HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: eliot@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot)
Subject: Re: cleaning common household surfaces
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 13:41:43 GMT
Distribution: usa
Reply-To: eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com
Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC

In article <1992Sep22.114249.4877@cci632.cci.com>, lcw@cci632.cci.com (Lori Wershing) writes:
|> 
|>       Cleaning and maintenance of:
|>           especially products to avoid!!!
|> 
|>               Tub enclosures (fiberglass) 

I am a big fan of Scrub Free for getting soap scum off non-scrubbable
surfaces.  In particular I use it on plastic shower curtains.  It's much
better than, for example, Tilex.  It doesn't have nasty fumes, either.

-- 
Topher Eliot             Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development
(919) 248-6371      eliot@dg-rtp.dg.com       {backbone}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!eliot
Obviously, I speak for myself, not for DG.
misc.consumers.house archivist.  Send mail to house-archive@dg-rtp.dg.com
"I opened an STR on myself and I had to reject it."  -- Paul McGrath
From: cheryl@drutx.ATT.COM (FriersonCL)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Attaching Stud Wall to Concrete
Summary: we used a nail "gun"
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:44:22 GMT
Organization: AT&T, Denver, CO

In article <92269.131309DMEJJ@CUNYVM.BITNET>, <DMEJJ@CUNYVM.BITNET> writes:

> I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on this topic.  I am paneling
> my basement soon.  The walls and floor are concrete.  The walls are a bit
> uneven (a bit wavy).  What I plan on doing is to put up a stud wall so I can
> attach the paneling to an even wall.  This is where I need some advice.
> I would like to attach the wall to the floor in the easiest way.  The two
> ways that I have in mind are.
>      1)Using an impact nailer.  It shoots a nail through the wood of the wall,
> with a 22.cal load.
>      2)Using screws designed for driving into concrete.  I'm not sure of
> what they are called.  You first drill a hole through the wood and into
> the concrete, then driving a screw that looks like a drywall screw, but with
> wider threads.
> Has anyone used either of these methods?  And if so, which is better?

My husband and I used an impact nailer to attach the floor in our kitchen to the
concrete underneath.  It worked VERY well, and it wasn't at all difficult.
I would recommend that option.  I think it is easier than using screws (which,
BTW, we did in the solarium).

> Thank you.

You're very welcome.

Cheryl
From: mml@ladle.bae.bellcore.com (MingMei Lee)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Question on tax consequences on selling a house?
Date: 29 Sep 92 15:38:12 GMT
Reply-To: mml@bae.bellcore.com
Organization: Bell Communications Research


We are in the process of selling our house
and would appeciate information regarding its tax consequence.

Information on the following questions will help:
        1. What is IRS definition of a principal home?
        2. What constitute the basis of home?
        3. What are capital improvements?
        4. What constitutes fixing-up expenses?
        5. Can we deduct the closing cost that we incurred when we
           bought the house?
        6. Can we deduct the refinance cost?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: CPLS13@email.mot.com (Steven_Cohn)
Subject: Re: Broken Thermometers
Organization: Motorola_CoveragePLUS
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 18:14:58 GMT
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house

In article <Sep.29.23.21.31.1992.22150@cadenza.rutgers.edu>,
masticol@cadenza.rutgers.edu (Steve Masticola) wrote:
> 
> redman@plate.megatek.com (Tim Redfield) writes:
> 
> [ broken mercury thermometer in bathroom ]
> 
> >        1) Is there an easy way to clean up after an event
> >           such as this?
> 
> Sprinkle the area with sulfur powder. That will react with the mercury
> and immobilize it. Then vacuum it up. (Treat the vacuum bag as
> hazardous waste, like mercury batteries.)
> 
> >	2) What is the danger associated with mercury found in 
> >           thermometers?
> 
> Probably not much, but mercury is toxic and causes nerve damage. If
> it's like lead, the effect would be worse in children than in adults.
> 
> Mercury evaporates, so the vapor gets into the air. A family member
> could also conceivably ingest some of it some other way (dropped
> toothbrush?) So don't take chances.
> 
> - Steve (masticol@cs.rutgers.edu).

