Exterior paint costs in Boston

On Beacon Hill, the color of your house isn't only your call. The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission's guidelines say exterior paint colors must be original or otherwise historically appropriate, and paint samples go to the Commission for approval. Brick, granite, sandstone, and the lintels, sills and stoops that were never meant to be painted have to stay bare. Matching features, paint colors included, should match exactly on every story.

Shutters have their own rules. Replacements must be wood, sized to the window, and built like a traditional blind; vinyl, metal and clad shutters are out. Even exterior storm windows have to be painted to match the window trim. So a paint job there is mostly shutters, doors, windows and trim, in colors someone has signed off on.

Lead is the other big piece across Boston, and Massachusetts handles it itself. Anyone paid to renovate, repair or paint in pre-1978 housing has to hold a Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor license from the state Department of Labor Standards. That license is not the same thing as a Home Improvement Contractor registration or a construction supervisor license, so a painter can have those and still lack this one.

The state publishes a list of currently licensed lead-safe renovation contractors. If your Boston house was built before 1978, look for your painter's name on it before anyone picks up a scraper.