HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist)
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrew's effect on building materials
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1992 19:01:09 GMT

In article <-vsndc_.greg@netcom.com> greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough) writes:
>In article <1992Sep09.155252.15647@i88.isc.com> jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist) writes:
>>In article <1992Sep9.133454.14188@nscf.org> mlf@nscf.org (Mary Lou Freil) writes:
>>>Well I can't comment on the midwest but here in Georgia building materials
>>>are now becomming quite scarce. According to our builder (he built our
>>>house last year and is about to start building a barn for us) the
>>>price of plywood doubled last week.
>>
>>Ah, yes, don't you just love our free enterprise system!  Whenever someone's
>>down, there's always someone willing to step in, lend a hand,
>>and give them another kick.  Sounds like time to save all the newspaper
>>ads you can, and hold the dealers to their advertised prices.
> 
>This strikes me as odd. In the past, it has been usual in times of national 
>crisis, to take legal steps against price-gouging and profiteering.
> 
>Where is the federal government in all of this?

Trying to get re-elected.  Given the no-win situation with portions of
the logging industry (i.e., jobs vs. the spotted owl), I'm not very
optimistic that George and friends will do anything to keep a lid
on lumber prices, even though the profits probably don't get anywhere
near the sources.  The implications if they don't do anything, however,
are pretty grim.  Given the state of the new housing market,
at least in my area, it appears that sales are down.  If the price
of materials increases that much, then I'd expect to see a fairly
substantial (does 30% sound like a good guess?) increase in the price
of new homes.  Of course, that'll kick sales down even further...

Enforcement of profiteering laws may be even more difficult.  If
the supplies are being sold in Florida at normal prices, then the
suppliers are spotless.  The resulting decrease in supply elsewhere,
however, could easily drive up local prices to whatever the traffic
will bear.  Given that the federal effort even to provide basic
relief in the effected areas seems to be clogged with red tape, is
Joe and Fred's Lumber Yard going to really be concerned about what's
going to happen to them?
-- 
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: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Subject: Re: Which garage door opener to use?
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 92 03:41:03 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

Genie now makes a very small (1/4 horse) screw-drive units which is
terrific for one-car garages or garages with twin doors.
 
At the discounters, it is not much more than the Stanley junk.
 
Greg
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: CPLS13@email.mot.com (Steven_Cohn)
Subject: Re: Builder's Square ?
Organization: Motorola_CoveragePLUS
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 13:41:52 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house

In article <1992Sep8.175452.16891@cbnewsi.cb.att.com>,
rbaist@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (robert.t.baist) wrote:
> 
> There's a builder's Square upening up near me (Freehold, N.J.). I've never 
> heard of them before. What r they?    like Rickel's?   Like Home Depot?
> 
> Please E-mail me.
> 
> Thanks,
> Bob B.  

They are like Home Depot - only owned/operated by K-Mart.

Steven Cohn
Motorola CoveragePLUS Engineering
CPLS13@EMAIL.MOT.COM
From: smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Two electrical questions.
Date: 8 Sep 92 01:26:32 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.141851.12383@primerd.prime.com>, mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott) writes:
> Question 2: Last night our portable dish washer tripped the GFCI outlet it
>             was plugged into.  We have been using the dish washer for almost
>             two weeks without any problems.  We were not using any other
>             appliances or outlets on the circuit (there are only four outlets
>             on a dedicated circuit for kitchen use).  I reset the GFCI outlet
>             and the dish washer worked fine.  Is this something that happens
>             occaisionally or is this something I should be concerned about?

Nuisance trips are not unknown; if you consult the FAQ, you'll see that
GFCI's are neither required nor recommended for certain types of
equipment that must run unattended, i.e., refrigerators, freezers,
and sump pumps.  Some people speculate that the inductive effect
of motors could cause a momentary current flow imbalance.

On the other hand, it's possible that it was a genuine trip, in response
to a transient circumstance -- perhaps a water droplet caused a low-grade
short to ground, but it either vaporized or was dislodged by vibration
as the unit shut down.  I'm guessing here, of course.

My suggestion is not to worry, but if you get another trip, have someone
check out the diswasher's circuitry.
From: kim@castle.wpd.sgi.com (Kim Rachmeler)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Sheetrocking Question
Date: 9 Sep 92 19:21:15 GMT
Reply-To: kim@wpd.sgi.com
Organization: SGI CASE Products Group


|> Any pre sheetrocking tips, suggestions, etc?  What do I need to buy/have?
|> What is the best/cheapest ways to finish the ceiling? Etc.
|> 

  In no particular order:

	-- Hang the sheets on the wall with the long side horizontal.  
		This will put the seam at an easy to reach waist level.

