All Questions

How do I use the green wire as a C wire as suggested in most installation instructions for the newer wi-fi thermostats? They all reference terminal strips at the furnace, all I have is the 3 wire ...

I intend to finish a part of my basement following this guideline from Fine Homebuilding and Building Science. In this configuration, the foam board completely contacts the concrete. My conern is that ...

I want to use a water based sealer on my pavers to bring out the color and also for some resistance against dirt and fading. I went to the store and saw sealers varying in price from about $11 per ...

I am looking to connect my second floor downspout to the first floor gutter. In any sort of wind, the water misses the gutter completely and makes a big mess. I found the thread here very helpful ...

I'm trying to figure out what is going on with my house. I bought it back in February, none of these cracks and bulges were there when I viewed the house. The only problem I noticed were uneven floors....

I have three electrical panels in the house and with each one, one of the face screws is under the cover as seen in the picture. So it's clearly intentional. What's the purpose of it?

Our contractor just installed a new A/C system and he built this platform outside our house for the new condensing unit. It looks like it is a 4" concrete slab sitting on top of brick "legs". Looks ...

Is it ok to start a vent on a 45 from a wye like on this drawing? I need to clear the edge of the sink (actually a giant double compartment sink) before I can go up and start horizontal once I clear ...

Took down a ceiling fixture and discovered what looks like a possible switch loop, except I don’t understand how the connection gets completed with the current set up. Basically, 2 lines coming into ...

I'm in the process of replacing some of the light switches in my house with smart switches, Wemo Light Switches in this case. I've had no problem with the replacement of my One-way switches (SPST I ...

I have hired a contractor to line the walls of an old apartment with metal stud and drywall as the walls are very uneven. The drywall is up but the walls have quite a lot of give in them, if I push ...

I recently purchased around 600 sq feet of 3 1/4 inch solid hickory from Bruce, which I'm installing over a crawl space. I put down a 6 mil vapor barrier in the crawl space. I'm measuring the ...

When running CPVC supply lines for a sink, how should they be anchored before popping out of the drywall? I know with copper you can use drop ear elbows which are mounted to a backer But with CPVC ...

I have 3 cables coming in from the ceiling, with one being the supply. At the switch box I have 2 cables with neither being hot. In the switch box I have a black/white and another set being black/...

If I am going on vacation for an extended period during winter (it occasionally gets below freezing here), should I turn off water valve AND the gas water heater or just turn off the main water valve? ...

We have city water, but it always manages to taste like metal and chlorine. I was going to add point-of-use filters, but then decided it would be better to do the whole house to cover showering, hot ...

Here is a picture of the top of my uninsulated basement wall. The foundation is poured and from early 1970s. For orientation to the photo: the white in the lower left corner is the vertical face of ...

Our home was built in 1957. We have had problems for years with having a wet drain field and keep having our septic pumped. Today (of course my husband is away), I have done a couple of loads of ...

I have a faucet which requires installation of a separate threaded 'shank' or nipple which acts as both the water supply inlet and also is used to anchor the faucet to the sink deck. These are ...

I am purchasing 1300sqft of 3/8" thick engineered hardwood for my home. 600sqft will be glued down (first floor is concrete) and 700 will be nailed down (second floor is wood subfloor). I do not want ...

I have a Harbor Breeze ceiling fan and light kit. When I turn on the light, it starts out bright, but then in a second it dims. It doesn't turn off, it just dims. What could be causing this to ...

Can anyone recommend a better method of affixing UPVC (e.g. Homelux) floor trims to skirting other than the adhesive tape provided? Can you mechanically affix them or is it just down to adhesives?

I've got a ceiling fan/light wired to a double switch (like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-Combination-Double-Switch-White-R62-05224-2WS/202027008) The source is at the switch and ...

Started to remove some coving border under the main coving. Seems to have this yellow fibre mixed in with what I think is plaster. Anyone know what it is? Is it safe to remove? Worried it could be ...

I've lived in this home for two years now. Roof is probably at least 10-15 years old, perhaps 20 years. We started noticing some water stains on the ceiling soon after moving in. On a closer look, it ...

I've been wondering if I can open this ceiling up for a tall room. I've been reading that the ceiling joists are often also rafter ties so I went up there today to take a look. I can see a few are ...

