HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: davidm@meaddata.com (David Miller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: home warrantee
Date: 23 Nov 1992 19:54:09 GMT
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: maddog.meaddata.com
Keywords: AHS

In article <1992Nov23.155235.14092@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>, smjeff@lerc05.lerc.nasa.gov (Jeff Miller) writes:
|> In article <1egnrvINNfqo@newmdata.meaddata.com> davidm@meaddata.com (David Miller) writes:
|> >I just want to plug AHS (American Home Shield).  The seller of my house

     story about water heater repair removed....

|> >And I'm not connected to AHS in any way.
|> >
|> 
|> I disagree.  In most cases the home warranty is not going to pay for 
|> itself.  The warranty company is not going to replace something if they
|> can patch it together so that it lasts until the warranty is over.
|> 
|> Your warranty probably cost you around $250.  So far you have paid $285

Nope.  Didn't cost me a dime.  The seller provided it.  And we negotiated the
price in 5K increments so the 250 didn't have any effect.

|> to have an old water heater patched together so that it lasts for a few more
|> months.

Patched together.  No, simply repaired.  My guess it has many good years 
left in it.  It's only 6 years old with minimal deposits.

|> 
|> This is only my opinion.  In my case I did not get a home warranty and
|> I don't regret it.  Are there any people out there who actually saved
|> money by getting a home warranty?  I'm also curious to know if a home

I have friends who had a dishwasher replaced - NOT repaired.  Not sure what
company the warrantee was with.

|> warranty company ever replaced something that broke (like a furnace) or
|> do they just patch it back together so that it lasts for the duration
|> of the warranty period.

Based on my discussion on the phone, they probably use approved repair
agencies and let them make estimates etc.  My guess is that AHS then
chooses the cheapest option.  It's not in the best interest of the repair
agency to do shoddy work.

|> 
|> -- 
|> Jeffrey H. Miller     smjeff@lerc05.lerc.nasa.gov
|> Sverdrup Technology, NASA Lewis Research Center Group, Cleveland, Ohio
|> 
|> favorite book title: Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
|> 

-- 
David James Miller                        Architecture&Systems Evolution
Mead Data Central, B6F3                   (513) 865-7441
PO Box 933                                davidm@meaddata.com
Dayton Ohio 45401                         I speak for me, not MDC
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dustin@miki.pictel.com (Dustin Clampitt)
Subject: Getting rid of radio on my phone lines?
Organization: PictureTel Corporation
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 15:02:27 GMT


I get clear and distinct reception of some local radio
station on my phone lines.  I've disconnected all internal
phone wiring and tested at the junction box, and it's still
there.  The phone company said, "find somebody who sells
phone stuff and ask for a supressor."  The phone company
says it's not their problem.  How supportive.

What can I do?  What can I buy?  Who ya gonna call?  

Thanks,

Dustin Clampitt		dustin@pictel.com

-- 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dustin Clampitt - PictureTel Corp. - Danvers, MA - dustin@pictel.com   |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| My favorite family value?  The Grand Slam Special at Denny's           |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen)
Subject: Re: Source for nice plumbing fixtures
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, RT Software
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 19:03:48 GMT

In article <DRAND.92Nov18171636@spinner.osf.org> drand@spinner.osf.org (Douglas S. Rand) writes:
>If you find a cheap way to get good fixtures,  please let
>the rest of us suckers know!  I'd be happy to spend less.

My chiropractor bought nice fixtures at a Familian factory-outlet-type
store in the LA area (sorry, don't have anything more specific).
He said it was worth the trip from Phoenix for the house he's building.
Also, in the Phoenix area there are distressed merchandise/inventory
adjustment (a euphemism "bought up the inventory of someone going
out of business") places that have very nice Delta and American Standard
fixtures at good prices.  Perhaps similar stores exist in your area.
As you might expect for that type of store, inventory varies almost daily.
-- 
Fred Christiansen, Motorola, 2900 S Diablo Way, Tempe, AZ 85282  "Canajun, eh?"
fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com  ||  uunet!phx.mcd.mot.com!fredch  ||  +1 602-438-3464
  ".. I have set before you Life and Death, blessing and cursing;  therefore
      choose Life, that both you and your children may live"  Deut 30:19
From: hfunk@src.honeywell.com (Harry Funk)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: overspray (was Re: wagner airless sprayer)
Date: 16 Nov 92 15:41:36 GMT
Reply-To: hfunk@src.honeywell.com (Harry Funk)
Organization: Honeywell Systems & Research Center

