Most Popular
1500 questions
27
votes
3 answers
Does this downspout design make sense?
I've recently started smelling a musty smell in my upstairs bedroom. The bedroom closet just happens to be where the downspout from the main roof drains onto the roof for my garage and creates a kind of corner in the roof. As I have been looking…
philmonroe
- 273
- 3
- 6
27
votes
2 answers
Why am I getting shocked touching an outdoor faucet?
In a farm setting, my brother asked me what could cause him to get a shock from an outdoor hose bib at the pump house? He was prepping for freezing weather and disconnecting hoses from hose bibs. There was a ground wire attached (poorly) to the…
George Anderson
- 23,304
- 5
- 41
- 83
27
votes
2 answers
The main ground on my house sparks when an appliance is turned on
When turning on high amp appliances like an air compressor or dust fan, the attachment of the ground from the meter box to the water main (pic) sparks occasionally for a second or so. A separate ground from the meter box was also installed a few…
Laramie
- 435
- 5
- 7
27
votes
9 answers
Should my neighbor run their AC refrigerant lines through my garage?
I live in a 2-unit town home. I have installed an AC on the side of my unit. My neighbor would like to install an AC for their unit. However the city codes will not allow them to install it on the side of their house since it is too close to the…
V Maharajh
- 585
- 2
- 7
- 15
27
votes
1 answer
What was a receptacle installed near my breaker box?
We had an old fusebox replaced with circuit breakers in our (U.S.) house today. Its a 100-amp panel, everything very simple and standard. The electrician installed a regular receptacle just outside the breaker box (about six inches away), a GFCI…
nuggethead
- 1,659
- 1
- 17
- 31
27
votes
10 answers
How can I fill a screw hole so it can be used again?
My dishwasher attaches to the cabinets on the side via a screw. This hole has become a little stripped, is there a way to fill it in and then screw in to it again? I can't change the location of where the dishwasher attaches.
Michael
- 969
- 8
- 18
- 28
27
votes
6 answers
Why has my 10 year old ceiling fan suddenly started shocking me through the fan pull chain?
My fan has been working fine for ten years now and suddenly if I’m barefoot and touch the metal pull chain it lightly shocks me, but does not if I have shoes on.
Does this mean I need a new fan or is it some electrical issue in my ceiling?
J Aguilar
- 271
- 1
- 3
- 3
27
votes
11 answers
How can I lift a sunken paver in the middle of my driveway / patio / walkway / sidewalk?
I have a couple pavers that have sunk in my driveway. If this was close to the edge, I’d take up a few, re-level and replace. But this is in the middle of a large expanse of pavers.
How can I pull up a few in the middle to fix this without having…
BIBD
- 749
- 2
- 9
- 22
27
votes
16 answers
How to dig a trench for a cable for a garden office
I'm trying to dig a trench for the electrical cable for a shed/office I'm building in my back garden. This is about 7 m long and should be 0.5 m deep. My soil seems to be about 5 cm of soil/turf and then soil which is full of gravel, stones and…
Matthew Dresser
- 463
- 2
- 7
- 13
27
votes
5 answers
How to drive a nail in a confined space?
I keep finding myself needing to hammer nails in places where my hammer is too long to actually make the hammer head contact the nail. This isn't a situation where I need the leverage provided by the handle - I'm choking the hammer anyway for added…
Jeremy W. Sherman
- 1,865
- 8
- 23
- 31
27
votes
4 answers
Why don't electrical receptacles have more than one ground?
All modern receptacles have places for additional hot/neutral wires so you can add more outlets in series, but they all have a single screw or hole for the ground wire.
Why don't they have two ground holes?!? I see many receptacles wired where the…
cds333
- 393
- 3
- 5
27
votes
12 answers
Avoiding dust scattering when you drill
When I drill into concrete, stone or similar materials - a lot of dust gets scattered. I realize this might sound like a newbie/trivial question, but - how can I avoid this? Both dust getting on me, and even more importantly - into the air people…
einpoklum
- 3,145
- 4
- 25
- 42
27
votes
21 answers
What is the advantage of PEX pinch clamp vs. crimp rings?
I just saw these for the first time today at Lowe's:
The advantages I can see over the crimp style are:
A single tool can work with multiple PEX sizes
That single tool is cheaper than a single-size crimp tool (~$40 vs ~$80)
The tool grabs and…
Mike Powell
- 9,394
- 1
- 25
- 43
27
votes
2 answers
What is an air conditioner compressor hard start kit and how does it work?
My air conditioner compressor wasn't functioning properly recently. The compressor wouldn't start when the start relay energized. A HVAC technician diagnosed the problem nebulously as "It needs a hard start kit because the compressor is getting old…
ndemarco
- 661
- 5
- 11
27
votes
5 answers
Does a refrigerator compressor need settling time after being laid on its back or side?
A friend of mine mentioned that after laying my fridge on its side or back, that I need to let it sit for several hours before plugging it in.
In the discussion, he said that it was to allow the lubricants and refrigerants settle back toward the…
kyle_engineer
- 413
- 1
- 4
- 7