HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rfelix@netcom.com (Robbie Felix)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Septic system blues...
Keywords: septic new house
Date: 15 Apr 92 00:02:37 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <p7xjl!c@lynx.unm.edu> pkrause@triton.unm.edu (Paul Krause CIRT) writes:
>>In article <1992Apr13.153205.13614@xn.ll.mit.edu> killoran@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Mike I. Killoran) writes:
>>We just walked away from a very similiar deal!
>>The septic was failing. Turned out the leachfield was full of dirt in
>>the pipes. The expert said a fix was "iffy". He said there were no
>>guarantees. It was 4,000 dollars for a short-term fix.
>>
>>
>I have been following these discussions with some interest because I had my
>drain field replaced about 4 years ago for $600.  I did not have to remove
>the old pipe and I have very sandy soil so it's easy to dig; but there must
>be some other differences to account for the cost.  Does anyone know how that
>$20,000 is itemized?
>
>Paul
Hi Paul,

The 20 thousand was to hook up to sewer. In our area if you are within
200 feet of a sewer the county doesn't like issuing permits for major
septic repairs. They want everyone hooked up to the sewer.

This makes sense to me because the area is a lot more populated than
it was a few years ago. The house is in an area that was rural and is
now suburban. Unfortunately this house is almost exactly 200 feet away
from the sewer. Therefore a trench must be dug 200 feet long. Pipe
must be laid 200 feet that will accomodate the whole street that is on
septic.

Unfortunately for us, there is a clause that says if we are the ones
who want it and no one else does, we pay alone. The pipe belongs to
the county or city, though. After we have paid all neighbors are free
to hook up and not have to pay for any part of what we paid. There
must also be a sewer connection to the house. The old tank must be
filled in.

The estimates have run from 11,700. to 20,000. No guarantees on the
price not going up if something else is discovered.

In addition we have to pay for county permits, etc. 3,000. to 4,000.
The permit- getting is a bureaucratic nightmare .

It just wasn't the way I wanted to spend my time or money.
rf
From: wjh@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (william.j.hery)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Selling a home to a VA buyer
Date: 7 Apr 92 01:29:21 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T

>We "tried" to sell our house to VA buyer at fair market value.
>........We accepted with the stipulation that the sales 
>price be raised xx thousands of dollars to cover the additional point 
>spread........  In the end we lost 8 weeks of prime spring-time 
>selling; not to mention the 4 more months it took to close on the 
>house once we found another buyer.

I don't know if the rules have changed, but I lost quite a bit on a
VA that "fell through." We negotiated a sale price that essentially
raised the market value by the points and went to contract with a 
max on the interest rate specified. What we (and out lawyer!!) did not
know was that the mortgage rate on a VA loan (at that tiem, at least)
was not locked in at application time, but at closing time! The max
rate in the contract was reasonable at that moment, but about a month later
rates started moving up sharply, and the buyer claimed that the rate would
be above the max in the contract,and used that to get out of the contract.
We not only lost the 2 months the house was off the market, but had to settle
for the much lower (by 10%) "company offer" in a corporate relocation, since we
had already moved to a new location. As an aside, we had earlier heard through
our realtor that the buyer was looking for a way out of the contract.

BTW, I thought the lawyer (recommended by the realtor, who was otherwise
very reliable) was incompetent for not knowing about the VA rate not
being locked (and not warning us--we would at least have insisted on
more room for market movement). Before I even had to a chance to tell her
that I did not think she deserved her fee, she deducted her fee from an
escrow account that she was holding for us (which was definitely improper).
We considered suing her, but decided suing a lawyer would be a lot more
trouble than it would be worth. I did contact the state bar association,
which basically said that she did act improperly in taking the
fee from the escrow account, although they did not say that she wasn't
due the fee. We decided to just file a complaint with the ethics committee
of the state bar association, since it didn't seem like there was any
worthwhile way to recover the fee (even small claims court would not
have been worth it because we weren't in the area any more). The
ethics committe did issue a reprimand to her, but that was all.  We
did at least get some satisfaction when we found out that she was the
chairperson of the ethics committee, so was embarrassed by the complaint
to her own committee (or maybe they all just got a good laugh--after all
they were all lawyers :-( ). And the realtor, who used to steer a lot of
high profit closings to her, refused to recommend her any more.