I don't know about the sulfur powder, but using a vacuum is probably not
the best approach.  There is an article in today's Chicago Tribune (9/30)
about a woman who did this(admitedly with a larger quantity of mercury),
and the mercury vapors filled her house.  She then had to have the EPA
decontaminate her house.  She ended up losing ALL of her posessions.  I
would suggest getting some other opinions before using the vacuum cleaner
approach.

Steven Cohn
Motorola CoveragePLUS Engineering
CPLS13@EMAIL.MOT.COM
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Subject: Re: Refi required SURVEY?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 15:03:02 GMT

In article <122210031@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> sjb@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Stuart Bobb) writes:
>You are entitled to a copy of your appraisal, although your lender is not
>required by law to tell you this fact.  You have to ask for it in writing,
>but new federal laws say that a lender has to provide you a copy whether you
>close the loan with them or not.  (Assuming you paid for an appriasal)

Couple of questions. First, wouldn't a lender normally have an appraisal
of the property made before agreeing to write a mortgage on it? Second,
wouldn't they refuse to write a mortgage on property that was overvalued?

Let's say I offer $115k on a house and contact a big company like Citicorp
about financing $102k of the price. Wouldn't Citicorp check the value and
refuse to finance the loan if the property appraised at $90k? Or would
they just assume you knew what you were doing?

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
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                    |
George Patterson -  | If you always tell the truth, you never
                    | have to remember what you said.
                    |                        Samuel Clemens
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From: randyw@iplmail.orl.mmc.com (Randy Walker)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Drill hole in Porcelain Sink?
Date: 6 Oct 92 12:24:33 GMT
Organization: Martin Marietta


 You might try a Dremell (sp?) tool with a grinding attachment.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mes@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu (Mark Schmid x6322)
Subject: advice wanted: brace on interior wall
Summary: how to put doorway where brace is
Keywords: interior wall doorway cape cod
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Distribution: east
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 01:20:26 GMT

I have a cape cod home that is "dormered" all the 
way across the back and thus that part of the roof is
"normal" slope, etc.  The front is a traditional 
steep slope roof.  

I have an interior wall that runs perpendicular to the front
of the house (on the second floor).  I want to put a door in
this wall, and have removed the drywall.  Behind the drywall
I found a 1x4 brace notched into the 2x4 wall studs at an angle
perpendicular to the front roof slope.  I believe this is called a 
leaden brace ?  Anyway, it apparantly was put there to support
against horizontal forces (e.g. wind).  It is otherwise not a load
bearing wall (does not support any vertical weight).

Can anyone clue me in on whether I can still put my door there, and
if so, what extra support I should put in the door frame ?

					Thanks,
					Mark Schmid
(Please respond via mail)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: doshay@ursa.arc.nasa.gov (David Doshay)
Subject: Re: High Efficient Furnace Question
Keywords: Furnace
Organization: NASA-Ames Biocomputation Center
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:45:14 GMT

In article <1992Oct5.165051.15858@mr.med.ge.com>, nguyen@mr.med.ge.com (Dominic Nguyen 4-6604 MRCE) writes:
|> Could some one give me some comments on these high efficient furnaces:
|> 	1. Bryant
|> 	2. Carrier
|> 	3. Lennox
|> I need one that is about 92% efficiency and at about 100,000 Btu.


We installed a Carrier a year ago. It has had a number of "failures"
that in each case have been blamed on improper installation. Each time 
some small part needed to be replaced or adjusted, and the parts were
easily available.  Nothing to brag about, but no really big problems.

The Lenox uses a different method to burn the gas. A small amount is 
metered into a chamber and then it is sparked ... a small pop. The 
problem is that if the furnace is in the wrong place, the noise can
be a bother.  It can sound a bit like a motorcycle idleing in the distance.

