u/Yusuf20904

I have some LV cables (speaker, ethernet) that have to cross a fireplace. Right now I have them basically running across the top of the mantel. Relocating the devices that they connect to isn't really practical. I'd like to clean things up, aesthetically.

As I see it, I have two choices:

#1 Run some cable covers along the mantel uprights and across the mantel. Tricky, because the ends of the mantel aren't square, similar to this pic stolen from teh intarwebs:

https://preview.redd.it/o2byiod0dfbh1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=040ebb7e41a6040ef7eb83a0ee82fa04f2c4c9c8

#2 Run some conduit through the wall to the outside and around the chimney (chimney is manufactured, not brick, and is covered in the same siding).

#2 is my preferred, since IDGAF how it looks on the outside—gray PVC on gray siding on the side of the house hardly anyone but me will see. I'd use LB conduit bodies to turn the corners around the chimney.

My question is: what is the usual procedure—if there is one—for conduit to penetrate an exterior wall? Wall is standard stick construction: drywall -> fiber insulation between studs -> OSB sheathing -> house wrap -> vinyl siding. Do you just drill a hole through just big enough for the conduit or conduit body stub, and try to seal the conduit/stub to the wrap (tape? sealant?)?

I need to mount an 8-port 2530 (J9774A) on a wall. The installation guide says for wall mounting, 8-port switches must be mounted with the ports up. What's the reasoning for this? I would expect really any orientation to be acceptable, given they are fanless. Ports-up should be thermally equivalent to ports-down. Ports-left and ports-right should also be acceptable, given sufficient clearance for air to enter the bottom grille and exit the top grille.

I have no problem installing ports-up, but am curious about other orientations.

I have some hedge bindweed I'd like to nuke, but some of its locations are intertwined with plants I don't want to get nuked from overspray. I've read that you can use a brush or Q-tip to "paint" leaves with glyphosate in a more targeted fashion. Is there some kind of rule of thumb as far as dilution for this purpose, or how many leaves and/or how much area on each leaf needs to be painted in order to nuke a plant? TIA!