HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mlf@nscf.org (Mary Lou Freil)
Subject: Re: Hurricane Andrew's effect on building materials
Organization: National Science Center Foundation
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 13:34:54 GMT

ddefend@urbana.mcd.mot.com (Dan Defend) writes:

>Does anyone have any information or opinions about the length, magnitude, or
>comprehensiveness of the effect of Hurricane Andrew on the prices of building 
>materials -- in particular, in the midwest.

>Thanks,
>-----
>Dan Defend
>ddefend@urbana.mcd.mot.com
>uiucuxc!udc!ddefend

Well I can't comment on the midwest but here in Georgia building materials
are now becomming quite scarce. According to our builder (he built our
house last year and is about to start building a barn for us) the
price of plywood doubled last week.

Mary Lou

-- 
	Mary Lou Freil 			    Usenet/DDN: mlf@dogwood.atl.ga.us
        National Science Center Foundation  706-828-3623
        Augusta, Ga.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin)
Subject: Creative Ideas Wanted for Plantless Patio
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: ca
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 17:34:34 GMT

Hi, all,

I have a small covered patio just outside the sliding glass
doors of my living room.  It's concrete, with a small (2' wide)
strip of dirt on the other three sides.

Because I have a black thumb when it comes to plants, I've
filled in the dirt area with little white stones, which looks 
pretty nice.  

Does anyone know how I can make this patio look a little more 
cozy and inviting without putting any (real) plants there?  
(I mention "real" because I'm considering fake plants.  Comments?)  
I have a small BBQ, and some chairs and drink tables, but it 
looks pretty bare without plants.

All ideas are welcome!  Thanks in advance.
-- 
_____________________________________________________

Kimberly Dauphin	  Adobe Systems Incorporated
dauphin@mv.us.adobe.com	  Mountain View, CA
From: so690561@mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu (Susan Elizabeth Olson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Home security tips from a burglar
Date: 6 Sep 1992 04:15:51 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tx

...a few months back, a Houston public access channel had a convicted
burglar as a guest on a show about preventing crime - when the moderator
asked him about how to protect a house from people like him, he commented
that 1) he often decided which houses to hit just by looking in the open
first floor windows (ie pull your curtains/blinds if you don't want to
reveal your potential as a burglary victim) 2) all other things being
equal, the thief preferred to hit houses without the burglar alarm signs
to those with them (not every burglar alarm can be circumvented by cutting
the phone lines).
...finally a Chicago police officer and home security expert once suggested
going out and buying the largest pet dish you can find, painting a threatening
name like "Killer" or "Psycho" on it, and placing it outside your door - I
don't know if this really works, but it is amusing and might work in the
all other things being equal vein (I don't think I'd chance it - the Houston
burglar said sometimes a big dog also deterred him).
...so much for the "no gun" solution request of an earlier poster - I'm
interested to see if anyone else out there comes up with other home
security tips that don't involve the purchase of a weapon.

-S. Olson
From: egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Credit report
Date: 9 Sep 1992 14:32:45 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, RTP, NC
Distribution: world
Reply-To: egreen@east.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: laser.east.sun.com

In article 26480@porthos.cc.bellcore.com, patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>
>Depends on where you are. Here in Jersey, the legal phrase you hear is
>"...knew or should have known that...". In Tennessee, it doesn't matter
>if someone "should have known" something, if you can't prove that they
>knew it, you don't have a case. 

Wrong.  My father has practiced architecture in Knoxville for 30
years.  He's been in his share of court cases, and "should have known"
comes up *regularly*.  Legal standards are pretty uniform all across
the country, with the exception of Louisiana.  Specific codes and
ordinances differ, but most of the underlying legal standards, such as
what constitutes neglegence or slander, is pretty much the same.

You think you can get out of a speeding ticket in TN if the cop can't
prove you knew what the limit was?!?!

---
Ed Green, former Ninjaite |I was drinking last night with a biker,
  Ed.Green@East.Sun.COM   |and I showed him a picture of you.  I said,
DoD #0111  (919)460-8302  |"Go on, get to know her, you'll like her!"
 (The Grateful Dead) -->  |It seemed like the least I could do...

