Install drywall on narrow corner adjacent to closet door frame

When you add the wallboard to the larger portion of the wall to the opening of the door, stopping all drywall at the door opening, the short portion you have the measuring tape on could take a jamb extension. Which is a piece of wood or MDF cut to fit the space out to the new face of the drywall and that will be trimmed with the same door casing as the outside.

If you are not concerned about going into that much detail, then after the wallboard is set on the larger wall, cover the corner with a nail on corner bead and smooth over with mud, sand and paint. No need to trifle with that small of a piece of drywall. the corner bead will cover it all. If you wish after that, you could add a small piece of molding like quarter round at the inside corner of the corner bead and door jamb to help finish it out a little better.


Really looks like mine.  Have someone to hold the metal surrounding in place while you turn the glass dome counter-clock wise for a quarter of a circle. The metal edge is in one piece and screwed to the electrical outlet.  I know this post has been online since 2 years, without any answers, although it has 406 views.  So I guess 406 persons do have that same fixture. I hope it help to next 406 persons...  and surely me in a couple of years when it will time to change the light bulb again and will have forget (again) how to do it...


How to get rid of fleas in an apartment with carpeted floors?

When I lived in an apartment, we had a problem with fleas once (due to a neglectful pet owner in the building).  Getting rid of the problem was no small feat, and took a lot of work over a few days.

I started by laundering all bedding, clothing, and basically anything fabric that was washable.  Next I rented a steam cleaner, to clean the carpets. You can call in the pros for this if you don't want to do it yourself.  The final step was to spray the entire carpet; paying special attention to the edges and corners, with Adams™ Flea & Tick Home Spray. Other brands exist, this was just the one I chose which worked for me.

When using any chemical spray, make sure you have adequate ventilation. Try to avoid skin contact with chemical sprays as well. My wife had a bad reaction to the spray, where her feet swelled up quite a bit.

If you're in an apartment building; where the source of the infestation could be coming from other tenants, you'll also have to treat the other units.  If you don't remove the infestation from the entire building, you'll likely see the fleas return to your apartment.  Any outdoor pets in the building should also be treated, not only to combat the flea infestation but also for the health of the animal.


salvaging DC motors from home appliances

Treadmills and stairlifts use good-sized DC motors.


Teflon Tape or Sealant on Any Flare Fittings for Gas Connections?

Looks like you have to connect the gas flex directly to the valve and no other other fitting in-between since the valve itself has already the flare male and the hose is flare female, you can't put either of those fittings because they're taperd and not flare the question is only if the valve and hose are the same size if not then you need a flare reducer or another size hose, and no sealant should be applied on treads of a flare connection since the seal is achieved by the flare being tight and not through the treads.


How do I increase the volume of air going into my lawn sprinkler zones to blow out water for the winter?

There are probably two things at work here, the limitations of the diameter of your hose and fittings, and the volume capacity of your compressor.

You are attempting to move air through 1/2" or larger sprinkler pipes, probably many feet, and possibly many branches; you need to deliver the air into the system faster than it exits through sprinkler heads, etc., in order to build up pressure (although I think for purging a system, volume is probably more important than pressure).

Your compressor has a rating in CFM @ PSI -- this indicates how many cubic feet per minute can be delivered at a specific pressure; one 13 Gallon unit I picked at random on Google supports 3.8CFM @ 90 PSI, which is not a lot to pressurize an open system with many feet of tubing.

If your runs are not too long, you may be able to get by using two hoses in parallel to get more volume into the sprinkler system (assuming they aren't both fed by a common small fitting somewhere; it's likely that the two fittings are intended for convenience rather than parallel operation), otherwise, your best solution is probably to rent a big compressor to do the job.


why do I have power to my 220 circuits and my 110 outlets but 110 outlet will not power anything?

Usually this is caused by a bad connection. With no current, you show full voltage (we've been on 120/240 for a few decades now, might want to update your 110/220 thinking) but when you actually try to power a load, the high resistance in the bad connection drops the voltage so the load gets very little voltage.
So, check the connections. If you can check voltage while under load (easiest might be a plug-through meter) you would see it drop when a load is connected past the bad connection, and not drop when it's measured before the bad connection.
If you self-installed and did not use a torque controlled driver, get a torque controlled driver and check the panel labeling for proper torques for each type/size of connection (with the power off, of course.)
If the breaker and outlet work fine in another panel, the bad connection would appear to be in the connections to this panel. If the 240V loads are working and the test 120V load is not, then that points to the neutral connection as being most suspect.


Why are 3-1/2 (16d) nails so hard to find?

3 1/2” 16d nails are hand driven nails specified for Simpson connectors 0.162...many people make the mistake and think these are collated nails, but they are actually individual nails sold by the box. There is not a gun that will shoot them. If you refer to the Simpson manual, you will see the difference in the nails as far as diameter. As a former contractor and now an inspector, I still am amazed at the amount of “seasoned” framer that do not know the difference. Once, a framer brought me 5 different nails from his 5 separate crews, only one of them used the right nail. Most people think it does not make a difference, however the load factor drops significantly on the hanger being used, voiding the engineered product and causing failure. And yes, I have seen such failures in residential construction...


AFCI is a safety device that is designed to protect circuits from setting your house on fire.  You are talking about defeating a safety system because a) it's annoying and b) you have no earthly idea what to do about it.  Let's fix b).

It is called an Arc Fault Circuit Interruptor

"Circuit interruptor" is the technical term for "be annoying".  "Arc Fault" is the safety hazard it detects.   This means arcing and sparking at a poor electrical connection.  This causes high heat at that connection, and that can create a race condition where you have thousands of BTUs in a very small area, typically inside the walls where a fire can become fully engaged before you even know it's there (and it's impossible for you to access it to extinguish it while it's small).

We're talking about hour house burning down.  No kidding.

If you've ever heard the "crinkle crunch" of speakers being connecting or of a headphone going into a jack, that's the sound arcing makes.  That is what the AFCI is listening for.

Connection problems almost never happen in the wires inline in the walls (unless someone ran a nail or screw through them).  They are almost always at wire ends, or inside devices such as switches, sockets, or lamps.

Backstabs

The #1 source of arc faults is "backstab connections", which are a lazy way to jab a wire into a hole, and it just grabs.  This gives it a single point of contact, and that can be loosened just by the forces on the wire when you cram the receptacle/switch back into the box.   That's why most of us remove backstabs on sight, and use the screw terminals only, or "screw-to-clamp" type back connections where you tighten the screw to clamp it.

Going through all your devices on the part of the circuit downline from switches 1 and 2, removing backstabs and going with screw or screw-and-clamp, will help a lot.

Arcing can also come from failing to tighten down a screw enough, but this is far less common than backstabs.   That is why Code now requires torque screwdrivers, and you set the torque to whatever the socket specifies.

Cheap switches and receptacles

Let's talk about two tiers of switch and receptacle.

"Builder Grade" costs about 60 cents a device.  They are cheeeeep.  "Spec Grade" costs about $2.50 a device.  They are much better built - this is rather obvious from the construction - and most of them support a "Screw-to-clamp" style connection.

"Screw-to-clamp" has a bonus feature: It allows 2 wires to be back-wired to the same screw.  That solves occasional problems where 2 wires need to go to one screw; on builder-grade, they put one on the backstab and one on the screw.  With these, you can put both under the screw.

Devices

Occasionally, you get a device such as a lamp or fan that has an internal arc fault. If you've tried everything else, it is probably down to that.  For proof of the pudding, move the device onto a different circuit (ie. Part of the house that is on a different AFCI breaker) and see if the problem follows the device.


Need to add a GFCI outlet to an existing furnace circuit

You cannot connect there. Those wires are connected to the black and red wires of the feed from the breakers. This is probably a MWBC and these two wires have 240v across them!

You need to connect to the white wire from the breaker panel, as well as either the black or red. This only goes into the junction box and then out to the furnace. Suggest that you add another run from the junction box.


Cosmetic fix for a cracked wooden window sill

Any wood filler that cures will be fine. (Avoid things labeled "non hardening"... these sometimes have "putty" in the name.) Sand it smooth (120 grit sandpaper, with the grain), then try your best to match the paint.

That does look like it's about to break off, though. Don't lean on it any more.


How to minimize waste when installing the subfloor

There are no big secrets to be had here. You start with a full sheet, tongue just inside flush, and run a row, butts centered on your joists. You then use a "beater block" to drive the second row into the first, staggering butt joints at least one joist space (ideally roughly half the sheet's length). I like a 3-4' 2x4 that I can stand on and whack with a sledge hammer. If the cutoffs are long enough, start the next row with them. If not, they're scrap.

If you expect to end up with a very narrow final row, consider ripping say 12" off the tongue edge of the first row to make the last row wider. While the t&g joint eliminates most concern, rows of 10" or less are inherently weaker. Of course, you could also block under those narrow rows if you prefer.


How to keep house from getting so dusty with no HVAC system?

I'd start by trying to figure out where the dust is coming from.  Do you now have carpets where you used to have hardwood or other non-fiber flooring surfaces?  Especially old or broken-down carpets can be a big source of dust.  Also you could have a different environment outside that has more dust in it compared to your previous location(s) that's working its way into your apartment?  Possibly a different cooking environment (or no vent hood to evacuate cooking odors).  If you do have a vent hood, beware that with many of the vent hoods they don't actually remove the air, they just run it through a charcoal grease filter and send it right back out into the air.

It's also possible that your old places with the high-quality HVAC filters would be similarly dusty if you hadn't had those filters in place.

