Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Knob and tube wiring (sometimes abbreviated K&T) was an early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings, in common use in North America from about 1880 to the 1930s.[1][2] It consisted of single-insulated copper conductors run within wall or ceiling cavities, passing through joist and stud drill-holes via protective porcelain insulating tubes, and supported along their length on nailed-down porcelain knob insulators. Where conductors entered a wiring device such as a lamp or switch, or were pulled into a wall, they were protected by flexible cloth insulating sleeving called loom. The first insulation was asphalt-saturated cotton cloth, then rubber became common. Wire splices in such installations were twisted together for good mechanical strength, then soldered and wrapped with rubber insulating tape and friction tape (asphalt saturated cloth), or made inside metal junction boxes.

Knob and tube wiring was eventually displaced from interior wiring systems because of the high cost of installation compared with use of power cables, which combined both power conductors of a circuit in one run (and which later included grounding conductors).

At present, new knob and tube installations are permitted in the US only in a few very specific situations listed in the National Electrical Code, such as certain industrial and agricultural environments.

Ceramic knobs were cylindrical and generally nailed directly into the wall studs or floor joists. Most had a circular groove running around their circumference, although some were constructed in two pieces with pass-through grooves on each side of the nail in the middle. A leather washer often cushioned the ceramic, to reduce breakage during installation.

By wrapping electrical wires around the knob, and securing them with tie wires, the knob securely and permanently anchored the wire. The knobs separated the wire from potentially combustible framework, facilitated changes in direction, and ensured that wires were not subject to excessive tension. Because the wires were suspended in air, they could dissipate heat well.

Ceramic tubes were inserted into holes bored in wall studs or floor joists, and the wires were directed through them. This kept the wires from coming into contact with the wood framing members and from being compressed by the wood as the house settled. Ceramic tubes were sometimes also used when wires crossed over each other, for protection in case the upper wire were to break and fall on the lower conductor.

Ceramic cleats, which were block-shaped pieces, served a purpose similar to that of the knobs. Not all knob and tube installations utilized cleats.

Ceramic bushings protected each wire entering a metal device box, when such an enclosure was used.

Loom, a woven flexible insulating sleeve, was slipped over insulated wire to provide additional protection whenever a wire passed over or under another wire, when a wire entered a metal device enclosure, and in other situations prescribed by code.

Other ceramic pieces would typically be used as a junction point between the wiring system proper, and the more flexible cloth-clad wiring found in light fixtures or other permanent, hard-wired devices. When a generic power outlet was desired, the wiring could run directly into the junction box through a tube of protective loom and a ceramic bushing.

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Knob and tube wiring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have a junction box in my house where all the coaxial cables come in and go out. Most of it is pretty straight forward. There is one cable that comes in from the dish and connects to a 4-way green splitter. One port of the splitter goes out to the PI and the H24 receiver, another port goes out to the DECA BB and the last used port goes out to a DECA and my HR23. There are several other cables in the cabinet that are not connected that go to various other rooms in my house. The thing that has me confused is that there is a cable that comes in and is hooked to a 2-way splitter with a white label, used because I believe the CSR didn't have a better connector, that has another cable hooked to one of the out ports that then leaves the box. I have no idea what either end of those cables are hooked to. Can anyone give me an idea of what that connection is for? I only have two receivers that are connected for Whole-Home-DVR. I'm pretty sure that was done when the CSR came to hook up my WHDVR system. My father-in-law appears to have the same sort of connection in his box and he only has one receiver.

Thanks

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House wiring question | DIRECTV Technical Forums

A motorist may have saved two lives when he alerted residents that their East Hempfield Township home was on fire late Tuesday night, fire officials said.

The 11:36 p.m. fire struck a home at 39 Bimini Drive, near Manheim Pike and Lititz Road, just north of East Petersburg, said Trooper Dustin Shireman, a state police fire marshal.

The home is owned by 79-year-old Jacqueline Ditzler. She and her 40-year-old grandson, Christopher Axe, may have been sleeping at the time of the fire, officials said.

Flames were going through the roof, but they safely got out after a motorist pulled in front of the home and blew his car horn, alerting them something was wrong, said East Petersburg Fire Company Chief James Rohrer Jr. He did not know the motorist's name.

"The people heard (the horn) and got out," Rohrer said. "If he wouldn't have stopped, the outcome could have been a loss of life."

