If my wall has metal studs, is it better to anchor heavy objects through just drywall or also through the studs? I live in an apartment that has that has metal studs.  I'm considering hanging various things from the wall, including a coat rack that will span 5 or 6 studs.  I've seen advice that says metal studs are useless and crumple like tin foil and instead of hanging from the studs, I should use one of various heavy-duty drywall screws like SecureMount or Toggler.  I've also seen advice saying that heavy objects should always be attached to studs, whether metal or wooden.  I've even heard both sides by two different employees at the same hardware store.

I don't know the gauge of the studs but the drywall seems to be 5/8" thick.

Since the coat rack will span so many studs, it's as easy to mount it on the studs as it is between them.  So which is better?

It's going to be more secure to use the studs, but depending on the weight of what you're hanging, it may not be necessary.  If you're hanging more than 40+ pounds, I'd go ahead and use the studs.

Instead of using wood screws or lag bolts as you would use in wood studs, use toggle bolts similar to the Toggler brand that you mentioned.  Starting from the center of the stud, make progressively larger holes in the drywall and stud until the toggle bolt will fit through.  Follow the instructions as if you were putting it through just drywall.  You'll only need two studs for all but the most heavy items.  I've used this method to hang a small server rack in a partition wall, and it's stronger than I expected.

I have no experience with metal studs, but I would first research whether they might have a tendency to warp more the wooden ones.  If they do, hanging anything heavy on the wall, attached to those metal studs or not, could bow the wall one way or the other.  Also, a lightweight screw could pull out or break, as there is only a thin thin thickness for it to grip onto. That said, how you would hang individual items would depend on each item's shape and weight.  My hanger levels are: individual nail, hanger bar, hook type hangers, plastic anchors, molly bolts, toggle bolts, lag bolts into studs.  I have never used the new sticky hangers, nor do I know anyone who has used them.


When I turn on my light switch, there is a delay before the light comes on We have a ceiling fan light.  One swith controls the fan, the other the light.  When I turn on the light switch, there is a noticable delay (like a full second) before the light comes on.  Is it a wiring issue?  I notice no blinking, no other problems, just the delay.

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

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

It could be a defective light bulb. It is very odd.


Genie SilentMax 1000 will not move up or down I have been having problems with my Genie SilentMax 1000 garage door opener. With the door disengaged from the opener the shuttle moves back and forth about 4" and stops. It has been doing this intermittently for a month or so now and then sometimes it starts working again after I try it 10 times or more.

The door operates quite easily by hand with no restrictions.
The safety beam is not blocked and has a constant light.
I have reprogrammed the up and down limits twice.
I have reprogrammed the up and down force to maximum.

I can find parts like here:
http://www.genie-garage-door-openers.com/genie10003024.htm

It seems the motherboard is $75 about half the price of a new door opener. I am wondering if anyone else has seen this problem and if they successfully repaired it with a circuit board or was it the motor.

I hate to buy a part and have it still not work but I hate to completely replace the opener. It is only 18 months old, just past warranty, go figure huh? I won't be buying another Genie.

Thanks for any help and happy holidays.

After discussing this with the Doors Unlimited Sevice tech I opted to have the opener replaced. We agreed it could either be in the rpm sensor or the mother board but either way replacing it was the only sure way to fix it.

I will not ever buy another Genie door opener.

I would suggest a failed DC Opto. The part is cheap and easy to replace.


Recommendations for drilling a lot of small holes in various plastics (ABS/PVC/Acryl) I need to drill a large series of 2 millimeter holes (several 100) in pieces of plastic that vary in thickness between 16 and 22 millimeter.
The plastic will be ABS, PVC and acryl (not sure if that is the correct English term, I mean the clear stuff they make aquarium walls from).
I've got several pieces of each material and I need to do it one-handed standing on a ladder. The pieces of plastic are mounted on a frame high up on a wall. (One hand for the ladder, the other for the cordless power-drill.)
Luckily for me neatness isn't important. The holes don't need to be at a very exact angle as long as they are more or less straight in and go all the way through.
Some raggedness of the holes, even a bit of melting at the edges due to the drill-bit getting warm is OK as the holes won't be visible from up close.
Splintering the plastic however is NOT OK and I only have one go at this. The pieces of plastic can not be easily replaced if they crack or splinter...

I intend to use a 2 mm drill for steel, set the power-drill for high-speed and apply little pressure when drilling. I think the acryl and the ABS would be a bit to hard/brittle for a wood-drill (For the PVC it would probably be OK).
Obviously I need to let the drill-bit cool a bit between holes and maybe drill each hole through in 2-3 phases, possibly having to clean plastic residue from the drill each time.
Am I on the right track with this or will I be making a big mistake somewhere?

EDIT in response to various comments.
The plastic pieces are mostly horizontal inserts of a (much larger) company logo mounted on the roof/wall of a company building. It can't be disassembled without breakage (lot's of glue and some pieces were molded in place and wrap around the frame).
The horizontal parts of the construct gather rain-water which leads to moss-growth (eye-sore) and which provide ideal nesting-places for pigeons and sea-gulls (bird-shit and the noise of the gulls).
Management contacted the artist who designed the whole thing and he came up with the brilliant idea of drilling the holes. About half of them to let water run of and the other half to insert 12-15 cm transparent (so they are invisible from the ground) plastic rods to deny the birds access.
The artist is a cousin of the CEO. The CEO is heavily impressed by him and basically orders us to follow the artists every whim.
Access to the panels with a ladder is pretty good. I'm not worried about dangerous working conditions. Scaffolding only works for the lower panels. The upper panels are mostly located in recesses that are wide enough to get a ladder in, but to narrow for a scaffold. (For the lower part I will use a cherry-picker. That is a lot easier than a scaffold and gives me the same access.)

The scope of your project requires an equally large scope of preparation. Swap out the ladder for a scaffold system. Replace the hand drill with, at a minimum, a drill jig to keep alignment while you drill. Use drill bits designed for drilling plastic to prevent cracking. Your emphasis on avoiding splintering/cracking increases the importance of proper drill bits. Using such a small diameter drill bit also increases the chance of snapping a bit in the hole. With a combination of scaffolds, a drill jig and proper bits, you may be able to accomplish your goal.

You suggest that the holes need not be perfectly straight, but a jig will enable you to drill in a safe manner to avoid snapping a bit.

A quote from a plastics web site:

  Plexiglass, Lexan, Plastic Drill Bits These are the bits you need for drilling Plexiglass, Lexan polycarbonate, PETG, and other clear
  plastics. The special tip design carves through the plastic (not for
  use with wood or metal).

  It takes a special drill bit to properly drill through Plexiglas,
  Lucite, Acrylite, or Perspex acrylic sheet. Ideal for Lexan, Tuffak or
  Makrolon polycarbonate sheet. Special 60 degree angle. Not recommended
  for wood or metal.

  These are specially ground flukes with a 90° point for drilling holes
  in acrylic plastics including, Plexiglas®, Lucite® and Acrylite®
  materials. Metal drill bits will not work as they are made to bite
  into the metal as they are pushed into it. If they are used on
  acrylics they will chip and cause other damage to the plastic.

  When drilling holes for screws, you must make the hole larger than the
  screw itself to allow for expansion and contraction of the material.
  If not you will cause stress cracks at the hole and they will spread!
  Always have a backer board behind the plastic sheet - most problems
  happen when you punch through the back side. The design of these bits
  helps prevent that!

Bits for cutting plastic have a shallower angle to the tip as well as less aggressive cutting edges. The one in the photo below shows it is nearly a scraping edge rather than a cutting edge:

Cover the area you are drilling in painter's tape, it will help keep the plastic together while you drill.


Is this type of ground wire connection NEC compliant? Found this recently, done by a licensed electrical company in the state of California.

Is this compliant? If not, is there anything that could be added to make it legal? (I see "ground clamps" for attaching wire to pipe that look as if they'd provide a mechanical connection.) Would you just parcel them out into appropriately sized wire nuts? The box is a 2 gang, and getting full, but it's in a crawlspace, so could get an extension if needed.

Simply twisting is not enough. You need a mechanical connection as well. Wire nut, crimp, etc.

NEC

  110.14 Electrical Connections

  Because of different characteristics of dissimilar metals, devices
  such as pressure terminal or pressure splicing connectors and
  soldering lugs shall be identified for the material of the conductor
  and shall be properly installed and used. Conductors of dissimilar
  metals shall not be intermixed in a terminal or splicing connector
  where physical contact occurs between dissimilar conductors (such as
  copper and aluminum, copper and copper-clad aluminum, or aluminum and
  copper-clad aluminum), unless the device is identified for the purpose
  and conditions of use. Materials such as solder, fluxes, inhibitors,
  and compounds, where employed, shall be suitable for the use and shall
  be of a type that will not adversely affect the conductors,
  installation, or equipment.

  (B) Splices.

  Conductors shall be spliced or joined with splicing devices identified
  for the use or by brazing, welding, or soldering with a fusible metal
  or alloy. Soldered splices shall first be spliced or joined so as to
  be mechanically and electrically secure without solder and then be
  soldered. All splices and joints and the free ends of conductors shall
  be covered with an insulation equivalent to that of the conductors or
  with an insulating device identified for the purpose.

  Wire connectors or splicing means installed on conductors for direct
  burial shall be listed for such use.

NEC codes
250.148 and 110.14(B)

That kind of locks it in that they should be covered by something. I've seen them without for less wires, but that's a lot of wires to rely on a good twist.


What are my options for installing a water softener on the opposite side of the house from the main water supply? Background Info
My main water supply on my home is located on the east wall of the home, whereas my garage is located on the west side of the home. There is no water softener loop in the home, and in Arizona most water softeners are put in the garage on newer homes.
I would like to put in a water softener but I'm uncertain that I should re-plumb my water into the garage and back to the east wall into the house.
The way I see it I have two options:

Plumb from the mains on the east wall, under the landscaping and into the east wall of the garage. Then into the softener and out, under the landscaping into the east wall of the house.

