The Home Improvement Thread

[Fuzz]

I emailed the city and got this reply:

1) Exterior outlets installed on a detached garage shall be GFCI protected as per 26-712(n) but are not required to be fed from a separate circuit.

2) The wires can be terminated in the panel but not installed onto the breakers or they can be just installed to the panel and not terminated – your choice.

3) CAFCI protection for receptacles is not required for detached garages.

[Fuzz]

Pancake boxes...I've used a few for exterior lights. They don't have anything to secure the wire like a normal box. Are you required to add anything for this, or just have a staple within 30cm of the box?

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Pancake boxes...I've used a few for exterior lights. They don't have anything to secure the wire like a normal box. Are you required to add anything for this, or just have a staple within 30cm of the box?

I think you can't have a wire come through a metal knock out without protection

[Fuzz]

OK, I'll see if I can somehow make a cable clamp work with it...
I've also got these "extra duty" outdoor outlet boxes, as required. But they have a big opening in the back similar to this:


So, same question there, do I need to secure the cable, or just drill through the sheathing and run the wire into it? The manual that cane with the box is of no help on this.

[speede5]

That still needs on outlet box mounted in the wall. Its basically just replacing the cover plate.

you need a clamp like this for your pancake.

[Flames_Gimp]

Drill a hole big enough in the sheating to have the connector recess into the sheating.thats how I did all my lights

[Fuzz]

Perfect, ya I've done that now. Makes sense. Same with the outdoor receptacles. End of the day yesterday I mounted them and was kinda brain dead at the time. Of course it makes sense now that they are just covers! Sigh. Time to take them all off. Probably about halfway through pulling wires now, coffee break. Was hoping to have one more warm day before the end of the year, but the forecast does not look promising.

[metallicat]

Does the hot water tank pilot light going out every now and then mean anything? Is it potentially on the fritz? Easy enough to re-light it, but still a PITA.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by metallicat

Does the hot water tank pilot light going out every now and then mean anything? Is it potentially on the fritz? Easy enough to re-light it, but still a PITA.

Could be the thermocouple going. It won't send gas through the Pilot if it's not reading if there is a Flames present. You can try lightly sanding it or just replacing it.

[Ducay]

Replacing the thermocouple isn't too hard either luckily. There are ways to test it based on the voltage it puts through when hot, but I found that to be a PITA, so just bought a new one for $9 and turned out to be the problem.

Just pay attention (and take pictures) of the location/routing of the thermocouple vs. flame before and during removal.

[Engine09]

Just installed a new subfloor in the bathroom, time to research in-floor heating.

Rona sells "Easy Heat Warm Tiles".
Home Depot sells "True Comfort".

Both similar but wondering if anyone can recommend one over the other or something different.


Thanks!

[topfiverecords]

I put a WarmlyYours Tempzone Flex roll (ordered from Home Depot online) in my mudroom. It was super easy to install and had good instructions and their website has good info and videos. I liked that I could get a kit that came with a thermostat, tester, and in floor temp sensor. I will probably upgrade the thermostat though eventually to a programmable one.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

My gas hot water tank (about 15 yrs old) seems to have a reduced capacity lately (showers turn cold faster). Is there anything that can be done by myself or a plumber to restore the full capacity? (ie a flush of some sort?)

[sa226]

You could do some investigating and trouble shooting, but the life of gas hot water tanks are about 15 years anyway. So depending on what's wrong, you may have to just bite the bullet.

Disclaimer: Im not a plumber and don't know what's wrong.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

Lookup "broken dip tube" I think that is one of the symptoms. You can drain it from the bottom, and if bits of plastic come out, that's probably the issue. They can be replaced fairly easily. But like sa226 said, 15 years is near EOL anyway.

[BigNumbers]

Agreed - sounds like a cracked or broken dip tube. I'd replace the dip tube.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Engine09

Just installed a new subfloor in the bathroom, time to research in-floor heating.

Rona sells "Easy Heat Warm Tiles".
Home Depot sells "True Comfort".

Both similar but wondering if anyone can recommend one over the other or something different.


Thanks!

All (most) tilers will use the Schluter heating product. The heating cables snap into the waterproofing membrane (Ditra) and you tile right over that. It is also a decoupling membrane. Easy as pie to run.

I bought one of those mats you referenced above and my tiler basically laughed at me and asked me to return it.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by sa226

You could do some investigating and trouble shooting, but the life of gas hot water tanks are about 15 years anyway. So depending on what's wrong, you may have to just bite the bullet.

Disclaimer: Im not a plumber and don't know what's wrong.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

You're right, he's living on borrowed time.

I would do the following;

check dip tube, probably the issue.

Remove and clean the burner, it's probably not burning evenly.

while the dip tube is out check the anode too.

If you have access to an inspection camera stick it in and look around. You proably have a ton of calcium build up in there which will reduce capacity. Mine is 8 years old and has probably got a gallons worth in it. This is also where corrosion begins inside the tank so the more deposits you have the more chance there is of it rusting through.

I got lucky this winter, mine was leaking and I thought it was a goner but it turned out the drain valve had cracked. I pulled it and replaced it with a brass one, and had a look inside. It was actually in great condition but the build up is concerning.

A conventional water heater is only about $500 and you could do most of the install yourself and hire a gasfitter to do the hookup. It's worth the investment, if you can't do it now put it on the short list and start saving.

BTW, If you haven't been flushing it once or twice a year, and you go do it now you could break some sediment off and actually accelerate the corrosion process, so be prepared.

Good luck.

[Wormius]

So, in the bathroom we have some water supply lines that are pex coming up through the floor. Originally our vanity hid them and we didn't care, and we didn't think much about it as the tile guys tiled around them. We hadn't thought about the interior design of the bathroom and recently started thinking about a wall-mounted vanity. Except, these ugly supply lines would maybe be visible coming up from the floor. I think its too late now to run them up through the wall, so is there anything nice looking that can be safely wrapped around or slid over the pex to make it look a little more classy but not violate any plumbing codes?

[speede5]

I don't think there are any codes you would be violating by covering them in a creative fasion but I don't know what's out there that would work. You might be able to find a larger diameter pipe and slide it over them, a chrome rod of some sort. You might have to remove the shut offs and re crimp to do so.

A lot of people don't know but you really shouldn't have pex exposed as it is a form of plastic and susceptible to UV. Over time (probably many many years) it can degrade and be at risk, particularly if in direct sunlight.

Have you thought of a pedestal sink just to hide the lines? Most wall mounts are sold in two pieces, and you can buy one or both.