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1500 questions
32
votes
10 answers
How do I stop a creek from eroding my steep embankment?
Behind my house there is a very steep bank/slope that leads down to a decent-sized, slow moving creek about 10 - 12 ft wide. Unfortunately it meanders right behind my property at the base of this steep embankment:
When we bought our house almost…
hotmeatballsoup
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32
votes
12 answers
How do I make around-the-room shelves for a seriously skewed room?
I've been given the Christmas task of setting up an HO model train and rails around a child's room, so I researched a bit and found a shelf train would be the thing. So I go to measure the room in order to figure out how much wood I have to buy to…
QuestionerNo27
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32
votes
6 answers
What do you call the fastener that's like a metal zip tie with a screw?
I assure you that this is not the beginning of a fastener-related standup routine.
While working out at the gym, I saw a fastener that looks like a metal zip tie, with a screw to tighten it. Two pictures below. This can be useful for me in some of…
Ram Rachum
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32
votes
8 answers
How many CFM for a range hood do I REALLY need?
I like to cook. I would like to put in a fairly powerful range (nothing huge, though; I don't need six burners and a griddle), and will need a hood that can carry smoke, heat, steam, grease, etc. from cooking out of the house. The trend seems to be…
Adam Jaskiewicz
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32
votes
5 answers
Is it OK to borrow a ground wire from a different circuit?
I've got a circuit in the basement carrying a handful of outlets. This circuit has no ground wire. I want to add a couple of outlets and want them to be grounded. I may even want gfci outlets on them in the future. I have no reasonable way of…
Paul
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31
votes
8 answers
When pouring concrete, is it safe to add large rocks to increase volume?
Backround
I'm going to pour some concrete to anchor a swing set. The base of the swing set that is being anchored is two 4x4s with a 2x4 footer crossed perpendicularly to the 4x4s.
I have a bunch of large softball-sized rocks in my yard. I was…
Walter Stabosz
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31
votes
4 answers
Should all Federal Pacific panels be replaced?
I understand that Federal Panel Stab Lok breakers have the potential for becoming stuck, overheating, and starting fires. My home has a Federal Pacific panel but no outward markings of being a Stab Lok model, the breakers cannot be identified as I…
STW
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31
votes
8 answers
How do I rehang a wooden door with worn screw holes?
I have a wood door in one of my rooms where the top screws no longer hold the hinge to the wall because the screw holes have worn loose. I have tried slightly larger screws and filling with wood toothpicks, which usually lasts about a year.
I…
user2278
31
votes
6 answers
Electric shock - was I stupid, unlucky, or a combination of both?
One of the double sockets in our garage needed replacing (damaged after a washing pole hit it) - a pretty trivial job that I'd done before. So I flipped the MCB for the ring main, used a non-contact voltage tester to check nothing was there, and set…
user24536
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31
votes
3 answers
What's the practical difference between "latex" and "acrylic" water dispersion paint?
I see lots of water dispersion paints in shops and they usually come in two flavors - "latex" and "acrylic". The application range and procedure seem the same, they are all relatively safe, don't emit anything toxic while drying, prices are more or…
sharptooth
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31
votes
4 answers
What temperature should I set my water heater to?
When adjusting my water heater, what temperature should I set it to? Is the answer different if you have:
Concerns about diseases
A dishwasher
Young children or elderly that can be easily burned
Electric vs Gas heat
Type of plumbing (e.g. PEX or…
BMitch
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31
votes
6 answers
How to provide backup power to a three-phase European home?
I have a home (in Ukraine) which is wired for three phases, but only ever use the three together for the electric heating system (which, for obvious reasons at this point we are not using).
So, I bought a diesel generator with three phases. I…
Гаврил Вильямович
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31
votes
11 answers
Why are so many radiators installed beneath a window (at least in Germany)?
I live in Germany and I always wondered why the radiators in most apartments are installed right beneath a window. The pictures below show an example (this is an older building, but you see similar installations in new buildings as well).
I would…
André
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31
votes
11 answers
Why do electricians in some areas choose wire nuts over reusable terminal blocks like Wago offers?
Why do Americans (and others) choose wire nuts over reusable terminal blocks like Wago offers?
Do they offer any benefits? More current, longer lifetime,...? Or are there regulatory restrictions?
Fritz
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31
votes
6 answers
How do I fix this 30 ft (9 m) dryer vent abomination?
The previous owner left a bit of a headache with the dryer venting setup.
Context:
This is a gas dryer
The living room is behind the right hand side wall, so that's a no-go as far as drilling
The kitchen is behind the wall behind the door
The…
Albert
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