RED TAG
My house now wears the Scarlet Letter.
My house has been tagged. Now I am publicly shamed. Earlier this week an inspector came by and issued a Stop Work Order; otherwise known as a Red Tag.
I did not know. Sure, I should have known, but I did not know that I would need a permit for a deck or a fence. Well, I know now. And it is going to be a learning experience, hopefully not an expensive learning experience. So many people build these things in their backyards without a permit, guess I was naive to think it did not require a permit. My actions were bold and slow and now I am humble and the work has stopped.



This is how I see it....
Pregnant Cheerleader
I am that kid in High School....that cute little cheerleader girl that was putting out, not in a slutty way, but putting out just the same. You know the one. The one that happened to get pregnant. So many people having sex, then when someone gets pregnant....there is the talk, the stigma, the labels, the hush of name calling, and the Scarlet Letter. That is how I feel I am that one that people are pointing at and talking about. Right now I feel bad and dirty. I have been publicly shamed. Everyone I know who has put up a deck in our Historic District did so without a permit....go figure! Now I have to get a permit to show the plan of a process that is near completion.
Wish me luck!
I hope that it not a long/sad/expensive process.

think good thoughts

black clouds suck....even when they are self imposed
I should have known better....but I didn't
call me stupid...cause that is what I am
hope this does not become one of the most expensive lessons of my life





in my defense....
so many people in these Historic Neighborhood build decks without permits...
heresy had me thinking that "if you can not see it from the street." and "if it is not attached to the house." and "if it does not effect the house structure itself." then you do not need a permit...
you need a permit to put up a fence!
silly me
silly stupid
naive me

why 2/3 of a backyard in wood?
well.....
it is a heavily shaded back yard
the top section near the garage has a huge stump in it
my brother and I spent a day taking it down from 3 1/2 feet to 2 feet high
but it is still making that whole area useless
then the next terraced tear down has a 18 X 16 slab of unlevel concrete on it
then the concrete sidewalk was narrow and unattractive
this wooded world is an improvement
it brings to life sections of the backyard that were rendered useless by poor design
maximizes space potential
offers more room to play and more room to entertain

and lastly
we hope that it will make our moist mosquito infested backyard a more dry less mosquito hang out