How can I remove old tile mortar from a concrete floor?

Thinset mortar is usually fairly soft. For that small area you can probably knock down the lumps with a belt sander and coarse grit belt. You don't need to entirely remove the old mortar if it's well bonded. Just get a fairly flat top. Vacuum thoroughly before proceeding to remove all dust and debris.

Since you're presumably going to use a 1/4" notch trowel to set your tile, the mortar will accommodate the remaining roughness. It'll be a bit more difficult to apply the mortar than on fresh concrete, but no big deal.


I'm going to make this a little simpler than some of the comments you have gotten and say that it's really as easy as priming and painting with a good quality exterior house paint.

I would clean the surface well from dirt, oils and other contaminants and then prime with a exterior oil based primer such as this Zinsser Cover Stain primer (random selection I'm familiar with, but just an example).  It comes in quarts and gallons and will probably be cheaper than a specialty metal paint.

Once primed, you can use a quality exterior house paint tinted to any color.  This is a very common way to paint the doors to match house and trim colors, and should be a long lasting solution.


What could cause a wet soil / moisture smell on concrete slab

It sounds like moisture under the slab.
Have you tapped a pice of plastic down to the slab for 24 hours? Taping a trash bad down then remove it the next day if the bag has water droplets on it or the area is wet under the bag the slab has moisture under it that is weeping up through the concrete. I have good luck sealing these floors in summer when the water table and possibly a spring are not causing the problem, in winter the moisture coming through will prevent the epoxy coatings I have used from sealing. I have fixed several homes with this problem by acid etching the slab and applying 2 part epoxy, it has worked well for me and may solve your problem.


Flattening Concrete for Dricore Product Suggestion

I ended up using a product from HD by custom building products called SpeedFinish (for about $16/box).  It is a portland cement based compound designed to level floors.  The box says it cures in about 15 minutes. In reality it took a few hours before it fully hardened.  I was able to build up the low spot of the concrete floor (i used 3 10lb boxes). I was able to get a nice smooth feather finish and the product dried rock hard. My thinking behind this was that I no longer need to shim that area, the dricore tiles felt very spongy if they were shimmed out pretty high.  This completely eliminated the issue and my floor feels great. I also dont care cosmetically because the dricore will be hiding the patch job.  Also, if you go this route some advice is to buy more speedfinish than you think, one box does not cover a lot of area, especially if you are trying to raise it up about 1/4" like I was.


There are wood load calculators online available to punch in the numbers:
https://awc.org/codes-standards/calculators-software/spancalc
That should give you the answer.


To remove the trim - aka faucet handle and rosette, unthread the rosette, which will remove BOTH the rosette and the handle/lever at the same time.
Many Kohler, grohe and price pfister faucets’ handle assemblies install this way.


How to connect a earth leakage detection GFCI/ELCB?

You should wire it according to the manufacturers documentation.


How to attach deck ledger with furred out sheathing

Cut holes through the cladding with a hole saw then drill through the furring into the sill beam for the the size of bolt you want to use.
Using the same hole-saw to cut "pucks" from pressure treated  lumber, and drill their pilot holes out to the bolt size too.
using the pucks as spacers bolt your ledger through the furring to the sill beam.


New electrical install problem. Low Current?

You need to perform measurements while the loads are applied. There are plenty of power test devices that are pass-through: one end plugs into the outlet, and the device itself has an outlet you plug the load into. It'll display the real power, the mains voltage, etc. If you worry about any voltage drops/sags, you'll want one of those. One brand (with some copies) is Kill-A-Watt. It appeared first on the US market, but you can find very similarly looking devices for the UK market. One of them is called Hopi, as used by bigclivedotcom.


Water will definitely seep into area where the grout is missing and deteriorate the drywall behind the tiles. You need to fix that pronto and check the whole shower for missing or loose grout. Are there any tiles bulging? Hopefully there is no wall damage. Try bleach on the mildew.


What are the optimal conditions to install a hardwood floor?

There isn't a right time.  In the summer the wood will expand and in the winter it will shrink.

The biggest question is whether there are large temperature changes where the wood will be installed.  If the house is always conditioned then just make sure it is in those conditions or warmer when installing the wood.

My personal opinion is that I would make sure that your hardwood is warmer/more humid than normal.  And it takes a few days for wood to totally temperature/moisture adjust.  Don't sit your wood outside.  If you have the heat on sit in next to a vent.  If the air is on - away from the colder air.

Slight shrinkage is basically nothing. Might notice some gapping but you won't notice unless you are on your hands and knees.  A lot of expansion can lead to buckling though and that is the last thing you want to deal with.  I installed mine at the end of last spring on purpose last year.


Why do fire extinguishers lose pressure over time?

No man-made container will ever be 100% leak proof over time. Even a Mylar balloon (the more expensive fancy ones) will lose it's helium over time and no longer stay afloat. Most fire extinguishers are charged with nitrogen under pressure as their propellant. Nitrogen is an extremely small molecule and given enough time will slowly seep or leek out of the fire extinguisher.

Changes in temperature and barometric pressure would be the culprits making this loss faster over time. Keeping them out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources may help prolong the amount of time until they need to be recharged. However, keep in mind there may be laws or regulations governing where a fire extinguisher should be located.

This is one Example

My father and uncle worked for years installing fire and security systems. Along with a schedule for systematically checking smoke detectors, you should include checking the charge on your fire extinguishers.


Can you cover or hide a outside meter box

In Texas the meter must be visible for inspection by the utility company. The other part of this is clearances. You can put up a screen for visual effect but it has to meet all clearances required by both the Utility Company and the Municipality AHJ.

Remember you have to make two different authorities happy and possibly a HOA. Contact each one and they will give you the local statutes. Good luck.


Electrical engineering background, can I do electrical work on my house

Contact your local building department, and ask them if this would require a permit, and if you can do the work yourself. That's the only way to know for sure, as different areas have different rules.

You'll likely have to pay a small fee for the permit, and have the work inspected at different stages of the job (or maybe only once it's done).  Most areas let homeowners do the work, as long as it's inspected.

If you do unpermitted work in your home, and something does happen. Your insurance claim could be denied, and/or you could be held personally liable for injuries and damages to others and their property.


About the thing in bathrooms which looks like a ladder

That ladder like thing in a bathroom area is a combination towel rack and heater. The heater is generally used to warm and/or dry the towels but can also lend to taking the chill off the bathroom.

It has been my experience to see those mostly in Europe and I cannot actually remember ever seeing one installed in the US but I am sure they are used here.


Yeah, unfortunately, you're going to have to strip it up.

The two ways I can think of would be to use a concrete grinding machine to chew up the surface. Just a light chewing/scarification will do. You should be able to rent a machine that will do it from your local tool "we-rent-it" type of place... or they would know who to talk to. By far, a machine will be the easiest to work with, even with all the dust.

If you have to go the chemical route, muriatic acid (available anywhere pool chemicals are available) would work, but you have to be 100% sure that you clean up all of the acid when you're done... it makes a HORRIBLE mess and the fumes are a beast to deal with. I would choose the grinding machine any time before I would choose acid or a stripper.

After either step, be sure that you wash the floor thoroughly to get any dust or residue up and then coat with two coats of the recommended same-brtand primer (if you use Custom SLC, use Custom's primer -- if you use Mapei's SLC, use Mapei's primer) before you apply the self-leveling cement.


Years ago I purchased a shower head that at the time was called "The Big Head" and I loved the shower experience. Fast forward to today and I searched for a similar replacement. I found the same shower head but it now is a "water saving" model; same design slightly less water. I bought 2 and I think they are great. It is made by delta with a model 52650-PK and can be purchased at any store that sells Delta products . I bought mine at Home Depot using the Delta #52650-PK for around $15.00. When I built my house 21 years ago, one of the showers had that same head you are looking for, and I replaced it with the one mentioned above. I like the new one better.  my 2 cents


A vibrator will get excellent penetration of regular concrete into the broken rock. Adding more water to concrete mix reduces the strength. I poured a car park addition to a drive way using broken concrete from a sidewalk . The concrete minimum thickness was 2 " or less . It was in fine shape 10 years later when I moved . Of course I doubt it would be strong enough for moving traffic.


how common are "burned outlets" that are old?

Exterior outlets on a home this old may be more recent additions and still be older than the code requirement for GFCI's. I would power down the circuit pull the outlets and inspect the wiring. With external outlets that are not sealed and have "in use" covers or "extra duty" covers water gets in the outlets and they corrode. The in use covers have a cover that allows the outlet to be used while keeping rain out. If all the outlets are on 1 circuit you may find one has failed and the others are daisy chained, not receiving power from the point of failure. The other possibility is, I used to install switches on exterior outlets to allow holiday lighting to be turned off (there may be a switch some place that has killed the power to them).


What gauge wire for long run from power supply to LED light strip?

Is 5050 the model number or the quantity of leds?

The cable you linked to looks very lightweight - you don't need a lot of copper to run leds directly off of low voltage DC but you do need to handle it a lot during installation.

I would get something heavier, just for the mechanical advantage. 16AWG stranded 300 volt should do nicely, the voltage rating is to get thicker insulation. You can get spools of it in many colours from any electronics supplier (not electrical, "electronics") in the local phone book. Also pick up an automatic wire stripper and a decent crimping tool while you are there - the common stamped-steel crimpers do NOT do a good job, and you don't want to have to get in behind the walls twice.


Why would turning off a ceiling fan via a wall switch causes 3 seconds of TV signal loss?

It's possible that the coils in the fan create flyback voltage that has nowhere to go so it radiates as EMF. Ensure that the fan is connected to ground to rule this out or fix the issue.


Will a Deck Get Damaged if it Rains Between Cleaning it and Sealing it?

Rain really will not hurt unless the deck is wet when you seal it. If wet when sealed depending on the type of sealer it may be ok (water based) or with oil based it will not adhere as well.


