Should I be worried about radon while I live on the 9th floor? I've recently heard of this threat to our health and I'm trying to educate myself on how to best protect myself and my family from it. I've been living for the past few years in a rented apartment in an old 16 story building (50-60 years old) and I'm not planing on moving anytime soon, so I'd like to find out how pressing it is for me to spend money on radon testing. Any information on this matter is welcome, thank you for your time!

Threats to health can be scary.  But in this case, you'll want to keep on learning about radon.  Learn what it is, exactly; learn where it's found in terms of what part of the building, and how it's mitigated.

The upshot is I've never heard of a radon mitigation system on the second floor, least of all the 9th!  You have more to fear from wildfire.

Do not cast this off as unlikely.

Radon is a gas that infiltrates buildings and can cause breathing problems. We dispose of radon by installing tubes in the ground and extend the tubes up through the roof.

Often, because there isn’t enough ground pressure to move the radon up and away, we install exhaust fans and exhaust the tubes up through the roof.

While I’ve never extended tubes up 9 stories, I’ve extended them 3 stories.

I’d check with building maintenance to verify that if there is an exhaust system, that it’s been certified to be solid and in tact (no cracks that could leak into your unit, other’s unit, corridors, etc.)

There are maps that show likely radon hot-spots. I’d Google “radon map USA”.


How do I wire an old furnace motor so I can use it as a garage exhaust fan? Since last I posted, I moved WAY south (lil warm down here) and the house I moved into was a foreclosure so a few things needed done, namely the AC and furnace.  When the guy did the job he said he would (did?) leave the old motor behind so I could use it for some airflow in the garage.  Here's what it looks like...

Onto my real questions -- I don't have the wiring diagram, but if I had to guess, I'd say that plug is a speed control (black the common?), and the white is the hookup.  Is that right?  And
 has anyone rigged one of these up and if so, how'd you do it?

==== updated 7/1/2012 ====

I got motivated today and started to clean it and look for tags that might help identify what it is -- and well, I think this answers everything (and I got a good picture of it!).  It's a Westinghouse 323P683 1/4 hp, 115v motor so xcythe you we're close on those wires (much better than my guess).

If I'm reading this correctly...

White-Red : low speed
White-Blue : medium
White-Black : high

Squirrel cage blowers make great fans. Black is ground, white-negative and red-positive. Looks like blue, white and red coming from the motor. Read the info on the motor, it should have split capacitor in it, may have to change the wiring from 220 to 110. Looks like a 1/4-1/5 horse. Ask a local HVAC guy, feed his ego and be rewarded. If its a 110 just throw a three prong on it and breeze away. I pulled some romex off the coil and pulled a spare heavy duty three prong outta my tool bucket and had a great workshop fan w/ a super long cord.(put a triangle shaped piece of plywood on one side to stabilize it, and a small board 1x2 across the front as a foot/stabilizer, made it quiet)

Just get an extension cord, cut off one end and wire the ground to the green ground lug or wire. Next, wire the red to the 'fan" side of the cap and wire the black to the hot wire (could be black or white so read the diagram)


What do the neutral and ground connectors in outlets connect to? I have reviewed the answers and explanations about switching from 4 prong to 3 prong connections on a clothes dryer and grounds and neutral wires and the old way and the safer new way and the 240 volt phase shift that makes it possible to use the old (3 prong) neutral connection as a ground or substitute ground for the green wire when changing from 4 prong to 3 prong. I have a two part question which if I know the answer I think it will help me get the full grasp of this.

A) On the older 3 prong dryer outlet (NEMA 10-30), what is the neutral or ground connected to under the house (water pipe? nothing?)

B) On the newer 4 prong dryer outlet (NEMA 14-30), what are the 2 neutral/ground connectors connected to? (same water pipe? different water pipe?)

Neutrals, grounds, NEMA 10, NEMA 14, and the First Rule of Electricity

The old way (3-wire) is called NEMA 10, and abuses the neutral as a protective chassis ground.  This works because the neutrals and grounds are bonded together in the main panel -- the purpose of a ground wire for an appliance is to send wayward current from the case back where it came i.e. the service entrance, while the neutral wire is going in the same direction, so to speak.  However, the NEMA 10 setup is problematic because if the combined neutral/ground breaks, the dryer's chassis will then float off to some shocking potential.

NEMA 14 (4-wire) eliminates this problem by separating the neutral and the ground, making them take two different paths back to that main panel bond.  That way, if the neutral wire to the dryer breaks or otherwise fails, the ground's still there to protect you from getting zapped.

When all else fails, remember the First Rule of Electricity: CURRENT FLOWS IN LOOPS!!! This means that electricity isn't ever trying to go to "ground", whatever-the-@$(!@$ that means, or to some random water pipe somewhere that really only is tangentially related to the entire electrical system.  It's always trying to get back to where it came from -- your electrical service from the utility or the battery in your car, for example.

Think of it like some district steam plant -- the utility is only loaning you the electrons or water molecules, as they are mere carriers of the energy you're getting sold.  Just like the steam utility would cut off someone who took all their valuable water and let it out into the atmosphere, the electric utility wants their electrons back just as much, if not more, and the same holds true for your car battery.

The 240v appliance sees both 120v taps from the transformer.
When only one of these taps is used for 120v appliances, computers, etc., the neutral serves as the return, and the ground protects against potential energizing of the appliance, computer, etc. in a fault condition.
When both 120v taps are used as hot for 240v appliances, the neutral (center tap) is not required at the wall socket/plug connection.
The earth ground connection to the chassis of the 240v appliance--via the panel--where both neutral and ground meet, eliminates a potential ground loop when the unnecessary neutral connection ends at the bus in the panel.


Why is my Nest thermostat not working with A/C? I installed  Nest thermostat a few weeks ago, replacing an old Lux programmable thermostat (there was nothing wrong with it).  I connected 4 wires (R,W,Y and G) to the Nest.  But as soon as I'd connect the Y wire, the Nest would give me an E4 error saying there was no power on R.  I could only use the thermostat with the Y disconnected (so only heat, no AC).

When I tested the voltages between R and W, I get a healthy 26 volts at the thermostat and at the control board.  But on R and Y, I get 0 volts.   The AC works fine with my old Lux thermostat (I verified by re-installing it), however, I also connected the B (blue) and O (beige) wires in the Lux thermostat.  From what Nest tech support tells me, I don't need to use B since the Nest can grab power off of the R.

When I connect the Beige wire (connected to O on the control board) to the Y on the Nest, the fan goes on, but no AC.

My workaround for now is to turn on the AC from the Hunter thermostat upstairs (Zone 2) at the same time, so that both dampers are open and the cool air is distributed in both zones. Kind of a hack, at least it keeps the house cool!

So my question is: why is the R to Y voltage zero?  And if that indicates some kind of problem in the relay or control board or transformer or condenser, why does the old thermostat work fine?

I put together the following diagram to describe the configuration:

And here is a picture of the circuit diagram from the control board:

A picture of the control board:

The Nest with the beige wire  in Y1:

Which it happily accepts, and thinks that the AC is connected:

Update: I disconnected all the wires on the thermostat side of the control board and tested with my multimeter again.  Same result: R1 to W gives me 28 volts, and R1 to Y is 0 volts.

I just found a  technical bulletin for the EWC-ST-2E Control Panel  (seems similar to the EWC-ST-2D that I have).  Will try to do some more troubleshooting after reading this.

This has been idle a while, but my guess is you need to connect the Nest to the R terminal of thermostat 1 on the controller instead of R1.

It looks like your control system was designed and wired for a heatpump but you no longer have one (there are only 4 wires on the lower left block which I think is the output to the furnace/AC compressor).  If so the O and B wires are unneeded and can be removed from the control panel.

So what I would try:

Zone 1 R to Nest Rh  (24VAC Hot)
Zone 1 C to Nest C   (24VAC Common)
Zone 1 W to Nest W1  (Heat)
Zone 1 Y to Nest Y1  (Cool)
Zone 1 G to Nest G (Fan)

Only thing I don't understand is how the fan gets turned on by the second thermostat in Cool mode.  (In cool usually the thermostat has to tie both G and Y to R (24VAC Hot), in heat only W has to be tied to R (+24VAC Hot)... Since it works it must be something the controller does automatically.

By connecting the Nest to the C terminal it gets access to 24VAC without trying to power it self from "leakage current".

It you want to test, jumper Zone 1 R to Y for a minute and see what happens.  Does the compressor come on outside?  Does the interior blower fan?

Double check this against the manuals..

I believe you need the blue wire (Common) to make a circuit complete for wiring the Nest. Your picture shows the blue wire (Common) unattached. Without that blue wire, the 24v in the red wire can't run the unit. Right?

You might need to inspect where the blue wire is connected on the furnace. It's fairly easy. The board will have letters just like the Nest.


Dryer Outlet - 4 prong to 3 prong Our new dryer has 3 prongs vs. 4. We are changing to the new 3 prong dryer outlet, but want to make sure we are grounding. The wires coming from the wall our white, red & black - the the copper wire.
Do I need to ground it??
Thank you!
Molly

Switch the cord, not the socket

You have a proper NEMA 14-30 dryer receptacle with a ground wire, which is good.  However, your "new" (old) dryer has a 3 prong (NEMA 10-30) cord.  This can be rectified -- get a 4 prong (NEMA 14-30) dryer cord and install it on the dryer in place of the existing cord, making sure to remove the neutral-ground bonding jumper in the dryer.

I was just reading this and was going to comment about the "good old days" syndrome, when something hit me. Usually a dryer receptacle only has three prongs. I almost got caught up in the same argument, but a dryer has no need for a neutral it runs off of 240V not 240/120V and a standard receptacle provides slots for both sides of the 240V circuit and one slot for the grounding wire, and you usually run a 10/2 w/ ground romex to the receptacle.

I don't know why someone had a neutral for a dryer unless it was some sort of a special order. So he ordered a new dryer with the right configuration for a standard dryer. I would install a matching receptacle and wire nut off the neutral in the box.


