HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rusty@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov (Kenneth Hall)
Subject: Re: home warrantee
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Keywords: AHS
Organization: NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 13:24:00 GMT

In article <1egnrvINNfqo@newmdata.meaddata.com>, davidm@meaddata.com (David Miller) writes...
> 
>I figured the AHS policy would be pretty useless when I bought the house.  
>I glad I was wrong.
> 
>And I'm not connected to AHS in any way.
> 
>Dave
> 
> 
>-- 
>David James Miller                        Architecture&Systems Evolution

One of the best recommendations that I can make to anybody who is 
looking into buy a home is to ask for a home warrenty from the seller 
in the contract if they are not already providing one.  Follow up to 
this is that if they refuse, talk to your agent about arranging to 
purchase your own.  Typically a H.O.W. (no relation to the company) is 
around $250 in my area, but the piece of mind that it provides is 
great, especially for that first year or so after the purchase when 
repairing/replacing an appliance could be a burden on a newly 
established budget.

This is just food for though and my own opinion.  As mentioned in 
prior post I am a licensed agent and when these warrenties are 
arranged through my agency I recieve no perks for it, its just a 
service.

Rusty
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Splinter prevention
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 17:17:19 CST
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

hmoss@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Howard Moss) writes:

> Well, I'm the "official" handyman at my daughter's nursery school and
> they have a new complaint that I'd like to ask your opinion about:
> 
> Splinters!
> The play house is old and the wood has generated a lot of splinters in
> the hands of 2-4 year olds. Also, the new wood play structure has
> a BIG knot that seems to be coming off in pieces and that generates a 
> lot of splinters, too. The redwood picnic table is also being looked
> at. What are good ways to deal with this, especially since we're
> heading for the rainy season. Should I just sand all the surfaces 
> smooth? Won't the rains just render that useless? How about sealing
> the wood, like with paint or polyurethane? Is that ok to do now that
> the wood is swelling up with moisture from the rains? Another choice
> could be a waterproof stain or something like that. Would that seal
> the wood so the splinters would not be present?

The wood should be sanded and either sealed or painted, and it'll
probably need this every year or two. It would be best to seal after
a week of dry weather, of course, but you may only have a few days
of drying fitting into your schedule. Make sure that whatever you
use is non-toxic...

Polyurethane probably wouldn't hold up outdoors, particulalry
during the summer. Something like Thompsons' Water Seal would be
better, preferrably two coats of it. 

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dug@dug.b17d.ingr.com (Doug Taylor)
Subject: Re: refrigerator in a garage?
Reply-To: dug@dug.b17d.ingr.com
Organization: Imaging systems, Intergraph Corp, Huntsville, AL
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 18:40:44 GMT

In article <XJTeuB2w161w@cdthq.UUCP>, gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston) writes:
|> lcw@cci632.cci.com (Lori Wershing) writes:
|> 
|> > 
|> > We have two refrigerators...one for the kitchen and one for ????.  In the pas
|> > we kept it in the basement, but in the new house it is actually more 
|> > convenient to have it in the garage.  Is there any reason not to put it
|> > there?  We live in Rochester, NY so it does get somewhat cold....will this
|> > damage the motor?
|> > 
|> > My father thinks that it should be adequately insulated to protect it from
|> > cold.....my husband is willing to move it if necessary......what do you folks
|> > think?
|> 
|> The problem with a refrigerator (or freezer) in an unheated space 
|> is that it may not run at all in cool or cold weather, allowing
|> what's inside to go bad. Besides, if you put a refrigerator in
|> an extremely cold environment, everything in the refrig compartment
|> might freeze. They have a temperature range that they're specified 
|> to work in, probably listed in the instructions (or, just call the
|> manufacturers' hotline).
|> 
|> Gary Heston, at home...
|> gary@cdthq.uucp

