Amazing Treehouses - Ewoks would be jealous!

Ewoks would be jealous of these treehouses. They include the worlds largest treehouse and cool celebrity treehouses. Did you want to live in a tree house when you were children growing up? What better way to sleep than directly under the branches of a protective tree gazing up at the stars above. And, while some tree houses are minimalist by their very small nature, today’s tree house architects have gone beyond small stature to include tree houses fit for hotel rooms, lodges and restaurants. Check these treehouses out...







Some treehouses certailnly look more strucutally safer than others!


The amazing Yellow Treehouse Restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand pictured below is not only a very cool restaurant but an architectural masterpiece.






Some more crazy, cool and very unusual treehouses....





Tree houses rise to the ‘green’ challenge to become ideal tree homes that do little to no damage to its host tree.































And finally....Swedish firm Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter is the genius behind this incredibly cool and nearly invisible treehouse. Located in northern Sweden, the treehouse more specifically serves as a hotel. The mirrored glass walls provide what I can only imagine to be a stunning 360 degree view....cool!



Sourced from Cool Tree Houses

 

What’s Covered Under Accidental Damage On Your Home Insurance?

Accidents Will Happen – But What’s Covered Under Accidental Damage On Your Home Insurance?

Most of us take good care of our homes. But as Elvis Costello sang in his classic ode to the importance of home insurance: "accidents will happen". And what better reason to make sure that you’re adequately covered? After all, who would want to shell out for a new carpet after knocking over a glass of red wine?

But what exactly constitutes accidental damage in buildings and contents insurance policies? This basic guide covers the main inclusions and exceptions.

What is accidental damage?

The definition of accidental damage is pretty uniform across home insurance policies: damage that occurs suddenly as a result of an unexpected and non-deliberate external action. In layman’s terms, that usually means an unintentional one-off incident that harms your property or its contents.

So, general wear and tear or damage that occurs gradually will be excluded. You also won’t be covered for mechanical failure. A computer that just gives up the ghost can’t be claimed for, but it would be covered if it smashed after you accidentally dropped it onto the floor.

Claims caused by children

Young children are the cause of many home insurance claims; and even if you don’t have offspring yourself, a lot of accidental damage is created by visiting kids. Incidents involving home entertainment equipment (for example if a toddler manages to topple your TV) are often covered under standard contents insurance policies – though it’s always a good idea to examine the small print of your particular policy to make sure.

Extending the accidental damage cover will protect most other items in your home, so you may be able to claim for fruit juice split over your curtains, or a felt-tip masterpiece drawn on your sofa. Common home insurance policy exclusions are portable electrical equipment, and clothing: so keep sticky fingers away from your laptop and favorite designer jeans and, again, check your policy wording.

Animal-related accidents

Many home insurance providers will not cover for damage caused by chewing, tearing, scratching or fouling by animals. This provision is the same pretty much across the board and few contents insurance policies will cover for pets. Sorry animal lovers: Rover needs to be fully house-trained before he’s allowed near any expensive furniture.

Several home insurance providers will not cover for damage caused by insects, vermin or infestation. Squirrels are specifically excluded from the vermin classification of a few home insurance policies; so if your doorframe has been gnawed away, you need to cross your fingers that the culprits have bushy tails.

DIY damage

Checking your home insurance policy conditions before undertaking any work is always a good idea. You may need protection under both buildings and contents policies, depending on the particular job. If you’re unsure of the difference between buildings and contents insurance, take a look at our guides on buildings and contents insurance explained. Be aware that some plumbing and electrical work will not be covered if it’s completed by an amateur.

As a general rule, if you’re not really sure what you’re doing, it’s best to avoid an accidental damage claim altogether by getting a professional in. For more DIY advice, see our guide on how to stay safe and protected whilst doing up your home.

Claims for common accidents, such as bursting a water pipe with an ill-placed nail will usually be accepted. Be careful, though, when you’re clearing up the mess that you’ve created; damage caused by cleaning is excluded from several home insurance policies.

