Homeowner Forum / General / February 2005

Regulations pump up housing costs
Onerous state and local regulations have driven up housing costs over
the past decade, preventing millions of families and public servants,
including police officers and teachers, from living in the community of

I can hardly call it a dispute, because so far everyone is on really
friendly terms, but I just bought a house where the rear property line
touches two separate neighbors.  Well, the rear property line runs
straight but the fence does a bit of a "jut" at one point, the result

Hello, I just installed a halogen ceiling fixture that has three
individual lamps, all wired together in parallel, controlled from a
wall switch. What I'd like to do is install another type of switch
which will let me control how many of the three lamps are on (e.g.

We just fixed up our 70's era house and everthing is great except for
these ugly dark brown construction grade flat slab interior doors all
around our house.
I was determined to spend the time, per some articles I read on the

Hi, my girlfriend's condo management is going to position the
building's garbage bins right in front of her second floor balcony. Her
view will be, imho, ruined, and she will have to keep her drapes closed
to avoid the unsightly view. Garbage truck pickups will also occur

At the advice of the person who laid marble tile in my foyer, I didn't seal
it prior to grouting.  90% of it looks good, but there are spots where the
grout seems to have penetrated the marble, one piece so badly that I will
probably ask him to remove it completely.  Is there a ...

I posted this same thing on a message board I am a member of.  One person
responded and said the house may have been built on a spring.  Hoping to
hear from others (the offer has just started...there are lots of outs):
Hey everyone,

hi my condo has a fireplace but i haven't use it. was thinking about
using it on valentine's day. what do i need besides wood and how do i
clean it up afterward? TIA

Hello to all!
My husband and I are in the middle of a process of buying our first
house. In next two days, we must decide which company we go for a
mortgage with. We have 2 choices now:

I'm thinking about getting a separate freezer.  The only place I could put
it would be on the (covered) patio in the back yard.  Will this work out OK?
If it matters, I'm thinking of getting the upright kind.  I was originally
going to get the "chest" type (cheaper) but want the ...

We purchased a condo (new construction) last summer. Since the building
is in a flood zone we needed flood insurance for closing.
Usually the flood and hazard insurance are provided by the condo
association, but since it is a new construction, we were told that we

Just moved into a new place. Noticed a sound that reminds me of
somebody playing a single note on a wind instrument over and over ad
nauseum. The noise is intermittent and always sounds the same. I think
some people refer to it as "white noise".

Hi I would like to know if anybody has some sort of excel template for
calculating , the take off list from a plan. Also are there any good
sites out there on how to calculate the takeoff list or bill of
materials.

Leaseholders / Residents of one block of flats managed by Melville &
Co. of Walton on Thames are anxious to contact residents of other
blocks managed by this company. If you can help us - please email me
at: chrisjbrady at yahoo dot com. Many thanks.

For reference, this is about a newly purchased (and built) house in
Fort Worth, TX...
I woke up the other day to an annoying (though somewhat quiet) sound
of drumming originating from my master bathroom.