Homeowner Forum / Repair / October 2008

How do I wire a 110v float switch to a 220v pump?  Its a 220 v 1/2 hp
Franklin motor on the pump.  I have a 400 ft run on #14 wire to the
float switch. Where on the pump controler do I wire in the float
switch? Or what is the simplest way to use this float switch with this

My wife recently washed some kids toys and it ended that we got some
sand in our dishwasher.   You can hear it every time you pull out the
trays and you can see it accumulated at the bottom.  What is the best
way to get rid of sand in the dishwasher and what damage can it do ?

A friend posted this on another group I belong to (not a Usenet group):
"We bought a new high efficiency GE washer in May 2006.  It has worked fine
until today.  When my wife started a load of wash last nite, it started
working and we thought everything was fine.  This morning, ...

I just had carpeting installed in a rental property and purchased a circular saw to cut 1/4" - 3/8" off the bottom of the doors. I had no problem with the first four doors, however a 36" wood door appears to have some metal in it. About
1 1/4" into the cut sparks started to fly ...

I had a very good handyman replace the two bulbs in my outside
electric eye fixture.  The
bulbs work, but they do not "obey" the sensor.  Handyman covered the
eye properly to test, but the bulbs did not go out.  He cleaned up

Family member has an older gas-fired clothes dryer.
Want to suggest to them that they put a vacuum hose in the duct's outlet (on
the outside of the house) to vacuum out any lint and dust.  Have been
reading so much about clothes dryer duct fires !

I have a retaining wall outside that I've been modifying lately, it's
about 50' long and 3' high. Currently it's constructed out of just old
pressure treated 2x12. I would like to build a faux rock wall. I think
that would look much better. My questions are, is faux rock the

Does one need a chimney cap or not? Does the rain bother the chimney or
affect the soot? If there is an inch of rain that means there is an inch
or rain in the chimney, where did it go?
When I run the wood stove I can hear the rain sizzling when it hits the

Im looking to add a storm door to the front of the house. Ive got good
skills and was wondering how hard it actually is to install one.
Not too much on the net about this as I have searched.
Comments anyone? Good quality doors? (lowes, HD?).

A building has several apartments. Each one has a doorbell, and 4 wires
coming to the doorbell. One set is (I assume) for the downstairs main door
and the second one is for the door of the apartment.
When I went to replace the old doorbell, the button at the main entry door

I have about 1/2 acre, but the house takes up a decent portion of the land.
I will be looking for a decent walk behind mower next year....not a rider.
I've had John Deere 22" cut, a Honda 21" (which I really liked, but the
motor blew up), back to John Deere (which was horrible), ...

We are remodeling our bathroom and I want the "old fashioned" two
faucets: one for hot and the other for cold.
Both the plumber and the plumbing supply company say that two faucets
have been declared illegal and that we must, by law, use the one

The woodstove at the cottage has an expose flue pipe and I have a
magnetic temp guage on the pipe. Keeps me in the safe burn zone which
results in 0 pipe buildup. Have a wood burning insert at home with no
exposed flue (pacific energy). Dealer says to place the magnetic temp

I have a double-wide trailer in Delaware and need to replace all my
rugs due to an errant dog who has now passed.
I am thinking of trying hardwood flooring or laminates, but I have to
wonder if I can do that.  I am thinking that my sub-flooring might not

I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to.
The task is adding a new sub-panel in an outbuilding.  I understand that
new sub-panels now require a 4-wire feeder line, however this feeder will
be coming from the service disconnect.  Specifically, it will be coming