	-- Use the largest possible drywall sheets.  If a wall is 10ft 
		long, buy 4X12 sheets of drywall and cut off the 
		excess rather than piecing 8ft sheets together.

	-- Get a screw gun or a drywall screw adapter for your drill 
		and use drywall screws instead of nails.  After some 
		practice they're fast to install and you never have 
		to worry about nail pops.

	-- Instead of sanding between coats of drywall mud, use a
		sponge.  Reduces the mess of getting dust everywhere.
		And only use the minimum amount of mud necessary to
		cover for each coat.

	-- If you're in a hurry, consider hiring someone to do the
		taping and texturing.



	Kim Rachmeler			Silicon Graphics doesn't
	kim@wpd.sgi.com			have any opinions about drywall.
From: jhart@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (Jim Hart)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Advice: Sundance Spas
Keywords: spa, hot tub, Sundance
Date: 3 Sep 92 12:35:22 GMT
Reply-To: jhart@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (Jim Hart)
Distribution: usa
Organization: NCR Corporation, Wichita KS

In article <1992Aug31.193548.27676@brtph560.bnr.ca> jthomas@brtph98.bnr.ca
(James Thomas P215) writes:
>
>    I am considering buying a Sundance Cameo 800 Spa (which
>happens to be a "Best Buy" in Consumers Digest this month,
>although we did not know that before deciding on it).  Anyway,
>has anyone purchased a Sundance Spa who would like to talk

I bought a Sundance Maxxus in March this year for just about the price
you're indicating.  So far we're happy with it - won't say *very* happy
as we have no other experience to compare it to, however there are no
complaints except the 'Users Manual' which was last year's and didn't
cover the current features as well as having a couple of incorrect
diagrams.  Other than that our satisfaction index would be about a 8.739
out of a possible 10.000.  One of the factors that sold us on the Sundance 
was the simple, clean, easy-to-get-to skid pad (that's what the pumps,
heater, valves area is called).  Compared to most all others we looked at
it was by far the best design.  Draining is easy as is filter removal.
All in all, I would recommend the Sundance highly.  

-- 
 Jim Hart NCR Wichita   | "If the day ever comes when I judge the success of
 (316)636-8434          |  a fishing trip by the weight of the creel at the
                        |  end of the day, I hope that I shall have sense
                        |  enough to quit fishing."    {Harold Hollis, 1945}
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Whole-House Fan Choice is Not a Breeze
Date: 10 Sep 92 16:49:05 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <1992Sep9.163441.22843@dg-rtp.dg.com> eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com writes:
>
>|> Remember, this piece of electrical equipment is going in your attic.
>What's your point here?

Attics are hot, dusty, filled sometimes with insulation fibers, etc. They
are also a bad place to have a fire start.  I believe it's best not to
put an el-cheapo motor like comes with the $99.00 Home Depot whole-house
fans into such an environment.
 
Greg
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sparkle@access.digex.com (Pat)
Subject: Re: Security Alarms
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 19:05:22 GMT

In article <Bu0sLn.9zK@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
>
>In article <1992Sep2.151427.12144@col.hp.com> andy@col.hp.com (Andrew Blasciak) writes:
>>tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
>>> 
>>> In article <1992Sep1.195625.8444@bradley.bradley.edu> jeff@bradley.bradley.edu (Jeff Hibbard) writes:
>>> >
>>> >Yes.  They (like me) had an alarm that depended on the telephone line
>>> >to notify a central monitoring office.  It didn't occur to them that
>>> >turning off their telephone service while on vacation also crippled
>>> >the alarm system.
>>> 
>>> If your alarm system depends on a phone line, you might want to get a
>>> "leased" line. If a leased line is cut, it raises an alarm at the phone
>>> company and they know instantly that your house is under attack. It's a
>>> little bit extra per month, but the peace of mind may be worth it,
>>> especially when you consider that many burglars cut phone lines as a
>>> matter of course, whether you have the stickers or not.
>>> 
>>   Disguise real interface box as sprinkler controller (or light timer)
>>   Burglar cuts fake wires, enters house thinking he's safe and gets
>
>Here's another one: put a sign on your network interface saying "this is
>a 'leased' telephone line. Cutting this line will instantly sound an
>alarm and summon the police." The burglar has no way of knowing whether
>or not your line really is a leased line or not, so it might deter some.

Would all or any of these machinations be necessary with all systems?
I was told by the Rollins people that, if my telephone line were cut,
the central office in Atlanta would take immediate steps to notify
the local police.

Was I misinformed, or is my system one step ahead of the competition?

