HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dedek@meaddata.com (Mike Dedek)
Subject: Re: Info on renting/buying
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:38:32 GMT
Distribution: usa

In article <1992Nov17.232624.26624@wixer.cactus.org>, guppy@wixer.cactus.org (Jennifer Mery) writes:
|> >
|> Only if you file schedule A Itemized Deductions. We filed married last
|> year, and we didn't make over $5,700 in interest payments, so we
|> couldn't deduct them. I don't even pay that much for my house payment in
|> a year, so I'll never be able to deduct interest payments on this house.
|> I have a lot of good reasons to buy this house, but a tax deduction
|> isn't one of them. I'm always amazed by the stress put on tax
|> deductions. Some make little or no difference as compared to the cost
|> (like having kids, or losing money at the stock market).
|> 
|> jam
|> Jennifer Mery |

While I agree that a lot of stress is put on tax deductions, and they are
a small part of buying a house, your situation is rather uncommon I think.
We have a 15-yr, 9%, 83,500 mortgage and even though we only made 5 payments
last year it was still just enough to make it advantageous to itemize.
This year, we'll pay about $7200 in interest.  In addition, by itemizing we
can deduct our property taxes ($1200) and a few other miscellaneous things.
Say a total of $8500.  $8500 - $5700 = $2800 X .28 = $900 or so/year savings.
$75/month alone is not enough to justify buying rather than renting, but
it's an added bonus!

Again, I agree that tax deduction is not something that alone would make me
choose buying, but along with (what I consider to be) the other bonuses of
homeowning it sure doesn't hurt!

-Mike

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: drand@spinner.osf.org (Douglas S. Rand)
Subject: Re: GFCI question
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 16:31:23 GMT

In article <1992Nov13.094409.237@hsh.com>, lee@hsh.com (Lee Havemann) writes:
|> In article <10885@wrgate.wr.tek.com>, davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) writes:
|> > 
|> > My appologies to the net police if this has already been said.
|> > 
|> > While a GFCI will indeed protect outlets downstream, whether they be two
|> > prong or three prong, a GFCI will not convert a two prong wiring system
|> > into a three prong wiring system.  If you want to use three prong
|> > outlets, that third prong must ultimately conduct back to earth ground
|> > and do so independently of your white wire power return.  So, if you
|> > don't have that third wire wired in your series of outlets, you can't change
|> > your outlets to three prong outlets simply by adding a GFCI.  A GFCI
|> > will make them two prong outlets safe, but it won't make em three pronged.
|> 
|> A lot of older houses were wired with "armored BX", with the armor being the
|> ground. Unless there has been any rewiring done (somebody putting in romex and
|> not bonding the box with the ground wire), you should have a good earth
|> ground). If the outlets you want to replace are in a metal box, and you don't
|> replace the box, you might be able to bond the GFCI ground to the metal box. 
|>    
|> A quick check with an ohmmeter from neutral (white) to the box, or a voltmeter
|> from hot (black) to the box will tell you if you have a ground or not.
|> 
|>  This is assuming (of course :-) that you have the armored BX in your house,
|> and that local codes allow for you to do this.

But it won't tell you the quality of the ground.  Especially with
many or most modern VOM's the input impedence is so high that only
microamps are admitted to measure voltage,  and very low currents
to measure resistance.  You really need to place a substantial 
load,  such as a 100 watt light,  to know for sure.  Safety grounds
need to conduct the full current of the branch in order to trip
the breaker or blow the fuse.

-- 
Douglas S. Rand <drand@osf.org>		OSF/Motif Dev.
Snail:         11 Cambridge Center,  Cambridge,  MA  02142
Disclaimer:    I don't know if OSF agrees with me... let's vote on it.
Amateur Radio: KC1KJ
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: disaacs@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (david.e.isaacs)
Subject: Re: How to cut back my heat bill?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 17:14:52 GMT

>|>    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.  This
>|> doesn't make sense to me for the following reason:
>
>
>A good compromise is to buy a programmable setback thermostat, such as a
>Hunter, and program the night temperature for 5-10 degrees lower, having it
>come back up just before you rise, go back down after you leave for work, and
>come back up before you get home.  You can get them for $40-60 depending on
>features, and they will save you that the first heating season.
>

I have heard that it's better to just set your thermostat to 68 (or whatever
temp you like) and leave it.  Someone told me that using daily setbacks is like
changing speeds in a car and is energy inefficient.  I have a programable 
thermostat but only set it back when we are going away for over a day.  Anyone
out there know the "emis" on this is ?


