HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: msi@ESD.3Com.COM (Mark Isfeld)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: I hear water dripping behind my fireplace, is this a problem?
Date: 12 Dec 92 00:03:32 GMT

naiming@eng.umd.edu (Naiming Shen) writes:


>We bought our house(new house) half a year ago. The house has a pre-
>engineered fireplace. When there is heavy rain, I can hear there is
>water dripping behind the fireplace(I mean behind the metal structure
>of the fireplace). My questions are: is this normal? will the water
>damage my house? should the builder be responsible for this if
>this is a serious problem?
>Thanks in advance for the help.

This may be your perception, not the real case.  I have a metal prefab
fireplace, and I have noticed that I can hear the rain/dripping quite
clearly coming from the fireplace.  However, It is not leaking, the
sound is just travelling down the metal flue, from the roof, into the 
fireplace.  You hear it coming out of the fireplace.  

Listen carefully, is it rain hitting sheet metal, or a dripping?
Is is dripping of water onto sheet metal (which is quite loud), or water
dripping onto a 2x4 or flooring, or plaster (which is not loud, in fact it
is often so quite as to be un-noticeable).
Even a slow dripping could be water collecting on the rain cap, and dripping
onto the sheetmetal flashing below(But still outside your home).  You are 
going to have to very carfully
listen to find out if the sound is really coming from behind the fireplace
or just from above, before you take apart any walls.  You may be able to
do any of the following:

Look under the firplace for clues of moisture.  This may involve going
under your house crawlspace or into your basement.  If you are on a slab 
forget this suggestion.

Use a tube held to your ear (auto heater hose 7/8-1 1/4 "size) to isolate 
the source of the sound.  You might
have to partially dissasemble your fireplace (removing sheet metal screws
that can be replaced).

Try getting on your roof, and dripping water on your fireplace vent cap, 
(when it is dry), and have
someone listen for the sound.  If it is the same, and the water couldn't have
seeped below so quickly, then it is probably the sound travelling, not the
water.  Check the seals on the flashing while you are at it.

Tearing out a wall is a pain , so I think these suggestions are 
worth trying, before committing so much energy.

Good Luck, 
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Mark Isfeld   
| Mark_Isfeld@3Com.com                     
| 408-764-5167                        
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: bradley@novell.com (Brad Soe)
Subject: Gas Dryer is not that hot
Organization: Novell, Inc.
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 21:59:39 GMT


I have a gas dryer that has to be 18 years old or so. It was working fine
until recently. The dryer does not heat up that much and takes a long time
for close to dry. After about 60 min of drying, the dryer is not very hot, 
and I noticed that there is some condensation on the door which drips on to 
the floor. It takes a while, but eventually I can get the clothes to dry
after over 2 hours of drying time.

Any Help would be appreciated. 

Brad



Brad Soe
bradley@novell.com

Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:15925 misc.consumers:20894 misc.misc:4123
From: lsonko@pearl.tufts.edu (THIS GUY WALKS INTO A BAR)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers,misc.misc
Subject: Re: TV Antenna Advice NEEDED
Date: 18 Dec 92 23:56:00 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Dec14.103625.22976@cs.wisc.edu>, moy@jomby.cs.wisc.edu (Howard Moy) writes...
>Don't buy those plug in the wall tv antennas, they're a joke.
>You'd probably get better reception with 'rabbit ears'.
>If you hear anything about the terk indoor tv antenna,
>please let me know.

placement of your antenna can be VERY important in a building.  It seems like
your building is absorbing alot of the radio/TV waves (does your radio get good
reception?)  try moving your antenna to near a window and futzing with it
there.  if you have to run a long cord from the antenna to the TV, make sure to
put a slow twist in the cable if it's 300 ohm "flat" wire or use a 75 Ohm
converter and use "cable TV" coax wire.

