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Home Renovation Contractor in Wellesley, MA
A Wellesley addition, planned around the town’s rules.
Wellesley sends large additions to the Planning Board and changes to older exteriors to the Historical Commission. We check your house against both when we first walk through it.
Large House Review
When a Wellesley addition goes to the Planning Board.
Most Wellesley houses were built before 1960, and the median year is 1954. Add on to one and the town’s Large House Review bylaw determines whether the plans go to the Planning Board.
It applies when an addition grows the living area plus garage by more than 10% and leaves the house over its zoning district’s threshold: 3,600 square feet in SR 10,000 and General Residence, up to 7,200 in SR 30,000 and 40,000. The Planning Board then has 90 days to decide, with comments from the Design Review Board. If it hasn’t ruled in that time, the project is deemed approved.
At the walkthrough we measure the current square footage and confirm your district. You know which side of the line a design falls on while it’s still a sketch.
- SR 10,000and General Residence
- SR 15,000
- SR 20,000
- SR 30,000and SR 40,000
- Example3,400 sq ft in SR 10,000, adding 500
over 3,600 and more than 10% added
Zoning Bylaw Section 5.9, wellesleyma.gov
Permits and local review
Two Wellesley reviews can add months to a schedule.
Large House Review gives the Planning Board up to 90 days. A “Preferably Preserved” finding under Article 46C holds the work for 12 months. We check your house against both at the start and plan the time into the schedule.
- Building permitsBuilding, electrical, plumbing and gas permits come from the Wellesley Building Department. Many can be applied for online through ViewPoint Cloud.
- Large House ReviewZoning Bylaw Section 5.9. Thresholds run from 3,600 square feet in SR 10,000 and General Residence to 7,200 in SR 30,000 and 40,000. An addition counts when it adds more than 10% and leaves the house over the line.
- Demolition reviewArticle 46C covers dwellings built in 1949 or earlier. Removing or enveloping half or more of the exterior counts as demolition.
- Historic districtsExterior changes to the 65 properties in the Cottage Street Historic District, and to the five single-building districts, go to the Historic District Commission.
- Energy codeSpecialized Opt‑in Energy Code, effective January 1, 2024.
Sources: wellesleyma.gov (Building Department, Permit Guide, Zoning Bylaw, Demolition Review Bylaw, Historic District Commission); mass.gov energy code adoption by municipality; US Census Bureau, ACS 2019 to 2023 five-year estimates.
Article 46C
In Wellesley, an addition that wraps half or more of the outside of a house built in 1949 or earlier counts as demolition.
That sends the plans to the Historical Commission. If it finds the house “Preferably Preserved”, the work waits 12 months. Interior work and non-structural roof or siding changes aren’t reviewed.
If the bylaw applies to your house, there are two ways forward: keep the addition to less than half the exterior, or plan the review into the schedule. We work through both with you and the designer.
Do you work in Wellesley Hills and Wellesley Farms?
Yes, all over Wellesley: the Hills, the Farms and around Wellesley Square. Each has its own stop on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line.
Does finishing the attic count toward Large House Review?
Not if the outside of the house stays the same. Section 5.9 exempts an attic finished with no exterior change. Add a dormer and the exterior changes, and that version gets checked against the bylaw.
Is my house in a Wellesley historic district?
Wellesley has the Cottage Street Historic District, with 65 properties, and five single-building historic districts. Exterior changes to any of them go to the Historic District Commission. We check your address against both lists.
Can Wellesley permits be applied for online?
Many can, through ViewPoint Cloud, and we handle the applications on your job. The town’s OpenGov site also lets you search past permits on a property, a quick way to see what earlier owners had done to the house.
Is lead paint a concern in a Wellesley house?
Often. 59% of Wellesley houses were built before 1960, well inside the state’s lead rule for homes built before 1978. Work that disturbs paint in those houses has to be done by a contractor the Department of Labor Standards licenses as a Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor. When we vet the contractor with you, that licence is on the list.
Around Wellesley
About 16 miles from our base in Stoughton.
In Wellesley: additions sized against your district’s threshold and the 10% line.
Start your project
See where your house stands with Large House Review.
Tell us about the addition. When we visit, we measure the house and confirm the zoning district.
(774) 296-4034Already have a bid for a Wellesley job? Stephen reads it for $99 before you sign. The $99 bid review