When replacing a supply line to a house in Houston, TX, what is the best material to use?

Copper (Copper)

At about $20.00 per 10' 3/4" ($2.00/ft), may be the most expensive option.  Depending on soil conditions, drainage, and bedding material used around the pipe, copper can corrode.

Copper info.

CPVC (Chlorinated Poly Vinyl Chloride)

3/4" schedule 80 CPVC will cost about $15.00 per 10' ($1.50/ft), slightly cheaper than copper and can be easier to work with than copper.  CPVC is a hardy material, and should have no problems in any soil type.

Plastic Pipe and Fitting Association FAQ (CPVC).

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)

3/4" HDPE will cost about $45.00 for 100' ($0.45/ft), so depending on the amount required can be much cheaper than the previous options.  HDPE is used by many municipalities as water supply lines, so it has been tried and tested in underground applications.

Plastic Pipe and Fitting Association FAQ (HDPE).

PEX (Cross-linked Polyethylene)

3/4" PEX runs about $40 for 100' roll ($0.40/ft), so again depending on the amount needed it can save some money.  There are mixed reports about using PEX underground. Some people suggest installing the PEX in a conduit (PVC/CPVC) to protect it (which raises the cost), while others report it can be directly buried without a problem.

Plastic Pipe and Fitting Association FAQ (PEX).

In all cases you'll want to make sure the pipe is buried below the frost line, and follow proper procedures for burying the specific material (depth, bedding, etc).

Both Copper and CPVC will require more fittings (depending on run length) than HDPE or PEX, but for short runs they may actually be cheaper to use.  PEX and HDPE both come in rolls and are flexible, so they can be easier to work with than a rigid material.  Depending on the run length HDPE seems to be a cheap, easily installed, reliable choice.

Make sure you check with your local government for rules and regulations before making the final decision, and always Call before you dig.

Estimated prices provided by Google Product Search, at the time of posting. Prices may vary over time, and by location.


Can I add a 120v branch for a washer to a 240v dryer circuit?

You can't tap a cable like that - NEC has a whole section called the "tap rules" which describe when you can do that, and this is not one of those times. Even if you could, it would be a lost cause:  Since a washer must be provisioned for 20A, that plus the 30A dryer puts you at 50A, and you'd need to run the expensive 6/3 cable.

Here's what you can do:

Pull a 12/2 cable alongside the 10/3 cable

That may seem stupidly obvious, but for the cost of a 12/2 cable, you are done. It will take an additional breaker space.

Run 6/3 and install a subpanel

You can run 6/3 cable instead of 10/3, terminate at a small subpanel, then have a 2-pole 30A breaker for the dryer and a 1-pole 20A breaker for the washer.  I believe the subpanel would need to be at least 50A.

Run 10/3 to a subpanel with a "generator" interlock

Use the interlock so you can only operate the 30A breaker for the dryer, OR, the 20A breaker for the washer.  You would have to throw the breaker every time.  Very tedious. This will get old fast.

Buy a washer-dryer set that's designed for that

Large housing complexes are typically out to minimize the utility work they must put in laundry rooms.  Industry caters to them with washer-dryers designed to run together off a 30A/240V receptacle only.  They are either sized correctly, or have logic to manage electricity usage so they can't overload the 30A circuit. They make combo units (washer + dryer in one unit) which tend to be tenant-tier cheap in their feature set... or they make matched set washers + dryers which can be deluxe, but expensive.


How can I diagnose a power loss problem with a lawn mower?

I believe you do have a carburation problem.  I have several Stihl 2 stroke tools and every time I have a "hard to start" or "loss of power", etc. it's been the carb.  Fortunately they are only about $30 for a replacement.   Every time the replacement carb fixed the problem.   Not knowing the specific make/model of your lawnmower if a replacement is as simple as my 2 stroke Stihl units.   In your case, if you are familiar with carbs, I'd try disassembling it, clean it and put it back together and try.  There are often rubber parts that break, get torn, or get stiff and need to be replaced.  If practical, I'd try a new carb, depending upon how old the mower is.


Common recommendations seem to be "make sure the thermostat isn't set to coldest" then "replace the thermostat" "replace the thermostat control board" "replace the main board"
In my case I don't have any control boards, that I know of.
I replaced the thermostat with a used one, same issue.  Replaced it with a "like new" one and the problem went away.
All 3 thermostat stills "tested fine" (it clicked on and off if frozen or heated).
Theory: the thermostat was "going out" so it would basically over cool, then wait too long before beginning to cool again.  Too wide of a range, as it were.  So the freezer would all melt before it would kick in again.  Then it would overcool again...


How long can I leave a recently cleaned deck without stain?

Most stains manufacturers recommend a moisture content that measures less than 18-15%, bellow that you are safe to stain. Usually 2 days with no rain is enough.

If you want to be sure, you can always buy a wood moisture meter, you can find some cheap ones for around 25$ at your local hardware store or on Amazon.


Installing water softener outside or inside? Already have“Easy Water” device. Does that change water hardness grains entered into new water softener?

Easy water does not lower hardness. It is some wires you wrap around the pipes that cost $1500 and "magnetize" the limestone so it "will not stick to you pipes and fixtures as much". Look it up under scams, fraud etc...


How do I patch these sections of concrete driveway meeting the house?

You could simply add new concrete to it.
There are a few things you need to do:

Clean all dirt and dust from the patch hole.
Use a bonding agent to help new and old concrete bond together
otherwise the new patch just "floats" (you brush this on the old concrete but can also add it to the cement mix as per the product directions to help prevent cracking)
Mix and pour the cement.
Once cured, Seal the edges of the patch

Bonding agent:

Concrete crack sealer:


Can I use a 4-pole breaker in place of a Gould 200 amp main breaker?

Never, never, never mix random brand-name breakers with random-brand-name panels.  Most of the 1" wide breakers will seem to physically fit, but they won't mate properly with the buses, and will arc and burn up.  This is a death sentence for the panel, so now you're into the ~$2000 of having one replaced whole.

I get when you're dealing with an obsolete panel like ITE/Gould, Cutler Hammer, Challenger, Westinghouse, Murray, BRyant, etc. -- you go "gosh, this thing is totally unsupported, I have no choice but to root around eBay for used breakers".

Not at all.  Most old brands - and every one I listed - have been acquired and merged, and are now new-brand panels readily available at electrical supply houses.  Those six I listed are now Siemens, Eaton, Eaton, Eaton, Siemens and Eaton.

So I would call around to electrical supply houses (NOT big box stores) and find one who is a Siemens dealer.  Then come in with a photo of your panel label and of your old main breaker, especially any numbers it may have.  It is quite possible they can hand you a new-manufacture Siemens breaker that will fit.  They can also sell you THE correct branch circuit breakers for the panel.  Those can be worth modernizing, because  you can add AFCI or AFCI+GFCI functionality.


Adjacent room light switch causing LED lights to display tiny bit of light

Is this normal?

No, but it is not especially unusual.

  Do I have a problem with my wiring setup?

Insufficient information to tell.

  Do LEDs behave this way?

It is a common problem with some types of LED "bulb" in certain situations.

LED replacements for incandescent lights are relatively new so a lot of house wiring and accessories that people have already installed are designed to work with incandescent bulbs, not with LED replacement bulbs.

Some older accessories that need to draw a small amount of power at, for example, a switch location that has no neutral (only live and switched live) do so by drawing a tiny current through the light bulbs controlled by the switch, the current is too small to make an incandescent light bulb glow but is enough to make most kinds of LED bulb glow.

The working part of Incandescent bulbs, (the coiled tungsten filament) operate at 120 V AC or 230V AC and draw around 500 mA current when working.

Each of several working parts of a LED bulb (each individual light emitting diode itself) operates at about 2V DC and draws maybe 8 mA from the 120 V side of it's driver circuit.

So it can only take a very small current to make a LED begin to light up.

Since LEDs are low-voltage constant-current DC devices, there has to be some driver circuitry somewhere to make them work with 120V AC. This circuitry is either built into the "bulb" or is a separate box. There are many different designs for the driver circuitry and some of these are more susceptible to producing the sort of effects you report.

I don't know if induced voltages from long runs of wiring next to each other are enough to start to drive a LED, but there are probably many circumstances where this happens unexpectedly - it isn't a certain indication of a wiring fault. Far from it.

  I tested with a voltage sensor, and it does indeed beep for a split second when hold it up to the bedroom light wire while turning on the bathroom light.

This does suggest some sort of inductive transient voltage being generated. Are there any fluorescent lights in the bathroom?

To properly diagnose this issue you will probably need more equipment - or hire an electrician.


GFCI is an acceptable substitute for grounding.  GFCI is good at protecting people from electrical shock.  Grounds are good at protecting equipment from static damage. (it also helps protect people by giving fault current a place to go). GFCIs do nothing to protect equipment from ESD damage.

First, just sanity-check that your outlets aren't grounded. Inspectors make mistakes. Pop off a receptacle; if you see hot wire colors other than red, or if you see wires disappearing down a pipe, then you may have metal conduit, which is the ground.  (There are no ground wires in any of my work; I use metal conduit.)

One of those cheap 3-light testers will tell the tale; 2 yellow lights means you are grounded. You'll want one anyway to test GFCIs.  Ignore the "legend" listing what the lights mean; it's written for new construction, and does not imagine any of the problems that arise in old work.

It's perfectly legit to retrofit ground.  You need only run a ground wire, on any viable route; you only need to reach any place which has a ground wire as wide as yours or wider back to the panel.  However you're right, it's a lot of work, and human safety does not require it if you're using GFCIs - so option 2 is unnecessary for life safety.

Retrofit grounds for receptacles where grounds really matter, like refrigerators, freezers, PCs and delicate electronics.  Refrigerators because we won't be GFCIing those.

GFCIs are able to protect downline outlets

The downside is that GFCIs will trip on any problem with a downline outlet. The upshot is you only need one GFCI device per circuit unless you want more than one; there are occasionally reasons for that.

GFCIs come in several forms: GFCI+circuit breaker, GFCI+switch, GFCI+nothing (these look like a blank receptacle with no sockets), GFCI+receptacle, and GFCI+receptacle+switch. All of them can protect downline loads.

