Exterior Painting serving Dover and Metro West MA.

Tree cover has a lot to do with how exterior paint ages here. Land-use figures in the town's 2011 Open Space and Recreation Plan count 5,706 acres of forest in 1999, roughly 58% of the town's 9,876 acres. The same plan describes zoning that calls for two-acre minimum lots across most of town, with one-acre and half-acre districts closer to the center.

Trees close to a house keep siding in shade and slow the drying after rain and dew. Shaded walls are where mildew, algae and peeling tend to show up first, while the sunny elevations chalk and fade. A good repaint treats each side of the house on its own terms instead of applying one schedule to all four.

Prep for shaded and damp elevations

Gutters full of leaves and branches touching the roofline add water to the same walls the shade already keeps wet, so clearing them is worth doing before the painters arrive.

• Wash with a mildew-killing cleaner and let the siding dry fully before any primer goes on
• Check moisture in trim and clapboards near grade, under gutters and behind shrubs
• Replace or consolidate rotted wood at sills, corner boards and window trim before painting
• Use a primer and topcoat suited to the surface, with mildewcide where shade keeps walls damp

Lead on the outside of older houses

Census data put 61.1% of local housing units before 1980, and 10.2% before 1940. On the outside of a pre-1978 house, the federal Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies once disturbed paint exceeds 20 square feet: ground sheeting to catch chips, misting instead of dry scraping, no open-flame burning, no high-speed sanding or grinding without HEPA controls, and careful cleanup of soil and walkways. Chips left in garden beds are a real exposure risk for children and pets. Details are on our lead-safe painting page.

Historic houses and what the town reviews

The town's Historical Commission has documented more than 150 historic structures, and the oldest houses named in the 2011 plan go back to 1723. Its formal role in private projects that the town describes is the Demolition Delay Bylaw, which covers houses, barns and other roofed structures built in or before 1929; a building found 'preferably preserved' can have its demolition permit held for up to a year.

Repainting is not demolition, and no local historic district or National Register district was found in town. If a project goes beyond paint, such as removing a porch or replacing siding and trim boards, check with the Building Department first; it reviews applications to construct, alter or demolish and accepts them only through its online portal.

Timing the work

Exterior paint needs surfaces and air above the product's minimum temperature through the drying period, and dew-free hours for each coat to set. Shaded walls on a wooded lot may stay wet well into the morning, which shortens the working day in spring and fall. Our guides on the best time of year to paint in Massachusetts and painting an exterior in November cover the limits, and common exterior paint failures shows what happens when they are ignored.

AJ Painting Services, based in Ashland and licensed and insured, starts with a free on-site visit and a written estimate covering each elevation, carpentry repairs and the coating system.