Bought a 20 year old house last spring and it appears to be settling - when to call in experts

None of the pictures in your question necessarily point at a foundation issue.  You have cracks in your drywall.

What could cause these?

The first picture is a screw or nail that wasn't set in the drywall properly.  This means nothing.
The other pictures could be poor drywall techniques.  You just bought the house so you never lived through a winter.  This house could have had these issues for 20 years and they just did a quick cover up before selling.
Another thing is the humidity levels in your house.  Maybe the previous owners managed these things better.  Sharp increases and decreases in humidity levels will give drywall fits - especially improperly installed.
And what I would most likely be concerned about before a foundation issue is the amount insulation in your basement.   Your cracks in the basement are right where most air comes into basements without proper insulation and air blockage.
It could be that you had an unusually wet/dry/hot/cold season.  These things will happen because houses are made out of wood framing.  They are less likely to happen if you are in Europe and your house is made of insulated cinders.

What would I do?

Investigate the foundation.  Take some pictures of any issues that you see.  Look in and out of the house.
Make sure the buildup of dirt around your house is proper for drainage.  If there is a foundation issue after this many years it is probably it is caused by improper drainage next to the house.  Investigate any depressions in the ground that could be caused by animals, poor draining gutters or poor maintenance.
Investigate the wall of the basement.  You might have to take out some bits of drywall in a couple of places.  It is a bit messy but cost is very low.  Look to see how it was insulated and if there are any water issues.
In the end I would screw the screw in all the way and hit it with some mud and repaint.  The cracks I would caulk, then mud/tape/repaint.  I would be done in an hour and it would cost $20.

If you want to hire a foundation specialist in my opinion it is overboard.  Probably a better and cheaper solution would be to hire a different home inspector that you used when you bought the home - in my opinion this is overboard too but offering a better solution than having an engineer come out.  If you need an engineer the home inspector can point you to the right person.

Note to OP:  If this is your main concern after a year of being in a new house, then you probably got a pretty good house.  Chill on the engineer.  Know that things like this happen because wood expands and contracts.  If it freaks you out drink more or read up on how to keep your house at a more constant temperature and humidity level.


Why is my new high efficiency furnace blowing cold air sometimes?

If it's blowing cold air right after it fires up, it's just the cold air that's already inside the ducts, kind of like cold water in your hot water pipes.


Why does my washing machine shift around while operating?

Yes, your washing machine should be level and all legs should be squarely on the floor.  If it's not, you'll have unbalanced forces acting on it as the drum spins.  During the spin cycle, these forces are much larger because of the higher spin speeds and will make it "walk".

You'll need a spirit level to balance the washer.  There's usually a gap between the top plate and the side plate of the washer that you can rest the level in to measure the front-to-back tilt.  For the side-to-side tilt, generally just put the level on the top of the washer.  You may have lock-nuts on the legs: if so, loosen them with a wrench before trying to adjust the washer, and tighten them afterwards.  Raise or lower the legs until all four are solidly on the floor; the washer should not rock at all.  If you have to move the washer to adjust it, remember to check it once it's back in its place.


How can I eliminate play in a water tap?

From your comment, it sounds like the root issue is the lower water pressure from your hot supply.  With lower water pressure, when you only slightly open the valve, there might not be enough pressure and/or flow for the water to overcome the other forces acting against it (gravity, restriction from valve, etc.).  Similar to say a garden hose - with low pressure, it might not leak at all, but open the valve up all the way and it starts leaking at certain places (except in this case, the leak is the flow you want).

The first thing to check is that the shutoff for your hot water supply is fully open - at the sink, at the tank and anywhere else along the way where there might be a shutoff. If all of the shutoffs are fully open then it could be due to incorrectly sized pipes, mineral build up (depends on type of pipe).  Check to see if the pressure is low at any other facuets - this will give you a good idea if its a problem with the plumbing or just that particular fixture.


How can I find the square footage of an irregular driveway?

Approximately 9,800 square feet, assuming your drawing is accurate. I hastily colored in the image using MS Paint (not perfect, since JPG compression added a bunch of fuzzy grayscale values).

Then using MATLAB with the image processing toolbox:

width = 235; % establish scale parameters
height = 300;
img = imread('areatest.jpg'); % read image in
bwImg = im2bw(img,0.5); % convert from JPG to binary BW
% find black pixels, divide by total image area,
% and scale to square footage depicted in drawing:
dwArea = sum(sum(~bwImg))/numel(bwImg)*width*height;

You may be able to work this online, with the compile online website. However, I'm not sure if it can read in files from your hard drive.


Do I have space in the main panel for a 60 amp double pole breaker?

The ordinary generic answer for a short sub-panel run would be to relocate two 120V breakers or 1 240 V breaker to the sub-panel, sized appropriately for those additional loads.

But you have a FPE Stab-Lok panel, so you should replace it before it catches on fire, and when you do, buy enough spaces in that new main panel.

The house you save will be your own. One of many stories:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/despite-previous-safety-concerns-this-circuit-breaker-is-still-in-homes/2018/05/08/8927af86-4ef9-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html


Do I have to increase the water line diameter all the way to the water meter?

I'll disagree a little - LESS 1/2" pipe has less restriction than MORE 1/2" pipe. Now, in most cases the pipe outside your house is far more than the pipe inside your house but depending where the meter is, if it's a short run from where you increase it to the meter (one of those deals where it's sitting on the outside wall of the house, say, and is fed by a larger line)  and it was formerly the case that the entire water service in the house was a single 1/2" pipe, you might well see a noticeable improvement (though it is of course better to have a larger pipe all the way back to the meter.)

Now, if there's 100 feet of 1/2" pipe from the house to the meter, or from the water main to the meter, you're not going to see much improvement if you change 20-30 feet inside the house.  But if it's 3 feet to the meter and 30 feet inside the house, you will notice an improvement.

And, if you want to get sneaky, you can have a huge improvement (for a set number of gallons) by installing a pressure tank (as for a well pump) in the house (along with larger pipe, or a PEX manifold and a lot of home runs), so the 1/2" line is not required to supply water as fast as you use it, until you draw down the pressure tank. Not much help in filling the tub, lots of help in refilling the toilet when it flushes without dropping pressure to the shower precipitously. How many gallons would depend on how big of a pressure tank you buy, and how much your pressure varies with use (now.) Just to toss one out there, especially for the folks with a charge by size of line into house. More extreme setups might throw in a booster pump, too; I'm not going to suggest that without more data suggesting it would be worthwhile...


The way you get a new stem is to get a whole new sillcock/hose bibb.

If the stem is that corroded, the body probably is as well, so it's likely to not seal right even if you could fine one to match a specific 34 year old valve body (which seems like a bit of a stretch.)

If you can identify your particular valve you MIGHT find a specialist "repair parts" plumbing supplier that has parts, such as (maybe) this one; http://www.azpartsmaster.com/faucet-valve-stem.aspx but if you cannot positively identify the valve, that's unlikely to work (and if the body itself is bad, it may not work anyway, as already mentioned.) If you need a place you can walk into with a valve stem you may need to take a LONG drive to find one "near" you that goes beyond just washers.

At some point fairly early in the process (IMHO) replacing the whole valve makes more sense.


How can I attach security bars over EIFS stucco?

You have a couple options, depending on the level of pry resistance you require.

Pilot for screws into the wall sheathing. Use at least a #10 wood screw, and pilot about half the shank diameter into the wood, then the shank diameter through the stucco (to prevent spalling and cracks). With long enough screws you'll have good grab into 1/2" wall sheathing, which should be OSB or plywood.  It is possible that you have fiberboard or gypsum sheathing, in which case this won't work at all. If your bars have two screws at each corner this will provide fairly solid holding power. If there's only one screw, I'd look at #2.
Find the studs. They will probably be on 16" intervals from one end and alongside each window or door. You might have the best luck searching from the inside using a stud finder or a small drill bit. Use wood screws that penetrate at least 1-1/2". Pilot through the stucco and a short distance into the stud to guide the screw and prevent glancing misses.
Use a more modern means of security. An electronic system with glass break sensors might be more suitable. Screws can be removed and bars can be cut.

Notes:

The foam behind the stucco will compress under heavy forces, resulting in damage to the stucco. Do not run the screws in beyond slightly snug.
Drilling through the stucco compromises its weather resistance. Consider dabbing silicone or urethane caulk behind the hardware as you install it to seal those penetrations.
Repairing stucco (beyond small screw holes) is an art form, and getting a good texture and color match can be difficult. Do as little damage as possible.
Hitting studs usually requires custom sizing or adjustability. This may be a problem when buying off the shelf.


You definitely need to sand the loose paint off before repainting. Otherwise your new coat will quickly begin peeling as well, since it would be relying on the already peeling paint underneath it for adhesion to the deck.

There are actually disc sanders made specifically for the purpose of removing old flaking paint. Sanding will also help feather the edges of spots where the existing paint has already chipped off. That way you won't get the flaky texture showing through on your new coat.

Prime any areas with bare wood showing, and repaint with an outdoor paint meant for porch/patio/deck floors.


Are any of the receptacles ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI)? It sounds like you might have tripped a GFCI with multiple receptacles connected to it. Pushing reset should fix the problem.


Can I ground my workbench using an unused outlet's neutral?

Do not do this.

If you ever ended up with a break in the neutral between the outlet and the panel, you would have electrified your workbench and wrist band.


Leaking bathtub from seal underneath around drainspout

"The underside of the tub appears to be sealed with some sort of black sealant"

No, that is just a black rubber washer which acts as a cushion against the rough cast underside of the tub. The seal is provided on the top side by a bead/layer of plumber's putty.

"Can I just epoxy that area to stop the leak"

No, you need to unscrew the strainer from the tub shoe from the top side, pack a bead of plumber's putty around the strainer lip, and screw it back into the tub shoe.

"does the tub underside need to be resurfaced, or does the tub need to be replaced?"