So it is possible, instead of GFCI breakers, to simply install a GFCI receptacle at the first outlet location.  Even if the outlet is a switch, they make GFCI+receptacle+switch devices where the switch can be wired separately from the receptacle. (you just don't use the receptacle).

In the case of a multi-wire branch circuit, the only viable way to protect the circuit is a 2-pole GFCI breaker.

That said, sometimes it's useful to use GFCI+receptacles and not use the downline feature (LOAD terminals).  That can be useful if there are outlets downline that you don't want to protect (like refrigerators), or if somewhere downline is a wiring flaw that is tripping the GFCI - ideally you'd do a bug-hunt on the wiring flaws, but for expedience's sake you can simply do that.  Most GFCIs allow attachment of 2 wires to the LINE terminals.

By the way, these GFCI breakers will take a lot of room in the panel. GFCI breakers are not available as "double-stuff breakers", so no doubling up in breaker spaces. I hope you got a nice big panel.  If you didn't, you can fit a subpanel.

Also, there's no need to replace old panels which are Cutler-Hammer, BRyant, General Electric, Murray, or Square D QO.  Those are a perfectly modern type of panel currently for sale.   Kill FPE or Zinsco soon.  Pushmatic panels are alright, but no longer supported - have those feed subpanels. Challenger panels just need their breakers changed to BR.


How to recharge a window unit air conditioner?

It's a waste of money to try.  Especially if you're the guy who pays for the electricity.

Captain Kirk didn't beam the Freon out.

First, you'll want to fix your Freon leak.   After all, air conditioners are generally sealed units, with only electrical wires entering the envelope that contains freon.  However, they use a lot of aluminum, as it is a superb themal conductor, and cheap.  Accumulated dust in the cooling coils and fins tends to hold water, a perfect storm for aluminum corrosion.  Good chance you have a pinhole in the condenser.

Likely you have a foreign made pile of junko, so there is nothing in the unit designed to help you. Every inch of tubing in the unit is welded, and there are no spare parts to be had for the mechanical package.  (Control board, yes.)

If you have an old school solid American unit, it most likely takes the long-discontinued R12 or R22 Freon, so you are paying top dollar for old stocks.

Refilling is dangerous

Contrary to what comic books say, a Freon accident will not turn you into Mr. Freeze.  Cold is not like fire, you don't instantly feel the pain, you can expose yourself long enough to do damage before you realize it.

And there you are, using third party parts of dubious quality, since no manufacturer endorses even authorized repair of the Freon containing machinery - it is not economical even if they made it easy, which is why they don't.

Who pays the electricity bill?

If it's you, you're paying again to run an old inefficient unit.  Ten years ago I bought a solid Sears unit that did 5600 BTU and drew 5 amps.   My friend just bought a private label no-brand junko unit that did 8000 BTU for 5 amps.  His unit runs 1/3 less often, so he's saving about 200W or 1 KWH every 5 hours.  An older unit would be even worse. This is due to Federal laws requiring ever-increasing efficiency. Do the math... Then imagine what a quality unit would do.

Even if you can get 5 more years out of your old unit, the new unit will pay for itself in electricity costs alone, to say nothing of all that other stuff.

So fixing an old unit is a false economy.


Woodlouse that already infesting applied plywood floor

well, I decided to tear down everything and replace it with concrete and granite floor. If I overlaid the infested floor, the pest would just eat the plywood until it was completely deteriorated


Retain access to recessed electrical panel

NEC110, in general.
110.26 is the specific section covering working space and electrical space.
There are some non-negotiable minimums you have to meet.
Specifically, working space in front of the panel - 30 inches wide (need not be centered, doors must be able to be opened at least 90 degrees, covers cannot be obstructed for removal) 6 feet 6 inches high, and 3 feet forward - kept clear at all times (cannot be used for storage.)
Flush mount needs to be flush to the wall, or flush to an area of wall meeting the workspace minimum, not set back in a hole, unless the hole is 30 (or more) inches wide. Any cover must need no tools to remove (a door that does not obstruct the work space is fine - something you need a screwdriver for is NOT!)
Electrical space is the width and depth of the panel up 6 feet, or the structural ceiling, whichever comes first. That is space to be used exclusively for electrical equipment/wiring/etc.
Upon re-reading, I think you might be leaving the panel itself exposed / flush and putting removable covers over the stud bays around it, not over it - that should be fine, those can be screwed.


You are painting a mural, like Leonardo or Michelangelo.

It is a little easier now since the invention of acrylic artist paints. Modern acrylic/latex wall paint shares many characteristics, but generally is not as rich in color and does not have the durability to resist fading as well.

If you want the best finish and durability, you should coat the wall with a special art primer called gesso. This is a base that holds the finish paint well and is very flexible to resist cracking and other breakdown.

The colors for the design should be artist acrylic paints. There are student level paints that are cheaper than professional grade paints for covering larger areas. If you need to stretch the paint, you can add mediums, but his will give a slightly less intense color. If you want to paint a background color using regular wall paint, you can use a clear gesso. This will save money over having to paint the background with artists acrylics, but the color will probably be slightly less stable than artist colors.

The finished work can be coated with an acrylic varnish, either brushed or sprayed on. This will protect it, but it should not be scrubbed the way you might a conventional flat painted wall.

Information about these materials can be found on the sites of various acrylic artist paint manufacturers.


If a receptacle is added from a switch box, will the receptacle only work when the switch is off?

When the switch is open, then a low power device (phone charger for example) would work - until someone changes the 100W incandescent bulb for a low power LED...

Once the switch is closed that low power device will get the voltage generated across the contacts due to the resistance of the contacts and the current flowing, which will be too low for the device to work.

Putting a bulb into a circuit to help fault find is also a good trick...

On a side note, when I was about 5 years old, I was going round turning off all the sockets in the house (UK which have switches on sockets). Mum asked me why... I said " so the electricity does not run out onto the floor...". Now Mum is not an electrician but did smile, Dad however, is an electrician and creased up with laughter and started to teach me about wires, lights and circuits...


How can I remove stubborn nails from baseboard?

I usually use a pair of end cutting pliers, to pull the nails out the back.

The face of the tool is slightly rounded, which allows for a good rocking motion.

Just grab the nail gently with the pliers, as close to the work piece as possible. Rocking the tool on it's rounded face generates quite a bit of leverage, allowing you to pull most nails out. Just remember not to squeeze too hard, or you'll simply cut the nail off.


Can you do electrical work yourself in the UK?

You CAN do electrical work yourself under Part P You do NOT need to get a registered electrican to verify it.

For some types of work (notifiable jobs), you need to notify Buildings Control (and pay a fee) .They will then inspect the work at first and second fix.

To date, I have replaced my fusebox, and rewired my kitchen. This work has all been inspected and signed off by buildings control.

Part P states which jobs are notifiable. As of 2013, this list is substantially reduced, and no longer includes most work in kitchens as these are no longer classed as special location.

All work in bathrooms IS notifiable. For further information, refer to Part P - see section 2.5.

Note that, regardless of whether it is notifiable, all electrical work must be carried out to BS7671.


Adding LED Recessed - 3 Way Switch - Dim Lights

This can't work without smart switches

You can't wire 2-way switches with only twin-and-earth, unles you do something totally evil and dangerous.  If it ever worked before, it was wired horribly.

You are groping around trying to experiment, which you should not do, but at least you are using the wires properly - reserving green/yellow for ground instead of bootlegging a hot or whatever horrible thing the last guy did.

The runs from lamp to switch need to be replaced with 3-wire + ground (whatever they call that where you are).  Then we can use 2 of them as what we call "travelers" and have the third for hot/common.

Your alternative if you can't rewire is to use smart switches, but this will require a module in the first lamp.


I'd get some sleeve bolts and run them all the way through a set of the existing holes. I'd be very surprised if the problem recurs. Use the threaded side on the bracket.

Drill completely through the door at the size of the female bolt (around 3/8"). Insert the female bolt from the exterior of the door, and the male from the interior (through the bracket). Ideally the female bolt length is just less than the thickness of the door at that point to provide maximum stability, as shown here:

Alternatively, get yourself a length of 1/8" aluminum bar stock as wide as will fit there. Maybe you can find gold anodized to coordinate, or paint it white.

Fasten that to the door using six or eight screws, depending on how the layout works. They should be chunky, like the closer screws, to bite well. #12 or #14 should do. Pre-drill the aluminum to the outer diameter of the threads so that there's no grab on the way through, and pilot the door slightly smaller than the screw shank.

Once that's installed, remove it and drill and tap for #12-24 or 1/4"-20 screws. Remount the plate and mount the closer bracket with them.


What are the difficulties in installing an in-floor drain in a laundry room?

You need proper slope on the pipe—depending on the location of the drain and the location of the stack this may be difficult.  At least with a crawlspace assuming sewer level is lower than the floor (ceiling assembly of the crawlspace) you should be able to make a giant mess of pipes that just hang and not have to touch framing.  A builder will probably have to pull the plumber in to make the change.  Even simple changes are going to be relatively expensive.  Probably not as much as if you hired a licensed plumber to do it later but I wouldn't expect it to be much less.

The floor where the drain is located also needs to be sloped appropriately for the drain to have the best effect.  Unless the floor drain hooks up to a pipe before a trap, it will need its own trap.  This trap will be subject to drying out since it won't be in regular use and you'll have to periodically dump water down to prevent sewer gases from coming up unless you have a self priming water valve that occasionally drips water into it.

There is also a critical arm length for the pipe from the trap exit to the vent to prevent siphoning but presumably you'll be in range since the laundry machine also needs to be within this range for its trap.

I went with a flood safe solenoid and a water sensor that turns off the water to my water heater if the sensor detects water on the floor.  These exist for laundry machines as well.  You can even get a setup that texts that water has been detected and the water to the machine has been shut off.  This might be cheaper than the floor drain route—though in principle I like passive insurance.  I also go with a washer pan under the washing machine; you could put the sensor in the pan.