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: rogerv@sco.COM (Roger Vortman)
Subject: Re: Vented (i.e. opening) skylights
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 20:20:13 GMT
Keywords: skylight



>In article <BuBo7n.K6G.2@cs.cmu.edu> goddard+@cs.cmu.edu (Nigel Goddard) writes:
>>
>>We're thinking of putting two skylights into the east-facing sloping
>>...
>>glazing.  We're thinking of Velux, and I've heard of Wasco and APC.
>>...
>>
>>Nigel Goddard
>>

>I recently installed a Velux skylight.  It is extremely well made and
>the documentation was excellant.  Many months and no leaks...

Another vote for Velux.  The flashing that they sell seemed foolproof
(no nails are used to attach the flashing).  The other thing that I
really liked about them were the built-in roll shades...ours were on
a south-facing roof, so it was important to be able to limit both the
amount of ultra-violet fading of carpet and furniture as well as summer
heat gain (overheating).  The roll shades worked very well for those
purposes. 

One thing that I should mention was that I was very glad that we trimmed
the wells out in oak, since we had to open/close them with a pole.  This
sometimes got banged against the sides of the well for various reasons,
and had the well just been painted sheetrock I would have been doing fairly
frequent touch up painting to it, I'm sure.  The well was fairly shallow,
so this was not a big deal (about a foot deep). 

-Roger
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mallen@wyvern.twuug.com (Marc Allen)
Subject: Rock Lathe: What is it?
Keywords: construction wallboard
Organization: Tidewater UNIX Users Group
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 01:49:57 GMT

A friend of mine is having a house built, and the contractor is going to use
something called "Rock Lathe" instead of wall board.  Is taht simply a
brand, or what?  We've never heard of it.

Has anyone on the net?

Thanks,

Marc

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers
From: tynan@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (tara.j.tynan)
Subject: Carpet dealer questions
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: chi
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 17:40:33 GMT
Followup-To: poster

Hello Everyone,

I have started the search for new living room carpet.

I've started with the major advertised places and have looked at
CarpetLand and New York Carpets.

At CarpetLand, I found the perfect carpet, but it's priced
at aprox. $31/yard which includes padding, tax, etc.
The salesman was very nice, courteous, etc.

At New York Carpets, I found two agreeable alternatives.
One priced at ~$12/yard and one at $20/yard.  The salesman
was a real sleeze!

I had thought about calling Empire, but know that they bring
out tiny little samples and I don't know about  choosing the
right color that way.  And I have no idea about pricing thru
them.

So have any of you had dealings with the above three (or others)?  
I'd appreciate hearing good and bad experiences.

I'm looking for stain resistant, crush proof, and shadow resistant
(meaning footprints don't show as much).

Thanks in advance!


		Tara Tynan

		tynan@ih4sm.att.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Subject: Re: Whole-House Fan Choice is Not a Breeze
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 92 03:38:42 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

In article <Bu2tCK.DyC.2@cs.cmu.edu> goddard+@cs.cmu.edu (Nigel Goddard) writes:
>
>The function of the fan in terms of cooling are:
>	1. To replace hot internal air with cool external air.
>	2. To provide a breeze which is cooling in itself (skin chill).
 
  3. To pump air which is cooler than the ambient attic temperature
     into the attic, thus improving house cooling.
 
In my experience (3) is very important. My whole house fan has
cut the time the gable fan runs by a great deal.

>
>Your CFM requirements depend on how fast you want to do 1 and how
>much of the house you want 2 to be operative in.  
 
Yes, and it's worth a lot to be able to turn it on, and get it over
with!

 
Greg
From: dans@atc.boeing.com (Dan Small)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Thermostat question
Date: 11 Sep 92 19:32:50 GMT
Reply-To: dans@atc.boeing.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Boeing Company

In article 13133@nas.nasa.gov, blake@wk60.nas.nasa.gov (Matthew W. Blake) writes:
>My Thermostat is acting up (not going on 
>sometimes, etc) and I have no instructions or info on it.
> [...] So to hell with the thing, I'm going to get a new one.
>
>Questions:
>
>1) What features would you suggest?
>   (timer to come on before getting up, etc)
>
>2) Suggested Brands (or to avoid)?
>
>3) Are they easy to install?
>

I had a Honeywell battery operated, wall mounted electronic thermostat in
my last house.  I'm now stuck with a mechanical timer thermostat of the type
you mentioned in your post.  I really miss that electronic thermostat.