Bill Hery
AT&T Bell Labs
201-386-2362
hery@att.COM
From: davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Thatching attachment
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:09:47 GMT
Distribution: na


Here is what I did for those hard pan areas of my lawn that needed a
hole plugger.  Rather than renting one I used an old wood drill bit
that I had worn out drilling holes in studs for my house wiring.
I used my dremel tool and cut off wheel to slice off the tip end of
the drill bit and turned it into a simple dirt auger.  I take my
big drill, dirt auger and 100 ft of extension cord out into the yard
and drill holes in the areas that look like they could stand some
moisture penetration.  Some holes go easy.  Some hit the clay and
and require a firm grip on the drill and a bit of technique to pull
the drill clear.  Works great if you only have a few patches to deal
with or a small lawn.  Big lawns of course will require the commercial
solutions.

Dave
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: naiming@eng.umd.edu (Naiming Shen)
Subject: Any advice on seleting carpet for a new house?
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 92 14:58:52 GMT
Organization: Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland


I need to selet carpets for my new house this weekend. The builder gives me
a 'standard'(about $9-$10/square yard) carpet and I can upgrade my self. I
have never owned a house before, don't know exactly what to choose. Should
I choose better carpet for living room, dinning room and family room than
bedrooms upstairs, or the other way around? or the same? Should I choose the
same color for every room? And what kind of tiles to choose for the kitchen
and bathrooms, I heard price difference can be very big for different tiles.
Any comments are appreciated.

Naiming,
From: mckenna@ctron.com (Ed McKenna)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Selling a home to a VA buyer
Date: 10 Apr 92 15:11:39 GMT
Reply-To: mckenna@shark.ctron.com (Ed McKenna)
Organization: Cabletron Systems INc.

In article <1992Mar31.181248.6226@linus.mitre.org> mmcevill@mitre.org (Michael A. McEvilley) writes:
>
>And it shouldnt be held againt the buyer either.  They are the ones that 
>have to deal with all the paperwork.  If you have a GOOD realtor, it wont 
>be a problem.  I've bought VA in both a military and non-military market.  
>My first mortage took 5 weeks to come thru, the second one took 4 weeks.  
>Also, keep in mind that the VA will qualify someone who may not otherwise 
>qualify conventionally, because the VA allows higher ratios.  
>
>Michael A. McEvilley
>mmcevill@mitre.org

	But, will they give a loan to someone who has defaulted on 
	a student loan.  (I.E. not even one payment)

	My tenants are trying to buy a va owned property.
	I wouldn't think they have a chance with having just screwed
	the govt out of 15000 bucks.

	Although the govt does some pretty stupid things.

	Ed.
From: brian@cbmvax.commodore.com (Brian Fennimore)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Need Vertical Blinds
Date: 6 Apr 92 16:21:32 GMT
Reply-To: brian@cbmvax.commodore.com (Brian Fennimore)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

In article <1992Apr4.002355.6446@intelhf.hf.intel.com> sjohnso@hfglobe.intel.com (Steven Johnson) writes:
>Hi folks!
>
>I need to purchase vertical blinds for a 16 foot window/sliding-door.  
>Can anybody know or recommend where I can get a good price for these?
>Are the companies in the back of the 'home' magazines any good?
>
>Thanks in advance!
>
>Steven

Since this doesn't exactly fit into a "standard" size category, you may 
end up shelling out a good piece of change as opposed to off-the-shelf
prices. I bought a set of verticals for an 8 foot wide slider that 
was the largest Sears carried at the time. Good luck!     

Brian
From: lfischer@dartagnan.rutgers.edu (Lfischer)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: hot water systems, Does yours do this?
Keywords: sand
Date: 13 Apr 92 17:32:30 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


Okay, Im back to my water system.  The last time I shut off my water
and turned it back on, all of my aerators filled with sand.  I feel
that it is coming from the hot water side, but I wouldnt put my life
on it.  I have an oil based heat/hot water generator.  My hot water
does not put out near the pressure that my cold side does...

