Should I reorganize the main service panel when adding a subpanel?

It's nearly impossible for anybody to tell you if you can safely add a second subpanel, based on the information you've provided.  It's going to depend on the service capacity, and how loaded the service already is.

Your best bet would be to contact a local licensed Electrician, and have them do an estimate on adding the new subpanel.  They will come take a look, and should tell you what would be involved in adding the panel.  This will give you a better understanding of what your options are, and an idea of how much it would cost to simply have a professional handle the job.


What is a "solar ready" electrical panel and how does it save money in a solar installation?

“Solar Ready” devices route the alternate power to the supply side of
the service disconnecting means and provide terminations to the load
side of the meter socket. This eliminates having a common bus and
therefore the need to de-rate the main breaker.
https://www.downloads.siemens.com/download-center/d/SIE_BR_SolarSolutions.pdf


How can I convert a closed stringer staircase to an open stringer staircase?

It depends on how the particular stair was constructed. Although the absence of a central stringer is evidence that the treads are capable of spanning without the support of a riser, it is not proof that they are adequate for the span. Likewise, the absence of a central stringer does not mean that the stair is laterally stable without risers.

Even assuming the stair is constructed to withstand the removal of the risers, the feasibility of 'simply cutting the tops of the stringer' has a lot to do with what constitutes feasibility. Risers stiffen. Bouncing treads or squeaky steps are not consistent with the intent. What performed well before, may not perform well after modification.

In addition, aesthetics probably plays a role and might even be the driving motivation. Just having open risers is unlikely to be enough, they need to look good, and the ease with which the desired results can be obtained is probably also a consideration. Sawing and cutting and patching a closed riser stair to the point of an aesthetically satisfactory open riser stair is likely to be extremely labor intensive. Particularly given that errors are part and parcel of the learn as you go method one must use when tackling a problem without a straight-forward solution.

So sure, it might be feasible. That doesn't necessarily make it cheaper or easier or more cost effective than simply replacing the existing stair with something close to what you actually envision. Cutting out the risers doesn't change the basic fact that it's a construction project where quality of fit and finish matter.


Do we need to waterproof cement floor in the garden to prevent water from accumulating under the soil?

IMO it is never a great idea to pile soil against the walls of your house. It may lead to damage to walls as you mention, and/or water intrusion at the foundation.
Buildings have rain gutters to direct water away from the foundation, you are now going to do the opposite.

I strongly suggest that you use a nice decorative pot or urn for your planting(s), so you will always be able to assess the conditions of the wall and foundation in the future.


No, it's not a problem. It's almost unavoidable with dry lumber, and it doesn't appreciably weaken the wall.

If it really bothers you, shoot one nail into each narrow edge of the stud up about 6 inches. This will tie the grain together tightly... probably making the stud stronger than it was originally.


Hot water is coming out of all faucets brown

Definitely get a plumber out. Sounds like the water heater is dying. Either scale build-up dropped off the tank side, tank surface rust gets weaker as it gets thicker & accumulated mineral deposits will peel off in large pieces. Or, your anode rod was so eaten away that a piece fell off of that. Items dropping in the tank stirs up the tank's bottom sediments.

The Aquatherm can contribute since it has metals, but that didn't cause it. The water heater just wasn't serviced & therefore assessed every year or 2. Run the hot water for 10 or more minutes, like taking a shower, to see if it clears up at all. Use the bath tub (if you have one) not the shower or a sink that you can get the aerator off (the tub doesn't have one) of so you won't have to take it off later for unclogging.

Yikes, I haven't heard of a direct or power vent 50-gallon water heater costing that much before installation costs. Yeah, $1350 & that's still right in line now with the home improvement stores...Maybe you do have a specially shaped water heater or the contractor owns the market & is taking advantage.


What is this old plumbing fixture and can it go?

I've never seen one of these (old ones) myself, but following Ed Beal's comment on a different question it's probably "an early form of damper as it was full of air" which could be as "large 2" pipe tee after the main valve with a stubbed leg verticle for 4-6 feet". A bit of googling can find similarly tall (and old looking) ones, although perhaps not quite as tall as yours (n.b., the one below was labeled "primitive"):


Backed up toilet, I can't remove the water from the bowl

Three things:

Either you didn't get the toilet valve shut off completely.
Or, the water from the tank is filling the bowl and it will stop once that is empty.
If this is a basement toilet, it is also possible the main line is clogged and all drain water is backing up into the toilet. But you said all the other drains are fine. It may be they are just draining into the basement toilet.

Go back and re-check the toilet valve to make sure it is shut off completely. If this fails to stop the water shut off the main valve for the whole house while you correct the problem.

Plungers don't work on serious clogs you may need to buy or rent a drain snake.

If all else fails, call a drain cleaning service. They have heavy duty equipment for these emergencies.

Good luck!


Spark/Arc observing while connecting battery to charge controller

Because you're doing it with the power on.
That is to say, during daytime.  The arc should go away if you turn off the solar panel.   Either throw a tarp over it or wait til night.
Also, try to get out of the inverter business.
Try to arrange things so your loads run directly off 12V instead of off the inverter.  The worst sin I see is people running cell phone chargers off inverters.  Every gas station, big-box and 7-11 sells cell phone chargers that run on 12 volts.
Certain loads like a refrigerator need to be on inverter. But try to find a way to spin up the inverter only when needed. An ideal setup would be to spin up the inverter hourly, and then have it shut itself down when current draw stops (after the fridge has cycled and quit).
Ratings
As far as quality ratings, that's on you. You can choose to buy quality stuff or save money, and you endure the result of that.   I can tell you "cheap Chinese" isn't anymore; they now charge retail prices as high as 95% of the genuine/quality units. Paying a lot is no longer an assurance of quality.
As far as sizing the system (how big solar vs how big battery vs loads), that is the usual place people go wrong, because they have not bothered to learn the concepts.
It takes some time. Hang out on off-grid solar power forums and such. (SE isn't the right forum; we don't field nearly enough questions about off-grid). You'll get exposed to a lot, such as "don't use more than 1/3 of a lead-acid battery's capacity", what a watt-hour is, how much common loads take (modern refrigerator: 1000 watt-hours per day), how to size solar panels to allow for winter and cloudy days, battery versus your expected draw, etc.


How do you build a "wet room" style bathroom floor?

Assuming you are using tile as the floor I don't think there is too much to do.  You will need to determine the appropriate slope to the floor drain and put down a waterproof membrane (like Schluter Systems' Ditra http://www.schluter.com/2080.aspx) below the tile.

The IPC covers floor drains in section 412 but it does not specify a slope on the floor.  A shower floor is supposed to have 1/4" slope per foot (section 417.5.2) but I don't know if that implies the whole floor should be like that.


Exterior Window Trim and Rough-In Sizing

Pick out your trim for the window and for the frieze.  Decide on head flashing. Decide on the jamb reveal.  Make your best guess for the window position. Then frame the rough opening 3" extra wide and 3" extra tall. Then fill the RO down to size by screwing (not nailing) 1x stock to the jacks, header, and sill.  Center your sheathing over the RO so that a single 4x8 sheet covers it entirely. Nail it to the 2x framing members, but not to the 1x.


My 70 year old grandma just put up new blinds in her house last year.  She did borrow my makita.

Quick Tips

make sure you are putting your screws into either the window frame, wood framing, or use anchors
make sure your blinds are level so if blinds are outside of window frame either use a level or take a measurement from the top of each side
cut blinds out so that the bottom barely hits window bottom


Questions about Heating/Cooling, ducting

If it works to your satisfaction (that is, if it heats the house properly), then leave it alone. There are a LOT of factors in this, including:
length of individual duct runs
openings between rooms (door or no door, closed or open if door)
sizes of rooms
placement of vents in the rooms
placement of the return vents

I'm no HVAC guy, but I know enough to know that if it's working, DON'T mess with it further.


Using wire mesh on yard gate for exclusion

Instead of hardware cloth that has to buckle and flex to cover the gap, consider a thin stiff material that could be fixed to narrow the gap. I don't know what size of rabbit skulls you're up against but I have to imagine that if you can narrow the gap to under an inch from the 1-3/8 it is now (ie, block off 1/4 inch from each side) then the heads, and the rest of the bodies, won't be able to pass through.
A bit of material installed to the stile and the jamb (can I use those words in the context of a gate?), in line with the hinges, will narrow the gap while the gate is closed but won't bind or prevent the gate opening either direction. Here are some materials you might find in a home center:

1/4 inch square stock (steel or aluminum)
L profile "angle iron" with legs around 1/2 inch
sheet metal folded to an L shape (cut down pieces of rectangle HVAC duct)
flashing/trim/etc from the roofing department

Fasten with screws, magnets, adhesive, foam mounting tape, or whatever suits you and the chosen materials.


How can I determine which outlets belong to which circuit?

You can get a circuit breaker finder which is a module that plugs into an outlet to send a signal that can be picked up by the other half. The plug-in component appears to only work when the power is turned on. The receiving unit is designed to work at the breaker panel, but I wouldn't be surprised if it worked on other outlets.

Of course this is overlooking the cheap and easy answer: turn off one breaker and see what's still working.


How would you fix this wooden cottage's leaky walls?

Try not to go too cheap - if you do this right you may save a lot on not having to sort out dehumidification off-grid, as I assume this is the same building, and if you fix the walls getting wet you won't need that, or at least not nearly as much of it. What dehumidification options don't require a lot of electricity?

Unless you have a great desire to preserve the exterior look, I'd strongly consider wrapping another layer around this - whether it's "plastering" "stuccoing" "rendering" "Exterior Insulation and Finish System" (high-tech stucco with more insulation) or just framing up a new wooden wall level with or just past the ends of the interlocking wall logs. If going with wood framing, be sure place an air barrier ("housewrap") below the new siding layer that will block liquid water but permit vapor to pass.

Look up "Larsen truss" for one relatively low-cost and DIY friendly method of framing a new insulation cavity and non-structural (not holding the roof up) wall onto an existing structural wall.

