HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hbb@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (harlan.b.braude)
Subject: Re: No Hot Water!
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 17:38:48 GMT

In article <C17Hzo.rE@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> srsmart@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (susan r. smart) writes:
>How helpful would it be to insulate the hot water heater?  I've been
>considering this for my heater which is in my basement where I have the
>heating vents closed.
>
A plumber who examined the tank in my house (which had been wrapped by
the previous owner) and said that it was a waste of money since the
water heater wasn't giving off any heat through the side-walls (he
felt between the wrapping and the unit and didn't feel any warmth.)

If your unit radiates through the side walls, then perhaps that would
be a good idea.
-- 
Harlan B. Braude
hbb@karin.att.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: brett@sr.hp.com ()
Subject: Re: Proper location of cold air returns
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 01:44:18 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: HP Sonoma County (SRSD/MWTD/MID)
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8.1]

Rodney Peterson (peterson@oasys.dt.navy.mil) wrote:
> The question is that the cold air returns for both levels are
> located close the ceilings.

I've heard two lines of thinking:

1. Cold-air return low so it collects the COLD air to be heated and circulated
   thru the house.

2. Cold-air return high so it collects pre-heated air from where it's collected
   and isn't doing any good anymore (we don't live on the ceiling).

I don't know which one is REALLY the best, but it appears that most new
construction in this area (including my new house) uses #2.

--

							Brett Carver
							(707) 577-4344
							brett@sr.hp.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: No Hot Water!
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 05:34:47 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

garyp@rmtc.paramax.com (Gary Palangian [RMTC/ISP]) writes:

>|> >In the middle of my shower, the water went from "nice" to "cool." I have
>|> >a 40 gallon Bradford heater that has a 30.5 gallon/hour recovery rate.
>|> 
>Hey Now,

>    Is 40 gallons to small for a water heater for 3?  I thought that
>the rapid recovery heaters are capable of near complete recovery in
>10-15 minutes.  Is this adequate for most?  I would think you could
>have a family of 4 take successive showers (near successive) without
>a problem.  

He noted that his heater was a 30 gph unit.  See above.  Not a fast
recovery unit.

>    When I talked to the utility company about it, they said
>that if a 40 gallon was not sufficient, the desireable solution was
>to purchase an additional water heater and plumb it in with a switch
>over valve.  The reasoning was that it would not be used too often and
>that it is much cheaper to keep reserve water at a constant temperture
>than to recover in a larger tank.

This does not make much sense.  Except for the utility :-)  Two heaters
will have more surface area to lose heat from and the second heater
will almost never be used.  You'd get to heat two heaters all the time.

John
-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine(TM) | Interested in high tech and computers? 
Marietta, Ga                         | Send ur snail-mail address to 
jgd@dixie.com                        | perform@dixie.com for a free sample mag
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: amn@sdf.lonestar.org (Andrew Noble)
Subject: Re: Sloping landscape away from house
Organization: SDF - Public Access Unix - Dallas, Tx..
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 04:33:29 GMT

In article <1993Jan19.154812.24292@mmm.serc.3m.com> Andy Ihlenfeldt <arihlenfeldt@mmm.com> writes:
>The soil around my house slopes towards the house, resulting in 
>some water infiltrating into my basement.  I plan on building up 
>the soil this summer to reverse the situation.  I would guess the 
>most I would need is a rise of 1 foot and a run of about 3 or 4 
>feet.  

Andrew,  The minimum slope for water to run is 1/8" drop per 12" run.  I 
would reccomend something a little steeper than this.  I believe that a
24" drop per 12" run is the maximum and w/o grass or something else to hold
it, it will wash away.
 
Sorry I can't be a little more specific, but my landscaping manuals are at
the office...
 
To calculate the volume of the soil, use the handy 'area of a triangle'
formula.  (base * height)/2 then multiply this times the length of the
mound that you make.

eg. a 2 foot wide mound that rises 4" and is 100' long equals:
 
(24" x 4")/2 = 48 square inches  multiply time 1200" (100') = 57,600 cu. in.