Probably need to figure out where the dust is coming from, and try to mitigate that as much as possible.  If that's not possible, then probably the only other solution is to buy multiple air purifier units and distribute them throughout the rooms of your apartment.  If the noise is objectionable while you're in your apartment, you could put them on timers to run only when you're not there.


Is it safe to have a gas stove on the same circuit as a couple lights

It's only necessary that electric stoves (ovens in the UK) have their own circuit. This is because they draw more current (30A in the UK) than a lighting or power circuit.

It's OK to have a gas oven plugged into a normal mains circuit as they only use electricity for:

The clock/timer
Lights in the ovens
The ignition circuit

None of these are heavy load, so can be safely accommodated on a standard circuit.

The same rules about not overloading a circuit apply of course, so check what else is on this one as well as the cooker.


Is there any NEC code requirement for how far off the floor Category 5 wiring must be run?

No.  Cat 5 cabling can be run on the ground or underground.  If you are worried about it working just make sure the coating isn't torn/cut and it is capped properly.  If you are worried about code violations - no inspector cares unless the cable is interfering with something else he cares about.

My experience level - ran communications cable for large internet provider for 4 years both in the field and in-house.  If you run cable underground there is code specific sheathing needed.  Not really sure this would apply for cat5 because that wouldn't be used for long runs.  I personally have buried cat5 cable 1 foot under by 50 feet to set up a link in a shed that now works just fine 8 years later - without piping. Hillbilly but works perfect.

If I were doing my house I would run it 7-8 inches off the ground.  Just because that is usually a spot that has little chance to be nailed/screwed.

Actually I wouldn't run cabling in my house.  You run cables now and in 2-3 years wireless is faster.  Seriously what could you be doing at your house that wireless wouldn't work?  They make 1GB wireless routers for under $100.  Soon 10GB will be the norm.  Your internet speed - if it is blazing blazing fast - goes at 100 MB.  That is 10 times less than your 1GB wireless throughput.  Also your computer will only be able to process so much data being saved to it.  I have my house teched out to the max (video/music hub server, print server, 10 devices online, virtual servers, mac/pc) and I haven't thought for a second running cables.  Unless you are looking at selling your house soon to a couple in their 40/50s (the only demographic where cabling was known to) I see this as being pointless from a pure tech standpoint.  My advice - take all the money that you were spending on this project - read reviews - buy a good router, buy a repeater if you are worrying about reception to devices, buy a central hub device (NAS) to store and share your stuff and enjoy.


What's the purpose of a dual two-pole breaker?

It is a quad breaker. The outer two are linked and the inner two are linked so that both pairs have 240 V across the connections. They are used to provide two 2-pole breakers, where a pair of ordinary 2-pole breakers would not work because the adjacent half slots are on the same leg.

If the available slots are such that the first pair of half slots are on different legs, then this quad breaker would not be used and would not fit. In that situation one would use a pair of ordinary compact 2-pole breakers.


Use existing 200A panel as temporary sub-panel off of new 320A service panel

Yeah, that's actually pretty routine and we often recommend it as a permanent configuration.

Presuming the old panel isn't a dangerous pile of junk like Zinsco or Federal Pacific or full of Challenger breakers, or fine but obsolete panel like Pushmatic.  Then feel free to replace it with a modern panel, and if you do that, that is the time to think generator.

Since both panels are in the same building, the "main breaker" on the old panel is superfluous.  The only exception is if you fed it more than 200A, but that's unlikely so I won't comment further on that scenario.

Nowhere is it written that you must supply 200 amps of feeder to that subpanel.  What is written is that the wire/cable from main to sub must be protected by a breaker sized to protect the wire.  For instance if you ran #6 wire to feed the subpanel, its run would need to be protected by a 60A breaker in the main panel.

So you have the option to save some $$$ on breakers and fat wire if you don't really need 200A down there.

On the Knob & Tube wiring, there is nothing wrong with K&T per se.  Slap an AFCI breaker on it to catch the usual failure mode (arc faults) and I wouldn't worry further about lighting circuits.  Focus on modernizing receptacle circuits, since modern loads can pull pretty hard.


Lifetime of, and repairing, an aluminium AC condenser?

Welding of aluminium to copper is frequently done by pressure welding. During that process both materials are pressed together under very high pressure thereby creating a durable bond. Such welding can not be done by a service engineer. So for him the only option is to select two materials of the same kind. Copper tubing and also copper condenser and braze the two together.

Therefore the technician is right.

As far as the expected life of the aluminium condenser is concerned. If the environment is more or less neutral, a long life can be expected. In your case you were just unlucky the joint failed.


What's the name of automatic/self moving table equipments?

Those are Desktop Kinetic Sculptures. You'll have to click "visit website" for the sculpture(s) you like for dimensions or to see if it's a retailer. But, I'm pretty sure they're just in specialty shops now.


How to connect two bed legs to make a bunk bed from two regular beds?

What I would do is attach a length of pine stock the same width (2 3/4) and thickness (3/4) to the inside of the each corner of the bottom bed, lift the top bed into position, and then install 4 more pieces of pine stock opposite the other four so as to sandwich the legs of the top in between.


After removing the valve itself to retape the main line connection, I discovered the valve itself had a pressure crack down the back side of it. This is the cause of the leak. Replacing the valve should correct the issue no sweat.


How can I install this programmable switch?

Turn off the breaker, undo both wires from the switch, then turn on the breaker. Get a NCVT (non contact voltage tester) and see which of the wires is hot. That will be the one back to the panel, the other one will be the load.
Yes, just connect the white to the other neutrals in the box, so they are all wire nutted together.
The programmable switch requires a neutral because it needs current itself all the time.  If you just had the 2 black wires, there would be no current flow through the switch when it was off, so no way to power the electronics.


Water seeping through my foundation in the garage - what is the source?

I would say to wait and see if the water continues to come in after a few days. It is quite possible that the sprinkler water is seeping through above the slab.
Are there bathrooms or other water usage utilities above where the leak is? Pipes usually rise vertically from the ground to the bathroom.
You could also try to shut off the main water valve for as long as possible to see if the water ingres shows down. Switch off water heaters before you do this.
You need to adjust the sprinkler heads so that they are not spraying on the house.


Do I need an egress window in a basement room not used as a bedroom?

As long as one of the "viable exits" meets the standards for an emergency escape and rescue opening, then you should be all set.

International Residential Code 2012
Chapter 3 - Building Planning
Section R310 - Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings
R310.1 Emergency escape and rescue required.
Basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency egress and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room. Where emergency escape and rescue openings are provided they shall have a sill height of not more than 44 inches (1118 mm) measured from the finished floor to the bottom of the clear opening. Where a door opening having a threshold below the adjacent ground elevation serves as an emergency escape and rescue opening and is provided with a bulkhead enclosure, the bulkhead enclosure shall comply with Section R310.3. The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside. Emergency escape and rescue openings with a finished sill height below the adjacent ground elevation shall be provided with a window well in accordance with Section R310.2. Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way, or to a yard or court that opens to a public way.
R310.1.1 Minimum opening area.
All emergency escape and rescue openings shall have a minimum net clear opening of 5.7 square feet (0.530 m2).
R310.1.2 Minimum opening height.
The minimum net clear opening height shall be 24 inches (610 mm).
R310.1.3 Minimum opening width.
The minimum net clear opening width shall be 20 inches (508 mm).
R310.1.4 Operational constraints.
Emergency escape and rescue openings shall be operational from the inside of the room without the use of keys, tools or special knowledge.


Is the GFCI tripping or is it tripping on overload. The best way you can find out is to use an Ammeter and check the load. If it's less than 15A then we can assume you have a ground trip. Usually what we do is replace the ground fault breaker with a standard breaker and install a GFCI receptacle in the bathroom and any other outlet that requires GFCI protection.


Whenever you see neutrals pigtailed, leave it that way.  The circuit might be a MWBC or "multi-wire branch circuit".**

Here, the more likely reason is they're using this box as a junction.  It's a good practice, and most receptacles don't have 3 attachment points.  (you can use the back wires, OR the screw terminals, not both at once.)

In fact, don't use "back stabs" at all (where you push the wire in and it grabs). The mechanism is cheap and horrible (there are 4 on a 60-cent socket, hello). They frequently fail, causing internal arcing, and they burn and melt the receptacles and the wire.

Do Not get clever and pigtail a 14 AWG wire to the receptacle.  As long as all the wire in the circuit is 12 AWG, you can use a 20A breaker.  If even a single inch of 14 AWG is part of the circuit, you must use a 15A breaker.

Actually you can go the other way and upgrade the receptacle to 20A.  As a rule, those tend to be the higher quality receptacles in the $3-4 range.

And those better receptacles often have a feature called "screw-and-clamp". It has back-holes, but they are directly behind the side screws, and tightening the side-screw is the force that clamps the wire.  These are fine. Here's a page on the difference.

(by the way, 15A receptacles are rated 20A internally by UL requirement; they are only constrained to 15A per socket).

** An MWBC is an efficient way to add a second 120V circuit with only one more wire; sharing neutral and ground.  Since the neutral is shared, pigtailing is vital so changing an outlet doesn't interrupt the other circuit's neutral.  New MWBC circuits must have a maintenance shut-off that disables all circuits; but "belt and suspenders" as they say.


How can I quiet my loud washing machine?

It sounds like your washer needs its main bearings replaced. My top load Sears Kenmore HE washer had the bearing seals fail and allowed water to get into the bearings. Over the course of a few months the washer, in high speed cycles, sounded like a freight train passing by in the next room. It was LOUD just like you are describing.