How can I remove the screw from a double demountable hinge?

It looks like a lockring is used to hold the screw in place. You'll have to hold the screw still and rotate the lockring, or vise versa.

Using a flat-head screw driver and mallet, is a common way to rotate lockrings.  Though, you'll have to find a way to hold the screw steady, while you bang the lockring free.

Place a flat-head screw driver blade against one of the sprockets of the lockring.
Sharply rap the handle of the screwdriver with a mallet.

It's possible that the lockring is made of some type of softer metal, so grabbing it with pliers could easily damage it.  Using a screwdriver and mallet applies force only in a useful direction, whereas pliers apply non-useful forces required for gripping. These non-useful forces may damage the lockring.


What are these white eggs behind my wall outlet?

Spider egg cases. Looks like they already hatched.


Why is my furnace blowing hot air outside?

All gas furnaces require a flue to exhaust carbon monoxide outdoors, the reason modern units require a fan to do it is due to  the circuitous design of modern heat exchangers that extract more heat from the unit before exhausting it outdoors, natural  venting will no longer happen if the induced draft motor is not running, So much heat is removed these days they can be vented using PVC flue rather than metal and  moisture condenses making an acidic condensate that is drained just like the AC condensate is.
It is normal,if it were not so you would/ could die by operating the unit in that condition.


Occupancy (motion) switch wiring question

According to the documentation for the switch you're using, a grounded (neutral) conductor is not required.  The wiring diagram for your device looks like this

If your device isn't working, it's possible that you've reversed the wires. Make sure the black wire from the switch is connected to the line wire, and the red wire is connected to the load wire.

If the switch still does not function, verify that the grounding conductor is solidly connected, and that the ground is good.

If the switch still does not function, the device may be defective and need to be replaced.


How do I reinstall round 6" duct pipe in my basement?

Fix

If the pipes have been deformed (by placing something heavy on them, for example) then you can try bending them back to a round shape. If they're deformed to the point they actually have folds or creases in them, I'd give up and throw them out.

New ducts

Round ducts are sold as sheets with a special fold along the two sides that interlock into each other to form the round shape. They're actually very easy to assemble, and not very expensive. Most big hardware stores will have a few sizes in stock, in addition to elbows, boots and other parts.

Source: http://www.familyhandyman.com/heating-cooling/round-ductwork-installation-tips/view-all

You mentioned you don't have enough now anyway, so if you buy a few new pieces, you might be able to use their round shape to fit your existing pieces into.

Re-crimp ends

You can also get a duct crimping tool to redo the crimps on the end, making them tighter so they fit into the next piece over.

Personally, I've done several modifications/changes to ducts like this as part of basement, garage, and laundry room renovations, and though I'm generally always happy to have a an excuse to buy a new tool, I've never bought a pair of these.

A handful of times I've had to make a crimp more tapered to fit pipes from different eras together, and a couple times I've had to completely make my own crimp, but I've just used a pair of long needle nose pliers -- grab on, twist 45 degrees clockwise, move the pliers over 1/2", repeat until you're back at the start. It doesn't look as nice but it's totally functional. Just be careful of having too much protrusion into the duct as it can disrupt airflow.

Ideally all your crimps are also facing the direction of the airflow, but this isn't always possible.

Connections

You can use 1/2" self-tapping screws to attach ductwork together, usually a couple is all it takes. For dryer vents, it's better to avoid screws as lint will catch on them and block the pipe.

Don't forget to tape the seams using aluminum foil tape (not regular duct tape, which is not for heating ducts!). If there's no chance of the ducts being mechanically disturbed (eg, they're in a joist bay, secured by hangers) I've often only used duct tape (no screws) to attach them, but I don't know if this is kosher.


Existing light fixture is connected to 2 white wires, black wires are capped

It looks like a switch loop that was wired backwards. The always hot of a switch loop should be white and the switched hot should be black with a marking on the white always hot to identify it as a hot. I have seen this many times, it is easy to fix by swapping the white and black at each end and then marking the white wire with a black sharpie or black tape (any color other than green, gray or white would meet code)


using a light switch for electric baseboard heater

As long as the amperage of the heater is 15A or less, then a normal light switch should be fine.  If the amperage is higher, you can get 20A switches that are "heavy duty".


Can a home motion detector work through frosted or clear glass?

IR (infra red) motion sensors are generally housed behind frosted plastic housings. Camera lenses also let infra red light pass through. Assuming yours is an infra red motion detector, frosted plastic or glass will not be a problem. The frosting is there to block your view of the lens and to "smear" the background contrast projected onto the IR sensor such that the IR blob's motion is better detected.


Looking to protect OSB through the winter

Prime and paint is your best option.  Exterior paint will create a thin latex layer of protection over the surface.  Use primer first to be sure and get a good bond with the somewhat-presealed OSB, then two coats of a quality exterior (porch paint should be great) paint.  Two gallons of paint and two gallons of primer should be plenty for two coats.  And remember that a coat of primer and a coat of paint is better than two coats of paint.

Be sure and and get very good coverage on the edges.  I might go so far as to caulk the seams with some cheap caulking to prevent water from soaking to the cracks.


uneven terracotta work arounds for Furniture

The simplest way to install cabinets on an uneven floor is to construct a platform with 2 x 4 lumber. This is best when all or most of you cabinets will be located along the same walls. If you construct the platform so the 2x's are oriented "face-down" (not on edge) there will be more head room on top of the cabinet. Once the platform is in place level it with shims starting at the lowest point on the floor.


Wiring electrical outlets from a single outlet

The best solution here, would be to find a UL approved device that can satisfy your needs. Building your own device can be risky, and fraught with unexpected dangers. There are tons of UL approved power strips available on the market, it hard to imagine you wouldn't be able to find one that suits your needs.
If you must build your own solution, you'll want to be aware of at least a few of the dangers.
Exposed wiring
First and foremost, you'll want to make sure nobody can ever touch anything that could be energized. This means that all connections, splices, junction, etc. should be contained within an enclosure. You'll also want to make sure the enclosure is listed for the use, so that it will also contain any sparks, heat, etc. that might be produced.
Most areas now require tamper resistant receptacles in living spaces (living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, etc.), so you'll likely want to use TR receptacles for this project.
Overcurrent
While there are no hard-and-fast limits on the number of receptacles on a circuit, or the number of devices that can be fed by a receptacle. You'll want to be cautious not to overload your wiring. In industrial and commercial settings, 180 Volt-Amperes is the value that's used to calculate receptacle loads.  If you use this as a guide, you should have no problems with overloading the circuit.
While the circuit breaker should protect the house wiring, you may want to protect the wiring in your cabinet from overload as well. You can do this with a fuse, or circuit breaker. You'll want to wire this in as the first device, possibly putting it in the same enclosure as the watt meter.
Surge protection
Since you'll be dealing with expensive electronics, you'll probably want some form of surge protection. There are receptacles available that offer surge protection built in, but they may not offer the level of protection you require, or that can be found in a manufactured surge strip.


Insulation foam in hollow bricks and blocks

Those are terra cotta blocks. They are, indeed, hollow. You could drill (carefully! Terra Cotta is fragile when drilling) and fill each and every block with low expansion foam (has normal expansion foam could break the blocks).

But that would be a huge project. And you'd still have major thermal bridging issues along the edges of each brick. It'd be much better to apply 2"+ of foam to the inside. What is the reason that you can't go that route?

Another reason to try and gain some wall on the 'inside' is to make it easier for future owners...if you could add 2x framing that also will give a surface for mounding shelves, pictures, etc. You don't want to take a nail and hammer it into a terra cotta block as it will just fracture.


Can I connect my thermostat's R and C wires directly to the transformer?

Just wanted to come back to report solution. It turned out one of the high limit switches was faulty. It was the one that was mounted to the top of the frame of the furnace. HH18HA166


Yes, you can cut enough of the vertical 2x4 to install your vent fan.
Because 1) The 2x4 is “flat” against the gable end wall and is only used for nailing the sheathing (and presumably the siding) 2) there is no ridge beam, 3) spacing of the 2x4’s is 51” so the gable end wall is not structural.
If the “wall” seems a bit wobbly at the vent after you remove a portion over the vent opening, you could add horizontal stiffeners above and below the vent opening from adjacent 2x4’s.


It is possible that the lower skirt just below the faucet handle is threaded onto part of the fixture that comes up from the bottom side of the sink. Have you tried rotating the skirt to see if it would untread?


Mini-spit AC unit consuming electric power when off

Your old system did draw current but your measurement equipment was probably not sensitive enough to measure it. If there is a remote to control and activate the system it has to have some power to do this.
Your new system being an inverter based system is also always drawing power the control buss is usually powered up to maintain the charge on the capacitors if it is powered down it will take an average of 30 seconds up to 3 minutes to deplete this charge and to wake the system up takes longer than when in standby and is harder on the electronics.
Where your new system will out preform a single speed system is it can maintain the coolant/ heating levels without starting and stopping all the time but running at a slower rate using less energy overall.
So yes your inverter based system is probably drawing 270ma but this is how that technology works just the elimination of a few hard startups a day will more than compensate for the small draw when not in use.
And your equipment was not sensitive enough to measure the 15-20 ma of Curren draw in your old system if the remote can turn it on there is current being consumed.


interpretation of conduit vs raceway wet location vs outdoor vs NM NM-B

Yes, that conduit counts as a wet location

All raceways in wet locations are considered to be wet on the inside as per NEC 300.9:

  300.9 Raceways in Wet Locations Abovegrade. Where
  raceways are installed in wet locations abovegrade, the interior
  of these raceways shall be considered to be a wet location.
  Insulated conductors and cables installed in raceways in wet
  locations abovegrade shall comply with 310.10(C).

