Painting a house in one of Madison's historic districts: what the city says

The five local districts

The city lists five local historic districts, in the order they were designated:

• Mansion Hill (1976), a residential neighborhood north of the Capitol Square with the largest number of intact Victorian houses in Madison.
• Third Lake Ridge (1979), the oldest section of the Marquette neighborhood and the city's largest district, running from Blair Street to the Yahara River and from Williamson Street to Lake Monona.
• University Heights (1985), platted in 1893 as one of the city's earliest suburbs, with Queen Anne, Prairie and Period Revival houses.
• Marquette Bungalows (1993), a two-block development of 47 similarly sized bungalows built between 1924 and 1930.
• First Settlement (2002), next to the Capitol Square, where the first American settler house in Madison was built in 1837.

Beyond the districts, the city regulates 184 local landmarks through the same commission. It also lists National Register districts separately and calls that an honorary designation managed by the Wisconsin Historical Society and the National Park Service. Local designation is what puts exterior work under the Landmarks Commission.

What needs the Landmarks Commission's approval

The commission must approve alterations to properties with local historic designation. The changes the city lists are exterior alterations, new construction and demolitions, and you need a Certificate of Approval before you apply for a building permit.

Applications start by emailing commission staff through the city's historic preservation page. The city asks for photos of existing conditions, a written description of the work, and a list of proposed materials or product specifications. Larger projects also need the commission's application form and go before the commission at one of its scheduled meetings, and the city posts those dates on the same page, so build that wait into your plans.

The ordinance also lets the commission order work removed or changed if it was done without a required certificate or doesn't follow the conditions of one. That's a good reason to ask before you start rather than after.

Where a repaint fits

The ordinance sets out a spectrum of review. Work that is only maintenance doesn't need a Certificate of Approval. City staff can approve repairs and alterations that fit the commission's policy manual, and additions and new construction go before the commission itself.

For wood, the standards for maintenance say that paint or stain shall be retained and applied to protect wood features. A like-for-like repaint of wood that was already painted fits that description, but the ordinance doesn't list every case. It also says that work beyond the level described as maintenance, as the city's Preservation Planner determines, counts as a repair and follows the standards for repairs. So the line between a repaint and something more is the planner's call, not ours.

Keeping a protective coat on wood is also a duty, not just a permission. The ordinance requires every owner of an improvement in a historic district to protect it against exterior decay and deterioration. The city's illustrated design guidelines explain why: wood is damaged when water pools on it, when moisture sources go unaddressed, and when the protective coating isn't maintained. They add that historically painted or stained wood features should be repainted or restained.

Brick and stone

Masonry has the clearest rule. The maintenance standards say that previously painted masonry may be repainted, but painting masonry that was not painted before is prohibited. They also prohibit sealants and water-repellent coatings on the face of masonry, and abrasive cleaning such as sandblasting, and any proposed cleaning method needs the Preservation Planner's approval.

If you have brick and aren't sure whether it was ever painted, find that out before you ask anyone to paint it. An unpainted wall can't be painted.

Porches, decks and doors

The standards for alterations get specific about wood outdoors. They say that all wood on exterior porches shall be painted or opaquely stained, and that all parts of a deck shall be painted or opaquely stained.

That wording matters if you were planning a clear or transparent finish on a porch or deck in a district. Our deck work is staining and refinishing, and an opaque finish is what a solid stain gives you, which our post on solid versus semi-transparent deck stain explains. The city's guidelines use similar wording for doors, which they say should be painted, finished with a material that resembles a painted finish, or opaquely stained. Check with the city before choosing a finish.

Paint color

Color is the question people ask first. We read the ordinance and the city's design guidelines and didn't find rules for choosing paint colors. Color comes up only for replacement materials, which are expected to be similar in design, color and scale to the originals.

That isn't a green light for any color. If you're changing colors, ask the Preservation Planner before the first coat goes on.

Lead paint and old exteriors

The districts' periods of significance run from the 1850s into the 1920s and 1930s, so the houses are far older than 1978. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead-based paint, and that renovation or repair work that disturbs painted surfaces in older homes can create lead dust.

EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule sets lead-safe work practices for work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978. Mention your home's age when you call. Our post on painting older Madison homes goes into the indoor side.

Lining up the paperwork and the painting

If your project does need a Certificate of Approval, the paperwork comes first and the painting second. The city asks for a written scope and a list of materials, and a written quote built around the paint you've chosen is a handy starting point for both. Send it with photos of existing conditions, labeled and combined into a single document, as the city requests.

Once approval is in hand, the work follows our usual steps: protect the area, prep the surface, paint or stain, clean up, and walk the finished job with you before we call it done. If the approval comes with conditions, tell us before the quote is final, so the scope matches them.

Questions to ask before you hire anyone

• Is my address in a local historic district or a designated landmark? City staff can confirm it.
• Will this repaint count as maintenance, or does it need a Certificate of Approval?
• Was my brick ever painted?
• Is the finish I want for the porch or deck allowed?
• Do I need to plan around lead because of my home's age?

Once you have answers, call us. George will visit if he needs to see the space, then send a written quote with a start date. We schedule exterior work around dry weather, and our post on Madison's outdoor painting season explains what that means in practice. Ask for a free estimate, and see our page for Madison to learn more about where we work.