Exterior Painting serving Shirley and Metro West MA.

The town's 2023–2033 open space plan sketches three settings. Shirley Village and the southeastern part of town carry dense residential, commercial and industrial development. In Shirley Center, centuries-old buildings surround the Common. Across the rest of town, old and new houses sit along the main roads among large blocks of forest, with newer subdivisions on what used to be farmland and woods.

Each setting raises a different first question. Near the Common it is whether a change needs the Historic District Commission. On a wooded lot it is how fast the siding dries after rain. On an older house anywhere in town it is what the bottom layer of paint contains.

Shirley Center: talk to the Commission before changing color

Shirley Center is a local historic district under the state Historic District Act, Chapter 40C. The town bylaw creating it was adopted in 1973 and amended in 1990, and its boundary generally runs 300 feet back from property edges along Center, Whitney, Parker and Brown Roads. Within it, the Commission issues certificates of appropriateness for exterior features visible from a public street or way, and it has 45 days to decide on an application unless the owner agrees to more time.

The bylaw exempts ordinary maintenance or repair that does not change design, material color or outward appearance. Repainting in the colors already on the house fits that description on its face. Switching body or trim colors, or replacing wood trim with a different material, is the kind of change to raise with the Commission before work starts. The town posts a fillable certificate application on the Historical Commission page. Building the review window into the schedule keeps a summer job from sliding into fall.

Federal, Georgian and Greek Revival trim

The National Park Service record for the Shirley Center district lists Greek Revival, Georgian and Federal as its architectural styles. Those styles are known for exterior millwork such as cornices, corner boards, door surrounds with pilasters, and multi-pane window sash. Where a house has that kind of trim, it takes more hand prep than the siding, and rot at sills and the bottoms of corner boards is worth probing with an awl before anyone commits to a paint-only job. Replacing a rotted piece with a matching profile keeps the outward appearance the bylaw cares about.

Shade, canopy and slow-drying siding

More than half the town is forested, according to the open space plan, and overarching roadside canopy still lines parts of Benjamin, Center, Lawton, Townsend, Groton and Great Roads. Surface water and vegetated wetlands together cover about 15% of the town, and the Squannacook and Nashua Rivers run along its whole eastern edge.

A wall that stays shaded and damp grows mildew and algae, and paint applied over that growth lets go early. A proper wash with a mildewcide cleaner, rinsing, and a full day or more of drying come before any scraping. Trimming branches back from the walls and roof lets the siding dry between storms, and a topcoat with mildew resistance helps on the north and shaded sides. The post on common exterior paint failures shows what each kind of failure looks like.

Lead rules on older siding and trim

In Census estimates, 43.8% of the town's housing was built before 1980, and about one unit in five dates from 1939 or earlier. On any house built before 1978, paid exterior work that disturbs paint falls under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule: plastic sheeting on the ground extending 10 feet from the wall, no open-flame burning, and no power sanding or planing without HEPA-equipped dust collection. Wet scraping and careful cleanup of chips each day are part of the job. Details are on our lead-safe painting page.

The paint season

Exterior paint needs dry surfaces and air and surface temperatures above the label minimum through the drying period. As fall goes on, heavy dew and short afternoons narrow that window; this post on November exterior painting explains where the cut-off falls. For how long a good job lasts in this climate, see how long exterior paint lasts in Massachusetts. Inside work is covered on our Shirley interior painting page, and decks on the deck staining page.