Condo Painting throughout Shrewsbury, MA.

A condo job has two clients in the background even when one person signs the estimate: the owner and the association. Before anything is scheduled, it helps to know which surfaces belong to whom, what the rules say about contractors, and what the manager needs on file.

Shared-wall housing makes up a sizable slice of the town. The Census counts 3,152 units, 20.5% of the town's housing, in buildings of five or more units, including 953 in buildings of 50 or more, plus 1,213 single-family attached units of the townhouse type. That count combines rental apartments and condominiums, since the survey does not tell them apart, but it shows how many housing units sit behind a shared wall or a shared front door.

Unit interiors

Inside a unit, walls, ceilings, interior doors and trim are usually the owner's to repaint, subject to the association's rules on hours, noise, parking and elevator use. Those rules matter more in a large building, where a crew carrying ladders and drop cloths through a lobby needs a reserved elevator or a designated entrance.

Renters occupy 27.8% of the town's occupied housing, per the Census, and a unit that is rented out may need fresh paint between tenancies as well as before a sale. Neutral, washable finishes hold up between occupants; our article on colors for Massachusetts home sellers and the post on pre-listing paint cover choices for a sale.

Common areas and exteriors

Hallways, stairwells, lobbies, mailrooms and exterior siding are generally common elements, and painting them is a board decision funded by the association. Corridor work must keep egress open and fumes low, so low-odor products and phased scheduling floor by floor matter. Our comparison of low-VOC and zero-VOC paint explains the difference in what residents will smell.

Exterior repaints on townhouse rows or garden-style buildings need a single color scheme and a clear sequence so residents know when their windows, decks and entries will be off limits. For details on siding and trim prep, see our exterior painting page for Shrewsbury, and for decks and balconies attached to units, our deck staining page.

Paperwork the manager may ask for

Find out from the manager or board, before work is scheduled, whether the association needs a certificate of insurance on file and whose name should appear on it. AJ Painting is licensed and insured, and that documentation can be provided for the association's records. The master deed and bylaws decide whether doors, windows, balconies and decks count as common, limited common or unit property, which in turn decides who must approve a color change.

Older buildings and lead

51.0% of local housing units predate 1980. A condominium created by converting an older apartment building or a large old house may still have lead paint on original trim, windows and stair railings. Federal rules require certified, lead-safe work when paid jobs disturb more than 6 square feet per room inside or 20 square feet outside in pre-1978 housing, and in a shared building, dust control protects neighbors as well as the unit owner. Our lead-safe painting page has the details.

• Unit walls, ceilings, trim and doors
• Hallways, stairwells, lobbies and mailrooms
• Exterior siding, trim and entry doors on association buildings
• Balconies, decks and railings
• Phased schedules posted for residents