Exterior Painting right here in Lynn, Massachusetts.

The state's historical survey describes a city that runs from Nahant Bay to the headwaters of the Ipswich River: a flat plain along the Saugus River and the Common, the shoreline along Lynn Shore Drive, and rocky granite uplands around Lynn Woods to the north. A house facing open water can take wind and salt spray that a house tucked into a side street inland does not, so the same paint can wear at very different rates across town.

Age matters as much as location. Of 37,960 housing units, the census counts 17,360 built in 1939 or earlier. Siding on a house that old may carry many coats from past repaints, and the condition of those earlier layers sets the limit on how long a new coat can last.

Siding types you will find here

According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, most residential building from 1870 to 1915 followed a workers' side-hall form with simple Queen Anne porch and shingle details, with surviving examples often in two-family plans. Shingled gables and turned porch parts have a lot of edges and end grain, which is where paint fails first; they take more scraping and spot-priming time than flat clapboard.

Along the shore the variety widens. MHC describes towered Queen Anne houses on Atlantic and Ocean Streets in the Diamond District, Colonial Revival houses and gambrel cottages nearby, English Cottage designs in stucco and brick on Lynn Shore Drive, and Georgian Revival brick houses on Ocean Street after World War I. Stucco needs a breathable masonry coating, not house paint, and unpainted brick should usually stay unpainted, since paint can trap moisture in the masonry.

• Wood clapboard and shingle: scrape, sand feathered edges, spot-prime bare wood
• Porch columns, rails and brackets: caulk joints, prime end grain
• Stucco: crack repair and breathable masonry coating
• Previously painted brick: clean, repair mortar, use a masonry-rated paint

Three-decker heights and access

MHC notes that two-family and three-decker housing was built along the old streetcar routes of Western Avenue, Essex Street and Eastern Avenue, including flat-roofed "Boston style" three-deckers from before World War I. A three-story wall changes the job: staging or lifts instead of ladders alone, tight side yards next to the neighbor's house, and a flat roof edge that needs its cornice and trim checked for water damage before painting.

On a multi-family building, plan the schedule with every household in mind. Tenants need to know when porches will be off-limits, and windows may have to stay closed while sash and trim dry.

Lead-safe scraping outdoors

Census tables put 78.1% of the city's housing units before 1980, the nearest decade break to the 1978 lead-paint ban. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers exterior work on pre-1978 homes, so scraping chips have to be caught on ground sheeting rather than left in the soil where children play. Our lead-safe painting page explains what proper containment looks like.

Historic districts and color choice

National Register districts in the city include the Diamond Historic District near the shore, the Lynn Common Historic District, and downtown's Central Square Historic District. The National Park Service says National Register listing itself places no restrictions on what a private owner does with a property, unless the project receives federal assistance. We have not found a local historic district with binding color review, but call the city before an unusual color change on a listed building to be certain.

As for timing, fall work needs the overnight temperature to stay above the minimum on the label, so October and November jobs depend on a run of mild days. Our post on painting in November explains the limits. Porches and decks are covered on the deck painting page, and East Lynn and Sagamore Hill have their own pages.