Window Woes

Rain on Our Windows

Today was another day of working on the house. I repaired some of the mortar on the brick and masonry piers, finished spraying Boracare under the house, repaired some door trim that termites had long since eaten away and foamed some large gaps around my pipes to prevent uninvited critters from entering our home - although if I'm being honest, our cat is a really good mouser. At the same time my wife built some rough wood picture frames and painted the backing to the built-in that we will use to replace the old built-in backing.

But that's not the big news today. No, today I found out a little more about my window situation. If you're just tuning in, the City of Tampa is holding up a permit that I requested to build a new bathroom out of interior space, in no small part because they say we didn't have a permit to install the windows in our home. The funny thing is that they are the windows that were in the house when my wife and I purchased the house in November.

Our Journey Begins

Our House; Credit: MLS, October 2017

On November 20, 2017, my wife and I became house owners. It was our second foray into home ownership together, but the first time either of us had ever owned a detached house.

We purchased a 1925 bungalow in East Tampa, just north of Ybor City. Our last home, a condo, was firmly planted inside the main Ybor City historic district. Our new house, although only 16 blocks north, might as well have been in a different world.

Over the past 10 years, Ybor City has seen a gentrification boom due to development to the south and a revitalized atmosphere that featured bars, shops and restaurants instead of the clubs it was once known for. But with the interstate dividing Ybor, that atmosphere tails off quickly to the north, which is where we live.