Every single time there was a new issue with the permit process, Daniel (our architect) would reassure us; "Time for another patience hat." he would say. I think we've worn out 6 or 7 hats by now. At times it was so frustrating because the permit department had no system whatsoever. Each time you ask a question, you would get a different answer depending on the clerk and what time of day it was. We got a lot of eyes rolled in our faces. We are not stupid! Just not educated in this area. One positive thing that came out of all this waiting time is that we got a lot of time for researching and getting quotes. Actually Scott has been the one doing the researching and getting the quotes. I'm not really interested in the concrete foundation or how many 2 x 4's we will need.
Scott was itching to get the ball rolling so badly. He decided to do some work on the house during the summer. Perhaps this was a way to let out some of the frustration that he was feeling. Anyway, he rented a chain saw to remove all the smaller trees and bushes around the house. Scott may think that he is a handy guy but I haven't seen any work of his to prove his skills. He said it would take him a couple of hours to do the work so when he wasn't home or hasn't called after 4 hours, I began to worry. He was working alone with a chain saw. I had every reason to worry right?
Eight hours later, this is the result:
This is why we received a letter from the city a month later. A neighbour had complained about the condition of our yard. We had two options. 1. Cut our grass within 24 hours or 2. Fill in a form which states that we'd prefer to grow our grass the natural way. The neighbour would then have to take us to court to fight this. Seriously? Who has the time?
So why did we have to wait so long for the permit? This is the culprit:
This spruce tree is in the neighbour's yard but its roots are in our lot. We can't proceed with demolition and excavation because we would damage the tree. But, the owners next door have put in an application to remove the tree. So why can't we just start with our building process and yes, we are going to damage the roots but they are removing it anyway!! In the end, we waited another two months because of this tree.
So finally the permit is here, the property is fenced in. The city tree is protected and we are ready to roll!!