The best feature it had was each day of the week could be programmed differently,
with up to 6 different temperature settings available for each day.  This may 
seem like overkill, but in fact I found it to be most useful.  I used the same
setup/setback schedule for each weekday and a second schedule for the weekend.
Even though I only setup and setback the temperature once each day, I still used
all 6 of the allowable setpoints for each day.  I used 4 in the morning to 
gradually ramp the temperature up over a 90 minute period, and 2 at night
to ramp the temperature down one notch at 10:00 pm and another notch at midnight.
Bringing the house temperature up in 4 stages in the morning solved the
hysteresis problem usually associated with temperature setups.  

When the temperature is brought up by an 8 degree delta all at once, what 
happens is that the air temperature in the house goes up way beyond that 8
degree delta.  This is because it takes the walls longer to warm up than
the air and the thermostat is highly sensitive to wall temperature (since it
is attached to one).  So in the time it takes for the wall temperature to climb
only 6 degrees, the furnace will have heated the air up by 10 to 12 degrees.
By bringing the house temperature up in a series of smaller steps, rather than
in one big step, I was able to avoid overheating the house air in the morning.

Other features to look for are:

    Indefinite manual override capability without wiping out the programmed 
             setpoints (for when you go away on vacation),
    short term manual override capability (for when you want to drop the temp
	     while you run to the mall),
    program preview capability.

Thermostats are very easy to install. For furnaces only it is just a 2 wire
connection.  


---------------------
Dan Small                       |
The Boeing Company              |   standard disclaimer applies.
dans@atc.boeing.com             |
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Block driveways?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 18:49:36 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.161406.20314@i88.isc.com> jeq@i88.isc.com (Jonathan E. Quist) writes:
>
>Does anyone have any experiences to share regarding installation or maintenance
>of paving block driveways?  We're considering blocks as one alternative
>to asphalt or concrete for a new driveway installation.

Depends. I installed brick pavers. I don't have info on the concrete pavers
I see in discount stores.

>Specifics:
>How does cost compare?

My driveway is only about 26 feet long. In my case, I had an asphalt driveway,
but it looked like they used a spray gun to put down the asphalt. Still, I
had some good, well packed gravel under the asphalt. I took the asphalt up
with a mattock, put down a layer of plastic, followed by a layer of sand,
then laid brick. I did put concrete for about the first three feet to take
the shock of tires coming off the road onto the brick.

Total cost for the bricks was around $560 (I ordered extra for walks). I
used two bags of sacrete, six of sand, and two heavy duty dropcloths. It
took me about five days to do, but I put down a herringbone pattern. There
are simpler ones. Call it $700 and a week's labor.

Now, this job would have required three cubic yards of concrete at about
$160/cu. yd. and a day's labor. Add in a few bucks for the lumber used in
the edging forms, and it would have come in at about $500 and a day's work.

Having asphalt put down was estimated by one firm at $1,000, with no labor
on my part.

If you're starting from scratch, all three options require grading, adding
a gravel fill, and tamping down. Of the three, concrete is less likely to
settle.

>How do they hold up over time?

Did mine last year about this time. So far so good. At the moment there's
a half ton van and a quarter ton trailer sitting on it.

>Are winter freeze/thaw cycles going to be a major problem?  (Chicago area)

I doubt it.

I'm in New Jersey, which is not quite as bad as Chicago. Since I laid
mine on sand, the bricks can shift to handle this. I also laid mine in
the hottest part of the year; they could only contract from that point
on.

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | There are very few personal problems which
George Patterson -  | cannot be solved by a suitable application
                    | of high explosive.
                    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: drmax@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Marianna Max)
Subject: fireplaces
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 16:49:11 GMT


Can anyone recommend a good book on designing and building
fireplaces/chimneys? Anyone built their own? Specifically I am wondering
how one handles the design for a single chimney column with multiple
fireplace openings into different rooms.