Can I install a replacement faucet directly onto a laminate countertop?

Sure you can.  I'd recommend using a sharp Forsner type drill bit or sharp hole saw to avoid chipping the laminate. Cover the laminate with painter's tape and mark your hole centers.  If your using a single 4" faucet fixture, use a template to drill the holes. If you are using separate handles/neck. the common spacing is 8 inches, but again, use the template.


Why does my power keep going out to most of my house?

There are some simple things you can do and some things you should be aware of. At least if you do call an electrician (which I recommend you do), you can be educated. After all, this is a DIY Q&A site. :) That said, messing around with electrical systems in your house can kill you and your family. This is just, what I would do bearing in mind that I have some experience and you may / may not. I'm not responsible if you die, please use caution and only do things you're comfortable with. However, calling your power provider is never dangerous, I would do that next:

Call your provider and ask them what service level you have at your house. Do you have 60amp, 100amp, 200amp? etc. This is important. If you have 100amp or less, that's probably at least one of the issues if not the entire issue. It's common in old houses to have only 100amp or less. Anything built in the last 10 - 15 years will likely have at least 150amp or 200amp. This is important because if you have 60amp service for instance, even in a 2 - 3 bedroom house with average appliances, it's likely you're throwing the main breaker because you're asking for more than 60amps. An AC unit for instance might take up half that on it's own. Add a freezer, then a microwave, and a home entertainment system, you're already at 60amp.

So, first thing I would do is find out your service level. Bear in mind, this can be upgraded. You'll want to pay an electrician to do it. I had this done 2 years ago, and it was $2200 to upgrade from 100amp to 200amp with a new GE breaker panel included.

You said the main breaker is getting tripped. And you said it won't come back on. As others have hinted, it sounds as though there is an appliance coming on at certain times and tripping it. Next time this happens and you can't get it to come back on, try turning off all the breakers. Then, turn on the main (it should stay on when everything else is off). Then turn on one breaker at a time until you get to the one that trips the main. This way you can figure out which circuit is causing the trip. Before you do any of this, I would take a visual of the breakers. Make sure nothing is overheating, looks melted etc. If something doesn't look right, I would have an electrician out immediately. It's not worth catching your house on fire.


How to add a light fixture to an existing 3-way circuit?

You can't just pick any random point and fork a lamp off that.  They do not work that way.

The simple way

3-way circuits have several tricks and traps, and you can't get anywhere with them unless you really understand how the circuit functions, how switches are designed, and I really, really recommend wires be marked by function with colored tape.

So the simple way to do an end-run around all that complexity is supply the second lamp from the first lamp's location.  You are simply grabbing the 2 wires (and ground) supplying the first lamp, and paralleling it to a second lamp. Badabing, done.  You never have to think about 3-ways.

The hard way

You can stop and train up on wiring and 3-way circuits.  I'm all for education. But in this case, this will only make you realize you can't get there from here.  You cannot feed a second lamp from this location.

The smart way

This is a different kind of smart, where we toss traditional 3-way wiring into the dumpster of history, and go with "Smart Switches".  There is a huge variety of smart switches, and we're not a "Shop For Me" site... but there's at least one out there that'll Git-r-Done for you.

What's unique about smart switches is we toss out the goofy schemes and oddball wire functions found in traditional 3-way wiring.  We reduce the wires to 3-4 functions:

Always-hot goes to every switch location, and use Black.
Neutral goes to every switch location and every lamp, and use White.
Switched-hot goes from the "master" smart switch to the lamps, using whichever wire color is left.
Some smart switches require a datacomm signal between switches, that'd most likely be red.  Red can't do 2 things at once.

Ground is a safety shield and can't be used for any of these.


Screw specification for ceiling electric box

Device (switch) boxes are 6-32. Junction boxes like that one are 8-32. Ground screws are 10-32.

Also, you could buy a ceiling hugger style fan instead of a stem mounted one, and fasten it directly to the ceiling with toggle bolts or similar fasteners, instead of just the box, since that box is most likely not rated for a fan.

Good luck and stay safe!


Drill a large circular depression into a wood surface

Use a router with a pattern bit or a pattern collar and a end-cutting (plunge) bit.

Create a circular template route out the interior. You can adjust the depth very accurately and bottom of the depression should be pretty smooth.


Can I replace an electric range with a cooktop and separate oven?

As long as the ampacity of the existing 220VAC branch circuit is sufficient to support the new cooking equipment, you can do this, despite it not being called out explicitly as allowed for by the NEC.  The closest cites I can find in the Code for this are 210.19(A)(3) Exception 1:

  Exception No.1: Conductors tapped from a 50-ampere branch circuit supplying
  electric ranges, wall-mounted electric ovens, and counter-mounted electric
  cooking units shall have an ampacity of not less than 20 amperes and shall be
  sufficient for the load to be served. These tap conductors include any
  conductors that are a part of the leads supplied with the appliance that are
  smaller than the branch-circuit conductors. The taps shall not be longer
  than necessary for servicing the appliance.

210.23(C):

  40- and 50-Ampere Branch Circuits. A 40- or 50-ampere branch circuit shall
  be permitted to supply cooking appliances that are fastened in place in any
  occupancy. In other than dwelling units, such circuits shall be permitted to
  supply fixed lighting units with heavy-duty lampholders, infrared heating
  units, or other utilization equipment.

and Table 220.52, Notes 3 and 4 (reformatted to use decimals instead of improper fractions for kilowattage):

  Over 1.75 kW through 8.75 kW. In lieu of the method provided in Column C,
  it shall be permissible to add the nameplate ratings of all household cooking
  appliances rated more than 1.75 kW but not more than 8.75 kW and multiply the
  sum by the demand factors specified in Column A or Column B for the given
  number of appliances. Where the rating of cooking appliances falls under both
  Column A and Column B, the demand factors for each column shall be applied to
  the appliances for that column, and the results added together.
  Branch-Circuit Load. It shall be permissible to calculate the branch-
  circuit load for one range in accordance with Table 220.55. The branch-circuit
  load for one wall-mounted oven or one counter-mounted cooking unit shall be
  the nameplate rating of the appliance. The branch-circuit load for a counter-
  mounted cooking unit and not more than two wall-mounted ovens, all supplied
  from a single branch circuit and located in the same room, shall be calculated
  by adding the nameplate rating of the individual appliances and treating this
  total as equivalent to one range.


It's difficult to tell from the photo if there's even a grounding conductor run along with the two ungrounded (hot) conductors, so you'll have to verify that before you go shopping for supplies. You'll also have to verify that the ungrounded (hot) conductors are the proper size. You said the panel is fed through a 60 ampere breaker, so you'll need at least 6 AWG copper conductors (solid or stranded, it makes no difference).
Shopping
Here's what you're going to need.

A grounding bus bar.
6 AWG copper THWN wire with white or gray insulation, long enough to reach from the main grounded (neutral) bar to second panel grounded (neutral) bar.
6 AWG bare or green copper conductor, long enough to reach from the main grounding bar to the second panel grounding bar (which you'll install).

If the current ungrounded (hot) conductors are undersized, you have a couple choices. You can replace them, with appropriate conductors.  Or you can install a smaller feeder breaker in the main panel, and down size the grounded and grounding conductors accordingly.
Installation
Once you have the supplies, here's what you're going to do.

Remove the brass bonding screw from the existing bus bar in the second panel.
Install the grounding bus bar (the one you purchased), in the panel.
Move all the grounding conductors from the old grounding bus, to the new grounding bus bar.
Pull the required conductors between the panels.
Connect the grounded (neutral) conductor to the grounded (neutral) bar in the main panel.
Connect the grounding conductor to the grounding bar in the main panel.
Connect the grounded (neutral) conductor to the grounded (neutral) bar in the second panel.
Connect the grounding conductor to the new grounding bar in the second panel.
Connect the grounded (neutral) pigtail from the GFCI breaker, to the grounded (neutral) bar in the second panel.

Now you should be all set.
NOTE: Depending on where the second panel is installed. You may need to install a grounding electrode, and bond the panel to it.  Check with your local building department, to determine if this is required.


Are the drawers in dual drawer dishwashers swappable?

I've dealt with these Fisher & Paykel 'drawer types' before. I agree with your guy: get a $200 DW and don't look back.

According to Consumer Reports, all DWs will clean your dishes, the only difference is noise level.

Swapping the drawers with each other is probably out of the question. Live with it, or get a cheaper and better DW.

What you can swap-out is the pump assembly (I think they're the same for the upper and lower). Give that a shot before you toss it. It should pop right out, no tools needed.

Also, make sure that drawer's drain line isn't clogged with a grease plug.


How to fix a loud, vibrating Maytag top loading washer?

Ensuring the washer is level is always a good thing to do for anyone owning a washer. This sounds more major than a simple leveling. I think one of the suspension springs are either broken or has become detached. By removing the sheet metal cabinet, it shouldn't be too hard to check the springs. Depending on where the problem lies, it could be an easy fix or major surgery.

I believe this machine has 3 large lateral springs and a smaller vertical spring in back. This vertical spring can lose it's lower attachment to the frame because the frame rusts out. The solution here is to drill a new attachment hole nearby in competent metal and reattach the spring in the new hole.


Installing European outlets in American kitchen for heat-based appliances

The main problem with European outlets and appliances is that they won't be listed to local standards, even if they are perfectly safe. We have our own set of 240V outlets and plugs, you'd just chop the cord and install the correct US standard plug - but that appliance itself would likely not carry US specific listings. That could cause you insurance problems.

The secondary problem is that there's no inherent "things go faster becasue the voltage is higher" - a 1000W kettle will boil water just as fast if it's designed to be supplied from 120V as if it's designed to be supplied from 240V - the only way it gets faster is to choose a higher wattage, on either voltage.

Ditto the microwave oven. More power is more power, regardless of the supply voltage it's designed for.

You might find more joy investigating the expensive toys at a USA Restaurant supply for "commercial" appliances than importing things from Europe. Just beware of the ones that want 3-phase power.


Options for cable runs through off-center plates

As long as you are 1-1/4" away from the edge the holes would meet code.


