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It may look 450 years old, but this Tudor house is the result of one 21st century couple's hard work and dedication.

Ray and Michele Blundell spent two and a half years building their Elizabethan style home from scratch - complete with 16th century timber work, low ceilings and tiled roof.

The couple bought the house in 1998 and set about teaching themselves plumbing, electrical wiring and medieval carpentry in order to create their dream home.

As a result, the value of the property has spiked to more than 600,000, the Blundells having spent 110,000 after buying it for just 90,000.

Ray said the couple had both come out of divorces and had no money when they decided to take on the project while living in a static caravan on site near Lichfield in Staffordshire.

Wed never done anything like this before. We wanted to do as much of the work ourselves as we could. We ordered the timber frame from a company in Hereford and three builders helped to put up the twenty-ton oak skeletal frame. They also helped us with a few other jobs including the insulation.

But we did everything else; put the roof on, made and laid the floorboards, made the doors, did all the electrics and installed the under-floor heating. We did everything really added the 69 year-old retired Sales Director.

Initially the bank had refused to give them any money, seeing the oak in the yard and not believing a house would come of it, said Ray.

But when someone from the bank returned three weeks later, he was "gobsmacked" to see the frame had been assembled.

See the article here:
Couple build amazing new Tudor home from scratch - learning Elizabethan carpentry, roofing and plumbing

UPDATE @ 6:30 p.m.: Fire crews rescued a dog from the home in the 3900 block of Middlehurst Lane the resident found burning when she returned from work about 5 p.m., Dayton District Chief James Rose said.

She and her dog will have to find a temporary residence because the fire, which started in the attic of the single-story home, is going to be a near total loss, Rose said.

He said an preliminary investigation shows the probable cause as overloaded or faulty wiring.

There was a smoke alarm in the home but the battery in it was dead, Rose said.

Had the fire happened late at night or overnight, he said, we couldve had a totally different situation here. It all turned out well, were glad for that. But we cant stress enough the value of keeping your smoke detector with a fresh battery in it.

It truly is the best ten-dollar life insurance policy youre going to find, Rose said.

He estimated the damage to the structure and contents at $15,000 to $20,000.

FIRST REPORT

Crews are on the scene of a house fire on Middlehurst Lane.

Were told all of the occupants are out of the single-story home.

See the rest here:
Dayton house fire displaces woman, her dog

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -The FBI said fraudulent advertisements for vacation and rental properties are costing people roughly $92.5 million each year.

Valerie Henry and her family live in France. This summer, they booked a vacation to stay at a waterfront home in Cape Coral. Weeks before the vacation was planned, Henry realized the rental home she had booked on a website called http://www.ProVacationFinder.com was bogus.

"I sent [wired] the payment Wednesday, but then Monday I realized maybe there's something not honest," Henry said with the help of a translator. "Tuesday my friends went to the bank to ask cancellation...It was too late."

Henry explained she had contacted the so-called property owner through the website. She received an email telling her to wire $3,000 to a bank in London. After wiring that money, she never received a confirmation. She tried to contact the owner, but did not have a phone number.

"We thought we were not going to go on vacation and that was that."

However, Henry had already bought the plane tickets for her family, so they started searching for a new rental home. While searching online, she came across the same pictures of the Cape Coral home she had already booked, but this time the property owner's name and number was listed. So, she called the owner, Peter Gillert.

"My first thought was 'Oh my God' somebody uses our property's pictures on the internet for fraudulent purposes, which is not acceptable," Gillert said. "I really wanted to help this family because they have set aside their money for their vacation. They have paid the money and now the money is lost and they will probably not get it back again."

Gillert knew the posting Henry booked on was fake because his home was already booked the week she needed. Nonetheless, he tried to help her find a legitimate posting. In the meantime, Gillert contacted Cape Coral police and Call for Action. WINK News had Gillert contact IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a division of the FBI that investigates online scams.

"Unfortunately my impression is they are helpless in this aspect," Gillert said.

WINK News Call for Action talked to Special Agent Dave Couvertier with the FBI. He said IC3 has seen an increase in rental scams in the Southwest Florida area.

Read the original here:
FBI warns of rental scams on the rise in Southwest Florida

Ray and Michele Blundell built their Elizabethan-style home in Lichfield, Staffordshire entirely from scratch Both had come out of divorces when they embarked on the ambitious project in 1998, buying a third-of-an-acre plot The couple spent 90,000 on the land and spent next two-and-a-half years living in a static caravan on the site They taught themselves key building skills and spent 110,000 on building costs as their dream home took shape The home, which includes an oak frame, low ceilings and a spectacular garden, is now worth more than 600,000

By Harry Mount for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:20 EST, 12 November 2014 | Updated: 03:33 EST, 13 November 2014

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Walk past Ray and Michele Blundells home near Lichfield in Staffordshire, and you might think you had stepped back 450 years.

