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1500 questions
27
votes
6 answers
How do I find studs when stud finders won't work?
I was trying to hang my TV at my new place, on an interior wall (between living room and a bathroom). Using the stud finder on other walls worked fine, but on this wall I got some very strange readings. An area of about 5 feet by 4 feet was setting…
Steve Armstrong
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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
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27
votes
10 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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27
votes
9 answers
Why does my house heat up, even when it's cool outside?
Summary
The question pretty much says it all. It's probably a ridiculously easy one to answer. It's cool outside but I know that my house is heating up because my AC kicks on periodically. I've had this experience in multiple houses, so I presume…
conman
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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
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27
votes
20 answers
When wiring outlets should I use pigtails or both sets of outlet screws?
I'm replacing the outlets in our house and pulled out one that had two black and two white cables. My first thought was that it was two circuits, one of them being switched, but then realized the tab between the two circuits wasn't broken.
I hadn't…
DA01
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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
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27
votes
3 answers
How much gap to leave between basement concrete floor and bottom of drywall board?
We have a dry basement with a concrete floor. When putting on the wall boards, how much (if any) gap should there be between the concrete floor and the bottom of the board? The boards are 3/8 inch, I was thinking about using a scrap piece drywall…
Jon Raynor
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27
votes
4 answers
What is the best tool for cutting up scrap wood?
I have some wood left over from building a patio, mainly some planks. Normally when I'm creating firewood, I just use an axe a split the wood, but these are too long for that. I really don't want to try and cut them with a wood saw or an Axe. The…
AidanO
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26
votes
8 answers
Why do my toilets flush slowly and often incompletely?
I have three toilets that all flush slowly and incompletely. I've adjusted the chain to ensure the flap raises completely. I've raised the float to ensure the tank fills nice and high. Yet I have this nagging issue on all my toilets. It often takes…
allnightgrocery
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26
votes
9 answers
Is there a freezing-water-resistant metal pipe?
I want to install a water outlet on the outside of my house for gardening etc. Outside temperatures here in Latvia fall to -25°C sometimes, so I cannot use a common water pipe; it would burst when the water freezes. Is there a formula to tell how…
AndyZ
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