HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: brian@ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Tying 2 Switches to Common Load?
Date: 8 Jan 1993 02:49:11 GMT
Organization: The Avant-Garde of the Now, Ltd.
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: ucsd.edu

I believe that paralleling the two switches would be unsafe because it
violates the principle of least astonishment - you turn off a switch and
the power doesn't go off!

There would be real problems if the switches were on different phases;
without some care that could happen.  Boom!

I'd suggest you use a pair of relays - parallel the contacts, drive the
coils from the two separate lamp circuits.  If the relays are located
in the j-box the fan is connected to, you can put stickers and diagrams
and such in there so that the next electrician won't be confused.
	- Brian
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: schaller@hsi.com (Dave V. Schaller)
Subject: Basement Sealer / Floor Paint
Followup-To: Poster
Organization: 3M Health Information Systems, Wallingford CT
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:25:06 GMT

Hello all,
I am planning on sealing my basement walls and floor.  The walls are
stone and mortar.  Some of the mortar needs replacement.  I am not
having any problems with water.  I have correct those problems by
reworking my downspouts.  Even after I reworked the downspouts I still
have some moister.  I do have a dehumidifier running and it does a
pretty good job.  Since the walls are about 80 years old some of the 
mortar needs replacement.

   What types of wall sealer and floor paints are available?

   I also have to replace some of the mortar.  Can anyone give me a few
   pointers before I start?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David Schaller        Software Engineering      ...!uunet!hsi!schaller
    3M                                          schaller@hsi.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David Schaller        Software Engineering      ...!uunet!hsi!schaller
    3M                                          schaller@hsi.com
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From: tvervaek@col.hp.com (Tom Vervaeke)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Why are baseboard heaters installed against exterior walls?
Date: 8 Jan 1993 14:39:24 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: itchub21.cs.itc.hp.com


This sort of follows the same reasoning why you never put thermostats on
an outside wall. The heat would be on all the time and the center of the
house would boil.  We've just completed a new home with gas-fired-boiler
and baseboard water heat (10 zones!). Talk about quiet and comfort. I
will never live in a home again (in cold territory like here) with
forced air. We just visited folks back home and stayed in homes with
forced air. What a racket and it gets hot, then cold, then hot again. Of
course living here we do not need AC so the baseboard heat eliminates
all those messy air moving vents, ducts, etc..

Our home has two "toe-kick" heaters that are interesting.  They are
heated by water from the boiler, but they each have their own
thermostat. When it comes on a fan blows which really warms you up.  we
have these below the kitchen sink and again below the sink in the master
bath.  The fan can be set to low, high, or off at the heater itself. It
sure is nice on those really cold days to have the heat blow for you.

Also, we had 3 Heat'n'glow prefab gas fireplaces installed. These are
both decorative and functional. If we lost power we could somewhat heat
the house with these.

Regards.

( ___ )------------------------------------------------------------( ___ )
 | / | Tom Vervaeke           Email:tom_vervaeke@hp0800.desk.hp.com | \ |
 | / | Technology Specialist  Snail: 1900 Garden of the Gods Rd.    | \ |
 | / | Hewlett Packard Co.           Colorado Springs, CO 80901     | \ |
 | / | Colorado Springs, CO   Voice    : 719-590-2133               | \ |
 | / | USA                    Fax      : 719-590-2117               | \ |
 | / |--------------------------------------------------------------| \ |
 | / | Quote of the week...                                         | \ |
 |___|           Quote deleted do to lack of creativity !!!         |___|
(_____)------------------------------------------------------------(_____)
   ^                                                                  ^
From: richt@meaddata.com (Rich Thompson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the pricinple of your home loan?
Date: 11 Jan 1993 21:03:45 GMT
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Distribution: na
Reply-To: richt@meaddata.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: bacon.meaddata.com

In article <11JAN199313340837@utkvx3.utk.edu>, drevik@utkvx3.utk.edu (Drevik, Steve) writes:
|>    Example 2:  Loan amount $100K, interest = 8.5%.  Total interest
|>   paid will be roughly $8,400, providing an additional tax benefit
|>   of about $670.  If I have a spare $10,000 to invest (somebody
|>   died), and I could invest it either way, paying off the loan
|>   will cost me roughly $67 in tax benefit.  Thus, my mutual fund
|>   need only make 11.8% - ($76/10,000) or about 11% to beat
|>  paying off loan.
|> 

NOT!!!

