Rain Barrel Irrigation

Rain Barrel + Overflow

There was no irrigation to speak of on our property. And both me and my wife liked the idea of harvesting rain water for irrigation. It's free water that you can use without restriction and it's great for watering plants. So, nearly a year after we got our first rain barrel, we now have our front yard watered automatically by rain barrels. Here's how we did it.

Upgrading Our Shed For Conditioned Storage

Shed Exterior

Our 1920s bungalow has always been a little lacking in storage. But we’ve taken some big steps to change that by upgrading our shed to be on-site conditioned storage.

Why conditioned storage? We live in Florida where the humidity is over 90% most of the year and our proximity to the water makes the air both muggy and salty - not great attributes for storing things that you care about.

We Got A New Roof and Solar Power!

New Roof + Solar

A few months after the completion of our new bathroom, we finally got a new metal roof. And it looks great! In addition to our new metal roof, we also got additional insulation under the roof and we added solar panels to the roof. Yea, it was a busy year!

Our New Bathroom!

Bathroom Vanity

I know it's been a while since the past post. But we were getting some traction with the City, so I figured it was best to just keep a (relatively) low profile and close out the open permits on the house. And that's exactly what happened. Last year, we completed our new bathroom and a month or two after that, we finally got the City to approve our alley. So, as of this moment, the City isn't harassing us and nobody has their hand in our checking account. It's a good feeling.

A Little Progress and a Little More Trouble

Debris From Neighbor's Tree

It's been a while since my last update. That was partly because things have been moving at a snail's pace and partly because I have been working like a slave at the office. So, house stuff and running around in circles with the City of Tampa had to take a back seat.

But I'm happy to report that some progress has been made! We got our permit approved for the creation of our 2nd bathroom. And there's been a little bit of progress done on the alley (to be discussed below). But the City is back at it again. Today, I got cited for my neighbor's tree! That's right! I got a notice for someone else's tree. Only in Tampa! :/

Legal Council + Small Steps Forward

Someone's Thumb is on the Scales

I spoke with two different attorneys: one last Friday and one on the previous Monday. Both of them gave me pretty much the same advice. They said my best course of action would be to work something out with the City of Tampa concerning the windows that the previous owners installed, either through an after-the-fact permit or by some other means. They also both said if that didn't work, I would likely have a claim against the previous owners and in terms of recovering damages, that would be our best option.

Our Worst Case Scenario

House Across The Street
Boarded Windows + Graffiti + Garbage  

We like to think that everything will work out. We like to think that the City of Tampa will be reasonable, that justice will prevail, that our home will be everything we know it could be and that contributing to the revitalization of a struggling neighborhood will somehow eventually be rewarded (or at least not blocked by the City of Tampa). But things don't always work out the way they should. People (and governments - even local governments) don't always do the right thing and they aren't always reasonable. And what should be isn't always what will be. So, with that, my wife and I had a candid discussion last weekend about our options.