Place the water softener behind the east backyard fence (outside), and plumb the east wall main through the fence and into the water softener. Then water softener to the east wall of the house.

My questions are:

What is: more cost effective and/or more logical to do?
What type of pipe should I use under ground, given we are located in Arizona.
Taking Arizona weather into account (Phoenix/Mesa area) if I chose #2 and placed the softener outside, what weather concerns should I know of: freezing, extreme heat, etc.?
Is there a specific type of softener I should look for?
Given Option #1 is the right choice, do I need to worry about line pressure drop going that far of a distance and back? approx 15-20ft each way (total of 30-40ft).

Pictures of the home
This is a crude drawing of option #1.

This is the location of the water main, as you can see its on the east wall in front of the backyard fence.

If it were me, I would definitely put the softener in the garage.  Protecting it from weather, critters, and extreme temperature variation seem reason enough.  But to also have it where you can easily monitor it daily seems reason enough again to locate it in the garage.

But the water meter looks like it is above ground:  Maybe the climate is safe against freezing?  I am under the impression that all of Arizona is desert climate, which means below freezing temperatures are possible overnight most days of the year.

You only need to run one pipe from the water meter to the softener.  From inside the garage, you should be able to connect into the system more directly than going back to the meter.  In fact, would the water heater be in there too?  (I don't see an exhaust for one maybe because there is not enough resolution in the photos.)  If it is, you can put a T fitting onto the cold feed into the water heater and distribute softened water from there.  Cap off the end near the water meter.

As for digging and burying in the front yard or running it under the house, I would expect running under the house is easier and cheaper.  Does it have a crawlspace?

You cannot insytall a softener without a soft water loop. the soft water cant go to cold side of KS, refrigerator or hose bibbs.


Properly Attach Cabling To Joists I am running cabling through my crawlspace roughly 40 feet.  I have the holes drilled, and am leaving about 25 feet extra looped off for contingency.  I am planning to attach the cabling to the joists to properly secure them, but not sure what the best option would be.  I know that a lot of the time, screw down clamps are used, however I feel that would be quite difficult in the tight space that I am in.

What other "safe" alternatives are there to properly secure the cabling to the floor joist in the crawl space?

There are staplers meant for wiring that are great for situations where you don't have too much room for a screwdriver or to swing a hammer. The Arrow T25 is one model, but there are other options out there.

Just do a search for Cat5 stapler and you should find lot of options. Make sure you pay attention to the instructions and use the right staples or else you could accidentally cut one or more of the conductors in your cable.

Another method is to staple a zip tie to the joist and then fasten it around the Cat5.

I know nothing about electrical, but structurally (and I know it's too late to change the holes you've already drilled, but maybe for future reference,) never drill in the middle one-third span of a joist. Also, in the other two-third sections, drill  as close to the middle of the height of the joist...that is not in the top compression side nor the bottom tension side. Also, if possible don't drill within the height of the beam/joist where it bears on the wall. That is to say, if the beam/joist is 8" high, then don't drill within 8" of the bearing wall. AND in no event should the hole be 1/6th the height of the beam/joist....just rule-of-thumb...


Low voltage fuse blowing in furnace I have an outside A/C compressor and indoor furnace fan combo in the attic.  The unit was off and the 3 amp fuse was blown.  I replaced the fuse and used the thermostat to turn the fan on followed by the heater then the A/C.  I let the unit run the A/C.  After a while the A/C turned off.  I checked and the furnace was off, fuse blown and thermostat was asking for cool.  I do not know if the fuse blew during operation, shutdown, or when the next request for cool happened.
I checked the wires leading to the outside unit.  They show open when disconnected and 20.8 ohms when connected to the contactor.  The wires leading from the thermostat to the furnace show open until fan, heat or A/C is selected and they show continuity as expected.
The volts across the red and green terminals shows 27 volts.  The transformer is showing 120 in and 27 out.  My first reaction is to replace the contactor on the outside unit, but that 27 volts is interesting to me because the schematic and Xformer say 24 volts.

Update

Performed the following tests.  Disconnected the wires to the outside unit and ran the fan for a few hours no issues.  There are 3 wires going from the furnace to the outside unit.  White wire goes to 1 terminal of the contactor relay.  Red and green wires were tied together and attached to the other terminal.  On the furnace outside white is tied to yellow, outside green is tied to blue.  Outside red was disconnected and loose on furnace.  I disconnected red from green outside and put a wire nut on it.  Measured the voltage on the relay of 27 volts.  The resistance without wires is 16 ohms.  Ran the A/C briefly without issue.  Running the A/C today without 240 to see in the contactor heats up.

The furnace is a Lennox gas heater model number G40UH-36A-070-15.  The outside A/C is a Lennox 13ACD-036-230-02.  I went ahead and ordered a new relay because it is pretty cheap.  It should arrive by this weekend.

What should I do next to troubleshoot this?

Edit:

I concede that the answer to this problem depends on some specifics that are lacking.

If the OP fuse is a glass cartridge style, then it is likely that a slow blow (MDL type or similar) is required in place of the fast acting automotive type.  If the fuse is the automotive blade type as Mazura pointed out, then fast acting is the only option for those and the problem lies elsewhere.

Electrical contactors do draw relatively high current until the contacts seat into the closed position, so I also have to agree that a sticky A/C contactor could blow the fuse even if the contactor coil is actually good.  To test if the contactor is sticking, I would turn off the outdoor disconnect to the compressor and open the condenser access panel for inspection.   Turn the thermostat to "cool" and watch the contactor pull in.  If the contactor action is sluggish, that could cause the problem.  With power to the compressor turned off at the disconnect, this test could be performed repeatedly.

If you think that over-voltage is blowing the fuse (unlikely, but possible) you can always use a larger fuse.  While this is not recommended, there is some wiggle room.  If you were to put a 4 amp 50 volt time-delay fuse in it's place, you would still provide short-circuit protection while bypassing this slight(ish) problem.

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the standard deviation for these types of fuses is like 20%.  That means that your 3 amp fuse could be anywhere between 2.4 and 3.6 amp.


Do I need to shut the gas off to my fireplace before replacing the wall switch? Do I need to shut the gas off to my fireplace before I replace the wall switch?

Generally speaking it's not necessary.
Disconnecting the switch is no different than turning the switch off. Both can create tiny sparks and both leave the fireplace without power. Of course, if you turn off the breaker as you should, sparks are less likely.
Either you have an electronic gas valve, in which case it'll remain closed, or you have a pilot flame, in which case it'll continue burning. Both are safe conditions.

This is like "do i need to turn off the engine while pumping gas?".
The answer is always YES.
Because you need to prepare precaution.
The leaking gas can be smelled but our nose could be blocked by cold or flu and change the sense of smell, making it hard to smell the leaking gas.
If the gas starts to leaks while you replacing the wall switch you could panic and making the decision while panic is never ended well.
Unless the gas line is far away from your wall switch you don't need to shut off the gas.


What is the correct use for linseed oil on outdoor wood? I have doors, patio furniture and windows which all need constant attention in terms of varnish and wood sealers.

I have recently found a good contact for raw linseed oil, and would like to use something like this to preserve my wood.

What is the better choice between raw and boiled linseed and should I rather use the polywax sealers that you get in stores?

Essentially I would like to retain the lustre of the wood.

I have always used boiled linseed oil on the handle of my garden equipment. Wooden shovels, rakes, pickaxes, and such. That's what I thought it was for. It lasts a long time and doesn't get slick or gummy. I just get a rag wet with it and wipe it on. It should look great on some outside furniture.

We use it on actual tow behind trailer decks, it needs done once a year but prolongs the life of the treated wood that's on there.


Is the outlet type indicative of problematic wiring I'm fairly competent as a DIYer, but I don't have the ability to dig in to this problem directly yet.

I'm considering buying a very historic house (more than 180 years old). The wiring coming out of the breaker box (and it is breakers) appears to be relatively modern. That is, it has plastic sheathing rather than a paper-like stuff that I have seen in some older houses.

However, all of the outlets I saw during the tour were un-grounded three-plug outlets. That is, you could plug three lamps in with out needing a splitter. However, nothing had a ground pole. (I'll post a picture if I ever find one).

Does this indicate some complication (beyond lack of ground) that I should be aware of with the wiring in the wall?

You, or your house inspector, would want to investigate if the "modern wiring" makes it all the way to the outlet boxes (in which case a simple replacement will get you grounded 3-prong outlets) or if it stops short and leaves you with old ungrounded wire to the actual outlets (in which case you'll want to lower your offer by several thousand dollars to pay for the rewiring.)

The triple outlets could just be a fashion choice, but you need to know to make a reasonable offer on the house.

If the outlets are all 2-prong openings, then obviously the sockets are all ungrounded which is a bad thing. Running grounds to all the outlets in the house and replacing the sockets with grounded 3-prong sockets could be annoying.


Is this pipe in my basement floor intended for radon mitigation? This pipe emerges from the concrete slab floor in a corner of my house's full basement. I believe it's a 4" polyethylene sewer pipe (narrow walls, black interior, white exterior). I can't tell if it's perforated or not below the surface.

As you can see from the picture it goes down 4 feet. From that point it bends and appears to penetrate horizontally through the adjacent frost wall. (I know this from fiddling with a tape measure and a flashlight.)

When I uncapped it, I noticed that air seemed to be blowing out of the pipe into the house, and I wondered if it was connected to either of the mystery pipes that emerge from the ground at opposite corners on the outside of my house.

I eventually convinced myself that the pipe is connected to the nearer of the two exterior pipes. (I did this by putting a vacuum down the pipe inside the house and noticing that the nearer exterior pipe was sucking air when I turned on the vacuum.)

