About 10 minutes from our base on the Chestnut Hill side of the line
Siding Repair & Replacement in Brookline, MA
Brookline has some of the oldest wood-sided houses we work on, and firm rules about how they look from the street. Siding repair in Brookline therefore means cutting out rotted clapboard, split cedar shingles and soft trim without changing the face of the house. Brookline rarely needs a re-side; it needs the repair the company is named for, and replacement waits until a wall is past that.
- About 10 minutes from Chestnut Hill to Coolidge Corner or Brookline Village
- Clapboard two-families, shingled bays and dormers, Tudor stucco
- (857) 245-9588 by call, text or WhatsApp
- Free estimates; we check every corner board, not only the one in the photo
- Historic-district work: same profile, same exposure, same look from the street
Houses in Brookline
Brookline is dense and old. Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village have wood-frame two-families and three-families from the early 1900s, most with painted clapboard and some with cedar shingles upstairs. Around Washington Square wood mixes with brick, so the siding we see is often on dormers, bays and rear walls. South Brookline and the Chestnut Hill side have larger single-family houses with cedar shingles, clapboard and stucco, some with vinyl added later.
What we fix most often here
- Rotted clapboard ends at corner boards and window casings. We cut back to sound wood, slip in back-primed clapboard, then prime the face and paint.
- Cedar shingles on bays and dormers. They split, cup and blow off in a nor’easter; we work new ones in under the old courses so the repair blends in.
- Corner boards on three-families. They wick water from the bottom. We replace the bottom sections and flash them.
- Stucco cracks on Tudors. Hairline cracks let water into the lath; we patch and seal them.
Roof and gutter work on the same house is listed under other exterior services.
Permits and historic districts
Brookline has several local historic districts. Inside one, changing the siding material, trim profile or shingle exposure may need approval first; a repair puts back what is there and usually does not. Check with the town’s historical commission if your house is in or near a district. Re-siding the whole house means a building permit from the town; new clapboard ends at a corner do not.
How it works
- One photo to start. Text it to (857) 245-9588 with the street name, so we know what kind of house it is.
- The visit. Clapboard ends and the trim behind them get checked for rot; on a bay we lift a shingle too. The free estimate goes to you in writing.
- Repair or install. Repairs do not wait on paperwork. A replacement does: it is booked only after its permit, with the dates on paper.
- Final check. You check the paint and joints with us; touch-ups happen before we leave.
Repair or replace?
Most Brookline siding is worth saving: old-growth clapboard and cedar last if the rotted ends are cut out and the paint is kept up. We suggest replacement when rot shows on every elevation, the vinyl has gone brittle with age, or the housewrap has failed. Both have their own pages, siding repair and siding installation and replacement; the visit decides, not the photo.
Where in Brookline
Our base at 115 Grove St is right on the Brookline line; Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square and South Brookline are about 10 minutes away. We also work in Newton (about 5–15 minutes from Chestnut Hill), Jamaica Plain (about 10–20 minutes), Allston-Brighton (about 15–25 minutes), Needham and Wellesley (about 15 minutes) and Cambridge (about 20–25 minutes). If you would rather talk it through first, call or text (857) 245-9588; otherwise get a free estimate online.
Questions homeowners ask
My Brookline three-family has rot at the corner boards. Do I need to re-side the whole house?
No. On a three-family the corner board runs three stories, and the rot is almost always in the bottom few feet, where splash and the porch roof meet it. We cut back to sound wood, scarf in a new section, replace the rotted clapboard ends and paint to the nearest joint; the upper floors are left alone.
Does patching clapboard on a Brookline house go through the town first?
For a patch, no: the town reviews changes to how the house looks, and new clapboard ends painted to match are not one. Wood to vinyl, or a wider trim board, is, and in a local historic district it goes to the historical commission first.
How do you patch clapboard on a Coolidge Corner two-family so it does not show?
Old Brookline clapboard is often thicker, with a narrower reveal, than a lumber yard stocks, so we match the profile first and keep the exposure. The boards go on back-primed, and the paint runs out to a corner board or casing instead of stopping at the patch, so there is no edge to see.
On a Brookline Village house, do you fix the cause of the rot or just the wood?
Both. Rot has a reason: missing flashing, a clogged gutter, a gap in the housewrap. We repair the siding and show you what let the water in; roof or gutter work can be a separate job.
Get a free estimate
Tell us what you see on the wall, or just leave a phone number and we will call back. Calls and texts: (857) 245-9588, also on WhatsApp. E-mail: [email protected].
Based at 115 Grove St, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467. Open 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM every day.