HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the
Date: 7 Jan 93 18:16:03 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

John Eaton writes:
>Of course if your itemized deductions exceed the standard then you take them.
>My point is that in the past you would chose the path that gave you more
>deductions because of the high tax rates and low standard deduction. Now
>that is not always the case. I live in a state with no personal income
>tax and currently rent. The only thing I can deduct is charity contributions.
>
>If I were to buy a typical house I would get about $6800 to deduct the first
>year. But $3700 of that is already mine from the Standard deduction. So I
>lose about 1/2 from the start. If I were to buy a house after the middle
>of the year I probably wouldn't get enough deductions to be able to itemize.

You are, of course, neglecting to take into consideration your points, fees,
property taxes, etc.  I closed on my house in May, and had PLENTY to itemize,
even throwing out state income tax.

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
From: keith@badseed.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: 2nd story addition $$$
Date: 6 Jan 1993 01:18:58 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: keith@badseed.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: badseed.eng.sun.com


My wife and I have been thinking about how we can expand our house to fit the
needs of family expansion.  We don't have any children now, but we are planning
to have 2 in the next few years.  The problem is our house is 2 bedrooms, 1.5
bath and only 1100 sq. ft.  The garage is almost as large as the house.  The lot
does not lend itself well to expansion on the same level. 

So, we were thinking maybe it would be best to add a second story, or part of
a second story. Since we live in norther California(south bay), I was wondering
what the expense of such an operation might be.  The minimum addition would be
a master bedroom with bath and sitting area, the maximum would be to cover the
whole house with another floor.  Any clues?

Thanks,
Keith



Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: cohen@quartz.ciw.edu (Ronald Cohen)
Subject: Re: Asbestos around heating ducts
Date: 07 Jan 93 15:33:05 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Geophysical Laboratory, CIW
Keywords: asbestos

In article <d2tK03X.c7Ii00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> lmtra@uts.amdahl.com (Leon Traister) writes:
>We are soon to begin a major remodelling job which will include the
>replacement of an old gravity type furnace with a more current type.
>The architect and contractors who are bidding agree that the ductwork
>under the first floor will all need to be replaced and this ductwork is
>clearly asbestos clad.
>
>Our architect has further suggested that we may want to replace the
>the ductwork in the walls going up to the second floor as well (there
>are 2 runs to this floor).  In this way, he said, we would be totally
>free of the stuff, less worried about the consequences of an
>earthquake (we live in San Francisco), and it would make a future
>house sale easier.  Fair enough.
> [etc.]

The dangers of asbestos have been extremely exaggerated by the
medical community, by the EPA, the media, and the courts.  What
few people, but all mineralogists, realize, is that "asbestos" is
a catch-all term for all fibrous minerals.  There is one bone-fide
asbestiform mineral which ALL agree is dangerous and deadly to
BREATHE.  That is crocidolite, is bright blue, and is very rare in
the US.  It was used in US shipbuilding in WWII and is where much
of the bad-press for asbestos comes from.  Almost all asbestos
used in home building in the US is or gray and is chrysotile.  It
should be NO danger to the home owner although there is some
evidence of increased cancer risk to those exposed occupationally
to high quantities, especially among smokers.  If you are worried
about it, IT SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED, because removal puts fibers
into the air and rest of the house which will remain virtually
forever.  It should be covered up and left alone.  If you are
concerned about it, and some HAS to be removed for remodeling,
make sure it is removed in such a way as to not contaminate the
rest of the house.  If you don't have to bother it, don't and just
have it covered up if it is exposed, and left alone otherwise.

Finally, no one can tell asbestos by just looking at it.  It
needs to be examined by both an optical microscope and by x-rays.

-- 
Ronald Cohen
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
5251 Broad Branch Rd., N.W.,  Washington, D.C. 20015
From: sands@apple.com (Michael Sands)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: furnace duct balance?
Date: 4 Jan 93 19:03:07 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc

I am in the middle of adding a second story to my home.  I have forced
air heat, with ducts in the crawl space.  The cold air returns were in 
the old ceiling and now have be routed to a couple of places in similar
positions on the second floor.  I will have a paddle fan to stir things
up.

The heating contractor has done some poor work, attaching and splicing
duct work and now I am suspicious about his work in general.

He is pushing to add a second furnace because he thinks the existing one
is marginal to heat the total house that I will have after the addition
is finished.  The architect determined by doing calculations that the
existing furnace should suffice.

