Our new house project has finally cleared the most frustrating hurdle which was obtaining permits from the City of Folsom. After three rounds of comments from City staff, plans being resubmitted with comments, and four long months waiting, we finally have permits! Whoohoo! Of course it is now mid-December and we are in the middle of the wettest rainy season in years.
Had the permits been available two months ago, we would have a foundation by now and maybe enough of a roof to allow work to proceed through the winter. Now the soil will be too saturated to safely allow the heavy equipment access to trench for the foundation and pour cement. I am not complaining, though, because waiting for weather is much more tolerable than waiting for the City to release permits. The City staff is trying to manage their workload in the face of budget cuts, reduced staffing levels and furlough days, all of which impact their ability to turn around projects in a timely manner. Even though I have been frustrated by the City, I am thankful to live in California where construction occurs year-round.
On the bright side, our builder (Gai Kirkegaard Construction) has done as much work as possible prior to obtaining permits: the utility trenches are complete, the temporary electricity is set up and the grading is mostly complete. He even installed an empty conduit for our internet cable utility before filling the last trench and the rains started. The subcontractors are lined up and the administrative tasks of completing contracts and getting their insurance are well underway. Although we can not physically proceed due to weather, work has been scheduled and materials are being ordered for our home.
The forecast for the next ten days calls for rain, but that is okay. After all, Christmas is next week and I don’t expect much to happen during the holidays. I had hoped to hang a wreath on a house under construction and to take Wassail (a hot cider drink) to the workers this week; I will just make Wassail next month instead to take to the workers when they start digging and hammering in cold weather.
We are pleased to have permits and to be ready to really get building in January. Meanwhile, it is Christmas in Folsom and we are a little cheerier than a week ago! We are healthy, our local high scho
ol just won the state football championship, and we will see family in San Jose and at the Oakland Zoo next week. (My sister works with giraffes at the zoo, and we will go visit her at work. I do not have a family member living in the zoo that I am aware of at this time...)
ol just won the state football championship, and we will see family in San Jose and at the Oakland Zoo next week. (My sister works with giraffes at the zoo, and we will go visit her at work. I do not have a family member living in the zoo that I am aware of at this time...)Thank you for following Local Fruit and I hope to show you more about our project in 2011.
Merry Christmas!
