of the tub.


Is this real wood or veneer, on this table top?

The use of distinct solid-wood edging strongly suggests veneer
"Bookmatching" (mirrored grain) is not a guarantee of that, as it can be done in solid wood, but the close match of 5 pieces strongly suggests veneer. So it may just be veneered both sides. When solid wood is "multi-part bookmatched" the thickness of the wood (and change of grain in that thickness) means the match on faces not simply "cut and opened" is not close. To have that close of a match suggests thin slices - veneer.


Daisy chaining ungrounded LED, what do with last ground wire?

If there are no grounds on the fixtures, just leave the ground wire unconnected and in the enclosure.  Personally, I would cap it with a small wire nut to prevent it from working its way into the connectors. The ground wire is connected at the other end, right?


Usefulness of Cord Reel with 100-ft Extension Cord

Those cord reels are very useful.  You'll need a BIG one to hold a 100' 12 gauge though.  If you leave 6" or so hanging out one of the big holes on the side, you can wrap it with the end accessible.

I wrap these with the female end on the spool, so you plug it in first and walk to where you're working.  I guess it works OK either way.

They make cord reels with receptacles on the spool ...

and those work great except when you're working on a ladder.  Sometimes the cord on the tool isn't long enough to reach this thing on the ground.

When you're working on a ladder it's nice to be able to pull some slack off either end.  This is a pretty good way to go:

That's from a tip sent into Fine Homebuilding.

The Cordwiz Pro

does the same thing as the bucket trick, if you'd rather not do it homemade.

One other thing to get if you're shopping, a portable GFCI


Building a ledger for indoor use with with some cut to size 2 by 4s, should I stain or paint them?

A true wood stain does not build a "film" on the surface. It only changes the color of the porous wood fiber near the surface. You will want a film-forming finish if your goal is to make it easier to clean up spilled liquids. A paint will do this, but if you want to preserve the look of the wood, then 1 to 3 coats of a polyurethane based finish will also work well. Polyurethane is a clear, durable finish that is resistant to many chemicals and also to normal wear and tear.


GFCI Did Not Trip - Outdoor Extension Cord Fell in Mud

GFCIs are not magic everything-fixers
It's like asking an ambulance crew "why didn't you arrest those graffiti artists?" "That's not what we do".
GFCIs do one specific task that is related to human safety, and they do it well.  They detect current leakage between the intended hot-neutral loop and anywhere else.  However they do nothing about any fault that stays inside the hot-neutral loop.
Hence their name, "Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor", which is ironic since they don't interact with ground at all.  It's presumed that the "anywhere else" must be ground.
Those other bailiwicks
It sounds like you had more of a "poor connection/arcing/overheat" problem.  That is more in the bailiwick of an AFCI.  (Arc Fault Circuit interruptor).  Those work by listening to the power line for that familiar "crinkle-crunch" sound of hooking up speakers with the amplifier turned on, or a shoddy headphone jack, etc.
You note also that the GFCI did not trip and the breaker did.  That's another thing GFCIs aren't.  Some people think if they put a 15A GFCI on a 20A circuit, they can extend from there with 15A wire and the GFCI will protect it. The opposite is true, 15A GFCIs are specifically rated for 20A pass-through. (because of a NEC technicality).


Can I use a magnet to make a hinged mirror stick to the wall?

Why, of course! You're looking for a "magnetic catch".
Just you should possibly install it the other way around - a metal plate on the wall, and the catch screwed on the mirror.

Images added:

Magnet mounted as plug in the cabinet with large head screw contact
Magnet in cup washer and mating contact washer mounted with screws
Thin magnet to metal plate


The ledgers are not meant to carry any weight. All weight should be supported by the base of the tub. The only weight that the edges of the tub should carry would be the weight of the wall panels which will be reduced as the top edge will be screwed to the studs.

If it was me, I would first remove the screws and gently pry up on side of the tub to see if the plastic separation will allow the tub to lift freely. If I felt too much resistance, I would leave it be, reinstall the screws, and continue with the wall panel install.


energizing both elements of electric hot water heater

Although different heater manufacturers have and could still do different things, they rarely would configure the heaters to operate both elements at the same time because amperage draw doubles, wire gauge size increases, fuse size increases and little is gained in heat recovery.

Pic below illustrates operation of elements on standard dual-element heaters with non-simultaneous operation.

Pic courtesy of A.O. Smith Co.

  Is it allowed (*) to energize both heating elements at the same time?

NO, unless the heater was originally designed for that. You can never modify equipment (especially a boiler) without manufacturer's permission.


How can I test a three-way switch to determine if it's working?

1: You have a 3 way switch which has a traveler line.
your odds of having a bad 3 way keeping the fixture from not working while possible would mean that both positions [Off and On] of the switch fail, or both switches have failed. Because when one switch is off the other line is working (either of the switches can turn the light on or off.)

2: Measure for voltage at the fixture wires.

Turn one switch On and then Off while measuring do you have any voltage ?
Turn the other switch On and then Off while measuring do you have any voltage ?

I am going to post a wiring diagram of a 3 way switch lighting circuit so you can see how and where you need to place your leads when checking the switches. I would be measuring VOLTAGE.

There has been a comment on using the push terminals on the electrical switch or using the terminal screws - the push is faster and more likely why people use it and also if you have connected runs.
Don't hook two wires on one Screw , use the push terminal to make that additional connection.

As for removing wires from the push terminals:
I use a 3.5mm Slotted Screw Driver mine is just like the one pictured below and I have no issues with it - of course I am experienced with push terminals and know that you must insert into the release mechanism and apply pressure on the release either by a slight twist of the screw driver (recommended) or using a prying motion to open the release.

You can obtain the tool from here :

https://www.crum.com/2307041/Product/3.5MM_RED_SLOTTED_SCREWDRIVER

I am not endorsing this vendor, I am posting their link because that is where I obtained the picture from. I have no affiliation with them and have never done business with them.


Why does my LG Microwave range hood hum loudly when the fan turns on?

In my range hood there was a loud hum when the fan was on, and it turned to be a metal screen that was slipping and brushing against the running fan. The fan blades scraped along the metal grill, causing the noise.

