They say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but for insurers, it strikes over 250,000 times per year, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. In fact, the cost of homeowners’ claims for damage due to lightning strikes has increased dramatically — up 20 percent over the last three years. According to a new Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) analysis of homeowners’ insurance data, there were 256,000 lightning claims in 2006, causing about $882 million in insured losses. The I.I.I. puts the average claim for lightning at $3,446. By comparison, in 2004, there were about 278,000 lighting claims, which caused about $735 million in insured losses with the average claim totaling $2,646. The average cost per claim rose 30 percent between 2004 and 2006, even as the actual number of such claims fell by nearly 8 percent. “The paid losses are likely to increase to nearly $1 billion in 2007, despite the declining number of claims, in part, because of the explosion in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes,” said Loretta Worters, vice president of the I.I.I. “Wide-screen TVs, home entertainment centers, multiple computer households, gaming systems and other expensive devices are having a significant impact on claims losses.” Damage caused by lightning, such as fire, is covered by standard homeowners’ insurance policies. Some policies provide coverage for power surges — the direct result of lightning striking a home. There is also coverage for lightning damage under the comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy. Preventing losses In conjunction with Lightning Safety Week (June 24-30), the I.I.I. offers the following tips to protect homes and businesses against power surges and lightning strikes: Install a lightning protection system to supply structural protection by providing a specified path on which lightning can travel. When a building is equipped with a lightning protection system, the destructive power of the lightning strike is directed safely into the ground, leaving the structure and its contents undamaged. The system includes a lightning rod or air terminals at the top of the house that can be disguised to look like a weather vane and wires to carry the current down to grounding rods at the bottom of the house. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), the lightning protection system needs to be securely anchored to the roof. Otherwise, it may whip around in a storm and damage the building. So make sure to have a licensed electrician install your lightning rod and protection system. Use surge protectors. Today’s sensitive electronic equipment is particularly vulnerable to lightning. To assure the highest level of protection, UL-listed surge arrestors should be installed on electrical service panels. Installations typically include surge arrestors for the main electric panel, as well as incoming phone, cable, satellite and data lines. Surge arrestors protect against damaging electrical surges that can enter a structure via power transmission lines. By filtering and dissipating the harmful surges, arrestors prevent electrical fires and protect against electrical discharges that can damage a home’s electrical system, computers and appliances. UL-listed transient voltage surge suppressors can also be installed to protect specific pieces of electronic equipment. Keep in mind that power strips offer little protection from electrical power surges. Unplug expensive electronic equipment, such as TVs and computers, as an added precaution if you know a storm is approaching. For more information on insurance and home safety, go to the I.I.I.’s Web site at www.iii.org. The I.I.I. is a nonprofit communications organization supported by the insurance industry. (c) 2007 Cincinnati Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. www.theprotectionsource.com President: Robert W Rapp, PH 303-295-1695
JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa is a 516-key property that brings modern luxury with a strong sense of place to Central Florida. The resort is located near Disney World in Orlando Florida and offers 50,000 square feet of meeting spaces. The resort is thoughtfully designed to bring people together, offering warm and inviting social spaces and amenities. The interior design was inspired by local nature and the surrounding Bonnet Creek with its native heritage and craftsmanship. It takes its clue from history in celebrating nature’s soothing color palette, organic textures, and tones. Bold graphic elements are inspired by the Seminole history of basketry and reinterpreted into a modern sense in the interior vocabulary. The design was viewed through a new lens- modern “Seminole Chic”. Layers of natural woven leather, wood and stone materials along with the unique use of physical geometry are expressed throughout the ceilings and floors with artful angles, circles, and oblong shapes. The resort houses large meeting facilities and the objective was to create spaces that reflect the stars and astrological features that the native tribes might have used to navigate in this area. Modern technology was integrated into all spaces to allow for guest comforts.
Sustainability: This project was LEED Certified and designed to a LEED Silver Standard. It was completely produced in REVIT. All the materials considered were specified with the following in mind:
Low flow and water conservancy specified plumbing fixtures
Specification of custom furniture made with non-toxic glues
Specification of countertops made from recycled concrete and glass
Forest Stewardship Council-certified trim and molding for all woods
Specifications of fabrics and upholstery materials that are chemical-free
LED lighting specifications for decorative lighting bulbs in concert with a lighting consultant
Specification of occupancy sensors shut off lights when no one is around
Selection and specification and use of low-VOC paints
Use of locally sourced materials such as the stone flooring and walls
Specification and use of local vendors to recycle demolished material such as carpet and padding, metals, and ceramic tile debris.