Hopefully the tub does not need to be replaced. Assess any corrosion or damage to the drain hole area when you remove the strainer from above. Ususally there is a bit of surface rust but nothing that would prevent a seal with putty. I have seen old pressed-steel tubs (as opposed to cast iron) with pretty bad corrosion in that area.


how to add c wire to heat pump ac unit (only have wires with nuts)

The C terminal connection in your furnace is denoted by the part of the wiring diagram that I have highlighted in blue as shown below. In fact the furnace diagram shows that these wires in the furnace itself are blue (BLU) colored as well.

You will have to remove that taped up wire bundle to ascertain if there is one wire in the cable from the thermostat that is not used. If so then the it can be re-assigned to be the C function to the thermostat. At the furnace end that re-assigned wire will have to be connected in with the wires as highlighted in blue as above. The connection may entail pig tailing into the existing furnace's blue wires. For example at terminal #3 of the SOLID STATE TIME DELAY module.

It is possible to purchase push on terminals that adapt a male terminal out to two terminals. (See the adjacent connections on terminal #2 of the module). Using an adapter like this would allow you to make your C connection without having to cut into the furnace wires.

Picture Source


How to repair damage to finished fibreboard

Looks like someone opened the door with an object in the way. It's going to be very difficult to replicate a factory-applied vinyl coating as a DIY project. I'd contact IKEA about a replacement, or look for coordinating replacement doors from a local cabinet clearance outlet.

Otherwise, I'd shave out the loose, cracked, and bulged material with a sharp utility knife, then apply high-quality wood filler (Plastic Wood bonds very well and dries hard). Mask before sanding to minimize the impact to the surrounding area.


How to install a grab bar in a tiled shower

Studs are best
There are anchors that are quite strong. But drywall is sometimes weaker than expected. This is a special concern for a grab bar because the force is not a static weight like a mirror.
If you can mount the bar to 2 studs with long screws then you're set. If not, I would mount a piece of wood to two studs. Paint or stain to match the decor. Mount the grab bar to the wood with screws.


How do I remove dried spray-can paint from glass?

There are citrus based paint removers that are less harsh on humans and surfaces than conventional solvent based strippers. They take a bit longer, but are worth a try.

 Images and links are for illustration only - not an endorsement of a product or source.


What to use to build an enclosure for projector screen case?

Think about running down to you hobby shop or home store and checking out their supply of balsa wood. That stuff is really light and easy to work with. It comes in many different sizes, sheets and square stock. It can be glued with regular wood glue or super glue and can be painted to match the ceiling.


Can I wire a smoke detector so that it disables my furnace if smoke is present?

Unfortunately, with a gas furnace, that's not quite enough
The bad news for your situation is that opening the 24V R wire to the thermostat may not do what you need it to do.  Your furnace, according to pages 36 and 37 of its installation manual, and like most residential gas furnaces on the market, can and will run its blower autonomously if the plenum (fan) limit switch opens up without the thermostat calling for anything.  This is a self-protection behavior designed to limit overheating damage to the furnace's heat exchanger should it fire uncommandedly; however, it would defeat the intended operation of your duct detector were you to wire it in the way you propose.  You'd need to cut either 120V or 24V power to the furnace control in order to shut down blower operation altogether.
Nests don't like getting their plugs pulled on them, anyway
Furthermore, like most smart thermostats, the Nest assumes that its R/Rc line provides a steady supply of 24V power, especially when a C wire is provided to the thermostat.  As a result, it's liable to throw error codes, lose track of time, and otherwise behave in awkward and annoying ways if you wire the duct detector to shut off the furnace control (or even just the thermostat, as you propose).
There's just not much good a duct detector can do in most places you'd want to use a residential furnace
The final rub is that a duct smoke detector is not a substitute for other forms of smoke detection, due to inherent detection delays compared to a smoke alarm or spot/area smoke detector in the room in question.  This is stated outright in NFPA 72 17.7.5.2.1:

17.7.5.2.1 Detectors that are installed in the air duct system in accordance with 17.7.5.1(2) shall not be used as a substitute for open area protection.

Instead, they're intended to be used to shut down air-handling equipment in order to keep it from actively spreading smoke.  However, this is only generally a concern for equipment that can move more than 2000cfm of air (the figure is from IMC 606.2.1), something that even the largest model in your furnace's product line has to strain mightily to achieve.
Nonetheless, if for some reason, you have a requirement to fit duct detection to this furnace, you can do it by cutting the 24VAC "hot" wire from the control transformer to the connector on the furnace control board and re-routing it to a NC auxiliary contact on your duct detector.  This keeps the current draw within limits of the duct detector contacts and prevents the control board from overriding the detector's decision to stop furnace operation, but does have the drawback of confusing the thermostat if the duct detector ever has to operate in anger.


What factors are important when selecting a rotary tool?

To cut 0.4mm acrylic board I recommend a utility knife. What you do is draw a line for the cut, rest a straight edge on the line, then "draw" a line down the straight edge with the utility knife while putting only slight pressure down. You repeat this a few times until you have created a groove in the acrylic. Then you can begin pressing the knife down harder, and repeating until you cut through it.

To cut PVC pipe you can buy a cheap tool at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. that is quick and does an excellent job. The Kobalt 1/8-in to 1-1/8-in Copper Tube Cutter is an example.

As for a rotary tool, in my experience they are not very useful. The bits typically break easily, and dull quickly. The go-to tool for odd cuts for me is the Sonicrafter. There are a lot of other oscillating tools too. This tool makes cuts you just cannot make with any other tool.


What would cause a ceiling fan to stop while the light still works?

I would exchange the fan.  It sounds like it is either over heating and there is a safety feature that cuts it out or there is a problem with the motor winding and when it heats up it causes a bad coil wire or a bad connection to open.


I can think of two options using the prehung doors available in HI stores:

You can pull the door apart (they come in two pieces for the installation) and cut about 3/4" off of the inset part of the door.  Since this side goes into the channel on the other half of the door, you'll never see it if the cut isn't pretty.  I believe there's at least 1/4" of play in that channel, but measure first.

Second option is to get some strips of 1/2" wood to install behind the trim around the door.  Hang the door as you normally would, but leave it 1/2" out from the walls.  Then, before nailing the trim into the wall, place the 1/2" strips of wood behind the trim around the doorway.

The first option is a bit tricky since the door is very weak when disassembled and the trim makes the corners difficult to cut around.  The second option comes in handy when you realize the problem after you've already installed the door (we all forget to measure first sometimes), but I don't think it looks as good to have trim sticking out like that.


Use a concrete core drill (6") on plaster lath?

No, it will bounce and chatter as the wood laths move.

So I would look at stitch drilling around the circle by hand with a small drill and trimming up after. Lath with plaster is difficult to work at the best of times.


How to correct blotchy brush marks on stained wood?

The stain IS uneven and that is because the underlying softwood was stained using dark pigmented stains made to be almost a paint in pigment particle size and intensity. They may have even thinned out some oil based paint to do this job. In some areas they really gobbed it on to hide something underneath the stain. Just like deck stains come in clear grades all the way to fully pigmented almost paint grade stains for older deckwood in poor condition, so do cheap pro level interior stains come in various pigment grades. These stains are made to even up different low grade wood species used in house trim. It appears the softwood paneling is a non stain grade plywood in the center panels and the surrounding trim and boards are likely a different species and do not color match when fully stripped. Poplar is a low cost white wood used for interior house trim but now a bunch of cheap tropical species are imported for just this pupose. I would avoid stripping to bare wood with sanding as the results may also not appeal to your eye and it will require a ton of time and sanpaper to strip this paneling to bare wood.

You can try sanding some of the heaviest areas of pigmented stain off the wood to try to even things up but realize that these heavily pigmented stains have probably penetrated deeply into some areas of the plywood paneling and left other areas only lightly pigmented. In other words they were trying to hide something (wood defects) and made things worse to your eye. A lot of paint grade sofwood trim is turned into stain grade trim by applying heavily pigmented stains at a thick coverage. Some people notice and many others do not so it keeps happening to save money as real stain grade interior wood trim is really expensive compared to cheap poplar white wood trim.

My only advice is to find an out of the way spot with several different problem areas, strip some paint off with sanding( 120- 150 grit to 220 grit final) and go back over it with foam or bristly brush applied lower pigmented stains to try to faux finish the problem areas. You may need two or three different colored pigemented oil based stains to get a result you like. Final finish with a semi gloss or matt varnish to even up the gloss. This is the kind of job you will be really good at when you are finished but not when you just start out. So work your way into the highest visibility areas last. Good luck


How do I fix a hole in an interior block wall?

This wall does look more like plasterboard/plaster & lathe than it does any sort of cinder block/Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU). The wall cavity just isn't thick enough for a CMU before there's what looks like a finished wall on the other side.
If that's the case, I'd suggest cutting back the rough edges until you find some sort of stud (on each side), then do a simple plaster board repair on the wall. There should be plenty of examples here of how to do that, but if you can't find an explanation that makes enough sense to you, ask a new question and indicate your specific stumbling block.


How do I stop my garage door from opening on its own?

If you have an older style garage door remote, before they used rolling codes, you could very easily have some people driving by activating it accidentally.  I had a similar problem, so I ended up unplugging the remote control portion of it, so the wall mount switch still works, and the whole unit is going to be replaced soon anyways  (electric eye sensor, etc).


When is a 5x40mm confirmat screw appropriate compared to the slightly larger 7x50mm screw?

According to this supplier 7x50 is for 3/4" materials and 5x40 is for 1/2" materials.


How to connect dishwasher air gap to sink tailpiece?

My dishwasher is installed using only the "everbuilt" part with the "Y" and not an air gap. My son has his installed as Manassehkatz stated. They both work great.


2 shower heads and 1 rain head...low flow

You have 3 shower heads on 1, 1/2" supply line The demand is higher than the 1/2" can supply. The size of the valves also makes a difference with high flow shower heads. Both the supply line and possibly the valve will need to be increased in size for full pressure with all 3 heads turned on. A booster pump or increase in pressure may be another option.