Or you could just shingle it - traditional (and durable/effective, thus the tradition) for seaside houses around here, but you may have difficulty finding cedar shingles in your local area...is there such a thing as wall tile like the roofing tiles a that are more common there than here? Or perhaps you get shiploads of cedar shingles from Canada?


is 3/8 inch nap roller ok for painting a door?

As Jimmy stated, it will give a dimpled texture to the door, not so desirable. If you want roll on ease, use a foam roller.


Can I connect my generator transfer switch to a subpanel instead of to the main panel?

You could simply pull a properly sized cable from the transfer switch, out to the garage. Then install a generator input receptacle in the garage.

There's likely a knockout in the bottom of the transfer switch to allow for this. If not, you may be able to add your own (check with the manufacturer).

Moving the transfer switch, and migrating circuits is is likely going to be a huge headache.  It's much simpler to pull a single new cable.


Short while trying to measure line voltage on a 3 way switch

Well it's possible you're unrealizingly touching something else, like the shell of the metal junction box, but that would cause arcing damage to your test lead.

Yes.  The switch you are probing is defective.

Cracked switches happen all the time.  When you lean on it a little bit with the probe, you are causing something internally to make contact and POOF.  That's why it's not causing arc damage to your test lead.

Needless to say, stop doing that.

I would first replace that 3-way with a plain 3-way.  Since you seem to be replacing several 3-way sets with smart switches, I would do this one second, so you can use the 3-way liberated from your first repair to fix this one.

Do not try to short-circuit (heh) the process and just upgrade the broken switch.  It's possible something else is broken and you want to remove that possibility before you proceed, otherwise you'll have a miserable time troubleshooting.


Red, as per this Ideal Industries datasheet.


What type of connector, adapter or tubing do I need to connect the fridge to the water line?

You'll want something like this Pex 25-Foot Ice Maker Connector, which uses 1/4" compression fittings at each end.

Except you won't use the compression nut, instead you'll just push the end of the tube into the push connector on the valve.


Breathing the vapors is not a good thing. Especially with galvanized metal. It is important to have proper ventilation. Many times when working indoors I use a small fan pointed above the work to move the fumes away and not disturb my shielding gas (wire welding & TIG). When stick welding the fan really has little affect. Breathing the "smoke" caused by welding can cause serious lung problems as it is full of vaporized metal. I work with guys my age that have been professional welders for 30+ years and other than galvanized work they never use a fan or respirator. They laugh at me for my little fan. Welding is a great skill to have and can save you thousands (or if like me you might get bigger and bigger units. On my farm I have repaired all kinds of stuff that would have been recycled if I did not know how to weld. I usually grind the paint so there are less bad things to breathe and use a small 4" fan that has a magnetic base.


Why was a light fixture installed with dry wall anchors?

I am with everyone's opinion that we can't explain why someone install something wrong. Other than he did not practice standard installation practices, and that probably means that whomever installed the fixture was not an experienced electrician.

What I can tell you is that all of the necessary parts are there in your pictures. First your box looks ok. You can see a lug attaching to the box at the 1/2" knockout in the back indicating a brace. also you have the mounting plate for the fixture. That's the round thing with all of the slots and holes in it. You will find that one set of those holes and slots will line up with the screws in the ears of the box. Then another sets of holes will line up with your fixture.

What I don't see is the ground coming from the box. I hope whoever installed it didn't just cut it off, because that need to be connected up also.

If an electrician or an electrical contractor you need to contact them and have them make it right and if they don't file a complaint the your AHJ.

Good luck.


Can a single ground wire ground 2 outlets?

With the 2014 NEC addendum, your idea looks to be legal. Here's the relevant 2011 code for ground retrofits with 2014 addendum courtesy ThreePhaseEel.

  250.130 Equipment Grounding Conductor Connections. Equipment grounding conductor connections at the source of separately derived systems
  shall be made in accordance with 250.30(A)(1). Equipment grounding
  conductor con- nections at service equipment shall be made as
  indicated in 250.130(A) or (B). For replacement of non-grounding-type
  receptacles with grounding-type receptacles and for branch- circuit
  extensions only in existing installations that do not have an
  equipment grounding conductor in the branch circuit, connections shall
  be permitted as indicated in 250.130(C).

  ...

  (C) Nongrounding Receptacle
  Replacement or Branch Circuit Extensions. The equipment grounding
  conductor of a grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension
  shall be permitted to be connected to any of the following:

  (1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system as described in 250.50

  (2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor

  (3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates

  (4) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor within the service equipment enclosure

  (5) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar within the service equipment enclosure

  ThreePhaseEel reports NEC 2014 adds the following between 3 and 4:  (4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates

Thank you ThreePhaseEel.  The 2014 addendum specifically allows grabbing a ground from any circuit fed by the same sub-panel.  Interestingly, nothing about conductor size, but keep in mind the context is ground retrofits only.

If you are going to another outlet on the same circuit (i.e. also turns off when you flip off the breaker) it's already allowed - daisy-chaining like that is the normal way to wire outlet strings.

Where to attach this ground wire?    If you're wiring it to an adjacent outlet, just use wire-nut (commonly a yellow one) to tie it in with the ground wires already there.

If you're going into a service panel, tie it into the bus-bar which has all the other ground wires.  Here's a picture of a panel with two bus-bars.  Sometimes there is one bus bar.  Sometimes they carefully separate grounds from neutrals.  Other times they don't, depending on the rules.  Just Do what you see in your panel.

Those are all single breakers, you might have a tandem aka duplex, which crams 2 breakers into one space.

Generally, adding a ground wire is always better for electronic equipment.  It helps surge suppressors do their job by providing a ground reference.   It provides real chassis grounding which among other things gives a solid route for  static electricity to go to ground instead of getting inside equipment.  It also provides a fault path if any hot wires short to ground, which assures you get a breaker trip.  And it makes sure equipment chassis is not energized so it electrocutes someone. I'm glad you're doing it - it will help.

That said, grounds will not cause cheap electronics with poor components  to suddenly become quality.  Grounds will not themselves "clean up" dirty, noisy AC power, although they will help surge suppressors do that.  Dirty power is often caused by your own equipment - for instance the air conditioner in your drawing.  You may want to protect the PC from the air conditioner.

Grounds also don't fix potential overloads, and you might have one here.  Fancy PC's aren't necessarily power hogs (the Mac Pro is only 2.5 amps) but "850 watt" PC power supplies are popular and they can draw 10 amps full bore (the difference being inefficiency).  A typical window air conditioner is 5-8 amps.  Loads which are continuous should only run at 80% of circuit capacity, that's 12A on a 15A breaker and 16A on a 20A breaker.  I would encourage you to investigate further to make sure those loads (and the other loads on that circuit) aren't too much.   To measure a device's actual current draw, gadgets like the Kill-A-Watt do nicely.


The install instructions state an approved cushion underlayment is required so this is a floating floor gluing it down may cause more problems than you expect. The cushion underlayment keeps it from having the hollow sound you are conserned about. Also you will want the material to climateitze. Make sure to read and follow the instructions if you want the floor to last.


Frigidaire dishwasher won't start (LED flashes instead)

The problem turned out to be the door latch. One of the two sets of leads failed a connectivity test.

Replacing the latch fixed the problem.


Why is a single walled pipe not used for wood stove exhaust pipe on upper floors?

You have to use double walled pipe when going through walls and floors and what not because the double wall and the space between the pipes cools enough that it can come in contact with wall materials. Single walled pipe would get hot enough to ignite the surrounding materials.

Also, a lot of fireplace type units use a 2 walled pipe that brings in air for combustion through the outside pipe and exhausts hot air through the inside pipe, but that wouldn't be used in conjunction with single walled pipe.


Score the caulk underneath the cabinet that runs along the cabinet frame. If sections of the countertop have been joined with silicone, make note of their position. Use caution lifting the countertop at these sections.
Pry the countertop loose with the pry bar and hammer. If you run into caulk or epoxy seam that's difficult to break loose, don't use excess force. Instead, use a utility knife to score the caulk or seam until you can safely use the pry bar. Continue prying the front of the countertop loose along its length.
Lift the front of the countertop as you side a furring strip between the countertop and cabinet, as close to the back as you can go. Lower the countertop onto the furring strip.
Push the front of the countertop down, breaking the caulk seal at the back of the countertop. If necessary, go under the cabinet and pry between the wall and the back of the countertop while a helper pushes down on the front. Gently lift the countertop off the cabinet and set it aside.


You could do it. You'd need a small portable tile saw and would have to very carefully cut the tiles exactly flush with the countertop. This would be very hard to do because you'd have to reach to the back of the countertop to do the cutting and would need perfect control of the saw to avoid scratching the countertop. If you were that skilled, because of past experience, with the saw, you'd probably realize it's not a good idea to do this and you'd unscrew the base cabinets and move them out a bit and do the job right.


All 120v outlets and lights are not working in a detatched garage

All of your symptoms sound like a faulty Neutral connection.  Faulty neutral causes L1 to affect L2, and has no affect on 220 equipment just like you described.

Fix that quick.  A faulty neutral can damage your equipment, and because you installed a second ground, it can harm YOU as well.  Check that the neutral wire is firmly connected, and using Noalox:

ALL aluminum connections for that matter should be protected from corrosion and thermal expansion with Noalox.

You are lucky that you have a conduit!  You have an EASY way to remove the entire length of the neutral conductor to inspect it for damage.  You should also take advantage of that conduit to pull a ground conductor through it and use that to ground your sub panel VIA your main panel.  Do not use a second ground rod at the sub.  It is not worth the risk in your case.


How can I build and install kitchen cabinets?

I have built many islands using top cabinets - they don't have bases.  The easiest way to add a base is with some 2x4s (or 2x6s for height).  You will just build a simple rectangle with bracing for each cabinet.  I guess you could build a big rectangle for a row of cabinets but I have been down that road and it won't be traveled again.