I am mostly concerned about how the tie ins for the new duct work were
done, how big the new cold air returns were, and how the locations for
all the duct work was accomplished.  How do I double check his work?

Should I ask for calculations?  He seems to have done it all by gut feel
and has no numbers to back up his decisions.  Should I hire an independent
contractor and, if so, how do I find one?

Thanks,

Michael
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: billj@b11.ingr.com (Bill Johnson)
Subject: Re: Should I install a gas furnace?
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 17:45:30 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.
|> 
|> But ... my house does not heat well, and I really need to use
|> auxillary electric heaters to make it comfortable. So I've been
|> contemplating getting a gas line and a gas furnace (as well as a gas
|> water heater).  I haven't had an estimate given to me yet, but I
|> expect installation of the gas line, duct work, furnace, etc. will
|> cost over $4000 (a friend of mine just has this done).
|> 
|> 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.
                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I thought the same thing when I first bought my house.  It had a downstairs gas heater, and
gas hot water heater.  At first, my winter bills were reasonable.  In July 1992, the gas supplier
raised its rates 20%, due to some kind of deregulation that's occurring in the industry.  They
followed up with another 9% increase in November.  Now, it costs me more to use the gas than it
does the electric!!

Bill

|> 
|> But payback in terms of money spent on the furnace compared to the
|> cost of electric heat will take over ten years in my estimate. And it's
|> unlikely I'll be in my house that long.
|> 
|> The gas company gives 9.75% loans for 60 months, so I wouldn't have to
|> put out a lot of money immediately if I chose to do so.
|> 
|> So is it worth it? I still haven't decided. Any advice will be
|> appreciated.
|> -- 
|> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|> Doug Rudoff          Motorola, Seattle    INTERNET:rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com
|>                                             USENET:uunet!mdisea!rudoff   
|> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: gws@n8emr.cmhnet.org (Gary Sanders)
Subject: Re: Garage Door Openers
Organization: HAM BBS, 614-895-2553 (1200/2400/v.32/pep)
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 93 04:46:19 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.001444.22508@gvl.unisys.com> garyp@rmtc.unisys.com (Gary Palangian [RMTC/ISP]) writes:
>
>    These policies have been designed to protect the garage 
>door opener consumer from crushing kids by accident.  The
>garage door consumer will have to pay about $20 to $40
>per opener plus an additional $20-$50 in installation for
>the new units.

Consumer, There are desisnged to protect the opener manufactures.
Its a RTFM clause for the opener attornys. I have a 15yr old genie and
it stops when going down if something is in the way.. my "Stupid" dog
had tried to squeeze under the door while it was comming down and each 
time the door stopped and reveresed directions as it was suppose to.

-- 
Gary W. Sanders gws@n8emr.cmhnet.org, 72277,1325
N8EMR @ N8JYV (ip addr) 44.70.0.1 [Ohio AMPR address coordinator]
HAM BBS 614-895-2553 (1200/2400/V.32/PEP) Voice: 614-895-2552 (eves/weekends)
Organization: Computing Technology Services, Michigan Technological Univ.
Date: Thursday, 7 Jan 1993 11:04:59 EST
From: <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Should I install a gas furnace?
Distribution: na
 <1993Jan5.012406.3542@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> <13794@limey>

In article <13794@limey>, sheriffp@Software.Mitel.COM (Peter Sheriff) says:
>normal 4 level split. The furnace is the original oil furnace with a gas
                                       ----------------------------------
>conversion burner so it is low to medium efficiency. I keep the temperature
 ---------------------------------------------------
>set at 20 deg C for most of the day and set it back to 17 deg C at night.

>    One of our neighbors has the same house style and still have oil heat
>and their fuel bill is about twice ours. I am not sure if they have done
>any insulating and caulking so it may not be a completely fair comparison
>but there is still a great difference between the heating costs up here.
>
>                               Pete

I would like to hear from others who have converted from oil to gas.  My
fiance's house presently has oil, but the gas is already in the house.  She
also has what she thinks is the proper gun.  All we need is someone to run
about 10 meters (sorry us scientist like meteric) and to put in the gun.
She got a quote a while ago that said it would be 1000 bucks, but I am not
sure if that included a NEW gun, or using her's.
In short,
1) how efficient is this conversion.  Note that we have low pressure steam, I
realize hot water baseboards or forced air is more efficient, but we can't
afford that.

2) I need to talk to the contracter again, but ANY guesses on the price?

I should also mention, at present we use wood as our main heat source, so the
furnace is presently a back up system (mostly runs at night).  Since the
wood stove is about shot, it may be more effective just to get a decent
(i.e. air tight, cat converter) stove.