This is the layout:

Various contractors at the house have speculated about the pipe's purpose. Theories include:

It functioned temporarily during construction, after the house's electricity was connected, to run electrical wires from the house to a trailer outside that needed electricity. (The people who built the house lived in a temporary trailer outside while the house was under construction.)
It's for an illegal basement sink that would drain directly into the ground instead of running out to the septic system.
It's for radon reduction. A fan needs to be added above the interior pipe to pull air from beneath the basement floor, inside the frost wall. (But if so, why does it vent outside? Also, it seems to go through the frost wall immediately. I don't believe there is any perforated pipe beneath the slab inside the frost wall.)
It's for passive radon reduction. The air from beneath the basement floor, inside the frost wall, is intended to vent outside. (But if so, why would the pipe come up through the floor into the basement at all? And again, there doesn't seem to be much perforated pipe inside the frost wall.)
The exterior corner pipes were intended for roof gutters to drain into. (But if so, why plumb one through the frost wall and up into the basement?)

I am about to finish the basement room, and I intend to wall off access to the pipe. But I would like to know what it's for before I lose access to it forever.

Yes, your area is known for radon and it It looks like pipe is the rough-in for a radon system.

When we install radon piping, we install a series of perforated pipes embedded into gravel in the crawl space or under a slab-on-grade floor. We also provide a series of pipes in the ground around the exterior of the building too.

Usually the two systems are not connected, but work in tandem. The exterior pipe and gravel provide an inlet for air, so the interior pipe and gravel can exhaust the air under the building. However, the exterior gravel needs to be "connected" to the interior gravel (gravel under the building,) so air can be drawn through the gravel under building to purge the area.

The reason the two pipes seem to be connected is that the two gravel systems are connected.

However, the interior solid pipe (not perforated) needs to be extended through the attic and connected to an exhaust fan. (Often the interior pipe is extended through the attic/roof without an exhaust fan. If tests show radon has decreased, then we never install the exhaust fan.)

There's no reason to perform radon "mitigation" in a basement with a poured concrete floor and walls. Radon is a gas produced by the radioactive decay of uranium  and radium in granitic rocks and their sediments. If you had one of those 100 year old exposed stone basements with a dirt floor, you'd have a radon problem (maybe) worth considering. As it is, your basement is as close to being a fortified bunker against radon intrusion as you could hope to build.

Maybe it's just a dryer vent.


Removing post in center of two-car garage (20ft span) I have a two-story house with a two-car garage under two bedrooms. The two bedrooms have a non-load bearing wall between them and the garage has a 6x10 beam underneath with a supporting post.
I want to take out the post, by bracing or sandwiching the existing beam with LVLs on either side using through-bolts and end posts. The span is including supporting end-posts 247".
how many LVLs do I need and what height of LVLS? Can I use one 1.75" x 11.75" on either side or do I need more?

Well, you could try one LVL and if it collapses, then rebuild the floor and use two.
It really depends on how much stuff you have in the room above and how solid you want the floor to be. Do you care if the floor bounces when you jump up and down?
I doubt that a 20 foot wall is not load bearing. What is holding up the roof? If you go into the attic, are there joists tied to the wall header?

Your 6x10 Standard grade SPF spanning 10’ will support about 800 - 850 plf.
Two 1 3/4” x 11 7/8” lvl 20’ long will support 400 plf.
You’ll need two on each side of your 6x10 beam.


How do I wire a modern 240V 3 prong range to a 250V 50A 3 prong outlet? This is for wiring in the United States.
My wife ordered a new GE electric range top, and it came with a 3 wire flex conduit permanently attached.  I cannot change it.  It has a black wire, a red wire and a ground wire.  It looks like this:

We plan to use it in an old cabin that was built in the 1940's.  There is an existing 240V 3 prong 50A outlet in the kitchen.  Upon opening the outlet, I found a red wire, white wire and black wire in what looks to be 6 gauge?  It's very thick, and hard to bend.  There is no ground wire present.

My understanding was that I could just wire in the black and red on the range top, and not use the neutral wire in the outlet box.  But the fact that there is no ground in the outlet box means I can't ground the range top.
What is the proper way to wire this up without having to run an entirely new outlet from the breaker panel?
UPDATE:
Added picture of breaker panel wiring, and it appears the metal box is indeed grounded?
@ThreePhaseEel, yes I plan to hard wire it. I'm away at the moment, but can take a photo later. There is a 3/4 inch metal conduit entering the top of the outlet box. You can see it in the 3rd photo.
Update 2:
Okay, you guys are going to freak, but here is a photo of what I'm dealing with here.  This is all the panels for the cabin:

Now, I consider myself to be very handy.  I do all my own mechanical and electrical work on my cars, I run my own outdoor gas lines, run my own electrical for my landscaping, etc.  Add outlets within the house... But I'm obviously not an electrician.  It seems like it would be easy enough to replace that sub-panel myself, but in light of all the other panels on that wall, is this looking like something that I should have an electrician handle?
Update 3
My original question has been answered, but it opened another can of worms.  And so I've created a new question to address the panel replacement/rewiring: Proper way to modernize 1940's cabin sub-panels
Thank you all so much for your very generous help!  It is greatly appreciated.

That white wire can just...go
Since your new range doesn't use a neutral, and this circuit appears to be run in conduit, I would turn off the feeder to the subpanel box at the main panel, make sure the power's off in the sub, then unhook the white wire headed rangeward from the neutral bar of the subpanel and pull it out as a starting point.  While this may sound odd at the moment, it's actually a rather sensible move since you don't have separate neutral and ground in the feeder, thus we need to pick one or the other to provide at the subpanel, and since the other load has no use for neutral, we pick ground.
Of course, if you are planning to consolidate the panels, then the white wire can stay since it'll become a proper isolated neutral in that case.  You'll want to cap it off at the cooktop junction box in the meantime, though.
That subpanel needs to go, though, too
However, once that white wire's gone from the equation, the challenge begins, as sadly, that subpanel is a Zinsco, with all the relatively checkered failure history attendant to that fact.  Sadly, the fact it's recessed is going to make this a tricky (albeit rather necessary!) job, especially considering that retrofit interiors aren't made for small panels like yours.  You'll want to ignore the bonded bar and fit a ground bar to the new panel, though, landing the bare ground wires on the incoming feeder cable and outgoing 10/2 NM cable on the ground bar and leaving the bonded bar empty as a cue that neutral is not available at this panel.
Once all that's out of the way
Once you get all that taken care of, then the green wire from the range can just land on a small mechanical lug (Brumall 6T or equivalent 4-14 foot lug with a #10 hole in it) connected to the box by a 10-32 self-tapping screw (Garvin GSST).  From there, the conduit continues the equipment grounding path to the subpanel, which then is grounded via the bare outer braid of the SEU cable used to feed it.

The white wire can be used as a ground wire. It goes to the the neural bar witch is grounded. Black to black, red to red, and green to the white.


Can I mount a router to the Ridgid R4510 table saw? I'd like to purchase a Ridgid R4510 table saw, but I want to make sure I can mount a router under it. Should I be concerned with whether this specific table saw is going to allow it or do pretty much all table saws accommodate a router attachment? Also, would there be a commercially available router attachment for this table. I noticed that most people create their own attachments, but I might like to save some time and just buy one.

Nothing commercially available nor would I expect one.  I've made one for mine with a fairly detailed build thread on the Router Forums.

http://www.routerforums.com/table-mounted-routing/35529-router-insert-ridgid-r4510-table-saw.html


Confirming C wire in my thermostat can someone confirm that the blue wire is the "C wire"? What are the other wires (yellow, light pink, brown, and orange) that are not connected to anything?

R and C are your power wires. W is for heat and G is for fan. Cables come with multiple wires in the bundle. The rest are just extra for future use like if you added air conditioning you would use the yellow wire usually. Orange if you were to add a heat pump and so on. Or if one of the wires were to break you could use one of the other ones.


Is there a tool to pinpoint an exact location through wood? I have a wooden roof.

I need to drill though it from above, and hit the beams exactly in order to attach something.

The edges of the roof are not straight, and it is impossible to find out where the wooden roof begins, so using a tape measure to find the beams will be extremely difficult.

Does modern technology provide a tool with which I can find the position of the beams through the roof?

I'm thinking about a two-part gadget where one part can tell when it is close to the other part or something.

The roof is about an inch thick.

Use a long, small diameter drill bit from below and drill all the way through the beam and the roof. To prevent water intrusion, fill the hole with silicone caulk from above prior to making your attachment, then simply patch the beam from below with wood putty or spackle and paint/stain to match.

This seems to be a good product http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnepull-XR1000-Magnespot-Reference-Locator/dp/B0088QE96O


What is simplest strategy to map circuits to breakers in the panel? My breaker box is very poorly labeled and I want to figure out which circuits may have overloaded (or close to it) and which could reasonably handle a little more.

In the past I have just tried flipping one of the breakers and then running around the house flipping switches and trying receptacles.  Surely there is a better way?

If there is a reasonably priced tool that would make this a lot easier I would consider it.

I tried one of the breaker finders, but it was worse than useless. So my solution was simple. I took a piece of paper and drew maps of every room in the house. On the map I located every outlet, light switch, etc. Then I turned off each breaker one at a time, and tested every outlet in a room, every switch. It helps to have a few items to plug into different outlets so you can test more than one outlet at a time.

For some boxes, you must be careful, as you may have two circuits going into the box in some cases. And some outlets may even be split in two, or some outlets are set up as switched outlets. Identify all of these things, taking careful notes on the map.

This all took little time, and perhaps even less time than it would have taken with a breaker finder. In the end, I have those maps, so whenever anything needs doing, I pull out the map and shut down the correct breaker easily before I do any work. Even so, I STILL check the box to test if the lines into it are dead. You can never be too careful with electricity.

If you just need to find which breaker a single outlet is attached to you can short the hot and common wires together. It'll trip the breaker in the box. That's what breakers are for. I know there will be some people fuss but I've been doing this for years and I know many other electricians that do the same thing.


