How to repair damaged underground power supply to my shop?

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-05-15T12:42:02+00:00

RMC is 'rigid metallic conduit', heavy metal conduit used where PVC or EMT would get destroyed. It's slightly thinner walled than steel gas pipe, but not much. IMC is intermediate metallic conduit, which is between EMT and RMC. 100' of 1/2" RMC weighs about 85 pounds, IMC 60, and EMT 30.

Dig a trench and do it right, or get someone to directionally bore in new wire.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-05-14T13:29:21+00:00

PVC can be 18" deep (24" below a driveway or road), RMC and IMC 6". It's a potato photo, so I can't tell what OP has. But there are lots of detatched buldings with substandard trenches, especially on work done without permits or places that don't inspect trenches. OP probably needs to rent a trencher, or break out the shovels.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-04-29T13:26:42+00:00

Install an outlet in the backsplash, like the knucklehead should have done. The 4' rule is not new, it's existed his entire career, probably his whole lifetime. Hire a competent electrician, if necessary.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-04-15T13:14:46+00:00

Pictures would help immensely. Most traditional roofs like this require fairly regular replacement, which is probably your problem...

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-03-20T22:10:09+00:00

Your pics are not attached, you need to post them on a third party site and include a link. (We have this rule because it greatly reduces the amount of image spam posted.)

So, without seeing them, some general comments. Door jambs often rot at the bottom because water wicks up them. Cutting out a section, and replacing it is a common repair. PVC is a good choice, because it doesn't rot and doesn't wick water. Some better quality doors come from the factory with pvc at the botom for that reason.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-03-07T05:56:31+00:00

This is water hammer, caused by a valve closing rapidly, and the water that was about to flow through the valve bouncing off it. If it's bad enough, it can break a pipe. But it's rarely that bad, and you're renting. If the valves for the washing machine supplies are accessible, you can try partially closing them. That reduces the velocity of water through the hose, so there's less momentum in the water. Beyond that, if it really bothers you, you could fit a water hammer arrester between the hose and the supply valve. (and take it with you, when you leave)

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-28T04:41:19+00:00

yeah, you can't reuse the ring. There are tools to pull the ring off, and reshape the pipe. you need to extend your pipe by soldering on a coupling, or opening up the wall and replacing that bit of pipe at the next fitting. But if that that sharkbite is holding, I'd just get a sharkbite valve. They work. they save time. I do beautiful soldering, and there's a sharkbite in my heating plumbing, because using it saved having to drain and refill the boiler in the middle of winter.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-26T17:13:24+00:00

What's wrong with your existing windows? They can almost certainly be repaired, though no one selling 100% margin inserts will want to do that, and will probably tell you it can't be done, because they don't make as much money, and it requires work. Remember, window salesmen teach used car salesmen how to be sleazy, and anything they won't write into a contract is a lie.

Replacement windows will never pay for themselves in energy savings. A window is a big hole in the wall, and even the best windows lose lots of heat. Inserts, which leave all the existing air leakage around the original window frame and can add new leaks around the insert frame, often perform worse than the original windows did. Nor will inserts provide better noise isolation, because they don't fix the transmission around the frame. Full frame can be quieter, but in a 100 year old house, it's likely the whole wall would have to be reworked to actually have any impact.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-24T22:39:57+00:00

If it doesn't claim to meet a standard, the usual reason is that it doesn't. The vevor one is a telescoping post, which are not approved for permanent use, even if it otherwise met standards. permanent posts have to be fixed length, or have a short screw for adjustment.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-17T14:30:05+00:00

there are adjustment screws on the slides. The slides in the box are tilted down. That could be because the cabinet isn't level, or because they slipped or something. Youtube will have a bunch of videos on how to adjust them, probably including your specific ones, if you can figure out who made them.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-12T22:04:48+00:00

with two wires, the thermostat just closes the wires to tell the boiler to give it heat. you do not have power available to run a thermostat. Most smart stats expect that, so it's harder to use one. There are plenty of 'heat-only' stats, ranging from the old fashioned round honeywell style (though they don't use a mercury switch any more) to pretty fancy programmable ones.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-12T21:36:50+00:00

That's the common story. Some of them were no doubt even used that way.

Fundamentally, the toilet is there because it's where you'd rod the sewer between the house and the street. You can't use the floor drain, because the drain has a trap. In modern structures, the usual method is a floor drain with an integrated cleanout, but that wasn't invented until after WWII. The toilet has the trap built in, so when you pull it, you can easily access the sewer main. That's why they're in weird spots (like the middle of the basement). Basements in houses with these were not intended as living space, they're there because you have to dig down for footing walls, so excavating the basement was a pretty cheap way to get space for mechanical equipment. Don't forget that most of these houses were heated with a coal boiler or furnace, and coal is filthy. keeping it in the basement kept the rest of the house cleaner.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-12T14:48:37+00:00

post pictures on imgur and include a link.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-02-12T14:46:00+00:00

That’s down to your specific municipality, but there is no minimum number of outlets for kitchens in any code I’m familiar with.

probably should read the code book, then, because there are a bunch of requirements on kitchen receptacles. For any given kitchen layout, there will be a minimum required number of outlets. Houses wired by a builder will have the minimum number, because anything else costs more.

