Splitting a circuit breaker into multiple lines I recently found out that several rooms in my house are apparently connected to one circuit breaker.

Setup:
My wife was in the bathroom drying her hair and I decided it was time to nuke lunch in the microwave. Took only a few seconds and a good portion of the upper floor went dark. After fumbling with a few breakers I discovered that the entire kitchen, bathroom and most of my living room are all on one circuit. This concerned me since several devices (microwave, oven, fridge, dishwasher, TV, hairdryer, curling iron, a few light fixtures and other misc items) are all on one circuit.

Question:
So my question is ... how difficult is it to trace back and split the circuit into two breakers. Is this something that typically requires an electrician? and how do I go about identifying the main trunk from the upper floor that leads down to the breaker box. I'm familiar enough with electrical work to install new outlets, devices, wire up switches and lighting fixtures. Is this type of fix out of the "average DIY" league?

This seems to be relatively common especially with older homes.

If your basement is not finished then this might not be that large of a job.  If the basement is finished it makes this a lot harder and you will definitely be making holes in walls/ceilings.

The first thing you need to figure out is what exactly you are going to split. Most locations requires dedicated 20amp circuits to each recepticle in the kitchen, so instead of trying to break up a number of other circuits, it'd probably be easiest just to run new dedicated circuits for the kitchen. You do need to be aware that it is not always permissible to have multiple circuits running in the same electrical box, so you could probably make it even easier by running brand new outlets instead of trying to change existing ones.

Installing a new breaker and outlet is not that difficult, but safety always comes to mind with electrical, so if you are not sure you could opt to have an electrician do the whole thing, or if you just want peice of mind, you could get them to inspect your work upon completion.

As always, make sure to turn the power off when working in your electrical panel.  I know a lot of people will pop in breakers with the power on, but I prefer to have my hands nowhere near live electricity.

Good luck!

If you have room in your panel to add a small braker then like a 10 or 15 amp you can do that
 Or pending what size braker u already have you maybe able to go up in amps to switch out the braker you don't want to over load your box though.


Over-the-range Microwave on small-appliance branch circuit Either there is conflicting information or a lack of when it comes to this question. Is it allowed in NEC code to permit an over-the-range microwave to run off of one of the small-appliance branch circuits?

Folks may be too wrapped up in the kitchen rules and forgetting the everywhere rule.

No receptacles if fixed loads are >50%

Add up the rated amperage (or VA/120 or watts/120) of each and every load that is either hardwired or permanently installed like the microwave, garbage disposal, fan, lights, yadayada.   Got the total?

Now look at the circuit breaker, it'll be 15 or 20 amps.

If the total of all the fixed, installed loads is more than half the circuit breaker rating, that circuit cannot power receptacles (other than the receptacles for the installed loads.)

I can only access the 2017 NEC, but I don't know of anywhere that has adopted it yet. It's likely, however, to be stricter than whichever year of the NEC is legal in your area. In the NEC 2017, it says

210.52(B)(1) Receptacle Outlets Served.
In the kitchen, pantry, breakfast room, dining room, or similar area of a dwelling unit, the two or more 20-ampere small-appliance branch circuits required by 210.11(C)(1) shall serve all wall and floor receptacle outlets covered by 210.52(A), all countertop outlets covered by 210.52(C), and receptacle outlets for refrigeration equipment.

This would appear to indicate that a separate circuit, exclusively for the microwave, is not required.


Unplugging vs running an empty refrigerator We have a community Pea Patch that has 2 older refrigerators that are empty 5 days a week and used to store produce on 2 of those days.  Does it take less energy to leave them running for those 5 days, and is it better for the refrigerator, than to uplug it for that time? I think they should be unplugged, but the person in charge doesn't.

If we were to fill them with jugs of water on the empty days, it would need to be re-cooled after the two days of use.

I think unplugging the refrigerators will both save electricity and reduce wear on the compressors, although I agree with others that if possible you should measure the usage, in part to decide whether any (possibly small) savings is worth the effort.

Energy Savings

Empty refrigerators are less efficient, since the compressor needs to cycle on and off more frequently due to relatively low thermal mass. If you unplugged the fridge when you weren't using it, I suspect when you plugged it back in it would only take a few hours to cool down. Under normal usage a fridge will have its compressor running about 1/3 of the time, so this will be a meaningful savings. (The fridge uses the vast majority of its electricity running the compressor, so how long it's running for is a good proxy for electricity consumption.)

Wear on Refrigerator

Cycling of the fridge compressor on and off is a primary cause of wear, so unplugging the fridge should be a benefit in that respect. Plus there will be total fewer runtime hours. I don't see how unplugging the fridge for days at a time could possibly damage it. (If you were unplugging it twice a day and forcing it to warm up to room temperature and the cool down, that would be another story.)

Other Considerations

When the fridges are off you will need to make sure they don't get moldy or develop smells. The easiest thing would be to leave the doors open so any moisture can evaporate. Leaving a dry hand towel over the door can help ensure the door doesn't close accidentally.
If you have the means to measure the electricity savings, I would do so. You may find that the savings are small and not worth the effort.
Water jugs will not help you if you are unplugging the fridge, in fact they will make it worse. The purpose of the water is to retain cold and stabilize the temperature. If you let the water warm up to room temperature with the rest of the fridge you will just be creating more work for the compressor when you plug it back in. On the other hand, if you decide to keep the keep the fridge plugged in all the time, leaving jugs might help a bit (but only if you leave them in all the time... do not remove them).
Do you really need two fridges at all? Maybe a cooler and some cold packs could supplement any overflow those 2 days/week?
Old fridges can be big power hogs. I'm sure you could save a lot of electricity with a new model (maybe a single bigger one). Whether a new fridge could pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time depends on a number of factors, but it might be something to consider.

Try a couple of appropriately-sized cardboard boxes find some of decent quality that will hold up fill them with those air pocket shipping things tape or four-way them shut. Make two or three of these per unit then take them out and put them back in as space is needed usually it's better not to let things run for long periods of time with no load. Not only should these boxes take up some of the empty space but also would take up any excess moisture should any develop for any reason. Plugged in or not. Don't forget the freezer too.


Replacing light fixture I have a wall light attached to a switch.  There are 2 black wires and 1 white wire.  The fixtures as one white white and one black wire.  How do I connect

If you have 3 wires at the light fixture (not including grounding wires)  you need to check voltage, find 120 volts, TURN OFF THE CIRCUIT, connect the white to the neural wire and the black to the wire carrying 120v. Make sure you cap the other wire regardless of the voltage it is carrying, it could be dead because of a disconnect, switch/ breaker etc. Be careful and if you don't understand how to do what I just said, get help.


How bad is it to attach a gas water heater to a gas furnace electrical circuit? I'm looking to replace my existing water heater with a more efficient model. One of the things that makes better models more efficient is the replacement of the thermocouple / pilot control system with electronic control and ignition plus electrically controlled dampers. Thus the heater requires some form of electrical hookup for this function.

My understanding is that in this scenario code requires the gas furnace and gas water heater to be on dedicated circuits. (Is my understanding wrong?)

I'd rather not (pay someone to run) a whole new circuit when I'd expect the water heater to need less than 4W. As a result I'd like to reuse the furnace's circuit and install a SPST switch and plug combination in the junction box where the furnace's existing disconnect switch is located, and connect the water heater to it.

How worried should I be about this? Am I going to cause serious safety hazards or equipment damage?

According to the National Electrical Code, a gas furnace (or any other central heating equipment) must be on its own circuit. So connecting a water heater (or anything else), would be a code violation.

  National Electrical Code 2014

  Chapter 4 Equipment for General Use

  Article 422 Appliances

  422.12 Central Heating Equipment. Central heating
  equipment other than fixed electric space-heating equipment
  shall be supplied by an individual branch circuit.

  Exception No. 1: Auxiliary equipment, such as a pump,
  valve, humidifier, or electrostatic air cleaner directly associated
  with the heating equipment, shall be permitted to be
  connected to the same branch circuit.

  Exception No. 2: Permanently connected air-conditioning
  equipment shall be permitted to be connected to the same
  branch circuit.

  Chapter 1 General

  Article 100 Definitions

  Branch Circuit, Individual. A branch circuit that supplies
  only one utilization equipment.

The national electric code requires a dedicated circuit for fixed ELECTRIC space-heating equipment, but does not require a dedicated circuit for fixed natural gas space-heating equipment.


How to wire MR16 LED lights? I am building a wall cabinet with downlights in the shelves, for which I would like to use MR16 LEDs. However, my first attempt was obviously deficient, since two of the LEDs blew. I'd appreciate some help to figure out a) what went wrong, and b) what I need to install them properly.

As you can hopefully see in the image above, I have a single transformer, which has the following specifications:

Electronic Transformer for LV-Halogen Lamps
PRI: 220-240V ~50Hz 0.27A
SEC: 11.5V~ 10-60W λ=0.99

I have four 12V, 4W MR16 LEDs wired in parallel to the transformer. When I connected them all up to the power, they seemed to burn fine, without any noticeable flicker; after about 30 min, one of the lights went out, and I thought it might have been my wiring. After another 10 min or so, another light blew with an audible pop. At that point I realised there was something wrong with my setup and switched it off.

When all four LEDs were burning, and when only three were working, I took some voltage readings, which were around 4.5-4.6V (nowhere near the expected 12V).

I have considered 4 possible issues here:

1) The LEDs are expecting DC input, and are getting fried by the AC current. When I bought the transformer (from the same store that sold me the LEDs), I specifically asked if I needed a DC transformer, and the assistant replied that they didn't have any other kind of transformer, and that this was what they used in their in-store demonstration arrays. The LED packaging makes no mention of whether they need AC or DC current.

2) The LEDs are wired in parallel, when they need to be wired in series to give the necessary resistance for the transformer to work.

3) The LEDs are too far from the transformer, resulting in voltage drop (the maximum distance is about 1.5-2m).

4) The transformer is faulty.