This means that the answers to your questions are, in turn:

a) Conduit is a kind of raceway (see the definition of "conduit" in Art. 100) (there are also surface raceways)

b) You will still get condensation in the raceways even if the joints are sealed by solvent welding.  So, you will need to use wet-location-rated wire or cable (not NM!) in the conduit.

c) Drainage does matter -- 314.15 states that boxes and conduit bodies in wet locations must be arranged so that water is not trapped.  It also provides that you can field-fit drainage openings no larger than 1/4" to boxes or conduit bodies in damp or wet locations, or use listed drainage fittings in knockouts for that matter.  Take advantage of this, as drainage is your friend, and so is pressure moderation!

d) NM has a paper separator layer in it that makes it unsuitable for wet locations, period, even if the inner conductors were dual-rated.  In general, stuffing cable down conduit is more annoying than it's worth, so you're better off getting dual-rated (THHN/THWN or XHHW-2) wires of the appropriate gauge and using those instead of a cable.


Try to find the owner's manual for your dryer and follow the instructions in the manual.

The terminal block on the back of your dryer should have connections for the neutral and both hot conductors from the dryer cord, plus a separate grounding lug for the grounding wire. The grounding lug is bonding the metal housing of your dryer to the ground. Make sure you leave any green grounding wires on the dryer itself connected, as well.

What you do NOT want to do is connect the ground wire to the neutral lug on the terminal block if there is a separate grounding lug.

Although; depending on your dryer (or if you have an older dryer), there may be a grounding strap connecting the neutral lug to the metal housing of the dryer. If this is the case, you can presume that the dryer was designed to use the neutral as a ground path and connect both the neutral and grounding wires to the neutral/grounding lug. But you still might want to call an electrician and get some local professional advice or have them do the work, especially if it's an old dryer.

The neutral (grounded) and grounding conductors are bonded electrically at the main service panel, but pains are typically taken to keep them separate everywhere downstream from the main panel in order to avoid energizing things you don't want to get shocked by, like the housings of appliances, water pipes and so on.

Make your connections tight. Loose connections get hot and start fires.


(How) Can I match new 3/4" T&G oak flooring with old 7/8" flooring?

If you cut all the tongues off then the floor will likely squeak... And good luck with that...
Get a shop to make the replacement flooring or buy 7/8 timber and a router and sort it yourself. If you think they will charge too much (after doing it yourself you might think they made a good offer :) )


Is 18-gauge wire sold as lamp cord sufficient for replacing the cord on a vintage toaster marked 6 amps?

Electrically that would be fine, but possibly not thermally.  Most toasters I've seen have cords marked that they're special high temperature wiring.  I believe this is needed because the heat from the elements will conduct back along the cord (copper is a great conductor of heat as well as electricity), and it's important for the insulation not to melt.  It looks like the term to search for is "HPN cord"
Here's some examples of cords that are listed for high heat applications:
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/extension-cords-and-power-strips/power-cords/30127
https://www.amazon.com/Power-cord-Heaters-Irons-Hardwired/dp/B000A8LL82


Under what circumstances is galvanic corrosion a concern in electrical work?

Galvanic corrosion is a problem when the two metals are wet or damp , water being necessary to conduct current causing corrosion. In some conditions of humidity and temperature change ,a small amount of water can condense ,promoting corrosion. Any time aluminum is connected to another metal there can be corrosion. I once had a home with a damp crawl space, all copper wire in galvanized conduit . When I worked in the boxes I wondered why there was white powder zinc oxide . Until one day under the right,or wrong, conditions I opened a box and several drops of water dripped out of the conduit.Aluminum will oxidize by itself in air depending on humidity.


Do I have to run new wire when replacing my electric oven?

10/3 copper NM is rated for 30A under the NEC, so the old oven was more than adequately wired, and it will support the new oven without difficulty as well.

If you are of the unlucky type to have aluminum wire in your walls -- 10/3 aluminum NM will still handle 25A, so you will be fine.

However, the load must be considered as the nameplate load (no demand factors) per NEC Table 220.55 Note 4:

  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.

The adequacy of a 20A breaker, though, depends on whether your oven is treated as a continuous or noncontinuous load as per NEC 210.20(A):

  (A) Continuous and Noncontinuous Loads. Where a branch circuit supplies
  continuous loads or any combination of continuous and noncontinuous loads, the
  rating of the overcurrent device shall not be less than the noncontinuous load
  plus 125 percent of the continuous load.

and the definition of "continuous load" in Art. 100:

  Continuous Load. A load where the maximum current is expected to continue
  for 3 hours or more.

If your AHJ agrees with Tester and I that a residential oven is a noncontinuous load, then a 20A breaker is fine; otherwise, you'll have to stick with a 30A unit.


What would happen if ground and neutral got mixed up in an outlet?

It will cause a lot of safety problems if you do that, but not immediately.  If anything else goes wrong in the circuit, it can have a variety of effects. One example is putting hot voltage on your grounds on that circuit, e.g. Every cover screw, chassis of lamps and machines, etc.

It will immediately trip  GFCI/RCDs and some AFCIs, which might cause a frustrated user to remove them and go unprotected.

Green insulated wire is ground wire.  Ground doesn't need to be insulated, but if it is, it'll be green or green/yellow. That applies internationally, it's the closest there is to a world standard.


Why does my GFCI trip when I plug things into load side receptacles?

Check for a neutral to ground short somewhere on the load side of the GFCI and downstream outlets. Also, make sure there isn't a shared neutral with any other circuit and that you don't have a connection from the neutral load directly to the line side of the GFCI (in other words, the whites cannot all be pigtailed together, the line and load neutrals must be separated by the GFCI).


New GFCI in garage is tripping when driveway lights are turned on

Sounds pretty clear to me (and likely) that there was a phase to ground fault in the lights before you added the GFCI, that went unnoticed until now.

They might be wired wrong (if someone swapped ground and neutral).  But most likely, there's a fault connecting neutral and ground somewhere beyond the switch.

To confirm this, disconnect the lights from the switch and use a multimeter to measure resistance between hot and neutral, then hot to ground and neutral to ground.  If things were in good working order, you would have infinite resistance (no connection) between ground and neutral, and between ground and hot.  Instead, you will likely find one of the two is conducting to ground.  To locate this fault, you will have to divide the system at each wiring junction and re-test.

One last possibility (given this particular circuit is outdoors) is that the ground wire to the lights is electrically isolated from the physical soil, and that current is leaking from hot into the soil.  This would be more difficult to test.

I would narrow in on any outdoor construction that took place or any spikes put into the earth near where the wire is buried.  Probably something nicked the insulation and the moisture in the earth is leaking current from it.


How does Underfloor Heating get the right temperature water via a Thermal Store?

This isn't a DIY project. You need to have someone who has experience engineering these systems give you input. Steam radiator systems are not something that a DIYer should be designing; there are a lot of design aspects that are not intuitive and need an expert's hand.

On top of that, the question that you're asking here is one that you need to take up with the manufacturer of the floor heating system that you're considering and the manufacturer of the thermal storage and furnace system.

Again, this is not a DIY project -- it's not something where you can head on off to your local hardware store and they'll have all of these products in stock. You need to at least consult with all of the manufacturers of the components that you're considering, or you need to have an experienced firm design the entire system.


Can I use wall rail brackets with heavy handrail?

Instead of wall bracket, I would use Rosette and, it looks great with hand-rail, also easy to attach as part of DYI.
I have handrail in my house and has this oak finished round Rosette attached to hand rail. The only different is my hand-rail in finished one. Buy any of the wood rosette whichever you like and meets your style.

Employee at Lowes can assist you what accessories you will need along with rosette.
Edited the answer after more clear. Here on wall side pic,

Hope this help!!


Can I shave the bottom of a metal casement window to get it to close fully?

Rather than attack the window itself, I'd re-install it.  Usually there's a gap around the frame filled with spray foam insulation.   Take the trim off the inside to see it.  You'll also see a bunch of screws that hold the window frame to the house frame.  See if you can take them out. Once this is done, you can scrape off the spray foam with a stiff knife.

Stuff the screw holes with toothpicks or matchsticks (take off the heads with nail clippers), and remount the window, making sure it's square.  In most situations, the settling is transferred to the window via the screws and or spray foam -- That is, the house hasn't settled enough to close the gap completely. Remounting the frame will solve the problem and leave your window intact.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, it shouldn't cost a whole lot to get someone to do it for you.  On the order of $100, Less if you can make it an add on to another job you're having done.


What Steps Should I Take to Troubleshoot My Gas Oven?

I'd start by checking the valve, make sure it's all the way open.  If the oven has a cook top, you can probably lift up the top and find the valve towards the back where the gas line comes out of the wall and into the oven.

If the gas appears to be cycling on and off while the oven is heating, then perhaps it's a bad thermostat.

Beyond that, perhaps there's a clog in the burner.  I've never cleaned a burner to know if it's a DIY job, so I'll defer to others for advice there.

As always, when working on a gas appliance, be sure to turn the gas off first before taking things apart.


Applying paint in hard to reach regions due to roofing sheets

I think the answer to your first question is already evident to you. If you cannot get to it, you cannot paint it. They do manufacture some specialty application tools for tight areas, such as mini-rollers and "paint gloves":

My experience with these items has been less than fantastic, but maybe getting some paint on those hidden areas is more important than aesthetics.

As for your second question, NO you do not need to remove all the existing paint. You need to remove all the existing paint that is not sound (i.e. likely to peel or flake off) and de-gloss all the remaining areas. This is normally accomplished by mechanical abrasion (sandpaper, steel wool, etc.), unsound paint will come off when subjected to sanding and the rest will be de-glossed. You should thoroughly clean after sanding, and apply a metal primer on bare areas prior to repainting.