David Isaacs
        		If I said it.  Why blame anyone else?

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,vt.tech
From: pallack@emily.uvm.edu (J'mes Pallack)
Subject: Hottubs: Tiles, pumps, etc.
Keywords: hottub tiles pumps
Organization: University of Vermont -- Division of EMBA Computer Facility
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 22:27:01 GMT

Working on planning my *HOTTUB* and was wondering about a few things.

  1-  Was planning to do like 3 layers...the cement/fiborglass board
      (Cement Board with fiborglass wrapped around it.) sheet of plywood
      some type of insulation(foam?).  Also 2x4 would be wrapped around
      it to provide additional strenth. Figured top, bottom and 2 more
      between.  

  2-  Shape is octigon(sp) (8 sides (e.g. stop sign))   each section
      4ft wide x 5ft high. is the plan as thats what the cement boards
      come in.  

  3-  Reason for the cement board is that I plan to Tile all and top and 
      outside thats exposed (above the deck).  Each tile is going to have
      a design on it from SF books, anime, and others.  

        key ? here.  what do I do to prevent the tiles from cracking,
        etc. when it becomes winter?  This is going to be outdoors.  

  4-  was thinking of using the UV light(radiation) to purify the water
      instead of clorine/bleach.  

  5-  To heat the water...would a ON-DEMAND heating unit work and be 
      cost effective since I'm using propane?  I have one for the house
      and one idea was to create a closed loop w/a pump on it.  Using a 
      heat exchanger. The pump would circulate the water in MAIN system
      causing the on-demand to turn on.   And then transfer the heat via
      the heat exchanger to the hot-tub water being run though.   The
      closed loop being seprate would allow HOT-water for HOUSE use to
      be called for.  

  6-  would foam insulation for the base be strong enough to withstand
      the weight of water, tiles(floor) or rocks, 

  7-  in a simple plywood tub in a book I'm reading they have the layers
      being 1" plywood, foam insulation, 1" plywood sandwich.  All glued
      together.  THis is just the base but was thinking of doing this for
      the sides also.  

I know I've asked before...but some ideas had changed..and others just want
additional input.  The tiles is the big ? regarding heat change.  How to test
it also (put hotwater and let the tiles freeze, and then drop it in the water, 
etc.) Once I get the full planned out I can start painting the tiles and have
them fired.

thanks in advance.

J'mes

Internet:   pallack@wsyd.com                  James Pallack
FidoNet:    1:325/101.0                       P.O. Box 5035
CompuServe: 72636,2123                        Burlington,  VT 05402-5035
Data/BBS: 802-453-6074 (1200-9600 HST DS)     Voice: 802-453-6073
From: spikes@hpscit.sc.hp.com (Bill Spikes)
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 18:46:40 GMT
Subject: Re: Water in Crawlspace
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

Get it fixed! You know that something will break...water line, heater duct,
phone line, power line under the house sooner or later. You don't really
think that these things are gonna break when it is dry down there, do ya?

Let's see, for a three hour plumbin' repair down there, I'd better strap
on the twin 72's and bring about 5 magnesium torches.....