Do I need to remove this enclosed shower and check for mold? My wife and I just bought a house, and I noticed after using the shower, there were black specs all over the shower floor.  There is a seam where the bottom part of the shower joins with the wall covering, and there is no caulk. I sprayed water into it, and a nearly endless stream of black and yellow specs poured out. Should we remove the enclosed shower and check for mold?  Some people online claim that this is soap scum, but there are a lot of seams in the shower without caulk so I am concerned it could be mold.

This what was coming out at the hour mark. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/PW_0p61zcHY

First go to a home store and look at how this style tub and shower surround are built.
Next realize the tub has a lip that extends up and the bulge at the base of the surround is to overlap the lip on the tub.

If you want to purchase a new surround try removing it,
You have probably shot some water up inside the wall and that can cause mold.

If you want to keep mold from becoming a problem seal the joint with a latex calking or any silicone bathroom calking with mold inhibitors.

Whatever you do don’t pull the drain and see all the gunk hair and? in the drain or you may want to move out.

Seal the joint and forget about it would be my advice.

If the only source of water is that seam then you might be alright; mold (both black and wood rot) needs suitable water, food, temperature and oxygen to GROW (they can still survive in many cases). If you remove the source of water the mold will stop growing.

Not all mold is bad for you, not all black mold is bad for you. It may depend simply on if it effects you or not. More information at the CDC

Wood rot will cause structural issues. How bad of an issue depends on how much decay and how 'important' the structural item.

While you might be ok sealing the seams, I think that you need to both see if there is structural damage and deal with the mold more directly. This will require removing the shower enclosure at a minimum, then deal with the issues that are found, of course


How should I clean and repaint a painted wooden deck? My deck appears to have been painted with just a single layer of paint, which is now peeling off.  I like the look of the paint (when it's in better condition, of course), and am uninterested in staining, especially because I'll be adding some new balusters which may not necessarily match the existing wood.  I'd like to clean, prime, and repaint the entire deck, and have a few questions:

Do I need to actually strip the existing paint?  Or can I just follow this cleaning method (power wash, scrub with bleach/water/TSP)?
Because I don't particularly care about the discoloration of the underlying wood, is the above-mentioned chemical cleaning necessary?  Or can I just pressure wash, wait to dry, then start priming?
Should I prime/paint/stain the underside of the deck?  While I want paint on the top, I'd be okay with staining the underside, if necessary.
What kind of primer/paint should I use?  This deck is in Illinois and experiences hot summers, cold winters, and plenty of moisture.

Painting a pressure treated wood deck is always tricky. Pressure treated wood does not seem to hold paint well, even with a good primer. Stain is usually a better alternative, but since your deck already has paint, it would have to be stripped completely before using stain.

In order for the paint to stick fairly well, the surface needs to be as clean and dry as possible. Looking at your pictures, I see a fair amount of algae in the grain of the wood. This is a very normal condition. You should however, use the pressure washer and bleach/water/TSP shrub down method to clean it up. I'd wait until April or May when temps are up in the 60's to 70's to help dry the deck and open the grain.

Select a high grip primer rather than a stain blocking type. Many manufactures have come out with new formulas that are designed to bond better. When you apply the primer, don't rush. Simply rolling on primer too quickly is not good. The primer needs to be brushed into the grain as deeply as possible.  Let it dry completely.  Now you can apply your deck paint as normal.

I fought with degradation of stain every year. When I painted the entire board, sealed it, I gained an extra year before the moisture compromised it.


Why won't my A/C turn on after I replaced the thermostat batteries? Our thermostat died yesterday, but after replacing the dead batteries with fresh batteries, and confirming the LCD screen was operable, our AC no longer turns on.

I have attempted a factory reset on the thermostat, and I do hear a quiet but definitive "click" when I believe it is attempting to activate the HVAC unit, but that's as far as it gets.

One theory I have is that the batteries were long dead, and the thermostat was getting it's power from the wiring directly, which means it could be the HVAC unit that died. However, it's one of the first times I've had to deal with a HVAC unit personally, so I'm guessing. I reset the breaker a couple times to see if that would do it, but it's a no go (it is clearly marked on my panel with a aluminum bridge between both breakers).

Anything else I can try before I call a pro?

Sounds like you may not have power from the transformer. You can check this using a multimeter, by testing the voltage between the red R wire and the blue C wire.  You should read somewhere around 24VAC, though depending on the system it could be anywhere from about 6VAC to 30VAC.

Most thermostats only use the batteries to power the thermostat itself, LED display, programming, date/time, etc.  Thermostats with a C wire (like yours seems to have), sometimes only use the batteries to remember your settings during a power outage.  The actual power for signalling heat/cool, is supplied by a transformer in the furnace itself (the red R wire). If there is no power on the R wire, the thermostat has no way to call for heat/cool.  In this case you'll have to have an HVAC tech troubleshoot, and possibly replace the transformer.

You could use your multimeter to verify the furnace itself is getting power, though this is slightly more dangerous since you'll have to open the service panel on the furnace. This could put you in danger of electrocution, and should be avoided if you are not familiar with HVAC systems.

The only other thing I can think for you to check, is to look for a serviceman switch and make sure it's in the ON position.  A serviceman switch is a switch on the feed line to the furnace, that allows servicemen to turn the power off to the furnace to service it.  It should be located very close to the furnace, and within line of site of the furnaces service panel. If there is line of sight from the furnace service panel to the breaker panel that feed the furnace; or this is an old installation, you may not have a serviceman's switch.

Your best bet, is to simply call in an HVAC technician to service the furnace.

I put brand new Panasonic batteries in my thermostat and it did nothing. However, it worked with the old batteries, one of which was Energizer, and the other was Duracell. Clearly it takes a stronger battery.


Two hall lights not working with light switches Bought older home where tenants took various lighting fixtures with them. One was one of the hall lights. Where this fixture was there are three separate 12/2 with ground coming into it. Inside the ceiling box is the following - two black wires are together with wire nuts, a black and white wire are wire nutted together, and there are two white wires that are loose, but the way they are sorted twisted at the end, I'm thinking at one time they were wire nutted together. I'm trying to find out which wires to connect the white and black wires from new fixture to. I'm assuming that since there is a light switch at each end of the hallway, you should be able to turn on/off both lights at the same time from either light switch.

It sounds like a 3 way switch setup, use caution when working with 3 ways because there can be power and the light is off (no return path)and you can get shocked by providing a path to ground.
  I would start with the 2 loose white wires that are twisted connecting them to the new fixture black and white. then checking positions of switches that is the most likely solution.
I have seen 3 ways wired dozens of different ways and this is one.


Grounding issues and ground tester I put an Allied Precision Industries 15N water tank heater in a week ago and found that it's shocking the horses.  Used one for 10+ years with no problems so something has changed. We have an old house. It has 100 amp service. The neutral (white) wires and ground wires are on the same and only bar in the main breaker box.  When I test any outlet with a plug in 3 prong tester it reads open ground.   I know this isn't true because I can use a multi tester and read 120 volt when touching the neutral slot or the ground prong hole.

The outside grounding rod was an old galvanized pipe and very corroded.  I replaced it with a new rod and new wire.

Still not sure what's going on.  Are the plug-in testers really reliable or doesn't it work because my wiring system isn't wired for ground fault receptacles?   Thanks.

Those plug in testers can be total crap. I have about a dozen of them and 2/3rd of them show good circuits while the other 1/3rd show problems, and not all the same problem.

You might be surprised to find out with a high impedance meters ( the type most meters are) you can plug the meter lead in the hot terminal (the smaller one) you may read a voltage very close to your supply.

As for the neutrals and grounds being in the same bar this correct at the main panel but every place else it is not allowed. Since you just replaced the water heater and are having problems I would add a ground bond to the outlet pipe, animals are more sensitive to leakage currents than we are and this might solve the issue. I would also suggest to drive a 2nd ground rod.

Standard rods are only 8' long in the past when I have used pipe I use a full stick that is usually 10' long. Current code requires 2 if this is your only grounding system 6' or further apart. Unless the single rod has a 25 ohm or less resistance (takes a special meter to measure so most just drive 2 ).

Also, I was initially thinking we were discussing a water heater, now with the edit I see it is a "cal rod heater". Put your meter probe in the water and then to ground. If you measure a voltage the heater has leakage and is faulty, take it back. All my tanks are metal and sit on the ground outside and we only have a few weeks a year where we have to break ice. I would encourage you to put this heater on a GFCI outlet! But I believe you have a faulty heater.

Even with no ground the hot conductor of the cal rod is in the center protected by a metal jacket. It is basically a big resistor that gets hot so either the jacket is cracked or the connection points are not properly sealed - this is the reason the horses are getting shocked. Not a grounding issue.

3 lamp tester, into the trash it goes.

Grounding systems are simple but critical. My philosophy is "nuke it from space, it's the only way to be sure".   The 2014 Electrical Code agrees with me, it greatly liberalized the rules for retrofitting grounds.

I break grounding systems into 3 sections, from the, um, ground up.

 The Grounding Electrode System

This is the ground rod or water pipe tie-in (or Ufer if your concrete pouring guy was a smart cookie).  Modern standard for ground rods is two of them some distance apart, connected by copper wire to your service panel's chassis and its grounding bar.  I leave nothing to chance, bonding to both the chassis and the grounding bar.

The Neutral-Ground Bond

In your case, the neutral bar and the ground bar are the same bar, which is the sincerest neutral-ground bond possble.  These often tie to the panel chassis with a green "ground bonding screw", I have seen cases where this screw was burned up by a prior overload.

The Equipment Grounding Conductor (EGC)

This is the "ground wire" that should be present in every circuit from the ground bar to the point-of-use. Because people understand the importance of it, this isn't usually where the problem lies.

I assume you checked this on the wiring to your horse trough, so there is a real possibility that the problem isn't this ground exactly, but all grounds in your house.  The horses just discovered it first.

