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NEC Load Calculations All subpanel, breaker, and feeder calculations must be made in accordance with the local electrical code. Most codes follow the National Electrical Code (NEC) and use the NEC’s “Long Form” for load calculations. Essentially, this is a form that helps you tally the wattage, or electrical usage, of the devices and appliances in the area served by the subpanel. Once you find the total wattage, you divide by 240 (volts) to find the minimum amperage required for the subpanel and its breaker and feeder cable....

What Should Sit on the Area Rug? Determining a good size bedroom area rug seems like a simple question but it requires some thought. A square or rectangular area rug works best under any size bed. But in addition to a bed, you might have two nightstands and a bench by the foot of your bed. You’ll need to make a few small choices about what goes on top of your area rug which means you don’t want an area rug that is too small for the room....

The Flow of Qi In general, the principles that apply to a home can also be applied to an outdoor space. Overall, the goal is to create a smooth and calming flow of qi, or life force energy. You want to be able to walk through your garden easily, without feeling blocked or constricted. Well-placed retaining walls, pathways, and taller plants can really help direct the flow of qi by guiding you through the space....

Pinching Perennials Pinching is something you’ll want to do regularly to keep your perennials looking their best. Pinching means removing the growing tip of the stem. What this does is divert the plants’ energy from growing taller, and forces it to put its energy into growing side shoots, which results in a bushier, fuller plant. The only drawback to pinching is that it may delay bloom time, resulting in blooms a week or two later than you would have gotten them before you pinched....

Appearance Basil downy mildew is caused by a pathogen called Peronospora belbahrii. Basil that has become infected with downy mildew may have a yellowish appearance, similar to a nutritional problem. Yellowing typically first appears in areas along major veins and eventually spreads throughout the leaf. Infected leaves also can show irregular black spots as well as gray, fuzzy spores on the underside of the leaf. As the disease advances, the leaves turn completely yellow and fall off, the stems wither, and the plant eventually dies....

However, many of us do not know how to decorate a bedroom. Many times our bedrooms receive our leftovers. We often focus on our living rooms or kitchens, places that the guests can see, and neglect the room where we will spend more than one-third of our lives! Below you will find steps for decorating your bedroom along with tips on how to decorate a beautiful bedroom with style....

It’s often easier to determine the amount of sun in your yard as opposed to inside. Outdoors you can clearly see where it’s shady and where the sun is hitting directly. Light is more subtle indoors. To figure out if a houseplant will be happy in your space, it’s helpful to know the different types of light you have in your home. Determining Indoor Plant Lighting There are three main types of interior plant lighting:...

“More and more houses are being built with a big open floor plan,” said LA-based designer, Chris Barrett. “I can’t think of a house I’ve done in years, that hasn’t been a big open floor plan.” If you find yourself considering a move to a space with a kitchen-living-dining-playroom, there are some rules to follow. For your sanity as much as your family’s, open floor plans work best if they’re zoned....

Yet a large proportion of squeaks are caused by friction: wood rubbing against metal. Specifically, this wood-against-metal sound is likely coming from one or more nails pushing in and out of the nail hole. Since stairs get a lot of traffic, it is inevitable—and natural—that nails will begin to loosen from the wood. Fixing your stairs’ creakiness is a simple project that will bring much-desired quiet back into your house....

In this larval stage, the caterpillars can gradually destroy a tree or shrub, first leaving it partly defoliated and unsightly, then gradually defoliating it so completely that it weakens the tree enough to kill it. The most visible early symptom of infestation by the Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis bagworm is the presence of many brown, bag-like cases hanging from the limbs like Christmas tree ornaments. These cocoon bags are generally constructed by the caterpillars from pieces of dried stem and leaves, and they may look like deformed pine cones, up to 2 1/2 inches long....

While adult carpet beetles are primarily found outside, where they consume flower pollen, they will sometimes appear inside, especially around windowsills. If you are regularly finding adult carpet beetles (or their hairy, wormy larvae) inside your home, there is likely something that is drawing them in and keeping them around. What Do Carpet Beetles Look Like? It is important to know that, when it comes to identification, there are a number of carpet beetles that could be causing you trouble....

Like all ants, grease ants are social animals that establish colonies, either indoors or outdoors. Its tiny size allows grease ants to easily slip into homes through cracks and make nests in tiny crevices. These insects prefer to eat greasy substances (hence the common name), but will also eat meat, cheese, seeds, and dairy products. Outdoors, these ants often eat larvae and pupae of other ant species or even steal the foods collected by other ant species (hence the other common name thief ant)....

Find out what black vine weevils look like, which plants they are most likely to attack, and how to control them. What Do Black Vine Weevils Look Like? The black vine weevil is an insect that has a gray or dull black color and is 3/8 inch long. It has a pear-shaped body covered in pit marks, and it has six legs. Two antennae protrude far out from the head, and the snout is also prominent....