What wire is needed for a 400 Amp service between the mast and the meter? I am upgrading to a 400 Amp service in Washington State. My power company is Mason County PUD 1. The AHJ is Washington State L&I. The panel I'm planning on using is the Siemens MC0816B1400RLTM. What size/type wires should I use between the mast head and the line side of the meter? How do I connect these wires to the power company's service wires? This is max 14' run (10' of mast, 2' on either end).
The Siemens spec sheet says the max wire on the line side of the meter is (1)600kcmil OR (2)350kcmil for the two hots and (1) 500kcmil OR (2) 250kcmil on the neutral. In their meter requirements, the power company says "Lugs must accept 350 MCM aluminum wire." They say this is the largest wire they carry. I just confirmed with them that they will have six service wires coming to me from the power pole.
I haven't been able to find a consistent answer to what wire I need. I'm thinking AL XHHW-2.
If there is some way I can join the power company's parallel lines into one, I think I would use 600 MCM for hot and 500 MCM for neutral. According to https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/xhhw-2/, 600 MCM is 385 amps at 90 C. Assuming I never use the full 400 Amps, does this work? What gizmo would I use to bond each of the two wires from the power company with my one wire that leads to the mast head?
Or should I continue their parallel runs through the mast all the way to the meter? Again sticking with AL XHHW-2, the same place says 4/0 is 205 Amps at 90 C. So, in parallel, does that make it 410 Amps? Is that sufficient? Or is it close enough that I'd be better off going with parallel 250 MCM? Again, what gizmo do I use to bond each of the six wires from the power company to one of my six going into my mast?
I had been planning on a 3" dia. mast. Is that sufficient? More than sufficient?

First off, the utility generally makes the hookups at the service masthead
The first order of business is a point of clarification.  According to what I have been able to find, your utility is conventional in that they make the final connection from the service drop to the service entrance conductors coming out of the weatherhead; the 18" tails are required so the linesperson can make those splices comfortably.
As to sizing...
This leaves us with mast and conduit sizing.  A 3" rigid (galvanized) conduit mast is generally considered adequate for a 400A service entrance, at least from the utility service requirements I have read, as physical strength is also a factor here, not just conduit fill (although a smaller conduit wouldn't work anyway, as you'll see below, due to the need to upsize the wires).
This brings us to wire sizing, which is a bit non-intuitive as parallel wires still need to have their ampacities derated for fill as per NEC 310.15(B)(3)(a), but we also have to apply the 83% demand factor for residential services provided by 310.15(B)(7) point 1.  Furthermore, meter socket lugs aren't rated for 90°C, so we have to use the 75°C column instead.  This means your 4/0 is right out as two 4/0 wires in parallel can't even get us to 400A to begin with before we apply the derating.
So, we must upsize the wire.  While 250kcmil seems like an attractive next stop, and two 250kcmil wires in parallel can manage 410A on 75°C terminations, we have to take 20% off the top to account for the fact there are 6 wires in the conduit.  This puts us down at 328A for the parallel combination, just short of the 332A required by the 83% rule for a 400A nominal service entrance.
As a result, we find ourselves looking at 4 300kcmil Al XHHW-2 wires in the service entrance mast, 2 per leg, along with 2 250kcmil wires for the neutrals since the line neutral lug on your meter base can't take anything larger.  These give us a healthy 368A after the derate is applied, which is more than sufficient to meet our 332A requirement.  (Were this not a residential service, you'd have to provide for the full 400A nominal requirement, which'd require another size bump to paralleled 350kcmil conductors.)
You are correct that 600kcmil is the right size for using a single wire per leg for the service entrance, though -- this gives you 340A at 75°C, just enough to meet our 332A requirement.  Furthermore, it is about $0.50/ft cheaper at the time of this writing than the parallel conductors, and also takes up slightly less conduit area, albeit not enough to actually matter.  However, the larger conductors can be more difficult to pull through the conduit, which may be an issue, although the reduced surface area compared to the paralleled conductors means you have less chance of skinning the wire, all the same.

One 400 CU THHN per phase and 250 CU THHN for neutral is what the NEC allows...


When pre-drilling for screws, how do you determine the correct bit diameter? Suppose I want to pre-drill for, say, a 5/16 screw.  How do I determine the correct drill bit diameter?

Here are some charts from Bolt Depot. Bolt Depot is a handy resource, and has lots of information about all different types of fasteners.

Pilot hole size:

Wood Screw Diameter:

****Major thread diameter** is measured on the outside of the threads.*

The best charts I have found for both tapered and straight wood screws is at http://www.wlfuller.com/html/wood_screw_chart.html - the fuller company has been around forever and it shows with the customer service and the accuracy of the advice.


What benefit do plasterboard/drywall screws have? I have some plasterboard screws like this:

However, without a drill I have a job getting them into the wall. Am I safe to use normal screws on hangings that aren't going to be taking a great deal of weight? In this case it is a rack of coat hooks.

There are several approaches to hanging loads on drywall/plasterboard.

Light Duty - The most common anchors for used for light loads are expanding tubes that grip the sides of the hole they are in and flare lightly behind the hole

Others like yours, have a wide thread to grab more surface in the drywall itself.  Some of the these threaded anchors have a flaring end, some do not.

The limitation of all of these types is they depend on a small area of drywall to stay solid to hold them. They are good for light loads and when the main force on them is shear force.  In a wall application, that means most of the force is pullin down, along the wall (as if you are trying to cut the screw in half right at the wall).

If you put a heavy load on these anchors, there is significant outward force, that is, pulling away from the wall. In a coat rack some of the load is shear (downward) and some is outward. This puts stress on the sides of the hole in the drywall and it crumbles. This is even worse when the load is dynamic (moving) rather than static (non-moving). A hanging coat is static. A coat being pulled form its hook is dynamic.  And almost all of that load is outward.

The threaded anchors distribute the load better, but not enough for any significant load. Sometimes this is compensated for by using many anchors. An improvement, but usually not a good solution.

Plastic (or metal equivalent) anchors are almost never suitable for ceiling mounts, where all the load is away from the ceiling surface.

Medium Duty - Anchors for medium duty pull against a larger area behind the drywall to distribute the load.

Expanding anchors go into the hole as a tube and are then expanded behind the hole using a screw, bolt or tool.

There are also toggle type anchors where the expanging section either rotates or springs out to cover a greater area.

The advantages of these anchors is that they spread the load far beyond the hole in the drywal itself. While the hole may be prone to crumbling, these anchors rest on an area of solid drywall, from about  1 to 2 inches around the hole. This gives the anchor much more strength to deal with outward loads of medium duty, as well as shear strength.  However heavy outward loads, especially dynamic loads, are pulling on on a few inches of thin plaster and paper. Again, adding many anchors helps spread out the load.

Some of these anchors allow removal and reattachment but some do not (for example, spring toggles fall off in the wall when the bolt is removed).

Heavy Duty - On a plasterboard wall, the heavy duty mounting of choice is directly into framing members.

The most common approach is to find studs, the upright framing members that hold up the wall surface.  These are either wood or steel. Screws are driven throught the item to be mounted, through the drywall and into the middle of the stud. An alternative is to screw into cross bracing framing. These are wooden or steel sections running horizontally to brace a wall or serve as a firebreak. These are marginally less strong than upright studs, but for practical purposes can hold all but the heaviest loads.

Studs and cross bracing can be found using a stud finder.

Screws should be long enough to reach at least 1 inch into a wodden stud, longer if the load is especially heavy. In steel studs, finer thread screws should be used (sheet metal screws) and length is less of an issue.

In wooden framing, an alternative to regular screws are hanger bolts that can be threaded into the studs and leave a bolt on the outside of the drywall for hanging the object.

The advantage of hanger bolts is the ability to easily remove and reattach the load using a nut or wingnut.

When there is no framing member in the exact spot needed, it is sometimes worth the trouble to add one. A section of drywall can be removed from the area, a cross brace inserted exactly where you want the mounting and extending horiziontally to the two supporting studs on either side. A drywall patch can be then put back to cover the cross brace (using the drywall section removed or a new piece).

When using these self-drilling anchors I've found a few things things really helpful:

Spot the hole by pressing an awl, big nail, or old philips screwdriver in exactly the right place, to break the surface.
Use a plain simple screw driver to put them in, and push hard.  Don't even think about putting them in with a drill-driver
Buy a pack of the same brand/shape in metal.  They're about twice the price, but can be used repeatedly to get the holes started for the plastic version.

Note that my ony metion of a drill here is to say avoid it.

For something that's on the limit of what these anchors will hold, a little glue, e.g. PVA (wood glue), on the threads helps stabilise the plaster around the hole and stops the anchor creeping out.


Install lock on electrical panel I have this Siemens electrical panel and I am looking for a way to install a lock on the panel door so that it can only be opened with a key. Any suggestions? Are there latches that already have built in locks?

(click to enlarge pictures)

Your panel already has the knockout for a lock.  It is immediately above the latch.
See graphic.

Read the label, it calls out the Siemens part number for a lock kit.
Or you can bring the deadfront to your locksmith and I'm sure they can figure something out.
Remember, it is illegal to deny a tenant access to their circuit breakers.  A locksmith may be able to build a lock that operates on a tenant's key.

I believe I've seen breaker panels with locking latches in schools and some commercial buildings.
You could always add a small padlock hasp on a panel that has no provision for a lock.


Is there a trick to applying caulk using a caulk-gun? Perhaps it is just me, but no matter how careful I try to be, any attempt to apply caulk or cement or anything with a caulking gun into a crack results in total mess.

The main problems that seem to be causing this are:

1: The caulk doesn't "stick down" so as I pull the gun over the crack it drags the tendril of caulk along with it.

2: As demonstrated on every home improvement show, I run my finger along the caulk line to press it down into the crack, but it inevitably squishes out on the tile or sticks to my finger and makes a big mess.