Your  deductible  interest your first year is $8,471.  If you put  that
$10,000 toward your mortgage, your  deductible interest would be $7664:
You now have $807 more in taxable income.  You have a realized  gain of
$581.  HOWEVER, if you invest that $10,000 in a taxable investment that
returns  9%,  you now have  a taxable gain of $900 which is a  realized
gain of $648.

The general rule is:

   A deductable investment's  rate  of  return  IS  DIRECTLY
   COMPARABLE  to  a  taxable investment's  rate  of return.
   (ie:  if  your  mortgage  rate is  8.5%  and you  have  a
   taxable   investment  that  returns  8.51%,  the  taxable
   investment will net you a larger financial gain, albeit a
   very small one in this case.


Rich
-- 
---
I bet you were expecting a disclaimer here, weren't you?

Richard L. Thompson                                Systems Development
Mead Data Central                                   richt@meaddata.com
9595 Springboro Pike                          ...!uunet!meaddata!richt
Dayton, Ohio  45342                           
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rogerv@sco.COM (Roger Vortman)
Subject: BTU content of various fuels?
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Distribution: misc
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 16:59:43 GMT


I am trying to find out what the BTU and therm contents of a gallon of 
natural gas and a gallon of liquid propane is.  My house is heated
with propane, and I am trying to compare with what I used
to pay when I had natural gas in order to be able to see where I am
relative to insulation.  If anyone has this information, I would really
appreciate seeing it. 

Thanks.

-Roger
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Should I install a gas furnace?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 01:24:06 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.002338.4857@mdd.comm.mot.com> rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com (Doug Rudoff) writes:
>
>My house is currently heated by electric baseboard heaters. Last
>winter my highest electric bills were in the $100 a month range. This
>year I installed a timed setback thermostat and I expect to have lower
>electric bills.

Did you forget a zero, or are we really talking one hundred dollars here?
Doesn't Seattle get cold?

Anyway, I have gas forced air here in New Jersey, and my gas bill was
about ninety dollars last month. Going on my experience over the last
few years, about 15% of my electrical usage goes to the furnace fan.
Since your cost per kilowatt must be miniscule, it would be useless to
tell you what my electric bill was.

>Now adding a gas furnace will probably make my house more comfortable,
>add something on to the value of the house (but certainly not 100% of
>the cost), and lower my winter utility costs.

Both statements are debatable. I grew up with electric baseboard and
prefer it a great deal. I know of noone who has gas forced air heat who
does not have problems with low humidity. These problems take the form
of chronic sinus trouble, headaches, "cottonmouth", and cracked lips.
If you're a teetotaller and want to discover what a hangover feels like,
put in gas heat.

Here, the electricity demand exceeds the local supply, and some is
bought from TVA (some 700 or more miles away). There are gas fields
in Pennsylvania. Gas is thus comparatively economical. The last year
the baseboard heaters were used in my parents' house in Tennessee,
their highest bill was over $900. Since your electrical bill is about
10% of the best that TVA can do in Tennessee, you'd just about have
to own a gas well to beat your system.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | He who is not a revolutionary at 16 has no heart.
                    | He who is a revolutionary at 60 has no head.
                    |                          Lord Chesterfield
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: PHA146@ukcc.uky.edu  <Jack Goodman>
Subject: Re: Ground-source Heat Pumps
Organization: The University of Kentucky
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 17:11:23 GMT

In article <86228@ut-emx.uucp>
captain@tigger.cc.utexas.edu (Bran Muffin) writes:
 
>I used to live in Houston, and we had just such a system.  It was really
>flakey, and the horrifying thing about it is that when the freon leaks
>out, it doesn't just go up & kill some ozone, it goes into the GROUNDWATER!
>It may not kill you, but it will find its way into someone's well water,
 
   We recently installed a WaterFurnace 4ton unit in our newly built
 ca. 3200 S/F geodesic dome.  It uses a CLOSED LOOP in the ground, so
 even if there were a freon-to-loop leak, the above would not be a problem.
 Any other freon leak would be similar to A/C leaks.
 
