9/14/07

I called the city of Beenbroke this morning to ask about building codes and zoning and such for the shop I'd like to build onto the house. The bad news is I can’t build it where I want to. The good news is I can build a bigger one! Well, I can probably build a bigger one. See, here’s the thing. I wanted to build on the lower porch around back of the house. Unfortunately code says a structure that big, I told her it would be a two-car garage/shop, would have to be twenty feet from the property line. What I had in mind was right on the property line. No fudging that. “What? Are you serious? That’s NOT twenty feet? Well I would have sworn it was!” I don’t think I could sell that story. I mean I am a thespian of Olivian* proportions, but I think I'd probably crack trying to pull that off. *That would be Lawrence Olivier by the way. Anyhoo, since I can’t build back there, I began thinking about the south side of the house. I'm going to go down the hall for a moment; I'll be right back. Ok, the guys who were here before me had laid out measuring marks on the floor of the long hallway. I just went and had a look at how far twenty feet is. I stepped it out and it is about eight and a half of my paces. I also took a piece of wire and cut it to twenty feet. I’ll bring that home and check it against the width of the yard. But looking at it, I'm pretty sure I can build a pretty good shop on the side of the house and stay well within, or without as the case may be, the zoning zone. I'll have to have the sprinkler system and air conditioner compressor moved but I think those will be small change in the grand scheme of the project. Now, the big question is will there be enough room around this shop for a driveway to the lower porch? I don’t know. Oh, I just had another thought, will I want a door cut into that brick wall for access or will it be strictly ingress and egress from the outside? I do think I'd want to build a deck on top of it, at least on the back half by what is now mom’s room. Dad had always wanted to build a deck out there. I'd do it for him. The front half, and I use the term “half” very loosely because I might not split the thing literally down the middle, might be taller to fit a lift in the main bay. I'm thinking a four-post lift to double one parking space by the way. I'd probably put the (Seven) on top above (George) or maybe the trailer. I don’t know, we’ll see. I just called mom to tell her what I found out and she’s not against the idea. I have also started a couple lists of things that need to be done to facilitate the closing of the shop in Beenbroke and moving the DLR operation to Burkett. It will be a monumental pain in the ass to move the shop, but I think it is for the best. Is building a shop onto the Burkett house the best plan of attack? No, probably not. Would building a shop with an apartment in Boyd be a better idea? Yes, it probably would. However, if moving just the shop is going to be a pain in the ass, imagine what moving the shop and me would entail! Yes, I am that lazy. Oh, did I mention the home theater idea I had? No, I couldn’t have because I only thought of it last night. There is an attic space above the living room and den of that house that is accessed through the upstairs hall closet. I'm wondering how much work it would be to finish out that attic “room” as a home theater. I know the stairs would have to encroach into the entry hall, but I don’t think it would be too bad. What I really need to look at is if there is sufficient height to walk in there. I'm afraid the isle would have to be down the middle meaning no seat would have an ideal viewing spot in the middle of the screen. I'll have to take another look at that. One of the bedrooms would probably be a better theater. Of course there is that huge and unused living room and dining room on the east side of the main floor. That would make for an epic theater! I could probably seat a couple dozen folks in there. No, a small theater is probably more sensible. Well, no theater would probably be the most sensible but I think I'm going to have to do it anyway. Ok, I just passed the page break and it is approaching lunchtime. I think I'll call the rant complete and talk to y'all Monday.