Remodeling Lawrence's older multi-family housing

A rental city with a lot of old housing stock

Census figures put Lawrence at about 88,000 people in roughly 31,400 homes on under seven square miles of land. Only about one home in five is a single-family detached house, and about 30 percent are owner-occupied. Nearly half the housing, 48 percent, was built before 1940, and the median year built is 1944.

Those numbers describe the work plainly. Most Lawrence projects are for landlords, investors and owner-occupants of two- and three-families: units turned over between tenants, kitchens and baths rebuilt to last, porches and stairs repaired, and buildings brought back after years of patching. People living in the building depend on that work being done properly, and we treat it that way.

The city is about 53 miles north of Raynham. City jobs get parking, material staging and tenant access worked out before we start, because a tight lot with occupied units leaves no room for improvising. Deliveries are timed for when the street allows it, and debris leaves promptly instead of piling up in a shared yard.

We open what needs opening, show you what is there and put any added work in writing before it goes ahead.

What a pre-war building hides

With the median building in its eighties, the surprises are predictable in kind even when their size is not. Plaster over lath, balloon framing that runs sill to roof, floors that sag where joists were notched for old plumbing, and wiring from several eras are all common. Knob-and-tube sometimes surfaces in demo, and licensed electricians handle it. Lead paint is assumed in anything built before 1978, and the work follows EPA lead-safe practices, which matter even more when children live in other units.

We open what needs opening, show you what is there and put any added work in writing before it goes ahead. A beam or bearing wall that turns out to be carrying more than it should is flagged to you before any demolition touches it, and the repair is designed into the permit instead of improvised on the day. Old buildings also carry earlier repairs layered on top of each other, and sorting out which parts are sound is half the job.

Triple-deckers have their own patterns. Back porches stacked three high carry real loads and take years of weather, so their framing, footings and connections to the building are worth checking whenever other work is underway. Stairs and railings in common halls get the same look, since everyone in the building uses them.

Permits, inspections and owners who are not on site

Work goes through the city building department under 780 CMR. Expect a framing inspection, electrical and plumbing roughs signed off for the licensed trades, an insulation check and a final. Structural work on one- and two-family buildings is supervised under Steve's unrestricted state Construction Supervisor License. Larger buildings and mixed-use properties carry other code requirements, and we say up front when a project needs a design professional.

Many Lawrence owners do not live in the building, so communication carries more weight. You get updates with photos at each stage, a record of what was inspected and passed, and every change written down. The site is cleaned daily, and tenants get notice of noisy work and utility shutoffs in advance. If something goes wrong, you hear it from us first.

Investors buying an older building to fix up can bring us in before the purchase closes or right after. We walk the building, tell you plainly what looks structural and what looks cosmetic, and help sequence the work so units come back online in a sensible order.