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<title>Home Repair &#x26; Improvement forum - dslreports.com community</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/homerepair</link>
<description>Home Repair &#x26; Improvement forum current topics</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2007, dslreports.com</copyright>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:08:39 EDT</pubDate>
<lastBuildDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:08:39 EDT</lastBuildDate>

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<item>
<title>When getting a Christmas tree...</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458122</link>
<description><![CDATA[How to select the right one?

What are some possible issues?

Good / strong one the one that will not get dry soon?

What accessories to get? Stand? Stand w. water? etc...

How long do they last, if I want it to last into January...

Let's talk about this...]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458122</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-20 14:30:37</pubDate>
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<item>
<title>Who is responsible?</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21470382</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hi, I recently built an addition onto my home. The contractor who did it did a half-assed job and then walked away from it. The room is leaky and drafty and he refuses to return and rectify the problems. I currently owe him $4,000.00 and informed him that when he returns to complete  the job, I will pay him off in full.
I called him daily for three weeks and pleaded with him to come and rectify the problems, but he always kept putting me off. A few days ago, I got fed-up and called another contractor to fix what the first guy had to do. I live in New York and it's cold this time of year. The rest of the home is 72 degrees, but this new room is 50 degrees. I needed it fixed ASAP! The new contractor told me it would cost $1,200.00 to complete the job. He did the work to my satisfaction and I paid him off in full. 
Today, the original contractor called and said he is on his way to fix the problems. I informed him that I had the issues fixed and will be deducting the $1,200.00 from his final bill. He was quite livid! He informed me that he built the room illegally and he will be reporting it to the county. Prior to him building the room, he assured me that it was such a small room, permits were not needed. I am aware as the homeowner, I am responsible for any violations on the property. But as a licensed contractor, can I have him held responsible for putting up this addition without permits? Suddenly, he is changing his tune. I will be contacting an architect on Monday to see if he can give me a consultation on the issue. 

In the meantime, is there anything I can do about the original contractor? Can I report him to the Department of Consumer Affairs? Should I deduct the amount the architect charges due to him misrepresenting the job? Any advice would be welcome. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21470382</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-22 21:11:59</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>New Beckett Burner and Intellidyne HW+ Heat Manager Results</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21449683</link>
<description><![CDATA[After two nights running with the new oil burner (Beckett B2007 with 80 deg ES 1.35 GPH nozzle) and the new Intellidyne HW+ Heat Manager, I am pleased to see positive results.

On a morning heat recovery, when the programmable thermostat bumps the temp up 3 deg, the old burner would short cycle three times over the circulator run period.

With the Intellidyne installed, my burner cycles just once and the circulators run for the next 30 mins as the house temp comes up to the daytime setting. I find there is still useable heat in the boiler, and was able to push the temperature up another 2 deg before the Intellidyne called for burner operation. The radiators were still warm at the lo cut in point.

The daytime high was 30 deg today and the burner ran once at 7:30 am, and again around 7pm this evening. Again, I was able to bring the house temp up 5-6 deg on just one burner cycle, where three used to be the norm.

It looks like the heat manager is very effective at putting usable boiler heat into the house, instead of up the chimney.

Last year, we went through 525 gallons of oil, using combined separate Bock 32E hot water heater and the Wickes boiler furnace all winter. Every 12 months I top off the oil tank. Next year, I should see substantially lower gallons to purchase, seeing how much LESS my now more efficient new flame retention burner runs.

At this early stage, it's too soon to nail down % savings, but just seeing how little the burner comes on and how much warmer it is in the house because we're able to use that residual heat from the boiler without using additional oil, is VERY encouraging.

More later.. Intellicon needs 72 hours of run time to calculate savings. I'll have more info when that happens. I'm only at 3.2 hours of total furnace run time for the season so far.]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21449683</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-18 23:42:11</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Getting hot/neutral reverse; no breaker flip or reset fix</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21468199</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hello! I am a mom and a bit lost. My husband is at war and I don't want to burn the house down before he comes home.

I have an in-home office where the problem is located. For the 2 years we have owned our home, our lights pop a lot (bulbs blow) for no reason. However, these fixtures are not the main problem right now. 