I would look inside the hood if you can, look to see where the fan is, and make sure that nothing is loose or disturbing the fan's motion. Also check that all the screws and plates are tight - loose plates can hum when they vibrate.


Replacing a door handle with no visible screws

Lever-style handles like this often have a face plate that you need to remove. Your first image shows the nub on the face place. I've circled it for you

Slide a flat screwdriver into that slot and twist it. The plate will come off and expose the screws.


Yes, you wired it wrong. :)

The red wire is another hot leg. This is a common installation when the electrician is providing wires for a ceiling fan with lights (to be independently switched).  The red wire shares a common neutral with the black wire, hence the three white wires.  You should keep the white wires connected.  Disconnect the red wire and cap it off. There should also be a bare copper or green wire in there (maybe screwed to the back of the box if the box is metal).  This wire is your ground.

Update:

As @Isaac Kotlicky pointed out, the red wire could be the switched wire.  But your switch could also be miswired.  Take a look at the switch to see what colored wires are going into and out of the switch.  A picture would not hurt.

As far as your safety ground is concerned, you really should have a bare copper or green wire in the box.  If not, it's possible that the gfci switch is making up for the weakness of having no ground wire.  Make sure you test the GFCI device once you get this together and working.  Another possibility is that you have metal conduit leading to the box, and it is grounded.  In either case, you could simply attach the fixture ground to the metal box.


How to repair holes in concrete driveway?

Check out Sackrete Top'n Bond - a patching cement with latex additive.  It's great for patching concrete, adheres well and is quite strong.  It's easy to apply and is intended for this use.  Just check color first.


How do I install a receptacle in the soffit?

You'll be working in a "damp" location, so you'll want to prevent moisture from entering or accumulating within the box.  Since there's not likely to be moisture above the box, you probably won't have to worry about protecting the back side of the box.  Because of this, you can probably get away with any type of box.  When I did this, I used a weatherproof box and conduit.

National Electrical Code (NEC) calls for a cover that is weatherproof when a plug is not inserted for damp locations, however, I always use an "in-use" style cover on outside installations.  I used this weatherproof expandable in-use cover which accordions out up to 3 1/2" when in use, and keeps a relatively low profile when not in use.

Obviously, you'll need ground-fault circuit protection. This can be provided either by a GFCI breaker, or GFCI receptacle.


Attach partition wall to lath and plaster wall

To answer the original question, the studs at either end of the closet will not need to define the dimensions. The stud at either can be screwed in place. Do not use nails. The vibration from setting the nail will break off the keys of plaster that hold the plaster up on the wall. Use enough screws to increase the chances of finding the wood lath to secure the last stud in the wall. The top and bottom plates as mentioned in other answers will do the rest.

To address another valid issue that was brought up about direction the walls over the joists. If the long wall is across the joists, and portions of the wall that are supported by these joists will be fine. Actually, the wall should be so light in weight there will be, or should be, little or no concern. If the side the door is hinged happens to sit on or near a joist, the better the support for the wall. Half the weight on the shelves will be supported by one of the existing walls the other at the back existing wall and a bit on the new wall. If the floor that the closet is built on has subfloor, all the better.


It is not controlled by a switch and I didn’t break any tabs.
  What could make this happen?

Debris inside the socket of the ground conductor
A defectively manufactured outlet

  Is it safe to use the outlet or just the bottom of the duplex?

Safety is a relative thing.

If you use the ungrounded top outlet it will be as safe as older houses that were built before grounding was a thing, and were considered safe in their time.  It will also make no difference for two prong appliances.
If you crazyglue an outlet protector over the top outlet to prevent use of the top outlet, then it will be as safe as not using it.
But maybe the DC converter will short to hot and electrify the phone someone is holding up to their head.

I say take it back to the store and report the fault and get an exchange.

You got a product that is less than it should be.  Safety or not, you'd return a plasma tv if it had lines down it or only received even channels.  Return this outlet too.

  Do outlets with USB ports show open grounds?

Only busted ones.

  would putting a GFI outlet in that box assure it is grounded?

Nope.  GFCIs do not create ground.

Changing the part out (with a gfci, or with any other outlet) would most likely solve the problem though.  And in a kid's room, I think a GFCI is worth more than USB outlets if its a kid you want to keep.

Perhaps consider installing one GFCI in the "first" outlet box in that room, or in what ever the next closest junction before the circuit enters that room.  Then USB outlets inside the room.  In 60 seconds of Googling, I could not find an outlet that had GFCI and USB in one.  You could also use a GFCI breaker but those are a pain in the neck.

  something I may be missing

The receipt for that usb outlet, and its original packaging?  With that, you should be all set.  Let the clerk know it is dangerously faulty so they think longer before re-shelving it.  If you get another of the same model and it has another fault, then you should tell us what model it is so it can be avoided.  Good on you for testing the outlets after installing.  I haven't done that on nema 5's in a while....


You might find what you want by looking up bar sinks.  They are made that small.


Grrr  hahaha grrr hahaha grrr
aaa
Solved - and I have a very red face.  Turns out that several years ago I replaced a light bulb in one of the pendants.  When it did not light up, I determined that the base of the bulb was not making contact with the pin in the seat of the socket.  To help it out I put a penny in the socket and presto - things worked (foolish me!).  Turns out that the penny moved to one side when a new bulb was installed and gradually made contact with the socket wall - not good!

So, after a breaker swap, two 3-way switches and a lot of bafflement, I have only myself to blame.  I'm lucky indeed that was all that happened, lesson learned as things could have turned out much worse.  Enjoy the laugh - it's on me!


Getting 120v single phase & 240v three phase out of 240v single phase receptical

I do not see where you will have any issue with this arrangement - I am assuming your VFD has a means of control for motor speed ; whether that be a pot on the front, a PID loop control sensor or a PLC connected to it.
Not really something in Home Improvement as most homeowners don't have a VFD .

Since you are not going to use them at the same time - I think your setup will work with out issue.

You might want to look at the VFD specific requirements on grounding and neutrals.. depending on the VFD you might need to do some things different regarding your ground and neutral connections, also if using a PID loop control you might have some specific instructions..

I assume you know this info because you are using a VFD - but maybe not ..if you don't what make and model VFD ?? Yaskawa , Rockwell other ??


