Paint to Save this House
Donation protected
My name is Holly Pitts and my father is Wilson Pitts. My father owns a house in the City of Richmond, Virgina that was built prior to the Civil War. Several months ago an inspector from the City of Richmond came to our house and told us we had to paint it or we would be heavily fined. This came as a bit of a blow. Though the need to paint was there, money needed to be spent on other house repairs. However, to get the city off our back we hired some painters and they began to paint the old gal. We need the funding to finish the rest of the house, and any delay makes it much harder to finish the job. If we can reach our goal before Decemeber 1st, we can get this old gal painted this year.
We decided to change the color from white with grey trim to pale yellow and green trim. Yellow and green were the original paint scheme. Using the orignal paint scheme allows us to preserve the historical value of the home. The house was built in 1859 using heart would pine on top of what later became known as Oregon Hill. The house is a 2000 ft duplex with much of its original siding, hand blown glass windows, and original slate roof. Our family sees a need to perserve old houses like this one because they are a monument to the building and design skills of early America.
In my life time, this house has been the place where children have been raised, beloved animals have lived out their lives, abused and neglected people have found shelter, and many hours were dedicated to practicing art forms. My father has spent over 35 years teaching internal martial arts to students from across the world. During those studies, people have developed skills that enable them to manage their lives with ease and grace. The gift he gives to his students is incalulable but without this house he would not have had a space for his students to learn. By painting the house, it encourages new students to walk through the door and practice from a teacher who has much to give. This in turn, puts local money into local hands, and keeps small, local business alive.
I grew up in this house since my father moved in when I was about 2 and a half. I made him solemnly promise me at the age of 3 never to leave the house. Something about the place has always given me peace. My father and I have had a dream my entire life to restore this house and upgrade it to a home that is sustainable to both the environment and to the organisms living inside. My father, being a man of his word, never left and was able to aquire the house in 1994.
By this time the house had seen too much neglect by its former slum lords and was in desperate need of repair. With all the repairs needed, painting the entire house has never been a priority. We have painted and repaired sides of the house that needed it the most but we have never had the money or the opportunity to have paint put on the house all at one time. My father has spent years and every dime in his pocket, slowly putting this old gal back together. Unfortunately, my father hit a stopping point when he became ill 4 years ago and was unable to work for over 2 years.
Though he is getting back on his feet, work is slow and money is coming in even slower. However, we have been offered the chance to paint the entire house including soffits, and 2 other porches for $5000! That is an unbelievable price for all the work that will need to be done to paint the entire house. There is some soffit repair that must be done before all of the house can be painted and that will cost another $2000-$5000. The $10,000 we are raising will cover the cost of repairs and the labor for painting. Any money left over will help cover the cost of purchasing the paint.
We are starting this crowd source to assist us in raising the money to paint the entire house and repair the soffit. The house has not seen a complete coat of paint on it in almost 80 years. Yes my math is correct, 80 years!!! By giving to this fund you not only help fulfill one of our dreams of restoring this old house but you also help preserve a piece of American history.
We decided to change the color from white with grey trim to pale yellow and green trim. Yellow and green were the original paint scheme. Using the orignal paint scheme allows us to preserve the historical value of the home. The house was built in 1859 using heart would pine on top of what later became known as Oregon Hill. The house is a 2000 ft duplex with much of its original siding, hand blown glass windows, and original slate roof. Our family sees a need to perserve old houses like this one because they are a monument to the building and design skills of early America.
In my life time, this house has been the place where children have been raised, beloved animals have lived out their lives, abused and neglected people have found shelter, and many hours were dedicated to practicing art forms. My father has spent over 35 years teaching internal martial arts to students from across the world. During those studies, people have developed skills that enable them to manage their lives with ease and grace. The gift he gives to his students is incalulable but without this house he would not have had a space for his students to learn. By painting the house, it encourages new students to walk through the door and practice from a teacher who has much to give. This in turn, puts local money into local hands, and keeps small, local business alive.
I grew up in this house since my father moved in when I was about 2 and a half. I made him solemnly promise me at the age of 3 never to leave the house. Something about the place has always given me peace. My father and I have had a dream my entire life to restore this house and upgrade it to a home that is sustainable to both the environment and to the organisms living inside. My father, being a man of his word, never left and was able to aquire the house in 1994.
By this time the house had seen too much neglect by its former slum lords and was in desperate need of repair. With all the repairs needed, painting the entire house has never been a priority. We have painted and repaired sides of the house that needed it the most but we have never had the money or the opportunity to have paint put on the house all at one time. My father has spent years and every dime in his pocket, slowly putting this old gal back together. Unfortunately, my father hit a stopping point when he became ill 4 years ago and was unable to work for over 2 years.
Though he is getting back on his feet, work is slow and money is coming in even slower. However, we have been offered the chance to paint the entire house including soffits, and 2 other porches for $5000! That is an unbelievable price for all the work that will need to be done to paint the entire house. There is some soffit repair that must be done before all of the house can be painted and that will cost another $2000-$5000. The $10,000 we are raising will cover the cost of repairs and the labor for painting. Any money left over will help cover the cost of purchasing the paint.
We are starting this crowd source to assist us in raising the money to paint the entire house and repair the soffit. The house has not seen a complete coat of paint on it in almost 80 years. Yes my math is correct, 80 years!!! By giving to this fund you not only help fulfill one of our dreams of restoring this old house but you also help preserve a piece of American history.
Organizer
Holly Pitts
Organizer
Richmond, VA