In my office, I never had a problem until we have a new panel put in (arcing was happening, hot breakers, and wrong type/size breakers). Now, I plug in my printer, computer(laptop), light and stereo, and finally my portable steamer (I make costumes) - and the room blows (meaning that no outlets work now in the line they are attached to). They are plugged into different receptacles. Now, the breaker doesn't switch/flip and even if I try to flip it on my own, it doesn't resolve the problem. 

I checked each receptacle and am getting a hot/neutral reverse, both after the power goes out before I reset a breaker that didn't flip and after I "reset" the breaker that didn't flip. So nothing seems to resolve the problem, but time. A few days later - the power will work again - for no apparent reason.

Can you help? I will call an electrician, but I have had several unscrupulous people work on my former homes and am a bit nervous. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21468199</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-22 11:09:30</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Issue with heater</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21471064</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hey everyone, 

I have a 20-30 some year old Carrier gas heating unit (unfortunately, I can't get the model number from the unit as the model number has worn off of the information label). Over the past few days, the pilot light has been going out several times again, requiring me to relight it manually. On a related note, every time the unit turns on, there is a loud boom from the heater closet (sounds somewhat like an explosion). Earlier today, when it kicked on, dust actually came out from around the door :huh:. As a precaution, I've turned the unit off for the the night..but I'm not sure what to do. I can't really afford a new unit at the moment. 

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21471064</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-23 00:33:52</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Furnace question</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21467090</link>
<description><![CDATA[I have a furnace that is having problems. Evidently the Honeywell fan and limit controller is sticking and the blower is not coming on. Is it possible to clean / lubricate this device or do I just need to replace it. I would prefer to try cleaning it first as it is around $80 for the replacement part.]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21467090</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-22 00:10:01</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Oops</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21471005</link>
<description><![CDATA[never Mind]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21471005</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-23 00:12:58</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Does a sump pump really need a dedicated outlet?</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458585</link>
<description><![CDATA[My 1970 vintage house as a 20 amp circuit with a single outlet that powers the sump pump.  About 10 years ago, I bought a portable dehumidifier and plugged it into the same outlet because it's the only one within the length of the drain hose.  I was unaware of any requirement that the sump pump be on its own circuit.

The dehumidifer  draws 6.8 amps according to the label.  I had to replace the pump last year and the new one draws 2.76 amps.  It takes less than 10 seconds for the pump to empty the sump.  

Is the reasoning behind the dedicated outlet just to assure that the circuit doesn't get overloaded and trip the breaker, disabling the sump pump?  FWIW, I unplug the dehumidifier when we leave for more than 24 hrs.]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458585</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-20 15:53:34</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Tile on wood</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21469582</link>
<description><![CDATA[I am thinking of putting tile down as a threashold from the sliding door. How should i prep the wood floor? IS there a certain type of cement to use?]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21469582</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-22 17:33:24</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Help! Cold &#x26;amp; Drafty Fireplace...and a ? about heat pumps</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21452116</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hey guys, me again!

So, now that the weather down here has turned downright cold for us southern folks (dipping to mid to low 20's and 30's at night for the next week or so: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/29063?from=36hr_fcst10DayLink_undeclared ) so this morning I was trying to watch the thermostat and figure out what was going on (I have a heat pump), because when it would turn on, it would come up on aux heat, and then the aux heat would go off, but still hadn't turned on the emergency heat (which I think is the bad one). The thing is....I am not really sure what my aux heat is...is that just the normal "heat is on" mode? I thought there was heat from the heat pump, then heat from an aux source (i.e. oil or something) and then emergency heat where the heat pump goes into brownout mode and turns on its internal coils. Have I got this right? And if so...what the hell is my aux heat? I don't have an oil reservoir that I know of...got me really confused.  

Anyway...while trying to figure it out, I checked the windows and was trying to find out the source of a draft I could feel at my feet. Finally found that cool air was coming from the fireplace. 

So, I stepped on the hearth and holy crap...it was almost ice cold. The air was coming out of the bottom of the fireplace, through some type of vent thing. (See pics). Is this normal?? Is there a way to plug this thing up? All I could see was an on / off switch which doesn't appear to do anything. (I checked the flue, too and it is closed)

I think the switch thing may be for when there is a fire in the fireplace to blow the hot air out, but hopefully there is a way to block it when not in use. Any ideas or helpful hints would be great, thanks!!
--
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - Douglas Adams]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21452116</guid>
<pubDate>2008-11-19 13:56:30</pubDate>
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