Bill
Amateur Homeowner (and subterranean repair diver)
From: b_lmcgilve@cpvax.cpses.tu.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: HELP! Skunk keeps attacking my house
Date: 17 Nov 92 13:33:30 CST
Distribution: usa
Organization: Texas Utilities, Glen Rose TX 

In article <1992Nov16.194239.9280@infonode.ingr.com>, jim@doink.b23b.ingr.com (James B. Reed) writes:
> |> In article <1e65a0INNstl@agate.berkeley.edu> stanton@haas.berkeley.edu (Richard Stanton) writes:
> |> >Every few nights, my house stinks of skunk...
> |>
> Mothballs should work well too.  If they are living under the house, you
> could throw in some mothballs and they will probably vacate the premises.
> -- 
Just remember, mothballs are attractive to and poisonous for dogs.  I've
heard of dogs being poisoned eating them.  So you might want to be careful
where you throw them.  

I have the same problem...I keep a look out but I haven't spotted the 
stinker, yet.  My cat food bill went up sharply for a couple of weeks
until I figured out that wasn't a new black cat in the neighborhood - now
I feed the cats up out of reach of skunks.
-- 
Laurel McGilvery		Not only do I not speak for the company,
CPSES (temporarily)		the company does not speak for me. 

All opinions expressed are obviously mine.  Who else would own up to them?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen)
Subject: Re: Shake roof maintenance (and replacement)
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, RT Software
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 00:16:16 GMT

In article <1992Nov19.000010.12677@phx.mcd.mot.com> fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen) writes:
>Elk, GAF, Georgia-Pacific, and GenStar/GS all make 25/30/40 yr transferable
>warranty shake-like ("dimensional") shingles.  You would probably prefer
>the top of the line.  Don't forget the ridge treatments (Z-Ridge, Dura-Ridge,
>
>One more:  CertainTeed's Independence Shangle.

Another is Owens-Corning (I forget the series name; I believe, tho, that it's
sorta low-end dimensional).
-- 
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
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:14836 rec.woodworking:7923 news.answers:4077
From: cole@unix.SRI.COM (Susan Cole)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers
Subject: need advice on cooking range purchase
Date: 16 Nov 92 07:32:47 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Distribution: usa
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, California

I'll ask my questions first, then explain them.  I'm in the market for
a new gas range and I'd like to get people's comments on ...

1) Is "Modern Maid" a good brand?

2) Are there any hidden problems related to installing, using, or maintaining
a range that uses downdraft ventilation?

3) Does a black range tend to "show the dirt" more than a white one?

Now the background.  I want to replace my old gas range.  I kind of had my
heart set on getting one that has a griddle as well as burners.  I had
pictured one with four burners and a permanent griddle in the middle, but the
only ones I've seen have been very expensive  -- mid $2000's and up.
Cost is not a huge consideration but on the other hand I don't want to
go overboard.

I was also thinking that rather than buying a hood with built-in microwave, I
would prefer to build a shelf over the new range for my existing microwave.
With a built-in microwave-hood, if the microwave breaks, you're kind of up a
creek. 

One place had a stove that seemed to fit my needs.  The brand is Modern Maid
(model PHU185), and it comes with two burners on one side and a grill on the
other.  You can buy accessories that can be exchanged in seconds, according
to the salesman, for the grill -- two more burners ($189), a griddle ($89),
or a rotisserie (didn't ask the price).

This design only comes in a downdraft ventilation style, which means that
instead of venting up through the roof it can vent through the rear wall,
side wall, or floor.  I was told these are harder to install and more
expensive.  The stove costs $1400 and installation would be $200 to $300.
A comparable stove with normal updraft ventilation would cost about $900.

The downdraft style actual seems desirable from the standpoint of leaving me
the wall space above the stove to use, but I wonder if it presents problems
-- like needing unusual clearance, or being noisy, or less effective, or
breaking down more often.

Finally, the stove comes in white and black.  I prefer the look of the
black model, but I recall that with cars, black ones show dirt the most
and white ones the least.  Am I likely to have the same problem with
a black stove?  I am not the world's greatest housekeeper.

If you can toss some pearls of wisdom my way on any of the above, I'd
appreciate it.   
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rsd@sei.cmu.edu (Richard S D'Ippolito)
Subject: Re: How to cut back my heat bill?
Organization: The Software Engineering Institute
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:43:58 GMT


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.  This
|> doesn't make sense to me for the following reason:

??Really?? -- my local gas companies produce literature on saving energy by
keeping the temperature lower.  Your reasoning is correct, and you don't have
to be a physicist.  Obviously, if you set it down to the current outside
temperature, it won't come on at all.  I'll be charitable and assume that the
gas company rep misunderstood your question.

