Upton homes, remodeled for the owners who live there

An owner-occupied town with old and new side by side

In census figures, Upton comes out at about 8,000 people and roughly 2,850 homes. Around 90 percent are owner-occupied and about 85 percent are detached single-family houses. The median home went up in 1979, but the town carries both ends of the range: roughly 22 percent predate 1940 and about 18 percent are newer than 2000.

Owners who stay put tend to remodel for how they will use the house over the next twenty years rather than for resale. That often means a bathroom that works for every age in the family, a kitchen with more storage and better light, or a first-floor room that could serve as a bedroom if stairs become a problem down the road.

With roughly 2,850 homes spread over more than 21 square miles, most Upton houses have room around them. That makes it practical to add a first-floor bedroom or a bath onto the back of the house rather than squeezing one into the existing rooms, and when the lot allows it we lay out both options side by side so you can compare what each one involves.

Tile is set over a waterproofed base, not over drywall, and you see that base before tile covers it.

Updating a house built before 1940

An older Upton house usually comes with plaster on lath, floors that have settled, and framing cut and patched by several owners before you. Balloon framing turns up often in houses of that age, leaving wall cavities open from basement to attic as a path for drafts and fire. When those walls are open, fire blocking goes in where it belongs and insulation goes in to current code.

Trim and walls painted before 1978 get the lead-safe treatment under EPA practice: plastic containment, HEPA cleanup and a check before you move back into the room. If demo turns up knob-and-tube, a licensed electrician decides what has to go, and that decision is in the scope before anyone continues. Plaster that is sound can often be kept and patched rather than torn out, which keeps the original trim and casings in place.

Kitchens in older houses are often small rooms at the back, sometimes a former shed or ell joined onto the main house years ago. Rebuilding one frequently starts with the floor, which may need leveling or new framing before a cabinet goes in. The written scope says so before demo, so a sloping floor is a planned step instead of a surprise.

Bathrooms planned for the long run

A bathroom meant to last has a few details that are easy to add while walls are open and hard to add later: blocking for grab bars, a wider door, a shower with a low curb or none, and a floor pitched correctly to the drain. Tile is set over a waterproofed base, not over drywall, and you see that base before tile covers it.

Upton is about 33 miles northwest of Raynham, close enough for regular site days and far enough that every trip is planned. You deal with one person throughout. Steve has spent two decades in the trade, the last six running Modern Remodeling, and customers say he will not put his name on work that falls short.

Nothing begins until you have the scope in hand, written so you can see exactly what is included. Inspections land where the job reaches them, with framing early on and the final sign-off last. A clean site at the end of each day matters more when you are living in the house through the project, and we run it that way every afternoon.