November 20, 2011

waiting on the permits

We have unfortunately had to let our contractor move on to another job.  The planning and permit process is taking much longer than anticipated.  We want to dig out an area in the backyard to allow for a basement walkout and this has opened a whole can of worms.  First of all we now have to get a separate permit from the ravine by-law department because we want to change a portion of the grading.  This has been a big job since they require a site plan, a grading plan, an arborist report, and a geotechnical report!  And secondly, the digging out would expose a whole section of the back foundation wall which has to be 4 feet under ground.  So, how do we deal with that?  Well, after much deliberation and weighing of our options, we have decided to underpin the back of the house.  Might as well do it right!  We do plan to live in this house for a long time.  So after almost 3 months of planning (and finding the right people to help us out with it) we should be ready to submit our plans this week.  I hope!

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