Question 1:
Has anyone else seen this?

Question 2:
How about I put a tap on the out side of the water heater and just try
pumping water thru this puppy to flush it out?  Anyone ever try that?

Larry Fischer
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sasbge@ant.unx.sas.com (Gantt Edmiston)
Subject: Re: Brick walk tips/advice needed
Reply-To: sasbge@ant.unx.sas.com
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 19:28:17 GMT
Originator: sasbge@ant.unx.sas.com
X-Bytes: 1764

In article <1992Apr13.>, moody@e4.ius.cs.cmu.edu (James Moody) writes:
>I want to replace our concrete front walk with a brick walkway.  I don't
>want to use interlocking paving stone, rather I want to use bricks I 
>already have, and I plan to mortar them together.  After thinking about
>this for awhile it seems that the best way to build a good walk would be
>to put in a concrete base first, then mount the bricks on top.
>
>None of my building/remodelling books discuss this, and I will be visiting 
>my local library, but I wanted to get advice and wisdom from anyone on the
>net who's built a brick walk or patio before.

Since I have never *personally* built a walkway before, I may not
qualify to answer this as required above =-)   I do see a potential
problem with the use of mortar for a walkway.  If the base does not extend
down below the frost line, you might get some problems with the walkway
shifting and cracking if you have extended or severe winters...
I don't know about the winters in Pittsburgh, PA. but you might need a
pretty deep base of concrete which could be rather expensive.

You could just build a nice base of sand and lay the brick in.  Later
if you want to move the walk you are not tied down to the "set in concrete"
path of the previous method.  Additionally, when the brick start to wear
from use, you can give them a flip and you have a nice new surface.




-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gantt Edmiston                         =  o     |
QA Host Systems, V416 x6091         =  _ /- _   |  "The fewer the facts,
SASnet: <sasbge@ant.unx.sas.com>   =  (_)> (_)  |   the stronger the opinion!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: stevee@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Stephen Elmendorf)
Subject: How to get rid of mildew smell in bathroom?
Organization: Motorola Inc., Austin, Tx
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 17:37:06 GMT

I have a bit of a problem. In the last few weeks, we have noticed a smell of 
mildew in our upstairs master bath. The problem is, we can't find the source.
It almost seems like it is coming from the shower, but where? Everything is
clean, and about 2 months ago I re-caulked, so no water should be accumulating
in unseen areas. It almost seems like it is coming from the drain, but is that
possible? We have no drainage problem, but when we turn the water on, the smell
seems to increase momentarily, and then fade.

Any comments on how I can locate the source of this smell, or other experiences,
would be greatly appreciated. It is getting warmer here, and that makes it
even worse...

Regards,
stevee


-- 
|        __/__ ___     ____________     Stephen Elmendorf		|
|   /\    /   /    |  /  /    /		Motorola, Inc. - Oak Hill	|
|  /  \  /   /--   | /  /--  /--	Austin, TX (512) 891-2955	|
| /___/_/___/______|/  /___ /____	"These opinions be mine!"	|
From: doshay@ursa.arc.nasa.gov (David Doshay)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Which first - replacement windows or furnace?
Date: 9 Apr 92 17:29:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Apr9.172902.4868
Organization: NASA-Ames Biocomputation Center

In article <cdsiSnm00Uh_A1XFJK@andrew.cmu.edu>, ah0r+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allyson Halpern) writes:
|> Now that the warm weather is upon us, it is unfortunately time to start
|> preparing for the next harsh winter. We have leaky old windows and a
|> humongous old furnace - both need to be replaced but we can really only
|> afford to replace one or the other right now. Some tell me to do the
|> furnace first, others the windows. Any recommendations? Thanks! - Allyson

A furnace replacement will only take a few days. Window replacements
will take a while, depending of course on how many windows and how many
workers and how many $$. If you are starting early, as you clearly are, I
would start with windows. We started in October, and thus did the furnace
first, and the windows started soon after. We are still working on the windows,
but every time we got two more windows in (over the cold part of winter) we
saw a drop in the heating bill. But the big drop in the heating bill comes
from replacing the old furnace with a modern high efficiency model.

