Toilet research - What kind of toilet should we use to replace the one in my bathroom?

Greg Georges’ recommendation to the neighborhood listserv

We got tired of poorly flushing toilets and having to have plungers nearby. Our old ones that were original to the house also used way too much water. All three were just swapped out for new Toto toilets. They are amazing and use very little water (1.28 gallons) and we have now removed all plungers from the bathrooms.

I most highly recommend the young licensed plumber who has been doing this kind of work for 13 years. He was more concerned about cleaning behind the toilets once they were removed than I was and left our three bathrooms spotless. He is also doing some work on the lovely lift-station all of us on Kings Mill enjoy having if our septic systems have failed. J

He does some kitchen and bathroom remodeling. He will be our plumber in the future.

Way cool toilets too. Never thought I would say that! Check out link

Matt Vanderwalker

(919 932-0081

Drake II Two-Piece Toilet, 1.28 GPF - SanaGloss®

This seems to be the model that Greg has. To find it, use a search containing the model number

It looks as if it will cost at least $300 and probably significantly more with shipping.

It has some very positive reviews on Amazon.

Costco

Costco has a nice-looking toilet on sale now - May, 2012 but I’m not sure that enough is known about it or about ordering replacement parts. But is is a lot cheaper.

TimeWarner

Buy my own modem or pay $3.95/month

Permitted modems for high-speed internet:

Motorola SBG6580

• Newegg: $134.99
• Amazon: $134.99

Motorola SB6141

• Amazon: $124.95

Motorola SURFboard SB5101U DOCSIS 2.0 Cable Modem

This is what I bought in Jan 2013 from Amazon (Order #: 110-5262685-7129036). Desc. It has worked well.

What kind of toilet should we use to replace the one in my bathroom?

Greg Georges’ recommendation to the neighborhood listserv

We got tired of poorly flushing toilets and having to have plungers nearby. Our old ones that were original to the house also used way too much water. All three were just swapped out for new Toto toilets. They are amazing and use very little water (1.28 gallons) and we have now removed all plungers from the bathrooms.

I most highly recommend the young licensed plumber who has been doing this kind of work for 13 years. He was more concerned about cleaning behind the toilets once they were removed than I was and left our three bathrooms spotless. He is also doing some work on the lovely lift-station all of us on Kings Mill enjoy having if our septic systems have failed. J

He does some kitchen and bathroom remodeling. He will be our plumber in the future.

Way cool toilets too. Never thought I would say that! Check out link

Matt Vanderwalker

(919 932-0081

Drake II Two-Piece Toilet, 1.28 GPF - SanaGloss®

This seems to be the model that Greg has. To find it, use a search containing the model number

It looks as if it will cost at least $300 and probably significantly more with shipping.

It has some very positive reviews on Amazon.

Costco

Costco has a nice-looking toilet on sale now - May, 2012 but I’m not sure that enough is known about it or about ordering replacement parts. But is is a lot cheaper.

Sears Kenmore 30’’ Slide-In Gas Range 3693

This is the stove we plan to buy.

• Sears Item# 02236933000
• Model# 22-36933 (stainless steel with black top)

Matte grates

We want matte grates, which do not come with this model. However, we found another stove with matte grates that fit.

We looked at a model with the number #41093. I put its grates on the model we want to buy and they fit. So we just have to find what replacement grates cost.

Easier said than done.

I believe that this is the range I looked at:

Kenmore Elite 30'' Slide-In Dual Fuel Range Stainless Steel
Sears Item# 02241093000 | Model# 4109 

Here is the web page for this range.

But I can’t find parts for this model. I need to try calling.

Salesman we dealt with

Lonnie Simmons
919-416-6200
lonnie.simmons@searshc.com

Email to Lonnie Simmons

Dear Mr Simmons,

Today you helped my wife, Iris Tillman Hill, and me look at slide-in ranges. We were quite frustrated at the difficulty of getting precise information about Sears ranges, but Google helped me locate more precise specifications (thank you, Google), and we were finally able to figure out the dimensions of the range. We believe that it will fit where our old, dead, Sears stove now sits. So we will buy it from you.

First, however, we need your help still for one more thing. As you will remember, we wanted matte grates for our stove. I took the matte grates from another stove and placed them on the stove we want to buy and liked the result.