Easiest way to figure cu feet is to use foot increments instead of inches,
hence 4" = 0.33 feet
 
Hope it helps, for more info email me at signiture below.
 
amn



-- 
  _     Andrew Noble
 | |__  Dallas, Texas
_|  * | amn@sdf.lonestar.org
\   _/  Compuserve: 71165,412
From: shannah@netcom.com (Teri Miller)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Craftsman Bungalow Questions - Thanks
Date: 25 Jan 93 22:39:20 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)


I want to thank everyone who sent me email in response to my questions
about Craftsman Bungalows.

The most common response was to consult "The Old House Journal".  I have
a library nearby, so I'll go there to look at the back issues.  It sounds
like a wealth of information.

"American Bungalow" magazine was also recommended.  I second that
recommendation, having a subscription of my own - it's a great magazine.

Other suggestions seemed pretty specific to my house, but one stands
out in my mind: don't renovate something you know is old in order to
make it how you *think* it was originally.  This guided our recent
decisions in updating a bathroom.

The linoleum wasn't serviceable anymore, the commode needed repairs,
and several latches on the cupboards needed replacing.  We are 
refinishing the wood floor (since we don't mind the upkeep and we know
it was original), repairing the commode (it was built in 1933, approx.),
and replacing the latches with replicas, and storing the originals.
We are also going to be putting up a prepasted wallpaper that will be
easy to remove if it seems appropriate later, but looks very much
"Craftsman-style" and goes well in the bathroom.

Thanks again to everyone who responded.  I'm sorry to have not returned
all email personally.  To the person who sent phone numbers with an
invitation to call - we plan to do that as soon as we get all the
sawdust mopped up... 8-)


-- 
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
Teri Miller                    tmiller@cisco.com -or- shannah@netcom.com
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
From: cramer@optilink.COM (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Home Wireless Alarms
Date: 20 Jan 93 00:08:23 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA

In article <C0t972.HIo@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, dak@uihepa.hep.uiuc.edu (David Kardelis- I am the NRA) writes:
> 	Does anyone out there have experience with 
> wireelss home alarm systems. I would like to get one since I just moved
> into a ground floor apartment. Any recommendations, ideas on cost.
> I need at least 4 sensors, if not more. There are 3 rooms 
> with 4 entry points, and I woiuld like to put a motion detector 
> in at least the one room that is not used often.
> 		Thanks in advance dave. 
> ==========================================================================
>    David Kardelis		| I am the NRA-NRA Life

I have a wireless alarm system originally sold by Schlage, but now
being sold by some other operation now.  (Used to be called Keepsafer).
I think the new name of the company is Defiant Technologies.

It uses wireless alarms on the doors and windows, and seems to be
adequate and reliable enough for my purposes.  A battery backup is
available, and I can attest to its value for up to five hours.
(We have power failures that long very often where we live in a
big city.  I'm going to start paying my electric bill in Zambian
currency, to make a point to Pacific Gas & Electric about what it's
like to live in a Third World country.)

The alarm isn't spectacularly loud, but I'm primarily concerned
about when I'm home -- just enough time to get my glasses on, the
guns out of the safe for my wife and I, and call 911.
-- 
Clayton E. Cramer {uunet,pyramid}!optilink!cramer  My opinions, all mine!
"When freedom destroys order, order will destroy freedom." -- Eric Hoffer
Not a goal, just a statement of reality.
From: spikes@hpscit.sc.hp.com (Bill Spikes)
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 16:40:24 GMT
Subject: Re: Pine Floors
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

Hey Mike,

Is that a species of red oak? Or an in-store brand from Home Depot?

:-)

Bill

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: No Hot Water!
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 22:24:26 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.
Distribution: na

jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist) writes:

>>If the parent is responsible enough to worry about water temperature,
>>s/he is responsible enough to keep the kid out of boiling water.