Is there some trick that I just don't know that makes a good clean caulk line?

I've found that if you push the tip of the caulk gun forward along the line rather than drag it behind you can often make a very neat bead of caulk that needs little or no smoothing afterwards.

Use a fugi tool. That's what the pros do.


What causes furnaces to break in 16 to 20 years? Why do furnaces need to be replaced in this regularly-occurring amount of time?(http://www.homeenergycenter.com/8furnace_signs.html)

Is there something about the physics of the high heat and components involved that makes this an absolute necessity? It's obviously very expensive and something to try to avoid if possible.

I've also seen some websites say around a 30-year lifetime for some furnaces. Which brands last the longest and do any last indefinitely?

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

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


What can I do about high pressure water noise? I have for many years had loud noise that sounds like high pressure water rushing through the pipes. This happens whenever water is turned on in our villa and the duplex next door. The pressure outside our home is 92psi and inside 88psi. Plumbers have tried to fix this problem many times but now the pressure is higher and the noise louder. This has become very distressing and we need help. We live in a retirement village and the manager has refused to try and fix the problem any more. Please help us.

Your water pressure is very high - nearly double the average pressure.

The solution is very simple - install a pressure-reducing valve in the water main just after the meter and main shutoff valve. The valves are in the $100-$200 range from any commercial plumbing supplier (Home Depot probably doesn't have them).

However, this involves modifying the house utilities and is therefore definitely in the owner's domain. Both you and the neighbor will likely have to approach him together, unless you can do the job yourself without anyone noticing.

Shrieking, shaking & rattling pipes & walls, is a very simple fix. It's actually a harmonic imbalance & quite common, though most plumbers don't know about it & try to fool around with the faucets.

Just turn your faucet on fully & then go beneath & slowly turn down the shut-off valve until everything settles down. Do this with the cold water & the hot water separately. You're just capping off the flow & shouldn't notice any flow difference. Some faucets just have a design that's not agreeable & can be quieted down beautifully.


cooktop burner cycling on and off I have a Kitchenaid cooktop model KECC567 (5 burner model) with a 2 element burner that will not cycle on or off no matter what control switch setting is used. The 2 elements of the burner stay on continuously when the dual side is selected as does the single element when it is selected on the switch. I have replaced the infinite switch but the problem still exists. Appreciate some suggestions on resolution of this problem. Has to be a temperature sensor but don't know where to look for it.  Thanks

This is for future reference in case anyone is looking for similar information. The OP noted in a comment that

  the infinite switch on the 2 coil burner was faulty.

So, it should indeed cycle

  to prevent overheating the ceran glass cover similar to what the other 4 burners on the cooktop do.

P.S. Marking this CW since it isn't really my answer.

Well, I looked at the manual, at this site
, and I see no indication that the power should ever cycle on/off.
I think you misunderstand what the various settings levels do -- they just control the power level fed to the burners.


Why does my dishwasher detergent get stuck? My dishwasher isn't working like it's supposed to. Everything seems to be working fine, but then after the machine stops, I open the door and see that my glasses and plates are suspiciously grimy. When I expose the detergent cup, I see this:

Clearly the detergent (I've tried a couple types) isn't flowing out from its cup like it should be.

What's the fix here?

The cover of the detergent cup is not opening when its supposed to. If you need to expose the cup to investigate, it is not opening at all. The spring loaded cover is held closed over the detergent by a little catch. There is a solenoid in the door that pulls on the catch, letting the cover spring open. This happens at the start of the main wash cycle. The cover is not that water tight, water normally leaks in, causing the detergent to start caking.

Once the cover opens, exposing the detergent to the main water jets, the minor caking is not an issue, all the detergent gets washed out. When the cover doesn't open, the main water jets cannot wash out the damp detergent.

The reason the cover does not open usually is the solenoid fails and needs replacement, though it's possible something else is at fault. Faulty wiring, faulty relay or triac on the control board, some sort of timer issue, etc.

If you can locate the solenoid, try measuring the resistance of the coil with the wiring removed. If it's either hardly any or nearly infinite, the coil is at fault. Solenoids can fail for other reasons, so reasonable resistance does not mean it is not at fault.

Unless you can observe something out of place, like a broken wire, that is probably the extent of DIY troubleshooting.

Try a liquid detergent most major supermarkets have their own branded product. If you must use a tablet make sure the dispenser is dry first then give it a short spray of silicon furniture polish before inserting the tablet.


What are some good concrete and foundation books? I've done all sorts of home repairs and projects, but never concrete work. I've been looking for a good book to help me learn how to build concrete foundations for a home, and how to pour and finish concrete slabs.

I've come across 2 books on Amazon, but they all get bad reviews and seem to be poorly written, poorly organized, and missing information.

The books I've already found are:

Working with Concrete by Rick Arnold (considered to be the best option from what I've found)
Foundations & Concrete Work (For Pros by Pros) (seems to be missing a lot of info)

Does anyone have any recommendations on books for concrete work?

I cannot think of any good concrete books off the top of my head, sorry.

However, you listed two tasks that you wish to pursue, one of which I believe can be achieved well with book learning and the other which cannot.  As far as building concrete foundations goes the trick is in the forms.  I would look for books specifically geared toward concrete formwork.  If it is an existing house then your formwork is going to be significantly different from building forms in a meadow.  Again not sure if there are any books out there that will tell you the things that concrete contractors know from years of experience.

As far as finishing slabs goes I would like to offer a word of warning based on 20 years in the trades.  If you want it to look good and function the way it should you can't expect to learn the techniques involved without a lot of time and effort, not to mention a lot of ugly permanent concrete "test slabs." Hire a finisher if your slab is going to be more than 20' sq.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area the cost of hiring a finishing expert is usually around $500/day or $300 for a fraction thereof.

Black and decker has a good diy guide on concrete projects. It covers a lot of subjects and it's a good starting point.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Complete-Masonry-Stonework/dp/1589235207/


Got a used Electric oven - not sure what wire and breaker to use We just got a used electric oven.  We had propane, but no longer have access to propane.  Currently there is only a standard wall outlet behind the oven.

I realize I need to run a new wire, etc., but am over my head as far as what type of wire, what type of breaker, etc.

The metal panel inside the oven door says:

  3 wire 120/208 - 240 volts - 60 Hz AC ONLY

  KILOWATTS 208 VOLTS

  KILOWATTS 240 VOLTS

  WHIRLPOOL

  MODEL RE374PXDN 0

I have a double-30 breaker open in the box.  Can I use that, or should I get something bigger?

Is the "3 wire 120/208" the description of the wire I need?

I tried looking it up by the model number, but it doesn't appear to exist.  Any help greatly appreciated

You'll need:

NEMA 14-50 receptacle.
40 ampere double pole breaker
Four 8 AWG copper conductors, or four 6 AWG aluminum conductors (Hot, Hot, Neutral, Ground).

It's common for builders to use a 50 ampere breaker and larger conductors,  to make sure the circuit can handle any range the owner's might use. But if you're installing the circuit to support a particular device, you may be able to use a smaller circuit.

It's common to use aluminum conductors for range circuits, because it's a bit cheaper when you start using larger conductors. Type SE (service entrance) cables are common for range circuits, as it's often easier to pull a cable than individual conductors.

In layman's terms. Go to the electrical supply shop, or hardware store. Tell them what you're doing, and ask for:

A four prong range plug.
A four wire range cord.
8/3 with ground NM (nonmetallic) cable (copper).
A double pole 40 amp breaker.

just use romex 8/3 with ground or 8/2 that way you'll have your hot nuetral and ground and itll do 40 amps. Grab a 2pole 40 or a "double 40" as you put it


What is mineral spirits called in Australia? I'm looking at cutting Polyurethane to use for a rub on finish, and the marvellous instruction articles and videos all say to do this with "mineral spirits". I am in Australia and unsure what this is.

Is it just mineral turpentine (turps), the same stuff that you use to clean up from oil based paints?

Is there any difference between normal turps and low odor turps for this purpose?

Or is mineral spirits what we call "white spirits" or dry cleaning fluid?

Hope someone can resolve this for me!

Gday mate i just had a read what ya up to , try shellite , that should work .by the way polyurethane is not meant to be rubbed on , normaly brush or spray . if you realy want products to be rubbed on try a french polish supplier .

In the US "mineral spirits" are naptha  , as in varnish and paint makers naptha ( somehow identified as V M & P) . It is similar to gasoline with low odor and no octane, etc. requirements. It could be called"paint thinner" but that name does not seem to be very specific.


Why won't my AC system turn off after I flipped the breaker? We've got a central cooling air conditioner that was installed in 1984 with a thermostat from that same year. We are replacing the thermostat with a new programmable one (which has a 100% compatibility guarantee).

Following the instructions from Home Depot I located the circuit breakers for the unit and switched them off (the circuit breakers on the panel inside the house, not the main ones for the entire house). Nothing happened. The AC unit is still running and blowing cold air.

Am I missing something here or could the breakers be broken? Or worse, could the unit be installed improperly? Feel free to point out the obvious.  :-)

More info if it matters: We have a Trane central air unit with a heater pump and an emergency electric heater. We are in Central Florida

You are missing something.  Either you have not found the correct breaker yet, or the breaker is not inside the breaker panel for your house.

Walk through each breaker in the breaker planel for your house.  You could have a mislabled breaker.  (The breaker you are looking for is likely a two-pole 240V breaker, maybe 30 amps or better.)

Since this is a central cooling unit, it might be powered from its own breaker box.  Follow the electrical supply wires (cable) back from the unit.  Where does it go?  You might find another breaker box dedicated to the cooling unit alone.  There might also be a breaker in your meter box protecting the unit in addition to the main breaker for your house.

