BUILDING A HOUSE: It is a rather significant investment - surely you want to do it right first-time?

Richard Gough, general manager of Future-Proof Building, made some mistakes when building his family home five years ago.

Now that he has moved on to a new project - a house renovation - Gough took some time to reflect on things he would be doing differently this time round.

Here he shares his top tips for building your own home.

Fairfax Photographic

DO YOU HAVE THE POWER?: Gough says it is an investment worth thinking about.

1. Rays the roof

Solar power: When I built I didn't give much consideration to solar power, the units weren't that attractive and it wasn't as cost-effective as it is now. But prices have reduced dramatically installation is now less than a third of what it was in 2008 and they are more slimline and aesthetically minded.

My advice: Solar power can pay for itself in about eight to 10 years. If you can't afford to install it at this stage, it's definitely worth pre-wiring in case you want to upgrade in the future. It is a selling point if you put your home on the market.

SECURITY: Gates aren't enough to deter criminals, but the good news is there's plenty of technology that can help.

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10 lessons learned from a house build

Posted: Saturday, December 6, 2014 3:46 pm | Updated: 4:30 pm, Sat Dec 6, 2014.

Sanford man charged with stealing copper wiring from Carthage home

CARTHAGE - A Sanford man was arrested Thursday after Moore County Sheriff's deputies found him under a house trying to steal copper wiring.

Edward Andrew Gorton, 36, of the 200 block of Twin Ponds Road in Sanford, was charged with breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen goods, according to a statement released Saturday by the Moore County Sheriff's Office. Bail was set at $10,000.

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Sanford man charged with stealing copper wiring from Carthage home

A Sanford man is facing multiple charges after sheriff's deputies say they found him under a home attempting to take copper wiring, according to a release from Sheriff Neil Godfrey.

Edward Andrew Gorton, 36, of 271 Twin Ponds Road, Sanford, was arrested on Dec. 4 and charged with one count of felony breaking and entering, one count of felony larceny and one count of felony possession of stolen goods.

Godrey reported that his office received a call from a concerned citizen about a suspicious suspectthe caller had observed at a residence on N.C.24/27 near Carthage.

Deputies responded and located an unoccupied van near the residence. Deputies searched the area for the vans occupants and found Gorton, the vehicles registered owner, under a nearby residence from which he was attempting to steal copper wiring, Godfrey said.

Gorton was confined in the Moore County Detention Center under a $10,000 secured bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 23, 2014 in the Moore County District Court in Carthage.

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Sanford Man Charged in Connection with Break-in, Larceny

266 GARDEN AVE., TORONTO

ASKING PRICE $995,000

SELLING PRICE $1,267,000

PREVIOUS SELLING PRICE $529,000 (2006)

TAXES $4,976 (2013)

DAYS ON THE MARKET Seven

LISTING AGENTS Adrienne, Norm and Tasi Farquhar, Keller Williams Neighbourhood Realty

The Action: Bidding wars are a common affair when purchasing a High Park home, so the sellers of this detached residence were confronted with five offers after enduring more than 50 showings this summer.

What They Got: Over eight years, this more than 100-year-old house was updated in various ways, from a new roof, cooling, plumbing and wiring systems to reclaimed hardwood floors, soapstone and butcher block kitchen counters and a mudroom addition with an exit to the deck, 23-by-118-foot lot and lower-level recreation room with exposed brick walls.

The balance of the house contains a living room with an antique fireplace and a central dining area, as well as two four-piece bathrooms and three bedrooms on the second and third floors.

See more here:
High Park home goes $272,000 over asking

Watching sports on TV got a whole lot better with the advent of high-definition video. But as good as the action looks, you still cant feel it. Not yet, anyway, but youll be able to soon enough.

The Guitammer Company, based in my home state of Ohio, are working on a more immersive home viewing experience for sports fanatics. Guitammer is the force behind ButtKicker low-frequency transducers, piston-powered devices that turn audio input into physical vibrations. Theyre used in loads of 4D theaters like the ones at Disney, Universal Studios, and perhaps even your local IMAX.

Now, Guitammer has their sights set on pro sports. They recently finished wiring up the San Jose Sharks rink at the SAP Center with a series of 76 impact sensors. The sensors are embedded into the boards that surround the ice surface. Whenever 6-foot-5 defenseman Brent Burns drives some unfortunate opposition forward into the boards, they spring into action.

Guitammer has come up with a way to transmit a signal from those sensors alongside audio and video for a broadcast. Once it hits your home theater, it gets pumped into the ButtKicker attached to your couch or recliner and gives you a satisfying jolt. Its not quite the same as having seats right behind the glass, but theres also much less risk of someone spilling their beer on you (or maybe not, depending on how rowdy you get when watching hockey at home).

The first successful test of Guitammers 4D Sports system happened on Comcast Sportsnet California just over a week ago when the Sharks faced off against the Florida Panthers. Theres really no better place to test a system like this than San Jose, where the boards are slathered with ads from top tech companies.

Im really hoping this catches on. Im a lot more interested in couch-thumping 4D television than I am 3D TV.

Now read: Avatar robots stand in for real fans at this Korean baseball stadium

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4D hockey broadcasts will hip-check you at home

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO (KCTV) -

A family of five lost their house, Christmas presents and decorations when a fire destroyed their Excelsior Springs home.

Now, a local diner is hoping to help by collecting donations for the family.

The fire destroyed the family's home in the 300 block of Haynes on Tuesday afternoon. A 5-year-old boy named Lucky noticed the smoke and alerted his dad who was sleeping at the time.

"Luckily Lucky woke me up. He saw some smoke in the kitchen. He said, 'dad, dad I see some smoke,'" his dad, Joe Clark, said. "He lives up to his name continuously. He's just a little jewel. Both my boys, we've been blessed with two beautiful children."

Clark, his fianc Lura Pate, their sons 6-year-old Odin and 5-year-old Lucky and the boys' grandmother, Renna, all lived inside the home.

Firefighters believe old electrical wiring in the attic started the fire.

Firefighters rushed to save the majority of the boys' Christmas presents. Several presents and Christmas decorations were destroyed.

"I couldn't thank them enough. I don't even have the words to describe that feeling when I saw those boxes of gifts sitting perfectly fine outside on the lawn," Pate said.

The bedrooms inside the home were badly damaged by smoke and water. The upstairs bedroom and attic were also destroyed.

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Community hopes to save family's Christmas after fire destroys home

Posted on December 4, 2014

GOLDENDALE, Wash. A Goldendale man and his two children were found dead Wednesday after their home was destroyed in an early morning fire that investigators blame on faulty electrical wiring.

The bodies of Thomas G. Blakely, 34, and his two children, Kyra Julia Blakely, 7, and Thomas Evan Blakely, 5, were found in their home in the 600 block of North Mill Street, according to the Klickitat County Coroners Office.

Kyra was a second-grader at Goldendale Primary School, where her brother attended kindergarten, said Kay Hill, Goldendale School District business manager. She said counselors were asked to work with the students Wednesday.

Flames had fully engulfed the home when the fire was called in about 2:30 a.m., police said.

The fire, which is considered accidental, apparently started in wiring in the basement of the home before burning into the main level of the house, said Glenn Johnson, vice president of Q.Global, a forensic fire investigation company based in Burbank, Wash. Q.Global was called in at the request of the Goldendale Police Department.

Johnson said there were no working smoke detectors in the house.

Fire Chief Noah Halm said the incident was the first fatal fire in a decade. He said the firefighters will go through a critical-incident debriefing, where they will discuss what happened and how they are coping with it.

This report has been updated to correct Fire Chief Noah Halms first name.

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Goldendale father, two children die in house fire

A man received life threatening injuries in a fire in a home behind the Taste of India restaurant on Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley lastmonth.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to the fire at 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, said Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. The man was able to get himself out of the house, but not before breathing in a lot ofsmoke.

Somehow he woke up, Miller said of the mans escape from the burning home. We found him in the frontyard.

The mans condition was upgraded within a couple days

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A man received life threatening injuries in a fire in a home behind the Taste of India restaurant on Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley lastmonth.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to the fire at 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, said Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. The man was able to get himself out of the house, but not before breathing in a lot ofsmoke.

Somehow he woke up, Miller said of the mans escape from the burning home. We found him in the frontyard.

The mans condition was upgraded within a couple days of the fire, Miller said. Faulty electrical wiring was determined to be the cause of theblaze.

More:
Fire Roundup: Valley man suffers serious injuries in house fire - Thu, 04 Dec 2014 PST

TILLSONBURG-

Saturday's Holiday Tour of Homes, presented by the Tillsonburg Kinette Club and Tillsonburg Station Arts Centre, featured six Tillsonburg homes, including three Broadway residences.

Also on the tour was Station Arts Centre on Bridge Street with its seasonally-decorated Tea Room, and the town's three-story crown jewel, Annandale National Historic Site, on Tillson Avenue.

Participants were provided with a map on their tickets, and they could visit the eight locations in any order. At each location tickets were initialed to be eligible for draw prizes.

No. 1 on the list was the Broadway home of Jennifer Schum and David Rudolph, owners of a stately century house originally built in 1908 by the Brown family. Visitors were greeted by two large Nutcracker soldiers 'posted' out front, and holiday music both inside and outside. Inside, the home's main hall, dining room, living room and family room were seasonally decorated using a variety of vintage-theme Christmas decorations and children-friendly ornaments.

"The music outside's just for today I wanted to liven it up," said Schum, standing under a string of musically chiming bells at the dining room entrance. "Everything in here right now is what we typically do for Christmas. If you come here in January, it'll still be the same."

Their 'show-stopper' was a set of three dancing pandas from an old mall display which Schum had found on Kijiji. The last owner, who had bought them at an auction, had not used them in a dozen or more years. The wiring had been cut, but Rudolph was able to re-wire them and fire them up for the first time about a week before the home tour.

"The panda bears and the Ferris wheel the Ferris wheel is off right now that's upstairs normally," said Schum. "We do kind of a kid's theme Candyland upstairs. We've got young children, so we try to make all of our holidays really quite special for the kids. Holidays have always been quite a big production for us and we love Christmas."

They started collecting the larger pieces since moving into the Broadway home seven years ago.

"The three larger Nutcracker soldiers and the pandas wouldn't fit in our last house."

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All decked out for the Holiday Home Tour

on November 22, 2014 - 4:06 PM

New York State officials issued details advice on how to deal with flooding in your home. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday as temperature rise into the 50s and rain begins to fall.

Home Flood Safety Information

If flooding of a home or business has already occurred or is about to occur, customers should contact their utility companies to have electricity and natural gas service turned off. In the event of flooding, customers should never attempt to turn off electricity and natural gas service. As a precaution prior to any flood, customers should check their basement drains to make sure they are clear and energized wires are off the floor.

Stay out of flooded basements. Energized wiring or outlets below the water line may pose a hazard; natural gas service in a flooded basement may also pose a danger.

To have electricity service restored once flood waters have receded: Customers should contact an electrician to make sure that it is safe to have electricity service turned on before contacting their utility. If the main fuse box or circuit breaker box has been under water, it must be inspected by a certified electrical inspector before service can be restored. Someone must be present for service to be turned on, the basement must be free of water and the electrical panel must be clean and free of debris. Customers and contractors should never attempt to turn on electricity service.

To have natural gas service restored once floodwaters have receded: If the natural gas meter and/or regulator were under water, customers must first contact their natural gas company. If any natural gas equipment (furnace, boiler, water heater, etc.) has been under water, customers need to contact a plumbing and heating contractor to have the equipment checked. Customers can then contact their natural gas company to have service restored. Customers and contractors should never attempt to turn on natural gas service.

Additional Safety Tips

If a gas odor is present, the customer should leave the premises immediately and then call the utility or 911 from a different location. Do not use any appliances or operate any electrical switches if a gas odor is present. Utility representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive emergency calls.

Stay away from downed power lines. Even lines that appear dead can be deadly.

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What to do if your home floods