A sure fire test to check if it is the bearings is to rotate the washer tub / agitator by hand, when the washer is OFF, for a few turns. If the rotation has a grinding or roughness feeling then it is almost for sure the bearings.

I took on the repair myself and purchased the replacement parts on line for ~50$US. It also took a special tool to press in the new roller bearings. I found out that the bearings were industry standard size roller bearings (my washer used two bearings each of which was a different size) so I went to a site that sells a bit higher quality bearings with known names than the brandless import types used in the original washer. The special tool was a bit expensive at ~85$US but made the install very easy.

My suggestion is to get your washer model number and do some Google searches. When I did that I even found that the results turned up several U-Tube videos showing the steps in the bearing removal and installation.

After the new bearings were in place washer runs better than a new one. The thing is now so quiet I'm never sure just when the last load of laundry is completed.


Uneven ground is very complicated for steps.  You really want the distance from the last step to the ground to be uniform across the step, and the distance to the ground should be the same as the height of a step (i.e., if you have risers, the last one should be at ground level.

The right way to do this is to grade in the area of the steps so that a distance equivalent to at least several treads in front of the steps is level and then tapers gradually to meet the surrounding grade.  You can do this by building up the low area, reducing the high area, or a combination of the two, which minimizes materials needed or needing to be disposed of.

You have some flexibility because a 7" riser is common but not a requirement.  There is a relationship between the riser and the tread (2 x riser + tread = 26 to 27 inches).  You generally don't want to go above an 8" rise, and a 10" tread is pretty narrow, so those factor limit the height.  But you can go with long, shallow steps in the other direction, which is very comfortable to use.  Here is a handy chart: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/64stepchart/.

So you have several things to factor into a solution that you can adjust to best fit your situation.

The ground has some grade, probably in several directions.  Besides being uneven from side to side of the steps, it may slope as you move away from the steps.  So how far out the steps come based on the tread size will likely affect the total height you need to transition with the steps.
You need an integer number of steps, but you can adjust the riser vs. the tread to optimize the distance covered vs. grading requirements.  For example, if the yard has a slope down going away from the deck, more distance covered by treads will require more total rise, so you might add an additional step to accomplish a more desirable step profile or to land at a point where the ground is more even so less grading would be required.

You can do this with trial and error calculations and a bunch of measurements of relative yard elevations at different points using a long level, or a board and a level, and ruler.  The grade will not be perfect, so after you optimize everything, you will still need to do some amount of grading.

Grade to a little lower than you need.  Install the stringers, supported by footers.  Then fine-tune the grade.  Lack of treads will give you access "under" the steps.  Then install the treads.


Glue a strip (or two strips, to keep it parallel to the wall surface) of thicker wood to the back.

Properly shaped (see ASCII art below for one version), that can BE your hanging hardware, or you can attach your hanging hardware to it.

X
X||   X is the plywood. This angle-cut bit of ||
X\|     wood is attached to the plywood.      \|
X\\                                            \
X|\
X||   X is the plywood. This angle-cut bit of \
X       wood is attached to the wall.         |\
X                                             ||

"Swiss Clips" would another approach, with no glue or nails, but some hardware showing on the front side.


How can I divert wind which is flowing parallel to the wall into the house?

I think the ideal solution would be to get casement windows. If the wind blows in both direction (at different times) you could go with a set of casements and open the applicable one:

Barring that, I think you need to rig up something that works the same say...perhaps a sheet metal 'vent hood' mounted at an angle. Or even perhaps just a piece of plywood.


Is it true that one hinge bears most of the load on a typical 3-hinge door?

The best method of reducing the chance of putting more stress on one hinge vs another is to use prehung doors.   Your question is the number one reason why most doors that are installed are prehung.

The fact is they can have a machine cut the hinge cutouts on the jamb to pretty close perfection (you can look at a prehung door for about 1 second to tell if there are angling issues on the hinges) and then have the matching cutouts on the door side.

Let me tell you with too much unwanted experience that measuring perfectly, taking your time and using the right tools to install a door perfectly "square" might be skill but includes a degree of luck and compromise.

As far as what hinge has the most weight on it... It is based on how it was installed and quite possible the wall it was installed on (walls aren't 90 degrees most of the time) but it really doesn't matter.   The most important aspect of "hinge" weighting in residential doors is your top hinge with the jamb side being more important than the door side.

A door's weight is resting on the cutout grooves on jamb and door.   There is literally no real force and most hinges could carry 100 times the weight (without the door swinging).   The problem comes when weight is added to the door and this is often someone hanging on the door handle or the top of the door while it is moving.   This will produce an outward force and will affect the top hinge the most.   This is why you want to screw the top hinge into the studs not the jamb.

So to answer it concisely - no there isn't one hinge bearing the weight and unless your hinges are floating in the cutout.   And the weight is usually inconsequential.   The top hinge however has the most chance to fail due to improper installation or abuse.

The math - I don't want to get deeply into the math on this but what we are talking about is torque which measures the amount of force applied as something is moved over a pivot.   So a door has 2-3 hinges.

The equation for applied torque on them has basically three components.   The weight of the door, the center of the weight of the door, and the height of the pivots - which is used as the angle differential of the center of mass.   The greater the height vs the center of the weight the greater the torque.   What I mentioned above about the common failures of the top hinge is greatly effected by a human interaction.

This is because if you gently open or close a door by applying a force perpendicular to the door the only weight that matters is that of the door.   The top hinge already is bearing most of the applied torque in this equation only because of its height.

However this is highly amplified if someone leans on the knob as they move the door because the center of the mass not only gets lower but it gets more outward which makes for a great angle comparatively for the top hinge.   This is a basic door swing torque physics equation, however the real life "measurement" is hard because the person opening the door is rather inconsistent with the pressure they apply.**


Sounds like contactor chatter. Could be a bad contactor, or not enough power on the coil.

Basically, the contactor is closing and opening really quickly.  This happens when the coil doesn't create a strong enough magnetic field to hold the contactor closed.

Depending on the cost of a new contactor, I'd probably just pop in a new one. If it doesn't fix the problem, you'll have to troubleshoot further. If you have (or can find) the manufacturer's specifications for the contactor, you could measure the contactor coil resistance and compare it to the spec.

You can also check the voltage of the control wiring going to the contactor coil.

Remove the low voltage wires from the contactor, and position them so they do not come into contact with each other or anything else.
Set the thermostat so that it's calling for cooling.
Use a voltmeter to check the voltage between the two low voltage wires.

You should measure about 24 volts (assuming it's a 24 volt control system).


How should I fill in pits in a concrete floor so I can install laminate?

You don't need to fill pits of that size. The laminate floor will easily span that no problem.


Spackling's best use is to fill holes made by pictures, curtain holders, etc.  To fix cracks in plaster, use Plaster of Paris or Durabond, not spackling compound.

Cracks are caused by moving or shifting, so one needs to make sure the existing plaster and corresponding substrate (in this case the lath) are solid.

A simple test is on both sides of the crack in several locations gently push the plaster.  If there is movement, additional repairs may be required beyond a simple crack fix.  For example, one may need to replace the lath or substrate.  A simple crack may also turn into a large area where the plaster needs to be re-attached to the substrate.  This is the case where the crack is hiding a larger issue of crumbling or decaying plaster and will need a larger scale fix.

I would advise doing these tests on all your cracks to determine the whether the plaster is just cracked or is suffering from bigger and more labor intensive issues.

If the plaster and substrate is solid, then to fix the crack do the following.

Remove loose or excess plaster in crack using a utility knife
Enlarge the crack by creating a V notch with the bottom of the V being the line of crack
Clean or vacuum any loose debris out of the crack.  Wipe any dust with a damp rag to prepare the surface for the new Plaster of Paris or Durabond.
In your case, I would not use Plaster, but instead use Durabond.  I would go for a first coat of non sandable Durabond.  Plaster is hard to work with so using Durabond will be easier.  The nonsandable Durabond is stronger than the sandable durabound.  Follow instructions on how to mix the Durabond.
Use a joint compound knife and work the mixture into the crack, removing any excess.  Do not apply extra as it is non sandable.
One the first coat is dry (it should also shrink a bit), switch over to the sandable Durabond.  Apply 1 to 3 coats (it will shrink a little each time) and sand in between.  The final coat should be very light and then sanded, primed and painted.

Plaster is hard to work work with and requires a skilled laborer to apply.  So anything beyond a simple crack fix, I would go to a professional.


Should the cement floor adheres to the concrete slab?

I can't recommend adding a plastic moisture barrier between the pads.  Really if you have moisture in the soil then it needs to work its way out.  Moisture comes out of concrete all the time - we only see the worst case scenarios.

If you leave the plastic in there then the water will get trapped on the bottom slab.  Very good for the short-term.  Long-term though this will cause the bottom slab to decay and break down.  And since you are building on this, that's not a good thing.

I usually advise in drilling down into existing concrete and installing rebar or a mesh unit to join the floors.  To be honest with you I have never installed concrete on top of a floor like the one in your picture.  Common sense would tell me there wouldn't be much movement... but if I was giving out a 10 year warranty with my work I would rebar.


Interference with cable and electrical in same box

There are boxes that you can use that has the partition in them to keep the interference down. The trick, possibly for you is to make sure the lines where they run parallel with each other is keeping them separated at a MINIMUM of 6". The low voltage guys I have worked with preferred 12" and more, some wanting 2' separation. If the walls are still open it should not give you no trouble then. When you do pass by a line voltage wire, use an extra foot or two and run the low voltage across the line voltage at a 90 degree angle, this will minimize the "crosstalk" where the cables meet.