I recently discovered the same issue, except I found that the idiots that wired up the AC units switched the wires with my neighbor's AC unit!!!!!  My breaker turns off their AC unit!  For 12 years I have been paying for their AC usage!


Water seeping through stained concrete in slab foundation - during heavy rain only I bought a house in north Dallas, about a year ago, the house was built in 2000 and it is a single story house. There were no problems reported or found during the inspection for the foundation or the roof. The roof was replaced in 2012 and it appears to be in good condition, it has 3 tab shingles. The gutters have not been cleaned, but water does appear to be coming down just fine into the drain blocks all around the house, the house has all the terrain sloped away from the foundation, and I checked during this very heavy rains that we have had this week and there wasn't a single puddle of water anywhere near the house. There are zero indications of foundation issues, all windows/doors close perfectly and there are no cracks anywhere.

I haven't done the leaking test by turning off all water and looking at the meter yet, because it is still very rainy outside and with tornado warnings. However it does not appear to me that this is a pipe issue given the fact that it has only happened twice this week after very heavy rain that lasts over 10 hours, regular rain doesn't show this symptom at all.

During the year we have been living here I haven't noticed any foundation/roof issues and going to the attic appears to show no moisture or water coming in. This is the first time we notice this, it happens in a room close to the flower bed that happens to have stained concrete as its floor, there are other rooms with stained concrete, as well as rooms with hardwood floors but I could not find anywhere else where water was seeping thru.

The water appears to be coming through from the corner in the room with stained concrete that corner does happen to be the closest one to the flower bed, in which I found zero puddles of water outside. I did a small test and put some paper this second time, in the corner area where I saw the puddle of water the first time, I fell asleep unfortunately but I checked at 7:30 am all clear, at 10, the sheet of paper was completely soaked with water, at that point I very thoroughly inspected the whole perimeter of the paper it appeared to be bone dry, implying the water is indeed coming from underneath the stained concrete, next I grabbed a stair and very carefully touched the whole ceiling - it is completely dry no water stains either. That same corner is now completely dry and it has stopped raining for now.

This room and the rest of the house sits on top of a slab foundation. I should mention that during raining I inspected all the gutters drains and one of them was not properly going to the block, once I lifted the block, there was a puddle of water underneath the block, I simply moved the block closer so that it drains there. The soil here just like anywhere in north Texas is all clay basically, which I know does not absorb water well.

At this point I am not sure what the issue is, other than it seems like the water is coming through the stained concrete only in that corner in that room, and it has only happened twice since we moved a year ago, it happened yesterday and it happened today it has been raining almost non stop for 3 days now. Could anyone point me in the right direction as to what the problem might be?, or who should I call that could help me investigate the issue? roofer or foundation expert?.

Thanks.

You may want to take a look at your roof vents (stacks). There's a plastic boot around the vent that cracks over time. Rain water can leak through & travel down the pipe to the slab. If this seems likely, there's something called a Perma-boot (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) that you can install yourself. It fits over the existing roof vent boot. Good luck!

I think water gets thru spaces between bricks at the bottom of the walls due to bad foundation. Just fill those space with waterproof cement.


220 wiring old to new I have two lines, one with two bare wires red and black, the other line has a red a black a white and a ground wire. How do I hook them together? I know I'm not supposed to put a neutral with a ground wire; what do I do with the neutral wire?

What you have in these pictures is a massive code violation, fire hazard as well as an electrocution hazard. This must be rectified first. Leaving this mess intact is negligent even if you cover it with a mile of electrical tape.

You need to put all of this cable into a listed electrical box. Since we cant see the conductor size, I'm just going to recommend a pull box, something around 6x6x3 inches to make life easy. Each cable must have at least 6 inches of jacket/sheath removed and the individual conductors must be able to extend 3 inches form the front of the box. So 6 inches is plenty. The cables must also be held securely to the box with proper cable clamps. Buy properly sized wire nuts or listed splicing device to make the connections between conductors. The ground conductors must also be securely bonded to the junction box as well. Multiple individual wire nuts designed for smaller conductors is begging for trouble. The cost of these materials is negligible compared to a fire.

Until then, I am not going to help you any further and neither should anyone else.

Could this be a multi wire branch circuit? If it is or not the connections need to be made in an accessible box. A box that when everything is done can be accessed. If the voltage on the red and black voltage is 240 but the voltage from red and or black is 120 this could be the case. We need more information to really help but other than no box for the connections it could be totally safe and legal by the latest code revision in 2014.
Looking at this on my phone I could not tell that the wires were split and wire nutted together with 2 wire nuts on 1 wire. Now that I see this and the heater comment realize it is a simple 240v circuit that has been assembled in a way that is downright dangerous.  An accessible box is still needed and the proper size wire nuts or crimp connectors if you can provide the wire size we can give you the required box size.
The box can be metallic or non metallic.


Is it safe to ground/earth an extension cord with the radiator? I just moved into a dutch student house without any grounded plugs which is quite usual around here. I get the 'Macbook Tingle' after some time, which solved by nudging the Macbook to the Radiator. and now I'm about to connect more computer appliances to an extension cord.

This makes me wonder: Can I earth the entire extension cord/ power strip with a crocodile clip to the radiator? Of course securing both sides properly. Needless to say I know this is not ideal but I'm also not keen on leaving it without anything.

This seems extremely dangerous.  If the plumbing for the radiators is not grounded, and a fault occurs. You could potentially electrify the entire plumbing system.

Worst case scenario. The heating plumbing is electrically connected to the water plumbing, you electrify the plumbing, and everybody in the building dies when they wash their hands.

A gfi/gfci will be safer, but won't allow a surge protector to protect your electronic devices without a ground.


How to keep floor insulation dry and safe from pests? Hi I'm in process of constructing a small house I want to live in. The house will be built on foundation of concrete pilots. Since I want to insulate the floor I am now in process of designing such barrier which will keep the insulation dry and pests (mouse or similar which would get into the crawlspace) away. I have now this construction in my mind (cut below):

===================== - subfloor
||-------------------
|| Joists, spaces filled with insulation
||-------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++ - one way vapor barrier
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - chicken wire

What do you think about this solution? Are there any better? I don't want to re-invent the wheel...

See above picture

I would add an electrical outlet in this crawl space and plug in a electronic pest repeller, to make any rodent's life miserable, if they found their way in there.

The other added reason to have at least one outlet down there is for your convenience, if you needed to plug in temporary lighting. Insure that this outlet is GFCI protected as well.

Chicken wire works great to hold the insulation in place. I would ask about the type of insulation you don’t want multiple vapor barriers that will end up trapping moisture. The only caution is make sure if you have copper pipes the chicken wire is not touching or in a few years you will end up with pinhole leaks wherever the wire touches the copper. But other than that chicken wire works great. Chicken wire will not stop even a large rat but if the space is insulated the critters don’t find the small leaks that attract them and if they do get in the insulation it is not ripped down , I have squirrels & mice after putting wire up the floors feel warmer and we have had fewer in the house, this could be from the electronic traps inside and dunk the rat in the barn. Still catch them weekly outside but have only got 1 inside the house since shortly after putting the wire up holding all the insulation in place that had come down, I don’t know how long ago it was put in but a large % had come down.


humidity level? stuffy nose My room is in the basement and for some reason my nose gets really stuffy when I stay in my room for long periods of time.

I have a dehumidifier:  what would be a good humidity level to keep the room? Some days it is really hot down here and some days it's nice and cool depending on the weather.

There is no one appropriate humidity level. In the dry, cold north household humidity must be below 20% during certain weather to prevent massive condensation on windows, which can result in damage. Here's a chart showing approximate levels for different outside temperatures:

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I agree with the comments above indicating that you likely have an allergen issue. Moisture alone doesn't typically result in respiratory distress. Lack of moisture can certainly be irritating, however.

To help prevent mold I would keep the humidity level below 60%. enter link description here As for your runny nose, as people have commented that it could be a mold allergy. I would suggest getting your basement tested for mold. I've seen test kits at home improvement stores, but I've not used them before so I can't attest to their effectiveness. Another thing you might want to do is clean out your dehumidifier. They tend to get pretty nasty over time and might a source of your mold. Generally, they need to be cleaned out once a year and in some case more often.

Another trick that worked for me to reduce humidity in my basement is to put plastic over the basement windows. In the Northern part of the USA, during winter time it's common to find these plastic window kits. The plastic sheets go over your windows with double sided taped. Once attached, you tighten them up with a hair dryer. The idea is to prevent drafts that get past poorly sealed windows. In the basement I've left them on all year round, and I've noticed a 10% reduction in humidity. That might save you some energy from having the dehumidifier as much.


Should I insulate air conditioner coolant pipes? I recently replaced some rotted insulation on the coolant pipe that runs out of my AC unit and into the evaporator in my house. When cleaning inside the actual AC unit itself I noticed that the coolant pipe running out of what I believe is the condenser (has a insulation blanket over it) is not insulated. Is there any reason not to insulate this coolant pipe? I traced the line and made sure that it is the same pipe that is insulated once it gets outside the AC unit.

The large, cold, low pressure line, carrying the evaporated refrigerant from the house, should be insulated to prevent condensation. The small, warm, high pressure line, carrying condensed refrigerant into the house, should not be insulated. I am not an air conditioning professional. However, en.allexperts.com, www.bobvila.com, and www.familyhandyman.com, all agree with me. See references below.
Explanation: The unit outside the house compresses the refrigerant from the large line. This makes the refrigerant very hot. Then the refrigerant is run through the condenser coils and the fan blows outside air over them to remove the heat and condense the refrigerant back to liquid. The small line now carries the warm liquid refrigerant back into the house. No insulation is needed on this line because it is still warmer than the outside air. If the air cools it some more, that only helps. In the house, the pressurized liquid refrigerant is allowed to rapidly decompress into the evaporator coil. The instant drop in pressure causes an instant drop in temperature, making the evaporator coil very cold. Interior air is blown over this coil, cooling the air and warming the coil and refrigerant. The evaporated refrigerant, which is still rather cold, now flows out of the house in the large pipe. It does not help us for this refrigerant to get warmer after it leaves the evaporator coils. It just makes it harder to compress and cool in the condenser coils. So we want to prevent condensation on this pipe. That is the reason for the insulation.