Yes, the fancy rabbit ear antennas work.  If the picture is staticy, the
problem might be helped a bit with an antenna with a built in booster (or you
can just buy a booster).  IF the picture is clearish but has ghosts and the
picture rolls or does other weird things, it is probably an interferance
problem.  An interferance prob. can be caused by your building itself, wires
near the TV, appliances large and small.  Good luck fixing it.

If possible, the best alternative is to get one of those unruly outdoor
antennas.  You could stick it in a tree, on the roof or IN THE ATTIC.  If
others in your building have antennas, you might want to ask if you can tap
their wires or join up with them to buy an antenna.  Tapping WILL reduce their
picture quality a little if the signal isn't that strong but if they have a
"perfect" picture now, it might not reduce their picture quality at all
(best bet is to not mention this fact... Feign ignorance, It works for me)


All in all, reception is an art and not a science because there are just so
many variables.     GOOD LUCK!

enjoy
lee
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Problem with electric water heater
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 18:21:58 CST
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

mr@delfin.com (Mark Rosenberg) writes:

> My wife claims that our electric water heater does not produce as much
> hot water as before. She complains of hot water running-out mid-shower
> despite the fact that no hot water has been used for hours. I contend that
> either the water heater heats water or it doesn't. If it works at all,
> it necessarily heats the entire 50 gallon tankfull.
> 
> Is it possible to have a water heater produce only a partial tankfull of
> hot water?

If it's a dual element, like most of them, and the lower element is
burned out, it most certainly can only heat the top half of the tank.

Alternatively, the lower thermostat may be bad; I'd bet on the 
element. 

Test the lower thermostat with a meter or test lamp. If it's working,
drain the tank, pull the element (good time to flush out the bottom,
too), install the new one, and gracefully admit to your wife that
she was right. (Or, just fix it while she's away, and don't say
anything. :-) )

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jsims@uswest.com (John Sims)
Subject: I was dive bombed by a bat!
Organization: U S WEST Advanced Technologies
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 23:44:48 GMT


Peacefully sitting in my family room last night my head was suddenly buzzed
by a brown flying creature.  At first I thought it was a bird, but then I
realized that this is December in Colorado and there are no birds.

To make a long story short, I chased it into the basement and realized it
was a BAT.  I opened a window and tried to get it to leave.  The bat refused
to leave and has now gone to bat heaven.  (Hey, I tried to get it to leave :-)
The bat was 3-4 inches long with a 12-16 inch wing span.

Anyway if there are any net.bat.experts out there, I'm wondering:

1) Do bats move in packs, are there likely to be more of them in my house?
   (Scenes from horror movies come flooding to my mind.)

2) What would a bat nest look like and what should I do if I find one?

3) What attracts bats and how do you get rid of them?

4) Based on the bats size, is this an adult or a baby bat?

5) Any other info on bats that might be interesting or relevant.

thanks,

John Sims
U S WEST Advanced Technologies
4001 Discovery Drive
Boulder, CO 80303
jsims@advtech.uswest.com


Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Attic Insulation
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 06:07:08 GMT

In article <92351.160109RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET> Robert Chambers <RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET> writes:
>
>I want to re-insulate the attic in my house since when it was built they
>did a really cursory job and the stuff that is there is rockwool and some
>fiberglass that has decomposed.  Now my question is.. The roof joists are
>2 by 6"  What would be the best insulation to put in there and still have
>enough space for air/moisture to move around and go out the roof vents?
>
>Anyone done something like this and could give me a couple of pointers?

My house went up in '55. You could tell that it sold before completion
because it was only partially insulated; they just shoved the rest of
the bats into an alcove when the place sold.

Fortunately my joists are 2x8s. I removed all the old rock wool and laid
Kraft-faced R-19 (6.75") fiberglass with the faced side down against the
sheet rock. I could have put thicker stuff down, but there's decking on
top of the joists that I wanted to re-install.

How thick you can go depends on the venting method. If you're installing
insulation over the ceiling joists with soffit vents, you should do the
same thing I did. When you put the insulation in, just extend it over
the top of the outside walls; leave the soffit and it's vents
uninsulated. The top of the insulation needs to be kept about 1" or so
below the roof to ensure air flow. If necessary, make shields out of
cardboard (or buy the ready made foam panels) to keep the glass low
enough.