When a cable goes from a breaker box (service panel) into a conduit, there's no need (and no decent method) to secure it.

Usually, wires exiting a panel go left, right or up, so it's not really much of an issue.  Gravity keeps them put.


It's an entryway that you'd like to keep clean, and drywall would ding, scrape, and mar just like the existing drywall, so that's not a good option.

I would consider the following material:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Plastic-Panel-63003/202090190

It's a simple lightweight plastic, that can be installed with cheater strips and liquid nails, and has an inexpensive cap rail too. It'd be long lasting, easy to clean, and white goes with almost anything.  It does mean you will have to take some time and care to make sure it looks good, considering it'll be there for decades.  My cost estimate would be $130 US in total, for 3 panels, a straightedge and box knife, Liquid nails and the edging strips.

And, of course, that also means you need to get permission from the building owner to install it, but the fact you've asked will go a long way to getting a yes.

If you don't care what it looks like, and you're moving out in a year or so, then I'd seriously consider the cardboard option instead, and use blue painters tape to hold the cardboard together, and the panels to one another.

Or just say screw it all, save up the money to have the wall repaired when you move out, and offer the landlord $100 to cover the scrapes and repaint the area - they have to do it anyway....


Which wires go where in this non-standard GET dimmer switch?

So I wired:

L to permanent live.
Sw to nothing, which my best guess is for signalling between >1 GET switch.
Wavey-line-arrow to the load/driver.

Here's a diagram I found that is very similar (my unit has 'Sw' whereas the diagram has 'S').


How do I straighten my bent metal cupboard frame?

Nice cabinet by the way. I'm guessing it's a ferrous metal and if you hold a magnet to it the magnet is attracted to the metal. If so get your self a Mapp gas tank and a swirl-type torch. Heat the bent metal until it turns a dull red. Move the torch across the buckled area keeping the metal hot. Now with a smooth-face hammer (any style, 20-24 oz is best) begin tapping the bent metal back into shape. Start with light blows until you get a sense of how the metal is reacting to the hammer strikes. Re-heat as necessary.
If the metal is solid and not a tube you will need to apply heat for awhile. If you find the metal isn't moving under the hammer strikes heat it to a bright red or orange color. It may be easier to turn the cabinet on it's side or top to facilitate the pounding. Wear heavy gloves, eye protection and have a bucket of water close by.


Should I use DF (AFCI + GFCI) breaker for circuit sharing bathroom lights?

I would not use a dual function breaker on the lighting for several reasons.
The first being the lighting circuit usually has the fan and possibly a humidistat , timer I have had trouble with GFCI’s tripping and fans my best guess is the emf on start and turn off is the cause not always but often enough that several of the owners that had me install them had me remove them.
This is the main reason a minor reason is electronic breakers tend to have a shorter life than common breakers dual function just one more thing to fail.
As far as the switch electrical contacts these are isolated from the metal, this and the fact that it is grounded really is the protection needed if the worst happens the ground will cause the breaker to trip.
I do not see an advantage in this case and only more costs and possible failures.


Is it okay to mix paint thinner with an elastomeric coating for waterproofing?

I dont know if diluting it too much  will affect performance.  In my case, I use thinner to even the surfaces. I use the tube version  of sealant  , but still application through it is very uneven hence, I wet my fingers with thinner. or you may use , to spread the sealant evenly.


Zone Controller T-Stat Wiring w/ 24V transformer, isolation relays for 2 zones

That is correct, yes

That is a correct way to wire the coil-sides of two isolation relays -- one end of the secondary provides C to the relay coils and thermostat C wires, while the other side of the secondary provides R to the thermostats, and the W wires from the thermostats go to the free terminals on the corresponding relay coils.

The relay contacts then simply go in parallel -- this means that a call for heat from either thermostat will fire the boiler.


Should a brand new AAV be able to leak water?

I don't know much about AAVs (or venting in general). But I do know that disposals push a LOT of water (and everything else!) very hard & very fast. If there is a clog in the line then stuff will come out elsewhere - e.g., in my case I have had output from a 2nd sink. So with a low-position AAV, I would not be at all surprised to see the disposal + clogged line overwhelm the AAV and end up with a mess.

Based on a little searching and my own experience (with disposals & dishwashers, but not with AAVs) is that:

You do likely have a clog in the line, which will need to get snaked or otherwise cleared out, and until that is resolved the AAV is simply not going to stand up to the disposal.
The AAV, by design, just can't keep up with the disposal if the waste line is not running totally free. A regular vent would handle a clog better. However, the AAV should be fine when the line is reasonably clear.

You should also make sure your dishwasher has either an air gap or a high hose loop. Your diagram doesn't show either one. Without an air gap or high hose loop, the disposal discharge backup could go into your dishwasher as well as your AAV.


Turning 100A Main to subpanel of 200A new main

First your existing panel falls under the NEC it was built under, whatever it was, in 1970 in your area. This is known as the grandfather clause. So it is fine since you are not trying to add to it, just upgrade your service. Now everything you are installing new has to fall under the code in enforcement in your area today.

So your intent as you have stated is fine. The only thing that I would change in the existing panel would be the grounding. Since you are installing a new 200A main the grounding process must start there. So ground the new panel per the current NEC and remove the bonding screw or jumper from your sub-panel. Install an grounding bus in the  sub-panel and move your ground (bare wires) to the new grounding bus. I can't give you the exact details of how because of lack of information.

Other than that I would say you are good to go. Good luck and stay safe.


How do i connect multiple ground wires? There are 3 green and 1 bare wire on my light fixture

You can wire them the same way you'd wire the white wires together and the black wires together. If there's a green or bare wire coming out of the ceiling connect it to the group of ground wires too. Use standard wire nuts or something similar to the below illustration if in the U.K.


How to fix wobbly table/improve stability?

You want your table to be more rigid.  Triangles make things rigid.  The white things you added are shelf brackets and they're basically small triangles.  Larger more triangular triangles will have a better effect.  There may also be existing fasteners on the table you can tighten


Moving into ancient apartment, two-prong outlets

First yes you can connect a laptop into a two prong outlet. Is it Safe? That's anybody's guess.

My easiest answer without out rewiring the apartment is to purchase a small UPS system for your laptop. KVA size depends on your computer equipment demands. It has no direct electrical connection to the supply side power. In other words it creates it's own power. This keeps you power supply clean and constant and it protects from surges and sages and requires no electrical knowledge.

If you would like to provide a little more protection. You could ground the source side power and bond the case (should be already done within the unit).

Good Luck


Can I connect an indoor timer to lights split to 3 circuit breakers?

Either 3 timers, one on each circuit, or one timer, controlling 3 relays, one relay on each circuit. The timer and relay control can be on a 4th circuit, or on one of the three circuits if there is capacity available.

Whatever device does the switching needs to be adequate to handle switching the load - that is, the relay contacts must be rated to carry as much (or more) current and voltage as is being switched on. One advantage of using relays is that the timer contact only needs to be sized for controlling the relay coils, generally a much smaller load.


What causes furnaces to break in 16 to 20 years?

its called planned obsolescence.  its the modern business strategy manufactures follow.  no longer is long life a selling point that means anything.  if a company can double its profits by selling you a furnace twice as often as it used to, they feel thats the best model of operation.

a furnace will only last as long as you wish to keep repairing it.


I have wall mounted a number of very large TVs on metal framing, some even with articulating / extending mounts.  Since they were retrofit, I just ran toggles into the steel studs.  Although with the articulating mounts you could see the wall flex a bit when the mount is extended, it was always secure.

Using toggles in metal studs isn't too difficult, but you do have to locate the studs precisely to drill the holes for the toggles.

Some recommend horizontal blocking between the studs to make these mounts work better, but I would not go that route.  I'd sister wood studs to the metal studs where you want to fasten to the mounting bracket.  You might want to double up the steel studs (make a box) as well while you're at it.  If you double the metal studs up, you can put wood studs either to the left, or to the right, or on both sides of the stud.

If you were installing an articulating mount, you might want to add a stud and / or change the stud spacing to stiffen the wall and spread the load.  In fact if you think you may ever change to an articulating mount, you might want to do that now.

Make sure you can reliably locate those studs after the fact, take measurements, notes, and pictures, and mark the subfloor where the wood studs are.  A stud finder alone won't tell you where the WOOD studs are.


Rebar required for 24 ft tall 4x4 square steel tube 1/4 inch thickness, 4ft deep in a concrete base, horizontal load of up to 1,000 lbs at the top

Whether your concrete base will survive is irrelevant, because your beam will fail.

See: https://www.amesweb.info/StructuralAnalysisBeams/Stresses_Steel_Hollow_Structural_Sections.aspx

Input:
Output:

Notice the highlighted field of the output.  That's the stress you'll be putting on the connection with the ground, (assuming it's rigid).   The yield strength of steel (where it stops bending back when unloaded) is 36,300 psi,   You'd be overloading this beam 1.5 times.  It will fail.

Consult an engineer to design something for your purposes.

EDIT:  I've done a recalc with a cantilevered beam calculator in response to the comments below.  The result is essentially identical, and any difference between the two calculations is likely rounding. Simply put, two different calculators, with two different sets of input, give the same result:

I = 8.82813 in^4, and the 2 inches is the distance from the edge to the center.

There are two things to note in the results:

A stress of > 36000 psi, the yield strength of steel, and
A deflection at the end of almost 18 inches, which throws the geometry completely out of whack, and accelerates failure.

Further EDIT:
The Plastic Modulus for this section is 5.28 in^4
Multiply that by the yield strength gives a Plastic moment of 190,000 in.lbf, which is ~16000 ft.lbf, which is LESS than the moment at the support of 20000 ft.lbf.

TLDR: You're loading the entire structure into the plastic region, turning it into a plastic hinge.  This WILL fail.


Is there a way to remove rust from behind a shower fixture?

