Interior Painting across Brockton, Massachusetts.

Census estimates put 81.4% of Brockton's housing units in buildings put up before 1980, and 31.6% date from 1939 or earlier. The median year built is 1960. For interior work, those numbers matter more than any color trend: they decide whether the walls are plaster or drywall, how many layers of paint sit on the window casings, and whether disturbing that old paint calls for lead-safe methods.

The housing also comes in a wide range of building types. Detached single-family houses account for 47.4% of units, while 27.4% sit in two- to four-unit buildings, the category that includes the city's wood-frame triple-deckers. A painter working inside a three-unit building may be dealing with three kitchens, three sets of stairs and a shared hallway, each with its own schedule.

Plaster in the pre-1940 houses

Houses built before drywall became standard typically have plaster walls on wood lath. Plaster is harder and quieter than drywall, but after a century of seasonal movement it develops hairline cracks, bulges where the keys behind it have let go, and spots where earlier patches were done in a different material. Rolling fresh paint over those flaws only highlights them under raking light from a window.

Good preparation on plaster means opening cracks slightly and filling them with a setting compound, re-securing loose sections before patching, and spot-priming every repair so the finish coat dries to an even sheen. Ceilings get the same treatment, and a sagging section has to be re-secured to the lath before any patch goes over it.

Lead-safe work on pre-1978 paint

Any home built before 1978 can contain lead-based paint, frequently buried under newer coats on doors, window sashes, stair treads and baseboards. Sanding or scraping those surfaces releases fine dust. Under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, paid work that disturbs more than 6 square feet of such paint in a room must follow lead-safe practices: plastic containment, no open-flame burning or power sanding without HEPA dust collection, HEPA vacuuming and a cleaning verification before the room is handed back. Our lead-safe painting page walks through each step.

For owner-occupants and landlords who need full deleading rather than repainting, the city's Housing Strategy Plan lists MassHousing's Get the Lead Out loans among its resources. Program terms may have changed since that plan was written, so check with MassHousing directly.

Trim, doors and the mid-century rooms

The 1950s and 1960s together account for about 30% of local housing, and postwar houses in general tend to have plainer trim than Victorian-era ones: flatter casings, slab or simple panel doors, and more closets. The challenge there is usually the finish already on the woodwork. Oil-based enamel was standard for decades, and latex applied directly over it can peel off in sheets. A quick solvent test shows what is underneath, and a bonding primer solves the problem when the answer is oil.

Trim with decades of buildup takes the most hand work: window stools and door edges need scraping and feathering so the new coat lays flat instead of telegraphing every old chip.

Working inside two- and three-family buildings

Brockton's own housing policy aims to preserve the older low-rise buildings where a resident owner rents out the other floors. Keeping those interiors in good repair is part of that. If the outside also needs attention, see exterior painting in Brockton; for kitchens, cabinet painting is a separate job with its own prep.

• Units can be painted one at a time so tenants or family members on other floors keep their routine
• Shared front halls and back stairwells are scheduled for times when traffic is lowest
• Keeping a color and sheen record for each unit makes future touch-ups simpler
• Pre-1978 buildings with rented units have extra disclosure requirements under federal lead rules