HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: IN-LINE WATER HEATERS
Date: 30 Sep 92 16:42:25 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Frank Perdicaro writes:
>I have put off my comments for a long time.
>
>I love my in line heater.  I have a Weil Mclain steam heat boiler with
>a 3/4" pipe internal hot water coil.  Always works great, I have HOT
>water and never any doubt about running out.  

The house I recently bought has a Weil McLain hot water boiler with
an internal hot water coil (I guess its internal, although there is
this massive iron tumor hanging off the back that the water line feeds
into.  
I quickly disconnected this (although it did provide sufficient hot water)
and installed a gas fired tank type water heater for the simple reason that
I had no desire to have my oil furnace on year round.  Now I get equally
sufficient amounts of hot water, have an endless supply of energy to produce
it, and pay about $5.00.month to do so.  I have not attempted to compare
oil consumption with gas consumption (I just fired up my boiler last week,
so I have used 0 oil since moving in), so I can't say if it is cheaper or
not in comparison.  It is cheap enough regardless.

I suppose if you don't mind running your boiler year round, this is not a
problem.  I would much rather not for several reasons (produces a lot more
local heat than my water heater, which is not fun in summer; "pollutes" a 
lot more than my gas water heater - I plan on replacing it next year; I
prefer to not have to worry about whether I need heating oil).

Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
The heart and the mind on a parallel course, never the two shall meet.
						-E. Saliers
From: sytrimble@inland.com (The Big T)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: *******HELP WITH CABNETS*******
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:59:25 CST
Organization: Inland Steel Company; East Chicago, IN

I am putting a kichen full of cabnets in,  not to many though.  Anyway I
would appreciate any suggestions or helpful hints anyone might have.

	Please email me, Thank You

 
Tim Trimble          /\       "Poobie Bear..."                                 
Inland Steel        /  \      Internet:  SyTrimble@Inland.com
East Chicago, IN    |  |      UUCP:      ...!uunet!Inland!SyTrimble    
219 399 4029        |  |      The Rock                          
                    |  |
                   
                   ONE WAY   
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Vinyl Flooring
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 20:26:17 GMT

In article <1992Oct2.124127.907@walter.cray.com> spies@eastrg2.cray.com (John Spies) writes:

>...........................  Now, though, the vinyl is
>"bubbling up" in places.  I can press on the bubbles and they
>stick back down temporarily.
>
>I really don't want to tear this floor up, anyone have 
>any suggestions?

I laid vinyl tile directly on the concrete floor in my basement a few
years ago. Since I've done quite a bit of tile work before, I believe
I did this correctly, even to the point of borrowing one of those floor
scrubbing machines and thoroughly cleaning the floor. I didn't think to
apply any concrete sealer, but this has not caused problems with other
floors I've helped put down.

Anyway, I also have this problem, so I'm also interested in any responses.

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | If you always tell the truth, you never
                    | have to remember what you said.
                    |                        Samuel Clemens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: doylel@aix.rpi.edu (Lori Doyle)
Subject: Re: Financing renovations
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 21:07:08 GMT

In article <MACRAKIS.92Sep18133436@lakatos.osf.org> macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes:
>Those of you interested in financing renovations might be interested
>in the following article:
>
>	Old-House Financing in the 1990's
>	Cynthia and Douglas Edmunds
>	Old-House Journal, May/June 1992
>	vol. 20, no. 3, p. 52
>
> ......
>There is another article in the same issue, "The Loan Labyrinth:
>Old-House Living and the FHA Mortgage Maze".  From the last paragraph:
>"Our experience with the FHA 203(k) program really taught us the
>meaning of 'red tape.' ... However, despite its complexity, we would
>recommend this mortgage to anyone with limited resources who really
>wants to buy a house and restore it.   Compared to the real work of
>stripping paint and patching plaster, the FHA 203(k) is simple."
>
 
Hey cool! That's my article! <grin>
I'm happy to field any questions about the article. 
 
Lori Doyle
doylel@rpi.edu

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Hair-line Cracks in Furnace...
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 17:21:30 GMT

In article <13020@sets-1> davek@sets-1 (Dave Kennedy) writes:

>I just had my oil furnace cleaned, and the repairman indicated 
>that there is some hair-line cracks in the heat exchanger. 
>What are my options? What happens if I don't replace it? Am I running
>the risk of burning down the house, am I letting toxic fumes into the
>house, or does it just operate less efficiently? Can I get it welded? 

I'm not a heating system expert, so keep your salt shaker handy.

I believe the heat exchanger simply keeps the house air separated from
the fire and combustion by-products. You're not running the risk of
burning down the house, but you *are* running a risk of carbon monoxide
poisoning, especially if a couple of those cracks join and create a
large hole. My guess is that this risk is negligible at the moment, but
growing larger with time.