David		doshay@soma.arc.nasa.gov

The thought police insist I tell you:
my thoughts, not NASA's
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: grun@intellistor.com (Paul Grun)
Subject: Drywall behind tile in shower?
Organization: Intellistor, Inc.
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 19:43:53 GMT

I'm faced with the possibility that I may need to remove the tile and 
drywall in the shower stall in order to get at a leak from the shower
pan. I think I'm going to have to replace the pan. 
That brings me to three questions, maybe someone out here has
relevant experience to share:

1. Is it possible to remove tile from blueboard drywall without 
   destroying the tiles so I can re-use 'em?

2. What is the distinction between blueboard and Du-roc?  The shower
   presently has blueboard in it with the tile attached to the blueboard.
   I read somewhere recently that you should really only use Du-roc
   behind tile, especially in a shower.  Why?  The article I read referred to
   Du-roc generically as 'cement board'.  Was the builder just being cheap
   when he used blueboard instead of cement board?

3. What's the proper orientation for drywall behind tile?  Does it matter?
   i.e., normally, drywall is installed vertically with the tapered edges
   running up and down.  In a shower environment, does it make better
   sense to run the drywall (or cement board) horizontally?  That way
   there would be no vertical seam behind the tile, just the horizontal
   seam 4' up from the floor.  The shower stall is rectangular.

4. Assuming the worst (remove all tile and the drywall behind it, replacing
   the drywall with cement board), how do I tape the seam where the  cement
   board meets the existing drywall above the tile field?  That is, the tile
   field doesn't go all the way to the ceiling; there is a band of textured
   drywall about 18" high above the tile.  In order to avoid messing with
   the joint between the 18" band and the ceiling I'd prefer to leave the
   band where it is and butt the cement board up to it.  But that'd be
   above the tile field, so how do I tape that joint?

If anybody has any relevant comments or suggestions, I'd sure love to 
hear 'em!
Thanks for any help...
-Paul
-- 

goes to show, you don't ever know...
grun@intellistor.com
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Date: Mon,  5 Oct 1992 17:45:58 -0400 
From: Edward_Engler@transarc.com
Subject: Re: Steam heating system
	<1992Oct2.224951.17622@netcom.com>


I have a steam system, and would love to switch to hot water, but there
is one big problem.  Some steam systems (including mine) are one pipe
systems.  That means the steam rises up the pipe, and the condensate
returns down the same pipe.  To convert this type of system to water,
you have to add another pipe to every radiator in the house (this is the
expensive part).  However, some steam systems are two pipe systems, and
they are fairly easily converted to hot water systems (depending on
exactly how the system is piped).  Talk to a heating contractor to get
an idea of the cost of the conversion.

The steam radiators are generally ok for hw use, but you have to change
the temperature controlled steam valve on each rad to an air bleeder
valve.  The air bleeder valve for the hw system needs to be at the top
of the rad, so you can get all the air out of each rad (or get the water
out to drain the system).  Steam valves are not necessarily on the top
of the rad (mine aren't), so you may have to move each one (the
difficulty of this change depends on your radiator design).

The reason hot water is much more desirable than steam is that
efficiency depends on the temperature change that the heating medium
must undergo.  The bigger the change, the less efficient the system is. 
Needless to say, steam requires a very large change in temperature. 
Steam boilers also require more time to heat up before they will throw
off a useful amount of heat.

Ed Engler
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: vinod@fullwave.watson.ibm.com ()
Subject: Problems with hot-water baseboard heat
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 92 16:13:59 GMT
Reply-To: vinod@vnet.ibm.com
Organization: IBM 
Keywords: heating, hot-water baseboard
Followup-To: misc.consumers.house

Problem:

I have a oil-fired, baseboard, hot-water heating system with
4 zones, and one of the zones do not work.

Diagnosis so far:

 - The electrical connections from the thermostat are fine (tested with
   multimeter etc.)
 - The zone valve is opening and closing whenever the thermostat
   turns on 
 - The circulator is working fine, the other zones are all working

  So, it looks like there is air in the line. So, I tried to bleed
  the zone, and discovered that after I bleed it, it is filling
  very slowly, and does not have much pressure in the refilling.
  So, the line does not really get refilled properly, there is
  still air in the line, and I am back to no circulation in the
  zone. So, I suspect that either the expansion tank, or the
  valve that regulates the expansion tank, is defective. 