Can an old-cement garage floor be painted in sections?

The most important step is cleaning the best 2 part epoxy paint can’t stick to a oily floor.
First it needs to be cleaned 100% I suggest an acid wash using muriatic acid and water, 3% to 10% for badly oil stained floors, the muriatic etches the concrete as it dose it is neutralized with the weaker solution, then a good rinse 2 or 3 times let dry and you are ready for paint.
The quality of the paint is the next most important thing. I use 2 part epoxy paint made specifically for garage floors rustolium has a good product out there I have used several times
Don’t go cheap or use 1 part epoxy paints, a friend followed my cleaning advice
But went with a 1 part epoxy that when car tires sat on it started peeling the paint up (hot tires can cause failure) I rented a shot blaster to clean this off it took 2 full days because he wanted to do it right the 2nd time.
Follow instructions I use a heavy nap roller work from the back wall to the opening.
I would recommend using the color chips or an abrasive powder as you roll the paint scattered on the surface it doesn’t take much but you will thank me if you ever spill antifreeze on your floor (it is slicker than ice with no abrasive) I recleaned my shop and added a thin 2nd coat with abrasive sprinkled it still looked awesome but I poured some antifreeze and water on the new surface and could walk on it, without the abrasive I could not stand.
Once the floor is cured 24-72 hours depending on brand it is ready for abuse and is really easy to clean oil up kitty litter to pick up the bulk then a few squirts of laundry soap or dish soap and the floor looks like new again, I use a 3’ squeegee to push water out.
Depending on how rough or The porosity Of the surface you may need more paint than the can says it will cover, I think the ones that said 300sf / can were glass smooth floors rougher plan for 250 sf if it says 300.
Those are the things I have done many times for myself and others.  hope it helps.


Gas Fireplace Pilot Light Line Replacement

Pilot lines in most cases use 1/4" aluminum tubing and their fittings are compression type fittings that use no pipe dope. In some cases flare fittings have been used for the pilot line. Thread sealing tape is only used on the pipe threads of gas fittings and not the actual pilot tubing.


Can an inspector enforce issues with existing plumbing outside the scope of a permit?

This widely varies by municipality.
In general - big generalization - if this is something that isn't in the permit, something that is not being currently worked on, and something that is not an occupancy danger is out of scope for an inspector when visiting during a permit sign-off.

Isn't on permit - pretty clear your wash machine is not part of bathroom
Something that is not being currently worked on - so let's say you were getting this sign-off but then inspector notices you have outlets open in the room with the washer.   It doesn't take much and inspectors will say you are working on something to be permitted.   For instance I hide my toilets (boxes included) when doing minor refacing of a bathroom - which may include new vanity, new toilet, update plumbing (not change it - just make sure it is right and not old parts that may fail), and a paint job.   Inspectors see the toilet in the garage when inspecting something else... "what else do you have going on here".   Then I have to have an inspector out 3 times and quirky rules for a facelift.   Yours is clearly not being worked on, but this is a very hazy area!
occupancy danger - this would normally be under electrical issue or fire rating issue.   There is other gray area but don't think a washing machine hose could get there.

Now the other thing to think about is that some cities have presell inspections that have to take place before you can sell your home (not the buyer's inspection).    If your city requires that I would figure that that drain-off that you currently have will not pass.   I would also figure anyone who has your house inspected will have this noted and may require you to make it code before buying.
If I were in your house and might sell it the next couple years I would probably call inspector, and just ask about it.   What can I do to make it code?   Most inspectors will give you advice on this, especially basic plumbing requirements.   If I were planning on living in house for next 10+ years... there will probably be a new inspector by then.


The gray (grey) wire coming off the transformer is the C wire.  You can make your connection down near the transformer, or up where the A/C condensing unit wiring connects.


Low water pressure for water filter cartridges

I use those same type filters on my kitchen cold water supply to filter out the chlorine taste in the water. This is where we get all our drinking water and water to make coffee. The water pressure in my home is between 70 and 75 psi. I replace the filter once per year.


In an AC circuit, where does hot end and neutral begin?

While I don't necessarily like using plumbing as an analogy for electricity, it can be helpful in this situatuon.

Think of a kitchen sink as an electrical device, or load. The supply lines are "hot", while the drain is "netural". The supply lines have pressure, which forces the water out of the tap. Once at the sink, the pressure is released.  The water then flows down the drain with no (very low) pressure.

It's a similar situation in the electrical world. The "hot" conductors have a "pressure" (electrical potential). Once the electrical energy is used by the device, it flows down the "drain" ("neutral") conductor at very low pressure (electrical potential).

To answer your question directly. The "neutral"; or grounded conductor, "begins" after the load. Where the electrical potential is near zero (relative to ground).


Can I protect a dimmer switch circuit with a GFCI outlet?

If the GFCI receptacle you're branching from is on the small appliance branch circuit, you're not allowed to use that circuit to supply any other outlet (that is not a floor, wall, or countertop receptacle outlet serving the kitchen, pantry, breakfast room, dining room, or similar area of a dwelling unit).

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection.
Article 210 Branch Circuits.
210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets.
(B) Small Appliances.
(2) No Other Outlets. The two or more small-appliance branch circuits specified in 210.52(B)(1) shall have no other outlets.

So you won't be able to draw your power from there.
Other than that, there's no problem providing GFCI protection to lights.


do i need a vent for my new home basement plumbing rough-ins

if you mean a vent in the plumbing, then yes.  wet or dry, the plumbing must be vented.  if you mean an air exchange vent to pull moist or smelly air out of the room, then it may or may not be code in your area, but do yourself a favour and just put one in.  its always a good idea.


What name could be used in building code for "interior drain tiles"?

The code seems to use the term "subsurface soil drainage", but I wasn't able to find any detail on subsurface drainage.

§ 18-29-712.3.2
Sump pit.
The sump pit shall be not less than 18 inches (457 mm) in diameter and 30 inches (762 mm) deep, unless otherwise approved. The pit shall be accessible and located such that all drainage flows into the pit by gravity. An approved sump pit or tank within a building receiving the discharge from sanitary drains, storm water or combined drains shall be constructed of steel, cast iron, reinforced concrete pipe or other approved materials. The sump or tank receiving the discharge from subsurface soil drainage shall be constructed of vitrified clay tile or any of the above materials. Approved plastic or fiberglass liners may be used in conjunction with any of the approved materials referenced above. The pit bottom shall be solid and provide permanent support for the pump. The sump pit shall be fitted with a gas-tight removable cover adequate to support anticipated loads in the area of use. The sump pit receiving sanitary flow shall be vented in accordance with Article 18-29-9.

I also searched for vitrified clay tile, but didn't come up with much.
I'm not sure how useful it is, but International Residential Code (IRC) has this to say.

International Residential Code 2012
Chapter 4 Foundations
Section R405 Foundation Drainage
R405.1 Concrete or masonry foundations.
Drains shall be provided around all concrete or masonry foundations that retain earth and enclose habitable or usable spaces located below grade. Drainage tiles, gravel or crushed stone drains, perforated pipe or other approved systems or materials shall be installed at or below the area to be protected and shall discharge by gravity or mechanical means into an approved drainage system. Gravel or crushed stone drains shall extend at least 1 foot (305 mm) beyond the outside edge of the footing and 6 inches (152 mm) above the top of the footing and be covered with an approved filter membrane material. The top of open joints of drain tiles shall be protected with strips of building paper. Perforated drains shall be surrounded with an approved filter membrane or the filter membrane shall cover the washed gravel or crushed rock covering the drain. Drainage tiles or perforated pipe shall be placed on a minimum of 2 inches (51 mm) of washed gravel or crushed rock at least one sieve size larger than the tile joint opening or perforation and covered with not less than 6 inches (152 mm) of the same material.
Exception: A drainage system is not required when the foundation is installed on well-drained ground or sand-gravel mixture soils according to the Unified Soil Classification System, Group I Soils, as detailed in Table R405.1.
R405.1.1 Precast concrete foundation.
Precast concrete walls that retain earth and enclose habitable or useable space located below-grade that rest on crushed stone footings shall have a perforated drainage pipe installed below the base of the wall on either the interior or exterior side of the wall, at least one foot (305 mm) beyond the edge of the wall. If the exterior drainage pipe is used, an approved filter membrane material shall cover the pipe. The drainage system shall discharge into an approved sewer system or to daylight.

I've found that most building departments are quite helpful, and enthusiastically provide information to inquisitive homeowners.  Your best bet might be to contact your local building department, and see what information they can provide.


Is this gravel stabilizing underlament an effective product?

Yes, it is used in construction somewhat commonly. There are a couple of different situations where I have personally be involved with its use:

Soil stabilization for large fills - In areas where the ground is soft and heavy construction equipment needs to move (e.g. access roads) it can be placed in layers and filled with soil to help distribute the weight of the equipment without forming ruts.
Gravel parking lots - Similar situations involving parking lots and gravel are used to provide natural water infiltration while still providing a surface that is less likely to rut.
"Invisible" roads - The fill material can be modified slightly to support grass growth. This has been used to provide lawn areas that can support fire trucks for emergency access in all conditions while not having to pave a road up to a building.

All of these situations are similar in that they provide for a distribution of wheel loads on soft or wet soil.

In summary, these types of products are used in construction, so they are equally applicable home use.


Mysterious black dots appearing on carpet

Looks like grease. Check the door hinges and latch for dripping from over-lubrication.
Does not look like mold, and mold doesn't usually occur on top of carpet like that anyway.


Correct way to fix a broken block in a cinder block foundation

"Best" is what you can do in that tight space. If the cavity is filled with masonry it's probably fine. Ideally you'd replace the block with a like block and tuck-point the mortar in place. Might be easier said than done, though.