As the details of accidental damage cover are not always consistent between home insurance providers, it’s wise to familiarise yourself with the details before committing to a home insurance policy to ensure that you get the cover you need. At Confused.com, we’re devoted to finding you the most suitable buildings and contents insurance so that accidents don’t lead to disaster.

Homeowners Warned Over DIY Gas Work

CORGI, the gas safety body, has warned householders that they risk invalidating their home insurance if they tinker with their own electrics or gas appliances rather than using professional tradesmen.

Due to the credit crunch, 41.4% of consumers admitted they were more likely to try to do work themselves, but CORGI says it could also lead to an increase in fatalities as well as creating insurance problems. Only 15% of respondents said they would always use a professional tradesman.

The research, carried out for the Gas Safe Register, found that while 82% of those questioned considered it dangerous to fit a gas fire themselves, one in 10 were still prepared to do so.

Incorrectly fitted, badly repaired or poorly maintained gas appliances are a major cause of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, and can also lead to gas leaks and explosions.

On average 25 people a year die from CO poisoning, while 40 people a year are killed or injured in gas explosions.

Ann Robinson, Gas Safe Register's director of public awareness, said: "If anyone thinks DIY gas work can save them money, they should think again. For the sake of a few pounds, they risk endangering the life of anyone who lives in that property."

Upgrade Your Home - Grants Available

With the housing market slowing and remortgages becoming more difficult to arrange, a lot of homeowners are rethinking their plans to move. So for those people who won’t be upgrading to a new home, here’s some info on obtaining grants to upgrade the home you’re already in.

Council funding for home repairs

Grant amounts and eligibility criteria vary according to the area that you live in, but in general up to £5,000 is available for improvements such as:

• Replacing kitchens or bathrooms
• Providing new windows, or repairing existing glass or frames
• Solving damp problems
• Fixing roofs

Lending criteria can be tough, and homeowners will usually have to be receiving certain benefits to qualify, but it’s worth chasing up your local council for further details just to be sure.

Here’s a tip: it’s best to apply for council grants as near as possible to the beginning of the financial year as that’s when their pot of money is fullest. Apply towards the end of the fiscal year and the pot may already be empty.

The home improvement agency for your area can also offer advice on help available and assistance with grant applications.

Disabled facilities grant

All local councils are required to provide assistance for disabled people to live independently in their own home. Grants of up to £30,000 (subject to means testing) cover areas such as:

• Allowing access to the bathroom or kitchen
• Ensuring that cooking facilities are at the right height
• Moving light-switches or thermostats to the appropriate level

If you do not qualify for a grant, bear in mind that some adaption work, such as widening doorways or creating ramps, is VAT-free.

Energy efficiency assistance

Some councils will provide money to insulate lofts or cavity walls, and all utilities companies offer similar assistance to help make your home more energy efficient.

The Home Heat Helpline can offer advice for those struggling to pay utility bills. If you don’t qualify for help with your gas and electricity bills but are still keen to save money on utilities, try switching gas and electricity provider to see if you can make savings.

There are also several government bodies set up to offer assistance with installing a new heating system, or improving your existing system, for people who are on certain benefits. Up to £2,700 (or £5,000 for oil-fired central heating) is available from the following bodies:

• Warmfront (England)
• Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales)
• Warm Deal (Scotland)
• Warm Homes Scheme (Northern Ireland)

Other home improvement tips

• Live in a listed building? Funds for Historic Buildings can help you find money for improvements to your home. Don’t forget that many approved alterations will be exempt from VAT.
  
  
• Don’t start work until you’ve investigated the grants available: money is rarely available retrospectively.
  
  
• Saving money on your home insurance will also free up money that could be used to improve your home.
  
  
• Don’t forget to inform your home insurance provider when you’ve got the builders in to ensure you have adequate buildings and contents insurance whilst onsite work is being carried out.
  