Starting now, definitely the windows. But be sure you have the money to
do the furnace in early October.

David		doshay@ursa.arc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: Mortgage brokers
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Date: 8 Apr 92 14:06:22

In article <1992Apr6.234420.19394@erg.sri.com> marie@paris.erg.sri.com (Marie desJardins) writes:

   What exactly does a mortgage broker do?

Mortgage brokers are agents for `wholesale' loans.

   Am I better off using one, or just calling banks myself to find out
   their loan programs?

I suggest shopping around quite aggressively at various banks _and_
mortgage brokers.  After all, a tiny difference in interest rate or
other terms and conditions of the mortgage can make a big difference
in the cost to you.  And don't put down an application fee until you
see a program that interests you.  Probably best to apply to at least
two lenders, though, in case something screws up at one.

Remember, the house and the mortgage on it are probably the two
biggest purchases you've made in your life.  Unless you have money to
burn, this is the place to work hard to save money, not grocery store
coupons and sales on carpeting.  It is probably worth taking time off
from work to pursue it, if you don't have flexible hours.

   How much do they charge?

Depends.  Ask.  They typically charge a `markup' which you don't see.

	-s

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: killoran@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Mike I. Killoran)
Subject: Septic system blues... 
Originator: killoran@xn.ll.mit.edu
Keywords: septic new house
Reply-To: killoran@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Mike I. Killoran)
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 15:32:05 GMT

Hello,

I'm in the process of buying a house.  Last Saturday I had the septic
inspection and the home inspection.  The home inspection went well, only
turned up a few things that I didn't already see.  The septic didn't go so
well...

First the septic guy pulled the concrete cover off of the holding tank and
said the level should be 1 foot below the top of the tank... It was about
half a foot.  As he pumped out the holding tank we could hear water running
back into the holding tank from the leaching field and distribution box.  He
said everything should be at a downward slope; Therefore nothing should flow
back from the leaching field.  He said this meant that the leaching field
was clogged with solids, thus preventing the liquid from leaching.

The homeowners are now in Florida (the house is in Ma) and they have rented
it to a couple for the last year.  The couple has found their own house, and
are moving out.  The homeowners think it has been 3-4 years since the last
pump-out but they have no documentation so it may be longer.

The septic guy said he couldn't certify the system as it stands now, and
recommends that we have him use a backhoe to dig to the distribution box and
the ends of the leachfield pipes.  He would then pump them dry and wait
overnight.  The next day he would put in Hydrogen Peroxide to break up the
solids, then cover everything back up.  He gave this fix a 95% chance of
working and a 2500-3000 dollar price.

He also said if this doesn't work (!), the 'fix' is to dig up the whole
system and cart it to NY (with all the contaminated soil) and the build a
new system from scratch.  Do to ledge rock in the backyard it would have to
go into the side yard and possibly into the front yard...  This, he said,
could be $20,000.

So, TMALSS, we want the sellers to pay for the peroxide treatment (the
broker indicated they would have to in order to sell the house to anyone),
and want to know how effective this treatment is.  If if works, I will
certainly pump out the system every 1-2 years to keep it working.  The $130
it costs to pump out seems to be cheap insurance compared to the cost of
fixing a neglected system.

Finally, has anyone used this peroxide treatment?  Am I making sense? (I
have never dealt with a septic system)  Comments?

Thanks,

Mike Killoran
killoran@ll.mit.edu
From: glen@Cayman.COM (Glen B. Glater)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: How to Lime a lawn?
Date: 8 Apr 92 02:38:47 GMT
Distribution: misc.consumers.house
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA

Can someone tell me how much lime to put on a lawn?  I've got a bunch of moss
and a patch under a pine tree that I'd like to get grass growing on.

Thanks.