The best alarm system you can have is three large well-trained guard dogs. I can say that, since I've done security electronics in some of the more secure places in this world, and for a while I had every-day conversations with professional burglars.


What is the black adhesive being applied between the veneer bricks?

It is just black mortar.  They sell mortar in many different colors along with powdered coloring you can add to make just about any color you want.

Mortar is used between brick and block to seal the joint from the elements, and to lock the bricks together (among other things).  In the picture above, it is not used to lock the bricks together or weatherproof the joints but is used for aesthetics by giving the final product a nice contrast between the red brick and black mortar.


Can I wire this light fixture set with the plate mounted directly to the stud?

As Jack noted, you really really need a junction box here. As mounted, the wires could rub against the metal plate. A pancake might be overkill, though (and you do need a NM clamp for those). I would recommend a joist junction box instead

It's fan rated, requires no clamps, and you can attach your plate to it easily. Oh, and you don't need to ground a plastic box.

  In the past I've always mounted lights to a box and grounded the box. This fixture wants you to mount their disk and there is no grounding screw.

As long as the fixture itself is grounded (which is has a ground wire in that green/yellow stripe) then the plate will also be grounded through the screws.


What Can Cause TP-LINK Smart Switch (HS200) To Light (LED) Flicker?

The light (LED or bulb) was flickering really fast. I found out that the White Neutral Wire was at fault. Wrong wiring caused the neutral line to float and be tied to return to the electrical box. Once I tied the entire bundle of the neutral wires together, the switched worked perfectly.


There are three valves in and around your toilet:

The supply valve is what connects water from your home's cold water pipes to a hose or tube that connects to your toilet tank. This is what you have pictured.
The fill valve inside your toilet tank lets water into the tank (usually sending some to the bowl also) so it is ready to flush. These are designed to fill the tank to a certain level and then shut off. The common designs for this are the traditional ballcock style with a round float attached to a lever, and the newer style (popularized by Fluidmaster) where a plastic float slides up along a shaft.
The flush valve is what dispatches water from the tank into your bowl when you flush.

The valve you've photographed is the supply valve. It does sound like your supply valve allows some water through even when tightened, which is not good because you want a supply valve that shuts off water completely for service. However, the more significant problem is your fill valve. If the supply valve leak is slow, you may just be able to shut it of as best you can, have it drip into a bucket for a few minutes, make other repairs, and reattach it for normal use.

The reason we know the problem is your fill valve is that, even when the supply is fully open, the fill valve should stop the flow of water into your toilet tank when the tank is full. If that doesn't happen, the tank will be overfilled. To prevent water spilling onto your floor in that case, the tank is designed with an emergency overflow path that just drains overflow into the bowl. Nice to not have a wet floor, but you're still wasting and paying for a lot of water.

So the question then is: why is your fill valve not stopping the flow of water into your tank? Photos may help, but the common causes are:

Incorrect adjustment. Fill valves can be adjusted to set the desired fill level, usually by turning a screw. If the level is set too high, it will never reach that level and keep filling while the overflow drains.
Obstruction. The valve control can be blocked, either by mineral buildup on the valve parts or by poor positioning next to other toilet parts.
Wear. Some fill valves include rubber gaskets/washers that erode over time, or can accumulate mineral deposits. Cleaning or replacing these parts, or sometimes simply tightening parts of the valve, can fix this. But often it's easier to simply replace the whole flush valve.

What to do next:
We want to figure out where your fill valve is leaking, so let's try to control its operation so we can observe it.

Take the lid off your tank.
Open the supply valve.
Standing over the toilet, gently lift the fill valve's float mechanism to the point where it should be shut off. Hold it there - the fill valve should stay closed.
Hold the flush valve to drain as much water as possible from the tank.
Identify where water is exiting the fill valve. This is your leak.

Depending on your type of fill valve, you may be able to repair the leak or it may be more practical to simply replace the valve. Post pictures and info on the leak if you want more advice. Good luck!


Is it safe to harvest rainwater that fell on solar panels?

If you plan to use that collected water for drinking and cooking then you will need a proper filtration / treatment system... Ingesting diluted bird-droppings is not a good idea...

So, a simple filter may not be enough, you may well need UV treatment, but you should consult the authorities for the standards in your location you are legislated to meet and consult some just for your own health and others who may drink your water...


toilet siphon has pressure beam of water

Under normal circumstances, the water source should react on full/non-full condition. In your case, I'd try to disassemble the unit to make sure there is no rust/salt/etc preventing it to stop the water beam.

Then, about the beam itself. It depends on a water pressure and effective gate size, however it affects the fulfillment speed only. Once floating bobber is high enough, it pushes a lever that intends to shut the water gate.


How to fight with mold on wall and ceiling connection on last floor

Depending on where you live and the rights as a renter, this seems like something that should be taken up with the building owner. You can certainly attempt mitigation, but from personal and anecdotal experience, mold growth that shows up in living areas, is usually a sign of much worse mold behind those visible surfaces.

Often times this would require mold mitigation up to and including removal of interior drywall/plaster, removal and treatment of mold growing on the internals of the structure, added ventilation and treatment of the problems causing mold growth, and the reinstallation of mold/mildew resistant materials.

This sounds like a bigger job than just removing the superficial presence.

Remember, just because you cannot see the mold, does not mean that it is not affecting your health or your property

I encourage you to take this seriously and have this issue corrected.


Can i run cat7 cable parallel to electrical wiring?

Ethernet uses differential signalling. This means that any noise applied to both conductors of a pair will cancel out.