Acceptable ground to neutral voltage? First of all I'm pretty sure I know the theory behind the effect. I know about the inductive and capacitive coupling, about 3-phase balance problems and about ground bounce, so this question isn't about normality of existence of voltage between ground and neutral line.
What I want to know is in general are there established levels at which the voltage is normal, at which I should start investigating the voltage and at which I should kill power and start panicking?
!!!PLEASE READ THIS FIRST BEFORE ANSWERING!!!
Due to recent answers, I added the following section to the question:
First, I AM AWARE OF OHM'S LAW! I hoped that it would be obvious from the second sentence of the question, but it isn't.
Second, the type of answer I'm looking for is something like: "The difference in a properly installed should be below XX V because it is written so in regulation YY". Bonus points for information on how number XX has been derived.
Alternatively acceptable answer would be: "There's no limit  in any regulatory documents because of ZZZ." if it's accompanied by a good description of ZZZ.
I will down-vote answers which basically say: Ohm's law.
I know that this sounds extremely rude, but unfortunately I don't see any other way to explain exactly what I'm asking. If you don't know the answer, that's fine by me.

The best I could do was to dig up a fine print note (FPN) in the National Electrical Code (NEC). In theory, there is no limit (as stated in other answers). In practice, the limit is when things stop working. In this FPN, the limit is 3-5%. In reality, the limit is around 1-2%.
NEC 2008

210.19 Conductors — Minimum Ampacity and Size.
(A) Branch Circuits Not More Than 600 Volts.
(1) General.
FPN No. 4: Conductors for branch circuits as defined in Article 100, sized to prevent a voltage drop exceeding 3 percent at the
farthest outlet of power, heating, and lighting loads, or combinations
of such loads, and where the maximum total voltage drop on both
feeders and branch circuits to the farthest outlet does not exceed 5
percent, provide reasonable efficiency of operation. See FPN No. 2 of
215.2(A)(3) for voltage drop on feeder conductors.

This Fine Print Note (FPN) says that to provide "reasonable efficiency of operation", the voltage drop of the branch circuit to the furthest point should not exceed 3%. And that the total voltage drop, including the feeders should not exceed 5%.
120V * 3% = 3.6V
120V * 5% = 6V
Given this information.  You should start to examine your wiring, if you measure anything near 3V neutral to ground.
Note: Fine print notes are informational only and are not enforceable as requirements of the National Electrical Code.

Normally , it is zero.
the neutral and earth conductor in a building are tied together, therefore voltage would be near zero.


How can I repair this gas leak on my new range? Teflon tape isn't working I'm trying to install this GE gas range, so I attached everything and tightened all the nuts. Unfortunately, there's gas leaking at the base of the stove (where the flare connects to the stove).

I first tried without teflon tape at the base, and then I wrapped the flare with some teflon tape, but the leak is still there.

What else can I do? The flare fitting going to the gas range is 1/2".

Stop, turn off the gas, ventilate the house, and hire a pro.

If you applied teflon tape to a flare fitting, you are NOT the person to be installing your gas range. You fundamentally don't understand what you are doing, and doing this wrong can blow up your house. That tends to impair the "learn from your mistakes" method of learning. This is not the place to be "figuring it out as you do it the first time."

Removing the teflon tape from the flares won't magically make you competent to safely complete the job correctly, so my advice is let a pro who knows what they are doing do it.

Not sure where exactly your are describing your leak is. And I am not familiar with the exact type of flare fitting used in your photo, but down here we typically use gas-rated gaskets to seal the fittings. It is not clear from your question whether this fitting supports it and if it does, whether you have the gasket, but usually it is all that's needed:

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Gaskets-Connection-System-Fittings/dp/B01NCJ44XC

Looks approximately like this:

Gas pipe

The black ring inside is obviously the gasket. If you tighten the fitting enough, there are no leaks.


How long should I wait before plugging in a new refrigerator? Today I received my new refrigerator, and I've been told not to plug it in until a couple of hours have gone by. Some people told me a couple of hours was enough, but others have told me up to 12 hours. I understand the reasons as to why do this (although there's probably more to it than what I know).

How long should I really wait? Is there some science into this?

The short answer is to check with the manufacturer.  That way you can be sure to stay within warranty guidelines.

The longer answer is that it varies from model to model.  When a refrigerator is placed in a non-standard position (for example on its side), compressor oil can run out of the compressor and up refrigerant lines.  So if you don't stand it upright and wait, the compressor will pump without sufficient oil -- not good.

-M

I just got a new fridge and the manual says to leave it to stand for two hours, but wait twenty four hours before putting food into it. It doesn't say why though.


How do I test the capacitor on a high velocity fan? I have a high velocity fan that seems well-made but quit on me last year.  When I turn on the switch, I get no movement, no hum ... nothing.

I'd like to think the switch is at fault ... but I notice it has a capacitor labeled 7 pico Farad, 250 VAC (the unit is 120 ... I'm just reporting what's on the capacitor).

Basically, it could be the switch (in which case I'll bypass it and have it run on high whenever it's plugged in), the capacitor (in which case I want to replace the capacitor), or the motor (in which case, I'll through it in the scrap bin).

Should I jam the leads of my multi-meter into the wires coming out of the switch to test?  Or ... test the capacitor somehow?

Thanks!

A capacitor is defined as two conductors separated by a dielectric. Consequently, there is no direct electrical connection between the plates or conductors. Current only flows to charge the plates by pulling electrons out of the dielectric.

So, on a good non-polarized capacitor, connecting your ohmmeter across the capacitor should show low resistance at first and climb to overload as the capacitor charges up to the voltage of the meter and resistance to current flow increases. Reversing your leads will then yield the same result.

A shorted capacitor will show zero resistance either way.

An open capacitor will show infinite resistance either way.

You can check the capacitor with your ohm meter, put one of your leads on the positive and the other lead on the negitive, the meter should show a reading for just a second or two, then it Will go back to zero. Switch your leads around on the cap and the same thing should happen. If so, The cap is good. If it looks swollen or oily it needs to be replaced. Hope this helps.


Flexible cabling for wiring Article 400.12 forbids the usage of flexible cords for fixed wiring, but what makes an NM-B cable made out of stranded 14ga THHN non-flexible?

EDIT:

Terms 'cord' and 'cable' are used interchangeably in that particular article.

Cordage is a very specific thing.   NM is not that thing.  It's that simple.

Again it's back to 110.3 and the requirement to use items consistent with their labeling and instructions.   And frankly, you would do well to simply follow standard best practices.

Why are you asking all these "why" questions?  They are off-topic here, we are here to answer bona-fide home improvement questions from people actually fixing their homes, not ouiji-board NFPA's  intent with this part of NEC or another.  Try on electriciantalk or mikeholt.com etc.

Like I say, we get this from EE types all the time.  Part of it is classism: many think because an EE is a college degree, and an electrician is a voc-ed apprenticeship, like EEs are better or smarter somehow.  Another misconception is that Code electrical is a subset of electrical engineering, not at a practical level, no. Code electrical is 90% packaging... Aiming for safety, serviceability, clarity and replicability.  Another misconception is that Code electrical is simple, no, even a little research will reveal a bunch of stuff you don't know.

You also have swiss cheese syndrome, because you're trying to read NEC without understanding how it all connects together, and using the Web to fill in your knowledge but it's only giving you what you know to ask for, hence your knowledge is swiss cheese  - full of holes.

Keep in mind NEC is the single book that defines how nuclear power plants, cyclotrons, auto assembly plants, hydro stations, datacenters and malls are wired, aside from homes.  That's a big part of why it's so darn confusing and it's easy to get lost in irrelevance.   It's also easy to get lost in the details and forget the basics, like 110.3, everything needs to be listed for its purpose.

Seriously, put the darn NEC down, it's too complicated for your level.  Hit Home Depot or the library and get some practical consumer-aimed books on home electrical.  Spend a lot of time reading on the above forums, Ecmweb, etc.

This stuff takes time.

NM wire is listed for inside studs (or strapped to the surface of studs depending on the size) or in conduit and only dry, not damp or wet locations.  Lamp cord wire has specific listings too.  That's really all there is to it.


How safe is it to mount a TV tight to the wall with steel studs? I have a 55" TV that weighs about 37 lbs and I want to hang it on the wall. But I discovered that instead of wood studs, I have metal studs and can't drill into them. Is it safe to mount the TV to the drywall alone, using 1/4" toggle bolts (specifically the Hillman 1/4" Strap Toggle bolts as I am familiar with them)?
I know that usually, the installation manual dictates to use 4 bolts on wooden studs. 2 on each side. But the TV mount comes with a total of 8 or 10 slits (4 or 5 on the top and bottom). Is there any difference, safety wise, to use 8 or 10 toggle bolts versus 5he default 4?
Here is an image from Google Street view history. Hopefully someone maybe has an eye for it, and can tell me if these are actually 3.5" studs.

This is a rental property and I cannot do extensive sheetrock work.

If the TV will be on a pivot arm the answer is absolutely not.  If it will be tight to the wall, as you say, and generally nobody will be physically handling the TV (tilting or moving, e.g. to plug in game consoles or whatever) then it can be quite safe especially if you use several (4?) toggle bolts along the top edge of the bracket.  You don't need them on the bottom edge, use self-drilling drywall plugs.
You don't need a special bit to drill a metal stud, a good wood bit will do it and if you know how to use a toggle bolt you just use it the same way in the stud as you would in the drywall ... but you get a better result.
Why don't you go buy a sharp new drill bit and a metal stud to practice on?  They cost like $4.  If you live somewhere with metal studs it'll be the best $4 you ever spend.  The only special trick you might want to consider is getting the toggle flat against the inside of the stud wall ... you have to spin it and feel that it's not half on the outside and half on the inside of the channel.   You'll need all of 2 minutes of practice to master this.
Here is what the toggle will look like from the back, with drywall and a metal stud and an appropriate hole having been drilled for the toggle.  The model you mention would require a smaller hole.  And you can see here what I mean about spinning the toggle so it rests flat on the metal joist.