In article <1992Nov13.210220.25967@awdprime.austin.ibm.com> chuckt@austin.ibm.com (Charles N. Tomlinson) writes:
>
>In article <1192@ncrspks.SparksNV.NCR.COM>, mike@ncrspks.SparksNV.NCR.COM (Michael Clymer) writes:
>> In article <gmVPTB1w164w@carrera.wvus.org> pete@carrera.wvus.org (Pete Gregory) writes:
>> >
>> >"practically no overspray" with this sprayer (i'd still drop-cloth
>>
>> 	I mean everything that was not in drawers or completely covered
>> 	had overspray on it!  I could not believe how much it poofed out,
>> 	compared to spray cans.

>I second the motion on the over spray.  

Seeing these responses, I was reminded that I saw a stat-vertisement
("statistics" published by a manufacturer for the purpose of selling
his/her equipment) on this in a recent catalog.  The source is a bar chart,
which I have guesstimated to numbers.  For your amusement, and potential
edification (Croix is the HVLP manufacturer):

Spray System				Transfer Efficiency (%)

Croix Turbine Spray			65-90
Airless Electrostatic			70-83
Air-Assisted Airless Electrostatic	71-77
Air Electrostatic			59-72
Air-Assisted Airless			40-71
Airless Spray				52-62
Air Spray				37-43

Interesting to note that the text of the advertisement states in part,
"where normal air compressor spray gun outfits transfer only 25 to 35%".
:^) 

Harry
--
Harry A. Funk     Principal Research Scientist        Voice: (612)-782-7396
Honeywell Systems and Research Center             FAX:       (612)-782-7438
3660 Technology Dr.   MS:MN65-2500           Inet:  HFunk@src.honeywell.com
Minneapolis, MN 55418 			Bang:  {umn-cs,ems,mmm}!srcsip!funk
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: kenk@sdc.com (Ken Konecki)
Subject: Re: Humidifier in Furnace question
Organization: Systems Development Corporation
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 14:58:10 GMT

>I am planning to put a humidifier in my furnace soon but am
>confused - should it go in the hot air plenum or the cold air
>return?

Call the manufacturer of the humidifier and see what they recommend.  Much
more reliable advice than you could ever get from usenet.

Cheers,
    -Ken K
-- 
Ken Konecki
e-mail:kenk@sdc.com    -or-    ...!uunet!tellab5!sdc!kenk
"Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery"
From: mjohnson@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Marget Johnson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hardwood floor over concrete slab ?
Date: 16 Nov 92 16:54:03 GMT
Reply-To: mjohnson@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Marget Johnson)
Organization: Stakeholder Relations, NCR Corp in Dayton,OH

>/ iftccu:misc.consumers.house / stellaw@hpindda.cup.hp.com (Stella Kwong) / 
9:48 am  Nov 11, 1992 /
>     I am thinking of having a hardwood floor in the kitchen and the
>     nook area. (total about 250 sq.ft). 
>     Is it a good idea to put hardwood floor in the kitchen? Can I 
>     clean the hardwood floor with water every other week? 
>     Also, is there any problem putting hardwood floor on top of 
>     concrete slab? I know hardwood floor can be glued instead of 
>     nailed, but my contractor told me that the moisture from the
>     concrete slab could create bubbles underneath the hardwood 
>     and eventually it would damage the hardwood floor.  
>     Is this true? Is hardwood floor over concrete slab possible? 
>     
Stella....We installed hardwood floors (Bruce Plank) on a concrete slab over a
year ago. The wood floors were installed throughout the house, including the
kitchen, bathrooms, dining and family room areas. 
So far, the floors are holding up extraordinarily well. We opted for the
polyurethane factory-installed finish. Besides vacuuming once a week, I try to
wipe up water/food/grease spills around the sink & stove as soon as they
occur. And use a sponge mop slighlty dampened with Murphy's Oil soap to clean
off dirt residue & dust. We have two live-in Newfoundland dogs, plus
another 1/2 dozen that rotate in and out as house dogs. The floors still look
terrific, and the dog hair is easier to pick up from the bare floor than 
from carpeting.. 