([Illustration of noise on differential signalling, by Linear77, CC BY 3.0)
The pairs in a twisted pair cable is twisted. This ensures that over some distance the two conductors forming a pair has equal average distance to a parallel noisy cable. The noise induced will be equal in both conductors, and disappears when the signals is subtracted at the receiver end.
The metal pipes will block a lot of interference, as it essentially forms a Faraday cage around the current carrying cables. This reduces the amount of interference that reaches the actual cable.
In addition, Ethernet provides galvanic separation between the internal circuits of the computer, and the cable. This is performed by what's commonly called Ethernet magnetics - usually consisting of a common mode choke, auto transformer and isolation transformer. This transformer is made for signals in the MHz range (10BASE-T has a bandwidth of 10 MHz). To this transformer, 50/60 Hz signals is essentially DC. It's blocked.
In some industrial settings, you may have large frequency converter loads. These will pose more of a problem, as they create more noise on the grid, with higher frequencies, and often the currents are much greater, leading to a stronger EM field. But even in such circumstances, it's possible to use Ethernet - but more care has to be taken.
In short: don't worry. 100ft is not a long stretch, and currents in homes are rather clean, with small or no frequency converter loads, and the currents are rather small (<50A). There is no way you will have any noise in a normal home setting from putting Ethernet cabling close to a power cable.
I work with industrial control systems. We use Ethernet inside switchboards with frequency converters rated in the thousands of kilowatts-range. It works fine.


Wiring a Junction Box: 1 source in, 2 sources out

Yes, you would tie the hots together, the neutrals together, and the grounds together. Below is an image of the inside of the box for reference.

And here is a wiring diagram as requested. The main line from your breaker comes in at the top of the diagram and enters the box. It is then tied off and sent to the left to your always hot load or other switch and also to the right towards the existing switch and load. (Black is hot, gray is neutral, orange blobs are wire nuts, and grounds are not shown for simplicity)

I've also included a more clear cut version of the diagram so that you can see the flow of power.


Can I use a small propane instant hot water heater for a clothes washer?

Modern washers have a timeout (in case the water-fill sensor fails) which is around 10 minutes, but you'll have to check the manufacturer to get the exact timeout for your washer as well as how much water it needs to fill at your preferred load settings.

If (DesiredCapacity / HeaterGPM) < TimeoutInMinutes

...then you'll be ok (I wouldn't cut it very close though - it would be a bummer to see it time out one millimeter short of full) So if you had a 10min timeout and needed 10gal to do a tiny load with a 1.5GPM heater:

10gal / 1.5gpm < 10min ? True.

... to be fair, a maximum load of a washer is typically 40gal so the concerns would be reasonable.

Because of all of these variables, those who make the washer would know best since they would know these variables.


How do I connect a WiFi enabled wall switch?

The problem you have is that your current switch is wired as a switch loop. This means that a hot lead comes into the switch box and a switched hot lead leaves the box. There is no neutral wire in a true switch loop. Commonly a white wire is used for the line to the switch, but it is supposed to be marked with black tape or a marker to indicate it is hot.

While these are common in older circuits, current practice also requires a neutral wire to be present in most switches. And your new wifi switch needs a neutral. Unless there are other wires in the switch box, this switch cannot be used without additional new wiring.


Is my contractor doing a botched up job installing the soffit

Vinyl expands and contracts as temperatures change. As long as the vinyl can move as required, staples could work, although not my choice, roofing nails driven by hand is my preferred method of fastening. If one leg of the staple is in the slotted hole and the other beyond the edge, and it is not tight to the plywood so there is a little room for movement, the staples will work. If the leg of the staple is IN the vinyl, it is locked in place, and will not move as needed. The very short pieces that are nailed in that way can be the exception, since they are so short, movement will be negligible. Also for what it is worth, one staple can be driven to lock an end or middle in place, as long as the rest of the staples allow the vinyl to move elsewhere.

Just as a mention, why is the installer putting up vented soffit when the backer is solid. The perforations will be of no use. Typically the soffit goes directly to the framing if the soffit needs to be vented....


Is my dishwasher air gap manufactured incorrectly?

I'm going out on a limb here, but it is probably more indicative of the solution.

You have a question outstanding that no-one answered yet, and then you posted this one, which ironically is going to draw questions that feed right into your other question. So for sake of completeness, you may want to merge them since both of these questions DEFINITELY feed each other, and mark the other dupe or link it to this one.

Question.... in question:
Can dishwasher tubes do 360 loops?

There is no "pressure" from your air gap from your dishwasher, so the air gap is almost certainly filling up until the loop you have created BELOW the disposal is filled and there is (if ever) enough water weight to move water into the disposals drain.

Also, make sure the disposal & its drain is clean & clear.

The dishwasher & disposal install kits instructions should talk about this. Here is an example from a google search:
http://structuretech1.com/dishwasher-drain/

From the two posts, I would shorten the disposal line and run it directly.


Base shoe molding is really rather flexible and should be able to push up to walls that are more than an inch or so out of alignment over a reasonable length of say nine or ten feet.

You did not show any picture or quantify the amount of bowing that exists so it is hard to take the shoe molding fit any farther without more information.

Normally when installing shoe molding it is nailed with just short finish nails into the baseboard. You do not attempt to use huge nails in an attempt to reach through into the studs. For cases where it seems that you are trying to nail the base shoe into a spongy surface I have found it to be useful to fasten it in place with a pneumatic brad nailer. The nailer imparts a lot of energy directly onto the brads so that they drive home without the bouncy flex of a wall section being much of an issue.

The bouncy and unsupported wall sections may very well have to be left for a discussion on another day.


Since you want to have the drywall piece be 5" high I think you will want to have backer behind it for its full height. Consider making it 5.5" high and then using a piece of 2x6  lumber (that comes 5.5 inches wide) as the backer piece. Cut a couple of pieces to straddle across the bottom of this opening at the back and middle to hold up the shelf the full length. To install the front backer piece pre-drill clearance holes through the 2x6 that let your screws slide in place. Then use screws about 3" long to secure through the existing drywall at the corners. This will end up surprisingly strong! See picture below.

The trick to get the 2x6 to screw in place would be to start two screws from each end on each side (eight screws total) and tighten them down evenly and gradually. Make sure to stagger the pre-drilled holes from side to side of the 2x6 on each end so that the screws do not collide with each other as they enter the existing corner studs.


How can I take apart this kind of tap to replace the washer?

The top cap should simply pry up from the knob.  Then under the cap you should find a screw you can remove to release the handle and access the valve stem.

Shut off the water first, of course. :D


Indoor blower fan turns on and off intermittently in 10-15 min increments when system is off

Most furnaces I am familiar with have a thermocouple or timer switch that allows the fan to go into a cool down cycle before shutting off. I would start looking there.


