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Keep pipes from freezing

Dave Farquhar DIY February 8, 2021February 13, 2021

During the winter months, frozen pipes can be a problem. Fortunately they are preventable. There are several things you can do, both temporary and semi-permanent, to keep pipes from freezing. They’re all pretty cheap and easy and worth doing.

Frozen pipes are most likely to happen when the temperature drops to well below freezing and stays there for a sustained length of time. But a bit of heat and/or water movement is enough to keep indoor pipes from freezing.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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How many outlets can be on a 20 amp circuit?

Dave Farquhar DIY February 3, 2021January 30, 2021

There’s no official rule regarding how many outlets can be on a 20 amp circuit. And there’s no official rule about how many outlets can be on a 15 amp circuit either. But there are guidelines you can and should follow to avoid unnecessary breaker trips. And there’s another rule that’s much more important than the number of outlets.

The National Electric Code has no rules regarding how many outlets you can daisy chain off a single breaker. But generally speaking, it’s best to keep the number below 13 because of average current draw.

Dave Farquhar

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How to remove wire insulation without cutting wire

Dave Farquhar DIY February 1, 2021January 24, 2021

It’s hard to strip the insulation off wire without cutting or nicking the copper beneath.It’s frustrating when you cut through the wire, but nicking the wire is bad too. The danger when you do that is you weaken the wire. And then the end may snap off someday, causing a bigger problem. So here’s how to remove wire insulation without cutting the wire.

If you consistently cut through the wire, check your tool. Some wire strippers work with all types of wire, and some work with just one. If you have the kind for one type of wire, get the other one too, and learn to recognize which is which.

Dave Farquhar

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How to use a contour gauge

Dave Farquhar DIY January 27, 2021October 29, 2021

The contour gauge may be the best kept secret in carpentry. When you need to cut a piece of flooring to fit around a piece of trim, or copy a piece of trim that you can’t buy anymore, a contour gauge lets you do it. Here’s how to use a contour gauge.

Dave Farquhar

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Paint 3D printed models: Here’s how

Dave Farquhar DIY January 18, 2021December 27, 2020

I recently acquired a 3D printed door for my Commodore 1084 monitor. It was missing its original. Of course, it came in white. I can live without an imperfect match, but I want something closer than white. But can you paint 3D printed objects? Yes you can. Here’s how to paint 3D printed models.

Plastic can be tricky to paint, but 3D prints tend to have some texture, and that makes it easier for paint to bond to them than molded plastic. Still, some prep work is still a good idea.

Dave Farquhar

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Why did paint have lead in it?

Dave Farquhar DIY January 13, 2021January 25, 2022

Does paint have lead in it? It’s not supposed to anymore, because it’s a serious safety issue. But there was a time when it did, and people might even pay extra for more of it. So why did paint have lead in it, and what can you do about it now?

Ingesting lead lowers IQ and causes other health issues. That’s why the United States banned lead paint for residential use in 1978. However, certain industrial paints, such as the paints used for street markings, can still contain lead even today.

Dave Farquhar

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Drywall outlet hole too big? Let’s fix it.

Dave Farquhar DIY December 29, 2020April 11, 2023

If you cut a drywall outlet hole too big, don’t fret. It’s easier to fix than it seems. You even have a couple of different options.

Dave Farquhar

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Who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s?

Dave Farquhar DIY December 21, 2020December 4, 2022

Kobalt is Lowe’s house brand for power tools and hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Kobalt hand tools good? And who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s? I did some digging to find out.

Kobalt hand tools are made by Apex Tool Group, a company owned by Bain Capital. Apex also makes several brands you may have heard of, including Wiss, Allen, Gearwrench, and Weller.

Dave Farquhar

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Can you caulk over grout?

Dave Farquhar DIY December 19, 2020December 12, 2020

It certainly is tempting. You have tile on the wall with broken grout and need to patch it up. Removing and replacing the grout will take all weekend. A tube of caulk costs $5, and you could probably cover those gaps in 15 minutes. So can you caulk over grout? It sure would be easier.

While caulking over grout is a fairly common quick fix, there are several reasons not to recommend it. It seems to work sometimes, but when it doesn’t work, you end up with two problems.

Dave Farquhar

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Electrical box screw size

Dave Farquhar DIY December 17, 2020September 20, 2023

It’s a rule, right? No project is complete without three unplanned trips to the hardware store. Needing screws for an electrical box can absolutely chew up one of those trips. But I can at least make it easier. In this blog post, I’ll explain electrical box screw size, or sizes, because in the United States at least, it’s almost certainly one of three sizes. There’s no need to fumble or guess at what size screws to use in an electrical box.

The most common electrical box screw size is 6-32 machine screw. However, for many applications, 6-32 is too light duty, so we use an 8-32 or even a 10-32 instead. The thread pitch, however, is always 32.

Dave Farquhar

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