(source: reimanpub.com)
From this site:

"the skinny tube doesn't need insulation"

From another source:

"As you have seen, the large refrigerant line carries cold vapor while air conditioning, and on a humid day it sweats. The main reason we insulate the pipe is to prevent humid air from coming into contact with it." "For the small copper tube you do not need insulation. Just make sure that it does not contact masonry or other metal."

The following site provides good step by step maintenance instructions.

You can insulate the "liquid line" (the smaller one from the unit to the evaporator) as it carries the refrigerant that has been cooled and compressed and ready to absorb more heat. It might improve efficiency in extreme heat situations, but more than likely it wouldn't be drastically noticeable. You do not however want to insulate the big line or "suction" line. This carries Freon back to the compressor to have heat removed, and if you can lose any of that to the environment before the compressor that is just increased efficiency back to you.


Does the NEC allow electrical wiring to run next to a ventilation duct? I am about to install a vent to the outside for the range hood exhaust in the kitchen. In the same bulkhead that will have this vent, there is some electrical wire (some 12/2 NM and some low voltage speaker wire).

Do I have to do anything special to keep the wire away from the vent? I can't imagine it is an issue (it never occurred to me), but my Father-in-law wondered if there was anything in the "code" about this situation.

There are a few things I can find in the NEC that may apply here. NEC Article 300.8 states that no raceway or cable tray can have elements of any other system besides electrical in it; no plumbing, no fuel gas, no ductwork. This implies that using the vent line itself, or any of its mounting hardware, to support the cable is a no-no; if the wire and the duct go in the same direction for a while, each system needs its own supports connected to the structural members, independent of any other support for any other subsystem in the building.

NEC 300.22 specifically covers wiring within spaces that handle exhaust or environmental air. Basically, an exhaust vent line cannot have any electrical wiring installed within it. Not nonmetallic, not MC, not rigid conduit, nothing. So, you can't drill a hole and fish the cable through your range hood vent. This is because the vent line carries exhaust gases and particulate matter that may be flammable (in the case of a range hood, that would mainly be grease particles suspended in the hot air from frying, and also uncombusted natural gas), and having a wire that could, in some imaginable case, cause a spark would be an extremely bad thing to have in a line with flammable gases or particulates.

As an aside, for environmental air (as in your HVAC system), the NEC just states that the cable must be plenum-rated in order to be legal in an open space used for air handling, and must be armored in some way when installed inside a metal air-handling duct.

Additionally, NEC 300.4 covers basic protection of nonmetallic wire against damage. These include things like minimum depth of installation in a wall, properly anchoring electrical wire to structural members etc etc, but also covers protecting the wire from sharp metal edges. Ductwork can have quite a lot of sharp metal edges; extra protection, such as bushings and rigid conduit, are recommended and/or required for any run of cable that passes close enough to ductwork etc for contact to be a concern.

Given that you follow those three articles' guidelines, I cannot find anything saying that Romex can't be in close proximity to ductwork. I would just avoid having the conduit actually contact the ductwork by securing it to the nearest structural member, and I would protect it with plastic or metal rigid conduit if contact with the metal duct is unavoidable at any point.

IEE wiring regulations BS 7671 section 522.2.1   (i) (ii) (iii) &( iv) to shield from heat, place sufficiently from heat source and select a system with regard to the additional temperature. This would therefore require you to place a protective shield around the cables to protect them from any possible heat emmitted.


What type of fasteners should I use when replacing exterior deck boards? I have a wooden walkway that leads from my deck down to my pool.  Some of the boards are rotten and I want to replace them.  Is this a project for a Nail Gun (which is how everything is currently put down) or a Screw Gun?  Reason I ask, is that while the current boards are put down with nails, I have to hammer in the nails probably once every 6 months in random spots?  Would braiding on screws hold the wood down better and not have to be "re-screwed" every 6 months?

Decks have been built with screws for the last 30 years where I live. Nails are unheard of for the reason you mentioned. Your local hardware store will have a selection of epoxy-coated or galvanized screws in various colors that will serve you well. 2-1/2" is typical for 5/4 decking, and 3" for 2-by decking.

You can use a standard drill to drive deck screws. You don't need a screw gun, though the auto-depth feature they offer can save time on large projects.

Wood screws are definitely the way to go. They will pull the deck board tight to the joist.  I'm not sure what type of wood you have for your project, but this Fastenmaster screw would work for pressure treated, softwoods and redwoods.

If you do have a larger budget, a composite or pvc deck board would be a good solution to the rotting issue.


What Hotpoint oven model is this? I need a new oven door for my  Hotpoint electric oven.

I found a supplier, but apart from the Serial Number, the company also want to know the oven model. I've searched the web but cannot find the model of my oven with the exact same control panel as in the attached picture.

I know it's a long shot, but does anyone have any ideas what model this is?

Thanks for your time.

Open the doors of the oven - the model information should be on an information plate that's usually covered by one of the doors.


What are cheap ways to build strong shelves with a large span? I have removed several old and moisture damaged built in storage units from my house. I would like to replace them with shelving. There are a number of different sized gaps (width and depth to fill).

I would like the shelves to hold quite alot of weight (large numbers of books and similar).

Some of the shelves I would like to span quite a width. For example, 2 meters, and be quite deep (say 50cm). For aesthetic reasons I would like them to be supported only at the back and each end, avoiding large brackets or similar underneath the shelves as far as possible.

One way to do it would be to buy very thick strong material for the shelves. I would like if possible to avoid having to spend that kind of money. I would like to use cheaper and lighter materials, which I can apply some kind of finish to (paint or something).

What methods of construction, other than using a single thicker stronger piece of material, can I use to improve the distance a shelf can span before deflecting too much or collapsing? What are the limits (span, depth, load) of these different methods of construction?

(I have already solved the source of the moisture problems)

I'd use plywood with a thicker piece of hardwood glued onto the front edge. This gives you very good strength. Here is an online calculator I use to find what kind of materials you can use and the amount of sag you will have. Here's a good quote from the author of the site.

  “The eye will notice a deflection of 1/32″ per running foot.”

The sagulator

I would use an old solid tableleaf. ThankYou


Why won't the bulbs light up brightly in my European chandelier? I bought a European chandelier not knowing there were light bulb size differences. I ordered 12 European to Candelabra Reducers (E14 to E12). I was so happy when I received them, and couldn't wait to install them on my new candelabra. I installed all 12 bulbs and reducers, but to my surprise only 2 really light up and the other 10 only glow.

Can you help me and tell me what's wrong and what I need to do?

If your bulbs ARE 120 volt and some are half lit then some are wired wrong.

They will be in series not in parallel.

To test this switch the light on and remove one bulb that is 1/2 lit. Another will go off- they are in series. Maybe even 2 will go off. They need to be re-wired in parallel.

Here several things you should know:

1st  - what is phase wire  ? do you switch it by wall switc (you need phase tester to find out) your switch should switch the phase wire (not null)

2nd such Cadelabra often have a possibility to switch only one set of lights, so you should make sure, if you have single switch, you connected together all switch wires. (should left only two wires - null and phase)

are your bulbs vacuum, neon or diod ?

this is phase indicator it should not light near the bulb places if you switch Candelabra off.
,


Best way to keep a PEX run in an attic (above a foyer) from freezing? I plan on running PEX pipes both hot and cold across 16 feet of unheated attic space above a foyer. The foyer is 16' long and is off the kitchen, it isn't heated directly but is part of the house; it is usually colder than the rest of the house, mostly due to the cat door and slider the dogs go in and out of. There is insulation along the ceiling, underneath where I will be running the pipes.

What is the best way to keep the pipes from freezing?  Would an insulation pipe jacket be enough to keep the water in it from freezing or should I also run a long heating cable? I also considered insulating along the roof but it is a tight crawlspace and not much room in there to work. This is in New England so some days it gets pretty cold.

You are definitely running a risk of freezing these lines in an unheated space. It is never wise to run water lines in an outside wall or above an insulated ceiling in an unheated space.

Perhaps you can do one of the following:

Run the lines under the floor in the basement (not unheated crawl space) where freezing will be much less likely.
Run the lines under the insulation in your ceiling next to the heated drywall. If you have to drill holes in ceiling joists, be sure they are at least 2 inches from ceiling to prevent accidental puncturing from drywall screws. Apply the insulation over the lines.
Thermostatically controlled heat tape can work, but be absolutely sure it is installed properly and if possible use a heat tape that you can use pipe insulation over. Not all heat tapes allow use of pipe insulation due to overheating of the PEX.
If you do have to run in this area, be sure there are no drafts that can come to bear on the tubing. Freezing is always faster if a cold draft blows on a water line.

I wish I had a foolproof method for you to use. Just be cautious, monitor the conditions and have a water shut off handy. Although PEX will handle a lot of freezing without bursting, a leak is going to be a very expensive fix and a mess to clean up. Good Luck

If you are using PEX, you can run it through your attic. PEX will NOT burst unless you live in a place that gets like 50 below. And it does not freeze as readily as metal pipe. We used PEX once and ended up replumbing our entire house with it. You can put foam insulation tubing on it to make you feel more secure, but you do need to give it some slack which causes it to snake. Still, the foam tubing insulation works great, but under our house - which is open - our PEX has been fine.