I don't have the knowledge to diagnose which of these issues (or combination thereof) is at fault here, so any advice will be gratefully received.

Edit: I am in South Africa, with 220V AC mains electrical supply.

Electronic transformers designed for Halogen lamps will kill LEDs.

Electronic transformers are very simple switched mode power supplies. They "chop" the input 230 V/125 V sine wave in a way that will yield an average output voltage of 12 V. However, the peak voltage will be much higher and will eventually kill LEDs (that's no problem with Halogen lamps because they react more slowly). In addition, the chopped waveform may cause radio interference if the cables to the lamps are too long. The waveform may also be the reason why your voltage readings are off.

Instead of an electronic transformer designed for Halogen lamps, you should either use:

a conventional AC transformer (the heavy kind); or
an electronic DC transformer designed for LEDs.

You MUST use with  Low Voltage LED that has MR16 base (two thin pins) special designed LED DC Driver. The other way just to rewire (remove the transformer for the Halogen lamps and using the mains supply side connect the GU10 (two thick pins ) socket. After this you can use LED that has GU10 base. Those LED with GU10 base have build in driver and designed to work with wide range of AC mains. In both cases you MUST use licensed Electrician.


I have a general question about learning woodworking for a still somewhat beginner! So I am a college student and my major is woodworking, I enjoy it but I haven't really learned the simple things, I know a lot about table saw, routers, band saw, etc, but when it comes out to simple things like knowing when to use certain screws and which wood fits best with my project.
Now I'm the only girl in my major, and I get along with all the guys well but I hate to always have to ask them every time silly questions like these. They are more experienced than I am and I would love to learn more about basics I guess. My question is, how can I learn more about things like this? I don't want to just google each time, are there good sites or books that have mostly everything all summed up? anything you guys recommend?

Practice, practice, practice is the best way of learning and retaining knowledge. The more time you actually do a task the more adept you become. Start a project at home and build on when you have free time. There are many publications available on wood working (Fine Woodworking by Tauton Press is one). Reading and doing should be your mantra.

the best way to learn woodworking and carpentry is by making things, making mistakes and making them again.  the machine tools in carpentry are the easy things to learn.  any monkey can use a router or drill press.  the artisanal craftsmanship comes from knowing how wood functions in a system.  my advice would be to go find the oldest woodworking shop.  then go find the oldest, crotchiest  old crank of a carpenter that is there and then beg and plead for him to let you hang around.  do anything he asks you to do, even if it seems like a waste of your time.  glue yourself to him and don't listen when he tells you to go away.  bring him some cookies or beer regularly.  its the old guys that can teach you the most.  youtube can teach you g-code or which carbide machines ipe the best, but its the old guys that can teach you about grain and joint design and how to use a handsaw.  I have to hire and fire a dozen "carpenters" every year because all they can do is "machine" wood like its an aluminum ingot.  carve things.  use a hand plane.  chop trees down with axes and and mill them into lumber yourself. you have to hear the sound of one hand chiseling.


What is the ideal method of supporting a 27" deep floating desk across 10 feet of wall? I'm building a floating U shaped desk in my office that will go from wall to wall.  This desk will need to support the monitors and accessories of two desktop computers.  The towers will be on shelves closer to the ground out of the way.

I would like it to be 27" deep along back wall, which is 10' 7.5", and 24" deep along the arms, which will extend 4' out.  The finish surface will likely be cabinet grade pine plywood, 1/2", sanded and stained a nice color.  I will fabricate the surface using two sheets of plywood, cutting a 69.75" x 48" outside dimension L from each sheet.

I've spent hours searching for something similar to this, but common sense would dictate that the deeper the shelf, the harder it is to use small and concealed support. Another concern is preventing the plywood from warping under load. So far the best advice I've received is to use flanges and threaded pipes on every other stud all along the underside.  Either that or spend $30 a pop for a few granite counter top brackets.  I would like to avoid that.

Using an in-wall bracket is not an option as I rent an apartment.  I have no problem patching holes from bolts but I can't go cutting into the sheet rock willy nilly.  I would like to know if anyone has experience with this sort of thing or has any ideas that would work.

This is an idea i'm considering, using 3 different shelves.  I would do the arms as 4' x 2' shelves flush to the corners of the wall, and a single middle shelf at 27.5" x 27".  But I'm still worried that 27" is too deep for support.

I built a floating desk with brackets like these.
It is critical to fasten the brackets in solid structure (studs).
I used  fasteners like these.

Put legs to the floor and keep your life simple. Why make a rocket science project out of something than can be a lot less bother.


How do I adjust a door so it doesn't swing on its own? I have a normal door, and left to its own devices it will simply rest about 20-30 degrees. It won't swing shut on its own, nor stay open on its own. It hangs a bit in the middle. Convenient enough to catch you elbow when you're not looking.

I'd like the door to stay put wherever we leave it.

I've heard idea such as slipping cardboard in to the hinge to rebalance the door, etc. but no guidelines as to the thickness of that cardboard, or which hinge to change to move it in which direction.

I would hope you can appreciate how I'd rather not make this a task of trial and error and continually removing the hinge and putting it back on, etc.

I've also heard something about lightly bending one of the hinge pins, but not sure how I should go about that, or "how much" to bend it.

So, I'm looking for some tips on how to fix this (and other) door.

Sound as if the door only moderately moves, I typically remove either the top or bottom pin, place it on a flat hard surface, like concrete, whack it with a hammer once or twice, reinsert and door no longer moves.

Easier than rehanging a door, for sure.

take the door off turn it around and re- fix the door will lean the other way and balance out.


Filling holes in floor where heating ducts used to be? I just bought a house which has been converted from forced air to hot water baseboard heating.  Someone removed all of the ducts, but left the register covers in all of the floors on the first floor.  I want to remove these, but they all leave gaping holes into the basement.

My personal thought is to somehow fill the holes with wood and then put flooring on top of the patches.  I'm handy, but I don't have the technical training to know what kind of wood to use, what size pieces to buy, screws/nails, etc.  I'm confident I can do the work if I know what materials to get.

Has anybody done this sort of work before?

Filling the holes is the easy part. You put a scrap of 2x4 under the floor across the hole on each side and run screws through the existing subfloor to fix the scrap in place. Then just fit a piece of sub floor in the opening and screw it onto the 2x4's.

The hard part is replacing the flooring itself. If it's hardwood, you have to try to match the grain and probably remove a few pieces so there isn't an odd rectangle in the grain. If it's carpet, you need to get a scrap of carpet (hopefully one was left from the last install), align the grain of the patch with the existing carpet, and fix the scrap of carpet in place with glue strips that are heated with a special iron to melt the glue. A professional carpet installer can make this spot disappear in a way most DIYers can't.

Since you have a temporary solution in place with the vents that are there, I'd suggest holding off on removing them until you decide to replace the flooring if that's at all convenient.

Why are all the "experts" so stupid! There used to be caps you could replace the registers with in the case of a system removed. They covered the hole and used screws to hold them in place of the registers.
There is absolutely no reason for such in depth restructuring other than the fact that the 'experts" just want the money for unnecessary and expensive work


What can I use to clean my brick fireplace I have a brick fireplace that has been great over the years. I was wondering, since I can't pressure-wash the grout or brick with a cleaner, what can I use to bring the brick and grout back to life?

What we did with our 32 year old brick fireplace was paint it white. It was a lot easier than trying to clean the brick and grout.


Can I integrate a 4800W heater into my current garage electrical setup? I seem to need too many circuits I have a garage subpanel with 6 spaces.  They are currently consumed by the following circuits:

One for lighting.
One for a few 120V outlets.
Two for a 20A 240V circuit for a well pump.
Two for a 20A 240V circuit for a saw.

Now I just acquired a 4800W shop heater with a 6-30P plug, so apparently I now need a 30A 240V circuit.
Am I practically able to avoid running another circuit?  The options I can imagine off the top of my head are:

Wire up a new single circuit outlet for the heater.  However, I'd like to avoid installing a new panel if at all practically possible.
Tear out the 20A circuit I ran (not a big deal) and run a new 30A circuit.  Install an identical plug on my saw so that I can use the outlet for either the saw or the heater.
Get ride of the heater and buy something that works with what I've currently got.  However, it appears to me that all heaters of this type use the same plug, so I'm not sure if this is possible.

There is one way you could do this without a panel replacement that would be safe - whether or not it would be "to code" I'll leave up to the peanut gallery.  (who I am sure will not like this answer at all)
Tear out your 20A circuit and replace it with a 30A with a 30A receptacle.  Not only replace the plug on the saw - but replace the entire CORD on the saw with a 30A cord and terminate the cord in a "motor controller switch" mounted on the saw that has properly rated overload heaters in it that are sized for the current draw of the motor at 240v  (which is likely to be around 6-7 amps if it's a table saw like I'm thinking)  Then run the regular cord from the motor controller/switch to the motor.
Building codes don't cover internal appliance wiring and of course the moment you modify the saw (by replacing the cord) you are no longer covered by UL or any of the other certifications and you are letting the manufacturer off the hook should the saw burn the place to the ground.  But, it is "safe" (as safe as any saw can be - which isn't much) since the motor controller switch protection is no worse than a breaker (and probably better)  And considering the number of tool manufacturers who have bit the dust over the last 2 decades there's a good chance your saws manufacturer isn't around to sue anyway even if you didn't modify it and it burned the place to the ground.
I have a shop full of older metal woodworking tools made in an era where the prevailing wisdom was something along the lines of "we don't need no steenking ground wires" and were all, in their day "to code" so I tend to take "code" with a bit of suspicion.


How can I determine why my lights are flickering? I have a child at home who has learning difficulties.  Sometimes she jumps up and down on the floor.  Recently this has caused the downstairs living room light to flicker.  Upstairs under the floorboards I found a connector block with the three wires from the living room light switch going in one side and obviously three wires leaving the other side.  Oddly the bare earths were just twisted loosely together underneath.
Now I may not be a qualified electrician, but it's obvious that twisted wires isn't what you are supposed to do, so I replaced this with a six connector block strip and connected the wires back up properly.  The light then worked correctly.
The other day it started flickering again and after going out shopping for a few hours I returned and the light no longer worked.