Don't. Drilling steel studs can start a fire. Plus you will have to undo your work when you move out. Get a "TV floor stand" made for a TV your size. They have them with wheels and without. Probably cost you $100 to $200.  But that's less than the landlord would charge you if they found out you ripped open the wall and did construction.
Don't skimp on the quality of the stand unless you want to watch your TV topple over.


Where do I connect the ground wire in the disconnect? I had to put a disconnect after my meter, and run 4 cables to my main box. I had to remove the bonding screw in the main box, and separate the white and ground wires onto their own bars.

The 2 hot wires connect on the disconnect breaker, the neutrals connect on the side of the disconnect breaker.

What do I connect the stranded ground wire to, from the main box into the disconnect box? To the neutral? To the box? To a ground rod?  I know where it goes in the main, but not in the disconnect.

If you only have three wires coming from the meter, and four going to the "main" panel. Then you're going to bond the neutral in the disconnect enclosure, so the direct answer to your question is all 3.

If there's a grounding bus bar in the enclosure, you'll terminate the grounding electrode conductor (the other end of which is attached to the grounding electrode) at the grounding bar. Otherwise, you'll just pull it into the box.

Next you'll bond the box itself, by connecting a conductor from the box to the grounding bar (or grounding electrode conductor, if there's no bus bar). This may be done already, depending on how the bus bar attaches to the box.  If the bus bar is bonded via the attachment method, you're done with this step.

You're also going to bond the service neutral in this box.  This will be done via a bonding jumper between the neutral bus bar and the grounding bus bar, or by connecting a conductor between the neutral bus bar and the grounding electrode conductor.

You'll connect the grounding conductor going to the "main" panel, to the grounding bus bar or the grounding electrode conductor.

When you're done the service neutral will be bonded, so it should be isolated from the grounding conductor everywhere else in the building.

You'll end up with something that looks like this.

Click for larger view

Generally the meter box, the disconnect and the main panel all need to be bonded (connected via a ground wire) to the earth ground (one or two buried ground rods or sometimes a buried metal water pipe) through a common ground wire. The actual wire to the earth ground can leave whichever box is most convenient.

In your case you probably want to connect the ground wire to the metal case of the disconnect.  There is generally a marked place on the case for a aftermarket terminal.  Verify that a ground wire exists connecting all of the devices mentioned above and that they connect to the earth ground.  This is an area where many jurisdictions differ in their interpretations of the Code, so please consult with your local inspector or AHJ.

Also note that there may be new requirements that you will be required to meet including bonding water pipes, hot tubs, gas lines or low voltage equipment like telephones, TV antennas to the earth ground.


Plumbing Setup for Basement Laundry I am trying to remove some outdated, and possibly poorly laid out plumbing to create a new setup for a washer/dryer and sink. The current setup has a brass drain line a few feet above the ground and both the sink and washer feed an ejector pump that pushes up to the drain line.  I am thinking about scraping the existing brass up to the T that goes to the pump and then relocating the laundry to the right wall using PVC. I have included a photo of the existing setup plus a really rough drawing of what I was thinking.  I was hoping someone could let me know if I have any major design flaws in my drawing. Thanks in advance for the help and I look forward to both the good and bad feedback!

The drawing looks good to me except that I would let the washer drain into the laundry tub since I do not believe the washer drain can pump it's water up-hill. Also, if that drain box is open on top,  the pump may over power the rest of the drain piping and spill over flooding the basement.


What kind of pipe should I install between my water meter and my house plumbing? What kind of pipe is used to hook house water pipes up to the city water meter?

I have a blue flexible hose between the meter and my 3/4 inch galvanized piping to the house.
The blue flex hose is prone to leaks, primarily at the connecting ends.

What kind of pipe should I replace it with, and what kind of adapters should I use?

You should be able to replace the flex pipe  with a 3/4" PVC pipe using a threaded 3/4" connector. For a easier installation use a 3/4" union fitting at the meter. You could also install a shutoff valve at the same time.

Copper pipes run to the house.  PVC type piping is used for water that exits


How should I hook up my generator to a manual transfer switch? I have a couple of questions about hooking up a generator to a manual transfer switch and I'm really hoping somebody with knowledge can help guide me here.  The idea is I will have an exterior weather-proof plug that I can plug the generator directly into outside, and have that plug wired to a transfer switch inside that is wired to my main panel (only the circuits I plan to use if the power goes out - probably 10 circuits).  The specs of my generator that I think are relevant are below.  I think my questions will be pretty basic for somebody experienced with this.

10,000 watt peek surge output, 8000 rated
15HP, 420cc, Air Cooled, OHV, 4 stroke engine (horizontal shaft)
Regulator: Automatic Voltage Regulator
Low oil shutoff system
4 standard outlets. Fully protected 110V.
1 twist-lock outlet. 240V 30amp outlet, NEMA L14-30R
1 twist-lock outlet. 120V 30amp outlet, NEMA L5-30R
1 DC outlet, 12V, 8.3amp. Convenient for charging any 12V battery
Max Current 60Amp @ 120V, 30Amp @ 240V

My main house entrance panel is 200AMP.

My questions are:

Would I only want to plug into the 240V outlet and run that cord to an exterior 240V plug and then wire that to the transfer switch?  Would that power everything I need?  I don't plan to ever run the dryer during a power outage (will dry clothes near the wood stove).  Is there anything else that would use 240V?  If I am not running anything in my house that is 240V is it better to run from the 120V plug on the generator?
When the last listed spec above (Max Current 60Amp @ 120V, 30Amp @ 240V) says Max Current 30Amp @240V, this means that I can draw a maximum of 30 amps simultaneously with the 240V output?
Why does it say "Max Current 60Amp @ 120V" when just above that it says "1 twist-lock outlet. 120V 30amp outlet, NEMA L5-30R"?  Is the 120V outlet 30 amp or 60 amp?
Also, do I need a 60 amp transfer switch to get the maximum out of this generator or 30 amp?  or higher?

I know it's a lot of questions but hopefully somebody can answer them.

I will join longneck, you need to give to give this one to a pro.

If you do not understand about back-feeding a circuit, already, it is too easy to kill someone. I say this without exaggeration.

The biggest problem with running a generator with a transfer switch is that you have to wire it into your main panel.

For basic protection of life, (as well as the law,) it must NOT be possible to have your generator and the power to your house on the same wire, at the same time.

This is not a case of, just for a few seconds, or I would not do that, or I will triple check a written list.

It must not be possible under mechanically, electrically, on with quantum physics.

The reason is that if you put power on the 'dead' wires to your house, it is possible to kill someone a mile away, or more.

Emergency workers expect down lines to be dead. Yes, they do check first, but that does not mean that the situation can not change while they are working on them.

Transformers work backwards, low voltage at your generator (240) quickly becomes high voltage (thousands).

And sometimes people, and pets, or cars, just do not even see a fallen power line.

This is a case of some money to a pro vs life.

While I am no expert it seems logical that you can only use a 240v capable generator as both wires must be hot to power both sides of your home panel through a double pole breaker  This is so Both Sides of your panel are energized, therefore giving 110 to all breakers.


how to level uneven plywood floor for tiling? I have an old house that's built on pillars and has shifted a little over time.  We are remodeling the kitchen and just ripped up many layers of creatively installed flooring.  We are down to the bottom layer of plywood and it dips on one side of the room (8"x 15" room) and then kind of comes back up.

We aren't sure how to tell how sloped it is or how much leveling is really necessary.  We have heard that if we don't level it the tiles will eventually crack so we want to prevent that.

We are planning on putting down backer board in between the plywood and the tiles, will that be enough support or is it important to do some sort of leveling first?  If we level with something like cement will we need another layer of plywood or can we put the backer board right on top?

Any advice appreciated, thanks so much!

You did hear correctly: the floor must be as flat as possible (and as rigid) in order to support the tile. You mentioned the floor being supported on posts. If there is enough head room  a better repair is to shim-up the low spot from below. Depending on how severe the floor depression is this may entail hammering some store bought shims under the joists or installing concrete footings so as to support new posts.

The quick easy solution is to outline the low-spot  of floor , mix-up a bag of self leveling floor mix, and trowel it into the depression feathering the edges.

It would also be a smart idea to check the other sections of floor that will get covered by tile for any squeaks, bounce or shifting. Nail or screw to secure them to joists.

When you are ready to begin installing the cement board it would be wise to embed the 3' x 5' x 1/2" cement boards in a thin slurry of thinset for complete support. Use cement board screws to affix them to the floor.

The concrete board and extra mud will be all you need. Lay the concrete board, then fill in where needed.


Electric water heater boils? Our Kenmore electric water heater is about 5 yrs old.
First it just stopped heating. I tried to play with the upper thermostat and found out that if you decrease the temperature setting to the minimum, it starts working (can hear the hissing sound inside). However after half an hour it started spewing very hot water out of the pressure valve.
I figured something's wrong with the top thermostat and replaced it with the new one. Same thing. Looks like it never turns off the top heating element. What else can I do to find the problem?
Thanks.

Update: Checked both thermostats again, seem to be working properly, first upper element heats, then lower one. Reduced the setting on both thermostats to the minimum and now everything seems to be ok, except the water is not as hot as I'd like it to be. I wonder if I should replace the lower thermostat as well, just to be on the safe side. Can it be that the lower thermostat never turns off on medium temperature setting and causes overheating?

A new thermostat won't help when the temperature sensor itself is dead or corroded.
What most likely happened is that you turned the thermostat so low that whatever signal was coming from the broken sensor triggered the thermostat to turn on.  But since that signal never changed, the thermostat never "knew" that the setpoint had been reached, so the water continued to heat well past the safety limit.
This is bad for a couple reasons:  there should be a high-temp safety cutoff somewhere (I can't vouch for your particular unit) which, if it exists, is also failing.