What type of register and/or installation method to use for a inside duct mounting holes? I removed the original register cover from my vent, the screw mounts were inside the duct.
I'm not sure if the fact that this is on an external wall has anything to do with it, but there was no bite behind the plaster when I drilled that pilot hole. It's possible I was hitting the brick.
(The hole to the left of the duct is where I attempted to drill a pilot hole to install an updated 3 way register)
Typing this out I realize I could probably go down in the basement and confirm my suspicion that there's no stud there.
I'm curious

If these types of registers where the mounting holes are inside are still manufactured, and if so under what designation?

Alternatively how would someone go about installing a new grille in this setup?

You say "there was no bite behind the plaster when I drilled that pilot hole". I'm not sure if you mean that the screw didn't bite into something solid, or if, as your next sentence indicates, you were still drilling but hit something hard.
If you tried driving a screw into that and found that it wouldn't grip, that's not surprising for plaster. You'll want to use a molly/rawl plug/anchor that will go into an oversize hole in the plaster, then you drive the screw through the grill and into the molly. This will give your screw something to bite into, and the (usually) plastic molly is designed to hold in the plaster.
If you were still drilling and hit something solid, it may have been brick, or it could be a protective plate over a stud (though not likely that someone tried to run wiring that close to the vent, though it could be left over from a remodel). In that case, I'd still recommend some sort of wall anchor and a shorter screw to hold the grill in place so you don't have to drill any deeper.

I've had good luck with this type of anchor.  It works best if you drill a hole the size of the lower part first. Then, with a largish Phillips screwdriver, screw it in until flush.  Don't use a powered driver, they can over drive it and then you have a real mess on your hands!  The come in several sizes. You don't have to use the screws that come with if you wanted to do some color matching and such, other screws would just need to be sized to snugly fit in the anchor.
I like them a lot more than molly bolts, which are difficult to remove, require space on the other side of the wall which isn't always available, and make a big hole.


Can I replace 1 switch of a 3-switch box with a Motion Detector switch Our bathrooms have a 3-switch box: 1-sink lights, 1-shower light, 1-fan. My son doesn't shut off the light, so it is on all night (or all day).

Can I replace one of the light switches with a motion detector switch?

thanks,
len

A three way switch is a single pole double throw switch and will not work with a single pole single throw switch like a motion sensor switch. A three way switch has two switch legs and one common lead. You could wire the motion sensor in series with one of the commons of either switch and the light would stay off when no motion was sensed. Once motion was sensed the three way switched would work normally.


How should I wire for a security system during construction? I would like to run wires in anticipation of a future hard-wired security system.  However, I have yet to find any information that pulls everything together regarding what is required.

From what I understand 22/4 wire should be run to each window and door where a sensor of some type with be placed.  These wires should all be run to a central location where the alarm control panel will be installed (in my case, most likely the basement).

What I have yet to find a solid answer on is what is typically run to the keypads.  Do I run cat5/6, or use the same security wire (or both)?

Once I run the wires to each window, where do I leave the wire?  Do I just leave a coil of wire stapled to the stud?  Should I drill a small hole in the rough window frame, and pull the wire through?  If I do drill a hole, where should the hole be positioned?

I guess I'm questioning the workflow more than anything.  For instance, do those putting up the sheetrock, installing windows, or those installing the molding around the window typically know how to deal with these wire?

I will not be installing the system for months after we move in, so would prefer not to have cables sticking out of the window frame until the install is complete.  Do I have any chance of fishing the wire out if I drill a small hole in a window frame?  I'm assuming not, and thinking in would be easiest to just have it pulled through.

What I have yet to find a solid answer on is what is typically run to the keypads. Do I run cat5/6, or use the same security wire (or both)?

I recommend running 22/4 and cat5e from the security panel to the keypads.  That provides lots of options.

Once I run the wires to each window, where do I leave the wire?

I recommend leaving a coil of wire in the window return.

Should I drill a small hole in the rough window frame, and pull the wire through?

Yes.  Exactly.

If I do drill a hole, where should the hole be positioned?

Somewhere that meets these criteria:

a spot that minimizes the run of exposed cable from the window frame to the contact
in a position that won't interfere with the installation of window coverings
in a position that lends itself to finishing the window frame area (e.g. avoid spots that will become finished vertices)

I guess I'm questioning the workflow more than anything. For instance, do those putting up the sheetrock, installing windows, or those installing the molding around the window typically know how to deal with these wire?

In general, the other trades will make sure your wire doesn't get buried, but where it ends up and in what condition it will be in is uncertain.
I recommend installing the windows before wiring.  If the returns are drywall, I recommend one of the following:

install your own peice of Sheetrock on the part of the return where the wire is run
have your contractor board the drywall returns but not the walls or ceilings before you wire

If your returns are wood, I recommend coiling wire on the studs inside the window frames, and working out a specific plan for how the wires will be handled with your carpenter just before he starts work.

I will not be installing the system for months after we move in, so would prefer not to have cables sticking out of the window frame until the install is complete. Do I have any chance of fishing the wire out if I drill a small hole in a window frame?

Not likely.  If you are concerned about aesthetics, just finish the contact install for those windows that matter.
Motion Sensors and Keypads
Unlike window contacts, these are mounted to the walls like any other electrical device.  I recommend using open-backed electrical boxes rather than just a hole in the sheetrock.  There is some more information about them in this question.
Hidden Door Contacts
I recommend this type of door contact for doors that open inward.  It fits right in the top of the door frame.  The contact itself will need to be installed when you rough-in.

You should never do a home security system yourself.  Hire a professional that has been in the business a while.  It's not that expensive for the most part.  Unless you know specifications on mounting height on motions and how a glass break works, what frequency to set it to etc, you are really setting yourself up for false alarms, which can add up.  In addition, know who is monitoring your system, etc.  you don't want a company w 2-4 people on the phone and 40,000 customers.  You are bound to be the call that doesn't get answered.  Always contact every door and window in a home.  You want to know if there is a break in occurring while you are there.  Reaction time is invaluable and can save your life.


prevent splitting w/ nailgun in small pieces of wood I'm using a framing nail gun to re-build some stairs. This is my first time using a nail gun so I'm inexperienced. There are some small pieces of wood that are used in a corner to support the last stairs that are nailed together. There are two vertical pieces (2 and a quarter inches tall) and a horizontal piece on top (about a foot long). The pieces are standard 2x4s. I have to rebuild this piece because the original got beat up and I'm reusing an old stud. My problem is that I use a nail gun, it destroys the wood (splitting).

The air pressure is around 100 psi.

Is there something I can do to help remedy this? Any tips are appreciated,

Predrill, and also probably use a hammer, not a nailgun, for this piece.

Yes...drill a pilot hole. Tiny drill bit.


Should I release the pressure out of an air compressor when it is not in use? Just got a new compressor and I wondering if I should be releasing all of the pressure out of the unit when it is not in use?  Or is it better to leave the pressure in so that the unit does not have to work as hard to build up the pressure next time?

I am not planning on using the unit daily.  Mostly for weekend projects and regular maintenance (airing up car tires... etc).

The instruction manual for my Sears Craftsman 3 gal., 1 hp, Horizontal Tank states to drain the tank after each use or daily and also for storage.  The water that may be in the tank could corrode and damage the tank.

My 3 gal [ the Sausage Shape and not the Pancake one ] was not that old , and it would not stop running as it was not building up the set pressure on my regulator to shut off.
When I shut it off it sounded like I was being attacked by a herd of mean spirited snakes !! So much hissing as that 300 lb rated hose had more holes than a 10 lb piece of swiss cheese !!


What should I do with a shallow closet? My guest bedroom has an extra shallow closet (15 inches deep).  This is too narrow for a hanger, so clothes hung on the rod end up being angled, rubbing against the back wall and the door, etc.

What can I do with this thing?  It needs to remain a closet, but I need an alternate method to hang clothes.  I've thought about trying to rotate the rod.  Perhaps I could hang two rods somehow so they go from front-to-back rather than from side-to-side?  But, how could I support the door-side end?  Well, I could hang it from the shelf somehow.  The shelf is fairly sturdy.  Any ideas on how to mount such a rod?  Or other ideas on how to refurb the closet?

I had a closet once that wasn't particularly shallow, but it did have 3 closet bars mounted front-to-back, and I found the multiple bars very convenient for organizing my clothes.

The left and right bar ran between the front and back walls (the closet had a swinging door in the middle, not a full-width sliding door), and the middle bar's front end was suspended from the shelf above by a triangular wooden bracket (perpendicular to the bar). The middle bar was half the depth of the closet, so you could walk in and reach the side bars easily. Note that the shelf was supported by wooden rails fastened to the wall on three sides, not just shelf brackets on the back wall; the whole system felt quite solid.

I think a design like that would work very well for the closet you describe, and all of the parts were wood, so they could easily be made to fit.

If you are interested then I could make a drawing of the design as I remember it, or perhaps even arrange for a photograph.

What about just installing some more shelves?


How can I stop a porch crack from causing internal cracking? My front porch slab has cracked and part is at least an inch lower. It is supporting the roof. Now there is a crack going up the inside of my drywall at the same place. Suggestions on how to solve this so I make sure it is done right.

You have to jack the porch up to get it back to the correct height.  I would suggest using a level to hold at a congruent part of your roofline or front molding.

Take a car jack and a 4x4 and prop the roofline until it is a bit higher (1/8") than level.  Slide under some pressure treated wood or rubber shims under the posts.  Check in local rafters, connecting pieces and make sure that everything is snug, braces are still work, and so on.  You need a really good visual inspection.  This is a bit of an emergency since if you wait you could incur a lot of damage.

Now for the porch... There are a TON of ways to go about this.  You could just leave it alone and hope it doesn't sink anymore.  They won't sink forever even with bad footings.  There comes a point where they pretty much stay.  Just make sure the dirt around it isn't eroding - if it is landscape to protect the area.