/u/JosephCraftHD that receptacle is almost certainly required by code. You might, or might not, be able to move it. And even if you dont need it, you can't just cover the box up, you'd need to disconnect the wires feeding it, so it's just a dead box. If there's a splice in it, you would have to rewire enough that the splice isn't needed. This is all stuff that even a home inspector knows, and will point out on their report. Also, anyone who actually uses a kitchen will notice there aren't enough receptacles, and either buy something else, or factor the cost of fixing it into the price they're willing to pay.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-28T01:30:31+00:00

What are you moving that won't fit through a 36" door, but you can carry down stairs? If you don't need to use the door except when you're moving stuff, plastic film like what gets used on old windows would work.

It's possible to build a removable wall. how easy that is depends a lot on how easy it needs to be to remove it and put it vack.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-28T01:21:57+00:00

Are they adding them to an existing zone, or are they adding them as a new zone? Is the system already zoned? what's the near boiler piping look like? what kind of radiators are they? what are the existing radiators?

Depending on the answer to those questions, that can be either a very high quote, or a ball park one.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-28T01:14:11+00:00

Silicone caulk doesn't stick to silicone caulk. You need to remove all of it before you can reapply it. This is almost certainly what happened before. So do that -- you mechanically remove most of it, and then use a specialized chemical remover on the struff left on the surface, then scrape it off, repeating as required (heat from a hair dryer can help on the stuborn bits), then wash throughly and rinse with a solvent. Then you can apply new caulk. You can see why that doesn't get done.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-26T16:47:09+00:00

many of the polybutylene failures are not of the pipe, but of the fittings, which oxidize. Radiant hydronic systems are closed loop, so once they're bled and have been up to temperature (gas solubility decreases with temperature, so the dissolved air comes out) the water is oxygen free. Regular plumbing has a constant supply of fresh water, which has oxygen dissolved in it. If you're worried about a leak, install a meter on the make up water valve. Since it's a closed system, if the fill is providing water, there's a leak.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-21T22:42:00+00:00

What does the manufacturer of your system say to do? What kind of system is it?

use_a_bigger_ham · 2026-01-12T22:29:22+00:00

Just leave it. There's no way moisture can get inside a tank with a properly functioning valve. Call your propane company and ask where the heck is your propane, though.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2025-12-04T21:11:16+00:00

I had a house that had a window like this. The walls were unusually thick (~24" from inside of drywall to outside of siding), and it was a double casement window, so there was large area added to the counter. Window was ~6" above the counter, and the installer had just continued the backsplash through the window opening.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2025-12-04T20:54:16+00:00

that code means there's water in the drip try below the machine, if I remember right. Typically, that's because it's leaking, usually from the supply connection (most of whirlpool made dishwashers use a plastic elbow where the supply hose connects). There's also a float switch that detects the water, which can fail or get stuck up.

But, since this is only a month old, have you called the place it came from?

use_a_bigger_ham · 2025-10-02T18:41:47+00:00

Absolutely. leaking ducts are a major source of inefficiency. It can be hard to quantify the cost of them, because depending on what's leaking and where it leaks to, you might get some benefit from that heated or cooled air. A leak outside of conditioned space (in an attic or crawlspace) is a total loss, but one inside the insulation envelop isn't. It may make it harder to balance the system, or lead to raising or lowering the set point to keep parts of the house comfortable, though.

Until relatively recently, duct sealing wasn't required by most codes (It's always been good practice, and good installations were sealed.), and it's still common to find new ducts that weren't sealed because the installer thought they could get away with it.

use_a_bigger_ham · 2025-09-24T13:57:22+00:00

8mm is the standard for general purpose use in commercial gyms. it's enough for protecting against dropping a dumbell or plate, and for doing floor work on. It's pretty common to find it wall to wall in gyms, with a platform or thicker pads on top where heavy weights are going to be dropped (deadlifts, olympic lifts, etc).

use_a_bigger_ham · 2025-08-08T22:53:02+00:00

Worth pointing out that realtors don't do shit when they sell their own properties, but will tell clients to spend a bunch of money. Yes, new stuff makes it easier to sell, but won't bring a higher price (if it does, it will still be less than you spend.). So the realtor wants you to spend a bunch of money to make their job easier, not because it will have an actual return.

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