Is it code-legal to have a circuit breaker box within a storage room?

National Electrical Code (NEC) typically defines rooms and areas based on the "intended" use of the area. They do not provide a definition for a "storage room", but they do provide a definition for a "clothes closet".

Clothes Closet. A non-habitable room or space intended primarily for storage of garments and apparel.

To answer the rest of your question, we'll have to take a look at Article 110.  Since section 110.26 of the NEC is a bit long, quoting the entire text here may not be considered "fair use" so instead I'll summarize it for you.

National Electrical Code 2008
ARTICLE 110 Requirements for Electrical Installations
II. 600 Volts, Nominal, or Less
110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment. Sufficient access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electrical
equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such
equipment.

110.26(A)(1) Depth of Working Space.
This section says the depth of Working Space must be between 3 and 4 feet, "measured from the exposed live parts or from the enclosure or opening if the live parts are enclosed".  In a typical residential situation, the depth of Working Space will be 3'.
110.26(A)(2) Width of Working Space.
This section says the width of Working Space must be the width of the equipment or 30", whichever is greater. And that there should be enough Working Space to allow the equipment door to open 90 degrees.
110.26(A)(3) Height of Working Space.
The Working Space must be clear from "the grade, floor, or platform" to the height of 6 1/2', or the height of the equipment whichever is greater. There is an exception to this which says:

In existing dwelling units, service equipment or panelboards that do not exceed 200 amperes shall be permitted in spaces where the headroom
is less than 2.0 m (61⁄2 ft).

This section also says that any other equipment associated with the electrical installation"located above or below the equipment, cannot extend more than 6" beyond the front of the equipment.

110.26(B) Clear Spaces. Working space required by this section shall not be used for storage. When normally enclosed live parts are
exposed for inspection or servicing, the working space, if in a
passageway or general open space, shall be suitably guarded.

Which means the equipment can be in an area used for storage, but the Working Space cannot be used for storage. The basic idea is if you draw a box on the floor in front of the equipment 30" wide and 36" deep, and then extend that box up 6 1/2', you'll have your "Working Space". As long as you keep this Working Space clear, you should have no problems.  However, there are a few more things to consider.
110.26(C) Entrance to and Egress from Working Space.

110.26(C)(1) Minimum Required. At least one entrance of sufficient area shall be provided to give access to and egress from working space
about electrical equipment.

You'll have to check local building codes to determine what the "sufficient area" is, and then make sure you keep this area clear too.
Another important consideration is lighting.
110.26(D) Illumination.
This is a section that is often overlooked in residential situations, and is often satisfied simply by having lights in the room where the service panel is installed.  Personally, I take this section seriously.  I recommend installing a dedicated circuit, consisting of a single switch and a single luminaire. Then installing it just above the equipment, as to provide adequate light for anybody working on the equipment.  Putting the luminaire on a dedicated circuit allows you to deenergize other circuits, while maintaining good lighting while servicing the equipment.
It's a good idea (though a bit overkill), to also provide emergency lighting near the equipment.  Installing a simple fixture like this near the equipment, ensures that you won't have to fumble in the dark to flip breakers if the power ever goes out.

This unit can be installed on the same dedicated equipment luminaire circuit. That way even if you have to switch off the whole panel to do work, you'll still have light.

tl;dr

Keep an area 30" wide, 36" deep, and 6 1/2' high in front of the equipment clear (Working Space).
Provide "sufficient area" for entrance to and egress from the equipment (see local building codes to determine "sufficient area").
Make sure the area has enough lighting.
Rooms are defined by intended use.


What you have is a switch leg and possibly a outlet or switched outlet depending on how connected,

the white with the blacks was the switch leg and was correct but it should have Been reidentified as a hot by tape or a colored marker other than white, green or gray.

Find the cable that comes from the breaker connect that black to the white of the switch if you want the outlet hot all the time connect the don’t know where it goes black to the breaker black.

Now the switch black connects to the 2 blacks for the new light and the black for the existing light.

Next connect the white from the breaker the 3 lights and the receptacle together.

Last if there are grounds tie them together and if a metal box the box should be pigtailed also.

This will get you back together. If you want the outlet switched that hot black wire would go with the 3 lamps black but it may feed multiple outlets so hot all the time is normal.

Next time only remove the wires from the old fixture because if it works it is probably correct and you will have to reconnect it that way to make it work in the future.


I disagree with BMitch as far as if the P-trap will come apart. (Possibly the first time we've disagreed?) The metal nut could not be where it is if the joint did not separate. The rest of his answer I agree is the easiest fix. However, if possible, physically cleaning the trap is preferable to a chemical approach. I'm assuming there is a slip fitting just out of the picture, just as there is in non-disposal side. By detaching the metal ring in the first photo and the unseen slip joint, the trap should be able to be removed.

Even without a slip joint, the pipe could be detached right at the disposal itself. This could actually be preferable as it would allow the P-trap to swivel, which may help in loosening the nut. Are you sure you are trying to turn the nut the correct direction? I'm not saying you don't know how to loosen fasteners. The direction depends on which piece the nut is threaded onto, which is not always clear in plumbing.

The curved shoulder of the nut tells me it is threaded onto the U-bend, so the nut is turned anti-clockwise when looking down at it. It's hard to tell by photos, but you appear to have decent access to the nut from the left side as it is below the pipe coming in from the other side. Even though the opposite trap may be in the way for fully turning a wrench, you seem to have enough room to place the wrench handle near the trap and pull right.

As for counter force, if pulling on the pipe itself isn't working, try a large screwdriver wedged in the inside of the U-bend. If you have the right wrench, the ring nut shouldn't offer a lot of resistance.


How to ensure all deck posts are sharing the load

The idea would be to just adjust all the posts so that they are tight and snug the same amount under the deck joists when the deck dead weight is resting on them. The carrying ability of the posts and beams will come into consideration when later you place a live load on the deck and the joists flex some in response. Keep in mind that just because it appears that beam 1-2 is redundant only gives testament to the fact that there is design margin at play.

Note that the beam 1-2 was clearly installed there because it was needed to deal with the joist span from the ledger to the 1-2 beam. If there had not been a 1-2 beam then the joists would have had to be engineered to carry the load for the longest span from the ledger to 1-3. That may have increased the joist height and cost a fair amount.


Looking for a volume control valve for an under the sink water purifier

Add a 1/4 turn valve on the line to the filter and just  keep it partially closed.  You can use a push to connect valve.
Bonus: You can close that valve to change the filter without shutting down water to the other fixture.

Photo from Mosquitomax.com


What are disadvantages of wood floor covering in shower?

There are woods used in wet environments, mostly those that are fairly impervious to rot - teak, cedar, redwood, mahogony (less so).

Untreated: Sometimes cedar, redwood and teak are left natural. In almost all these cases, they are not exposed to prolonged soaking.  Even in saunas they are misted and then dried, not soaked the way a shower soaks. On Boats they get spashed, they dry.  When they are left untreated, the wood weathers, loses its color and eventually becomes somewhat rough. Cedar and redwood are fairly soft, and on a floor will wear out, probably quickly. Teak will last longer but will roughen up and wear out eventually. Also untreated wood tends to hold water and is more prone to developing mold or organic growths, such as bacteria, especially in a shower that is not exposed to sunlight.

Treated: These woods can be finished with a penetrating sealer or a hard marine finish, like spar varnish or the harder polyurethanes, or even an epoxy finish. Even then, these finishes need to be redone often, sometimes every year, depending on the amount of soaking and other wear.

Finished or sealed Wood can be used in bathrooms where there is just an occasional spash or where the wet is quickly mopped up. I have hard pine floors finished with several coats of poly in my bathroom that works fine. My shower is a porcelain tub.

On the whole, it would be very questionable to put wood in a shower floor.

Disclaimer: Recently, exotic hardwoods have come into widespread use in the US for porches and decks. Ipe, cumaru, and other South American hardwoods can handle repeated wettings without significant deterioration except fading. They often need special tools for cutting and drilling, since they are very hard. But note that, even in deck use, the soaking is probably not as complete and frequent as a shower. These woods can be treated with special oil to prolong life and improve water handling.


'Green' alternative to TSP for cleaning walls for paint preparation

It's not easy but it provides a piece of mind. I've just been using 3M sponges with scrub-pads and Meyers Household Cleaner.

I've peeled the wallpaper in three rooms and followed up with a good scrub. Let it Dry. Then spackle and sand spots (120 or finer) that need it. Let that Dry. Then sand patches and lightly sand whole wall. Wipe down with a damp sponge rinsing out dust as you go. Let Dry. Paint with two coats.


If your ambition for the shed would call for more power when you can afford to fix things, put in a sub-panel with that in mind, not one limited by your 12Gauge (20Amps - depending on the exact wire you have, 120V or remotely possibly 240V, 2x120V) feed wire.
Assuming a 12 Ga 120V feed (white, black, bare or green) the breaker at the house should be 20A and GFCI (because I'm assuming the burial may be sketchy, among other reasons) and that is actually adequate protection for the whole circuit as it stands, IF that's how it's fed.
i.e. you can certainly put in a sub-panel with an eye to the future, but until you upgrade the feed to the shed, you don't actually need to.
General advice here is to go big on sub-panels. Among other things, small ones are not that much cheaper than big ones, and the "size" does NOT need to "match" the breaker feeding it, while having plenty of "spaces" to put breakers in is very useful, and tends to scale with "size" - so a 100 or 200A panel with 12-24-40 "spaces" might be perfectly reasonable even if you were only planning to run 50A to the shed. The "main breaker" in the subpanel will never trip in that case, but it DOES serve the useful purpose of being a local shutoff for the shed.
You may be perfectly happy with a smaller panel, given that your current ambitions are 4 receptacles and 2 (light?) switches, which would only be 6 circuits at most and perhaps as few as 2, but look at your options, costs, and any potential growth before going tiny.
For now, based on your wire, you only have 20A available, most likely 20A at 120V.
That's a way to measure the wire size, but the wire size should be imprinted on the jacket of the cable (or printed on individual wires that are not in cable, which does not appear to be what you are describing. If your conduit extends all the way, or you dig up the cable to put in one that does, that's what you might replace the cable with.) So you should be able to determine wire size just by reading the outer sheath.