It is in the classic, half-timbered, Elizabethan style - built on an oak frame, with an ancient tiled roof, and the first floor teetering over the ground floor.

In fact, the cottage is only 14 years old. Whats more, the Blundells built the whole thing from scratch, teaching themselves plumbing, electrical wiring and medieval carpentry into the bargain.

Oh, and they also carved a majestic garden out of a dreary third-of-an-acre plot, which had only three plum trees and a lawn when they bought it. And all for only 200,000.

Read this article:
Lichfield couple who built their own Tudor home for 200k

By Scott Baker

Published Nov 11, 2014 at 2:50 pm (Updated Nov 11, 2014)

NEWTON While it is true that HT Install NJ, based out of Newton, is the number one Google result returned for search term New Jersey TV mounting, the company does much more than just hang televisions.

We are first and foremost a professional home theater installation company, says HT Install NJ owner Dave Cammarato. Not a company that does home theater work on the side.

With more than 10 years of experience in the industry, Cammarato and each of his employees are experts in their field.

We know the proper wiring and correct setup for every piece of equipment we install, Cammarato adds. We also follow up every job with post installation support to make sure the customer stays satisfied.

The company has received five-star reviews across all online platforms.

We recently had a room added to our home and Dave installed a TV and surround sound, all completely wireless. The work was done professionally and very neatly, one Google+ reviewer says. We had previously gotten a quote from one of the big box stores, and Dave's price came in at less than half the price!

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Stone installation HT Install NJ is the only fully insured home theater installation company in the area with a master stoneworker on their payroll.

Originally posted here:
Newton business offers home theater installation

New gadgets

A growing number of companies are rolling out home automation products that tap into new capabilities of Bluetooth, giving them the potential to be cheaper and easier to set up and use than previous home-automation gadgets. Among the new gadgets

A touch-activated door lock. The deadbolt lock, from industry stalwart Kwikset, unlocks at the tap of a finger when it detects a Bluetooth signal coming from an owner's phone. Users can also configure it to recognize visitors' phones, such as those of a housekeeper or a nanny.

A smart home kit. Designed by Archos, a French company best known for its low-cost electronics devices, the kit includes a collection of security and automation products such as cameras, weather monitors and controllable wall plugs that all communicate with a specialized tablet over Bluetooth.

A remote-controlled light bulb. Designed by startup company Oort, the bulb allows users to turn it on or off or change its color using an app on a smartphone or tablet. It works similarly to Philips Hue light bulb, but for less than half the cost. And unlike the Hue, it doesn't require an extra device to communicate with it using your phone.

A wireless light switch. Designed by Avi-on, a startup company, the device allows users to place a new light switch wherever they'd like, without having to carve a new hole in their wall or extend their wiring. The switch, which is set to debut next spring, uses Bluetooth to send signals to power plugs and light bulbs that can turn the lights on or off or even dim them.

A remote-controlled wall plug. To be released early next year by San Francisco startup Zuli, the plug will allow users to dim their lights or turn on an appliance like a crock pot with their smartphones.

Follow this link:
Wolverton: Smart-home products powered by Bluetooth

As a performer with multi-generational appeal, 1970s pop star and 2009 Dancing With the Stars champion Donny Osmond needs no introduction. Earlier this year, however, the 56-year-old father of five (and grandfather of six), and Debbie, his wife of 36 years, partnered with decor manufacturers to launch Donny Osmond Home. Priced to compete with offerings from popular catalogs and flash sale websites, the furniture and accessories collection also includes rugs, wall art (including the 3D-patterned wall tilesshown in the photo above) and tabletop items in a wide range of contemporary styles. There are modern geometric rugs (from $250) and Belgian-style velveteen settees (from $600) as well as a nature-inspired gilt branch chandelier that retails for under $500 and a set of five industrial-style reclaimed-wood-and-steel nesting tables priced at $699. For a list of retailers,visit Donny Osmond Home.

We teleconferenced with Osmond, who will release his 60threcording, Soundtrack of My Life, in January 2015, and his wife for a chat about his new family business.

A lot of entertainers put their names on bedding or accessories. Youre selling everything from furniture and lamps to electric fans. What made you want to do this?

Donny:Youd think that being in show business, wed have a palatial home, but its more of a family-oriented casual, comfortable space. And thats what we want to offer people. Debbie really has a way of making a house feel like a home and now that were almost empty nesters, its something that we can do together for the rest of our lives. (Laughs) And Ive always loved my fans and now I am selling them.