Basically you just need to decide how you want this to look.  Do you want a ledge (common in america) or do you want it flat?  Ahh and then the last thing.  You will need to put on a face plate on this section that matches the rest of your cabinets.  If you are going to have a 4 inch ledge... no big deal just make sure all of your rectangles project at the same depth.  But if you want it flat then you really have to be precise and take account for the depth of your face plate.

About Brick.  I wouldn't even think about it.  Brick gets its strength from being surrounded by other brick - kind of like tiles.  I don't see it being strong enough on its own to handle the weight, movement, or whatever unless you build a solid brick brick.  Also you are going to deal with a ton of other issues like how do you secure the brick to cabinet and how do you keep the bricks even across all cabinets...  Can brick be done?  For sure.  But expect a ton of time and it will need a few rows for sure - and I am not sure what you plans are if it isn't close to level.

Another alternative is get some screw in cabinet legs... we buy them at IKEA here.


How do I connect the common wire in a Carrier air handler?

There is a set of connections in the air handler that usually includes the "C" terminal, and it should be labelled (though it may be hard to read depending on the location of the control board and/or wiring/etc in the way).

One way to tell for sure is that while the furnace is not running, using a multi-meter you can measure between the "C" and "R" (or Rh or Rc terminals) and you should see 24VAC. R (or Rh and Rc) will already be going to the thermostat.

As an example, on your furnace, from the manual:

The colors may match, but don't count on it. The sure-fire way is to check using a multi-meter as I said above.


What are the next steps?

I don't know all of them but I suspect they start with

lift the handle off the splined shaft (it may be very stiff)
look for a locking nut that secures the valve mechanism into the body of the faucet

this may be hidden under a brass skirt that can be lifted when the handle is out of the way

lift out, or unscrew the valve mechanism
remove the washer from the bottom of the mechanism - it may be held in place by a screw.


Surface Mount Ceiling Fan with Conduit to a Half Hot plug

This is precisely what surface raceway is for

What you want to do is use surface raceway to bring the switched hot, neutral, and ground from the half-hot outlet to the new fan location.  You'll need to put a compatible extension box (starter box) on the outlet to provide room for the connections, and use a raceway system (Legrand's B-series metal raceways work) that has a fan-rated box (B4F/BW4F in the Legrand B-series) available.  As to wiring inside the raceway, you can run a NM cable or single THHN wires.

(As a sidenote, EMT with standard boxes and fittings also works for running exposed wiring safely, but you may have trouble finding a surface mountable fan-rated box outside of a surface raceway system.)


Hardwood flooring: transitions and expansion gaps

The metal edge you see is a Schluter trim that installs under the tile.

The expansion rate changes radically based on the climate you're in--drier climates tend to shrink more. Regardless of where you live you should have done moisture tests on the wood, the subfloor and the air in the home. Relative humidity is ideal between 30/ 55% in most cases and for most pre-finished hardwood floors. They do sometimes vary so read the instructions.

For 3" wide and below the moisture readings should be with in 4% of each other; 3" and above should be within 2% of each other. This is pretty normal but again read instructions--some manufacturers vary.

With all that said if its 3/4" thick, leave 3/4" expansion on the perimeter. this doesn't work well for baseboard install so cutting the drywall up 7/8" allows you to set wood 1/4" away from wall and any base will cover.

Stair nose is part of the floor, so install it tight. 1/8" gap at tile to hardwood is plenty. Use a color match sealant to fill that gap for movement.


Should the foundation wall be insulated when encapsulating a crawl space, or not?

I think the accepted best practice is now to make crawl spaces part of your conditioned living area.  Insulate and allow air to circulate like you do in the rest of the house.  The best practice for new builds may not work depending on your construction details.  You should check out how Risinger Homes out of Austin Texas handles it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n4K170f56I


How can I control water and algae in drainage ditch?

Throw some bales of barley straw into the water. Barley straw is often used to control algae in fish/garden ponds. I've had pretty good luck using it in my pond. I hear that when the barley decomposes it releases/creates hydrogen peroxide and kills the algae.

Another thing you might try is adding snails and/or tadpoles to the water. They'll eat the algae (and the tadpoles will eat mosquito larvae too.) Adding a few goldfish wouldn't be out of the question either.

Water Hyacinth, Water Lilies, and Lotus are all good plants that will prevent algae from growing by limiting the amount of sunlight that can penetrate the surface of the water. Elodea is an underwater plant that will eat up all the nutrients that the algae need to survive.

The plants are going to set you back quite a few bucks, but the "critters" are pretty cheap. I think you can buy goldfish for fifteen cents each or something like that.

You could go all-out and pick up the plants and critters at the same time and make the ditch into a water garden....but that's a whole other thing.


Do I have a bad heating element in my electric boiler?

Unlikely an "under-performing element", they usually either work or don't work.
2 things come to mind:  1)  The flow rate thru the electric boiler is just too great to get the water up to temp, or 2)  You have a control problem.   Did you check to see that all the elements get power?   Is there any staging involved? Your thought that it might have been a bad relay was a good one and it sounds like it might have addressed at least part of your problem.
How closely were you monitoring the system before the problem?   Maybe what you are observing now is how it was operating before, but just didn't know it.


How to leave low voltage wiring behind wall?

The common practice for future expansion is to install the box and put a blank cover on it.

That eliminates the requirement of chopping into the drywall to find the wire. It also eliminates the need to create as-built documents and store them for future reference so you can find the wires later.

My recommendation is to install device boxes with ENT (referred to as "Smurf tube" since it is bright blue) connected to them from the basement or attic. Then when you decide to install a structured cabling system it can be the latest technology. Or, if you decide to update to fiber in the future you will have easy access to these boxes.

Communication / data is a dynamic field and planning for the future is difficult if you use a permanent wiring method stapled into the walls. In commercial buildings we normally install 4" square boxes with 3/4" conduit and single gang mud rings for the drywall. That way wiring can be easily replaced in the future.

Good luck!


1) Cut a sheet of plywood so that all 4 legs fit on it.
2) Mount the wheels to the plywood.
3) Set the saw on top of the plywood.
4) Fasten the legs to the plywood so the saw won't fall off.  I suggest some "L" brackets and screws through the legs but other means could be devised.


First of all, are you sure that this 20A circuit is independent of the flickering circuits?  It's not unheard of for someone to wire things in strange ways.
But even if they are different circuits, they still have a common HOT and NEUTRAL back at the panel.  If the power tool creates a heavy load on the circuit that can and often will be "seen" in all other circuits on that leg of the panel.
A couple of suggestions:

Be sure that your outlet, wiring, and circuit breaker connections are all firm and clean.  Loose or corroded connections cause voltage loss and that causes excess current to be drawn by induction or other motor-driven tools.

Check that your tool is in proper working condition.  If it's out of adjustment or needs maintenance, it may be drawing more power than usual.


How do I extend a 2x4 by connecting another one end to end?

Why not simply construct a series of 8' long workbenches? This will give you more flexibility later on, if you need to deploy them differently (e.g. in an "L" shape instead of end-to-end.

HTH.


While not best practice you can prime with latex over the oil prime.

For future reference though, do not do it the other way around...it ends poorly.


What wood is our floor made from and will it be good as polished boards?

Meta-answer:  (Not an answer, but pointers to where you can find one)

Find the year of construction.

Find a builder that was active during that era.

Show him your picture.

That said:  It looks like you have damage or rot on one board.  I'm puzzled by the light streak toward the bottom (picture) of many of the boards.
Some softwoods are suitable for flooring.  Larch heartwood works well, as does douglas fir, once it's about 5 years old. Some hardwoods do not work well, either because they are too soft, or don't sand well.
You can check for hardness by getting a sample of wooden flooring from a floor store, and see what height you have to drop a medium size rock on it to produce a dent in the wood.  Now repeat that test with your uncovered floor.  (The actual test is with a spring powered thingy that you snap, and then measure the depth of the ding.)
If the wood is porous you can improve the hardness somewhat with WEST  Wet Epoxy Saturation Technology. This uses a slow cure epoxy that soaks into the pores.  Normally used as a boat construction technique along with thin layers of fiberglass or kevlar.


Should hot water pressure be reduced after hot water is used?

New Answer Derived From Exhausting Initial Answer & more:

It's your Water Heater, here are some things to try in determining whether or not there's actually a problem.

1 - Drain & clean the tank properly. ONLY do it when the pressure's good. Turn off the Hot & Cold Water & WH, open the T&P valve & drain the tank (see manual) to somewhere that contents can be seen. Blast on the cold water when you can start to "slightly" rock the tank to stir & break things up & periodically continue this until it's empty. Operate the hose bib handle to crush any big particles or Poke into your fully open hose bib if the hose flow drops. Then, when empty blast on the cold water & let drain & repeat until nothing comes out. Then, do just a 2-minute fill & drain & blast again to get all remnants out.

2- Check your status lights to your manual for detected problems.

3- Status Lights will also indicate a problem with the heater's Gas Control valve. But, this could also be a Gas Meter response to a run-away or leak detector, improbable since flow-rate wouldn't have changed.

4 - This is a pretty cutting edge unit you have & everything's interconnected. The fan & burner won't outrun each other & there may even be a Water Exit Regulator involved to turn the heater, sort of, into a Tankless Water Heater.

-

Original / Initial Wrong Answer: If you have a Hot Water Recirculating Pump somewhere else, you're driving its thermostat batty & it's only now showing signs of needing attention. It would be stealing pressure until it's reading hot water again. You may have noticed the pressure returns after 10 to 30-minutes, when the Water Heater has recovered enough or recovered fully.


For now, your bare wire's a neutral

Your oven branch circuit appears to have been run using a type SE cable -- this was common practice in the 50's as heavy gauge NM was not available at that time.  As the NEMA 10 is an ungrounded outlet with 2 hots and 1 neutral, the bare wire in your type SE cable lands to the subpanel's neutral bar.


What size pipe should be used when converting from single to double Bathroom Sink?

As country handyman says, if the're already supplying enough you don't need to change them.

However, if you're seeing a temp increase when you flush, then you ARE losing pressure, and the hot is making up for it, unbalancing your temperature.