Our installer tested the dampness of the concrete before apply the mastic. A
24-hour test showed were any damp spots might be. He didn't find any (house
was built 20 years ago & the concrete is "cured" by now!), but did find some
uneven areas that needed filling-in with concrete patch to assure a level
floor. 

I say, Go For It!

Marget JOhnson

-- 

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: winney@mepsi.mobil.com (Randy Winney)
Subject: Re: Power paint rollers
Organization: Mobil Exploration and Producing Services, Inc.
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 14:31:46 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.220736.72595@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu>, dh0a@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (DONALD L. HARDY) writes:
|> After Christmas I will be repainting my entire house (inside).  Anybody have
|> any input on those power paint rollers, with the hollow handles that just keep
|> on feeding?  I don't feel  up to spraying, and don't want to bend and stand,
|> bend and stand.
|> 
|> Any thoughts?

I have a Homex (sp?) power roller that I got, oh, probably 5 years ago. I
thoroughly enjoy using it, as it makes the painting go much faster than
using a normal roller, plus, as you mention, you don't have to do all the
bending and stooping to reload the roller. Clean up is a snap. The only
con I can think of is you tend to use more paint than with a standard
roller (at least I do), because you tend to put it on thicker.

-- 
Randy Winney       winney@dal.mobil.com
Mobil Exploration & Producing Technology Center
Dallas, Texas
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Getting Ready to Sell House
Date: 23 Nov 1992 14:33:01 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 444@magpie.nycenet.edu, manes@magpie.nycenet.edu (Steve Manes) writes:
>
>As I said in my last post, I didn't see one whit of difference
>between the asking prices of agency-repped and seller-repped homes.

Of course you didn't.  That doesn't mean it isn't there.

>This extra 6% bargaining margin you keep bringing up with regard to
>the latter is a straw man, Ed.  If the seller knocks 6% off the
>price it's STILL 6% out of his pocket, whether or not the home is
>being represented by an agency.

You can call it a straw man, but 6% of the price of the house is REAL
MONEY!

A and B are two identical houses in the same neighborhood.  A sells
through an agent, B is a FSBO.  B's asking price is identical to A's.
B expects the same actual selling price as A.  The difference is, B is
walking away from the deal with 6% more REAL MONEY in his pocket than A
did.  He knows this.  A smart buyer knows it.  B knows that the buyer
knows it.  The buyer knows B knows it.  There is no reason the buyer
cannot negotiate for part of that 6% savings.  B can drop the price
further, and STILL walk away with more money than A did.

Money paid to an agent is REAL MONEY.  Calling it a straw man does not
make it go away.  If it is not being paid to an agent, it is fair game
for negotiation.

>I also have to mention a point that should be self-evident: the
>reason why most people rep their own homes is because they want to
>maximize profits and don't want to let go of that 6% agency fee.

Which is why they can be negotiated with to only "let go" of 3% of it
in further reduction of the price.  It's not automatic and it's not
magical, it is simply a reality that a competent buyer can use as a
negotiating tool.

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: lowry@watson.ibm.com (Andy Lowry)
Subject: Re: Replacing gas range: DIY?
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 18:44:22 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
	<LOWRY.92Nov23121244@rotor.watson.ibm.com>
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <LOWRY.92Nov23121244@rotor.watson.ibm.com> lowry@watson.ibm.com (Andy Lowry) writes:
 [summary of gas range replacement]

Oops... a couple of points I left out of my summary:

