HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mwr@tridom.uucp (Mark Reardon)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Problems with Plaster
Date: 9 Apr 92 17:13:29 GMT
Reply-To: mwr@tridom.uucp (Mark Reardon)
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Tridom; Marietta, Georgia

In article <ktv85qINNmh4@news.bbn.com>, mjensen@BBN.COM (Martin Jensen) writes:
|> Help!
|>.....
|>     We  attempted  patching a couple of the smaller areas with plaster of
|>     paris, and found the stuff pretty dreadful to work with.  It's either
|>     too thick or too thin, it hardens much too quickly for a rank amateur
|>     to be able to work with it, and it looks like  it  may  take  a  belt
|>     sander to smooth out a couple of the rougher spots.
|> 
|>     Someone  suggested using joint compound, but I would wonder about its
|>     viability over such large areas.  At this stage I would  welcome  any
|>     suggestions or alternatives.

Our new house had a similar problem caused by improper removal of wall paper.  The walls were so rough myu wife insisted they be smoothed and painted before our new baby was born.  Off i went to Home Depot for help.

They recommended premixed joint compound for applying a skim coat.  following their direction I rough sanded the surface to allow the coat to grab something.  Then with a 10" plaster knife I applied the "mud" over a clean, moistened wall.  Don't get to exact with the smoothness. It won't be like glass.  Next I used a pole sander with screens instead of sand paper.  This did a quick job of removing major roughness left in the skim coat.  Last I used a primer coat of paint that contained pumice (A local bran



d called Porter).  The two real keys were the rough sanding and the primer.

BTW, I sealed the room door with foam gasket weatherstripping and taped closed the air vents.  This helped keep the plaster dust in the room and out of the rest of the house.  I even went in and out a second story window on a latter to avoid tracking that stuff in the house.  It is nasty.

Mark (mwr@eng.tridom.com)
From: gdw@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (gordon.d.woods)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: How to pigtail aluminum wiring
Date: 6 Apr 92 13:44:44 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

From article <9203260427.AA09841@cel.scg.hac.com>, by rhorner@RIGEL.HAC.COM (Robert Horner):
> Has anybody here actually gone through the process of pigtailing aluminum
> wiring  with copper?
> 
> My wife and I bought a 20 year old house a few months back, aluminum wire
> and all. I've heard of the process of pigtailing, but I haven't seen or
> heard a good description of it. Surely it's more than just connecting
> copper wire to the ends, right? Is there a special connector that
> you have to use?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
The original pigtailing procedure consisted of connecting
a piece of copper wire to the aluminum wire using COALR (sp?)
wirenuts and a special sealer/antioxident. I believe as of
a couple of years ago this is no longer code. The approved
method now is special gastight crimp connectors of which AMP
brand Copalum connectors are one. They require a special crimp
tool; it's not your garden variety crimper. I looked into buying
the tool: the hand tool is $1500; I didn't ask about the pneumatic
one. Connectors are $1 each; sold in boxes of 500. I decided
to have an electrician do it since it would be cheaper and
less hassle. The main disadvantage it that it's difficult to
tinker with the wiring  latter since you can't break into
existing circuits to add extensions, change switching, etc.
The electician did stub out some leads in the attic in case
I wanted to add things later. Being an ex-electrician's helper
I like to change things on whim so I can't really do that
anymore but it's no real loss.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sns@deimos.caltech.edu (Sam Southard Jr.)
Subject: Re: Improvement Value Adds?
Keywords: do-it-yourself
Organization: Caltech Astronomy Department
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 21:19:27 GMT

In article <30171@cbmvax.commodore.com>, augi@cbmvax.commodore.com (Joe Augenbraun) writes:
|> Every book I've read says that you basically cannot get back more than
|> 100% on a home improvement.  The ones that consistantly come closest to
|> giving back 100% are bathrooms, kitchens, and fireplaces.  The ones that
|> do worst are things like converting a garage to a family room or adding
|> a pool in Buffalo.