"The fire was burning above them and they didn't even know it," he said. Ditzler and Axe had gone to bed. He didn't know if they were asleep.

A neighbor also went to the home to help, but the occupants walked out on their own, Rohrer said.

About 65 firefighters from area companies fought the fire, but couldn't save the home from being destroyed.

They attacked the fire in the attic for about 15 minutes, but were unable to extinguish it, Rohrer said. They were ordered to evacuate and then fought an exterior attack, including using an aerial ladder truck to stream water onto the fire.

When the blaze was mostly extinguished, firefighters went back inside with a hand line and finished the job, Rohrer said. It all took them about 45 minutes.

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Fire destroys home near East Petersburg

By MartinasSteketee485 | April 18, 2012

Home wiring is not something to fool around with. It is literally a life and death matter. Poor wiring can lead to personal injury and electrically caused fires, both of which you want to avoid at all costs. In order to ensure your home wiring is done correctly, there are a few basics that you need to be aware of.

No Power = No Trouble The key to safe basic house wiring is always keeping in mind that electricity packs a big, and deadly, punch. Even the most trained professional takes their life in their hands if they dont follow basic safety procedure. The best preventative measure you can take, whether youre installing basic electrical wiring, or just examining the wiring you do have, is to always make sure the power is turned off from the get go. Whether youre re-wiring your entire home or just replacing a faulty outlet, be sure to take a trip to the control panel and cut the power to the area youre working on.

Know Your Electrical Code With electrical work there is never an excuse not to follow rules and regulations. As mentioned before, electricity can be a dangerous animal if it isnt treated properly. Your localitys codes and regulations regarding residential wiring have been put in place for a reason: to protect you, the homeowner. Anytime you are working with basic house wiring, study up on standard procedures so you dont put your family or yourself in jeopardy. And if youre undertaking a major home wiring project, get familiar with your local inspector. Dont view them as a hurdle to overcome, but as a valuable resource you can draw on to get the job done right.

Components of Basic Electrical Wiring Besides safety considerations and regulations, the other thing you want to familiarize yourself with is the make up of your home wiring. It boils down to three basic components:

Call in an Electrician With most home improvement jobs you can do it yourself with a little elbow grease and patience. Electrical work is one of the exceptions. Unless youre experienced in home wiring, you dont want to do this job yourself. The safety risks are just too great. Add to that the need to meet local rules and regulations, and its a good idea to hire someone who is experienced in basic house wiring to tackle this job for you. It will mean youll have to jump through fewer hoops before your work is approved, and you can rest easy knowing all your basic electrical wiring has been done with your safety in mind.

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By GiffenGuilbault255 | April 17, 2012

Increasingly homeowners are becoming aware that remodeling or renovation goes beyond structural alterations. Changing the look of your home often means youll need to take a new look at the furniture that adorns it as well. If you desire, custom furniture artisans can be hired to work carefully with your interior designer, interior decorator, or general contractor, to create furniture that compliments the other improvements youre making to your home.

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Home Restoration :: Made Easy!

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla., Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Florida's SUN COAST -- A family-owned firm specializing in traditional and geothermal pool heating and air conditioning equipment and service, is promoting its competitive suite of services for commercial, government, and household customers, announced Alex and Amy Machado, owners of Alex's Pool Heating and Air Conditioning based in Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Naples and Sarasota, Fla.

Alex's Pool Heating and Air Conditioning, situated at the top of Angie's List ratings for the Southwest Florida region, offers free second opinions, no-hassle estimates, and maintenance-service without contracts, said Alex.

"We don't handle sales calls the way that many people have experienced," Alex said. "We analyze the equipment, the operating environment, and the cooling or heating needs in order to honestly inform the pool owner or householder about each unique situation. Customers get the benefit of a decision-making environment that they can trust to result in an optimum repair or the most efficient, cost-effective installation for heating a pool or cooling a home," he said.

The foundation of the company's success has been its unflagging commitment to a high level of integrity - a quality that often seems lacking in some service companies: for example, in pay-up-front maintenance contracts.

"When a client pays hundreds of dollars in advance for annual inspections," said Amy, "the arrangement is fraught with opportunities for slack or non-existent service." She is referring to all-too-common ghost-inspections and worse: companies that exploit their access in order to frighten or pressure homeowners into paying for expensive and unnecessary repairs.