Stop heat loss through unused chimney duct

It sounds like you have a convective loop, in which case the reason why the fiberglass insulation was not as effective as you would have liked is because fiberglass is air-permeable. Since you have access to the duct itself, try sealing it off with a section of fitted and caulked insulation foam board or something. Doesn't matter where in the duct you do it; the important part is to stop the movement of air to break the loop.


you can use the liquid sand, deglosser, by the time you rub the de-glosser over all the surfaces it will remove any and all of the gloss, grease, dirt whatever you want, then when you put on a primer are paint , do a little and wait until it dries and see if it will scratch off with your fingernail and if it doesn't your good to go


I used a thermographic camera to detect pipes in my house. Let the hot or cold water run for 2-3 minuttes, and the pipes heats/cools the wall very slightly. This is very visible on even the cheapest thermographic cameras.


what is the environmentally safe way to remove & prevent moss from growing on the roof?

We use a bare galvanized wire fastened to the ridge of the roof.

If you’ve ever noticed a “clean” area under (downside of slope) chimney flashing or metal roof vents, you’ll understand the use of galvanized metal to keep the roof “clean”.  (I’m sure some chemist could explain why the galvanized coating keeps the asphalt shingles “moss-free”. )


Revised answer

OP appears to have a separate standalone electric furnace and a separate standalone air conditioner controlled by one common thermostat and possibly connected ductwork.

OP states that, despite the home being reasonably warm, the thermostat reads a cold temperature and the displayed reading drops when the furnace is on.

OP states that the electric bill is very high.

Recommendations to get by:

The thermostat may be affected by cold air being sucked through the wall from outdoors.  Stuff insulation in the wall behind the thermostat.  If that does not work, then a new thermostat may be needed.
Turn off the outdoor service disconnect to the outdoor A/C unit.  It should not be running during the winter no matter what.
Limit the warm air loss that is occurring through the ducts to the A/C unit outside.  If it has separate ducts from the furnace, cover the registers that go to the outdoor A/C.  If it shares the same ductwork then you might need to make some sheet metal dampers and install them.

Electric heat costs the same whether from an electric furnace or a portable space heater, but space heaters can be used to heat a small area compared to an electric furnace.  Since the bill is so high, the furnace duct work may be responsible for losing heat to outdoors.  OP may be better off switching to electric space heaters for now if not up to inspecting and making revisions to the duct work.   Just be careful to respect that portable electric heaters do pose a slight fire risk.

Alternatively, OP could switch to a portable propane heater rated for indoor use.   Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F232000-Indoor-Safe-Portable/dp/B002G51BZU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483828631&sr=8-2&keywords=Propane+Indoor+Heaters

At today’s energy prices in OP's situation, heating with propane should save money compared to heating directly with electricity.  If you go this route, only use a unit specifically designed for indoor residential use.

End of revised answer

Prior answer

OP's updated information shows he does not have a heat pump.  The information below is still applicable to heat pump owners.

Yes, if you have a heat pump then you do need a different model of thermostat and that might not be your only problem.

First, are you certain you have a heat pump and not just an air conditioner with an electric furnace??  I cannot see any thermostat connections to either the “O” or “B” terminals.  Either this system is mis-wired, or you have a simple air conditioner and not a heat pump.  Check the model number on the condenser outside to verify that it is a heat pump, or look through the top grill of the condenser for a reversing valve that looks like this:

If you don’t have one of these in the outdoor unit then you have a simple air conditioner.

Assuming it is a heat pump,  then you have a system with 15.4 KW electric backup heat.  The White-Rogers 1F78 is intended for a heat pump system without backup heat and according to the installation guide it lacks the circuitry to correctly control the backup.

An easy way to get eye-popping electric bills is to fire the electric backup heat and simultaneously activate the heat pump in air conditioning mode.  Depending on the condition of your system, that combination might even cool the house a little while the meter spins like a gyroscope.

For starters:

Disconnect the yellow wire from your thermostat – do that now.
Disconnect the white wire from the “Y” terminal and connect it to the “W” terminal.
Verify that the concealed sliding switch below the white sliders at the lower right quadrant of the thermostat is in position corresponding to “ELEC” (left).

These changes will disable your heat pump and leave the thermostat controlling the electric heat only, assuming the electric heat works without issue and assuming that the white wire is connected to the control relay for the electric heat, which is the standard convention.  Judging from the condition of the unit, my assumptions here may not be true for your system.
If these changes get you some warm air out of the registers when the existing thermostat calls for heat, then:

Identify the wire at the thermostat which connects to the reversing valve.  By convention, that should be the orange wire.
Get a proper heat pump thermostat that can handle electric backup heat.  Here is a reasonable basic model:  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell-5-2-Day-Programmable-Thermostat-with-Backlight-RTH6350D/202216464
Wire up the new thermostat according to the directions.  From your top photo it looks like you might have split power supplies on your system, so pay special attention to the Rh and Rc connections.

You will need to physically verify which wires run where.  The standard convention is:  R/Rh – 24vac furnace, G- Fan, Y – compressor, O – reversing valve, W/AUX – electric heat.  In your thermostat photo the brown wire appears to connect to Rc, which would mean your outdoor unit has its own 24vac transformer and brown is connected to the transformer outside.    That’s fairly unusual so you will need to verify that.  Describe what's there if you find something different.

If nothing else is actually broken, then those changes should get you going.

End of prior answer


What would cauase a limit go bad in a furnace?

Reduced intake air is the most common cause.  This could be caused by a dirty filter, blocked/restricted returns, or any other restrictions of intake air.

The truth is, limit switches can only trip so many times before they break. Each time the furnace overheats and trips the limit; for whatever reason, the life of the switch is reduced.

It was likely not caused by a single trip. The problem will likely persist, if the root cause is not fixed.


Deal with humidity in Garage with no vapor barrier

I have had great luck at sealing slabs with 2 part epoxy paint, in a garage you don’t want to go cheap or when you drive the car in and park it where the tires are ends up pealing up.

I have painted in summer when the slab was dry enough and eliminated a huge amount of moisture in basements.
This will help if the source is from the slab if high humidity is from the air a dehumidifier will be needed.
I had a friend use a single part epoxy paint and he had the pealing problem. We stripped the paint and used 2 part and it held up fine.


Crown molding planning in a simple room -- all inside miters

When you enter a room, the first wall you see is  the wall you start on.

Upon starting, I cut a block of scrap wood that mimics the rise and run of the crown.

The dotted line shows the square back that has been cut off help set the block in the corner, since the drywall corners are not square.

Go around the room with a stud finder if you have one and locate all the studs if the crown is wide, like 5" or so. If the crown is narrow 4" or less, the top plate will be the area you nail into, that should be 2 1/2" of solid wood below the ceiling. That can be checked in time.

If you do have wide crown, use the stud finder to locate all the studs and mark them with blue tape, using the block that depicts the rise and run to set the tape below the bottom edge of the crown, so when the cut crown is set in place, it will fit both the ceiling and wall.

When measuring, do so at the bottom edge where the blue tape is on the wall. Cut the first piece not square but slightly shorter at the top, so the bottom engages snugly. The loose fit at the top will be covered by the next piece. Set the crown to the wall so the bottom edge is on the top edge of the blue tape marking the studs, if you did it that way. I failed to mention, if you are using a narrow crown, the blue tape can be set to the wall about 2' apart, no need to find the studs. A little "self help" I add, I set 2 nails on the wall, near the corners,about 1/4" above the blue tape, and use those to support the ends of long crown when I am working alone. I have the crown in the middle, and the 2 nails supporting the crown, insures the crown is in the corner where it needs to be. If it drops down, and you nail the center, the crown may be shifted to one side and will scratch the wall getting it in place. Nail off the the crown, EXCEPT the last 2 feet. Leaving the last 2 feet free on either end, pull the temporary nail supports, making sure the crown naturally sets somewhere close to the blue tape marker.  This will aid in fine tuning the cope joints when the next piece come into play.

If you have never coped a joint before, you will need to get past a learning curve. All coped cuts after you cut the initial 45 degree miter, will need to be severely "back cut". That is, do not even try to cut a cope square to the piece it meets, it will only cause you sorrow. Use a few short pieces to get the hang of it before you start cutting the real deal. Purchase more crown than you need specifically for this, 4-6' should do it. You have you cut offs to practice with too. The severe back cut lets the sharp coped edge to cut into the adjoining piece, if not that, the edge is so thin that is will deform just a little to make the joint really tight. You can measure all of the crown ahead of any cutting, if you choose. If you do so, I find for some reason all the coped lengths I cut are about 1/8" too long, which is fine, better too long than too short. There are other ways to measure that are obvious as well, so I will leave my 2 cents worth at that.

When setting the first coped piece, and it is long enough, take the crown in hand about 4 foot from the coped end and set it in place. The end will droop down ideally. You want to ram the crown into the closely placed first piece you have already set so the back cut edge drives into the first piece. This trick requires both piece are on the wall as close to the finished height that they can be. Hence the blue tape. When done nail off all the piece except it's last 2 feet. The third piece is done the same way.

The reason for the last 2 feet still free is so the crown can be moved to get the joint snug all along the cope. Typically the gap is at the top, this is fixed by using a short, square cut 2X4 to drive BOTH pieces up to the ceiling to tighten the joint. THEN nail the last 2 feet.

The last piece has only this difference, coped on both ends. This one I prefer to be an 1/8" too long so I have room for fine tuning. If the piece will fill well on both ends, and it is bowed out say 4" from hitting the wall in the center, push it in place, this will do he same action as driving the cope into the adjoining piece and get the joint really tight. If the last piece really is resistant to going in at the center, check which end looks the worst, first making sure is in the right place first, cut to compensate and shorten, re cope and reset.