In the switch on the wall the two incoming wires are live in the off position and the single outgoing is zero volts...with the switch in the on position all wires are live.  At the light itself both pins are live when switched on.

is this caused by a broken neutral or by possibly something else, if so any pointers would be helpful.  All other lights work without fault and live testing was done with a screwdriver as I do not have a test meter...a bulb will light between live and earth in the circuit.

Flickering is caused by a bad connection somewhere.  It could be the bulb or socket that is bad (you did try a new bulb, right?), or it could be a bad connection anywhere along the line: at the fixture,  switch, any electrical box along the way or a fault in a cable (staple, screw, etc.).  It could be the hot or neutral that is bad. A sign of the neutral being open is other lights getting brighter or dimmer. While the ground not being well connected would not cause the flickering, it might be a sign of other bad connections along the way.

You will need to visually and physically inspect all of the connections with the power turned off.  Wiggle wires, look for ones that pull out of connections.  Look for nicks or otherwise degrading wires.  Check the wire insulation too. Look for heavily oxidizes wires or connections.

You need to get yourself a non-contact voltage tester! You shouldn't be testing live circuits with a screw driver, that's a going to get you killed.

(source: homedepot.com)

Call an electrician if you are unfamiliar with electrical work.

I am an electrical home inspector. In my opinion the first thing is to look for double drops in the main box. (Two wires on one breaker is a double drop). This can overload the circuit and cause flickering and a lot of other problems. If there are no double drops you need to test voltage. It may be something from the meter; if you are not getting proper voltage call the power company and have them check voltage and grounding.


How can I have a pond but prevent mosquitos from nesting there? I would like to have a small waterfall leading into a small pond in my garden. Due to the West Nile virus, it is essential here to prevent mosquitoes from nesting.
What can I do to prevent mosquitoes from being able to nest in it?

A couple options:

Make it small enough that the waterfall will keep the water moving.  Mosquitoes like standing water, but not moving water.
Add some fish.  Fish love to eat Mosquito larvae.

Make sides of the pond as vertical as possible. It prevents mosquitos from nesting.


Do I need to reuse these radiator connectors, or should I get new ones? I have finally got around to removing an old damaged Stelrad radiator - I have an identical one waiting to go on the wall but despite using a fair amount of force, the connectors don't appear to want to come off. Looking inside them, the olive seems quite damaged anyway.

Is best practice to buy a new pair of these - and what should I ask for if so? I can get whatever measurements I need from them but am unsure what is important.

Here are some pictures of the connections. Obviously these are the bottom of the radiator - I have inverted it to show more clearly.

I can't see where to get a good grip:

Detail inside:

New radiator:

what should I ask for if so?

Radiator valve tails

  I can't see where to get a good grip

Use a large allen key (hex key) inserted into the bore. Probably 12.7mm (½") "radiator key" / "radiator spanner"

Workarounds include

Use a smaller allen key wedged in with a flat screwdriver
Attach an old/spare radiator valve, tighten the nut and turn the valve to unscrew the tail.

  whatever measurements I need

I surmise they're standard across the UK. My habit is to take the old parts to the store when buying replacements. A specialist plumbers supply store will have someone knowledgable behind the counter. Last time I did something like this (but not this), I walked in, silently plonked the old part on the counter, almost before it hit the counter the bloke behind it casually reached under the counter and then placed an exact replacement part on the counter next to mine and told me the price.

Source: How to Install a Radiator

0
down vote

You can clean the threads with a soft wire brush without being too aggressive and clean the tapered area very carefully with a very fine steel wool (not sandpaper), so as not to score the taper and cause a leak that can't be stopped. Make sure to clean both pieces, the one on the radiator and the one in the picture. If the tapered area is rough or deteriorated in any way, you could coat the tapered area with a thin coating of RTV silicone and tighten the union nut.Do not use teflon tape on the tapered area, use silicone only.
If however, you have to replace the fittings, I would have it done by someone with the proper tools and experience so as not to ruin the radiator or piping.


Can I get 10 Gig on cat6a running through two wall jacks? I'd like to have cat6a running from the basement to a second floor room. I'd like to have a wall jack installed in the addict and plug a cable into that jack that runs into the second floor room. I want this kind of setup so I can add a switch in the future for more upstairs drops. Will going through two outlets cause any performance issues?

If everything is done properly, this will work fine. However, every component - in-wall cable, jacks, patch cables, network cards - has to be able to support 10 Gig. Plus, your installation quality (especially installation of the jacks) needs to be perfect.

If you want a high chance of success in getting 10Gb speeds through wall jacks you ought to hire an experienced professional, contract that person to achieve the result you want and not concern yourself with what kind of cable they use inside the walls.  Let them decide.
If you want to do this yourself using wire and jacks you buy online, and you don't have extensive experience, it's unlikely you'll achieve reliable 10Gb speeds.  You'll probably have to build your own wall jacks.  I'm not sure but I don't think you can buy fully assembled domestic ethernet walljacks that are Cat6a or 10G compatible.
Your options:

Ask yourself why you need such high wire speeds, particularly why you need it at a wall jack on the second floor.  If you have a good reason, you can probably justify the cost of having a professional do it.

If you really need the speed and really can't afford a pro, your best bet is to skip the jacks, buy a high quality prefabricated patch cord that is long enough to reach point to point between your locations, and carefully (without kinking or damaging it) run that through your house.  Use that as a backbone with a 10G switch at each end.   That will dramatically increase your chance of success.


Can an outlet for a dishwasher be located below the floor? I am not a handy person, so I had family members install a new dishwasher. When they finished, I noticed that this was how the electrical was installed. The dishwasher was plugged into a new outlet installed in the garage level below it. The plug runs through a hole in the kitchen subfloor behind the dishwasher and into the garage. I assume this is not to code, but I figured I'd ask. I want to make sure it's done right.

If not acceptable, is the solution to bring the outlet to beneath the sink next to the dishwasher and do it that way?

Thanks in advance.

You are correct, the issue here is the cord and plug for the dishwasher running through the floor.

  400.8 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted
  in 400.7, flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the
  following:
  ...
  (2) Where run through holes in walls, structural ceilings,
  suspended ceilings, dropped ceilings, or floors

Running the cord inside the cabinetry does not break this rule.

Contrary to other answers, in my opinion, the cord and plug connection for the dishwasher is perfectly fine and makes it easy to disconnect power.

If we're talking North America under the National Electric Code (NEC), dishwashers must be on a dedicated circuit.  There can't be a spare plug someone could plug, say, a vacuum cleaner into.

Really, it's best to run the yellow non-metallic cable right to the junction box in the dishwasher and nowhere else.  This solves a bunch of problems all at once.  No special armor is required, just run it.

Your area may, probably does, require an electrical permit for this work.  For good reason too.

Most inspectors would require the hole be sealed tight, to prevent a garage fire from spreading to the kitchen.  Intumescent caulk is typically used, but messy and sort of toxic.  There are alternatives, such as a little doughnut of sheetrock.  Your floor is wood, so it hardly makes sense to do much more than prevent air from entering the hole.

"Fireblocks can be constructed of materials such as 2 inch nominal lumber,
structural wood panels, gypsum board, cement fiber board for larger fireblock, and batts or blankets of mineral wool or glass fiber, loose fill insulation, and caulks, sealants, and putties for smaller fireblocks. Similar text appears in the IRC. " Jointofeu® fire ropes are an option.

You want to seal the hole for air anyway, to save on heating/energy/carbon costs.

See also Does a garbage disposal and/or dishwasher need to be on a GFCI?


What are my options for a basement floor drain? I'm in the process of finishing my basement and I'm trying to figure out what to do about the existing floor "drain" by my furnace and water heater.  Frankly it looks like it's just a whole cut into the basement slab and I doubt it's been built properly.

What are my options for retrofitting this into a proper floor drain that can take the AC condensation runoff, humidifier runoff and any possible water heater leaks?

Here's a picture of the existing floor "drain"/hole with the current piping from the dehumidifier and furnace:

Only proper options are the options. You'll need to seal that up so Radon & Water can't come in, stop the creation of a sinkhole under the house & get a condensate pump with a pipe into the plumbing or to the outdoors. Unless, you have actual real plumbing within 10 or so feet, then you may still be able to do a gravity drain or break up the floor to do so.


replacing ceiling fan The fixture has three white wires tied together and one black.  The new fan has a black, blue, white, and green.  Bmage description here]2]2
Success!  Thanks everyone!

This is a switch loop setup

What we see here is an old-style switch loop.  While the three white wires you see bundled together at the fan box are indeed neutral, the white wire from the switch isn't one of them -- it instead gets bundled in with the always-hot wires in the fan box to provide power to the switch.  The black wire from the switch then carries power back to become the black wire going to the fan.

So, presuming you've checked to make sure the box can take the load:

Wire white on the fan to the bundle of white wires.
Wire black and blue on the fan to the lone black wire.
Nut off the grounds on the fan
Button it all up and turn the power back on
Enjoy your new fan

Disclaimer: You should never attempt to do any electrical work on your own always call a licensed electrical contractor, if you are going to do it yourself always make sure to turn off the power before doing anything

Your old fan or light was controlled off of a single switch (judging from pictures) but the new one is set up so you can have separate switches on the wall for both the light and the fan.

Assuming you don't want to go through the effort of ripping open your walls and running new lines to add a separate switch in so you can control the light and fan off of separate switches the following was how you should connect your wires:

First connect the green wire to the back of the box as it is your ground, then Connect the white wire to your neutral connection (the twisted white wires), then twist your blue and black wires together and connect them to your hot wire (black in ceiling).


Do I need to weatherproof my outdoor conduit? I recently installed some outdoor conduit, with weatherproof boxes and (the most expensive bits) raintight compression connectors. Because this is EMT conduit, set screw connectors were also available, but, obviously not wet rated.

