March 13,  2009



When Island residents Ronnie and Gina Williams decided to lift and remodel their home last winter, they never could have imagined the course the project would take.

Their house, an original island home in Frisco that had belonged to Ronnie’s grandparents, was, according to their best guesses, around 100 years old, and was past-due for some updates.

The Williams’ home needed more space, drywall, central heating and air, and, most importantly, the house, which stood just two feet off the ground in an eight-foot flood zone, needed to be lifted to a safer level. 

“That’s what started the whole thing,” Gina said. “The house had already been flooded several times, and we needed to get it up out of the flood zone.”

So, the Williams went to the bank and refinanced their home with sufficient cash-out to raise their house and install the features their home needed.  They contracted Steve Steiner, a licensed house mover and raiser based in Pantego, who frequently works on the island, and on Dec. 26 of last year, their house was in the air. 

In order to save time and speed up the remodeling process, they decided to work on the interior projects as the house was being lifted. So, while the home was in the air, contractors were inside working on the renovations.

But, as more and more walls came down, it became clear that the old house had too many structural problems to sustain the kind of improvements the Williams needed to make, and they realized that they were going to end up spending all the money they had procured for renovations just getting the house back to what it was before—if that would even be possible.

The Williams were ultimately left with just one difficult and unattractive option—put the house back down, demolish it, and start from scratch.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Gina said of the damage.  “It wasn’t something that someone did wrong; there was just a problem with the house.” 

A big problem discovered at a really inconvenient time. 

After the couple paid Steiner $10,000 for his attempt to raise the house, they were left with less than $50,000 to demolish their old home and build a new one from the ground up.  And because their house had collapsed due to a “structural defect,” their insurance wouldn’t cover it. 

“I just kept saying, there’s no way we’re going to be able to build a house with less than $50,000. No way,” Gina remembered. “But we just put our trust in God that something would happen, that we’d be able to get a house.”

And over the few weeks, something definitely happened.

Community members, churches, and local businesses got word of the Williams’ predicament and decided to pitch in and help the couple and their three children.

On the afternoon of Jan. 11, Steve Crum and the crew of Crum’s Construction in Buxton demolished the Williams’ house free of charge, while Johnny Gray, of Fred Gray’s Hauling, gathered up all the remains of the house and debris from the demolition and carted it away.

It took Crum and Gray just three hours, volunteering after church one Sunday afternoon, to give the Williams a clean slate, and in the weeks that followed, countless individuals and businesses in the community volunteered their time and resources to ensure the Williams family had a home.

Ronnie and Gina used all the money they had left to purchase the raw materials necessary for construction, and the community did the rest, donating invaluable time and labor to the effort and making sure the Williams family was taken care of in the meantime. 

Johnny Williams of Cape Construction in Buxton was instrumental in getting the ball rolling, inspiring and organizing community volunteers. He also helped the Williams to get floor and construction plans in order for permits and offered the services of his company and crew.

And John and Jane Metacarpa, who own and operate the Sandbar and Grill in Buxton, allowed the family to live in the apartment they own below the Sandbar while their house was under construction.

Several local housing, painting, and HVAC contractors and their crews worked on the house, making sure that the new building was not only put up in record time—it took them just 28 hours to frame up and plywood in the whole house—but that all the improvements the Williams had needed were in place.

And local restaurants, coffee shops, and churches worked to ensure that the crews had plenty of coffee, food, and drinks while they were on the job site.

The family is planning to finish hanging the drywall, paint the interior and exterior, and install the flooring within the next few weeks, and they’re hoping to be moved into their house by the beginning of April.

Once they get settled in, Gina says they’re planning to host a big get-together in honor of all the people who have been so thoughtful and worked so hard in rebuilding their home.

“I honestly believe that this wouldn’t have happened anywhere else,” Gina said of the outpouring of support and generosity.  “We’ve been truly blessed.”



THE HELPERS

The Williams Family would like to extend their thanks to the following businesses and individuals for the extraordinary help they offered during the rebuilding of the Williams’ home:

Heritage of Faith Family Church
Johnny and Kyle Williams—Cape Construction
David and Wendy Stowe—Stowe and Co. Painting
Pittsburgh Paint
Steve and Liz Crum and Crew of Crum Construction
Kevin and Rossie Jackson—CT Pilings and Bulkheads
Dick and Margaret Farrow—Frisco Contractors
Johnny and Mann Gray—Fred Gray’s Hauling
Jeffery Quidley—Sea Breeze Construction
Kyle O’Neal—Sound Construction
Johnny and Julie Williams—South Beach Construction
Darrin and Dee Callahan—Air Waves Heating and Air
Dare Building Supply
Charles Gregory—Hatteras Island Home Works
Charles Williams—Williams Plumbing
All Star Insulation
Dare Building Supply
Sheila Jackson—the blue coffee shop and art gallery in Frisco…
Island Perks
Eric Barnett—Subway of Avon
Jamie Fuller
Kyle Smithwick, Sr.
Tony Willis, Jr.
Barry and Karen Greenwood
Howard and Inez Gavin
Allen Burrus
John and Jane Metacarpa
Wiley Martin
John White
George and Judy Basnett
…and growing!

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