Permit Limbo

Not much is happening now as far as construction is concerned. We are waiting for construction permits to come out. We have finished everything required to send to the "permit runner" (a person who does the dealing with permit authorities for living). I personally believe that construction permit regulations should be straightforward enough for us laymen (and laywomen?) to handle, but in the real world they are not and we rely on those people who have had a lot of dealings with the corresponding authorities and therefore are better able to predict what they will say. That's why they are also called expediters. We are using this time to research on different options on insulation materials, multiple showerhead systems, flooring materials for different parts of the house, water heaters, exterior paint colors, and so on.