Exterior Painting throughout East Bridgewater, MA.

In Census figures, 81.4% of the town's housing units are single-family detached houses, and 83.1% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners. Exterior upkeep in town is largely a single-house, owner-by-owner job. The siding itself spans more than three centuries, from houses near the Common built as early as 1703 to the 923 units the Census counts from 2000 or later.

An exterior paint job lasts or fails on what happens before the first coat: how the old paint is removed, how bare wood is primed, and whether water is getting behind the siding.

The Common Historic District

The East Bridgewater Common Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service record lists Central and Plymouth Streets and Morse Avenue, with Georgian and Federal architecture. At its center is a 1.7-acre triangular Town Common, and the First Parish Church there dates to 1794. The Aaron Hobart estate house, an 1850s Italianate building, now holds town offices.

According to the National Park Service, Register listing by itself places no restrictions on what a private owner does with the property unless federal money or permits are involved. We did not find a local historic district commission with paint-color review in town. Painting is not demolition, so the town's 120-day demolition-delay bylaw for buildings over 75 years old doesn't apply to a repaint, though it can matter if a project includes removing a large part of the exterior shell. When in doubt, the Building Department at 175 Central Street can confirm.

Old wood, old paint

Of the 5,302 housing units the Census counts, 2,865 were built in 1979 or earlier. On a pre-1978 exterior, scraping and sanding can release lead into soil around the foundation, where children play and gardens grow. Ground plastic, controlled wet scraping, HEPA-shrouded sanders and daily cleanup keep chips out of the yard. The lead-safe painting page has the details.

Clapboards with many layers of paint often fail in a pattern: cracking across the grain, then peeling down to wood. Spot-priming bare areas works for small failures; widespread alligatoring calls for heavier removal before a new system goes on.

• Scrape and feather-sand loose and cracked paint
• Prime all bare wood the same day it's exposed
• Replace or epoxy-repair rotted sills, corner boards and drip caps
• Caulk open joints but leave the bottom laps of clapboards free to drain

Shade, wetlands and mildew

The town's master plan lists forest as the largest land use at 40.9%, and wetlands and water together at 20.5%, with Robbins Pond, the Satucket River, the Matfield River and Meadow Brook among its natural features. A wall that faces woods or stays in shade dries slowly after rain and dew, and that is where mildew and algae take hold on paint.

Washing with a mildewcide cleaner before painting, trimming back branches that touch the house, and using a finish with mildew resistance all help. Peeling at the bottom of a wall near damp ground is often moisture wicking up, which no paint will stop on its own.

Season and scheduling

Most exterior paints need air and surface temperatures above a minimum on the label, plus dry hours before nightfall dew. Late spring through early fall gives the widest window. A late-season job is possible on some days; the post on painting an exterior in November explains the limits. For the inside of the house, see interior painting in East Bridgewater, and for porches and decks, see deck staining in East Bridgewater.