Homeowner Forum / General / January 2004

I'm presently renting a HWT from Enbridge (gas company) for just under
CDN$10 a month.  It seems to me that it's worth buying one.  But I'm
also looking longingly at the tankless units, both electric and gas.
The savings from buying a new tank are clearly there.  But what about

Towards the middle of 2002 I decide to take advantage of the lower interest
rates on homes. I had also remarried and wanted to make sure my new spouse
was on the title. The original mortgage was with Countrywide Home Loans (a
division of Treasury Bank N.A.) who has offices in the ...

I just bought a house with two TouchNGo Model 100 (The Overhead Door
Corporation) garage door openers.  The home came with one remote, and
it barely works (one door only), but the door openers still function
well.  I understand that generic remotes will not work with this

Anyone made their own vacuum food sealer?   They seem to be basically a
vacuum pump (easy) and a heating strip (possibly tricky) , so not much
technology for $100 - $150.  The bags and jars are readily available so it
would seem feasible.  I'd be interested if anyone has done this ...

I've searched on numerous threads here for a solution to this, but no
luck.
I've got a brand new house, with great insulation in the attic, lots
of care to minimize the flow of heated house air into the attic, etc.

I would like to replace a 6 foot high outdoor fence and was wondering if
there is a disadvantage to doing this now, that is, in the winter when the
ground is wet, vs. waiting a few months and doing it in spring when the
ground is drier? (I live in California.)  Basically, I was ...

The distance from sheetrock ceiling of my living room to roof shingles
is around 8 inches. The ceiling, from front of house to center of
house, is about 14 feet. From the attic, I can see some of the
insulation (or lack of) and feel certain there is basically no

I'm getting a low volume hum in my house.  It comes and goes.  It's not
loud, but it is annoying.  I can also hear it in my attached unheated
garage.  I have been unable to pin point the source.  Anyone ever experience
this?  Any ideas what it can be?

We are looking for some good ideas for putting shelves or
organizational things under our steps.  The area is enclosed like a
closet, but, of course, has that characteristic triangle shape.  We
thought about using some sort of cart on wheels to sit things on,

It appears the house that I purchased used to have an automatic garage
door opener since I see the outlet and some of the old mounting hardware
attached.  I'd like to install an opener but I'm having a hard time
finding something that will fit.  The garage ceiling is about a foot

I've got a story up at
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/otto_sanhuber/1.html
about a man who lived in a couple's home for over a decade without the husband
knowing he was there.  

Are there any Home Equity Line of Credit loans that allow you to pay down
the principal during the Draw period? I have been investigating some HELOC's
and the ones that I have come across only allow you to pay interest only

The home we just bought has a screw-jack mounted between two studs in a
half-finished wall (i.e., sheet-rocked on one side only).
Is it OK to sheet-rock the other side (thus hiding the jack), or does
the jack need to remain accessible?

Here in King County WA state, there is a law which says that a
homeowner owning a home located on a floodplain or other ecologically
sensitive area will not be allowed to rebuild their structure if it
sustains damage of 51% or more of its market value.  Whats more, the

I have balloon construction home built around c.1790-1820. No wall
insulation to date. My house seems to have very irregular setting of studs,
not evenly spaced at all! If I install blown insulation I am concerned about
how I will ever know when I have a space filled. I would like ...