HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: trimbath@davinci.Data-IO.COM (Kaye Trimbath)
Subject: Re: Advice on re-finishing wood floors
Organization: Data I/O Corporation
Distribution: misc
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 20:21:39 GMT

In article <1993Jan7.231340.3226@tessi.com>, allen@tessi.com (Allen Warren) writes:
|> 	<< stuff deleted>>
|> 
|> Your advice on sanding (which I deleted for brevity and bandwidth sake)
|> and prepping is excellent, however, there is another product for finish
|> which is commercially called Pacific Pride and is referred to by the 
|> name of Swedish Finish.  It's not a shellac or varnish, but a very, very
|> tough coating (like a transparent layer of plastic, almost).  When I
|> refinished my oak floors in my previous home, I used Swedish Finnish
|> based on advice from several floor companies and by looking at my
|> neighbor's floor which was refinished with the stuff.  SF is a tad
|> difficult to apply and is expensive, 
|> 	<< more stuff deleted - a description of application >>

Here in the Seattle area, Swedish Finish is also sold under the brand
name "Glitsa".  I have had it on my floors, and like Allen, was very
pleased with its durability and ease of care.  One note of caution, 
however.  I understand that the product is quite toxic, and all 
precautions should be taken if applying it as a DIYer.  I just called 
in the pros.  (Also, this year, the going rate was about $1.80 per 
square foot, including sanding down the old flooring).  And they 
reccomend that it be cleaned with a vinegar and water solution - no 
soap, no detergents.

  
Kaye Trimbath			*   
Data I/O Corporation		*   
voice: (206) 867-6230		*
email: trimbath@data-io.com	*   My opinions are mine, all mine..



	
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: MIND IN THE GUTTER
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:11:00

In article <144.169.uupcb@hardgood.com> john.fix@hardgood.com (John
Fix) replied to my article:

   Not only that, but water sitting in the gutters can cause rotting at the
   edges of the roof due to the moisture accumulating in the eaves.

This should not happen in a properly attached gutter.  To quote
"Dwelling House Construction", by A.G.H. Dietz:

    The gutter should not be fastened directly to the fascia, but
    should be held away from it 1/4" by small wood strips or by metal
    washers.  This allows ventilation of the joint between the fascia
    and the back of the gutter and reduces the decay hazard.
    Moreover, if the gutter becomes stopped up by ice and snow in the
    winter, and melting water overflows or is backed against the back
    of the gutter, the water can seep over the back and drip to the
    ground.  Otherwise it is likely to work into the house.  This
    precaution is necessary with any kind of gutter, wood or metal.
	(5th edition, p. 250)

Moisture accumulating in the eaves can result from an improperly
attached gutter, from ice dams, from roof leaks, and from
condensation.

	-s
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: philip@mentorg.com (Philip Peake)
Subject: Re: Garage Door Openers
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1993 22:52:40 GMT
Organization: Mentor Graphics
Keywords: 
Followup-To: 

In article <1993Jan04.193527.40965@watson.ibm.com>, oasis@jcwrs.watson.ibm.com (GA.Hoffman) writes:
|> A month or so ago a thread began on garage door openers .. 
|> I didn't catch the recommendations.
|> 
|> My need is for a 2 car wide, sectioned, fiberglass door.
|> 
|> I see Home Depot has 1/2hp openers on sale each for $133;
|> a Stanley chain-drive and a Genie screw-drive.  Any pros/cons
|> or recommendations would be appreciated!

I had two doors to fit openers to.
After much thinking/worrying/deliberation, I bought
two GENIE openers.

They were VERY easy to assemble - easier still if rather than
trying to follow the instructions step by step, you just look
at how it fits together, and then just do it ...

Fitting and adjusting was easy. I paid $140 each for them.

Philip
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: jon@destin.dazixco.ingr.com (Jon Stone)
Subject: Re: When does it make sense to reduce the
Reply-To: jon@dazixco.ingr.com
Organization: Dazix - An Intergraph Company
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 03:26:17 GMT


>>>>> On 6 Jan 1993 20:43:15 GMT, rstern@col.hp.com (Richard Stern) said:

 Richard> johne@PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_GATEWAY_FILE (John Eaton) writes:
> Take that money out of your 3% Money Market and pay down that 8.5% loan.

