Day 24: Mo' Money, Mo' Money, Mo' Money!
Above, workers dig trenches to the guest house (yeah, I'd say the grass is dead now). All of our added plumbing stuff is really costing us an arm and a leg more. If you recall, we're already paying the plumber $700 more to put in the new gas line to the guest house.
Now, he informed me today that all that sewer drainage work the city made him do wasn't included in the price. Plus, if we want copper pipe to deliver water to the guest house (the previous pipe was plastic, which he'd replace for free -- but copper is much better), it'd be extra as well.
So I haggled an additional $500 for both (he originally wanted $600 more for the sewer pipe and $300 for the copper pipe). Sigh. That means $1200 total for the plumbing.
That brings our cost overrun to (drumroll, please) $6200. Ugh.
Meanwhile, there may be a positive outcome to our garage problem. I hit the city's inspector office this morning, and they hit us with the bad news: We need plans and another permit to finish off the garage. Architect Joseph told us it'd cost $750 more for him to do it. Maria got on the phone with him today, though, and told him straight out: No way. We don't have that money. She asked for his help but said we'd do the new plans ourselves; she also dangled Universal Studios tickets and CDs to convince him to work for free. He relented, and even agreed to draw up the plans. (If any engineering is required, it's still on our dime -- so keep your fingers crossed.) Finally -- a solution to a problem that didn't involve us opening our wallets deeper.
posted by Mike at 1:24 PM
1 Comments:
I happened to stumble onto here. I think it's great that you're documenting the construction process and I find it very interesting.
When it comes to getting permits from the city or county, I know full well what a hassle it is. When I was working as the planning representative at building and safety offices, I often thought "God help anyone who wants to add a bedroom in this town!"
I find it strange that the City of Glendale is forcing you to upgrade to a 2 car garage. The County is more lenient; our code says homes that are non-conforming due to parking standards can be expanded without meeting the current parking requirements, provided that there is room for additional covered parking in the future.
It's cool that you have a guest house. I don't think you'd be able to get one approved under today's regulations. Us zoning folks are always paranoid that people will convert guest houses to second units and rent them out. The need for more housing always takes a backseat to concerns over parking and "neighborhood character" (read: NIMBYism)
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