HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rro@cs.ColoState.EDU (Rod Oldehoeft)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Range Hood Recommendation Sought...
Date: 22 Jul 92 14:29:24 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University

I had a Sears model fitted into my kitchen to replace a cheapo that
didn't vent to the outside.  It has dual squirrel-cage fans on both
ends of a motor shaft.  It has continuous speed control, and is very
quiet (comparatively) at highest speed.  Two metal filters are
cleanable through the dishwasher.  Sears has an even higher-end model 
that probably runs Unix ;->

Had some good luck in having the external vent installed.  From the hood
my contractor went up into the cabinet above, then up into the soffit
the cabinets are attached to, and then horizontally in a clear shot
to the outside wall.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: gadagkar@utkvx3.utk.edu (Gadagkar, Hrishikesh)
Subject: Possible reasons for non qualifying for FHA
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 13:16:00 GMT

I would like to hear from all those who have applied for FHA loans and
anyone else who has any knowledge as to what are the most common reasons
for being rejected for FHA loans. I do understand that personal credit
history is a major factor, however, if there are cases concering credit
history that can be common to many of us I would like to know. 


Xref: sparky misc.consumers.house:10059 misc.legal:15227
From: fsars@acad2.alaska.edu (Allen R Sparks)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.legal
Subject: Re: What about alarm systems (was Burglars and dogs)
Date: 30 Jul 92 19:23:48 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Alaska

In article <1992Jul30.214359.6025@fid.morgan.com>, joec@fid.morgan.com (Joe Collins) writes:
> In article <l7dg7iINNlsu@roundup.crhc.uiuc.edu> mary@uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu (Mary E. Allison) writes:
>>     Well, I missed the start of the Burglars and dogs and snakes 
>>discussion so someone may have brought this up -- but why not get
>>burglar alarms?  How much do they cost, probably less than a dog and
>>dog food and vet bills and however much you'd end up getting sued by
>>the burglar after s/he is treated for the snake bites.
> 
> I have a burglar alarm system (perimeter plus InfraRed) and its has stopped
> three known attempts in 6-7 years. I wouldn't live without one.
> In each case, the burglar pushed open a door, heard the alarm and took off.
> The police were by our house within minutes but didn't get them.
> 
> Ours cost about $2000 installed (professionally) and about $150/yr for
> the monitoring service.
> 
> Joe
> joec@morgan.com

That's not a bad price.  You also brought up a point not brought up
before, that alarms do scare most burglers off.  I've never felt
threatened enough to feel I need an alarm, but if I did, I wouldn't
consider $2,000 unreasonable, or $150/yr < $13/month.

Nevertheless, if those precautions weren't taken, and someone broke
into my house......   It's not my responsibility (to the criminal, that
is) to make sure he doesn't rip me off.  === Al Sparks
From: gah2468@bcsaic.boeing.com (Geoffrey Hazel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Refinance at >80% LTV???
Keywords: refinance
Date: 30 Jul 92 19:29:23 GMT
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle

In article <1992Jul28.214637.4268@gordian.com> bruce@gordian.com (Bruce Hafford) writes:
>I'm curious - has anyone managed to refinance their place
>when the Loan-to-value is > %80?? I know it's at least policy
>at a lot of banks that they won't do this, but is it a hard and
>fast rule?  If anyone has done this, can you send info on the lender?
>thanks...
>
>bruce@gordian.com


We just talked to Household Finance and they said they'd give us
a second mortgage at 90% loan to value (of course, for a little higher
interest rate).  
-- 
Geoff Hazel                  | Haven't you got some real work to get 
gah2468@bcsaic.boeing.com    | done now?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Painting Baseboards
Reply-To: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 21:23:16 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.140157.20823@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM> cooper@endeavor.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM (Bob Cooper x7429) writes:
>Well I'm getting ready to do my first painting this weekend and I'm not sure 
>how to attack the baseboard's.  
>
>Problem:  How do you paint the baseboards without getting paint on the carpet? 
>          Assume here that you have fairly plush (3/4") carpet that pushes against
>	  the baseboards.  
>
>Do you pull the carpet back 1 foot or so away from the wall and then hire
>someone to re-install it once the painting is done?

I once saw a pro do this. He took wide masking tape and taped the carpet.
He slid the tape down the baseboard as far as he could, and then laid it
down, pulling away from the wall so that the carpet fibers were laid down
flat.

When he painted the baseboard, he used a wide sheetrock knife to guard the
carpet from the brush. He also wasn't real picky, because any paint he got
deep down in the carpet would be hidden when the fibers stood up straight
again.