This might very well be water hammer, where liquid alternates gas it will 'hammer' into any curves and can make noise. Have you tried turning of all powered devices by just flipping the main switch? Does it still make noise then? Try to eliminate all possible sources one by one. It might just be a faulty bearing in one of the pumps. Are there any other constructions near the building where the noise could come from?

This is not really an answer, but you didn't really ask a question either. If I was able to comment on this SE, this would have been a comment.


That main breaker appears to be an RCD (Residual Current Device, also known as a GFCI or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter).

So, apparently you have a ground fault somewhere in one or both of the circuits that are tripping the RCD. Since those circuits are both outside, they might travel through a common junction box or conduit that's suffered from water intrusion (and perhaps the nighttime temperatures lead to condensation that trips the breaker).

Some electrical equipment can lead to nuisance tripping of RCD/GFCI devices (such as electrical motors or fluorescent lights), though since you say that the breaker trips even when the circuits are not in use, this is likely not the problem.

I'd trace out the wires that lead out to those outside outlets and perimeter lights and see if you can find any damage or water problems.

There are a number of stack exchange questions on gfci tripping, which might help you isolate the problem.

If you can't find the problem, I'd call out an electrician to evaluate the circuits and if he can't find the problem, maybe try switching out the main breaker to see if that main RCD is faulty.

Providing your location would be useful, you're apparently not in the USA since that breaker does not seem to be common here.


How to install wardrobe flushed against the wall

Yes, remove the baseboard.  It looks like those Pax wardrobes are intended to be screwed to the wall like a cabinet.   You'll want them flush with the wall when putting the screws in.  There is no additional risk of mold (unless you are spilling liquid behind it).


How much load can a (wood) board support, if it is supported only at the ends?

I'd go with @Aarthi's load bearing table resource for a general idea of what's reasonable.

If you're looking for equations though, you can start with these:

Beam Deflection Formulas

Beam Deflection and Stress Calculator

Area Moments of Inertia

Using the Parallel Axis Theorem

Wood Material Properties (Modulus of Elasticity (E) found in Table 4-3a)

For the dynamic loading, you'll want to do something similar to the fun I had on this question.

...and you may want to consult a good Mechanics of Materials book. (cheaper paperback international edition on Ebay)

As @Ian points out, the problem is not a simple one and is best solved by simply using what's worked for other people in the past. Go take a look at the swings at your local park and use the same size of beam, provided the span is comparable.

Also, if you're really worried, you could always make the rope into a 'Y' to eliminate bending stress on the beam, leaving it solely in shear. This way, the beam is bearing the compression load from the lateral tension on the 'Y', which will keep the trees from bowing toward each other.

Diagram:

|      |______________________|      |
|      |  |                 | |      |
| tree |  |                 | | tree |
|      |__|_________________|_|      |
|      |   \               /  |      |
|      |    \             /   |      |
|      |     \           /    |      |
|      |      \         /     |      |
|      |       \       /      |      |
|      |        \     /       |      |
|      |         \   /        |      |
|      |          \ /         |      |
|      |           Y          |      |
|      |           |          |      |
|      |           |          |      |
|      |           |          |      |
      ...more rope and trees...
|      |           |          |      |
|      |           |          |      |
|      |         -----        |      |
|      |       /  ___  \      |      |
|      |      |  /   \  |     |      |
|      |      |  \___/  |     |      |
|      |       \       /      |      |
|      |         -----        |      |


1" inch pipe connected to 3/4" pipe at meter outlet

Putting in 1” will reduce pressure losses especially important with long distances from the meter to the house static pressure will not be affected . In my state 3/4 is the minimum size and 1” is recommended up to the water heater split if there is no pressure reducing valve. if You want other information, you could ask it by editing the question.


What is the best way to repair a cracked bathtub?

Most bathtubs that aren't cast iron or steel are acrylic plastic.

If the crack is right through the tub and water is leaking though, you should replace the tub.  If it's an emergency and you need a short-term repair, I'd use a two-part epoxy.  Choose a thin epoxy (2:1 ratio) from the selection at the home center and use a putty knife to try to force it into the crack.  Let it cure for 24 hours.  This will be at best a short term solution because if tub cracked it must be because it flexed in that spot - it will flex again and the brittle epoxy repair will crack again quickly.

If the crack is a surface scratch, it can be repaired with a repair kit such as offered by http://www.surface-repair.com/.  The problem is color matching: your tub will have changed color over time and it will be difficult or impossible to get a good match.

Another approach is using fine sandpaper.  You can get very fine wet-and-dry sandpaper at an auto parts store like Napa.  Get 320, 600, 1200 and 2000 grit.  Apply some elbow grease to the scratch with the 320.  Try to keep the scratches localized and in one direction.  Use the 320 until the scratch is gone.  Then move to the 600 and keep it up until the scratches from the 320 are gone.  By the time you're done 1200 you may be satisfied, but if not you should be able to get a fairly glossy finish with the 2000.


What is this nut called and can it be removed and reused/replaced?

I wish comments would allow pictures, but what you have is something generically called a "push on fastener"   I have to disagree with jsotola, I consider them "barely reusable", they often break when when removing, esp. if old.   I wouldn't count on being able to re-use it.
I attached a pic of something what I think is close to what you have.


How can I verify where the pipes in my basement go?

this is fun, this is straight up detective work, and i'm sure you can figure it out with some guidelines

mike gives good advice, with the sniff test and such, but i think it might be easier another way.

if it was laid out for a basement bathroom, which would be my guess, then those smaller pipes would be vanity drain, and would be laid out to line up within a 2x4 wall.  you will need a framing square, and a 4' level or some equivalent thing to make a perpendicular (square) line off of the wall nearest one of the smaller pipes, and then the other.  basically you will want to draw a line that goes where the edge of a 2x4 would be if that pipe was right in the middle of it.

my guess is, from looking at your pic, that if you did this with both of those smaller pipes, they may not both be on the same line with each other, but the center of that 3" pipe will fall near perfectly 12 1/2 inches from the line you draw, on one of them.

12" is the standard layout for toilet from the wall, so that is your guide.

this may not help, but could.

other things to consider...

these builders are so cookie cutter by default, that asking a neighbor to describe their basement bathroom layout, could result in some answers.

your vanity drain will be a 1 1/2 inch pipe.
your tub drain will be a 1 1/2 inch pipe
your stand up shower must be a 2 inch pipe
toilet can be 3 or 4, but will be more than likely 3, and will then be right about 3 1/2 inches around if measured at the top.

they could easily put a glue type p-trap in the 2 inch or 1 1/2 inch pipe for your shower or tub, and bury it in the concrete, as you only need access if using the non-glue, slip joint type trap.

if i was betting, i would say the pipes you say are 2" are really 1 1/2" inner diameter, and therefor 2" outer, and if you do the square line thing i describe, you will find that from the one line, the other 2" pipe is around 6" forward, and the larger pipe is centered about 12" forward, this would mean your room is roughed in for a vanity and tub/shower. (really odd to have toilet in between, me thinks)

anyway, those lines coming from above are just left long so you can find em.  they are vents for something, i'm guessing plumbing (an extra mechanical room provision would be very odd)  they are vents, and you have much more freedom with vent pipes then with drain pipes, (for instance you can do straight 90 degree turns with no radius with a vent but not with a drain, as the water must be able to sweep to some degree for ease of flow around turns and changes in direction)  so since they cant orient the upstairs plumbing / framing to match the basement, they would just leave you vents to tie into later, and expect you to have the floor joist region to be able to easily make the appropriate turns in the upstairs pipes to match with what you have in the basement.  (remember these builders are doing the minimum required so that you can put a bathroom in later without having to conduct major surgery on your basement floor and / or upstairs plumbing and framing to get a bathroom accomplished at a later date.

move the insulation and see where those pipes from above connect to.  as reasonably certain as i am to what they are, 3 - 1 1/2 vents for a toilet vanity and tub is vent overkill as i see it. (in fact, i'm a stickler on venting myself and to do this right there would have to be a vent coming out of the ground, already tied into the toilet line, so that may be another option, (that one of the 1 1/2 inch pipes are a vent) - (your vent should always tie in below the level of the p-trap, which since your p-trap is built into the toilet, the vent for the toilet should always tie in below that level, and in this case, would be connected to the toilet drain, below the floor, and therefor be coming up somewhere nearby.  (i don't have my book with me right now, but I wouldn't vent a toilet with a shared vent from a vanity)

so yeah, if after drawing that perpendicular line from the nearby walls - you find that these 2" pipes are in line with each other, then my guess is one is a vent for the toilet. and i would be quite pissed off that nothing was written, etc or labeled so you knew which - as more than likely you can't legally just use one or the other.  (one is designed to be a vent and will be tied in as such and the other will be tied in to the 3" as a drain and most likely will be different in build and function.

this exercise is all about you finding out as much as you can and just applying that to some common sense building practices.

good luck, brother.


Identifying countertop material and removing mug rings

it looks like melamine or laminate.

Either way the stuff is heat resistant to well past the boiling temperature of water, those are not burn marks from a mug, so they are som kind of dye mark.

Use a strong bleach: both surface types are chemical resistant.

If that doesn't work use a gritty cleaning compound sparingly, the surface is only thin.


Water hammer, PRV, and safe water pressure at water heater

PRVs (or a Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve, as it should) have pretty much nothing to do with water hammer or the whining.