I need to hook up the outbuilding to the main power pole. It was hooked up before and we moved, moving the outbuilding. I have 10/2 WG UFB wire. the photo shows main power pole. What size amp do I ...

So I purchased a historic house built in 1920. The house has two HVAC units, one for the upper floor, one for the lower. Total sq ft 3300. I had been setting the upstairs thermostat at about 83 ...

I'm looking to get my house panel upgraded from a 100 amp FPE firestarter panel to new Square D Panel. The panel I want to use is surface mount and the one built into the house in the 1970's is flush ...

I have a dual energy electric/oil furnace that is wired to a thermostat with 2 wires R and W. I don't have any AC. Inside the furnace there is a switch relay to control the fan but it is not connected ...

Amateur here. I have a house where the chimney run framing extends to the basement (rather than simply sitting on a platform attached to the main floor). The only fireplace present is on the main ...

An AC-only machine cools a storage facility: no heat. The 30 year old thermostat is to be replaced with a wifi thermostat, which requires a C-wire to power the electronics. There are 4 wires: Red (...

I noticed cold air from my Carrier 58SS furnace. The main burners were not lighting. The pilot flame was strong, but yellow. When I tapped on the gas valve, the pilot shut off. I removed the pilot ...

OK, in a rehab of existing outlets I came across a 30A dryer receptacle on a 50A breaker with 12/3 AWG. Needless to say I am not happy. In looking at the breaker box, the white and bare ground are ...

first SE post! MY QUESTION: How do I safely attach an articulating mount (tilt/pan) for a 75" LCD TV to a "sound deadening" wall that uses resilient channels? Thanks to the miracle of the ...

We have a dock (fixed-pier) that is about 40 feet from the house, and +100 feet from the main panel. 4-wire (2 hots, 1 grounded neutral, and 1 ground) run to a large junction box at the start of the ...

I have an LG smooth-top Electric range, LDE4413ST, that keeps burning up infinite switches on the Right Front burner, which is a "dual element" burner. This burner also operates at high power only, ...

I have a Swaby 5200 pump in my home, and I am hoping that someone out there might be able to suggest a replacement switch part number – or at least point me in the right direction. Pump model: 5200 ...

I have a York TG9S080B12MP11A up-flow configured natural gas furnace. We have had the furnace since 2007. I am having an issue where the furnace is not starting correctly. When I power up the blower ...

Younger home owner here. I've had water get into my basement a few times last spring in the corner and in this area (directly under my little front deck). The corner was due to no downspout (water was ...

I typically have a local landscaping place blow out my sprinkler lines for winter, but they went out of business this year so I'm trying to figure out how to do it myself. I've done a lot of YouTube ...

I am running a central heat system that uses a heat pump as stage 1 and a gas furnace as stage 2. The thermostat used is the White-Rodgers 1F82-261 which supports 2 stages of heat. When using regular ...

I have a pair of electromod basement heater. The label on each of them show them show 750/1000W. Power supply to this is 240V I am trying to replace the old manual thermostat with a progrmabale one. ...

I'm installing a utility sink and the only place to put the plumbing (if it's going to be right under the sink) is either directly behind or infront of this vent... Is there any reason not to put it ...

I'm not sure if this is the right category to post this so here goes. Long story short I am getting ready to install my backflow preventer, Zurn 34-720A Wilkins Pressure Vacuum, on my DIY irrigation ...

My HVAC system consists of a fan, furnace, compressor-driven AC, and evaporative cooler. The problem is that there is a large air volume used only by the evaporative cooler that is generating a lot of ...

We have two separate buildings, a house and a garage/workshop, about 20 feet apart, sharing the same electrical service. On the service entrance, there's a Siemens whole-house surge protector. The ...

I need to install a handrail in concrete steps. The problem is that after drilling ~2" (5 cm) down into the concrete, the drill bit wouldn't go any further. I suspect I'm hitting rebar. This is about ...

I just had my hardwood floors professionally sanded and finished with 3 coats of Bona Mega Water Base Satin Finish. Because we’re in the process of moving in and doing other renovations, it was just ...

I am trying to find out what the brand of this drive-in locking door latch is. It is circa 1975. I am planning to replace four of them.