Any discussion would be much appreciated.  (I can post summaries if you want
to email directly).


JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET

Calumet Michigan, in the U.P.  still snowing.....
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: refinishing tile
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 15:33:23 GMT

In article <8JAN199307511763@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov> vvdmtp@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Donna Pavlik (Sverdrup)) writes:
>
>Recently I bought a house in which the previous owners
>painted over the tiles around the sink and stove in the
>kitchen.  It's painted an awful mustard color and in
>some places it's beginning to peel (aqua underneath).
>Short of ripping it all out and replacing it, is there
>anything I can do to refinish it?

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. Paint remover is another option, but the liquified paint will
soak into the grout. This might also be problem if you use a heat gun -
I haven't had ocassion to try that method.

If you are willing to regrout, try using a heat gun. If it works, that's
going to be fastest.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't
                    | know what I'm doing.
                    |                            Werner Von Braun
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:16393 misc.consumers:21635
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Refrigerators
Date: 6 Jan 93 16:41:44 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Kenneth S. Rubin writes:
>
>I am looking to purchase my first refrigerator and would appreciate some input.
>I have researched Consumer Guide and found that they tested models that are 
>different than the one in which I am interested. 
>
>In particular, I am interested in a 24-25 cu ft side by side. 

Let me preface this by stating that I am no conne-sewer ;-) of fridges.
But , for reasons that escape me now, I was talking about them with
someone, who mentioned that side-by-sides are to be avoided, because they
are often not wide enough for those occasional extra large items you
want to freeze (e.g. 25 lb turkey, tray of lazagna, or that Carvel
ice cream cake).

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: ibarrac@kzin.fiu.edu (Carlos A. Ibarra)
Subject: Central AC not working
Organization: Florida International University, Miami
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 00:29:52 GMT

The central air conditioning unit in my new home is giving us problems.
It was working fine a couple of days ago but yesterday, it was not cooling
for a while (air was coming out cool from the outside fan-thing (compressor?))
and warm from the inside vents. Today the outside fan is not running but the
outside unit is making lots of noise. The copper tubing coming out of the
inside unit is hot. What could be the problem?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Asbestos around heating ducts
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 17:12:59 GMT

In article <0fHtzBG00WDK86KEcJ@andrew.cmu.edu> jp45+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jim Thomas Park , Jr.) writes:
>Ronald,
>	My wife and I are looking at a house and the real estate agent said
>that the house covering is asbestos.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this stuff, these "shingles"
are like concrete. Cutting or drilling one is an exercise in perseverance.

>I would like to know if there is a danger in this siding.

Not in the least. Asbestos must be "friable", that is, powdery and airborne
to be dangerous. This stuff has the friability of a brick.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
George Patterson -  | Teach a man to fish and you get rid of him 
                    |    on weekends.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Subject: Re: Should I install a gas furnace?
Organization: /etc/organization
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 19:57:23 GMT

In article <93007.110459JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET> <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET> writes:
>All we need is someone to run
>about 10 meters (sorry us scientist like meteric) and to put in the gun.
>She got a quote a while ago that said it would be 1000 bucks, but I am not
>sure if that included a NEW gun, or using her's.

I don't know about oil to gas conversion but I just had my plumber run about
100001 base 2 feet (sorry, us software engineers like feet expressed as binary
values 8-)) (actually thats 33 feet or about 10 meters 8-)) of gas piping to
hook up my gas dryer in a new location.  It cost me $90.00 for parts and
labor.  Your $1000.00 figure seems awful high.  Should it cost $900.00 to
install a new gun?

Just my experience!

Marc
----
Two of the worst things we teach our children are that a knowledge of science
is nice but not necessary, and a knowledge of sex is necessary but not nice.

Marc Guyott              Constellation Software, Inc.          (508) 620-2800
                         Framingham, Mass. 01701 USA                Ext. 3135
mguyott@primerd.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!primerd.prime.com!mguyott
mguyott@eriador.prime.com       ...!{uunet, decwrl}!eriador.prime.com!mguyott
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: tslee@oracle.uucp (Terry S. Lee)
Subject: Need expert adv on 1950 4-wire central heat/AC
Originator: tslee@wrpyr.us.oracle.com
Reply-To: tslee@oracle.uucp (Terry S. Lee)
Organization: does not represent views of Oracle Corp
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 15:36:39 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by an unauthenticated user
              at Oracle Corporation.  The opinions expressed are those
              of the user and not necessarily those of Oracle.