I recently got to thinking, however, that THWN is, on its own, wet rated and the conduit merely serves as physical protection.

So, do I need to install raintight/weatherproof connectors for conduit when the wires within are already wet rated?

Short answer: Wet locations only require corrosion resistant materials. But I would use compression connectors outdoors anyway.
From the National Electrical Code

358.10 Uses Permitted.
(A) Exposed and Concealed. The use of EMT shall be permitted for both exposed and concealed work.
(B) Corrosion Protection. Ferrous or nonferrous EMT, el-bows, couplings, and fittings shall be permitted to be in-stalled in concrete, in direct contact with the earth, or in areas subject to severe corrosive influences where protected by cor-rosion protection and approved as suitable for the condition.
(C) Wet Locations. All supports, bolts, straps, screws, and so forth shall be of corrosion-resistant materials or protected against corrosion by corrosion-resistant materials.

Good luck!

Only outdoor electrical conduit should be used outdoors.

Water-resistant wire just resists water. It is not meant to be immersed in water. If your conduit or boxes fill up with water, it will short out and/or you will get leaks.


Is burnt looking wiring still serviceable? I was trying to replace a GFCI in a bathroom and the cable and wires are pretty black. The GFCI is also pretty burnt.
Do I need to replace the wiring and the GFCI or can I reuse the wire?

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

Only way to make sure it is ok , is to insulation test the wiring with a megger.Agree with the other statements of arking/sparking being bad.


Rocks in Washing Machine? We recently purchased a home that had the washer and dryer left behind. The washer is a GE and in good condition. We were told by the previous owners that the washer worked fine, but we tested it with a couple loads of rags to be sure.

It seemed alright so we did two loads of our laundry and on the second load it wouldn't drain. We kept getting a warning buzz and blinking lights. Code read clogged drainage hose so we took it apart and sure enough it was all jammed up....with ROCKS.

They looked almost like small pieces of concrete that had been soaked for a while. Many of them looked like they had originally been formed into a square grid. There were about 30 pieces total.

I cleaned the lines and put everything back together. So far the test loads have been running fine.

My questions are...

Are there any parts in a washing machine that would splinter into rocks/stones when breaking but still allow the washer to work?
Is there something else I should be checking or am I correct in assuming the previous owners children may have had rocks in their packets when their cloths were washed?

The drum seal is deteriorating and breaking off.  Remove the agitator (look up how for your model) and you will see the piece below it is crumbling and made of these same deposits.

This is the inner tub hub brace breaking up; pull the agitator out and you will see it.


I have a pool pump on a 30 amp circuit. Can I add a 20 amp GFCI outlet to that same 30 amp breaker. Pump is on 12 gauge wire I want to put a 20 amp GFCI receptacle on a 30 amp breaker.

Is this ok?

The 30 amp breaker is for a pool pump on 115v.

You don't have a 30 amp circuit.  Your wire is 12 gauge, so you have a 20 amp circuit with the wrong breaker.

Replace the breaker with 20A
Feel free to install your 15 or 20 amp GFCI since they are legal on 20A circuits
For that matter, you could just install a GFCI breaker. Price both ways.

Gadgets which run on 120V/30A are almost nonexistent.  Nobody builds devices that way.  If it needs that much power, they kick up to 240V/15A, which permits use of 14 gauge wire instead of 10 gauge.

If this pump really is 120V/30A, you are going to have to run new 10 gauge wire anyway.  Generally things that large are given their own circuit.   Might as well re-task the 20A circuit to the outlets.

You can. The 120 volt 30 amp is for a travel trailer, but you still need the GFCI.  You have to fuse it down; the fuse will fit in those plastic boxes. Measure carefully and use a waterproof fuse holder.


What would cause excess CO2 in cellar Question Update: We now know that the problem is Carbon Dioxide; any suggestions on what could be consuming oxygen and producing Carbon Dioxide would be great!

We rent an old farm house that has recently been renovated, the cellar has been tanked, it would be perfect as an office, but I'm out of breath just typing this question.

It seems that either a build up of some other gas is excluding the oxygen. Does anyone have any ideas?  It doesn't seem normal!!

I'm guessing it's oxygen (or lack of) as I'm unable to even light a match in the cellar.

It does seem to be worse when it's wet weather.

There is NO obvious source of gasses, as the house has electric heating, cooking and hot water

I've also asked this related question on the Chemistry Stackexchange site

UPDATE 2

We've had the Environment Health monitoring the Cellar and the rest of the house for some weeks now. They have now served a prohibition order preventing us from using the cellar.  They recorded levels approaching 10%, today we have had a surveyor at the house appointed by the landlord and they initially speculate the source could be soot used in the foundations.  Any thoughts?

UPDATE

An insepector from the local council has installed a data-logger, whilst he was in the basement he took a reading that I've attached below. When this reading was taken the air felt poor, but by no means the worst it's been, a candle wouldn't stay alight. An breathing during conversation seemed laboured. It looks like the assumption of displacement doesn't look correct, there's more to it.
Here's the readings:

Gas - Reading (Normal)

CO2 3.3% (0.04%)
O2 17.5% (20.8%)
Other 79.2% (unchanged?)

If you're feeling lightheaded/out of breath in the basement, I'd stay out of there until it's well ventilated and never enter the area without someone on the outside to monitor  you and call for help if needed (but that person should not enter the area). If it were my basement, I'd call the fire department to check for Carbon Monoxide and/or combustible gas and assist with ventilation.

One possibility is that Carbon Monoxide has accumulated in the basement, perhaps due to a faulty heating appliance and poor ventilation, or gasoline powered equipment in or near the house. This is extremely hazardous and potentially fatal -- it can cause you to become incapacitated and unable to leave the space.

Some signs of CO exposure include:

  Headache

  Shortness of breath

  Personality changes

  Unusually emotional behavior or extreme swings in emotions

  Fatigue

  Malaise (a generally sick feeling)

  Dizziness

  Clumsiness or difficulty walking

  Vision problems

  Confusion and impaired judgment

  Nausea and vomiting

  Rapid breathing

  Chest pain

  A rapid or irregular heartbeat

Another, less likely possibility is Carbon Dioxide (CO2). CO2 is heavier than air and can pool in low areas such as unventilated basements. It would take a fairly high concentration of CO2 to prevent a match from igniting. It is less dangerous than CO in that the CO2 doesn't bind to your blood like CO, but overexposure to CO2 can incapacitate you, preventing you from leaving the area.

CO2 can be generated by a combustion appliance like a natural gas or propane fueled dryer or heater with a faulty exhaust vent. Other sources could be something  that uses CO2 gas directly like gas from MIG welder, home brewing equipment, home water carbonator, etc.

You could have a natural gas/propane leak. I'd avoid any open flame or anything  else that serve as an ignition source (wuch as turning on a switch or even a flashlight) just in case  the problem is caused by a combustable gas. Propane is also heavier than air and can pool in lower areas (Natural gas is lighter than air and tends to dissipate, except when the gas is cooler than air and more dense, so  it can pool). It is possible for the odorant used in natural gas and propane to  fade, so lack of distinctive gas odor doesn't necessarily mean that  no gas is present.

There are certainly other gases that could also be causing the problem such as sewer gases, or other gases that come from the ground, or heavier than air gases that are released anywhere near the house.

How about testing for Radon? High level of Radon will make you choke and it will make you feel like there is no oxygen. It can also causes lung cancer. Please check because not a lot of people are aware of this especially if you are living in an old house. Radon gas is very dangerous.


Is there a way to remove the mildew smell from under tile without damaging the tile? We live in a rental.  The toilet was leaking when we arrived.  Landlord paid for a plumber to do a simple repair, but before that, there was definitely water pooling underneath the tile (and seeping through the grout in some areas when you stepped on the tile.  The correct thing to do, I suspect, is to re-do the tile and clean up the mess.  However, our landlord will not agree to this and I don't have the time / funds to do the project right now.  I'm wondering if there is a temporary way to get rid of the mold / mildew under the tiles.  You can guess what I'm thinking: pour disinfectant all over the grout and tile and hope it seeps backwards and kills all the mold.  I have enough sense, at least, to ask if there's a chance this may work (with the right product) and also whether there's a better temporary fix.  Thank you!

2013-12-10 Edit: Thank you to those who provided advice. I thought I would update: I took no action and slowly (maybe a month or two), the smell went away.

If your renting, your only concern, I would think, is the smell.  If there is a smell it will disappear as soon as the water dries up.  When I fixed my mothers house the smell was supposedly there for years. It was caused by a slowly leaking toilet. When it was fixed, it took some weeks for the floor to completely dry, and the smell went away.  You may have other problems later like dry rot, and mold dust if you ever remove the tile.  SO don't.  If the smell continues then there is still a leak somewhere. Tell the landlord to repair it again.

I would try a couple of things.  Hydrogen Peroxide is really good to clean mold in many areas.  I am not a scientist, I do believe it could help.  Also you can try baking soda with the Peroxide, there may be another idea too.  I think you could try baking soda and vinegar or lemon juice.  Try anything with an acid, before burning your lungs.  Maybe salt and or sand can be used along with these ideas as a scrubbing force.


What materials should be used to seal a square sump pit I have a sump pit in my basement that I want to seal to reduce the radon levels which are around 6

The problem is that all of the sump pit covers I have found are round.  It seems like they won't work for this square type pit.

If I were to make a DIY cover, what materials should be used?

I plan on replacing my pump, but would like to avoid having a pro come in to install a modern sump pit with cover.

I would install a frame built out of treated lumber to support the lid. Anchor it to the concrete with construction adhesive and concrete screws (Tapcon). It appears that your pit is very shallow, so you may need to build the frame above the pit and surrounding it to gain height for the pump, etc. I'm thinking 2x4s against the walls and 2x10s oposite, flush on top.