>My 20-month-old figured out how to turn on the hot water faucet about
>a week after she figured out how to climb on the toilet to reach it,
>and that was over 8 months ago.  We can't watch her every single second,
>and I'd much rather she learned a lesson from uncomfortably hot water
>than lost use of a hand from scalding water.

You've pretty much defined irresponsible, haven't you?  Letting
a kid run unsupervised in such an environment meets that definition
for me.  

John
-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine(TM) | Interested in high tech and computers? 
Marietta, Ga                         | Send ur snail-mail address to 
jgd@dixie.com                        | perform@dixie.com for a free sample mag
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rickt@rmtc.paramax.com (Rick Thompson [RMTC/ISP])
Subject: Pine Floors
Organization: Paramax Systems
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 15:11:24 GMT

I recently put up a post about using Pine for flooring.  Thanks for all
the responses.  However, now I have another question.  All the responses
I received indicate that Pine is soft and could be scratched and
dented easily.  I suppose this is true if the floors were left mostly "raw" but
doesn't a good polyurithane (sp?) provide a hard surface?  At least it should
protect the floors from being scratched.


Thanks again,

Rick   rickt@rmtc.paramax.com
From: tanner@bcsaic.boeing.com (Jim Tanner)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: septic lines
Date: 21 Jan 93 08:18:18 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Boeing Computer Services, Seattle

In article <leonard.727451117@aix3090b.uky.edu> leonard@aix3090b.uky.edu (Leonard Lauria) writes:
>How, aside from lots of digging!!, can one find the location of 
>the septic lines?
>
>I would like to know where they are so I can plan on keeping everything
>else away from the field.
>
>Any simple ways?

Depending on how accurately you need to know...

Out here the county health department regulates septic installations.
One of the things they require is that the installer of the septic
system file an "as-built" scale site plan with the county (showing,
at a minimum, where the house and the septic components are, with
measurements to each component), so the septic components can later be
located.  When I bought my 1957 house last year I went to the health
department and they made a copy of the site plan, and it was easy to
locate everything within 5-10 feet.

If you need to be more accurate you can do some probing with a metal
rod or small-scale digging in spots to precisely locate the components
(they shouldn't be very deep, perhaps 12-18 inches for the drain field).

For the high-tech approach, there are electronic "bugs" that you (or
more precisely, a company you hire) can flush down the toilet and track
(with appropriate sensor gear) out to the main septic tank.  Once that's
located you can expose the tank, pump it out, and then flush the bug down
the drain field lines if you need to.  Not cheap, though.  I was quoted
$600 for simply locating a septic tank.
From: tvervaek@col.hp.com (Tom Vervaeke)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Musty Air in Heating System
Date: 21 Jan 1993 21:11:37 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: itchub21.cs.itc.hp.com


I have heard of systems that clean your ductwork. Not sure if this would
help in your case or not. Make sure your furnace's humidifier (if it has
one) is not dripping into/onto the plenum or ductwork. How about putting
an air freshener in there?


( ___ )------------------------------------------------------------( ___ )
 | / | Tom Vervaeke           Email:tom_vervaeke@hp0800.desk.hp.com | \ |
 | / | Technology Specialist  Snail: 1900 Garden of the Gods Rd.    | \ |
 | / | Hewlett Packard Co.           Colorado Springs, CO 80901     | \ |
 | / | Colorado Springs, CO   Voice    : 719-590-2133               | \ |
 | / | USA                    Fax      : 719-590-2117               | \ |
 | / |--------------------------------------------------------------| \ |
 | / | Quote of the week...                                         | \ |
 |___|           Quote deleted do to lack of creativity !!!         |___|
(_____)------------------------------------------------------------(_____)
   ^                                                                  ^
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Bogus Pest Control Inspection
Date: 26 Jan 93 17:37:42 GMT
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ

In article <48600007@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM> keith@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM (Keith Richards) writes:
>I have been in touch with the California Structural Pest Control Board
>and all they can offer is that I can file a complaint.  What is the
>BBB?  I really want to nail this jerk.