Alex's Pool Heating and Air Conditioning does it differently. The firm's experienced, trained technicians deliver the peace of mind and reassurance every homeowner wants because they are trained to problem solve and repair, not to sell parts on commission.

Another benefit customers enjoy is Alex's technical savvy and expertise. His company is committed to delivering the most cost-effective pool-heating and home-cooling systems, even when that means recommending an inexpensive repair instead of a costly replacement. "Alex has nearly 20 years in the field decades of local, hands-on experience that our clients see in his analytical, problem-solving ability," Amy said.

Alex Machado, a leading geothermal systems expert in the region, is the Machado pro's pro. "Maximizing your geothermal pool heating system is a precision operation. No two installations are exactly alike," he said. "Flow pressure, direction, and volume in underground water fields requires extremely accurate assessments, faultless design, and precision engineering if the system is going to deliver maximum heat transfer and optimum efficiency," he said.

As a result of his expertise, Alex's Pool Heating and Air Conditioning has thrived on word-of-mouth and repeat recommendations. Fully 80 percent of their daily calls are "regulars:" satisfied pool-owners, including commercial and large-scale condo and homeowner associations that rely on geothermal efficiency; public community and municipal pools that rely on safe and cost-effective systems; and hundreds of private installations in homes and backyards up and down Florida's Sun Coast where Alex's colorful trucks are a familiar and welcome sight.

Alex Pool Heating and Air Conditioning

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Geothermal Pool Heating Company Offers Home and Commercial Clients a New Suite of Free Services

GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) - Area repairmen are busy in this cold weather thanks to freezing pipes and broken furnaces.

Furnaces have been working overtime to keep up with the dropping temperature. The owner of Price Heating and Cooling in Girard said they had more than 40 repair calls since Monday night and most of their workers were out all night.

To prevent costly repairs, make sure the furnace is serviced regularly and change the filters. Owner Chris McKernan said it's true that furnaces break down on the coldest day of the year because that's when they tend to run the longest.

"There is something wrong. The furnace isn't keeping up. It's just common to see because the furnaces are not sized for this weather. It's 10 below. Normally, we don't see that. Furnaces are struggling right now," McKernan said.

When it comes to plumbing, make sure pipes in unheated areas are insulated or wrapped in heat tape. In case of a burst pipe or to prevent plumbing from freezing up during a power outage, always know where the main shutoff valve is.

"If your pipes aren't exposed, it's always good to maybe, especially your kitchen with an outside wall, keep your doors open, that little bit of heat will serve it," said Al Sauline, area manager for Aqua Ohio.

When temperatures remain near 10 degrees, customers may want to leave a thin stream of water running from the tap farthest from the meter, which costs less than repairs.

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Experts offer heating, plumbing advice

Posted on: 9:32 pm, January 6, 2014, by Stephanie Moore, updated on: 10:22pm, January 6, 2014

The sub-zero temperatures are keeping furnace repair shops busy.

Mike and Mickey Wellendorf of Des Moines are trying to stay warm. It was cold, I got long johns on right now, says Mickey Wellendorf.

The couples heat stopped working yesterday.

Last night I called my wife about 8:30 and she said, my nose is cold, so I sent her over to check the thermostat and it was reading 52 degrees, says Mike Wellendorf.

Mike was at work and came home to find the furnace out of commission.

I think it was down to 46 today before we started the fire up, says Mike Wellendorf.

He called Schaal Heating and Cooling who sent out a technician to pinpoint the problem.

Service Technician Justin Bailey says in these frigid temperatures most furnaces just cant keep up.

Most furnaces are sized for a zero degree day so when it`s negative ten degrees out, they`re going to be running 20 out of 24 hours a day, says Bailey.

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BROKEN FURNACE: Working To Restore Heat

Hundreds of students in the Twin Rivers Unified School District returned to their classrooms Monday with only portable space heaters for warmth.

Grant Union High School is so cold that students regularly wear blankets with sleeves, such as Snuggies, to stay warm inside classrooms, said parent Sascha Vogt. At Woodlake Elementary School, students huddled under blankets and sleeping bags after a copper theft in October damaged the heating system, she said.

Concerns about frigid Twin Rivers classrooms escalated in December when temperatures dipped into the mid-20s and Sacramento experienced its coldest month since 1990 based on an average of overnight lows, according to the National Weather Service.

District officials acknowledge that many of their classrooms lack functional heating systems and attribute the problem to aging facilities with units badly in need of repair and replacement. They say they are doing their best to keep up with repairs despite a lack of facilities money in the north Sacramento area district that serves 31,600 students.