I've always hears this, too.  However, I wonder if it applies when you do it
yourself?  Assume that you're able to do just as good a job as a "pro" (we've
all heard horror stories about some of the "pros" out there).  I would bet
that, assuming you are capable in the improvement, you'd actually do a better
job - you have a much bigger interest in it than does a pro.

Does anyone have any such experience with this?  The existance of fixer-uppers
seems to prove that you can get more than 100% back on a home improvement, or
no one would buy them (except maybe because they didn't have the money up
front).

-- 

Sam Southard, Jr.
{sns@deimos.caltech.edu|{backbone}!cit-vax!deimos!sns}
From: sophie@uts.amdahl.com (Sophie Chyi)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: unlicensed construction contractor
Keywords: license
Date: 15 Apr 92 00:27:39 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

I'm planning to have a skylight put in to my house by a contractor. I've looked
at his work, and his jobs seem to be pretty clean. But he doesn't have a 
license.
Since I do want a permit, he's going to use a friend's license # to pull a 
permit for the skylight. And on the contract, he's going to put down 15 year
warrenty for the skylight, and 2 year for the workmanship.
My questions are: What is a license for? If something goes wrong with the
skylight, is he liable? What else do I need to know about hiring a contractor?

Any comments/suggestions will be appreciate.

Thanks.

Sophie
From: eliot@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: RE agents recommending inspectors
Date: 9 Apr 92 02:19:58 GMT
Reply-To: eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC

I'm buying a house from the owner, with no RE agent involved.  Nevertheless
(is that one word?) the agent with whom we had been involved for six months
is helping us out anyway (for free), bless her heart.

What she does is just keep a file of info about inspectors.  It includes
letters from inspectors saying "here are my qualifications and prices, blah
blah blah", a few old inspections done for earlier clients, and the like.
She doesn't recommend, she just turns the file over to her customers to
decide for themselves.  Seems like a good approach to me.

-- 
Topher Eliot             Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development
(919) 248-6371      eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com       {backbone}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!eliot
Obviously, I speak for myself, not for DG.
misc.consumers.house archivist.  Send mail to house-archive@dg-rtp.dg.com
"Daddy, did you know that the air that comes out of your nose smells like the
bad stuff under a skunks tail?" --Tommy, age 3.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: heller@heller.b11.ingr.COM (Anne A. Heller)
Subject: How is Minnesota Mutual as a homeowner's insurance carrier?
Keywords: homeowner's insurance, Minnesota Mutual
Reply-To: heller@heller.b11.ingr.COM (Anne A. Heller)
Organization: Intergraph Corporation
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 20:27:52 GMT

My husband and I are in the process of buying a house.  After applying for 
financing we were surprised to get a call from a representative of Minnesota 
Mutual Fire and Casualty offering homeowners insurance.  The representative
said they had gotten the information about us/our potential house from the
mortgage company through which we have applied for financing.  He asked a
few questions about the house (far fewer than the other companies from which
we've gotten quotes), and then quoted a rate which is far below the other
quotes we have obtained.  He said he would mail complete details concerning
the policy; we received that information today.  The name of the particular
policy is HomePlus.The terms of the policy seem quite comparable to the other
policies for which we've gotten quotes, but I'm wary because of the much lower
price.

Has anyone had experiece with this company for homeowners insurance?  I would
certainly be interested to hear about any good/bad experiences with them.
Are there any general caveats to be aware of when shopping for homeowners
insurance?

Thanks!

--
Anne Heller / heller@heller.b11.ingr.com  -or-  ..!uunet!ingr!b11!heller!heller
From: mckenna@ctron.com (Ed McKenna)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Problem while in buying process (land)
Date: 17 Apr 92 15:09:06 GMT
Reply-To: mckenna@shark.ctron.com (Ed McKenna)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Cabletron Systems INc.

In article <3049@cvbnetPrime.COM> sgianett@quarter.Prime.COM (Stephen Gianetti) writes:
>
> Seems some of the land slices through his front lawn which he has been 
>mowing for the past 20 years.  