You could also have a new porch poured.  They would simply jack up your posts, demo old porch, and pour new.

You could build a wooden porch over old.  This would probably require a little demo for the posts.  This is only feasible if your porch is a bit lower than your step - or you have to do a total demo.  Demo isn't as hard as you think because you can dig a hole and bury most of it in most cases.

People do have their pads injected with concrete to provide makeshift footings.  Concrete company will come out, drill through porch in strategic areas, bore deep enough for footing, and pour.  The good companies that do this have it down to a science and do great long lasting work.  However most never give you a proper footing and it sinks again in 5-10 years.

Really the take away is get it jacked up and then figure it out after.  This happens all the time and isn't the end of the world unless you let it go.

Forget the porch, it is a goner. The important thing is to support the roof.

You need to create a footing for the pillar (or pillars) that is/are holding up the roof. Dig 6 feet down minimum make a bed of gravel. Insert a concrete pillar form (you can get them at Home Depot). Pour concrete into form. The footing should be 6 feet or more under the surface of the earth. Put the pillar on top of this footing.

A larger issue is the rest of the house. If the whole house is on a "slab", meaning it has no foundation and no footings, you are pretty much screwed because the same thing will happen to the house as happened to your porch. In that case, basically the house is a raft, not a house. Once the "slab" of the house cracks, water will infiltrate and the nightmare will begin.

Note that there are "crack specialists" who cater to the cracked slab business by injecting stuff into cracks. Its pretty much snake oil, although if you are selling your house it can be useful to disguise the unsound condition of the foundations, but a good home inspector will not be fooled.

You can do all kinds of half measures, but all of these fixes will not work, because the essential problem is that the ground is shifting underneath your foundation. You can inject goo and concrete all day long and as soon as the subsidence repeats the next winter or whatever it will crack again. Whether the cause is sliding clay, sand, frost heaves or whatever, if you just put stuff on top of it, it will crack. To make a sound foundation you have to go DOWN until you reach a stable stratum.


Can I run a natural gas dryer from a portable propane tank? I bought a modular home in the woods with no w/d hookup,I want to know if it's safe & OK to hookup a 5 gallon propane tank to a gas dryer, plug it in & dry my clothes?

Do I have to change something in the dryer to run propane from natural gas?
Just trying to be safe. I don't want to blow me & my house up!  ANY HELP OUT THERE PLEASE WOULD APPRECIATED!

If your dryer is set up for natural gas, then it isn't going to run on propane - you'll need to install a propane conversion kit.  Most manufacturers sell these for specific models, and I'm sure there are some generic after-market kits out there too. These generally aren't that difficult to install - you'll basically be changing the limit in the pressure regulator and the size of the orifice to the burner.

yes you can.  Propane comes in at a higher pressure than natural gas.  The natural gas orifice will let too much propane through and throw a flame large enough to run up the back of your dryer and possibly out the mesh vent into where your clothes are drying (and frying any sensors along the way).  HOWEVER, you can open up the peep hole so you can watch your ignitor and flame and throttle the block valve on the propane to get a propper flame that will not damage the dryer sensors or set your clothes (or house) on fire.  I know this is an older post, but I thought i'd give my two cents and experience.


How can I remove bubbles in a newly laid linoleum floor? We laid linoleum using glue but did not use a roller. It is bubbled all over. Can a roller be used after 8 hours and glue has dried? Will bubbles stay??

You can try poking a pinhole thru the linoleum and hope to vent it that way... If you'd gotten to this before adhesive had set the roller might have been able to work the bubbles out to the edge. Best, of course, is to eliminate them as the lino is being put down.

Many times the bubbles will go away on their own in a short time. They can be from gas from the glue


How can I add a "C" wire to my thermostat? So, the spiffy new wi-fi thermostats want power on the C wire from thermostat, but the old thermostat doesn't have a C wire at it.  What's the easiest way to add the C wire/24 volt to the thermostat location?

More than you've ever wanted to know about the C wire:

Lets start by explaining what the C wire is, and why it's needed.

Ye olde thermostat

In the olden days thermostats were simple switch devices, that used Mercury Switches to complete the circuit and turn on the heat/AC.

  Mercury switches were commonly used in bimetal thermostats. The weight
  of the movable mercury drop provided some hysteresis by moving the
  bimetal spring slightly beyond the point it would normally assume,
  thereby holding the thermostat off slightly longer before flipping to
  the on state and then holding the thermostat on slightly longer before
  flipping back to the off state. The mercury also provided a very
  positive on/off switching action and could withstand millions of
  cycles without degradation of the contacts.
  Source

Because of this, there was no reason to run a return wire to the thermostat. For example a thermostat that only controlled heat, would only require 2 wires.

Welcome to the future

Newer thermostats that offer clocks, backlit displays, WiFi, etc. are controlled using circuit boards and integrated circuits.  These new circuits require a path for electricity to return to the source, and so require an extra wire.  This new wire is known as the C wire, or Common wire.

How do I get a C wire?

If you're lucky when you upgrade to a newer thermostat that requires this connection, there will be an extra (unused) wire in the cable at the thermostat.  If you're not, you'll have to run new cable to the thermostat.

If you have heat and AC, you'll have to pull an 18/5 cable. If you have just heat you can get away with pulling 18/3 cable, but you may want to pull 18/5 anyway to make adding AC in the future easier.

What do all these wires do anyway?

There are no standards for wire color, so any wire could be used for any purpose.  The most common color code would be (note: this is for forced air furnaces, heat pumps and other systems may be different).

Red - R - 24VAC
Red - Rh - 24VAC (dedicated to heat call)
Red - Rc - 24VAC (dedicated to cooling call)
Green - G - Fan on
White - W - Heat call
Yellow - Y - Cool call
Blue or Black - C - Common

Alternative Solution

This solution is illustrated in this video from Honeywell. With this solution you lose the ability to manually turn on the blower fan, but the fan will still run properly in the Auto position.

WARNING: This procedure involves modifying the wiring in the furnace, and may not be approved by every manufacturer. Check with the furnace manufacturer, and all local codes before attempting this procedure. Make sure the breaker for the furnace is OFF before you begin.

Make sure the breaker for the furnace is OFF.
Start by removing the access panel on the furnace, and locating the thermostat wires.
Remove the wire from the G terminal, and connect it to the C terminal.
Using a short piece of 18 AWG wire, make a jumper and connect it between the Y and G terminals (this is only required if you have both heat and central air).
Replace the access panel.
Remove the thermostat from the wall to gain access to the wiring.
Remove the wire from the G terminal, and connect it to the C terminal.
Replace the thermostat.
Turn the furnace breaker back on.

A bit more about transformers and C wires.

A transformer uses coils of wire, magnetism, and a bit of magic to transfer energy from the primary side of the transformer to the secondary side of the transformer.  Usually during the transfer, the voltage is either increased or decreased. In the case of our furnace we're likely talking about taking 120VAC, and transforming it into 24VAC. Once the voltage has been reduced, we can use the lower voltage and a thermostat to control the furnace.

Now that you know even less about transformers than you did before, lets look at a diagram.

This is an actual wiring diagram from a furnace, but you'll notice I've highlighted a few things.  First, in red I've highlighted the 120V primary side of the transformer. I've also highlighted the secondary side of the transformer in a couple shades of blue. This was done to illustrate that one side of the transformers secondary winding (light blue), is attached to the R or power terminal. While the other side of the secondary winding (dark blue), is attached to the C or "neutral" terminal.

Locating transformers

On a schematic

On a schematic or wiring diagram, a transformer will look something like this.

Often you'll see a number written on each side, which denotes the expected voltages on each side of the transformer. Notice in the schematic above that the top side lists 120V (120 volts), while the bottom lists 24V (24 volts).

In the real world

When actually digging through HVAC equipment, a transformer will look something like this.

Notice the rectangular middle section, flanked by a bulge on each side. These are the typical physical characteristics of a transformer.

Volt-Amperes

Transformers typically have a volt-ampere (VA) rating, which can be used to determine the amount of current that can safely flow through the transformers coil wires.  To determine the maximum current, simply divide the VA value by the voltage.

For example, a 120V/24V 40 VA transformer would be capable of 1.66667 amperes on the secondary.

40VA / 24V = 1.66667A

and .3333 amperes on the primary

40VA / 120V = .3333A

Normally this is not a problem, since the only things supplied by the transformer are switches and relays. If you install a thermostat that draws more current than the transformer can carry, you're going run into problems.  So in this case, you'll have to upgrade the transformer and any fuses that protect it (since the fuses are sized based on the VA rating).

What about systems with multiple transformers?

In some systems, there will be separate transformers for the heating and cooling systems. In these situations, you'll have to check with the thermostat manufacturer, to determine which system should provide the C wire.  In the case of Nest and Honeywell (and probably others), their thermostats expect the C wire to come from the cooling system.

When you're connecting the wires to the thermostat in these systems, you'll have to remove any jumpers between the R terminals.  You'll wire the R wire from the heating system, to R or Rh, and the R wire from the cooling system, to Rc.  Then you'll have to wire the C wire from the cooling system, to the C terminal of the thermostat.

I just ran an 18/2 in addition to the 18/4.  No sense in pulling out perfectly good wires. Saves some money too, and avoided disconnecting the old one. Paid $10 for 50ft of 18/2.


How Do Houses Prevent a Water Buildup in the Flooring? I have been reading Canadian Wood-Frame House Construction to get an idea how houses are built and function, and am really confused about one aspect.

External floors are built just like external walls, just on their side. Internal boards->Vapour Barrier->Studs/joists with insulation. Which makes a lot of logical sense in walls and ceilings. But since water drains down, I have no idea how this is supposed to work for the flooring. I am using an example of a wood framed external floor, but the same principal extends to concrete slabs that have a vapor barrier built in. Assuming I spilt some water, or a pipe broke, a few gallons of water got on the floor. How does this standard design allow this excess water to be shed by the house?