Why do I have a green light on my GFCI but the outlet will not come on? While cleaning, my niece sprayed my GFCI outlet causing it to go out. I attempted to reset it but came up with negative results. I purchased another one, hooked it together (green light came on showing that the outlet was good) but no power is coming through. The plug is also connected to an additional outlet which doesn't have any problem.

What is causing this and how do I fix it?

Use a voltage tester like a "Wiggy" or a neon tester to test the presence of voltage at the wires.  (not just in the socket of the GFI)  If there is current in the wires, double-check that you have connected the power to the line side of the GFI, not the load side.  Be sure that the neutral (white wire) and hot (black) are connected to the correct terminals and not reversed.

Remember: GFIs are designed to protect from ground faults (where current is being shunted to ground).  They are not circuit breakers and they do not protect against over load of current like a fuse would.

If there is no power at the wires then the problem it outside the scope of this question and you may wish to hire an electrician.

gfci outlets don't like to be wired in series aka power passing form one posers another and so on. they will always phantom trip creating a royal pain in the ass. i see you added  a gfci in the bathroom when the one in the garage was already protecting the bathroom outlets.


PVC piping for low-pressure air line? I'm finding that I need more aeration for my aquaponics fish tanks than is practical to supply by buying small consumer-grade air pumps for each tank. Additionally, typical consumer pumps have issues developing enough pressure to bubble air from an outlet that is under 4-6 feet of water. The water is simply too heavy for the tiny pump to overcome. Most aquarium pumps reach about 2-5 PSI.

I've considered using a small and quiet portable air compressor, like the type you might use to run a single pneumatic tool. These typically develop about 120-140 PSI and would have more than enough air flow to handle everything I need. The issue is that the only real affordable and easy to work with pipe, is plastic (PVC). PVC, as I understand, is not to ever be used for pressurized air lines owing to the fact that if it does fail, it fails catastrophically and dangerously, exploding into shards of plastic like a grenade.

Would applying a safety factor to the maximum PSI in the PVC lines allow me to safely use PVC? I've considered using a regulator to limit the pressure in the line to something safer, like 30 to 40 PSI, combined with a calibrated pressure relief valve that would vent the system if the pressure exceeded 50 PSI.

Would applying a safety factor to the maximum PSI in the PVC lines allow me to safely use PVC?

Yes it probably would, as long as this is a personal project at your home or property. If this is in a workplace then it is likely you would be breaking the law by using unprotected PVC.

I would regulate it to no more than what is necessary to provide desirable results and set over-pressure protection at that setting as well. Also affecting safe use are factors such as UV degradation of the plastic (by sunlight and/or artificial light), placement where it could be struck/damaged while in use, etc. ANSI says max pressure is 100 psi, and that's for underground systems and above ground systems that are "protected".

Using an air compressor to provide air is solving the wrong problem.

There is something else wrong with your setup, such as a significant line losses in your tubing. 2 psi is enough to raise water over 4 feet, 5 psi should give you 11 feet of head.

1 atmosphere of pressure, about 14 psi, is about 33 feet of head, which is way more than what you're dealing with. You don't need 30 or 40 psi of pressure in your system, you'll instead want 5-10.

Workshop compressors are loud and expensive, and require frequent attention to deal with water that builds up in the tank. Instead, get a beefier pump that delivers enough pressure and volume, or get a small blower that is capable of generating enough dynamic pressure, such as a cheap electric leaf blower, run on low so it's not too loud.


How do you connect a light switch with no wires available? House built in the early 70's..  Wiring/Light issue.

In ceiling light junction of master bedroom is power source.  From there a wire leads to one wall outlet without further wires and a light switch on the wall.  From light switch there are two more wires.  One heads to another wall outlet.  The other sends power to the bathroom, other bedroom and a light at the landing.

Problem:  'maintenance guy' disconnected too many wires at the ceiling light in master and at the wall switch and can't wire it back together.  I need power to stay on for all the other rooms but the switch (single leg?) needs to turn only the light on and off without shutting power off to the other rooms...  There is no extra set of wires meant just for the light and switch.  They were part of everything and are not to be taken out of the loops so all other rooms and outlets work properly with constant power.  How do I achieve this without adding a wire?

You don't have enough wires between switch and lamp to use hardwired controls.

However, you do have "always-hot" and neutral going to each relevant location.

It's time to go with "smart devices".  You need a smart lamp fixture (or a plain lamp with a smart module), and a smart switch capable of remote-controlling said lamp or module without the use of hard wiring.  Such things either communicate wirelessly, or they induce signals onto the power wires.

It's difficult to give a product recommendation, as these things are blossoming onto the market very rapidly, and the options are ever-changing.  (for that reason, SE's format is to focus on durable advice and not to give specific product recommendations as they are quickly outdated.)

I'm quite sure what your 'maintenance guy' did was intentionally misconfigure your wiring so the light misused the safety ground wire as a neutral/return.  That is an illegal and dangerous thing to do, and we won't recommend it here.  Not least, any wiring problem can put 120V on the light switch cover screws and electrocute you!

5 and more solutions :
scroll to conclusion first!

1st solution
→you can have light there but lamp which have switch on itself,old fashioned corded switch(1st solution),or
2ndsolution
 is remote switch built in bulb (SMART bulbs) ,3rd solution is that remote switch is outside of bulb regardless if that is IR sensor,Bluetooth,Wifi,Radio signal or even acoustic switch.(so called SMART lamp,as described from previous poster,are remote controlled and have remote switch inside,but there EXIST MORE answers/solutions!)
3rd solution
→ is to pass one more wire from 1st box to switch
4th solution
→ is based on 3rd one,works same,but NO NEED EXTRA WIRE,as use grounding wire from 1st and 2nd box for return wire..but then outlet will not have grounding..so can be changed for that type,or used same but with knowledge that is safe only for devices which no need grounding for safety.(you know you will remove grounding wire from back side of outlet,and re-purpose it),really i recommend to change type of outlet to psychically prevent misuse..
5th solution is old fashion sensor mostly used on projectors,with or without bulb fixture.well in this case can be brought just that part ,standalone version..And this part can be used as siple arlarm system or part of alarm system..

all this solutions are safe if are done properly

and in some rare case in building where for grounding is used neutral wire there is one more solution if not going to use some sort of remote operated switch inside/outside of bulb.

Personally 1st solution with cordswitch is cheapest in long run(also safe,practical,fast and easy..and i will recommend it to all, for do it yourself people well they know that remote switch and signal receiver can be built for cheap), and ground wire solution is also simple and cheap but you maybe need to hire/pay professional electrician if you dont understand what i wrote..

People down voting,as are not capable to understand/either do it,without some sort of ready to buy SMART lamp with  remote switch inside.

Conclusion : You can do it,only depends what solution you prefer,or level of DIY in yourself ,as there are solutions with more DIY involved,and almost ready solution,and even ready so called SMART solution()..like "SMART" bulb ,and for that already you have all. Just pass wires to position ,of bulb holder,and buy SMART bulb,but read further...

Economically if you want to have remote operating light cheaper in long run is to built in that your wire connection junction  box remote receiver(or outside),then to buy with every exchange of bulb receiver and emitter ..asSMART bulb have that all in one,package and price is higher..
Maybe lamp with external sensor is all what you need..(SMART bulbs/lamps have built it inside),i want to say make remote switch to be outside of lamp have advantage,-its hidden,and not to be payed every time when you replacing "SMART"bulb..
With that path in future you will be buying just bulbs,not paying higher price of smart bulb every time when you need to replace bulb.Remote or not remote controlled that solutions without buying every time SMART bulb/lamp i call really SMART in long run.

Just to add,remote controlled bulb,you can control with fixed wireless push button anywhere mounted,or with smartphone,or with garage door opener,so choose what fit you best!
All those solutions are SMART...and even if "look like" that you "dont have enough wires", yes, you can use even HARDWIRED control if you are SMART.


Could this crack in shower caulking be causing drywall damage to the subfloor? I just moved into a townhome (the shower itself installed at time of construction in 2011). I am concerned with cracking of the shower caulking with discoloration. I am going to rip out all the old caulking and replace it with 100% silicone caulk (edit: I think they actually may have put caulking over grout?), but I am curious what people think about what appears to be a bad tape job on the drywall on the floor below or if maybe the mark on the drywall could have been caused by water getting into the crack and seeping to the floor below.

I sprayed the crack to see if anything major was happening but the drywall appears to be the same and does not feel wet to the touch. The drywall just feels like the tape is loose (I'm not an expert at all, not even close). The shower is about 3 feet away from where the mark on the drywall is down below. Could the crack in the pictures have contributed to the drywall being the way it is? Can water travel 3 feet in between floors or would it have to be directly underneath. Any opinions on the drywall would be appreciated. Today I am going to the store to buy a fan and the proper tools to replace the caulking in the shower.

I am worried that from this crack in the caulking on the 2nd level shower has perhaps caused what I am seeing on the 1st level kitchen ceiling drywall.

Follow up

I don't know if my link was changed to embedded photos by an admin or if it just did it automatically but the best I can figure out right now is how to have imgur posts appear as a hyper link. I'm having difficulty figuring out how to just have an image appear in the post without a hyperlink. Apologies. The "Follow Up" hyperlink is the pictures after a brief time with a putty knife just to show a little more detail perhaps. Thanks for all the responses. I also appreciate the reputation points! It appears I need 15 to sign up, I really like this website and can't wait to sign up!

Could the crack cause damage below on a lower floor?

Absolutely most tile is inside the pan but the backer whatever was used is outside so if the water gets past the grout it can run down.
I would say that little bubble looks like a bad tape job because there are no watermarks I can see. As far as that is concerned I would use a t pin or hat pin and pole a tiny hole there just to make sure, if the spot was caused by water it may drip and that tiny pin hole can help it to dry out. As far as the hole next to a penetration we go for the best utilization of the Sheetrock the hole could be between 2 sheets as any pro will tell you.

