I’ve had a few requests for an update on the garage-building ordeal. There haven’t been any developments through the winter, of course, but now there is something new to show you. Grudgingly.
Construction came to a stop when the weather turned. Oh we could have had a front wall up well beforehand except that the city’s clenched butt didn’t release the permit until it was too late.
Our engineer caused a delay, too. The rest of the building was made from engineered blueprints so the city required us to hire an engineer to conceive the front of it as well. He was recommended by a friend in the business – not our friend’s fault – but he created a blueprint fit for a commercial building, with ridiculously heavy materials and design specs. That required us to go back to him and remind him that he was paid a king’s ransom for something that would be put up on a weekend by a couple of DIYers, not a professional crew with a crane. In fact, Derek reworked the drawing to make it reasonable and had the engineer merely sign off on it. The plans still had to be approved by a city that takes heel-dragging to an art form. By the time it was all rubber-stamped, the weather was changing. So Derek put a lovely, new, gigantic blue tarp over the front and tied it down. This is what a winter’s worth of wear has done!
That’s our view out the back of the house! Oh and to make it even more special, it can be seen from the road when there are no cars in our driveway. When the wind blows a certain way you can see all of the contents. Several cats have been sighted going in and out at will. Let’s just say it’s not quite what we had in mind. But better weather is coming, we have the permit and the materials and we certainly have the will to see it get finished. Stay tuned!