 - Gas companies will often do the work for you, and often they'll do
   it for free.  In my case (NYC), they told me they do it for private
   houses, but in the case of apartment buildings (my situation) it's
   the building management's responsibility.  Superintendents often do
   the work.
 - Even if they won't do the installation, the gas company will often
   do a free inspection for you.
--
Andy Lowry, lowry@watson.ibm.com, (914) 784-7925
IBM Research, P.O. Box 704, Yorktown Heights, NY  10598
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,sci.physics
From: manes@magpie.nycenet.edu (Steve Manes)
Subject: Re: How to cut back my heat bill?
Organization: Manes and Associates, NYC
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 23:52:23 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house,sci.physics
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]

Stavros Macrakis (macrakis@osf.org) wrote:
: In article <92325.085334F0O@psuvm.psu.edu> <F0O@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
: 
:       My question is, will turning my thermostat back to 60 and keeping
:    it there save me more money then if I would keep it at 72?  I would think
:    it would, but the person from the gas company said it wouldn't.
: 
: The gas company person is incompetent.  Of course keeping the
: thermostat lower will cost you less.  Heat loss is proportional to the
: difference in temperature.  Moreover, turning it down when you're out
: of the house and turning it up when you're in will also reduce your
: bills.  There is the mistaken idea that "heating the house back up"
: costs more than keeping it warm constantly.  This is false.

Every wonder why landlords of most commercial buildings keep the
heat on day, night and weekends when their tenants are only
nine-to-five?  I did, because my landlord is one who promptly shuts
down the boiler at 4:30pm, weekdays (no heat on weekends at all),
which makes after-hours life a bit annoying.

So I spoke with a commercial building agent who told me that my
landlord is an amateur (and he is too).  His argument was that when
a heated building cools, it contracts.  In contracting, it loses
some of its seal around windows, exterior doors and so forth which
accelerates heat loss.  Worse, the constant cycling of expanding and
contracting creates more leaks, eventually leading to waterproofing
and even facade problems.

When the boiler is turned back on, it takes a long time to heat the
building back up again because of the above and because the mass
of the structure, which has cooled off, sucks up the heat.  The
building agent said that if it cost landlords less to shut off the
heat at night, they'd all be doing it.

How this applies to houses, I dunno, but I imagine there's some room
for argument.
-- 
Stephen Manes					   manes@magpie.nycenet.edu
Manes and Associates/Commontech-NoHo		   New York, NY, USA  =o&>o

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,soc.culture.taiwan
From: pngai@adobe.com (Phil Ngai)
Subject: Re: Water in Crawlspace
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 09:51:03 GMT

In article <mr.722401485@ogre> mr@ogre.cica.indiana.edu (Michael Regoli) writes:
>As a new homeowner, you will evenutally learn to RESPECT and feel
>POWERLESS by the destructive power of water.  It is one of the most
>powerful forces in nature.  Period.

This is very true for people who live in wooden houses. Houses
built in the tropics like Florida and Taiwan tend to make much
greater use of water proof materials like concrete because insects
are much more hungry in warm and wet climates.

I've never seen a water damaged bathroom in Taiwan...

-- 
Will Intel be the only X86 chip maker without a 586?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: allen@tessi.com (Allen Warren)
Subject: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Organization: Test Systems Strategies, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 16:52:55 GMT

egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher) writes:

>In 10 out of 10 cases, the
>seller's "real" price is inflated to cover the agents' fees.

Wrong.  When we sold our house, we priced it at what we thought we
could get out of it and our price was based on value of the house.
We did NOT take into consideration any agents' fees in our price.
We merely were trying to get the most money out of our house at a
price which reflected what the market was bearing at that time.  We
even went so far as to do our own comps to arrive at our asking price.

>Actually, that is the main impetus behind the buyer's agent movement.
>Buyers are only beginning to realize that the agent driving them around
>every weekend and being oh so helpful in finding that perfect home is
>legally obligated to fleece them.