Ground fault detectors

GFCI "receptacles" can go right next to 3-lamp testers, as far as I'm concerned.  Too many people buy a 10-pack at Home Depot and replace every receptacle with one, without a moment of thought,  this creates a giant mess and a "Yo Dawg" joke.  It also wastes money better spent on other safety apparatus.  GFCI protection is a great concept and is important, but it is better installed intelligently, and only needs to exist at 1 point in a circuit. From there, it can protect everything downline of that point.

Since you have at least 1 circuit that runs around outside, yeah, GFCI protection is required for that, and in theory will stop horses from getting shocked.  Put the GFCI device somewhere early in the circuit, so the unit is still indoors.  Putting a GFCI device outside is just wasteful.

You can and should fit GFCI on this circuit, I recommend as a breaker or receptacle inside.  However will simply convert it from a "horses getting shocked" problem to a "GFCI trips and refuses to reset" problem.  The core problem will remain the same: your tank heater has a ground fault.

The only upside of opening up every receptacle to change it to GFCI is that it forces you to open up every receptacle and inspect it. There you may find all sorts of interesting problems left for you by history, and one or more might explain the problem you're having today.  But just do that, then; no need to spend $20 per socket.

Or ground is different at the horse trough

A longshot possibility is that the tank heater is perfectly grounded, to the house, but the ground the horses are standing on is at a different potential than the house's ground rod.  That could be caused by a significant amount of leakage from some other apparatus in the area.  The earth has basically become a giant rheostat (open resistor) between two different points having differing voltage in the same system.

However for that to happen, somebody's electric meter would have to be spinning pretty quickly.  And that would also be the case even if the horse trough heater's breaker was off. So powe off the heater and see if the horses still get shocked.


blower motor only starts after I turn power to it off and back on So I have a brand new inside blower motor and capacitor in my HVAC system. However I am experiencing this undesirable behavior where occasionally it (the blower) won't come on. The rest of the system turns on fine, so the cooling/heating coils get juice pumping through them, but the fan never turns on. Even more odd is that I can get the blower to turn on if I crawl under the house and switch the circuit breakers off and then back on. The next time I turn the AC on then the blower starts along with the rest of the system.

I've checked the wiring at the thermostat and even re-seated all the wires so that doesn't appear to be a problem. I also briefly inspected the green wire connection at the furnace and don't really see anything suspicious.

I have an older system which I don't believe has a float that shuts down the blower if the condensate gets too high... at least I can't find a float anywhere.

The furnace has an OLD humidifier component that I have no idea if it works, but it looks like it's connected up to the furnace wiring. Do that's a factor.

Any ideas what might be the problem? What else can I check or try?

As of 6/24/2017 I am still having this problem. However I did NOT have this problem during mild and cold weather... the fan worked just fine from like October until June. Now it's hot and VERY humid, and especially humid under my house where the blower is located. My impression is that the high humidity appears to be the culprit, causing something to fail.

Often, when the solution is to reboot it... that's an electronic problem. Something like that could be anything from a safety (temperature?) switch to a microchip error on a cpu.

Since you have a brand new motor, the installer should cover the repair, or know more about it. Usually work is warrantied.

Obviously, someone needs to trace the electrical system. If the installer won't do anything (for whatever reason), you still probably want to call an HVAC guy before calling an electrician though, as it may be a problem that they've seen before (especially with motors that have been replaced).

Check the fan motor, it might be faulty. Also, try changing the capacitor since some motors are capacitor run for starting....the capacitor charging and discharging have issues.


Sewer smell after installing garbage disposal I installed a new garbage disposal today. Here is a photo of the plumbing:

It seems like there is some sewage/sewer smell coming from the garbage disposal, as though the P-trap were missing (which it is not).

Is the plumbing suitable?

I did notice that the dishwasher drain hose smelled pretty bad when I took it off the old garbage disposal. I do think the foul smell could be coming from that, so I plan on changing the hose tomorrow. But, I wanted to ask the pros here if the other plumbing was okay. (And yes, I do have a stopper on top of the garbage disposal strainer for the time being.)

Edit: My sink has an air gap, and the hoses are connected to it properly (one from dishwasher to air gap, and another from air gap to garbage disposal).

Edit: So, I did three things: (1) slowly ran water faucet to fill the P-trap, as perhaps the P-trap was not absolutely full for some reason (I ran the water a lot since replacing garbage disposal, so not sure why it would not have been full); (2) poured some bleach down air gap; I made sure it went to the hole that goes to the garbage disposal; and (3) ran dishwasher on sani clean cycle.

Smell seems to have gone away now.

The plumbing appears to be fine. A simple method you can do is to first remove, clean, reinstall the gooseneck then pour a box of  baking soda down the disposal and run it that through.

On another note, I noticed the water hoses in the background. If those haven't been replaced in the last 8-10 years, consider doing so.

The drain pipe on disposal is tilted towards disposal needs to be raised at disposal and lowered at trap solids stay behind in drain pipe rotting away I always throw ice in disposal after grinding nasty food also you can reverse the drain pipes put the trap at disposal and t the other drain to it also make a loop on the dishwasher hose to create a trap smell might be from the dishwasher if smell comes back u can take hose off and make your wife smell it lol


Running NM-B in PVC SCH 40 Conduit from Outdoor Breaker Panel For space-saving reasons, I have outdoor breaker panels, and most of my branch circuits are wired through the attic down to individual outlets. Currently, the wires run through the wall from the breaker panel into the attic, but it is getting difficult to pull any more wires through.

My service wires actually enter from under the panel, and there is a ~2" entry at the top of the panel. What I would like to do is run my branch circuits through 2" SCH 40 PVC conduit up from the breaker panel on the outside of the building, and have one 90° bend to go through the wall and into the attic. The total length of the conduit run would be less than 10' and none of it is underground.

I would like to know if I can run NM-B (Romex) through this conduit from the breaker box legally. For one of the panels, this will consist of a maximum 12 individual 12/2 cables. For the other panel, this will consist of a maximum 4 10/3 and 2 12/3 cables.

I believe the conduit is appropriately large enough for the number of conductors, but I've seen other answers regarding running NM-B through conduit where conduit length is a concern.

TLDR: Putting many wires in a conduit requires you vastly oversize the wire.  Better to use many conduits, limiting each to four 14-12 AWG circuits or three 10AWG circuits.

Wire count de-rate

In one box, you propose twelve 12/2 cables in a single conduit.  That is 24 conductors (grounds don't count).  Because you have so many, NEC rule 310.15(B)3 requires you de-rate the conductors at 45% (per table 310.15B3A)

and per whatever type of cable you are in fact using on table 310.15B16:

For instance if  you aim to run 20A, and use THWN-2 or USE-2, 10 AWG wire is 40A x 45% = 18A -- not enough, you must go to 8 AWG wire.

If you're asking "why haven't I heard of this before", it's because the way the numbers work out on 310.15B, the de-rate rules generally don't bother 15-20A circuits with 9 or fewer conductors.  It may be a factor for 30A circuits or larger.  Grounds are not conductors, and neutrals are not counted in 120/240V or MWBC circuits, since they only carry imbalance current.  So any circuit in single-phase or split-phase tends to count as 2 conductors, allowing 4 circuits.

Conduit fill

Now that these wires are getting burly, you'll need to re-visit the normal conduit fill calculations appropriate to the type of cable you use (jacketed cable like USE-2 takes a lot more space than single wire THWN-2).

Wet location

Since your boxes are outdoors, everything needs to be listed for wet locations.  You cannot use NM cable. You would need cable listed for outdoor use, e.g. USE-2.  If you use UF or USE cable, go back to 310.15B16 because there's an additional derate, for instance necessitating 6 AWG if using UF.

Transition to smaller wire

Since you can't stick 8 AWG cable on a receptacle terminal, you will need to transition to 12 AWG wire somewhere.  It could happen in the receptacle box, but it'll take a lot less overall wire wrestling if you do it before that.  However this must be a place where you've split to less than 4 circuits per conduit, bundle, or hole.  Also, it must be inside an electrical box which remains accessible.  You can't put an electrical box anywhere that disassembly of the building is required to access it.  Behind a little door is fine; a panel screwed down is not.

Better way to do it

The best way to avoid that derating is numerous conduits, so you are not exceeding the nine practical limit for #12 and #14, and the six practical limit for #10.  For instance, five conduits will barely get you by: Two conduits for the four 10/3 and two 12/3 - and three more for the twelve 12/2. You will be full-up at that point, and would need to run more conduit to add anything.  I would consider 8 conduits.  Since you're already doing six, doing two more is no trouble.  You're already there, have all the right tools and supplies, and by #5 you're getting pretty good at it.

Keep in mind conduits must have a certain spacing in order to count as separate conduits. That is for air circulation, as the name of the game is to cool the wires and conduit.

I would run it in the 2" pvc and not worry about it. This was standard practice for many many years without any problems. Now the earlier posts are correct about Nm not being wet rated, however all NM now has THHN wire inside the outer jacket and the IS wet rated. It is a stupid law some code panel decided on. That is my opinion from being in the trade 40 yrs.


How to cut a 4x4 fence post lengthwise and at an angle? I need to make lengthwise cuts down the entire length of an 8 foot long 4"x4" fence post like so:

In that diagram the blue lines represent the cuts I need to make, and the purple areas are the areas that will be removed by the cuts.

I (likely) don't have access to a table saw, so I'm hoping there is a solution involving a circular saw or something similar. It needs to be something that can cut 4" thick wood length-wise. In addition to the tool of choice, the larger problem is holding the saw at the correct angle for the duration of the cut. I would imagine some kind of jig/railing needs to be put in place, but I have no idea what.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

A Minimum 10" circular saw or table saw are the best options either would be $500 w/ the table saw being the best option.

A band saw could also work.

or make the angle cut on a 2x4 and attach to the 4x4 post.


