HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: WATER IN BASEMENT ... HELP
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 15:27:55 GMT

In article <92287.093109KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu> <KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:

>The problem is, I have been noticing water on the floor (carpet) after it rains
>outside. It seems to be coming from behind the panelling.
>
>Is there anything I can do from the OUTSIDE to correct this problem? I really
>do not want to have to remove the panelling/stucco walls from the inside to
>get to the walls.

You can install a variety of items to help with this. First try extending
your downspouts out into the yard. You can try splash blocks or go whole
hog and put in drain pipes to get the water away.

Also check out any structure which might exist uphill from your house. I
had a concrete block retaining wall beside my driveway which chanelled
water towards the basement. If you have the same sort of thing, punch
drain holes through the retaining wall at various points. Line these with
pipe of some sort to pretty them up.

You don't have these problems? Well, now you'd better have a healthy bank
account. You can dig down beside the walls to a level about 1' below the
bottom of the foundation walls. Put in about 1' of 1" gravel and apply
a good waterproofing compound to the entire foundation wall. Then fill it
back in.

If redoing the inside is looking like a better idea about now, I have seen
a blurb for a neat solution. It's a flat plastic channel about 4" high and
about 1/2" wide. You drill holes in the base of the foundation walls and
glue this stuff over the base of wall - it looks sort of like baseboard
moulding. They make an end cap which has a connection for PVC piping,
which you would run to a sump pump.

Good luck with it. I went the sump pump and vinyl flooring route myself.

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | You can't find the answers in the bottom of a
George Patterson -  | whiskey glass, but if you look hard enough, you'll
                    | forget the questions.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: matth@progress.COM (Matthew J. Harper)
Subject: Re: Mysterious Hole
Organization: Progress Software Corp.
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 15:34:27 GMT

patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:

>There's another possibility. If your house was built before the city
>sewerage was available, this may be the remains of an old "grease pit"
>for a septic system. If so, it would at one time almost certainly have
>had a concrete slab top with a hatch in it about two feet square. Most
>of these would also be poured concrete boxes (normally you buy them
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>pre-cast), but I've seen a few "home-grown" ones.
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  You would "normally buy a pre-cast one" today, but 25 ormore years ago 
septic holding tanks were made using cinder blocks.  I'll never forget the
story my father told me about the time the one in their rented house 
collapsed!  Apparently such an incident produces a lot more noise than one
might expect!


  A couple of ways to tell if it was part of a septic system:

  1) How old is the house and how long has sewer been available?
  2) Is there any indication of sewage pipes ever having come out to the
     box from the house?

-Matth
 
  
--
          Matthew J. Harper ! Progress Software Corp. ! {disclaimer.i}         
   God created heaven and earth to grow barley and hops. Now he homebrews !-)  
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: marcher@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Subject: Re: Suggestions for bathroom wall material
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 12:30:02 GMT

In article <1992Oct10.032744.25506@ee.eng.ohio-state.edu>, 
sca@dopey.eng.ohio-state.edu (Stan Ahalt) writes:
> I have agreed to help my sister and her husband remodel their
> bathroom.  They live in a rather old (post-war) house that now has
> "melamine" wallboard on the walls of the bathroom, and it looks -
> disgusting.
> 
> Does anyone have suggestions for a wall material that is relatively
> moisture resistant and easy to work with?  Drywall covered with
> ceramic tile is not an option because of the expense.  Ventilation is
> quite poor in the room, so moisture resistance must be quite good - so
> normal drywall seems inappropriate.  Is "blue-board" (moisture
> resistant drywall - I think) a viable option.

I mentioned cultured marble in an earlier posting.  The contractor I 
hired recommended this as it has only two wall seams and these are 
covered with mouldings of the same material.  The material, it seems, 
is reconstituted marble - powdered marble that is mixed in a solution 
and poured in a mold to harden.  One is therefore able to render an 
assortment of items in shapes and sizes to order.  In addition to the 
tub surround, which consists of three slabs (one for each wall), I now 
have a cultured marble sink with a shelf extending from it behind the 
bathroom door. (I have a very small bathroom, so space is at a premium.) 
A friend of mine has had a sink made from the same material for some 
years and finds it very easy to care for, as well as being very 
attractive.  