So much for the short answer....


How do you calculate the current draw of the lights plus the resistance of the wire to determine the required transformer size?

You do not need to
At that low of a current draw voltage loss will be negligible. The big concern about voltage loss with outdoor lighting was important with incandescent and halogen bulbs, not LED.
The calculator I used would put end-of-line voltage at 11.59 in your setup. Your LED bulbs will operate correctly down to minimum voltage required to power the fixture. Typically anything higher than 8.5 volts is acceptable; check your specific fixture.


Front House Posts Not Resting on Anything

What you need to do is get a couple of hours of a residential truss engineers time.

Ask him if the posts are designed, or should be structural load bearing components of the frame, or just look pretty?

If they are supposed to hold up your house, below frost line footings and fiberglass posts are in your future.

If they are just to be pretty, then shims and hydraulic cement are all you need, and then replace with fiberglass pieces as time and money allow.

Fiberglass posts, columns are great, lightweight, any shape you want, load bearing or not, stay straight, no rot, no bugs, take paint so well.


In terms of electrical connectivity, yes, the switches appear to be wired correctly. BTW: the big nut o' white wires in the back means that power's actually fed to the switch box first instead of being fed to the light first with a switch loop to the switch.  This is a good thing because it makes installing fancy timers/smart-switches/etal much easier than in a switch loop configuration.

However, there are a couple of minor workmanship issues that I'd like to point out before the inspector does.  First off -- there is no reason to double-tap the pigtail for the left and center switches -- the center switch provides its own pigtail which can be nutted in to the nut o' black wires with a wirenut of sufficient capacity.  Second, your box has lost the clamp plate for the cable on the right -- it may be possible to hack it by transplanting the unused clamp plate from the left top to the right top, though.  (Of course, you can always clamp the NM as if it were a standard metal box provided box fill allows for that...)


Where Can I connect my C-wire on A Hot Water (Hydronic) Heating System?

Nowhere in there.  that's a DC circuit and a "C" wire is an AC thing.
you'll need to use an auxillary power supply to run your smart thermostat.


What are effective ways to frame a return air duct?

Non PT wood will be fine.

I would build a 32x22" frame out of 2x4's but I would put a 3/4" square notch around the inside diameter of the frame and set the filter into that notch.  That will give you a nice seal for the filter but prevent it from falling through.  If necessary, add one or two cross braces across the inside of the frame cut to the depth of the notch so the filter has extra support.


How do I remove polyurethane spray foam from my hands?

Without looking, I think most of these adhesive foams dissolve with acetone. The first thing I'd try would be nail polish remover, or possibly Goof Off.


Furnace cold air return serving up crawlspace air

Fact: ducts leak

Just about all ductwork leaks to some extent; in fact, without specialized installation techniques, leakages of around 20% can be expected.  Combine that with the fact that the furnace is sucking on the return ducts, and you get a recipe for air infiltration from the crawlspace.

Venting the crawlspace might help, but sealing the ducts is better all-around, and rerouting them is even better yet

As far as the smell goes, venting the crawlspace might help, but a better bet is to have the ducts in the crawlspace redone in a sealed fashion -- it's possible to get the leakage down to a few % this way.  Of course, it's even better to reroute the ductwork so it's in the conditioned space instead, but not all houses lend themselves to that approach.


When renting a victorian back in the day we did the same thing, we draped a sheet over the stair case to trap the cold air above. So...I think your curtain idea is perfect. Shouldn't be that hard to install, isn't permanent, but should be plenty to block the cold air from escaping.

A more permanent enhancement to that system would be to place a ceiling fan upstairs to help move the air around even more. For now, a floor fan may be enough to help.


This is, in my experience, nearly always an indication of leaks in the system, so make-up water is being added by the boiler feeder (adding new dissolved air) or, if the boiler feeder is shut off, air gets in after water leaks out. In a system without leaks, once the dissolved air introduced with new water is removed there should be no further need to bleed it.
Apart from the inconvenience of having it stop working, the constant addition of new water with dissolved air also violates the assumption that when the system is sealed there's no more oxygen added to promote rusting of the iron components once it's either bled out or rusted a little.


You may want to consider a third repair on how to repair block walls. It involves drilling an opening through the wall at a pre-determined angle and sinking a large all-thread rod with an expanding head (like a toggle bolt) into the soil. The expanded end anchors the rod making it rigid and un-moveable. The other end projects from the basement wall. It now has large heavy-duty washers installed followed by a hex nut. The nut is tightened until it forces the wall back to plum. The rods are spaced accordingly along the length of the damaged wall.  I can't attest to how well this option works (although it looks feasible), but it is another choice that may work for you.


How do I get rid of this ceiling finish and what is its name?

Getting rid of this texture will be a lot of work. I would recommend that you leave it there unless you absolutely must get rid of it.

The ceiling appears to be painted, which means that the texture cannot simply be sanded off. I actually have a similar texture applied to some of the walls in my home. The only way to eliminate it besides either tearing down the drywall, or sheetrocking over it would be to scrape down the high spots with a floor scraper, and then skim coating over it with joint compound.

Scraping it down and skim coating is a very labor intensive process, and is also extremely messy. The steps to do it are below.

Scrape the ceiling using a floor scraper. The scraper is basically a handle with a sharp blade at the end of it. Start with the highest spots and slowly scrape away until the blade is flush with the surface of the drywall. You will want to change the blades regularly because they will dull quickly. Also, always scrape with the blade as flat to the ceiling as possible. You don't want to dig extra holes into it if it can be avoided. This process will generate a lot of dust as well, so make sure everything in the room is moved out, or properly protected including the floor. You should also use a mask and a hat to help keep the dust out of your face and hair.

Once the scraping is complete, use a drywall sanding block to flatten out as much of the remaining texture as you can. At this point, you should wipe down the ceiling with a rag, or a broom to clear any excess dust from it, and then sweep/vacuum up the remaining dust in the room.

When it is clean, apply a coat of latex primer, and then check to see if there are any other areas which need to be repaired. Use a bright light and check the entire surface of the ceiling. If there aren't any areas which need to be touched up, then you can move on to painting. If not, then you will need to skim over those areas with joint compound, and feather it into the surrounding ceiling.

I would strongly recommend using a roller that will give a slight texture surface to the paint. Even with great care, there will most likely be areas where the surface isn't perfect, and the texture of the paint will help hide the defects.


A dimmer onto a circuit that controls the top receptacle of 2 plugs and also two led pot lights?

NEC prohibits standards receptacles from being on dimmed circuits. Lutron makes a dimmable receptacle that ordinary plugs will not go into, but which is designed to be on a dimmed circuit. If you actually want to plug something into the dimmed receptacle, they sell a custom plug that you can wire yourself.

If you don't actually care about making a dimmable receptacle, there's nothing as far as I know that prohibits you from capping (or if the dimmed circuit runs through the receptacle box, joining together) the dimmed conductor in the box and just replacing it with a standard duplex receptacle powered by the non-dimmed circuit already present there. The end result is that you have two pot lights on your dimmer on a circuit that happens to run through but does nothing to your receptacle box.


Mini Split HVAC System Size for a 1700 Sq Ft basement,,,

18000 BTU = 5200W
5200W @240V= 21.67A

So, no, a 15A circuit is not sufficient. But, I've never heard of or seen a 15A/240V breaker. Seems to me they need would need to install a 30A/240V breaker and 10AWG copper circuit for an 18kBTU system... BUT, it is worse than that!

18kBTU isn't large enough for 1700 sq.ft. This site suggests 24kBTU for  1500 sq ft. (https://www.sogoodtobuy.com/blog/sizing-guide-for-a-mini-split-air-conditioner/).  Seems like your builder has, and continues, to grossly under size the system for your needs.


Should Caulk be used around vinyl windows

You don't have to caulk something just because you normally caulk it. There is a reason why everything is done and learning this will save you time and money. Since you've had the home for a year already, I'd guess that you know if water leaks in or if you can feel drafts near them? If so, caulk it. If you have a reasonable doubt that they might not be installed correctly and could lead to water problems, go ahead and do it. Like you said, it'll save you from the experience down the road, but it might not be needed.

  VINYL WINDOWS AND VINYL SIDING

  Vinyl windows, if installed correctly
  shouldn’t need to be caulked in too many places. Caulking on the
  interior is mainly for aesthetics. You will caulk where the drywall
  meets the frame or the casing meets the frame. You can use some
  painters caulk on the inside where the window meets the casing or the
  drywall. If it was installed correctly there shouldn’t be a draft
  coming from this area.

  WOOD WINDOWS WITH WOOD SIDING

  These windows require a lot more maintenance. All gaps should be re-caulked. If caulking after painting or if you have natural wood, you use a clear caulk. If caulking before
  painting you should use paintable caulk rated for exterior use.

  REPLACEMENT WINDOWS

  Replacement windows are installed in existing wood
  frames. The windows come as a unit and should be caulked properly when
  installed. In situations with replacement windows, you have the area
  between the new window and the existing frame to keep caulk maintained
  as well as around any old trim.

  http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/839/episode-94-caulking-windows/


Assuming you don't want to spend the money replacing with all solid wood cabinets (which is what I did last year), you could double the shelves up and screw the old one into the new one. Use screws no thicker than the two boards combined (obviously).


How hard is it to run forced hot air and baseboard zones off one Trane furnace?

You could have an HVAC company install a zone system to control the heating and A/C in both areas. Or you could add a separate system just for that room.