Installing WeMo Wi-Fi Dimmer Switch - Lights not turning on

From your drawing you essentially have it wired “backwards” or at best you are “switching” the fridge. Where is the light you are trying to switch in that drawing.

Line = power coming in
Load = power going out to the device you want to control.

The switch is in between, either connecting or interrupting the flow, therefore, turning on or off the device.

Not sure what the tan box in your drawing between the line wire and fridge represents. It would be unusual for there to be a switch for the fridge. If you are representing that you have “tapped” into that wire to gain power (line) then the load wire from the Wemo needs to connected to the wire that goes to the light you want to control


The final color of the paint depends on the ratios of the different pigments in the paint, and those ratios won't change once the paint is mixed.  The storage instructions on all the interior paints that I have say nothing about high temperatures, just to protect from freezing which I believe would cause the paint to de-emulsify.

That said, a paint can's lid doesn't form a perfect seal, and higher temperatures are going to cause volatile chemicals (including water) in the paint to evaporate faster than normal.  (I've noticed that paint that has been left open for a while and thinned with water behaves differently than a can of fresh paint -- I can't define exactly how, but it just doesn't paint as well).  However, given that it can take weeks for a coat of paint to cure fully under normal household conditions, if the can is sealed well, my SWAG is that it would take years before you'd notice a change in the paint.


How can I remove bubbles in a newly laid linoleum floor?

You can try poking a pinhole thru the linoleum and hope to vent it that way... If you'd gotten to this before adhesive had set the roller might have been able to work the bubbles out to the edge. Best, of course, is to eliminate them as the lino is being put down.


Why is this ceiling joist cut off on both ends?

It looks like it is on top of a wall so it is being used as a nailer. I believe that is why.


Which order to paint ceiling and replace downlights?

In most cases you want to

Remove the old fixtures (or at least the bulb portion). These typically have a flange that covers the ugly hole in the drywall
Paint
Replace fixtures

If you do it this way, you can paint around the hole itself and then the fixture will hide it. Painting around fixtures is a pain, and you're making more work doing in in any other order.


Goodman furnance Air pressure switch - faulty?

It sounds like the switch is sticking, which is a sign that it's time to swap it out.

Before you do, though, make sure the exhaust and condensate drain aren't blocked/restricted.

$25 is a fairly cheap test, unless you have a gauge on hand to check the pressure.


Doorbell low voltage converter sharing breaker

I disagree with connecting it direct to a bus... we don't use circuit breakers for normal conditions, we use them for problems, and even a small load can have a big problem.

Apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but don't put the transformer inside the service panel, low-voltage power in the same boxes, conduits, etc. as 120/240 is a code violation.  Look at the threads on the right side of your picture.  It's made to screw into a 1/2" knockout hole of any common steel electrical box at any convenient location, and sit outside of said box, with 24v connections made outside the box.  As such, it can simply access hot, neutral and ground from the wires passing to or through said box, and thus be attached to whatever circuit breaker supports that circuit.

If the most convenient place is at the service panel, consider a common tactic done by many electricians: putting a 120v duplex outlet right next to the service panel.   It would be easy to hang that transformer off the box which holds the outlet.  (I suggest a 4" x 4" 2-gang box so you have ample room to work).


What is the name of the metal strip that goes over a step

I think the term you want is 'stair nosing'. See here http://www.kofflersales.com/p/metal-stair-nosing.asp.


Can I convert door slab from LH inswing to RH inswing

If your door jamb has a tight gap already, this trick will work much better. And I just read that pretty much everybody has the same answer, but I got sketches... Do not take the rebevel out to the edges completely, rebevel everything, save 1/4" of the original edge.


How can I insulate kitchen vent to prevent cold air blowing through all the time?

You've discovered something of a conundrum in current building codes. Modern houses are built to very tight standards, which means than exhaust vents commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms run the risk of depressurizing the house because not enough makeup air can infiltrate through gaps in the siding, doors, and windows, like it used to be able to do with older, leakier houses. Depressurizing the house is dangerous if you have any gas-burning appliances, because the pressure difference between the inside and the outside can cause products of combustion like carbon monoxide to get sucked into the house itself rather than through the vent that leads outside. Very dangerous. The obvious solution is to bring in a source of makeup air from the outside, which is what the builder of your house did.

...However, this introduces the exact problem you're encountering: there's a huge energy hit because (duh) the outside air is probably a very different temperature from the inside air! Building codes let you do this and a lot of ignorant builders will blindly follow the code, not realizing that they're basically undoing the effect of all the air-sealing work they're required to do by different sections of the code by punching a huge hole in the house that never closes.

There are a few things that can be done about this. Some are best done to be done during construction, while others can be retrofitted after the fact. Unfortunately, while installing an HRV or ERV will solve the problem, it will likely be cost-prohibitive because you will need to have the ducts redone in addition to buying the unit. Instead, I would advocate that you find a way to close up the hole when makeup air is not needed. The basic problem is not so much an uninsulated opening in your house but the hole itself. This hole allows active air movement, which in your case is undesirably cooling the house. So you need a method to close the hole when it's not strictly needed.

Option 1

The simplest possible solution is to just remove the makeup air grille entirely and seal up the hole in the wall on both sides, with insulation in between. This is probably perfectly safe if your house is made of wood and was built before 1995 or so; builders didn't really start to care about air sealing until well into the 2000s. For example, if you have an un-louvered bathroom vent, anytime your house starts to get negative pressure, makeup air will just come in through there. Your house is most likely leaky enough that makeup air will naturally flow through the many, many openings, cracks, and holes in your walls, ceiling, basement, etc. You might want to get a blower door test done to confirm this. If the result is more than about 8 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure, you're probably just fine. Of course, if you put effort into sealing these cracks in the interest of energy efficiency, you're back to square 1 and you'll need external makeup air again.

Option 2

If your house is made of concrete blocks or you have a recently-built house made out of wood that was built nice and tight, that's not an option because you will have far fewer natural air leaks. A manual lever attached to a louvered grille would be the easiest solution and you can do it yourself very easily. You just open it when you turn on the range hood. The downside of course is that you'll need to remember to do this!