I'll wager a guess that the pipe is currently 1/4 inch and that the toilet is fed before the sink.  If that's the case, then when the toilet is running there is less water flow available to the sink and/or shower (assuming it's on the same line too).

So if you're opening up the bathroom walls anyway, you can do two things here to deal with this:

Reroute the cold so that it goes to the sink first and then the toilet.  (Or better, shower, then sink, then toilet)
Increase your pipe diameter to the bathroom and split off 1/4 inch lines for each fixture.

In my own case when I remodeled, I replaced the 1/4" galvanized line to the bathroom with 1/2" PEX, and used 1/2 : 1/4 T junctions to split off feeds for the toilet and sink in that order, then reduced the line to 1/4 for the bath/shower.

Now we can run the sink and flush and the shower temp/pressure doesn't change, BUT we also put in a temperature regulating fixture, so... YMMV


What type of window trim go on top of stucco and how?

You can use wood molding on top of stucco. I had the exact same situation as you describe and I did the following:

use a mortar scraper or similar tool to smooth rough stucco in the area where molding is to be installed

drill mounting holes in molding and countersink
mark stucco at mounting hole locations and drill and install plastic plug anchors, filling anchor holes with weatherproof caulk prior to tapping in anchors.
install molding with screws that sit flush (countersink), fill plastic anchors and molding holes with weatherproof caulk first.
cover countersunk screw heads with exterior spackle and sand smooth.
use paintable caulk all around molding perimeter.
prime and paint


Can I cover receptacles with solid metal cover without removing receptacle?

Locking Receptacle Cover
Use something like this locking cover:

It has a hole for a padlock. Lock it when you're away. Unlock when you need it.
This particular one (and many others) specifically weatherproof for outdoor use since that is a common application - prevent your neighbor from using your electricity - but it will work fine indoors too.
This is also an in-use cover. So you could have a device plugged in even while this is locked. For example, you could have an appliance that should stay plugged in while keeping the other receptacle of the duplex from being used.


Did my dryer stop because the ground and neutral wires were connected?

Connecting ground and neutral together in an appliance is bad from a safety point of view and is likely to trip upstream GFCIs/RCDs if-any (though I don't think Americans normally have GFCIs on drier circuits) but it will not cause any problems for the appliance itself.


Asbestos risk in my roof? What is this material?

My first thought was chip board but when looking closer the fine layers do apear similar to a product that was used in the U.S. during the war when there was a wood shortage. I would not mess with it. If it felt brittle like cement flakes it is probably A product that contains asbestos. If it is not disturbed there is no real risk. If you are planning on remodeling or repairing the old roof area have it tested first so you and your family are safe.


Of all the sprays that exist, Temprid SC (imidacloprid + beta-cyfluthrin) and Transport (Acetamiprid + Bifenthrin) are found to be the best for controlling bed bugs. The best natural spray is Ecoraider. Ecoraider and Temprid SC do work together, but Ecoraider would be antagonistic with diatomaceous earth, because diatomaceous earth works by absorbing oil while Ecoraider is oil based... so they would completely cancel eachother. Diatomaceous earth and Temprid SC or Transport would work well together.

However, the real key to killing bedbugs is getting them to move, and crawl through a pesticide. Bed bugs will not move without an attractant, like carbon dioxide. Recently, histamine was discovered to "arrest" bed bugs... meaning that the bed bug will not move once it contacts histamine. This is pretty good news, but there's a few problems; first, you can't spray histamine everywhere (that would kill a person)!  The second problem is that spraying histamine would cost an outrageous fortune! So, histamine works (better than glue) for trapping them, provided that you can attract them to a trap. The third major problem is that the company that was supposed to be producing these new lure, Contech, suddenly went out of business.

But chemical lures, except carbon dioxide, are poor attractants; they are used for monitoring- meaning that they are supposed to catch one or two bugs, just to indicate their presence; they are not a "control" method.
The best control method (tried and true for centuries) is the pitfall trap, especially under bed and furniture legs. The best bait is a sleeping human. However, lots of work has been done, trapping bed bugs, and as a result, you can get a fair amount of control from a homemade trap. Commercial traps are limited by the fact that they need to sell something simple... which is what most people want. Consumers don't like to buy an elaborate trap, so commercial traps are not really made to work, as well as they are made to sell well, by being as simple as possible and still capture a few bugs. Still, pheromone lures might help with a DIY trap, especially in conjuction with carbon dioxide, and using the right objects and colors.

Bed bugs are attracted to large vertical objects. They are not attracted to pictures (like of a person). They are attracted to dark red and black. They climb surgical/cloth tape best. So, I would recommend using the DIY trap that Rutgers came up with, but I would also add a pheromone lure, if possible (although the extra $15 may not be totally worth it). And I would invest in some pitfall traps (for your bed and furniture legs). And I would pick up a bottle of Temprid SC.

But, home made traps aren't really going to collect all of the bed bugs... it might offer 60%-70% control by trapping (only)... the idea here is that it will hopefully cause all the bed bugs to at least move and inspect the room, which is absolutely critical for a pesticide to work. An insect must contact the insecticide! Use trap to draw them out into insecticide-treated areas... and you should also be able to monitor the size of the population and the control as time goes by.


Can I install a device transformer in a junction box to keep it behind the wall surface?

As long as you have the high voltage separated from the low voltage and you do not over fill the box it would be legal as long as it is accessable, I use deep 4 square boxes with a blank cover plate regularly to encase small camera power supplies and I have not had any code issues in Lynn, Benton, or lane counties.


What recessed shower light cover is this?

It's a recessed (canned) light cover (but I'm guessing you probably already knew that).

As "ppumkin" suggests in above comment, try to see if you can find a manufactures name (& model number) on the actual light fixture. Having such information to hand will greatly help you in tracking down an appropriate replacement cover.

Also you might want to check the bulb (Wattage & type) that is currently in there, as it really shouldn't have done such damage to the light cover.

Nowadays you can get compact fluorescent bulbs specifically for recessed lighting, or if money isn't an issue, look into available LED lights for use in recessed lighting.


What material would support the outer ring of a woven children's nest swing?

1" or 1-1/4" flexible polyethylene pipe, such as is used for irrigation systems, would probably do well. It would be rigid enough to hold shape, yet light enough to not knock a kid out in a forehead shot. If you're concerned about rigidity, nest one size inside another.

You should be able to buy it by the foot from big-box home stores, or in small coils at most hardware stores. You'd want to use an interior splicer, or a wooden dowel if one isn't readily available.


Will oil stains on my driveway ruin my driveway sealer?

I sealed the drive about 7 weeks ago now and it seems that the work I did cleaning the oil spots was sufficient.

My unprofessional conclusion from this experience is that if a power washer AND solvent AND 20 minutes of scrubbing doesn't get it out, it's probably a permanent part of your driveway now.

I'm pretty sure that the asphalt beneath that stain is actually imbued with the chemicals that cause the discoloration. I cleaned off what I could and the sealant stuck just fine.


Appropriate tool to remove wires in push wire

I use one of the flat blade screwdrivers from this tool set from General. This is available from many better hardware stores or directly from the General Web Site.

I have found that the flat ends on these are formed much longer and the poke down into the slot on the back of the outlet much better. The flats on the type of screw driver bits that you pictured generally get thicker within a much shorter length.

When you replace the outlets / switches with new ones do use the screws instead of the poke in wire holes. This will produce much more reliable connections. Another thing to watch for is to place the wire hook under the screw head so that the end of the hook goes around the screw in the same direction that you use to tighten the screws.


Do I need to level subfloor with a 1/8" step before installing hardwood flooring?

3/4" subfloor is more inline with modern practices, but you do need to level the step, if only to prevent an abrupt visual slope and potential noise. I'd feather out some leveling compound about 24".


conversion from fluorescent to halogen lights

The answer depends on exactly what your old arrangement was and what the new arrangement is, photos of everything would help make this clear.

Fluorescent

Fluorescent lights have electronics components associated with them, for example a starter and ballast. You need to identify where these are and make sure you remove them.

From HowStuffWorks

Halogen

Many Halogen lamps also do not work directly from your normal house electric supply (e.g. 110V AC or 230V AC depending on country etc) but need a transformer. You need to be sure the bulb is rated for the full voltage or that a new light fitting includes a suitable transformer.

Incandescent Compatibility

Some compact fluorescent bulbs and some halogen bulbs are designed for use with the standard light fittings that are/were used for ordinary traditional incandescent bulbs. In this case, the associated electronics are built into the base of the bulb. If your old and new bulbs are both of this type, you should have no need for rewiring the bulb-holder/lamp-fitting.

interchangeable incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulbs

Earth/Ground

The green/yellow wire is for a protective earth/ground connection. This suggests that your new fitting has exposed metal parts that could present a safety hazard if a fault develops in the fitting or in the wiring supplying the fitting. You need to check the building electrical code or regulations that apply in your country/state. In the worst case, you may need to run a new earth wire or have an electrician certify that your earthing arrangements (or lack of) is safe.


How to treat outdoor wood for use as a bar for drinks etc

You can run it through a planer to flatten it out, sand it down remove splinters, and then apply a polyurethane sealer to make it inviting for use.

Apparently polyurethane is food safe once cured.

When using a planer on reclaimed wood just make sure to remove all metal from it beforehand or else you'll be buying new blades often or can hurt yourself:

https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/5224/can-barn-wood-planks-be-planed-and-how-thin#comment11718_5224
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/150/can-some-woods-just-never-have-a-clean-finish-after-sanding/155#155
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/9881/can-i-remove-existing-wood-finishes-using-a-jointer-or-planer-without-damaging-t/9883#comment20376_9883
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/1604/in-what-cases-is-it-useful-to-have-more-than-one-of-the-same-tool/1605#1605


how do you remove a stripped screw that holds the handle on outdoor faucet

What I would do is use some solder to fill the hole and solder a screwdriver to the screw and gently work it out. Once its out you can just reheat the solder to clean off the screwdriver.


