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I'm trying to understand how thin and proper way to pour a slab ontop of an old one? The older part of my outbuilding is about 24" wide x 32 deep -- it was built as a garage. Typical block foundation 2x walls. When they built it back in the 60's they just graded the floor with a slope to the...

Just saw a Rheem heat pump water heater that included a duct fitting .. I was not able to get a great look ,,, and no one knew anything about it. But -- this was always one of my questions .. when would they come out with one. I could see a benefit in warmer climates pulling in hot air from...

Lee Valley is selling an interesting small 12v LED fixture w/ adjustable beam that I think would be a good replacement for 8 12v incandescent MR-16's currently in my house. My question: Can I just drive these from the two standard 12v magnetic transformers already there? The MR16's are 50w...

Has anyone used the newish Lutron Caseta dimmer that controls magnetic and electronic transformers? This dimmer has a neural -- looks like this dimmer controls all types of bulbs like the regular Caseta -- but adds the ability to control low volt transformers. I'm seeing decent reviews for...

E-mail today announcing that Boral is going to stop making the bevel siding product. Saying they can't maintain production quality at the level required to make a profit. Have used a lot of the flat Boral products -- only some of the siding. I'm not using the bevel siding in my current...

What's the rule for length allowed -- is there one? Currently -- have two controls for the light in my pool (inside/outside). Inside is by window with view of pool -- because of recent changes the outside is no longer within the pool area and can't see the pool. The light can dim and is...

I'm going to be working on some paint removal (windows) and I want a strong fan -- to either place nearby or in the doorway -- blowing air in so it pressurizes the space and pushing the fumes outside. HF sells what they call a 24" rolling high velocity shop fan. Anybody have one ?.. Loud ...

The 1 1/4 " dielectric unions on my old Buderus NG cast iron boiler have been weeping (hate those things). Decided this was the day to fix. Unfortunately, when I got it all back together both the 1 1/2 galvanized pipes at the boiler connection leaked (slight drip) The original setup (from...

Up on the ladder this morning .... trimming and cleaning. Noticed the covering on my 200amp service line has been chewed. The wire goes up from the meter and turns horizontal for a few feet before turning again and following the garage roof line. It's in the horizontal area ... maybe 6-8" of...

Why is everything today junk? I'm fixing/ repairing all my outdoor wiring -- outlets/switches. Much of it under plastic or metal covers. I went to both HD and Lowes and neither sell Carlon covers in my area. Currently I have mostly Carlon and some Intermatic -- some of it's 25 years old...

Went to HD yesterday -- was surprised they still sold the 8' T12 fixtures. Thought they were going away? Gone actually My one utility building uses only them... still think they give nice light. Twin strips of double tubes. I also have them in one of my studios for general.

Would like to get a new Square D load center and connect it to the existing with the idea that the old would be eliminated eventually Can you connect a 200 to a 100? If I did a 100 to 100 -- assuming I can just use a 100 breaker to the new panel and keep the 100 main breaker in the new panel...

I'm trying to order some fork type crimp connectors -- I need the yellow for 12g but they come in different sizes ... 6/8/10 ... the 6 look too small but I can't figure out what a typical outlet and switch requires ... the 8 or 10. I'm replacing devices and repairing the wiring around the...

Noticed today that a few of my indicator switches share a common neutral for the light even though they are on different circuits .. is that OK? Was working on the circuit for an outdoor 110v water heater. I have an outdoor kitchen and this switch lights up when the circuit is live to tell me...

Finally cleaned off the layers of grease from this old vise using my mechanics parts washer. Next, I guess remove the many layers of paint. Can't find any date code -- picked it up at a farm auction in a box sale years ago ... have no idea of age. It's a nice 3.5 inch vice -- not all cut and...

I'm home today -- and it's hot. Decided to test and play around w/ my 30k BTU three 12k head Mitsubishi Hyper mini split. I have one head in a sun room and two take care of large bedrooms on the second floor of my beach place. The one bedroom was off and the other two on -- obviously a sun...

When my addition was built I had two Midwest brand surface boxes installed on the outside. They have GFI outlets in them. The plan was/is to tap off the bottom of the Midwest box with PVC conduit -- going underground -- run 120v to outlets in the new flower beds. The one side I need two...

Doing a bunch of small projects over the weekend (cold weather keeping me inside) -- one of the bathrooms (double vanity) has a leaking tap valve and i can't get the trim ring off one of the colds. Does anybody make a really good strap wrench -- the one I had was rubber and it just slipped...

Every time I use my ancient original workmate inside I miss that it does not have it's original soft rubber feet. Does anyone know a source ? I believe it's a metric thread. I was able to get some hard plastic feet a few years ago -- better than nothing ... but it will slide on tile floors.

I need some kind of doorbell for my new house and studio. Naturally, have a front door .. but, the design of the property will have most people we know using a side door off of the driveway that leads to the kitchen. The house has many levels -- being able to have some video in a few spots...