Remodeling Revere's postwar and older homes

A younger median and a real mix of house types

Revere's median year built of 1961, by census figures, is newer than Boston's or Chelsea's. Roughly 30 percent of homes predate 1940 and about 17 percent went up since 2000. In between sits a long postwar stretch of capes, ranches, split-levels and two-families, many now on their second or third owner.

About 31 percent of homes are detached single-family houses, and just over half of households own. That is a more even split than in Boston or Chelsea, and it shows in the work people ask for. Owners of capes and ranches want a dated kitchen rebuilt or a closed floor plan opened. Owners of two-families often want both units brought up together, one to live in and one to rent. Doing both at once means one round of trades and inspections, though it also means planning where you will cook and shower while your own unit is open.

Postwar houses have their own habits. Many have drywall or rock lath instead of old three-coat plaster but keep original wiring and cast iron drains near the end of their life. Some were added onto over the years without much thought for how the roof lines meet. We look for those details on the walkthrough so they land in the written scope rather than arriving as a surprise.

To talk through a kitchen, bath, deck or addition at your Revere house, call (781) 974-4263.

Salt air, wind and the outside of the house

Revere's limits take in about 4.4 square miles of water against 5.7 of land, a ratio that puts a lot of its houses within reach of the shore. Homes near the water take salt spray and wind that wear siding, trim, deck hardware and roof edges faster than the same materials would last inland.

For decks and exterior work we choose fasteners, flashing and connectors rated for coastal exposure, and we detail joints so water drains instead of sitting. Roofs get ice and water protection at the eaves, since ice dams are a winter fact across Massachusetts. New deck and addition footings go below frost depth, which is commonly about four feet in this state.

Some coastal lots sit in mapped flood zones, which can affect what may be built and how, including foundation types and how high living space has to sit. When that could apply, we raise it with the city building department early so the design and the permit agree. Away from the shore the wear is gentler, but freeze-thaw cycles still work on concrete steps, older gutters and any flashing that was never done right the first time.

Adding space and how the job runs

With about three in ten Revere homes standing as detached houses on their own lots, owners also ask about more room: a dormer on a cape, a rear addition, a finished basement. Structural work like this falls under the unrestricted Construction Supervisor License Steve holds, and it is permitted and inspected under 780 CMR as it goes. A basement finish starts with moisture: we look for water marks, check how the grade slopes away from the house and talk through drainage before any framing or insulation goes against a foundation wall.

The drive up from Raynham is about 34 miles north. Every job gets one point of contact, a written scope and changes priced and signed before the work changes. Steve built the company on better communication and making sure the job is done right, and daily cleanup is part of that standard. If you are living in the house during the work, we wall off the area, protect the floors you walk on and keep at least one bathroom usable whenever the layout allows it.

To talk through a kitchen, bath, deck or addition at your Revere house, call (781) 974-4263.