Exterior Painting throughout Shrewsbury, MA.

An exterior repaint here starts with three questions: how old the house is, what the siding is, and whether the property sits in one of the town's local historic districts. The first decides which federal lead rules apply. The second decides how much scraping, sanding and carpentry stand between you and a finish coat. The third decides whether a town commission needs to weigh in.

Census figures show how mixed the answers can be. Of 15,393 housing units, 7,849 were built before 1980 and 1,762 date to 1939 or earlier, while the 1990s alone added 3,294. Single-family detached houses account for 65.1% of the stock, about two units in three.

Siding and trim by age

Wood clapboard and cedar shingle on an older house can carry many layers of paint. When those layers lose their grip, the failure shows as curling, alligatoring or bare gray wood on the side that gets the most sun and rain. Our article on common exterior paint failures in Massachusetts shows what each pattern says about moisture and adhesion.

Newer houses raise different questions. Fiber cement, engineered wood and vinyl can all be painted, but each needs the right primer and, for vinyl, a color that will not overheat the panels. On a house of any age, inspect trim, fascia, soffits and window casings closely; rotted pieces should be replaced before any paint touches them.

The Town Common and the Artemas Ward homestead

Shrewsbury adopted a local historic district by bylaw in 1972 under state Chapter 40C. Its Historic District Commission now oversees two districts: the town-center area north of Main Street, which takes in the Town Common, the First Congregational Church, the 1830 brick schoolhouse, the library, part of Mountain View Cemetery and five historic homes; and the General Artemas Ward homestead, owned by Harvard University.

The commission handles Certificate of Appropriateness applications, and it describes its goal as allowing "thoughtful consideration of change" rather than halting it. The bylaw's list of items exempt from review covers things like storm windows, screens, lighting fixtures and small signs, and paint color is not on that list. If your house is in either district, check with the Historic District Commission before choosing colors or replacing exterior trim.

Lead on older exteriors

Scraping a pre-1978 house can release lead-bearing chips into garden beds and onto the driveway. The EPA rule exempts paid exterior jobs that disturb 20 square feet or less; beyond that, the work must be done by a certified firm with ground covering, containment and cleanup. Details are on our lead-safe painting page.

Timing and scope

Exterior coatings need dry wood and air and surface temperatures within the label's range for application and the hours after. Cold nights and wet mornings make those conditions harder to meet as the year moves toward winter, so check the product label against the forecast before committing to a late-season start. Our posts on the best time of year to paint and on painting an exterior in November cover the limits. For what to expect between repaints, read how long exterior paint lasts. Our neighborhood pages for White City and Edgemere add more local detail.

• Clapboard, shingle, fiber cement and painted vinyl siding
• Trim, fascia, soffits, corner boards and window casings
• Rotted wood replacement before priming
• Front doors, shutters, porch ceilings and railings
• Lead-safe scraping and cleanup on pre-1978 houses