7
votes
0answers
133 views
What should I consider when cutting/making window in concrete foundation?
I am thinking about putting in another window for my basement apartment.
I would like to know what do I need to consider before trying to find a contractor to do this.
I have uploaded a picture of ...
5
votes
0answers
55 views
How can I install a ceiling fan that needs a 4“ box where I only have a 3” box?
As part of a home renovation project I discarded my old ceiling fan and have bought a new one. When installing the new one the electrician tells me that I have a 3" junction box and that I'll need a ...
5
votes
0answers
121 views
How can I mount an 12V transformer for LED lighting inside a wall?
The stairs to my basement has one light fixture at the bottom, and that casts a shadow on the rest of the stairs. I want to run a strip of LED lights up the crown molding or on top of the upstairs ...
5
votes
0answers
99 views
Can I replace a spiral window balance with a constant force balance?
I have old vinyl windows from '79 that currently have 24" long 5/8" diameter spiral balances. They have the red tip. Can I replace these with constant force balances?
3
votes
0answers
49 views
What should I do about a horizontal crack around my porch slab?
This crack runs all the way around my porch slab but doesn't go into the foundation where the basement starts. The ranch house was built in 1956. The porch was framed in and our office is in there ...
3
votes
0answers
49 views
How can I reduce the bounciness of a floor?
My apartment is on the second floor of a low-rise building. There are no units directly under it; the apartment sits above the open-air garage.
I feel basically everything that my next door ...
3
votes
0answers
37 views
What should I do about my rendering & damp-proof course?
I have a house that was built around 1890 and is of brick construction with a rendered band running around the base which also forms square edged columns around the front door. Until recently the ...
3
votes
0answers
49 views
What should I expect when removing a chimney?
Our brick chimney is leaning away from our house. The breast is in the living room, pretty much flush with the wall. The backside starts in the attached garage, goes through its roof and up past the ...
3
votes
0answers
52 views
What should I do about a potentially bad repair of a leaking pipe?
In our apartment, the ceiling began leaking in 2 places. One of the places, the water was brownish and had multiple droplets, the other the water was clear. We called maintenance at 8 am and no one ...
3
votes
0answers
43 views
Why won't the fan run independently of the air conditioner?
I have central air and heat, with a Nest thermostat. My system has Y, G, R, C and W wires coming out of it:
which are wired into my Nest like so:
In between, there is a splice where the C wire is ...
3
votes
0answers
121 views
What type of rubber pipe is used for this particular installation of hydronic radiant in-floor heating, and is it reliable?
I'm looking at a home built in the 80's with hydronic radiant in-floor heating embedded in concrete slab. I've never seen this type of hydronic tubing before. I'm pretty sure that the attached photo ...
3
votes
0answers
59 views
Why is my lighting circuit tripping the breaker?
I have several MR16 2 pin style light bulbs in my kitchen - The other day the trip switch for the light bulbs tripped when turning these bulbs on - I went and flipped the trip switch and tried again ...
3
votes
0answers
88 views
What is a good PWM driver for LED lighting?
I am looking at lighting options for my new flat. I'm looking for any recommendations and suggestions for the components to power and control the LEDs.
If we consider the main room (i.e. the open ...
3
votes
0answers
113 views
What should I do about paint flaking away from an area with moisture in the wall?
We have a very old cottage (built in 1650) that we have just completely refurbished from top to bottom. Because it is stone & brick and had a major problem with damp when we first purchased it, we ...
3
votes
0answers
170 views
How do I replace this bathtub handle that has a plastic piece?
I have followed a number of videos, but they all seem to have a copper (?) stem. At this point I'm up to some plastic piece that has no notches (namely around the metal piece) to use a wrench on.
...
3
votes
0answers
56 views
How can I locate an odor emanating from the kitchen/laundry area?
I live in South Florida. My home is a one level, 2400-sq ft, u-shaped with bedrooms on one side and kitchen/laundry on the other side. I have a consistent odor but it's not constant. It comes and ...
3
votes
0answers
166 views
Can I connect a drain for my new washing machine to an existing toilet drain?