 Richard> Lots of mutual funds are still gaining over 8.5%.  If you
 Richard> can find a mutual fund that averages even 8.6% over the long
 Richard> term, that's a better investment than paying off your 8.5%
 Richard> mortgage.  And you can get at the money if you need it.
 Richard> Once you've put that money back into your mortgage, the only
 Richard> way to get it out is to borrow.  If interest rates rise
 Richard> (likely), you'll be borrowing your money back at the higher
 Richard> rate.

 Richard> Paying off your 8.5% mortgage is like buying a 20-30 year
 Richard> 8.5% CD.  Maybe it's hard to get 8.5% on your money this
 Richard> year, but will it be hard to average 8.5% over the next 20
 Richard> years??  Of course no one knows, but it's a gamble I'm
 Richard> willing to take.


It depends what your viewpoint is.  Most of the posters have assumed
that putting money in your house is just like any other investment.  I
don't.  Paying off your mortgage is different in the following ways
(among others) than putting money in an equivalent (after tax)
investment.

Advantages:
- you pay less interest.  If you have a 30 yr loan, 90+% of the money
  you are paying is interest.  True, there is a tax refund, but you're
  only getting back ~30% of what your paying out anyway.
- a home is a roof over your head.
- As a friend of mine says, "Once my house is payed off, I can flip
  hamburgers and still feed my family" (hard times scenario).
- Once you pay off your house, then you suddenly have a large amount
  of cash flow that you can redirect elsewhere.  Think of it; having
  $600-1000 each month to sock away into an investment, retirement, or
  college fund.

Disadvantages:
- you can't get your money out, except a home mortgage loan.  Very
  illiquid.
- you pay higher taxes.  My thought is I'd rather pay $200 in taxes
  per month, then pay $600 interest.

This is just another perspective.  Depends what your viewpoint is.  If
you can earn more, after taxes, in another investment, then you can
always divert the funds into your house if you wish.  You can't do the
opposite.

Jon


--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Stone                                                 jon@ingr.com
Intergraph Corporation, Boulder, CO                     (303) 581-2319
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: weiss@cs.unc.edu (Steve Weiss)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Recommendations needed on where to buy a leather sofa
Date: 8 Jan 1993 10:37:58 -0500
Organization: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
NNTP-Posting-Host: hatteras.cs.unc.edu

My wife and I are in the market for a big leather sofa - good quality,
contemporary style.  Although there's lots of furniture made around here, we
haven't found anything we like locally.  So we've decided to combine out next
few business trips with sofa hunting.  Can anyone recommend stores we should
try in the following cities?
	
	Washington, DC area
	Atlanta
	New York City

Thanks for your help.  

Steve Weiss
UNC-CH
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Distribution: world
From: GioF@ultramac.uucp (Gio Favignano)
Organization: Odyssey Ultraware, Inc
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1993 06:46:39  CDT
Subject: Re: Drywall Repair Questions

In article <1993Jan01.093719.147406@ultramac.uucp> GioF@ultramac.uucp (Gio
Favignano) writes:
>In article <1992Dec29.143654.12316@nynexst.com> smierch@fun.com writes:
>In article <1993Jan2.013307.15212@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>

>>>2) In a couple places where drywall sheets butt together, the horizontal
>>>   joint is visible as a raised line on the wall.

>>The problem here is a bad taping job.

>If this is the only problem he has with a 30 year old sheet rock job, this
>is a damn good taping job!

>>There's no simple way of fixing the problem other than scraping out the old
>>joint compound and retaping. 

>Don't touch the old tape. Smooth the joint out with a layer or two of new
>compound and repaint. No problem.

The problem here is that the wall probably has a sand finish and after
re-mudding you will have a hard time matching the texture of the existing
wall. 

>In a properly done wall, there *are* no butt joints;

Here in St. Louis I haven't seen a sheet of drywall over 16 ft. So if the wall is longer than that or you simply can't get that long of a board in a given area, there will
be butts.

 >Properly done, the butt edge of the rock is at the top and
>bottom of the wall, where it can be screwed to the header and footer, and
>each tapered edge splits a stud. You will have no unsupported edges of
>either type if the hanger does his or her job correctly. The only exception
>is a bathroom behind a tub. There, you want the factory paper edge (the
>tapered edge) against the tub (actually, one leaves a half inch gap) to
>keep water from "wicking" up into the plaster core.