How to fix a crack in the corner of an outside wooden lamp post

You'll have to do a little checking to determine if you can clamp that seam back together. It might have been a poor fit to begin with in which case you won't be able to clamp it back. Try getting a hold of a clamp similar to the one pictured below and see if you can close the gap. If you can, get some good exterior wood glue and have at it. If you can't close the gap, get some quality wood filler that's paintable and fill the gap. Then paint. A quick and easy fix would be to just caulk it but it looks like a nice light so do it right.
Picture from amazon.com


Why does my garden hose quick release keep popping apart?

A hasty assessment: it is probably because it's a piece of junk.  Give it back.  I could blame pilot error: you are supposed to push it on until it clicks at which point it's locked on.   You are probably not pushing hard enough.   But the entire point of click-lock fittings is to be easy and foolproof.  If the thing is amenable to having you THINK it's on, but it isn't locked, then it is definitively junk, failing to provide the one thing that distinguishes it from an ordinary screw-on hose.   Alternatively, it may be a total piece of junk where you are in fact locking it but the cheap plastic parts are incapable of holding under normal water pressure.  Either way, give it back.
Here, for comparison, are fittings that are increasingly better quality than yours.  A reasonable all-plastic one, a "metal where it counts" one, and an all-metal one.  Any of these would be fine.   In your example, the bib adapter looks so flimsy it's bound to crack and fall off the spout within a week if you ever get it to actually hold.
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As "D-on" suggested, the best way to go is under the concrete path.  If you feel like replacing the cracked section, then pull it out, dig a trench, and extend the downspout through the trench (ductwork all the way).
 Alternatively, dig a trench under the concrete and cut a hole directly below the downspout in the existing slab.  The drawback here is you will have trouble fully back-filling the trench after installing the ductwork.

Either way, you should then put in a drywell at the terminus.  Since the piping is below ground level, it can't empty into the garden in any case (unless you run the piping far enough that the ground has sloped down to its level, in which case crushed rock at the exit point will stop erosion)


Ceiling fan with light - electrical box has two cables, one with a red wire

It looks like you’ve misinterpreted the use of some of the wires, but this is the way I interpret it.

For the switch box, you have a 14/2 coming in with power and a 14/2 that leaves with constant power to go on to the next outlet or light in the circuit.  One switch provides switched power to the black wire on the 14/3, and the other switch gives switched power to the red.

In the fan box, the red wire is connected to the black in the 14/2 which travels to the other light in the room.  The black wire is what supplies switched power to the fan and that’s why it is not hooked up.

So, the fan will connect to the black wire for power, the white wire for neutral, and the grounds will also need to be connected.

If you need more clarification, let me know and I can edit this with more detail later.


Can I have two different types of water heater in the same house?

Three Phase Eel's comment is valid.  Look at redoing the whole system.  If you have natural gas in your area look at hooking up to it.

The rest of this is off topic to your original question, but I think relates enough to TPE's comment to be worth posting.

Gotchas:  Heating units were often oversized for the building.  My contractor sold me a 90,000 BTU/hr boiler that rarely runs more than 2 minutes in 15 even in mid winter.  I have since realized that I could heat my house with a demand water heater.

Sanity check for boiler operation:

Measure it's current duty cycle.  This takes a lot of patience, or you can put something like a kill-a-watt meter on it.  Usually heating appliaces are hard wired, so you would have to modify it to use a plug for the Kill-a-watt.
(If you find that it draws 300 watts for the blower, then it uses .3 kWh per hour of operation.  If it uses 1.2 kWh per day, then it it ran 3 hours.  3/24 = 12.5% duty cycle)
Now find the difference between the temp you want inside (70), and the average temp outside this week.  Suppose that is 25 degrees.
Look up what your coldest expected temp in winter is.  Easiest way is to look up your plant hardiness zone, then look up the temperature definition for that zone.  Suppose it's zone 3 which once in 10 years gets -40.
Currently it takes a 12.5% duty cycle to keep your house 25 degrees warmer than outside.
In your worst reasonable winter it's 70 - -40 = 110 = 4.4 times your current difference.  So your present unit should have been running 4.4 times 3 hours or 13.2 hours on the worst weather you are likely to have.

That would mean that your previous unit was oversized by almost a factor of 2.

It's probably worse than that.  In cold weather we are better about closing doors and windows.

So by doing this you can 'right size' your replacement unit.

This still is a terrible way to do things, as even if you size it perfectly to your worst case, it's underused most of the time.  The best system I've seen for this was a school that had 5 small gas boilers.  Each was about 200,000 BTU/hr.  Each one had an 'on' point 2 degrees differerent.  So one boiler would turn on at a temp of 140F and off at 150.  The next would turn on at 138 and turn off at 152.  The third would be at 136 and 154.  During most of the year boilers 2 and 3 would sit there.  #1 would carry the load.

The other two were set up similarly for domestic hot water, but at lower temps.

They were also set up on quick connects.  If we had trouble with a unit, we could disconnect it in about 10 minutes, put it in a pickup, drive it to town, and they could fix it, without our paying $120/hour for their time driving.


An epoxy patch is going to be a temporary fix and considering the amount of work you're going to have to go through to repair the ceiling, why not do it right?

Remove as much of the existing plumbing as you need to in order to get at "clean" ends, and then replace with new plumbing.


What's the maximum recommended temperature for your house while away?

I think you're asking a question that's analogous to "how do I measure the length of these pieces of wood, which have varying widths and densities, using these kitchen scales". Length and mass are related, but they're not the same thing.

You've asked about managing relative humidity by using measurements of temperature.

Don't.  Temperature and relative humidity are related, but they're not the same thing.

Manage relative humidity by using measurements of relative humidity. Use your dehumidifier, heating and cooling, to keep the relative humidity below 70% or so. And when the property is occupied, keep it in the range 45-55%. That will be the most comfortable and healthy range, minimising the hazards from dry irritable air, dust mites, mould, and so on.

If you find particular spots that are susceptible to mould (these will be spots that are colder than the rest of the property), put the relative-humidity sensors there - you need to keep these spots well below 80% relative humidity: 80% is where you start to run the risk of condensation, and thus mould.


Why don't you connect unused hot and neutral wires to "complete the circuit"?

You don't need to "complete the circuit".  Tying together the hot and neutral wires creates a short circuit, which should immediately trip the circuit breaker.  If you're removing a vent hood, you should put a wire nut on the end of each now-unused wire (to prevent a short circuit) and close up the box.

Every unused outlet in the house is an "incomplete circuit".  Presumably you don't install jumper wires across each outlet every time you unplug something, right?


Can I use knee bracing to cantilever a deck further than code allows?

That seems reasonable, but your local inspection office is the ultimate authority. You should sketch it up and meet with an inspector.

I'd be a bit concerned about drilling completely through the pilings, though (which I assume are concrete). That's a lot of rough treatment for a relatively thin structure. Instead, I'd use expanding anchors and lag screws.

You'd also have to connect the top of the knee brace to either the pilings or the existing joists to keep it from rotating outward.


Well, If you were intending to weld them together you have a few choices.

Cut them as close as you can with the chop saw and then grind each joint into the appropriate fit for the 90 degree corner.
Mark with a angle square and cut with a hand hacksaw. Touch up if necessary with minor grinding.
Use a power hack saw that has an angle clamp to hold the stock accurately and make the cut.

When welding it will be necessary to clamp the parts carefully before applying the arc and rod to start the weld bead. Expect the heating and cooling to make the parts move around some so the clamping has to be solid.

If you were just intending to make nice butted corners and be fastening the angle irons to some other surface such as a work bench edge then you will want to confine the cutting of the ends to the most accurate cut process would be the hand cutting or the power hacksaw.


May i use this flush mount conduit clamp side mount horizontally?

You could try those like that if you want.

We use pipe hangers Called "Minnies" in the trade since a company called Minerallac makes them.

They look like this.

The hanger you show is a Caddy Clip and is made to drive on to the edge of a steel bar joist. It will work but they are actually kind of expensive for the same purpose.

You can use the Minnies to run parallel or perpendicular to a floor joist.

And yes if your conduit is less then six feet one in the middle will satisfy Code.

Good luck!


The answer is "don't do that!" The vents you're seeing are ridge vents on top and a soffit vent on the bottom.

Attics need ventilation, these openings are by design and critical to avoiding serious roof damage. If you close them off, your attic will overheat in the summer, and cause ice dams and water damage if it snows. Newer vents include screens that will prevent pests from getting into the home. And you can also install baffles if you need to insulate into the rafters rather than the joists, but insulating the joists is preferable.

Here's a nice blog post about roof ventilation that will give you more details.


How to chlorinate a tankless water heater?

Well, the standard method of chlorinating well systems to kill bacteria in the pipes is to use chlorine (peroxide is an oxidizer, but it's not "chlorinating" in my vocabulary) in the well, and pump it throughout the system, wait several hours, and then flush it out.

Presumably you could use peroxide if you have a sufficient amount, but it's likely to be more expensive than using chlorine bleach (plain, unscented as I would hope would be obvious.)

Interestingly, "overkill" generally is less effective at killing things that a proper level of chorine. My particular well with 200 feet of 6" well full of water above the pump takes about 3 quarts of household bleach. Process is to open the well head, run a hose to the well head and turn it on, and add bleach with the hose running so it gets circulated. Once the chlorine is well-mixed in the well, run water from each tap until you smell the chlorine, then shut it off. Wait several hours, pump most of the chlorinated water out with the hose to somewhere that isn't your septic system or a body of water (run it onto the ground), then flush the pipes in the house once there's no more smell of chlorine from the hose.