The picture helps a lot.  The second white wire is coming from the switch, and it should have been wrapped with black electrical tape to indicate it was actually playing the role of a black wire.  Determine which white comes from the switch, and that's the "black" wire.

Then the problem is as simple as connecting the new whites to the white wire, and new blacks to the black.

The following picture is what you have except on the light side, they have connected the black wires together and both whites are going to the lamp.

In order to determine which wire goes to the switch, you'll need a voltage tester.  Turn off the breaker to the circuit and the light switch, and carefully remove the wire nut from the black wires in the lamp box.  Be sure the wires are not touching anything, and turn the breaker back on.  Using your voltage meter, touch the twisted black wires with one probe and each white wire going to the lamp.  The white wire that shows 120v is the actual white wire coming from the breaker box.  The other white wire will be the "black" wire coming from the switch.  Turn the breaker back off and twist the wire nut back on.  Be super careful when measuring the voltage with the breaker on.


that is LVT Luxury vinyl tile. Made for grocery stores by Armstrong. That style looks like the Natural Creations Diamond 10 Technology EarthCuts.

It is extremely durable. It is also quite expensive.

LVT is made by a number of flooring companies. The residential purposed lines are very nice and durable and made on a smaller scale to look right in smaller spaces. Just search for LVT flooring to find tons of options from big name manufacturers. Some are glue down and give the option of grouting with special formula product offered in complimentary colors.

Check out the commercial LVT here


Looks like mineral deposits. I'D just leave the aerator off for a few weeks, until the local builders stop messing with water pressure.


Should we skim-coat or drywall over a textured plaster wall to smooth it out?

Here's my take on drywall vs skim vs full update.

Skimcoat

Skim coating over the plaster that is already cracking would not be a good idea.  Even if you use a harder more durable mud or plaster, it will still most likely crack because of the age of your house, and the fact that your walls are already cracking (and will probably continue to do so).  The other down side is the sanding mess.

I recently bought a condo that had nasty texture as well on the walls which I wanted to get rid of.  I decided for the first room that I would use a heavy 60 grit paper to remove as much of the larger chunky texture as I could.  I then skim coated with drywall mud to smooth out the walls.  It took several coats to get perfectly smooth, and a whole lot of cleaning afterward.  But, in my case, I know my drywall is sound and not cracking underneath, so I could reliable coat without having to worry about patching too much in the future.

Drywall

Using a thin drywall layer over the top may be a quicker and cheaper solution.  This will eliminate the cracking issues and will give you as smooth a wall as you like, with little mess in comparison to skim coating the entire wall.

I would still use a 60 grit paper or paint scraper (if it will cut through your texture) and knock down as much of the heavy texture to allow the drywall to sit closer to the surface.  This will help eliminate waviness in the wall where the texture might be outrageous (like it was in my house), and allow you to use a thinner drywall.

A possible major downside to this is electrical boxes?  Maybe someone with more electrical knowledge can speak whether adding 1/2 inch thickness to a wall would cause issues with the electrical boxes being set further in?  If so, again, I would sand and use 1/4 inch.

Full Update

If I was going to be living in this house for the rest of my life, I would consider a full update, especially if I was already going to be making changes to wiring.

This solution is costly, time consuming, and messsssy!  But, the upside is that you can fix/update your electrical to be safer, and more suitable to modern appliances.  You can also add low voltage through the house which (if you're a tech nerd like me) may be a nice plus. This will also give you perfectly smooth walls that won't crack and a feeling that your not hiding a mess in your walls.

Hope this is helpful!


It looks like maybe there is just a bit of paint holding the cover on. Use a utility knife to carefully cut around the perimeter and then see if you can get a flathead under(insert at the bottom to hide the potential damage). You can also lightly tap with a mallet or a block of wood and hammer and it will probably come free


Looking to improve acoustic and thermal performance before relaying wooden floor

If you want to reduce the sound of footsteps, you should use a soundproofing underlayment (which is essentially a sheet of rubber).

If you want to reduce other noises in the rooms, such as voices, TV, etc., then the insulation is a good choice. You should use enough to fill the cavity; if the cavity is 100mm thick or more, then the 100mm loft insulation should provide significantly more sound insulation. The actual difference in performance between regular building materials and their "soundproof" counterparts at equivalent thicknesses are typically quite small, making the added cost difficult to justify. Specialized construction techniques are much more important than specific materials for achieving overall good soundproofing (in other words, the difference between no insulation and insulation is much bigger than the difference between normal insulation and special insulation).

As far as a thermal barrier, if you're heating/cooling both levels, then you're not likely to benefit much from it (and it could even reduce comfort by allowing some rooms to get too hot/cold).


How can I extend existing 8 x 8 pilings?

Maybe a timber post extender would work.

That, or steel plates bolted to the outside like you suggested.


Unsure about my structural engineer, can you check his drawing?

There isn't enough information in that sketch to verify calculations (for instance, we have no idea what's on the floor above), but here are some reactions:

Removing 60cm of support may be significant, depending on how much load that wall was carrying.
If the arch is structural, removing it requires additional support.
Your existing building may not be structurally adequate. If you're making changes to those supports, you are probably obligated to bring that portion of the structure up-to-code.
The structure is of no use if there's not an adequate foundation to support it. Your drawing doesn't show any information about the existing foundation, but shrinking the supports from walls to piers may concentrate the load beyond what the existing footings (if any) can support.

I agree with @longneck, you should talk to your engineer about your concerns. There may be ways to avoid some/all of these tradeoffs, or maybe you decide that it's not worth the effort.


Can I install a nest thermostat on a 2-wire boiler (with unmarked wires)?

If you have only two wires on a heating system, then those two wires are the ones known as R (red) and W (white), and it doesn't even matter which one is which because it's AC and there are only two. (If you had a more complex system with cooling or other features for the thermostat to control, then there would be more wires.)

To confirm, get a multimeter and measure the two wires on the AC voltage mode (you should see about 24 volts). If you hold the wires together the heat should start. If this doesn't work, the problem may be with the boiler rather than the thermostat.

You probably know this already, but just in case: your old thermostat has a significant amount of mercury in it. Make sure to take it to a household hazardous waste disposal station rather than putting it in the trash.


Do all horizontal-surface mount outlets need to be "floor receptacles?"

You are correct in assuming that your ledge is not a floor. The NEC would define it as a work surface or a countertop. That would lead you to NEC 406.5 (E) & (F) which would tell you that the device installation must be GFCI protected and listed for countertop and work surfaces. Most of the ones that I have seen are the pop-up type. A standard flush mount wall receptacle will not work.

FYI. My other concern would be whether or not this 6" ledge top is a 2x6 plate on the top of a frame. Not that it matters code wise but cutting and mounting into it may pose to be a problem. You might want to confirm how this wall was constructed and plan it out before proceeding to cut holes in it.

Good Luck


What are these grommets (= snap holes / snap-rings?) on tool cases for

Those are grommets, not snap-rings or snap holes.  Grommets provide a permanent ring providing an anti-tear resistance.
They are used to hang the tool roll from nails/hooks on a wall, for easy access to the tools in the roll.  This would need fewer hooks than hanging each tool separately.
This is pretty rare in my experience, most workshops would hang tools on pegboard, or lay out the tool set in a drawer, or store the whole lot in a toolbox.  I have one roll of ring spanners like this that lives rolled up in my car.


I've used channel-locks and crescent wrenches, but a basin wrench will save you some busted knuckles.  I think that your 1/2" supply is probably coming out of the wall and is grey Polybutylene pipe?  If so, you need a 1/2" PB x 1/4" PB shutoff valve, or an adapter to convert to PEX and then the angle shutoff valve.

If you do indeed have a 1/2" supply to your old faucet (very odd indeed -- are you sure that it isn't just the connecting nut that is 1/2"?), then you can probably replace those with braided supplies of the proper size on each end fairly easily.  If you post pics of what is going on we can give you more specific advice.


That's plaster, not drywall, and you've encountered metal lath. It was commonly used at corners and other vulnerable locations to add strength and crack resistance.

It won't be a problem to cut a small amount away for your purposes. Just be careful to not snag it with a power tool and rip things loose. An abrasive grinding wheel might be a good bet.


Building a house, door from house to garage

Doors cannot swing out over a stair without a landing. (See IBC Code, Paragraph R311.3.2.) Take it to your local Building Official and ask for, "an interpretation ". There's an exemption, but I don't think it applies to you.


Looks like I had to rotate the pilot flame a few degrees to get it to better align with the thermocouple, especially when the fireplace was lit. This seems to have resolved the issue.


Need to add an outlet under a sink (for garbage disposal)

Surface mount it through the cabinet back to a stud

If you can find a stud in the wall, it'd be best to run the NM into a surface mounted box (a "handy box" will do) that's screwed through the cabinet back and wallboard to a stud, then wire up the receptacle, mount it to the "handy box", and put a cover on it.  (You can get away without a ground pigtail if you use a self-grounding type receptacle and a one-hole box cover, BTW.)


What to do about a rat living in drain line

Your drains likely do not go to sewers, they likely go to storm drains or gutters in the street. So putting Drano is going to put in directly into the environment, where it can harm your kids, your neighbor's kids, your pets and neighbor's pets etc. etc. etc. PLEASE refrain from taking that bad advice...

The rat poison is similar. The reason you don't see the dead rats with that is because it makes them intensely thirsty so they seek out water, then die there. Unfortunately things like raptor birds and other wildlife end up eating the dying or dead rats and get poisoned too.

Get rat traps and bait them with candy bars, preferably ones with peanuts like Snickers bars because they smell stronger. Once you get them all (assuming its a family), get rid of those cheap plastic grates and replace them with metal ones.


200amps service - ground rods instead of pipe connection

Your inspector is wrong. You can always use a larger ground.

NEC article 250.66 covers this in depth.