Pat
sparkle@access.digex.com

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
Subject: Re: Home security tips from a burglar
Reply-To: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
Organization: NCR Corporation, Rancho Bernardo
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 17:14:00 GMT

In article <BuDMID.Fn@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
>
>In article <1992Sep9.233600.17853@Athena.dal.fsd.mot.com> jerryc@Athena.dal.fsd.mot.com (Jerry Culp) writes:
>>In article <1992Sep9.182912.25073@CERIS.Purdue.EDU> jheath@CERIS.Purdue.EDU (Jim Heath) writes:
|>>
|>>Don't leave bushes where they will shield someone breaking into
|>>your house.
|>
|>It would seem that having particularly obnoxious shrubbery below a window
|>would be to your advantage. Who would try climbing over or through a 
|>cactus to get to a window ? Or rose bushes ?

There is some kind of holly leaf bush that's supposed to be very good
for this. Very wicked and very dense. Just hope you don't need to get
close to the window yourself to wash or replace or paint.

|The problem with bushes is that there is usually a gap between the
|bushes and the outside wall of the house. Cacti are fine, since they
|don't have much in the way of dense foliage, but any bush that will
|obscure a burglar behind it while he cuts a hole in the perimiter of
|your dwelling is a bad thing. A simple jacket will protect him long
|enough to get past the thorns in a rose bush, and once he's next to the
|house he's in the small gap area where there aren't any thorns.

What's the difference. 95% of your burglars are going to break in from
your backyard where they are probably not going to be visible to anyone
anyway.


Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: cthorne@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Charles E Thorne)
Subject: Re: Home Owner's Insurance
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 14:11:42 GMT

In article <7190@bigbird.hri.com.hri.com> obrien@bigbird.hri.com writes:

>I'm currently looking into home owners Insurance. This
>is the first time I have done this, so I need  a little
>help. 

>The house is in the Boston Area (Hull), and its has been
>assessed at $65,900. 

>My personal belongings are not much, and I don't want to
>get any more coverage than what is necessary.

Let me give you my experience with respect to homeowner policy (from the
insurance company viewpoint).  First, with regard to the house, the company
wants the house insured for replacement cost.  In inflationary times it is
well to have an automatic increase.  With regard to your belongings, you also
want to be insured for as close to actual replacement cost as you can.  The
standard policy will probably be 50% of house insurance on belongings.  The
other things are fairly routine (you are provided liability insurance for
someone being injured on the property, extra living expenses while you can't
live there, etc.)

Even though the purchase price includes land and other things which are
not subject to loss in case of fire or windstorm, replacement cost is the
important issue.  From the insurance company's standpoint, a partial fire
may only damage 20% of the property, but replacement cost to rebuild may
be half of your insured value.  They will protect themselves with a percentage
item which says they will only pay a percentage, based on the percentage of
replacement cost you're carrying.

Just as an example, say your $65,000 house has a lot worth $15,000, so you
insure for $50,000, plus $10,000 for contents.  Then a fire comes along and
destroys one room.  It may be only destroying 20% of the house and belongings
but to replace that one room may cost $25,000 plus another $10,000 for contents.  If you're only insured at 50% of replacement cost, the insurance company
would reduce your check to $12,500 for the room and another $5,000 for the
contents.

Remember you need to buy your personal belongings back at retail (and probably
not on sale).

Charlie
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rsd@sei.cmu.edu (Richard S D'Ippolito)
Subject: Re: Home security tips from a burglar
Organization: The Software Engineering Institute
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 17:40:33 GMT


In article <1992Sep10.160231.3536@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>, patter@dasher.uucp
(24224-guthrie) writes:

|> Question for you electrical wiring gurus. I'd like to wire up a pair of
|> floodlights to a three-way switch in such a manner that in one position
|> the lights are driven by a motion detector and in the other position
|> they are on. I would also put a single pole switch upstream to let me cut
|> the thing off by cutting the power to the 3-way.
|> 
|> Comments?

First of all, note that 3-way switches are really 2-way, i.e., single pole,
double throw (SPDT or 1P2T), so you can wire one to select either the detector
output or the 120V source.  If you get a 3-position selector switch, you can
have "OFF" at the same location (OFF, ON, DET) and save the second switch.


|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
|>                     | It is commonly agreed that the inventor of a weapon
|>                     | used to kill and maim must share in large measure
|> George Patterson -  | the guilt for its thousands of victims. By the way,
|>                     | who DID invent the bicycle chain?
|>                     |                            Kelvin Throop
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------

A drawing of a bicycle with chain and sprocket drive appears in Leonardo's
(Vinci is not his name, but birthplace) notebooks, dating before 1500.  It was
reinvented some 400 years later, without reference to his notebooks.