I just installed an electronic setback thermostat last night (Hunter Energy
Monitor II Plus).  It works great, but the fan only switch also turns on the AC
compressor.  The unit otherwise functions normally (furnace comes on when heat
called for, AC comes on when cooling called for).  The fan switch is now in
auto, which kicks in when the furnace gets hot enough, etc and works correctly
in auto.

The thermostat manual says that most 4 wire systems are as follows:

	- 24 volt supply wire
	- wire to furnace relay
	- wire to AC relay
	- wire to fan relay

If this is true, I can't think of how I could have screwed the job up.  At
most, the wrong device would come on (AC instead of heat, etc).  I'll be
checking for shorts today, but is this how circa 1950 systems normally operate?

Thanks in advance,
Terry Lee
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com (Doug Rudoff)
Subject: When does it make sense to reduce the pricinple of your home loan?
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 23:22:20 GMT


I have a friend who is considering putting a few thousands dollars
toward the princple of her home loan. She's owned the home a year and
a half and right now only plans to spend a few more years there.

To me this doesn't sound like good financial sense. Sure, she'll gain
more equity in her house, but what advantage does that give her? (She
put 20% down when she bought the house; no PMI.) It seems like there
are better things to do with the cash she has. I'd rather have my
money readily available instead of locked into a house.

Does anyone have any advice, pro or con, on reducing the principle
amount of a home loan?
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Doug Rudoff          Motorola, Seattle    INTERNET:rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com
                                            USENET:uunet!mdisea!rudoff   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: burbaum@msdrl.com (Jonathan Burbaum)
Subject: Hardwood floors in basement?
Organization: Merck Research Laboratories
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 03:03:59 GMT

We're (re)finishing our basement and are considering
installing hardwood flooring after the de-finishing
is finished.

(1)  Comments/Suggestions/Advice.  Have you done this
     yourself with good results?  (Our basement has
     been flood-free even with all the rain lately:
     Is a moisture-vapor barrier beneath the floor
     appropriate/necessary?)
(2)  I understand (from reading an insert in the
     solid-oak hardwood flooring available at the
     Price Club) that solid flooring isn't suited to
     below-ground installation, while laminate is
     just fine (in both plank and parquet styles...)
     ** Why??? **  It would seem that warping (presumably
     the cause of the incompatibility) would be a 
     problem regardless of the type of wood...


--Jonathan
 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dougl@mail.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno)
Subject: Re: Thermostat wiring question
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 15:34:35 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

Bill Pherigo (wlp@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM) wrote:
:     I'm trying to hack the interface to my furnace to allow it to be controlled
: by my PC.  My thermostat, A Chronotherm III, has 5 wires going to it.  I was
: able to to deduce from looking at the schematic for the furnace that one wire
: is a common, one is to turn on the Fan, and a third is either to turn on the
: flame, or to turn on both the flame and the fan (not sure).  The A/C was added
: to the furnace as an option, and I can't locate a schematic for it.  I would
: expect there to be a single wire to turn on the A/C compressor.  This leaves
: that 5th wire that I can't figure out.  I would think that this is a standard
: interface that someone in net land could tell me about.  Any help?
: 
: Bill Pherigo

I have a gas forced-air furnace with a single 24V transformer (conventional AC
was added later).  My stat is an 8621A Chronotherm III - Here are the furnace
connections:

"R":	24V ('hot' side of the transformer secondary)
"C":	24V common
"W":	heat - burner ignition and delayed blower is automatic
"Y":	cooling - higher speed fan is automatic
"G":	fan 

The 8621 requires both "R" and "C" connections which could account for the
five wires.  If your Chronotherm is capable of 7 separate daily heating
schedules, it is an 8621.  This stat is the only Chronotherm III requiring a
connection to the furnace's 24V common in addition to the 24V hot.

If your Chronotherm is a "5-1-1 programmable" (one program for the 5 working
days of the week, plus separate programs for Sat and Sun), it is either an
8600 or an 8602.  The 8600 requires only a single 24V wire (no common).  In
this case, perhaps the extra wire is a changeover relay in your furnace?

If your stat is a battery-powered 8602, ask Marc Guyott - he has two!

hope this helps,

Doug 


--
Doug Leno                                    Hewlett Packard Company
Manufacturing Engineering                    11413 Chinden Blvd
Heads and Media                              Boise, Idaho  83714
Disk Memory Division                         (208) 323-3693
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Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house