HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: john@spss.com (John Przyborowski)
Subject: Re: Removing wall paper.
Date: 22 Jul 92 21:00:10 GMT
Organization: SPSS Inc.


Jonathan:

I just spent last weekend removing wallpaper from the master bedroom
in my new apt.  There are a couple of considerations here:

Is it vinyl coated wallpaper?  If it is, you need to strip of that vinyl
coating to get to the paper backing, the parr that is actually affixed
to the wall.  If the coating is still on, steam and chemicals cannot pene-
trate to the glue.  Luckily, we had old badly applied wallpaper and were 
able to  strip the vinyl off relatively easily.  you might have to score 
it lightly to help you in this endeavor.

How heavily glued was it/how badly was it papered?  If the glue is old
or poorly applied, wetting the paper is your best bet.  Fill a bucket
with warm water and add about a cup of white vinegar.  Using a sponge or
sponge mop to reach high spots, thouroughly wet the paper.  Take a dull
scraper and see how easily it comes off (it might take a few seconds for 
the water to penetrate).  If it comes off easily you're set!  You can
do a room fairly quickly with this method.

If, however, the paper is obstinate, your next step is a steamer.  Do not
buy one, they are extremely expensive.  The cheapest on I found
was a Black & Decker for $70.  It was hand held and could probably do a
strip 6-8 inches wide at a time.  rent one.  Check your local wallpaper
shop or paint shop.  Or try one of those rental places.  I paid $26 a 
day for mine before I discovered the water/vinegar trick.  I've been told
by a lot of contractors since then that steamers are a scam, and thast
wetting the paper works every time.

Oh, PUT DOWN DROP CLOTHS.

john
SPSS
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dumic@cc.swarthmore.edu (Mark J. Dumic)
Subject: Heat Pump vs. Central Air
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Organization: Swarthmore College
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 15:43:40 GMT

I'm considering buying a house without central air.  It uses hot water
baseboard heating with oil as the fuel source.  If I invest in central air,
I could either put in a heat pump or the standard central air compressor. 
In both cases I'd need to add the duct work.  If I put in a heat pump, the
baseboard heat would be backup for cold days - here in Philadelphia it
would certainly get some use.  What would be the relative pros and cons of
these two approaches?  I suspect that putting in a heat pump may initially
cost more but may save me more per year.  Any comments would be
appreciated.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: trb@cbnews.cb.att.com (tom.balent)
Subject: Re: Ground Cover Suggestions????
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 11:39:27 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.162817.6602@dg-rtp.dg.com> eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com writes:
>Think about what's going to fall into your ground cover, and how you will
>clean it out.  I've heard that trying to get pine needles or dead leaves out
>of English Ivy without tearing up the ivy is pretty hard.  On the other hand,
>the stuff that looks like pieces of juniper seems to survive being raked.
>
>-- 

Why do you have to rake pine needles out of your ivy? My entire front
yard is English Ivy and there is one HUGE pine tree also. I have
seen no ill effects from pine needles in the ivy.  I do not rake them
out, the only thing I do is maybe twice a year I trim the ivy that is 
growing over the sidewalk. In fact, the ground under pine trees is 
acidic (caused by the tree) and ivy thrives in acidic soil. Now 
regular tree leaves are another matter - we also have a number of 
maples and every fall I rake the ivy to get those off of it, but 
since they lay on top of the ivy I do not have to rake too heavily.  
Ivy is delicate, it can stand up to an occasional raking.


tom
From: bennett@adobe.com (Bennett Leeds)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: 1/2" drill reccommendations
Date: 28 Jul 92 19:50:09 GMT
Reply-To: bennett@adobe.com
Distribution: na
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated

Stavros Macrakis writes
> This chauvinism about US-made tools is invidious and unjustified.
> There are many excellent brands of non-US tools.  In fact, many (US)
> tradesmen I've talked to prefer some non-US tools.
> 
> Brands that come to mind are: Bosch (Germany), famous for its jigsaws
> and drills;

Bosch's cordless drill in made in Switerland. Many of their routers and sanders 
are made in the US.

> Freud (Italy), famous for biscuit joiners (which I believe
> they invented) and saw blades;

Freud's biscuit joiner was made in Spain last time I looked (they ended up 
buying the factory rather than just distributing them). Their router is made
there also.