>Next question - Do you normally paint the baseboard's first and then the wall?

The wall, then the baseboard. In fact, I was taught to do the whole room
from the top down. That way you can't drip on something you've already
painted.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | If you maintain your motorcycle yourself,
                    | eventually you will have two of them.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Moving a power panel
Date: 26 Jul 92 23:14:54 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <1992Jul26.165612.25927@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com writes:
|In article <3637@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca> clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
|>|fredch@phx.mcd.mot.com (Fred Christiansen) writes:
|>|: I'd like to understand what the options are for the following situation:
|>: 
|>|:                       |-----------|--------------------------|
|>|:                       |           |                          |
|>|:                       |  future   |  house to be built       |
|>|:                       |  garage   |  starting in 2 weeks     |
|>|: .....................Y|...maybe..X|                          |
|>|:                       |  in 2-3   |-------------|            |
|>|:                       |   years   |             |            |
|>|:                       |-----------|             |------------|
|>An even better suggestion for Fred - ask your electrical utility.
|>Only your electrical utility knows for sure...

|In his original posting Fred said that the utility company gave him no
|choice. If I understood him correctly, they are going to put the meter
|at location X in the top sketch and there isn't anything he can do about
|it.

I musta missed that part.

In that case, his second idea (moving the meter base and disconnect
switch to Y, and running a big cable from Y to X (the panel) is by
far the best way when the garage gets built.  Splicing all of the internal
runs will be a royal pain in the ass, and cost more.  Use a separate
disconnect switch and panel.
-- 
Chris Lewis; clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: psroff-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Ferret list: ferret-request@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
From: crowley@maven.dnet.teradyne.com (Chris Crowley)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: +++ Request for more toilet recommendations +++
Date: 21 Jul 92 14:18:49 GMT
Organization: Teradyne, Inc. Boston MA
Originator: crowley@zax


Recently there was a thread with recommendations on low-volume toilets.  I am
looking for a new toilet for a half bath, but with a slight twist (in my 
search, not the toilet).  The bathroom is only slightly larger than a yard 
square, and the stack is located farther out from the wall than it should be
for a standard toilet.  The current toilet seems to have a stack that is 
farther forward than normal.  Has anyone had the 'flush of success' with a
recent installation of a similar design?  I would like a water-efficient model,
but not at the expense of flushing efficiency.

Thanks,

Chris Crowley
From: rbg@otter.hpl.hp.com (Roger Gimson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Washing machines
Date: 29 Jul 92 12:15:48 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.

We want to buy a washing machine that does more than a 10 pound load.
Most domestic brands in Europe don't, but we have found an importer
for White Westinghouse machines from the USA.

Does anyone have anything to say about White Westinghouse? Are they
reliable? efficient? We would be paying a lot more than for a local
brand, so we need to be fairly confident it will do the job.

Other suggestions welcome.

Roger Gimson
Bristol, England
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: 1/2" drill reccommendations
Reply-To: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 17:34:38 GMT

In article <MACRAKIS.92Jul28120920@next4.osf.org> macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes:

>I said -
>
>   I've had a Milwaukee "Hole Shooter" since 1973 and you can't kill it. If
>   they still build them that way, they're well worth the prices I've seen
>   on them.  Just one thing, though. Check the data plate. The Milwaukee palm
>   sander I saw in Home Depot a few weeks ago had "Made in Taiwan" on it.
>   If their drills are still US made, go for it. 
>
>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.

True, but based on my personal experiences, there's no way that I will pay
more for a Taiwanese tool than I would for a Makita. And Milwaukee costs
more than Makita.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | "Zero Defects": The result of shutting down a
                    |    production line.
                    |         Kelvin Throop - The Management Dictionary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: josh@Happy-Man.com (Joshua_Putnam)
Subject: Re: Drain vents might be clogged
Reply-To: Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 19:36:31 GMT

In <1992Jul22.000325.22946@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:

>In article <1992Jul21.195607.16618@eos.arc.nasa.gov> phil@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Phil Stone) writes:

>>I suspect that the drain vent(s) in my house might be clogged
>>in some way.  All the sinks drain slowly, and after toilet flushes
>>or during prolonged draining (showers, etc.), a "snuffling" sound
>>can be heard from somewhere in the house.

>Most plumbing codes require that each bathroom be vented separately.
[...]
>Oh - one more thing. If you have more bathrooms than vents, this is
>not good.