Where should I connect my C-wire on my old Goodman unit (GMP075-4 rev 13)

TLDR: connect the c-wire to the chassis or to pin 6
Here is the link to the GMP075-4 Installation Manual
The manual has a diagram exactly similar to the picture you posted, which is good because it's the foundation of my explanation:

Notice the BL wire (the blue wire) attached to pin 6. This wire has two tell-tale signs of being your C-wire:

It is blue
It is connected straight to ground

Blue is a color usually reserved for the common wire. This has been a standard practice for a while now - I'm not sure when thermostat wire colors became standard, but it'll definitely apply to any units within the last 30 years.
The common wire's main function is to behave like a ground wire. Nothing in the system likely needs a grounded thermostat wire except for a newer thermostat. For current to flow through a device, there needs to be a difference in voltage between two wires connected to the device. In the case of your thermostat, it will see 24V on the red wire (red reserved for constant power), and 0V on the blue wire (0V means ground, or 'common'). Thus, there is a difference between 24V and 0V, so power can flow through the thermostat. This wouldn't be possible with any other wire (white, green, yellow) because they are not providing a voltage difference from the 24V red.
So based on the standardized practices of color codes, and based on the functionality of what a c-wire should be, pin 6 on the diagram is where you connect your c-wire. You could also connect it to the body of the blower if the blower is grounded (and it should be). If connecting it to the blower caused your fuse to pop, I suspect there's another issue at play, and you should most definitely check the AC voltage difference between the blower's chassis and pin 3 (the red wire). It should be 24V. Anything else and you may have a different problem.


Is there any reason to put 2 GFCI outlets in a 2-gang outlet box?

As long as the second standard receptacle is correctly connected to the GFCI receptacle as well as properly labeled with the usual "GFCI Protected" sticker, it should be acceptable for code.

The downside is it will look awkward and you should think more about if saving the small amount of extra money for an additional GFCI receptacle will be worth it.


How can I reduce the humidity level in my basement?

An assortment of thoughts which may or may not be applicable to your situation:

In general, larger capacity units are more efficient than smaller capacity units, according to Consumer Reports. They suggest buying a 70 even you don't think you need it.

If you're using the built-in bucket, the dehumidifier stops whenever that becomes full. You have to empty it as frequently as necessary... or set up the unit to drain into a sink or otherwise move the water out of your house automatically. (Mine has been draining into a pump which in turn empties into the washing-machine drain.)

If you have water coming in as fast as the dehumidifier can pull it out, you won't make progress. How well sealed is that basement?

Make sure you have allowed enough air circulation around the dehumidifier and into the rest of the basement.

Dehumidifiers are somewhat notorious for recalls. If you really think yours isn't working properly, you might want to check with the manufacturer to see if there's a recall that hasn't been announced yet.. (The last two I've owned were both recalled; the first seemed to be working OK for me, the second was clearly bad from the moment I turned it on).

Good luck.


Turns out this was not a plumbing issue, even though all signs pointed to it: related to bathroom use (even though with long delay), traces of moisture in hardwood floors tracking from upstairs bathroom wall to leak, 'bathroom' smell.

In fact someone installed the drip pan under the AC in the attic at an angle, so condensate leaked, soaked the insulation, tracked along second floor ceiling to return air register, along that vent down the wall onto the subfloor... There it found a convenient knot, dripped on straps, and found its way to the fan.

Fortunately we haven't used the AC too much this year, so the joists are fine and hopefully the hardwood floors will dry, too.

Lesson learned: you may want to think x is your problem, when really it's y.


Are split receptacles wired with #14 appropriate in a bedroom?

That is totally fine.  NEC requires receptacles be at a certain spacing (so extension cords are not needed).  It does not care if those receptacles are split and half controlled by a light switch.

If anything, split receptacles all around help avoid the need for extension cords.  I see many homes where the solitary split receptacle is stupidly placed, and you are stuck with a bad placement, or must run an extension cord.

You need to be very careful with splitting receptacles.  You must break off the correct tabs.  If you fail to break off a tab that needed to be broken, you will cross circuits into each other, defeat light switches, or make a rather big bang if it's an MWBC.  If you break off one too many tabs, one outlet won't work.  If it's getting confusing, then break off both tabs and pigtail both sides of the receptacle, and hook them up as if they are 2 separate receptacles, one at a time.

If another bedroom has 2 complete circuits for bedroom receptacles, that is fine.   It would be rather unusual to see a receptacle split between two different circuits, but this is a rarely-seen feature, not a bug.

It's also possible that a duplex receptacle, or even a receptacle chain, could be fed by a multi-wire branch circuit.  This carries 2 full circuits on a single /3 cable (black red white).  These are very efficient ways to bring a lot of power to a room, if you know what you're doing.   If you don't, you can inadvertently create a serious hazard.  This MWBC solution would not be used in new work, because it makes AFCI and GFCI protection more expensive, it is cheaper to simply run two separate /2 cables.


Natural gas line sizing with generator addition

Natural gas is conveniently 1000 btus per hour per cubic foot per hour so 320 cfh =320 mbtu/h. Your gas line with a 1.6" outside diameter is an 1-1/4" I.D. pipe. At 50' it will be capable of delivering 561 mbtu/h or 561cf/h

Here's a reference

Perfection pipe calculator

This chart is rated with a 6" water column and your 1/4 psi is 7" water column so 561 is slightly underrated from what you'll actually be getting.

Edit

It seems the chart you're looking at is using a derated figure for natural gas' calorific value.

From the link provided

From a google search

Most charts I've ever seen use the calorific value from the google sherch pictured above.

I can only guess that that from your link they are going with the lowest quality refined gas available. I'm going to read the whole link later because I'm curious. It may be for "wet gas" but they are got rid of that stuff in the 70's through better refining processes.


How to investigate a problem with blown 50 amp HVAC fuse without power?

The next step is to see where the short is, and for that you will need to check the resistance of the compressor and fan motors. The exact wiring can vary by model, but basically, you need to check the resistance between the wires going to each motor and see if any are shorted.

As a first step, you can probably just check all the wires going to each motor and see if they are shorted to the case of the motor. If a wire breaks internally it can ground out to the motor housing. Beyond that, you need to understand more how the motors are wired.


How can I safely increase the size of a door bolt?

For clarification, Is this an open door being slammed shut, or a door with clearance when latched that allows it to clatter against the door jamb?

The first can be taken care of with a gas cylinder door closer to retard the closing of the door on the last final bit.

The second can be taken care of by putting thin weatherstrip around the door to stop unwanted airflow, cushion door to door jamb contact and take up the clearance that exists while the door is latched.

I've also used felt pads for reducing the annoyance.

As to whether the bolt is big enough, it's more likely that it's the positioning of the bolt and latch strike plates that's the problem. They can also be moved towards the jamb to take up the slack clearance. It will probably take some finesse with a chisel if they're inlet into the surface along with some filling of the old screw holes so they can be re-drilled for the new strike-plate position. I mention the weatherstrip above because it's the easier of the two fixes and doesn't involve modifications that might be prohibited by your lease.


Outlets (top only) and lights wired together with trail wire not working

This is the correct way to wire what you have described (grounds not shown):

You have 3-wire cable wired to your split receptacles, which means there should be 3-wire cable running to your switch in order to complete the circuit.

If there is only a 2-wire cable wired to your switch, then the power for your lights must be coming from somewhere else, and your switches should be wired like this:


Can the drain pipes in my kitchen soffit be relocated into the wall?

You're dealing with some major renovations. I don't think we would be able to answer that accurately just by looking at pictures. The easiest part would be rerouting the electric cables. Junction boxes could be mounted to the joists but the boxes would have to be accessible forever. The plex plumbing would be a nightmare and the drain piping almost impossible as you've got pipes going through the ceiling at that point. The AC duct really appears to have nowhere to go. All of the facilities you want to move will have to go somewhere so some walls would have to be wider and you'd have to loose a closet or two. You're best bet would be to get a few professionals in there for an estimate, if it's even possible.


The limiting circuit isn't just government nonsense.  The bigger problem is the fan's mechanism is not made for that much heat.  If you put a bulb whose watts-actual are larger than rating, you will slowly cook internal parts of the fan such as the wiring to the socket.  We've seen overheated scorched light fixtures, it's not pretty.

A high-wattage lamp also defeats the purpose of a fan by adding heat to the room.  Even if you want heat, it's the most expensive kind - electric.

I have been steadily increasing the light in my house by going LED.  I know there,s some resistance to "gub'mint" bulbs, but LEDs actually won on the merits despite the government's best efforts to promote the dreadful CFLs.  They have solved early color temperature and CRI problems, and now  cannot be distinguished from incandescent.  My favorite is a non-subsidized GE bulb that is 50/150/100W equivalent, and if used in a non-3way base, gives 150W (not 100W as a normal 3way bulb will). That is a wonderful bunch of light at around 20W actual, with no chance of scorching a fixture rated for 40-60W.

Sometimes, if the power limiting circuit is cheap (because the fan is cheap), it must be bypassed to play well with LEDs.


Both are good and functional. It probably boils down to preference, at the end of the day.

Bit holder:

+uses cheaper 1" bits

+over time, you'll probably acquire bit sets that include a bunch of 1" bits, so there's a good place to use them

+for obscure bit sizes, like Torx 15, you probably won't bother getting long ones, so this is what you'll need

+you'll occasionally need to stick the 1" bit directly in the nose (because of a lack of room), so having short bits around is useful

-bit holders that aren't 'impact ready' can break in time. For a couple of bucks, you'll replace it. Eventually, you'll lose your mind and buy something like a Wera Rapidaptor for $25 or so.

-a tiny bit more wobbly than a direct bit

Impact-ready bits:

+a little bigger and harder to lose in your pockets

+if you buy 3" long ones, they'll interchange with your Picquic screwdriver

+(edited in, following comments) a longer bit will sometimes let you get into a tight spot or sink a screw more deeply than the bit holder

-a little more expensive, and heartbreaking when they break. (And they will. At the least convenient time possible.)


