A loooong 4th weekend...

[wsantia1]

I have company coming from out of town. This is the first time I am hosting anything in this new place so it should be a load of fun. I need to get the grill ready, It will be used extensively.

..is the new place bigger than the last one?....bigger yard?...

Yes. Both are bigger. In fact I technically didn't have a yard at the other place because it was all considered community property.  Here the little bit of land I have is all mine. The back yard is not huge but it's big enough for Kobe to get some exercise.

...nice....will they allow you to fence it, if you want?......

Yes they will but I need to put in a patio first.

......is a deck cheaper?.....concrete can get expensive...and here, concrete drives and patios are seen as permanent fixtures to your house, thus can increase taxes.....

I'm going to do pavers. Over here I don't even have to pull a permit for the work if the patio is less than 7 inches high. Weird but that's the was the code is written. Maybe that's for the walls. No wall for me. I just want a flat place to put my grill.

When I lived in Elgin, they didn't raise my taxes for the patio. Is that a DeKalb thing? lol

...no an Illinois thingy......if you have an asphalt driveway, it's not considered permanent....but a concrete driveway is...and factors as permanent.....Illinois figures taxes on land used....

Perhaps your patio was already calculated into your taxes if it was existing....not added on later.....

No I put it in and had to get a permit. I swear there was no tax increase. I looked at that tax bill with a magnifying glass every year because I couldn't get over the fact that I was paying 10K a year in property taxes (Kane County schools).

[Mugwump]

I have company coming from out of town. This is the first time I am hosting anything in this new place so it should be a load of fun. I need to get the grill ready, It will be used extensively.

..is the new place bigger than the last one?....bigger yard?...

Yes. Both are bigger. In fact I technically didn't have a yard at the other place because it was all considered community property.  Here the little bit of land I have is all mine. The back yard is not huge but it's big enough for Kobe to get some exercise.

...nice....will they allow you to fence it, if you want?......

Yes they will but I need to put in a patio first.

......is a deck cheaper?.....concrete can get expensive...and here, concrete drives and patios are seen as permanent fixtures to your house, thus can increase taxes.....

I'm going to do pavers. Over here I don't even have to pull a permit for the work if the patio is less than 7 inches high. Weird but that's the was the code is written. Maybe that's for the walls. No wall for me. I just want a flat place to put my grill.

When I lived in Elgin, they didn't raise my taxes for the patio. Is that a DeKalb thing? lol

...no an Illinois thingy......if you have an asphalt driveway, it's not considered permanent....but a concrete driveway is...and factors as permanent.....Illinois figures taxes on land used....

Perhaps your patio was already calculated into your taxes if it was existing....not added on later.....

No I put it in and had to get a permit. I swear there was no tax increase. I looked at that tax bill with a magnifying glass every year because I couldn't get over the fact that I was paying 10K a year in property taxes (Kane County schools).

...nice..you slipped under the radar....

[LizStreithorst]

I usually do nothing but I'm thinking of driving down to my old haunts on the Alabama coast.  I'm ready for a good red fish.  I love the flavor of that fish and I know where they buy the most perfect freshest fish to cook.

It will be the first trip I've made in the Peamite.  It will be such a joy to drive somewhere in such a civilized car.

At some point I will have to mow.  If I wait much longer it will be work for a bush hog.