The only catch in your sister's case may be that the price for this 
material is about the same as for ceramic tile (or so I'm told).  On 
the other hand, I expect cultured marble is easier to install and 
maintain as its very nature would reduce leaks and you wouldn't have 
to mess with grout like you would with tiles.  I'm paying $900 for my 
surround and about $500 (I'm doing this from memory - I'm going to 
have to verify this latter figure) for the sink and vanity.  I expect 
your costs in the states would be somewhat less.

My contractor is installing the cultured marble over green board, but 
he's using green board only for the tub surround.  From what 
information I've been able to gather, it seems the headquarters (or, 
at least, the training quarters) for cultured marble manufacturing is 
in Florida (Key or Quay? West).  I hope this is useful to you.

Cheers!
Mary Elizabeth 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: sturges@master.lds-az.loral.com (10/13 Aerospace Daily)
Subject: Re: WATER IN BASEMENT ... HELP
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Organization: Loral Defense Systems - Arizona
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 15:46:13 GMT

In article <92287.093109KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu>, KJB6@psuvm.psu.edu wrote:
> 

....
> The problem is, I have been noticing water on the floor (carpet) after it rains
> outside. It seems to be coming from behind the panelling.
> 
> Is there anything I can do from the OUTSIDE to correct this problem? I really
> do not want to have to remove the panelling/stucco walls from the inside to
> get to the walls.

This is problem #1 for basement-equipped homes. Almost always comes from
water not being drained away from the earth/foundation interface at the
lawn level....

1. Gutter drains need to go away from the house.
2. Berm and grade away from foundation should ensure water goes away
from house. This is almost always the cause.
3. If there is a sub-grade waterflow, now you're in for $$$$. Usually
cheaper
and less frustrating to hire a contractor to dig the trench around the
house, put
in the rock/gravel and drainage away from the house. If you DIY, you'll
probly
DIY again when you found out what you did wrong. [experience speaking...]

The previous owner put the panelling up because stucco would have melted!
What a nice, ethical person.....


*************************************************************************

Put your own pithy saying in this space

 ************************************************************************

Jim Sturges                             MS 8612
602 925-7204                            Loral Defense Systems -- Arizona
602 925-6988 Fax                        P.O. Box 85
sturges@master.lds-az.loral.com         1300 S. Litchfield Rd.
CIS: 72470,3117                         Goodyear-Avondale, AZ  85338
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: M21760@mwvm.mitre.org
Subject: How can I replace a ceramic tile floor?
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean VA 22102
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 12:55:40 GMT

 
Our kitchen floor is ceramic tile that is about 25-30 years old.
It's lost it's shine and it's chipped in places and we want to
replace it.  Does anyone know what's involved in removing a
ceramic tile floor?  If it needs to be chisled up, how do you
smooth out the floor in order to install new tiles (probably
vinyl tiles)?  Any information would be graetly appreciated.
If possible, please respond thru e-mail (lbking@lear.mitre.org).
 
Thanks,
Linda
 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hanging a heavy cabinet
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 92 19:23:34 CDT
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

cnorman@weber.ucsd.edu (Cyndi Norman) writes:

> I would like advice on the following problem:
  [ description of wall / cabinet deleted ]
> The problem: how to support the weight of the cabinet on the wall and also
> avoid the plywood ripping from the back (I don't know if this latter issue 
> is a problem at all, but the cabinet was not built to be hung and it is
> very front (and top) heavy).  Note that screw heads showing on the inside
> of the back piece are not a problem.

First, don't use screws. Use 1/4" or 5/16" lag bolts and fender washers.
(Fender washers are about 3x the normal diameter. I generally stack a
regular washer to help spread the weight better, and prevent the fender
washer from "cupping" under pressure.) Get lag bolts that are 3" or 
3-1/2" long (you want as much length as possible without going through
the wall).

