There's something I'm not very good at...

I feel confident banging nails, making cuts, laying tile... I've even developed some confidence with electrical work. But, when it comes to permits and paperwork, I am at a complete loss.  For some reason, I can't seem, or don't even know where, to get started on permitting. And, South Lake Tahoe is not the place to delve into construction without a permit. There's the TRPA, BMPs, Eldorado County, etc, etc. It seems like one needs to have permission from about six different sources before one begins construction... at least construction that is visible.  That is to say, construction that is outside.

All the work that is done inside the house one can hide. Nobody is gonna happen by and say, "Hmm, wonder if they have a permit for that."

To remove decks, to add decks, to re-roof, to re-side, even to lay paving stones one needs a permit.

Caren and I ventured down to the TRPA (Tahoe Regional Planning Association) the other day to see if we could find a place to start. The guy at the counter was friendly enough, even if he was in a hurry to get to lunch, but he wasn't a whole lot of help. He handed me a packet of papers that was about half an inch thick, mumbled something about four site plans, coverage, and $1008. Then he locked the door and went to lunch.

It seems that I need somebody to come out and survey the property to determine the exact percent of ground that we have covered. We also need to know what is legally existing and what was built on the sly. I guess that they use arial photos to determine such things.

My guess is that most of the decks and out buildings on the property are not legal. What that means as far as future plans, I have no clue.

What I do know is that I have to fill out about half an inch worth of papers, submit them to Eldorado County and pay somebody about a thousand dollars to come out and survey the property. After that I can apply for permits to make changes to the exterior of the house.

So, what all this means is that progress has slowed to a crawl on the project.

Instead, we've been pecking away at odds and ends on the interior...

I spent a day putting this Pottery Barn inspired easel together using scraps of barnwood that have been laying around in the garage. The couches fit together in such a way that they leave a rather large area of wasted space in between them. I didn't really want a bulky end table filling said space, so went with something light and airy instead. Both Kelby and my brother, Rob, have become pretty good photographers, so I figure that I will have some of their work enlarged and framed to display on the easel.

We also spent a day and a half milling the baseboard for the bedrooms. The floors are a little wavy in the extra bedroom, which meant that we had to do some custom work with the block plane to insure a tight fit between the floor and the baseboard. Painstaking, but the end product turned out okay. I'm excited, because I am almost finished with all of the barnwood trimwork.

We've also been picking away at the master bedroom closet, but are not finished yet, so no pics...

Right now, I need to spend a few minutes, err, uh, hours filling out a stack of paperwork for Eldorado County...