John Kogel

No. You'll get less. True, but perhaps a *better* light. Those dang tube-type skylights are so bright that I'd rather have two dimmer ones. (Can't tell you how many times I tried to turn them off at a light switch when leaving a room.) I suppose they are brighter where you live, catching a more direct beam from the sun. I was wondering if there is only a finite amount of light entering at the roof lens, True, you say, then splitting the light with reflectors, or spreading the light over a larger area of the ceiling does not result in more light. Correct? Some of that light could be directed into an area that is now dark. The tube in the attic can be made more reflective with mirrored surfaces. What y'all are saying is that mirrors will not increase the light. I suggest that mirrors will reduce losses into the attic. There is one version that has an opaque tube which lights up that whole area of the attic. Light tube joke - "It comes on by itself every morning, and you can't turn it off".

If we cut a hole in the side of a light tube, which connects a rooftop lens to the ceiling drywall, and run a second tube from that hole thru the ceiling, will we get more light in the room? [:-magnify Click to Enlarge 52.54 KB Click to Enlarge 52.46 KB Click to Enlarge 62.11 KB

1.) The Subfloor is too thin for tiles, agreed. 2.) I think maybe they laid tileboard but it was poorly attached to the subfloor. The last pic shows a cross crack pattern where 4 corners meet. Builders with even just a bit of smarts do not lay subfloor like that, they stagger the seams. So yes, that could be an amateur-installed subfloor too, but I would guess that there is loose tileboard laid over the thin subfloor. Not too hard to fix, but labour-intensive, no doubt.

Airlocking is not locking anything, you are right. Old timers remember pouring water into the hand pump to prime it. What Jim said, releasing the water reduces the head at startup, a cheap centrifugal pump way down in a pit. A good quality submersible well pump has no problem pushing a head of 150 feet and more.

Something I see here sometimes is frost forming only where the studs are. Moisture collects on those cooler strips, but why that would darken paint, I don't know. We sometimes get algae growth in that pattern, the green slime that turns dark when it dies.

That side faces the sun? [:-magnify It looks to be nailed too tight. Probably that. Cheap vinyl, no doubt. A buddy who is a builder just replaced vinyl in a South-facing inside corner for the second time. This corner is on the second floor with a mod bit carport below, but still, must be thin vinyl to warp as much as it did twice in one year. The first time, he sent the sub contractor back to replace it. This time, they did rain screen and Hardie plank painted to match the vinyl on the other walls. (Builders have to provide a warranty on new construction here, 2, 5, and 10 year. Something like this should go back to the manufacturer, but he can't wait for the BS process. Their vinyl is crap anyway.)

Windows 10 is good, reliable [:-thumbu] so far. Programs are now called Apps. Avoid the quirky add-ons like Cantana or whatever it is called. You want to allow auto upgrades, so be prepared for invasions of your privacy any time they want. But it is either that or be vulnerable to hackers and spybots.

I'd call out the downspout. That setup would carve a hole in the dirt here, not to mention the splashing. A landing there would allow the missus to stop and reach back to close the door behind her while carrying a platter of beer and burgers to the back deck. [] Worth mentioning.

I pick this one. [] Fiberglass is hard, like a boat or truck cap. The mat is laid up over the entire surface,with a gel coat topping. No give, no dents at all, no painting ever. Fiberglass deck covers are about the best possible deck for a wet climate, IMO.

Need more info - age of the house, grading of the yard, soil type, natural drainage, on a slope or down in a gully? Basement, crawlspace or slab? Were you standing in a flower bed? See what I mean?

After framing, before moisture barrier and siding is installed, a header flashing gets installed over the joists. Then the siding, etc. becomes the counter flashing. Then the deck boards get put on. Doors need their own pan flashing. Coordinating everything right during construction is a perfect storm. Most thru wall joists I see have no flashing and get caulked all around. I'm not that concerned about rot. They leak into the building. Rot is a definite concern here, where I have seen in recent years, manufactured I-beams with the OSB webs, cantilevered out of the walls of wood condo buildings. OSB soaks up water and rots 10 times quicker than solid wood beams or fir 2 X 10's.