Thanks, Max
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: 21329KAD@MSU (Kim Dyer)
Subject: Re: please post Habitat for Humanity address/number..
Organization: Michigan State University
Date: 10 Sep 1992 22:42:34 EDT


>  Would someone please post the Habitat for Humanity address and
>  phone number?  Thanks!

Check your local phone book ... they probably have an office near
you.  (Boston, probably)  I know that there is a local group in
Lansing, and that several OTHER cities in Michigan have groups.

(I currently work second shift, so I can't arrange to help out :-(
But it's on my list of things to do once I get a day job.)
From: perley@trub.crd.ge.com (Donald P Perley)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Realty-English Dictionary
Date: 15 Sep 92 15:32:52 GMT
	<1992Sep11.141020.29376@meaddata.com>
	<1992Sep14.175509.1467@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
	<1992Sep15.003517.29843@tamsun.tamu.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: GE Corp. R & D, Schenectady, NY 12345

In article <1992Sep15.003517.29843@tamsun.tamu.edu> pzs3761@tamsun.tamu.edu (Pete Sierant) writes:
>		"The Realty-English Dictionary":

More "Realty-speak":

8-10 minutes from xx-city:  10-12 miles.  Assumes you will drive >>60 despite
                            30-40mph limits and not slow down for red lights or
                            the state police station that you have to go by.

Cozy fireplace:             The only other kind is majestic.


has income apartment:       Rent controlled.  Current occupants are subletting
                            from Mary Todd Lincoln for $20/month.

--
perley@trub.crd.ge.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: philip@simserver1com (Philip Peake)
Subject: Re: FLAT for SALE in Russia ( in Magadan )
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:58:23 GMT
Organization: mentor
Keywords: flat, sale, russia
Followup-To: 

In article <1992Sep10.164356.16254@gvl.unisys.com>, garyp@gvls2.gvl.unisys.com (Gary Palangian) writes:
|> >          Dear Sears.
|> >     I'm offer to you a flat for sale.
|> >     Location: centre of Magadan - the capital of Russian Nord - East ( near
|> >        Alaska ).
|> >     Brief:
|> >        2 rooms, kitchen, toilet & bathroom, pantry.
|> >     Further details ( particulars ) can be obtained on request.
|> >     The price is 7900 $ and nothing more for cash.
|> >     I'll be happy to discuss the matter with you.
|> >                Yours faithfully Daniel Finogenov.
|> >
|> >        E - mail:       daniel@kenext.msk.su       or
|> >                        daniel%kenext.msk.su@relay.eu.net
|> >                        daniel%kenext.msk.su@techno.fuug.fi
|> >
|> >        FAX:            Russia 095-292-65-11 for "LAVINA box 1383"
|> >
|> >        TLX:            411700 for "LAVINA box 1383"
|> >
|> >        Phones:         095-150-88-52 from 09:00 a.m. till 02:00 p.m.
|> >                        095-193-50-09 from 05:00 p.m. till 07:00 p.m.
|> >                                (Greenwich time)
|> >
|> 
|> I don't get it.

So where is the problem ?
The english is not perfect, but perfectly understandable.
Maybe you only speak american ?

In American:

	Apartment for sale.

	Location: Center of Magadan, the capital city of Northern Russia
                  (Eastern side, near to Alaska).

	2 rooms, kitchen, toilet, bathroom & pantry.

	Call for further details.

	Price: $7900 cash

--------

Remember:

		English		American
		-------		--------

		Flat		Apartment
		centre		center
		colour		color

etc.

Philip 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan)
Subject: Re: Realty-English Dictionary
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 01:18:08 GMT

In article <1992Sep15.003517.29843@tamsun.tamu.edu>,
pzs3761@tamsun.tamu.edu (Pete Sierant) writes:
>In article <1992Sep14.175509.1467@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM> davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord) writes:
>
>[...]
>
>>One other thing, listing agents tend to have a very bizzarre idea of
>>what constitutes "view", "RV parking", "great neighborhood", and "cute".
>
(burp)
>             "The Realty-English Dictionary":
>
burp, deleted examples

add:

Waterfront  -  your property borders a flood ditch that stays full
               long enough to breed mosquitoes.