> My roommate and I have come up with the following ideas:
> 
> 1) Screwing through the back plywood directly into the studs.  We haven't
> considered number of screws yet--6? (3 and 3), 8?  Assume we will use good
> quality wood screws.
> 
> 2) Screwing a wood strip to each of 2 vertical studs and screwing the
> cabinet into that.
> 
> 3) Screwing 2 or 3 wood strips horizontally into the studs and screwing the
> cabinet into that.
> 
> 4) Any of the above with speciality screws/bolts instead of strong wood
> screws.
> 
> 5) Any of the above with additional bottom support for the cabinet.
> 
> Any other suggestions?  Will #1-3 work?  Which is best?  Do we need #4-5?
> Do we need to further stabilize the back-to-sides joints?

Since you are quite concerned about the top/front heaviness of this 
cabinet, I wouldn't do things any of these ways. I'd:

1) Lag-bolt a 2x2 or 2x4 across the wall where you want the bottom
of the cabinet to be;

2) Drill pilot holes for at least four lag bolts, and stick a sharpened
dowel rod or something in them (point out);

3) Have a couple of helpers place the cabinet in position, then use a
block of wood and a hammer to lightly whack the back from inside the
cabinet, to mark where you need to drill holes;

4) Set it down, and drill clearance holes for the lag bolts;

5) Attach a couple of shelf brackets to the top (the stamped-steel
kind, you're putting them on upside-down in this case) to line
up with the studs;

6) Have helpers set the cabinet in place, and put in the upper two
lag bolts; a socket and ratchet handle will make this go lots faster
than a standard wrench; don't forget to put a standard washer and a
fender washer on the bolt (fender washer against the cabinet back);

7) Screw the shelf brackets to the wall;

8) Install the remaining lag bolts.

It'll never go anywhere....

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
Organization: Computing Technology Services, Michigan Technological Univ.
Date: Thursday, 8 Oct 1992 11:32:06 EST
From: <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Tree Climbing
Distribution: world

In article <1as0snINNpc9@sixgun.East.Sun.COM>, egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green -
Pixel Cruncher) says:
>
>Where can I get those spikes you strap on your boots, to climb
>telephone poles and pine trees?  Is there a mail-order supply for
>lumberjack type stuff?  I haven't been able to find anything local, but
>if somebody can point me to a place in the Raleigh/Durham area, I'd
>appreciate it.
>
>I have a very tall, very dead, pine, very close to my house.  I've had
>one estimate for $250 to take it down, PLUS $100 to haul it off!
>
>I can rent a bucket/crane/extender thing for ~$100, the problem being
>I'm not sure I can get it close enough, through all the other trees.
>My current plan is to simply climb it, and take it down in ~10 ft.
>sections, from the top down (yes, I've done it before, but in a cedar
>that had limbs I could crawl up/down;  this one is a telephone pole for
>the first 25 ft.).
>
I'd give the tree cutting company another thought....
I don't know how high this tree is or its diameter, but, I've moved a few
10 foot sections of wood around so I can cut it for firewood.. and it ain't
light....   My father has a graduate student who lost the use of his arm when
a relatively small tree fell the wrong way and hit him in the arm.

I've had requests from friend to remove trees near their house or near busy str
eets, and while there was a safe direction to fell it, if it _happens_ to fall
the wrong way, well trouble exists.  (I would check with your insurence agent,
he may not be too pleased about paying a claim if YOU drop a tree on the house)
.
IF you want to continue with this project Forestry Supply Company (I don't have
 a catalog handy) sells every possible gadget you need for climbing trees...
including safety equipment that would be required if you were doing for your
job.  With safety in mind, I'm sure that any reputable tree removal person
would suggest 1) let a professional do it 2) if not, wear appropriate safety
gear (hard hat, safety rope, use a rope to hual up your (chain?)saw and 3)
cut it up in small managable pieces.  Oh yea, and watch out for power lines.

