Questions tagged [safety]
For questions generally relating to preventing or avoiding injury in the home or on the job site.
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questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Is it risky to have soak pit of septic tank near building
I have series of soak pits connected by pipe and this soak pit takes grey water from Kitchen and bathroom only.
I have to call septic tank lorry frequently to pump out the filled up septic tank. ...
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Got shocked after rewiring my doorbell - how can I safely fix the issue?
Stupid question, but I was changing my apartment's doorbell, tried it, closed the door, and went on my way.
The shock - 1 hour later, I inadvertently touched the door's handle, I got a small shock - ...
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Rim joists sitting on top of notched post
My older deck doesn’t have a beam. Instead, the rim joist is attached to the 4x4 posts, most of which are notched and serve as both support for the rim joist and continue up as railing posts.
I ...
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Protect electrical wiring between drywall and brick fireplace
Following the question at Frame drywall around brick fireplace I would like to figure out how to protect the electrical wiring and other wirings (HDMI) from the top down in middle of the fireplace as ...
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Is it safe to connect house wiring with duct tape?
I rent a house in LA that has been given the landlord special--after looking a the wiring to see if I would be able to install a pendant light, I was shocked to find a live wire wrapped with old, ...
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How close to an old mount point can I mount a TV?
I recently purchased a house and the previous owners had a TV mounted over the fireplace, but removed the mount and painted over the holes before they sold. I would like to mount a TV, but ...
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File cabinet drawer falls out
enter image description hereOne drawer falls out when roller slides are extended. I cannot see what is supposed to stop it. The hems on the sides of the drawer near the bottom (Left side of pic 1) ...
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Dead end in pipes and legionella risk
Today a plumber removed a sink from my house and sealed the two corresponding pipes at the location where they branch from the rest of the system. I expressly asked him to do this because I wanted to ...
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Small shop fire safety for liquids/wood dust
I am setting up a very basic wood shop. Basically a car garage. But I am away for it often for a few days at a time. It does have a fire alarm which of course depends on someone hearing it but I've ...
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At a wall socket, is using thin wires at ground pin dangerous?
I paid a hardware shop owner to modify my wall light switch to socket for my washing machine in bathroom. The power in my area right now is 3 phase 220V AC.
At first it is a switch.
Then we modified ...
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How do I replace insulation around knob and tube wiring
My drywall ceiling developed a large crack over the last two months (after being fine for 70 years), and investigating my attic I discovered the lower layers of insulation were soggy and the drywall ...
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Attaching a ground wire to a prong that plugs into an outlet adapter
The outlet shown in the image below doesn't have a ground wire connecting to its receptacle. A friend of mine is helping me setup a ups that requires ground wire, however what he did was run a ground ...
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Are there any health concerns around treated wood?
Last weekend I received a pallet of freshly pressure treated (still wet) green Wolmanit feather-edge cladding.
I have started to apply it to various buildings.
Obviously I am handling it with bare ...
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Running a generator on the back of a flatbed - Safety Concerns
Fourth of July is coming up, and we're doing music for the parade off a 1990's Dodge flat-bed truck.
Equipment
Electric drum kit... the brain is the only electronic (see below)
PA system (2000 watts)...
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Test Existing Natural Gas Barbecue Line Without a Hose
I have a natural gas hookup on my back deck and want to purchase a natural gas barbecue. There is a quick connect at the hookup and a valve to turn it on, but when I turn it on I don't feel any ...
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Replacing H-style track lighting lamps with a different H-style brand
The installation instructions for my new track lighting heads (lamps) say: "This fixture can only be used with Lithonia (brand) track". But I was hoping to use them on my currently installed track of ...
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Is this main box outdated and needs upgrade?
This house is 1970's built (UK) but not sure when the electrical wiring were done. The main box looks like in the attached picture. It seems it has only fuse boxes in it... and does not have any MCB, ...
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Limitations of apartment living
I'm disabled and live in a 55+ apartment. I need safety handles in my shower to help me step over an 8" lip to enter the shower.The maintenance manager won't put permanent metal bars for my ...
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Okay for electrical receptacle and sump pump discharge to be near each other?
We're having an additional sump and pump installed and its discharge has limited options. One of the best discharge options (shortest run to a reasonable place to leave the basement) is already an ...
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Has any research been done on stair tread shape?
I'm replacing the treads on a short flight of stairs, and have a CNC router available. Since this is my personal home, and there are only four treads on this stair, I'm considering custom shapes for ...
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OK to leave open combustion air pipe in crawlspace sucking air from crawlspace? I like in Alaska and we have had a lot of snow blocking outside vent
We recently had an unusual snowstorm that completely covered the open combustion air pipe that is vented at almost ground level to the outside. This caused the HVAC to shut down. We are worried ...
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Is plugging a leading-edge dimmable lamp into a trailing-edge dimmer plug safe?
Rationale for what I'm trying to do: I'm trying to update my house to use "smart" lighting and one device I want to update is a smart lamp in this style but with replaceable bulbs. If I ...
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Vertical bricks above a window new house uk
I am trying to fit an outdoor camera above my window frame. The beat place for me is in the line of vertical tiles above the frame. These seems to only have half thickness and I am not sure what is ...