I don't believe the local code requires separate vents (though I could
be mistaken on this).  Instead, if I remember correctly, there is a
prohibition on connecting the vent pipes at any point below the lowest
vented drain in the setup.  This way there is only one pipe to keep
the birds from building nests in, yet none of the connections can suck
water from any other connection.  The various vent pipes usually run
separately up to an attic space before joining the single external
vent.
-- 
 Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com    Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x102
 4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399  fax x108
 We publish SOLID VALUE for the intelligent investor.  NextMail OK
Info free; sample $20: Send POSTAL addr: Solid-Value@happy-man.com
From: d3a132@pnl.gov (Carl P Baker)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Crack resistant patio design
Date: 22 Jul 92 01:48:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: oracle.1992Jul22.014822.21517
Reply-To: d3a132@pnl.gov
Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories

I have a one piece patio behind my house that is about 15 x 25 ft.  It has
a semicircular projection as shown.  The only cracks are at the sharp
(inside) corners between the semicircle and the rest of the patio.  I didn't
pour this thing, so I don't know what reinforcement is in it, but I've
seen a lot of concrete crack at sharp inside corners.

                    ____
                   /    \  <- Semicurcular projection
                  /      \
                 |        |
_________________|        |___________
|                 \ cracks/           |
|                  \     /            |
|                                     |
|                  Patio              |



Carl P Baker
cp_baker@pnl.gov
509-375-2724

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed here are not necessarily
those of anyone in particular. Further, my employer is not
responsible for any opinions herein, or for any...(humorous
slam of employer deleted in the interests of)...
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Attic access
Reply-To: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 21:41:51 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.173416.7583@engage.pko.dec.com> soley@trooa.enet.dec.com (Norman Soley) writes:

>....... I want to install one of those trap door with integral ladder 
>arragnements but don't know how I sould orient it. It's 28" by 54" and the 
>cieling joists are at 16" centres. Would it be better to run it with the 
>long dimesion along the joist, thus requiring cutting a fairly long 
>section out of one joist or across them which means cutting shorter 
>sections out of three joists? 

Run it the long dimension. The joists bear the load of the ceiling and
tie the walls together in balloon frames. Cut as few as possible. When
you cut it, take the piece you cut out and cut it into two pieces to
box in the frame. Like so.

           _______________________________________________

Before:    _______________________________________________

           _______________________________________________


           _______________________________________________
                    |                             |
After:     _________|                             |_______
                    |                             |
           _________|_____________________________|_______

This transfers some of the load of the cut joist to the other two.

>In either case should I place it close to a load bearing wall or out in the 
>middle of the span?   

Close to a wall is slightly better, but it really doesn't matter much.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |
George Patterson -  | Society calls everything difficult good
                    | and makes everything good difficult.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Advice needed on attic mounted HVAC system
Reply-To: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 15:37:46 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.042152.20503@dg-rtp.dg.com> eliot@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot) writes:
>In article <1992Jul22.213334.26433@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com writes:

>>It should be. According to a fire inspector I spoke with in Atlanta once,
>>natural gas and propane both vent explosions sideways.
>I find this notion of explosions being 'vented sideways' rather suspect, but
>that's not to say gas is dangerous.

The particular conversation occurred while trying to get a permit to use
propane in a jewelry shop (The Moonstone, beside the Fox theater in Atlanta).
The permit was refused because, in case of an explosion, the walls would
blow out into the theater next door. A permit for use of acetylene was
approved because an acetylene explosion would take the roof off. The
inspector said that that was preferrable in that application.

I later lived in a house which had had a propane explosion. The foundation
and hardwood floors were in fine shape after the explosion. So was the
entire attic. The walls were rubble. The owner moved the attic and roof
assembly into the back yard and set it up on blocks. He then put up a new
house using the old foundation and floor. He rents it out as a "two bedroom
house with additional storage". It now has oil heat.

>>>      3. Will the attic unit be noisy?  
>>
>>Sure will. Another argument for a heat pump.
>Huh?  The noisy part is the blower that moves air through the ducts; why do
>you think that would be louder with gas than with a heat pump?

Every heat pump installation I've seen had the unit outside the house. I
simply assumed that this one could be put there as well. As you say, if
the blower for the heat pump has to be in the attic, it'll be just as noisy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |        Murphy's Laws of Combat
                    | . Professional soldiers are predictable, but the
George Patterson -  |    world is full of amateurs.
                    | . The easy way is always mined.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 15:36:31 CDT
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

muchow@zebo.network.com (Jim Muchow) writes:

> In article <4100730@hpcc01.corp.hp.com> bparrish@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (William 
  [ about propane prices ]
> It is. Obviously it depends on how much competition there is and such, but
> everyone gets a new customer discount. You could change companies every 
> year or so (if there are enough of 'em in the area). Another thing you
> could do would be to buy your own tank and just call around whenever you
> need gas to find the cheapest.