Whining

If replacing the T&P valve fixed it, then good for you, but if not, check out this wonderful This Old House video.

Water Hammer

When valves close too quickly, the inertia of the water in the pipes causes a buildup in the force against the valve, causing a hammering sound to propagate through the pipe. You can simply install water hammer arrestors at the problematic appliances.

Water Pressure

120 psi is at the high end of what (GE) appliances are likely to tolerate. Without knowing too much more about the plumbing, all I can suggest is a regulator to manage the pressure.


How can I hang a ceiling fan with a 3/4 inch difference between the junction box and bracket?

There is a 3/4" extender sold by Cooper Industries (and maybe others). They call it a cover. This site sells it and it probably can be found elsewhere online.

You need to be sure that the box in the ceiling is firmly attached to the framing, preferably directly screwed into a joist. Fan rated boxes have heavier duty attachments for the fan hanger and use longer screws.

Then you need to make sure that the fan hanger is firmly attached.  I would attach it directly to the ceiling box, not just the extender/cover.


Is wiring supplying an integrated HVAC breaker a branch circuit or feeder?

Since you have breakers there it would be a feeder. A branch circuit : the conductors between the final overcurrent device protecting the circuit and outlets. In article 100 definitions see exhibit 100.7 commentary is the direction from the feeder definition.


Shared water supply with combi boiler but shower hot water pressure extremely low

check if the shower head is clogged with limestone
check if the mixer is clogged (usually only hot supply gets clogged)
check that the combi isn't clogged: get a bucket, get a watch, weight it empty, go to another tap (served by the same boiler), open hot water at maximum heat and maximum flow, fill the bucket for exactly 60 seconds. If the bucket gained less than 6 kilos, the combi heat exchanger got clogged and you have to call the assistance. You'll have to pay about £150 to clean it up.
In winter hot water flow is usually reduced due to reduced mains temperature. (But usually it shouldn't be too noticeable)

...
Little late: I didn't looked at the time the question was made


Fishing wire through exterior wall -- what problems am I likely to encounter?

You may or may not have fire blocks, depending on the height of your walls (a quick search suggests 10' or higher) and the codes in place at the time your house was built.  However, in a 1986 house, you'll  definitely have drywall so a decent stud finder would be able to tell you quickly if you have them.  Run it horizontally to find the studs, then vertically where you want your wiring to go to see if it picks up anything in the cavity.

If you do have a fire block, you can get flexible drill bit extenders so you can drill a hole through it.  Probably easiest to do from below (where you're cutting the opening for the electrical box) unless you have a gable at that point on the wall.

Apart from insulation, other issues you might run into include:

other wiring near the spot that you're trying to use;
covered-over windows from earlier remodels;
sheathing nails missing the studs they're supposed to be going into;
if you have loose-fill insulation, it'll all come pouring out when you cut a hole for the electrical box.


Can I ask my contractor to redo a tile job I'm not happy with?

We can't really answer the cost or any legal questions (OT per our FAQ), but it's unanimous that this job was done poorly. Repairing it right will likely involve removing everything and starting over from scratch. There's not enough benefit in saving a few rows of tile and it would make the thin set and grout work more difficult. Ripping up the floor in the bathroom is more difficult the better your contractor did their job. A power chisel will make the job go faster, but no matter how you do it, it will be a mess.

I'd point out the mistakes, ask him to correct it, and if he refuses, never work with that contractor again. A good contractor is willing to fix their mistakes and make the customer happy, since a good reference is usually worth more than the materials and labor.


How to fasten wooden board and batten shutters to vinyl siding

Typically, #10 stainless steel screws.  However, it depends on what is behind your siding and what material was used to construct the shutters.  Cedar or pine is very common in shutters and is light which presents no problem.  I have seen shutters constructed of composite materials that can be fairly heavy and thus, you may want to go to a #12 and/or add more of them.  More importantly, they need to be anchored into something solid behind the vinyl siding.  If your wall sheathing is plywood or OSB you should not have a problem.  If it is insulation board/blackboard or something along those lines, you will need to either hit a stud or install mounting blocks.  Also, you will want to pre-drill all your holes, fill the holes in the vinyl with caulk or similar sealant, then drive your screws to hedge against water intrusion.  Hope this helps.


When you says it freezes up, do you mean that you get ice build-up on the pipes and/or condenser? If so, there's nothing you can do yourself. Call an AC tech.


Can I use a heat gun to melt the Ice from the external part of split ductless system?

DAO1 is right, if this happens often, then your defrost capability are suspect, and you should call a technician.

For the time being, if no one is currently occupying the units, the best thing to do would be to run the system in AC mode.  This is optimal for 2 reasons:
1) It will cause a more gradual change to any of your system parts, meaning there's less of a chance of parts cracking or splitting due rapid expansion.
2) It will heat the ice from the inside, meaning you shouldn't have to melt the ice all the way though to remove it.

That said, the radiator fins are built for heat transfer and heat alone shouldn't damage them, so a heat gun on setting you could point at your skin for a minute with out pain would likely do the trick without damage.

You may also want to consider using a space heater in the future, especially when the temperature is below 5 degrees F because your ductless heat pump may can have a negative coefficient of performance at that temperature as indicated by Figure 8 in this NEEA study.


It's a floor jack height extender.

Wow! I really love all the comments. The ones I'm actually familiar with had knurling on the sides instead of the black, looks like abrasive, coating shown on this one. They came in three different sizes and the set included a jack with a hole in the lifting plate that one end of the height increaser would fit into and a flange that would fit over the top for more stability. We mostly used them for support when working under machinery that had been partially lifted as they were easy to operate in confined areas without that 12" handle that's on many other types of supports.

Do you have any other parts like I've described?


How can I plane a half inch off the rough surface of a wooden table top?

Turn it over and drag it down the street behind your truck. Have a friend ride on it to minimize the bouncing. Then finish up with the scrub plane.


How do I add fire protection to a common (shared) wall?

Type X drywall, which is typically 5/8" thick (as opposed to 1/2") and contains fiberglass within the gypsum is typically used for fire protection. I believe it increases the burn through time to around 1 hour, and it increases the impact resistance (there's often falling debris in a fire). For further protection, every electrical junction box should be enclosed around the back, top, and bottom with 2x4's and plywood to prevent fires from burning through the box, or a fire that starts in the box from spreading quickly to the other side. Additionally, every penetration in the wall should be sealed with fire rated caulking (it's typically orange in color, and they also have a similar expanding foam of the same color, so it's easy for the building inspector to verify you used the correct product).

The safe and sound insulation is a great addition. The only other thing you could do is to add a 1" air gap and a second wall on your side, which would help with both the spread of fire and sound, but the downside is that you'd lose almost 6" of space in your kitchen.

Realize that no structure will be fire proof, the goal is to slow the spread until the fire department can get there. And the last small fire I saw in a townhouse resulted in half a dozen engines, ladder trucks, etc, because they take the risk of a spreading fire very seriously.


Folks, folks...

15A outlets are totally legal on 20A circuits.

Because the NEC makes an exception specifically for that (National Electrical Code):

The exception is by careful plan. It would be stupid for electricians to have to carry two types of receptacles on their truck.  So UL (the listing agency) requires all 15A receptacles to have internal circuit paths good for 20A. This allows the same receptacle to be used in both 15A and 20A circuits.  It also allows two appliances totaling 20A to be plugged in at once, even though each appliance is less than 15A.  The extra copper is trivial, they still manage to sell these things as cheap as 60 cents apiece.

If you want a quality receptacle, buy one.  You can buy quality NEMA 5-15 (Mr. Horrified) for $3 and up.  You don't need to buy a NEMA 5-20 (Mr. Winky) to get quality, but it assures quality since cheapie 5-20's are not commonly made.


How do change the wall switch for my ceiling fan from a variable fan/light combination to a single on/off switch?

Easy.

Cap off the red at both locations.
The remaining black wires at the wall will connect to a standard single pole switch, and the remaining wires in the ceiling will connect to the receiver as directed by the manufactures instructions.


Is "hissing" sound from a water main a good indication that water is in use?

The most common leaks that don't show themselves (damage, or water on the ground) are either inside toilets (the toilet leaks water from the tank to the bowl) or in the water line outside the house.

Right where the water line comes into the house there should be a valve. The first place I would start is to turn off the main valve in the house then check the meter. Leave it for a few hours and check it again. If the meter has turned then the leak is underground and it will be a pain to fix. I've heard that if you do confirm that that's the problem, some professionals have an expensive tool to find such leaks. If you don't have a valve right where the water enters the house I would seriously consider starting by adding one in (or have a plumber do it).

If that's not the problem I would put a bunch of food coloring in the tanks of all the toilets (not the bowls) and check in a while to see if the color has leaked down into the toilet bowls. If any of the toilet bowls do have color in them, that right there is a leak that doesn't cause any damage, but does waste water.

Some water heaters can absorb some water into the insulation, making it less obvious that it's leaking but once the insulation is saturated, that wouldn't really make a difference.

Other than that, watch carefully for any signs of water or water damage near the base of all of your walls, on all of your floors (especially near the walls), and in all of your ceilings. Regularly check all around your water heater (especially around the unions, T&P valve, valves, and the base).

If you don't find anything I would seriously consider getting a plumber (especially if you know one) because water damage can be very costly. Not being a plumber myself, I don't really know how much they can do to track a leak but I'm sure they would know more than a DIYer like me.

I hope this helps.


why wont the breaker trip.

Firstly, remember that a 20A breaker won't be OK at 19.9999 Amps and suddenly trip at 20.0001 Amps. A 20A breaker might pass 30A¹ for several minutes¹ (or more). It is mainly designed to protect wiring in the walls that slowly heats up due to overcurrent.

Secondly, soil/dirt is not a great conductor, especially when dry. It may have a high resistance that limits the fault-current.