You could probably get it brazed or welded, but the labor required to
remove and re-install the thing is probably the major cost of replacement.
In fact, replacement of the exchanger may be cheaper than removing it,
getting it patched, and putting it back in. One temporary fix for cracks
is to drill a hole at the end of the crack (this is called "stop-drilling")
and insert a screw to plug the hole. This simply stops the crack from
growing, it doesn't fix it.

Since you're going to replace it next year, I'd gamble a little. I'd
run down to the local small airport and pick up a CO detector or three.
There's one on the market called "Dead Stop" which turns dark in the
presence of CO. Hang these in places where you'd see them every day (I
have one in my kitchen). If one starts to darken, you'd have to put in
a new heater immediately. You'd be gambling that the unit doesn't break
down during the winter.

When you consider the worst-case consequences, you may not want to do
this.

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
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: staffan@ca.serum.kodak.com (Kenneth Staffan (x37507))
Subject: Re: Styrofoam? Paper? Or Wood?
Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 17:05:10 GMT

>|>As to "health hazard vapors" I think you're thinking of UFFI foam insulation
>|>which is outlawed for new construction.
>
>|Nope, I was just repeating what I heard. Actually what I was thinking of
>|was some insulation board matching this description which I saw at Home
>|Depot a few weeks ago. There's a warning printed on the board that 1/2"
>|sheet rock or thicker must be used to cover this stuff if it's used in
>|the house interior. I had assumed that this was because of the outgassing
>|I'd heard about, but it could be for fire protection, I suppose.
>
>Fire protection.  Building code requires a wall covering that has
>a certain rating for fire resistance.  Styrofoam burns quite nicely.
>So you have to install drywall over it to make the fire rating.

Both.  It also creates toxic fumes when it burns.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Subject: Re: Steam heating system
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 22:49:51 GMT

In article <1992Oct2.201951.4280@stsci.edu> davids@stsci.EDU (David Silberberg) writes:
>My house's heating system was converted from water to steam a few years 
>ago by the previous owner.  A plumber was recently out to see it and 
>remarked that  while converting from steam to water is common, he has
>never seen a house converted from water to steam.  He said my gas bills
>will be extremely high and said that there is no advantage to converting
>from water to steam.  Is this true?  Is it worth converting back to water heat?

I'd be curious to know what's involved in converting from steam to hot  
water heat? Do you have to change the radiators, or can you adapt the 
old steam units?
 
Greg

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: breland@mcc.com (Mark Breland)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Electric Drill Recommendation
Date: 1 Oct 92 13:29:17 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: MCC, Austin, TX

In article <1992Oct1.005135.5910@Armstrong.EDU> frazier@Armstrong.EDU (Doug Frazier) writes:
>I want to buy a really good, durable 3/8" VSR drill for general homeowner
>use.  Can anyone recommend models and good mail-order sources?  Many thanks.

Don't mess around...any model Craftsman from Sears.  Take your pick on the
features you want.  If it breaks, you get a new one.  Mine has survived many
holes into the concrete foundation to set anchor bolts with no problem.

-- 

Mark A. Breland
breland@mcc.com  "...speaking only for myself, no others and vice versa etc..."
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Noisy A/C
From: tim@dwp.la.ca.us (Tim Mortensen)
Date: 29 Sep 92 15:32:27 GMT
Organization: LADWP

In article <1992Sep29.042732.25965@tamsun.tamu.edu> pzs3761@tamaix.tamu.edu (Pete Sierant) writes:
>
>    I have a problem with noise coming from the furnace and A/C blower.
>They are contained in a small "room" just off the living room. The door
>is thin and flimsy with vents in it. The air intake is just below the 
>door. So far, it seems that I could:
>......
>Any comments or suggestions?
>-- Pete              -=[ pzs3761@tamaix.tamu.edu ]=-

OK, this is one I can help you out with.  We had exactly the same problem
and first I'll tell you the door is not where the noise is coming from, its
the air intake below the door.  If you dig into this intake you will have a
little mega-echo chamber under there.  All you have to do is stick insulation
in this little chamber (walls and floor) and PRESTO, the noise will just 
about vanish.  I couldn't believe how effective this was.  Cheap and ultra-
effective.


-- 
\ _
0 0   Tim Mortensen
 (
\__   tim@manta.dwp.la.ca.us
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: marcher@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Subject: Re: Drywall behind tile in shower?
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 17:04:48 GMT

In article <2090016@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM>, lou@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM (Lou Kvitek) writes:
> I recently remodeled my bathroom and went with the DuraRock - sheet cement.
> I had ripped out my entire shower enclosure.  I went overboard on water
> protection:
> 
> STUD - ROOFING - PLYWOOD - ROOFING - DURAROCK - MASTIQUE - TILE
>        FELT                FELT                 or THIN 
>                                                    SET
> Many layers for the water to penetrate, but I wanted this to last forever.
> 
> The rest of this really interesting stuff is deleted.

