Condo Painting right here in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Dedham is mainly a single-family town, but not entirely. Census estimates place 18.5% of its housing units in buildings with five or more units, including 856 units in buildings of 50 or more, and another 10.2% in two- to four-unit buildings. The census doesn't say which of those are condominiums rather than rentals, but those numbers describe the range of buildings an association here could be running, from a two-family conversion to a large complex.

At least one condo building in town has a long history. Mother Brook, the canal Dedham ordered dug in 1639, powered a series of mills beginning with a corn mill in 1641, and an 1835 stone mill along it was converted to condominiums in 1986–87. A converted industrial or historic building can bring surfaces, such as masonry, heavy timber or tall stair halls, that a newer wood-frame complex won't have.

Inside your own unit

Your master deed and bylaws set the line between your unit and the common elements. Inside walls, ceilings and trim are often the owner's to paint, while the corridor side of the entry door, shared walls and balconies may belong to the association. Check before choosing colors for anything that faces a hallway or the outside.

In a building constructed before 1978, sanding or scraping old paint in a unit can spread lead dust into shared spaces if it isn't contained. Federal and Massachusetts lead-safe rules apply to paid work in those buildings whether you live in the unit or rent it out. Census estimates count 26.6% of Dedham's occupied homes as renter-occupied, though they don't separate condo units from other rentals. See our lead-safe painting page.

• Unit walls, ceilings, trim and doors
• Kitchen and bath cabinets, covered on our Dedham cabinet painting page
• Turnover painting between tenants
• Refresh before listing a unit

Halls, lobbies and stairwells

Common-area painting happens while residents are home and coming and going. A good plan sets the sequence in writing: notice to residents a few days ahead, one stairwell or floor at a time so there is always a clear route, protection for floors, railings and elevator interiors, and coatings with low odor and a washable finish for high-traffic walls.

For the board, an estimate broken out by area (lobby, each stair, each corridor, exterior elevations) makes it easier to vote on scope and to phase the work over more than one budget year if reserves require it.

Insurance paperwork for the association

A management company or an association master policy may require a contractor to provide a certificate of insurance before working in common areas, sometimes naming the association or manager as certificate holder or additional insured. AJ Painting is licensed and insured. Send the exact wording your manager needs with the estimate request so the certificate can be issued before scheduling.

Exteriors in the historic districts

Multi-unit buildings inside one of Dedham's local historic districts go through the same Historic Districts Commission review as single-family houses: a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior changes, approved before work starts. The town's homeowner instructions list paint chips among the application materials for a color change. A board should file early and schedule the job around the Commission's decision. For more on the village area, see our Dedham Village page; the Mother Brook area is covered on the East Dedham page.