After replacing a 1-gang electrical box with a 3-gang box, am I allowed use the same 1-gang wallplate and drywall over the rest of the box?

No, you can't box a box in like that!

When you have a multigang box, all the innards need to be accessible without removing any building finish, as per NEC 314.29, so that the next bloke who services the thing can get at all the stuff inside.  Your choices are to either use a 3-gang to 1-gang mudring (as was linked in the comments), or to use a 3-gang cover that has blank spaces (i.e. no switch or receptacle openings) in the other gangs.


Do I need a regular Tee or a Slip Tee to add new line (pex) to existing line (copper)?

Using a slip tee or reg tee depends on how much movement you have once you cut the pipe.  In either case you will need to make 2 cuts to where you want to add your tee.  The second cut will be made to remove enough pipe so that once your tee is set, you do not see any pipe when you look into the center leg of the tee.  I'm not a big fan of sharkbite, if it's not in a garage or somewhere that it can be inspected periodically then I would consider soldering copper.  The sharkbite slip tee will just be slipped all the way onto one end of the pipe and then there is a little tool you will need to back it the other way onto the mating pipe.  If you have an old piece of pipe for trial and error that will help you determine how much gap you will need to cut out.


What I would do is put some 2x4" Southern Yellow Pine or even better Oak framing under to brace those flimsy compressed wood cabinets. Otherwise they will bow out over time.

Then I would get an epoxy based coating for concrete.  They have these in many types, with or without stone, in all sorts of colorings and will look really good and hold up for years. When done you will have a counter you will be proud of as these epoxy coating look really good.

Usually these epoxy products are two or three parts.  Epoxy, hardener, and sometimes a ground stone you apply over the epoxy.  The epoxy will vary in price from around $40.00 up to maybe $120.00 a gallon depending on what look you go for but you will probably only need a gallon to cover that concrete counter.

Lifetime of these products vary, but I would expect you to want to remodel the room long before the epoxy needs replacement.

In the future when you make a concrete counter make sure to use a sturdy cabinet(s) as concrete is heavy and modern compressed wood cabinets can't take the weight an old wood or even plywood cabinet could.  You should also make sure to tie down the reinforcing mesh so it stays centered in the concrete.


How to isolate a baseboard heater circuit, drain, purge?

You are on the right track. Assuming you want to work on a single zone, you will need to:

Shut off your boiler using the switch (potentially you could disconnect just one zone and leave your boiler running for the sake of other zones, but in general it's simpler to just turn off the system unless you're doing extensive work during the winter).
Disconnect that zone by closing valves on both the supply and return ends of the zone's loop. It looks like you have valves on each of the zone supply lines, but only one valve on your return, after the zones are joined - the pink circle in your last pic. So you may end up draining a bit of water from other zones. Note that if you didn't have valves on both ends, you could also drain your entire system. To do that you'd want to also shut off the cold water supply into your boiler, which is always there to allow the system to fill and respond to evaporation/leaks.
Prepare to drain by attaching a hose/bucket to your chosen zone's drain valve/spigot. Open the drainage valve. You'll get some water out at this point, but it will be limited because there is no other opening to allow air in.
To facilitate draining in the areas you'll be working, open bleed valves on your radiators upstairs. The bleed valve is a smaller valve designed to let you release air from your pipes so that the there is no air in the pipes along with the water. In this case you're going to use it to allow air in instead, so that the water can drain down into your bucket instead of spilling all over your floor when you cut a pipe upstairs.
Make your changes upstairs. Note that if you change the layout significantly you may need to add bleed valves to facilitate purging air in the future.
Close all your bleed valves. Close drainage valves and remove hose/bucket.
Reopen all the valves you used to disconnect your chosen zone. That zone will now be filled/under pressure, but with a significant amount of air in the pipes so it won't yet be ready to run.
Bleed the air from the system. Note that you may need to bleed radiators in other zones as well, because it does not appear you can fully isolate the chosen zone on both the supply and return ends. When bleeding the radiators, open a valve to release air and close it when it stops sputtering. Use a cup and rag to avoid spraying water everywhere. :)
Check again for leaks. :)
Turn the system back on and test it out!

Good luck with your project!


You will need to redo this part of the run

It appears that part of the run does not meet minimum burial specifications (aka the 18" cover depth required for PVC conduit); also, that LB and several of the bends will need to go in order to avoid violating the 360° rule between pull points and keep the LB from becoming inaccessible.

As a result, you will need to redo this section of the run completely.  The first step will be to turn off the breaker in the house and disconnect the wires at the house end, then go to the garage and pull the wires out of the conduit completely from that end.  Then, you will have to excavate along the conduit from where it enters the ground down to where it meets the 18" cover depth (and a couple extra inches), as well as excavate out a 19-20" deep pit around the wide-sweep elbow below the LB, and connect the two excavations with a 19-20" deep trench in an L shape overall (draw straight lines out from where the conduits go, and then trench along those lines, yielding two trenches that  cross at roughly a 90 degree angle).

Once you've done the trenching, you can then install new conduit as straight runs of 1/2" schedule 40 PVC fitted to the existing runs using couplers at the ends and with a wide sweep elbow used at the bend.  Backfilling the trench is straightforward, and then you can pull the wires back through, probably with the aid of a pulling string sucked through the conduit with a shop-vac and a plastic grocery bag tied to the string.  Once the wires are back in  (you should have sufficient length in the existing wires to reconnect them given how much length was taken out by removing the needless depth variations), you can then reconnect them at the house end, turn the breaker on, and call the job done.


Why is my electric going on only in half my house?

Your question lacks details we need to accurately answer your question (see my comments above).  However, it sounds like you are losing one leg of your service.  In the US (are you in the US or Canada?) electricity is delivered in 110 volt increments (commonly referred to as "legs").  Each house has two of these "legs" delivered to it.  Again, each "leg" carries 110 volts.  When you need more power (e.g. for clothes dryers, water heaters, AC, etc.) these two legs are combined to provide 220 volts.  Everything else in your home will get electricity from one leg or the other.  If one of these legs fails (e.g. by a connection being broken due to a bad transformer or a damaged pole) then you will lose electricity in "half" of your home.
The heat pump probably runs on 220 volts and requires both legs to run properly.  You are probably hearing it strain to start on just one leg.  This is dangerous to both you and the heat pump.  You will either burn out the motor or start a fire (maybe both).


Should I replace a kinked hot water supply pipe?

The copper pipe is creased enough that if the shut-off valve is twisted to the 'on' and than 'off' position several times the force exerted will probably break the already weakened pipe. It would be wise to repair the damaged pipe now rather than repairing it later (and possibly dealing with a flood clean-up). As Aloysius commented about using a no sweat replacement valve will make for a simple repair. Use a pipe cutter for a smooth even cut. You will need to leave at least a 1-2 inch stub out from the wall to have enough purchase for the new valve (looking at the photo you should have plenty). Don't forget to ream the inside of the copper after it's cut to remove burrs. FYI: 1/4 turn valves are easier to use and last longer than the rubber washer "screw" type valves.


There are several workshop specific brick-n-mortar stores out there that also sell online. Two that come to mind are Rockler and Woodcraft. Both sell what you are looking for. Both also have solutions for the static buildup that Ed was describing. I personally use flexible hose that has a wire built into it that is grounded. My system is a 3" PVC pipe around the garage. There are gates in several locations where I can attach the flexible hose. The gates are grounded. Get yourself a free catalog from both places. Rockler and Woodcraft are pretty pricey but they have items that you will not find anywhere else.


very confused on the wiring for recessed lighting

Oh, why on earth did you do that?

Wires are not color coded for the benefit of novice installers.  They are color coded because cables only come one way: with black and white wires.   Those wires serve a wide variety of functions, but they are always black and white because cables are; they are not color coded by function unless you do this yourself with colored tape. (Which I in fact do).

You took apart wires you did not need to take apart.  You saw a black wire from the ceiling connected to only a white wire from the ceiling: it was not connected to the ballast in any way whatsoever, yet you felt you just had to dismantle it anyway.

I call this "trying to learn electrical by dismantling your house".  Seems pretty silly when I put it that way, but it made sense at the time, I'm sure.

Another thing that often bites novices is the sense that the guy who did this work previously is an idiot.  Maybe, but you certainly are in no position to judge.

Unfortunately, reversing this mistake is hard.  It may be time to call an electrician in.

If you really, really want to press forward, then identify the two cables in this box.  Select one cable and identify the white and black from that one cable.  Connect the lamp's hot and neutral to those two wires  alone, leaving the others capped off.  If that doesn't bring it to life, try the other cable.

In the future

Pay close attention to how things were wired before, and only touch the things you actually have to.

In this particular case, you should be unhooking all the wires coming out of the ballast, and coiling then up and wrapping them with tape to get them out of the way, so they are out of sight and out of mind.  I don't like cutting wires on functioning ballasts. At that point, when you exclude those wires, there should 2 places that the black and white from the ballast went to. Those are the only 2 places you are concerned with, keep your schnozz out of everything else.

Oh, and know the other thing that will save you an electrician call.   When replacing receptacles, check to see if the tabs are broken off.


How can I fix gaps and broken mortar in a stone path

It seems that your problem is likely due to movement of the supporting soil under the stones, so your idea of a bordering strip to stabilize lateral movement is a good one. A strip of concrete only an inch wide would be difficult to create and probably ineffective. You would be better off with a larger border.

The method you choose to create a border would depend on how you want it to look, how much work you are willing to put into it, and what materials you are comfortable working with. Concrete would work if formed and poured properly. I would probably use a quick and easy method, like pounding rebar in to support partially buried pressure-treated dimensional lumber (1x4, 1x6, 2x6, etc.)

You will need to pull up the stones in the whole area, create your borders, than backfill with sand and tamp well until the area is solid and level. Then replace the stones and fill the joints with sand and tamp again.