Loud gushing noise when neighbour runs their faucet I live on the 2nd floor of an 11 floor condo.  Lately I have heard a loud gushing water sound under my kitchen sink when a neighbour runs their water. This occurs every time the neighbour turns on their tap. When I touch the hot and cold pipes under my sink, I can feel the water running through them. I do not feel any vibration in my kitchen faucet stem or handle. I do feel vibration along the wall beside the sink which is where the water stack is located (all the way up/down the wall). The building Superintendent and a Plumber could not recreate the issue when they visited the upstairs suite to investigate. Has anyone encountered this type of issue and, if so, any advice? Is it possible that this could be caused by the suite downstairs?  Thanks!

Assuming you're just hearing it & not noticing any other effects from it. An other effect would be your sink trap's water or your toilet's water being sucked right out, which doesn't appear to be happening.

Then, I'm inclined to think the wall or pipe changed. What could have changed in the wall is that thermal &/or sound insulation may have shifted or completely fallen away. A pipe change would be the pipe shifting or settling down onto a structural member of the wall which could be just a millimeter of change. Now, having an avenue to transfer its normal operations.

Neither of these are catastrophic nor indicative of the pipe rotting away to a much thinner pipe. But, there may have also been work done elsewhere that brought the onset. It's more likely that it's just natural settlement issues from heavy trucks driving by, earthquakes, freeze-thaw, or normal pipe vibration.

Of course, it should be investigated fully & abated for your continued enjoyment. A building of that size should have access within the wall from the basement. I'm sure no-one will be happy about the journey, but 2nd floor is about as good as it gets.


Is there anything I can do to make it easier to remove plugs from receptacles? Is there anything I can do to make it easier to pull plug ins out of the wall sockets?  All of the wall sockets in the kitchen make it very difficult to pull the plug in out of the wall receptacle.  The toaster, the coffee maker, the can opener, the microwave, etc., are all difficult to pull out of the wall sockets in the kitchen.

This will depend in part on where you are in the world. Sockets in the UK can be very tight when new, but if you open them up you can often loosen the metal contacts so they don't grip the plug as tightly. I would imagine sockets in other countries will also have similar adjustments possible.

Make sure you turn off current at the breaker/fuse box first!

In general, though, I wouldn't advise doing this as it does increase the risk that you will get a bad electrical connection, which could lead to arcing and fire. This is still a low risk, so don't panic, but in general repeated plugging-in and removal will loosen and weaken the socket over time.

I do not unplug appliances in my kitchen, but just turn them off with the switches, which are designed for repeated use.

This will sound strange however I've discovered that if I unplug the appliance and simply whip the plug prongs using my index finger and my thumb the plug goes in and out smoothly.  I now do this every time I plug in and unplug our appliances and it works like a charm for me, go figure?


Can I re-task a large conduit to hold a small conduit and low voltage cables? To revisit our occasional questions on sneaking a low voltage cable into an AC mains conduit...
Suppose you have a fairly large electrical conduit, say, 1-1/2".  You also have some sort of continuous flexible electrical conduit, like smurf tube, where this conduit itself could be fished into the larger conduit.
Can you use the large conduit to contain both of these:

loose low voltage cabling
a continuous flexible conduit appropriate for Class I wiring, and inside that, AC mains wires type THWN.

Is that legal?   Good answers will call out Code cites if applicable.
I am not planning to self-answer this.

Filling uncharted waters
While the use of innerducts (conduits inside conduit, basically) is not completely unheardof (NEC 800.110(A)(3) permits purpose-built innerducts for communications work, which is where they are usually found, and the Code is silent otherwise about "nesting" Chapter 3 conduit types within each other), the problem with any approach that mixes innerducts (whether Chapter 3 or purpose-built) and wires or cables in the same conduit is that there is no clear way I have found to proceed with evaluating such configurations against the fill rules, especially when it comes to the fill of the outerduct, as the 40% fill rule doesn't apply to comms cables.
Unsupported
Furthermore, the conduit support rules never envision Chapter 3 conduits being used in such a manner; for flexible conduits, one could argue that the outerduct forms a "concealed space within a building" that the innerduct is then fished through, as permitted by various exceptions in the NEC, although the wording is not consistent between said exceptions, so the validity of this argument depends on the precise type of conduit being used as the innerduct.
Matryoshka conduit bodies
Another issue you'd run into with this approach is that you'd need to "nest" conduit bodies within each other wherever you had to use a conduit body for a direction change.  This is a problem because it's not at all clear how one'd support the inner conduit body, as required by NEC 314.23, under the circumstances involved, especially since none of the conduits connected to the inner body can support it in that case. (Conduit bodies normally fall under the Exception to 314.23(E) when it comes to support.)
Terminal woes
The final issue comes when you go to terminate this assembly.  If there are no mains wires directly in the outerduct, one could use a bell end fitting for the termination if the outerduct is PVC and the innerducts are suitable for in-wall usage, but this doesn't work if you have to terminate into a box with dividers inside it.  In that circumstance, you have to field-punch KOs into the dividers and run the innerduct into a fitting mounted into the divider, which is not something Code particularly envisions, either.  (With a metal outerduct, one would use a threaded insulating bushing instead of the bell end fitting.)

I think that in the case of putting a smaller conduit into a larger one for a straight shot, the larger one could be considered a "chase", basically a duct. But once you introduce another current carrying conductor, you add too many other issues like fill, transitions, etc.


Anyone recognize this faucet? How to remove these faucet handles? I'm trying to remove these bathroom faucet handles. There are no screws anywhere on the outside surface.
Is it just a matter of prying them off, either using a screwdriver or just pulling up on the knobs really hard? Or should I try turning the knobs the wrong way?
I don't want to force it, so I figured I'd ask first.
Does anyone recognize the make / model? It would be good to know what replacement parts I'd need to buy before I disassemble it.

If there are no obvious means of disconnecting, it ALMOST has to be a "pop off" design.   What other options are there???    I'd take a putty knife and gently pry on it from different sides and see if it "wants" to break free.

I think I see the set screw at the base if the handle.
Usually a small Allen wrench.


What does it mean when an LED bulb starts blinking randomly? Recently I noticed that my led bulb turns on/off for a split second randomly over the past few days. Does this mean it is starting to die or could it be something wrong with the lamp?

I've unscrewed to see if anything was damaged but could not detect any damage.

LED drivers are generally switching power supplies, which apply pulses of power to keep themselves charged to the level the LED needs. One side effect of this is that if there's a trickle of power available, they will still try to charge up, turn on the LED, immediately run out of power, and repeat. It's a complicated form of a "relaxation oscillator."

If your switch has a light or remote-control circuit that is powered by allowing a trickle of current through the load, or if you have a dimmer which fades far down but isn't cutting off completely, you'll get this effect.

For what it's worth, sample-to-sample variation means that different LED bulbs will blink at different rates for a given underpowering level. I have a 16-bulb fixture in my living room which, when faded down, does a nice imitation of christmas tree lights, "randomly" blinking in unpredictable patterns.

Shhhh. The "Big LED" cabal of manufacturers won't want you to know this, but the blinking is a

SECRET CODE

that the bulbs use to communicate diagnostic and self-test information.

When they blink like that, the blink code means

It's time for you to replace the bulb


What kind of crimping tool do I need for these bullet-style cable connectors? I need to connect pairs of wires within a narrow space (in one of the dimensions). I've been thinking of getting this kind of connector pairs:

but I know they need crimping. The only crimping I've ever done is RJ-45 connectors, from which I know that not all crimpers are alike. I'm finding dozens of crimping tools, many with replaceable "jaws"; example below. So, my question is: What kind of crimping tool, or tool+jaw combination, should I get for these connectors?
Notes:

The wires on one side are solid; on the other side they're stranded.
The connectors' stated diameter is 4mm.

tl;dr: Get a pair of HS-40J -type crimping pliers.
(This answer partially relies on information in @JACK's and @ThreePhaseEel's answers.)
Here's the kind of plier jaws which should work for you:

this type of jaws, and pliers, is named HS-40J. You'll notice the color-coding - but also the cross-section area, in square millimeters, listed:

0.25-1.0 mm^2 - Green
1-1.5 mm^2 - Red
2.5 mm^2 - Blue
4-6 mm^2 - Yellow

It is customary to have wire connectors obey this color coding, e.g.:

Other jaw sets - even from the long list you posted - may also work, depending on the cross-section area, but sometimes they have weird target shapes.
You will need to figure out the cross-section of your wire - not your connector - and crimp around the wire, accordingly. Specifically, the 4mm connector diameter is not the number you need to use. Please follow the rule: "Measure twice, cut^H^H^Hcrimp once"...
Here's how a full pair of pliers looks, with typical dimension and weight:

If you're doing this kind of work once a year, then a cheap pair of crimpers might suit your budget better.

The red/blue/yellow holes on the left are for squeezing wire crimps, and while they don't do a quick or great job, they're superior to pliers.
Main advantage here is that this is a sub-$10 in most places, or $25 with a selection of crimps/spades/forks etc.
Sure I'd like to own the best tools for every job, but when the pro-version is several hundred dollars, that difference is more useful elsewhere.   For a rare task, these are fine.


Is an LED light strip safe to use under a bed? I see a lot of RGB LED light strips being sold on sites like Amazon etc. The lights appear to be of decent quality, run off of 12V but do need up to 5-6 Amps to power.  This is a lot of current, so I'm wondering if they are safe to use under my bed. Two concerns that I have is the possibility of an electrical shock and the strip/module catching fire and lighting me up in my sleep. How can I avoid these risks in my project?

This is the LED light strip/controller/power supply I'm interested in:

You won't be able to shock yourself with 12v, but you can shock yourself with whatever power supply you find that'll do 5A at 12v. Assuming you'll only use one strip at 6a just grab a laptop power supply (I'd recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812203037) - that way you really don't need to worry about whatever engineering decisions went into building that laptop power supply.