 It is still to soon to tell anything about operating cost, reliability,
 etc., but the comfort level is fine, so far.
 
                     -jg  (Lexington, KY)
 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: perley@cabot.balltown.cma.COM (Don Perley)
Subject: Re: Gravity vs. Pump fed Hot Water Radiators
Organization: New York State Institute for Sebastian Cabot Studies
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 13:54:45 GMT

In article <C0JtHE.953.2@cs.cmu.edu> goddard+@cs.cmu.edu (Nigel Goddard) writes:


>It works fine, except the pump is noisy.

It may be time for a new pump, or depending on the type, just a 
new impeller.  I have a Grundfos which is pretty quiet.

>I noticed my electricty bills increase by about 50% in the cold
>months.  It's probably due to the pump, as the only other significant
>uses are refrigerator and oven (infrequently used).

I don't think they use that much. Don't forget that the electric 
lights which you only ran for an hour or 2 in June (depending
on when you turn in) are now going for 5 or 6 hours.


>I turned off the pump.  The heating works fine by gravity feed and
>I don't have to hear pump hum.  However, the water in the system
>does reach a higher temperature and presumably flows more slowly.
>I guess I'm using more gas this way, but I'm using less electricty.

I think the major difference is that you are getting less heat/minute
from your radiators when the thermostat is "on".  I think you could
reasonably get away with just turning the pump on when it's especially
cold out.

Oh, one other thing to check.. If your boiler is one of the newer low
mass ones that never comes on until heat is called for, then it may
cycle on and off quickly because the heat isn't being take away (to
the radiators) fast enough.  That will have consequences for
efficiency and possibly lifetime.

-don perley
-- 
perley@balltown.cma.com
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:16647 misc.legal:22406
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Zoning Question
Date: 12 Jan 93 17:10:27 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

patterson,george r writes:
>Owen Hartnett writes:
>
>>On the flip side, if your taxes do go up as a result of the zoning change,
>>than it has the other side effect of making your property worth more.
>
>No it doesn't. It indicates that the government *thinks* it's worth more,
>but it has absolutely no effect on the actual value. Higher taxes may,
>in fact, reduce the amount a buyer is willing to pay. Plus, you only cash
>in if you sell - and then you have to spend it on another place or uncle
>sugar takes 25% of that!

As the Little Rascals would say, "AND HOW!"  I paid just under $60K *less*
for my house than its assessed value.  I had planned on trying to get it
reassessed, but was told that there is a several year wait for this in my
county, and there are just so many other things to do....

>Me, I'd much rather pay less property tax now than gamble on getting more
>for the place a few years down the road.

Esp. considering how the RE market has been going in the last few years -
you could wind up getting less down the road!

Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
 but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: hollen@megatek.UUCP (Dion Hollenbeck)
Subject: Re: Need help removing old plaster and lath walls
Organization: Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 18:18:35 GMT

>>>>> On Mon, 4 Jan 1993 20:19:59 GMT, clos@TrentU.CA said:

clos> What is the best way to take out old plaster and lath??  I am
clos> told this is a very dusty job.  Is there a better way than using
clos> a sledge and crowbar??

A friend of mine used this on drywall, but it may be applicable to
lath and plaster also.   He used a Makita panel saw (3 1/2" blade),
found the studs and just cut panels out from between studs.  With
plaster, you could spring the $40 for a diamond blade and it would
probably do the job.  You would have to be careful of utilities and
firebreaks, but once you zip out a panel between studs, it should be
easy to pry the remaining off the studs.  As others mentioned, this
would be useful if you wanted to maintain the integrity of the
opposite wall.