The entire house is encased in a plastic vapor barrier, that is sealed and caulked at all the seams, it is one giant plastic bag. This house now has several gallons of water under the floor boards. What happens next? Or is a vapour barrier not a liquid water barrier?

How does this standard design allow this excess water to be shed by the house?

You are correct in seeing the flaw in a plastic vapor barrier. It doesn't allow the house to breathe. I personally don't like the idea.

The only way to shed the water is by evaporation through ventilation. Some of the water could drain to the ground since vapor barriers are not necessarily water tight but the tighter you make the house envelope the harder it gets to allow it to breathe.

Water is not supposed to find it's way inside the structure. The "wrap" is there to keep a barrier between the outside elements you want kept out, and the inside kept in. (This includes bugs etc). That wrap is perforated with nails from siding for example, but the siding and flashing, and windows and doors are installed to drive water DOWN, not in. Thus, leaks in a home from outside occur when the barrier material wears down, or is installed incorrectly. Moisture can find it's way in - gravity.

With this said, the same principle applies to floors and sub floors, we cannot eliminate the water table, and all concrete is porous. So the same principles are employed to keep the water that wants to get in out. Via barriers, drain tiles, pumps, etc.

If gallons of water are spilled on the floor, *(it doesn't matter what the source is), the source needs to be eliminated and the water cleaned up as fast as possible to avoid damages. Some water may get into crevices where it doesn't belong. It will evaporate, it will absorb into materials that absorb water etc. The humidity in the home should be low, so it will not stay a liquid for very long, but since it got somewhere it didn't belong, it 'COULD' mold/rot/damage that area. Thus, why you clean it up immediately.

Gravity will act upon the spilled water. so will anything that can absorb it.

And by the way, a vapor barrier is rarely perfect... water can get in and out, but honestly, it shouldn't find its way there in the first place.


How can I unscrew my outdoor hose that is fused to the spigot? I don't know my own strength. It seems either my spigot or hose is stripped or they are fused together from corrosion. How can I unscrew the hose from the spigot?

Connectors left in place for long periods can get fairly well glued together by corrosion or mineral deposits. A pipe wrench should do the job. FYI pipe wrenches have angled jaws, to loosen you want the jaw facing left when you use it, that way it wedges on rather than slipping off. If you want to avoid marring the fitting try a bit of rubber between the wrench and the fitting. Most folks have a rubber washing up glove that will work.

Cut the male part as close as possible to the spigot.  Then take a small chisel or screw driver and carefully tap the rest of the male part. It will come out in pieces, but it will come out.


Electric ground from another circuit I have a circuit that has a couple outlets and they used 2 wire no grounds.
Can I replaced the wire with 3 wire for the outlets and add new 3 prong outlets. It is a long difficut way back to my panel ground bar to run a ground wire for the two wire power source. I have another 240 circiut used for a 4' baseboard heater near my outlets. The baseboard has 3 wire and is grounded back to the panel. Can I run a green wire from the outlets to the ground wire used in the baseboard heater instead of running a seperate green wire back to the panel for the outlets ? Thanks.

I would avoid using the baseboard ground for the outlets since the baseboard is on a different breaker (circuit). Per NEC:

NEC 300.3(B) All conductors of the same circuit, including grounding and bonding conductors shall be contained in the same raceway, cable, or trench.

You can certianly replace the home run and associated branches with 3/12 (20 A) or 3/14 (15 A) depending on the circuit breaker size.

Replacing the outlets with GFCI outlets would be an alternative solution to running a new feed.


In-line fan installation Can an In-line bathroom fan be installed horizontally or just vertically ? Been searching all over but no manufacturer specify that on their guide. Thank you

Typically or by default "in-line" means either orientation is intended. One advantage to vertical is bearing wear. The fan won't be fighting gravity & its own weight. Other than that, call or email a few manufacturers & see what they say or if they have specific or better models for your application.


How do I troubleshoot a newly installed non-working outlet? I recently spent several frustrating hours trying to figure out why an outlet on a new branch circuit would not power a load even though there was proper polarity at the outlet, my non-contact voltage tester showed a live circuit, and my multi-meter showed 110 volts both in the outlet slots and at the side-wire screws.  I tested all conductors for continuity, remade all connections, tried four other duplex outlets and three other breakers, and even replaced some of the wiring.  Nothing worked.  Finally, I hooked up the hot side to another breaker in a different "slot" in the breaker box.  That powered the load in the outlet, so I then hooked up the hot side of the circuit to the original breaker and put it in that same slot and it worked.  I concluded that something is wrong with the buss bar at the position where the breaker I'd been using was installed.  After finishing the job and putting the cover back on the box, I labeled that slot as not working and indicated that the breaker itself may be OK.  The box and breakers are Cutler Hammer.

I found no visual evidence of a problem with the buss bar.  Is this problem common?  Why would my meter have shown 110 volts at the outlet when the outlet wasn't able to power a load?  I had thought at first that the outlet was haunted but was happy to find that there was a "real" reason for the problem.

Does anyone have a step-by-step checklist of things to try when troubleshooting a non-working outlet (or any other problem for that matter)?  I'm envisioning something that would start with the most likely causes and solutions and work down to the more exotic ones.  Such a checklist sure would have saved me time.

Some breaker panels have blank slots at the end, which could mechanically accept a breaker, but their tabs are not live, if they have tabs at all.  This is done to lower manufacturing costs and reuse one chassis with different bus bar assemblies.

It could also be a piece of tape, clear insulation, or severe corrosion over that spot on the bus bar.  Depending on the resistance, it may let a charge large enough to measure get through, but when an real load is placed on it, the resistance is too high for it to run.


Suggestions for gate latch issue Let me preface by saying that I'm not really looking for "shopping advice". I just need some direction on how to tackle this issue.

We recently purchased a house and it has a block fence around the back yard, with a side gate. The latch is facing the exterior so, I would like to put a lock on it. The issue is that the latch (located on the right side of the gate) is too close to the block to fit a standard lock through it. I've tried a few different kinds of locks and nothing seems to fit.

Any advice and/or direction would be appreciated.

UPDATE -- Photos added

One option would be to drill holes through the post to allow you to use the lock that you have (or perhaps a slightly longer lock).

Just buy a longer one that goes over the top and locks everything. You can get it in Ace Hardware for $7!


What is the cheapest way to make well water with 800ppm TDS suitable for bathing and washing dishes? I have a 200 foot bore for water in my home. The Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) value of that water is around 790-800ppm. I want to make this water safe for bathing, dish-washing and clothes washing. I don't need to make this water ideal for drinking.

What are the cheapest possible solutions for that?

There are three basic non-snake oil devices that one might use: sediment filter, RO filter, and water softener.

A sediment filter doesn't remove dissolved solids.

An RO filter is not suitable for high volume uses like bathing, dish-washing and clothes washing.

A good water softener is the right product for your needs.

But you might add an RO filter in the kitchen to supply water for drinking and cooking also.

To anyone suggesting a water softener my response is NO!! Water softeners do NOT remove TDS (total dissolved solids) and anyone who says otherwise is LYING. In fact, water softeners ADD TDS to the water as they require salt or some type of salt substitute. To my knowledge there are only two ways of removing TDS from residential homes, none of which are practical and cost efficient.

Reverse Omosis: this works but problem: the water is highly acidic which will require an acid neutralizer or else you may need to change your pipes, hot water heater, etc. as R/O water will eat through anything that's not 100% stainless steel, plastic, or ceramic (glass might be okay but not sure).
Distillation: This is similar to R/O but more expensive to my understanding.


What key do I need for this valve? This is the drain valve for the Megaflow immersion heater tank. What key do I need for it? It is about 7mm square, which is bigger than a radiator key. Also, which is this type of valve called?

You are looking for an "outdoor spigot key" or a "sillcock key".  Googling those terms returns several options, including a 4-way "universal" chuck from Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware and more.

Most options seem to be $5-10 USD.

A pair of pliers works great.   This looks like a gate valve, not a quarter turn valve.   So you might have to unscrew a couple turns to get it fully open.


How to secure a stacked ikea kura bed So I have 2 kura beds

I want to stack them on top of each other. Something similar to image below. My question is how do I secure it. It will just be 1 bed, so the top kura bed will not have to support any weight other than the toddler leaning on it (hanging on it when I'm not looking?).

My initial thoughts are:

Gorilla glue all along the edge
Some kind of brace between them in addition (what kind of would I need?)
Secure it to the wall along the studs

Would the above be secure enough for toddler use?

IKEA furniture is pretty well engineered, and by that I mean, they make it just about strong enough to be used as intended by the manufacturer.  There isn't a lot of overstrength to accommodate weird uses.  If the manufacturer intended that to be done, Both these would be true:

An explanation on how to do it would be included in the instructions for the bed.  And
A testing lab such as UL, TUV, CSA, etc. will have tested the design, and certified it to be safe.

If either of those things is not true, then either a) do not do it, or b) build a cantilevered or ceiling-hung platform to carry the weight of the upper bed even if the lower one is removed.

"Furniture Tip-Over Deaths Are On the Rise for Children". Why design something that a child would be tempted to climb and that might collapse under her or him? Unless both beds were attached firmly to studs, and the beds were attached firmly to each other, I wouldn't even think of creating an ersatz bunk bed. Even then, you don't know if the legs of the lower bed could stand the weight of an occupied bed above plus its own occupant.

Why would you think that a child would never climb to the top bunk??

Also, even well-designed bunk beds have been cited as dangers.


How do I achieve required torque when using an impact driver? There's such tool called impact driver (like this one for example). The manual says it uses a special mechanism to produce a series of torque impulses to fasten/loosen nuts and screws.