Replacing a ceiling fan (with a pull chain light) with a 6 bulb chandelier

You hooked the new light up to the 'always-hot' wire (probably red) which ran the ceiling fan.
Use the other 'switched-hot' wire (probably black) instead.


Assuming that your ceiling is drywall attached to the joists, you proceed in the same manner as finding studs on vertical drywall.
I like to use an electronic stud finder to get a rough position for the joist. I tap on the drywall at that position to confirm that it sounds solid. Then I search along that rough position (parallel to the orientation of the joists) with magnets to find the screws/nails that attach the drywall to the joist. I like to identify at least two screws/nails before being somewhat confident that I've precisely located the joist. Then I choose the exact position along the joist where I'm going to mount, and drive a nail through the drywall, hopefully hitting the joist, to confirm that it really is where I think it is. Then I remove the nail and mount whatever it is at that point.


How do I calculate the length of a ladder I need to reach a certain height?

You have to take into account a few factors:

extension ladders have an overlap that isn't shown in the nominal length - for example, a 16' extension ladder has two 8' sections, but fully extended is only 13' long.

the ladder will be used at an angle (usually a four to one pitch / 75 degrees) so the top of a 16' ladder won't even be at 13' in use
you don't want to stand on the top few rungs
some tasks take more ladder than others, if you're painting, you can reach up and work a little higher than the top of the ladder, but if you have to get on a roof, you need the ladder that extends well past the edge of the roof (usually about three feet)

Trig tells us the height of the top of a ladder tilted at 75 degrees will be .97 the length.  For example, a 16' extension ladder (which is really 13' long extended) set up at a 4:1 / 75 degree pitch will touch a wall at about 12'7" (13' * .97).

This chart has all you need to know, no math:


Distributed expansion gaps in solid hardwood flooring

Do NOT install expansion spaces between each board. You want a very tight fit between each board and then leave an expansion space around the perimeter of each room.

First you’ll need to acclimate the wood to your house. This may vary by location and season, but generally the manufacturers recommend about 10 days.

Second, seal the floor (again, according to the manufacturer’s recommendation).

Third, lay the “sleepers” out according to the size of your flooring and the allowable span. Sleepers are NOT fastened to the floor. They are designed to “float” or slide depending on expansion of the flooring.

Next lay out the flooring (loosely). This will give you an idea of color, etc., but will also help acclimate the finish flooring. Gaps at the perimeter is based on the size of the room. When we do gymnasiums, we leave a 2” gap and cover with an appropriate base. In homes, we generally leave a 1” gap.

See MFMA recommendations for acclimation and installation:  https://www.maplefloor.org/ForArchitects/Installation.aspx

Btw, to test your finish flooring, hold a piece vertically and insert another piece into the T&G edge. If it fits tight, it’s okay. If not, you’ll have problems with the T&G edges when you walk on them. They’ll snap and pop and drive you nuts. If it’s not tight (and supports the other piece of wood when held vertically,) then I’d send it back. (See MFMA guidelines.) https://www.maplefloor.org/Home.aspx

Btw, yes, I know it’s the Maple FlooringManufacturing Association, but is consistent with ash, etc. too.


Coordinating a bathroom/bedroom update project...what's the order?

If this was my project, this order:
New tile on the outside/step in of shower. (Can shift a little, but before LVP flooring.)
New ceiling fan in bedroom. (Any time before paint, as trade availability. Earlier is better, as electrical can sometimes be invasive and messy.)
New luxury vinyl plank for both rooms. (Make sure subsequent trades protect the new flooring really well.)
New trim and doors both rooms.
Shiplap on one bedroom wall.
New granite counter top in the bathroom.
New faucets. (bathroom stuff can be earlier as trade availability dictates. If granite is being templated, get that started early.)
Dead last: Painting in both rooms. Paint pocket door, vanity, and floor to ceiling cabinet.


Lennox G40UH takes a long time for the heat to come on

Your furnace tries to ignite five times. If it fails, it goes into lockout for 60 minutes. Once the lockout period is up, it tries five more times.

From your description, it sounds like it's failing the first set of ignitions. This could be a problem with the gas flow, a bad igniter, a misaligned igniter, a dirty or bad flame sensor, etc.

The best way to start diagnosing the problem, is to observe the ignition sequence.  Set the thermostat to heat, and turn the set point down so the thermostat calls for heat.  Then go to the furnace, and watch/listen to what's happening. The normal ignition sequence will be something like...

Inducer fan starts.
15 seconds later the hot surface igniter heats up.
After 20 seconds the gas valve opens.
The gas ignites, and the flame sensor "proves" the flame.
After a delay, the blower will start.
The furnace runs until the thermostat is satisfied.

If step 4 fails, the furnace tries four more times to ignite. If it still fails, it goes into the 60 minute lockout.


Disable the LG washer/dryer melody at end of the cycle?

I've used the following method to make obnoxious sounds coming from home appliances and toys much quieter:

Find where the sound comes from. Usually there's a little grill or perforated plastic that covers the loudspeaker or piezo inducer.
Tape over it with a transparent office tape. I sometimes do two layers in cross-hatch pattern if sounds are very loud.

Usually, it makes the sound quiet enough not to be bothersome anymore. You could, of course, disassemble the whole thing and cut the wires to the speaker (if it's not PCB-mounted, which many of them are), but in my experience just covering the hole where sounds come from is good enough.


Is burnt looking wiring still serviceable?

Black is carbon; carbon is relatively conductive compared to clean vinyl or other insulator. So anything black or brown indicates a leak path.  As a boy ,I miswired a 440 V box. The real electrician could not clean off the carbon well enough to use it and had to get some new equipment.


How to tell if a carpeted floor is level enough for laminate flooring?

Lie down and eyeball it. It's easier to see if you are right down on the surface. Someone in the business of laying floors might have developed a better eye than you (if they miss it, it costs them money) and not need to lie down.
Shoot a laser pointer across the floor - either skim the surface looking for discontinuities, or lay it on the floor and check its height with a ruler as it goes across the room. Easier if you can get the start and end adjusted to the same height. A hump will be a place where the beam height above the floor reduces; &/or where the beam won't make it across the whole room if it's right down at floor level.
Choose a long straight board, and set it on edge on the floor. If you find a place where it rocks from end to end, that's a hump. Check that the board is really straight by making sure it rocks about the same on both edges (a warped board will rock on one edge, not on the other - a straight board on a hump will rock on both edges)

If you want to install a wood floor over a hump, wood parquet can be much more forgiving. I don't know if the laminate folks have entered that market, but it can be quite affordable in real wood.


Can you really use 2 cables in place of /4 Romex?

No.

The language in 300.20(B) refers specifically to a single conductor, not a single cable.

300.3(B) mentions "in a single cable" unless otherwise allowed, and I don't read 300.3(B)(3) or 300.20(B) as allowing otherwise.

I would guess the exceptions are intended for where you need to run a pair of conduits to physically accommodate large feeder wires; Which are "individual conductors."


My house has Exterior & Interior insulation. Would it be advisable to remove the internal?

It sounds like you are willing to spend money to remove something that that is designed to help save money. If your houses walls are made entirely of brick and mortar the two layers of (rigid) insulation is the only material slowing the heat from conducting through the walls. I think you will find most, if not all, information and scientific data states the more (thicker) insulation in a conditioned space the less energy will be loss from heat conductance. If I can suggest that a better question posed here might be how to hang a shelf on a insulated brick wall. It could save you an un-needed financial burden.


How do I seal a leak from my overhead tank filled with water without draining the tank?

There is underwater epoxy adhesive available for emergency boat repair. You can use the reinforced PVC material used for inflatable boats as a patch material. The catch is the patch must be applied to the inside of the tank so water pressure holds it in place. Applying to the outside will not work because water will push through an outlet path before the adhesive cures.

How long can you hold your breath? If this is for human drinking water, you should disinfect the water after someone has been swimming in it, on top of sanitizing the person before entry.


Is Fiberboard sheathing under cedar siding ok with no vapor barrier?

To me, moisture barrier goes on the exterior side of exterior walls and vapor barrier goes on the interior side.
We install moisture barriers because we know siding leaks...especially your type of horizontal lapped siding.
If you are patching a hole (or small area) in the siding, there’s no reason to remove all the siding to install a uniform moisture barrier throughout the wall. I’d just make sure the patched area has an adequate moisture barrier and it’s lapped properly onto the existing moisture barrier before installing the new patched-in siding.


Does my wood stove pipe have to be chrome to be safe to use?

Your friend is absolutely wrong. Color doesn't make any difference, and the outside is not chrome, it is stainless steel insulated pipe. Insulated pipe is not required from the stove to the ceiling where it adapts to insulated pipe


What is the "application tape" mentioned in the EasyHeat installation instructions?

It looks like there's a particular product available, but I think that it's also a generic term for any tape that meets their criteria. From the instruction sheet:

  Application tape (Cat.No. HCA) or high quality electrician’s
  tape such as Scotch 44 or 33.

And...

  Only use ½" or 1" vinyl or fiberglass tape to attach cable to pipe

Of course, most readily-available electrician's tape is about 3/4" wide, but I imagine that would work fine.


What is the purpose of the sand/gravel bed under dry-laid flagstone?

Leveling, drainage, and protection of the flagstone, especially in freezing climates.  Basically, in heavy soils, water can pool up under the flagstones and produce frost heaves, which will allow the flagstones to break much more easily. The sand and gravel produces an even base that supports the whole stone, and keeps it from cracking.


How do I trouble shoot powerline issues to my home?

You can rent (somewhat reasonably) or purchase (generally expensive) a "Power line monitor" to record any issues with your power as delivered. Or you can call the power company back and tell them what you've told us, and your concerns with how the last time went and the evident subcontractors (and perhaps try requesting that they put a power line monitor on your service for a week or two WITHOUT you having to pay to rent one - probably not, but if you don't ask, definitely not - so ask.)

If renting one, probably go for a month.


