Wed 22 Apr 2020 15 34 24 0000 Renovation Update 171A286A¶

Good morning Sarah,
Most importantly, I hope you, your family and friends are managing to stay both health and in good spirits during this trying time. Diana and I are sheltering in place and working from home as we see what happens next.
Meantime, I thought we'd give you an update as to our house renovation progress.
First, we did not get off the the start we had hoped back in January. Our contractor was slowed down by weeks and weeks of heavy rain.
Then, after a slow start, things got slower as different trades were impacted by staffing and material supply issues caused by COVID-19.
Next, we ran into a stumble with a code variance we need to get in order to screen in the back deck to make that area more visually appealing and more usable. You may see a sign in our yard in the next few days regarding the requested variance.
One piece of guidance that the City offered us was to communicate with our neighbors and request letters of support for our plan. I have enclosed a draft which I invite you to review; edit, if you see fit; and if you are comfortable, to sign and return to us. Both the neighbors behind us and to our right have been kind enough to support this and so if you are so inclined, we'd be grateful for your support too.
The plan is to NOT change the footprint/size of the deck, but simply to extend the roof over the current deck and enclosed with bug screens. We'd be delighted to share the plans with you, if you care to review.
The last issue is that we have elected to "slow down" the next steps as we see how the COVID issue impacts all of our lives. This was driven by the timing of the variance review process and by us being cautious with cash outlay.
The bottom line is that we will not be working on the landscaping in the yard, nor the fence, for a few more months and wanted to re-sync with you regarding plans, timing etc. We do still plan to proceed, but not for a few months.
Lastly, I wanted to discuss your thoughts and/or interest in investigating the possibility of a very low, (18" or 24" high at most) simple "retraining wall" to run along the base of the fence between our yards to act as both a footer for the new fence and as a water barrier. Please do let me know what you think about that idea.
Thanks again...and we hope you're able to stay healthy!
Jonathan Sweatman jsweatman@bellsouth.net 404-816-3980 - Home 404-431-0678 - Cell