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What not to put over what!

Writer's picture: Paul CumminsPaul Cummins

Updated: Sep 22, 2019


Ha! That title reminds me of the new grammar I learned while I was a peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Interestingly the dialect had an inclusive and exclusive "we". So you could talk to a group of people and make it clear whether everyone was going fishing or only some of we are going fishing. They also had a modifier than could change nouns into verbs. It was mag. The word for thing was "kwan". The word "ba" adds emphasis. So the common phrase "Magkwan ba kwan," as an answer to "What are we going to do?" means something like: "Just hanging around but really hanging around."

Surely you gathered that we are talking about TVs over fireplaces and microwave ovens over stoves.


There are several reasons not to put a TV over the fireplace: smoke and heat can damage components and affect the image quality. Viewing height can hurt your neck and be too high for the pixel resolution to be optimal. Click on image for more details.


International code requires 30 inch clearance of combustibles over stoves or cook tops. However, some manufacturers allow for their microwaves to have much less clearance IF THE BTUS OF THE STOVE ARE BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL (Click on image for GE's rules). However, clearly, a dirty grease filter is a combustible and with 12 inches of clearance you will not be able to effectively use the stove so I recommend only a range hood be installed over all stoves. Also, please have a fire extinguisher nearby. I have put out fires in and over stoves and not because I'm a bad cook!

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