Are you trying to tell me that my _freezer_ in the garage only runs when the
room(garage)-temperature is above a certain temperature instead of when the
temperature inside the freezer falls below a certain temperature?  Or is this 
only true of refrigerators and not freezers?  Should this be a problem for me
living in northern Alabama?
-- 
______________________________________________________________
  Doug Taylor                 (205) 730-6875 (w)
  MailStop IW17D1             dug@dug.b17d.ingr.com
  Intergraph Corp.
  Huntsville, AL 35894-0001   < My thots, not theirs. >
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Water in Crawlspace
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 05:23:42 GMT
Keywords: information wanted: Wet crawlspace

In article <1edrq5INN2fs@bach.crhc.uiuc.edu> long@crhc.uiuc.edu (Junsheng Long) writes:
>Recently, I went to the construction site of our new house
>and found that there is a small pool of water in one corner
>of the crawl space (about 50 sqft and 0.5 ft deep).  The house
>is almost finished (the closing date is on Nov 30).  Since 
>the last rain was a week ago, this may be a problem of poor 
>drainage.  This is the first time we ever brought a house. 
>Should I be worry about this problem?  Will this water in
>crawl space weaken the foundation? What measure should the 
>builder take to correct this problem?  

Let's see, "crawl space" implies no basement; in other words, the ground
level in the crawl space is about the same as that outside. Urbana implies
cold winters, so I'm sure the local code requires foundation footings at
least 3' deep, and I'd bet the code requires them 5' deep. If that water
is caused by rain, you're in deep hoo-hoo. There should be no way that
water can get under that house.

Should you worry? Very much so. Before panicking, however, check to see
when they tested the plumbing. If you're real lucky, they broke a pipe
while the water was turned on. If this is not the case, hire a private
building inspector to check it out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | Society calls everything difficult good
                    | and makes everything good difficult.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: fields@acuson.com (Julian Fields)
Subject: Re: Comments on hand blenders?
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 18:11:29 GMT

stanton@haas.berkeley.edu (Richard Stanton) writes:

>I'm considering buying a hand blender, basically a plastic covered motor with

My top of the line BRAUN broke just after 1 year warranty expired.

The clamped on "S" shaped thing fell off the end of the shaft.

-- 
Julian Fields, Jr        fields@acuson.com  
VLSI Design Engineering Consultant 
415-929-9112x2408 work,408-773-8197home
This is from ~/.tail
From: rrw@sunset (Bob Wier)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Shake roof maintenance (and replacement)
Date: 15 Nov 92 20:21:01 GMT
Originator: rrw@sunset.cse.nau.edu

While on this subject, I'd like to throw out the following to
the net...

I have a house in S.W. Colorado (a 102 year old restored small
Victorian) with a cedar shake roof.  This is old type construction
where there were lathe strips applied over the rafters and 
shakes nailed to the strips.  I've been warned a couple of
times not to go to plywood sheathing in this situation due
to the potential problems of moisture build-up (since shakes
over lathe are naturally kind of "leaky" with regards to 
air penetration, the didn't have so much of a problem - the
roof was just designed to keep the rafters dry, not necessarily
warm - there are HEAVY amounts of insulation on the floor of
the attic).  Now, there are currently 3 layers of shakes applie
d to the roof, so I'll have to strip back down to lathe the next
time (code).  Since I'm getting close to needing this (the top
layer of shakes are curling badly) I'm starting to think about
replacement materials.

Couple of relevant things: the house is at 8,000' elevation, 
so in the summer there is a high Ultraviolet content in the 
sunlight (if you aren't used to it, it'll boil your brain
in 20 minutes without a hat - even though it feels cool). 
Needless to say, this is murder on paint and drys wood out
very quickly. Also the pitch of the roof is 12/12 - this is
snow country (about 20 miles from Telluride - average about
180" per year) so the old timers really knew about how to
shed snow - the city building inspector has come out to 
look at it (this is a town of 800) and said with that kind
of pitch, he seen buildings in ghost towns which had holes
in the roof where birds flew in and out and it still didn't
get too wet inside.