Need advice on installing motion sensing light switches

A three way switch is a single pole, double throw (SPDT) switch:

The common terminal corresponds to the one on the left in the picture, the two throws on the right are the traveler terminals.  There are a number of different ways to wire them, but this diagram is a typical configuration that illustrates how they work:

The travelers go switch to switch - they are the red in that diagram and the black running along the red.  So they are both switched hot - one or the other will be hot depending on the position of the switch the feed from the panel comes to, the switch on the left in the diagram.

They are wired so that whenever you throw either switch, if the lights are on they'll turn off, or if they're off they'll turn on.  (Study the diagram a minute and that should make sense.)  Note that neutrals are not involved in the switching, and in normal house wiring you're dealing with AC so there's really no positive and negative.

When replacing three way switches with occupancy sensor switches things work a little differently.  The exact instructions will depend on the switches you select.  For example the Lutron Maestro is more or less typical:

Lutron Application Note 435

Lutron makes a switch with an occupancy sensor and a companion switch to replace the two 3-way switches.  The wiring is pretty much like regular 3-way switches, getting the common right is the main thing, but there's one big difference:  the occupancy sensor switch has a neutral connection.

Since the switch itself is a powered device, it needs a neutral;  regular switches do not.  Until recently electrical code did not require a neutral in switch boxes.  If there is a white wire in one of the boxes that is not connected to the switch, it is probably a neutral.

If you put the sensor switch in the box on the left in the diagram, it's simple - there is an available neutral.  If you want to put it in the box at the right, you have a bit of a challenge.  Whether it is easy or challenging in your case depends on the specifics of the wiring.

Photos never hurt; clear, well lit photos that make it easy to see all the way to the back of the box are particularly helpful.


Electrical wiring in ceiling junction box

You don't say otherwise so we assume the light fixture worked, and it was wired correctly. The 3 whites joined together are neutrals and the white neutral lead on the fan is to be connected to them.

Presumably the lone black was connected to the light and must be the switched hot coming from a wall switch. Connect this to the black lead of the fan.

Does the fan have a light kit? If so, and if there is not a separate switch for the light, then connect the (probab) blue light lead to the lone black as well. You would have to control the light with the pull chain.

Connect the ground lead of the fan (which may be green or green w/ yellow stripe) to the set of bare copper wires.

FYI the white wire in the nut with the three blacks is the line hot (always hot) going to the wall switch that will control the fan. The lone black wire will be in the same cable as this white and is the switched hot referred to above. This cable (W, B, gnd) forms what is called a switch loop. The other black wires are taking the line hot to other fixtures on this circuit.


Questions about re-purposing double gang electrical box with two circuits

You are using the conduit wiring method with THHN wires*.  In this wiring method,

Grounds are green, green/yellow, bare, or listed metallic conduit such as EMT
Neutrals are white or gray
Hots are black, brown, red, orange, yellow, pink, blue or purple

That's not news to you.  This is: NO SUBSTITUTIONS.  In things like switch loops and 3-way circuits, you often see a white wire used as a "hot". They're supposed to be marked with tape but nobody does. This is only allowed in cable wiring methods where you have no choice of wire color.  Not here!  In conduit with THHN, you must pull the correct color, period.**  You can mark them with tape, but doing so can't turn a neutral to a hot.

Another thing about conduit is the new "neutral in a switch loop" rule does not apply. That's because it's easy to pull a neutral wire in the future.  Switch loops will have always-hot and switched-hot.

One rule remains the same: Currents must be equal among all wires in a cable or conduit.  This could also be called the "Tree rule": circuits can branch but one branch can't loop back to rejoin another.

A side-effect of this rule is neutrals are not promiscuous: A neutral can only be a neutral for the circuit it's part of.  For instance you cannot use the lower-left white wire to provide neutral for the upper-right black wire; they are on different circuits and this will result in unequal currents in both conduits, as well as overload the neutral. Neutrals don't have circuit breakers! Their only protection is honest wiring: If a neutral returned two circuits' worth of power, it would overload.

Any promiscuous/stolen neutral issue will also trip a GFCI protecting the circuit.

To answer your questions briefly, #1 if it's white, it's neutral for the accompanying circuit only.  #2 That's just phantom voltage from running parallel to the hot wire.  Don't worry about it.  #3 NO because that would involve stealing neutral and violating the "equal currents" rule.

So on to your problem. Let's divide and conquer.

The top right "circuit"

Current can't return from a load without a neutral.  And currents must be equal in each conduit.  And there's no neutral in the upper right conduit. That means it can only be one thing: A switch loop.  You confirmed this in comments.  A switch goes there.

I imagine the red and black went to the two conductor screws on one switch. This is the only possibility without violating the "equal currents" rule, so it must be so.  If you feel the switch is useless to you, you can create an "always off" switch by capping both wires separately -- or an "always-on" switch by tying both wires together with a wirenut.   That would free up one yoke space in this box, for say a receptacle.

You cannot alter this circuit without a lot more analysis and work.  Next.

The left "circuit"

Reds went to the switch, whites nutted together.  Straightforward stuff.

If you wanted to fork a receptacle off this, make 3 6" pigtails: 1 white and 2 red, from #12 THHN stranded wire. The receptacle gets 1 white and 1 red pigtail. The switch gets 1 red pigtail on 1 switch terminal, the other terminal goes to the red from the upper left conduit.  Now tie all the whites with a wirenut, and all the dangling reds with a wirenut.  Voila.

(This bundling by color is lucky, it's not a sure thing and can differ in different circuits.)

* Conduit in residential is unusual.  Chicago requires it, mixed-use developments probably require it, large multi-unit buildings, or your electrician is picky!  I've seen Romex Kaisers fill conduit with only black, white and red THHN, thinking they must follow the exact same color code as cable, but those fools would pull black+white for a switch loop (illegal obviously) and that didn't happen here.

** Except in very large sizes, 4 AWG and larger, generally used as feeder or service.


The rough openings for my doors are a just barely too small

Generally the size specified is the "nominal" size. The actual size is a bit smaller.

If you ordered from a big-box store, measure an in-stock 32" door of the same brand across the outside of the jamb to see if it will actually fit within your 31 3/4" opening. My bet is that it will. If there is no in-stock version, ask the sales person for the actual dimensions. BTW- don't forget to check for height, too, just to be on the safe side.

You do want a little bit of wiggle room between the door jamb and the framing so you can get the door level, plumb and shimmed, but, so long as the existing opening is square, you can get away with minimal wiggle room.

If the opening's not square, you're going to have some work on your hands, or you're going to have to cancel this order and get smaller and/or custom doors.


See the gutter above the meters?   Yeah?   The thing below the meters where the breakers are, used to be a gutter just like that.   It has completely rotted out.

Your best bet here is to fully enclose this area in a "shed" with a roof that will shed rain, solid sides, and doors that latch and seal.  You can put this together out of plywood, prime, paint and caulk it.  The weird cage around it - just like that, but with solid wood.


What could be causing the filler tube of a toilet to be leaking/bubbling?

I've run into this same problem several times, and tried the same things you're trying - adjust the ball, bend the arm a bit to put more pressure on the valve, etc.

Ultimately though I've always ended up replacing the fill valve. The pressure from the float ball and arm isn't enough to close the valve completely, a seal is worn out, or something else is similarly out of whack.

ETA: In my experience, the fill valves that don't have a ball but instead have a sort of integrated float seem to be less prone to this problem (like the one pictured below)


Can granite countertops be used as a desktop on a custom desk?

I wouldn't just try to attach the legs directly to the granite (or really any material used as a work surface). The result will probably be quite unstable.

I'd build a free standing frame and then fix the worktop to that.


Can (must) P-trap be directly underneath the drain in stand-up shower stall?

Looks good. You want the p trap where you have it, not back by the vent.


Clamped flexible rubber pipe/hose coupling won't seal completely

Is your check valve upside down?  or is your ceiling concrete and have a wet spot?
I typically use a 2" pvc union.  Is that check valve spring operated or just a gravity flap?  The union allows disconnect without being a clamp based fitting.
Don't put any kind of sealing compound on the furnco - rubber doesn't like chemicals.


Removing a room stat from central heating (in order to fit Hive)

Tackled this at the weekend and my assumptions were correct.

The Centaurstat even has a 'parking' terminal inside (basically a position on the terminal block that doesn't connect to anything) so I moved both the incoming live common and the switched call for heat wires into that parking terminal and all is good.

(Note that the sticker below the terminal block shows that terminal 4 is unused)

When I come to remove the room stat permanently I will need to bridge the corresponding position at the central wiring block.

All good.


Can I use a single dimmer switch to control multiple lights?

A given switch has a specified limit on the total power it can control. Add up the total wattage of all the bulbs and if this is less than the limit for that dimmer, then it should work. Note that for LEDs you use the actual wattage not the equivalent wattage for an incandescent which gives the same illuminance (lumens).

Also the dimmer switch must be one which is designed to control LEDs. A dimmer switch from decades ago probably won't work. For years I used a 30 year old programmable dimmer which was approved for incandescent bulbs to control an LED by using one incandescent and one LED in the two bulb fixture.


How do I build a fence with zero experience?

Does the fence need to be solid for privacy? If not, consider a chain-link fence. You set the poles, unroll the fencing along and attach it to the poles with wire clips, then if you want to avoid having it sag, you run a pipe or just a thick wire along the top through eyes on the tops of the poles. When you get to the end, you rent a come-along fence puller to pull it all tight. Done. Wind goes right through it.

If you want privacy, you can buy slats that slip into the chain links. Not terribly attractive, but effective and easy to implement.


Does a whole house humidifier go on the intake or outlet of the furnace?

All the humidifiers I've seen mount on the return plenum and have a duct installed that bypasses the air handler to the supply plenum.


Can I hook up an ice maker with a 1/4" plastic pipe to my garden hose faucet easily?

Yes, it can be done.  It make take more than one adapter in sequence to get from the 3/4" hose connection to the 1/4" plastic tube.  Any plumbing department in a decent hardware or home-improvement store will likely have them.

The hose connector threads are different from standard American "NPT" pipe threads.  You'll need to go from the 3/4" hose thread on the faucet, to 3/4" NPT thread, and from there it may take one or more reducers to get down to a 1/4" compression fitting that the ice maker wants.