A good compromise is to buy a programmable setback thermostat, such as a
Hunter, and program the night temperature for 5-10 degrees lower, having it
come back up just before you rise, go back down after you leave for work, and
come back up before you get home.  You can get them for $40-60 depending on
features, and they will save you that the first heating season.

Rich
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist)
Subject: Re: Basketball Goal
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 20:12:00 GMT

In article <1992Nov17.164716.6333@oakhill.sps.mot.com> stevee@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Stephen Elmendorf) writes:
>I also would like to put up a goal (on a post). My concern is that we don't
>plan on living here more than 4-5 years at most. How much of a negative is it
>to have a goal in front of the house when it comes time to sell? It seems that
>removing it might be difficult, since it is sunk into a block of concrete. 
>Unless the prospective buyers had kids, or liked to play, I would think it 
>might turn them away. Any comments?

After spending 8 months as virtual motel guests in our own home, trying
to avoid offending potential buyers who never materialized, my advice is:
		It's your home - live in it!

You never know what's going to happen.  When we first bought our house,
we alternately planned on staying for 5 to 15 years, then staying
30 years, then staying only 4 years.  The market and the economy
changed, and it will be at least another 5 years before we have
financially recovered enough to consider moving again, after this last
fiasco.  So things that really would have been nice to do a couple years
ago will remain undone a while longer - we still have a 75-year-old furnace,
instead of a new one - we have a neutral paint scheme best described as
"bland suburbian" instead of the 3-color scheme we wanted outside - we
have a Model A-sized garage that's got about 5 years left in its life
instead of a two-car insulated garage.  If we had put as much energy and
money into making the house our own instead of worrying about the next
buyer's next buyer, we'd have a house that we wouldn't have wanted to
move from in the first place.  If a buyer doesn't want a basketball
goal, they can remove it.  But you're more likely to benefit from a
kid or two seeing the hoop and saying "Hey, Mom and Dad, this place is
great!" than you are to scare someone away.

Sorry for the rambling, but please, somebody out there, learn from my mistake!
-- 
Jonathan E. Quist                              INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation
jeq@i88.isc.com  '71 CL450-K4 "Gleep", DoD #094        Naperville, IL
        There are many things a person should experience in a lifetime.
       Among them are an infant's first cry, and an infant's first laugh.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: leath@UPEI.CA (Steve Leath)
Subject: Re: Blown-In Insulation & Vapor Barriers
Organization: University of Prince Edward Island, CANADA
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 13:52:04 GMT

In article <lggg4qINNfn0@news.bbn.com> isidro@BBN.COM (Isidro Castineyra) writes:
>From: isidro@BBN.COM (Isidro Castineyra)
>Subject: Blown-In Insulation & Vapor Barriers
>Date: 17 Nov 1992 00:45:14 GMT
>A neighbour of mine had his house insulated by blowing cellulose into
>the exterior walls. He swears by the process, and his house does feel
>much tighter than mine (the houses are almost identical).  I have
>heard that because it is almost impossible to install a vapor barrier,
>the insulation can trap humidity inside the walls. This could damage
>the structure in the long run. What is the net-wisdom on this?
>
>Thanks,
>Isidro
>
>
>Isidro Castineyra                                 (isidro@bbn.com)   
>Bolt Beranek and Newman,  Incorporated		  (617) 873-6233
>10 Moulton Street, Cambridge, MA 02138		  USA
>
>
>
>
Actually, one can use vapor barrier paints, some are rated the same as 4 to 
6 mil plastic. In fact using these paints correctly can be better than 
plastic, since you can coat the entire interior surface without any breaks. 
Many houses have vapor barrier plastic on the outside walls up to the 
ceilings, yet, vapor can go up through the ceiling into the upper floor 
cavity and out the wall above the ceiling and below the next floor causing 
the same humidity problems.