Anyway, to get back to the point, I live in fear and trembling
every 4th of July about bottle rockets on my roof.  (the 4th is
THE major holiday in town - fireworks are not only permitted,
they are SOLD BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT (believe it or not)).
So, I'm thinking that when I re-roof I might go to one of the
shake look-alike materials, but which are fireproof.  I've seen
one type, the "Timberline" series (I forget who make's em) which
look pretty good, but are somewhat expensive.  Since I'm in a
national historic district, the appearance is extremely important.

I wonder if anyone has done this recently and if you can make
recommendation / dis - recommendations on brands.

THANKS

- Bob Wier

  ---------- insert favorite standard disclaimers here ----------
                   College of Engineering
      Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff Arizona
  Internet: rrw@naucse.cse.nau.edu | BITNET: WIER@NAUVAX | WB5KXH
From: LARRY@GOMEZ.PHYS.VIRGINIA.EDU (Larry Suddarth)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: chipper-shredder
Date: 17 Nov 92 15:29:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: murdoch.1992Nov17.152958.24648
Organization: DEPT. OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.23

Does anyone have any experience or recommendations with/for a chipper-shredder.
Specifically, how much difference does horsepower make when shipping a 2 inch
branch for example; does a drop-down chute for leaf loading work well, etc.

Thanks in advance for any information.




Larry T. Suddarth			larry@virginia.edu
University of Virginia			
Physics Department			I alone am responsible for the contents
McCormick Road				of my postings and mailings.
Charlottesville, VA 22901
(804)924-6784
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sturges@master.lds-az.loral.com (Jim Sturges)
Subject: Re: Shake Roofs - Replacement
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Organization: Loral Defense Systems - Arizona
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:47:59 GMT

In article <4229@bcstec.ca.boeing.com>, mtw8527@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Mike
Wallach) wrote:
> 
> Can you replace a shake roof with some other type
> of roofing material, like asphalt shingles?
> Is this more costly than putting another
> layer of shakes on your existing roof?
> 
> What all would be involved in changing a shake roof
> to some other type of roofing material?

We had this problem in Dallas. Our insurance company and
three different roofers suggested putting an asphalt roof
*over* the existing shakes. It worked, and still looks good.
[saw the house about 3 mos ago, five years later....]


 ************************************************************************

Jim Sturges                                       MS 8612
602 925-7204                                Loral Defense Systems --
Arizona
602 925-6988 Fax                         P.O. Box 85
sturges@master.lds-az.loral.com    1300 S. Litchfield Rd.
CIS: 72470,3117                             Goodyear-Avondale, AZ  85338
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: HELP! Skunk keeps attacking my house
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 16:27:02 GMT

In article <1e65a0INNstl@agate.berkeley.edu> stanton@haas.berkeley.edu (Richard Stanton) writes:
>Every few nights, my house stinks of skunk. It seems to start in the bathroom,
>which has a skylight, so I suspect it's happening on the roof somewhere.
>However, as most people know, this is a pretty intense smell, and it has a
>nasty habit of lingering in the house for a day or more.

I doubt that it's up on the roof. Skunks don't climb. Try looking in the
other direction. If you have a crawl space, one has probably moved in for
the winter. Skunks are primarily nocturnal, so if you can figure out
where it gets in, wait until it's gone (right after sundown), and secure
the openings. It'll leave if it can't get back to it's nest.