Have you had a bad experience in buying a home recently?  You seem
incredibly hostile concerning realtor's.  Sure, they all need to make
money, but both the agent who listed and sold our house, and the agent
who helped us buy our present house (2 different agents) are still friends
of me and my wife.  In fact, we have dinner every now and then with our
selling agent and her husband, and the agent who helped us purchase lives
around the corner from us and regularly visits.  Considering all the work
both of these people did for us, we are very grateful to them.  Our
selling agent worked like a crazed woman to get the bank appraiser of the
buyer comps showing our house to be worth what it was.  The agent who
helped us get into our present home went out of his way to help convince
the sellers that our offer price was really in line with comps in the area
and the condition of the home, etc.

allen
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Date: 16 Nov 1992 14:11:09 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 23082@dg-rtp.dg.com, eliot@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot) writes:
>In article <1dtvgaINNfh@sixgun.East.Sun.COM>, egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher) writes:
>|> 
>|> What "last minute?"  Most buyers agents get paid this way to begin
>|> with, the only difference from a "normal" RE agent being their legal
>|> obligations.
>If the agents are getting paid by the seller to begin with then they aren't
>really 'buyers' agents, they're 'selling' agents.

If you want to pick nits, there is no such thing as ANY agent being
paid by the seller, 100% of the RE fees come out of the buyer's pocket,
as they are tacked onto the price of the house.

The RE agent's favorite euphemism, "the proceeds of the sale," works
both ways.  The fact that an agent is paid a percentage of the sale
price does not necessarily restrict his obligations to one of the two
parties.

>|> > It makes me think
>|> >that if I ever list a house for sale through an RE agent again (not that I
>|> >think it's a good idea in general), I will put a clause in my contract stating
>|> >that if the buyer is represented by a buyer's agent at any point in the
>|> >negotiations, the commision I pay will go down by 50%.
>|> 
>|> What difference does it make to you as a seller WHAT representation the
>|> buyer has?  
>
>If one of the agents is giving advice to the buyer on how to get me to lower
>my price, and providing the buyer information that might otherwise have been
>withheld, then I am not getting as much advantage from this representation
>as I would have otherwise.  So I don't want to pay as much for it.

Legally, you are not paying both agents, so you have no control over
their actions or obligations.  You pay the listing agent.  If that
agent sells your house, they keep the entire commission.  If another
agent provides a buyer, your agent can (and will) split the commission
with them.  The buyer's agent is not working directly for you (although
in most cases is legally obligated to you, which is why RE is such a
racket to begin with).

>|> You pay your agent to list and sell your house.  
>
>No, I pay the agent to sell the house at the highest practical price; if the
>'selling' agent is also working towards that goal then the selling agent is
>doing the same job as the listing agent; if the 'selling' agent is really
>acting as a 'buyers' agent, then they are working towards a different goal.

I said, you pay *your* agent to list and sell your house.  The agent
furnishing the buyer is paid by your agent.

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Info on renting/buying
Date: 18 Nov 92 18:22:24 GMT
	<1550@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM>
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM's message of 16 Nov 92 22:20:54 GMT


>True. But the interest payments are tax-deductible. Rent isn't.

And the rent money is considered *income* to the landlord...
--
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: ahill@boi.hp.com (Andy Hill)
Subject: Re: Teflon Tape on gas service, was: Replacing gas range:
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 23:31:49 GMT
Reply-To: ahill@boi.hp.com
Organization: LaserJets by Bill & Dave
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

> Whoops!  Most teflon pipe tape is *not* suitable for use with gas.
> I don't know why, but both the packages and some plumbers I've asked
> say so.
> 
I'd sure like to know the reasoning behind this, as well as how to tell
"good" teflon tape from "bad" teflon tape.  The installation instructions
that came with my new stove specified either pipe dope or teflon tape
for sealing the threads - no mention of what type of teflon tape to use.

Guess I'll just have to get out some matches and check the connections :-)
From: jefftb@hpmwtd.sr.hp.com (Jeff Brown)
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 22:45:21 GMT
Subject: Re: Questions about EMF studies.
Organization: HP Santa Rosa Site (SRSD MWTD)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

 Maybe you should measure gauss levels now and "if" they do build it you 
 can compare the levels see if it a problem. This might give you ammo
 for any court stuff that may arise. You might find that you get more EMF
 dose from your own household stuff than anything else do to proximity.
 the stregth of the field diminishes exponetally with distance. 
 good luck