Home Improvement Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
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5 answers

What kind of gloves should I wear during electrical work?

What kind of gloves should I wear during electrical work? I need to know which glove material is most suitable for this kind of work, as I wish to purchase the proper gloves.
J. Seal
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What open source home automation software exists? What are the differences between them?

I just bought my first apartment and I am now looking to setup a cheap home automation system. I would like to control : light electric shutter heater thermostat other stuff in the future I am looking to an open source software that I could…
benjisail
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What is the recommended home design software?

I am going to be finishing my basement. I would like to design the new basement myself using design software. What is the recommended home design software?
SchwartzE
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How can I remove a plank from the middle of the field?

My attic has tongue and groove planking down as the floor, and I need to do some work up there. I'd like to only remove a couple planks in the middle of the field, rather than pulling up half the floor to get to the point where I need access. The…
Tester101
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What is this mysterious pipe in my back yard?

There's a plastic pipe with a vent cover in my back yard that runs to a green cap in the middle of the yard. What is this for? I don't have a septic tank. Update: this picture shows the entire length of the pipe that I'm aware of. The green cap…
Dennis
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What is involved in DIY swimming pool maintenance?

We moved into a new house last year and when cleaning out the pool shed last weekend I stumbled across a report that was done by a business that handles swimming pool maintenance. It checked different chemical levels and recommended adding certain…
going
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Is this a fire hazard?

I was going to change a light switch and repair some wall damage. When I started opening up the wall above the switch, I saw the electrical wire clamped to the stud. I noticed black marks around it. Does this look like it might be a fire hazard and…
B. Stewart
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why is a service neutral grounded but not the subpanel-neutral?

I know it's code (refer to NEC 250.24(A)5 and 250.32), but I don't understand why you can't use a bonding jumper to connect the ground bus and neutral bus in the subpanel? I've been told it's because then you'd have current on the grounding…
Ben Welborn
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Why is my hot water running out quickly regardless of other household water usage?

I've noticed that my shower, which used to run hot water for what seemed like forever, now can only produce about 15 minutes of hot water. This doesn't appear to be related to other water usage in the house. What are the possible causes of this?…
Madey Jay
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Why mate two boards instead of using one thicker board?

I need to build a footbridge across a creek and, due to soft and low land around it, will need a long span crossing the creek. I found this tutorial by Ron Hazelton where he makes a bridge with a 12' span with two beams supporting it, with supports…
Tango
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How can I prevent or remedy "bio slime" accumulation in a sink drain?

The drain in the sink which we use for mouthwash consistently gets clogged by a very repugnant slime. I've tried all the common drain unclogging products (Drano, Liquid Plumber) as well as some non-standard remedies (e.g., boiling water, vinegar +…
kmote
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How do I join two cables outside so that they're safe and kept dry?

I have a new pond with a pump but the cable on the pump is far too short. I have some similar cable which will do the job to extend the length. My only concern is the junction outside. I need to make it dry and safe. What recommendations do people…
Dean
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Why do many construction projects leave so many nails behind?

I just had a significant amount of work done on my house and the contractors left lots of nails scattered around my yard. I have a two-part question: Is this typical? If it's typical, why is it the case? Is it just the cost of doing business? Or…
Jim G.
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How do I tell if my house is brick or brick veneer?

I live in a brick house, and am interested in understanding whether it is brick or brick veneer, as a way to understand what kind of risks it (and we) may face during an earthquake. I hear that brick veneer is essentially a wood frame house with a…
John
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What could happen if I use 2 cycle fuel in a 4 cycle engine?

First off, this is NOT to be confused with the following question: What could happen if I used 4 cycle fuel in a 2 cycle engine? 2 cycle oil is used for my weed eater. There is no way I could use a whole gallon in a year. Sometimes I run out of…
jp2code
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