Option 3

A motorized damper that activates a louvered grille, as suggested by Philip Ngai, can also work, but it will probably have to be a custom job. I'm not aware of any products that do this in conjunction with a kitchen exhaust hood. That would be the most "set it and forget it" type of solution.

Option 4

There's one possible complication: If the makeup air vent is  close to the exhaust vent, it's quite possible that using both at once will simply result in the exhausted air being pulled right back into the house through a big air loop. If this is your situation, none of these band-aid fixes will work; you will need to have one of the openings relocated and in that case you might as well install an HRV if you'll be re-doing the ducts and cutting holes in the house.


How do you attach this fence panel to a 4x4 post?

The hanger you have pictured is not correct for the panel you have pictured as the 2x4 is not oriented correctly for them.
 If you are not comfortable using just deck screws you could put an L bracket on the bottom of the panel to carry the weight of it and use a 1/4" lag bolt or carriage bolt at the top for lateral or shear strength


How to effectively clean existing bricked columns?

It doesn't look like concrete splatter to me, just rough mortar from laying the bricks, way back when. This means there is nothing to 'clean off' if you like, rather the protruding mortar needs scraping back and it looks to be a fairly strong mortar.

I'd use a flat, cold chisel held at a shallow angle and a light-ish hammer (2lb or 1kg) and gently chisel or chip away the excess mortar. Much like a stone mason, carving a statue if that description helps.

Obviously stop once you are close to the bricks. Then I'd fill in any gaps, or damage with new mortar before painting. NOTE: When you fill in any gaps, think more like re-pointing the joints rather than filling a hole in drywall. Then the brickwork will look better once painted. If you smear the mortar all over the hole, this will look worse/obvious once painted.

Bear in mind this column was not built as 'face work', i.e. it is supposed to be covered up.Thus you are looking at some work to make it 'pretty'.


Non-throbbing, silent-compressor window air conditioner?

The source of the noise is the motor, compressor and fans spinning.  A DC air conditioner would make the same sounds.

The AC power frequency enters the picture because the cheapest-to-build motors are induction motors, which spin at slightly less than line frequency.  As such the noise frequencies tend to be in the 48-49 Hz or 58-59 Hz range.

Often there is also a "rattle" from something coming loose. A healthy unit should not rattle, but this is rather hard to fix.

The reason air conditioners are flippin' loud is they are cheap.  Of course there is consumer demand for quieter air conditioners, and the units are out there for the discerning shopper.  They are more money and most people don't want to pay it.  Or when they are shopping it doesn't occur to them to make it a priority.


Would it be safe to leave charred wood on a deck until repairs can be made?

Wood ignites at 575 degrees Fahrenheit.  Simple sunlight alone will not provide enough energy to cause wood sitting in the open air to ignite.  (Otherwise, buildings which had burned and been put out but not torn down yet would be forever bursting back into flame...)


Vinyl sheet flooring should be glued down in high traffic areas that will have rolling wheels such as wheelchair, office chairs or any heavy items on rollers as the vinyl can easily be stretched and easily torn if something catches on it. Speaking from experience:)
Worst culprit in kitchen is when you have to move a refrigerator, range, dishwasher and feet get caught when trying to slide back in. If your vinyl is not glued, find a thin sheet of plastic or something that has low friction and put that under the back feet when pushing the appliance back in. This should allow the feet to slip without rucking up the vinyl and possibly tearing it:)


Assuming this is in the USA, 120V system, there are generally two possibilities:

240V circuit

A dryer, range, air conditioner or other large appliance will use a 240V circuit, which will be implemented in the breaker panel as a pair of breakers - one on each "leg". However, that is normally for 30A or more. I can't think of any reasons to bother with 240V that wouldn't also use more power. So 15A x 2 is much more likely to be...

MultiWire Branch Circuit MWBC

This uses two breakers, each controlling a single hot wire and sharing a neutral. The breakers need to be tied together for common shutoff. Because US wiring does not normally have breakers on the neutral wire, without common shutoff you could turn off the breaker on one circuit in order to work on it but if there is any usage of the second circuit then there would be current flowing through the shared neutral wire, which would be a major safety hazard.

Where are MWBCs?

They could be anywhere. A typical use is to have one hot power the top receptacle and the other hot power the bottom receptacle in a series of duplex receptacles. But really they could be anywhere (including receptacles, lights, etc.) and, from the perspective of the person using the receptacle (plugging in a toaster or radio or vacuum cleaner or whatever) it looks and functions no differently than an ordinary circuit.


Is it acceptable to run 22/4 security wire along side Cat6 and Coax cables, or is there any possibility for interference?

No cause for concern, cat 6 and other UTP network cables are very good at rejecting interference, the relatively low voltage and power of the security system will not disrupt the signal on the UTP.  Big, high power sources of interference like arc welders might.


The limit open error code, simply means that the limit circuit is open. This could be an open limit switch (of which there could be more than one), a loose/disconnected wire, a bad control board, or some other break in the circuit.

Most systems apply 24V to the limit circuit, and if they don't detect ~24V on the other end they throw the error.

Locate the schematic, then trace the circuit to find the break. Without knowing the make and model; or having the schematic, there's not much more help I can provide.


Those are similar to a open wiring lamp I have installed in offices but in a waterproof fixture . They are most likely mr16 12v 20w lamps (the coated reflector gives them away) they could be a higher voltage but not likely to be above the NEC touch limit for wet locations.


What are these kind of assemble-able "Erector" sets generally known as or called?

Those are usually just called T slot aluminum extrusions.

The 80/20 one is by far the most common style but now there are alternative standards created in the past few years such as

MakerBeam http://amzn.to/2h2F9hq

OpenBeam http://amzn.to/2h1Tyui

80/20 profiles
10 series   1"
15 series   1.5"
20 series   20 mm
25 series   25 mm
30 series   30 mm
40 series   40 mm
45 Series   45 mm

Maker Beam 10 mm

Maker Beam XL 15 mm

Open Beam 15 mm


Drywall thickness for placing over ceiling drywall

Ceilings require 5/8" or 1/2" no-sag for 24" joist span. If you're able to screw it at 16" intervals or use adhesive between joists you could use standard 1/2". I wouldn't use 3/8" unless you have backing at 12" intervals or run adhesive between joists. 1/4" just isn't appropriate for a ceiling.
Update: For 16" joist span I'd use 1/2" or run a bead of construction adhesive between joists and use 3/8". I wouldn't trust 3/8" to not sag over 16", and 1/4" almost certainly will. Note that it can be difficult to prevent screw punch-through with 3/8" sheets. Set your screw gun's depth accurately.
Personally I'd be spending a few bucks more for lightweight 1/2" and not worry about glue or sagging. This will reduce the chance of over-stressing your ceiling framing, also.