I would like to add a wash machine to the basement. Near the area of the basement where I'll be adding it is a 4 in drain coming from an upstairs toilet. Can I tap the new drain into the toilet ...
3
votes
0answers
205 views
What could cause this rhythmic clicking/drumming sound in my bathroom sink pipe?
Why is my bathroom sink making a rhythmic drumming/clicking sound after I used a small plunger to help make water flow more quickly down the drain?
2
votes
0answers
53 views
Is it possible to make my own solar water heater?
After blowing (what I consider) a lot of money on 2 residential solar water heaters, over the last 6 years, dealing with 3 set of rather expensive inner-tank replacements, evacuation pipe changes I am ...
2
votes
0answers
35 views
What thickness, size, and quality plywood is required for an aviary floor?
12'L x 5'D x8'H size aviary needs what thickness plywood to hold human weight. Aviary floor is slightly elevated from the ground. Also, please specify how many floor joists it needs to hold the weight ...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
How can I make a smooth transition from granite to drywall?
I had solid sheets of granite installed for shower. Looks good except for the adjoining areas.
First shower does not run width of room - so there is a support wall for the right hand side of ...
2
votes
0answers
148 views
What does that mean if my LED light bulb starts blinking when I turned it on?
I have an LED light bulb: Philips 60W incandescent equivalent
I've owned it for about a year and have been very happy with it. This morning when I turned it on, it started blinking. Not flickering, ...
2
votes
0answers
106 views
How can I use bulk electrical wire to make a subfloor heating system?
Electrical floor heating kits run US$10 to $15 per square foot, but bulk wire only costs $2.50. With the controller, you're still running under $4 a square foot. I have a construction background, but ...
2
votes
0answers
64 views
Does each zone in a two-zone heating system have its own pilot light?
I have two zone heating, in the basement and upstairs where we really live. The pilot light is lit downstairs, but the heat isn't working upstairs (the air is not getting hot). Is there also a pilot ...
2
votes
0answers
31 views
Should I install the jumper on my new limit control?
I needed to replace fan and limit control (White-Rodgers, model 5D51-35), because the fan switch was broken (fan would constantly run) and heat would not stay on.
I took a picture of the control, ...
2
votes
0answers
62 views
Where could the air in the water system be coming from?
We live on the top two floors of a small brownstone walkup. To get the heating to work upstairs I need to bleed the baseboard heater almost every other day. All faucets in the house sputter, and the ...
2
votes
0answers
327 views
What could cause my tankless water heater to make a knocking sound?
I recently replaced my water heater with a tankless unit (Rheem). After installation I noticed that whenever I turned on the hot water; or when my central heating unit would turn on, the tankless unit ...
2
votes
0answers
119 views
How can I fix a table top that I spilled air freshener on?
I spilled air freshener on the top my dining table. It is a veneer top with urethane finish. The area is sticky to touch. How can I fix this?
2
votes
0answers
93 views
Are w1 and w2 both energized during a second stage heat call from the thermostat?
Short version: does two-stage thermostat always close W1 circuit when it closes W2 circuit, or they might be closed independently?
Long version:
I have two-stage furnace, currently connected to older ...
2
votes
0answers
104 views
AFCI breaker tripped when there was no power to wire
I was wiring a ceiling fan in my new home, and I am not used to working with some of the newer electrical devices. I know very little about AFCI breakers, however I think I was somehow able to trip ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
What could be causing this weird problem with a 240v trainer?
I'm in electrical classes and we are hooking up a 240v trainer. Last year the trainer worked fine. When connected to power there is a 120v light bulb that lights up to show that power is on. ...
2
votes
0answers
115 views
Why has my water filter made my water less clean?
A few years ago I installed a Whirlpool under sink water filtration system that I purchased from Lowes, as part of a kitchen renovation.
I've just replaced the filter again (following the ...
2
votes
0answers
110 views
Why does my fluorescent lighting only work when it's not hot outside?
We have fluorescent lights in our kitchen and when it's over 75°F outside the lights turn on real dim like there might be a problem with the ballasts, but when the outside temperature drops the ...
2
votes
0answers
171 views
How to re-insert a single-hung window into the frame over the guide rods?
I have a single-hung Madison window. The moving part has come loose and disassembled and I can't get it back in.
