Built-ins, mantels, window seats and trim in Reading, MA, where many houses date from the 1700s and 1800s and trim profiles are worth matching.
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Inside Reading's Local Historic District, exterior changes visible from a public way need a certificate from the Historic District Commission before the town issues a building permit. Paint color, storm windows and gutters are excluded, but siding, windows, roofing, outside stairs and roof decks are reviewed.
[1][2]For a building on Reading's List of Historic Structures, the Historical Commission holds a hearing on any demolition permit and can impose a delay of up to six months. The commission's rules say it weighs interior and exterior features. Houses inside the Local Historic District fall under that bylaw instead.
[1][2]One statewide building code. Massachusetts uses a single building code for every town: 780 CMR, now in its tenth edition. Your local building department enforces it and issues the permits. source
Dig Safe before digging. State law requires notice to Dig Safe at least 72 hours before digging, not counting weekends and legal holidays. That includes holes for deck footings. Call 811. source
West Street's design guidelines prize craftsmanship and natural materials, and ask that original window parts like sash, sills and trim be kept. Exterior trim swaps there go to the Historic District Commission. Interior built-ins don't.
Reading already had about 520 homes by 1870, and rooms that old rarely stay square. We scribe built-ins and window seats to fit the room, and copy trim profiles in wood so new work matches what's there.
Yes, with a certificate if the new trim changes the look from the street. Repairing it with matching material counts as ordinary maintenance and is exempt.
Our work around Boston and the North Shore.
Local rules change. We link the official pages so you can check the current version, and we confirm what your job needs when we come look.
Send a request or give us a ring. We'll come to Reading, look at the job and give you a written price. Free.
