Friday, February 12, 2016

Part 7: The Delays - Hurry up and wait:

 The Slow motion structural engineering;

"The good news is that business is good.  The bad news is that business is good."

We were on hold for a bit because it was Christmas, then because the structural engineer was so busy with the booming real estate market here in Portland.  We finally got the engineering calculations done that are necessary for A) removing the structural post in the middle of the front entryway and B) adding the large windows to the corner of the kitchen nook and the smaller windows on the opposite wall above the new fireplace.

So, we're good to go, right?  Not so fast.  Turns out that the city of Portland takes these things very seriously and is not willing to issue permits will-nilly to any (properly educated, licensed and experienced) structural engineer who does the math.  The city has asked for additional drawings which they will carefully peruse before issuing a permit.  I'm very happy they're so dedicated to keeping the residential building stock standing upright, and very annoyed by the slow motion process.  So, additional work is required before we can remove the post and add the windows.

This will delay the floor patching and refinishing that we have scheduled - and the appliance delivery that was to quickly follow the floors.  But this is not at all unusual for remodeling projects.  Delays happen, challenges pop-up.  We'll just keeping working at the things that can get done.  My project manager, Guy, is pushing on the structural front and also helping to organize other work that we can get done while that's slowly inching forward.

I hope the next post will be much more exciting than this one...

Click here for Part 8: The Guest Bath


No comments:

Post a Comment