Only 1 live wire instead of 2 for my light switch: is it normal? (Replacing Light Switch with Smart Switch: )

Assuming that all 4 switches go directly to 4 different lights. Each light has to have a hot switch leg and a nuetral. In the switch box there has to be a branch circuit consisting of a hot wire (if Romex, the black wire) and a nuetral wire (if Romex, the white wire).
All the light fixtures will have two wires comming into the switch box. Hook all the whites together along with the feed nuetral from the branch circuit.
Hook one side of each light switch screw to to the branch circuit Hot wire. Hook the other side of the each light switch screw to the wire that goes to one of the four light fixtures. Looking at your smart switch it looks like it needs a nuetral hooked to the white wire and the two blacks are for the hot wire from the branch circuit and the other black is a switch leg that goes to which ever light fixture you are trying to control with the smart switch.


That term is not a known term.  Literally, you are the only person on the known web to have ever used the expression.

Congratulations, I guess!


How can I color/style match concrete patch to old sidewalk? See image

Your repair will never match... perfectly.

Your first question: How to remove the bad repair? It will be difficult and you won’t be able to remove it all. I’d start with a chisel and try a grinder when it is low enough that the marks can be covered during the repair.

I’d consider cutting that entire section out and replacing it with a new pour...especially if the walk is in an important location, like a front walk.

Second question: How to repair? I’ve seen concrete repair by “old-timers” who take great pride in matching color and texture. However, they don’t match it perfectly.

If you want to try, I’d: 1) find a place to experiment so you can pour 8-9 small samples until you get it acceptable, (you’ll need to wait until it dries...28 days between samples,) 2) use concrete coloring and mix it into your mix, 3) find a sufficient amount of rocks that match in size, color, etc.

You will need to hand place the rocks to the same spacing, depth, etc. as the existing.

It’s more “art” than production. It takes a lot of time and patience.


How to make dish drainer board from plywood shelf

Several coats of polyurethane would work. Acrylic likewise. Epoxy would work. Per @DMoore's comment on some other question, redguard would do, but would stink for several weeks (as might the epoxy, depending on epoxy formulation.)

Be sure to coat both top and bottom and especially edges. Top and bottom to reduce warpage that you'd be prone to if you only coat one side, and edges since plywood likes to fall apart if moisture gets in between the layers.

You could also possibly build this from "solid surface countertop" material - 1/2" thick plastic, pretty much.


The easiest way I've found to remove screws which you just cannot get purchase on with a screwdriver is to make the slot bigger. This can be accomplished with Dremel type rotary tool with a slim cutting disk. This is made easier if the head of the screw is above the working surface such as in the picture you showed. All you are trying to do is recreate the slot you've damaged. This will probably mean you'll need new screws in the end (but I think you are there already anyway). This, of course, will not work if the head is snapped off. Once the new slot is created, just use a flat tip screwdriver of the appropriate size to remove the screw. If it is still happening after this, the aforementioned processes of screw extraction would come into play.


Are dual-function AFCI/GFCI breakers less effective than single-purpose GFCI breakers?

They should be equally effective. They have a job (or two jobs) to do, and are designed and tested to do that job.
But I would suspect a higher incidence of False Positives nuisance trips*, particularly since you can't have one part without the other. One option to consider is AFCI via breakers and GFCI via receptacles (first in each chain), which also provides easier reset. AFCI is, generally speaking, protection against either internal wiring problems - e.g., nail through a wire or worn out (or rodent chewed through) insulation - or certain significant failures (backstabs or other bad connections, worn-out electric blankets).
On the other hand, while GFCI does provide protection that can substitute for the "usual" ground wire (since any current that would be going over ground must be "missing" from hot/neutral and therefore an imbalance == GFCI trip), it also provides protection against true device ground-faults and certain temporary problems, particularly due to water getting inside electrical equipment. As a result, having easy and convenient reset for GFCI is potentially more useful than for AFCI. In addition, while AFCI is important for the wires, GFCI is for receptacle/device/people protection, so putting it at point-of-use (first receptacle in the chain) works very well.
*I initially wrote "false positives", thinking like incorrect spam filtering or rapid COVID-19 tests. However, in the case of GFCI trips, the vast majority of trips will be true positives. The issue is that many (not all) of these so-called nuisance trips will be situations that can be resolved easily & safely. Spill water on your toaster (or other appliance with internal exposed wiring) and you will have temporary ground-fault that will be resolved by drying out the appliance. But that trip is still real and potentially deadly, just temporary. Unlike, for example, worn out insulation where the danger never goes away (and the GFCI trips keep happening).


Can anyone tell me why my new window unit airconditioner has stopped blowing cold air?

There's a lot to address here. So here goes:

In general, when a store is selling a warranty, it is generally going to be a waste of money, FOR YOU, to buy it.
FROZEN: Air conditioners can freeze up, this is often due to things that affect the units performance or refrigerant levels in the unit. Since you keep the unit clean, and you aren't indicating you use it in an inappropriate environment or manner, in general you should be ok here. Nonetheless, things happen, and if the unit freezes up, you can usually tell. Not to mention, you will most likely notice the airflow is not "normal" (if it is frozen)
DIRT: If you have pets, or live in an area where a lot of dust, hair, or other debris could have entered the unit, then the coils could be clogged. So question: what type of "stuff" were you cleaning off of the filter? Did you run it without the filter? If the filter looked like a dryer lint trap, then there is a good chance so does the coils. You may be able to inspect the coils with a flashlight. You could potentially pay someone to service it if you do see dirt inside the unit. You can buy a "comb" for cleaning the coils but its not really recommended on a home unit.
COMPRESSOR/SWITCH: With the unit off, turn it to fan only. Then toggle it to COOL. Does the unit actively draw more current? Do you hear a motor/pump engage? It should be near instantaneous when you turn on "COOL". If you don't hear these things, it needs to be serviced. Unfortunately these are not often worth paying more to fix. It can be a thermal-couple, bad connections in wiring connector or on a board, a fuse, a startup capacitor, low refrigerant due to a leak in the closed system, or a burned out or seized compressor. Parts can range from a few dollars, to hundreds. Then there is a service charge. I would call around to repair centers and see who, if any, in your area will do a free quote.
WATER: Condesate, this is meant to drain right out of the back of the unit. This is done by "simply" mounting the unit in the window with the correct tilt to the unit. I would not anticipate an incorrect incline to ruin the unit. I would expect said improper installation to cause window, window sill, wall, floor, etc. damage, and it would rust out the inside of the A/C prematurely. But it shouldn't stop the unit from working. Using a level and making sure it is in the window properly should suffice. Just exercise safety and caution.
FORTUNE: If you paid a fortune for the unit, what is the manufacturers warranty? Probably a year? If so, it lasted it's year. I am not trying to be cynical, but there is truth to this statement: Businesses absolutely design equipment as inexpensive as possible, while lasting as long as they state it will. Some call this planned obsolescence, and if anyone ever tells you there is not such thing, they aren't entirely correct. My best advice answer here, is to do your homework when you buy a unit, look at various reviews, and only buy once you are reasonably certain the unit you are purchasing is a good deal, (be it value, money, warranty, etc).

On my answer #1 above: Warranties are sold such that the guarantor has "written the fine print" to potentially deny all claims, with the exception of very few. It's a headache often not worth it. So While I'm suggesting you never buy extended warranties, obviously there are situations where it is a good idea. Read fine print, consider cost of a new unit, and if its worth the "value".

Sadly, home A/C units are not high quality.


Is there an accessible space above this ceiling? I moved a front door light from the wall to the ceiling by installing a ceiling fixture. The space was accessible and I was able to pull the wire up into the attic.

Our exterior entrance space was small laterally and the wall fixture prevented full opening of an outward opening storm door we added. I covered the hole in the wall with a sturdy board on which I mounted an objet d'art -- a flat glass representation of an owl made by my brother.

If the space is not accessible or you just want to move the fixture higher on the wall, you could leave the current box in place and run a cable up to to new box higher up. Since the existing box would have a splice in it, you would have to cover the existing box with a listed cover which could however be painted to match the wall.

The wiring for a doorbell could be fished inside the wall up to a higher location or it could be run externally say under a length of trim, e.g., 1/2 to 3/4" thick by 1.5 to 2" wide. I would mount the new door bell on the trim.


Replacing smart switch 3 gang box neutrals all tied up

Get a bigger nut/connector (or more of them)
You're right to be concerned about cramming the existing wirenut over its capacity.  The solution, though, is to either use a larger nut/connector (such as an 8-port push-in type connector) or two smaller nuts connected to each other by a piece of white wire of the appropriate gauge.


Replacing a cooktop - old is electric and new is electric induction - Can i use the same wire and just change the breaker?

You need to see what the instructions say about breaker protection and circuit size. I'd say no you can't use same wire and just change the breaker and there a good chance the wiring wasn't appropriate for your old cooktop. You probably need a forty amp breaker and #8 AWG CU wire. Again, check the installation directions to determine the electrical needs. Also verify what size wire you have installed. Your existing 30 amp breaker more than likely has #10 AWG wire attached which is good for 30 amps.


How should I apply brick to interior wall?

Drywall is a bad substrate for essentially gluing heavy stuff to. It's soft weak gypsum with a facer of laminated paper that can peel right off. If you really want a brick wall inside, I'd recommend just building it right in front of the drywall. Obviously, the sanity of this idea depends on several factors, one of which is the subfloor. If you're on a concrete slab, then no sweat. Doing this on the second floor or above a basement is another story.

If that's not an option, you could probably remove the drywall and replace it with cementboard, and then mortar a thin brick veneer to it like in that other answer.


What Support/Legs would i need for a 2m Solid Oak Computer Desk?

You could use side/back ledgers under the "shelf" and add a stiffener of 1x2 oak under the front edge with glue and screws.
You could use a piece of wood on the front edge also if it is unfinished with glue and finish nails.
Also, it looks like you can order with an edging strip.
Consider letting them add a suitable piece of wood to the unsupported edge.


You need a wireless switch/outlet combination.

There are three basic approaches:

switch in electric box (powered by line voltage - requires some wiring)
switch with battery on mounting bracket or loose on table
smart phone/tablet controlled outlet (no separate switch)

In each case, there is an outlet module that plugs into a standard, always on outlet of your choice. The module is powered or not, depending on the signal received from the remote switch or smart device.

These are available in a number of configurations from numerous sources and are fairly cheap. Search wireless switch outlet. An example of a battery operated switch is illustrated below.

The latter two choices will not use the existing switch or switched outlet. You could use a restricted cover plate to avoid having people try the unused old switch and mount the new wireless switch nearby.

While there may be a transmitter/receiver pair that both plug into outlets, this seems like an unusual configuration, will be harder to find and will likely cost a good bit more

 Images and links are illustrative only, not an endorsement of goods or sources.


Is it OK to use motor oil as bar oil in a chainsaw?

It might be OK for a bit but I probably wouldn't do it. You could look up your owner's manual to see if they say anything. If you must use the chainsaw and have nothing else on hand, surely motor oil is better than nothing. I think bar oil is stickier than regular motor oil to prevent splattering as much.

FWIW I like to buy the "biodegradable" chain oil, since it invariably ends up all over the place.


Should I add a vapor barrier to kraft faced insulation?

Any high humidity area like a bathroom should have a good vapor barrier under the sheetrock. This barrier should be taped at the seams and ceiling forming sort of an air tight cell.  Usually a kraft backed insulation is not a very good vapor barrier and has lots of gaps. To be on the safe side and avoid any condensation between the 6 mil and kraft, you could simply remove the kraft backing or cut several slices in it top to bottom. Usually it will not cause a problem unless you live in a very wet humid climate  or the plastic is not sealed properly.  The 6 mil is a much better material for your purpose than kraft backed.