Copper has conductivity 58,500 mS/m, Aluminium 36,900 mS/m

So the reasons are one or more of

the current isn't high enough (measure it with a clamp meter) and
the current hasn't been running long enough or
the breaker is faulty (probably least likely)

¹ All numbers guesswork for illustrative purposes


How do you ground residential network equipment?

This is a bigger can of worms than meets the eye.  There are huge arguments over all this.

This is a coax grounding block:

This is a grounding bar:

This is a grounding bridge, your cable company or telephone company probably has one on the outside of the house at the electrical service entrance:

What I'd do:

Run a ground cable from your frame to the grounding bridge.  Use the biggest cable that will fit properly in the bridge.  Don't use A-D above.
Install a grounding bar that will handle that wire, at your frame in the basement.
Run a ground wire from your metal patch panel rack to the grounding bar, use grounding lugs on the rack.  Probably not necessary, but use Noalox between the lug and the rack.  Remove paint if you want to go all in.
Install and ground coax grounding blocks for your antenna and CATV service.
Use good quality surge strips, at the frame and through the house, and check your outlets with a receptacle tester to make sure they have ground wires - surge strips generally don't work without a good ground.
If any of your equipment has a grounding lug on the back, ground it.  (For example, many of the Netgear metal cased switches have a ground lug on them.) AFAIK only necessary on equipment with a two wire power plug.
Remember, holy wars over all this - some will say this is all totally wrong.  This is what I would do though after following all the arguments.

Edit:

There is a good chance your patch panel doesn't ground the coax that goes through the house.  However if you use surge strips that have a coax port in those places, and the coax has been terminated properly so the body of the plugs are bonded well to the shiled, and the outlets those surge strips plug into have a good ground, you should be fine.

One last thing - this whole thing hinges on good grounding of your electrical system.  If you want to be really careful there, have an electrician check the grounding and bonding and if possible ground resistance.  This is IMO worth doing in general.


How to stop paneling cracks around air vent

You would have to remove the cracked boards (what you show appears to be what is normally called "bead-board," a subset of tongue-and-groove boards, rather than what is typically meant by solid wood paneling, where "panels" are in "frames"), glue them together properly, and replace them - or just replace them with intact boards.
When doing that you need to install them in such a manner that the tongue-and-groove edges are free to move as the boards expand/contract. This wall appears to have been painted over in a manner that has "locked" the tongues and grooves with many layers of paint, and when the boards shrunk the weaker spot was out in the middle of the board, so it cracked, as opposed to the movement happening at the joint.


Papatots is right, in suggesting that this is a potential hazard. Especially with propane. Propane has a flame speed of 32" per second, that's why propane appliances have an 11" water column (pressure). Fireplaces will often have plenty of secondary air to complete combustion regardless of the pressure but that doesn't mean you want any deviation from the manufacturers allowable tolerance. An easy thing to look for is called "lifting" not like hitting the gym, but the flame, if the flame has a visible gap between itself and the burner the pressure is likely to high.

Disclaimer
In any case these things demand respect. Don't play around with fuel burning appliances unless you understand the dangers. Propane can be very explosive and a delayed ignition on a propane fired fireplace can easily result in a tempered glass grenade.


There may be no damage to the outlets but there will be damage at a common location possibly even prior to the lighting circuit tap.
What is usually the problem with a large load added to other devices is there is a failure most commonly at a back stab (the push in connectors on receptacles and switches) the next most common place is a loose wire nut with a loose wire. A broken wire at one of the locations and least often a problem in the service panel.
Work backwards towards the service panel the problem is at the last working device (switch or receptacle) or the first non working device. The failure will be on the hot since the breaker shows good but no power at the receptacles.
Kitchen countertop circuits are normally 20 amp and the lighting is not normally  them. And backstabs are not for 20 amp circuits so it is probably a bad splice or broken wire, checking at the light switch connections and working to the service panel for the bad connection is the task. Most probably the hot.


Cool bulbs into a min 90C fixture with 60C wiring

That's not a good workaround.  Recessed Insulation Contact (IC) lighting fixtures have a target temperature of 90ºC in the junction box.  Kinda crazy, but that's what it is. See NEMA Bulletin #92 (December 2005) which reads:

  When the dwelling’s existing wiring is rated 60ºC, install a junction
  box approximately 18 inches away from the newly installed lighting
  fixture and then run Type NM-B from the junction box to the fixture.

Installing the energy efficient bulb will not meet code.  You'll be fine.  But how are you going to prevent the next owner from sticking a hefty bulb in there?

An alternative is to take that fixture back, find something with a GU-24 socket, and hope the vendor was smart enough to realize that GU-24 means lower heat.


Replacing through-the-wall air conditoner

First, if it works even at all, check with your power company about any appliance upgrade assistance they may have.  They will often subsidize replacement with efficient appliances, especially air conditioners, because every watt of A/C draw they eliminate is a peaking unit power plant they don't have to build. Peaking units are by far the most expensive because the bank wants the mortgage paid exactly the same as a baseload 24x7 nuke, but the peaking unit only makes hay a few hundred hours a year.

There's window units, and then, there's wall units.

Wall units are much tougher and more industrial units than window air conditioners.  They also have a much tougher and more industrial price :)

As such, people like to substitute for window units, which is not a good idea. Window A/Cs assume a threshold only a few inches wide, especially on the top.  The wall passage tends to be deep, and the window unit won't perform well there.

One could install a window :)


Good pictures.  You have an unusual configuration for that drain.  Typically, there is only one drain line coming from the wall into the kitchen cabinet.  That would have one trap and upstream of the trap are the sink, disposal, and perhaps a dishwasher drain (you don't appear to have one in this cabinet.)
What you have is not necessarily wrong, but if you search for garbage disposal drain on Google Images you will see many examples of more typical configurations.  Yours could be like that if you re-orient the disposal and re-configure the drains to combine into one trap.
If it's easiest for you, you could use only the lower drain, and stop using the upper connection.  It seems like you need room for a deeper sink and that may help.
Why is your sink drain unusual?
The gotcha question is -- why is your drain setup unusual?  And why is that Air Admittance Valve (AAV) (not exactly a vent but it has a specific purpose) connected to the upper drain?  Does this drain lack a proper vent at all?  Check outside your house and see if there is a roof penetration for the vent above your sink or elsewhere in your kitchen area.  If not, that AAV -- which is not a total substitute for a vent -- will need to stay in there somewhere downstream of the trap -- but you could cut some drywall away and see if there's room to relocate it into the wall cavity (just don't cover it with new drywall after; you cannot cover up an AAV because they have a limited lifespan and need to be serviceable.)
FYI the Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Plumbing book is great, well illustrated, and you can find it at many libraries.  I recommend you read it or another plumbing book so you can have a better understanding of traps & venting.  That may help you understand your options for making changes to this drain better.


DO NOT DO THAT,  unless of course you don't mind setting your unit or house on fire. The contractor is not engaging for a reason and you need to find out what that reason is. Do some trouble-shooting first.


Can armored bx cable come into contact with other metal objects?

Armored cable is meant to resist damage to the conductors from contact with other materials (like a duct). The armor itself is grounded when properly installed, and touching other metal should pose no risk (assuming the armor is not so bent or compressed as to expose the conductors).


Ceiling fan wiring w/ 3 black, 3 white, 1 red, and 2 bare copper wires

OK the wires in the switch box are all hot or switched hot (plus the bare gnd). The white wire in this box goes to both switches (can see but think so) and so is the always hot. (So don't think it is a neutral; there is no neutral in the switch box.) The black and the red are switched hots for the fan and light.

Look in the box for the fan and find the cable from the switch box--it will have the black, red, and white wires in one cable. The red wire will be connected to the blue for light and the black wire to the black fan wire. The white wire is being used for hot feed and it must be connected to an always hot, which will probably be one of the other black wires. You must determine this by testing voltage with switches off and on. You should mark the ends of this white wire with black tape to indicate it is a hot.

The other two white wires (joined) are neutrals (one from the feed and one to the other fan) and these two wires are to be connected to the white lead (common neutral) of the fan/light.

The striped green is ground for the fan/light and should be connected to the bare copper ground. The green from the box must also be a ground to the box and it is to be connected to the bare copper ground.

The final black wire must be the hot feed to the other fan. If we have this straight, then it should be connected with the black marked white.


Can anyone identify this track lighting fixture?

It's a Progress Lighting Gimball ring track head.


surge protection -- grounding in a slummy apartment without ground access

Just use a surge protector and ignore the open ground light -- the line-to-line protection will still work.  Also, where the heck did you actually connect the ground terminals to?!


The wall outlets and lights in 2 of my rooms in my house are not working

To me this sounds like a bad connection, if both rooms share a common wall and the receptacles are on that same wall it is very likely you have a loose connection on the neutral white or hot black , most common is a backstab failure the push in connectors. Usually the last working receptacle or first non working one is normally the location of the failure, you need to figure out where the feed comes from and find where the problem starts, work from the location that is closest to the breaker panel. The last working device or first non working is normally the point of failure.


How to attach a deck ledger board to house joists

This is a tricky situation....
Normally there would be a rim joist at the edge of your framing which you could attach your ledger to.

This is what I would do for a really beefy construction:

Gain access to the inside and install full height blocking between the joists.
Install a rim joist on the exterior and connect the blocking to the rim joist so they form one unit.
Install hangers or angles to connect the blocking to the joists on the interior.
install waterproofing (flashing over the exterior rim joist) to create an continuous waterproofing layer on your exterior wall.
Install your ledge board with spacers at the lag bolts to form a gap between the ledge board and flashing of about 1/2"

This construction would accomplish two things:

Avoid any attachment into endgrain of your joist. Don't even try this. Screwing into endgrain is weak. That is why we use angles...or even hangers.
Create a continuous water proofing layer at your exterior wall
Create an air gap between wall and ledger to avoid rot. (This is my personal take. Attaching this way would need to be confirmed with the Building Department)

To properly and legally do this you would get input from a Structural Engineer and a building permit.