If you want more insulation than that, add a second layer of unfaced
insulation. Run this layer at 90 degrees to the joists to get an
unbroken surface.

Couple of tips;
 1) The Dow/Corning dealers provide a free pamphlet which should answer
    every question you have.
 2) I just finished insulating a floor. I started with Manville (the Gold
    stuff sold by Home Depot) and bought some Dow (the pink stuff we all
    know and love) when I ran out. A couple feet of each type (scraps)
    wound up on the deck. The Manville fluffed to about 4.5" thick and
    looked like clumps of it had been sprayed on. The Dow was the
    advertised 6.75" thick and looked like it would be much more stable.
    Buy the pink stuff.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will
George Patterson -  | throw those in authority off their guard and give
                    | you the opportunity to commit more.
                    |                        Samuel Clemens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: janick@bnr.ca (Janick Bergeron)
Subject: Logs made of rolled newspaper
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 22:28:42 GMT

Several people at the office here have huge piles of newsprint they
keep to eventually put in their blue box (judging by the height of
the pile(s), that's about once every 5 years :-).

I have seen these contraptions that can tightly rool newspaper to form
a log you can use in your fireplace.

My question is: are these logs efficient ? Do they generate much more
ashes than wood ? What about chemicals ? Would they burn well in an
air-tight stove ? Do they produce more smoke (I have windows that
"fog up" when I burn something that produces a lot of smoke) ?

Considering that paper to-be-recycled is bogging down warehouses for lack
of market, is it an environment-friendly disposal method ? (Keep in
mind that I would still burn hard wood instead, so that has to be factored
in the equation).

Replies via email please. I'll summarize if there is enough
interest...

Thanks iin advance
-- 
Janick Bergeron    Bell-Northern Research, Ltd       Ph.: (613) 763-5457
System Timing   P.O. Box 3511, Station C, Stop 049   Fax: (613) 763-7241
Verification     Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4H7  email:  janick@bnr.ca 
library quote; use quote.funny;                  use std.disclaimer.all;
From: cah@pdx.csd.mot.com (Chris Huey)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: I was dive bombed by a bat!
Date: 18 Dec 92 22:43:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: pdxvme.1419
Organization: Motorola, Beaverton, OR
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

John Sims (jsims@uswest.com) wrote:
> 
> Peacefully sitting in my family room last night my head was suddenly buzzed
> by a brown flying creature.  At first I thought it was a bird, but then I
> realized that this is December in Colorado and there are no birds.
> 
> To make a long story short, I chased it into the basement and realized it
> was a BAT.  I opened a window and tried to get it to leave.  The bat refused
> to leave and has now gone to bat heaven.  (Hey, I tried to get it to leave :-)
> The bat was 3-4 inches long with a 12-16 inch wing span.

Boy!  The Bat Conservancy people will be upset to hear this!

> 
> Anyway if there are any net.bat.experts out there, I'm wondering:

I'm not a "bat expert" - however...

> 
> 1) Do bats move in packs, are there likely to be more of them in my house?
>    (Scenes from horror movies come flooding to my mind.)

Stereotypically, yes.  In reality, it depends upon the amount of food
available.

> 
> 2) What would a bat nest look like and what should I do if I find one?

No bat "nests" that I know of.  They roost in caves or other warm sheltered
places (sounds like an attic or ???)  Bat proponents (I am one) build bat
houses where they can be sheltered, etc.

> 
> 3) What attracts bats and how do you get rid of them?

Insects.  Lots of 'em.  Bats eat millions of times their weight (well, maybe 
not quite millions - but a lot) in bugs every night.  They are efficient 
hunters.  I don't know of any "vampire" bats in the U.S. (except in labs, 
maybe?)

> 
> 4) Based on the bats size, is this an adult or a baby bat?

Sounds like an adult.  Around my home, they're about 30% smaller.