In fact, the code handbook (an expanded code book good with explanations of what the code is requiring) has a great exhibit 250.30 which shows connections to grounding electrode systems. 250.66.A states the connections to rod, pipe or plate electrodes is not required to be larger than #6 copper.

if your existing connection goes from the rod directly to the service panel only #6 copper is required. If the system connects to a concrete encased electrode from that point (point of connection to the concrete encased electrode) to the panel #4 copper is required to the panel, but #6 or larger from your ground rod to the panel or point of connection with a concrete encased electrode is all that is required.

I use #4 solid copper all the time as most new construction has a connection point with the foundation rebar, and then a second method (driven rod) is connected. Since I already am using #4, I run the couple of feet outside and connect the rod with a listed clamp, all on 1 piece of wire.

It is OK to go larger but not required.

This method is code-compliant for up to a 400 amp service.


What to do when measuring voltage on nails in the wall?

Your photo shows the Red lead plugged into the 10A socket of the meter.  Therefore you are measuring the voltage between the COM socket and the HIGH socket on the right which is probably just due to stray 60 Hz fields. Try plugging the RED lead into the HIGH socket and the BLACK lead into the COM socket and repeat your measurements.  In all likelihood, they will still be small and just indicate the present of 60 Hz fields from the power lines.


Scratched the paint off the wall. How to proceed?

There are a couple things to consider.  First, with regards to color, is how old the paint job is.  After the initial cure (during which the color usually darkens slightly), paint will yellow over time, and it also accumulates dirt and debris which further affect its color.  Smoking in the house speeds this up.   What this means is that older paint is harder to match generally.  When it comes to color matching, keep this in mind and if possible, let the store doing the color matching (using the chips you saved) know about the age as they might suggest slightly altering the color.  Working in your favor is the size of the damage - something this small won't be as noticeable as say a large 12"x12" patch.

Next up is texture - it sounds like your paint was applied with a roller originally, so you should be sure to use a roller on your patch.  If you use a brush then the texture difference will be more noticeable.

The above two techniques should help you blend the patch, though it will still be noticeable to some degree.  If you are a perfectionist then the only "right" way to do it is just re-paint the entire wall/section.


What are some inexpensive DIY options for fixing a low water pressure condition in a toilet?

The immediate non-flush nature of your problem, as depicted in the video, indicates (to me, anyway) a very local obstruction, as in the toilet trap itself. You need to run a toilet auger (see pic) down through the toilet trap and/or pull the toilet to see if there is an obstruction immediately below. This could be anything from packed paper to packed solid material to a kid's toy to rocks from a fish tank. I have seen all those things and more.

If the sewer system itself were backed up such that there was water/waste all the way up to the toilet trap itself, your toilet bowl would overflow onto the floor when flushed and you would very likely have water coming out from under the toilet due to wax seal compromise.


Please excuse my MS Paint representation, but it should help.

From what I understand, the grounding wires may not be necessary, but if the fixtures have ground wires or grounding terminals, it can only help to connect them. This question explains grounding in some more detail.

One exception is that if the vent is directly over a shower, it might need to be GFCI protected (see this question). This could be done in a variety of ways. You could install a GFCI breaker and run the vent on a dedicated circuit, but that would be annoying if it tripped since you could only reset it at the breaker. You may be able to install a dedicated GFCI outlet in the bathroom and connect the vent and switch to the protected side of that outlet. You can also find combination GFCI outlet/switches that would combine the GFCI outlet and the switch into one unit.


It's going to be tough to push anything semi-rigid through plumbing because plumbing uses tight 90 degree elbows -- not like the long-sweep type used for electrical conduit.
If the flow is not completely stopped then here are a few ideas.
You might have some luck getting some string through the pipe by letting it be carried in the flow of air from a vacuum or flow of water. It may help to tie a small object to the string (a small plastic bag is a common choice) so that the string experiences more drag and is pulled along better in the flow.
If you can get a string though you might be able to use the string to help pull the camera through. It's still going to be tricky to get around the elbows, particularly if the pipe is smaller in diameter.
Underground conduit systems are sometimes tested by feeding a "mandrel" through the pipe. This verifies the pipe is the correct size, is not crimped, etc. You might be able to inspect your piping with a mandrel instead of a camera. A small plastic ball, a piece of wood, etc could serve. Make it half the size of the pipe and find out whether it passes through. Attach a string marked with lengths like a measuring tape to the mandrel so that if it hits an obstruction you'll know how far along the path that occurred. Also, if it becomes wedged and cannot be pulled back out by the string, you'll know where to go digging to extract it.. :-(


Is there a specific drill [bit] I could buy somewhere?

No.

I'm pretty sure those are standard metric parts. You just use any appropriate-sized metric wood drill-bit.

  how to determine which drill size I should use?

For the wood dowels, measure the diameter and round to mearest mm. That's the size drill you need. Wood dowels tend to expand if they are not kept really dry, so round down. The most common metric sizes are 6, 8 and 10 mm.

For the metal cam-lock "dowels", you measure the inner diameter of the threaded part, like you would with any wood-screw. I think Ikea sometimes use threaded inserts for those, the thread may not be designed to cut a mating thread into chipboard. Note that some alloy-cams are very weak and brittle, I would try to find some good quality ones (or use a different type of fastener entirely)

You can do your measuring with a vernier caliper (or digital caliper if the batteries haven't died again) or just hold the thing up to the light and try various drill bit shanks behind and in front of it. A good alternative is to measure the Ikea-provided holes by dropping metric drill-bits into them backwards until you find a good fit.

You can always do some tests in scrap wood to reassure yourself you have the right sized drill-bit before making holes in any important material.

Lastly, you don't have to use Ikea hardware of course. You can be inventive with other fastening systems that work in chipboard. Screws, ordinary glued dowels, furniture-blocks, knock-down blocks etc. I sometimes have to be creative when repairing relatives' Ikea or Ikea-like furniture :-)

"Dowel points" can be useful for marking where to drill.


How to handle a break in a circuit due to removal of a fixture?

Sounds like you understand the constraint of having the splice in a box. Like a lot of people on here, I am weary about in-wall splice products like the one mentioned in JACK's answer, although I admit I don't have much experience using them.
I would look very closely at the possibility of running a new cable. Sometimes it can be easier than you think and might not involve too much drywall damage/repair. Assuming the cable terminates at the receptacle on the left, I would start there. Remove the receptacle and disconnect all the wiring. Use a hacksaw blade to cut the nails that hold the junction box to the stud and remove the box.  Reach into the hole and try to remove the staples that fasten the cable to the stud near the box.  Then  fasten a string or fish line to the cable and pull the cable through the studs back towards the wall area you have open.  With a little luck the cable will pull through and you can use the string to pull a length of new cable.  When you are all done, don't forget to replace the box you just removed with a new "old work" style box that clamps the drywall edge to hold it in place.
We can't see where the other end of the cable goes, but if it goes to another box close by you might be able to repeat the process on the other end, or maybe by just replacing one side of the cable, you would have enough freedom to move the box to a more desirable location, like higher up on the wall where the box could be hidden behind a clock or wall art.  Although it doesn't look like it would apply in this case, if you could move the splice towards the floor you could put a box with an outlet there and not have a "weird" box in the center of the wall with a blank plate on it.
Don't forget to consider the what is on the other side of the wall.  Depending on how you use the space, the other side of the wall could be a better place to have the junction box, and it would not be too much work to cut a hole in the drywall and mount the box the other way.


How can I remove broken pipe threads from inside a galvanized tee fitting?

I'd borrow or buy an "inside pipe wrench", then heat the T fitting with a torch for a bit to expand it and give it a crank.


Can a hand drill drill 1/4"-1/2" holes into 1" thick aluminum?

I would say, "yes, but...".

First of all, you'll need the appropriate bit. Tungsten carbide is the go-to for most metal drilling, and such bits are usually also designed to drill efficiently into metal and remove the waste. You can probably also find diamond-tipped bits which will also be good at biting into the metal and removing it. Your average drill bit for hardwoods won't be up to the task; it won't bite, will dull quickly, and will bind easily.

Metal drilling usually requires use of an oil or other drilling fluid to cool the bit. This would make drilling by hand a two-person job; one to hold the drill steady, the other to apply the drilling fluid.

The last point of concern is not overstressing the drill's motor. This is usually just a matter of not pressing too hard, and letting the drill do the work in its sweet time. But, it also generally means having a drill with the chutzpah to handle the job. As was said in the comments there are plenty of hand drills with enough torque for this kind of work, but your $30 range is probably not in that class.


White scratches/spots on wood furniture- how to fix?

I can't identify what the white marks are, but I can suggest some ways of covering it up.

If you have a can of brown shoe polish, you can rub some of that onto the wood and it will help cover up the white marks. Personally, I don't like doing this because shoe polish is wax based and can leave residue that won't absorb stain if you want to refinish the wood later.

The next easiest option is to buy a bottle of Old English Scratch Cover For Dark Woods. I use it at home and it works well for stuff like this. My biggest complaint about this product is that it doesn't last more than a year. It seems to fade over time and you have to reapply it.

Another option short of refinishing the wood is to buy a liquid stain that matches from the hardware store. You can apply it to the marks and then immediately wipe it off. You don't have to apply a wood sealer on top, but if you do it will last longer.

If you find that the white marks don't absorb anything and seem to be on top of the wood instead of inside of the finish, then you can try removing them with a scouring pad or some fine 360-600 grit sandpaper and retry one of the steps above again.

If this doesn't work, then you might be looking at refinishing the wood. This would mean sanding the top layer of wood off, staining, and then sealing with a polyurethane/polycrylic (read the stain's instructions for which sealer it recommends.)


How to stop outside rainwater from coming in under the wall and through the concrete floor of my garage conversion?

It sounds to me that the first thing you should do is rebuild your drainage system.  If you still feel that once the system has been adequately rebuilt, or if this is not a feasible option for you, then there are various floor water sealing products out there you can use.


