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We have an NPS aerating septic tank and one basement bedroom smells of chlorine every time the septic tank is in an aeration cycle. The septic tank doesn't have a chlorine post-treatment system. There's drain piping in the bedroom (going up one outside wall to the first floor bathroom) but no...

What's the best practice method to wire a lighting circuit where 3-way switching is required for both feeds on a two circuit track light installation? The track has a shared neutral and two hot wires that are intended to be switched independently. The track will be switched from two locations...

I want to add a ground-mounted hose bib at the front of our lot, about 20' away from the house and 30' above both the incoming water line and the lowest tap in the house. Unfortunately, trenching to frost depth isn't feasible because the soil is mostly rock. The best idea I can come up...

Can anybody point me towards a recessed garden hose bib/box that's acceptable for installation in freezing climates? I've found a handful of recessed hose boxes (e.g. Acorn 8140) but nothing that's designed for exterior use in areas with below-freezing weather. Any suggestions?

I have a half bathroom that's separated from the HWT by about 60 feet of pipe, most of which runs under the foundation slab. The hot tap on the lav runs cold for about a minute before the water begins to warm. As far as I've researched, the only ways to fix this are a POU water heater or a...

What are the energy use implications of installing an electric water heater on an uninsulated slab on grade basement floor? Is it worth building an insulated platform to keep the tank off the floor or are typical water heaters insulated well enough for conduction losses through the floor to...

Whenever we run the main bathroom fan for more than a few minutes, one end of the house--the end with the main drain stack--smells of sewer/septic gas. The smell seems to originate in the first floor hallway outside a half bathroom. There is no plumbing in the hallway. There's no smell in the...

What's the appropriate way to trap a (residential) air handler condensate drain so it doesn't pull sewer gases into the house during heating season? This is a pull-through air handler: the condensate line is under negative pressure when the fan is running. The 'professionals' who installed my...

What's the best approach to dealing with water intrusion through the slab in a basement? This is a house built into bedrock on the side of a mountain. One side of the basement is below grade while the other is at grade. The basement is finished with carpet and no signs of water intrusion...