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Once again my house has baffled me. Yesterday I started preliminary work on my summer project of replacing the concrete floor of the basement (which is cracked, leaky, and badly sloped). I broke...

Ah, it's always nice to find out that a previous homeowner "remodeled" something without following any codes or getting any permits.

I should think you could turn an S-trap into a P-trap by...

Hello,
I just noticed yesterday that my car has separate fuses for the blower. One fuse for speeds 1-3, and another separate fuse for Speed 4. If yours is the same way, maybe the first fuse is...

Hi,
Not sure if this will help or not, but my bet would be something having to do with the Neutral Safety Switch connection (since your transmission was just replaced). That or it's an amazing...

I had the headlight switch go bad on my old car. If you have a voltmeter or a test light and are very flexible, you can test for voltage at the headlight switch terminals. The switch comes after...

If the battery is new, especially if Wal-Mart installed it, you may just have residue or dirt left on the inside of the connectors. This could cause intermittent starting problems, and also explain...

Hello.
Now the car does not start at all. The intermittent problem has become constant.

Following my shop manual, I tested the Camshaft Position sensor, and it is within specified range. Next I...

Thanks for the info. This afternoon when I get home I'll use a multimeter to troubleshoot the sensors.

Will post any results I find. Cheers, james

TX,
I really appreciate the response. Once you said it and I thought about it, I agreed that the control module & coil was a good bet, so I replaced the part. I confirmed that before I put it in,...

Hello all.
Car is a 1994 Volvo 850, non-Turbo, with about 220,000 miles on it. I've had it for just over a year, and it always started right up.

One day it died right after I'd started it. I...

You'll have to find a shop manual with a wiring diagram. The Chilton's/Haynes manuals might have it, but I doubt it will be detailed enough. For my old Ford truck I found it on DVD-ROM from EBay. ...

Is it the original clutch? How does it behave when you take off from a dead stop? Is there any shudder or slipage? Is the friction point for the clutch really high? (that is, the pedal is...

I'll measure the outlet today with both breakers on. I bet you're right.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Hello all,

I've run into a "situation" I'd like advice on.

The job was simply replacing an outlet. Inside the outlet box are 2 12/2 cables with ground. The outlet is a standard 110V, and the...

I agree with Clough... especially if you used porcelain tile, because the color does not go all the way through. Your cut edge along the top will be a totally different color (the substrate)...

It's a hard problem to solve, is the short answer. I'm doing this very thing, along with a large water-problem solution in my basement. For me, the solution is complete removal of the concrete...

I tiled the backsplash and cooking area of my kitchen walls with ceramic tiles. On the largest area, about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall, I did cut out the drywall and install backer board of the same...

As far as I've ever found, it just depends on which side you want to see. The cedar siding on my house was installed smooth side OUT, and painted, in 1909. On the sides that did not directly face...

I was in a situation similar to yours, and here's what I did:

First, my basement "door" was like you said, a piece of plywood with hinges. Rotted, and definitely not enough to keep the riff-raff...

Yes, thanks, we do have the permit. The ledger support board mentioned above was drawn in as required by the permit review staff, which is why my question came up.

The plan review didn't mention...

Thanks!

I just thought of something related though.

The ledger extends in a 30" cantilever, past the end of the house. In the plans, the building department called for a support to be added to...

Good day,

I'm building an attached carport at my friend's house. There are four posts and a beam for one side, and an attached ledger board as the other support. This is to be attached to the...

Hello all.

I am wanting to install cedar shakes as siding. I understand that you don't want siding to be in direct contact with the soil. Typically, I see the foundation walls of the house...

At this stage, I'm only testing the new branch for the fireplace. It is not yet connected to the main supply line... all I'm doing is making sure my work so far (including the firebox portion...

Thanks, maybe I'll use the tape.

Another quick question to you pro's: I'm using half-inch black steel pipe here. Exactly how tight do you need to crank that stuff?? I mean, I've tightened the...

Hi.
Let me say that I haven't "actually" done this yet, but I've been researching the process of lifting structures extensively for months now, looking to raise my house by about 3 feet. (so far...