Better Business Bureau. They are of limited usefullness. They will only
accept your complaint if you will agree to rescind the complaint if the
company takes a reasonable course of action. The complaint and whether or
not it was settled to your satisfaction remains on record to anyone who
asks.

For example, if I have a rebuilt engine installed and it throws a rod a
few days later, I might file a complaint agreeing to settle for a new
engine. If the shop replaces the engine, they've settled the complaint.
The BBB would tell you that a complaint was filed and settled.

You also might try the Chamber of Commerce. They frequently have an
interest in companies that make their community less attractive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | There are very few personal problems which
George Patterson -  | cannot be solved by a suitable application
                    | of high explosive.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dhepner@cup.hp.com (Dan Hepner)
Subject: Re: Water leaking from TOP of water heater
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 02:54:41 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Hewlett-Packard
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8.2]

From: denbesten@cs.bgsu.edu (William C. DenBesten)

>> ... If it's a gas heater, make sure that if it
>> isn't already done, you replace the stiff gas connection with
>> a flexible one.  A plumber would do that as a matter of course.
>>
>
>What possible benifit would this give?  I have never seen rigid pipe
>develop leaks, but have seen flexible ones develop leaks, due to being
>flexed.

They can break during an earthquake.  Disregard as seems appropriate
for your location.

Dan Hepner
From: hugh@wupost.wustl.edu (Hugh Chou)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Noisy ductwork question
Date: 25 Jan 1993 08:36:48 -0600
Organization: Washington University in Saint Louis, MO USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: wugate.wustl.edu


Since we moved into our current house two years ago, I have noticed that
we must have the noisiest ductwork I have ever heard! The house is a 1600
sq. ft 40 yr old brick ranch with gas forced air heat. The noisiest section of 
ductwork runs about 25 feet to the two most western bedrooms (including ours, 
of course) and rattles, pings and pops for about 5 minutes after the furnace 
either starts or stops. The basement has heating vents, but we have them set so
it is a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler downstairs, particularly in the rooms below
the two bedrooms. (The basement is partially finished.) It seems particularly 
bad with cooler temperatures outside when the furnace cycles on and off pretty
often.

So my question is, what do I do to make the ducts shut up? Do they have to be
replaced or just adjusted somehow? I believe they are steel or aluminum 
rectangular deals screwed to the floor joists. Our previous, smaller house had
tubular insulated ones and they never made a noise..

Please e-mail response to: hugh@wugate.wustl.edu
From: jthomas@video1.almaden.ibm.com (John G. Thomas)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Black mold on inside walls
Date: 27 Jan 93 02:45:53 GMT
Reply-To: jthomas@video1.almaden.ibm.com (John G. Thomas)
Distribution: usa
Organization: IBM Almaden Research Center

I am renting out my old house and yesterday the tenents called and
reported that black mold had appeared in both of the bedrooms.
It appears to be mainly in closets and behind dressers and beds
where there is little air circulation.  In some places the mold is quite
heavy and other places one can barely see it but it is wide spread.
It is only the inside of the outside walls but I could find no sign of any
leaks in the roof/walls that would explain it. The crawl space is damp but 
there is no standing water.  It seems to only be in the bedrooms and not in
the bathrooms where one would expect it to be damp.
I lived in the house for over 5 years and never had any problems but
this year we had twice as much rain in California and mostly in the last
month.

I have a couple of questions.
  - What could cause this and how do I avoid it happening again?
  
  - What is the best way to clean off the mold so it can be
    repainted?