First to clean it there are several commercially available cleaning products that are based on mild acids. One such is caller "CLR" (for Calcium Lime and Rust) which is not an endorsement, just an example. If the tile is ceramic, it should not harm it. Once the rust stains are gone, you should focus on why something is rusting. I can't tell from the photo what that fixture is. A grab bar of some sort? Was it designed to be mounted in a shower area? if so, it must have been cheap because they used steel, which will ALWAYS rust eventually. Sometimes people put a chrome plating on it to make it appear nice, but that never lasts. It also could be that you mounted it with steel screws, a no-no in a shower, and they are rusting BEHIND that device to where the rust is just leaking out. Either way, whatever is steel in there must be replaced with something that is brass or stainless steel, otherwise it will just happen again. When it is rusting, it is also failing and will eventually just break off.


Constructionmethods for wallmounting on brittle brick wall

Brittle and old walls can be like a chocolate box... Drilling downwards doesn't help very much, in these walls the wall plugs and screws just behave like nails: they resist almost not at all to pulling forces.

Depending on how bad it actually is, you may need to do one or more of the following (maybe even different strategies depending on where in the wall you drill. Ever hanged a kitchen on a wall built out of post-war rubble?):

Use a smaller sized drill to make the plug a really tight fit
reinforce the plug with quickset cement/mortar or construction glue prior to screwing the screw in
take some matches (without heads) or toothpicks (with one pokey end removed) and hammer them in between the wall plug and the wall before screwing something in
after drilling, use a product that gets soaked up into the wall and acts as a reinforcing primer/glue

For big holes/heavy weights there are commercial systems available that will help with glue reinforcement.

Of course you can always do the last resort and do it like people did before they invented the wall plug:

poke a big hole into the wall, mortar in a piece of wood, screw to the wood.

Whatever you do, in these walls you have to massively derate the manufacturers specifications on load bearing abilities of the wall plugs.


How can I work on eaves of my house, 30-feet high?

I'd rent a batch of scaffolding (or "staging"), including some extensions to accommodate the berm. You can set up two or three sections and have 20 feet or more to work from at a stretch. It should be relatively inexpensive and you'll be able to keep it for a few days for the same money as a motorized lift.

The drawback is that it's a bit slow and effort-intensive to move, but if you're able-bodied it's not difficult.


Why did a bulge appear after I mounted a wine rack to my wall?

You have a textbook screw pop there, where the drywall hanger didn't run the screw in snug, leaving a gap behind the drywall. When you mounted your rack, the drywall was pressed tight and the protruding screw forced the surface out.

The fix is do drive the screw in (through the joint compound) and repair the damage. Even if you remove your wine rack the outline of the bulge will probably remain visible.

Fortunately, you have smooth walls. I'd pull down the rack, run the screw in tight (remove it or drive it through with a hammer and set if it spins free), cut out the loose material, and skim with drywall joint compound. It will probably take several applications, with dry time in between, due to shrinkage. Sand, paint, and hang your rack again.

Of course, you could also drive the screw in, then raise your wine rack a bit and pretend it never happened. :)


What is this silver plate beside by tub and what is it for? Why is it leaking? What to do?

That's a cover for your drain clean out. If water is leaking out of there then either the threaded cap below, if there is one, is loose or there is a blockage starting to form and the drain water is starting to backup because it can't go down the drain fast enough. There could also be a drain plug under the cover that has deteriorated and is leaking. You can undo the screw on the cover and check it out and see what the problem is. Take some pictures. Then come back here for some solutions. Here's what the drain plug would look like.


Okay to route central vacuum pipe on home exterior?

Central vacuum pipe is thin-walled, so be sure to protect it from impact by kids, trash bins, etc. Direct sunlight will exacerbate this over time. Consider painting it to prevent UV damage.

Otherwise, I can think of no concerns aside from the aesthetic implications.


For Christmas Lights, is it safe to run extension cord under garage door?

Yes to the last: you certainly need outdoor-rated extension cords for anything exiting the house.

Now, as to how to run the cord:  the comments cover your planned implementation.  I would strongly recommend, however that you or your friendly electrician run wire (properly inside conduit) from the existing internal outlet to a new external outlet box.  The hardware cost is trivial, and the work involved in attaching to the existing wiring, drilling a small hole in the wall next to the garage doors (or whatever is the preferred location) is easy.  Plus you now have an outdoor outlet for general use.


Your heater doesn't have a recommended limit on hard water, but I've seen others ranging from saying 7 to 12 gpg (grains per gallon) max. You need to find the hardness of your water before doing anything.

You can purchase hardness test strips, which are the easiest way to figure this out.

Water Hardness Scale

Grains Per Gallon   Milligrams Per Liter (mg/L)    Classification
                    or Parts Per Million (ppm)
-----------------   ----------------------------   -------------------
less than 1.0       less than 17.1                 Soft
1.0 - 3.5           17.1 - 60                      Slightly Hard
3.5 - 7.0           60 - 120                       Moderately Hard
7.0 - 10.5          120 - 180                      Hard
over 10.5           over 180                       Very Hard

Treatment

Hard water is mainly caused by calcium and magnesium carbonates.

The most common way to treat it is with a softener, where "hardness ions" are exchanged for sodium ions in an ion-exchange resin. Essentially, the hardness is swapped with salt.

Cleaning

Your manufacturer should also have some cleaning instructions, where you periodically clean the heater elements. This is probably every 1-5 years depending on water quality.


Could smoke odor be originating from the HVAC system of an adjacent townhome?

I'm not sure about the codes in your local, but to my knowledge it's not legal in my area for townhouses to share anything. With that in mind, your smell is most likely residual in your ducting. Even if your cleaner did a very good job cleaning it, there's probably still some soot hiding somewhere.

If you have an actual furnace (gas, oil or electric) you could also have something hiding in the furnace that's being burnt. Inspect there when you have it manually shut off and see what's happening. If you're system uses a heat pump the. Noting should be getting hot enough to cause that. If it is has the gas pressures checked cause that could become dangerous.


Why is my electric furnace warm if it isn't being used?

Could be a faulty thermostat. If you have a multimeter, check if there is any potential on the output, change the setting for a temperature, higher than the ambient and check again. If the electrical potential is the same you may need to change the thermostat. IDK, but I think the heater can't just turn on by itself- there must be a stuck relay/contactor or the thermostat is faulty.


What types of surfaces can I use ammonia or isopropyl alcohol for cleaning?

Ammonia:

The ammonia, also known as ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), is an aqueous solution containing ammonia gas (NH3).

Ammonia is available for sale in supermarkets and hypermarkets

What to clean with ammonia?
fingernails varnish

Ammonia is a useful detergent to a large amount of stains. It removes stains of:

Blood
Wine
Transpiration
Fruits,
Wax
Varnish,
And many others.

It can be used on:

All tissue types except silk and wool,
rugs and carpets,
wallpaper,
dishes and windows,
electrical appliances,
floors and walls (except cement and concrete)
plastics,
wood.

Precautions for use of ammonia:

Ammonia is a hazardous material that must be used with care:

Read the instructions carefully.
Wear protective gloves.
Do not breathe its irritating odor.
Open the window.
Always dilute ammonia in a large quantity of water.
Keep the ammonia out of the reach of children and pets.
On fragile materials, first test its effect on an invisible part.


How can I paint/stain an interior concrete floor?

There are (at least) two different types of stains for concrete. One is a surface coating, the other is acid etching.

The former can work, but isn't as durable/lasting. I believe most of the products you get at the big-box stores are more of a top-coat type of stain.

Acid etching is just that, it's a stain containing an acid that actually etches the concrete. This is the typical type of stain you see in home magazines and such. The etching provides a deeper stain that is more durable and not prone to flaking.

I've done the latter, and applying it is super-easy. It's the prep work that can be a chore--namely if you have adhesive on the concrete already. In our case, we has tile mastic, which we had to dissolve using soybean based stripper. It worked great but was incredibly messy.

If you don't have glue to deal with, however, you should be good to go. Order up the stain (lots of places online to get it). You then dilute it per instructions and spray it on the concrete. I used a garden sprayer for this. You then let it sit for a period of time, and then you apply a neutralizer to stop the reaction.

After that, you apply water and mop/squeegee/wet-vac it up.

Then, you apply a sealer of some sorts. Common options are wax-based, polyurethane, and epoxy. I went with poly as it was relatively easy to apply (roll it on). That said, I don't think it was ever truly waterproof. For your needs, you may want to go the epoxy route.


The contractor did right, probably. When you have a string of outlets that goes outside, you put the GFCI inside the house so it's not in the weather.  You also try to use a GFCI receptacle instead of breaker because they are cheaper.

You don't need to upturn the entire house looking for this GFCI, just follow the wires back from the outdoor receptacle chain. I'll grant you this is sometimes less than obvious.

Also are you really sure you don't have a GFCI breaker and there isn't a RESET button on the breaker patiently waiting to be pushed?  Cycling the breaker may not have that effect.

You can easily de-energize the receptacles in question, just turn off the main.  You are probably wise to do that, as it will educate you as to how the wires are routed.


Is it possible to do a vinyl fence with differing colors on each side?

Vinyl takes paint. Scuff-sand it with a green 3M Scotchbrite pad to give it some roughness for the paint to engage.
Then prime with alkyd enamel.  Roller and brush it carefully so you don’t throw or drip any on their side. I would use white primer such as Rustoleum 7780 so if you have boo-boos with the primer they won’t be obvious. Then a latex/emulsion topcoat is fine.  Latex is much easier to clean up!


Can I use a segmented abrasive blade in my circular saw for cutting drywall?

You ask if a 4-1/2" blade will fit a 4-3/8 saw probably not, but take the saw to the store and ask them to let you see if it will fit.
Using a saw to cut drywall? I usually use a razor knife, or a jab saw when cutting in old work boxes, I have never seen someone use a circular saw to cut drywall, I would hate to see the mess that leaves. Change over to a razor knife if you want less mess.


Should I put grout or something else between hardwood floor and slate stone gap?

That is not acceptable finished work and the hardwood floor installer should deal with it. There are many options for finishing that kind of transition and leaving a 1” gap with the subfloor exposed is NOT one of them.


Do I use the Siemens Type Q Breaker in ITE Blueline Loadcenter panel?