Then, buy or build a polycarbonate lid using appropriate grommets for the penetrations. This company offers a great selection of parts (and a ton of good information). If you want to use one of their round covers, put a 3/4" treated plywood deck on your frame and cut a circular hole to match. Screw the lid on with a strip of foam tape underneath.

On a related note, Radon mitigation systems don't rely solely on barriers to Radon gas, per se, but airflow management. By venting underslab air, Radon is diluted and dissipated to a safe location. Simply sealing a foundation is unlikely to be successful. I'm assuming here that a fan or static suction mechanism will be installed.

You can create a basic cover for your sump pump by using a cast concrete patio paver. I am not sure what size you will need, but you should be able to find pavers locally that are up to 24x24.

Using a wet saw, you can cut a notch big enough to allow it to slide into place around the pump. After the cover is cut to size, you can place common bricks into the pit around the pump to support the cover. This will cover up 80% to 90% of the opening, which will probably be good enough. This style of cover will also allow the water to freely flow into the pit.

The biggest cost would probably be the rental of the wet saw. Some home improvement stores will cut the paver for you for free if you have the measurements, and you purchase the materials there. Most stores also have rental units as well which are pretty inexpensive if you only have it for a day.


What should I do about this vanity that won't sit tight to the wall due to trim molding? Slight goof during a bathroom remodel - the vanity we got won't sit tight to the wall due to the trim molding.
Obviously one option is to return the vanity and get a new one (ugh!)
Or I could let it be as-is, and live with the small gap between counter and wall.
Or I could cut into the trim to seat the legs further back, and hope that the eye isn't drawn down there much (it's not in a major sightline for the bathroom).
I am favoring the latter, I think.  What do you think?

If that leg can be unscrewed and moved over 1/2 inch, that would be my first choice. If not, then I'd get a coping saw and cut the leg to fit the trim.

I would cut the trim back a little so it ends just before the leg.  It shouldn't look too bad, especially if it isn't in an obvious place for the eye to notice.


When are copper pipes a ground? There is an exposed copper wire attached to the cold-water pipe near the dryer plug in my house. It's not attached to anything and I'm wondering when it would be useful if at all?

This wire just hanging next to the dryer electric outlet.  In it's current state it isn't doing anything so I would like to remove it or make it functional again.

Near the service panel there is another one of these on the cold water pipe that goes into a conduit that goes into the service panel:

OK, now that we see your edit with the pic we know better. That wire is a water bond for the electrical service. It is NOT being used as a ground, it is bonding the metallic water piping system in the house so that in the case of a live wire or component touching a water pipe the circuit breaker will trip. Can you see where it goes? It should go back to the main service panel.
To add, copper piping can only be used for circuit equipment grounding purposes in some very specific and strict instances. I can quote the code sections but suffice to say it is basically irrelevant since it is just as easy to run a proper circuit or ground to a panel box.
Long ago, like the 60's and 70's it was common to ground some circuits to cold water pipes, but this was found to be unsafe in many instances and has not been generally allowed for quite some time. It is not uncommon to see wires still attached to pipes in older homes.
Older 120/240V household electric dryers and cooking appliances were allowed to be "3-wire", using two hots and only a neutral, the equipment ground was allowed to be omitted and the neutral serving also as the ground. This "3-wire" allowance was removed from the code in the 90's.
Here is the applicable code section for dryers and ranges:
From the 2011 NEC

250.140 Frames of Ranges and Clothes Dryers
Frames of electric ranges, wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted cooking
units, clothes dryers, and outlet or junction boxes that are part of
the circuit for these appliances shall be connected to the equipment
grounding conductor in the manner specified by 250.134 or 250.138.
Exception: For existing branch-circuit installations only where an equipment grounding conductor is not present in the outlet or
junction box, the frames of electric ranges, wall-mounted ovens,
counter-mounted cooking units, clothes dryers, and outlet or junction
boxes that are part of the circuit for these appliances shall be
permitted to be connected to the grounded circuit conductor if all the
following conditions are met.
(1)    The supply circuit is
120/240-volt, single-phase, 3-wire; or 208Y/120-volt derived from a
3-phase, 4-wire, wye-connected system.
(2)    The grounded conductor
is not smaller than 10 AWG copper or 8 AWG aluminum.
(3)    The
grounded conductor is insulated, or the grounded conductor is
uninsulated and part of a Type SE service-entrance cable and the
branch circuit originates at the service equipment.
(4)    Grounding
contacts of receptacles furnished as part of the equipment are bonded
to the equipment.

A copper water pipe that extends out from the house 20 feet was the norm years ago. New code states that a copper water be bonded as a supplemental ground. A redundunt ground for all practical purposes. Also you might want to bond cold water pipe to hot water pipe at water heater.


Extending internet signal to all outlets My house is wired with two Cat5e cables: one terminated downstairs, one upstairs. Currently, only the downstairs outlet is receiving signal, with the modem being hooked up to it. I'd like to move the modem before the two cables, so I can have ethernet upstairs too without having to run a new cable. Seems pretty straight forward, but don't want to operate on assumptions and break something.
My internet point of entry is the outdoor device pictured below. The cable coming out of the board is going to a junction box right below where it's spliced directly into the downstairs Cat cable. The upstairs cable is also in this junction box, unterminated.
Am I correct to assume that I can can simply run a cable from the pictured device straight into the modem, then have the two house wires connected to the modem, or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance

What you are showing in the photo is the internet provider's "modem".  In this case it appears to be a FTTH termination with 6 "Ethernet" outputs.
There also appears to be a single, poorly done, connection to one of these Ethernet ports that is going somewhere, presumably to the working downstairs location.
The photo doesn't appear to show any additional Ethernet wires that might be used to distribute Ethernet signals to other parts of the home.
While you might be able to do it yourself, what is needed is a new Ethernet wire from another of the "LAN" ports to the new location you want to have a connection to.  The simplest way would be to purchase a ready-made Ethernet cable of the suitable length and "fish" it through the walls in order to route it to the new location.
If that's beyond your capabilities, it might be wise to have a professional installer do this for you.  While they are at it, the existing wire should be checked and possibly replaced.


What is best place to place TV unit in the living room so that it will comfortable to the view? The image has two options for walls  marked as 1 and 2? I have 40 inch led 1080 p TV.

The way that I solved the "best viewing" dilemma was to purchase a flat screen TV console similar to this one:

The console came with a full tilt and swivel TV mount bracket that attaches to a post on the center back of the console. The TV in turn mounts to the bracket.

Placing the unit in a corner like shown below allows for a great variety of furniture arrangement and the swivel mechanism allows the TV to be rotated slightly to favor a certain viewing direction if needed.

The center shelf of the console works very well for placement of a sound bar and the lower shelf can accommodate video player and cable box if required.

Best things of all. No hacking of the walls and the console can be moved and easily adapted should you ever decide to step up to a larger sized screen.

I would go with #2 hung on the wall. I dont personally like tvs in a corner because you have wasted space behind the tv.


How can I prevent moisture from damaging my tools overnight? I just bought a Nissan NV200, which I've had outfitted with a partition and shelves.  My tools stay in the vehicle and after a really cold night, I find a fair bit of condensation on them.

I've tried running the defrost on high, even the AC to dehumidify, but until the tools warm up, they'll collect whatever moisture is in the air.

How do you manage moisture in your vehicles ?

As you said, until the tools warm up, you will have condensation problems. Cold tools and warm air will always give you condensation problems. The only option is to prevent your tools from getting that cold.

Using heat to protect expensive/precision tools is nothing new and is commonly done to preserve firearms. I use this GoldenRod heater type dehumidifier http://amzn.to/2utHyWQ to protect machine tools with exposed metal surfaces like lathes from the dangers of condensation corrosion.
I have even seen these heater bars used on pianos to protect the wooden structure.

I suggest you place them in or under your tool racks and leave it plugged in overnight. These simple resistance heaters can also be hooked up to a 12v line, though it would most likely only output 10% of the original amount of heat when done so.

Then again most of my hand tools and even the vast majority of my power tools seem to be unaffected by condensation/moisture/rain. The only things that get their own heater are the expensive precision tools and measuring devices.

Weird. I've never had that problem, except in cars that leak or have standing water inside for some reason.  Then I have the problem bigtime, so severely that no workaround will work.

For instance last winter I suddenly got rust blooms.  Digging into the spare-tire well, I found 10mm of water in the bottom.  Mucked it out, problem never returned. (and I don't have A/C, so A/C dehumidify is not available to me.) Turns out in a visit to the snowbelt, I had hauled some stuff that had been laying on the ground and was encrusted in snow and ice, and some melted.

So the big question to me is...

Where's the water coming from?

One-time spill, as in my case. Assures 100% relative humidity, causing repeated problems until addressed.

Water leaks.  Even a tiny leak can do a lot, even if it hasn't rained - it is letting condensation on the outside of the car inside.

Wet clothes, often. If it rains or snows a lot, your shoes and clothing can bring it in, especially if you take it off and leave it in the truck.

Exhaust leaks. Engine emission controls these days are asymptotic to perfect, so there isn't much carbon monoxide etc. left to kill you.  However there's an enormous amount of H2O (water), with exhaust over-saturated with water.  As it cools, it must condense.

Faulty air valves bringing in saturated air from outside.  Cars should leak air just enough that people sleeping in a car don't get CO2 poisoning.  At full highway speed, the venting is designed so aerodynamic forces force a small amount of air through your ventilation system, enough to push out a possible exhaust leak.  Of course the blower needs to work on full.  However the car shouldn't be drafty.  One compromise is done with passive, one-way air flapper valves in certain places.  You might check the health of those valves, if equipped.

Workarounds

I honestly think you must have one of the above problems, and the answer is fix it.

However if you are at wit's end, it may be worth looking at a dehumidifier.  A desiccant dehumidifier can be small and work well at low temperatures and pull relative humidity down to near zero.  I don't know whether this can be sized to an auxiliary battery fed by solar.  It takes a lot of power for its heater, so you may need to plug in.