I've been following this thread since it started because I have hired 
a contractor to redo my bathroom.  The contractor is using cultured 
marble for the tub surround over green board.  He is installing a sink 
of the same material and pattern as the surround, as well.  I have a 
friend with a sink made of this material and it's great!  It seems 
that it's powdered marble which is reconstituted and poured into 
moulds of whatever size or shape is desired.  For the surround, each 
wall receives a solid slab, therefore there are only two seams and 
each of these are covered by a moulding of the same material.  The 
sink and counter is one solid piece as well, so there are no seams 
there either.  The stuff looks and feels like marble on the surface 
and is very easy to care for.  (If you look underneath or on the back 
before installation, you can see that it was poured.)  It also comes 
in a variety of colours.  I'm impressed with it so far.

Cheers,
MEA
From: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Person in flux)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: bathroom fan into attic?
Date: 27 Sep 92 16:43:18 GMT
Reply-To: kls4344@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology

In article <1992Sep24.181828.15452@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>, 
patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>In article <1992Sep24.173444.22799@terminator.cc.umich.edu> 
vln@icpsr.umich.edu (Victoria Neff) writes:
>>Do you all have recommendations as to brands for bathroom exhaust fans?
>
>I have been quite pleased with my Nautilus. It's one of those large round
>ones that also contains a light. Cost slightly less than $95.00. I have a
>Miami wall mounted vent (about $35.00) in the other bathroom. While it
>does the job, it's louder and the noise is more unpleasant.

I second the Nautilus recommendation and want to add that the motors are made
by Braun (sp?), which also is a good brand itself.

Katie
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: cvb@unislc.uucp (Clair Barrus)
Subject: Re: Recessed ceiling lights project complete!
Organization: Unisys Corporation SLC
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 15:45:26 GMT

soberg@think.com (Stephanie Oberg) writes:


>Is there any interest in my posting design guidelines, placement, bulb
>selection, results, etc.?  If I get one or two encouraging emails, I will
>type it all up and post.

Here is one encouraging email!  Yes, I'd certainly be interested, as we
will need to add some lighting to our home.

Thanks.

>sojourner


--
Clair Barrus
Unisys 
unislc!cvb@Sun.COM or uunet!unislc!cvb or cvb@unislc.slc.unisys.com 
--
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: bellas@soldev.TTI.COM (Pete Bellas)
Subject: Re: Electric Drill Recommendation
Reply-To: bellas@soldev.TTI.COM (Pete Bellas)
Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc.
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:34:18 GMT

Expect some serious traffic on this one.

If you intend to do heavy or a lot of work with it buy Milwaukee, their
3/8 and 1/2" Hole Shooters are the top of the line. I own a 1/2" and
one of their D handle (with the right angle kit) drills and they have
performed incredibly.

If you only intend light use then the cordless ones are great, most of the
major brands (Makita, Ryobi, PC, etc.) make good ones in the 7.2v to 13.2v
range.

The middle of the road would be something like a light corded model from
Makita, PC or DeWalt (used to be B&D Pro)

Don't get confused by makers that make two lines of tools (Skill comes to
mind), quality and disposable.  That's one of the reasons that B&D revived
the DeWalt name (that they have owned for years) to make it easier to
differentiate between their quality tools and their "consumer"
(consumable?) tools.  I have had some B&D Pro tools for > 10 years and
they really are
"Professional".

			-Pete-


* Pete Bellas                   "Cogito ergo spud"                         *
* Citicorp/TTI                       I think therefore I yam.              *
* Santa Monica, CA                                                         *
* bellas@gamma.tti.com                                                     *
From: lou@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM (Lou Kvitek)
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:03:48 GMT
Subject: Re: Drywall behind tile in shower?
Organization: HP Response Center Lab
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

I recently remodeled my bathroom and went with the DuraRock - sheet cement.
I had ripped out my entire shower enclosure.  I went overboard on water
protection:

STUD - ROOFING - PLYWOOD - ROOFING - DURAROCK - MASTIQUE - TILE
       FELT                FELT                 or THIN 
                                                   SET
Many layers for the water to penetrate, but I wanted this to last forever.

The DuraRock is fairly easy to work with, although not as easy as sheetrock
(greenboard).  I secured it to the plywood with roofing nails and screws.
I used a thick bead of acrylic caulk in the joints and then used meshed
joint tape and thin set mortar to smooth it out.  Note that the joint does
not have to be perfectly smooth if you are going to use thin set mortar
to set the tiles.

I tiled my shower ceiling too, but only used greenboard up there since
the ceiling is not being exposed to water flow (just condensation).  Tile
on greenboard for shower walls is (IMHO) the cheap and cheesey way to go.
It will _not_ last!  Yes, your builder did take the cheap way out.