I'll go look for references and edit.

http://www.dep.pa.gov/About/Documents/Disinfection%20of%20Home%20Wells%20and%20Springs.pdf

http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/drinking_water/pdf/Well_Disinfection.pdf

This publication suggests a smaller dose and longer contact time:

http://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/HealthyEnvironments/DrinkingWater/Operations/Treatment/Documents/CT.pdf


Definitely sounds like an open neutral.  By the sounds of it, the bad/loose connection is in the box where the power strip was plugged in.


Replacing the deteriorated siding and upgrading with the air barrier and insulation does sound like the correct route - ignoring a problem of that scale just gets more expensive to fix later.


Well, your wiring colors (or should I say colours), suggest you are not in the US, so I'll preface my answer with this: I have very little knowledge of non-US wiring standards. It looks like the current UK wire color scheme, though, with brown as a single-phase live (240V), blue as a neutral, and the yellow/green as a ground.

That aside, you shouldn't have too much trouble with this wiring. I am not entirely sure what the terminal marked "N" and "LOOP" is for since I wouldn't expect a 3-way traveler to go to a terminal marked as a neutral. Anyway, it doesn't appear relevant anyway. I might just be for an illuminated switch.

To simply replace the current switch, you would connect the wires currently on "COM" to "L" on the new switch and the wires currently on "L1" to the new "L1."


Low amp power breaker strip or reciptical adapter for knob and tube homes during rennovation

The 2014 NEC still allows K&T, The houses I have worked on they all had really good copper closer to hard drawn. The only problems I have have really found is newer connections were not in boxes and improperly spliced causing problems. If you want to add breakers it would be best to do it in a box close to the fuse box or newer service panel. Eaton makes small DIN rail mounted circuit breakers in smaller values 1 amp steps up to 10 then 13 & 15 link to Eaton page wmzt113t. The 2014 NEC still allows K&T, The houses I have worked on they all had really good copper closer to hard drawn the only problems I have have really found is newer connections were not in boxes and improperly spliced causing some issues. If you want to add breakers it would be best to do it in a box close to the fuse box or newer service panel. This type of breaker is common in industrial control panels with values from 1 to 40 amps with single,split and 3 phase systems. If used they would need to be in a listed enclosure but would provide a lower amperage than standard breakers. There are other manufacturers that make similar breakers but this is one I had on my desk so I had the part number available WMZT113T 13 amp.


You need to install a toilet flange for cast iron.  The only thing that looks weird is that side pipe that enters and would likely be blocked by installing this flange.


How many jack poles should I use when opening a doorway through a load bearing wall?

Each of the two temporary structures (one in each room) will need to mimic the section of wall that is being removed.  So if the jack poles are resting on a single bottom-plate and are holding up a double top-plate, then jack poles 16" on center are called for.  If something more substantial than the double top plate and single bottom plate are used, then fewer jack poles are required.  In the extreme, it'd take only two jack poles placed 6ft apart to hold up their own temporary 4x10 header.  The first floor's floor will need similar support in the basement.

I'd build the temporary support structure using lumber that I could use again somewhere else.

All that is assuming the ceiling joists are perpendicular to the wall in question and that the support structures are placed close to the wall in question.

If instead the ceiling joists are parallel to the wall in question, then there must certainly be a 2nd flr wall that is on top of the wall in question, in which case all the temporary support structures will need to be installed up on the second floor.

Personally, though, my choice would be to do it like this, without shoring up ...

0) pick through the pile at the lumber yard for straight 2x10s

1) open the wall on both sides

2) install the king and jack studs

3) notch the top of the studs on one side to let in one 2x10

4) install the that 2x10 onto the jack studs

5) shim between the cut tops of the studs and 2x10

6) cut off the stud ears (produced by the notching) that are on the side

7) nail off the 9" wide rippings of 1/2" plywood filler

8) install the second 2x10 onto the jack studs

9) nail off the header

10) remove the shims

11) remove the old studs


How can I prevent color variants when painting over wall putty?

You should use a primer/sealer on the entire wall, before painting.

Or select a paint and primer combination.

Or simply apply multiple coats of paint over the entire wall.


You could be risking damage to the foundation. It depends if the bed is properly graded or not. If the bed is graded properly, the water will run away from the house and the foundation. If not, the water could run towards the house.

After a heavy rainfall, see if the foundation concrete close to the dirt looks wet. If it stays wet looking for long after the rest of the foundation has dried, it could mean that water is running towards the foundation.

If that's the case, you have 3 options:

Fix the gutter.
Regrade the bed.
Run the risk of your foundation possibly being affected.


New remote-controlled ceiling fan doesn't respond to wall switch

If the fan has a remote module, it's designed to be controlled by the remote. You can usually bypass or eliminate the remote module, but it's usually not possible to control the fan from both the switch and remote.

You'll have to look in the switch box, to determine if the red wire is actually extra.


What is this mysterious pipe in my back yard?

This could be part of a larger yard drainage system. It could let water from the screened end of the pipe drain out into some buried drain field. It could also drain onto a deep buried french drain construction consisting of a sizeable hole that was filled with crushed rock or similar.

The fact that the part of the pipe that has the screen is working its way out of the ground seems to imply that there is stress on the pipe from the end that is still buried. This could be due to settling at the buried end or the pipe was originally installed and buried by forcing it into the trench and then not covering it with enough soil. I bring this up because there is evidence that the filter screen end was buried at one time:


What metal conduit takes a 1-5/8" dia. knockout?

1-1/4" pipe  (which are also IMC/RMC sizes) are 1.660 OD which is pretty close to 1.625. The thread start diameter on the narrow end of pipe threads is 1.557 so a nipple ought to get in the hole even if it's just that size. EMT fittings (on the threaded part) are normally threaded the same as the pipe/RMC/IMC size.

One of those weird pulling elbows is the only sharp turn I know of in conduit, other than using a conduit body, or a box.


When pouring cement next to a home, how far below the mud line on a stucco home do you need to be to avoid water issues?

None.  The concrete should slope away from home.  If you have the option to go an inch down then fine so you don't mess up the stucco while pouring.


How to open old under cabinet halogen light?

What have you tried so far? On those type of lights, I've seen two different ways to get the light out. First method is to twist the glass counter-clockwise by pressing on it and twisting. It will then pull straight out giving you access to the bulb. The other method I've seen is where there is a tab and you put a screwdriver in and the center cartridge pulls out.

Once you get at the bulb, remember to never touch a Halogen or Xenon bulb with your bare finger. The oils from your skin can weaken the glass of the bulb and shorten its life. Use gloves or a cloth to hold the bulb when removing it from the package and inserting into the fixture.

This video looks similar to your photo and shows how to open it using the screwdriver method.


How can I prevent water from getting behind the gutter?

Is the water running down the roof not going into the gutter, and instead flowing behind the gutter? If so, then there is a problem with the gutter and/or flashing installation. In addition to the drip flashing, you should check that the gutters are properly affixed. They should be sloped toward the downspouts, but are they securely attached to the fascia board? The fascia board could be rotted, and the gutter hangers unable to hold the gutters firmly against the building. (This is the sort of problem that rapidly gets worse, as the more the fascia board is exposed to water, the more it rots, letting the gutter hangers fail.)

Alternatively, if the gutters are overflowing and draining toward the house instead of down the downspouts, then you probably just need to clean the gutters so they can drain properly.


What are these lines on the ceiling from?

Technically those lines appear where the ceiling joists are located. Depending on the building construction the joists may or may not correspond 1::1 to the rafter locations.

Those lines could be there for a number of reasons. Here are some I can think of:

There could be drywall joint lines under the ceiling paint that were not properly primed and the paint has been affected differently over time by the drywall versus the mud lines.
There could be an unevenness of ceiling surface that makes it reflect lighting in that pattern. This could be particularly pronounced if the ceiling material was cheap thin material.
This could be a somewhat porous ceiling material and over many years there could be discoloration due to material aging and dirt bleed through from above.
Similar to the previous item there may have been a roof leak or other flooding problem above at some previous time that has left water marks. Old dirt and dust accumulate over years and water comes and leaves dirty marks because of this.
Temperature differences, possibly caused by inadequate insulation, may cause condensation and/or staining in the spaces between the rafters

The main area of concern for you is to discern the cause and find out if the source of the problem is still present. This would be particularly important for item 4 above. If you really wanted to move forward to buy this house the best course of action is probably to make the purchase contract contingent upon a home inspection. Best is for you the buyer to contract for the inspection so it is not seller biased. From this you can be more sure if there is risk with this and you leave open the possibility to negotiate with the seller to make possible repairs or adjust the price to cover the risk potential.


My experience is that if you use a pre-drilled hole that includes a countersink using a tapered drill bit like this:

Picture Source
...that it can be very easy to use 2 1/2" or 3" length deck type screws in either toe screw application or thru to end grain joining. If toe screwing is done properly with three screws it is ultimately stronger then screwing into the end grain of the wood at the butt joint. It does take some extra care to make sure that when tow screwing that you keep the member aligned with your layout marks. Often times I have found it useful to pre-drill all three pilot holes (two from one side and one on the other) and then start all the screws together. This way there will be less tendency for one of the angled screws to try to pull the piece off the line.
When using screw construction like this I prefer to use stainless steel screws with a square drive bit. Large screws with a Torx drive are also OK but can strip easier than a square drive in my opinion and experience. I also keep two power tools handy at the work site, one with the pilot drill and the other with the screw driver bit. I also prefer the screw driver tool to be a unit specifically designed for driving screws as they generally have lower RPM (more gear reduction) and thus more driving torque even at low speed selected on the variable speed trigger.


