Homeowner Forum / Construction / October 2006

My house (built in '86) has a family room (size 16' x 26') above a
two-car garage.  All that's supporting the floor across the span of the
garage are 2x8 floor joists running across the 16' length. Because
there are no supports in the garage, the family room floor is bouncier

Before I drill the first hole in my wood steps and railing, is there any
pointers out there I should use?  How you you drill a straight hole?  Do I
use a homemade jig by drilling it on the drill press?  I would appreciate
any tips.

I live in a duplex and the bathroom/shower does NOT
have ANY vent for the steam to outside.
Shouldn't ALL bathrooms be vented in some manner?
I'm not a construction expert so wanted to ask abt it

I have a relative that has a house next to a neighbor who is running an
in-home daycare. Generally the children reside outdoors unsupervised and
scream for most hours of the day. The neighbor is directly adjacent to my
relative.

I heard that you can install a line from the tank where the drain spigot is.
That you remove the spigot, and run a line to the farthest hot water riser.
It is supposed to allow the hot water to circulate naturally.
Anyone heard of this.

Can anyone tell me of a simple way to determine pressure loss over
distance in Gallons-per Minute of well water? Example: Assuming I have
10 GPM at the well head, if I run a 2" ID water line 100', what loss in
GPM will I get? The tables I have been able to find all refer to loss

Good evening.
I have a doubled 2x10 joist in my basement with a 4x4 post supporting it
partway along its span. The post carries quite a bit of weight, as evidenced
by the fact that it has crushed the wood along the lower chord of the joist

    I want to make my own 'wood' flooring.
    I have several options that I am considering.  None involve using
solid wood, all involve taking sheet plywood and cutting it up to make
an end product that will look similar to the 'engineered' or 'wood

I had an argument with a friend.  I told him that concrete has little or no
r value if it isn't backfilled.  Does anyone have the rating of straight 8"
thick concrete?

Can anyone tell me the maximum distance one can set the service panel
from the transformer for a residential hook-up? I would like to use a
200 amp panel for the house and run a sub-panel to the garage that
would have a 200 amp panel as well.

the way a GFCI functions, would it trip
if a bad connection were made to it ?
(if say, a terminal with the hot or
neutral wasn't screwed down tight &

The weatherhead was yanked off the service entrance conduit extending from
the roof by a fallen branch. The ground / neutral conductor of the power drop
broke a few strands, and the strain relief / insulator for the ground /
neutral cable is broken.

I posted this once before using FreeAgent, but it never showed up. I
even went to Google groups and searched there without finding it, so
it apparently just evaporated. I'm therefore trying again and hope it
does not result in double posting:

I was wondering if a common good quality deadbolt like a Slage is
constructed to survive more of an outdoor environment.  I'm thinking of
using one on a gate and the inside plate with the turnknob would get weather
on it as opposed to when they are used normally in an entry door.

I am building a deck which will attach to the basement
footing with a ledger. The house is concrete with a
grout/stucco covering going down the footing. I will be
using a 2x8 pressure treated ledger board and bolting