Freud did not invent biscuit joinery - Lamello did over 10 years ago. Elu was 
the first to have an alternate machine for making the slots. Freud was one of
the first to make the machine affordable in the US.

You left out Ryobi, who designs and makes some of its tools in the US, even 
using US subcontractors for many of the parts.


I agree there are high quality tools made elsewhere than in the US. There are 
also bad tools made in the US.


> PS I do not know any famous brands of tool from Taiwan, but that is no
>    reason to issue a blanket condemnation of tools made in Taiwan.

I don't know of any high quality tools made in Taiwan. But, of course, one's 
definition of "high quality" is subjective. Taiwanese tools may be good values 
for the dollar, but, IMHO, as a group they are not good tools. 

Manufacturers don't go to Taiwan to increase the quality of their products,  
they go there to reduce the cost of making them. Here's a case in point: A few 
years ago I bought some Brink and Cotton web clamps at Home Club. They worked 
fine. A few months back I wanted some more, and so went to Home Base (name 
change) and found them again - same packaging, same price. But these new clamps 
weren't so great. One of the wrenches didn't fit the tightening nut. One of the 
clamp's racheting mechanism jammed. The steel corners were way off from 90 
degrees. I dug the packages out of the trash to return them and noticed that at 
the bottom of the package was written "Made in Taiwan." The clamps were stamped 
with that also. The older clamps were stamped "Made in the USA."

Brink and Cotton moved the manufacturing of their clamps from the US to Taiwan, 
did not change the design, or the packaging (except for the made in label), or 
the price - but they did change the quality.

I'll go on a limb and state that I can find a better tool made elsewhere 
than any tool made in Taiwan. It's always dangerous to make generalizations,  
but sometimes the sheer amount of evidence is just overwhelming.

- Bennett Leeds
bennett@adobe.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: ajg@controls.ccd.harris.com (Arnold Goldberg)
Subject: Re: fixer-upper advice
Organization: Harris Controls and Compositions
	<1992Jul22.144929.19192@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>
	<1992Jul22.173555.3937@oswego.Oswego.EDU>
	<14mm0eINN92@seven-up.East.Sun.COM>
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 15:09:58 GMT

>>>>> On 23 Jul 1992 16:16:13 GMT, swk@tylos.East.Sun.COM (Steve Klosterman - Sun BOS Hardware) said:
	Steve> OK, what about financing renovations, rehabs, etc?  How
	Steve> do you work that into things?  From our inspection, it
	Steve> appears to not be in as 'bad' as shape as my initial
	Steve> impression.  

If you're buying it from a motivated seller, give him/her a lowball
offer, then get FHA financing on it w/ a 203k loan thrown in on top
of it to do the rehab work.


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arnold Goldberg                            Email:  ajg@ccd.harris.com
Phone: (407)242-5051                       Snail:  Harris Corporation
Fax  : (407)242-4262                               407 John Rodes Blvd.
                                                   Melbourne, FL 32905

The opinions expressed are my own and do not in any way represent Harris 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:9656 misc.invest:9750 misc.taxes:2788
From: mindy@data.rain.com (Mindy Beseler)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.invest,misc.taxes
Subject: Question on reinvesting money from sale of a home
Keywords: house sale
Date: 22 Jul 92 13:25:46 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Microtek DSD, Hillsboro, OR

finding another house in the new area.  We are wondering how long we have
to reinvest the money from the sale of our house before we have to pay
taxes on it.  Also can we use the money to buy some land (which we probably
won't build on for a year or more) or does the money have to be re-invested 
in our new place of residence?

Also any guesses on when the interest rates will start rising? 

Please email all responses to me - I don't have access to several of these
groups. I'll be glad to forward a summary to anyone who's interested.
Thanks


-- 
Mindy Beseler  mindy@data.rain.com                  Microtek International, DSD
               ...uunet!intelhf!percy!data!mindy    3300 NW 211th Terrace
                                                    Hillsboro, Or 97124
                                                    503-645-7333 x320
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Subject: John Deere Lawn Mowers?
Organization: Prime Computer R&D
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 19:19:08 GMT


What do people think of John Deere Lawn Mowers?  I can get a John Deere
4 HP rear bagging mower for the same price as a 3.5 HP Toro or Snapper
($339.00 around here).  The John Deere mower is on sale.  They seem pretty
comparable to me except that the John Deere has an aluminum deck and the
Snapper has a better warranty!  I am leaning towards purchasing the John
Deere but I would be interested in hearing other peoples experiences.

