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Window Replacement, Siding, Doors and Decks in North Andover, MA
North Andover reviews exteriors in two places, the Old Center and Machine Shop Village, and can hold a 100-year-old house from demolition for a year. 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
- Old Center to Machine Shop Village
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Exterior work in North Andover
Which exterior job is next?
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.
Old Center or Machine Shop Village?
(978) 788-0374Tell us the street and the work, and we'll connect you with a contractor who can plan around North Andover's district reviews.
Permits
Permits for siding, windows and decks in North Andover
Building Department. The town's building permits cover "additions and alterations to all structures" (Building Department). The department is at 120 Main Street, and the building inspector's office hours are 8 to 10 in the morning Monday to Friday and 1 to 2 in the afternoon Monday to Thursday (Building Department hours). Applications are filed on OpenGov. The town's pages don't name siding, windows, doors or decks separately, and the fee schedule isn't posted in a readable form, so ask the department for current fees.
- Building Department
- 120 Main Street
- Online filing
- OpenGov
- Old Center Historic District
- Visible exterior changes reviewed; storm windows exempt
- Machine Shop Village
- Neighborhood conservation district certificate
- Demolition delay
- 12 months for buildings 100 years or older found preferably preserved
- Energy code
- Stretch Code since January 1, 2017; no Specialized Code
State requirements. The state's contractor chart, which it presents as general guidance, marks siding and window installation or replacement as needing a building permit and at least a "Window/Siding" construction supervisor license, decks, exterior stairs and new door installations as needing a permit and a supervisor license, and a replacement door as needing a permit "if an exit door or for public safety concerns" (HIC contractor resources). For work on an owner-occupied home of one to four units, the contractor must be registered as a Home Improvement Contractor (registration lookup). Any contract over $1,000 must be in writing with the registration number, dates, price and payment schedule; the deposit can't exceed one-third unless special-order materials cost more; and a contract signed at home can be cancelled until midnight of the third business day (c.142A §2). A homeowner-pulled permit forfeits the Guaranty Fund, which can pay up to $25,000 (HIC homeowner resources).
Energy code and egress. North Andover has used the Stretch Code since January 1, 2017 and has not adopted the Specialized Code (energy code adoption by municipality). Replacement windows must meet the energy code's U-factor for new windows; ask your installer for the NFRC label. The state's primary egress door must be side-hinged with at least 32 inches of clear width (780 CMR 51, chapter 3), which matters when a front entry is swapped for a different style.
Lead and asbestos. The town's housing plan puts about 60% of homes before 1979. In a pre-1978 home, paid work disturbing more than 20 square feet of exterior paint, and window replacement, need a state-licensed Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor (MA lead-safe renovation), and the EPA always covers window replacement (EPA RRP). Cement or "transite" siding is suspect asbestos under MassDEP rules, which bar breaking, sanding, sawing or drilling it and call for notice at least ten working days before removal (MassDEP asbestos FAQ).
Last verified November 2026. New England Exterior Pros is a referral service. The contractor you choose does the work and applies for the permits.
Historic review
Historic review of exteriors in North Andover
Old Center Historic District. Under the town's historic district bylaw, the Historic District Commission controls new construction, reconstruction, alteration, relocation and demolition of exterior features "clearly visible from any public street, public way or public land," and also reviews solar collectors and dish antennas. Exempt are "Storm doors and windows, screen doors and windows," "Paint color and roofing material," ordinary repair or replacement with the same design and materials, at-grade walks and driveways, and features not clearly visible from a public way. The Commission issues certificates of appropriateness, nonapplicability or hardship; the bylaw doesn't mention decks (Chapter 110, Historic Districts). Swapping clapboards for a different material or replacing visible windows with a new design is the kind of change that goes to the Commission.
Machine Shop Village. North Andover also has a neighborhood conservation district: "no alterations to any building or part thereof within a Neighborhood Conservation District" may be made without a certificate "except as this bylaw provides." Replacement doors, windows and exterior coverings are defined terms in the bylaw, and the commission also reviews additions, demolition and new construction (Chapter 125, Neighborhood Conservation Districts). We couldn't read the bylaw's exclusions, so ask the commission before ordering windows or siding.
