MetroWest Boston
Exterior carpentry & rot repair
Paint does not fix rot, it hides it for a season. Carpentry stays with the job. The repair and the paint are one company to call — we do not outsource it and disappear.
- Typical investment
- Quoted per item; typical repairs $15 – $30 per linear foot — see the full breakdown
- How long it takes
- Usually 1 – 3 days ahead of the paint crew
- Season
- Year round, weather permitting
- Warranty
- 3 years, written, on workmanship — terms
Clapboard, cedar shingle, corner boards, water table, sills, casing, fascia, soffit, rake and frieze.
Matched profiles. New England trim is not stock lumber, and a mismatched profile is visible from the street forever.
Written change orders with photos before any extra work happens.
One warranty covering the repair and the coating over it.
One of ours
Before and after
Why the painter should do the carpentry
When a separate carpenter does the repair, three things tend to go wrong: the new wood does not get back-primed before installation, the profile does not match, and nobody owns the failure when the joint opens two winters later. Doing both means the repaired board is primed on all six sides before it goes on the wall, and there is exactly one company on the hook.
What we find most often on MetroWest houses
- Sill and water table rot where a deck ledger or a grade change traps water.
- Bottom-course clapboard wicking from splash-back off a walkway.
- Window sill and casing ends — the classic New England failure, usually the south and west elevations first.
- Fascia and rake boards behind failed gutters.
- Cedar shingle cupping and splitting on exposed walls.
- Wood gutters on older homes, which are repairable far more often than people are told.
Repair or replace
Epoxy consolidation genuinely works on a sound piece with a localised soft spot, and it is cheaper and less invasive than replacement. It does not work on a board that is structurally gone, and using it there is a way of selling you the same repair twice. We will tell you which one you have, and we will show you the probe test.
Recent work
Carpentry & rot repair photographs
Target Painting worked really hard to restore and paint my home. The home needed a lot of carpentry work on the south side. Target replaced/repaired all of the trim that needed attention. Then they cleaned the gutters, power-washed, caulked and prepped all surfaces for painting. The job was done correctly and not rushed. I will have Target back for several other projects I have coming up.
The scope of the work involved exterior carpentry, cleaning, preparation, and staining of an expanded tri-level home in Sudbury, MA. The team’s attention to detail, careful work, and consideration during clean up, are truly notable. I would, without reservation, highly recommend Target Painting…
We could not be happier with the team! Nick was a fantastic first touch for the estimate… We had some carpentry done first and the team was friendly and polite. They cleaned up every day and really did an outstanding job. Then the painting team came in, they too were great to work with!
FAQ
Carpentry & rot repair — questions we get asked
Can you match my old trim profile?
Usually. We mill or source to match, and on historic homes in Concord and Lincoln we will bring a sample for you to approve first. Where an exact match is not available we will show you the closest option before ordering.
How do I know the rot is really that extensive?
You get photographs and, if you want, you can put a screwdriver in it yourself. We would rather over-communicate here than have you feel sold to.
Is carpentry covered by the same warranty?
Yes — our written warranty covers workmanship on both the carpentry and the coating. Read the terms →