-- 
Dion Hollenbeck                        Email: hollen@megatek.com
Senior Software Engineer                      megatek!hollen@uunet.uu.net
Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California    ucsd!megatek.uucp!hollen
From: jfinn@ll.mit.edu (Joe Finnivan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Need Recommendation on water filter
Date: 8 Jan 93 18:03:29 GMT
Reply-To: jfinn@ll.mit.edu (Joe Finnivan)
Distribution: usa
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington MA
Originator: jfinn@ll.mit.edu (Joe Finnivan)


In article <federkin.726496258@guppie19>, federkin@rtsg.mot.com (John Federkins) writes:
|> My village has well water.  Before I blow several $100 on
|> a water softener, I want to try a water filter.  Anybody
|> have any recommendations on whole-house water filters?  The
|> water appears to have a high mineral/sediment content and
|> exceeds the federal allowable limits for radium.  (The village
|> says not to worry, 'cuz the gov't is gonna raise the limits!)
|> 
|> Thanks,
|> JF
|> 
|> -- 
|> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
|>    "The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up!"
|> John Federkins				Cellular Infrastructure Division
|> Motorola, Inc.				Arlington Heights, IL


No recommendation for water filters, but I spoke with an
official from the EPA here in Massachusetts, and he said that
they are about to change their radon limit number from
10000 (whatevers) down to 300.  Apparently this applies
to public water supplies only (town water, etc.)  He also told
me that to remove radon from water using a carbon filter
requires a VERY large carbon filter (I think he said 
more than a cubic YARD of carbon...). 
There are several methods for removing radon from water,
but from what I have heard, they are all relatively expensive.

By the way, if your water radon level is over the limit,
there's a very good chance that the radon air level
in your house is high.  Our level is pretty high (18)
and we are in the middle of fixing the problem.

Good luck,
Joe
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Dimmer switches that don't buzz...
Date: 10 Jan 93 03:08:30 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <4105@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca> clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
|Generally speaking, dimmers that say that they have noise
|filters are what you want.  Though, of course, some are better
|than others.  Buy a mid-range one.  Say, 20 or 30 bucks.
|The $10 cheapies are NFG.

|I've had very good luck with Leviton mid-range or better.  Here
|they're about $30.  Eagle (I think) also makes a good slider
|dimmer for about the same price.

Oops, the latter is "Lutron".  Good units.
-- 
Chris Lewis; clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: psroff-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Ferret list: ferret-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
From: nmrdb@vms.macc.wisc.edu (BEVERLY SEAVEY)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Need current tax info book to deal with buying and selling house
Date: 6 Jan 93 20:03:49 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center

Can someone recommend a current book that deals with Federal tax issues
involved with buying and selling a house, and having 2 for a while?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mja@philabs.philips.com (Michael Amato)
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the pricinple of your home loan?
Originator: mja@hercules
Reply-To: mja@philabs.philips.com (Michael Amato)
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, NY 10510
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 21:51:30 GMT


On a realated note, if someone gave you $450,000 to build a house (incluing
a $150,000 lot -> $300,000 for house), would it be better to:

1. pay cash for house

2. get a mortgage for say $150,000 - $200,000 and invest it other places.

3. build a $250,000 house + lot and invest the other $200,000.

Any comments?

PS. I'm not in this dreamy situation but I know someone who is - they are doing
#1 and I think there crazy - the taxes and upkeep are going to kill
them. I would do #3. How about you?

-- 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Michael Amato  DoD#0639 | "If pro is the opposite of con,       |
| mja@philabs.philips.com | then what is Congress"? - Will Rogers |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: refinishing tile
Date: 11 Jan 93 18:33:04 GMT
	<1993Jan8.153323.26726@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>
Organization: OSF Research Institute

In article <8JAN199307511763@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov> vvdmtp@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Donna Pavlik (Sverdrup)) writes:

   tiles... painted an awful mustard color... is there anything I can
   do to refinish [them]?