Also, if I go with the John Deere, they have thier 5HP mower on sale for only
$100.00 more then the 4HP mower.  The 5HP mower has a blade clutch which is
nice and it seems like a nicer mower in general.  Any opinions about whether
or not I should spring for the 5HP?

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
From: sstout@yukon.EBay.Sun.COM ()
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: 1/2" drill reccommendations
Date: 28 Jul 1992 23:59:09 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: sstout@yukon.EBay.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: yukon.ebay.sun.com

In article 27JUL199214471497@eldyn.gsfc.nasa.gov, goldberg@eldyn.gsfc.nasa.gov (Patti Twigg) writes:
>Hi all! My husband finally killed our 3/8" drill (a fiery death, at
>that!), and he is using our neighbor's 1/2" drill right now. He
>wants to buy a new 1/2" drill, so I was wondering if anyone has
>any opinions about which brand is better - or are they all pretty
>much the same? Thanks for any help or ideas!
>                                 Patti Twigg


I have both sizes and rarely use the 1/2".  1/2" is more for
construction than home repair.  If I only had one size it would
be 3/8".  I only buy Makita or Milwaukee.  They cost more
but they always work.

'Steve
From: r1156c@sps.mot/com (Michael R. Dow)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Advice needed on Weed Eater
Date: 21 Jul 92 17:10:36 GMT
Reply-To: r1156c@sps.mot/com (Michael R. Dow)
Organization: David Mitchell & Associates - Austin

Also... The IDC has separate attachments... I have the edger attachment	
as well.  An excellent machine!

Michael R. Dow
From: johne@vcd.hp.com (John Eaton)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: California Earthquake relief fund: decline
Date: 29 Jul 92 14:57:04 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Hewlett-Packard VCD

pestes@wdi.COM (Laurin Pestes x82570) writes:
: I recently got my bill for the new California State
: earthquake relief fund.  The state wants $60.00 for
: "insurance", even though they haven't even gotten
: around to writing a policy for it.
:
-------------------------------------------------------
Well, don't just sit there, send them an IOU.


John Eaton
!hp-vcd!johne
From: drake@drake.almaden.ibm.com (Sam Drake)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: HELP with The World's Dirtiest Jenn-Air!
Date: 22 Jul 92 09:24:04 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: IBM Almaden Research Center

In article <1992Jul20.220710.2393@ultra.com> wayne@ultra.com (Wayne Hathaway) writes:
>HELP!!!  My wife and I recently bought a house, and one of the
>"features" was a Jenn-Air range.  

The Jenn-Air is one of the silliest, filthiest, most repulsive things in 
the known universe.  I rented an apartment once that had one, in much the
same condition as yours is now, and vowed to never have one again.

Well, I just bought a house, and (sigh) it has one.  But I do *not* view
it as a feature.  This one is relatively clean, and I intend to keep it that 
way by NEVER using it to grill meats.

Consider ... if the fan takes 99% of the grease that comes off of grilling
burgers and gets it into the jar, there's still 1% of the grease floating
around in the air in your house.  Sticking to the wallpaper.  The drapes.
The carpet.  Yeech.  

If you can get the jar off and replaced (do NOT bother cleaning it
out), and get the grease out of the pipes leading to the jar,
and clean out the deep pit where the air filter is, you're in pretty
good shape.  The air vent to the outside in our rental place had 1/2"
of grease in it, too...clean this out if you can.  My recommendation
would be to take the grills and rocks and heating elements and THROW
THEM AWAY.  Clean out the rectangular pit that all this stuff was
sitting in.

Then go to an appliance store and buy an inset for the JennAir that has
two regular coil-type electric burners.  This is a box, exactly the size
as the pit that held all the filth, that drops into it.  Poof ... instead
of the world's silliest appliance, you have two sane and sensible burners.