The crack can be caused by the corner not being tied when I plan on installing tile I lock the corners (framing together so they will not flex and crack. If not tied calking is better than grout

Last I have pulled dozens of shower and tub shower surrounds that had no barrier. I have found some builders that glued the tile directly to water resistant Sheetrock, I have also seen many with backer board and nothing else.
 It is possible the crack originally was just calking I know contractors that regularly do this to try and prevent corner cracks. Clean it out the best you can and fill with calking, make sure to use a kitchen & bath type these have mold inhibitors.
Good luck.

No that crack cannot cause the shower to leak.

There is a waterproof layer somewhere behind the tiles if that has holes that would cause a leak.

the the mark on the drywall does not look typical of water damage, it looks more like a failed join. could be structural, could just be a bad mudslinger.


Do lapped joists need to extend over the beam the same distance from each side? I know you should lap joists at least 12", and the longer the lap the better. However, in order to  use 8' joists, can I lap the joists like the image attached?
The beam in red is a drop beam.  The total lap would be 3'-1" long, but the 8' joist would only overhand the beam by 7'-1/4", so the lap would not be "center" on the supporting beam below.  Is this ok?
Edit: I should clarify, yes the joists would be connected together (sistered) thoroughly, likely using  a dense nail pattern, multiple 1/4" through bolts, but most likely Simpson Strong-tie’s Framing Screws.

As long as both joist go over the beam your are fine. Remember if it bothers you you could always cut one of the joist so it was equidistant over the joist but its total unnecessary.

IMO, theoretically, a well-jointed splice is as good as the joist without a splice. However, the stresses in the wood and fasteners will complicate the issue due to offsetting the splice on the support beam, at which the internal stresses (shear and moment) of the joists are very high, and each joist will have different internal stresses that are difficult to evaluate and may cause problems in the long run. The graph below shows the clamping forces required to close the gaps due to deflection of the joists at the splice, and the shear and moment of a continuous joist over intermediate support (beam).
I suggest either keeping the splice center on the beam or shift the splice away from the beam. Otherwise, pay extra attention to your splicing details.

At this juncture, you shall ask yourself "do I need to splice the joists to make it continuous or not?". If it is unnecessary, you shall trim the joists to the length required for a simple bearing connection, thus eliminating the problem of overhanging that will raise higher over the support and pushing against the floor in contact. Since this (offset splice) is not a common problem addressed by most trade publications, therefore, it pays for consulting an engineer or experienced wood structure designer if you intend to proceed but having doubt.
Your detail will not threaten the integrity of your structure, it may not fail immediately. Rather, potentially it would affect the long-term performance of the structure by building a defect into it. A forum like this is a good place to gather ideas, but you have to make the right call for your own good. Good luck.


New sink installation: garbage disposal sits lower and p-trap no longer at the right height for the drain I'm completely new with basic plumbing, but last ngiht after my new sink went in I tried reattaching the garbage disposal and new faucet. It wasn't too bad but the disposal sits a little lower than before so the p-trap no longer connects to the drain. See the image:

How do I go about attaching these parts?

A reversible p-trap

would allow you use an extension attached to the black elbow on the disposal. By using the reversible trap you are moving the long part of the trap to the j pipe side and creating distance on the disposal side that you then fill with and extension.

You will need to either shorten the tailpipe from the drain to the disposal if possible, get an extension, or buy a replacement p-trap setup.


I changed my thermostat, not my heat does not work... help! I know I made a mistake, but here's the storey.

When I was hooking up the new thermostat I did it with live wires, and I used metal pliers (metal touching metal).  The wires may have also touched each other during the process.  The thermostat didn't work (no power when connected to C), so I switched back to the old one and it still doesn't work.

Where do I start?

Thank you!

Change 3amp fuse on control board in furnace


What is the best order for interior painting (walls, trim, windows, etc.)? I'm repainting a room. I'm removing wallpaper from the walls, and stripping paint from trim around doors, windows and baseboards. There's no crown moulding. I might repaint the ceiling, not sure yet.

What is a good order for stripping and repainting the parts?  For example, should I do ceiling, walls, then trim?  Or should I do trim first?  Should I strip the trim, then repaint everything? Or should I wait until after painting the walls before I try stripping the trim (will likely use chemical stripper-- I guess a risk is accidentally getting some stripper on the newly painted walls.)

I've read conflicting advice.

I'm not in a big hurry so can, for example, paint the trim and let it dry for a few days, then come back to do the walls.

Ceiling first, if you're going to do it.
Strip the trim: it's a messy job and you will get stripper in places you don't want it.  Actually, if you could remove the trim without damaging it, I would do that.
Paint the walls.
Paint the trim: you'll likely be using a small paintbrush on the trim, so it'll be easier to get sharp lines where it meets the walls.

Texture over the wall paper then paint. It will take a long time to get the paper off. You will put dings in the wall. Ive tried every method.I do this for a living. Trust me,  Ive seperated my shoulder doing this. Pull any piece off that may be peelng. Rent a hooper. Texture over it and use paint with primer.


removing a circuit from a circuit breaker I have one circuit breaker connected to three different items, a garage door opener, a water conditioner, and an alarm system. As I am not using the alarm system I want to remove it from the circuit breaker. How is this done/

Just turn it off and tape it so it stays off. Off does translate to completely dead and not even some stand-by power can be obtained. You never want to remove any wiring completely, regardless of your use or non-use...you don't know the future nor the future occupants. If you need the circuit for another new circuit, then your Electrician (not you) would just disconnect the old circuit from the breaker and run the new circuit.


Legality of removing meter If I cut the pin on my meter and remove the meter in order to replace the incoming power breaker, will I get in trouble? I live in the United States.

This is generally a contract (utility rules) problem

For just about all utilities in the US, what happens if you break a meter seal is governed first and foremost by your utility's service rules.  Typically, the primary punishment for such thing is the utility denying you service; if actual theft of electricity is discovered, they can go further by taking the thief to court.  However, for cases like yours, where a meter needs to be pulled for work, there will be processes in place, either to accept requests for disconnects for scheduleable service, or to allow the breaking of meter seals for emergency work.

For the former, Duke Energy simply has you call their residential customer service line (7AM-9PM EST) and ask them, with 24h notice, of wanting to "drop service" at a specific time, and then have it "re-tapped" when the work's done, as per their page on the topic.  For a true emergency scenario, they also have a procedure by which one can cut the meter seal, then call, but that will require them to come out in person to reseal the meter when done; with modern smart meters, they can drop your service remotely by triggering a disconnect internal to the meter, which makes this sort of request far easier for them to handle.

ASFAIK you are not allowed to break the seals on the meter, but you are allowed to break the seals on the incoming fuses which are before the meter.

Once you have replaced what you need to you are allowed to re-fit them. Then you call the electricity company and they will re-seal or tag the fuses. They have the right to do a safety inspection if they choose to do so.


How to install kitchen shelves in a wall which conceals a pocket door? What are methods to install kitchen shelves on a wall behind which is the cavity for a pocket door? There are a few studs in the cavity but I'm not sure if they are thin studs and if they would be appropriate to support the weight of kitchen shelves. I would need to make sure to use short screws which wouldn't penetrate so deep as to collide with the concealed door.

Cut and install a plywood sheet to cover the entire space. Mark or measure the locations of the vertical wood strips (studs). Use screws just long enough to go past the drywall about 3/4" into the strips. Sand and paint the plywood, then attach shelves wherever you need.

Get some prong nuts:

it should be possible to use them to bolt the shelf to the 1x4 timbers that comprise pocket frame. you'll need to remove the door first. drill from the kitchen side to get the right position for attaching the brackets. A piece of threaded rod on a string may help.


Convert gas wall heater to inset fireplace This wall heater is running on gas and has an electrical control. It is actually in front of the brick vent behind

This is in the attic as the vent connecting on top

Obviously this wall heater is very ugly so I want to change it to something more modern looking.

What are my options?

I am thinking:

Create a hole in wall and buy some gas in-wall fireplace. But I don't if this product exists and how the venting works.
Make this a regular gas fireplace without electrical control. But then the fire has to be turned on manually via some handle to turn on the gas. This is a big hassle.
Put in a furnace in the middle of the house and cover with a box and access door. Then run duct all around the house. This is the most expensive option and also take space right in the middle of the living room.

This is not a recommendation since I never bought or installed one of these. Try searching for Woodland Direct or phone at 844-312-5159. I searched on-line and found this site. They seem to have just about everything you could possibly want. They have for example, a Kingsman ZV3600 zero clearance B-Vent gas fireplace Item #3580119 that may work for you. They have a long list of other possibilities, Or you can look up "wall mounted gas heaters or fireplaces".


How to support the subfloor around a toilet between I joists I'm replacing some rotted subfloor around a toilet, and I want to add blocking around the flange for extra support, and to give me a place to support the new pieces of subfloor (I'm not planning on replacing the flange).  What complicates things is a pipe running parallel to the joists just an inch or so beneath the subfloor.

Picture:

My thought was to first fill out the joist webbing (yellow) and then build a box (white) to surround the plumbing (red).  The horizontal beams perpendicular to the joists could only be as thick as the joist flange due to the upper pipe.

Would this approach provide decent support for the replacement floor and the toilet?  If so, what kind of materials would be ideal to use?

For Future Viewers:

Right idea, but WAY too complicated for minimal support & no screwing for the flange. With NO FLANGE in place, build a frame first, not piece by piece in the floor. With a Flange in place you'd build it without the right side's {bottom} joist attachment so you can dry-fit everything & finish inner attachments to then LASTLY screw to the joists.

Stand up 2x4's to be attached to joists LAST. Then, bridge the Stand-Ups with 2x4's On-Flat. You screw through the Stand-Ups & into the ends of the On-Flats (do just the left Stand-Up {top} configuration if a Flange is in place).

Then, you bridge the On-Flats with a shorter On-Flat. First, screw that in from the left Stand-Up to hold it in place & toe-nail screws on either end at the Flange side. Also, toe nail what can fit On-Flat on the right side {bottom} of the Flange Finish by just screwing outward (& angled upward for this Askers I-beam pictures) through the Stand-Ups & into the joists.