You are looking for a Siemens BL2 (not to be confused with a Siemens BL)
ITE Blue Line loadcenters appear to use a special style of "thin" breaker instead of the more "typical" QP (EQ-P) breaker.  Unfortunately, the ITE Blue Line (not to be confused with the other type BL breaker, which is the bolt-down version of the QP and thus no use to you), only is available in 1 pole up to 50A and 2 pole up to 40A, as per the current Siemens Canada catalog.  So, you'll either need to run a smaller feeder to your subpanel, or have your main panel replaced outright.


What is the difference between mold in air duct and mold that grows in crawl space?

There are thousands of species of mold known to Science, with different species being found in different parts of the world.  There isn't any one "crawlspace" mold or "air duct" mold, it's just whatever spores of whatever species happened to take a foothold there.  Which one is more dangerous will depend on the particular species of mold and the sensitivity of the people that are exposed to it.

In general, though, you're better off not having them growing in your home because even if you don't have a really dangerous one growing now, you obviously have the right conditions for mold so a dangerous one could start growing too.

For more information, have a look at this Wikipedia article on Mold health issues


Presumably, being force per unit area it's compressive strength. Pounds per square inch in our non-metric units.
As such, under perfect conditions of perfectly even loading and adequate support, your 10x10cm brick would hold just over 10 metric tons. Given 10.5 metric tons, or any imperfection in how evenly the load was spread, it would crush.
So, that's an informative number, but not one you'd actually design to. It does tell you that these bricks are stronger than ones rated 8, and weaker than ones rated 12, but any of them you'd expect to design to a safe loading a signifcant factor less than that for a structure you wanted to stand up for a long time. One quick search finds a document claiming typical masonry safety factors range from 2.5-4, so you'd limit your actual compressive loading to between 4 and 2.5 metric tons on that brick. In most real-world applications, loading would be much less.


Bathroom Sink Doesn't Drain (It ISN'T Blocked)

Assuming the waste line is still at the proper angle (it does need to have  slight decline or gravity won't work for you):

It sounds to me as if you have an airflow problem in the vent stack.  There must have been some reason you changed the connection between the drain and the waste stubout?  Was something slow before that?  Or was there a leak?  It's possible something (leaves, dirt) got blown in through the top of the vent stack.  Or perhaps it got jostled somehow.  If you had positive or negative pressure building up in the pipes due to a lack of airflow, that might have been causing other problems.

Waste lines need to be attached to a waste vent in order to maintain neutral air pressure in the pipes so that the water will flow out due to gravity.  Otherwise as the waste water flows in it puts pressure on the air in front of it, which pushes back against the water...causing it to drain slowly or not at all.

Typically the sink waste line is connected to the toilet waste line and that is connected to the vent stack.  If you don't have a slow toilet as well, perhaps you have just enough venting to handle the toilet flow but not enough to handle the sink.

If you are in a single family home, the vent stack is probably up on the roof.  I believe universal code is or used to be that the vent stack has to be within 5 feet of the waste pipe, so look directly above wherever your slow sink is.  You need to go up there with a flashlight and see if you can find any blockages at the top of the vent stack (leaves, dirt, other junk).  Towards the top you can stick any kind of long pole in there and try to dislodge any partial blockage.  If there is a blockage farther down then can also run a garden hose up there, feed it down through the vent, turn on the water and try to blast out any blockage, which should just go back down and into the sewer.

If that doesn't work something might have put a kink or something in the vent pipe and you're probably going to have to call a pro unless you want to start cutting into the wall to get access.


How can I subfeed a single pole switch from a 3-way switch to control a fluorescent light?

That's not so clever. The problem is if the washer light is ON, and the utility room light is OFF, then flipping the farther 3-way will turn the washer light OFF and the utility room light ON, necessitating a trip to the other 3-way to put it right.

You need a major reassignment of wire functions in the 3-way circuit.

Ground is ground
White is neutral, always
Black is always-hot, always
Red is a digital control line (or it can be a relay actuation signal line)

The 3-way box that feeds the lamp gets the "master" smart switch (or a 3-way and the relay).  The "remote" smart switch goes in the other 3-way box.  Some smart switches use a data-communication wire, that's what red is for. Others use radio or powerline-induction signaling, in that case red is unused.

Now there's always-hot and neutral in every box regardless of the topology of the 3-way system.   Now you can add the second 1-way switch in the normal fashion for adding a 1-way.


Using 12/3 wire to run a different outlets in a kitchen

You have a multi wire branch circuit. You are correct that the reds go to 1 set of outlets with the white and ground from the point you brought the black, white & ground. The first outlet in each string should be a GFCI for all counter top outlets 2014 NEC 210.8.A.6. The handles should be tied with a listed snap on tie or a double pole breaker to be fully code compliant.


Can I install an additional breaker bus bar on my main breaker panel?

The panel you have pictured is a grounded panel but originally designed for just 12 branch circuits.  There would be no problem if you added an extra ground buss as long as it is screwed securely to the metal box and bonded to earth ground with a piece of 10 or 8 AWG.
Knowing you want to add kitchen circuits, looks like you have plenty of capacity. Minimum of two 20 amp convenience receptacle circuits (GFIC), one for the fridge, one for the dishwasher, and one for lighting.  Looks good to me. I'd pass it on my inspection.


How can I convert this hard wired fixture to a plug in?

Green usually means ground, that it goes into the wire bundle may mean it grounds the lower part and the bare wire grounds the upper part (they are isolated from each other by the run).

Pigtail the bare and green together with the ground.


Connecting an 18AWG wire to a 20AWG wire

Here is a link to a table that shows #20 AWG wire is good for 10 amps at 30ºC.

I am pretty sure you will be just fine.

Good luck!


Adapter to convert a 45-degree angle wall electrical plug into a straight plug

Simplest and most reliable option (no sliding contacts required) is a 1 foot extension cord (or a longer one, but 1 foot will get the desired degree of freedom.)


At the time of this post you haven't asked a clear question, so I'll offer some general advice. Your design is reasonable except for a few key things:

Rigidly attaching such a structure to two separate trees is a sure to result in its rapid destruction. Movement of the trees with respect to one another transfers huge amounts of force to the framing. No lumber or fastener will last long.
Joist hangers serve no purpose in your design. As the common joists rest on the beams, and the rim joists carry little weight, there's no point in using them. Screw through the rim joists into the common joists with coated 3" screws. Toenail through the commons into the beams with same.
Fastening directly to the tree fails to account for tree growth. Rather, suspend the deck by cables anchored up a ways (from large branches near the trunk, or from brackets bolted to the trunk) in an A configuration. Rather than expensive purpose-built hardware, I'd use some simple steel plates drilled for several lags and a cable eye.
Keep the primary framing several inches from the trunks, and leave a gap between the decking and the trunk to allow for several years' growth. You can always run a jigsaw around the tree if you need to later. If any of this is unclear, please ask.
OSB isn't an exterior product. Period, end of story. Unless you intend to fully roof and side this thing, don't use it anywhere.
A solid floor is a bad idea anyway. Think of your floor as a deck, and use decking with drainage gaps. Even if you install the deck boards tight together, the floor will drain and you'll have much less mold and rot.
To save cost, watch Craigslist and similar for used pressure-treated decking. Ask around for anyone doing a deck rebuild. Often decking that's being discarded is perfectly serviceable once flipped over. I build a round treehouse very much like your plan with some beautiful 5/4 redwood that was headed for the landfill.

That's all I got for now. I'll update if more comes to mind.


Can a sanitary vent take a jog around an obstacle?

The magic number is:
6" above the flood rim of the highest fixture on the floor served by the vent.
Unless you have a very strange bathroom, that highest flood rim is probably the sink in the bathroom, not the toilet in the bathroom.
Vents are to be "vertical" (which is defined as 45 degrees or more) up to that level, after which they can be diverted "horizontal" (2% slope back to the drain they serve.)


What could cause smelly water in the bathroom sink only?

Just a few suggestions; I find it hard to imagine that it really is the water that smells, so also check the following:

Most obvious is that sewer gas is coming in somehow. Check the p-trap for leaks, make sure there is always water in it. If you don't use the sink often, the p-trap water can evaporate.
Check the ventilation of the sewer lines. Could there be some obstruction in it? Assuming the smell started when the work was done, did anything else change in the system. Is it possible the vent was closed off or obstructed by mistake?


120v outdoor lighting, dual poser source 150w light

Thanks for the update.  First, you have raw smarts but you are scattered, not able to describe what you want succinctly - and you seem to have no knowledge of code electrical, this stuff can kill you and burn your house down (with the lemons). You need to learn its pecularities (there are many) before you attempt to homebrew anything like this.  Like I say, for smart people, knowledge is cheap. Learn more, work less, rather than the other way 'round.

The home automation field is rapidly evolving, and I'd search it to see if someone has already solved your problem.  I bet they have. Then you can install a listed, code legal solution without a lot of work.

If you have to homebrew it, it's straightforward with 2 relays, though, that'll be a lot of wire.  It can be done properly with one relay but you really need to know what you're doing with neutrals and grounds, in the Code paradigm.


Well pump ends up overwhelmed. How can I solve this?

Help your wife to become at least something of a country person by letting her fix it while you (patiently and nicely) explain what needs to be done. Either of you should write down notes and/or take video or pictures, it being the modern era, to help with doing it unassisted. Then practice a few times without your help to build confidence and figure out what else might need to be written down or videoed.

With the pressure off the water side of the system, the tank (assuming a modern bladder-type tank) should be a few pounds below the "cut-in" or start pressure of the pump. So, if the 26 PSI (I evidently misread that - 28 might want to be adjusted to 27) measurement was with the water side drained/no pressure, that's roughly correct. The point of this difference is to allow water to keep flowing to the house as the pump is being started.

The exact nature of your problem may affect the right solution to solving it.

A flow restrictor as Jack suggests is one approach, to limit the water taken out of the tank to a rate the pump or well can keep up with.

If the problem is the speed the pump can provide water at, pumps can be replaced with pumps of greater capacity. You can also provide a larger, or additional pressure tank to increase the stored capacity for temporary loads.