Another alternative is to buy a griddle attachment, which also sits in the
same place.  Then you have a large griddle that you could use for making 
pancakes.

The Jenn-air folks have a pretty large catalog of different modules that can
plug into the thing, but most are even siller than the grill (a rotisserie,
anyone?)  The griddle and the burners are the only 2 that seem safe-and-sane.

Good luck!


Sam Drake / IBM Almaden Research Center 
Internet:  drake@almaden.ibm.com    BITNET:  DRAKE at ALMADEN
From: jheath@CERIS.Purdue.EDU (Jim Heath)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: What about alarm systems (was Burglars and dogs)
Date: 30 Jul 92 21:20:46 GMT
Organization: Center for Environmental and Regulatory Information Systems, Purdue University

From article <1594scINN2t4@sixgun.East.Sun.COM>, by egreen@East.Sun.COM (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher):
> The purpose of home security is TO MAKE YOUR NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE A MORE
> ATTRACTIVE TARGET THAN YOURS.  Dogs do this.  So do snakes.  So do
> alarms, and cameras (functional or not), and "NRA Expert Marksman"
> stickers in the window.  Digital keypads with flashing LEDs (functional
> or not) help.  Neighborhood watch signs help (active programs are even
> better).  Motion- or heat-activated floodlights are inexpensive, and
> effective.  So is an answering machine WITHOUT a "we're not here"
> message.
>

NRA stickers and signs about the house being guarded by Smith &
Wesson may very well attract burglars, indeed the stupid vicious
variety. 
-- 
"Land of song, said the warrior bard,           Jim Heath
Though all the world betrays thee.
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard, (The Minstrel Boy)
One faithful harp will praise thee."         (Thomas Moore)
From: JGROVER@MAINE.MAINE.EDU (John Grover)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Newbie question: How to stay abreast
Date: 31 Jul 92 00:53:21 GMT
Organization: University of Maine System

I'm looking toward a new home in the near future (next couple years) and
would like to be able to make informed decisions along the way. So I'd
like to stay more or less abreast of the new technology in the field.
Not only what's there, but an idea of its cost and efficacy. I find
this kind of info keeps the sales sharks at bay (at least a bit) and I
end up with what *I* want, and not what they want me to want.

My question then is how to stay abreast? This group obviously :-)
Are there any good trade rags? Are trade shows a waste of time?
How do you folks stay current?


John Grover                        "We all agree your theory is crazy,
Computing Center                    but is it crazy enough?"
University of Maine                                      -- Niels Bohr
From: erickson@atlas.cs.nps.navy.mil (David Erickson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: building a house
Date: 29 Jul 92 20:19:05 GMT
Reply-To: erickson@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (David Erickson)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey CA

In article <29JUL199208441054@utkvx2.utk.edu> drevik@utkvx2.utk.edu (Drevik, Steve) writes:
>In article <1992Jul27.201412.28828@rtsg.mot.com>, mehrpuya@rtsg.mot.com (Djamschid Mehrpuyan) writes...
 
>>I plan to build a house in the near future by hiring an architect and various
>>building contractors.  What I would like to know is what process to go 
>>through to build a house.  Here is what I know sofar:
 
>>     1.  Buy some land
>>     2.  Hire an architect who will design the house of your dreams
>>     3.  Hire contractors (building contractors, electrician, etc)
 
We visited the architect prior to step 1 - in fact we took him to see
three or four different lots over about a year period before we found
the right lot.  His opinions were invaluable, and helped us avoid problems
and maximize the potential of the project.  We wanted a house which
fit the site, but it helps to have the right site.  We ended up with
a lot with lots of beautiful oak trees, and a house which fits into a
grove of trees and is a very unobtrusive part of the landscape.  Not everybody 
feels this way - our new neighbors took the opposite approach: they made the
site fit the house - sort of: they built a huge two-story box on a
lot with 20% slope, and excavated a large area behind the house for
a lawn.  We call the place Motel 8.

We also had a couple of contractors visit some of the lots we considered, so 
that we could get a ballpark idea of the cost of the site development.

>Get ALL FINANCING details lined up and approved before you go to Step 1.
>When I looked at it, here were the financing details in my area (they
>change from place to place):

>	1.  Purchase Land:  Have enough cash on hand, or put down at
>    least 20%.  Most banks wanted more.
>        2.  Get Construction Loan:  Requires another 20% down, or the
>    abovementioned land FULLY PAID OFF (see "have enough cash on hand")
>     as collateral.

