General Contractor in Brookline, MAfor Condos, Victorians and Hillside Homes

Brookline packs a lot of different housing into a small town. Around Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village and along Beacon Street, much of the housing is in apartment buildings, brownstones and older multifamily houses, many of them converted to condominiums. In North Brookline you still see two-family houses and the occasional triple-decker.

Climb the hills and it changes. Fisher Hill, Aspinwall Hill and Corey Hill have large Victorian and Colonial Revival houses on curving streets, and Fisher Hill was laid out with input from the Olmsted firm. South of Route 9, Chestnut Hill and the streets near Larz Anderson Park are mostly big single-family homes on larger lots. Brookline Hills and the area around Pill Hill mix Victorians with early 20th century Colonials.

That spread means two very different kinds of jobs. A condo kitchen on the third floor of a Beacon Street building and an addition on a Fisher Hill Victorian need different planning, different logistics and a different conversation with you up front.

A lot of our Brookline calls are condo kitchens and baths. Before any work is scheduled, most associations want to see the scope, the contractor information and a plan for protecting common hallways and stairs. Some limit work hours or require notice to neighbors. We read the rules with you at the first visit so nothing stalls once the job is booked.

Bathrooms in older Brookline buildings often have tile set in a thick mortar bed over old cast iron or galvanized lines. We rebuild them the right way: a properly sloped mud-set shower pan or floor, waterproofing that is actually continuous and tile laid flat. Leaks into the unit below are the fastest way to ruin a condo remodel, so the pan and the drain get the most attention.

Floors matter too. Many Brookline condos have original oak or maple strip floors that can be patched and refinished instead of replaced. Where a board or a lease asks for sound control under new tile or wood, we plan the underlayment into the estimate from day one.

Brookline has nine local historic districts run by the Brookline Preservation Commission: Cottage Farm, Pill Hill, Graffam-McKay, Chestnut Hill North, Harvard Avenue, Lawrence, Wild-Sargent, Crowninshield and Olmsted-Richardson. Exterior changes visible from a public way inside those districts generally need Commission approval before the work moves forward.

The town also has a demolition delay bylaw. Taking down all or a big part of a building the Commission finds significant can trigger a delay of many months, so it is worth checking before you design a large addition that removes part of an older house.

Building, plumbing, electrical and gas permits go through the Brookline Building Department's online portal. Brookline also opted into the Massachusetts Specialized Energy Code, which mainly affects new homes and major projects. We explain what applies to your scope, help handle the permit process and keep inspections on schedule.

Many Brookline houses are well over a century old. Behind the plaster we often find balloon framing, old knob-and-tube wiring, notched joists and trim that has been painted many times with lead paint underneath. We plan for those finds in the estimate and follow lead-safe practices when the work disturbs old paint.

Outside, the problems repeat: rotted porch decking and columns, worn clapboards and shingles, and roof valleys and chimney flashing that let water in during freeze-thaw. Hillside lots add drainage issues and stone retaining walls that lean over time. We repair the cause, not only the stain on the ceiling, and we rebuild stone walls when the old one is past saving.

Exterior work runs best from late spring through fall. Interior remodels, especially condo work, run all year.

We are based in Woburn and take on projects in Brookline. Nathan does the walkthrough, writes the estimate and is on the job while the work is underway. You deal with one person, not a chain of salespeople and subcontractors who have never seen the house.

Parking and access are part of the plan. Brookline has tight streets and limited parking, so we talk through where the truck and dumpster go, how materials get in and how the common areas or your neighbors are protected. The site is cleaned at the end of each day.

If something unexpected shows up once a wall or floor is open, we stop and show you before going further, and any change to the scope is written down first. The estimate is free.