Permit approval

At 8 a.m., we marched hand-in-hand up the steps of the municipal building. This was our moment to write a check for $1,856. In return, we got to take home a yellow piece of card stock, which Matt has triumphantly posted in our window.

The building department approved our permit application on July 17. We picked it up on Friday. This is an exciting moment for the Casa de Roo renovation project. So exciting, in fact, that I couldn’t sleep. Hence the photo taken today at 5:55 a.m. off our dangerous deck.

The turn-around time for the permit was to be 20 business days. When we first tried to submit the packet, the administrator rejected us for filling out a key piece of paperwork incorrectly. So I had to give the electrical form to Wasko, our builder. About a week later, on Friday, June 6, Matt gave the bulging folder to the township. The countdown began. We hoped to get approval before the Fourth of July holiday.

Nope.

The town wanted one change: add permeability to our lot. Both architects warned this may be the case. We are chagrined. Not only does it add considerable cost to the project because we have to dig up the parking area and replace the asphalt with permeable pavers, I fear that allowing water to percolate through the wall holding back the hill is going to reduce its stability and cover the front in slime.

The Todd screwed this up from the start. The architect originally put 500 square feet of pavers in front of the house—about double the amount required. And he marked the area as “impermeable” on the drawing. The town engineer called him and explained the project needed 200 square feet of permeable pavers. The Todd called Matt and informed him that he’d submit a revised drawing to the town within a couple days. And Matt believed him.

Two weeks later, Matt called the town to determine the status of the approval process. He learned The Todd had still done nothing. On July 7, Matt rushed to The Todd’s office and then raced to the municipal building and dropped off the revised drawings. On July 10, our builder started hinting he had other projects that could bump our start date—we had expected to begin in July.

So Matt called the township—repeatedly—to plead our case. It worked.

On closer inspection of the approved packet, Matt realized The Todd had miss-drawn the permeable, putting us on the hook for more than double the square feet needed. What is it with architects and following directions?

Nonetheless, we have the permit approval in-hand!