Collaboration with Architects/MEP to provide specifications for air conditioning controls in guest suites are automatically reduced by several degrees when guests leave and are reset to desired temperatures upon their return.
Use in the design of natural daylight and acoustic performance
Greater focus on improving indoor air quality through more approachable air testing options in design and proving more natural ventilation. www.kaylangassocs.com
I am an electric heat distributor with products from 3 manufacturers available and am interested in adding electric floor heat, snow and ice melt and ice dam prevention products to the projects being built. These are obviously luxury items and items that make hotels, commercial buildings and residences more comfortable and safer to access. IE… tile floors, parking garage entrances, north facing building entrances, roofs over hanging walkways subject to icicle hazards.
Tile is a cold but durable and easy to clean product. It is specified in many hotels, commercial buildings and residences. It is always better warm! Adding this to the bathroom floor will make the room warmer and more comfortable. These can be individually controlled or controlled by a multi room system control. Multi room system control will allow the hotel or commercial building maintenance to operate the floor heat at a suitable temperature and keep operating costs down.
Parking garages and north entrances. These areas tend to get snow and ice built up and make them dangerous or hard to navigate. Having a snow and ice melt system in place to operate when needed keeps these areas safe to use. I have many systems to aid in making all of these possible and cost efficient.
Roof ice dam and icicle prevention is a critical area of concern especially in mountain towns and resorts. Eliminating ice dams and icicles should be a major consideration for these buildings.
Please let me know if I may be of assistance with any of these areas of interest.
Thank you for your time,
Solutions for all of your electric radiant heat needs!
www.electricheatservicesupply.com
Cliff Shumate
720-934-2528
The annual Interior Design Show (IDS), held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, returned last week, wrapping on Sunday, January 21, after a four-day run. The show featured hundreds of exhibitors, including Metropolitan Floors. The event saw an impressive turnout, with dealers, distributors, architects and design professionals in attendance.
For Metropolitan, IDS has been a long-standing tradition. “We’ve been attending IDS for many years,” said Wilf Selfe, vice president, of Eastern Canada, at Metropolitan Floors. “The audience this show brings with architects, builders, and designers is unparalleled. We hope to continue to foster closer relationships with the A&D community, closer relationships with builders and to showcase our new products and our mission as a company, at large.”
During IDS, Metropolitan Floors announced the 2024 Metropolitan Design Challenge winners, spotlighting Jenny Bae Huggon, Gigi Lombardo-Dybalski, and Natalie Guberney, all of whom attend Sheridan College. Their design, called “Origins,” was constructed and showcased at Metropolitan’s booth for attendees to admire. The installation invited viewers to interact with it through the use of a map, inspiring them to document their own ‘origins.’
Open to Ontario students enrolled in a post-secondary interior design program, the challenge awards the winning design with a cash prize of fifteen hundred dollars. “The challenge is all about giving back to the design community. It’s rewarding for us because we always look forward to seeing how students draw inspiration from the theme and use our products,” said Joe Cosentino, builder – commercial business manager, Eastern Canada, at Metropolitan Floors.
The design challenge is a manifestation of Metropolitan’s core values, an ethos to design the most sustainable and ethically made flooring. This year, the challenge took inspiration from Metropolitan’s Clean Floors program, a forest-to-floor quality assurance and environmental compliance program. The theme of the challenge, coined “Crafted with Conscience,” challenged participants to design an installation that gives both meaning and life to the phrase and incorporates Kentwood’s latest flooring designs.
The winning students were thrilled to have their design showcased at the event. “We were really inspired by how Kentwood knows the origins of their wood,” said Gigi Lombardo-Dybalski.
“It was such a fun project for us to undertake. We wanted to symbolize our connection to the earth but also to each other,” said Natalie Guberney.
“Our hope with the piece is that it provokes conversation amongst people as they view it,” added Jenny Bae Huggon.
During the show, Metropolitan also launched its new 2024 flooring designs. Featuring ten new and notable collections with beautiful selections from Kentwood and Evoke Flooring, the new offerings include extra-wide plank-engineered hardwood, luxury vinyl flooring for light to heavy commercial applications, timeless herringbone designs, and much more.