Hello all,

I'm not sure whether to ask this question in the heating forum or here, but it seems to be more a piping question. I am installing a gas fireplace. I got it used, and pieced it...

Quite the contrary, bhayne. My friend is extremely happy to have a very dangerous fire hazard located and removed from his home before it caused a tragedy.

TK, Yes I've seen those small barrel type connectors, but no, these guys used the common plastic nipples (with metal threading inside) without twisting the copper wires together. Ugh!

I'll pass...

Hi,
Just a quick 2 cents here. I can't answer the NEC question but the guys on here will know that one for sure.

All I was going to say is, there's a such thing as an "old work" lighting box. ...

Follow up:

Last night I continued cutting holes in the wall, following the bad circuit, until I came to another hidden junction box. Inside here, I discovered what I thought I would: a splice...

Thanks for the input tkrussell. You think I'm on the right track though, right? I mean, the short-out that happened, you think that popped a bad splice apart inside a junction box, or melted a...

Hello all, hope you can offer some trade secrets and help me out here...

This weekend I helped a friend add a light fixture in his remodeled basement. The project was simple and straightforward...

I should have clarified by saying that the photo I attached above is not MY house... it's just an example I found online of what I want to do.

My cedar is cracked, rotted, and overall...

Hi...
The pink rigid foam boards won't compress enough to cause that "wavy" effect, but the white styrofoam ones will. So you should be OK there.

My only comment on your permawrap question is,...

Something like this?
http://www.eztapingsystem.com/fire_tape.htm

It's just tape with some higher fire-resistance rating. I've never used it or even heard of it, so it's a new one for me too! I...

Hello all.
I'm thinking of using concrete-board HardiPlank for siding. My house is a 100-year-old bungalow, with original cedar siding still in place, and at all the outside corners, the cedar...

Hi, I thought I'd toss in my own experience here with virtually the same project, and hopefully help you out a bit.

My concrete wall is about a foot tall, and did not have any metal posts cemented...

Hi.
Perhaps you've already done this and I just missed it in your post, but try plugging in a known working phone into the jack that doesn't seem to be working. Take one of the phones that works...

The answer to your question, (surprisingly to me!) is YES. The two most common types of smoke detectors DO emit things (one uses light, one uses radiation).

Read all about them here:...

Greetings everyone! I have a question about a possible shortcut.

I'm finishing the walls in a new closet I built. I plan to tape and mud the joints just once over, rather than going through the...

I tried shopping for "raw" Corian, and they wouldn't sell it to me. I was told it was a factory REQUIREMENT that it be installed by a technician.

More power to you if you can find a source...

The mechanical vent installed below your sink is the right idea, but those do wear out (they're spring-loaded). I'm not sure what kind of mileage you can get out of them, but try replacing it. ...

Hi,
It sounds like either the wiring is incorrect, or you have a problem with the spa equipment. Something is grounding out (shorting out) that causes the GFCI to trip.

I'd stay out of that...

In 220V wiring, BOTH white and black wires are hot. Each carries current. So, for a switch (thermostat) to work, it must interrupt BOTH lines. You've spliced half the circuit continuous, bypassing...

Cool, cool. Well, sounds like you had the house properly rewired in the past, and they just were not able to remove all the knob n tube. Without pulling walls and ceilings down, this makes total...

Labman is right; any wiring that met code at some point in history, by "backward compatibility" (to use a programmer term), meets code today. Provided you aren't altering it.

Once you are going...

As always, thanks for all the input. When I put down the CDX plywood, I used both ring-shank nails and 3 1/2" gold screws. I didnt' want that sucker to ever move! It's installed over top of the...

The tile I'm using is not peel n stick. In fact, it's not even "common" linoleum... It's called Marmoleum, made by a company called Forbo. It is an "environmentally friendly" material in that it's...

I have an installation guide for the linoleum I bought, which made a mention of lauan plywood. I don't remember what it said though so I'll check it again tonight.

If I decide to do that, what...