  

Original Source - Confused.com - Upgrade your home - Grants Available

The Unrecognizable Home of the Future

How the home of the future differs to where we live today is a thought that has been considered more and more over the last few years. Advancements in technology, as well as the means to power our houses by generating our own green energy, have meant that the architecture and design of future housing will also need to be adapted. Paradoxically, despite the increasing social awareness of being more energy conscious and self-sufficient, the home of the future is also destined to be a hive of technological dependency and alive with electricity. So will the future home be a hut of efficient simplicity, or a home insurance nightmare?

Of course, energy saving will no doubt be of utmost importance as the climate continues to change, and resources continue to run out. Companies existing today, such as Earthship, highlight that the key to an efficient home of the future is making sure that the design makes the most of the energy from the sun and the ground. At just four feet underground, the insulating temperature of the earth is significant enough to heat a home most of the year round. If extra heat is needed, sunlight is allowed in through large south facing roof-light windows in order to top-up. This could mean that the design of the home of the future will be mostly underground.

With the risk of growing populations driving up water costs, water conservation will also be of significant importance in the future. In a BBC interview in 2005, Christopher Sanderson of The Future Technology posits the idea that instead of using water to clean our homes (and selves) we will instead use sound waves. The technology is relatively simple: by concentrating low-frequency, high-energy sound waves on areas that are dirty can actually dislodge dust and grime by fluidizing it. Such equipment is already in use for contact lens cleaners, and is being tested in dishwashers and washing machines.

Over the past few years, Microsoft has frequently boasted what it thinks the home of the future will be like; and more specifically, how dependent on computer technology it might be. Advancements in GPS usage, similar to what has recently been incorporated in Google Maps, might be able to tell us where our postman is on the round to give us an estimate of when he will arrive. Of course, they also suggest that our homes will consist of a sort of technological brain, with mirrors that can inform us of whether clothes that match with a specific garment are in the wash, as well as pin boards that absorb the information that is attached to them, such as phone numbers and addresses.

Important Small Print Warnings to Homeowners

With the recent spell of cold weather, it would seem that the biggest insurance-related news would concern the risk of freezing pipes, or the dramatic increase of car insurance claims over the past week. The Guardian, however, is warning today of the effect a past conviction can have on your home insurance – and blaming the increase of void policies on the internet.

One of the most important factors is that your home insurance may well be void even if your conviction is considered minor. The case of Michelle Barber shows a gross lack of information: ‘Her home was wrecked by fire in 2007 and she now faces a bill for more than £240,000 because she failed to mention a £150 fine imposed three years earlier for an overpayment of benefits,’ The Guardian reports. She simply was not aware that such a small fine would count, and had even forgotten about it by the time she had taken out her policy.

Similarly, it is important to be aware that admission to past convictions relates to anyone who is living in the house. This includes family members, and even tenants of landlords who may not have felt the need to admit a conviction, or who also may not know the risk to the cover of the property themselves.

The reasons for these increasing problems are twofold. Firstly, when individuals are convicted, the courts do not inform them of the negative affects it could have on their future attempts to take out insurance policies. Secondly, the growing trend for people to shop for their insurance cover on the internet is highlighting that not all of the comparison and insurance websites are as clear about the implications of past convictions as they perhaps should be, and some tend to only offer an ‘assumptions about you’ button that is easily dismissible with the tick of a box.

This backlash against some online insurance sites comes almost immediately after Which? Magazine accused specific sites of offering inaccurate information in regards to insurance and so-called compulsory excesses which make the policy seem cheaper than it is. This, of course, was met with a flurry of responses from companies claiming that they had been lumped in with the bad guys when their own information was presented clearly, and there I am sure that they are justified.

The online insurance marketplace is incredibly varied with good and bad in regards to a number of variables such as usability, price, and information presentation. That said, I also acknowledge that there is a certain lack of fairness when minor convictions that seem to have so little relationship with home insurance can even affect a policy, regardless of the company. And this is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed.