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I want to hire an electrician to set up my house so that I can just plug it in to my house when the power goes out. What additional things do I need to buy that the electrician will need? Here is my generator - Westinghouse 12500 Watt Dual Fuel Home Backup Portable Generator, Remote Electric Start, Transfer Switch Ready, Gas and Propane Powered, CARB Compliant https://a.co/d/gSlgcUv Also, what can I expect to be able to run on a generator of this size? I definitely want my refrigerator, and preferably my central heat and air conditioning (air conditioning will not...

“Whereas the Clintons are like herpes: Just when you think they’re gone, they show up again.” Due to the popularity of Home Improvement, advisers of former First Lady Hillary Clinton once suggested she appear on the children's sitcom. The information was picked up on in previously unreleased documents from Hillary Clinton’s years as first lady. “I know this may sound like a wild idea, but I think it is an interesting one to discuss,” wrote the first lady’s press secretary, Lisa Caputo, in an August 1995 memo. “[ABC News producer] Rick Kaplan brought to my attention that Home Improvement would...

I need a swivel spray attachment for my kitchen sink – one that converts from spray to stream. We bought a cheap one on Amazon, and the adapter stripped as my husband was trying to install it. Everything in this line on Amazon seems to be very cheap (and Chinese) – selling for 12 dollars or less – and it’s the same with what I’m finding at the big local hardware stores. I’m willing to pay a lot more for something METAL that actually works, from an actual company. It’s a typical kitchen faucet, the aerator appears to be 15/16...

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Zachery Ty Bryan, the actor who played the oldest son on the long-running 1990s sit-com “Home Improvement” was arrested in Oregon and faces charges of strangulation and assault. The Eugene Police Department said officers were dispatched to a North Eugene apartment Friday night on a report of a physical dispute. They found Bryan, 39, sitting outside and his girlfriend, 27, at a neighboring apartment. Bryan reportedly assaulted the victim, impeded her breathing, and took her phone away when she tried to call 911, police said. The victim declined medical assistance.

I’m renovating my patio and wanted to take the ceiling fan off of a switched circuit and run a dedicated feed for power since the fan is always on anyway. I found some drops in the wall near my entertainment center that seemed like a sure thing, so I killed the breaker, cut the line and started running everything to splice in the new fan circuit. While I was stripping wires, my arm touched a ground and I got nice jolt. Yes, my arm touched a ground and got jolted. Grounds are supposed to be dead, right? Well, despite a...

Mickey Jones had a most unusual career that included sitting behind Judas, as well as playing all manner of drug dealers and rough bikers and also standing in the lobby of the Hotel California. A Houston native, Jones worked as a drummer and then actor in a career that spanned more than 50 years. He was best known for playing Pete Bilker on TV's "Home Improvement," a role that gave him a catch phrase for the remainder of his life: "That would be me." Jones died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 76.

The man who made “more power!” a household grunt wants decidedly less power given to the federal government — and offers up a colorful metaphor about one family’s quest to grasp it for life. Tim Allen, star of the long-running sitcom Home Improvement and the new Last Man Standing, talked to the Hollywood Reporter about his conservative political orientation and its emergence in the show. Despite having a “liberal” writing staff, Allen pushes to express his own point of view, albeit somewhat more moderated than in real life: Do you have more comedic leeway now than you did on...

Former “Baywatch” beauty Pamela Anderson said she was gang-raped by seven boys in high school — including her then-boyfriend — and was also subjected to sexual molestation by a babysitter between the ages of 6 and 10. Ms. Anderson, speaking during the launch of her Pamela Anderson Foundation, said she was raped, too, at the age of 12 by a 25-year-old, NBC News reported. “My first boyfriend in grade nine decided it would be funny to gang-rape me, with six of his friends,” she said, NBC reported, citing a transcript of her speech that was posted on her foundation’s website....

A man accused of chasing two people with a screwdriver at a Kissimmee bus stop is behind bars today, facing several felony charges. Osceola County Sheriff's Office records show that Raushamon L. Brown, 40, and an unidentified woman on Monday approached the two victims at the bus stop in front of the Rodeway Inn, in the 4500 block of W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, shortly before 7:30 p.m. The victims told deputies that Brown demanded money from them. When the victims refused and started walking away from him, Brown chased and threatened them with a screwdriver. Reports show the woman...