This should be snug to the Flange's underside collar or the drain pipe, depending on your subfloor elevation. The On-Flats even allow you to cut or drill the platform frame for an actual tight fit complete circle. Of course, adjust this proven design to your actual application.

They have Simpson strong tie plates just for this.

Cut your blocking to length, hole saw the location of pipe, install Simpson plates using shear strength screws such as teco nails, and then install your subfloor.


I tripped a 20amp breaker but didn't feel a shock - why? I was stripping a hot ungrounded conductor while a 20A breaker was on by accident. When my wire strippers pierced the sheathing, a large spark blew out and tripped a breaker, but yet I felt nothing. There's a possibility that somehow that the hot wire got stripped AND the ground wire was touching the other end of my strippers and created a ground fault. I don't believe the ground wire was touching my strippers, but the idea of me creating a path for 20 amps to flow from my hand to the ground tells me that I wouldn't be here blabbing about this question. I just can't see how I wasn't shocked at all.

I've drawn out a highly realistic depiction of me on the day this happened. Please try not to get caught up on why things are the way they are and focus on the question at hand. There is a main breaker panel (grounded/bonded), then it feeds a sub panel (ungrounded / not bonded), and from there is where the circuit ends.

Power doesn't usually go through you

Because you're a lousy conductor.  Also if you possess even the slightest amount of fieldcraft, you habitually and perhaps unconsciously position yourself so you are not a current path.

Electricity is not the black oil from X-files.  It doesn't seek out human skin, it will seek out all possible current paths to return at the same time. If you're contacting L1, then neutral, ground or L2 are returns.  L1 is not a return.

Current will take each path in proportion to its conductance (which is 1/resistance, Siemens = 1 / Ohm ).  So typically you have shoes on, and are not leaning on a grounded panel, and have not carefully attached a grounding strap to any fresh piercings, so your conductance is very low (megaohms/microsiemens). Meanwhile those other wires have extremely high conductance (milliohms/kilosiemens).

So one of two things happens, either so little current flows through you (microamps) that you don't feel it, or a dangerous current (milliamps) flows through you.  And then hundreds of amps also flows through the wire (as evidenced by the arc flash) and the breaker magnetic-trips, interrupting the current flow in milliseconds and so you never get to find out if it's lethal.

Welding 101
Your strippers created a more effective path to complete the circuit.  So effective that too much current was able to cause an arc and trip the breaker.
Why not you
Suffice to say you got lucky not getting shocked.
Worst Case Scenario
They're quite a few scenarios to name that you could get shocked by.  The most dangerous one is when current enters one hand and exists out the other.  This is because the current passes by your heart and can cause a cardiac arrest.


Without Access to the Garage Interior, How Can I Replace the Handle/Lock? I have an external garage, with a manual overhead door (no powered opener).  There is no side access door.

After the recent winter, I tried opening the garage again, and the handle will not turn.  I believe the lock is disengaging, as I hear a 'click' when I turn the key.  The lock is below the handle, separate from it.  I tried tapping the handle with a hammer lightly, but didn't want to strike too hard for fear of breaking my only possible entryway.

Is there reasonable any way to get in, or do I need a professional?  And if I need to call someone--does it make more sense to call a locksmith or a garage repair company/specialist?

If the lock is separate from the handle and turns freely, my guess is the handle is the issue, not the lock.  Overhead garage doors almost always latch by extending pins through the tracks on either side of the door. It is likely that one of these just got bound due to expansion, contraction, ice lifting, or whatnot. I'd try a couple things before doing anything with the lock itself. First, grab the handle and alternate between jerking the door up and down while you try to turn it.  If this doesn't work, you may be able to carefully remove the trim on either side of the door.  Usually there will be enough of a gap to slide in a flatbar or something similar to tap on the latching pins. If they're stuck, knocking them up and down a couple times will usually free them.

Just did this for a neighbor a month ago.  Drill it out.  Much cheaper buying a new lockset for $20.


Should I use plumbers putty to install a sink drain? I'm installing a Push Button (not pop-up) drain in my pedestal sink.  A rubber washer goes between the metal drain and the sink (another rubber washer goes under the sink).  Is it still appropriate to use plumbers putty in this situation?

Increasingly, I'm finding that plumber's putty is not recommended for sink drains, especially if it has its own rubber gasket. In places where the manufacturer does not supply a gasket (and the flange is not metal) they suggest silicone caulk.

Be sure to read the directions for your drain assembly!

Yea, don't skip the putty, or something, on the sink parts I'm working on without the putty there is no seal. THREADS ON FITTINGS DO NOT MAKE A WATERTIGHT SEAL. Never have, never will, by virtue of you being able to screw things together, they're not sealed tight.


How can I stop a toilet seat from rapidly loosening? The seat on my toilet always works itself loose.  It has plastic thumb-screw-style nuts that tighten on to bolts on the underside of the toilet.  The left nut works itself loose over the course of a few days of normal use.  I can tighten it again but a few days later, the seat is back to wiggling around from the loose connection.

How do I get this arrangement to stay tight?

Nylon is self-lubricating. Even when tight it's very slippery against itself. You'll need to increase friction.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but you could apply some PTFE (Teflon) plumbing tape to the bolt threads. Even though PTFE is used as a lubricant, it'll thicken the thread diameter and create resistance to movement. Wrap 3-5 layers on the threads where the nut will rest, in the direction the nut tightens (clockwise from the end of the bolt).

You could also replace the nuts with brass or aluminum. They'll grab the bolt more aggressively. Be sure to use soft washers against the porcelain surface to prevent damage.

One other thing that can help is to reduce slide movement of the seat on the bowl. Install rubber washers under the seat bolts to create some grip.

Duct tape wrapping it all or the tightest possible after the bolt on the free part of the thread.


Sparks and no power after accidental short I replaced the garbage disposal at my in-laws' place that has been leaking for years. It's an old house, and nothing in the panel is labeled. So I flipped what I assumed to be the right breaker and went to test the outlet. I put the probes on both bottom nuts and it popped and I lost power to G/D and dishwasher.

So I went ahead and replaced the disposal with new wire running to the switch and a new switch.  I flipped the breaker back -- no power. I pulled the dishwasher out and there's a junction box that feeds both the dishwasher and G/D. No power there either, the wire then runs in the ground which I assume goes to the breaker.

I have power at the breaker. I have both a non contact tester and a light up with the probes. I striped the wire coming from the breaker to junction box back and exposed the wires, and turned on the breaker.   And my non-contact tester will detect power, but my 120V light isn't going off.

Is it really as simple as "I burnt something in the wires and need to replace the run going from breaker to junction box"?  Or am I completely missing something?

No GFIs are in-line that I can tell... everything is hardwired.

[under sink

You smoked your neutral

Now with your pictures, I see this is not a multi-wire branch circuit, just a simple circuit.

The white needs to go to neutral, and from your pictures and comments, we can see it does not.   I would bring it to a different screw if it will reach; this one may be charred.  Still, loosen up that screw and get the bit of wire out of it.

I suspect it "burned out" at this location, right where the wire meets the screw.  Perhaps the screw was loose, and that caused arcing which damaged the wire over time; or your short was enough to cause the burnout. I suspect a little of both.

The black needs to go to 1 circuit breaker, and the breaker needs to be an appropriate size for the cable.  The cable will be marked either "14 AWG" which needs a 15A breaker, or "12 AWG" which needs a 20A.   If the breaker size was wrong, that would contribute a lot to the wire burnout.

Neutral being dead explains why the non-contact tester senses voltage on the hot ... but the conductive tester doesn't sense any voltage.  As you know, a voltmeter requires 2 connections and the neutral is dead.

Almost impossible to burn out house wiring, that is what the breaker prevents.  Turn the breaker OFF then ON.  The breaker should have tripped when you saw sparks.  Your tester may have faulted also.  Start with the breaker.


Floor heat cables under linoleum flooring? everyone.

Is it possible to lay heat cables on a bathroom floor before I lay down linoleum. We would like to help create some warmth in the winter. Given our current situation I don't think it's feasible to lay real tile which is what typically can go over heat cables. But is it possible and effective to lay heat cables under linoleum to help make the floor warmer in the wintertime?

Thanks.

What you're referring to as Linoleum is probably vinyl.  At room temperature, it's fairly solid and the good stuff will bridge minor variations in the surface without it showing through.  By minor, I mean shallow embossed texture in the surface of the layer below, or thin grout lines between tiles.  Even at room temperature, heat ribbon is likely to eventually show through because the vinyl slowly conforms to the surface.

When you warm it, the vinyl softens and becomes flexible and stretchy.  In fact, warming the vinyl is a trick for getting it to conform in a problem area during installation, or for getting vinyl planks to stay together when some irregularity underneath pushes them apart.  If you lay heat ribbon directly under the vinyl rather than embedding it in a smooth surface, the vinyl will conform around it and the ribbon will show on the surface.

If you don't want to embed the heat ribbon in another layer, you may be able to accomplish the result with radiant heating film.

There are a number of versions.  In general, it comes in rolls of fairly wide, thin, flat plastic film.  Sandwiched inside the film is a resistive layer.  You make the electrical connections at the wall and hide it with molding.

Doing this under the floor adds a lot of delay from the time you turn it on until the heat gets through the floor and starts warming the room.  An alternative with much faster heating is to use the film on the ceiling and paint over it to hide it.  The sensation of using it that way is a little like having a heat lamp in the ceiling; your head will feel a lot warmer than your feet.

I would not apply any type of flooring directly on top of electric in-floor heat cables.  These heating cables are designed to be buried in a layer of 'thin-set' (a layer of specialty mortar mix). This layer of cement mix protects for cable from wear and damage.  Without this you are going to loose all of your warrentee.  I expect the life of the cables would be shortened dramatically with out this physical protection. Additionally, the thin-set provide a heat-sink that spreads the heat evenly and contributes to the overall comfort of the living space.  If I could advise, a good choice of floor covering is any type of masonry tile product.  The tile product lies directly on the thin-set.  It bonds with and becomes a part of the heat-sink.  It is warm to the touch when the heat is needed.  It is inexpensive.  Happy heating P.