The matte grates came from a stove with the model number 41093 written on the label. The parts dept could not locate anything with that number. We were unable to find out how much matte grates would cost or if we could even buy them.

So here’s what we would like you to do for us:

• Please find a range, any range, which has matte grates that fit model 22-36933 and call your parts department and find out how much they cost.
• Email us or call us at 919-636-5496 and let us know what you find out. Of course, we would need the part numbers.

Then we’ll come by and buy a stove from you!!

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,
Iris Tillman Hill
George Entenman

2012-05-15 - I called and spoke with Alonzo

Lonnie wasn’t working today.

2012-05-15 - Someone - not Alonzo - called us back

• He told us that the matte grates would cost (2 x $115.49) + $148.66
• But he didn’t have the part numbers, which we need.

Bicycles

Bike Horn

I found this at the Brooklyn Museum.

Thinking about a new bike

A good discussion about bikes that are good for roads and some off-road. They seem to agree that a suspension is not needed, but this comment gives me pause: “I think suspension is way overkill for what you describe. A nice rigid hybrid should do you fine - unless you have wrist issues.” Well, I have wrist issues.

Email to “Tamara Sanders” sales@thecleanmachine.com, 2012-07-06

Tamara,

I was talking to Rob yesterday and asked him about a 29er. I got interested in them because I’d heard they were a bit stabler than my MTB. I’ve find it surprisingly difficult to do U-turns on my MTB. Rob said a 29er would be more stable and possibly faster but probably not turn better. He suggested that I should look at a used Cannondale hybrid at the Clean Machine, so I went over there and rode it yesterday before you got there. It was too small, but I was told that an equivalent new bike was $700. I’m interested.

I’m 69 years old and ride an older Cannondale F300 mountain bike with road tires. I like it a lot but after riding that used bike I can tell that I might do better on a lighter bike that is closer to a road bike.

• I want a hybrid provided that I can ride it on the dirt paths in town. Not narrow mountain bike paths, but paths wide enough for cars, like the Pumpkin Circuit in Carolina North. The hardest trail I ride is up the powerline cut coming south from CH high school: I hope a hybrid could do that.

• My hands and wrists are bothering me a lot these days and I want a fairly erect bike, perhaps one with an adjustable handlebar holder.

• I’d like gearing that’s a little higher than on my MTB. Or gearing that goes from almost as low to somewhat higher.

• I think I’d like high pressure tires. I’ve never used them but I think I’d like something around 100psi.

• I know from experience that I’m no good at figuring out what size bike I need. Rob says you’re pretty good at sizing, so I’d like some help with that.

If you think you can help me, let me know when I can come in and see you next week. Monday will be especially good for me.

Thanks, ge

Answer

Hi George,
 
Tamara will be out of town until next week, but she would be more than happy to help you find a bike that will work for you! She will be here all day Monday – feel free to stop in anytime!
 
Amy Kuuskoski
  Sales Representative
   The Clean Machine
  104 W. Main St.
    Carrboro, NC 27510
 (919)967-5104

Jamis Explorer?

Explorer 2

I like the higher handlebars and the adjustable stem. See

Ninth Street Bicycles is supposed to handle Jamis bikes.

The Coda Elite has disk brakes but is expensive.

Trek DS Series?

They say that they are equally adept on road or off, have shocks, and disk brakes for a reasonable price.

This sounds perfect. The blurb about the Utopia sounds perfect:

I use this bike for commuting, but I’ve ridden mountain bikes and road bikes for pleasure for 19yrs. This bike is FAST! 700c wheels high pressure tires and disc brakes! It’s as fast as my Trek 1000 road bike, but with the Utopia I can jump curbs, ride through grass, and hit the trails. Big difference from my other two 26″ wheel mtn bikes, they are no good on the road. The Utopia is the best of both worlds, road and mtn.

So how to find the Utopia? It seems to be the DS series but they may no longer use the name.

Cannondale Quick 3

Recommended in the discussion. Specs. It looks nice and REI sells it.

The wonderful bike I rode might be the Quick 4.

Some neighbors are upset at the CH greenways master plan (June 2012)

Page 48 of the CH greenways master plan says At the same time the Town has also received numerous communications from trail users asking how trail user rights could be extended into this area. Large neighborhoods just to the east of Merritt’s Pasture are essentially cut off from it and the Fan Branch and Morgan Creek Trails. This report recommends that the Town work with both trail users and residents to explore any opportunity to extend access from adjacent neighborhoods to the Merritt’s Pasture if landowners concerns can be addressed.

