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RENOVATIONS AND RESTORATION
The condition of the house on February 3, 1995 was poor. The Historic Columbus Foundation had acquired the house as a fire damaged building in December 1986. They had committed a huge amount of resources to have the roof replaced, the windows repaired, paint on the exterior, basic structural stabilization and they had boarded up the windows to secure it from vagrants.. This is where they stopped.
Very few ceilings survived the water damage when the roof was missing after the fire in October 86. However, most of the original plaster walls were present and could be saved. The original decorations and woodwork on doors and windows was present. The original floors were in poor condition on the surface, but these are heart pine, and are sturdy. They survived! I repaired where needed and left them in place. They finish out beautifully. The heart pine used to build this house was harvested from old virgin forest in the area. The wood is from old growth long-leaf Georgia pine, and this lumber was likely cut from 200 to 300 year old trees.
The Grand Hall and the Double Parlors are the rooms that remain to be finished.
All renovations and restorations have been done with out-of-pocket finances. I have not received, nor have I applied for any financial aid or tax reduction incentives for this project. There are no grants available that I know of and I do not seem to qualify for the historic building restoration programs I have researched
I have many photos to show you with before and after shots.