What could cause my washing machine to stop before the rinse cycle? My washing machine will get stuck right before the rinse cycle. The washing machine will be full of water. The way to "fix it" is to twist the knob right after the "rinse" line, find the sweet spot, and pull the knob out. It can take 10+ tries to find this sweet spot and seems to have no rhyme or reason.

I've read online that this might be a drainage problem, but I'm not sure that is the case here. I'm basing that off of the fact that allowing time to pass doesn't increase the likelihood of hitting the sweet spot.

Anything I can check? As the pictures show this is a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II

Sounds like the timer-switch is dirty or worn, based on the fact there's a sweet spot that works. If the timer is stuck, i.e. it never reaches the end of the cycle on it's own, the gear teeth are probably worn in that spot.

If the timer works, it just 'misses' the rinse, you may be able to access the contacts and clean them. If the gears are worn or broken, you'll probably have to replace the whole assembly.

Since you can get it to work in the sweet spot, that rules out the usual suspects like control valves, relays, pumps.

If you can hear some noises during the stuck rinse cycle, then it would likely be that the clutch had worn. You need to replace the clutch assembly.


How do outdoor mist-cooling A\C units fare in real-world usage? I live in Phoenix where summer outdoor temperatures regularly exceed 110°F and humidity around 15% or lower is not uncommon. In this environment a mist system can easily pull the temperature down 20 to 30 or even 40 degrees in some cases. I've been toying with the idea of cooling my outdoor AC unit using mist, and did a little research.

There are several commercially-available systems to do precisely this such as this industrial unit and this residential one. But I wanted to get an idea of what other people think of these systems. In particular, I'm interested in the long-term effects of using these systems, especially with respect to mineral build-up and corrosion. The vendors of the commercial systems claim to have these factors under control, but I'd rather hear it from a neutral POV.

I'm not particularly interested in unfounded FUD or enthusiasm, and comments like, "if it works so well then we'd all be using it" are particularly unhelpful.  Instead, I would like to know how these units actually fare in real-world usage. Also, bear in mind that this is Phoenix, not New Orleans; in the dry summer heat nothing stays wet for more than a few seconds. Factors like mold are an absolute non-issue.

For the record, I tried it out myself. I installed the Cool-N-Save system on a 4-ton A/C unit that was scheduled to be replaced in three months.

After that three month period in the middle of the summer, the positive effects of the system were negligible at best, and probably detrimental. There were no detectible savings in cooling costs nor increase in cooling performance. And after that three-month period, despite using the manufacturer's own anti-calcium system, the calcium build-up on the outdoor unit was extreme, with a thin layer of rock uniformly covering all of the heat-exchanging surfaces, effectively destroying the unit.

So that's a strong "Do Not Buy" from me.

I bought the MistBox last year. This is a unit that takes all the guesswork out of Mist cooling your AC. I live in Las Vegas, NV. We enjoy humidity as low as 5 to 15% all summer. With normal around 100+ the whole summer. I installed it in minutes and it worked well. I could actually tell the difference immediately. The only negatives I read while researching this was some said it will corrode the cooling Fins. This unit comes with a filter and I hooked it to my Softener. Also my Trane I3 AC has a webbing pad that protects the fins and acts like a swamp cooler evaporative pad. I had purchased this while it was still on KickStarter. It now has a solar screen that recharges the battery. The WiFi app is free and pretty cool. It gives savings # that are close to 30%.


Attaching second layer of drywall -- is there something I can do to ensure it doesn't ruin the base drywall if I have to remove it eventually? I'm new to DIYing, so please excuse me if something here sounds off.
I'm planning on a DIY vertical slat accent wall in our bedroom in our rental apartment.
Since nailing slats directly into the wall is going to ruin the wall if and when I'm moving out and have to remove them, I thought a better way might be to build the slats over separate drywall panels and then attach those to the wall, so that the base drywall doesn't get mangled by a billion nails. The hope is that doing that might make it easy to remove it later, panel by panel, keeping the original drywall relatively unscathed.
Knowing that the paneled drywall is eventually going to have to come off the base wall, is there something I can do upon installation I could do to minimize damage during the process of eventual removal? Any tips at all on how to do this / what fasteners to consider etc would be amazing. Also would be glad to know if there's a better way to do this that keeps the base wall as unscathed as possible when I remove the paneled drywall.
Super sorry if this is rudimentary, and incredibly grateful for any support/advice!

Any method you choose is going to affect the existing drywall. Patching small holes in drywall is simple and easy but patching dozens of holes is more work than patching just a few.
If you use drywall you will have to use dozens of screws to attach it to the existing wall.  If you use a more rigid base then you can get away with just  a few fastener points.
Use 3/8" or 1/2" plywood and attach  horizontal rows of screws into the studs near the top, in the middle and near the bottom.  You will want to place your screws so they are accessible, between slats or under slats that will be removable, in order to access them when it comes time to remove the wall.
When the time comes you unscrew slat wall and take it with you to you your new castle. You can do it in section if you like, Studs are 16" on center so if you do not want a 48" wide (4x8 plywood) you could cut them so they fall on the studs. I.E. 16", 32" etc. A stud finder will help to find a stud to use as a reference to measure from for the others.
Note. Sometimes studs are spaced farther or closer for various reasons so map out all of your studs before hand and design your panels accordingly.

Just attach the slats using cancelable adhesive (like "command").


Ground wire not long enough in 4-prong dryer cord? I have a Whirlpool model LEC8858EQ0 dryer with a 3-prong cord and am installing a 4-prong cord. Everything has gone well, except the ground wire isn't nearly long enough to reach the grounding screw.

In the picture you can see the grounding screw at top left and the ground wire hanging sadly below it. The difference is a couple of inches.
I tried connecting the ground wire first to make sure it reaches, but if I do that the rest of the wires are too far from where they need to be.
Is there something I can do to bridge the gap?

It appears to me you didn't buy the Whirlpool brand cord, WP has ring terminals not forks. It is quite possible the maker of your cord didn't expose enough conductor to spread the connections for your dryer. Your options would be to get a WP cord or cut the black jacket back another inch or two and loop line conductors a little below the terminals.
Do leave the bonding strap in place where you have it and as the instructions show. Many people don't realize that on Whirlpool dryers the other end of that 4" long green wire is a stake-on landed right back on top of the neutral terminal, and as connected for 4 wire connections it is just a pointless loop. Here is a picture of that wire https://amzn.to/2IJBUKl .  It's just a place holder when wired for a 4 wire, but the part is present and moved to the ground screw if your only option is a 3 wire connection.

The blue green wire is only for use on 3 prong dryer cords.  Code used to allow dryers to be grounded through the neutral.  Many homes still have dryer outlets that are only 3 wires, 2 hots and a neutral.  When using the dryer in such a home with a 3 prong cord you leave the blue green wire connected.  Just loosen the screw and slip the blue green wire out of the neutral contact.  I would also bet if you follow the blue green wire you will find the other end is connected to the frame of the dryer.
The problem with leaving that wire connected is it will create current flow on the green safety ground wire which is NOT allowed or even safe.  Basically the green ground and the neutral will "split" the job of having any neutral currents flow back to the panel.


3 phase (delta) power to single phase space heater I bought a 240V single phase, space heater for heating up a warehouse space.  The warehouse has 240V power in a delta configuration (no neutral).  My understanding is that in a delta configuration, the line voltage between any two phases is the same as the phase voltage, in this case, 240V.  So I should be able to wire the the heater between any two lines, right?

Here's what 3-phase delta looks like.

This happens to be 240V and uses the common 3-phase colors of black, red, blue.

It's that simple, folks.  3 phases, No Neutral.

One error of belief is thinking every service must have a neutral.  It doesn't.   This was Tesla's genius.

Delta is used in industrial facilities where a few tools need a medium amount of power for a few larger tools.  It would be rare to see lighting or other minor loads run off it.  A motor which takes 240V 3-phase can typically be jumpered to also work on 480V 3-phase, and that is much more efficient to distribute. I would never install 240V today, I'd install 480V.

Obviously there's only one voltage.  Pretty straightforward.  Now what's this?

It's the exact same thing.  The only difference is using alternate colors. The point here is that any color may be used (except white, gray or green) including orange.  NEC doctrine is the electrician is expected to measure the circuit to determine voltages. Prince fan? Use Purple Pink Black.

Hook your heater between any two hots.

They are all 240V. Done.

The only other issue is balancing.  If you have several loads, try to put them on alternate phases so you load the 3 phases evenly.

We're done here.

So what's this Other Thing then?

This thread is dominated by discussion of some other system which is not relevant to OP.  It's a red herring.  But since it keeps coming up, let's talk about it.  This is "high-leg" or "wild-leg" delta, which is a clever rearrangement of delta to get 120V single-phase loads also - to avoid the cost of a separate 240/120V single-phase service. See how a neutral has been added halfway down a phase.

If you want to use 120V appliances, this only works on 240V delta.

Notice two mandatory wire colors.  Of course, neutral must be white or gray.  The "wild leg" - with much higher voltage to neutral - must be orange. It's one of very few cases where a "hot" color is mandated. However in any other circuit, you can use orange for any hot, and that's exactly what happened in our second example. That means if you see black-red-orange-white, it could be anything including 600V wye.  You better test it.

So when someone says "Delta" they do not mean "wild-leg delta". They mean "delta".  Don't go buying something that needs 120V or 208V expecting it to be there in delta service.  It won't be unless they specify wild-leg/high-leg.

All the 120V loads load up the A-C phase.  If there's a desire to run a significant number of 120V circuits, 208V "wye" 3-phase does a better job of it, while allowing loads to be balanced. If lighting is the primary load, 480V "wye" is a "swiss army" voltage, allowing 240V/480V motors to run in delta connection and lighting to work in wye, using a hot-neutral 277V connection.