That would be your water distribution system, aka supply plumbing. Cross linked polyethlene, or PEX for short; Using a manifold arrangement.

Most likely the red ones are hot water, the white ones are cold.

Only gets confusing if there's also a hydronic heating system also using PEX, but no more so than when they were all copper, or iron.


What do you think this roof construction is?

There are several ways to do this but given that the building is small, not in the Far East, and obviously not an expensive architecture demonstration, the builder probably simulated carved rafters by adding carved wedges or stacked wedges to standard rafter beams.

Given the apparent age of the building, the roof cladding is probably 1" boards fastened horizontally, which would naturally follow the curvature of the modified beams. The builder could have chosen from 1" x 8" to 1" x 4" with the narrower boards being more work but giving a smoother curve.

If you were building this today you would probably want to use plywood cladding, so you would put it all together with strong fasteners like deck screws and just force the plywood into the desired shape.


How do i kill off the termite inside the wood beam indoor?

Don't delay. Termites can do a lot of damage. I would get them professionally taken care of.


Does the pump for a water tank have to be next to the tank or some distance away?

Assuming we're talking about a well here.

In a well system you need a pump to get the water out of the well and an accumulator tank to store it so the pump can fill the tank against some sort of air space for pressurized storage so the pump doesn't run all the time.

Submersibles may be in a 400ft well, or in a shallower well with either submersible or jet pump, but across the lot. What matters is that the pressure tank is in an enclosure to protect it from freezing and that the pressure switch be in the pump-tank circuit before the system shutoff valve.

Yes, the pressure tank can be displaced quite a distance from the pump; either by depth of the well or convenience of placement for the tank due to climate constraints.

If you're talking about a stock tank or other unpressurized system. The issue that matters is you have a level switch that works to turn the pump off. The constraint is the cost in running the pipe and power losses in the electrical cable are what would determine how far away the pump can be located.


It looks to me like a standard vinyl siding mounting block.


What is the most efficient way to connect 20 Lamps for my backyard?

... there is a serious and a parallel way of connecting to an electrical source. - Sandra.

  Wire them in parallel, seriously. – Transistor.

I was being a little naughty with my comment. You meant "series and a parallel way", not "serious". I couldn't resist.

If they are 110 V lamps and you have a 110 V supply then they have to be wired in parallel. That means you need a cable with live, neutral and, if the lamps require it, an earth. The cable can loop from fitting to fitting so that they appear to be daisy chained but the wiring is in parallel.

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

Figure 1. Daisy-chained parallel lamp wiring.


Nails coming through the visible underside of roof sheathing

This is industry standard to make sure the nails penetrate the decking. If you don't like it box in the area but you will waste your time in court in my opinion.


How do I run wired internet from a single router to several different rooms in an apartment?

This is my recommendation and similar to what I have in my home.

Since you have the walls open, this is the perfect time to do this.  Don't limit yourself to what you need now, think about the future.  With the push for streaming and internet connected devices, almost every room will probably have at least one internet connected device.  I recommend putting drop points anywhere you plan on having a desk, tv or phone.  Also put drop points where you think desk or tv's would be nice.

As for cable, Cat6 will do but I recommend using Cat6A (or sometimes called Cat6e).  This cable will handle 10gig+ so in the future (5 years) when 1gig is not enought you will not have to pull new cable.  Though at 10 meters, even Cat6 will handle 10gig, but my mindset is put the best in the wall since it is so hard to remove.

As for installing the cable, no sharp bends and no stretching of the cable.  Similar rules for coax cable.  Most installers now how to install that, just tell them to treat the install the same.

As for the drops.  Have the installers either put a one gang electrical box or a low voltage box where you want the jacks installed.  For the jacks, here you can save a little money and use Cat5e jacks.  If you need more bandwidth in the future, these are easy to upgrade to Cat6(a/e).  They have either plates with a jack integrated or whats called a keystone plate.  With a keystone plate, you add modules for what you want into the plate.  Modules can include telephone, coax, audio or ethernet.  Personally in my house I use the keystone plates and most rooms I combine all the low voltage requirements in one box (most being coax and ethernet).

For the other end of the run, I personally would have them go to a closet or cupboard that has power.  The router does not need to be where the cables all run to and I find this to be a cleaner solution.  In the closet, place a network switch to handle connecting all the devices.  Also the network switch does not have to be as big as all the drops in your house, only as big as the drops that are currently being used.  I'm assuming you want the router next to your TV where your coax is.  Just add a drop there and pug your router into it.  The switch in the closet will handle splitting it to the rest of your house.  And this will also give 3 or so ports for the devices around your TV.  This is how it is setup in my house and all 3 of those extra ports are used.  One for the TV, BD Player and Media Streamer.

As for the closet where the end of the run is, if you only have 6 or less drops you can use a keystone plate with ethernet modules.  If you have more than 6, I would recommend putting in a patch panel.  They come in sizes as small as 8 ports up to any size you would need for an apartment.  And with short half meter patch cables, connect the panel to the switch (which can be hung on the wall near the panel).


Manual Transfer Switch to power Main panel and Sub panel circuits

You have the wrong tool for the job here

The fact you have standby circuits split across the two panels means you can't use the transfer switch you have, or really any "select circuit" type of transfer switch for that matter.  In fact, installing your current transfer switch would lead to a Code violation, in particular of the rules in 300.3(B) and 310.10(H) regarding parallel paths for current flow.  These rules keep hots and their corresponding neutrals together so that there's no ferrous metal separating them that can be heated up by the stray magnetic field between the two wires, thus risking a fire or other damage as well as wasting power.

In your case, what happens is that everything is fine as long as all the circuits are on utility power.  However, because the generator's neutral is connected to the neutral system at the transfer switch, and there's only one wire in the flex whip to carry neutral back from the transfer switch to your house's wiring, any circuits that are coming from a different panel start having issues as soon as they get flipped to generator power.  In particular, the current from the generator to the load goes through the transfer switch and its whip, then off to the branch circuit and its loads, but the current coming back from the branch-circuit neutral winds up taking a detour via the other panel and its feeder neutral before getting back to where the transfer switch neutral connects, creating the Code violation described above.

I would take that transfer switch back and get a differently configured one

The "select circuit" style of transfer switch looks attractive because it can be made inexpensively and seems to be simple to use.  However, it is actually fumble-prone in the sense that you have to mark or remember which circuits service which loads, which might be an issue when everyone's panicking because the lights went out mid-storm.  They're also incompatible with most AFCIs (including the ones that'd go into your panels) due to the quirks of AFCI innards combined with that misrouted neutral current mentioned above.

A better option all-around would be to go to an interlocked-breaker (subpanel) type of transfer switch with an adequate number of spaces.  Reliance makes suitable ones in their Panel/Link line; you can also get a main lug panel, suitable breakers for that panel, and an interlock kit to match if you want to take a more DIY approach to the problem.  Either way, the standby circuits are moved to be fed from the standby subpanel, and now you only have to worry about throwing one handle after you start up the generator to get the lights on, provided your generator can handle all the standby loads at once that is.


How to make small wheels with minimum equipment (No lathe)

A hole saw. Nice and round, complete with a center hole.


How should I remove corrosion like this from radiator connections

You can clean the threads with a soft wire brush without being too aggressive and clean the tapered area very carefully with a very fine steel wool (not sandpaper), so as not to score the taper and cause a leak that can't be stopped. Make sure to clean both pieces, the one on the radiator and the one in the picture.  If the tapered area is rough or deteriorated in any way, you could coat the tapered area with a thin coating of RTV silicone and tighten the union nut.Do not use teflon tape on the tapered area, use silicone only.


Adding second Ground Bus to Square D Sub Panel - Grounded via wire or just the screws?

Follow the instructions.  You are obliged (NEC 110.3) to follow the extra grounding bar's instructions.  That's because those instructions are the basis for UL granting it a listing as safe.

As long as you met the instructions, feel free to exceed. So you can add a ground wire even if it's not required.  Generally you don't downsize a service wire (i.e. you wouldn't run 14AWG to the last single 5-15 receptacle of a 20A circuit), so you'd stay with 5AWG Cu ground wire.

Any type is fine, as long as it meets the original current rating.  So don't pay for 2' of 3-3-3-5 just to obtain 2' of #5, use #5 or #4 THHN instead if it's cheaper.


How can I order custom-tinted paint colors from a computer graphic?

Color is more complicated than you think.   Right off the bat, those RGB # colors are made by adding light sources.   That does not map well to how paint works, which is selectively reflecting certain hues of a natural or artificial light source.**.  At the very least, you must get into the ink-based CMYK system, and photoshop can do that at least.

And even then, the lush, rich colors that work so well on RGB screens have a funny way of going "out of gamut" for the paint matching system.    It's not necessarily even being outside the scanner's range; I often find it's because they can't fit enough pigment into the paint can.

Mind you, paint is matched by scanning your sample which must be on a fixed medium like paper, metal, etc.  And paint is not CMYK, there are actually about a dozen pigments.

Your best option is to print this out on a color printer.  Wrestle out all the stuff you have to do to get the printer to give you exactly the colors you want.  Then create a new layer in the drawing and draw some squares or circles of your colors, about 3" across (75mm).  Hide all the other layers and print that layer.  Those will be the swatches the paint store will match with their digital scanner.

One other thing.. I see that two of your colors have goofy names like the paint companies like to use for swatches.  I'm guessing they're exactly that.   Expect considerable drift between the original swatch color and what comes out of your printer.  That is one of the things you will have to compensate for.

Don't wear yourself out trying to make a perfect match, the eye can see very fine differences in color when laid side by side, and trying to get it perfect is hopeless.   Ultimately what the printer prints out will be your canonical reference.

