Question 1

pex plumbing in attic exposed to extreme heat & cold

Accepted Answer

It can get up to 160 degrees in the attic of a roof covered in concrete tiles.  Since the water coming out of my cold water faucet is scalding hot during hot days that should at the very least cause expansion and then contraction of the pipes.  Add to that the use of chlorine in  household water it is a recipe for disaster.  The water is then "piped" down the walls for use in kitchen and bath room.  How do you hear dripping water from a leaking plastic pipe in the attic?  Why place it in an attic and not under the slab where it is better protected.  The only ones benefitting from the cheap cost are the plumbing contractors and building contractors.  They don't have a tendency to pass the savings on to the consumer.  How do they "unclog" pex plumbing pipes with a bacterial growth .  How do they find it in the first place?

Question 2

why back fill sand into a crawl space

Accepted Answer

The house was built in 1969. In 1994 (20 ) years ago a two story addition was added to the house. the crawl space is 32' x18' and the footing is 12" inside the 8" block foundation. thus making it a minimum 20" footing. and 48" in depth.   The soil is clay based that extends about 6" above footing approximately 18" of sand on top of that.     Why back fill sand into the crawl space?   they thus lowered the space.I Want to remove the sand and the clay down to the footing height only. (for now) its a heated crawl space. then spray foam the walls al lthe way to the footings and the underside of the floor.  and all the duct work as well.there is no mould and there is currently pink baton insulation in the joists with vapour barrier  stapled to the joists. air cavities between the floor and the insulation. Mice were kind enough to pull some down so i have to buy more insulation and fill in the holes where it fell. all in all still 98% still in between the joists. I suspect the sand was put...

Question 3

Second Puron dump in a month. Now what?

Accepted Answer

We had a new 5 T Amana ASCZ 18 with AVPTC426014 installed in July or August 2013. In December 2014, we got a lockout code and the original installer came in and fixed a leak. He said it was in the copper tubing between the unit and the compressor so it was not covered by the warranty. He ate the labor and parts to fix but charged us for the Puron ($800). Now, less than a month later, we have the same lockout code and assume there must be another leak. This time, I can't imagine the installer will cover the parts and labor. What would you pros do if it were your unit? Is it time to just rip out the connecting tubing and replace it all? Are some installers using inferior imported copper tubing? If the tubing was defective, is there any way to recoup the costs of replacing it? In all fairness to us, we spent over $9000 on a new system and expected only to pay routine maintenance for at least a little while. If they didn't fix all the leaks, or didn't do it properly, could it leak so...

Question 4

Is there connection between twisting floor joists and cracks in wall on 2nd floor?

Accepted Answer

I purchased my first home about 7 months ago. It was built in 1991. At time of inspection the inspector pointed out some minor cracking in walls around doorways in master bath on second floor. He was confident these were settlement cracks and said I should just cut away old sheetrock and replace.In December we noticed cracks had become wider and the bathroom door would no longer close completely. The cracks are approximately 45 degree angles starting at corners of door and extending up walls. This has me concerned I might have some foundation issues. The backyard has a slight negative slope and I do have minor moisture in crawl space.Monday I had an associate from a structure and foundation repair company come out to inspect. The house does not have any cracking downstairs, the cracks are only upstairs around doorway in bathroom. He checked crawlspace and told me I have 4 twisting joists on the side of house where cracks are occurring.So, my question is is it possible for those...

Question 5

New home owner: HVAC issues, what do i do?!

Accepted Answer

Location - South East FloridaModel - Lennox cbx25uh-036-230-1Age - 1.5 years with newly built house (Still under 2 year warranty)--------------------Issue - The unit stopped cooling. It would run all day. I checked the condenser. It was running. The cooling coils were fine. It just didn't seem to be able to lower temperature more than 2 degrees below the outside temperature.I contacted the Builders and the HVAC company. I also hired someone that I trusted(from other work that I have had them done for over ten years) to come check the HVAC. They confirmed that there didn't seem to be any leaks in the condenser but there did seem to be a slow leak on the cooling coil.Now where is the problem. The HVAC company came and they checked the condenser then they simply filled it with refrigerant. I asked the tech if he could check the inside for leaks he simply said "I don't have the equipment". I pressed the issue because it didn't make sense that they wouldn't have an electrical sniffer. That...

Question 6

Transfer switch did not operate with last power outage

Accepted Answer

Had a power outage this morning Generator came on like it was supposed to but the transfer switch did not move to cut off utility and go to standby power. Both generator and transfer switch has operated as is supposed to ever sense installation about 4 years ago. This is the first time this has ever happened. I moved switch manually to get standby power and then manually back to utility when power came back on.. I tested it again and it did not transfer then either. Does anyone know what I should check. I can not find my installation nor owners manuals so I don't have a trouble shooting guide.

Question 7

I bought a NEST and I cannot figure out which wires go where. I have 7 wires??

Accepted Answer

I have a brown, blue, yellow, red, orange, green and white. I cannot figure out what to goes to what on the NEST? HELP

Question 8

Bought new home swamp cooler question

Accepted Answer

We bought a new home in the Colorado foot hills, and it has a swamp cooler. The cooler doesn't seen to be put the air in the house like I think it should. Looking on the web some sites say the pressure should close doors slightly or you can have a dollar stick to a window screen. None of this. The home had a extension added and I don't think they upgrade the size of the cooler to make up for the square foot added. our house is roughly 1600sqft, they add about 700 sqft.. The cool is three sided 2 at 34x23, and 1 at 34x29. 1/2 hp motor. I had central air before so I am new to the swamp cooler game Any help would be great

Question 9

how long will it take for sealcoat asphalt to fade...it looks terrible

Accepted Answer

I've got my asphalt sealcoat but since then we see all the faults in the driveway and the black color looks terrible. When will it fade?

Question 10

how to repair an old pool that has a sand bottom and sides

Accepted Answer

I am replacing my liner of my inground pool.  It is 21 years old.  The bottom and sides of the pool is sand.  My pool people are afraid that there may be problems with the sand, and they will have to put a comcrete bottom and sides.  Does is take a very experienced person to fix the sand problems, so that I don't have to get concrete?Do they make new pools with sand bottoms and sides these days?Thank you,Madelaine

Question 11

Should mortar turn brown in color after adding water?

Accepted Answer

Yesterday I mixed a bag of Quikrete mortar that had been laying around about five or more years. When mixed it was brown in color, not the usual grey. I used it anyway but I'm wondering if that was a bad decision. I can take my finger and rub material out of the joints, and it is very chalky.Will it get better over time or.....?I was laying the third and final layer to a cement block retaining wall that is nineteen blocks in length.Thought I would save a few bucks and another trip to the store

Question 12

Normally open honeywell zone valve motor operation

Accepted Answer

I have a normally open honeywell zone valve with 24VAC, 5W, 6RPM output motor actuator. The valve closes on when energized. The model is V8043D1205/U. The thermostat is reverse acting. In summer months if we turned down the thermostat, the thermostat will send 24VAC to the valve motor and the motor will operate to close the valve. Once the valve closes fully, what happens ?? Will the motor keep operating / turning trying to close the already closed valve and damage the gear assembly and also causing overheat in motor that will burn the motor ?? Is there any mechanism inside to stop motor turning the gears once the valve reaches full close position - otherwise damage will result ??

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