If you cleanly splice the wires, you won't have any issues. Solder them correctly, twisting them to have a mechanical connection and soldering to have an electrical connection.. then heat shrink it.

The LEDs will not give off enough heat to catch on fire or burn your bed, ever.

This project could easily be the fusion of 2 well engineered products to do something cool without any risks! Have fun!

Hun play it safe and just dont do it , its not worth it .

If you really want that look then go for led strips that operate by battery ( yes you can get them google it )


How can two different breakers both turn off the same circuit? I have a 40 yr old home with circuit breakers.  While looking for the breaker to turn off a circuit (I was replacing a light switch), I found that two breakers, on the same side of the bus, but separated by a few other breakers, both disconnect the circuit.  To be clear, I am telling you that I can turn off either one of these to kill the hot wire in the switch box.  The only thing I can think of here is that somehow one of the breakers is feeding the other.  I've never seen a circuit behave like this.

This is similar to the other thread on this site about "Two breakers switches control the same thing" except in my case, I have the opposite result: either of the two breakers will kill the circuit.

Is there any reason this may have been done on purpose?  Is this allowed by code?

That could be a split bus panel, meaning that there are two sets of power distribution buses.  It used to be allowed by something called the "6 handle rule" (which allowed up to six of them in a service panel) back when circuit breakers cost a small fortune.

They were wired like this:

And might look like this:
Note the gap in the breaker buses at center where there are no breakers, but you can see heavy black wires connecting to the right end of the secondary buses.

The cables from the meter connect at right (which would conventionally be the top of the panel) and feeds the six double breakers.  Five of them feed directly to heavy loads:  range, water heater, dryer, baseboard heaters, etc.  The top-left double ganged breaker feeds the second bus in the left half of the photo.

In this configuration, any circuit fed from the lower bus would be shut off if either its own breaker were switched off, or the feed breaker—which also shuts off almost everything in the building.

The break circuit must be using stair case schema to turn off the light.
It works like a XOR gate in digital logic, the switches should be in opposite position to close the circuit.

You got to short circuit one switch to get rid of this configuration.


Voltage not detected on either switch terminal when switch is turned on I am in the process of replacing switches in my 1920's home which was renovated in 1970. While doing so I am creating notes of what wires exist and do not exist in each box. I found a light switch where the line in connection is hot, per my Klein non-contact detector. But, when I turn the light switch on neither the load or the line wire connections are showing up as hot, but the light is on. On the light switches I looked at so far, when I turn the switch on it results in both the line and load connection as hot.

Is there something wrong with the wiring?

This has all the smells of a switch in the neutral wire, which is a no-no as it's a potential shock hazard for a clumsy bulb changer, and forbidden by NEC 404.2(B):

  (B) Grounded Conductors. Switches or circuit breakers shall not disconnect the grounded conductor of a circuit.

The reason why the voltage detector turns off when the switch is on is because when the switch is on, the switched wire is effectively connected to the grounded conductor, putting it a few volts above earth ground.  When the switch is off, though, there's no current flowing, so the switched wire "floats" at mains voltage, which is picked up by your detector.

did they even have an nec  in 1920? some of the shit i have seen in houses from that era would certainly not fly today and would fail any inspection if used now as a wiring method. now to answering the question at hand.. unless you decided to rewire the entire building  you may have to simply  leave things as is because messing with old wiring is not a good idea its usually old and brital and fires start when old wiring is subjected to  disturbance by someone who is not trained  in how to work on it. my advice would be to consult a licensed electrician if you  have concerns about the safety of such a system or about its condition.


What license/certifications are appropriate for mold remediation firms? I am looking for someone to clean up mold in my attic, and I have been advised to find someone who is licensed in the area of mold.  I’ve checked HomeAdvisor and BBB, but it’s not clear to me who actually has a mold license for my state (Illinois) or if such a license even exists.

How do I go about finding out who, in Illinois, licenses such professionals or even what credentials to ask for?  Are they licensed by City? State? County?  Is there a registry?

As an aside,  How do I find someone to do this work?

The Illinois DPH site related to mold, which does not specifically license remediation firms..  They also don't do inspections.  They DO list several internet sites for contractors:

The Institute for Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification

and

Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration

neither of which are specific to Illinois, but do allow zip code searches (I found IICRC friendlier)

A helpful site at the EPA for mold:  In their Mold Cleanup section, they recommend that the remediation contractor follow their Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings outline (even though its your house, not a school).

It might be a pertinent question to ask: "Do you follow the EPA guidelines for remediation?".

A basic tool for your own use, a moisture gauge, will tell you if the area is ready for treatment:  Wooden interior framing should be < 15% moisture content.  One reasonably accurate meter (non-contact) is the Ryobi E49MM01.

There is no standard regulation or law by state of IL. If your local gov (ie Bldg Dep of the city) has anything follow it.  If not, a mold report by an idependent lab should suffice.


New thermostat: How to wire it? My old air conditioner thermostat broke down, so I bought a new one. But when it arrived, I was horrified to discover that the terminal of the wires were not named the same.
Both thermostats have similar controls:

Temperature (wheel)
Fan controls: auto/cont on the old one; speed on the new one
Cool/Off/Heat

I have four wires coming out of the wall. In the old thermostat they were connected as follow:

Blue wire: R/1
Black wire: Y/6 :
Green-Yellow wire: W/7
Brown wire: G/8

In the new thermostat, I have the following terminals:
C, O, L, N, H, M, L

The old thermostat is a "T8376B1000 roca t40". The new one is a "dh 11.804".

I join some pictures:

The notice of the new one (don't have and don't find on the Internet the one for the old one)

The old one is below.

Does anyone know how to wire the new one? Are they compatible ?

Thank you, any help would be much appreciated.

Noting that the new one includes fan speed control and the old one does not, I'm going to say you bought the wrong model of thermostat.

Motor speed control isn't something that can usually just be added by changing the thermostat.  It would require specific wiring and motor change in the air conditioner.

Completely disassemble the old thermostat, and examine the circuit board to get its model number and order using that.


Abandoned lamp post wire causing breaker to trip We recently had a new lawn installed and the workers removed the lamp post and clipped the underground wire. Since then, a key breaker won't reset. That breaker is tied to our garage door, our front entry lights, our porch light and garage sconces and an outdoor receptacle, and a hall way light (don't ask me why they are all working off the same breaker). I've tried to find where the wire from the lamp post ties in, but no luck. No extra wires visible coming into the side receptacle or the porch light and not other obvious place where wires would pass through the wall.

Any ideas on where the builders might have tied the lamp post into the house current? It was built in the 1990s. Would they have run it under the foundation or driveway? The side receptacle is on the same side as the lamp post and line of sight. Sees that would be the obvious choice.

A fundamental rule of electrical installation is that every wire must terminate in a junction box that is accessible without taking apart any part of the building (obviously other than the junction box cover, receptacle, switch, lamp etc. which covers the junction box).

So you have to search.  Unfortunately the mere fact that a junction box has a live wire in it does not mean your wires aren't there.  Yours could be "passing through".  But if a box is inexplicably dead, it is certainly part of that circuit.  Follow the wires and/or follow your nose.

Another rule of electrical installation is that wires have two ends, and if you unhook one end, you must unhook the other end too.  They should have done that for you, to avoid this problem...

If the initial search turns up nothing, you might want to invest in a "toner" such as a Fluke Pro3000. The toner injects noise onto a dead wire that allows you to follow it with a receiver 'wand'. I'd imagine you'd have no problem finding exactly where the wire goes with this tool.

Assuming you're in the US, you're looking at around $100 and a bit of diy time, which might compare favorably with hiring a pro to investigate.

(There are cheaper models out there, but I have no experience with them, so wouldn't want to mention them by name. Fluke is a well-regarded brand, so you could certainly resell the toner afterwards for most of what you paid.)


How can I use a 240 volt circuit for 240v and 120v appliance as per code? I have a double wall oven (40 amps) on a separate circuit and want to replace with single wall oven (20 amps) and wall microwave (120v, 2000 watt). How can I use the 240v feed to supply the wall oven (240v) and microwave (120v)? Is this code compliant. The reason for asking is that a new wire is difficult to lay in existing home.

If the microwave is going to be plugged in to a receptacle, which almost all are, then the following articles apply:

406.4 General Installation Requirements.  Receptacle outlets shall be located in branch circuits in accordance with Part III of Article 210. General installation requirements shall be in accordance with 406.4(A) through (F).
(A) Grounding Type.  Except as provided in 406.4(D) [this refers to replacing old two prong receptacles and doesn't apply to your case], receptacles installed on 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits shall be of the grounding type. Grounding-type receptacles shall be installed only on circuits of the voltage class and current for which they are rated, except as provided in Table 210.21(B)(2) and Table 210.21(B)(3).

This is a crude recreation of the Table, notice 40 amp circuits require 40 amp receptacles.

Table 210.21(B)(3) Receptacle Ratings for Various Size Circuits
Circuit Rating (Amperes) : Receptacle Rating (Amperes)
15 : Not over 15
20 : 15 or 20
30 : 30
40 : 40 or 50
50 : 50

This means a receptacle on a 40 amp circuit has to be rated 40 or 50 amps.
If your microwave is hard-wired, then there is an exception to allow taps on a 50 amp circuit but not on anything smaller so this exception does not apply to your 40 amp circuit.

210.19(A)(3) Exception No. 1: Conductors tapped from a 50-ampere branch circuit supplying electric ranges, wall-mounted electric ovens, and counter-mounted electric cooking units shall have an ampacity of not less than 20 amperes and shall be sufficient for the load to be served. These tap conductors include any conductors that are a part of the leads supplied with the appliance that are smaller than the branch-circuit conductors. The taps shall not be longer than necessary for servicing the appliance. [This means the microwave would have to be hard-wired with minimum #12 wire.]