A capacitor with a voltage rating that high and that much capacitance would be at least ten times larger than that little thing. I don't know what it's capacitance actually is. Marc You are right, I tried to read the label and got a bunch of zeros misplaced. The voltage rating is 650 v, the capacitance could be 0.1 mfd. Thanks Chad, for the link. They improve the design with the coils so it blocks noise, where the capacitor alone just acts as a jumper at that frequency, so the X-10 signal can pass, I think. Its a notch filter but I'm not sure if it is blocking that frequency or letting only that frequency pass. ??

More specifically, the green one is a 650 volt 100K mfd capacitor. Also the guy on Jim's site says don't put it on a dryer breaker as it may heat up from surge at startup. It can actually go across any two adjacent breakers. Howdy, Marc. Ya beat me to it.

There will be a practical solution, such as what you suggested, a 50 amp tap off the main disconnect. But a permit is required. There could be a fire hazard for example and insurance would be void if no permit. So, no, he can't just double-tap the main breaker without some serious consequences. He should pay an electrician to pull the permit and then discuss the solution with the authority. Some places will allow a homeowner to obtain the permit, but it is all about communication with the local inspector. The authority will want an electrician involved in all likelihood because the home owner is inexperienced and it entails a 240 volt circuit, and may be in a flood zone. Drilling through the wall is the usual way to go. There are water-tight fittings designed for this. There should be a disconnect installed by the hottub, and there needs to be a GFCI in there somewhere. Is the service adequate for adding a 50 amp load? This is why he needs an electrician to have a look first.

I think if you could take core samples, you will hit some of the goopy stuff that way. And that will tell you the extent of the defect as well.

New Canadian Electrical Code 2015 rules - Canadian lurkers here ought to know this. Many areas of BC have adopted the 2015 rules. I can't speak for all of the minor kingdoms. A big change is that now all receptacles, wall outlets, in the living space are required to have CAFCI protection. The old Arc fault breakers with green or blue test buttons are obsolete. The new breakers have a white button. No longer just the bedroom circuits. Permanently installed appliances do not need arc faults. "CAFI or CAFIC Suffix Schneider Electric (Square D) type QO, QOB and HOM circuit breakers with suffix CAFI or CAFIC detect parallel arcing plus series arcing (branch/feeder/outlet). The push-to-test button is white. The CAFI breakers will trip under these conditions: (1) The breaker detects a downstream overload or short circuit (per trip curve) (2) The breaker detects a downstream current to ground in the range of 30-50ma or greater, regardless of the load. (3) The breaker detects an upstream or downstream arc in that circuit that meets certain preset conditions ("arc signature"), plus at the same time the breaker is carrying 5A or more of load current, even if very briefly. The 5A value is per UL1699 for combination-type arc-fault circuit breakers. CONCLUSION: Square D/Schneider Electric CAFI Combination Arc-Fault Circuit Breakers are designed to provide protection against overloads, short circuits, parallel arcs (H-N), and series arcs (H-H same phase), and will trip on current to ground in the range of 30-50 mA or higher." The old ones do not protect against series arcs. Electricians are separating all lighting circuits from the wall outlets. Lights are OK on standard breakers in Canada. Smoke alarms must be on a standard breaker, not on arc faults, but that may vary with the AHJ, so check it out. A new CAFCI wall mounted outlet can be used to protect the downstream outlets only if the feeder from the panel to that first outlet is in conduit. The old AFCI breakers are still for sale at the box stores and will continue to sell to DIY goofs, so keep eyes pealed for them. Cheers.

This is my exact problem- Water is following the pipes that run under the footing and water is springing up in the crawlspace. I read something about a sleeve, then you can add cement from the exterior, but I do not understand what kind of sleeve (DIYer). Can you help me please? You can't just seal out the water. It's not a boat. You need to intercept the water and give it somewhere else to go. What Jim may be thinking, if anyone could read his mind, [:-magnify is that you need to have a curtain drain dug across the property upslope from the house and under the waterline. Lay perforated pipe in there to pick up the runoff and carry the water around the corner of the house to a drainage area keeping it at least 6 feet from the foundation once you get past the house. If you are truly DIY, wrap a length of perforated Big O pipe with landscape cloth. Tie the wrapper onto the pipe with pieces of the nylon cord they give you at the building supplier for tying down a load. Slope the pipe in the ditch one inch every 4 feet. The drain pipe goes to the lower end of your property where it can empty into a pit full of rocks. Line the pit with landscape cloth.