Man what an ass hole the neighbor is!  If the sub division is a registered
sub division the guy doesn't have a chance of anything.  He can mow the
lawn for ever, but it will still be yours.

That deal about him using it for 20 years if if the land isnot registered.

Ed.
From: marks@ssdevo.enet.dec.com (Randy Marks)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: concrete slab over sprinkler lines
Date: 15 Apr 92 15:29:01 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp. - Colorado Springs


Thanks for the suggestions on dealing with sprinkler lines which are
currently located where I'd like to install a concrete slab.  I've summarized
them below:

1. 
In article <4100615@hpcc01.corp.hp.com>, brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks) writes...
>Not much expense, just a lot of work; move the lines, or route a
>new supply line and tie the lines to a new manifold.
> 
>I'd worry about any foundation work cutting the lines as the 
>slab is going in.  

2.
Install a large(er) diameter PVC pipe and run the sprinkler lines through it.
Install slab.  If a line fails after the slab is installed, the line can
be replaced without disturbing the slab.
I can also run the electric control cable (controls the solenoids) through the
PVC pipe and have the ability to replace it if necessary.

3.
Install a couple of redundant (but unused) sprinkler lines.  Then install slab.
If a line fails after slab is installed, disconnect the failed section
and re-connect to the redundant section.

I'm tentatively planning to use technique 2.
	Thanks again,
	Randy Marks
(UUCP)	                {decvax,ucbvax,allegra}!decwrl!ssdevo.enet!marks
(INTERNET)              marks@ssdevo.enet.dec.com
(domain-based INTERNET) marks%ssdevo.enet@decwrl.dec.com
..........................................................................
	"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe
	while the legislature is in session."
..........................................................................
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: shore@dinah.tc.cornell.edu (Melinda Shore)
Subject: Re: mice
Reply-To: shore@tc.cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell Theory Center
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 19:23:15 GMT

[]
Not to be utterly unoriginal, but my cat completely
cleared out the mice that were living in my old farmhouse.
It took her awhile to figure out how to catch the mice,
but once she got going there were several weeks where I 
found one or two carcasses per day.  I haven't seen a sign 
of any mice since.  No droppings, no gnawing, nothing.
-- 
       Melinda Shore - Cornell Theory Center - shore@tc.cornell.edu
From: freds@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Fred Saavedra)
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 23:32:28 GMT
Subject: Re: low end chipper/shredder
Organization: the HP Corporate notes server
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house


Consumers reports had a great review a while back.(I don't
remember the month, check you're library)

They recommend the 5 hp Sears, or MTD. 

MTD is the original manufacture the name really is MTD and not M.T.D. 

I bought the Sears last year, it is very good, but if you are chipping 
branches greater than 1/2" plan on spending lot's of extra time.
It is long dirty very noisy work.

It maybe a lot cheaper to take the larger stuff to a landfill.

fs
From: n5pph307.bnr.ca (Bill Hengeveld)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Are skylights suitable for high pitch roofs?
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:55:26 GMT
Organization: Northern Telecom Inc.

In article <1992Apr9.124557.3706@infonode.ingr.com>, frank@ugly.b23a.ingr.com (Franklin Owens) writes:
> 
> I am currently having a house built.  The plans calls for a skylight in
> the bathroom.  However the roof pitch is 10/12 which is fairly steep.  I
> have been told that because of the speepness that the skylight will look
> more like a tunnel. I tend to agree with this but what do you guys think?
> 
> 
A couple of points:	
 
1.  The smaller the skylight, the larger the tunnel effect.

2.  The tunnel effect can be minimalized by 'spreading out' the framing from	
     the skylight to the ceiling.  Angle the end of the skylight closest to the
     roof peak 'outwards' toward the peak, then take the end of the skylight
     farthest away from the roof peak and bring it down vertically towards
     the floor.  This will fully reveal the skylight to your view and not force 	   
      your to stand directly under it and be forced to look thru a tunnel to see
      out.