Other information:
  - The boiler is REPCO. About 12 years old
  - The expansion tank seems to have been replaced
  - The zone was working last year
  - I had some remodelling work done, as part of that some
    of the baseboards were changed. However, the heat was
    working even afterwards (we know as the thermostat wire
    shorted :-()
  - The plumber who did the work said something about the valve
    not being ok, but his advice was to replace the whole system
    as REPCO is not a very good brand...I would rather not fix
    something that is not broken; also, I don't really want to call
    him back as I feel he was really expensive

  Here are my questions:

  1. Does the above diagnosis seem reasonable? Are there other
     possibilities?
  2. How difficult is it  to replace the expansion tank and/or
     the valve? Are special tools needed? (I feel that the cost
     for both those items may be far less than what I would pay
     a plumber to come look at it..)

Since I would have to shut the whole system down and drain all
the other zones to change the valve and the tank, I don't want to
mess around with it and lose heat completely if the job is not
really a DIY one.

Thanks in advance for all the net.wisdom.

--vinod
vinod@vnet.ibm.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: cablevision distortion on splitter 
From: byron@homer.hsc.ucalgary.ca (Byron Draudson)
Date: 25 Sep 92 16:01:25 MDT
Reply-To: byron@yogi.hsc.ucalgary.ca
Distribution: world
Organization: Radiology, Foothills Hospital

I've recently purchased a coax video splitter that accepts my one main
video signal and outputs 4 signals of equal strength.  I've terminated
all unused output ports.  Occationally, the television picture will 
become very distorted, as if there was some sort of interferance.  So,
after experimenting, I've found that:

1. Turning on the microwave will distort the picture somewhat, but will
   not cause as much distortion as I've seen at times.

2. No other appliances seem to cause the distortion (eg. dishwasher,
   refigerator, dryer, etc)

Is the distortion I'm seeming likely caused by some type of radio wave
or other air born wave etc?  If it is, what can be done?  Thanks for 
any comments or suggestions.

-- byron
________________________________________________________________________
Byron Draudson, Systems Manager               byron@yogi.hsc.ucalgary.ca
Radiology, Foothills Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada   (403) 670-2442
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
From: mks@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (manishkumar.sharma)
Subject: Re: when does PMI stop?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:52:37 GMT

In article <35430@cbmvax.commodore.com>, brian@cbmvax.commodore.com (Brian Fennimore) writes:
> In article <6728@transfer.stratus.com> amy@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Amy McNulty) writes:
> >In article <6720@transfer.stratus.com> btarbox@sw.stratus.com (Brian  
> >Tarbox) writes:
> >> I bought a house recently and want to calculate when I stop paying
> >> private mortgage insurance.  Is the following correct?......
> >> 
> >In our case it was the _assessed_ value...... 
> >______________________________________________________________
> OK, the key word here folks should be *appraised* value _not_ assessed.
> It is the appraised or market value used by independent appraisers that is used to calulate the LTV ratio. The assessed value is what is mutliplied by a 
> certain millage amount to determine the real estate taxes to be paid on the
> property.

Can the assessed value be less than the appraised value? or is the
assessed value always some multiple of the appraised value?
Thanks.

-Manish Sharma
 ...att!trumpet!mks
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: siding options?
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:00:33 GMT
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ

In article <1992Sep28.171309.2653@meteor.wisc.edu> foley@meteor.wisc.edu writes:
>Hello!  My wife and I are living in a very old wooden house (it was built in
>the 1870s).  Paint does not last very long on this beast.  It was painted every
>8 years or so for the last 30 years without much luck.  Paint just seems to
>peel right off the sucker.   We don't want to do this.  So, we are considering 
>the options for various kinds of siding and such.  

Since I'm not a painter, I really wanted to stay out of this one, but you
mentioned vinyl siding. You *will* regret putting up vinyl or aluminum
siding. I really don't know if this would fix your problem, but try
painting the house with one of the epoxy based paints. Anything's better
than vinyl siding!