I wonder if any one has some input about security for patio doors. I plan to put two in the kitchen. I am NOT putting sliding doors and I am favoring French doors. One door is needed for access to the existing patio. The other door will be on another wall leading out…and where planned improvements will require access to the yard. I would like to know what the most secure selection would be …. or else what kinds of modifications I can make in order to further secure the doors I do select. (For example: the Pella French door...

Even before Obamanomics made a shambles of the US economy, Mom & Pop construction businesses were hustling hard to stay busy. Unfair competition from contractors who utilize illegal alien labor to undercut fair market prices has been hurting small construction businesses for well over a decade, and many have lost the battle to keep their doors open. Those Americans in small business who’ve resisted the lure to play in the mud with their less-than-ethical competitors, now face an almost nightmarish scenario in their chosen fields of expertise, because a downturned economy has been added to the equation. I am intimately...

New wife and I are looking to upgrade our old, worn out top loading washer and dryer. We are in a new house now, and I noticed a gas hookup in the laundry room.Do any of you have experience, comments, and recommendations on the following issues: 1) Working with Sears for purchase and installation; 2) Front end loading washer and dryers; 3) Gas dryers.Any suggestions, comments, etc. would be appreciated.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The white bus rumbles into the quiet suburban neighborhood, heading toward a foreclosed home that sits empty. Neighbors, young and old, cock their heads in curiosity or point at the slow-moving coach. Once the vehicle stops, about 20 potential buyers file out and become detectives, opening and closing cabinets and drawers, knocking on walls and asking about the price, the previous owners and what repairs may be needed. Welcome to the Foreclosure Bus Tour, a six-hour expedition to show Orlando-area homes and educate potential buyers on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where the...

If you've ever wondered about Direct Buy and how they will save you money on home improvement and home deco, including appliances - check this out. We listened to Laura I. on talk radio and figured she wouldn't give us bad info but after reading the amazing amount of horror stories on the web (God bless people who warn us of fraud) I felt ready to post again to FR. Hi all.

An Economic Pillar on the Verge of Collapse By Steven Pearlstein Wednesday, December 6, 2006; D01 It's been more than a year since we've heard from those who denied there was a housing bubble. Since then, the industry boosters, along with the "soft-landing" crowd over at the Federal Reserve, have coalesced around the idea that maybe the market got a bit frothy after all, but now the correction is almost complete, the unsold inventory's been worked off and the worst is behind us. But just when you're feeling hopeful again, you get reports like yesterday's Wall Street Journal piece reporting...

What's the hardest part about putting up a garage door? I would be replacing everything (door, tracks, springs etc.). It would be an 8x7 door, Clopay/Home Depot. Thanks.

THE government has advised council-tax inspectors to use “spy in the sky” satellite cameras to snoop on people’s homes to see if they have added extensions, conservatories and even sheds that could boost the value of their property, writes David Cracknell. The Tories have unearthed official documents which show that John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, plans to use pictures from space as part of his revaluation of homes across England. The data will be used to reband people’s homes over the next few years, meaning that property owners whose houses have shot up in value face higher council tax...

Hi all, All of the sudden when I was taking a shower, the pressure just increased at least by a factor or 2X... too strong!...I had to reduce the pressure from the shower head. Anyway, the water company came to check and found the pressure (78 lbs) which is normal so they said to check the "Water Pressure Reducer." (about $50.00) it seems this is what it is, although I can never be sure until a plumber looks at it. I already found out it costs $250.00. Not a lot but still.... On the surface it does not seem like...

THINKING OF REFINANCING your mortgage? Welcome to the club. With mortgage rates so low over the past few years, the question hasn't been "should you refinance?" but "when"? While conventional wisdom once said you had to shave at least 2% off your loan in order for refinancing to make sense, these days it could be worthwhile with an interest reduction of just 0.75%, says Doug Perry of Countrywide's consumer-markets division. That's because soaring home values, increased competition and automated underwriting (which can approve or reject your refi application in a matter of minutes) have made refinancing quicker, easier and potentially...

Earl Heindman, who played the next door neighbor on TV's Home Improvement has died at age 61 in Connecticut, from Lung Cancer.