Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Most Popular

more tags
1500 questions
22
votes
10 answers

What is the recommended way to destroy mold?

Back in the day I've heard that bleach is a good way to kill mold. The other day a home inspector suggested that Dawn dish soap actually works much better than bleach. I've heard from another home inspector to use the store-bought mold killer. Does…
Joe Phillips
  • 2,266
  • 11
  • 42
  • 61
22
votes
9 answers

Does bare drywall need to be primed before painting?

Is it necessary to prime bare drywall before painting? And do we need to prime existing textured, painted walls before we mud over them?
RET
  • 1,842
  • 14
  • 39
  • 59
22
votes
4 answers

Is it OK to create a third prong ground from a cold water pipe, for a 2-wire circuit?

When or is it NEC code compliant to upgrade a 2-wire circuit, by adding a third prong equipment ground from a nearby cold water pipe? A different case of borrowing a ground from a nearby circuit is covered at: Is it OK to borrow a ground wire from a…
Bryce
  • 10,884
  • 17
  • 69
  • 112
22
votes
7 answers

Why is it safe to use 15 A receptacles on a 20 A circuit?

OK, the one answer I got was way off target, and another commenter couldn't figure out what I was asking, so I'm restating the question... Are 15A 3-prong grounded outlets actually rated to 20A, allowing them to be used on 20A circuits? And if so,…
KeithS
  • 14,187
  • 7
  • 43
  • 73
22
votes
9 answers

Which tools should not be operated while wearing gloves?

Does anyone know of any safety organization like OSHA that gives a list of tools that should not be operated while wearing gloves? It has always been my understanding that a person should not wear gloves when operating any rotating tool because of…
Louis Woods
  • 221
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
22
votes
5 answers

How much weight can I hang from a drywall ceiling?

I have a potted plant (approx 5kg/10lbs) that I wish to hang from a drywall ceiling of a window aisle. Unfortunately, I have no idea about what specific kind of drywall plate it is or how it was attached; at any rate there is only a fixed place that…
Gnudiff
  • 610
  • 1
  • 8
  • 17
22
votes
5 answers

What are the differences between SDS, SDS Plus, and SDS Max drills?

Basically I had to use a breaker last weekend, it was clear I did not need the “heavy duty” as I did not have 6” of solid concrete, but the descriptions of the other options confused me.
Walker
  • 6,219
  • 21
  • 64
  • 86
22
votes
5 answers

What is the best way to incrementally finish an unfinished basement?

my wife and I are in the process of buying our first house. The house has a 750 square foot unfinished basement (cinderblock walls and concrete floor), and is brand new (rather, it will be brand new when it is finished in a week or two). We don't…
Brendon Dugan
  • 477
  • 2
  • 5
  • 9
22
votes
3 answers

How do I feed an ethernet cable through a doorway without damaging the door or wall?

My wife and I recently moved into a new apartment. We've had it for just a few days. When our internet company came to hook up our landline, I had them hook it into one of our bedrooms and set up my home office. Now my wife wants to set up her…
Zibbobz
  • 325
  • 1
  • 2
  • 10
22
votes
7 answers

How do I remove wallpaper from drywall?

I know there are a lot of different ways to remove wallpaper, ranging from elbow grease to chemicals and steam machines. What way(s) work(s) best?
Jon Fournier
  • 684
  • 2
  • 8
  • 12
22
votes
11 answers

How do you protect solar panels from hail?

Saw another question on solar panels and it reminded me of one big thing that always made me hesitant to consider them. We get several hail storms each year and having an expensive glass covered(?) panel facing almost straight up seems like it is…
JohnFx
  • 4,682
  • 14
  • 43
  • 50
22
votes
2 answers

What danger/code violation is oversized breakers?

I just got the results of a home inspection where they claim there is mismatched breakers and wires in my electrical panel. Specifically, the range (40A breaker) and heat pump (50A). He claims the wires are 30A. Assuming this is true, is this a…
kinar
  • 1,089
  • 3
  • 15
  • 28
21
votes
3 answers

What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work?

What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work? Do recommended types of mitigation systems vary significantly with varying levels of excess radon? Does climate have any impact on the mitigation system of…
stack
  • 352
  • 4
  • 10
21
votes
4 answers

Which Kitchen outlets do NOT need GFCI?

I have the 2 circuits in the kitchen with GFCI outlets, but I'm not quite sure which other ones do NOT need GFCI. Other circuits in the kitchen include Microwave, Fridge, and Dishwasher. It makes sense to me to not have the fridge on GFCI though.
rcav8r
  • 259
  • 1
  • 2
  • 4
21
votes
4 answers

Why don't programmable thermostats automatically switch between "Cool" and "Heat"?

While I can set my house to be a particular temperature, I still have to manually switch it between "Heat" and "Cool" mode, and this seems to be true of every thermostat (programmable or not) that I've seen. Is there a reason for this?
Adam Robinson
  • 931
  • 5
  • 16
  • 26
1 2 3
…
99 100