During particularly hot or cold days, teachers have taken to emailing pictures of their classroom thermostats to their union leaders, said Kristin Finney, president of Twin Rivers United Educators. One photo from early December reads 44 degrees. Another from Grant Union High School in September shows a 91-degree temperature.

Anger over the lack of heat and air conditioning in classrooms peaked after parents learned the district had organized a 100-day celebration of Superintendent Steven Martinezs tenure in November. The invitation-only breakfast was held at the Aerospace Museum of California in North Highlands.

Vogt brought a petition to the school board on Dec. 10 with some 800 signatures under the heading Before you have a party, please provide heat for all our students.

We are going to make necessary repairs, Martinez said before winter break. The district has hired an outside company which is working around the clock to fix the problem, he said. Were not trying to make an excuse.

The district fixed the damaged heating system at Woodlake Elementary in mid-December. On Friday, district officials reported that about 80 heating units had been repaired over winter break, lowering the number of classrooms without heating units to 30.

Its wonderful news, said Kim Barnett, interim chief business officer for the district. They have been working really hard for the last three weeks.

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In Twin Rivers schools, some wear blankets for warmth

With an associate degree in mental health technology and an extreme fondness for seniors, Kettering resident Laura Wilson has started a business that not only fills a niche but also gives provides her with the fulfilling career she has always wanted.

What the business does

Your Errand Lady is a service business that does all the things you need to do so you can do all the things you want to do. I offer transportation for people who need to go to the doctor, shopping, run errands if the weather is bad or just get out, Wilson said. People can also just give me their grocery list and I will go out and get them their items.

Wilson also helps her clients get organized and for older clients, she often becomes regular companions. I am someone who just spends time on a regular basis and just listens to them, she said. I pretty much spend as much time as they need me to spend. She also offers services for busy professionals, such as house sitting, pet sitting and shopping at holiday time.

How the business started

Wilson spent the bulk of her professional career in a busy sales job and was constantly juggling her time as her mother got older. Im an only child and because I had some flexibility I was able to take my mom to appointments during the day but I met a lot of people didnt have that same flexibility, Wilson said. I realized professional people needed to hire someone to do all this stuff while they were working, especially if they had seniors in their lives.

Wilson said she noticed while waiting with her mother at medical appointments that many other seniors were left unaccompanied and had to wait to be picked up. I thought it would be nice if they could have someone to wait with them, she said.

Wilson tried to start her business while she was working full time but quickly realized that the need was greatest Monday through Friday from 8 - 5. I decided to take a leap of faith and start the business, she said. And in September of 2012 Wilson officially launched Your Errand Lady and has loved every minute since.

What I truly love most about it is I feel like Im helping people, Wilson said. These people are so happy when I leave and they have really become my friends. Its truly a service people love and once I took the leap I found out there is a great need for the service.

Future plans

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Kettering woman is the Errand Lady

KUCHING: The absence of gutters on the roofs will make it difficult for environmentalists to practise the green initiative like harvesting rain water.

Secretary-general of Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Sheda), Sim Kiang Chiok, said the green initiative was very much encouraged by the government and in the case of rain water harvesting, its clearly a green initiative for it had something to do with water conservation.

If gutters are not installed on the roof of houses, then it will be difficult to conduct rain harvesting, he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Sim explained that the collected water could be used for daily activities such as washing, adding that the use of harvested rainwater would certainly help to save the amount of treated water used for daily activities.

Although the state Building Ordinance requires gutters to be installed in all houses, there are certain local councils which allow houses built without gutters mainly for aesthetic reasons.

For developers, it is acceptable for houses to be built without any gutter installed on the roof.

The Health Ministry recently proposed that new housing projects are prohibited from installing rainwater gutter on the roof to curb the rising number of dengue cases.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said the move was necessary as Malaysians were still unaware that gutters which were not properly maintained could become breeding grounds of aedes mosquitoes.

The Health Ministry also proposed that Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry amend its existing regulations so that all rainwater gutters in existing houses would be removed for effective eradication of aedes mosquitoes.

Assistant Housing Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, when contacted on Tuesday, said an in-depth study and referral to those in the construction industry should be conducted before coming up with measure to prohibit new housing projects from installing rainwater gutters on the roof.

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No gutter, how to collect rain water?