IDS 2024 marks the first of a series of Metropolitan industry events in 2024. More will roll out at select Metropolitan Floors studios and showrooms across North America this spring. These events will serve as the perfect opportunity for the A&D community to learn more about the brand and view their collections.
Explore the Kentwood engineered hardwood and Evoke luxury vinyl, laminate, rigid core, and Surge© flooring solutions manufactured and designed by Metropolitan.
We’re thrilled to unveil our newly designed website and invite you to explore architectural visualization by Studio Soba.
VISIT www.studio-soba.com
Experience a visual journey through our Projects page, learn about our distinct Services, and discover the creative minds behind Studio Soba on our About page.
Ten years ago, Lyndsey and Jeff Glasener had an aha moment. “While on a walk, I told Jeff I wanted to create my own tile line,” saysLyndsey, who, together with husband Jeff, has more than 50 years in the tile/stone industry. Both embraced the idea in thought and action, and soon, Sabine Hill was born. Today, the encaustic cement tile manufacturer is heading toward its 10th anniversary and growing in every aspect. Last year, Sabine merged operations with its partner factory in the Dominican Republic, expanding its offerings from 50 designs to over 400 patterns, added a three-dimensional line and French pavers. With a warehouse in Miami and a home office in Wisconsin, Sabine Hill covers a lot of ground, serving any residential, hospitality or other project installation that welcomes its dynamic offering. “Black and white or full of color, the design possibilities of concrete tile are endless,” both say. Sabine Hill brings modern and organic designs to the tradition of cement tiles, a technique that has been around since the late 19th Century. We have partnered with a Caribbean-based factory that has been making these tiles for over 70 years – a state of the art facility, with a production capacity of more than 4,000 handmade tiles per day. www.sabinehill.com
We make dreams come true! Montgomery Roth is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm located in Houston, Texas. We specialize in combining form and function to create fresh, sophisticated, and exciting designs for residential and commercial clients. Montgomery Roth is a one-stop-shop as we handle all aspects of the design and build process, including procurement. Reflecting how you want to dwell, work, escape, dine, shop, and play, the Montgomery Roth team utilizes a collaborative process to translate a client’s desire into a vivd reality, elevating everyday life through evolved design. Montgomery Roth’s culture of design innovation is led by licensed architects and interior designers John Montgomery and Lisa Roth, who are both principals of the firm. Become our client to create your own sophisticated and inspiring spaces. www.montgomeryroth.com
TPG Hotels & Resorts, one of the nation’s premier hospitality management firms, announced today the appointment of Ben Perelmuter to President & Chief Operating Officer. Perelmuter will oversee the operational performance of TPG’s entire hospitality portfolio.
“I am excited and motivated to join the TPG Hotels & Resorts team,” said Ben Perelmuter, President & Chief Operating Officer, TPG Hotels & Resorts. “This entrepreneurial hospitality team is committed to defining the gold standard for management services in the hospitality industry. We plan to firmly establish TPG Hotels & Resorts as the market leader for third-party management services, and I look forward to working with our talented team to achieve this goal.”
Perelmuter brings almost 30 years of hospitality leadership experience to TPG Hotels & Resorts, most recently serving as Division President at Aimbridge Hospitality. Over his 15-year span with the organization, he was responsible for managing the operational performance of hundreds of properties across all the major brands within the United States. Prior to that, he spent eleven years in hotel operations of large convention hotels and resorts in General Manager and other director-level roles within operations at properties, including the Grand Hyatt New York, Hyatt Regency New Orleans at the Superdome, Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach, and Embassy Suites in Tampa.
“Ben shares our vision of offering a unique value proposition to our hotel owners and brings an entrepreneurial brand of leadership to the company,” said Robert Leven, Chief Investment Officer of Procaccianti Companies, the parent company of TPG Hotels & Resorts. “His track record of success and leadership makes him the right person as we continue our growth strategy.”?
Perelmuter graduated from State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a Bachelor in Hotel & Restaurant Management. He has served on a variety of boards, including the AHLA Management Company Board in addition to the franchisee advisory committees for both Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Marriott International. www.tpghotelsandresorts.com/
We DO supply, install and make a full set of services for European windows and doors. Please follow us www.facebook.com/eurocomfortchicago
We DO supply, delivery, install and provide service HI-TECH European folding doors for restaurants, storefronts, balconies, patios and more. Call/txt 1-847-451-1705, email hitech@yourwindoor.com or follow us www.facebook.com/eurocomfortchicago