The House of Arden, Part 8 – Develop: permits, contractors, the weather, and the ground beneath

Now that the dreaming is over, we need to face reality. This means permits, contractors, the weather and the ground beneath.

Permits: Building permits are an important element in the building process. The permitting process is designed to make sure that the new structure is sound and meets all the requirements of the local municipality. Sometimes this can cause substantial delays. However, we have been doing some good planning and working with skilled team – our architect, our builder and us. Joining the team during this phase is the building inspector. We are doing some unique things with this house and we were a bit concerned about meeting the requirements of the building permitting process. To make things even more interesting, Cannon Falls is in the process of updating their city building codes. Actually, they are throwing out the old and brining in the new. The old codes, it turns out, is a patchwork that has accumulated over the years. This effort by the city will bring a uniform set of modern codes to the permitting process. This could have caused a big delay in starting our project, except that the building inspector has been very understanding and cooperative.

Contractors: Our general contractor is really great to work with. He is thorough and wants to make sure all the pieces are in place before we begin. In going through the architectural drawings, with his keen eye for detail, he is able to recommend minor changes that will make the construction process easier and more efficient. He is also identifying and arranging for subcontractors. We are doing some things that are new for him and his subcontractors, so this process is taking a little longer than usual – but coming together just the same.

The weather: Our general contractor is confident that every thing will be lined up for digging the basement during the last week of March. We have had a mild winter so frost shouldn't be a problem – he is able to dig through a foot of frost. The other challenge is rain. Some building projects have been delayed for as much as three months because of rain - Tough digging in the rain. We are currently entering a wet cycle, so maybe by March 27^th will be in a dry cycle.

The ground beneath: Even though we dug a test hole when we bought the lot, you never know what you might find when you start digging. I guess will have to wait.