Kinda like the picture below, except with lumber instead of flex border:


In-place sewer cleanout tee replacement?

You could dig down around the area and cut out the broken fitting. If you cut out wide enough you can install a new replacement fitting that has a stub of pipe sticking out each side that just fits down between the cut ends of the existing not movable pipe.
You can then use Fernco type couplers on each side to join the two stub pieces to the existing pipe. Note you will have to dig back far enough on the two ends of the existing pipe to be able to slip the couplers in place before putting the new fitting with stubs in place.

Picture Source
You want to make sure to use the type with stainless steel clamps to resist rusting and that have the metal shielding as shown above to resist the heavy earth load from above.


Why do blinds have two different close options?

They block the light differently depending on where the sun is, and how much light you want to let in.


Will this type of welding be strong enough to withstand Southern California winds?

As long as the weld has made good penetration into the two metal surfaces you should be fine. From my experience the only way the weld would fail is through metal fatigue which involves a consistent flexing or bending of the metal. I don't see this happening (or it is highly unlikely) given that the steel posts (they appear to be C channel or columns) will be tied together by the horizontal IPE boards making it a rigid structure. You would probably get more failure to the welds from seismic movement than from sheer wind force.


I want to mix indoor acrylic enamel paint with indoor acrylic paint

I doubt it. White paint is weak at lightening colors. It requires a "large" volume of white to make a real change. Tinting does work well the other way: a small amount of colored paint will tint white paint very easily.


How to remove lawyer bookcase glass door?

Unscrew the rollers on both sides.

Lower the door so it's parallel to the back.

Push one end back into the cabinet until the pin is free of the side slot - or start with the door at the back, and pull one end forward until it's free of the side slot (and then keep pulling forward to remove from the case.)

Replacement should be the reverse of removal.


How to wire two separate switches off one main 4-way switch

This is just a guess (see H-RM's comment), but if your intent is that the 4-way switches control whether or not there's power to the light switches at the bed, then this is no different from running wiring from 4-way switches to hardwired lighting fixtures.  You just install light switches inline with each lighting fixture so that power is toggled at the input to each of these 2 switches when one of the 4-ways is toggled.
This means that the 'logic' diagram will require both the correct toggling of the 4-ways and that either 2-way local switch be in the "on" position for the respective light to be "on".  When the 4ways are toggled the other way, there's no power on the inputs to the local 2-way switches, so the lights would be off.
Warning: if you are not experienced in electrical wiring, get someone who is to help. It's important to know what is 'hot' and what isn't, and further to ensure the local 2-way switches (and their lights) are not in series.


Converting from Oil to Gas heat. Any recommendations?

instead of sizing your current boiler, i would instead have a heating professional visit your home and calculate the heating requirements of your home from scratch.


What's the best method to chalk a line parallel to a wall?

"Parallel to a wall" is a subjective thing. Parallel to what? Parallel to a line crossing the corner points? Parallel to an average wall line?

Generally, a carpenter takes one of two approaches: Either measure out from each corner, taking into consideration anomalies such as rounded plaster or drywall, and use that. Or, if there's a nearby perpendicular wall that's considered more trustworthy, use the 3-4-5 technique to strike a right angle from that, or from a line snapped parallel to it.

The key to any such process is getting as wide a sample as possible. Minimize extrapolation (extending your chalk line beyond measured or calculated points) and use as much length as you have available to make your line marks.

In the case of your flooring, it may be more important from an aesthetic perspective to achieve the illusion of parallelism, and not true parallelism. Consider your entire scenario and find the best compromise. Chances are that you'll have to rip the edge plank to fit a wavy or crooked wall regardless, depending on the thickness of your base trim, etc.

Be sure to measure across the room and determine how parallel you'll be with the opposite wall. If your flooring will extend into other rooms, examine those as well.


What type of filters should I use for a 3 stage whole house water filter?

First, look up your municipality's water department site and see what they specify for treatment. Your sediment filter will work fine, if you replace it when it becomes full. For the chlorine smell, your water likely contains chlorine or chloramines. A loose filter filled with granulated activated carbon (GAC) should remove these chemicals. The water will interact well with the pores of the GAC, assuming you size the filter for the maximum flow rate you expect.

It may be reasonable to filter sediment at the house level, but filter out the disinfectants at the points of use. There's no benefit to treating your non-drinking water, and you'll replace the filters more often if you treat the whole house for chemical/odor/smells.


When should HVAC returns be opened and closed?

All are true! Generic questions receive generic answers. The advice about closing the upper or lower with heat or cool respectively follows physics of "hot air rise" so sucking up the hot air you just produced isn't very efficient. On the other hand, you don't want to block an intake if it would put additional load on your fan and isn't allowing the amount of air the handler is expecting as they are engineered to a spec to try and optimized HVAC and/or energy performance. But you have two returns and they are designed to be able to shut, so why would they do that. The vent may have been installed because they were cheaper/on-hand, because they looked better, or actually because they were intended to be shut. They also could have been installed correctly and to spec of the air handler but then the air handler was replaced. With so many variables (generic question) you will hear a lot of different answers and most people with lean on the side of caution.

So how to determine what is right for your situation, I've had a few scenarios where people want to place a table or open entertainment center near or in front of their return so I'm going to give you the same advice. Limiting the handler is bad; however, short term is negligible so we'll perform a before and after test. First I inspect the handler to make sure the fan blades are clean. Try and find the vent furthest away from the handler and tape a piece of light cardboard/posterboard or paper to the top; create a hinge, tape on top with paper covering vent. Without any obstruction, both returns open, turn the fan on and see how far the board/paper moves; repeat with a return closed. On a house I typically only check one vent but you can check more. Typically when there is a problem it is extremely noticeable so I'm not breaking out rulers to measure the distance.

If you have the one return closed and your handler is running longer or more frequent that is also a sign that you either need service, possibly just a new filter, or that you don't have enough air flow anymore.


It is detrimental the same way as sediments that will work their way through the pipes and create blockages in shut-off values and clog up the aerators filters in the faucets.  You just replaced the rod,  Continue with a deep flush of the tank and remove the sediments from the bottom of the tank.  There are YouTube video on how to do a deep flush but it consists of:
1. Put hot water on pilot or vacation mode
2. Shut of the water at the top of the heater
3. Drain the tank
4. Open water valve at the top of tank with drain faucet still open.
5. Run for about 5 minutes or until water is clear and no sediments is flowing out
6. Close drain faucet
7. After tank fills, turn gas back to your normal setting

On "Corrosion standpoint?"  If any magnesium  or aluminum broke off, it will continue to perform its duty of rusting first, same as if it was still on the rod.


3-1/4" Pancake Box? - Want to Update Old Ceiling Fixture

Many things don't fit 3-1/4" boxes

There are quite a few fixtures and other pieces of hardware that simply do not fit a 3-1/4" round or octagon box, as their mounting holes are too far apart.  This can be sometimes fixed for fixtures with the aid of a "universal crossbar" that adapts the mounting holes to the right places, but in some more exotic situations (like where excess box fill or the nature of what's being hung off the box forces you to put a mudring or extension box on for volume or mounting space), the requisite parts simply aren't made.


Ceiling Fan light enclosure - CFL only lights

Typically the reason for the low wattage rating is because of small gauge wire used in the fixture that would not be rated for much higher wattage/current draw required by 40 or 60 watt incandescent bulbs. Incandescent or halogen bulbs burn much hotter and in an enclosed space can fail prematurely. As far as using LED bulbs, they should work fine. The draw is very low and the heat is not much more than CFLs. I have been using LED bulbs in enclosed fixtures for a few years now with no problems.


Best Light for Reading, Computer Office: Flat Panel or Dome/Global Light

We do not use lights that have the bulb (or tube) exposed. That bulb will put a shinny spot on the computer screen.
Try a recessed bulb in a recessed fixture, like this one:
https://www.build.com/product/summary/1499651?uid=3513755&jmtest=gg-gbav2_3513755&inv=1&&source=gg-gba-pla_3513755!c1710656546!a75290221828!dm!ng&gclid=CjwKCAiArbv_BRA8EiwAYGs23HrTE3bSCYbvezHtce-yRTmyFcPMvnGk93TFfGSOx68AzlEHzSsG9BoCyUYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Computer screens are getting better nowadays, but a bright bulb will still be a problem due to reflection off the screen.


How to get agitator off for this Frigidaire washer?

I've not worked on this specific model, but with a similar one I recall that the agitator just pulls off once you remove the cap.

They get gummed up with detergent residue so it takes some force to get it started.


What options are there to achieve both grounding/ground-fault and arc-fault protection on old 2-wire circuits?

First off. The only way to provide proper "grounding", is to install a grounding conductor from the panel to each outlet. Providing AFCI and GFCI protection to the circuits is helpful, but these devices will not provide "grounding".

If you switch from 2-prong receptacles to 3-prong on these circuits, you should not connect anything to the grounding screw of the receptacles. You should also (technically) install labels at each outlet that read "GFCI protection" and "No Equipment Ground". Though, these labels aren't common in residential situations.

  Replace GFCI breakers with CAFCI breakers and add GFCI receptacles to the first-outlet on each circuit.

This is probably going to be your best bet. In this scenario, the CAFCI breaker provides protection to the entire circuit. The GFCI protection being at the first outlet, means that while the wiring from the panel to this location is not protected, the rest of the circuit is protected.

  Keep GFCI breakers and add AFCI receptacles to the first-outlet on each circuit.

This isn't a terrible option, although the AFCI device will not be protecting the wiring between the panel and the device. Also note that an AFCI device only detects line to ground arcs (parallel arcs), while a CAFCI device detects both line to ground and line to line arcs (parallel and series arcs).

  Replace GFCI breakers with Dual Function AFCI/GFCI breakers.

If you could actually find these (and could afford them), this would probably be your best course of action. Unfortunately, these devices probably don't exists (yet) from most manufacturers.