Rich


   "Please keep in mind that the ultimate goal [of hi-fi] is the
   reproduction of art, and that the invocation of science, while a neat
   parlour trick, is often unnecessary, flawed, and unreasonable."
   --  name mercifully withheld...                            rsd@sei.cmu.edu
From: hamilton@robin.rtp.dg.com (Eric Hamilton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re:  Removal of "very" old linoleum tiles
Date: 13 Sep 92 04:03:46 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC

In article <3795@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca>, clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
|> We should add the obligatory comment: tiles from that era frequently
|> contain asbestos, removal of such tiles will be somewhat of a health
|> hazard, and in many areas disposal will be difficult and/or expensive. 
|> (I say "somewhat of a health hazard" because the hazards are somewhat
|> overrated, but disposal can be a severe pain).
|> 
|> If you suspect asbestos, and the existing tiles are solidly fastened,
|> why remove them?  Install the new floor over it.  As long as the original
|> tile isn't a padded or embossed pattern, this works pretty well.
|> 
|> If you must remove tile that you suspect has asbestos, you can greatly
|> reduce any possible risk by:
|> 	- wearing a dust mask
|> 	- bagging removed tile immediately
|> 	- avoid tearing the tile
|> 	- use a spray bottle full of water, and lightly mist the
|> 	  areas you're working in.
|> 

Two comments.  First, add a little detergent to the water - improves its
wetting ability by cutting surface tension.

Second, a dust mask is worthless for asbestos protection.  A respirator
rated for that purpose is necessary.

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Hamilton				+1 919 248 6172
Data General Corporation		hamilton@dg-rtp.rtp.dg.com
62 Alexander Drive			...!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!hamilton
Research Triangle Park, NC  27709, USA
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Home invaders
Date: 10 Sep 1992 13:10:33 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 92Sep9174211@next4.osf.org, macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes:
>
>Does anyone have figures, though, on how likely it is that my family
>will be attacked in the house at night?  (As opposed to the likelihood
>that my house will be burglarized.)

Depend.  Is your address in south central LA?   :^)

Seriously, while some "probability" derived from national statistics
might be interesting, it is fairly meaningless applied to a specific
house in a specific neighborhood.  It's kind of like taking auto
accident death statistics and combining them with life expectancy to
learn that every mile you drive takes 7.3 minutes off the end of your
life.  Cute, but meaningless.

Drop into the local donut shop and strike up a conversation with a
local cop.  Ask him what beat they all dread.  If you live in that
neighborhood, move.

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Credit report
Date: 8 Sep 1992 20:17:58 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 29974@Princeton.EDU, roger@crux.Princeton.EDU (Roger Lustig) writes:
>
>some banks are, well, conservative weenies.

You mean some aren't?!?  Got a phone number?

:^)

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...
From: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu (norman miller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Looking for a good dishwasher
Date: 6 Sep 92 23:25:30 GMT
Organization: Trinity College, Hartford, CT.

We're looking for a basic model dishwasher that will last
as close to 30 years as our last one did.  Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Subject: Re: Security Alarms
Organization: /etc/organization
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 20:17:44 GMT


I just called my local phone company (NYNEX) and they had no idea what a
"leased" telephone line was.  I talked with people in both the residential
and business offices.  Anyone have any idea if these types of lines are
offered in New England?  If so, what are they called?

Thanks, 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
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Electrical wiring for fixtures
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 21:36:31 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.155025.20735@exu.ericsson.se> exukev@exu.ericsson.se (Kevin Autrey) writes:

>.......................................................  The books
>that I've seen talk about using a switch loop to go from the fixture
>to the wall switch. 
>
>However, the way the circuit is currently wired (circa 1950) is that
>the wall switch box has the feed wire coming in and going out, with
>the two-conductor wire to the fixture providing power (hot and
>neutral) to the fixture. 

Depending on the area, you will see this frequently in houses wired before
the mid-60s. You can save a lot of wire if you do this, especially if
you also run your wiring through the walls instead of making "drops" to
the outlets. I have one box in which the power line comes into the switch
box and is connected to three switches. It was legal when it went in in
the mid-60s.

Not sure about the NEC, but the Federal Wiring Handbook (not the exact
title) recommends bringing the feed into the ceiling box, running a drop
to the switch (the "loop" you describe), and making all connections in
the ceiling box. The reason it gives for recommending this practice (and
for recommending drops to wall outlets) is that the system is much more
maintainable when wired this way.

This handbook (which is actually real thick and expensive - sort of a
handbook on steroids), is well worth buying. Wish I still had my copy.
While not everything in it is in the NEC, all of the NEC is in it. The
University of Tennessee used to carry it when they scheduled their
course on home electrical system design.

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | You can't find the answers in the bottom of a
George Patterson -  | whiskey glass, but if you look hard enough, you'll
                    | forget the questions.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks)
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 19:56:15 GMT
Subject: Re: Thermostat question
Organization: the HP Corporate notes server