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Identification of Mold
I am working with some old plaster and a few days after it set, I found that pink mold or fungus appears to be growing on it. See attached photo.
Please help me identify what type of mold this is and ...
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Barn door with one of the bolts on drywall
I just installed a barn door track on a nice, solid piece of timber. However, the piece of timber doesn't go all the way horizontally, meaning that the last bolt is just on the drywall (plasterboard), ...
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Extending a basic rectangle deck out 4’
We have a basic porch deck that is a rectangle with stairs at the front of it. We want to extend the deck out 4’. We’re only adding on to the area to the right of the steps, so we’d be building an ...
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Floating tiny droplets in the water
Lately there seem to be floating tiny droplets (oil?) on the surface of tap water. This is limited to hot water, and does not affect other tenants in the building.
The water heater has just been ...
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Ventilating utility room with gas appliances
I have a 20 sq ft utility room hosting a water heater and hydronic boiler, both gas. The door to the room is louvered, to allow for air passage. In addition to that, I was wondering if installing air ...
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Non contact voltage sensor shows voltage a foot away from live wire
I'm evaluating a situation in a home I recently moved into.
A previous owner did some DIY and installed a switch in the wall of our kitchen pantry. The pantry is made of wood and the switch is housed ...
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Kitchen shelf placement
I've bought a large, wooden kitchen shelf that I wanted to build up onto a wall above the stove, but my roommate said the heat from the stove will destroy the wood, and will become a health and safety ...
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What causes a rainbow sheen on wire jacket?
I've got this wire running through my wall that has a bit of a rainbow sheen to it. I feel like that's probably an indication the wire has gotten a bit toasty in the past and should be replaced.
Is ...
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Unidentifiable worms appear on apartment floor
I found some worms on my apartment floor. I can’t find anything rotten around the apartment, but I don’t know how they got there. Are those maggots?
video link
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How to repair (and prevent) pool cover tear & holes
We have a safety cover for an inground pool. Over the winter, heavy snow melting and refreezing caused it to be weighed below the surface and tore up a few holes where the cover contacts the concrete ...
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Yellowish residue from within water pipe
I was changing a valve today and used tissue to wipe water off the threads. While doing that, I also wiped the inside of the old pipe a bit through the opening, and I got yellow residue on the tissue (...
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Using air humidifier wick cleaned with home detergent - Any health concerns?
I have been using humidifier with rotating wick, and used to clean it with domestos detergent.
This detergent as said by manufacturer contains:
Non-ionic surfactants <5% - particular type not ...
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Can I connect Ground from UPS outlet to another outlet which has no Ground?
Simplified situation: I live in a rented room. My room has two two outlets, namely Outlet A and Outlet B.
Outlet A has connections only from main supply. It has no connection to UPS. And, it has two ...
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Propane and septic pipes
Is it safe to have a propane line (within a PVC conduit) cross a septic pipe (house to septic tank) underground?
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Does build up in lead pipes make them less dangerous?
Maybe this would be more likely in warm water pipes. A place I saw had a super slow warm water tap, which someone with a plumbing background said was from the passageway in the lead pipe decreasing. ...
user131131
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TV mount in plaster wall with no studs
Is it possible to mount a 65in tv on a 1.5in thick plaster wall over a fireplace? there are no studs, and about a 3in air space before its solid again. probably insde brick chimney wall. i never use ...
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How much weight can a drywall support on both sides if everything is hung on the 2x4s (not on the drywall sheet)?
How much weight can a drywall support on both sides if everything is hung on the 2x4s (not on the drywall sheet)?
This drywall doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling. It separates the kitchen from ...
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Safe wiring on linkable shop light?
Question about Smart Electrician® 3650 Lumens 46" LED Linkable Shop Light Model Number: 0053-0011 | Menards® SKU: 3481400
I bought several of these and am having the same glowing issue referenced in ...
Scassmeyer
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Preventing formaldehyde release from particleboards
I have a few particleboards that I want to use as cabinet boards. What is the most simple way to reduce the release of formaldehyde? Quick and cheap would be great.
Would it be sufficient to foil-...
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How to check if painted plasterboard is fire rated?
UK answers in particular please ...
The underside of the staircase and main escape route in my new house is in my kitchen, and has my fridge immediately underneath. Is there an easy way to check ...
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How far does bookcase have to be next to baseboard heater?
How far does furniture have to be from the side of a baseboard heater? My bookcase will be 2 inches from the side of the baseboard heater, I would like it to be closer so I can use the outlet on the ...
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Improving Heat dissipation in freezer
I have a small apartment and a large freezer; I'm concerned about heat build up in and around the freezer.
I have a similar problem with an old PC tower, to which my solution was to create and ...
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How to measure the nut size that goes on screw?
I recently bought a toilet seat and the seat holder on one side loses over time making it loose from one side while another side is tight. I realised I was missing one these and hex Nut to fight it. ...
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Asbestos in my furnace closet - should I get rid of it?
I have a home built in 1958 with a closet inside the house that contains the furnace. When the house was constructed this closet was lined with asbestos as a safety measure. How dangerous is it for my ...
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Shelving units anchored to drywall and metal studs - Load Bearing and Safety Concerns
We are interested in purchasing a residence that has a workshop attached to it. The owner has erected metal shelving units like those shown in the attached photos. The shelving units are anchored to ...
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