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1500 questions
15
votes
3 answers
What is this electrical cord for?
I found this odd cable while cleaning out the garage of a house I recently bought. It's plugged in to a live outlet but doesn't appear to connect anywhere. It also has some wrapped junction in the middle. Super puzzling to me. Thanks!
Chris
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15
votes
6 answers
How should I run wiring for my above-fireplace mounted TV?
I'm going to mount my 47" LCD above my fireplace. I'm not looking for arguments against this decision. I'm looking for wiring solutions. The diagram below should help explain the situation.
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Jordan Ryan Moore
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votes
3 answers
What should I look for when choosing a stud finder?
Stud finders are notoriously unreliable at finding studs; some will indicate a "rapidly shifting network of hundreds and hundreds of studs". Is there a way to determine before purchase that a particular stud finder will be more accurately named…
intuited
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15
votes
3 answers
Should I extend a drain vent that terminates in my attic?
Recently I removed an old water heater stovepipe coming through my roof, because we moved our water heater. Right next to it was my plumbing vent pipe that I thought was associated with venting for the water heater, so I cut it off below the roof…
Ian
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15
votes
5 answers
How do I install transition molding between my new hardwood and existing tile floors?
I have ripped out some old carpet and am preparing to install a new solid hardwood floor myself. In several places, the floor transitions to an existing tile floor. The hardwood floor guys told me the best transition between the two is a T…
mohlsen
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14
votes
4 answers
What are the pros and cons of UV window film?
I have just finished renovating my house and am now considering adding UV film to some of my windows (those that catch the most sun). On paper, they sound like a great solution as they reduce the heat entering the house and furniture fading but I…
dave
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14
votes
4 answers
Why is this box constantly tripping?
After some heavy rain in Cornwall electricity does not work in the barns. This trip box
seems at fault, though it costs 100+GBP to replace it I'm told. Can anyone give me more information on what this is?
Kai Hendry
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14
votes
4 answers
Is plunging a toilet without a plunger a good tip or a horrible idea?
Read this elsewhere and personally, I thought it was a bad bad bad idea, but I wanted to put this out there to see if I might be mistaken:
I learned a quick tip from a handyman on how to create a plunger
without using a plunger. take a bucket of…
The Evil Greebo
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14
votes
2 answers
Are these sloppy cuts and gaps normal around roof vents?
Got a new roof last fall in southeastern Idaho. I didn't notice until this week that the shingles are cut sloppily around most of the vents (see pictures).
Should I coat the bad seams with a can of roof repair/black pitch, or are they normal and I…
Stay-at-home-dad
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14
votes
5 answers
Pulley setup to raise a laundry drying bar levelly
I bought a bike hoist which I modified to use to raise and lower a bar that acts as a drying rack for damp clothes in my laundry room. I now have the following setup:
The problem is that when I pull on the rope attached to the wall, the right side…
derNincompoop
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14
votes
3 answers
Why would a door be installed without all the hinge screws?
Our contractor installed this door without using all the screws (or perhaps the door came without enough screws). Every hinge on each side of these double doors is missing one screw on the frame side. Is there some hidden wisdom here?
jelder
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14
votes
2 answers
How many power cables can a coaxial cable cross?
I am running coax RG6Q to my FiOS box. I know to cross electrical cables perpendicular, but is there a limit to how many wires I can cross in a short area? See my picture: the coax is the black line going horizontally to the vertical power wires. Is…
Nathan DeWitt
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14
votes
3 answers
How do I install this lamp on my ceiling?
I'm a big time novice but determined not to hire an electrician for what is probably a simple job. This is embarrassing, I think. Here is an exposed light fixture that I have in my attic
I want to install this simple Ikea lamp, but I'm dumbfounded…
Teusz
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14
votes
4 answers
How can I get a smoother finish when painting trim?
I'm reinstalling some crown molding and decided to do some touching up while it's down. I had previously done some touch-ups on the same style in another room, and never quite got it perfectly smooth. How can I prevent brush strokes from showing on…
Doresoom
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14
votes
2 answers
Low-cost hardwood flooring... what's the catch?
Genuine hardwood flooring is generally quite expensive... but a few local stores have glue-down hardwood planks that are actually cheaper than mid-priced laminate (~$1.80/sf).
What's the catch?
The cheap hardwood looks nice, and aside from taking a…
Bitbang3r
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