If this is a DELTA usually the B leg is colored Orange and will be 2x the standard voltage. WYE connected systems all 3 legs have the same voltage. Verify the voltages prior to making any connections!!! Added for all those that have not worked on deltas with single phase. By code the system has to be grounded and can create the wild leg. Use of a wild leg will double the voltage to ground when used with single phase. Code requires equipment like this to have the highest voltage rating not dual voltage because of the high leg. At least this is code in the U.S. that has not changed for years. So ether there is a wild leg or a corner grounded. A single phase load would need to be on one of the grounded legs.


What glue should I use for glue-down engineered flooring installation? I bought a roll of FloorMuffler UltraSeal underlayment (essentially, sealed high-density foam) at Home Depot for this project. The instructions are very specific about which adhesive to use: "To be used with FloorMuffler HPA adhesive only".

This is problematic for at least two reasons:

It is not clear whether the installation will fail with any other type of adhesive, or they simply prefer that I buy their product. It has become fashionable, of late, to put statements in the manuals such as "this product will only function with OEM parts", some of which are outright ridiculous, e.g. use only XYZ-brand memory sticks with your XYZ digital camera, etc. Unfortunately, in this case I cannot tell whether I can ignore it or need to take it seriously.
Home Depot does not sell required adhesive. Worse still, I could not find it anywhere on the internet. They also have two different products, one to glue the foam to concrete, another to glue flooring to the foam. Seriously? To aggravate the problem, the manufacturer does not specify the type of glue they require, so I cannot even attempt to guess if it can be substituted or not. And by the way, the company's customer support is not returning phone calls, so no help there.

I bought some generic brand acrylic urethane glue for engineered hardwood flooring. Should I just go ahead and use that?

Update:
I glued underlayment to concrete using Roberts Engineered Wood Flooring Adhesive. The instructions say "open time up to 20 minutes" and "install hardwood while the glue is still fresh, do not allow it to skin-over". I probably gave it 10 minutes of open time before I rolled underlayment on top of freshly applied glue. There was a lot of trapped air that caused bubbles. I pierced them and pressed the air out. Next morning I was ready to install the floor, but I noticed the glue under the underlayment is still fresh. It cured around the edges, but it is completely fresh otherwise. What did I do wrong? What are my options now? I also posted this as a separate question.

There is no reason to glue down engineered hardwood floor to an underlayment.  This is just for initial aesthetics.  The glue will NEVER last (in a residential setting).  The only thing the glue will do is give you fits and make your install seem tighter.  Within weeks or months the glue will come loose and you will have a floating floor.

Nothing wrong with a floating floor.  But the fact is you should be gluing the pieces together, not under them.  The big boxes sell the generic engineered wood flooring glue.  Buy that and glue your pieces together, not under them.  The only time I have seen gluing to the floor to be an option is thin flooring onto concrete for commercial purposes.  The only thing I would glue down in someone home is vinyl sheets/squares.

whoever installed it originaly didnt have a clue what they were doing. Niether do you. you NEVER glue the underlayment..it is an Acclimating product.SMH


What type of paint and how many coats should be used to paint a radiator? We've moved into a new house with a fairly incompatible sense of interior design. To illustrate one room in particular, the walls are orange, the floor to ceiling shelves are orange, the fireplace mantle is orange, the pinboard is orange and the radiator is orange.

The entire room looks like it's been painted in the same shade of orange and possibly even the same type of paint.

I'd like to re-paint the walls and the radiator but I'm new to painting radiators and I'm not sure where to start. I'm mainly concerned about what type of paint to use and how many coatings should be applied.

If we're talking a cast iron radiator, it's a good process.

First you need to remove the old finish. You can get it sandblasted, or you can get in there with some sandpaper for a few hours. A wire wheel on an angle grinder can get out a good bit, or you might have luck with chemicals to strip them. If you do use chemicals, you'll have to wait for them to totally dry, then sand the bare metal of the radiator just to make 100% sure all of the residue is gone and the surface is rough enough.

Next, you'll want to clean with a deglosser, to make sure all the sanding residue is gone, along with any other junk in there. The paint won't bond so well without it, and with something that expands and contracts as much as a heater.. you want to make sure it's thoroughly clean.

Now it's time to protect your walls and floors. Get a drop cloth, cut a slit in it and slide it over the unit. Tape it to the walls, tape it to the floor, and tape up as much of the slit you made as you can.

You'll then need to prime it, and you'll have to chose the primer based on the paint you end up with.

Time for paint. Oil based paint should hold up, but you'll probably have better luck with spray enamel paint. Use many thin coats rather than few thick coats. Make sure to read the specs on whatever paint you decide on, make sure it can withstand up to 220 degrees - Just to be safe.

Alternatively, maybe you can look into building a radiator cover.

On "Rehab Addict," Nicole just paints old BROKEN radiators with metallic spray paint in a can.  I think 2 cans per radiator?


Help with basement wall insulation Here is the issue, my basement wall facing south is trapping moisture. Removed the drywall and found a layer of poly and rigid insulation on the lower wall and batting insulation on the top side. The 2x4 framing studs are built above the footing blocks but on the inside they put 1x6 furring strips and drywall over that The exterior brick wall under the window shows efflorescence. Btw, my footing is above grade.
Would this have been caused by water/moisture from the exterior brick wall/ window or internally from the vapor barrier?
I've read too much information about basement wall insulation and some say to insulate it some say don't.

any help or information greatly appreciated.

The correct way to insulate a basement wall is with rigid foam or spray foam right up against the masonry walls, with air sealing scrupulously done with caulk, tape, and more spray foam, to make sure that no humid air can touch the masonry walls. Once that's done, you can safely build a framed wall covered in drywall if you like to finish the space. There should NEVER be poly in this wall sandwich, as it will trap water and cause everything touching it to get wet.

If you currently have a wall that has poly anywhere in it, you need to remove it. Then redo it according to the above description.

You have not discussed what the trapping of moisture symptom is?
It sounds like you found your poly under the sheetrock?
It should be against the masonry.
Just an opinion.
Jeff


What's the trick to hanging overhead light fixtures with only two hands? Whenever I perform this task, there always comes a point where I need two hands to do something with the fixture, and don't have a free hand to hold the lamp up in the air. I don't think it's safe to let heavy lamps hang from their wires, but that's always what I end up doing. So, what's the trick to holding up the lamp with one hand and needing two more hands to twist wire nuts and turn screws and whatnot?

I usually put all my hardware in my shirt pocket before I go up the ladder, so at least I don't have to go back down with the lamp hanging from the wires, but what other tricks might work for this task? Getting a second person obviously solves the issue, but please answer as if that's not possible.

Many flush ceiling fans have a built in solution in the form of a hook that hold the motor near the ceiling while you attach wires. Then you lift he fan off the hook and secure to the mounting bracket.

You can rig a similar hook if you can find a secure point on the lighting fixture as a grab point (either through or around). Use a wire coat hanger to make a double ended hook. Use at least two strands of the wire and twist ends tightly together for strength. One end of the double hook goes through or around your fixture grab point and the other hook end goes over the mounting strap attached to the ceiling box.

Support the unit (make sure that the hook mechanism seems strong enough to support the weight), attach wires, then lift unit and slip hook mechanism free. Attach mounting screws.

I use a roller paint pan using the slots on the step ladder to hold all my tools and hopefully the item I hanging.


In order to soundproof the noise from outside, how to install studwork on concrete walls and ceiling? How to fix stud on the walls and ceiling? This video demonstrate how to build a stud wall.

My room looks like the following image, concrete walls and ceiling

In order to soundproof the noise from outside, how to install studwork on concrete walls and ceiling?

How to fix stud on the walls and ceiling?

A concrete wall having outside noise issues? Hummm I do think I have heard of that problem.
If you want to isolate the wall from the living space that may work but will make the room smaller.

To anchor into concrete you will usually need to drill the plate and extend the hole into the concrete and use a tapcon or concrete screw. There are other methods but many are not easily removed and you may not be happy with the results and want to reclaim the space.


Why is my Bosch drill working intermittently? My cordless Bosch drill/driver will only work the first time the switch is pressed after attaching the battery. As soon as I release the pressure, it won’t work again until I remove the battery and replace it. Then, once again, it only works the first time the switch is pressed, and then... Nothing. Highly infuriating! It’s exactly the same with different batteries, so I don’t think it’s a battery problem. The problem is the same in forward and reverse, and in drill and screwdriver functions. Please can anyone help diagnose the fault? I’d be really grateful! Thank you.

I had the same problem, I emptied half I can of aerosol contact cleaner into it, vents, trigger chuck ect, goes well again


What size dowels to use for joints? I'm comfortable with the process of creating and joining wood with dowels, but I'm not sure what size dowels to use in which cases? Specifically, I'm working with 1" thick stock (3/4" actual), what size should I use?

What are the other sizes and lengths of dowels used for?

Are there any recommended grouping or spacing for wood dowels?

The best work I know of on the topic was written by Tage Frid (see http://amazon.com).
The approximate rule-of-thumb, iirc, is to use a dowel no more than 3/8 the thickness of the wood to be joined (and not less than 1/4 the thickness).
Expansion
For example, if you are joining 5/4 boards (finished thickness 1"), the dowels should be between 1/4" and 3/8" in diameter.
Likewise, if joining finished thickness 3/4" boards, use between 3/16" and 9/32" diameter dowels.
This presumes, of course, you're joining the boards on the narrow dimension (e.g. making a door frame).

Obviously depends on the type of wood (of the dowel), is the dowel in single shear or double shear, can the base wood handle the load on the dowel or will it split or deform, what is the load going through the joint, etc.

wood properties
http://www.awc.org/pdf/wsdd/C1.pdf

american wood council pdf contains detailed formulas for calculating dowel size.
http://www.awc.org/pdf/tr12.pdf