> 
> 5) Any other info on bats that might be interesting or relevant.

I had an article on bats but lost it somewhere along the line.  But, a request 
for information on misc.rural will bring you a goodly amount of information.
And bat sh*t makes real good fertilizer.

> 
> thanks,

Anytime.

> 
> John Sims
> U S WEST Advanced Technologies
> 4001 Discovery Drive
> Boulder, CO 80303
> jsims@advtech.uswest.com

-- 
Chris Huey                             Motorola Inc., Computer Systems Division
cah@pdx.csd.mot.com                    Voice: (503) 520-5215
 "I lost my job last month.  Actually, I didn't really lose it.  I know right
 where it is.  There's just somebody else doing it right now." -- Steven Wright
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Distribution: world
From: GioF@ultramac.uucp (Gio Favignano)
Organization: Odyssey Ultraware, Inc
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 00:47:03 CDT
Subject: Re: T1-11  What is it?

Just curious.  Anybody know about this for siding.  How good is it?

					thanks,
--
				       howie              

				       howie@voodoo.boeing.com


Basically it's a plywood product made with 1/2" or 5/8" stock.
It has vertical grooves routed in it, simulating planks running up and down.
It doesn't come weather treated, so you will need to treat it with stain or
paint.
GioF@oui.com      
St. Louis, Mo.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Tapping a 220V line for lights
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: pdx
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 05:45:46 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.011313.19899@asi.com> casey@asi.com (Casey Bahr) writes:
>I have a well house that has a single 220V circuit (on 10-3 wire,
>30 amp breakers) that runs a 1/2 HP pump, solely.  I'd like to add
>some lights to the well house, one heat lamp + one light lamp
>inside and a flood light outside, say ~500 watts, tops.  
>
>What is the best way to tap into this 220V line for this purpose?
>If I make a straight tap on one side of the line am I in danger
>of creating an imbalance that could harm the pump motor?  Do I
>need some sort of breaker box to install in the pump house that
>will act as a junction box for both the pump and lights?

If I were you, I'd install a small breaker box in the well house and
put in a smaller double breaker for the pump and two small breakers (I've
seen 10 amp and I think they make 5 amp breakers) for the lights. I'd
split the lights as evenly as possible between the two hot wires. This
gives you separate protection for the lights and the motor. I'd leave
the existing 30 amp breaker in the system. This protects against a short
in the wire running to the well house.

Balancing the light load may not be important (whatcha think, Chris?).
If not, go with a single breaker for the lights.

In sizing the new breaker for the motor, take a look at the data plate.
It should have the starting amperage draw on it. If I remember the code
correctly, the starting draw cannot exceed 75% of the breaker capacity,
but this may not be the case on a line dedicated to a single motor.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will
George Patterson -  | throw those in authority off their guard and give
                    | you the opportunity to commit more.
                    |                        Samuel Clemens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dougl@mail.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno)
Subject: Re: water purification
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 16:22:52 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

I (dougl@mail.boi.hp.com) wrote:

: Some time ago, I had my water (both hard and softened) analyzed.  According to
: the hardness measurement and the conversion factor I posted earlier, my
: "15-grain" hard water contained 256 mg of "hard" minerals and zero sodium -
                                  ^^^^^^
This is "256 mg/liter" or 256 ppm

: yet my softened water contained 640 mg of sodium, or about 40 mg per 8 oz
: glass.  

This should have read, "my softened water contained 169 ppm of sodium, which
is about 640 mg per gallon or 40 mg per 8 oz glass.