INSULATING A STUCCO SHED I live in an high desert where it gets very cold, -20  in the winter,with 95 degree days in the summer. I have a beverage cooler in a building with a new shed attached to it to protect the compressor. The shed is stuccoed with a metal roof. I have a vent in the upper portion of the shed, no windows. I will install an exhaust fan in the spring, but now I need to insulate the shed for winter. What is the best material to use and who do I avoid mold or condensation issues?

You don't need to insulate this shed. Also, it's a bad idea to have the compressor in a shed in the first place. Compressors are designed to be outdoors because they need to reject heat. In sunny 95f summer weather, your "insulated shed" is really an oven. In winter, insulating a building will not actually raise interior temperatures unless there is a source of heat on the inside (insulation slows heat movement, but it does not generate heat where none exists). High deserts are sunny, but you mentioned that your shed has no windows to allow sunlight in. So insulating the shed will not actually meaningfully raise the temperatures that the compressor is exposed to.

Next, you will not be able to prevent condensation in -20f weather. However at that temperature the moisture-holding capacity of the air is incredibly low--especially in a high-altitude desert (I live in one too; I know what it's like). Despite this, if there is a source of moisture, it will condense somewhere; the only way around that is to keep all condensation-forming surfaces above the dew point which is impossible in the winter without a source of heat, irrespective of how much insulation you have.

Finally, your concern about mold is misplaced. Mold won't grow in -20f weather. The time to worry is during the summer and the swing seasons, but during those times of year, the problem won't be condensation because you generally won't have interior surfaces below the dew point. The real cause of mold is not condensation but rather water leaks from a faulty roof or bad flashing somewhere. Monsoon rains can be brutal so the roof especially needs to be leak-proof. The intense sun in your climate will do a great job of killing mold if you let it!

Here's what I would do: remove the shed's walls and make your shed essentially just a roof to protect the compressor from rain and snow. This will ensure enough airflow around the unit in summer to do its job and allow the sun to warm it in winter and kill any mold that grows as a result of monsoon rains.

I would go with styrofoam. You can get it in sheets at most local hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot. You can also get it sprayed on if you are looking to hire a company. Plus it is extremely easy to work with.

This is also how people are insulating their garages by adding them to the aluminum doors.

Styrofoam (sheathing) is commonly used under stucco and styrofoam also breathes well and tends to be mold free. I have never seen a styrofoam cup with mold. :P

Here is a link to sheathing at Home Depot


Can I use a segmented abrasive blade in my circular saw for cutting drywall? Is it o.k. to substitute a 41/2" dia. segmented cutting wheel in my 43/8" dia. 14.4V saw? No one makes blades anymore, since B&D/dewalt abandoned
the line.

I use my saw to cut drywall, and install the blocking for the cabinets that the carpenters 'forgot'. Or do I need one of those 'diamond-encrusted' blades?

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

I know the question is about powertools, but the goal is cutting drywall:  The fastest & easiest way to cut drywall is just score it with a knife and then 'snap' it along that line (like cutting glass).  All the strength of the drywall is in the paper, and if you score the paper deeply the whole sheet snaps along that line easy as can be.


Should cracks and water in the crawl space concern me when buying a house? I am looking at a house that with a crawl space (see image). The crawl space has the full height of a basement, windows and a door leading outside in the back. It has French Drains along the downhill base of the house and plastic lining covering a rock floor. I saw water on top of the plastic in a few places. The foundation walls are footing and stem walls (I think). They appear nice but have some vertical cracks in several places upon closer inspection. The house was built in 2002.
Is the water concerning given the French drains installed? Are the wall cracks normal for the crawl space foundation... should they concern me?

The simple answer is I would never buy a house without a proper inspection by a licensed inspector. In some areas, you can find engineering firms that will do both structural and mechanical inspections and could tell you if those cracks are a problem. I suspect they're not, given that concrete is expected to crack at some point and part of the point of the metal reinforcement is to mitigate the effects of cracks. But if the cracks are prevalent across the foundation walls, I might be concerned. Get a professional opinion. The few hundred dollars you spend on an inspection could save you from financial ruin.


Do I need to sand my entire deck before staining? I recently cleaned my deck using Behr deck cleaner and want to re-stain it before the winter.  Do you recommend sanding the entire deck, or just the affected areas where the stain has come off?

I was thinking of renting a belt sander for the day just to get the rough spots and re-stain with the same stain.  There's a tub of it left over from the previous owner.

I wouldn't belt sand any outdoor deck, especially with a commercial belt sander that your talking about.  More damage will ensue.  Take the $60.00 you'll spend on the rental and buy a Makita Palm Sander.  It takes a 1/4 sheet of sandpaper to load onto the pad to sand.  Buy some 80 grit sheets and some 120 grit sheets.  Grab a beer and get down on your knees and feel for rough spots, sand lightly with the 80 grit on all the rough spots on the deck.  The electric sander will make light work of sanding the deck without going to far.  Then swap out for the 120 grit and hit all the spots again and your ready to stain/seal once you do your clean-up.. that size deck may take you 2 -3 hours total, good luck.

You can buy a liquid stripper that is formulated to remove old deck stain.  Rent a pressure washer from the hardware store. Use a pump sprayer to spray the stripper, and use a stiff nylon brush on a pole to loosen the old stain. Pressure wash until the deck is clean. It should only take a few hours. Allow it to dry for one week before staining.

DO NOT SAND A DECK!

Use a semi-solid oil-based stain like Cabot's. Apply only one coat.  The semi-solid stain will cover a few imperfections, and will look great when you are done! Re-stain about every 4 years, or when the stain no longer repels water.


Fixing wall mounted towel rail to plasterboard wall I have a narrow ensuite and so am looking for a space saving towel rail solution, such as this.

Unfortunately, I believe the studs in my wall or located such that one is within my shower and the next is in the middle of the gap between the shower and sink where I would like to affix the towel rail.

Are there any plasterboard fixings that would be suitable to achieve this in order to hold to bath sheets and possibly a hand towel? I believe the two strongest are drill in and toggle?

Am I asking too much of my wall?

Thanks

Edit: Or are these better? What is everyone's thoughts on GripIt Anchors?

Towel bars are routinely secured to the wall with drywall anchors, as even wet towels are well within the holding capacity of the anchors. Product recommendations are off-topic here, but any of the types of products you linked would work.

Note that towel bars are not grab bars, and if they are used as such the drywall anchors will fail. Grab bars must be installed into studs.

Use toggles if no studs are near by, dont bother with the plastic junk.The metal toggles are the ones i use


Can I put a 6" hole in this ceiling joist? I'm working on my kitchen to add a range hood that goes outside the house. I'm putting the 6" exhaust pipe in my ceiling, between my 1st and 2nd floor, going in the direction of the ceiling joists, as represented by the red arrow in the next picture:

While going this direction however I found 2 boards put together of at least 12 inch height, probably more, in perpendicular direction of the other joists, which marks the end of the inside of the house (Siding would be attached to the other side of the board).
As you can see in the following picture, there are 2 sides in the ceiling:

Side A is inside the house, the blue lines are the studs in the ceiling holding the second floor. Side B is a part that extends a bit out of the house (backyard), there is nothing on top of it, just a small roof on the backyard.
I want to put the exit of my exhaust on this small roof. My question is: Is this, is this a loading bearing joist? Is it safe to put a 6" hole in it (you can see I started it before realizing what I was doing)? What can I do to safely put the exhaust through it?

That joist is carrying something, even if it the weight of the material that make up that part of the house. I would say it is more than that since the new 2X with the framing anchor is attached to it, is telling me it is passing the load from the new 2X onto the one you wish to drill.
Now onto drilling dimensional lumber. Code only allows you to drill a hole that is no larger than 1/3 the total height of the material you plan to drill. 12" material, 4" hole maximum. There are metal brackets available online that will allow larger holes to be drilled.
10-23 edit
If I might add, and it should have been obvious earlier...That doubled joist is actually a beam, not a joist. Those follow a more stringent rule for drilling. I do not know what the largest allowable hole is, short of a 3/4" hole for electrical wiring, but that is all I do know. The mention by the OP about the outside roof and inside the house, that beam is carrying the outside wall above it with possibly the roof portion as well

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! That’s a double LVL, which is much more expensive than dimensional lumber, and only used in load-bearing situations. Even a small hole of less than 1” would require an engineer to sign off on it first.  Since you’ve already begun drilling, I highly recommend having an engineer look at the damage you’ve already caused to make sure you don’t need to repair it.  This is why framing is not DIY.
Looks like you’ll need to figure out another way to vent the exhaust. Sorry for the bad news, but better to find out this way than to have seriously compromised the structure of your home.


How to disconnect air conditioner lines from outdoor unit? I need to temporarily move the outdoor unit to one side to access the wall behind it. Is it possible to do this with basic tools? I just need to disconnect the copper pipes as there's enough slack in the power supply so I can keep the wires connected.

Absolutely not. These lines contain a refrigerant/lubricant mix under pressure. The lines also must have no dirt, water or air in them, i.e. they have to be bled, evacuated to fairly high vacuum and refilled that way. You'd need to invest in a lot of tools specific to refrigeration to do this, e.g. a pump.

I just need to disconnect the copper pipes

The disconnecting part is easy but take heed regarding the concerns expressed in other answers that this is done correctly and legally.

You need an adjustable wrench and a set of hex wrenches.

remove the valve caps. These are the two large brass caps facing you in the picture (NOT the small caps on the left). you will see a hex-head valve under each one.
Close the valve on the small (upper) line.
Turn the unit on, COLD cycle, and listen carefully to the outer unit. After a minute or two the motor sound will change slightly - this is when all the refrigerant has been pulled into the power unit and the air handler + pipes are empty (of anything - they will be near-vacuum).
Close the valve on the lower (large) line.
Turn the unit off and unplug it.
Crack open the nut on the large line. You should hear gas hissing - that is air going IN to the system and it will stop soon. If anything comes OUT, close the nut immediately and repeat the above. For reference, the pipes carry semi-liquid refrigerant at about 100+ PSI. It will be very obvious if they are pressurized or vacuum.
Once the hissing stops you can disconnect both lines. Put the valve caps back on and cover both the exposed valve ends and the pipes with electrical tape. You can now move the unit anywhere you want.

