Friday, November 20, 2009

Step By Step?

When I showed this picture last month, I mentioned that I was waiting for - what I thought would be - our final inspection. No such luck! Take a close look at my steps. I was so proud of them that really couldn't wait for the inspector to see what a wonderful job my helper Steve and I did. They are nine and a half feet long with extra 2x10 bracing on the front. There is NO spring in those steps. They are put together with a ton of three inch screws and 16 penny nails. I had visions of our grand children sitting and playing on those steps, so I purposely went the second mile to make them secure. We meticulously followed the county codes for minimum heights and maximum depth for each step. It was a no brainer. Twenty-three inches high - three steps - the easiest thing to do was have two eight inch steps and one seven inch step. There was nothing in the code that said you couldn't do that! The inspector, however, immediately pointed out that there can't be one step that is one inch smaller than the others. He said it was unsafe and they would have to be redone. REDONE? He said it like it was no big deal instead of the half day major job that it would be to dismantle and rebuild! And when we redo the steps, that one "illegal" step will be five eights of an inch bigger! Five-eighths of an inch? I've gone up and down them with my eyes closed and I can't tell the difference one inch makes. And you can't argue with them or they may, all of a sudden, fine several other things that aren't up to code. I wanted to point out that nothing in the code says they have to be totally equal steps, that it really was a lot of work, and hey - it's a BACK PORCH that our grand kids will jump off of far more than go up and down the steps, but I bit my tongue and tried not to look too disappointed. I have to confess, since then, I've have wondered how badly I need a permit. I know plenty of people who finish basements and build porches with out it - but then there's that Disclosure Statement when you sell the house - I'm not going to lie, so the county would get us then. Besides, I just want to do it right! Oh well, I guess I'll redo it - one step at a time - there's a song there somewhere!
I have done a lot of thinking about this over the month since we failed our inspection. I'm thankful that God's will is a clear covenant of love and not a code to check off. I'm glad that when I miss the mark with Him, I know it immediately and don't need to plead ignorance. I'm glad that He is a Father who let's me redo things that really do need redoing. I am really thankful that He is a Father I can talk to, and not an inspector to JUST salute and obey. Most of all, I'm thankful for His grace because there have been a lot of things in my life that have failed His Holy Spirit's inspection - and I didn't have to schedule it and some ONE else paid for the permit.

1 comment:

Deborah said...

OH NO!!! You have such a good attitude about it all, even though I'm sure you must be frustrated.