Start with the good news, and then the apology.  Our building permit has been issued!  For anyone who hasn’t done a major renovation, I should explain this is a big deal. Construction work of any kind is forbidden without a valid building permit.  Everything else was ready, but the building inspectors were taking their time.  We’ve been champing at the bit wanting to get started, and required to wait until the paperwork was in order.

It took me practically camping out at Somerville Inspectional Services last week trying to get a few lingering issues resolved (the inspectors have never seen float tanks before, and they were more than a little cautious/paranoid.  Also, did you know that shower pans must be at least 900 square inches to be up to code?  890 square inches is not big enough).   In the end I was literally running through the sleet Wednesday afternoon to get a cheque to them before they closed for the afternoon.  Issuing our permit may in fact have been the very last thing they did before leaving for Thanksgiving.

Now we have it!  And our builders have jumped right into interior demolition.  Clear out the old to make way for the new.

But I mentioned an apology up there.  It took three, maybe four weeks longer than we’d anticipated to work through the process to get this permit.   And that, sadly, means it will be almost impossible for us to be open before Christmas.   New Years’ is unlikely, too.  We’re really disappointed, and I know many of you are too.

We’re pounding this out as fast as we can now.  We’ve spent the fall making a lot of plans, and now we’ll see how the plan comes together.