Taunton's older houses, opened up and rebuilt right

What the census says about Taunton's housing

Census figures count about 25,000 homes in Taunton, and more than a third of them were standing before 1940. The median house dates to 1962, which tells you the city kept building through the postwar decades without replacing what came before. A house from the 1890s can sit a few doors from a ranch built in the fifties.

Fewer than half of those homes are single-family detached houses, and a little under two-thirds are owner-occupied. That leaves a large share of two- and three-family buildings and rental units, which is a different kind of remodel from a suburban kitchen. Landlords and investors need units turned over on a plan, built to code and documented, because the next inspection or the next tenant will find whatever was skipped.

Taunton is about three miles southwest of Raynham. Short drives mean quick walkthroughs and the chance to be on site when an inspector arrives instead of hearing about it secondhand. For an owner with several units in the city, that proximity also makes it practical to schedule work in stages.

Single-family owners in the city mostly ask about kitchens, baths and opening up 1950s and 1960s layouts.

What turns up behind the plaster in a pre-war house

A house built before 1940 rarely matches its drawings, if it ever had any. Plaster on wood lath, balloon framing that runs open from the basement to the attic, and wiring that may include knob-and-tube are all common once the walls come down. Balloon framing needs fire blocking at each floor while the walls are open, and we plan that into the framing work instead of treating it as a surprise.

Anything built before 1978 may carry lead paint. Lead-safe practices under the EPA renovation rule mean containment, careful demolition, thorough cleanup and verification, and they matter even more in a rental where children may live after we leave. When a neighboring unit is occupied, we explain the containment to the tenants too, so nobody pulls a barrier down to get through a hallway.

Old fieldstone and brick foundations get a look on the first visit too. If a kitchen or bath above is getting heavy tile or new cabinetry, we check what the floor framing rests on before promising anything, and you get what we saw in writing.

Planning work in multi-families and owner-occupied homes

For an owner who lives in one unit and rents the others, the order of work matters as much as the work itself. The written scope says which unit is opened up when, where water and power will be shut off and for how long, and how tenants get in and out. Steve or the job lead keeps you posted as the schedule moves, so you never learn about a shutoff from a tenant.

Permits run through the city building department under 780 CMR. Structural work is supervised under Steve's unrestricted Construction Supervisor License, and licensed electricians and plumbers take their own inspections. Rough framing, rough trades, insulation and final are the usual stops. In a multi-family building, fire separation between units and a safe way out of each one also get attention whenever walls or stairs change, and those items go into the scope from the start.

Single-family owners in the city mostly ask about kitchens, baths and opening up 1950s and 1960s layouts. If the wall you want gone carries a load, we will tell you before anyone swings a hammer and show you what a beam would involve. A kitchen in a 1950s ranch here may also be sitting over a basement with low headroom and old ductwork, which affects where new plumbing and venting can run.