Steve Leath    leath@upei.ca
From: stanton@haas.berkeley.edu (Richard Stanton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Comments on hand blenders?
Date: 16 Nov 1992 04:31:40 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: haas.berkeley.edu

I'm considering buying a hand blender, basically a plastic covered motor with
a blade at the end, which is supposed to be able to chop/puree/blend etc.
with much less cleanup required than a regular blender or food processor (the
main reason I almost never use them)

Does anyone have any comments about these? In particular, how useful are they
for whisking? How do they compare with portable whisks (with 2 balloon whisk
attachments)? Are they worth buying, and if so, what's a good brand/price.

Thanks for any suggestions

Richard Stanton
From: fung@figaro.med.harvard.edu (Karen S. Fung)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: WANTED: A HOW-TO and WHEN-TO BOOK FOR 1ST TIME HOME-OWNERS
Keywords: first-time ho, reference, diy
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:43:37 GMT
Followup-To: fung@figaro.med.harvard.edu
Organization: Harvard Medical School, Dept. of Health Care Policy

I have just happily purchased a home and would like to 
know how to take care of it.

What I am looking for is a reference book that can tell
me what maintenance I should do in the various seasons and 
how to do it.

For example,
When do I do gutters?  (Clean them, repair them, paint them)
What do I do in the winter? (Insulate? check the heat?)
When can I do exterior work?  
What should I check and how often?
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: How to tell a REAL buyer's agent
Date: 23 Nov 1992 14:20:43 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 1emu8dINN5v7@morrow.stanford.edu, mlw@cisco.com (Monica Waldman) writes:
>
>I have to agree that some realtors earn their keep.  We spent more than a year
>looking for a home, running our realtor ragged.  The last few months she's
>been taking us out after the realtor's weekly walkthrough in hopes of us 
>seeing the good buys and getting our offer in first.  This includes her time
>previewing homes, calling to make appointments, driving us around, getting
>property inspections on homes we liked, inquiring on the status of homes we 
>liked, trying to find out the real scoop on how low of a bid the seller will
>really take (I know legally she can't tell us much, but she can give a ballpark
>figure on what the property may go for) and doing a song and dance routine for 
>the sellers when presenting.
>our offers.

News Flash, Monica:  This person is *not* working for you, and will
*not* represent your interests in any negotiation.  To do so would be a
violation of her moral, ethical, and legal obligations.  Any info she
gives you on how low a price the seller will accept is less than
useless, if she tells you *anything* useful, the seller can and will
sue her butt off.  "Song and dance" is *exactly* what she will do for
you when presenting your offer, she will *not* negotiate in earnest on
your behalf.

How anyone can read Monica's post, knowing the reality of the RE
agent's loyalty, and still call the profession honorable with a
straight face is beyond me!

---
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: meir@watson.ibm.com (Meir Laker)
Subject: forced-hot-air vs baseboard heating: is it really "drier" heat?
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 18:40:18 GMT
Distribution: misc
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

New construction in our area seems to have baseboard heating as
opposed to forced-hot-air heating.

The reason: "conventional" wisdom has it that baseboard heating dries
out a house less than forced-hot-air heating, significantly less so
that a humidifier is not needed (besides the fact that a humidifier
could not be installed without duct work).

Is this true?

I have always thought that the main source of winter dryness is the
difference in relative humidity between the outside cold air and the
inside warm air. If so, it would seem to me irrelevant how the air is
heated.  (A rise in temparature from 20 degrees to 70 degrees is going
to cause the relative humidity to drop the same amount no matter the
source of the heat.)

If so, it would seem to make more sense installing forced-hot-air
heating and adding a humidifier.

Meir Laker 

IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center      
P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598    
Phone: 914-945-2699  

meir@watson.ibm.com





--
Meir Laker 

IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center      
P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598    
Phone: 914-945-2699  
Tieline: 862-2699

meir@watson.ibm.com


Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house