Amenities   -  non code outbuildings or add-ons currently or will
               soon be under litigation from neighbors.

Granny Unit -  see above

buildable lot -  You could have a whole dictionary for this class of
                 lies including:  Plans Incl.  has water, has power.

Investment potential:  tenants haven't paid rent in two years but
                 know all the tenants rights laws and use them.

great starter:  There is at least one huge undisclosed flaw that
                only the eager first time buyer will miss.  (no
                water, no easement or access to garage, airport
                runway being shifted to put flight pattern right
                over house.)

Mike
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: hauserr@infonode.ingr.com (Robert Hauser)
Subject: Buying new LP gas furnace, any advice?
Organization: Intergraph
Distribution: misc
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 22:22:55 GMT



I am about to buy a new LP gas furnace (gas pack that sits outside the
crawlspace and has both heat and ac). The old unit Heil-Quaker has a
totally shot heat-exchanger and bad bearing on the ac fan.

I am getting an estimate soon (from the only LP licensed dealer
around). The ballpark figure was about $2400 (includes installation).
Amana was recommended as a replacement because "they are made nearby
and easy to get parts from".

The house is 1-story frame, 1500 sq. ft., and in NE Alabama.

Any advice? If not I will go with the dealers suggestion (on size and
brand) since I can't "shop around".

E-mail responses preferred.
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re:  Removal of "very" old linoleum tiles
Date: 8 Sep 92 04:05:28 GMT
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Canada

In article <1992Sep6.182359.19775@porthos.cc.bellcore.com> patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie) writes:
>In article <Bu2wz5.Mo2@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tjones@harriett.ncsa.uiuc.edu writes:
>>I am trying to revamp the attic in the house.  The tiles have probably 
>>been in there for the past twenty years as there is a multitude of sunken 
>>rings from furniture that has been up there.  Can anyone tell me how I 
>>should go about removing the tiles and how do I fix the "squeaky" areas 
>>that are underneath?  Is this a major job that requires only "skilled" 
>>professionals (shudder)?

>You need one of the 3" or 4" wide scrapers, a propane torch, and a fire
>extinguisher. (With any luck, you won't actually *need* the extinguisher).

We should add the obligatory comment: tiles from that era frequently
contain asbestos, removal of such tiles will be somewhat of a health
hazard, and in many areas disposal will be difficult and/or expensive. 
(I say "somewhat of a health hazard" because the hazards are somewhat
overrated, but disposal can be a severe pain).

If you suspect asbestos, and the existing tiles are solidly fastened,
why remove them?  Install the new floor over it.  As long as the original
tile isn't a padded or embossed pattern, this works pretty well.

If you must remove tile that you suspect has asbestos, you can greatly
reduce any possible risk by:
	- wearing a dust mask
	- bagging removed tile immediately
	- avoid tearing the tile
	- use a spray bottle full of water, and lightly mist the
	  areas you're working in.

Another approach for tile removal mentioned in the DIY books, a little
less of a fire/dust or noxious gas hazard than a propane torch, is to use dry ice.
You make a square frame out of 1x2s or similar about the size of a tile.
Pour dry ice in the square, and simply slide it across the floor, prying
up the tile afterwards.  Much of the glue will simply crystalize and
shatter when hit by a scraper and you can vacuum it up.  While dry ice
may be difficult to find, it's a lot easier than a torch (according to the book
that is) and would probably be pretty clean w.r.t. asbestos.

George's comments on using screws to fix squeaks are right on.
-- 
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: djschwa@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Dana Schwartz)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Security System Monitoring
Date: 16 Sep 92 02:30:33 GMT
Organization: The Great Beyond

I have a home security system which calls a monitoring service when it goes
off.  I seem to be paying a lot each year for this, and am wondering if
I have any choice in where I can go for monitoring service.

Can I shop around for a cheaper service, and then have them install their
own dialer in my system?  Do I have to use a local security firm for 
installation, or can I do it myself?  Can I contact a monitoring service
directly, or must I use a middleman?  What's a reasonable price?

Thanks for the advice,
Dana Schwartz
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house