I'd say it could be a well head. Altho 1956 is the right era for Mole men. Too narrow for the Hoovermobile, but maybe an airshaft?

I don't suppose you could ID the species of tree? Can you count the rings on the stump? A tree that close to a 20 yr old home was probably planted there by an ignorant person. Have a home inspector check that area for cracks or uplifting. Young trees can cause small bumps where their roots approach the surface, but not likely serious damage. A stump grinder can be used to remove most of the stump.

Charlie, that is a good design. Plastic deck planks are the worst for having the ladder suddenly slip out from under you. I remember one deck had so much leaves, moss and debris on it, I didn't realize it wasn't wood. The ladder feet kicked out as I was starting the descent. I did a belly flop onto the low-pitch roof and caught the ladder with my feet. Pretty agile for an old timer. When I got down, I saw my fresh skid marks revealed slimy plastic planks. Yes, I have had the 24' ladder fall sideways in a gust of wind while I was walking the roof. But I was lucky that time because it hung up on a scupper drain and I was able to wrestle it back up for the climb down. A buddy had to call the fire dept once when he lost his ladder. A bungee cord or clamp would have been good for all of those scenarios. Re: sidestep, you don't push or pull sideways on the ladder. You come down to grip the ladder but keep weight on your feet, and then pivot to face the roof. You can shift some weight straight down on the ladder as you swing your leg out. Your foot goes down on the rung below the gutter. Facing the roof and bent forward, your body weight is naturally over the roof until you have that foot firmly placed on the rung. That anchors the ladder against the gutter. Your other foot can then come off the roof to land on the rung below. It becomes natural after a while and there is no snagging of pant legs ever. This technique saved me from a bad fall several times when the ladder feet slipped on slippery decks. I was able to flop onto the lip of the roof, where facing out, I would have crashed.

A tiny apartment in NY, NY might have some wiring anomalies, so it is certainly possible that you 'kitchen' is served by the same circuit as your living space. There may be an issue with the heater, and the GFCI is doing its job. If you have plugged this fan heater into this GFCI before and had no problem, then something has changed, obviously. Your landlord should have an electrician repair the circuit. The GFCI may have become faulty, which happens. But the surge protector is sensing something as well, so that seems to indicate a genuine ground fault, either in the wiring or in the appliances. You should not be using a fan heater without having the wiring checked out first. Is this an older building that was remodeled?

I like plenty of ladder above the gutter. That's your handhold coming down. If you do that, then you must go around the side. My Jaws folding ladder is narrow at the top unless I've added the top extension. The extra extension comes off easy, making the ladder very light and also easy to slide out of a vehicle. The Little Giant is scary to use "properly" because of the flare at the top. I see why LG users step over, but that means you need to keep the top short. This puts you facing downhill at the lip of the roof. Always take your time at that stage, plant each foot. One day one foot will land on a loose shingle, so always be ready for that. I used to walk up and down a ladder with a bundle of cedar shakes or a roll of tar paper on my shoulder. For that, we would have the ladder on a low slope so that you could walk down facing out. Yikes when I think about that now. But for inspections, no, you want the ladder steep so it doesn't bend the gutter. If you plant both toes at the foot of the ladder, your hands should just reach the ladder. That is the angle you want to get used to. Welcome and BTW, search this forum for hours of archived discussions on every subject under the sun, except for maybe the Model Y Ford. Why not the Model Y? []

That there is a Sow bug, by gum. In spite of having creepy habits like sleeping communally, they are harmless. Jim, it has come to our attention that you have bug worship tendencies. It is all over the net today, at least it is here. Shame, shame. []

Ours is not to question why they do this stuff. [] Perhaps the interior was gutted and remodeled by folks who didn't care for the LV switches because they don't match the decor?

PS, balloon framing sounds too old for 1940.