Complying

Click herI have mentioned before how I have received different bits of advice over the years, and some of it has really stuck.  More years ago than I care to remember, someone said to me that it is not how close to danger one can go, but how far one can stay from it.
The reason I am thinking about this again, is that we have a cover over what is our former pool area which is now our garden tool area.  The cover is temporary.  It does the job, but needs to be replaced every couple of years.  It has tares in it, and one of the posts is broken.  It is worse at the moment, because we have experienced several days of wind.  Worse still, is the structure often bangs against our colour bond fence.
The cost to replace it is a couple of hundred dollars each time.  Our thinking is, a permanent structure will alleviate this cost for quite a number of years.  The downside though is we will need to invest quite a large amount up-front.  I guess it is a bit like investing in solar power.  If the up-front costs can be made, then there are savings to be made down the track.
A permanent structure would solve the above problems but create others.  One of the problems is, we will need to comply with council regulations.  I could always ignore the regulations and do what I want, but this is where the above advice rang true with me.  I am so not good at trying to keep things hidden.  Merril made what I consider a very valid point.  If I appear before a judge along with the complainant, then the judge is sure to side with the complainant if I have not complied.  We had to put a fence around our lockable indoor room spar.  It seemed like nothing but a costly inconvenience.  However, I know I sleep better knowing that when kids come over, we have not only complied, but they cannot get to the spar due to the pool fence.
The previous owner of a house I own obviously did not have the same problem.  How what he had put up past inspection, I do not know.  He had an incredibly strong pergola who’s drains extended over the next-door neighbour’s yard.  This became a problem I was made aware of, when the area under the drains became a quagmire because of them.  I removed the structure.  Problem solved.  The structure was not easy to remove, and it looked real pretty, but it needed to be 90cm in.
We had some major cementing done to establish another driveway.  I learned at the time that as long as something was 90cm from the fence line, then the driveway did not need to get the neighbours approval first.  I personally have no problem going down the road of getting a neighbour’s approval, but I will not, if I do not need to. No matter if the neighbour says no, the approval process costs.  An advantage to us of the 90cm is we have been able to establish garden beds in the 90 cm.
Fortunately I thrive on challenges, and I am real good at sitting and thinking about something.  Right now, it is what to put up, where to get what I need, and complying, all the while keeping costs to a minimum.  Nothing is a show stopper, but I think it will need some effort on my part, and that is a problem.e to edit.