Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) by Gregory Gates Page A

just extended
out from this wing?”
    “Well, I don’t know. I don’t think
anyone would have any heartburn with it – from a historical design perspective –
so long as the architecture looked like it belonged. The problem is these
windows here. You’ve got a rear window in the kitchen and that window down
there in that small corner bedroom on the lower level. The Building Department
is not going to be at all happy about the idea of covering those. They just
don’t like the idea of covering windows, particularly on bedrooms, bathrooms
and kitchens. You may be able to get a variance, but I kind of doubt it.”
    “What about the other side?”
    “Same problem. You have a bedroom
and bath over there on the main floor.”
    “What if we were to just
re-designate that bedroom as… something else, and take out the bath? It’s not
like this place has a shortage of bedrooms and baths.”
    “That’s a fact. No, they’ll just
argue that you could change it back as soon as the work is done. Remember,
you’re dealing with a government bureaucracy here that has absolutely no sense
of humor.”
    “Is there one that does?”
    Bill laughed, “Nope, not that I
know of.”
    “Well, what about something like a
carport, maybe on that parking flat out there, with a covered walk that winds
around to the kitchen door there?”
    “That could work. Again, they’re
going to want to see something that looks like it belongs here, but that
shouldn’t be too hard. You might want to think about getting an architect to
take a look at it and draw up some elevations. See what it might look like.”
    “That’s a good idea. Alright, guess
we’ll put this part on hold for now. How about we go out front and see if we
can do a little better with a pool. I’d imagine that there would be rioting in
the streets if I did anything to mess with Olmstead’s landscaping, but out here
adjoining the back patio is nothing but half an acre of grass. I can’t imagine
anyone being too emotionally attached to that.”
    Bill laughed, “No, I wouldn’t think
so. Other than putting one down in that ravine on the west side, this is your
best bet. And it would be a lot more convenient. I wouldn’t expect a permitting
problem, but you’d probably want to consider a design that’s in keeping with
the overall look and feel of the place. You probably won’t want to just dig a
hole and drop in a plastic liner.”
    “Uh, no. That’s not exactly what I
had in mind.”
    “We don’t do pool work, but there’s
an outfit up in Providence that does real nice custom in-ground work, and we’ve
subcontracted a number of jobs to them over the years. Good folks. But here
again, you might want to get an architect involved, and maybe even a good
landscaper. One of the glories of this place, unlike all the big overstated
mansions over on Bellevue, is this place looks like it belongs here. It looks
like it just grew out of the ground. It all fits. Between Hunt’s architecture
and Olmstead’s landscaping… I dunno, this place is just remarkable. It was a
stroke of genius. And if I were you, I wouldn’t want to change that any more
than is absolutely necessary.”
    “No argument there. Sounds like
you’re pretty familiar with the place.”
    “Yeah, we were the lead contractors
on the renovation. Boy, that was a job and a half. This was a wreck. It would
have brought tears to your eyes. All boarded up, broken windows, roof leaked,
rotted paneling everywhere, the floor there in the big room had collapsed into
the lower level, graffiti all over. Oh man, it was hideous. The folks that allowed
that to happen should’ve been shot.”
    “Huh! I had no idea it was that
bad. Sure looks great now. You did a beautiful job.”
    “Thanks. Yeah, the last owners put
an awful lot of money into it. They did it right.”
    “Okay, well thanks for coming out.
I don’t want to take up any more of your time. And Ann, thanks again for
everything. Do you have some keys for