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Window Replacement, Siding, Doors and Decks in Burlington, MA
The state's survey calls Burlington the fastest growing town in Massachusetts from 1955 to 1965, and most of its homes are detached single-family houses. Call (978) 788-0374 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Town and state exterior rules on this page
- Town Center to Wynnmere
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Exterior work in Burlington
What are you replacing or building?
Siding
Vinyl, fiber cement and wood siding replaced or repaired, with the lead-safe rules older houses bring.
Window Replacement
Replacement and new-construction windows, sized and installed to the energy and egress rules your town uses.
Exterior Doors
Entry, storm, patio and sliding doors, swapped in existing openings or framed into new ones.
Decks & Porches
New decks, rebuilt porches and stairs, with the footings, setbacks and permits they usually need.
House from the boom years?
(978) 788-0374Tell us roughly when the house was built and what you want to replace outside, and we'll connect you with a contractor who knows Burlington's permit and wetland steps.
Permits
Permits for siding, windows and decks in Burlington
What the town says. The Building Department at Town Hall, 29 Center Street, takes building permit questions at 781-270-1615. Its page says "most projects require a building permit before work begins," asks you to allow at least two weeks for review, and tells owners near wetlands to contact the Conservation Department before applying. Applications go through the town's OpenGov portal. The page doesn't list siding, window, door or deck work by name; residential accessory structures under 200 square feet, such as sheds, play structures and gazebos, need no building permit but "must still comply with required property setbacks" (Permits & Applications). The state's contractor chart marks siding, window replacement, decks and new door openings as building-permit work, and a replacement exit door as needing one (state HIC chart).
Fees. Burlington's "Building Permit Fees as of August 2026" charge residential work $13 per $1,000 with a $50 minimum (Building Permit Fees). Projects in a flood zone use the town's separate Floodplain Development Permit application.
- Building Department
- Town Hall, 29 Center Street, 781-270-1615
- Review time
- Allow at least two weeks
- Fee
- $13 per $1,000, $50 minimum (fees as of August 2026)
- Near a wetland
- Contact Conservation before applying
- Flood zone
- Floodplain Development Permit application
- Energy code
- Stretch Code since July 1, 2019; not Specialized
Energy code. Burlington has used the Stretch Code since July 1, 2019 and is not on the Specialized Code, according to the state's list dated November 3, 2026 (municipal energy code list). On an existing house, 225 CMR 22 sends alterations and repairs to the code's existing-building chapter (225 CMR 22); ask your installer for each new window's NFRC label.
State rules for the job. Siding, window, door and deck contractors on an owner-occupied one- to four-family home must be registered Home Improvement Contractors (Contractor Hub lookup). The state chart sets a "Window/Siding CSL minimum" for siding and windows and a construction supervisor license for decks and exterior stairs (state HIC chart); on one- and two-family homes a licensed construction supervisor or registered design professional must oversee the construction (construction supervisor rules). Above $1,000 the contract must be written, with the registration number, dates, price and payment schedule; the deposit is capped at one-third unless special-order windows or doors cost more; and you can cancel a contract signed at home until midnight of the third business day (c.142A §2). An owner who pulls the permit gives up the Guaranty Fund, which can pay up to $25,000 (HIC homeowner resources).
Lead and asbestos. Burlington posts no lead guidance of its own. In a home built before 1978, paid work disturbing more than 20 square feet of exterior paint needs a licensed lead-safe renovation contractor, and window replacement is a separate trigger (MA lead-safe rules for contractors); the federal rule always covers window replacement (EPA RRP). Cement or "transite" siding is suspect asbestos; on a contractor job MassDEP requires a survey by a DLS-licensed inspector (MassDEP asbestos FAQ), and the licensed abatement contractor files notice at least ten working days ahead (AQ 04 notification).
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by August 2027. New England Exterior Pros is a referral service. We don't do the work or file permits; the contractor does.