Alternatively, there may also be some adapters in the irrigation and sprinkler pipe section, that can go from the 3/4" hose connector to 1/4" tubing using barbed push-on connectors.  Something used for drip-irrigation for plants may have the right sizes.


Help deciphering breaker box diagram (where can tandem breakers be installed?)

It is telling you that each slot will take a tandem breaker. The lightning bolt like line through the layout is just a way of communicating a repeating pattern in limited space.


How can I remove smoke odor after a fire?

As commented, this is usually part of the mitigation company's deal, as the tools are a bit specialized (serious ozone generators, for one thing) and they may have access to ones a bit more serious than any you may be able to find to rent, as the rental company may not be comfortable with the hazard level of putting those in consumer hands.
Other methods they might use include using the upholstered furniture mode of a typical "rug cleaner" (spray wet solution and vacuum it out, generally with a smaller nozzle for furniture than for a floor.)


10cm brick wall carrying capacity for additional beams

I would highly recommend that you come up with a plan that uses legs on this bed construction that come all the way down to the floor. This way you do not need to fasten into the wall at all. Such a construction can also be easily disassembled for moving from room to another room or another dwelling. You also avoid messing up the wall.

Long legs on an elevated bed will need to be constructed so as to prevent racking of the structure. One way to achieve this would be to put a skirt board around the legs on three sides near the bottom. Some angular bracing may also be necessary.


Using ceiling hook with no joist or anchor/toggle? Is it ok to do for string lights? What hook to use?

If you have a plaster ceiling and it's in good shape, not coming away from the lath anywhere, there are some screw types and techniques that could reasonably hold weight like this.  I don't recommend it but it's possible and you need to experiment to find what works well in your plaster. It varies.  If you do this, also follow the advice below for the FIRST HOOK in drywall.
Assuming however you have a drywall ceiling:
The FIRST HOOK, the one that has the long tail of the power cord, switch, and plug dangling from it, should be a strong hook screwed deep into a joist.  At least a #8x2" eye hook.  This will take the strain of being wiggled and pulled when the plug or switch is handled by human hands.  The cable should be firmly attached (eg tight wire ties) to this hook in order to prevent further downstream hooks from taking any stress from handling.
After that for the subsequent hooks: Options to hang lightweight things on ceilings and leave no, or minimal damage after removal:

Removable sticky-backed  stretch-to-remove such as 3M command strips. Those should hold the weight of this string and can be removed with no trace but sometimes the paint comes off with them.
Use steel screw hooks or screw eyes (not cup hooks), find the thinnest longest one you can.  I've seen #8x1.5" and M3x1.5".  If you could find a #6x1.5" that would be great but I can't see one. Screw through the drywall into a joist without drilling.   The purpose of the joist is not because you have a heavy piece to hang.  It is to allow you to use a very thin screw that will hold well, and can be removed with minimal damage to the ceiling and no drilling.  The hole left behind will be almost invisible without painting, with just some filler.
If you don't want to find and use joists then find the smallest plastic anchors you can, and use them with small cup hooks to conceal them.  Don't use decorative cup hooks without anchors.  They are too short to reach joists and won't hold without anchors.
If you just don't want to use a drill, buy self-drilling drywall anchors.  I don't recommend this, however, because if you do hit a joist with one of these you end up with a mess.  With very small plastic anchors (method #3) you can drill into the joist to accommodate them or cut them short at the surface.


Plumber connected shower and toilet drain weirdly, now toilet backs up into shower

From your description it doesn't sound like you are actually seeing sewer waste water emitting from the shower drain, but you do smell sewer gas in the shower area.  Most likely you have a drain ventilation problem.  When the toilet is flushed, the water entering the drain displaces the air that's already in the drain pipe.  If the pipe doesn't have sufficient ventilation it will push the stinky air out of the easiest opening  (your shower drain).


Should I get a structural engineer to inspect?

Struc Engineer here and I have done a lot of foundation and as-built framing inspections.

Beam

The twisting of the beam is not an issue (based on the pictures and your comments).

Crack

The crack in the concrete of the foundation, which is wider at the top than the bottom, is caused by settling of the foundation in the one of the two adjoining corners. If you are on a hill or slope, then it is most likely on the downhill/downslope side. I expect the settlement is occurring to the left in the picture due to the crack being located on the left side of the beam pocket

Foundation settlement can also be caused by downspouts draining at the foundation or a lack of a curtain drain as well as other reason

Unless very recent, it can be very difficult to determine the age of a crack, especially via pictures. I can sometimes get a good feel about it onsite by close visual inspection of the interior of the crack as well from information that I would determine from the site and the history of the structure from the owner if possible

Is it a problem?

Yes, if it continues

Is it continuing?

That requires a site visit by a local structural engineer to determine

How fast is it occurring / how soon do I need to address it?

This is usually a relatively slow process and having an it inspected immediately is not necessary. However, as it continues to settle it will cause more issues in your house

How to mitigate it?

There are various methods, including 'pin piles' which is basically pipes driven into the ground with a bracket attached to the foundation, the load is carried by the pile rather than be the earth immediately under the footing

What do I recommend that you do?

Hire a local structural engineer to do a site visit by the end of the summer

Any tips?

Hire a smaller firm for better rates. They are also likely to have more experience in this area as the larger firms tend to deal with multifamily, commercial, etc


How high of a structure can I build for growing hops

This is probably a Local Authority Having Jurisdiction (LAHJ) question - ie, your town or county or (heaven help you if subject to) homeowners association.

In my town agricultural structures (they intend barns and silos but say agricultural structures..) are exempt from height restrictions (I suppose the FAA would horn in if somebody built a silo more than 200 feet tall, and make them put a light on top of it. Hasn't been an issue yet.)

They can be built safely. I don't know if you can built one safely, only you know that, or you will eventually, anyway.

For what it's worth, one of the simplest to build structures is also pretty functional - the "flagpole/maypole" approach where you put up a central pole and circle it with plants. Trying to replicate the commercial hopyard high-wire grid is a lot more complicated. Tettnang, Saaz, Halletaur, Fuggles here (I managed to kill a Cascade, somehow...)

Pulleys on the eaves of a two story house with the plants out in front can also work with no real structure building called for.


First make sure that the runners are tightly secured to the cabinet, and the screws holding the tracks on the bottom of the drawer are also tight.

If they are, then remove one and inspect the sliding surfaces for any obstruction, and any shiny spot. A shiny spot is a rubbing spot. Rub shiny spots with 80 grit sandpaper.

If you still have the problem, with this runner still removed, try sliding the drawer with just the other one installed. If it sticks, then remove that runner and check it out like above.

If this has not solved the problem, check the runners and tracks for squareness. You can also measure the distance between the center of the runners, front and back, and the center of the tracks, front and back to determine if one of them needs moving slightly.


Securing and Attaching Home Electrical Mast

Depending on how well you know the area under the siding, you may find that a Kindorf bracket pair will be the easiest to install. A U-bolt requires access to the rear to secure the nuts, which seems unlikely with your siding. It seems unlikely with any house covering system.

A Kindorf bracket is rather common in the electrical field, although until now, I was not aware that I knew the product.

You would have to be able to secure a slotted rail across the axis of the pipe currently in place, perhaps wedged between the siding and the pipe. You would need to locate studs into which the rail would be fastened.

The Kindorf brackets are similar to the prohibited pipe straps but more strongly constructed.

Even though the image above shows an L-bracket rail mount, the rails are available for surface mounting.

I think the most challenging part of this correction is to find the studs inside the wall.


How to protect plumbing to an outbuilding from freezing?

I doubt you will find a barbed fitting with all the features you are looking for. You can use a barbed to male threaded adapter, then a brass valve with waste drain. A little teflon tape and you should be good to go.


The backing doesn't need to be very thick to prevent the deformation (parallelogramming) you are seeing because it works by tension rather than compression. The edges of heavier backing would show more and require molding to cover them. Lay the shelf unit down on its front, square it up and use small brads or fine finish nails to attach the thin backing around the edges--top, bottom and both sides.

Sagging shelves are another matter. Are these shelves adjustable, say with pegs in holes? If so, you would have to stiffen the shelves on the front.

If the shelves are fixed to the sides, you would tack the backing to the individual shelves, this would help, but the front edges of the shelves might need stiffeners attached to the bottoms along the front edge, if the shelves are not made of stiff wood. These stiffeners would interfere with getting books in and out and limit the size of books that could be shelved. You could put stiffeners on one or two shelves and put the heavier books there.


How Can I Correctly Attach new 4x4 Deck Rail Posts on the surface to an existing deck?

There are plenty of options, but none are pretty. Also, you may need to add sub-decking framing members to support such brackets.

To steer clear of (off-topic) product recommendations, I'll instead suggest this: Mount your posts to the inside of your rim joists, through the decking. You'll get a more solid railing and it'll look better. It'll look something like this (you'll probably need to use lag bolts from the inside of the posts, into the joists):


Sump Pit Bone Dry After Running Every 5 Minutes, How?

You should be concerned with wanting to be concerned about things that are not problems, if you're going to be concerned about anything, here.

Not that difficult - the local-to-your-sump-pit groundwater source level has receded below the floor of the sump pit. The groundwater has moved to refill local groundwater stores and is no longer high enough to enter your pit.


Is there anything to help reinforce PVC pipe?

Either you glued them correctly (I prefer "cleaner, then primer, then glue" for the most reliable connections) or you'll need to re-glue them after the joints fail.
Nothing you add to the outside will change that.
You do need to paint or otherwise cover them to prevent damage from the UV in sunlight, since you mention that they are above-ground.
Duct tape is a poor choice, it falls apart outside rather quickly.


Accessing Liftmaster controlled garage door from afar

Newer Liftmaster has "MyQ" technology built in.  MyQ is the technology that allows internet control. Chamberlain is a related brand and also uses MyQ technology.