CONNECTING it back up afterward is in the call-a-pro category. You need about $500 in specialized tools and a bit of practice, so it isn't worth the expense.


Should I attempt to save 4" cast iron DWV fittings and pipe? I'm in the process of ripping out an old cast iron drainage stack that runs clear from the roof to the basement with a few elbows and wyes in the mix.

I'm in Portland, Oregon (west coast USA), and my question is basically "is this cast iron worth keeping intact?" If the answer is "no", then I can save myself some time and just go at it with a sledgehammer and bust it all up. But, since I'm on a tight budget with this remodel, if I can recoup some of my expenses by cleaning up and reselling the cast iron, I would like to do that. There is a total of perhaps 2 wyes, one cleanout wye, two closet elbows, and two 90" elbows, and about 18ft of straight pipe (HxS).

I am in Portland too.  Hardly anyone uses cast iron pipe anymore, so there is little demand for it.  Possibly you could donate it to the Rebuilding Center (on N. Mississippi) and take a tax deduction for it.  Otherwise, it is scrap cast iron.

There is wide variation of pricing between scrap buyers.

Bulk prices nationwide are estimated at $205 to $235 per metric ton, or $0.09 to $0.106 per pound.  It does not matter how big or small the pieces are.

None of the Portland area scrap dealers advertise their prices online.  Here is a list of contacts so you can call around and/or visit.

However, in negotiating a rate, it is better that the cast iron be relatively pure and free of mud, crud, waste, and other metals.  Hosing it down should be good enough.

Cast iron is known as a quiet piping system - if you enjoy peace and quiet then you may want to rethink tearing out cast iron. It's a sustainable building product as well and it is non-combustible. PVC is made from PolyVinyl Chloride which is known to cause cancer.


What is the name for the kind of eye-bolt used to secure bicycle fender stays I need a part that looks like this: it consists of an "eye"-bolt with a nut and washer which allows this part to be attached to a rod/tube of the right diameter.

These "bolts" are commonly used for attaching bicycle fenders; the picture is from a bike company. However, I want to know if these are available in arbitrary sizes, i.e. multiple combinations of:

Shank length and thread pitch
'Head' size and hole dia

etc

They appear to be called, fender eyelet bolts, eyelet bolts, or bicycle fender bolts. There is a link I found for Fender Eyelet Bolts, 5mm here.

Check out McMaster-Carr Supply they are online and would be a good place to start. Start out  with latch or swing bolts. Or Reid Tool Supply


Automated/Controlled Lighting - Options? What are some good options to look at for controlled and automated lighting?

I've seen some DMX (stage-lighting standard) implementations for homes, but I'm not sure if that is the only/best option. What other methods are out there? What are the pro's/con's?

Goals

Ability to control brightness and color (for LED lighting)
Control from panels and/or computers
Compatible with multiple lighting types (indoor/outdoor, led, fluorescent, etc)
Set lighting to adjust over time. (For example: lights fade from 0% to 100% over 1 hour)

See my answer here: What are some scalable, affordable home automation options? for a comparison of different consumer products.

You're probably going to have to do a mix of things to get your first goal. LED lighting is relatively new and immature -- the controllers for it vary from being IR remotes, to physical dials, and so it will be harder to interface with, let alone integrate it into a single system.

For the other goals, you can use something like UBP switches and interfaces. There are (expensive) commercial controllers/interfaces, and there are also cheap computer interfaces that make it easy to control/monitor from a computer. If you know how to program, you should be able to basically anything from there.

I would probably find some LED controller that can be controlled from a computer (or home automation controller) and then interface it together myself, using the commercial UBP stuff for regular lighting and controls.

You might want to look at OpenMotics, an open source home automation system: https://www.openmotics.com.

Note: I'm one of the developers at OpenMotics.


How do I add more circuit breakers once the breaker box is full? My house was completely rewired by the previous owner.  They tore out all the old knob-and-tube and replaced it with modern wiring.  I definitely appreciate this, but unfortunately they left absolutely no extra space on the new breaker box.  Every single slot is filled with a circuit breaker.

It's not that the circuits are doled out too liberally either.  Its just a small breaker box.  It fits the requirements of the house exactly, but leaves no room for future expansion.

So, what are my options for adding more breakers?  Can I add a sub breaker box?  Or should I just replace the whole thing with a larger one?

The only reason to replace the entire box is if aesthetics: if there isn't enough room on the wall for two boxes, or the box is in a closet or cabinet where there isn't physical space.

Putting in a new breaker box is much easier than replacing an entire box.  If you replace the entire box, you will need to rewire every breaker.  When the original box was wired there was lots of slack on each wire, but after each breaker was installed the wires would have been trimmed.  A good electrician will allow slack in the wires for reconfiguring breakers, etc. but if it's a small box you may not have enough wire, or you may end up running the wires in ways that aren't as neat or professional as it should be.

With a new box, on the other hand, you only need to remove one 220V or two adjacent 110V breakers.  The old wires can be run into a junction box to provide as much length as you need for wiring into the new box.

As Mike Sherov noted, you need to be sure that your service can handle the load and number of circuits.  That'll be a location specific code issue.  If the knob-and-tube wiring was recently replaced I'd be surprised if the old service (probably 50 or 60 amp) wasn't upgraded as part of that process (likely to 150 or 200 amps).

If your new circuits are within the capacity of your service and local regulations permit, this is a job you can do yourself.  If you choose to do it yourself, in some jurisdictions you can ask the inspector if your plan will keep you in code, to save the cost of a consultation with an electrician.  (In some places of course, they're too busy for such questions.)  Or you can research it yourself: it's not difficult if you have access to a code book.

If your panel is loaded to capacity then chances are you need a service upgrade. Sub panels are the cheap shorcut and will only cause more stress on your main circuit breaker, and when that goes you could be looking at an emergency service change which will be BIG bucks.


For the purpose of soundproofing, do I need to comply some building code when renovate my bedroom? If yes, what it is? For the purpose of soundproofing, I wound like to add some layer inside my bedroom.
So, I just need to drill some holes.

Do I need to comply some building code during the bedroom renovatition? If yes, what it is?

I googled building code and got this wiki, which discuss lots of building code without mentioning a word about soundproof.

I live in China.

Any ideas?

Usually during normal day time working hours there is no problem with noise issues. However I did live in a town that if someone complained the police came and gave a warning. If you had a permit 8am-5pm was legal for normal construction.


During what construction era was plaster installed over metal lath? My home dates to the 1890s. It has clearly been through many renovations over the years before I owned it. The walls in my living room have defied all stud finders: normal ones find nothing, magnetic finders read the whole wall as a stud. Tonight I found this when removing a vent cover.
It looks like the wall is plaster over metal mesh. Can anyone give me any idea of when this construction was used? Is there anything special I need to know about? I'm just looking for information.
UPDATE I still haven't found a studfinder that can see through this stuff, but I have found that I can measure 16" intervals from the edge of my heating vents and find studs reliably.

The area I live and work in saw quite a bit of expansion and development in the period between 1920 and 1960.  I see plaster over expanded metal quite a bit in older buildings, and it does present some challenges.
My guess based on what I've seen is that it was used mostly in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and more in commercial and multi-family buildings than in residential construction.

Plasterers used metal corners with wire mesh some 30 or 40 years ago before the plastic cr*p became popular (possibly cheaper, no corrosion issues etc).

How many years metal mesh was employed for is a question that may not be so easy to answer...


Do I need both GFCI receptacle and GFCI breaker? When wiring new construction or remodel for lets say a bathroom or kitchen, it is determined you need GFCI receptacles in wet prone areas. But do you need a GFCI breaker plus GFCI outlets on the same circuit? Wouldn't it be ideal to have AFCI breaker with GFCI receptacles to have both forms of protection?

One or the other, not both. Depending on adopted code, you may ALSO need AFCI protection, which is better done at the breaker.
GFCI is pretty much the same for practical purposes whether at the breaker or at the first device, except for special circumstances like a buried cable.
You do NOT need multiple GFCIs on one circuit - just make a GFCI the FIRST device and then wire the rest of the devices from its LOAD terminals which will protect the rest of the devices on the circuit. Carefully follow instructions for wiring line and load on the GFCI and place GFCI protected labels on the remaining outlets/devices.

No it wouldn't be better to have AFCI
with GFCI. If the circuit needs to be gfi protected then  using the gfci breaker you do not have to have gfci receptacle too. Gfci receptacles are more expensive than standard receptacles so if the circuit is already on gfci breaker just use standard receptacles. The code now requires any circuit not gfi protected be on an arc fault breaker in residential applications so depending on how recently the house was wired it could have protected panel installed and regular devices can be used. Arc fault  breakers are not only for wires in a wall. Anything that causes an arc will trip the breaker so if you plug anything with a motor into like a vacuum cleaner or if someone were to cut  the wires on a live circuit it would trip and not blow your pliers out. If you cut all three wires at the same time on live circuit that's AFCI protected you probably wouldn't notice that it was hot. If you do that on circuit that's not protected you will know and most likely turn your pliers into strippers as well.


Do I need to do anything to protect my pool during a rare freeze? I have an small inground pool in the backyard. I live in central Florida, so it doesn't get too cold around here very often. However, tonight there is supposed to be a hard freeze (24°F for 4-7 hours) and I'm a little worried about the pool.

If I do nothing in particular, might that be bad for the pool? If so, what can I do to protect it?

Edit: The pool still has all its water in it and isn't covered.  We don't tend to empty pools around here, and I don't own a cover.

I honestly doubt that it will freeze over in that time, as the water will take some time to get anywhere near freezing temps.

If you are worried anyway, a good idea is to leave the filter pump running. Water that is still will more easily freeze over.