The tool has only two adjustments - the forward/reverse switch and the On/Off switch. The deeper the On/Off switch is pressed the faster the tool motor rotates.

There's no clutch to adjust the torque value after which the clutch would disconnect the motor. How do I control the torque without a clutch?

Suppose I need to assemble a section of fence that will require say one thousand screw/nut connections with nuts of the same size (that's not an imaginary task - I did such job without an impact driver). Obviosly I need to tighten all nuts to more or less the same torque. If I overtighten a nut it can just break or cut the screw or bend the parts it connects - that's bad. If I undertighten a nut it will soon loosen and fall out - that;s bad as well.

So let's pretend I use nuts that need to be tightened to approximately 70 Newton-meters and the driver I use is said to produce torque up to 100 Newton-meters.

And of course I need to drive those nuts fast - otherwise why would I use a power tool instead of a screwdriver and a usual wrench? So obviously I can't time the periods of applying torque or count impacts or whatever else - I need some reliable way to achieve more or less the same right torque for all nuts.

Please note: I don't care of achieving exactly the right torque. I only care of achieving more or less the required torque - so that the nuts don't loosen on themselves and parts are not damaged while the nuts are being tightened. The primary concern is that the driver works very fast, so if I hold the switch pressed for just too long I can easily overtighten the nut and cause unintended damage.

How do I achieve roughly the same torque repeatedly for multiple nuts when using an impact driver?

"How do I achieve the same torque repeatedly for multiple nuts when using an impact driver?"

Short of manually using a torque wrench like woodchips recommends, you don't.  The point of an impact driver is not to apply a consistent torque.  It is to apply more torque than can be obtained from a traditional driver.  One of the more common uses is to loosen seized up, or over-tightened bolts/screws.  I also use mine quite a bit when driving screws into wood when the final torque doesn't matter (e.g.- I just need the screw head to be slightly below the surface of the wood..  rough work).

In other words, if your need is consistent torque, an impact driver is not the tool for the job.  A traditional clutched driver is going to be more appropriate.

I know this is 6 years old, but the answer to OPs question is simple and not answered fully to this point in time.  The simplest way to adjust the torque on a torque wrench that is hpa (high-pressure air) powered as is the case in this example is to simply turn down the pressure on the air regulator (there is almost always a turn knob which limits the working pressure in an 'air-hog' setup (as they are known colloquially throughout the midwest and southern states).....Here are the steps to set the torque gun to 'torque' a fastener to a desired level.

1.) get a comparable scrap of lumber to adjust the torque settings to a desired level
2.) grab one of the fasteners that you intend to use
3.) Screw it in to the desired depth/penetration/(torque?? ;)) that you want...
4.) If you need less torque (i.e. if the screw or bolt or whatnot is twisting off or splitting the wood), then just TURN DOWN THE PRESSURE....so if it was at one hundred I might use what I call the 'bracketing method' to get to the correct working pressure by cutting the pressure back WAY TOO far....say to 50 or 60 psi (as a concrete example).
5.) 50 or 60 psi should only screw it in part way....so to you will need to increase the torque by increasing the working air pressure....so just keep turning the knob on the air pressure regulator until it seats the screw like you desire.
6.) get out to the field with your adjusted tank and torque/fasteners and drive a few thousand screws at the new customized 'torque level' you figured out in steps 1-5 :) .


Can I use a bat handled toggle switch instead of a boring standard toggle switch on the wall? I want to create a steampunk-themed chandelier, including a steampunk-look switch on the wall. Is there a fundamental difference between the standard light switches sold for home lighting and a similarly-specced bat handled light switch that is sometimes used on lamps and electrical equipment? The attached switch is rated 20amps at 125vac so I would think it was appropriate for my purpose. The only thing it doesn't have is a ground screw which might be the stopper unless there's a way to add a grounding wire to the metal part of the switch. Would someone with ACTUAL electrical knowledge (not just someone without an imagination ;) ) weigh in on this one? I asked somewhere else and the person said it would work fine but in another forum people said no (but I don't believe they are electricians since it was on Amazon and they didn't give any reason it wouldn't work). It seems like an artificial disqualification to say this wouldn't work just because the handle looks different than a normal light switch. Are the guts exactly the same? Switches are pretty simple mechanisms so seems like they would be.

The ONLY way this would be code complaint (legal) and safe is if the switch were solidly mounted to a metal plate, which would in turn be mounted to a grounded metal box. If you have plastic boxes there will be no way to ground the plate through the box.

NO! Soldering is NOT an option as this is expressly forbidden in the code. You MUST have a solid mechanical connection even before soldering. Having said this there is no means or provision for any sort of mechanical connection to that switch or to a switch plate, unless of course you nut and bolt the ground wire to the plate, but this adds a visible screw head to the finish side of the plate.

Almost certainly you'd need to get a stainless steel blank plate and drill your own hole.

It will work fine. Your comment about the inability to ground the device is of some concern; however, none of the wall switches in the original areas of my home are grounded and I'm not worried about it (although my switches don't have metal handles).


Shower doors don't fit on shower base We installed our shower base - round corner, and tiled our walls. Now our glass shower doors on steel frames don't fit on the base. It's too small and doesn't have enough room to sit inside of the base. It's off by about 1 inch combined from both sides. I don't think we took into account the walls. Is there anything we can do to fix this?

Unfortunately while your shower door and base look nice, the engineering on them is whack.  Just looking at where the door should sit... its not even flat.   I am guessing (hoping) that there is a bevel to the bottom of the door that makes it "fit" but just a flat surface works better.
I have put in 10s of these things.   On all of mine I have had the OPPOSITE issue. I have to build out to a depth so the door isn't inside.
What could you have done better?     Well you should have set your base up and put the door on to test out the dimensional fit before installing the backer and tile.   If you are off by that much there is no way this thing will fit.
(pre) Solution?   You could inset the wall compared to the rest of the room by using thinner concrete backer or possibly make the rest of the room thicker...   You could also push the base out by maybe adding a backing to it.   It is too late to try these things as you would need to rip out your base and redo plumbing a bit.
(post) Solution?   You cannot cut out a space for your door.   I have no idea why that is being suggested in the comments.   I have never seen anyone with any tool that could cut out tile in a straight line.   Sure you can cut it out.   Just like I can spray paint my car myself when I need a paint job.   Expect to use lots of caulk after and for it to look really bad and possibly leak.
Me guesses... I would guess that the manufacturers run sheet on this install is doing it with a PVC wall system.   I am guessing that they suggest that the walls go right on the 2x4 framing.  Then your door fits.   There really isn't another way given your details are correct.    (do you have the manufacturers install instructions for this? it is common for these bases/doors to be sold separate from a wall system as they can give you a variety of choices on the wall system.)
How do we salvage this?   The only solution without ruining the integrity of the tile work you have done and possibly ruining the waterproof system is to cut the door to make it fit.   Cutting the metal is not that big of a deal.   The cuts should be hidden for the most part and the side pop back in after.   If you can only cut one side obviously that is half the work but I am not there and doubt it.   The problem is you probably cannot cut the glass as it should be tempered.   Meaning local glass shop will have to send out two new tempered sheets.   So your cost of repairing this right is really just those two new sheets (100-150 in my area).

Your options are:
Either cut a channel into your tile to recess the door assembly risking destroying your tile (both chipping the finish and note that little pieces don't like to stay stuck to the wall); build a curb carefully and lapping over the shower base; or, buy a new enclosure and think of the lost money as paying for a valuable lesson learned: don't forget to account for the thickness of your finishes.


Bizarre home electrical problem I am in Australia, with 220-volt single phase power. My electricity distribution control panel has 6 switches, of which two, call them A and B, control wall power points. My juicer is plugged into one of these power points, which is controlled by the A switch. Using the juicer often causes the B switch to open while the A switch remains closed.

I am sure that the juicer is not in the B circuit because it continues working when the switch opens. I know what the A circuit controls by experiment with other equipment. My question is not why a switch opens when overloaded, but why does the wrong switch open?

Can anyone explain what is going on?

Well I'm from America living in North Carolina but I can take a stab at it because I have a similar problem with my home. It will overpower by using too many amps. So you need to find out how many amps are on your A and B switches. I went through my house and marked everything with a removable sticker for each switch and each outlet. Then by process of elimination I found out which on/off switches and which outlets were controlled by either the A or B fuses in the box. Then you need to know how many amps your A/ B fuse can handle. If you have a 15 amp fuse then you cannot use more than those 15 amps at any given time. I hope this helps.


Can replacing LED light bulbs cause electric faults somewhere else in the house? Yesterday I replaced a few old halogen bulbs in the kitchen and the hallway with LED bulbs - B22 and MR16. I was reading that the MR16s could be tricky has they might need an LED driver, I ordered some LED bulbs which had the same voltage as the old bulbs and they worked fine. The B22 worked fine as well apart from some buzzing coming from the dimmer which is probably because of the fact that they were non-dimmable bulbs. Anyway, no apparent issues with both and I have used the lights fine all evening without problems.

This morning I went to the bathroom which is located one floor above and the light switch didn't work. Not sure if the problem is with the switch or somewhere else but electricity in the bathroom seems to be gone - none of the three lights in there nor the extraction fan turns on. It worked fine the day before, even after the bulbs had been changed.

Now I am wondering if I messed this up when replacing the lights the night before. I live in a rental property and have just moved in so I have no knowledge of the electric plan of the house. As I said earlier, the bathroom lights / electricity worked fine the day before after the bulbs had been changed, since I used it before going to bed. This morning the lights in the hallway and kitched still worked fine too.

Or is it just a coincidence and the switch / circuit reached the end of its days?

It was indeed a coincidence, the wall switch was mechanically jammed - a bit for force nudged it back into place. Thanks all.