Home repair before winter
Donation protected
My family is working on a project of fixing up a house. We're all handicap with a limited income, and hoping for a little help from people who can spare a few dollars to help us reach our goal. The overall goal is $40,000, which I’ve broken down to explain and inform everyone about my family.
A breakdown of the money.
$22,000 - Windows and Gutters. The 22 windows are old and do not hold in heat, many are also broken and take wood to hold open. We live in Michigan, which has very cold winters, and while we could put plastic over the windows our daughter has a nerve condition and is hurt by the cold.
$3,000 - Plumbing, we have already paid $13,400 towards the plumbing. The house had really bad plumbing when we bought it. The work was done so badly that the City inspector wanted to take a picture of it, to show his friends. We had to replace all the plumbing just to get it working well in the house. We are hoping to get the plumbing finished before winter, the sooner the better. Right now the house has no working sinks or toilets, and my daughters are living there while working on the house.
$10,000 - Electric, when buying the house we were told there was recent electric work. Upon getting in the house and removing the stuff that the previous owners left there we found walls with burn marks and a switch plate that gets hot if the ceiling fan is turned on. We broke into the walls for the plumbing and found that the wires are all the old electric set up. We can't put any walls back up till the wires are replaced and a new breaker box is put in, since the current box was installed in the kitchen, against code on where the breaker box is allowed.
The last $5,000 is a mix between the fees they take from each donation here, and getting drywall to replace the walls that need to come down.
We are fully aware that there is a chance we will not reach our goal, though know that every penny donated will be put towards the house. Here's a little about my family and what this house means to us.
In 2013 I had a triple-by-pass, which has changed my life forever. I have a hard time keeping my breath, as I can not even walk from the kitchen to my chair in the living room, without being winded needing my oxygen. I am trying to get better, with trips to the hospital, doctors, and help from my family members. They do not let me work at the house, out of fear of my health.
My wife has a few things wrong with her, with MS, Scoliosis, and two new knees. She does everything she can to help the family, without showing the pain that she feels. She's even one of the people working on the house, as she's doing any job that she knows she can handle.
My oldest daughter, who broke her neck in 2013. She lives in California normally, though has stepped away from her life out there to help us restore the house that we're moving into. She has never fully recovered from breaking her neck, as she's now having problems in her back, right arm and legs from the injury.
My youngest daughter, was injured at work by a high voltage machine. She has a condition known as CRPS, which has her in pain all the time. Mostly in the right arm, but some of her attacks go into her spine making it so she can not walk or do anything from anywhere between 15 minutes to 6 hours. She does light work at the house, when she can.
There a few reasons for this move, making it important to my family. The main one is, the fear that the current location where we've been living has been hurting our family. Once we moved in, both my wife and I developed a severe cough. My breathing has gotten so much worse. I do like our place, though when we went away for a vacation in summer 2016 for a month and a half, my wife's cough went away. It returned after being home for a few weeks. My family feels that it is best to get us into a different home, to help improve our health.
This move would also be saving us money in bills, which is more than our monthly income. I was forced to retire early from my job after the triple-by-pass. Retiring has cut my income, making it harder to meet the bills that I use to be able to pay. We are not asking for help with these bills, as we know once we make this move we should be able to get these under control and have less to worry about. We are only asking for help in making this move.
We are thankful to anyone that is willing to help us during this time.
A breakdown of the money.
$22,000 - Windows and Gutters. The 22 windows are old and do not hold in heat, many are also broken and take wood to hold open. We live in Michigan, which has very cold winters, and while we could put plastic over the windows our daughter has a nerve condition and is hurt by the cold.
$3,000 - Plumbing, we have already paid $13,400 towards the plumbing. The house had really bad plumbing when we bought it. The work was done so badly that the City inspector wanted to take a picture of it, to show his friends. We had to replace all the plumbing just to get it working well in the house. We are hoping to get the plumbing finished before winter, the sooner the better. Right now the house has no working sinks or toilets, and my daughters are living there while working on the house.
$10,000 - Electric, when buying the house we were told there was recent electric work. Upon getting in the house and removing the stuff that the previous owners left there we found walls with burn marks and a switch plate that gets hot if the ceiling fan is turned on. We broke into the walls for the plumbing and found that the wires are all the old electric set up. We can't put any walls back up till the wires are replaced and a new breaker box is put in, since the current box was installed in the kitchen, against code on where the breaker box is allowed.
The last $5,000 is a mix between the fees they take from each donation here, and getting drywall to replace the walls that need to come down.
We are fully aware that there is a chance we will not reach our goal, though know that every penny donated will be put towards the house. Here's a little about my family and what this house means to us.
In 2013 I had a triple-by-pass, which has changed my life forever. I have a hard time keeping my breath, as I can not even walk from the kitchen to my chair in the living room, without being winded needing my oxygen. I am trying to get better, with trips to the hospital, doctors, and help from my family members. They do not let me work at the house, out of fear of my health.
My wife has a few things wrong with her, with MS, Scoliosis, and two new knees. She does everything she can to help the family, without showing the pain that she feels. She's even one of the people working on the house, as she's doing any job that she knows she can handle.
My oldest daughter, who broke her neck in 2013. She lives in California normally, though has stepped away from her life out there to help us restore the house that we're moving into. She has never fully recovered from breaking her neck, as she's now having problems in her back, right arm and legs from the injury.
My youngest daughter, was injured at work by a high voltage machine. She has a condition known as CRPS, which has her in pain all the time. Mostly in the right arm, but some of her attacks go into her spine making it so she can not walk or do anything from anywhere between 15 minutes to 6 hours. She does light work at the house, when she can.
There a few reasons for this move, making it important to my family. The main one is, the fear that the current location where we've been living has been hurting our family. Once we moved in, both my wife and I developed a severe cough. My breathing has gotten so much worse. I do like our place, though when we went away for a vacation in summer 2016 for a month and a half, my wife's cough went away. It returned after being home for a few weeks. My family feels that it is best to get us into a different home, to help improve our health.
This move would also be saving us money in bills, which is more than our monthly income. I was forced to retire early from my job after the triple-by-pass. Retiring has cut my income, making it harder to meet the bills that I use to be able to pay. We are not asking for help with these bills, as we know once we make this move we should be able to get these under control and have less to worry about. We are only asking for help in making this move.
We are thankful to anyone that is willing to help us during this time.
Organizer
David Ivey
Organizer
Rochester, MI
