Some Things Are Binary

I find it really hard to explain what I mean by that.

Infringement on my rights is binary, it's either happening or it isn't. There's no nebulous gray area. No room for compromise.

I get into a snit about property. Is this mine or not? If I own it, then you don't get to tell me what to do with it unless it's encroaching on your property. For example: If I stop mowing my lawn, vermin can begin to use that as a breeding area and then spread from there into your house. You can reasonably demand that I keep my lawn mown so that my vermin do not spread into your property. You don't get a say in my changing the purpose of one room of my house to another. I want to change my bedroom into a study, you have no say. I want to turn my sun room into a study, you have no say.

Permits are a formalized method of you telling me what I can do with my property. Because of said permits, to legally convert my sun-room into a study I would have to spend $30k. To do it on my own illegally, $4k. The house was $69.9k when we bought it. Adding the extra room legally does not increase the value by the amount it would cost to add it. It adds more like $10k. The cost exceeds the value. Want to guess what the main cost is? We have to raise the floor to match the rest of the house to be in compliance with code. If we do that, the east end of the room is too short (ceiling will be too low) by (get this!) two inches. I intend to line that wall with book shelves, I will never stand there. Doesn't matter. It's just stupid. Don't even get me started on the room having to survive hurricane forces that will knock the remainder of the house down.

I think what we'll end up doing is bricking up the screen walls, putting in some windows and a real door. That should be relatively cheap and under the radar for code enforcement.