Remodeling Framingham's mid-century housing

A 1964 median and the spread behind it

Census figures put the median year built for Framingham's roughly 28,800 homes at 1964. That number sits in the middle of a wide spread. About 17 percent of the housing went up before 1940, and only about 6 percent has been built since 2000, so most of what we would walk into is postwar: ranches, split-levels and Capes put up while the city filled in, plus apartment and condo buildings of the same years.

Houses from that era are usually sound but tired. Expect plaster over lath or early drywall depending on the year, wiring and ductwork sized for a household with far fewer appliances, and a kitchen closed off by a bearing wall someone now wants gone. Paint in a house this age is presumed to contain lead until shown otherwise, so demo follows lead-safe work practices: plastic down, dust contained, cleanup checked before the room goes back into use.

The older slice of the city is a different job. Framing from before 1940 can be balloon framed, with open cavities running sill to attic, which changes how fire blocking and insulation get done. Floors in those houses have usually settled, and a new kitchen or bath has to be leveled to the room it sits in rather than to a laser line that ignores the rest of the house. We look for all of that at the walkthrough, not after the walls are already open.

For income property we write the scope by unit, so you can see what each apartment gets and approve them one at a time.

Owners, landlords and the two-family question

Only about half of Framingham's homes are detached single-family houses, and about 55 percent are owner-occupied. The other side of those numbers is a large share of two-families, condos and rental buildings, and those jobs run on different rules. A landlord turning a unit between tenants needs a tight schedule and finishes that take abuse. A condo owner needs the association's sign-off before anything touches a common wall, a plumbing stack or the exterior.

For income property we write the scope by unit, so you can see what each apartment gets and approve them one at a time. Plumbing and electrical go to licensed trades, as Massachusetts requires, and the city building department sees the usual permit and inspection sequence: rough framing, rough trades, insulation, final.

Occupied buildings get extra care. We keep a clear path for the tenants who stay, cover shared stairs and halls, and leave the work area broom-clean every day so nobody downstairs walks through our dust. Water shutoffs that affect another unit are scheduled and announced, not sprung on someone at breakfast.

Thirty-three miles and one person to call

Framingham is about 33 miles northwest of our base in Raynham. That is close enough for regular site visits and far enough that deliveries and inspections get booked ahead instead of left to chance. You get one schedule, updated whenever it moves, and a reason when it does.

The person keeping it is usually Steve. Before he opened Modern Remodeling he put in years on crews run by people who rarely returned a call, and the company exists to do the opposite: better communication, and making sure the job is done right. If a wall carries load or the panel cannot take another circuit, you hear about it before anyone starts, along with what it does to the price.

In a city with this much rental and condo housing, that habit matters twice. The owner, the tenant and sometimes a condo board all need to know what is happening, and we keep each of them informed in the way that fits.