Gloucester's older houses, built for the ocean

Half the city predates 1940

Gloucester's median house dates to about 1943 by census count, and roughly 49 percent of its 14,600 homes went up before 1940. Only about 9 percent have been built since 2000. An older house here is not the exception. It is the typical job. Many of those older homes have also been divided, expanded or repaired by several owners, so no two open up the same way.

That means planning for what old houses hide. Balloon framing with open channels from sill to rafters, plaster on lath, stone foundations, floor joists notched by a century of plumbers, and wiring that may include knob and tube. We open walls carefully, look at what is there and tell you before the next step. Fire blocking goes in wherever balloon framing is opened, and a licensed electrician replaces old wiring under permit. Opening an old wall properly takes longer, and that time is in the schedule from the start.

Lead paint is assumed on any surface older than 1978, which in Gloucester is most of them. The work follows lead-safe practices, with containment and HEPA cleanup every day. Painted trim, windows and stair parts are where it turns up most.

Each visit is planned, and you are kept informed in between, which is the standard Steve built the company on.

Weather off the open Atlantic

Gloucester holds about 26 square miles of land and around 15 square miles of water. Cape Ann pushes out into the ocean, so many houses here take wind and salt spray straight off it. Siding, trim and roof edges are fastened and flashed for wind, metal hardware is corrosion-resistant, and decks are framed and finished for constant moisture. Paint on the weather side of an exposed house simply does not last as long as it does inland.

Ice dams and freeze-thaw come with every New England winter, and older roofs with little attic insulation get them worst. When we reroof or rebuild an older roof, ventilation and insulation at the eaves are part of the conversation, because that is where the water gets in. On a roof facing open water, the underlayment and edge metal matter as much as the shingles.

Exposed houses tend to show their age at the sills and the bottom courses of siding, where wind-driven rain collects. When we open an exterior wall we check the sill and the sheathing behind the trim, and rot is cut out and replaced before anything new covers it. New siding over rot only hides the problem for a few seasons.

Multi-family buildings and rental units

Only about 52 percent of Gloucester homes are detached single-family, and owner occupancy is around 61 percent. There are many two- and three-family buildings and rental units, owned by landlords and by people who live in one unit and rent the others. Owners of those buildings usually remodel one unit at a time, often around a lease.

Remodeling an occupied multi-family building means planning around the people who live in it. Work hours, dust control between units, utility shutoffs scheduled with notice and a clean path in and out all matter. In a vacant unit, the goal is a durable result that passes inspection and gets back on the market without delay. Fire separation between units is checked whenever a shared wall or ceiling is opened.

We work out of Raynham, about 52 miles to the south. Each visit is planned, and you are kept informed in between, which is the standard Steve built the company on. Permits go through the city building department under 780 CMR, with inspections at framing, rough-ins, insulation and final.