How to remove calcium scale at waterline in swimming pool?

CLR or other mild acidic cleaner will dissolve the calcium, even clear vinegar.

The calcium is in your water supply and is depositing out due to evaporation.  A water hardness test kit will tell you  the real story.  Your pool chemical dealer will have a treatment option for chealating the calcium out.

Here's an article from  Taylor chemical


How to measure heat in a Manhattan apartment?

The first step would be to measure the room temperature yourself with a quality thermometer to be certain that the landlord is in violation. In daytime hours, the temperature is required to be at least 68, overnight (between 10pm - 6am), the temperature is allowed to drop to 55 degrees. But the rules don't kick in until the outside temperature drops below 55 and are only in force from Oct 1st - May 31st. The city provides a chart to summarize the rules:

Neither the City Housing Maintenance Code nor the Heat/Hot Water FAQ are  specific on the mechanics of the measurement:

  §  27-2029  Minimum temperature to be maintained. a. During the
  period   from October first through May thirty-first,
  centrally-supplied heat, in   any dwelling in which such heat is
  required to  be  provided,  shall  be   furnished  so  as to maintain,
  in every portion of such dwelling used or   occupied for living
  purposes:

  (1) between the hours of six a. m. and ten p. m., a temperature of  at   least  sixty-eight  degrees  Fahrenheit whenever the outside
  temperature   falls below fifty-five degrees; and

  (2) between the hours of ten p. m. and six a. m., a temperature of  at   least  fifty-five  degrees  Fahrenheit  whenever the outside
  temperature   falls below forty degrees.

However, since the code does state that every portion of such dwelling has to meet the minimum temperature, then I don't think that measuring temperature above a radiator would demonstrate compliance, as that only demonstrates that some heat is being delivered to the apartment, not that sufficient heat is delivered.

Plug-in heating devices are not included in their measurements - they do not measure the heat in a room warmed by such a device:

  Since the use of an auxiliary heating device,  e.g., space heater,
  will not provide an  accurate room temperature for the purpose  of
  issuing a violation, housing inspectors  will not measure the room
  temperature in a  room that is receiving heat from an auxiliary
  heating device.

So don't feel that if you can use a plug-in heater to keep a room warm that you can't file a complaint if the central heat can't warm all rooms to the legally required minimums.

According to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, if the Landlord does not fix the problem, the next step would be to file a complaint with the City:

  Tenants who are cold in their apartments should first attempt to
  notify the building owner, managing agent or superintendent. If heat
  is not restored, the tenant should call the City's Customer Service
  Center at 311 (311 can be accessed outside of New York City by dialing
  (212) NEW YORK). For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (212)
  504-4115. The Center is open 24-hours a day, seven-days a week.  (You
  may also file a complaint at  311ONLINE for heat and hot water
  conditions.)

The city will then contact your landlord and/or you to verify that the problem as not been resolved and to schedule an inspection to verify non-compliance and issue a violation if appropriate.

For cases of continued non-compliance, the city may even hire a vendor to resolve the problem, and bill the landlord for the repairs.


What screws should I have used for drywall? (And can I fix this situation?)

I expect you want some kind of wall plug. You would take the table down, install the wall plugs (which generally need a bigger hole than screws so your exiting screwholes shouldn't be an issue) and then screw the shelf to the wall plugs.

Here in the UK I would look at something like this, but i'm not sure how american drywall compares to our plasterboard (also not sure if that one is the right size, I generally judge sizes of such things by eye rather than measurements).


My lights does not work unless you turn the stove on

Call the power company and report an outage
You lost one of your phases of power.   This is almost always a problem at the power company's end of the wire.
When you turn your oven on, it has the effect of connecting the dead phase to the still-live one.   However this gives very weak power on the dead phase, and this won't hold.
Go to your breaker panel and shut off all your double-wide (2-pole) breakers - oven, dryer, water heater, air conditioner etc.
Then call the power company and report the outage.  They should come out quickly (unless they're busy recovering from the bad weather of late), and the work will be free.


How can I make thicker interior door slabs work as replacements for thinner slabs?

You can't (practically speaking) make your slabs thinner. It would be a monumental undertaking considering the nature of hollow-core doors and symmetrical mortising. You can either move the stops or get new slabs and start over.

To move the stops, slice the paint with a utility knife, then work a steel putty knife behind the stop to loosen it. Gently pry the stop loose. Sand, fill, and paint the jambs.

Determine whether the stops are salvageable with sanding and repainting. Reinstall using trim nails and filler, and apply a final coat of paint.


Changing the input voltage of oscillating fan

Reducing the input voltage of a motor cooled by a fan (as your fan's motor is) can cause it to not get enough cooling, slowly cooking the insulation until you end up with an electrical fire.  The fan was designed for a certain voltage, and it can be dangerous to run it on another voltage.
Also, unless you were to spend a lot of money for a Variable Frequency Drive, any adapter you would put between the fan and the wall would end up using the energy "saved" from running the fan at a lower voltage.  In other words, if the fan was using 100 watts before, in order to reduce the fan power consumption to 80 watts, the "adapter", in the process of reducing the voltage, would use 20 watts.
I would recommend selling this fan and buying a new one that is not as noisy.


New plastic off-gasses. Leave it in your car for a week, most of it will go away.

None of it is good, and yes, food containers do leach into food.

Polystyrene less than most, but you're not getting heavily processed polystyrene foam, which stopped off-gassing while it was still "sand" in the railcar, before it reached the foaming plant.  You are getting solid polystyrene like is used in model airplanes.


I personally have never seen vinyl pulled up, after being glued down, come up in a usable condition.

Even it it does not rip or tear i find the backing material separates and stays with the glue on the floor.


You'd need 3 ply 2x10 SPF at 16" on center spacing to span 21' with only floor load on the middle 12' of the span.

If there is any roof load on these joists then that completely changes everything.


Problem (mostly) solved.  It turns out most dimmers have a way to adjust the minimum level of the dimmer.  The way to adjust my dimmer was very unintuitive, but it allowed me to crank it down to about 10%, where it shipped with a minimum brightness of about 50%

Lutron has a nice video on their dimmer site that shows how to make the adjustment.  Other brands of dimmers have different ways of adjusting the minimum output.


How to interconnect Kidde smoke/co combo detectors Mod# KN-cope_IC with Edwards Heat detectors Mod# CR-135-2 using relay SM120X

You'll need to run a /3 cable from the smoke alarm run to wherever you want the relay to go, and a /2 cable from the heat detectors to the relay location, which will need a box at it (a simple 4" square box will do if you aren't putting the relay at a smoke or heat detector location).

Once that is done, connect one wire of the /2 cable to the red wire in the /3 cable, black and white on the relay module to the matching wires on the /3 cable, the grey wire on the module to the other wire in the /2 cable, and all grounds together and to the box the relay is in, if it's a metal box that is.

This way, the 9V supply from the SM120X will be connected to the red interconnect wire when the heat detectors close, causing the smoke alarms to sound.  Note that the heat detectors will only work if there is 120V AC power available to the house, even if the smoke detectors themselves have battery backup.  (The SM120X doesn't provide a backup battery for its 9V supply, in other words.)


May I use alkyd primer with acrylic paint

You can use acrylic over alkyd primer, in fact that is a preference of mine. What I generally do not do is apply alkyd finish over acrylic (unless I sand thoroughly).


Whenever you have sediment going through your water system the end result is the sediment usually getting stuck in a filter.   Your sink has a filter on the nozzle.  You need to simply unscrew the very end of the nozzle (941-004) and clean (941-005).  This is the culprit 98% of the time.

In the future if you are cleaning any plumbing and possible sediment is running through your house turn on the washer supply hose (a lot of times these are dual headed and if it isn't unscrew the hose to your washer) for 10 mins or a good couple buckets.  You might not see much but that will keep you from cleaning a bunch of faucets.  And tub is OK to use but your valve (if newer) probably has filters in its cartridge.


At what voltage are "low voltage" junction boxes not appropriate?

Regulations vary by country/locale.

IEC SELV is < 25 VAC or < 60 VDC.

See IEEE 802.3 POEP Study Group
Safety considerations for POE and POEplus


If the suspension ropes aren't vertical, then you're making a (3D) trapezoid linkage, and changing the tension balance between the ropes (which will happen whenever you move the shelf contents around) will change both the horizontal position and the tilt of the suspended shelf.

Assuming you don't want the shelf contents spilling off, you should have each of the suspension ropes be vertical, which will make the shelf position and orientation independent of the load. However, @RedGrittyBrick is right: you'll need some sort of lateral support to keep the shelf from rocking back and forth; either cross-bracing, or horizontal bracing to nearby fixed points.


What size lumber do I need for a mezzanine floor to support a 20,000 lbs load?

There's a really simple answer to this question.

You find a structural engineer, and you pay them to answer the question. It seems like you probably have a special situation, and none of the standard tables out there are going to work.


Remove broken setscrew in an already damaged hole?

First of all, use a good penetrating oil. I love PB Blaster.

It looks like you started with too large of a drill bit and it walked on you. You need to use a very small Pilot Point Drill Bit at first. Pilot point bits don't tend to wander as much and the smaller the bit, the better it will "grab" the surface. I would start with a 1/64" or 1/16" bit at dead center of the bolt head. Drill about an inch deep. Be very careful to hold your drill straight. If you break the bit off in the hole your going to be in more trouble. Work your way up in drill bit sizes until you reach the size of the hole your easy-out calls for. Use the same concept with your easy-out. Start out small and work your way up. You might have to increase in sizes with the easy-out as well if more torque is required to remove the bolt head.

If the bolt snapped off pretty close to the surface you might also be able to do a cross-cut. This is achieved with a hacksaw. You would cut across the surface until you were down into the bolt head far enough that you can use a screwdriver to back out the bolt.


How can I secure a loose iron railing on a concrete step?