Strange noise coming from my bathroon outlet

Yes this is indicating a problem. It's hard to tell what the issue might be, but electricity is silent when its working right.

BEFORE INVESTIGATING - turn off the breaker.

Things I would check AFTER turning off the breaker:

take off the outlet cover and look for

burn marks
loose wires
cracked or worn insulation
cracked or worn parts on the outlet
signs of rodents

take off the switch cover and look for the same things as the socket

The easy try-it-and-see repair is to replace the switch and outlet, this should cost maybe $10 and 30 minutes of work.

Do you know if you have aluminum or copper wiring in your home?

Is there a fan in this bathroom? Are you sure the noise was coming from the outlet and not a breeze blowing past the fan?


Should a leak repair take effect immediately?

Depends on what the real cause of the leak was and how it was fixed. The "leak" you saw may have been simply loose water that had already leaked (or was incidental to taking the plumbing apart to repair) and simply needed to drain.

Other products take some time to cure and be waterproof and pressure-resistant like Michael said. PVC pipe sealant and liquid thread sealants like LokTite take a while to dry, but again as Michael said they need to cure without any water pressure for best results. Other sealants are specifically designed to seal under pressure, but these are generally quick homeowner fixes (the equivalent of car radiator leak-stop) that a licensed plumber should not be using as a permanent fix to any problem. Teflon tape and other flexible solid seals, as well as solder, should be immediately waterproof.


I would use a high-performance 2-part wood filler (it's kinda like auto body filler). Overfill the area then shave it down with a Surform plane (a cheesegrater plane), then use coarse, medium, and fine sandpaper to smooth.

That desk could present problems regarding paint, the surface (it looks like a shiny laminate) is designed for stuff not to stick to it. I would fine sand the top, paint it with a "difficult surface" primer like BIN, then finish off with a high quality gloss paint. If you use lame brushes, your paint job will be lame so do the opposite of that.


How can I prevent water from collecting near the blower fan blades of a portable air conditioner?

1 verify that there is a slight slope downwards in the drain pan. the manufacturer usually specifies how much. 1-2 degrese i believe so that the water naturally drains away from the house and out the back of the ac unit or gets hit by the rear fan and spashes on the external radiator for extra evaperative cooling. they may have left some corner or such open just enough to let the water drain under the foam from the front section in the house to the rear one outside.

2 if it has an eco/auto mode where it will activly evaperate the water use it if possible.  running the unit at full blast for long stretches will build ice on the inside and outside coils, usually outside first. keeping the temprature in the room constant instead of large swings every few hours should help some to.

3 verify in house humidity is not high you will get more condensation and possibly mold problems from it.  you will have to verify but i think 40% or so is about as high as you want it.


According to woodworking discussions, it looks like any of the "usual suspect" organic solvents should be able to cut this polymerizing oil finish -- turpentine, mineral spirits, paint thinner, naptha.


Does a carport slab need expansion joints at interior piers or the perimeter?

I assume the pier is above the finished floor. You are correct in thinking to provide the full depth expansion joint around the pier, as well as around the perimeter of the slab that will be poured against existing concrete.
If the garage area is large, in addition to the expansion joint, it is recommended to have a control joint at an approximate 10'-15' interval in each direction to minimize the potential for random crack. The control joint (1/8"-1/4" wide x 1" depth) shall be made by saw-cut within 24 hours of concrete placement. Around the pier, the diamond-shaped control joint is recommended to avoid diagonal cracks at the reentrant corners of the slab.
The last recommendation is the fresh concrete shall have at least 5% of entrained air to improve its durability against weathering, especially in the cold regions.


It is a change in floor plans to 'kick up' the corner and keep water from sitting there.


sump pump discharge pipe connection broken inside basement

Cut the pipe in half and put a cuppling on it.


I would simply ask if you can have two beams on each wall that hit the ceiling.  These could span to the 1/3 mark on the walls and would keep it from flexing.  Simple 4x4 would probably look the best and should still pass fire code.


Which lamp bulb for a stronger & warmer lighting?

Every cousin-in-law I know comes to me with the same story: They need a way to know when a light bulb has burned out.  "Well, just look at it."  "Well, I can't, it's out in the doghouse or chicken coop".  (suspecting what's really called for here is a switch to LED) "Why do dogs/chickens need light?" "They don't. They need heat.  I'm using it to heat their space during the winter chills.  Loss of the heat places them in danger."

#include picard_facepalm.gif

And my answer is... Get an Actual Heater. And I go hit McMaster-Carr and (we're in 120V territory) find an industrial 240V heating element 4x their desired wattage, or a 480V element 16x their desired wattage, and I say "Install this".  And then they do, and 2 winters later they say "Thank you".

Heat

The problem here is that you are abusing your light to be a comfort heater.  And you have confused "warm" thermally and "strong" as signs of a good bulb (actually, in lighting, "warm" means something else, it means color of light blue vs orange).  Actually they are signs of an inefficient bulb that starts fires.

So find a way to get an actual heater that gives you the warmth you crave.  It can be hard finding a 40W heater, and I gather you're outside North America, which makes things tougher - as any heating element will either be 230V or 400V, and running a 400V heater on 230V gives 1/3 the heat. (230/400 squared).

Light

Halogens are good for roughly 15 lumens/watt.  So your 40W halogen was about 600 lumens.

You say your new lamp is 200 lumens. That explains why it seems dimmer. It is dimmer.

But that's because you willingly chose an LED bulb that is very dim, even by that bulb size's standards. For instance "Buy this with this" engine on Ikea's site recommends this bulb, which is 470 lumens.

I don't know what to tell you. You bought it.  Buy something else.


How do I reduce the noise from my forced air furnace?

Fiberglass Duct Liner: (industrialinsulation.com)

  Fiberglass duct liner is designed to be installed inside sheet metal ductwork and plenums.  Fiberglass duct liner absorbs noise and contributes to indoor comfort by lowering heat loss or gain through duct walls.

Or if you have the space for it, build some baffles out of 2x4' acoustic ceiling tiles inside the return chamber like below. Secure them to some sort of structure so they don't get pulled into the blower.

Using a pleated filter (the white kind) instead of the fiberglass type will choke the air flow a bit more and probably cut some of the whistling noise.


Collapses are just one problem with clay sewers. Probably more common are roots clogging the pipe.  If they do collapse, it can occur under your foundation slab, or out in your yard.

Some 60 year old clay sewers might still be in great condition while others not so great. If you want to know the condition of yours then get a video inspection.

Do you have a basement and is it finished?  Obviously a finished basement is a lot more costly to repair than an unfinished one.  If a collapse does occur, the backup will occur pretty slowly (versus from the city where you might get a few feet of water in your basement quickly). Water alarms can be obtained relatively cheaply and would alert you to the issue early on.

Ultimately you need to weigh the cost of the insurance against the cost of repair.  Remember that insurance companies don't make their billions by paying out claims to people.


Do I need a separate moisture barrier for basement laminate flooring

After doing a bit more research the answer appears to be "it depends on the product."

Some pads are designed to also be a moisture barrier and some are not so read the product specifications.


Identifying gauge of unmarked stranded wire

Wire gauge is based upon the conductor cross sectional area of the wire. There are tables all over the internet that show the characteristics of wire. Here is one for stranded wire.

For a given conductor cross sectional area the solid wire will have the smallest effective diameter. Stranded wire will have a slightly larger outside diameter due to the small spaces that exist between individual conductors. Different stranding (number and size of the individual conductors) will lead to different outside diameters because certain strandings will pack tighter together than others.


What should I do about shingles that are stuck to the sheathing?

Here is what I ended up doing:

The entire roof had an ice and water shield that was sticking the shingles.  This guy's write-up about his roof closely mirrors my situation in that it was south facing, low slope, and old.

After deciding to just lay shingles onto the remaining old shingles, I noticed that the sun warmed up the substance to the point where it was relatively easy to peel off the stuck shingles with the roofer's spade.  So I got the old shingles off, put down felt and applied new roof.  Thanks!


Can you use a 10 Amp socket (and device with a 10 Amp draw) on a 15 Amp circuit

Yes, you can use a device which draws 10 A on a circuit protected by a larger breaker. For example, table and floor lamps may draw less than 1 A and have light power cords that could not carry 15 A continuous, but code allows them to be used on 15 A circuits.

If the lamp socket would develop a dead short, the breaker would blow before the cord would overheat. If the lamp socket would develop a fault in which it drew 19 A continuously, then the lamp cord would get hot, but the probability of such an event is judged to be nil.


Can sewage smell penetrate indoors because of inadequate venting?

I would say NO, the vent is not the problem. A more likely culprit is a bad wax seal. I have found toilets with no water leakage and big gaps in the seal were someone tried to use silicone to seal the flange. No leakage and constant sewer smell. I pulled the toilet and was amazed. Cleaned probably a full tube of calking (calking gun size) out installed a .99$ was ring and the smell was gone.

Any residual smell may be from urine in the flooring and there are chemical treatments that can fix this.

Last if there is a floor drain it may be the cause of the smell, pour some water in the floor drain then add a cup of cooking oil this will keep the water in the trap from evaporating.
A clear vent even in a 3 story would not cause the smell you describe.


Can I retrofit a wind-power system for my home?

Here are a couple companies that make rooftop wind turbines

Swift Wind Turbines.
Wind Energy 7.

Not sure if these things would require special zoning, permits, etc. or if they would even be allowed in all locations. A call to your local government would be the easiest way to find out if something like this would be permitted in your area. You may also have to check with the homeowners association; if that applies for you, as there may be noise or other issues with installing a wind turbine on the roof (Those homeowners folks can be awful finicky).

EDIT

Here is a site with loads of "small" wind turbines allsmallwindturbines.com, you may be able to find an appropriate one from this list.