Now, if it's not nesting under the house, then it lives in the area and
is dropping by your place hunting for food. They eat about anything and
love eggs. If the garbage smells are what's attracting it, you might try
dousing the cans with ammonia. This is just to hide the food smell; I
somehow doubt that any sort of odor will actually deter a skunk!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | Keep away from people who try to belittle your
George Patterson -  | ambitions. Small people always do that, but the
                    | really great make you feel that you, too, can
                    | become great.          Samuel Clemens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: wb8foz@skybridge.SCL.CWRU.Edu (David Lesher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Teflon Tape on gas service, was: Replacing gas range:
Date: 21 Nov 1992 16:03:24 GMT
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers - Beltway Annex
Reply-To: wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu (David Lesher)
NNTP-Posting-Host: skybridge.scl.cwru.edu

I said:
# > Turn off the gas, unscrew things, gently connect the new line and
# > range. If you change the pipe thread fittings, you'll want to use
# > RectorSeal or teflon pipe tape. But don't on the flange/flex threads.
Steve said:
# Whoops!  Most teflon pipe tape is *not* suitable for use with gas.
# I don't know why, but both the packages and some plumbers I've asked
# say so.

Gee, just goes to prove that there's always something to learn.  I've
used teflon tape on water, gasoline, oil, ATF, and a million other
things. I never knew it was not good for natural gas. In any case,
RTFM! You may also want to read the RectorSeal can carefully. All I can
recall is that it was NOT rated for O2, for obvious reasons :-}

I can't think of why t.t. is nfg on gas, except maybe pieces of it
may get into the pilot jets and clog them? 

--
A host is a host from coast to coast..wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu
& no one will talk to a host that's close..........................
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Date: 23 Nov 92 21:27:54 GMT
	<1992Nov20.185219.13079@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
	<1992Nov20.202104.18697@i88.isc.com>
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: jeq@i88.isc.com's message of 20 Nov 92 20:21:04 GMT


>Uh, if you see a house you like, and the owner has an exclusive contract
>with a realtor, you have absolutely no choice whether to deal with them
>or not.

Not true.  You can find out how long the realtors contract is and tell
the owner that you'll buy it *after* they're done dealing with the
realtor...

-Carl-

--
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: hbb@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (harlan.b.braude)
Subject: Re: How to cut back my heat bill?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 13:40:23 GMT

In article <1992Nov20.171452.2840@cbfsb.cb.att.com> disaacs@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (david.e.isaacs) writes:
>I have heard that it's better to just set your thermostat to 68 (or whatever
>temp you like) and leave it.  Someone told me that using daily setbacks is like
>changing speeds in a car and is energy inefficient.  I have a programable 
>thermostat but only set it back when we are going away for over a day.  Anyone
>out there know the "emis" on this is ?
The "New York Times" had an brief article this weekend about lowering home
heating bills (sorry, I don't recall which day or section; probably Saturday's
edition.)

They suggested using the programmable thermostats to lower the temperature
during the night as well as those times when usually no one is home. Some
thermostats allow for a separate temperature schedule for weekends.
-- 
Harlan B. Braude
hbb@karin.att.com
From: howie@voodoo.boeing.com (howie)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Vapor Barriers
Date: 17 Nov 92 19:21:09 GMT
Organization: Boeing Graphics project, Bellevue WA

We're in a new house with a vapor barrier in the crawl space.  Can anybody
tell me about these?  I think ours is called Visiqueen.  How wet should the
soil be under the vapor barrier?  

			Thanks for any information.
-- 
				       howie              

				       howie@voodoo.boeing.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist)
Subject: Re: refrigerator in a garage?
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 17:48:11 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.132703.26478@cci632.cci.com> lcw@cci632.cci.com (Lori Wershing) writes:
>
>We have two refrigerators...one for the kitchen and one for ????.  In the past
>we kept it in the basement, but in the new house it is actually more 
>convenient to have it in the garage.  Is there any reason not to put it
>there?  We live in Rochester, NY so it does get somewhat cold....will this
>damage the motor?
>
>My father thinks that it should be adequately insulated to protect it from
>cold.....my husband is willing to move it if necessary......what do you folks
>think?

The refrigerator will work fine in the garage, _however_....

Don't plan on putting anything in the freezer compartment that will be
damaged by thawing....