We use DurRock (TM) which is not dry wall at all. It's manufactured from a
light weight type of synthetic concrete that is completely water resistant. At
a minimun you should use Water Board in a bath. Water Board is dry wall with a
water resistant paper usually green. 

As long as we're into it. When hang on wood you should use glue on the stud and hang your drywall to it. Screws should be about 6 inches apart in the field and 3 inches apart on the edges. Try not
to tear the dry wall paper when setting the screw. doing so looses all holding
power of that screw (or nail).
Thanks to   patterson george r,patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com   for making this
an interesting thread.
Giovanni (John) Favignano St. Louis Mo
Giof@oui.com
From: shelley@vents.biostr.washington.edu (Shelley Vogel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Cabinet hardware
Date: 7 Jan 1993 20:08:31 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.95.10.147


I've just taken all the hardware off my kitchen cupboards to paint them
and want to replace the old, ugly chrome stuff with something nice.  I
went to Ernst with a sample in my pocket and found that *every* handle
was the wrong size!!  I couldn't find ONE - not even an ugly one - to
fit my sample.  Granted, these are probably the original chrome cabinet
handles from 1952, but still ....  I don't want to put them back on
and I don't want to putty up the second hole and go to knobs.  Does
anybody know where I can get odd sized handles?

Shelley
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Basement Carpeting.
Date: 6 Jan 93 19:46:20 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: bgt@cbnewsh.cb.att.com's message of 5 Jan 93 21:40:17 GMT
bcc: carl


>>2. I am going to get someone to install the carpetting for me. But I want
>>   to get recommendations of what type of carpet I should install. How
>>   will the installer affix the carpet to the concrete floor.

>ah hah!  a topic after my own heart!  my SO and i recently decided to
>recarpet the basement, but we didn't want to spend a lot of money.  i do
>stained glass as a hobby, and it occured to us that using carpet
>remnants the same way might be quite feasible.  as it turned out, we spent 
>$100, picked up 12 remnants of sizes varying from 1'x12' to 3'x12' etc.,
>and created a really unique pattern for the carpet floor.  we used
>plastics under the carpets for installation.  

We just finished 3 rooms in our basement a year and a half (wow, THAT
LONG AGO!) ago.  We did a lot more floor work that it seems you're
doing (we put down 5/4 stringers w/ hard insulation between them, a
plastic vapor barrier and 3/4"plywood over the whole thing.  Now, on
top of the plywood we wanted carpet but didn't want to spend a bundle.

What we ended up going was going to Grossmans bargain basement (a
local discount store) and picking up about 12 boxes of carpet squares.
These carpet squares are 18" square and mesh together nicely.  We got
two different colors and created a checkerboard pattern.  The nice
thing is that we can (if we wish) rearrange the carpet pattern!!!

Also, if something gets spilt, you only have to pick up the one or
two carpet squares that are affected... and... they're washable!!!

We haven't had to do this (yet).  Also, even if one is irreparably
damaged, it's very easy to replace :^)

-Carl-
--
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis)
Subject: Re: Funny Feeling From Heater
Organization: OSF Research Institute
Date: 12 Jan 93 15:57:06

In article <C0r33E.33G@well.sf.ca.us> lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes:

   ... furnaces in my basement... checked by PG&E (our gas and
   electric co.) and found to be ok. But it seems to me when they are
   on I feel a little woozy sometimes. I don't smell gas, except for a
   teeny puff just before they light....  I don't really smell
   anything, any more than nitrous oxide at the dentist's office
   really has a smell, but it makes you feel something anyway.

Natural gas and propane in low concentrations will not make you feel
woozy.  Coal gas will, but I don't believe it is used anywhere any
more.  Natural gas has stinky chemicals added to it so you can smell
it at low concentrations.

What WILL make you feel woozy, and in fact can kill you, is carbon
monoxide.  Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the gasses you get when you
burn fuel; the proportion depends on the exact conditions of burning.
CO is a proverbially "colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas".  It
kills by binding more tightly to hemoglobin than does oxygen, thus
asphyxiating you.