Demolition delay. The demolition delay bylaw applies to buildings 100 years old or more (or of unknown age) that meet one of its significance criteria, and defines demolition as "pulling down, destroying, removing, dismantling or razing a building." If the building is found preferably preserved, no demolition permit issues for 12 months; demolition in violation can bring fines of up to $300 a day and a two-year bar on building permits except for restoration (Chapter 70; Chapter 70 enforcement). The bylaw doesn't say whether removing a porch counts, so ask before you tear one off an old house.
Decks and porches
Decks and porches in North Andover
Porches in the yard. The zoning bylaw says "Uncovered porches, balconies, open fire escapes, chimneys and flues all may project into a required" front, side or rear yard, "not more than 1/3 of its width and not more than four feet in any case". Lot coverage counts both principal and accessory structures, and a corner lot keeps the front setback on both streets (Chapter 195 setbacks). For a nonconforming single-family house, a building permit can issue if the change doesn't make the house more nonconforming; otherwise the Zoning Board of Appeals decides by special permit (section 195-9.3).
Wetlands, brooks and floods. The local wetlands bylaw and regulations keep a 25-foot No-Disturbance zone and a 50-foot No-Build zone inside the 100-foot buffer, with a 200-foot riverfront area along the Merrimack, the Shawsheen and brooks including Mosquito, Rocky, Boston, Fish, Cedar and Cochichewick, and owners need a Professional Wetland Scientist to flag wetlands (wetlands bylaw; Conservation FAQ). About 19.5% of the town's land lies in the 1% or 0.2% annual-chance flood zones, according to the town's 2021 hazard mitigation and MVP plan (North Andover hazard plan); the town's flood mapping page links FEMA resources.
Footings. The town posts no deck guide. Massachusetts sets frost depth at 48 inches and limits exterior stair risers to 8¼ inches with treads of at least 9 inches (780 CMR 51, chapter 3). Notify Dig Safe at least 72 hours before augering, not counting weekends and legal holidays (c.82 §40A; call 811).
North Andover's homes
A colonial center, mill villages and a planned 1920s neighborhood
North Andover had 11,366 housing units in its 2018–2022 Housing Production Plan, with about 18% built before 1940, about 60% before 1979 and about 56% detached single-family houses (Housing Production Plan).
Old Centre
Residences from 1715 on, with many Georgian and Federal houses on Academy Road and Andover Street.
Machine Shop Village
Everything from row houses to mansions, with mill duplexes on Water Street.
Tavern Acres
A 1920s subdivision laid out by the Olmsted Brothers.
Neighborhood descriptions come from the state's 2005 North Andover Reconnaissance Report, which also describes the Acre's modest early to mid 19th-century houses and mill-manager housing along Main, Water, Elm and High Streets.
FAQ
North Andover exterior questions
Do storm windows need approval in the Old Center Historic District?
No. The district bylaw exempts storm doors and windows and screen doors and windows, along with paint color, roofing material, and ordinary repair or replacement using the same design and materials. A visible change to a different siding or window material is reviewed by the Historic District Commission.
I live in Machine Shop Village. Do new windows need a certificate?
Likely. The neighborhood conservation district bylaw says no alterations to any building or part of one may be made without a certificate except as the bylaw provides, and it defines replacement doors, windows and exterior coverings. Its exclusions weren't readable when we checked, so ask the commission before you order.
Can taking down part of an old house trigger a delay?
For a building 100 years old or more, possibly. The demolition delay bylaw defines demolition as pulling down, destroying, removing, dismantling or razing a building, and a building found preferably preserved can wait 12 months for a demolition permit. It does not say whether a porch alone counts, so ask before a tear-off.
How far can a rebuilt front porch extend into the yard?
The zoning bylaw lets uncovered porches and balconies project into a required front, side or rear yard by no more than 1/3 of its width, in the bylaw's words, and no more than four feet. A covered porch does not get the allowance.
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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