>Don't forget building permits, excavation permits, liability insurance,
>inspections along the way (foundation, electrical, plumbing, etc).

We combined the two financing steps: our lender was glad to loan enough
for lot purchase and construction.  The advantage is that we did not have
to deal with subordination, two lenders, two escrows, etc.

-Dave Erickson
From: weiss@hatteras.cs.unc.edu (Steve Weiss)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Advice needed on attic mounted HVAC system
Date: 22 Jul 92 17:17:04 GMT


We are planning an addition for our house.  The enlarged house will be
too big for our current heating and AC system, so the designer has
proposed that we leave most of the old part on the old HVAC system and
put the new addition plus a couple of bedrooms on a second zone.  He
proposes that the new furnace/blower unit go in our attic.  (Our
current unit is in the crawl space under the house.)  This also means that all
the supply vents as well as the air returns will be in the ceiling.

My questions are:
      
      1. Is it safe to put a gas furnace in an attic?  
      2. (related to 1) Would a heat pump be better?  
      3. Will the attic unit be noisy?  
      4. Will the ceiling supply and return vents cause a problem with heat?
         (I assume since cold air sinks, that ceiling vents are ok
          for AC.)
Thanks for your advice

Steve Weiss
From: nmrdb@vms.macc.wisc.edu (BEVERLY SEAVEY)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: How do I sand inside of corners?
Date: 31 Jul 92 14:33:57 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center

I'm trying to refinish window frames. How do I sand in the elbows/corners?
Is there something like a wire brush that will get in there? Wrapping
sand paper around something narrow is the best I have come up with,
and it's not very good.
From: drake@drake.almaden.ibm.com (Sam Drake)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: HELP with The World's Dirtiest Jenn-Air!
Date: 22 Jul 92 18:42:28 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: IBM Almaden Research Center

In article <MACRAKIS.92Jul22115220@next4.osf.org> macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes:
>I am no great admirer of the down-draft vent system, but even updraft
>venting will let _some_ cooking grease escape to the rest of the
>kitchen.  Saute'ing, stir-frying, and deep-frying also put goodly
>amounts of grease into the air.

They absolutely do...no question.  In my experience, though, grilling
with a Jenn-Air is more destructive, over a larger area, for a longer
period of time.  And a reasonable alternative ... a Weber in the backyard ...
is usually available.

>Which is why I don't believe in `open-plan kitchens'.  Kitchens should
>be easy to clean: no wallpaper (well maybe the vinyl stuff if you like
>that), no drapes (OK, OK, so you want some cute lace curtains on the
>windows; just make sure they are easy to take off and throw in the
>washing machine), no carpet.

I wasn't explicit enough.  In the house I rented with the filthy
Jenn-Air, the carpets, drapes and wallpaper that stank of burgers were
in the BEDROOM, not the kitchen ...  at the opposite end of the house.
Triple yeetch.

>Of course, if you really want to avoid grease in the air, you can
>stick to boiling and steaming.  

I'm not really a wild-eyed fanatic about "grease in the air".  (Though
there WAS an article in Science News a while back that said that over
30% of the particulate matter in the air in the LA basin was
microscopic droplets of CHOLESTEROL from frying meats ... quadruple
yeetch.)  Stir-frying isn't replusive, but a house that's been a victim
of Jenn-Airing often is.  Bringing outdoor cooking inside is a keen
idea ... but the downdraft technology isn't up to it, despite its
advertising claims.


Sam Drake / IBM Almaden Research Center 
Internet:  drake@almaden.ibm.com    BITNET:  DRAKE at ALMADEN
From: mguyott@eriador.prime.com (M. Guyott)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: How do I kill Ivy?
Date: 29 Jul 92 14:41:00 GMT
Organization: Prime Computer R&D


I have Ivy growing up the side of my newly purchased home.  I have already
pulled it all down but know I would like to get rid of it.  What can I do
to kill the Ivy.  I will consider all solutions, even to the point of
destroying all vegetation within 10 feet of any suspected patch of Ivy.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

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