All combustion gasses including CO should be going up your flue, and
not into your basement.  A blocked or defective flue or furnace can
lead to such leakage.  Have the flue checked.  (Did PG&E check this?)
If there is a problem, have a chimney sweep in.

	-s
From: dipace@bu.edu (Frank Dipace)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Security Systems: Do I need to wire windows on 2nd Floor?
Date: 8 Jan 93 21:02:59 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

If you can at all wire the windows on the second floor do so.
Last attempt break-in I had(pre-alarm system) was via a second floor window.
I thought the person crazy at the time since first floor windows were much 
easier and hidden from view. But than I realized that they were avioding any 
obvious armed windows. They also only open the top of the windows since usually
only the bottom are wired. 

A motion detector is ok instead but it won't let you arm system with interior
off while you are home at night( at least not as conviniently). Window switches
are only a few $ each and two wire versus motion detector of around $60 -$100.

As far as window being opened when armed. Yes, just add another magnet but be
window isn't going to move on its own and set alarm off. Also what I have done
is left a window open an inch or so since magnets have a range on them. Read 
the instructions on this as each is different.

good Luck,
Frank

Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Subject: Re: Dimmer switches that don't buzz...
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 17:04:15 GMT

In article <4109@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca> clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
>In article <4105@ecicrl.ocunix.on.ca> clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
>
>|I've had very good luck with Leviton mid-range or better.  Here
>|they're about $30.  Eagle (I think) also makes a good slider
>|dimmer for about the same price.
>
>Oops, the latter is "Lutron".  Good units.

I don't have dimmers, but I've put in quite a few Levitron and a few
Eagle switches. I agree with Chris on the quality of the Levitron. One
of the Eagle switches I put in broke after only three or four years,
however. I'm used to putting 'em in and forgetting them, so I regard
this as very poor quality. The switch drove my main bathroom fan, so it
was flipped on and off about once a day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
George Patterson -  | Teach a man to fish and you get rid of him 
                    |    on weekends.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: edman@cgl.ucsf.edu (Jeff Edman)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Radiant underfloor heat
Date: 12 Jan 93 22:53:16 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Univ. of Calif. San Francisco
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A7788C432D010E79@edman-mac4.ucsf.edu>
X-Xxdate: Tue, 12 Jan 93 14:54:59 GMT
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d13

Does any have experience with adding radiant floor heat to an existing
home?

There are a number of systems available (Heatway, Radiantec) that simply
place
tubing underneath an existing wood floor without requiring placing the
tubes
in concrete.

My architect argues that this method is not efficient and recommends using
baseboard radiant heat. Somehow I don't think that there could be much
difference
and the floor would be warmer with the tubes underneath.

Any thoughts?

Jeff Edman
edman@cgl.ucsf.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: paulbx@bnr.ca (Paul Boudreaux)
Subject: Re: Garage Door Openers
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:40:23 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Richardson, Tx.

What's the pros/cons of a screw drive versus a chain drive?
Are the screw drives *really* much quieter?

Also, should I only consider a 1/2 hp motor for a standard
size two car garage door? (metal construction)  

And which brand is better?  (Sears, Genie, etc.?)



-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul H. Boudreaux	|Bell-Northern Research		|My opinions are my own,
email: paulbx@bnr.ca	|2221 Lakeside Dr. Stop D0206	|not necessarily are
Telephone: (214)684-5838|Richardson, TX  75082		|they BNR's.
From: shelley@vents.biostr.washington.edu (Shelley Vogel)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Wood fences
Date: 7 Jan 1993 20:04:33 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Distribution: pnw
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.95.10.147


We're wanting to put a fence up around our house and have been getting
bids ...looks like it's going to run about $10.75/foot for the type
of fence we want (Estate or modified-panel).  We've only gotten two
bids so far and this seems really expensive to me.  Anybody in Seattle
have experience in this area?

Shelley
From: lorraine@caliban.crd.ge.com (Peter Lorraine)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: How should I treat my hardwood floors?
Date: 6 Jan 93 16:44:52 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house
Distribution: usa
Organization: GE Corp. Research & Development, Schenectady, NY

Could someone clue me in on what to do here?  My wife and I have just bought a 17 year old house
with hardwood floors.  They appear to be in "fairly" good condition with no obvious gouges but with
some wear and dirt marks (some of which appear gummy).  The areas that were protected by rugs are
in very good condition.