If the problem is the speed the well can provide water at, that's a MUCH more expensive problem to solve, and far more unknown. Drilling deeper can cause more problems than it solves, depending on the specific (and somewhat unknown) details of the hydro-geology at that exact point, for instance.


Voltage still present after breaker is off

Before I started, first thing I did was turning off the breaker to the car charger, then I used a non-contact voltage tester, which buzzed on both red and black wires, but not white or ground. I did some research and people were saying that those voltage testers are not very reliable and can pick up phantom voltages. So I bought a multimeter, and it showed 120-125V when I measured between red/black and ground.

Yeah, that's energized, alright.

Before I started, first thing I did was turning off the breaker to the car charger

That's where it went wrong. The panel labeling is wrong.  (or remote possibility, the wiring).

There is no main breaker in the breaker box, there is a power shut off breaker outside my unit but it is locked by the utility company.

That's not legal, they can't do that!  It is literally a Code violation to deny you access to your own main breaker, unless you are in a hotel or dormitory where supervisory staff is on-call 24x7 to reset it.  And they know that and the power company has no "skin in the game" anyway, they have no interest in doing that to you.
I suspect you actually have a meter-main, which provides an outside main disconnect for the fire department's convenience.  This will become Code when California adopts NEC 2020, but meantime, many municipalities already require it.  This contains both the meter and the main breaker.  It must by law have 2 separate compartments :

The meter compartment has a cover on which the power company can apply a seal.
The main-breaker compartment has a deadfront cover that bolts down, and  keeps curious fingers out of the busways and terminations.
Since it's outdoors, there must be a weather cover covering at least the main-breaker area.  This can be locked by the homeowner to stop pranksters.  (the fire department has a master key).

So maybe you misunderstand how the doors work, and saw the PoCo seal on one part of it and thought it controls the whole thing.  Perhaps the weather door is sticky or weird-to-open in some way. (some you lift the whole door straight up before it can swing, this is done to create a weather seal).
Otherwise maybe the weather door goes over the meter too, and the PoCo sealed it by mistake.  Get em out there to fix it.


Does anyone know how to split the 240 V wire components of a dryer from the 120 V?

Oh no! You can't do that hack-a-dack.

That transformer probably has what you need, but you need to draw the 120/240 power in a very particular way.  You cannot just slapdash a 120V plug and call it good.  If you do, there's a 50/50 chance that you'll plug it in and BANG!

The professional installer who installed that transformer, or an electrician of equal skill, will know the correct way to extract 120/240V from that transformer.  Call him and have him install a NEMA 14-30 receptacle with appropriate circuit protection.

Hacking the dryer to have totally separate power systems for heater and motor isn't outside the realm, but it's going to require a fair quantity of additional parts, because the parts you need are not in the dryer and won't be available on a 240V island.  Notably, 2-pole relays where the dryer now uses 1-pole.  The cost and time delay to source those parts, iteratively, is probably going to be prohibitive.


Why was the speaker wire installed this way for a media room?

It looks like the intent was to have your "media center" be placed on the far left wall. This is why you would have 4 electrical outlets and the coax connectors. This is the location you would either want to place your TV or projector screen. If you do go the projector route, placing the screen on the far left wall gives you the distance needed between the projector (placed near the outlet on the ceiling) and the actual screen.

The speaker wire does seem a bit odd. The way I would use it is to place 2 rear speakers in the top right and bottom right corner. These would be feed off of the lines that run toward the left of the room. Then your front left, center, and front right speakers can be easily run to the electronics on the left wall since they are so close.

You haven't specified, but if I designed a room in that fashion, I would have run 2 channel speaker wire (4 wires per jacket). This would then allow you to add the side speakers if you wanted to hook it up that way. Maybe the speaker wire you show has 4 wires in it to be used in this way.


Pull 7- or 8-conductor thermostat cable?

I always pull 8 conductor for several reasons. First I only keep 1 spool on the shelf and the cost is within a few cents per job. Second if a conductor gets damaged there is a spare. Third upgrades at a later date can use the same wire. Little things like the last one can help on selling a spec home in my experience.


My dishwasher keeps jamming, it's not draining water, has sitting water in the bottom

First, check and clean the drain filter in your dishwasher. This is a screen that can be pulled out from inside the dishwasher, designed to prevent food particles from getting sucked into the washing and drainage systems. Consult your manual for detailed instructions. This is something everyone should do regularly (every few months or more) to keep their dishwasher working well.

If that doesn't help, call a plumber. These issues can compound each other. If your drain line is clogged, your dishwasher will be struggling to run its drain pump. This will wear the pump out sooner, and the slow drainage will mean that any dirt that might flow out the drain will be more likely to cling to the walls of the drainage hose.

You should also look at how your dishwasher drain is connected. Usually it is attached to the same drain as your kitchen sink. Try filling up your sink with a stopper, then pull the stopper and see if it drains fast. If that is slow, then you most likely have a drain or venting issue which would affect the dishwasher as well. A plumber can fix that for you too.

The only reason you'd need a dishwasher tech is if the drain pump in the dishwasher needs to be replaced. That is a possibility, but less likely than the others. If that does turn out to be the issue, then plumber should at least be able to figure it out definitely.


What should I do about a central air duct leaking above my ceiling?

It sounds like you have a condensation draining problem.  Air conditioners capture a lot of water from the air.  Most of the time A/C water leaks are caused by a problem draining this condensation.  Stopping the a/c will stop the condensation, and eventually (depending on how much water is backed-up) the unit will stop leaking.


How can I loosen a hard-to-reach square nut whose holder is broken?

Sounds like a nice project for a couple hours that grows into a multi-weekend odyssey!

OPTION 1  I'd wedge a couple of thin paint scrapers under the exposed bolt head outside the shell of the unit, and take the bolt's head off with an angle grinder and a thin cut-off wheel

BUT CONSIDER spark danger - given this is a generator there was probably petrol or diesel in the area.  You'll want to vent it absolutely to remove all trace of gas fumes.  And do this outside, with an extinguisher and sand handy.

Once the bolt head is off, the bolt should drop into the housing and you can fish it out when the covers are removed.

Assembly, well that's not the reverse.  You'll want to find some way to bolt it together without risking the same again.  A dirty hack is to put a new longer bolt in from the inside-to-outside.  The nut will be on the outside and a bit of thread should be exposed.  You can file two spanner-flats into the thread before or after assembly.  Or you could hacksaw a flat slot across the end for a screwdriver.

Also consider what other bolts on the unit might do the same in the future, and either reinforce their mounts with epoxy or fibreglass, or preemptively do a similar bolt hack.

Option 2  - Cut the casing around the bolt head, and deal with it once the cover is off.   You'll probably want to do a patch job on the case after-ward to control fumes etc.

Option 3 - Make a tool to suit.  This is probably the most laborious solution, but you know exactly where the nut is and how long your tool would have to be.

 From http://www.performanceforums.com/forums/showthread.php?67243773-dodgy-homemade-distributor-spanner

Given how cheap tools are these days, there's no shame in sacrificing a cheap combo ring/open spanner to get the angle or reach you require.  Or sometimes bike chain can be used to grab something you can't otherwise get to.  Example:

 From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8qN9oK8Hzc


best thing to do is install 3/8 threaded rods immediately below each rung.  just drill a 3/8 hole through each stringer such that you can put a threaded rod directly under and touching the bottom of each rung (as close as possible).  run the rod through each stringer and then put a large fender washer and nylock nut on the outside of each stringer.  the compression will hold the structure together and compensate for the cracks in the wood.  should the cracks proceed to spread, the rods will retard the overall splitting of the wood by acting with the rungs as splints for the ladder assembly.  should the wood stringer split vertically from rung notch to rung notch such that the rung could shear through the notch, the rod will act as a secondary buttress.


Can I use a gauge designed for measuring air pressure to measure water pressure?

Pressure gauges commonly use a Bourdon tube.  Bourdon tubes are a coiled metal tube and as the pressure increases, it forces the coil straight which then moves the needle.  (think blowing a party horn, which causes it to unroll)   The type of fluid (water/air) makes no difference to the tube, only the pressure exerted against the tube does.  And since most of the tubes are made from bronze, copper or stainless water will not corrode it any faster than moist air from the compressor.

In all said, the air compressor gauge will most likely work without any issues.

But if you really want to get a water gauge, go to a pool supply store.  They have pressure gauges for filters that are designed for water and use a 1/4 npt.  They also have a nifty little ring on the outside where you can mark your normal pressure so it is easy to see if your pressure is low or high.


Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) is the best concrete cleaner. CLR is (mostly) phosphoric acid and soap. The problem is, concrete is essentially calcium carbonate which is just holding aggregate/material together.

Calcium carbonate will partially/slowly react with phosphoric acid to produce calcium phosphate... which is probably what the "white stains" on the floor are.
Muriatic acid will quickly react with calcium carbonate or calcium phosphate to produce calcium chloride. After cleaning you will probably want/need to seal the concrete again.

Edit- foam puzzle mats are EVA foam (or Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate copolymer). EVA foam is made using acetic acid (plus oxygen and ethylene). And then the "finished" pellets are rinsed with more or other acids (maybe phosphoric acid, although an acetic acid wash would be more common). Then the pellets are heat melted into mats or other objects. There's actually a good chance that there is some phosphoric or other acid left in the EVA foam, that's causing the staining (reacting with concrete to produce calcium phosphate).

Yeah those mats have should been rinsed clean* by the manufacturer, but costs are against us all.


How should I prepare damaged plaster for painting?

Taking things in reverse order:

With the large areas firstly remove any remaining loose plaster. Trying to patch without doing this is a waste of time. Then with the large areas you'll need to replaster. You can either take this as an opportunity to learn or pay someone. I won't tell you how to plaster as it's really a skill you have to be shown or practise yourself, though I do have a couple of bits of advice. Don't try to plaster the whole wall in one go. Take it in stages and make sure you dampen the wall you're plastering onto as it helps the plaster stick.

With the areas missing the top coat of plaster you will need to reskim. This should be done after fixing the base coat. You might find a plasterer willing to skim over your base coat - discuss it before you start. This will give you a good finish but should cost less than hiring a plasterer to do the whole job. Getting a good skim finish takes a lot of practice.

