Permission Granted

Haven't posted for a while, because there's been blessed little to report.  We picked up the loan proceeds check May 12 and put that into a savings account until we start drawing on it for construction expenses. In the space of one month, we added $300 interest to the account!  Of course, once we start construction that account will start depleting in a hurry.

 

Wednesday, we finally picked up the City permits for the entire project, less the electrical - they want more details.  This was after spending a WEEK with someone in the sewer department that either could not or would not read the historical utility drawings for the property, and was asking us to fix a situation that did not exist.  I'd gripe about tax dollars at work, but my job is largely funded by tax dollars as well.

 

One of the first things that needs to be done is to move the gas meter. The exterior wall where it is currently located will become the wall between garage and Living Room.  $650. That's not plumbing a line, just moving the meter. We have these odd foundation walls in the basement, about 4 feet high and at least 2 feet deep. They have become the Holy Grail of clutter collection.  That section needs to be cleared out for the meter move, so if I was smart, I'd start pulling that stuff tonight and making some hard decisions about what to keep. It is primarily old software, including kids educational stuff - DD is 20 - and some holiday decorations.  I thought we might "craigslist" some of this stuff, but even with DH home almost 24/7, I don't know if we want the logistics of managing hundreds of transactions over the next couple of months, whether the amount of money we'd get back would be worth the hassle. And since I work fulltime outside the home, he'd be stuck with the bulk of it, and trying to continue working his business and manage the remodel at the same time.  I think Goodwill / freecycle / local schools might be the better approach.  Some of the software might not even be on CD and might be too outdated for anyone to use.

 

So, I'm guessing the backhoes will be here next week to start tearing up the driveway. I want to be sure to get a couple really good shots for the Before/After shots.

 

Here we go!