The city approved the cottage so we can break ground at any time! Such exciting news.
First thing, getting the utilities worked out. My contractor filled me in on the process of making phone calls and having to fill out so many forms online. Apparently, doing things by phone is outdated. Seattle City Light (power company) needs all the info. on what type of heating unit and hot water tank I am going to install to make sure my cottage isn't pulling too much power away from the rest of the line. The same applies to the water company. They want to make sure my unit isn't pulling away too much water and taking away from the water source, especially from water for fighting fires. Makes sense to me, however, I find this interesting as I have to wonder if they give a shit about how much electricity and water the fucking apt complexes are pulling. I feel like developers get away with so much more than homeowners and our City Council blows! Yeah, I'll get off my soapbox.
My contractor and I are hoping to be able to dig one trench (where the sewer is) and put the electrical, water and sewer in the same trench. It would just be nice to have to dig once instead of a bunch and the neighbors and I need to replace our sewer line anyway so digging one trench makes sense.
Once we have the utilities lined up, we can pour the concrete for the slab that will be the base of the structure. Once those two things are done, things should go pretty quickly. There is a list of required inspections provided by the city and the first one is to have a pre-construction inspection. The city wants to have a look around on the property before I touch anything. I was surprised this wasn't part of the application process, so I guess application first then the inspections start.
That's it for now. I am going to make sure to keep my two neighbors apprised of each step as I know the process will be ass for a few months once things get rolling.