Glen
--

	*************************************************************
	Glen B. Glater				Phone: (617) 494-1999         
	Technical Support Engineer		Fax:   (617) 494-5167         
	Cayman Systems Inc.			Internet: glen@cayman.com     
	26 Landsdowne Street			AppleLink:  CAYMAN.TECH	      
	Cambridge, MA   02139            SneakerNet:  3rd cube on the left
From: davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Dealing w/neighborhood cats?
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:01:11 GMT


I have built simple box traps on my table saw that have caught cats and
. . . .  I use a drop door at one end and a simple treddle inside with a
string up through a hole to the trip release of a mouse trap screwed on
top.  The hoop of the trap jerks a string with nail attached which
releases the door to drop closed.

Dave
From: ramki@cirrus.com (Ramki Ramakrishnan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: INCOMPLETE FLUSHING IN A TOILET
Date: 10 Apr 92 20:39:22 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.

I need help in ragards to the following:
- One of the toilets in my house always needs more than once to flush out 
  completely.
- The problem is the water will not flush out completely. Half way through it
  will stop and needs to be flushed again to let the water go completely.
- The house is fairly new (about 3 yrs old) and other toilets in the house 
  work well.
- The one with the above trouble is in the 2nd floor.
- The problem exists irrespective of whether anything is in the bowl or not and
  is very random (does not flush out more often than the other way).
  Thanks for your help,
  Ramki
From: crowley@zax.teraida.UUCP (Chris Crowley)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: how to remove wall paper glue
Keywords: Sanding wallpaper glue..
Date: 16 Apr 92 13:10:30 GMT
Organization: Teradyne, Inc. Boston MA

< Sorry this is days late, our mail feed is stopped up somewhere >
Last year I had to remove wallpaper glue from every room in my new house.  My
wife made up a solution of warm water and vinegar, and this took it right off.
(Ok, so there was some scrubbing involved.)  We also had bare wood floors; we
bought a 3' roll of heavyweight kraft paper and covered the floor.  We got the 
kraft paper from a paper goods store.  You don't need to throw buckets of the
solution on the wall; we had one person lead with a nylon bristle brush dunked
in the vinegar, and a second person follow with a big sponge.  It didn't take
that much elbow grease; we just let it sit for a minute and the vinegar did
most of the work.

If you do use kraft paper, don't secure it to your floor with masking tape.  
These jobs can tend to go on much longer than you expect; someone I suggested
the kraft paper to now has a large masking tape square on his dining room 
floor.  Hey, does anyone know how to remove masking tape spooge from a wood
floor?

- Chris Crowley
From: ah0r+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allyson Halpern)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Which first - replacement windows or furnace?
Date: 8 Apr 92 12:31:47 GMT
Organization: Records, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Now that the warm weather is upon us, it is unfortunately time to start
preparing for the next harsh winter. We have leaky old windows and a
humongous old furnace - both need to be replaced but we can really only
afford to replace one or the other right now. Some tell me to do the
furnace first, others the windows. Any recommendations? Thanks! - Allyson
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: brianb@sprintcom (Brian Bailey)
Subject: Four Seasons
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 16:37:18 GMT
Organization: mentor
Keywords: Sunrooms
Followup-To: 

I am thinking of having a sun room added to my house, and the best I have
seen so far (from looking through magazines etc) is Four Seasons.

Does anyone have any comments on this company ?
What are their products like ?
Are there other companies I should look into (Pacific NW) ?
What other things should I be aware about with this type of extension ?

Thanks for any info.

-- 
Brian Bailey

================================================================================
My thoughts are sometimes my own. Other times someone says they own them,
			    and I have no rights.
From: btarbox@sw.stratus.com (Brian Tarbox)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: battery backup for sump pump?
Date: 7 Apr 92 16:09:08 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

We have a sump pump which runs every few minutes, basically
all the time, (draining a basement pit).  If we ever lost
power for more than a half hour or so we'd literally be
sunk.  I'd heard of battery backups for sump pumps.
Does anyone out there have any info/experiences/etc?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house