** did I mention light sources can differ and throw your colors off.  I once heard about a restoration where the color research was top shelf, but the Smithsonian required a color that was very particularly incorrect.  The issue was that the artifact was meant to be seen in daylight, but the lighting in the display area was not daylight color.  The intentional color error compensated for this.


Take a conventional garden hose and shove it in the faulty orifice.  If the fit is loose, try and shove something into the hole around the hose... and.... turn on the spigot!

One of more things will happen:

1) You'll see water coming out of some other area.
2) The water will begin spraying back at you.
3) You'll realize that pool installers are idiots.

If the water begins pouring out somewhere else, it will provide a clue of how the plumbing is ran. If it sprays back at you immediately and almost no water pours back out of the pipe after you remove the hose it is saying there is a blockage very near you... or it's capped off behind the wall.  If it sprays back at you after 30 seconds, it means the pipe is blocked/capped farther in.  When you pull the hose out, does a lot of water drain back out?

It is theoretically possible to have a line get clogged... but it would have to be from a build-up of D.E. material or some other mineral deposit, as nothing big enough in itself to clog a line would ever have been able to make it through the pump strainer.  I know when I turn on my 3 HP pump full throttle it'll blow little crusted pieces of D.E. out of the return lines once in a while... so I suppose it is theoretically possible that some of those chunks could build up on themselves.

I am a licensed general contractor and have a great deal of experience in plumbing, electrical, and concrete.  With that being said, the 30,000 gallon gunite pool that I inherited with the house I bought two years ago has cost me a great many brain cells.  It is readily apparent that pool contractors aren't terribly good at any of the three.  To make matters worse, pools don't have to have any permits here.... thus allowing the horrible mechanical craftsmanship to continue.

Trying to logically analyze an idiot tends to crash my mental operating system.  "Does not compute.  Does not compute.  Does not compute".


What could be causing my oven to display an error when touched?

There are two causes that come to mind.  Either you have a build up of static electricity in your body and you are discharging it into the oven, causing the controller to reset, or something in the oven is shorting out to the chasis causing you to get shocked when you touch it.

Do you commonly get static shocks anywhere else in your house?  This is common in northern climates in the winter when everything is really dry.  Often you can improve this by increasing the humidity in your house.

If you do not have static issues elsewhere then it is likely that something is wrong with your oven in the form of a short.  I would advise not to use it any further and have a service person come back and check it more carefuly.  Heating elements failing is a common cause of this.


super glue / adhesive for plastic that is resilient to extreme temperature variation

I had something similar happen, and I was able to take out the screws from the inside of the car so the whole broken assembly could be taken inside.

Even though product recommendations are off topic, you should be able to find a good plastic adhesive at any hardware store.

You’d be best off with your adhesive results if you can add a bolt between the two pieces to keep them from moving or flexing the adhesive too much. If you remove the pieces from the car you can probably hide the fastener completely (it depends on how it broke). Clamp the two pieces together and give them plenty of time to cure (check the adhesive on the cure time) before putting it back on your car and into the elements.


How can I reconvert a natural gas fire from propane back to natural gas?

I googled 'Napoleon B36DFN LP conversion' and the very first hit is for page 17 of the user manual for that fireplace.  See here:   http://bit.ly/1HHpEP5

It states in relevant part:  "To convert from Propane to Natural Gas order conversion kit # W175-023"

Googling for 'W175-023 conversion kit' yields a link to the kit on Amazon...  $42.  http://amzn.to/1Dgwzie

If I were you, however, I'd certainly do a bit more detective work to make sure it will work for you.  Good luck.


How to Calibrate a Make-Up-Air Controller?

All fresh air intakes do is provide a slight positive pressure within the home.  This means inside air is pushed out through non-airtight spaces in the building envelope as there is slightly more air pressure inside than outside and nature abhors a pressure gradient.

Without an intake there is normally slight negative pressure where outside air is sucked inside from all over the place creating cold drafts during winter.

With positive pressure you don't feel drafts, outside air gets sent through furnace air filter slightly cutting down on dust accumulation.  Air consuming devices—bathroom and kitchen vents, gas furnaces, gas water heaters, fireplaces—work better/safer.

Unless your furnace/ducting/returns are sized/designed incorrectly and the envelope of your home is being over-pressured, only same amount of air that would normally be leaking in from cracks is sucked into the fresh air intake to replace that escaping air.

This situation is all very different from a mental picture of a fan operating in a large open space where the amount of "sucking" is always proportional to amount of "blowing" where the higher you turn up the fan the more air is sucked in.

In your home an intake works more like a fan blowing into an enclosed box:  no matter how much you turn up the fan "sucking" is unchanged if there is nowhere for the air to go.

Within reason (e.g. no over-pressure) no matter how much faster the fan turns sucking of outside air can only be proportional to the amount of air leaving the home.  Most of the energy goes into moving inside air around between supply and return ducting.


Is corrosion a concern when hanging black iron pipe with copper hangers?

Galvanic corrosion is a worry only if there is complete circuit.  With water pipes, cold water running through the line can make the wood conductive, so you use copper tape with copper lines.  Gaslines in the house aren't going to be damp.

If you are worried about it, Insulate it.  Put two turns of duct tape around the pipe whereever you're going to put a hanger.


How can I prevent a desk from being bleached by the sun?

Coat the desk top with a UV resistant coating like a good marine spar varnish. Won't stop it completely but will slow it down significantly.

If you get a desk top made of a real wood top (not a paper thin veneer over particle board) you can sand and restain in over and over when it fades too much.


Should undersink Reverse Osmosis be installed in a leased condominium?

Without a picture of under the sink, it's hard to say if your aunt has room for an undersink RO system or how hard it'd be to install (and subsequently, uninstall). Even in the simplest case, with plenty of room and updated plumbing, RO systems need a supply line, a waste line, and a faucet, all of which a plumber would have to connect to the existing plumbing. Removing all of that when she leaves will be just as much work. Plus, if you had to install a new faucet, that may have required irreversibly modifying the sink or counter-top.

In any case, I really don't think your aunt shouldn't be doing any of this without permission from the landlord. If the plumbing fails and causes damage to the unit or other units, and it's traced back to the unauthorized changes, she could be in real trouble (disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer; that just seems like common sense). You might suggest your aunt talk to her landlord and see if they'll split the cost of installing a RO unit, in exchange for leaving it when she leaves.

Otherwise, I'd say go the counter-top route.


Can I add induction cooktop and electric wall oven to my kitchen with this panel?

You can do this, but it will fill up your feeder!

Assuming that:

You are removing the Jacuzzi and disabling its associated dedicated circuit
That the "GFI Kitchen", "Wall Outlet", "Microwave", and "Dishwasher" circuits are all kitchen Small Appliance Branch Circuits (SABCs)
Your condo is fed with 120/240V split phase (some high-rise condos are fed with 2 phases of a 208Y/120 3 phase service instead)
Your feeder is 2AWG XHHW-2 aluminum, limited to 90A and 75°C by its terminations, and
You have a 90A feeder breaker protecting the feeder and panel

we can apply the multiunit feeder calculation methods from the Code (Art. 220 Part II) (albeit not the optional simplified calculations from Part III, as we are assuming a 90A feeder here which makes that method inapplicable) to your current configuration to get the following numbers:

1300sf * 3VA/sf = 3900 VA for lighting and general receptacle loads
5 SABCs (4 kitchen, 1 laundry) * 1500VA/SABC = 7500VA for small appliances
Your water heater at its 4500VA nameplate load
Your A/C at 14.5 combined Full Load Amps at 230VAC = 3335VA (the combustion blower load can be excluded as it doesn't run when the rest of the motor loads are engaged)

For the lighting and receptacle loads, we get 11.4kVA which then gets a 35% demand factor for all load past the first 3kVA to yield 5940VA.  From that, we then add the 4.5kVA water heater and the 3335VA A/C to yield a total feeder load of 13.78kVA, or 57A at 240VAC.  This leaves just enough room for the 8kVA (or 33A @ 240VAC) range load from Column C of table 220.55, using note 4 to treat the cooktop and oven combination as a single range load of not over 12kVA nameplate.

The resulting breaker switcheroo -- if you feel uncomfortable with this, feel free to ask your friendly local electrician to do this for you

Get a Siemens QT1520 breaker -- you'll need this to get rid of that single pole 15A breaker
Get a Siemens QP250 breaker for the new circuit
Run the cable for the new kitchen appliances and hook them up, but don't feed it into the panel yet.  Let us (or your friendly local electrician) know if you need help with this
Have the power turned off to your unit at the feeder/main breaker
Get the front off the panel
Remove the existing breaker from the slot labeled "Jacuzzi" and "GFI Kitchen".  Take the upper wire off (this went to the Jacuzzi) and put a wirenut on the end to cap it off.  Take the lower wire off and flag it with electrical tape so that you can find it to put it on the correct half of the new double-stuff breaker. Set this breaker aside.
Remove the existing breaker from the slot labeled "Rooms 1-2 Lights-Outlets".  Take the wire off, but do not flag it or cap it.  Set this breaker aside as well.
Move the two breakers that were above the removed 15A breaker down a slot in the panel -- there should be two open slots at the top left of the panel once you are done with this step.
Install the QT1520 in the open slot in the top right.  Attach the flagged wire to the 20A (upper, if the photo I have seen is any indication) slot in the breaker.  Attach the unflagged wire to the 15A (lower, again based on the photo I have seen) slot in the breaker.
Install the QP250 in the two open slots in the top left.
Run the cable for the new kitchen circuit into the panel itself and attach the black and red wires (hots) to the QP250 breaker you just installed.
Attach the neutral from the new cable to the left-side neutral bar on your panel.
Attach the ground from the new cable to the ground bar on your panel (I suspect it's on the far left side, outside of view of the photo of the panel insides you have posted).
Button the panel back up.
Turn the power to your unit back on.