If your liftmaster has a MyQ logo on the housing (myQ is made to be obvious and easy to spot), then buy Liftmasters internet gateway (Amazon has it) and download the app from your app store.  (iOS or Google-Play)

Most older Liftmasters can be upgraded to MyQ by replacing the wired in-garage wall controller (and purchasing the internet gateway), however I'd call Liftwaster customer service/support and give them your door operators model number and ask which in-garage MyQ controller works with your door operator. (This one works with most models since 1998, and there are options for older door operators too, even a generic interface that works with any brand can be added.)

(Liftmaster Support is amazing... I wish every company supported product the way they do. They will walk you through any code changes or limit programming over the phone for Any liftmaster opener no matter how old.)

By the way, "HomeLink" car support is something different and has nothing to do with MyQ and internet control. As such, I edited that word out of your questions title.

Screenshot from my phone:


Transferring water from one sump to another

A manual suction pipe (or perhaps a commerial siphon?) will transfer fluid until the fluid level is equivalent (or level). A commercial siphon will operate for a perhaps a couple of hours; a simple pipe or a hose will operate for a 20 or 30 minutes perhaps. But siphons will eventually fail as fluid evaporates and bubbles eventually fill in the siphon's reservoir.

How long the siphon will continue to operate depends on the rate of bubble formation, which depends mostly on the height of the hose (gravity will cause a vacuum at the top) and temperature (cold water will allow a siphon to operate longer than steaming hot water).


You stated this is red oak.  Are you sure it isn't engineered flooring with a thin red oak veneer?  It looks to have some sort of particle or pressed fiber board under the veneer.  Either of the latter is subject to warping via moisture expansion but I don't think that's your situation.  I think the fractional expansion of all the boards across the room are expressing themselves at this one length where it meets an anchored (nailed) section.

I would consider using a circular saw, since these don't appear tongue & groove (T&G), to slightly widen the current gap.  Using the saw, while the boards are uplifted, should widen the gap less that the width of the saw blade but be just enough to let the boards lie flat.  A second pass might be necessary to allow the boards to lie flat afterward.

At some point, during the Winter, there might be a noticeable gap.  If so, I'd suggest using either: a) clear or tinted rubbery caulk (not wood filler...which doesn't allow for expansion/contaction) or, b) sufficiently thick twine stained in matching floor stain and pressed into crack.


How can I solve an F-28 code problem on a Kenmore HE2 clothes washer?

VICTORY!

Bottom line: clean the discharge pump filter first if you get this code. Mine was clogged with years of accumulated junk (coins, pencil parts, keys, lint, etc.).

What I did: cleaned filter, cleaned all contacts (both ends) on CCU, MCU, interlock switches with Dentek Easy Brush, standard size, dipped in rubbing alcohol. Tested door switch, interlock switches and motor: all good.

To access the filter, remove three screws holding bottom front panel and remove panel. The discharge pump filter is located at the bottom right. Twist the 3" round white cover counterclockwise to remove the filter. Put a pan below to catch water. Note: I also suggest you temporarily disconnect the black hose coming down to the back of the filter from the washer and shake it to dislodge any junk in the hose.

Update 7/1/14: F-28 returned. Resolved by disconnecting the CCU motor connector MS2 and pinching in on the prongs to tighten the connection. Used a sharp pointed pick, and pressed in on both sides until they touched.

Update: 8/25/14: Got F-28 again. Disassembled the MI3 electrical connector (three blue wires)on top row of the CCU. This is the connector that was pinched as described above (Error: It was the MI3 connector instead of the MS2). The tiny metal clips inside were deformed from the previous pinching. Reformed them and reassembled. Problem solved for now.

Update: 10/16/14: The saga continues. Got F-28 again. Soldered MI3 wires directly to board on CCU and added bullet connectors to connect wires. Then, a couple of days later, got code again. This time removed the MCU (from front, after removing bottom panel and filter assembly). Observed that board contacts for the MI3 wires were oxidized. Took tiny jewelers flat-head screwdriver and scraped off oxidation. Also sanded wire-end connectors with folded 220 grit. Then compressed wire-end connectors slightly to make for tighter grip. No problem in a month. Think this fix should last a few years.


What is the life expectancy of a washing machine motor?

Motors don't break... the brushes used to power the coils or the golden fingers used to get the power are for sure worn out and need replacing. This can be a difficult task sometimes and these parts could cost $50, so by replacing the motor with an equivalent type you should expect the same life span based on the usage of the machine.

In this picture you can see the brush (inside the yellowish bracket) and the commutator (golden fingers) it touches (here they are dirty - but in good condition) usually they would need to get cleaned on change of brush - but if they are badly worn the motor could be rendered useless as you can see - they are not replaceable on this version.

A nice picture showing the complete design of a coil-motor. The only things that break in here are the brushes/commutator and in rare cases the coils themselves could burn if a high current flows past them. The coils never burn from just running. These motors can run forever as long as they have power to them (even if you physically stop the shaft and put 100% power they won't burn); it just generates strong electromagnetic fields.


Can I use a 15 amp receptacle on a branch circuit fed by a 30 amp breaker?

It's only a 20-amp branch circuit if all the wires are 12 AWG or larger.  If there is any 14 AWG wire at all, it's a 15 amp branch circuit.

To get a UL listing for a 15A receptacle, the maker must rate it for 20A of pass-through.  (pass-through is where you use the two screws on the receptacle to continue a circuit, rather than pigtailing.)  The purpose of this rule is to make it legal and safe to do exactly what you are doing.

So, yes.  It will be fine.


How bad is the seam on my quartz kitchen countertops?

Actually, I noticed two problems with your countertop. One, the gap does seem too large for a stone countertop. Two, the seam is perpendicular when it should have been cut and fitted at a 45 degree angle. The edge, or bullnose would fit together much better if cut and fitted at 45 degrees.  I suspect this was stock material installed by someone not equipped to do it properly.  Normally, the joints would be precision fitted at a 45 degree angle at the stoneworks before installation. The joint on a quality countertop would be exact, epoxied and polished.  In your case, there is no real, easy fix. The gap would have to be filled and sanded. Then the surface would have to be polished to bring back the original finish.


What is this bell-shaped, cast iron plumbing part?

It's probably an anti-hammer air chamber, although I can't seem to find any photos of similar devices from the era to confirm this. Its purpose is to absorb shock from fluid hammer, caused by momentum in the water stream, which can cause result in annoying banging noise and, potentially, damage to the plumbing or connected fixtures.


When I turn on my light switch, there is a delay before the light comes on

This is one of those problems that you just have to work out systematically, don't be swayed by logic.

If there is only one bulb change it.
Check the wiring at the light and switch - see that the connections are tight.
Change the switch.
Try wiring a test lamp to the fixture.
Call an electrician. You may have serious wiring issues.


What is this hole in my concrete basement floor?

It's a floor drain. It was covered in an attempt to keep sewer gas from coming out of it once the trap dries up.

If you're going to cover it, it should be an airtight seal. But blocking off the floor drain in your basement is up to you. Even a small flood could become a real problem.

If you find a way to leave it functional, add some water to it every once in a while to fill the trap back up.


What material can I use in place of vinyl chair strapping?

I have purchased 1” wide rolls of nylon strap. I think it is rated at 500 lb., so it would be plenty strong enough and work similar to our chairs.
The only caveat is the nylon stays wet for a day or so after a rain (a big deal in Oregon) if you have cushions it may not be a problem. I am thinking about painting the straps so the paint will seal the webbing but it is very strong.


Is this Romex ruined? Cut a hole on in-wall romex

I think you will be fine as it does not look like you damaged the actual conductor inside. Yes, the sheath is damaged; yes, the insulation on that one conductor is nicked, but I don't see any conductor wire exposed.

Look closely to ensure that the conductor is not damaged, than wrap it with good quality electrical tape and stop worrying about it.

If the conductor is damaged, you could use one of these fancy newfangled "in-wall" romex splices, rather than rewiring:


Can a brown, loamy wall be whitened with lime paint?

I'm not sure about the clay smell. I think the paint soaked in due to the porosity of the wall. I can't guarantee it will work, but you might check into concrete epoxy, sealer or stain, or try using a primer paint first and do more layers like you said due to the porosity. Epoxy is expensive and might not like the paint.


Caulking a corner instead of taping with joint compound?

First I would not even have a conversation with that contractor.   Gone instantly.   If he is cutting corners here, what else would he do without you knowing?   Bye.

Caulk in corners - I have had to do this as a temporary fix but here are your issues:

your corner isn't really a corner.   Corners look good because of the sharp angle.   You can for sure see if a corner has been caulked and it looks off to the eye.   If you don't care about aesthetics then no big deal.
paint does not adhere to caulk like it does drywall/mud.   No matter if you use the most paintable caulk in the world, the caulked part will look off.   Paint will chip, paint will be more easily discolored, and touching up painted caulk will look lumpy.
caulk will not last unless the home environment is both well conditioned and very stable.   So you might get away with caulking an inside wall on the first story of a two story house with a basement that is always set to 68F.   Might last you 7-10 years if you don't touch it.   Doing a wall on a ranch in a temperate climate, the drywall will shrink and expand, make the best caulk pull or get brittle within a year or two and you will have to constantly have to recaulk.   Simply not a long-term solution.

But the fact that this topic was breached with a home owner is a huge red flag.   No normal contractor that does drywall would even have this thought in their head.


LED light with built-in switch; installing auto-timer between switch & outlet,

Into the trash it goes

The timer is almost certainly malfunctioning and not providing "clean" voltage & current to the lighting.

This surely has something to do with "leakage current" as we often see with devices working fine with incandescent and then choking on LED.  However there's no reason for a timer to be built that way.  Further, the fact that it started doing this now proves it's some sort of electronic degradation.

Look at the timer; if "CE" (Chinese Excrement) is the most prominent listing agency mark, then waste no further time on it.  Amazon Marketplace, eBay or Aliwhatever are not reliable sources for quality parts.


What could cause my ceiling fan light to go off after 2 seconds of being on?

The bulb wattage is too high.  Try moving the wattages down a notch and this should alleviate the problem.