Home Improvement Today?

Do you have soffit and gable and/or a ridge vent? Old houses are tricky as they "breathe" naturally. You start messing with things with and problems pop up.

 

Nope none of that but naturally extremely leaky. I’d add in venting probably in the gables and then a ridge

 

You'd need a lower vent like in a soffit. Leaky now, but by adding all that insulation, walls, etc. it won't be. Proper airflow will be critical.

 

Yep I understand that completely. Main hurdle now is getting a vent under the sloped cieling without taking up too much room so I can get a decent r value

 

You'll probably need to run some rigid insulation between the rafters (with room for air as others have noted) and another continous layer attached to them. They'll be no thermal breaks.

 

That was one of my ideas. One continuous layer of 2-3” rigid foam between the rafters then a double layer everywhere except where the perlins are

 

that represents the largest potential to being the problem. i'm not saying that there's not other issues, but taking into account typical wiring methods, and assuming the wires you've traced so far are correct, this is most likely going to be a tool problem, not a wiring problem.

but meters and non-contact voltage detectors work on very different principles. you're absolutely right, neither can be trusted for any distance, but it's important to understand what and how each device generates it's measurement.

any tool is only as good as the users understanding of it's usefulness.

NCVD's work by sensing the magnetic fields emitted from a live wire. but they're also extremely easy to trick because of that build. most don't only sense 120v, but will sense a range from 50-1,000v. this range is important to ensure it works in varying conditions, even if it's only ever used on 120v gear. the less range any model has, the less sensitive it is in different conditions. but more range means it can be overly-sensitive, which leads to more false-positives.

in this case, you've noted that you have a light switch that you're trying to disconnect, and there's also an outlet just below the switch. you also don't note any additional wiring in the switch. so typical construction methods means that they likely ran two separate 14-2 wires together down the wall to the switch and the outlet. this is important because we know that if there's two 14-2 wires going to the same area, we also know few contractors are going to spend the time/effort to drill separate holes or take a different path to the same area. in the majority of cases, the wires will be stapled on top of each other for the entire length of their run.

when two wires are ran parallel to each other, the live wire going to the outlet will induce a voltage into the disconnected switch wires, and will absolutely set off a NCVD, regardless of the brand or quality of the tool. just the same as florescent tubes light up under high power transmission lines.

if you put a volt meter from either of the disconnected switch wires to ground, you will likely end up reading a small voltage, usually less than 10v. but then if you were to touch either of those wires while measuring it, it will drop to zero volts. because while there's a voltage being induced into the open wires, there's no current behind it.

volt meters can be just as finicky sometimes, especially cheaper models, and especially dealing with induced voltages. because the current level is so low, some meters won't be able to read it properly, as just the 'load' of the meter is enough to drop the induced voltage off.

another test you can make with the NCVD is to test it on a known-live outlet, and gauge the distance at which it reacts to the live wiring. in many cases, it will react multiple inches away to a live voltage source, while it will only react to an induced voltage when directly touching the disconnected wires, which goes back to understanding the tools sensitivity and gauging how that sensitivity is playing into the reading it's giving.

most facilities have a similarly documented 'test/verify' procedure for all electrical testing/lockouts. when locking out equipment, many facilities even have documentation that requires the meter to verify functionality on a known-live source before and after verifying the equipment is turned off and properly locked out. it all goes back to 'trust, but verify'.

 

Planning to help friends install hardwood flooring in the new to then home. I’ve done it once helping my dad install floors at their home 10 plus years ago. Looking for recommendations on install guns. It will be 3/4 thick oak flooring.

 

if it's only this one project, it might be worth considering renting. i believe home depot has them available for somewhat cheap.

 

I have a pneumatic Hitachi that I really like. The battery versions are easier to work with. That way you're not dragging an air hose around the house and tripping over it all the time.

 

Rent or buy good knee pads! Been there, done that...wished I had good knee pads.

 

Starting another project. Gonna finish up the garage the way I should have done in the first place, but there was just so much going on at one time at that time.

My garage was originally a carport where the previous owner had the back wall and a closet done. I just enclosed the rest of it. This is what it looked like a couple years ago.



Now it's time to open it up. I'm insulating and drywalling everything along with adding more electrical in this back wall.

First some investigation



I want to slap whoever installed that vinyl soffit as wall covering. They went from drywall screws, to roofing nails, to 1/4" headed sheet metal screws



Everything opened up.



I forgot how strong OSB was. It didn't come off in sheets like I thought. But with a reciprocating saw and a lot of swear words I got it all off.

 

Changed out our railing to match the rest of our house. Really wish i had a jig for angles vs freehand

 

looks like water damage at the bottom?

i would really make sure it's sealed properly at the bottom, and treated lumber was used... if they used shortcuts on the trim, one can only guess what other shortcuts there were...

 

Yea the OSB was pretty much touching the bottom wicking up moisture from the concrete. They did use a treated sill plate, so lucky there. Drywall will be installed 1-1/2" off the floor and the 1x4 trim I'm gonna use I'm going to space it 1/4" above the floor. Being an old carport the slab is not level so water runoff from vehicles does go to the corner. Nothing I can really do about it besides cutting up concrete and installing a drain system.

 

Fill that 1.5" gap along the bottom of wall with ripped 1/2" PT plywood. Will make installing the 1x4 trim much easier. You could also use PVC trim for added piece of mind.

 

That works even better since I need to fir out the wall on both sides a little bit. Great idea!

 

I would run a bead of silicone in front of the wall to keep the water off it, if it were mine. The best prevention is to keep the water from ever touching any of it

 

Rough in electrical run and powered on. The light switch by the closet is what was already there on another circuit that is pretty much overloaded. Disconnected everything but that switch/light.



Decided to add a box for a light outside the door. Might as well do everything now while the wall is opened up. Now I'll have a total of 4 lights for the backyard



I measured just right for that outlet behind my grandfathers old Craftsman box. Did that totally by accident; just measured off my other plugs. Outlets are on its own circuit so there's plenty of power in the garage now.



I'd like to pick up some insulation tomorrow. We'll see how well I can shove 5-6 rolls in a Camry

 

I've discovered something I don't like to do, insulation