The thermostat is in the refrigerator compartment, but the evaporator (cooling)
coils are in the freezer compartment.  Cold air gets from the freezer
compartment to the refrigerator compartment through an adjustable
door.  When ambient temperature is constant, maintaining a constant
temp. in the ref. compartment will keep the freezer at a constant
temp. as well.  If the outside air drops below the thermostat setting,
the compressor will not run, and eventually the freezer compartment
will warm up to that temperature.  (On the other hand, if the outside
temperature goes below freezing, the stuff in the fridge will
eventually freeze...)
-- 
Jonathan E. Quist                              INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation
jeq@i88.isc.com  '71 CL450-K4 "Gleep", DoD #094        Naperville, IL
        There are many things a person should experience in a lifetime.
       Among them are an infant's first cry, and an infant's first laugh.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sasjtf@scorpion.unx.sas.com (Judy K. Heffner)
Subject: Basketball Goal
Originator: sasjtf@scorpion.unx.sas.com
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:05:56 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.



My son has requested a basketball goal for Christmas.  We are
considering mounting the goal above our two-car garage.  
Any suggestions?  recommendations? 
  
Thanks.
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Schlage lock set question.
Date: 23 Nov 92 15:44:45 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Distribution: usa
Organization: Prime Computer R&D


I recently purchased and installed two Schlage lock sets.  One was an entry
knob lock set and the other was a dead bolt.  The entry lock cost me about
$55.00 and the dead bolt cost me about $35.00.  The entry lock said it was
a "Series A" lock set and the dead bolt said it was a "Series B" lock set.

What is the difference between a "Series A" and a "Series B" Schlage lock
set?  The dead bolt seemed to be sturdier, it had a reenforcment plate and
two 3" screws for installing the reenforcement plate.  It also had solid
reenforment collars that went under the nice plated covers on the key side
of the dead bolt.  The entry lock set did not have any of this type of
reenforcement.  Did I waste my money on the Series A entry lock set?  Should
I have gotten a "Series B" entry lockset?  Is there any way I can upgrade
my Series A entry lock set to be a Series B entry lock set?

Any info will be greatly appreciated!

Marc
----
Two of the worst things we teach our children are that a knowledge of science
is nice but not necessary, and a knowledge of sex is necessary but not nice.

Marc Guyott              Constellation Software, Inc.          (508) 620-2800
                         Framingham, Mass. 01701 USA                Ext. 3135
mguyott@primerd.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!primerd.prime.com!mguyott
mguyott@eriador.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!eriador.prime.com!mguyott
From: GA.MCL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Mark C. Lawrence)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Getting rid of radio on my phone lines?
Date: 23 Nov 1992 18:35:44 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: morrow.stanford.edu

In article <1992Nov23.204931.17999@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>,
patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r) writes:
>In article <1992Nov23.150227.14070@miki.pictel.com> dustin@miki.pictel.com (Dustin Clampitt) writes:
>
>Who to call? Look in the Federal Government listings for the number of
>the FCC and register a complaint. The radio station may be in violation,
>but it's not likely. Chances are that the FCC will tell you the same
>thing as the phone company, but it can't hurt to try.

I'm sure they will.  Please don't waste your time and the FCC's time
complaining about RFI on a phone line.  This is *never* the fault of the radio
station.

Usually this is caused by the phone wires acting as an antenna, and the signal
is rectified in the phone and becomes audible.  A filter in the line will
usually clean it up.  There is one other possibility, however:  if the signal
is being rectified by a bad connection in the phone line (as another poster
reported), it will appear as audio at the interface block.  In this case there
is nothing the customer can do to fix it, the phone co. must fix the problem.

Mark C. Lawrence
Systems Programmer     Internet: M.Lawrence@Forsythe.Stanford.edu
Stanford Data Center     Bitnet: M.Lawrence@STANFORD
Stanford, CA 94305-4136     Tel: (415) 723-4976