In article <1993Jan8.153323.26726@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r) writes:

   Ceramic tile? You'll be able to get this back down to the tile with one
   of those scrapers that uses a single edge razor blade. It will be time
   consuming....

I understand that the Ryobi corner sander (triangular tip) has a glass
scraper attachment.  I have never seen nor used it, but presumably
this would be faster and easier than hand-scraping with a razor blade.
Does anyone have any experience with it?

	-s
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: wouk@alumni.cs.colorado.edu (Arthur Wouk)
Subject: Re: Why are baseboard heaters installed against exterior walls?
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 00:51:32 GMT

In article <lkp97aINN3i@news.bbn.com> isidro@BBN.COM (Isidro Castineyra) writes:
>My old house (90 years old), has steam radiators close to the center
>of the house. In my naive view, this seems the way to go.  Why are
>baseboard heaters ausually installed gainst exterior walls? It would
>seem that a significant fraction of the heat would be wasted to the
>outside (especially if the walls are not well insulated). Is it purely
>a matter of installation convenience?  Is it done to avoid nasty
>convection drafts? Do I have the wrong idea of how baseboard heaters
>work (convection vs. radiation vs. conduction)?  Or, are heating
>contractors in cahoots with the oil and gas suppliers to make us heat
>the great outdoors?

speaking as someone who has lived in many cold climates: heat outlets
of any sort belong on the exterior walls because:

if they are on the interior walls you will freeze your ass off all
winter!

try it. i have lived both ways. interior vents or radiators do not
warm a room or a house, particularly, in the boston area, when it gets
down below 20F, no matter ho well insulated the house is.
-- 
arthur wouk 
internet: wouk@alumni.cs.colorado.edu
From: sheriffp@Software.Mitel.COM (Peter Sheriff)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Basement Carpeting.
Date: 6 Jan 93 18:51:55 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.

In article <C0E8Hn.2tM@news.rich.bnr.ca> kdesai@bnr.ca writes:
>I am in the final stages of finishing my basement. The questions I have
>are as follows:
>
>1. Can I fix the baseboard such that it touches the concrete floor. Is 
>   there any code that prevents me from doing so. What are the advantages
>   and disadvantages of doing it this way ?
>
>2. I am going to get someone to install the carpetting for me. But I want
>   to get recommendations of what type of carpet I should install. How
>   will the installer affix the carpet to the concrete floor.
>
>Any informations on the installation of the baseboard and carpet on the
>basement concrete floor will be gratefully appreciated.
>
>Thanks.
>
>+----------------+------------------------------+------------------------+
>| Kalpit Desai   |          BNR Inc.,           |  Voice: (919) 991 7902 |
>| kdesai@bnr.ca  |     Research Triangle Park   |  FAX:   (919) 991 7001 |
>|                |  North Carolina 27709, U.S.A |  ESN:         294 7902 |
>+----------------+------------------------------+------------------------+

    I don't know about your local building codes so I can't really answer
number 1.
    As to what carpet to use and how it is fixed to concrete. The type of
carpet should probably be dictated by the amount of moisture you are likely
to get on or through the slab. If there is no moisture problem, you could 
use any modern (latex backed) carpet over a foam underlayment. This would
be attached with nail strips that have concrete nails in them already (I
just used these for a small carpeting job in my family room).
   If you have a moisture problem from the slab, you may want to install
a sub-floor over plastic sheeting and fit the carpet to this with normal
nail strips.
   If you have worse moisture problems (seeping through walls etc.) no
carpet will be safe until you fix the problem. Even indoor/outdoor
carpeting will mildew eventually and it is not that nice in a developed
basement.
   In my basement which has no moisture problem, I would tend to go with
a berber carpet and foam underlay placed over a plywood sub-floor with 
insulation between the concrete and sub-floor. This is because I have
laid carpet directly on a concrete floor and though I have had no moisture
problems, it still felt pretty cold on the feet.

                                Pete