Remodeling Lexington's postwar and older homes

Postwar houses that need a different plan

Census figures show close to three quarters of Lexington's homes are detached houses, and roughly 83 percent are owner-occupied. The median year built of 1963 tells you the core of the town is postwar: colonials, Capes, ranches and split-levels that were good houses when built and now need kitchens, baths and layouts that suit the way people live today.

A little over a fifth of the housing is older than 1940. Those bring plaster walls, wood windows, balloon framing in some cases and wiring a licensed electrician has to evaluate. Roughly 18 percent were built since 2000, and in those the work is mostly finish, storage and making better use of rooms that came out larger than they needed to be. Rooms in the older houses are smaller and more divided, and owners there tend to ask for a kitchen that connects to the rest of the first floor without losing the character of the trim and doors.

With a 1963 median, most of the town falls on the lead-paint side of 1978. We contain the work area, control dust during demolition and clean up properly before a room goes back into use. Postwar houses can also hide asbestos in old floor tile, pipe wrap or siding, and suspect material is tested before anyone disturbs it.

If your house sits inside a local historic district, exterior changes go to the district commission before a permit is issued.

Owners who expect to be kept informed

In a town where most people own and plan to stay, the projects are often big ones: a kitchen rebuilt from the studs, a primary suite added over a garage, a family room extended at the back. The scope for jobs like that has to be written down in detail, with the structural work, the trades and the finish selections all spelled out. Finish choices are made early and written into the scope, so the cabinets, tile and fixtures are ordered with enough lead time that the job is not waiting on them later.

If your house sits inside a local historic district, exterior changes go to the district commission before a permit is issued. Many Massachusetts towns have also adopted the stretch energy code, which sets insulation and air-sealing requirements for new walls and additions. We check both before design is settled.

During the work you get regular updates, a schedule that moves only when you are told why, and changes priced before they are built. That is the reason the company exists: Steve worked for years under people who left homeowners guessing, and he decided his clients would never be in that spot.

Thirty-seven miles north of Raynham

Lexington is about 37 miles north of our base in Raynham. At that distance deliveries and inspections are planned in advance, and site days are scheduled in blocks so the job keeps moving instead of stalling for a day. Parking, dumpster placement and delivery times are agreed with you before we start, since most of these jobs happen on a lived-in residential street.

Our customers put it simply: when something is not right, Steve does not sign off on it. The way we run a project in a town this far out is meant to keep that true, with one plan, one point of contact and a site you can live next to.

Large additions here usually involve a structural engineer and sometimes an architect. We work from their drawings, flag anything that will not build the way it is drawn, and keep you between them rather than caught in the middle. Nothing is changed from the plans without the designer and you agreeing to it first.