Can I safely plug a two prong plug into an extension cord with a ground socket?

Yes you can safely plug the appliance into a 3-wire cord and plug set, as long as that is the factory installed cord and plug on the router.

Appliances that are  double insulated do not require an equipment grounding conductor to earth because the live electrical parts are specially separated/insulated from the case in a way that prevents any single failure from electrically charging parts that the user can touch.

There should be the words "double insulated" on the chassis, and/or this symbol:


How can I stop the boiler from heating the radiators when only hot water is wanted?

It's extremely difficult to answer you questions accurately without examining the installation. It could be as simple as replacing a defective solenoid valve, or even just correcting the wiring. If your system is actually a single zone setup, it would still be possible to modify it to separate the domestic water from the radiators by installing some solenoid valves and some basic control wiring so the valves open and close appropriately based on the various operating conditions.

Heating your house in the summer every time you need hot water out of a tap is very inefficient. It's worth getting this sorted, a correctly operating system should pay for the modifications in a few years of saved energy costs.


My split A/C unit doesn't drain much water

You need to find out why the cooling efficiency is slightly lower. Offhand, I'd guess it's a clogged filter.

If it's low on gas, it will freeze up the coil and produce less water (and not work very well), but a whole bunch should come out when it shuts off and melts This should happen within a few minutes, so don't walk away, while you:

Let it run for a good while, and then set the fan to on and the A/C to off; what happens? If lots of water starts coming out, you're low on gas and your coil is freezing up.

You can confirm this by removing the panel from the coil, and you'll see it's all froze up. Seeing frost on the 'fat' line (at just outside of where it enters the coil) is a good indicator, too.


Is it safe to install this hot water tank from ebay?

As RedGrittyBrick mentioned it may not be safe. It is not legal in Australia as it is only certified by Chinese standards and the installation of said unit is against the law ( not really a problem for you unless someone else uses it and gets electrocuted, you sell it, or sell the dwelling you are connecting it to. For reference perhaps look up "solar and bamboo faulty tanks")

One of the reasons I would be concerned about the safety is my experience with imported products "waterproofing" certification.

You will note the plastic union on the outlet of the unit which is there for a voltage break (Scary).

Also the unit specifies 4mm2 cable, I do not put on that I'm a sparky but this webpage explains How to calculate the draw on cable and considering the example is for 5Kw at ambient temperature and this unit is drawing 6Kw at high temperature in an enclosed compartment I would question the sizing ( unfortunately I do not have the cable sizing code on hand at the moment for AU).

The quality of the controller would also concern me having installed direct import controllers before and see them fail and allow constant heating of the element but you should be able to hop out of the way pretty quick if that were to happen.

In summery I would say not particularly safe but if its only you using it you probably will get away with it.

Un- Watermarked hot water unit installation


Replacing light switches and outlets without electrical boxes

I hear where you're coming from; those blue plastic boxes are awfully deep, and are designed to use all the depth of a 2x4, which is not there in a manufactured home because it would make the walls too thick.

Use metal boxes

A standard 4”x4” steel box is 1-1/2” deep and gives 22 cubic inches (room for four /2 cables plus a receptacle or switch).

A deep 4x4 box is 2-1/8” deep.  You can put a 1-gang mud ring or plate on either one.

They also make true 1-gang metal handy-boxes, but they are awfully small on cubic inches - they only have room for a receptacle/switch and 1 cable, typically.

If feasible, insert a spacer block so you can screw the spacer to a joist and the box to the spacer.

Grounding things

Metal boxes have a ground screws site intended for a #10-32 screw. They sell adorable little green screws with or without pigtail.  Grounds coming into the box must be pigtailed to this.  If the box is grounded this way, switches do not need a pigtail and can ground through the mounting screws. Receptacles need a pigtail, though, unless the have a hard-flush, bolt-down connection between their yoke and the metal box, unless they are a "self-grounding" type.


Trying to fix/replace a ceiling light -- seen this type of mounting bracket anywhere?

That fixture was not made to use those screws; somebody rigged that by drilling pilot holes into a plastic pancake ceiling box, then used drywall screws.

They did this because the part of the fixture that was designed to attach to a ceiling box was missing. The original screws were machine thread screws and were supposed to "side screw" into the missing mating piece.

You might have some legit mounting options if there is an electrical box in the ceiling, behind that busted plastic box...


How can I determine why my lights are flickering?

Flickering is caused by a bad connection somewhere.  It could be the bulb or socket that is bad (you did try a new bulb, right?), or it could be a bad connection anywhere along the line: at the fixture,  switch, any electrical box along the way or a fault in a cable (staple, screw, etc.).  It could be the hot or neutral that is bad. A sign of the neutral being open is other lights getting brighter or dimmer. While the ground not being well connected would not cause the flickering, it might be a sign of other bad connections along the way.

You will need to visually and physically inspect all of the connections with the power turned off.  Wiggle wires, look for ones that pull out of connections.  Look for nicks or otherwise degrading wires.  Check the wire insulation too. Look for heavily oxidizes wires or connections.

You need to get yourself a non-contact voltage tester! You shouldn't be testing live circuits with a screw driver, that's a going to get you killed.

(source: homedepot.com)

Call an electrician if you are unfamiliar with electrical work.


Do I need to worry about random nameless HEPA filters containing asbestos?

I would not be too concerned about a HEPA - or any new filter - containing asbestos. Asbestos has been so clearly outlawed for a long time in pretty much any consumer facing usage, especially anything that could result in airborne asbestos (which is the concern - solid/encapsulated is just not a problem) that I find it hard to believe even the Chinese would try to sneak it in, presumably to save a few $.
However, unless the filters are certified by some 3rd-party (preferably US or Europe based) company/organization, I would also not assume that cheap Chinese filters are actually HEPA quality. That is a significant step above ordinary filters. I would treat that "HEPA" label as "hopefully a step above the regular filters from the same company". If you truly need HEPA filtration, don't really on the cheap Chinese stuff.
The Chinese are perfectly capable of producing top-quality products (iPhone, Tesla, etc.) but they are well-known to cut corners and to mislabel items in many different ways when they can. So without a known reputable company or 3rd-party testing, treat these filters as "inexpensive and possibly HEPA" and don't rely on them if you need "clean room" quality or have very allergic people to protect, etc.


Removing mistakenly applied linseed oil over lacquer?

From what I understand, white spirits/mineral spirits should work, but turpentine is maybe better. I also understand that WD-40 will work as well, but I have no first-hand experience using it for removing linseed oil.

Incidentally, I believe turpentine in German is "Terpentin" while "Terpentinersatz" is white spirits.

Both seem to be available here, for examples of products/brands:

"Terpentin" at Amazon (DE)
"Essence de térébenthine" at Amazon (FR)
"Trementina" at Amazon (IT)


No signal when cabling a female wall plate

Never strip wires like that for a jack. It is very easy to short them together inside when you close the jack.

You also should have a cable tester that tests every wire individually. The best one I've ever used costs less than $10 (US). It has a series of lights 8 lights and tests each wire one at a time to make sure the connection is good. If you test your cables, you will see exactly what is wrong with them.

As noted in the comments, you must have a punchdown tool or use "toolless" jacks. This kind of jack is designed to crimp the wires into the terminals using pressure from closing the cover. I use these all the time - they cost only a few cents more, and they are much easier.


There may be a brick that has that shape already, but I have not seen any. If there were, they would be custom ordered. To match your brick you have in place would even be a taller order. Bricks made in one time of year under the same name will differ in color and texture to a degree from brick of the same name from the same company, just made at a different time.

If color difference it not that big of a deal, you may want to go in a different direction.

Cast stone sills come in a variety of colors, but typically mimic the color of Vermont or Indiana limestone. They can be tailor made to suit the space it occupies.

It looks like Glen Gery has a line of cast stone, perhaps ready to go. You may be able to order  stock long lengths and cut to fit. They are usually made to order that I am aware of.


Repellants may work here to get a mouse free zone.  If you have a friend with a cat ask them to give you a shoebox of used cat litter from the litter box and tell them to make sure to put as much of the litter the cat has pe ed on in the box.  That is very effective.  Other repellants are peppermint oil, cinnamon, cloves and apple cider vinegar.


How to remove a stuck flexible installer bit?

Congratulations on using a very good tool for that project, but condolences on getting it stuck! Definitely too expensive to abandon. The only way I know to recover a stuck bit like that is to back it off. You may need to borrow a stronger drill such as a Milwaukee hole hog or some other gear driven heavy duty drill. In the future, always try to use a very strong drill as a flex bit tends to bind easily as it worms it way through thick stacks of framing. Also try clearing the debris from the bit trail by backing off the bit a little when engaging a thick bore and letting debris clear before pushing forward. This will help minimize binding.


Should new septic system be filled with water?

Yes the system should be filled with water and the installer should have done that. There is a good chance the tanks can float out of the hole if it rains heavy when they are first put in if you do not put water in them. Your second question was valid The average person uses 70 gallons of water per day so if its just you and you only use the house twice a month it will take a very long time for the system to fill up. As for as gases it will be very little do to not much waste entering the system. Also the systems theses days do bot have those issues we precast tanks and have never seen one do this do to gases most break do to a car driving over them or being dropped on installation.


When you start a wall, your first board is not supposed to be on 16" centers. You're right, the first stud will end up  15.25" center to center from the second stud but that is because you don't want you first stud to be centered on the edge of the sheeting (whether your sheeting it with plywood, sheetrock, or whatever you're using). Rather, you want your sheeting to be flush with the edge of your first stud. So yes, when you measure from the beginning of a wall, mark it the way that you've been reading.