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
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                    |
George Patterson -  | If God had meant for man to fly, he'd have
                    | given him more money.
                    |
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From: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: siding options?
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:47:49 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Tennessee
Distribution: world
Reply-To: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
NNTP-Posting-Host: langston.cs.utk.edu

george patterson writes:

> Anything's better than vinyl siding!

depends on its use -- many architects are now specifying it for fancy 
new custom houses, especially where non-brick colors are desired

check out, for example, wolverine technologies product line

-- 
mike langston <langston@cs.utk.edu>
department of computer science, university of tennessee
From: dsegelho@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Diane Segelhorst)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Hair-line Cracks in Furnace...
Date: 30 Sep 92 15:06:20 GMT
Reply-To: dsegelho@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Diane Segelhorst)
Organization: Annapolis Detachment, CDNSWC

In misc.consumers.house, davek@sets-1 (Dave Kennedy) writes:
>Let me try this again..

(I tried emailing a response earlier and it bounced. Maybe you should
check it out.)

>I just had my oil furnace cleaned, and the repairman indicated
>that there is some hair-line cracks in the heat exchanger.
>What are my options? What happens if I don't replace it? Am I running

We have a 24 year old oil furnace.  We were told to replace the furnace
if hairline cracks show up.  The reason was that this is the first sign
(and may be the only sign you get) of failure.  When it fails, black
sooty smoke will be released into the heat ducts, and in turn will get
all over the contents of your house.  Think of the cost of cleaning
(frequently unsuccessful) or replacing all carpets, drapes, upholstered
furniture and clothing in your entire house.  It will probably rapidly
exceed the $1800 replacement cost for the furnace.  Since you are going
to replace it next year anyway, the only added cost is the financing
cost of borrowing the money now, if you don't have it.

Diane Segelhorst
dsegelho@oasys.dt.navy.mil
From: smosher@big-bass.East.Sun.COM
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: more hot water
Date: 6 Oct 92 15:39:08 GMT
Reply-To: smosher@big-bass.East.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: big-bass.east.sun.com


does anyone have either the amtrol or the super stor hot water systems ?
MY gas company highly recommended these type of hot water systems,  I priced
the amtrol at home depot and it was $ 600 so I'm looking for a sanity check.

steve
From: mlord@bmers63.bnr.ca (Mark Lord)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Wood Floor Puzzlers
Date: 6 Oct 92 17:14:04 GMT
Organization: BNR, Ottawa, Canada

In article <1933@msa3b.UUCP> kevin@msa3b.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) writes:
>I'm planning to attempt a do-it-myself hardwood floor installation. I'll
>be replacing wall-to-wall carpet in my split-level living room.
>
>There are 3 areas where I anticipate difficulties:
>
>   1. I have a stone fireplace hearth which  extends to the subfloor.
>      The only thing I can think of here is to use a jigsaw to cut
>      the floor to fit as well as possible, and fill the crack with
>      mortar to match.

When doing this, you have the choice of leaving a straight wooden edge
next to the mortar/stone, or a jagged (semi-contoured) wooden edge. 
Go for the straight wooden edge, with a bit of quarter round to trim it,
and then fill the gap with mortar.  Very easy, and nicer looking.
From: patter@dasher.uucp (24224-guthrie)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re:    FREE REFINANCING
Date: 6 Oct 92 20:09:16 GMT
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ

In article <1asnr8INNpc9@sixgun.East.Sun.COM> egreen@east.sun.com writes:
>In article 111851VANCE@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU, Valery Nesterov <VANCE@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU> () writes:
>>
>>We have loans at NO COST at all to you!!
>>We'll come to your home to fill the application.
>
>How about tomorrow night?  I live in Cary, North Carolina.  Say, 5:30?

I'm interested too! How 'bout this evening around 8:00? I live in Somerset,
New Jersey (just down the road from Ed).

patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
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                    |
George Patterson -  | "Zero Defects": The result of shutting down a
                    |    production line.
                    |         Kelvin Throop - The Management Dictionary
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