P.S. The really best way to do the walls is having them "floated" with
     mortar.  This is expensive, but "floating" is the easiest way to 
     make non-square areas square - otherwise you have to use shims.
     BTW, if you don't make it square all around then the tile joints
     may not align from wall to wall.  Read a good book on tiling.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: siding options?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 21:26:25 GMT

In article <lchg7lINNn23@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu> langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston) writes:
>george patterson writes:
>
>> Anything's better than vinyl siding!
>
>depends on its use -- many architects are now specifying it for fancy 
>new custom houses, especially where non-brick colors are desired

The use is completely unimportant. What is important is that the
manufacturers change designs and colors on you, which makes it a
maintenance nightmare.

Once you put up vinyl siding, it's virtually impossible to make any
modifications to the house without residing the whole place. Even adding
a new floodlight becomes a major undertaking, and if you remove any
existing fixtures you can't patch the hole.

We normally get some fairly high winds here from time to time. If one
of these takes a chunk out of the siding, you have to redo at least the
entire wall. My neighbor's house has a hole in the rear wall now because
he can't find anything to match and he can't afford to redo the whole
house.

There's also nothing solid behind it, and *it* sure ain't solid. I have
a gutter that's hanging loose at one end because gutter spikes only come
in one size and this is just too short to hit the stud after going
through the vinyl siding and sheathing and original shingle and sheathing
(mine's a split level and this gutter extends past an upper floor wall).

I could go on for quite some time, but I shall simply repeat at this
point that anything's better than vinyl siding!

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | If God had meant for man to fly, he'd have
                    | given him more money.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: maury@turing.eecs.uic.edu (Bob Sloan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: carpet or wood? flooring for a condo
Date: 27 Sep 92 18:36:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: turing.MAURY.92Sep27123600
Distribution: na
Organization: Dept. of EECS, University of Illinois at Chicago


Well, we are about to purchase a condo in a city high rise, and are
thinking about floor coverings, since it looks like the existing
carpeting will need to be replaced.

Being a novice at this, I'm looking for advice on tne merits of
carpeting, or wood floors designed to be layed over concrete, both
parquet and what I always think of as "real wood floors".  We don't
have a fortune to spend, so guesstimates (or comparisons) at prices
would be useful.  We were thinking about wood for the entryway and
hall, and carpet for the bedrooms and livingroom.  

Also, how does one go about figuring out what carpeting is actually
good?  I've done a fair amount of reading, and I still feel like I
don't know ANYTHING about how to go about buying carpet.  I've
wandered into stores and felt seriously intimidated.  I've bought a
car in the past, and that seems vastly more straightforward!  Any
advice will be greatly appreciated.  (As will email, since moving day
is rapidly approaching, and I may not have time to read ANY news)

Thanks

Maury

-----------
Maury Neiberg					maury@turing.eecs.uic.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: staffan@ca.serum.kodak.com (Kenneth Staffan (x37507))
Subject: The programmable thermostat jungle...
Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 18:25:23 GMT

I saw the earlier post on thermostat questions, but I didn't jump on to that
because I didn't want to bury that person's original questions.

My questions - I've been shopping for programmable thermostats.  I've
seen some Honeywell, Robertshaw, Hunter, and a couple other brands I can't
recall offhand.  Problem is, the places I've stopped rarely have complete
lines, and it's really hard to compare features between brands and models
(even when the owner's manuals are pulled out).  So...

	question 1 - Has anybody seen (magazine, etc.) or have a table
			which compares features and prices across
			different makes an models?

	question 2 - Barring that, can anyone suggest brands & models
			which allow programming each day differently,
			have a temporary override which is effective only
			until the next scheduled time/temp change, and 
			have a vacation override which is effective until
			disabled manually?

	question 3 - Any mail-order sources for programmable thermostats?

Thanks for any and all info!

Ken
---
staffan@serum.kodak.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: leisner@eso.mc.xerox.com (Marty Leisner)
Subject: hints for cleaning levelor blinds
Organization: Xerox
Reply-To: leisner.henr801c@xerox.com
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 09:49:22 PDT
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        misc.consumers.house.usenet%decwrl.dec.com@eso.mc.xerox.com
X-Cc: leisner@eso.mc.xerox.com


I have a number of the levelor horizontal blinds (with about 1/2" slats).

I'm cleaning them and its a slow process which takes a lot of elbow grease.

They have on them a thin layer of grime, so I can't vacuum them.

Any neat tricks?

Marty    leisner.henr801c@xerox.com 
          Member of the League for Programming Freedom 
 The Feynman Problem Solving Algorithm:
 1) Write down the problem
 2) Think very hard
 3) Write down the answer     -- Murray Gell-mann