Your thinking is correct when you're in the middle of a wall. If you hook the tape measure on the edge of one stud, your 16" line should come up to the edge of your next stud. Studs that are on 16" centers are 16" from the center of the one stud to the center of the next stud. So if you are building a long wall, and you are not measuring from the beginning of the wall, you would hook your tape on the board where a stud is and put your each multiple of 16. Put your "X" on the far side of the line and bury the "X" when you put your stud in.

Just remember - for every wall, there is one exception... the first stud.


Why won't one of my gas stove's burners ignite?

How many clicks, sparks, does it usually take to ignite? If you have gas on, and try to ignite another burner, it will ignite. You have sparks when you try to ignite this one by itself? If so, then the igniter is good, unless it normally sparks longer, then it could be faulty. However, you probably have a faulty gas valve. It is not opening the gas for ignition.

What is the stove model number? Can you post a video of the problem?


Should I be concerned about future mold growth from using mouldy paint?

If the wall isn't subjected to regular moisture there's no reason to think that the mold will keep growing. Mold spores are everywhere already. Most of them are harmless.
To deal with the stains, use a stain-blocking primer. Then paint again.


I'll bet the part on the left looks like the part on the right. One can see the bearing surface on the left which contacts the ball valve. Comparing it to the right side, it appears that the insert is threaded and was unscrewed rather than the desired hex item. Consider to apply a bit of thread locker to the external threads on the item on the left, taking care to restrict it to those threads, or apply thread locker to the internal threads on the left side, without getting any on the ball assembly.
As you should never need to open that section again, red (permanent) thread locker may be a good choice. Blue (temporary) thread lock could break free. After allowing the assembly to cure for an appropriate time (read and follow all label directions), you should be able to remove the hex item as originally desired.


I had a grey tin shed that was getting very hot in the summer.   The cheapest and quickest fix was to paint the sides and roof side that faced the sunlight, with some random white paint I had laying about.  It wasn't a quality job, but in my case it was around the back and not visible.
Decreasing the insolation is a good start, is silent, and needs no ongoing costs like power.
Then you can start exploring more costly solutions like active cooling.


two shower faucets in one water supply line

Larger supply piping and a "parallel" (as opposed to "series") manifold arrangement will help, but you need to realize that there is only so much you can do. You are limited by your home's water supply pressure and size.

Probably the easiest thing to do is use low flow "water saving" shower heads/nozzles.

If you want to do more, check the size of your: water meter, water meter union, and main water line. Increase the size of all if possible. Also, check to see if your main water supply has a pressure regulator installed. Check your static (no-flow) pressure downstream of the regulator to determine if you can raise the regulated pressure (check your city bldg. office for max allowable pressure). Older homes with steel water piping often suffer from low gpm/lpm flow rates, consider a complete re-pipe if this is the case.


My perspective is that the issue with cigarette smoke is the discoloration and the smell. Both aspects are present in this property, so similar treatment is appropriate. (Which is basically a coat of sealing paint, and replacing everything that can't be painted over or thoroughly cleaned.)

It is possible that easier methods are available, and it might pay to try various cleaning products on the walls to see if you can get lucky, but assume you'll need cigarette-level treatment, and price that into your offer.


Drying it out will probably be the best but if you want to sanitize it I would use 3% hydrogen peroxide and water. Hydrogen peroxide doesent have the smell and will kill organics very well. Remember to always add acid to water (AAA).


Hanging an over-the-range microwave without top cabinet

I have hung a few of this type of microwave, not this particular brand or model, all required the bolts through the upper cabinet. Understandably so, that is a lot of weight hanging off of a thin stamped metal plate.


That beeping puts me in mind of the beeping you get from a smoke detector that has a low battery.

Are you absolutely certain it's the fixture?  If so, look for some kind of battery backup - maybe there's a night-light function, or a wireless remote or something?  Or a built in smoke detector I suppose is a possibility.

Anyway - find that and change the battery.  And look around the fixture for smoke detectors, maybe your ears are tricking you on where it's coming from.


Ceramic disk faucet valve is stiff/sticky

Machinists use measuring blocks called gage blocks, whose surfaces are so flat and smooth that you can wring them together and they'll stick tight.

Again, this requires extremely flat and smooth surfaces; this isn't something that would accidentally happen and cause a problem in your faucet. My guess is that the stiffness you feel is somewhere else in the mechanism. (If I'm right, and you figure out where, let us know in the comments.)


Get a piece of ply bigger than the hole (at least 2 or 3 times the size and use it to spread the load.
If the clamping side is also small then another spreader may be a good idea.
There was a similar question like this previously...
See Best way to spread load on monitor clamp


How do I repair cracks in a plaster ceiling?

If the cracks have appeared recently and are still growing (in length and number) then this potentially indicates something serious.

Before you attempt any repair - which is perfectly possible using the method you outline - get someone in to have a look so see what might be causing them.

Have you put anything up in the crawlspace recently, or taken anything out?

Have you had an unusually wet or dry spell? This will change the ground conditions possibly causing the house to move which in turn could cause the cracking.


My timber retaining wall is tipping over

It's quite hard to tell how big this wall is but you stated it's 3-4' tall.

It looks like it was built simply as a vertical wall. There's nothing you can do about it. It was inevitably going to tip over.  So yes, you do have to dig it out.

If you want to replace it with timber, you need to add something called deadmen to it. A deadman is a timber that runs perpendicular to the wall itself that is then attached to another timber that runs parallel to the wall itself. Diagram:

Without those, your timber wall will always end up getting pushed over eventually.

The catch is, of course, to bury the deadman, you need to excavate all the dirt behind the wall back to about the same depth as the wall...so you'd be moving the 4' of dirt behind the wall as well. That may or may not work depending on who's side of the yard that is.

Another option is to go with a block wall. Retainer block walls are typically staggered backwards as it goes up. You then line the back side with drainable material (river rock) and a drain tile to allow any water building up a route of escape. However you're pushing the limits of most consumer-size retaining wall blocks at 4'.

Yet another option is to build two, 2' walls stepped back (one 2' wall on the bottom, then a second 2' wall several feet behind and above the first one). This is likely the best solution for long term retaining of the land. Plus it may offer some landscaping options (allow you to plant the strip in between with decorative plantings).


If no flex and not moisture damage, the classic method of repair is:

Find a drywall paste and use fiberglass-net type tape to reinforce it, directions are on the label. Use a 6” or 8” trowel and build up in layers after each one dries. Prime before painting.

Fill large cracks with foam or butyl tape/strips/rope first, then cover with layers of drywall paste as above. You can embed the net tape to reinforce the repaire in the first layer.

If the cracks are around a door that moves or flexes the wall, use just the weatherstripping or cover with flexible caulk. Make sure it’s labeled paintable if you want to paint it.


Why did the bulbs in my recessed lights burn out?

First you need to verify that you are getting power to the fixture. Sometimes when lamps fail they short and may trip the breaker or damage the dimmer. I have found many lamps that buzz when on a dimmer and it was because the wave shaping of the dimmer caused the filament to vibrate and created a noise. I would verify with a new lamp first and if no light then I would check the breaker  by turning it off and then back on - this will reset it if it tripped but the handle did not move enough to be obvious.

Beyond this, a meter or non-contact tester will be needed. Check for voltage before and after the switch - when turned on both should show voltage. If the switch failed, replace it. Last will be to verify the connections in the light fixtures. Make sure the wirenuts are tight and no broken wires. I left checking the fixture for last because with lighting circuits I have found a bad switch or tripped breaker to be the problem more often than a bad connection.


Adjacent light circuit is inadvertently controlled by four-way switch wiring

I don't believe you have four way switches. Four way switches do not have commons as they do not control the light directly, they simply break the path of two other three ways. Three ways have 3 screws, four ways have 4. (And the ground)

Next, (to answer your question) since the exterior light only works when one of the switches are on, most likely you've connected to the final wire feeding from the switches to the light. I believe this imagine below will help you out:

Basically, you use 3 way switches coming from the power source and then leading to the light. Then you can use an infinite amount of four way switches between these two.

Since you can control your light from 3 locations, but this location has 3 screws - this switch is a 3 way. Now it's just finding out if it's either the first or the last. If it were the first, connecting to the common would give you what you want. However, you've most likely tied off from the last switch leading to the light and so it only works when the overhead light works. There is no way to split off power from the current location and work as you desire. You'll have to run another wire.


Can I work on resetting pavers on my patio after a heavy rain?

Yes, this should not be a problem. Under your patio should be various layers of gravel that should drain the water well. If the rain unsettles anything, you can always tamp it out while doing your repairs, but I would not expect much damage.


Transformer. Probably for doorbell, possibly for hard-wired controls for garage door opener.  The "string" is fabric-insulated low-voltage wire, which was commonly used for that purpose.


Do the doors on my utility closet need to be vented steel?

We have the same arrangement in our 1970 house with slab on grade foundation--both water heater and furnace natural gas fired in a utility closet centrally located on the living floor. All of the houses in our Fox and Jacobs 200 house tract neighborhood are built that way.

These gas fired heaters get their combustion air from inside the closet which is open to the the attic via wire mesh in the ceiling. The double doors to the living space are standard hollow core doors, no vents, and seal fairly well.

The conditioned air is pulled into the furnace air handler through a plenum below.

In your case is there a wire mesh over an opening into the attic? Is the attic vented (soffitt and ridge)? Or do your water heater and furnace get their combustion air from outside via roof or soffitt vents?

It would be highly unusual for the WH and furnace to be getting their combustion air from the living space, but if they did then you would need a grill in the door, otherwise no.

But find out what is code in your jurisdiction.

EDIT Another possibility: Where does the air flow into the air handler enter the closet? My parents had a small, nicely built retirement home in which the air entered the air handler through a vent in the door. The door when shut sealed against the inlet to the air handler. If you have this arrangement, the door must be vented. In my house the air enters under the door through vents into a plenum and then goes up through the filter, the fan, the furnace and the a/c evaporator