Framing the American Dream
When we last checked in on this duplex, the exterior shell had just arrived in Staunton from the National Mall, ready for the next phase of the build. Turning that open shell into a home took two local partners. Micah Stewart and the team from Stewart Home Renovations framed every interior wall, while Kevin Bailey and the crew at Bailey Builders have kept quality materials flowing to the build.
Everything in Between
When the Stewart crew first stepped inside, the duplex was completely empty, with only the exterior shell of the home in place. Working from the interior floor plan, they framed the interior walls, doorways, and partitions that turned one wide-open space into bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets. Since the plan allows for adjustments, the future homeowner still has a say in how their home takes shape.
For Micah, adding those interior walls is the moment a structure starts becoming a home. "It really takes from just a shell, adding all the walls to it. It defines what the house is. It's not just a two-bedroom house anymore. It's space that a family can live and cohabitate with each other."
Micah first met our Executive Director, Brad Bryant, in school. "When I learned that he was doing this in Blitz Builds and really giving back to the community, I kept in touch, and that kind of stemmed back to Habitat," Micah shared. Relationships like this one often turn into partnerships years down the road.
A Second Life for Good Materials
Kevin Bailey, owner of Bailey Builders, has been involved with Habitat for a long time, and his reasons start with how he was raised. "I can just think back at the way I grew up and my parents teaching us to give to others and help others," Kevin shared.
For the past four or five years, Bailey Builders has donated materials from their remodel jobs to Habitat projects instead of letting them go to waste. The latest example is right next door. Cabinets pulled from a recent kitchen remodel are planned for the kitchen of the neighboring unit. They're quality materials with plenty of life left.
"The reality is, cost for building is expensive. If we can do a little piece to help anybody, not just our clients that we have contracts with individually, we want to be able to help."
Donated materials and volunteered hours like these are a big part of why an affordable home stays affordable.
Building for the Family
Micah keeps coming back because of the families who will live in these homes. "It's not just walls that I'm framing. It's thinking of all the future things that could happen here."
Kevin feels that same pull to give back. Watching Habitat's work firsthand keeps him wanting to give whenever he can, and being part of it is something he considers an honor. What he hopes the family feels when they first walk through the door is relief. "They have comfort and safety in knowing they have the roof over their head, but they also can be unified as a family there."
For Micah, watching that transformation happen is his favorite part of the process, and we are grateful for partners like him and the Stewart Home Renovations crew, and Kevin and the Bailey Builders team. Their skill and generosity are turning an empty foundation into a home, and soon, one more family in our community will have a safe, affordable place to call their own.
Watch Episode 2
A home once part of the National Mall is being rebuilt on a Shenandoah Valley hillside as a permanent, affordable home for a local family. It's a project like nothing the area has seen, made possible by partners like Masonry Plus USA and Mainframe Builders, who brought both skill and generosity to the effort.
Watch Episode 1
See how innovation, partnership, and community came together to create high-quality homes and lasting new beginnings for families in the Shenandoah Valley. From the National Mall to Staunton, this story shows what’s possible when people work together to make homeownership more attainable.
