Mattapan Painters — Mattapan, Boston

Mattapan came into Boston in 1870 as a section of Dorchester. The Parks Department calls it a classic streetcar suburb: the Midland Branch railroad arrived in 1855 and trolleys in the 1890s, and each brought a wave of new houses.

Those waves left a clear pattern. The Franklin area, the northern third, filled in densely with two- and three-family houses. Wellington Hill, in the middle, mixed single-family homes in among the multi-families. South of that, on both sides of Mattapan Square, single-family houses on larger lots went up in the middle of the 20th century.

Current census figures show how much of the older multi-family stock remains. Around Babson Street (Census Tract 1011.02), 57% of homes were built before 1940, the median is 1938, and 40% sit in three- and four-unit buildings. Near Wellington Hill Street (Tract 1011.01), 37% of units are in two-family houses and about half are owner-occupied. That tract has newer housing too: 26% of its units were built in 2000 or later.

So a painter here may go from an older three-decker with a porch on every floor to a mid-century single where the job is mostly trim and doors.

Wood-frame multi-families

The Boston Preservation Alliance notes that nearly all of Boston's older triple-deckers are wood-frame. On a three-story wood exterior, check the porch decks, railings and window sills on every level closely, since flat wood holds water. Rotted sill and rail wood should be replaced before paint goes on, or the new coat will fail early.

Pre-1940 paint layers

With more than half the homes around Babson Street built before 1940, old coats of lead paint are a real possibility on siding, trim and interior woodwork. Scraping and sanding must follow lead-safe rules. Income-eligible owners with young children can apply to Lead Safe Boston for free inspections and forgivable loans.

Owner-occupied rentals

Around Wellington Hill Street, 37.3% of units are in two-family houses and 51.1% are owner-occupied. Where an owner lives on one floor and rents the others, interior work in the rented units means scheduling around tenants. Exterior work has to reach every floor's porch and windows. Write the access dates into a notice for each unit ahead of time.

Mid-century houses near the Square

Single-family homes went up on larger lots east and west of Mattapan Square in the mid-1900s. A one- or two-story house on a roomy lot needs far less staging than a three-decker on a tight one. If interior trim from that era still wears an oil enamel finish, it needs a bonding primer before latex goes over it.