There are two rods that fit into spaces at the sides of the window frame. (See links ...
2
votes
0answers
342 views
Are there any risks in removing these steel basement window frames?
I am planning to replacement my basement windows (see this related question) and was planning to remove both the glass and frame. A window vendor advised me not do this claiming that the steel frame ...
2
votes
0answers
66 views
Change circuit breaker for dual purpose fitting
I have a power breaker fitted with a ducted outlet to exterior wiring. It is in white plastic, same size as twin socket, with push switches for on/off test/restart and neon light. I would like to ...
2
votes
0answers
145 views
Can Rhino lining be used for a residential roof?
Is Rhino® lining a viable option for a residential roof? I know for many people it is cost prohibitive, are there any regulations concerning polyurethane coatings on a roof? Has this been done before?
...
2
votes
0answers
431 views
How to polish Corian countertop?
I have a Corian countertop that has seen many years of wear and tear. I'd like to sand and polish it however the instructions that came with the countertop recommend Hope's Countertop Polish as the ...
2
votes
0answers
196 views
What could be eating or removing the insulation in my garage door?
We have noticed that there are piles of the tiny particles of the insulation from one of our garage doors on each side of our door. At first we swept it up and didn't think anything of it. The next ...
2
votes
0answers
142 views
How much water is too much water underneith the basement concrete?
We are getting ready to install a new shower in our basement. When we had our house built about 8 yrs ago we asked to have a shower & toilet drains roughed in. I cut off the plastic cover for ...
2
votes
0answers
152 views
is there a sandable compound I can use for a final skim coat over StructoLite plaster?
I had to rip out a 4' x 6' section of ceiling and wall to make a plumbing repair on our house. The original walls were 1940s era gypsum board reinforced at changes-of-plane with metal lath.
Some ...
2
votes
0answers
231 views
How to avoid water build-up in bathroom's passive ventilation shaft?
Our apartment building is 23 years old, and the bathroom has passive ventilation: basically there's a hole in the wall just under the ceiling, where warm moist air slowly escapes. It usually has a ...
2
votes
0answers
435 views
How can I replace an aluminum window spiral balance?
I would like to replace the spiral balance on my single hung (non removable) aluminum windows but I can't figure out how to remove the clip on the window that the bottom of the spiral hooks into. ...
2
votes
0answers
184 views
Why won't my condenser turn on when I run my heat pump?
I have a York Affinity condenser. When I run my heat pump, I expect it to turn on somewhere in the cycle but it doesn't. It generally does this once a year. The usual fix is to cycle the power of the ...
2
votes
0answers
275 views
How do I replace a Zanussi washing machine's front door seal?
I have a zanussi jet system 1200, model wjd1257w. It is a washing and drying machine. It leaks water, I guess at the spin cycle or perhaps before it. I searched and found out that it could be either ...
2
votes
0answers
122 views
How do I replace an old-style (“wide screw posts”) garage T-lock handle?
My garage features an old-style T-handle very similar to Prime-Line GD 52169 or National Hardware V7643, except that the distance between the hole centers is 1-3/4".
Unfortunately, I cannot seem ...
2
votes
0answers
257 views
How do I find out what's wrong with a uPVC window where the handle turns but it doesn't open?
How do I find out what's wrong with a uPVC window where the handle turns but it doesn't open?
It seems like one of the hidden latches along the edge isn't undoing because one side of the window moves ...
2
votes
0answers
112 views
How can I diagnose my fridge's evaporator fan?
How can I find out which part has failed in my fridge? The evaporator fan at the back of the freezer is not working, so the freezer is cold but the fridge is not. How can I figure out if it's the fan ...
1
vote
0answers
6 views
my well pump was overheated and now leaks. is it serviceable?
A 'handy man' did work on my plumbing and shut the main water to the house off. He did not unplug the well pump, it got really hot to the touch. When we hooked everything back up again, the pump now ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
How can I repair my Bosch dishwasher that won't drain?
My Bosch dishwasher stopped draining. At the end of the cycle, it gets stuck at 1 minute remaining. When I open the door, there's water that hasn't drained.
Here's what I've tried:
Following the ...