Bill Hengeveld
From: ostroff@Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Drywall texturing and painting
Date: 3 Apr 92 21:49:53 GMT
Reply-To: ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Instructional Computing Center, SUNY at Oswego, Oswego, NY

In article <11739@sail.LABS.TEK.COM> vallath@vishnu.foo.tek.com (Vallath Nandakumar ) writes:
>I would like to put down texture on the wall before painting
>it with latex.  What is the right thing to do?

I did extensive stucco texturing of most of the first floor of my house.
For the most part, it was new drywall, but there was some existing painted or
papered plaster.

First off, the quality of your texture paint is important and varies greatly
from brand to brand.  I use Benjamin Moore Latex Texture paint exclusively.
I had used this for years in my theatrical work and had been impressed with
how durable it was, but my experience at home really convinced me.  After
8 years in my old, creaky farmhouse, there is not one crack visible anywhere.
Contrast this to other areas where the drywall joint compound has cracked
within a year or two.  This stuff is just indestructible; well worth the
money.  It comes in three varieties: sand finish, coarse and Spanish stucco.
It is very thick, and I applied it with a trowel (went through about 30 gal!).
If you want a lighter texture, you could use a brush or roller I guess.

For preparation I just taped the drywall seams and put a first coat of joint
compound on them without sanding.  Then I used one coat of drywall primer
over everything (new drywall and existing walls).  After that, I applied
the texture paint.  Warning!  This is a very MESSY job - we had gutted the
whole first floor and were re-doing floors and everything, so the mess didn't
really matter.  Since we wanted white walls, we did not paint the finished
texture at all.  This works quite nicely as time goes by.  When the walls
start looking a little dirty, I just take a bucket of water with some Spic
'n Span in it and a scrub brush.  I scrub down the walls and, since the color
goes right through the texture paint, voila! - I have sparkling clean white
walls again.

.............................................................................
....Boyd Ostroff / Technical Director / SUNY Oswego Department of Theatre....
...............Voice: (315) 341-2987 /  Fax: (315) 341-3394..................
..............ostroff@oswego.oswego.edu / ostroff@cboard.UUCP................
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: wreck@fmsrl7.srl.ford.com (R. Cage)
Subject: Re: Which first - replacement windows or furnace?
Summary: The windows.
Organization: Ford Motor Company Scientific Research Labs, Dearborn, MI
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 15:25:19 GMT

In article <cdsiSnm00Uh_A1XFJK@andrew.cmu.edu> ah0r+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allyson Halpern) writes:
>Now that the warm weather is upon us, it is unfortunately time to start
>preparing for the next harsh winter. We have leaky old windows and a
>humongous old furnace - both need to be replaced but we can really only
>afford to replace one or the other right now. Some tell me to do the
>furnace first, others the windows. Any recommendations? Thanks! - Allyson

Your choice of furnace will be affected greatly by the heat
requirements of your house.  Those are going to change a
lot after you replace the windows.  It makes no sense to get
a furnace sized for a leaky house when you're going to
tighten it up later, so replace the windows first and then
use the gas usage experience to pick the right size furnace
when you eventually replace it.

This only applies if the furnace is not in imminent danger
of becoming hazardous or non-functional.  If that's likely,
replace the furnace now.  You will not be able to have as
good a match between the new furnace and the house, though.
-- 
Russ Cage              wreck@fmsrl7.srl.ford.com  russ%rsi@sharkey.cc.umich.edu
  *  When Ford pays me for my opinions, THEN they can call them theirs. *

                           _Bad_ cop.  No donut.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: Bad, Bad Smoke Alarm... (more info)
Organization: OSF Research Institute
	<1992Apr2.202604.3536@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> <9375@wrgate.wr.tek.com>
Distribution: usa
Date: 7 Apr 92 14:12:02

In article <9375@wrgate.wr.tek.com> davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) writes:

   The stats collected by firemen and insurance companies show that by
   far the most common way for a smoke detector to fail is dead
   batteries....But of course if you want to be extra sure, have both
   [battery and AC] kinds installed.