....and before doing this, you need to call around and find out which
companies will fill a tank they don't own. The local welding shops 
won't fill tanks they aren't leasing out for liability reasons, so they
say; I doubt that the LPG companies will be any different.

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
From: hmoss@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Howard Moss)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 15:36:54 GMT
Subject: 2 vents for 1 vent hole???
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

This thought was started by the MILDEW on BATHROOM WALLS string. If I
add a vent to my bathroom, I'm going to have trouble getting through the
roof as my old shingles probably wouldn't handle my walking up there and
the re-arranging necessary to cut the hole in the roof. I'm wondering if
I could somehow tap into the vent hole created for the ceiling vent in
the adjacent bathroom. Are there "Y-connectors" for roof vent holes?
Howard
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: gadagkar@utkvx2.utk.edu (Gadagkar, Hrishikesh)
Subject: Making the first offer for a new house
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 13:56:00 GMT

Recently I saw lot of discussion going on regarding selling price of a
house. I am about to buy a new house which is priced at $99500 and the 
builder is not willing to accept anything less. He is however willing to make
some modifications which are more or less labor intensive. I have called up the
court house to check on two other houses sold within the last 3-4 months
and are exactly the same and built by the same builder. One house was sold
at $98500 and the other at $99200. Now what I am wondering is why the builder
would insist on the appraised value which is $99500 and not be willing to
come down by as much as $500. 

Secondly, is it possible that the sale price of the house when it is being 
registered be shown to be higher than what actually the buyer paid for the
house? I would presume that such a move would benefit during resale of the
house after a couple of years. Further, any subsequent houses that are
built in the subdivision can be sold at higher prices since the appraiser
would now think that the prices of the houses in the subdivision are 
increasing rapidly. Any comments?
From: dbernard@thewho.Central.Sun.COM (Dave Bernard)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: First time home buyer tax credit?
Date: 31 Jul 92 19:35:46 GMT
Reply-To: dbernard@thewho.Central.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems


Another provision of Bush's original proposal was, I think, that the credit
would be for first time buyers, as well as for THOSE WHO HAVE NOT OWNED A
HOUSE IN THE LAST THREE YEARS (although they may have done so in the past).
Anyone know if this latter group is still included in the committee's 
proposal?

	Dave
From: keith@badseed.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: need special glass
Date: 29 Jul 1992 17:18:00 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: keith@badseed.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: badseed.eng.sun.com

There was a spot on 'This Old House' and another on 'Hometime' about that 
type of glass.  You could contact the show to see if they know.  I did see
the credits on one of them and it was a company in Sunnyvale CA.  
---

	-Keith
From: "ron kulick" <ron.kulick@execnet.com>
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: drain vents might be
Date: 25 Jul 92 12:38:07 EST
Reply-To: "ron kulick" <ron.kulick@execnet.com>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Executive Networks Information

       In article <1992Jul22.000325.22946@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>
               patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes...


>Most plumbing codes require that each bathroom be vented separately.

The codes require that each "fixture" be vented. Fixtures are defined as
sinks, tubs, floor drains, water closets, urinals, etc.

>The vents are usually two or three inch plumbing pipe run straight up
>through the roof.

The vent lines in the walls are usually 1.5" or 2", which connect
horizontally with a slight upward pitch into a 4" vent stack, which in
turn goes through the roof.

>If there is no water in one of the traps (any one), you have a clogged
>vent.

The water in a trap can also evaporate if the fixture is not used often.

>I think you may have two problems, though, because the vent situation
>won't normally cause *all* the sinks to drain slowly.

If the vent stack is clogged at a point higher than the highest fixture
all the fixtures will drain slowly.

>Oh - one more thing. If you have more bathrooms than vents, this is
>not good.

I don't know where you get your information concerning plumbing codes or
practices, but maybe you might want to double check them.


            ==================================================
               Delivered by Electronic Sled dogs......WOOF!
                  USENET ADDRESS: ron.kulick@execnet.com
            ==================================================
--
Executive Network Information System  (914) 667-4567
International ILink Host
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: zlh@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (zhih-li.hwa)
Subject: Buying a New House
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 15:16:36 GMT

I am planning to purchase a house in a new development.   The builder
asks for 10% initial deposit, additional 8% of purchasing price at completion 
of framing,  and another 8% at completion of insulation.   It bothers me because
I have to put a lot of money at risk (the money is not in an escrow account) 
before the closing.   Is this a common practice?   

Any input will be appreciated. 

Zhih-Li Hwa