So, after reading through these articles, my opinion is that you will need to run a separate circuit for the microwave. And as long as you are doing it, you should make it a 20 amp circuit to allow for a higher powered microwave. In this case, doing the difficult thing is the safer and Code compliant thing.
Good luck!

To make a very long story short, you can't. The code does not allow it and it would result in a hazardous situation.  You have to run a second set of wires for the microwave over.  Happy wiring. P.


Should I use a subfloor for a finished basement's floor? We are refinishing our basement and have not yet decided what to do for the floors.  Part of the basement will be tile, and we are all set.  However, the rec room side is going to be carpet.  The basement is dry, and we have never had any water or moisture issues.

Some research has said to simply lay carpet like normal, with a thinker pad on the concrete.  While OK, I am worried a little about the coldness, a vapor barrier, and the comfort level (too hard on concrete).  One carpet guys said they make special pads that are vapor or moisture proof and will not have mold issues and are made for concrete floors.

Other people has said to lay .5"-1" foam board down, and then install plywood on top of that.  That would help to insulate, make it feel like a normal floor, and provide a good moisture barrier)  But this would cost more in labor and materials, and cut into the height of the room (it is 7'8").  And although we have not had water issues, heaven forbid if we did, this would be a major pain to rip it out.

What has everyone else done?  Any recommendations?

I just recently finished my basement project.  I spent a lot of time scouring the web and grilling friends and co-workers about their basements to gather information to try to make an informed decision on this very subject.

Here are the options I considered:

Carpet tiles directly over concrete

PROS

cheap

CONS

cold feet
hard, unforgiving floors
Potential for condensation/mildew, even if floor is mostly dry

VERDICT

I couldn't find a tile with a padding thick enough to make the floor even close to comfortable in a midwestern US winter

Traditional carpet and pad directly over concrete

PROS

Pretty cheap
Many choices of carpet and padding thicknesses available

CONS

Floor is still much harder than wood subfloor
Even thick padding can still leave the floor a bit chilly
Potential for condensation/mildew, even if floor is mostly dry

VERDICT

Thick padding can help the floor feel less cold, and less hard, but it's no match for wood, especially if you have a kid's playroom or a workout room in the basement
It seems like asking for moisture/mildew trouble to not allow air circulation between concrete and carpet

Rigid foam insulation under 5/16" plywood subfloor

PROS

Cheap
Good R-value to provide insulation from cold
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor

CONS

Opinions vary about how long the foam will last before breaking down
Installation instructions vary wildly (some anchor directly to floor, others anchor through wood bracing, etc.)
Opinions vary about how much air circulation the foam would allow

VERDICT

Although it doesn't seem like a terrible idea, there just wasn't enough information about this approach to make me feel comfortable trying it

DRIcore-style subfloor tiles

PROS

Dimpled underside allows excellent air circulation over concrete
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor
Most come in 2'x2' tiles so there are no 4'x8' sheets to lug around
Easy install, much like a "floating" hardwood floor
Nothing anchored into the concrete

CONS

By far the most expensive option
Each 4 sq foot panel is about $5.50 [as of 2016]
USD

VERDICT

I had a fairly large amount of floor to cover, and this was just too expensive.  It would have approached 20% of the total budget for the project.

Dimpled underlayment under 5/16" plywood subfloor

UPDATED March 2019

The Platon underlayment I used years ago seems to be hard to find these days. Home Depot currently offers what appears to be a similar underlayment product called DMX 1-STEP, and others may be available from other manufacturers.

PROS

Dimpled underside allows excellent air circulation over concrete
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor
Much cheaper than the DRIcore tiles, because the Platon is purchased separately in large rolls

CONS

More difficult to install than probably any other option
4'x8' plywood subfloor is no fun to lug around
Requires the subfloor to be anchored to the concrete

VERDICT

Although it required more manual labor, the cost was less than 10% of what it would have cost to use the DRIcore tiles
I still got it done in just a few days, with some help moving the plywood
I used a hammer drill and Tapcon concrete screws to secure the floor
My basement floor is as warm and soft as any other floor in my house, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg

What about cork tiles, they should hold cold back.


Preventing swing set legs from sinking I'm putting together a swing set in my backyard mostly following this Youtube video. I'd like to make sure that the legs of the A-frames don't sink into the ground over time when it rains, etc. What the best way to do that without making concrete bases for the legs? Will the swing set anchors with spiral discs be enough for that? The anchors I see on Amazon etc. look small (only ~2" disc) so want to confirm. If such anchors are not enough, what if I connect the (bottom) tips of each A-frame with another 4x4 or 2x4?

I Assume your set is like the one in the video and has wood 4x4 legs and that you have cut the correct angle on the bottom of the leg so it is flat to the ground.

You could cut a square piece from a 2x6 ( or 2x8 if you like, treated or outdoor wood ) and attach it the bottom of each leg.  This would spread the weight out over a broader area. IF you leave them on top of the grass You could use a router or a saw set at an angle to round over the all the corners and edges to eliminate all sharp right angles both top and bottom ( top for safety and bottom so you can drag it to a new location without the edges digging in the grass ) With this method the base/foot will travel with the set if it get moved.
But i would recess them into the ground to avoid a tripping hazard.

Another possibility is buy a some pre-made concrete pavers but these are very hard obviously and i would recess them into the ground and glue foam padding all over them or cover with a layer of sand. You do not want a kid to fall and hit their head on them ( or the wood for that matter.) This option would not allow for moving the swingset with out re-setting the pavers.

Or go full  child safety and do like they do on school playgrounds and anchor the set deep and put down sand or shredded rubber to lesson the IMPACT when child falls of the swing.

Burying the posts is a good way to get boring insects and rot. Some people have suggested putting vented flexible garage flooring tiles under each pole. I think this is what I am going to do. That will keep the water away from the wood. Then using rubber mulch, probably from Jelly Bean Mulch (non tire rubber mulch), will cover the garage floor tiles so they can't be seen.


How can I fix this toilet flange? So I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel and I was having problem removing some damaged flooring around the toilet flange and ended up taking a reciprocating saw to the lip of the flange to make it easier.  I thought i would just replace the whole thing so it wouldn't be a big deal.  Turns out under the flooring is a series of elbows butted together so there is nowhere I can cut and replace an elbow.  Is there anyway to salvage this toilet flange so I don't have to remove and redo everything pictured (the other side of the Y leads to another toilet in an adjacent bathroom)?  It's a 3in drain pipe.  I'm wondering if it would be possible to set a 4in flange right on top (after cleaning up the rim) or if there is some other product that will do essentially the same thing.

-edit- having problems uploading pictures from my phone.  The top of the flange is basically gone.  It is plastic.

-edit2- added pics finally

Your pictures are showing that it will be necessary to remove the existing drain lines up to the place where there is free pipe to cut into thus allow gluing in a new coupling. It will unlikely for there to be a decent way to fix this by any other means. Any type of cobbled together "fix" is always going to be a potential weak spot in the system ripe for failure.

It is possible to buy special reamers that can be used to remove pipe inside of a coupling joint so that a new pipe or fitting can be glued into there. However I am not sure such tools are available for your size of drain line. These tools also require good "straight in" access to be able to be used. It might be an option for you to investigate but will likely be more expensive than just replacing some of the existing drain lines.

For you the expression "think before you cut" should have new meaning.

Edit -- I did a bit of looking and did find that there are reamers available that will work for 3" size plastic pipe. Here are some pictures of what they look like:

With one of these and a suitably sized right angle drive electric drill you may be able to fix your problem by reaming the nearest accessible coupling. Use does require that you be able to securely clamp the fitting being drilled into place. Also make sure that you would have a really good hold on the drill while reaming.

Rather than trying to point you to a specific web site I would suggest that you do the Google search for "PVC Pipe Reamer".

you can cut the remains of the flang off then sand down the pipe then glue a new flange on


Black and Decker drill just started to lose power in clockwise direction. What could be worn off? It is an 800w corded drill and was working just fine till recently. Counter clockwise mode works full power but the clockwise mode is completely useless, drill starts at some decent speed and power(about 80-90% that of counter clockwise) but stops on the slightest contact or sometimes even before contact with anything and won't start until i switch the direction back and forth.

Not a switch problem, as it energizes both forward and reverse.

Not a battery/power problem because you have full power in one of the directions.

I would suspect that you busted an internal gear.

Common problem, here it is in this pic, on the right side of the UL label.


Does MA require permit to replace old K&T and if no how do I know if work is done to code? Is it required to pull a permit in MA to replace knob and tube wiring? If no, how can one determine if the work done adheres the the proper codes? Who should be sought after to confirm this if no permit was used to do the work? I'm assuming the town inspector would not inspect if there was no permit. That said, would the town inspector come and inspect work if asked, regardless of no permit? Town is Plymouth MA.

For all of the questions you asked: Consult your town's building department (or equivalent if it goes by a different name where you are from).

They should be able to pull the permit history for your home if requested and tell you what type of electrical work requires a permit.

If you find the that work was done without a permit:

If you are solely concerned about safety and do not want to have to worry about an inspector forcing you to tear open your walls if previous work was unpermitted, you can always pay an independent inspector to come look things over as well. Many people have this type of inspection done prior to purchase of the home and these inspections should be able to tell you if the visible elements (e.g. wires at device boxes, electrical panel) look to be done to code which can serve as an indicator of the quality of the work hidden behind the walls. However, "after the work is completed" inspections on electrical can still miss a lot of potential safety hazards even when the visible elements look okay (e.g. splices done directly in the wall -- I personally discovered some of these on my home after having an independent inspection prior to purchase).

A city inspector may require the walls to be ripped open to inspect the previous work because of the limitations of an "after the work is completed" inspection. Some city inspectors may not require this if the visible electrical work appears to be up to code. However, the city inspector can potentially require you to rip open the walls regardless if the work was done without a permit.

No you don't need a permit to pull it out.
Yes you do need a permit to put anything back, almost no matter where you are.