I now understand that my main job (besides writing checks so large I want to faint) is to make lists. I'm becoming relatively organized relatively quickly. The job started so quickly, I haven't had time to catch my breath!
This morning was all about wood. First, we looked at all the termite damage, and there's only one window that *may* not be salvageable. That's pretty great news! Then it was time for the arborist. I wanted to be sure I didn't harm my two live oaks.
The first thing the arborist told me was that my project is in violation of city code. Yipes! I'm such a goody goody; you know, the straight-A junior high girl I've never stopped being. I was so horrified! I thought I was being such a responsible tree owner calling the arborist, but it turns out that this opened up a whole can of worms and ridiculously expensive remediations. I don't think anyone else actually follows the city code, but I'm going to.
The violation was this: I wasn't supposed to dig more than 4 inches below the grade anywhere around a tree that is more than 19 inches in diameter without going through a review process with the city of Austin Watershed Protection folks. Below 4 inches and I might expose my tree to Oak Wilt (terrible, horrible, no good, very bad killer). Oak Wilt was the reason I had called the tree guy in the first place, but before he got here the contractors had dug a trench along the base of the foundation about 8 inches deep in order to reveal all the wood skirting that needs to be removed. Oops.
I need to spend $25 to have the city approve my renovation, and they likely won't give me a citation for my error, since it's a completely necessary renovation. But from now on I need arborist dirt diggers to HAND DIG anywhere near the tree. It'll take 2 of these artistan diggers 3 hours to do all the digging they need to do to and don't even THINK of asking how much they charge. They'll also use an air tool (rather than a shovel, which can cut big gashes in things) to remove large quantities of soil around the building area and all around the base of the tree, which has, over the years, had too much of its base covered in soil. After that, I'll have a landscaper help me figure out how to maintain this new grading.
By the end of the hour the arborist and I had totally bonded over my live oaks and our respective California transplant stories, and he was giving me great advice about all sorts of things. My favorite piece of advice was that when I put my deck in, I should lay 3 inches of wood chip mulch under it, which over the years will deteriorate and provide essential nitrogen to the live oak's roots, which otherwise would be nitrogen deprived due to the deck. I had been wondering about that.
This weekend, I'm hoping to test my paint colors and shop for some light fixtures and a mailbox. Next time: myths about insulation.
--Molly
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