Of course, if you were truly worried, you could make it into a salt water pool, dropping the freezing temperature by a few degrees more.

That's cold... Of course it depends on the material the pool is made of, but emptying it should be fine, but I suppose it is empty already.


Why would a CFL bulb dim by itself after 60 seconds? I have some GE Energy Smart CFL bulbs which are advertised as "Bright from the Start". This is true, except within 60 seconds after I turn the bulbs on, they will dramatically and immeidately become much dimmer.

I assume that this is not the intended outcome, so...

... are the bulbs defective?
... is there something wrong with my wiring?
... is something else going on?

If this were a no-name brand I'd assume a defective bulb, but coming from GE I'd expect better.

FWIW, it's a regular switch on a regular circuit. No 3-way, no dimmer, etc.

The Feb. 2012 issue of Consumer Reports had a sidebar about new hybrid halogen/CFL light bulbs as part of a review of light bulbs.  The sidebar includes a picture of a two-pack of GE Energy Smart 75W equivalent bulbs.

These bulbs have a halogen bulb inside the CFL swirl.  The theory is that the halogen is used when the light is first turned on, providing instant light.  The waste heat from the halogen bulb helps to warm the CFL, allowing it to reach full brightness quicker.  The halogen is turned off after the CFL has warmed up, so you're getting the energy savings from the CFL from that point on.  The drop in brightness you're seeing is when the halogen turns off.

The CR review said that these bulbs didn't last well in a 2 minute on / 2 minute off rapid cycle test, but were otherwise very good to excellent.  It also pointed out that once the CFL fails, you'll have a bulb that lights for a minute, then turns out on its own.

check C4 and C0 of the lamp's circuit. Also check C1 and C2 these are electrolytic capacitors which very rarely fail but when they fail their failure becomes A headache for the owner, so get your bulb checked by a nearest TV technician who would further be able to solve such issues.


How can I fill a wheelbarrow tire when the bead is gapped away from the rim? I have this wheelbarrow with tubeless tire, I had to replace it with the new one, however I don't see how to pump it! The tire is quite stiff, and it was tricky to put it on the rim, but now it looks like the tire isn't well adjusted to the rim. Did I do something wrong? How do people normally pump this type of tires?

Looks like the typical gap one gets when mounting a tubeless tire.  You'll need to get the bead to seat against the rim as you pump air (hopefully quickly) into the tire - a hand pump might not do it.

Sometimes you can jiggle the tire to effect a temporary seal around the bead as your compressor dumps air in.  Using a clip-on tire chuck will help.

Some folks "squeeze" the tire with a strap around the tread area.  I've seen a device called a bead expander, and this guy shows the use of some large tie-wraps to achieve the same thing.

If the tire went flat it has a leak. Just reinflating the tire will not fix the problem. The most likely causes are a tire puncture, or a bead leak from either degraded rubber on the tire or rust on the wheel (not likely in your case with a plastic wheel). The easiest solution is to remove the wheel, the tire and the Schrader valve. Purchase an inner tube of the correct size. Most big box stores carry them. If you have trouble finding the correct size for a wheelbarrow look for a tube designed for a snow blower or lawnmower.


how to repair Magic Eraser quartz Countertop Damage Used a Mr clean Magic Eraser on a quartz Countertop which caused dullness to the surface. Can I bring back the shine?

Magic eraser is like a fine sand paper, but i think you should be able to polish it back.


How can I consolidate different heating/cooling systems into a single system? I have 3 different types of heating/cooling systems that I inherited.

Hot water heat. This heats the whole house/garage via 3 zones.

Zone 1: Kitchen/Livingroom
Zone 2: Bedrooms/Bath
Zone 3: Garage

In Floor Heating

Zone 1: Kitchen
Zone 2: Hallway
Zone 3: Bathroom

Forced Air AC

Only one zone/thermostat

What I am looking for is to consolidate all these thermostats into one "system".

With the ODControl from OpenDomo You can control up to 8 on/off outputs, 8 on/off inputs and (with the complementary module) up to 8 analog sensors. Is designed so you can configure it for any automation, and you can control it from a smartphone or tablet. In your case, each line will be controlling one zone or another.

Disclosure: Responder works for this company.


Water stains on ceiling I have some water stains on my ceiling as the picture shows below. I couldn't figure out if this is a roof leaking or the condensation in attic. Please help.

To me, it doesn't look like it's coming from above.  It looks like something splashed on the ceiling, or condensation formed on the ceiling.

If this is a bathroom or kitchen, try running the exhaust fan during showers and while cooking.

The only way to be sure it's not coming from above, is to get up in the attic and have a look around.

Maybe plumbing pipes or AC unit in the attic.


Water off/ still leaking My hot water leaks from the tub faucet only. We have shut the hot water off at the hot water heater and it is still leaking hot water. How do i fix this?

Hot and cold lines can communicate through single lever delivery faucets. But the shutoff valves will stop this. Turn off the hot supply at the shutoff at each single handle control. Usually it is the kitchen faucet doing this, but it can be any where.

Two possibilities come to mind:

the isolation tap is allowing some water through - if so then it needs replacing as well

the leaking tap is allowing air in and so the water still in the tap side of the system after the isolation tap is draing out as the air enters to replace it.

Replace one or both taps.


Is it possible to use the same key when replacing a door knob? The lock mechanism broke in my exterior door knob. I am probably going to have to buy a new one. Can i buy a new door knob and program it to use my existing key so I don't have to get new keys?

Most brands of locks can be re-keyed, but it usually requires specialized techniques and sometimes tools. Many retailers will do it in-house free or for a small fee. Otherwise, any locksmith* should be able to help you out.
Be aware that keys have brand-specific cross-sectional shapes, so be sure to buy a new lockset of the same brand (or compatible with) the old one.
* I'll concede that locksmiths may have a slightly higher than average rate of crookery among them, but it goes without saying that any company performing service on or involving your home should be vetted properly. Any implies any reputable locksmith.

Just make sure you save the old lock, re-keying a new lock to your existing key is much easier when they have the cylinder and pins to work with


Does CFM of a compressor increase if pressure is reduced? In product description of the compressor, CFM is mentioned to be 185 Liters per Minute. And pressure is mentioned to be 115 PSI.
Lets say, If I only need 30 PSI for my spray gun but CFM required by the gun is 200 L/M. Would above mentioned compressor be able to provide required air flow?
Compressor has a 2 HP motor.

Absolutely Yes, this is simple physics the air is not requiring as high of pressure the throughout increases. Most air compressors rate there pump rates around 50 psi, 90 psi and the max psi. Even my cheap little pancake oil less has a dual rating of 3/6 scfm I don’t know for sure the exact number but was able to find the formula on line.  Just Google the ideal gas laws and there are many examples of this formula.
PxV = nRT ;
where P = pressure , V = Volume, T = Temperature, n is the amount of gas present
and R is a constant depending on the units used for the other variables.
There is a practical limit my 5000 psi compressor is only rated at 6scfm the volume increases as I reduce the pressure but because of the volume of the pistons and motor speed it will not jump as high as my little pancake compressor.

If it is for the compressor then no, the CFM is based on the delivery of the compressor .
If however there is a storage tank then changing the outlet pressure to lower than the storage pressure will make a difference to the CFM.


What can I do about a hole for a dryer vent that was cut too big? Our basement dryer vent was cut too big. There's a gap of approximately 2" all the way around. We want to fill it (crickets, and cold air in winter come in).  I bought a can of spray insulation but am worried about using it. Is there a flat cover/collar that would cover the excess hole?  Or should we make one?

A good solution would be to make a collar/cover of a material that would fit visually with the outside wall, and would provide a reliable seal to prevent water, air, and pest infiltration. Then to support a good seal, use spray foam to insulate around the duct.

The appropriate material for the collar depends on the wall you're going through. If it's a masonry wall, you can use mortar or a concrete patching compound. If the outside is vinyl siding, a small sheet of vinyl could work, with the appropriate trim pieces to terminate the cut vinyl boards (you may want to cut them square so this looks better). If the outside is wooden shingles or clapboard, a painted piece of pressure-treated plywood or cellular PVC trim board would look OK.

Depending on what exactly was cut, and how much, you may want to replace some of your sheathing to support the siding or collar pieces.

Make sure to use the appropriate trim and caulking to seal the collar to the exterior wall. This is really important to seal out water. Consider how water would flow onto and off of the surface - you want gravity on your side. So if you're doing this with wood shingles, make sure the shingles overlap your collar piece on top, and your collar overlaps the shingles below. You don't want a situation where if your caulk wears out you are funneling water behind your siding.

Try strip caulking or Dum Dum sealant. I live in a -40°C winter climate and just installed a new dryer duct in January.


Why does my shower only get hot when the sink faucet is on? Had this problem for a while.  Delta, single handle, shower.  Sometimes showers are hot.  Sometimes luke warm to cool.  To fix the luke warm shower we have found that turning the hot side of the sink (same bathroom) on causes the shower to get steamy hot (good).  It doesn't take a lot of sink flow, just a little does the trick.  Turn the sink off and we go back to luke warm shower water.

To make the mystery even more interesting is that the hot water side of the sink comes out cold while the shower is on.  Both faucets (sink and shower) are fed from the same hot water line.  How is cold water being introduced to the hot side of the sink.

Changed out the shower cartridge, as well as the sink cartridges within the last six months.  This did not fix the problem.

Try pulling the cartridge out and turn on the water valve back on. Look to see if you have good flow coming from both hot and cold water holes.  Doing this could blow out any debris in the lines restricting flow. Cartridges act weird when water pressure is not balanced between hot and cold.

Try turning off just cold supply and then just hot supply so 100% of water pressure is directed to clear out any debris.

Some showers have built-in valves for hot and cold.  Adjust them so same flow is coming out of both holes.

Did you try adjusting the hot water safety limiter? It basicly just stops the handle from turning all the way to hot.

I had the same issue. I swapped the old shower head for a water saving one  and it fixed the problem for me.