Debbie: A lot of electric fans tend to be awful-looking, but we had a company called Deco Breezeshow us ones that looked really cool and dont have to be hidden in the corner of a room.

Is Donny Osmond handy around the house?

Debbie:I am going to be honest: He is not a great plumber, but he is my total lighting guy. He can wire a whole house. If you need an electrician, call Mr. Osmond.

Donny:I started by wiring recording studios for myself. And weve taught all our kids woodworking and painting.

How did you become interested in home decor?

Donny:When I was 14 or 15 and I was one of the big teenyboppers of the time, we lived in the San Fernando Valley and my room was a tiny cracker box. I was really into electronics, so I had a workbench and I put my bed on a motorized lift that would go up into the ceiling. Id push a button and the bed would come halfway down, just above the workbench. So I built myself a little chrome platform elevator that took me up to my bed. When I woke up in the morning, Id push another button and my closet would come out of the ceiling. It was my James Bond room. Everything was dark brown with shiny chrome; red, white and blue furniture because of the bicentennial, and purple shag carpeting. Then I married my wife and she changed my evil ways. And I still drive Debbie crazy because I rearrange the furniture just to change things up.

See original here:
5 Questions: Donny and Debbie Osmond unveil new home furnishings line

When you look around at many of the smart home systems coming to market,mostrequire what is called in the business tech world afork lift upgrade, meaningyou have to throw out your old hardware and replace it with new gear in orderto get theadvantages of new technology.

Takethe Nest Protect smoke alarm. Its a neat device that enables you to get alerts and to control it via a mobile device, but in order to do so you have to toss out the oldsmoke alarmin the process.

But now, some newer smart home products are coming to market that enable you to use what you have by transforming a dumb device to one thats smart.

Consider the Roost smart battery. Just announced a week ago, the Roost is a Wi-Fi enabled battery that turns any smoke alarm that takes a 9 volt battery into a smart smoke alarm. The battery, developed by a team that helped pioneer some of the earliest low-power Wi-Fi chips, can last for up to 5 years and costs $25 to $35 depending on how many batteriesyou buy.

Swapping out batteries too much work for you? Then try the Leeo smart night light, which sends you alerts when your old smoke or carbon monoxide alarm goes off.

The Roost Smart Battery

And whatabout that door lock? If youve been thinking about making it smart, new smart locks from the likes of August and Danalock fit over your existing lock mechanism and make it a Bluetooth enabled smart lock.

Dont want to throw out those LED light bulbs you bought for $20 a pop at Costco a year ago? Try the Emberlight, which makes a smart light socket that transforms existing lightbulbs into smart bulbs.

And so on.

You might ask why not just throw out the old gear and replace with the new? For one, its a bit wasteful. A million homes throwing out a whole households worth of smoke alarms results ina whole bunch of electronics heading to landfills.

Read the original post:
In Smart Home, Retrofit May Be The Next Big Thing

Nicor

Tips:

Open curtains during the day to allow sunlight to heat your home naturally, and close curtains at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows

Keep furniture, drapes, stuffed animals and other objects away from your heating sources

Caulk and weather-strip drafty doors and windows

Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months

Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors and ceilings

Install insulated gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls to prevent drafts

Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home

Check your attic If your insulation is just level with or below your floor joists (or you can easily see your joists), you should add more insulation.

View post:
Your Money Matters: Energy Saving Tips

The government offers two different tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements.

The more-generous credit covers expensive and somewhat exotic equipment and has no dollar limit. So it can be a major tax-saver.

The smaller credit cannot exceed $500, and it expired at the end of 2013. But it will probably be resurrected for 2014 right after the election.

However, you cant claim either credit on this years return unless the improvements are up and running by year-end. Heres what you need to know to cash in.

It's a conundrum even in 2014: Who pays the dinner check on dates?

The bigger credit equals 30% of expenditures to buy and install qualifying energy-saving equipment for your home. As mentioned earlier, there is no dollar limit on this credit. So big qualifying expenditures can generate big credits. Unlike many tax breaks, there are no income limits on this one, so even billionaires are eligible. If your 2014 credit is so large that you cannot use it all up on this years return, you can carry the excess credit forward to 2015 and beyond.

Qualifying expenditures

The credit equals 30% of qualified expenditures (including costs for site preparation, assembly, installation, piping, and wiring) for the following gear.

You cannot claim the credit for equipment used to heat a swimming pool or hot tub (that would be too good to be true). Special rules apply to expenditures for residential co-ops and condominium buildings.

Make sure to buy certified gear

Continued here:
Tax Guy: Even billionaires would qualify for these energy-saving tax credits