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| Master Bath Demo Completed Today Under Donovan's (Builder) Tutelage |
It is, after all, the law, and we want to set a good example. Even for homeowner improvements, you’re supposed to get a permit for some things. Besides, LJ has almost 3 decades of experience working with government agencies and a high tolerance for both forms and red tape. Add to that the fact that he knows most of the folks involved and this ought to be a piece of cake, right?
Wrong-o, Mary Lou!!
We have a long ways to go in this project still, and will wait until it is further along to do a complete rant, but let’s just say that government inefficiencies are alive and well. Thinking that getting the initial permit would be a 10 minute process, he first went online, then called, only to discover that they require the ACTUAL HOMEOWNER – in this case EB and/or BB – to PERSONALLY APPEAR in their offices to apply for the permit.
No problem, right? A lawyer writes up a Power of Attorney (POA) and LJ can take care of this.
You’da thunk we wanted to stomp kittens to death on the courthouse steps at high noon.
45 minutes after the start, having exhausted all patience available and very much in need of a drink containing strong liquor, a building permit grudgingly left the government office building.
Now fast forward to the current time. Demolition is largely done, design is completed and the contractors are ready to start putting things back together. One of the problems that started all this was a leaky shower that caused one – ONE – floor joist to get wet and grow a bit of black stuff on it. Nonetheless, because the inspectors can make you rip things out if they don’t like what you’ve done, a decision was made to request a “courtesy inspection” before the process was too far along.
Talk about your oxymoron.
The inspector was supposed to call between 8:00 and 10:00 when he was “on his way.” At 11:30, having heard nothing from him, LJ called the aforesaid government office only to be met with attitude by the receptionist.
“We don’t schedule appointments. The most we do is tell you what day we might be there and that’s not a commitment, it’s just an estimate.”
“But we had a confirmed appointment and have people here waiting.”
“<Sigh>. Let me see if I can find his cell number and you can try to call him yourself.”
I’ve had better customer service – with less attitude – from the cable company. I didn’t think that was possible.
Calls were made. Messages left. After a while the inspector calls, somewhat surprised that we actually expected the appointment to be kept. At 12:40 he arrived (after having said he’d be there at 12:30) seeming somewhat annoyed that we were taking up his time with all these questions about the building code and his interpretation.
Imagine that. An attempt to resolve a problem before it occurs and costs a lot of money. It’s like the concept never crossed their minds.
His visit – roughly 20 minutes total to deal with building, plumbing, HVAC (which stands for “Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and electrical and answered all questions in a manner that was sufficiently vague so as to allow him to change his mind later, he left.
We now understand why people don’t bother to get building permits for home improvement projects. But the visit is documented and future attempts to change the rules midstream can be argued if necessary.
The bathrooms are reduced to stud walls awaiting reinforced beams below and the subfloor needed to hold the new tile down. Holes are drilled and both plumbing and air conditioning have been re-routed and will (hopefully!) be in place by the end of the week.
And the project continues.
Red tape is the pits! I can't believe that Government Agencies can get away with the lazy, slackness their employees exhibit about 99% of the time. Private entities would go bankrupt from such behavior.
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