Remove the railing completely. Use a hammer drill or chisel to further loosen the material around the posts of necessary.
Clean out the holes. All loose material and old anchoring cement should be removed with a vacuum or compressed air.
Assess the condition of the railing. Often rust will weaken the bases of the posts. You may be able to cut the bad part away, removing an equal portion of each post. Obviously this lowers the railing, so determine whether it's an option in your case. You may also want to repaint it at this time. Modern spray paints are very good and often don't require much prep work other than cleaning.
Mix and apply anchoring cement (for example) to the holes according to the directions on the package, and set the railing in place.
Temporarily brace the railing plumb using rope, poles, etc., while the cement cures.

Optionally apply a sand/epoxy mix over the anchoring cement to give it a coordinating appearance and prevent degradation by weather. Over time rain and wind will wear it away as it's relatively soft.

Obviously this repair is only as good as the condition of the stairs. If the crack we see is indicative of the shape the rest of the stairs are in, you may need to have them removed and re-poured.


Could a saturated drain field cause a toilet to back up?

As to backups into the sewage system, yes, a saturated drain field could cause that, no place for the grey-water to go.

Check around the inspection hole on the septic tank, should be a lot of leakage if that's the case as the tank will be full with no airspace if it has clogged outflow.

Excessive rain and drowned drainfields is a common wintertime issue here in Western Oregon. It's one reason our local city boundaries got massively redrawn to include a large area of the valley into the sewer district as the high water table and precipitation meant surface water was a health hazard.


Re: 240V electric furnance - what is Dual Supply Circuit Vs. Single Supply

Use the dual breaker method -- whoever wrote the manual needs a Code-slap with 424.22(B), as the single breaker method doesn't comply with it.

  (B) Resistance Elements. Resistance-type heating elements in electric space-heating equipment shall be protected at not more than 60 amperes. Equipment rated more than 48 amperes and employing such elements shall have
  the heating elements subdivided, and each subdivided load shall not exceed 48 amperes. Where a subdivided load is less than 48 amperes, the rating of the supplementary over-current protective device shall comply with 424.3(B).

If you're short slots -- use a double-stuff (quadruplex) breaker.


Why would my well water cut off for 30 minutes before working again?

Have you listened (or measured) to see if the pressure switch is telling the pump to turn on? If the pressure switch is on and you're not getting water out of the pump you've got issues in the well (low water, bad pump) and you could be damaging your pump.

If you've got low pressure and the switch isn't on there is a problem with the switch (or tank, but that's a low possibility). Do a little bit of investigation and if you can provide more information we can probably provide a more informed answer.


Why do all shower cubicles have open tops, and does it have to be this way?

Showers don't have to be open. I've seen and worked on many that had walls to the ceiling.
I had a customer who had an open shower and inquired about closing it in because they had a breathing problem and wanted to breathe the steam. I enclosed it by adding two pieces of plexiglass mounted on top of the rails for the shower door and wall up to the ceiling.


I think the answer depends on what "pretty mushed" means. And before you read on, here's a caveat: my sole experience with chain link fences is taking them down, not putting them up (but I've taken down quite a few :-)).

That said, my experience is that the links will collapse in on one another, not actually bend. Which means that the fencing as a whole can be straightened out again. Also, even though the posts appear untouched, you should ensure that they're plumb.

The rails are easy to replace; every home center should carry them, as well as the caps and other accessories. The important piece that you'll need is a coupling: a short section of pipe that fits snugly over the ends of two existing pieces, to join them together (in the fences that I've disassembled, this is just press fit, not welded or brazed, but I suspect a dab of epoxy would help).

Cut the existing rails with a reciprocating saw, close to the existing rails that still have caps (you could also use a hacksaw; you won't be able to get enough clearance to use a pipe cutter). Slide the new section(s) of rail through the caps, attach them to the posts, cut to length, and slide the coupling in place.

That just leaves re-attaching the fencing. I think that you can stretch it to the rail using baling wire and a pair of pliers: loop the wire through fence and rail, and twist it to take up all slack. Then attach normally.


Asbestos fibers are typically too small to see, with the naked eye. As mentioned in the comments, there are free services available, to help you find out.

When dealing with unknown materials, that you think might be dangerous; assume that they are, and leave them alone. Do not spray, do not break, do not touch; call a professional.


You cannot just arbitrarily raise a trap to whatever height you want, it depends on the configuration of the venting system.

For example, if your lav sink drains into a horizontal wet vent type the trap weir must be below the vent connection height.


The answer is - it doesn't matter.
Whether the debris is grime and dirt or mold...

It won't "hurt" you as there is a glass barrier in between.
There isn't a different way to handle it.
As a typical home owner without industrial tools, you really have no way of resealing your windows.

So basically a seal has failed on your window.   You can either replace that part of the window (frame and all).  For that part you will need to know manufacturing details to assure a proper guide fit.   More than likely only that manufacture (not all cases) can reproduce.
The other option is take that part of the window out, and either take it to a window or glass shop.   They can take window apart and reseal it.   Just FWIW I usually tend to order a replacement as I have found that when getting a window resealed for some reason I don't see the quality compared to the window going through the normal "manufacturing" process.   Usually the costs are close and obviously this is locality and opinion based.   If there was a glass shop down the street that would offer a 5 year warranty I would go with that - mine won't.


Kitchen Cabinets over bare concrete floors

Find out exactly how tall the floor will be, and use spacers (maybe pieces of the flooring) to raise the cabinets the same amount.  Ideally, install them after the floor is done.  Otherwise, try to have the flooring extend under the cabinets.  Your carpenter will probably install quarter round trim at the base of the cabinets to cover the seam where the cabinets and the floor intersect either way you do it.


Is there a standard way to block sunlight from a non-rectangular window?

they make accordion style fabric shades for half-circle windows

http://www.amazon.com/Redi-Shade-3362548-Window-72-Inch/dp/B000LG7G0A


Building a retaining wall around our shed - moisture barrier needed?

If the planter is going to be in direct contact with wood, absolutely. Concrete is porous and it will be permanently saturated with water.


What is required to move a washer/dryer from one room to another?

Chris is right, but let me add.  You really want BOTH and hot and cold water feed. If you leave off the hot water and don't cap the input, cold water may escape out the hot water feed port through the mix valve (if so equipped) when the machine is set to warm. Besides, your wife will be upset when she tries to bleach whites with no hot water!!  You will need to install a drain with a trap for the waste water to pump into. As long as you have a drain line close by to tap into that is not more than a couple of feet higher than the top of the washer, you can use that. The machines today can usually raise water a couple of feet above the machine, but not much more than that. You will need to install a 15 amp, 120 VAC line with receptacle for the washer and a  30 amp, 220 VAC dryer outlet connected directly to your breaker box equipped with the matching double pole 30amp breaker.  Last is the dryer vent to the outdoors.
 BTW, years ago my wife made me take the washer/dryer out of the basement and install them in a utility closet on the second floor closer to the bedrooms. No more lugging laundry up and down stairs.


Adding 2X4 ceiling under lath and plaster

I have seen this done many time but not 10". The problem with that is any light fixtures would have to be installed in the new ceiling and the wiring from the old fixtures will not reach the new locations so you'd need a junction box in the attic, if you have one, to splice new wire. You could have old knob and tube wiring which could really complicate the problem.


How to trim a cut on a hollow core tabletop edge?

As in the comment, a hollow core door has wood around the edges, and the center contains a cardboard spacer in a honeycomb pattern.   When I shorten such a door, I cut it to the desired size, then take the cutoff piece, cut the solid edge part to fit, remove the veneer, and glue it back into the cut and exposed side.


Is there a UL listed relay for a line voltage device?

I once saw the PowerSwitch Tail, which is functionally what you describe, but does not indicate that it is UL listed.


Moving (not adding) a GFI protected outlet (that isn't the GFI outlet)

No problem doing this, except for one thing: The old junction box must remain accessible.
It can be inside a cabinet (i.e., open a door to get to it), but it can't be blocked by a permanently installed cabinet, covered over with wallpaper or drywall, etc.


How can I cut a tree trunk into more manageable pieces?

I don't know about the UK, but in the US I'd look in the phonebook or online for "portable lumbermill service". There are indeed devices which can be brought to a jobsite and set up to slice boards from a felled trunk. Definitely worth considering for hardwoods, if you have a place to store the resulting lumber until it dries (typically a year per inch of thickness for air-drying). Cost per board-foot is usually quite reasonable.

The tools can also be purchased, of course. Some are as simple as a guided chainsaw with a longer than usual cut and a chain ground specifically for ripping. Others are guided bandsaws. The guides can be as simple as rollers following the surface of the previous cut (using a 1x12 nailed to the log to guide the first cut), or can be full frames with built-in tracks for the saw and mechanisms to assist with rotating the log to obtain the best grain patterns.

Or, if the wood's at all interesting, you could see if any local sawmill would be interested in buying the logs, and ask them if they could cut the slabs you want as part of that deal.


How big a hole in drywall can be fixed by spackle alone?

I don't think you'll be happy with spackle for anything bigger across than a nail hole.  It's not very strong, and also not very sticky.  So what tends to happen in your situation is that the spackle will fall through the hole into the wall; if not when you're applying it then it will be likely to do it when you try to sand it smooth before you paint.

I think the solution that's going to get you the best results for holes that size would be to cut a 2" square of fiberglass drywall joint tape and stick it over the hole, and then use joint compound to fill the hole and cover the tape, feathering it out to a 6-8" diameter circle.  You can do this reasonably well with a cheap 4" putty knife.  Then sand it smooth, being careful not to sand all the way through to the tape.


How do I reattach a SubZero refrigerator door handle?

There should be a small set screw on the inside of the handle (opposite side of the picture). This is usually driven with a small Allen key.  Loosen the screw, place the handle back on flush against the door surface, and tighten the screw finger-tight. Don't over tighten as they strip easily because they are so small.

The screw will look something like this

(source: funrcboats.com)

There might be a small plastic cap over the set screw in order to better hide it.