Sincerely, Jeff Lewin  JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET  Houghton, Mi
Land of snow
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: daniels_d@snakebit.ch.apollo.hp.com (Dave Daniels)
Subject: Staining cedar siding
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 18:51:37 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Exeter, NH

I have just had cedar siding installed and am wondering 
what everyones opinion is on staining.  What we want to
do is put on clear stain, so it will look as natural as
possible. I have heard different opinions on weather we
should wait a certain period of time for the wood to 
season, or just do it right away.  Has anyone had experience
with this brfore, what will happen if I have it stained
right away.  

See the problem is, if I have it done while the house 
is being built, it will be done professionaly, but if I 
decide to wait the contractor will buy the stain for me, 
and I will have to do it myself. How difficult is this?

I have also heard that if you wait splashing will occur
and certain areas of the wood will turn gray.

Any help would be appreciated

Regards
Dave Daniels
-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Daniels                           | 
daniels_d@snakebit.ch.apollo.hp.com                | "Life is a highway, I wan't  
Hewlett Packard, Inc.                  |  to ride it all night long...."
(603) 772-1500
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: bullock@watson.bms.com (JOAN BULLOCK)
Subject: Re: Inspection report ==> $back? (how many?)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Keywords: inspection report
Organization: Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 14:49:00 GMT

In article <17046@fed.FRB.GOV>, m1nxb00@fed.frb.gov (Nicholas Bull) writes...
>Dear all,
> 
>We had a home inspection.  Structural, electrical, and plumbing all
>seem fine.  But, the roof is 17 years old and the tiles (shingles
>???) are getting fragile--they bend a little but crack when bent
>back.  Some have been tacked back down with nails.  The inspector
>says we'll be replacing in 3  years--maybe $2000-3000?  The AC
>compressor is 12 years old and we couldn't test it since the
>temperature is too low; the glass-lined gas water heater is 20; the
>stove is probably original (37 years old); the dishwasher is probably
>20; the furnace is original but had its blower replaced somewhere
>along the way--heat exhanger has some surface rust but no cracks (the
>furnace is very dirty though, since the tenants didn't change the
>filter since it was cleaned a year ago). So, to summarize, there are
>a lot of major appliances that could be expected to die within the
>next 3 years but are currently working.  The comparable prices are
>$200K (but on a busier street), $210K (twice), $220K (but with more
>updated kitchen stuff), and $230K (but with a garage and in-law
>apartment w/kitchen).  Our offer was $220 (under some pressure from a
>competing contract).  How much do you figure we should ask for back,
>for all the stuff that might be likely to die soon (or should we just
>walk)?
> 
>Thanks,
> 
>Nick

I don't believe you can or should get anything back.  None of the items you 
cite would jeopardize a CO and all are things that were in plain view when
inspected the house before making your offer.  Granted, you are not a 
professional inspector so may not have noticed any and/or all of the 
citations.  However, if the house was fairly priced (and it looks like it
was), these things would be reflected in that price.

Last month I sold my 20-year-old house.  The inspection report read something
like yours.  It sounded like I lived in a _dump_.  However, the report was 
merely reflecting the age of the house.  I had to, and did, fix one item
that did not conform to code and repaired some termite damage.  I informed 
my buyers that this was the extent of the actions I would take and that 
was the end of the discussion.  If the buyers had made a lower offer based on
the inspection, I would have taken it as an indication of their lack of
interest in the house and refused and put the house back on the market.

I would respectfully suggest that if you don't want 40-year-old house
problems you should entertain looking for something much newer.

I hope that seeing things from the sellers point of view will help in your
decision.


Joan Bullock

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: richg@hatch.socal.com (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: GFCIs and the Garbage Disposal/Dishwasher outlet
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 22:09:33 GMT

In article <1992Oct9.170836.21179@exu.ericsson.se> exukev@exu.ericsson.se (Kevin Autrey) writes:
>I'm about to install a Garbage Disposer (GD) in my kitchen sink (I
[...]
>Normally, I'd GFCI it - hey $8 is nothing for a guy with a Home Depot
>Credit Card - but there's a hitch!  The circuit that I'm going to run
>will actually be a "multi-wire branch circuit" with just one outlet -
>that outlet under the sink.  My intention is making one side of the
>circuit dedicated for the GD, the other side dedicated for a
>dishwasher (how the previous owners got along without a Waste King
[...]
>So, the difference here is not just an $8 GFCI outlet, but an
>expensive multi-pole GFCI breaker.