I don't think I need to sand the floors, but I am not sure cleaning alone will be sufficient.  I
am also not certain what the present finish is.  The only clues I have are that the previous owner
maintains she waxed the floors periodically and the finish is not high gloss.

If someone could tell me how to identify the present finish I would be grateful.  If the floors have
a wax finish, is there a straightforward way to remove it and rewax?  Any other information or opinions
about how to treat these floors would be appreciated!

thanks very much,

Peter Lorraine
lorraine@crd.ge.com
From: GA.MCL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Mark C. Lawrence)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: 'balancing' a power panel
Date: 4 Jan 1993 17:14:50 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: morrow.stanford.edu

In article <1992Dec31.083829.9089@panix.com>,
jeffj@panix.com (Jeff Jonas) writes:
>>What does "balancing" a power panel mean?  Why is it necessary?  How
>
>The usual electrical power you draw from an outlet is a single sine
>wave that's 120 volts on the average (using a root-mean-square average
>thus the "volts AC - RMS" on voltmeters).
>
>Since sine waves go to zero twice per cycle, there are 120 times
>a second that there is no voltage on the line (the U.S. is 60 Hertz).
>This is inefficient for the transmission of electrical power,
>so power lines tend to use polyphase / multiple phase transmission.
>The 3 lines are 120 degrees out of phase to each other so there's
>always a line carrying power at any given moment in time.

Three-phase power is no more (or less) efficient than single-phase power to
transmit.

Three-phase power is used because it's the best way to drive motors.  To make
a motor, you need a rotating magnetic field.  If you have a motor with "n"
stator windings (where n>2) driven by "n" phases, the magnetic field they
create is constant in magnitude and rotates at the line frequency.  This makes
a nice motor...

Single-phase motors work by using two sets of windings; the current through
one set is shifted in phase by use of a capacitor, or by having one winding
with different inductance.  Neither of these works as well as having a true
polyphase source of power.

In terms of transmission efficiency, one could say that a sine wave is
inefficient in the sense that the rms voltage is only 0.707 of the peak
voltage.  With DC the peak and rms values would be the same--and it's peak
that you need to insulate for.  For this reason a few long-distance
transmission lines use DC.  However, the problems of AC/DC conversion, and
voltage transformation, usually outweigh the transmission advantages.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: dave@dlb.com (Dave Buck)
Subject: Re: X10 Reliability
Keywords: Heathkit motion detector flood lights
Reply-To: dave@dlb.com (Dave Buck)
Organization: D.L.Buck & Associates, Inc.; San Jose, Calif.
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 21:15:33 GMT

In article <1993Jan12.145832.23642@cbnewsd.cb.att.com> davemill@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (d.m.miller) writes:
>I have just had my first experience with X10 hardware.    I installed
>two Heathkit motion detector flood light sets that send an X10 signal
>back to a lamp module inside the house.  Both use the same house and
>unit codes.  Both spot lights are on the same 120V phase and I have one
>lamp module on each of the 120V phases.   I also installed a .1MF
>capacitor across the two phases in the circuit breaker box.
>...
>The Heath hot line suggested I remove all surge protectors on any
>appliances.  This made no difference.
>...
>Anybody on the net have any ideas what might attenuate the X10 signal,
>or what else I can do to isolate the problem?   Or, is this typical of
>X10 hardware?

Signals across the powerline can get messed up, and have trouble travelling
from one phase to the other, but this sounds like an attenuation problem
as you and the hotline have discussed.  I'd suggest looking at some
appliances as possible problem-causers ... televisions, stereos, and bread
machines top my list. It could be that the transmitters on the floods are
weak, and it could be that your power line is very noisy, but I would doubt
these.

If you eliminate the appliances as the problem source, you might try buying
one of the minicontrollers (cheap) and seeing if the problem is in the line,
receiver, or transmitter.

By the way, many people have reported problems with the Heath Motion Detector
itself, particularly in cold weather ... usually that it won't trigger in
low temp. situations. Heath doesn't seem to have a fix for that.
-- 
Dave Buck   dave@dlb.com   {amdahl,ames,daver,netcomsv,sun,zygot}!dlb!dave
D. L. Buck and Associates, Inc.;   San Jose, California;    (408) 972-2825