Exterior Painting for Auburn, MA homeowners.

Auburn's housing spans close to three centuries. The town's 2019 master plan lists 242 entries in the state's historic inventory, MACRIS, and says most of them are houses from the 1700s and 1800s. Meanwhile, the Census counts about half of all units as built between 1940 and 1979, a span that includes the 1950s and 1960s, when interstate construction made the town the junction of I-90, I-290 and I-395.

Those two groups of houses ask different things of an exterior painter. Old wood clapboard has been scraped and recoated for generations; a 1960s ranch may have its original siding, a later replacement, or a mix. Seventy-three percent of the town's units are single-family detached homes; for those, the whole envelope, from the foundation line to the gable peak, is the owner's responsibility rather than an association's.

Early houses near the center

According to the master plan, Town Hall, the Congregational Church and many of the oldest houses in town, dating from 1729 to 1899, stand along Central and Church Streets. Town Hall itself, dedicated in 1896, is Queen Anne, and the 1911 former library building is Colonial Revival. Houses from that span can carry detailed cornices, corner boards and window casings that need hand scraping and careful priming rather than a quick wash and roll.

On wood that old, the lower layers of paint may include lead. Scraping and sanding them produces chips and dust that need to be contained on the ground and kept out of soil and gardens. Our lead-safe painting page explains the process. Elsewhere, the 2017 housing plan names Packachoag Hill among the town's historically significant areas; see our Pakachoag Hill page for that part of town.

Is there a historic review for repainting?

As of the 2017 housing plan, Auburn had no National Register historic districts and no local historic districts. The Auburn Historic Commission's role, as the master plan describes it, is to inventory historic properties, prepare nominations, advise town officials and keep renovations from damaging areas worth preserving. Neither plan describes a permit or design review for repainting a house. If your home is an individually listed property, or if you are unsure, ask the town before changing colors or removing original trim.

Trees, wetlands and drying time

In 1999, forest still covered 40% of the town's land, per the land-use table in the master plan, and the 2017 housing plan counts about 1,200 acres of 100-year flood zone and nearly 600 acres of wetlands. A wall that sits in shade or near wet ground dries slowly after rain and dew, which feeds mildew and pushes moisture into the wood from behind.

On those elevations, prep means washing off mildew with a cleaner that kills it, checking for soft sills and trim boards, and choosing a paint with mildew resistance. Trimming branches back from the siding helps the new coat dry between storms.

Timing the work

Exterior paint labels list a minimum surface and air temperature, often somewhere between 35 and 50°F, and the coat needs time above that before dew forms in the evening. In central Massachusetts that points to late spring through early fall, with late-season work possible on days that stay warm and dry. Our posts on painting in November and on how long exterior paint lasts here go further into both questions.