My engineer neighbor

My neighbor graduated as an engineer and today in his mid-forties is a man of many talents. What I’m not excited about is that he plans to build a small house, called a “casita”, that he plans to rent out. It will be located between his and ours, be just one-floor, its living area no more than 1,000 square feet, with no more than two bedrooms and 18’ in height. 

As a public hearing has been set up and a sign posted in my neighbor’s yard, I asked him to send me the plans, since I’m the neighbor most impacted by his project and will have an opportunity to address my comments during a public presentation before the City Council. 

He hasn’t sent me the floor plans yet, but just a positioning sketch showing where the planned dwelling will sit. Even though I’m not quite an engineer I spotted a few egregious mistakes that made me feel good about my technical knowledge compared to someone who ought to be more skilled than me. 

It might also suggest that today’s degrees aren’t quite worth the paper they’re printed on...