Decks and porches
Decks and porches in Burlington
Yards. In the RO one-family district, a Planning Board article dated October 28, 2025 quotes section 5.1.3: yards of 25 feet in front and 15 feet at the sides and rear, and accessory uses may not occupy the required front or side setbacks or more than 20% of the rear yard (setback clarification). Whether an attached deck counts as part of the house or as an accessory use isn't stated, so confirm before you design one into the rear yard.
Wetlands. Burlington's wetland regulations, amended March 14, 2024 and effective April 1, 2024, presume that work on an existing residential lot alters a resource area if it falls within 20 feet (the no-disturb line) or within the 40-foot building setback, which becomes no closer than the existing dwelling where the house already sits nearer. The inner buffer runs to 50 feet; runoff from new impervious surface in the buffer "shall be infiltrated on site to the maximum extent possible"; and a local Request for Determination of Applicability for an existing single-family addition, alteration or buffer work is $50, with a Notice of Intent for an addition or alteration at $150 (wetland regulations).
Groundwater and flood maps. The town's 2025 hazard mitigation plan update (draft) calls rising groundwater "a major issue for many residents," says groundwater flooding happens "even in years of drought," and names Fox Hill and the Sandy Brook and Long Meadow Brook area among the places it is reported (Hazard Mitigation Plan update). New FEMA maps for Middlesex County, Burlington included, took effect July 8, 2025 (Federal Register notice).
Footings. Burlington posts no deck guide. The state code sets frost depth at 48 inches (780 CMR 51, chapter 3), and footing holes need a Dig Safe notice at least 72 hours ahead, weekends and holidays excluded (c.82 §40A; call 811 or use Dig Safe).
Burlington's homes
A Route 128 boom town
The state's 1980 survey calls Burlington the "fastest growing town in the state" from 1955 to 1965, after Route 128, and notes about a dozen colonial center-chimney houses, scattered Italianate side-hall houses, a few Queen Anne houses near Cambridge Street and Lexington Road, 1915–40 cottages and "cobbled basement bungalows," and late-1930s Colonial Revival capes. It names areas including the Town Center around Burlington Common, Great Meadow, Vine Brook Valley, Havenville and Wynnmere (Burlington reconnaissance report). The 2019 open space plan says farmland gave way to housing subdivisions after Route 128 and notes half-acre (20,000-square-foot) single-family zoning (Open Space and Recreation Plan), and a 2022 housing assessment counts 65% of homes as detached single-family (Housing Needs Assessment). The town doesn't publish a count of homes by build year, so check your own house's date before assuming lead rules don't apply.
No local historic district. We found no local historic district in Burlington, so siding and window choices aren't reviewed. The General Bylaws include a Demolition Permit Delay (Article XIV, section 8.0), but its length and age threshold weren't readable in the posted copy; ask the Building Department before taking down any part of an older house (General Bylaws).
FAQ
Burlington exterior questions
How long does a building permit take in Burlington?
The Building Department says to allow at least two weeks for review, and to contact the Conservation Department before applying if the property is near a wetland. Questions on a specific project go to the Building Department at 781-270-1615.
How close to a wetland can I build a deck in Burlington?
Under the town's wetland regulations, effective April 1, 2024, work on an existing house lot within 20 feet of a resource area (the no-disturb line) or within the 40-foot building setback (or, where the house already sits closer, closer than the existing house) is presumed to alter it. A local Request for Determination for buffer work at an existing single-family home is $50.
Does Burlington have a historic district that reviews siding?
We found no local historic district in Burlington, so siding and window choices aren't reviewed. The General Bylaws do include a Demolition Permit Delay, whose terms we could not read in the posted copy.
Can a deck go in the rear yard setback in Burlington?
In the RO one-family district, houses keep 25 feet in front and 15 feet at the sides and rear, and accessory uses may not sit in the required front or side setbacks or take up more than 20% of the rear yard. The bylaw text quoted by the Planning Board doesn't say whether an attached deck counts as accessory, so ask the Building Department.
What does it cost me to use New England Exterior Pros?
Nothing. Asking is free for homeowners; the contractor prices the job, and the price and contract are between you and them.
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