Note that the ion-exchange process is not one-to-one by weight anyway.  In my
case, approx.  256 mg/liter of "hard" minerals were exchanged for 169 mg/liter
of Sodium.  I wish a chemist would chime in and tell us:

 a)	what all the "hard" minerals are that contribute to "grains of 
	hardness".  As an interesting aside, my water contains only 150 
	ppm of Calcium.  
	
 b)	how this mixture affects the amount of sodium ion exchange.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: CPLS13@email.mot.com (Steven_Cohn)
Subject: Re: X10 questions, sources
Organization: Motorola_CoveragePLUS
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 12:40:49 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house

In article <BRENNAN.92Dec14000332@hysteria.hal.com>, brennan@hal.com (Dave
Brennan) wrote:
> 
> >>>>> On 10 Dec 92 21:21:44 GMT, Jensen_C@msm.cdx.mot.com said:
> > You can get a catalog from Home Labs on X10 stuff by calling
> > 1-800-HOME-LAB (4663-522)
> 
> You can also call Home Control Concepts @ 1-800-828-8537.
> 
> On a related note, I'm about to have a house built and would be interested
> in hearing about what I should do with respect to outlets, switches, etc.
> if I decide to go with some X10 stuff.  Will I be able to save myself some
> money if I get X10 components installed instead of the standard stuff?
> I assume I'd have to coordinate somehow with the builder, who hopefully
> won't be too much of a weasel.  Does anybody have any experiences??
> 
> 
> --
> Dave Brennan                                      HaL Computer Systems
> brennan@hal.com                                         (512) 794-2855

If you are having a new house built, have you looked into the new
Smarthouse technology?  It adds a bit of cost, but is MUCH more powerful
than X10, though impossible to retrofit into an dold house.


Steven Cohn
Motorola CoveragePLUS Engineering
CPLS13@EMAIL.MOT.COM
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: peterson@ucunix.san.uc.edu (John M. Peterson)
Subject: Re: Water Pressure Regulators
Organization: University of Cincinnati
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 13:14:00 GMT

>
>Has anybody ever installed a water pressure regulator on their main water
>line entering the house?  Are there any benefits to lowering & regulating
>the water pressure, e.g., easier on valves & faucets.  I have monitored my
>home water pressure and it is about 70-85 psig.  At the local home supply,
>a 1" regulator is about $65.00.
>
>If a regulator is installed, what is the preferred pressure?
>
>Thanks
>Rob Starr
>

Yes, but we have a street pressure of 120 psi.  At that pressure the
relief valve on your water heater will pop and some toilet valves may
not close properly.  If you are not having any problems like that, I'd
say you are at the high end of acceptable pressure.  Mine is set to
yield 65-70 psi (a little higher than a 60 psi norm because we have
a high two story feed, & a water softener).  I'd forget it for now.


+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  peterson@headcheese.daa.uc.edu      	 In real life: John M. Peterson  |
|                                                                        |
|  College of Design Architecture Art & Planning                         |
|  University of Cincinnati           45221-0016           513-556-1207  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Organization: CUNY/UCC VM Systems
Date: Wednesday, 16 Dec 1992 16:01:09 EST
From: Robert Chambers <RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Attic Insulation

I have a quick question....

I want to re-insulate the attic in my house since when it was built they
did a really cursory job and the stuff that is there is rockwool and some
fiberglass that has decomposed.  Now my question is.. The roof joists are
2 by 6"  What would be the best insulation to put in there and still have
enough space for air/moisture to move around and go out the roof vents?

Anyone done something like this and could give me a couple of pointers?

The last thing I want to do is stuff too much in there so any moisture
that may make its way in gets trapped and rots my roof from the inside
out.

Thanks

Robert
From: sbishop@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: I hear water dripping behind my fireplace, is this a problem?
Date: 12 Dec 92 07:55:54 EST
Organization:  Wright State University 

In article <1992Dec11.171505.22285@eng.umd.edu>, naiming@eng.umd.edu (Naiming Shen) writes:
> 
> We bought our house(new house) half a year ago. The house has a pre-
> engineered fireplace. When there is heavy rain, I can hear there is
> water dripping behind the fireplace(I mean behind the metal structure
> of the fireplace). My questions are: is this normal? will the water
> damage my house? should the builder be responsible for this if
> this is a serious problem?
> Thanks in advance for the help.
> 
> Naiming Shen

No 
YES!
YES, call the builder IMMEDIATELY.  And call your lawyer.

Sue

> 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers