Day 35: We Have Rooms! And Glendale Gets Richer

The framing is all up, and for the first time we can get a real feel for the size of the new rooms. I gotta tell you, at the moment I feel good. The master bedroom definitely feels larger than our current tiny room -- I'm even beginning to imagine where the furniture is going to go, and can see how there will be a nice bit of empty space to roam around. The closet is also a nice surprise: It seems like a pretty good size! I mean, nothing major, it's still not a walk-in closet, but its a good size. (The bathroom, meanwhile, I'm still not so sure about.)

The family room also seems like a decent size -- and will definitely be a gathering place, with the kitchen overlooking it. It'll be nice to have a place for Evan to hang out.



Now, on to less pleasant news. Architect Joseph spent a chunk of yesterday at Glendale's Building and Safety Dept., getting approval on the garage. Today, I went down to the city to pay the permit fee. $650. Ouch.

Here's the salt in the wound: The permit fee is based on the estimated cost of construction. It dawned on me that on our first permit, we included the price of the garage in our estimated costs. That means we essentially paid twice to build the garage.

There's some hope: The Building and Safety people told me to write a letter to theier supervisor, and with some arm-twisting I should be able to get a chunk of that money (probably $400) back.

One more thing that I just don't understand: Per Glendale city dode, new construction requires fire sprinklers. Even the garage. Have you ever heard of a garage with fire sprinklers?

I swear, when this is all said and done, I'm going to compose an op-ed piece for the Glendale newspaper about how ridiculous and anti-homeowner the city's policies are.