Also the tenents had some clothes that got mold on them.  What is the
best way to get them cleaned?  Anyone know if this would be covered
by insurance as water damage?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
John
John Thomas		Almaden Research Center K55/801
jthomas@almaden.ibm.com		(408)927-2668	650 Harry Road
                        	(Fax)927-4002	San Jose, CA 95120
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: kayshav_dattatri@taligent.com (Kayshav Dattatri)
Subject: Home Security: ADT or Honeywell??
Organization: Taligent
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 18:29:21 GMT

I'm planning on getting a monitored security system installed. I have spoken
to reps from Honeywell and ADT (two large companies).

The price quote from Honeywell is around $2000. The owner BUYS the system. 
If I move I lose it. I will have to buy another when I move to a new home. And 
their monitoring fee is $24/month.

With ADT I don't buy the system. It is like leasing. They install a base system
for about $400 and the monitoring is $20/month. The equipment is owned by
ADT. If I move I get a new system and the old one stays in the old home. They
require a 3 year monitoring contract.

Both seem to be reliable companies.

What does the netland feel? Which is better? Any other companies? Good/bad
experiences?

Or is it possible for me to buy a good system and install it myself and the
monitoring done by some agency. I have good skills in electronis.

Any help much appreciated.

Kayshav
kayshav_dattatri@taligent.com

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: Archer Gravely <gravely@unca.edu>
Subject: Re: Breaker won't reset
Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:52:52 GMT

Subject: Breaker won't reset
From: brett
In article <C19ozw.4yr@srgenprp.sr.hp.com> , brett@sr.hp.com writes:
>Last night we had the breaker on the dish-washer/disposal circuit trip.
>At least I assume it tripped.  We tried to turn on the disposal and
>nothing happened.  After checking inside, I checked the breakers and
found
>that one tripped.
>
>I don't know why it tripped either.  There was no unusual load (the
disposal
>wan't clogged or jammed).
>
>The problem is that I can't get the breaker to reset.  The lever moves,
but
>it won't 'click' off or back on.  It just stays in the tripped state.
>
>So, do I need to replace the breaker?  Do they tend to die in this way
(the
>house is about 10 years old)?  Is there something else I can do or
something
>simple (ie obvious) I missed?
>
>Thanks.
>
>--
>
>							Brett Carver
>							(707) 577-4344
>							brett@sr.hp.com
>
>PS: why can't this type of thing wait until AFTER we've moved out
>   (which will happen in a week or two)?
From: pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Heater Maintenance (was "Re: Slow Hot Water")
Date: 23 Jan 93 20:08:20 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: The College On The Other Side Of Route One

While we're on the subject of heaters, is there an regular maintenance
schedule a home owner should follow for a heater? Draining every season
or something like that?
From: johnst@tekig6.PEN.TEK.COM (John F Stoops)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: condensation in breaker box
Keywords: What is going on here?
Date: 22 Jan 93 16:52:48 GMT
Distribution: usa

I recently discovered condensation in the breaker box for my house.  The
breaker box is in my garage on an interior wall.  I believe I created this
problem when I refinished the room on the other side of the garage wall -
the problem didn't exist before.  I insulated the wall and put plastic 
sheet around the breaker box.  My thinking was that warm moist air in the 
house would condense in the cooled breaker box as it leaked from the heated
house into the unheated garage.  The plastic sheet would provide a vapor barrierto the air in the house leaking into the box.  Obviously, I was wrong.  Can
some of you netters with more experience/insight help me understand what is
really happening here?  If necessary, I will open the wall from the garage side
and remove the insulation and plastic sheeting.  



				 Thanks for your help,


				 John
From: wlp@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Bill Pherigo)
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 19:14:04 GMT
Subject: Driveway Gate Opener Needed
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

     I'm looking for a way to automate a gate for my driveway.  I've seen
several units in the multi-thousand dollar range, but I'm thinking
that there MUST be a cheaper way.  A solar powered unit would be very
attractive for this application.  Any ideas?

Bill Pherigo
<wlp@fc.hp.com>
(303) 229-3586