Cheap Living: Permits and Ramen Noodles

Well, on Friday April 15 I met with the contractor for an estimate for the deck. The price will be a little higher than I originally anticipated, but for $3,900, I think it’s still a good deal. My wife is so amped up for the deck I’d bet she’d agree to pay with a pound of her own flesh.

Now that we have taken the first step, there are a myriad of other steps that we have in front of us. First and foremost, we have to pick a date for installation. According to the contractor, the date is more of a target than anything, as actual construction depends heavily on several other items. These other items include a timely approval by our HOA and obtaining permits as quickly as possible. It’s nice that my next-door-neighbor, Jay, is going through the same process approximately two weeks ahead of us. The HOA board should be nice and familiar with the contractor, the design of the deck, and the time frame, as we are having the same deck built by the same contractor at the same time.

So our “target” date is May 21st, as jumping through the HOA and permitting hoops can be expected to take approximately one month. In the meantime, we will be eating PB&J sandwiches and Ramen noodles for every meal.

I can just picture us now:  grilling out on the deck with a couple of friends. We could all sit on our new deck furniture… Ugh. That’s gonna cost us. Maybe we’ll get some cheap stuff from Wal-Mart. Hmmm, there might be some bugs back there, especially if we are on the deck at night. I suppose we’ll need some bug candles or a bug zapper… Rats. That’s gonna cost us. I bet my wife will want a little welcome mat there too, even though there will be no stairs and there’s literally NO WAY to possibly get your feet dirty. And she’ll probably want another welcome mat on the inside, too. Geez. That’s gonna cost us. And in the summer time I bet we’ll be going in and out that door about a thousand times a day, opening and closing that thing over and over. I wonder how much money I’ll spend conditioning the sweltering summer air of our back yard. Crap. That’s gonna cost us. Oh yeah, the wood will be pressure-treated, but I’ll have to get some Thompson’s Water Seal and apply it to the whole deck to prevent water damage. Pressure-treated wood protects from insect damage, but not water damage. If left unsealed, the wood will go through a constant cycle of absorbing water and swelling and then drying and shrinking. Without annual treatment, the wood decking can be expected to warp, crack, and split at an accelerated rate. Nuts. That’s gonna cost us.

This is getting depressing. But no matter how depressing it is to think of all the money-spending the deck will inevitably lead to, there is no denying that it makes our house better. It increases our living space and gives us a great place to entertain. It will also make our house more attractive to a prospective buyer when we try to sell in the future. We are investing in our biggest investment. I hope the construction goes off without a hitch and I can soon put all this gratuitous spending in the rear view mirror.

Now I’ll head home for my Ramen noodle dinner.