One crew for the carpentry and the paint, working out of Chestnut Hill
Wood & Cedar Siding Repair and Painting in Newton, Brookline & Wellesley
Wood siding repair and cedar siding repair on the older houses of Newton, Brookline and Wellesley is the daily work of this crew: rotted clapboards and split shingles cut out, new back-primed wood fitted, and the repair primed and painted by the same people who did the carpentry. If you have been told the wall needs a carpenter and then a painter, send us a photo of the worst spot first.
- The crew that cuts out the rot also primes and paints the patch
- Replacement boards and shingles back-primed before they go up
- Paint, solid stain or clear coat matched to the old finish
- Call or text (857) 245-9588; photos welcome
What goes wrong with wood and cedar siding
Snow sits against the bottom courses, nor’easters drive rain up under the laps, and summer sun bakes the south wall. What we find most often:
- Rot at joints and butt ends. Water wicks into the end grain where clapboards meet, at the corner boards and along window trim. The paint looks fine until a screwdriver sinks in.
- Split shingles. Cedar shingles crack along the grain or cup, and each split is a path for water to the sheathing.
- Woodpecker holes, usually high on a gable where nobody looks.
- Failed caulk at trim and corners, so the rot starts from the back.
- Peeling paint where moisture pushes from behind or the old coat went on bare wood.
A rotten butt end on one board is a small job. Left for three winters, it takes the sheathing with it.
One crew: carpentry, priming and paint
A carpenter will often fix the boards and leave you to find a painter. We do both, so new wood does not sit bare.
- Cut out the rot back to sound wood and check the sheathing and housewrap behind it. Soft sheathing gets replaced, not covered.
- Replace boards or shingles. New clapboards match the exposure and profile; new shingles are woven into the existing courses so the patch does not read as a square. Every replacement board is back-primed before it goes on the wall.
- Prime bare wood, end cuts and butt ends. Unprimed end grain is where the next rot starts.
- Paint. Caulk the joints, paint the repair to match. If a whole wall is peeling, we scrape, prime and repaint the wall rather than leave a patch that shows.
Corner boards, water tables, rake boards and window trim are part of the same job. A gutter spilling onto a wall is often the real cause of the rot, and we look at gutters, roof edges and windows under other exterior services.
Houses built before 1978 and lead paint
Many of the clapboard and shingle houses in Newton, Brookline and Wellesley went up before 1978, so the paint under the top coats may contain lead. Tell us the year the house was built when you send the photo.
Historic districts in Newton and Brookline
Parts of Newton and Brookline are local historic districts, and some houses are individually listed. There the town may review exterior changes, especially a change of material, exposure or trim profile. A like-for-like repair is usually the simplest path. If you are not sure about your street, check with the town’s historical commission before choosing a new material. A small repair usually does not involve the building department; a larger job may need a building permit from the town, and in Boston the city’s building permit.
Paint, stain or clear coat?
The finish decides how the wall looks and how often someone is back on a ladder.
- Paint gives the most protection and the widest color range, needs sound, primed wood, and is the usual choice for clapboard and trim.
- Solid or semi-transparent stain soaks in instead of forming a film, so it fades rather than peels. It is the common choice for cedar shingles and shakes.
- Clear coat (“lac”) keeps the natural cedar color for a while. With no pigment to block the sun it needs the most frequent recoating.
New boards and shingles have to match the finish on the old ones; that matching is part of the estimate.
How it works
- Send a photo. Call or text (857) 245-9588 with a few pictures of the damage, or use the free estimate form.
- On-site look. We probe the siding and trim with an awl, check behind the worst spots, and tell you plainly whether it is a repair or the wall is past it.
- Written estimate. It lists which boards or shingles come out, what gets primed and painted, and the finish we will match.
- The work. The same crew does the carpentry, priming and painting, then shows you each repaired spot before the ladders come down.
Repair or replace?
Rot in a few boards, around one window or along a bottom course is a repair, and that is most jobs. Clapboards cupped and split across whole walls, paint failing everywhere and soft sheathing in several places mean patching stops making sense. For that case see cedar shingle and clapboard siding, or siding replacement if you are considering another material. For other materials start at siding repair; for what drives the estimate, see siding cost and estimates. Not sure which side of the line you are on? Call or text (857) 245-9588 with a photo, or get a free estimate.
Where we work
Our base is 115 Grove St, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, in Newton where it meets Brookline. The pre-war clapboard and shingle houses that keep us busy sit mostly in the Newton villages (about 5–15 minutes away), Brookline (about 10 minutes) and Wellesley (about 15 minutes); the shingled Victorians of West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain (about 10–20 minutes) bring much of the rest. The full radius is Boston and about 30 miles around Chestnut Hill; see the service area.
Photos
The photos here show wood and cedar repairs before and after.
Questions homeowners ask
If only a few clapboards are rotted, does the whole course have to come off?
No. A few boards is the usual job. We cut the nails on the rotted board, slide it out from under the course above and fit a new back-primed clapboard at the same exposure and profile; the rest of the course stays. With the board out we check the sheathing, and a soft patch is cut back to the studs and replaced first.
Will new cedar shingles stand out next to the weathered ones?
For a season, yes. New cedar is pale and the old wall has gone silver or brown, so we weave the new shingles into the existing courses instead of cutting a square patch, and on a stained wall we match the stain. On bare cedar the new wood weathers toward the old and the patch fades into the courses.
The paint on my clapboards peels down to bare wood. Is that a paint problem or a wood problem?
Peeling to bare wood in sheets usually means the first coat never gripped: paint went on over unprimed or weathered wood, or a thick stack of old oil coats has cracked into an alligator pattern and let go. We scrape to a sound edge, feather it, spot-prime the bare wood and recoat; a board that is punky under the paint is replaced instead.
Can you fix woodpecker holes, and will the birds come back?
Yes. We replace the holed shingles or boards, or plug small holes in sound wood, then prime and paint so the patch does not stand out. Woodpeckers often go after a wall because insects are living behind it or the wood is already soft, so we check for that while we are up there.
The house is from the 1920s. Is the old clapboard worth saving?
Usually, yes. Pre-war clapboard is often old-growth wood with tight, straight grain that holds paint well, so we repair it board by board instead of stripping the wall. What changes is the prep: paint from that era can contain lead, and the pre-1978 steps described above apply.
Does repainting in a new color need approval in a Newton or Brookline historic district?
Whether a color change is reviewed varies by district and by house, and a listed house can have its own conditions. Ask the town's historical commission before you commit to a new color or trim detail, and bring the answer to the estimate visit so the approved color goes on the estimate.
Is one rotted corner board too small a job for you?
No. Corner boards, water tables and the bottom course rot first on a wood house, and replacing one of them is a common call. Photograph the wall around the board too; one bad corner often has a soft butt end nearby worth doing at the same time.
Where we work
Based in Chestnut Hill, we cover Boston and the towns within about 30 miles. First-wave town pages:
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.