Finding a very small (< 6 ft./ 2 m) turbine may be difficult, as the blades have to be of adequate size to be able to harness enough energy to generate power.


how to properly seal protective sleeve entering electric panel

You're looking for "duct seal" in the electrical section

The correct product for sealing the ends of conduits is something that's called "duct seal" of all things -- it's a soft putty that can be molded around the cables and stuffed into the conduit.  It's available just about anywhere electrical supplies are sold.


How should I handle a deck beam member that's slightly shorter than the others?

I don't like any of the A-C options presented here, the beam is a very important structural component and incorrect beam installations can compromise the entire deck. Shims, shortcuts and hoping for shrinkage are inappropriate. I would either:
D) Return/exchange the bad board for one that is proper size.
E) Trim the larger beam member to the same width (height, as installed) and adjust the post-beam notch or bracket to compensate for the slight decrease.
Of these two options, I favor option D but with sky-high lumber prices and low availability now (Summer 2021) that might be difficult.


Thermostat installed, but why also install a separate timer?

Heating practices and equipment vary from place to place. Your setup looks like it is probably in the US but I can give an answer that relates to UK heating. It may be that the same principles apply.

A typical UK heating system is controlled like this

Timer --> Thermostat --> Zone-valve --> Pump & Boiler (furnace)

If you are a working family, you don't need heat in your home when you are at work elsewhere. You therefore set the timer to provide heat in the mornings and evenings.

During those periods, the timer provides power to the thermostat. If the temperature is low, the thermostat provides power to the zone valve (through a relay). Once the valve is open, it provides power to the pump and boiler.

So the timer determines when the house is heated (i.e. when people are present and active) and the thermostat ensures the boiler and pump do not operate if the temperature is already high enough.

There are additional complications if you live in a climate where air-conditioning is needed to cool the house in summer. But the basic principles outlined above probably apply.


How can I make the corner tile transition less conspicuous with an out-of-plumb wall?

When you build stairs that land on an out-of-level surface, you plan from the lowest point. The bottom step tapers as the slope rises. The same concept applies here. Ideally you'd have laid out your grid from the widest point of the wall.

I'm not sure if you're asking about the task of cutting tiles or the end result, but ideally you'd have set the tile for the top row in the same horizontal position that you've set the bottom row. This would've resulted in tiles growing larger as you worked upward, but you'd never encounter the end of a tile. Thus, you avoid skinny tiles and have a less obvious taper.

Carry on as you are. Skinny tiles are still tiles, and even though they're difficult to cut and set on plane, your project will look fine. From inside the shower with the curtain closed and shampoo bottles everywhere, not many people will notice the taper.

If it's really going to bother you, consider cutting in a cove or bead accent strip, or simply a vertical run (soldier course) of the same tile at each side of the corner. A diamond wheel in an angle grinder would work to create the channel.


I'd try the hole on the back, behind the white wire
I'd try threading a 10-32 grounding screw into the open hole on the back side of the wiring compartment and using that to land your ground.  If that hole's the wrong size, then I'd get a Garvin GSST and carefully drive it into the sheet metal enclosing the wiring comparment, then land the grounding lead from the cord on that.


If you're using a hammer drill, try using a regular drill (or turn hammer mode off) and the masonry bit. Spin fast, push slow. Oversize the holes and use plastic plug anchors to provide some cushion.

Once you do get a few solid connections, use some construction adhesive or silicone on your batten for additional support.


Shower Tub Valve leaking from behind cartridge

What you see in the picture is just water that was in your pipe dripping out.  After shutting off water, there is always a small amount coming out.

If the leak is external (in front of your tiles), i would say it is your cartridge or seals of your faucet being faulty.  If it is behind the tiles, the soldering of your pipe must have given up which is very bad news.  Is your cement board wet?

If you have another bath with a compatible faucet, swapping them to isolate the problem.  Else get anothe faucet to try it out.

On a side note, I noticed the Redgard water proofing layer didn't fully cover all the way to the edge of the hole.  You might want to touch up and make sure water don't go behind.  Usually water damage happens at these openings.


Relative maintenance costs of painted vs. stained cedar siding?

I have two small areas of solid cedar. I used a natural/brown stain and a sealer. It had to be resealed every 3 years to look good , every 5 years just to keep it from bleaching. The same time I built a shed with cedar plywood and painted it ; it is still good after 15 years.


How do I mount a ceiling fan to this fan box?

Yes to both of your questions.

The screws go into the notches/holes at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions in the photo of your box.

The two center holes are just to mount the box itself until a fan is installed.


Wall stud spacing too tight for replacement medicine cabinet

1/8" total? That's 1/16" on each side. Sand it down and call it a day.


Moving dirt in crawlspace in house with daylight basement?

As I understand it (second hand from friends in construction) you must maintain a 45-degree slope from the top of the footing (the footing must be buried according to frost depth rules if your crawlspace gets below freezing), whether that be a retaining wall or a dirt slope, you can't cut into that 45-degree or you risk undermining the foundation.  A soil engineer might tell you differently depending on your soil type.  Google "bench pinning" and "underpinning" for two ways to support a foundation when excavating nearby.  there are also pile methods that support a footing on rammed pilings, but that method is usually used when the foundation has already gone out-of-level.


Plumbing a modified S/P Trap? With a Vent on the ‘P’?

As nobody else has come to the plate yet: reasons crown vents have been banned (for a long time) include (I'll community wiki, feel free to add, or write a whole new answer):

Easily plugged/blocked. You get a clog, you plunge it, the mass of hairy gook is sent directly from the trap into the vent line, the vent is now plugged. Your proposed setup is perfect for this problem.
High flow into the trap (draining a full sink, say) can cause the vent opening to be blocked by water, encouraging siphoning. With the vent further down the pipe, the water level in the pipe falls, leaving airspace at the top for the vent. Can also lead to gradual clogging if fats floating on the water congeal in the vent.
Several sources claim faster evaporation, but I don't know that I buy that argument.


Australia: Does this show a neutral wire?

Yup, the black wires in a terminal are neutral.

In general, where you have 2+ black wires, and they are in a separate terminal or the loop terminal of a switch, they are almost certainly neutral.

Make sure you're aware of what work you legally can and can't do in your area.


To answer your question, yes, concrete in a planter would most likely crack it due to its expansion and contraction caused by changes in humidity and temperature. However, a plastic 5-gallon bucket will hold concrete, and you could camouflage the bucket by putting it in a planter and covering it with dirt. Depending on where you live, four 5-gallon buckets of concrete might not be enough to guarantee your gazebo won't be moved by wind (thereby bending and destroying it.) You could consider using half wine barrels filled with concrete instead. I would expect 4 of those to be an adequate anchor.


Not enough wires.

You would need 12/2 from source to first light, 12/3 from first light to first switch, 12/4 from first switch to second light, and 12/3 from second light to second switch.

But this is not the best practical way to add a second light to the original circuit.

Originally, if I'm not mistaken, you had 12/2 from the source to the light, 12/2 from the light to the first switch, and 12/3 between the switches.

Starting from that circuit, the best way to add a second light is to run a new 12/2 from the original light to the new light. This new cable need not, and probably should not, pass through the first switch j-box.

The wires in the new 12/2 must be used to connect the lamps in parallel. In the j-box of the original light, you will find two wires connected together -- leave these alone. You will also find two wires connected to the lamp. Of these, the one from the source cable is the neutral -- connect the white wire of the new 12/2 to this. The other is the switched hot -- connect the black wire of the new 12/2 to this.

At the new light, connect the white wire to the shell side of the light, and the black wire to the tip side. (The shell is the threaded part of the socket, and the tip is the little button in the center.)

Any other combination of cables is not going to be any cheaper than this, and will certainly be more complicated.


Is there a standard length on the PVC furnace pipes coming outside the exterior?

The pipes have to be long enough to clear any overhang or roof.

This is to ensure that the exhaust gases don't collect under the roof. This could be a fire hazard (if the gases are hot), though this isn't that likely, or a health hazard (there'll be high concentrations of CO2, or even CO, in the gases. If these re-entered the house it would be a definite health hazard.

There could also be a lot of moisture in the gases and you don't want that condensing on the overhang either.


Garage shelf supports splitting and need to be supported. What is best?

You could try "sistering" another piece of lumber to the back (inside) of the horizontal supports.  Apply glue and put a few screws in from the front, and it should lend some additional strength to the edges of the shelves.  You might even be able to jack up the shelf a bit in-place before sistering to lend additional resistance.  (Just be careful.  Jacks can tip, and then your project could literally come crashing down around you)

EDIT: Just don't put in a bajillion scews, or it could aggravate your problem.  Looking at your shelf some more, you could also consider jacking up the shelf and putting another layer of plywood on the bottom.  This would turn your shelf into more of a box, and would lend some additional rigidity.


Does my panel with a separate disconnect need an isolated neutral bus?

You will need to isolate the neutral bus from the ground bus in the new panel. These are usually a separate item and can be found in most hardware stores. Do not bond the neutral busses in the new panel.

Good Luck


How deep do I need to make the post footings for a residential deck in Northern Michigan?

The post depth depends on the frost line. The size of the footing depends on the soil type under the footing.
You need to dig until at least under the frost line, and then, if you are not on rock or undisturbed/compacted soil, dig until you get there. You can analyze the soil as you dig. The size of the pad of your footing depends on the soil: gravel, sand, or clay. See also https://www.decks.com/how-to/articles/soil-conditions-for-deck-footings
Check with your local municipality, they have this info for you.
Here's a map of the frost line (depths), and you'll see that Michigan is around 55".

From https://www.decks.com/how-to/articles/deck-footing-frost-depth-map :

Always check with your local building inspections department to see what is required in your area. Furthermore, you must install footings at least 12” below unsettled soil. If you are building into the side of a steep hill or beside a retaining wall you will have to maintain the minimum distance to grade not only vertically but also laterally. In order to achieve a suitable lateral barrier you may need to dig your foundation much deeper than on a flat surface.