Yes you are correct. That will increase your fan speed a little in cooling or fan only mode.
The white wire is the common the colored wires are the speed taps. Black is high, red is low and blue is medium. Cap one of the colored wires and use the other two. Usually the black is for cooling and the red is for heating but having the 3 wires gives you options for the fan speed. If you are unsure if there is enough air to cool the furnace properly use the highest speed. The brown wires are for the capacitor which must be replaced at the same time with the matching micro farad rating as the motor.


Is it safe to have a heating vent covered by a gas range/oven

Is this safe? Probably.
Is it a good idea? NO!
There are two problems:

Air flow to the room

A central heating/cooling system is most efficient if the air goes where it is most needed. Major appliances, built-in cabinets, etc. don't need to be heated & cooled. Most of the time ductwork terminates either in the walls, ceiling (good for cooling but not for heating) or in the floor near the walls. That makes sense because if the ducts run to the middle of the floor then you severely limit how you can use a room.
However, if registers are in the wall near the floor, or in the floor near the wall, then it is important to make sure that those areas are not blocked by things like an oven or range or wardrobe or other large furniture or appliance. Even a large sofa can be a problem if pressed up against a wall.
Often there are simple solutions. Depending on the setup, you may be able to redirect the air flow with a piece plastic or metal, so that the air flows out the bottom front of the oven into the room, instead of flowing every possible direction around the oven.
For permanent fixtures - e.g., built-in cabinets - you can actually extend the ductwork so that it terminates with a register in the toe-kick space.

Effects on the Oven

If you have enough air flow that you can actually feel it around/through the burners then it will affect usage of the burners, and possibly the oven underneath the burners, depending on the design. This could result in higher gas usage than necessary and also unexpected changes (up or down) in the burner flames when the central heating system turns on and off. Definitely not a good thing.
But is it enough to kill you? Probably not. But I'll bet it is increasing your costs for heating and/or cooling and/or cooking.


Is it better to stain before or after assembly?

Before if you can.  It will be far easier to stain/paint while disassembled, plus you can lay the pieces flat to ensure an even application.  If parts happen to shift a bit during use, there will be no noticeable sections that are not stained/painted.

You should try staining a scrap piece of your plywood first to see how it stains, sometimes the results of stained plywood are not great.  Painting is sometimes a better option.


How wide should the framed opening be to accommodate double shed doors?

You'll add a list of things to get your R.O.:

The width of both door slabs together
The width of both side jambs together
1" gap +/- for shimming the jambs plumb inside the framing (1/2" for each side)
~3/4" for slab gaps (1/4" each left, center, right)

The slab gaps may need to vary from 1/4" depending on your hinge and latch hardware. 3/16" (9/16" total) is more ideal, as it makes for better latch engagement, but requires fairly precise carpentry.
Of course, you can frame your opening and build the doors to fit it instead. Just work the same numbers.
Assuming standard outswing doors and 3/4" jambs, your 36" slabs would need:
1/2" + 3/4" + 1/4" + 36" + 1/4" + 36" + 1/4" + 3/4" + 1/2" = 75-1/4"

If, however, you don't use floating jambs, disregard the jamb thickness and the outer (1/2") gaps. You'd then simply have:
1/4" + 36" + 1/4" + 36" + 1/4" = 72-3/4"

An astragal doesn't usually add to r.o. in a simple shed scenario. It simply mounts to the face of one slab and laps over the opposing slab. There's really no need for it to be mounted to the edge of the slab. If you do want to use an astragal between the slabs for more stable latching, take that width into consideration.
Also, you mention that there's no space needed for your hinges. Even if you're using strap hinges you don't want the slabs tight to the jambs. That would be a recipe for binding and noise.


Kitchen faucet pressure good but then drops to very low

Difficult to say.  Usually high pressure on startup and a drop off to low pressure/ low flow indicates a restriction somewhere in the plumbing system.  In older homes the use of galvanized pipe is often the culprit.  Galvanized steel pipe clogs with minerals and corrosion over time and will need replacing.

Is it solely this faucet having an issue?  Is this faucet near a bathroom that is also having issues?

Since you say you are seeing the same effect on both hot and cold it might just be a clogged aerator.  This is a mesh screen in the faucet, usually right at the outlet.  Generally the tip of the faucet will just unscrew.  Remove it and see if the problem goes away.  If not, or if your flow problems are common in other places in the house you may need to consult with a plumber.


How should I install laminate without removing the baseboard?

You should remove the baseboard, install the flooring, and then reinstall the baseboard. At least that's how I do it.

Most people leave the baseboard in place, and cover the expansion gap with quarter-round or shoe molding.  If you're going to do it this way, you'll have to leave the manufacturer recommended expansion gap between the flooring and the baseboard. Than as I've said, you'll cover the gap with quarter-round or shoe molding.


With only 7-8 volts your hot has opened some place unless using a low z meter. When the neutral opens with a normal meter many times you will read 120-50v but just a few is a sign that a connection at a wire nut probably failed unless using spring tension blocks wago is a popular brand and they normally work well unless there is a catastrophic failure (something that causes the breaker to trip) then they get loose like a back stab.
Since your indoor light works check the junction there. Then in the non working fixture closest to the working fixture it is probably a push in or bad wire nut connection.


What are the steps to raising an interior wall header?

First things first. That header is there for a reason. Simply cutting it out could result in crunchy sounds at best, and significant sag at worst (which is difficult to reverse). I'd consider a temporary wall along it to carry the joists above. Use towels as padding to prevent damage. Cut the studs a bit long and drive them in to create lift.

What is the first thing I should be cutting/removing to release header?

Since you've eased the load on the header, it doesn't much matter. If you're discarding the header, cut through it to allow it to drop out, and start cutting nails where you can access them. They're likely along the top of the header and at the ends.

What tool should I use to make sure all cripple studs are cut in level and straight?

Use a carpenter's square to mark them. Mark the outer ones first, then use a straightedge between to mark the inner ones. For best accuracy, mark at least two faces.

Use a circular saw to cut them, or a reciprocating or hand saw. Be sure to keep the saw table tight against the stud so your cut is square. They'll be flopping around, so you might lay a horizontal board across them all and run screws in to stabilize. You could also just pull them out, cut new ones, and toenail them to the top plate. 3" gold screws instead of nails can make this type of work less frustrating.

After I cut cripple studs and remove existing jack studs, what should I do next?

With a helper (or a temporary support leg), hold the header tight against the pin studs. Toenail it into the king studs from the face and/or below.
Cut your new jack studs to fit snugly. Set the bottom in position and drive the top into position, using a block of wood as protection against damage from the hammer. You want a snug fit, but if you're really wailing on it you might shave 1/16" and try again.
Nail the jack studs to the king studs.
Toenail the bottoms of the pins to the header.

When should i cut my sole plate?

Doesn't much matter. Mark 1-1/2" from the king stud with a scrap block and cut it, or cut it flush later.

Where can I get studs to match the legacy size of the existing ones?

I'm surprised that a stud from the 90s is undersized (it may have just shrunk a bit), but you can just run them through a table saw, pass a hand planer over them, or ignore the issue altogether. 1/16" on each face isn't much of a problem.


Keeping what is effectively a greenhouse cool in the summer is a heavy workload for any AC system. Your best bet is to prevent solar heat gain by blocking the light. Doing this with an opaque shade on the exterior will be the most effective option, though window tints or interior shades would also help.

Of course anything that reduces heating in the summer will also reduce it in winter. You may be able to exploit the fact that the sun is higher in the sky during summer than during winter, and create a shade that blocks more of the summer sun and less of the winter sun. This is often done architecturally by using long eaves over windows. But it's hard to retrofit a solution like that because it depends on the orientation of your sun room, the building around it, etc.

Because of all that, a retractable outside shade sounds like a great solution. If you're looking for a cheaper option than exterior motorized shades, you may consider a removable shade sail or an awning that you can wind away. The idea there is that you wouldn't be adjusting it every day, just seasonally and whenever there's a possibility of severe weather.


I would bet against this being the regular drain for the air conditioner/furnace.  The A/C creates a lot of water, and only the most inept remodeler would allow that to drain on a finished porch like that.

I had almost the same situation in a house and the dripping pipe came from the water heater's temperature/pressure relief valve and that had to be replaced ($20, not bad).  The other option would be that it is from the A/C but its the secondary "overflow" drain that drips when the main drain is clogged.  These are sometimes placed in visible areas so that you can see them dripping.

To answer your last question, I would assume that yes, dripping from such a conspicuously placed pipe does indicate a problem that should be addressed.


Can I remove bluestone pavers embedded in mortar

You can always try.  You will need to break some of the grout away so you can see the base where the paver and the mortar meet.  Then using a floor chisel (3 inch wide blade cold chisel) set between the paver and the mortar, see if you can pop the paver up.  If the paver is not well bonded to the mortar, they will pop up.  If they are well bonded, they will just snap when the one side is getting lifted.


Help with hot/neutral outlet - false reading?

Find the breaker for those outlets and check that the  neutral live and ground are correctly connected in the panel.

Then find every other device on that breaker and check the wiring there.

the bad connection could be behind a light switch or in a ceiling box.


rusty stains showing through a newly dried spackle

You have a leak - that's what causes moist drywall in virtually all cases. The rust is presumably coming from drywall nails/screws or other nails or steel/iron in the wall. Without fixing the leak first, no repair will last. Once you get the leak fixed you can coat the wall with a "stain-blocking primer" (often shellac based) to stop the rust stains from bleeding through the paint.