I sit waiting
This is the week that a small porch was to be built on our house. The work was supposed to start Monday and today is Wednesday.
Late last week, our contractor called with some bad news. The town won't let us build a porch. Apparently, the zoning laws state that there must be at least 30' between the house and the street. Since our house was built before these laws were written, there is only 24' between our house and the street. We were having the porch built to solve a design flaw with or front entryway that allows water to sit on the foundation and rot the wood. It was to be an attractive solution that would help block rain as well as add some curb appeal to the house. We were going to replace the ugly pre-cast concrete steps up to our door with mahogony steps and have a lovely gable with a curved portico.
We can file a variance with the town and if the zoning board approves it, we can go ahead with the porch -- next year. To be honest, a porch would have been nice, but I'm not too upset about it. I mainly want the water problem solved. So we have a plan B. The contractor can rebuild our doorway so that it doesn't expose the foundation. He'll repair the water damage already there and spiff up the doorway with a fresh coat of paint. Not as nice as a porch, but it will hopefully solve the problem.
The reason I am sitting and waiting for this to happen is because the contractor is waiting for the permit from the town. I am working from home this week so I can be here for the contractor (and also to avoid the DNC headaches). Today it is supposed to rain really hard so even if the contractor does get the permit, I don't know how much he can do. I sure hope he is able to start and get a lot done before next Monday because I can't stay home next week. Also, I fear that the town won't let us do plan B either.
Nothing ever goes smoothly with this type of thing. I knew that ahead of time so I'm not as stressed or upset as I could be.
Late last week, our contractor called with some bad news. The town won't let us build a porch. Apparently, the zoning laws state that there must be at least 30' between the house and the street. Since our house was built before these laws were written, there is only 24' between our house and the street. We were having the porch built to solve a design flaw with or front entryway that allows water to sit on the foundation and rot the wood. It was to be an attractive solution that would help block rain as well as add some curb appeal to the house. We were going to replace the ugly pre-cast concrete steps up to our door with mahogony steps and have a lovely gable with a curved portico.
We can file a variance with the town and if the zoning board approves it, we can go ahead with the porch -- next year. To be honest, a porch would have been nice, but I'm not too upset about it. I mainly want the water problem solved. So we have a plan B. The contractor can rebuild our doorway so that it doesn't expose the foundation. He'll repair the water damage already there and spiff up the doorway with a fresh coat of paint. Not as nice as a porch, but it will hopefully solve the problem.
The reason I am sitting and waiting for this to happen is because the contractor is waiting for the permit from the town. I am working from home this week so I can be here for the contractor (and also to avoid the DNC headaches). Today it is supposed to rain really hard so even if the contractor does get the permit, I don't know how much he can do. I sure hope he is able to start and get a lot done before next Monday because I can't stay home next week. Also, I fear that the town won't let us do plan B either.
Nothing ever goes smoothly with this type of thing. I knew that ahead of time so I'm not as stressed or upset as I could be.
posted by Stacy at 8:44 AM
1 Comments:
**UPDATE**
Later that day...
Our Plan B permit was approved and our contractor has started work. What a relief! I should reserve my relief until the end of the project though. I don't want to jinx anything.
Stacy
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