Finally the areas with only minor cracks and bumps should be filled and sanded before proceeding.

If you manage to get a good surface then painting is the best option. If not then paper the wall with two layers of lining paper. The first runs horizontal and the second vertical. This will smooth out most of the remaining unevenness in the wall. Before papering wash the walls with a weak glue solution this will stop all the glue from the paper being absorbed into the plaster and the paper lifting off the wall.

I should have added that you need to leave the plaster to fully dry out before painting or papering. That might have been one of the reasons why the previous repair has failed.

UPDATE

The quote you have doesn't seem unreasonable but without knowing the exact area you need replastering or your location it's difficult to say for certain. However, we shouldn't be getting into commenting on exact quotes as they are always going to be too localised (in time and space). Get another quote to compare it against - that's always going to be the best option. Also as I said above see if you can get the plasterer just to do the final skim - it should come out cheaper.


There are no rules stating you can or cannot use any type of ethernet cable with UF wire. Technically, you can just lay ethernet cable on the ground, under the ground, or drape it from the trees. Keep in mind that if you don't protect your wire, it will degrade over time.

I'd recommend using a conduit with ethernet cable, buried at a reasonable depth and sealed at each mating point with pipe cement. You cannot run line voltage in this conduit, just so you know, but will be future proof if you want to add another line or use coax or fiber.

The UF wire you're talking about would be for carrying power and should be installed according to electrical code, probably 18" below grade. It would also require connections be made on either end for supplying and using the power.


How can I wirelessly duplicate a lighting switch

Why make it more complicated than it needs to be?

What you really want is a switched-hot and matching neutral to power the undercabinet lighting from.  Well, they're right there at the switch box, since that's where power comes in at.  Using a pigtail and wire nut to tap the switched-hot, and tapping the neutral at the existing junction, going off into a /2 cable to the LED undercabinet lights, and that's all that's needed.  No need to fuss with wireless switches or any of that, just a cable (or surface raceway/trunking with wires in it if running a cable through the wall isn't an option) from point A to point B.


How can I find all the air leaks and insulation gaps in my finished attic?

Two separate issues here:
Attics Get Hot!
This is a fact of life. Attics heat up from the sun all day long. Color and type of roof can make some difference (reflection vs. absorption), but it is quite normal for an attic to get really hot. The usual solution is an attic fan. This can be thermostatically controlled so it only runs when hot. For an attic fan to work, you need to have the fan on one end and air coming in from elsewhere (but not from your house below).
If your attic is really getting hot from your house, or if your attic gets hot and the hot air goes down into your house, then you get to checking for leaks:
Thermal Imaging
There are thermal (infrared) cameras available as standalone devices, and also as add-ons for handheld computers (aka smart phones):

You can either buy something (if you like gadgets and can justify it to yourself) or borrow or rent one.


Brand New Weil Mclain Gas-Fired Water Boiler not heating zones

Probably still have air in the system.

The circulating pumps on these do not provide much head pressure and cannot overcome significant accumulations of air in any vertical return lines.

If you have baseboard radiators with air bleed valves near the high spots then crack those open to vent until no air and only water comes out (with all zones circulating and also assuming your make-up water connection works correctly).  If you do not have the luxury of strategically placed accessible air bleeds then someone will need to properly flush air out by closing the loop across the boiler and flushing line pressure water in one side at high velocity while draining it out the other side across all zones until all the air is purged.

The separate heat/cool thermostats are likely because the original installer did not want to deal with integrating separate boiler and a/c controls into a single thermostat, which would have required slightly more complicated control work than is typical.


How do I fix a ceiling fan that won't turn off?

Depends on how it is wired. The single switch will control the fan and light simultaneously. If you want the light off, then you pull the chain for the light. The nice part about having the light on a different switch is you can simply go into a room without having to turn on the fan every time and have a nice bright fixture in the room. The downside is that you have to hit the switch every time since the pull chain kind of loses its purpose and is now redundant.

Now, whether you have three speeds or not is up to the manufacturer of the fan. Most fans made recently have three speeds. We have to know the make/model to find out for sure. Doubt it is broken though.


The metal ring (in fact the whole flange unit) looks like it was perfectly fine... until you got to it. The exception is that it does not appear to have been screwed to the floor, which is necessary for stability.

I think your problem of "the bolts no longer stayed inside" may have had to do with misunderstanding how closet bolts attach, rather than a damaged ring.

It will be very difficult, at this point to remove the remains. I strongly recommend that you screw the ring directly to the floor, as it should have been originally, and go ahead and install the toilet using that wax ring you have. Make sure you understand how to properly use those bolts to attach the toilet.

If the floor beneath is ceramic tile on concrete you would need to drill into it and use appropriate anchors for the screws (I would use lead anchors and stainless-steel screws). If it is vinyl tile (or ceramic tile on plywood or backer-board) you could drill through it to the wood subfloor and screw into that.

If I were doing it, I would buy an extra wax ring and pack wax into the voids between the plastic flange body and your new ring (warm the wax in the sun or with a hair dryer).


Breaker box location in same room as water heater, washer and dryer

As long as there's enough room, and everything has adequate space around it, there shouldn't be a problem.

Without knowing more about the space (e.g. dimensions, and layout of the equipment), it's difficult to provide any more detail.


How to get broken screw out of wall anchor

Those anchors are meant for drywall and use in wood may make them too rigid to accommodate the screws. It is also essential that the right size screws be used.

In general, anything but modest weight pictures or mirrors call for stud mounting, if possible. If not, toggle bolt connections, especially the newer strap style, are recommended.

I would remove the shelf, and back out those anchors. Restart with either screws in studs or toggles.


How can I prevent light from coming in around the edges of black out blinds?

I have a bit of a botched solution for this that I use in one of our bedrooms. The curtain has a blackout lining but sits about 8cm away from the wall. Light bounces off the lining, onto the wall and into the room.

I made a strip of black plastic by taping together pieces, the strip is about 5 metres long. I drape the strip over the curtain rail brackets such that the sides hang down and block the gap around the sides of the curtains. This eliminates about 90% of the residual light.

I'll add a photo later, since my description is probably not very good.


Why won't my electric baseboard heaters work?

Right. I've seen this before. Some handyman put in a subpanel, but only ran 120V service to it (who knows why - saving money on wires? Expanding one wire feeding an outlet into a whole sub-panel?) and then jumpers the hots - which works OK if everything is 120V loads - which was probably the case when the panel was installed.

This does, of course, mean that a 2-pole breaker has pretty much 0 volts across it, as both sides are fed from the same phase (both are 120V to neutral/&ground.)

You'll need to add another hot wire from the source to the panel (traditionally red in the US system - black hot, red hot, white neutral (grounded), green or bare safety ground.)

Depending what the current wiring is, and especially if it's inappropriately sized (which would go right along with the handyman's decision to run it 120V) it may be more appropriate to replace the current wiring completely with 4 wire cable (called 3-wire cable due to the convention of not counting the ground wire) or 4 wires in conduit.

I'd also double-check the status of the ground and neutral - in a sub-panel the neutral is supposed to be isolated from the ground (including not being connected to the case, which should be grounded) and I would not bet on that being how this one is, just following the pattern of behavior shown by whoever wired it up.

You should probably go over the whole electrical system looking for any other "interesting" work that's been done to it, and possibly call in an electrician to check you on anything you can't sort out. Incidentally (clarifying my comment), both QO and Homeline are fine, it's just that the breakers have to be the same flavor as the panel, and sometimes folks get the wrong one as both are Square-D products, and they almost-sort-of fit. But that has nothing to do with your problem, from your description in the comments.


Why don't swamp coolers push air instead of pulling air?

The main reason swamp coolers are typically arranged that way is to minimize their footprint. That arrangement allows the motor to be inside the air-handler box, instead of poking out the end.

Additionally, moisture is not as much a problem for electric motors as heat. The overwhelming majority of the moisture passing by the electric motor is vapor, or "humidity" rather than mist. If there's enough mist to make the motor wet, then the cooler isn't working properly because evaporation is the key ingredient. Most electric motors fail because the insulation around the wires that make up the magnetic coils melts or deteriorates. This shorts out the coil, which no longer generates a sufficient magnetic field to drive the motor. Keeping the motor cool would actually be a more important consideration than keeping it dry. But even the moisture available to the motor shouldn't be getting it wet.

I can't think of any reason that reversing the fan arrangement couldn't work.


120 volt timer passes small amount of current when off

This is a common issue with LED lights, and we have a few questions about in regards to normal light bulbs, but nothing I remember that is specifically about Christmas lights.

Plug in timers (and some smart switches, motion detector switches, lighted switches, etc) need to get power from somewhere so they can operate.  In the past, these devices have used the fact that incandescent bulbs need a ton of power to cheat the system a little bit.  Even when the device is off, it's running a very small current through the lights so it can power its internal circuits.

The problem is that LEDs will glow with even a minuscule amount of current, so this little trick that was invisible in the past, now shows up as glowing LEDs.  For Christmas lights, I would say it's no big deal, and just live with it.  It's not going to cause a problem.  They are cheap timers that are using a "vampire" method to steal power from the circuit.

If it's unacceptable, the only fix is to get a timer that says it will work with LEDs or a timer that is obviously powered by batteries.  These will use AAA or AA batteries.  A timer that only uses a coin cell is probably just using that battery for a timer backup and might still steal power from the lights.


Will a curtain tension rod support blackout curtains?

Most likely, yes. I've used a few shower curtain rods of similar design on painted drywall, and they do fine. Blackout curtains are not lead-lined or anything. In fact, they don't weigh much more than standard fabric curtains in most cases. I have some in my bedroom now and they're quite light.
If you install the expandable rod carefully and don't expect it to hold the heaviest curtains out there, it should work fine. If you find that the rubber pads are slipping against the painted wall, consider something like removable double-sided foam tape between for extra friction.
Keep in mind that you'll punch a hole in unsupported drywall with these if you get careless. Investigate first using a studfinder or a few knuckle taps and install accordingly.