There are also models that contain BOTH a battery AND hook up to AC.
However, the ones I've seen use non-rechargeable batteries, so you
still have to change them from time to time.

	-s
From: davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Heat pumps
Date: 8 Apr 92 19:49:52 GMT

> I am currently thinking about replacing a forty yr. old furnace with something
> more effiecent.  The old unit was wood,to coal,to oil, conversion, that is 
> running steam radiators. You can hear it sucking dollars out of my wallet
> on a cold night. My question to the collective wisdom of the net is would
> a heat pump using a buried loop setup work here in the northeast.  I have
> access to a small backhoe and could do the digging etc. myself. Any info
> on pros cons vs oil and gas systems would be appriciated, also could it be run
> in tandem with one of these systems?

Having your own backhoe really tips the issue in your favor.  Track down
the suppliers in your locale.  In theory you have a winner of an idea.
Perhaps someone in netland knows of some books and/or magazine articles
on the topic.  I'd suggest you see if you can colaborate with someone
who has the experience, perhaps an installer for one of the companies
supplying the equipment.  They might just give you the coaching at no
cost if you buy their hardware.  Or just charge you for the freon
plumbing installation.

Dave
From: tubis@cs.purdue.EDU (Charlotte I. Tubis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: wood floors
Keywords: wood floor
Date: 14 Apr 92 21:42:20 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Purdue University

I am considering replacing my vinyl kitchen floor with
a Bruce wood floor which is coated with urethane. What
if a pan of water falls on the floor spilling water between the boards?
Should I coat between the boards with additional
urethane to protect the underfloor? What has been your experience
with wood floors in the kitchen?
From: smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: How to get rid of mildew smell in bathroom?
Date: 13 Apr 92 15:11:29 GMT
Distribution: na

In article <1992Apr8.173706.2420@oakhill.sps.mot.com>, stevee@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Stephen Elmendorf) writes:
> I have a bit of a problem. In the last few weeks, we have noticed a smell of 
> mildew in our upstairs master bath. The problem is, we can't find the source.
> It almost seems like it is coming from the shower, but where? Everything is
> clean, and about 2 months ago I re-caulked, so no water should be accumulating
> in unseen areas. It almost seems like it is coming from the drain, but is that
> possible? We have no drainage problem, but when we turn the water on, the
> smell seems to increase momentarily, and then fade.

We've had what we believe to be the same problem.  It's dormant now, as it
were; we'll see what happens when the weather warms up.

Anyway, we've found two things to help.  First, pour some bleach down
the drain; that will kill off the current crop.  Second, we found that
there was a fair amount of hair/soap/gloop mixture between the grate
and the trap, and this was the source for much of the mildew smell.
Cleaning that out -- and it was not thick enough to cause drainage
problems -- helped get rid of the smell.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: thundt@dis9001.shearson.com (Thomas M. Hundt)
Subject: Re: dumping a broker
Organization: Lehman Brothers
	<JACK.92Apr3085158@au-bon-pain.lcs.mit.edu>
	<1992Apr3.175723.26491@informix.com>
	<THUNDT.92Apr7162056@dis9001.shearson.com>
Distribution: misc
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 21:54:59 GMT

   From: thundt@dis9001.shearson.com (Thomas M. Hundt)
   References: <1992Apr1.180309.24592@mccc.edu> <1992Apr2.185708.26289@informix.com>
	   <JACK.92Apr3085158@au-bon-pain.lcs.mit.edu>
	   <1992Apr3.175723.26491@informix.com>

   Also: I'd make sure that there was an expiration date on any contract
   I make with a broker.  (Which you have now learned the hard way, I'm
   sorry to read.)

Silly me: of course, you even *said* it was a 6-month deal.  Well,
that's good, only 2 til you're done.  In the meantime you can
try your luck on your own.  (Hire a realtor sans commission if you
find a buyer, to handle the paperwork!)

-Th