Wasn't this topic beaten to death here recently?
Just make the under-sink outlet box a quad, and put 2 gfi
duplex outlets in it.  (Single outlets if gfi outlets are
available as singles.)

One potential problem here (which may even make the above suggestion
illegal) is that if one side trips, the other won't and that
side will be live.
But then you would always pull the pair of joined breakers first,
wouldn't you. . . . .?
-- 
                
Rich Greenberg - N6LRT - 310-649-0238 - richg@hatch.socal.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: combs@osprey.cc.fsu.edu (Tom Combs)
Subject: House Smell -- hardwood floors?
Summary: Are 5 mo. old hardwood floors smelling up the house?
Organization: Florida State University
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 14:11:27 GMT


  We got a little crazy this year and purchased an abused house for the purpose
  of renovating and selling.  The work was completed at the end of April but
  there is still this persistent odor that comes and goes.  It is sort of a
  sweet-musty-deodorant type of smell.  It will pretty much go away by opening
  a single window but comes back when the house is closed up.  The house has
  past inspection so there is no decaying wood (after much work to remove).  The
  A/C ducts have been cleaned and inspected and are okay.  We put in new wallpaper,
  tile, carpet, paint and hardwood flooring so there were quite a few chemical
  compounds dumped into the house.  However, the smell is almost exclusively in 
  the area of the hardwood floors and we have pretty much decided that they are 
  the source.  Is this reasonable?  Even after 5 months?  Some under-board was 
  installed to which the flooring was glued if this matters.  The people that 
  sold and installed the flooring would not rule out the flooring as the culprit
  but would also not admit to having seen this sort of thing before.  Has anyone
  out there had a similiar experience with hardwood floors?  
  
  The renovation was a lot of work but enjoyable.  Selling the house has been
  another matter.  We had it for sale by owner through Sept. (we have sold 2
  houses by owner with great success) and had two contracts which fell through.
  We have had dozens of folks act like they can't wait to buy and then vanish
  into thin air.  The emotional rollercoaster got to be too much so we decided
  to list with a realtor.  This coupled with selling our old house, buying a
  new one, and moving (3 real estate transactions in 4 months, one to go) has
  made for a hectic year.  Can wait to return to normalcy.

  Thanks in advance for any input.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Combs                                                combs@osprey.cc.fsu.edu
Academic Computing and Network Services                  (904) 644-2591
Florida State University
Tallahasse, Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: bennett@adobe.com(Bennett Leeds)
Subject: Re: This Old House
Reply-To: bennett@adobe.com
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 17:58:18 GMT

Jonathan E. Quist writes
> In article <1992Oct13.194113.19578@adobe.com> pngai@adobe.com (Phil Ngai)  
writes:
> >In article <1992Oct13.164117.5561@colorado.edu> wouk@alumni.cs.colorado.edu  
(Arthur Wouk) writes:
> >>i am not commenting on the entertainment value of the program,
> >>just about the reality of the owners requirements. is this a case of
> >>more money then sense?
> >
> >If they can afford it and want it, why do you feel it necessary
> >to question them?
> >
> >Do you think they should do something else with their money?
> 
> Two blocks from us is a formerly small house....
> They invested between $40k and $50k on renovations and additions. ...
> investing that money increased the value of the house by roughly $10k....
> Yes, they have the right to do what they want.
> But with the current state of the economy, I wonder if they were advised
> on the realities of life.....


As was made clear in the first episode, and echoed here on the net, the 
house is on a large lot and is surrounded by larger, more expensive homes.
If they do a good job, chances are good they can get out what they put in,
dollar-wise.

As for the economy, interest rates on loans are down - it can be argued 
that now is the best time to finance an add-on. The owner's have stated 
they expect to be in the house for a while. Assuming housing prices are
higher than now, relative to inflation, 10 years down the road (a good 
assumption, I think), they'll do just fine; maybe better than if they 
had to sell their smallish house now, in a depressed market.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house