How do I limit the water flowing through my neighbor's fence into my yard?

You need to be careful how much you impede the natural flow of water off your neighbor's yard.  If your property is downhill of your neighbor's, the water flows naturally from his property to yours.  You could find yourself in legal jeopardy if you dam up or otherwise prevent that natural flow.

On the other side of the coin, your up-hill neighbor can not, and should not make changes to the topography of his property that would increase the amount of runoff onto your property.

There a legal doctrine involving this kind of thing, but I can't remember what it's called.  Here's one reference I found on line.

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/what-can-i-do-about-water-drainage-on-my-property-caused-by-the-adjourning-property-43279


Is there a way to make toilet porcelain dirt and stain resistant?

What you would need is a product that will apply a "hydrophobic" coating to your toilet. Hydrophobic means that it will repel water, and make it very difficult for anything to stick to the surface. This would reduce the amount of effort required to keep a toilet clean.

At this point, there are not many products on the market with these properties which are available to consumers. So far I have only been able to locate one of these products.

The following is not a product endorsement. I do not have any affiliation with the manufacturer, and am only listing an example. I have also not tried this product myself, but there are videos online of this in action, and it appears to be very effective at repelling water.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/neverwet/neverwet-kit/


My waterpik shower keeps running on pause

If you’re head is flowing at a reduced rate the valve is likely defective. If it’s a trickle, this shower head is operating as designed. They’re not supposed to cut off supply 100% as per international plumbing code. This is to prevent scalding from unmixed hot water in the plumbing lines.

You’ll get used to it, enjoy!


Can anyone help me figure out what type of bug this is?

Had a bug guy come out.  They were white, fuzzy, super tiny almost spider\ant types.  Turned out they were baby ghost ants.


What type of wire should I run when updating a ceiling fan?

The type of wire you use depends on what kind of circuit you are attaching to.  Go to your electrical box, find the circuit for the current light switch, and read what it is rated for (probably 15 or 20 amps).  If it is 15 then you use 14-3 wire.  If it is 20 then you need 12-3 wire.  The "3" will give you an extra red wire and that will be used to separate your fan and light controls.  If you feel that you will have additional electrical work down the road I suggest buying in the 250 feet spools.  Wire goes quickly and the smaller samples are pretty costly.  You might pay almost half for 25 feet what 250 would cost you.

For the switch you need to simply go to the big box and go in their fan section and they will have a few choices for fan/light combo switches.  Just make sure there are two controls on the switch.  I just installed the one below and it works well.


Beef up the floor while you can

With 24's and chip board I would consider cutting the floor and adding purlins in between the joists and replace the floor with plywood. Then I'd go with Schluter underlayment.

you wouldn't need to add this many

www.stratco.com

This is a steel shed floor in the picture but the concept is the same, just with wood.

Then go with double 5/8 offset seams and Schluter. The floor will be thinner and stronger.

If you want to stick with what you have proposed I would glue and screw everything and hope it's not you taking it up down the road.

Really not a single cut? That's amazing.


I'd suggest the following (apologies for the crude drawing).

From left-to-right:

extend pipe out past the black pipe
attach yellow clean-out elbow (not 90 degree!...use a sweep (yellow))
this will be angled down aiming towards the run along the other wall
connect the sweep to the other pipe using two 45 degree elbows (purple)

Sweep with cleanout:

45 degree elbow:

That should:

remove any 90 degree turns (never a good thing in a drain)
reduce turns in general (from 5 to 3)
give you a 'snake-able' cleanout entry point.

While you're at it, I'd also move upstream to that inside corner 90 degree angle and replace that with a 90 degree sweep as well.


Joints between paving stones - A breeding ground for weeds. Sustainable control?

From the picture you already have your patio installed.
To implement the polymetric sand solution or the mortar solution requires that you

Pull up the pavers
Clean out the sand/dirt between the cracks
Reinstall the pavers
Apply polymetric sand/mortar

I've been working on the same issue but I am trying to not pull up the pavers.

The Problem:

Dirt gets into the cracks between the pavers
Seeds blow onto the patio and get into the dirt
Seeds grow and send roots down between the pavers

So, polymetric sand/mortar provides less opportunity for dirt which reduces the chance for seeds to sprout.

Putting weed blocker under the patio fails to address the root cause.

My Solution

I know I'm going to catch some heat for this but here goes.
I have a large paver patio and I hate pulling weeds so I decided to try salt to prevent weeds. Salt gets down into the cracks and makes an unfavorable environment for seeds to sprout.

Bought a 20 pound bag of table salt for $7 (not rock salt, table salt is super ground super fine)
Poured about 3 pounds of it onto the patio
Used a push broom to work the salt into the cracks. Since it was table salt it is very fine and broomed into the cracks nicely.
Using my water hose I wetted down the salt so that it washed into the cracks. Not a major hose down, just enough to get the salt wet and further into the cracks.

The patio looked a little salty for a few days. A rain or two brought the patio back to it's normal color.

The result

Weed free patio all summer
No salt damage to the pavers

If weeds start to grow again I'll broom in more salt. I'm one year into my experiment - so far, so good.


How to remove paint and refinish metal fan housing front plate

If you can remove the entire face plate use regular paint stripper. When you get it down to bare metal you can polish the surface with scotchbrite pads or steelwool. You might find something to attach to your drill to make this part easier. Once you get the finish you are looking for cover it with clear enamal to protect it. If you can't get an acceptable finish for a clear coat look at some of the metal finish spray paints like hammered bronze or antique copper etc. I would avoid the spray chrome as I haven't found one yet that yields decent results.


Pressure treated will last significantly longer. Hemlock performs about the same as Southern Pine and its above ground life is significantly less than treated pine’s in ground life. In ground, you can’t expect untreated wood to last more than 3-5 years.

In ground, I think you can reasonably expect pressure treated to last six times longer (even more if you treat with an additional product like copper naphthalate). Given that plus installation costs, pressure treated is clearly the choice.

As far as other options, I think concrete or blocks would be the only other cost effective options.

References

https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/bridges/documents/tdbp/decayres.pdf
https://bct.eco.umass.edu/publications/articles/wood-myths-facts-and-fictions-about-wood/


Help me understand the advantage of insulating the attic roof?

First, since you have ducts, and an attic-floor-to-rafters room(!) in your attic, it's practically impossible to meet the conditions needed for a vented attic to work in your case.

Since I see you are in the eastern 3/4ths of NC, where ground snow loads can be guaranteed to be below 50lbs/ft^2 and in fact don't exceed half of that as per IRC Figure R301.2(5), a compact over-roof is how I'd solve your problem, instead.

Why a compact roof?

There are two conditions needed to make a vented roof work.  The first is that there must be a barrier plane at the ceiling capable of keeping heat and hot (or moist) air from entering the attic and warming the roof deck (or condensing out on the bottom of the cold roof deck -- hygric buoyancy is a thing).  This barrier must be as good thermally as the wall is directly over the exterior wall's top plate (i.e. R-30 over the top plate for a R-30 wall) and it must be airtight to the point where heated air can't get into the attic and spoil all your ventilation work.  How airtight?  Well, I'd be using air barrier tape to seal the ceiling drywall if I were building a vented attic.

However, with ducts in the attic, and a conditioned room in the attic as well that extends to the rafters at some points, the challenge of building a thermal and air barrier between the conditioned space and the unconditioned attic/roof deck just went from merely "hard" to "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"  Ducts leak, despite all the work you do to mastic every last joint (that only gets your leakage down to a few percent).  Worse yet, the existing drywall isn't air barrier sealed I bet -- even with sealed and insulated ducts, a drywall joint that has not been taped specially to serve as an air barrier will still leak air.  Never mind that door to the unconditioned attic (err...storage space)!

Second, the underside of the roof deck needs to be vented to the outside air.  This is how the roof deck is kept at the outside temperature, no matter how much snow is piled atop it.  In practice, this usually translates to venting the whole attic, although it is possible to use an a rigid board insulation (foamboard or rockwool) sandwiched between the rafters and a layer of drywall attached with long screws into the rafters and air barrier taped, effectively creating a vent space while conditioning the attic.

Furthermore, vented attics need copious quantities of attic ventilation as ventilation's a lousy way to dispose of heat -- if I were building a vented attic, I would strongly consider using deep/wide enough trusses for the roof that the requisite top plate insulation does not come up to the bottom of the rafters, along with the "insulation wind baffle" from the illustration below (taken from BSI-046):

Given that the eastern 3/4ths of NC doesn't get enough snow loading for the R-value of snow to be a factor in ice damming, the commercial-style compact roof makes more sense in this application as it moves the attic into the conditioned space instead of trying to build a conditioned, air-sealed room within a vented-to-outside-air attic.

How do I actually do this?

Implementing this isn't hard, provided the details are minded.  I would strip the existing roof down to the deck (which can stay provided it is in good condition), then apply an air barrier layer i.e. a fully adhered product or a liquid applied product, as sheet products get rips and holes in them that make them poor air barriers.  Atop that, I would put in at least two layers of rigid insulation board (rockwool or foam) with a total R-value of R-50 or better and the joints staggered both horizontally and vertically to control airflow (otherwise, weird, complicated airflow networks make life hard).  Finally, I would attach an overdeck or nail-base to the rafters with long screws as the insulation will resist the bending moments of the screws, then put down whatever actual roofing system I like for the application as everything's taken care of below it.  See the illustration below, taken from the first link above (i.e. BSI-046), for a graphical view.

And oh, last but not least, once I fixed the roof, I'd remove the insulation from the attic floor -- it'd be superfluous once I installed the compact roof, as the attic is then properly part of the conditioned space.