From the negative reactions in this discussion, it’s pretty clear that the Town will have no luck with the landowners in question.

Felix, for example, states, correctly I believe, that “…it comes down to a problem of numbers: 10 trespassers a day: mostly no problem. 120 trespassers a day: always a problem.”

Felix lists two problem areas resulting from increased traffic along the creek:

1. Unpleasantness of people going across his property. This I believe.
2. Environmental impact. This I’m skeptical about.

I want to express my frustration with the status quo

A look at the report’s map or the Town’s bicycle and greenway map (PDF) shows that you can draw a line along Morgan Creek Road from Fordham Blvd down to Morgan Creek at a point where it turns sharply and heads up towards Merritt Pasture. I’ve drawn a blue line showing this barrier:

Everyone knows the difficulty and danger of trying to walk or bike on Fordham Blvd from the north end of the barrier to Merritt’s Pasture.

If I try to walk along the creek around the bottom end of the barrier, I encounter several houses or yards extending right down to the creek. I don’t want to walk past them - across the Copperhead Preserve and in front of people’s houses - and usually I don’t - and this frustrates me.

So, what am I and many our fellow neighbors and citizens to do if we want to enjoy the creek? Or if we want to bicycle from my neighborhood or from the Botanical Gardens to Southern Village (we can’t all carry our bikes across a pipe the way that Johnny Randall does) or the trails to Carrboro?

The problem at the south end of the barrier boils down to fewer than half a dozen landowners whose houses were built far too close to Morgan Creek for there to be a solution that pleases everyone.

But my sentiments are with those people who want to walk or bike past the barrier.

One more thing

I would like to point out that we also experience traffic in front of our house and along the creek.

I am very grateful for the quietness down at the end of Bartram Drive where the noises from the Bypass are attenuated. There are only occasional cases of barking dogs or loud music, thank goodness.

But I also enjoy the sounds of people coming down Bartram and walking or running along Morgan Creek. I like the young man who parks about 100 ft from our house and takes his two big dogs down to the creek to swim and run. I’m extatic that we have so many young families with children and dogs who want to enjoy the creek.

Before the wonderful trails on the other side of the creek were closed by Hurricane Fran and Sally Jesse’s development, we had waves of mountain bikers coming up or down Bartram to use them. I felt some irritation of course, but I also admired their athleticism and enthusiasm - plus they were mostly very polite. The mountain bikers have now moved to Carolina North and I don’t expect them to return unless UNC closes off that outlet.

How private is the listserv?

Email sent to Sarah Madry, who I believed was worried that our newspaper delivery person knew what they had said.

Sarah,

I should explain that the listserv is not private. Although I often add people to the list, people can sign themselves up by going to the listserv's website and giving an email and a password.  I have no way of knowing who a person is or where they live.

I can unsubscribe or block people but I don't do that unless they've done something egregious, had their email taken over by a virus, etc.  Here's an example: recently a non-subscriber posted what seemed like spam - I wrote and asked where they lived but, hearing nothing, I blocked their address.

Most of my duties consist of rejecting or approving posts that are too large for the listserv or that the listserv has rejected for various offenses (using bcc to post, too many other recipients, etc.); I accept most of them; sometimes I reduce the size of an image, as I did recently for Tom Baer.

Bottom line: no one should expect that their posts to the listserv are private.

hth,
ge

Obey Creek - Email to the listserv, September 18, 2012

I agree with the reasons everyone has presented here.

But I’m beginning to feel a bit uneasy discussing an alternative road to the south.

Our comments might be interpreted as saying that Obey Creek would be okay with some of us if there were a way to direct traffic away from Fordham Blvd.

I worry about raising the issue of “a true by-pass around Chapel Hill” because Chapel Hill — and our neighborhood — successfully stopped DOT from building such a road some years ago (sorry, I don’t have the references at hand). At that time Chatham County successfully prevented DOT from widening Jack Bennett Road to funnel traffic from the Pittsboro area to the Triangle. The next “best” route that DOT could find went near or through Finley Golf course and would have severely damaged the environment to our south.

I agree with all the reasons that have been discussed here for opposing Obey Creek. But I don’t think we should suggest a way for the Council to approve the project by building a road, a road that would be even more damaging than the development itself.