Home Improvement Today?

well if it can't be fixed with a hammer it must be an electrical issue is what i always say

 

Yup I concur. Sounds like an electrical problem.

 

Just run wire from the fan box to your first light fixture and then from that fixture to the next. That is assuming you have the fan and the light on separate switches already

 

Quick question to those of you who have hung your own kitchen cabinet uppers. Did you pre drill the holes where the screws were going to go through the back of the cabinets into the studs or did you just use cabinet screws and an impact driver? Have some cabinets coming at the end of the month and none of the DIY vids mention pre drilling holes but I really don’t want to screw up the new cabinets the day I go to install them!

 

Cabinet screws and impact driver.

 

I pre-drill and use cabinet screws with an impact driver. With screw tip technology these days, pre-drilling probably isn't needed. If the backs are not plywood, I'd definitely pre-drill regardless of screw type.

 

What is the back of your cabinets made of? I have a couple of approaches I have used for years (as a cabinet maker/builder). My priorities

1. Make sure you are attaching to wall studs. Pre mark wall and back of cabinet.
2. Make sure your screws are completely supported for entire length of the screw.
3. Use large head screws 5/8” or larger.

$12 FastCap PowerHead Wood Screws with Flat Head - Self-Tapping Point - 3" Length, #2 Square Drive, Zinc Finish, 50-Pack - 99962

FASTCAP PHZ8.3-inch-50PC PowerHead 3-Inch Cabinet Installation Screws, 50-Pack, Zinc

4. I usually built a jig (scrap 2x4 box at correct height) for cabinet to rest on while I mounted them.

 

Hey folks, looking for advice or opinions on the "best" way to insulate the floor above a crawl space area. I thought I had a decent plan, but it's one of those things the more I read the less I know. Ill outline some specifics related to my project and my original plan below. Criticisms or first hand experience welcome.

Im located in central / southern Maine FYI. Majority of the basement is a full basement. Block walls and a poured floor, nothing special there. Then there is an addition on the side that is more of a crawl space area. Block walls with a dirt floor. With a block wall separating the two parts of the basement. The furnace (forced hot air) and all plumbing is in the main section of the basement so that space is "heated" to some extent.

When I moved in there was nasty moldy pink fiberglass, plastic sheeting, and foam board all up under the floor in that unheated section (foam, then plastic, the fiberglass if you were looking up). A lot of that had fallen down over time. The parts still in tact had obviously pooling of moisture on top of the plastic. This summer I ripped all of that nasty shit out (including about a dozen mouse nests). After that was cleaned up I put down heavy 6 mil polyethylene to cover the dirt floor. That made a big difference in the humidity in the basement.

Getting to the question - whats the best way to insulate that and prevent the floor above from being cold all winter long? I had planned to use Rockwool Comfortbatt and no vapor barrier. But thats where I start to read lots of conflicting info.

 

I do, they are separate switches on the wall plate. Is there a guide to tapping into the power source for them?

 

Is caulk tape just smoke, or a legit product?

 

I think you should call an electrician.

 

I agree but they all want $2000 for 2 hours of work.

 

My house in NE wears built in 1836 as a hunting cabin and is now 2300sq. Made of wood with wood siding. Next to a river! When am I not working on it Hahah! We just purchased 2 years ago. Did a major framing repair to one corner. Took out a door and window on the back of garage so I can hang my tool cabinate system. I graded the whole yard replanted grass and put up a 6foot fence all buy my self. Picket by picket. None of those premade panels. Redid the downstairs bathroom top to bottom. Wired the house with 10gb Ethernet and wireless access points. Put up lights and fixtures. Painted almost every room a new color. And so much more. Guess who has a garage full of new tools though! That’s right! This guy lol

 

We had a company do spray foam underneath our cabin. The Breathable Home | Improving Home Energy Efficiency | Central Maine
Also used them for an energy audit and Efficiency Maine rebate program for upgrades to the insulation in our house. Spray foam on the basement walls and additional blown in for the attic.

 

It's just scary to give someone electrical advice over the internet.

Get yourself a non contact voltage tester.

Then do some digging - pull the switches, test with the non-contact tester, turn off the breaker, and then test again. Once you're certain there isn't juice to the box, start mapping things out.

You may have a common power source into the switches, and two runs of 14-2 (14 gauge, 2 conductor, black, white, bare copper) out to the fan if you're lucky.

If that's the case, you just need to route the run controlling the light functionality of the fan to your first retrofit light, and then daisy chain them from there.

If there is only one run from that switch box to the fan (14-3, black, white, red, bare copper) you have a different problem, where the red would be the load for the light, and black the load for the fan. In that case you'd need to run another length of 14-2 romex to the box and attach that to your first light.

There could be a ton of different ways your house is wired up... But yeah.. non contact tester, turn the breaker off...

 

No expert, but that heavy mil poly on the dirt floor should control the moisture problems. I'd make sure it's sealed nicely along the block/perimeter. Is there any venting in that crawl space? Could also put some rigid foam along the block wall. For the floor, fiberglass should be good if the moisture is under control. Gravity sucks, so maybe some strapping attached to the bottom of the floor joists to keep it in place. I've seen that reinforced nylon tape strung along & stapled on floor joists to keep the insulation in place too.

 

I've never had a use/need for it and I certainly wouldn't try and stop any toilet leaks with it as shown in that picture. What project did you have in mind for it?

 

Never heard of it.
Never seen any professional (or anyone) use it.

 

Previous owner used it at base of tub. I’m sure it worked for a while but shortly after moving in the glue failed and trapped ever spec of dirt floating around on the bathroom floor. It was a pain to clean and more of a pain to remove and replace

 

Sounds good, I understand 99% of what you're saying so I don't think that i'm that far off from where i need to be. I've wired and re-wired 2 different fans into the hole (I'm picky and didn't like the ones I bought) so I shouldn't be in too much danger. Cutting and mounting the cans is the easy part, it's the splicing and connecting that leaves me puzzled.