Homeowner Forum / General / January 2004

I'm looking for a lightweight cover material for ceiling insulation
between joists.  In detail: Imagine having a basement.  The ceiling of
the basement is the floor joists of the ground floor; there is
fiberglas insulation stuffed between the joists.

Looking to wire a standby generator into the house, which currently has
200A service into a single breaker box.
I'd like to put a DPDT switch that is rated for 200A and meets code for
generator to utility switching duty between the utility and circuit

I've tried the commonly available fans several times now.  It doesn't
seem to matter how much I pay, but the silly things are too noisy.  They
all came with impressive sounding sone ratings, but once they're mounted
in the ceiling, they rattle, hum, and buzz like crazy.  They ...

We are in the market for a new queen-size sofabed and have the general
impression that they are as a rule none too comfortable--thin
mattresses, jagged metal sticking up on the sides, horizontal support
bars across pressing into your back, etc., etc.  Does anyone have a

We built our house almost 7 years ago, and unfortunately, we went
cheap on our windows. We ended up with single hung vinyl windows (made
by Binnings). The windows themselves are not too bad, although it is
obvious that they are far from top of the line.

I hear that there is such a thing as heat-recovery unit that can be
installed on a furnace.     Are they practical for the average home, in
order to shave money on heating?   What is involved, cost, installation,
where can you buy it, how long before it pays for it self?

I have a problematic bathroom sink which gets clogged a few times each year.
I tried some of the store brands to limited success.  I've tried Pequa
opener (got at Home Depot) which seems to work a bit better.  I've tried
augers but can't get the wire completely down into the pipes.

Here's my situation:
*married w/ 2 kids
*filed chapter 7 bankruptcy about 10 months ago
*annual gross income of $65k (my spouse does not work)

We've had our house for about 2.5 years with a 30 year fixed, rate is
6.875.  The last year and a half has been rough on us (both in tech
industries in a bad market) we've both had moderate-long periods of
unemployment.

I'd like to refinance my home mortgage to lower the interest rate and
get some cash back for renovations.  I've never shopped for a mortgage
before.  I'd like to avoid mortgage companies that have problems with
billing errors, lost or misapplied payments, etc, even if that means

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I have a fireplace with gas logs and a gas pipe under the fake logs.
How can I determine if it is safe to remove the fake logs and burn
wood in this fireplace? I was told the gas pipe can be used as a wood
fire starter and by someone else that a gas pipe under the burning

I realise all electric heaters put out the same amount of heat for the
same number of watts but is there any efficiency difference between
oil filled heaters and convector heats.
I need close to 4kw for a room 20ft by 13ft so I figure I am looking

I recently noticed a crack (abt 1-2 mm - [1/8 inch] wide) starting
from the top of the basement window corner, to the floor, (in a
townhome for which I signed an agreement of purchase about 4 months
ago).  As per all accounts, it probably is a shrinkage or settlement

I bought a new construction home about 3 years ago and it came with
low cost Kohler anti-scald faucets.  The single control faucet in one
of our shower/tub areas has developed a slow drip and it is starting
to get a bit worse.  The faucet looks very similar to the Coralais