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Essex County
Marblehead's housing is old. Forty-six percent of units were built before 1940 and only 4% in 2000 or later; 41% are from 1940 to 1979 and the median unit dates to 1944 (ACS B25034). Detached houses are 77% of units and two- to four-unit buildings 13% (ACS B25024). Eighty-five percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and about 4% of units are seasonal (ACS B25004).
The MHC inventory lists three local designations from 1968: the Old Town Historic District, the Gingerbread Hill Historic District and the Col. Jonathan Glover House and Outbuilding. State law gives those commissions review of exterior features seen from a public way, garage doors among them (MGL c.40C §5 and §6). In Old Town especially, ask the historic commission before replacing a visible garage door. The Marblehead Historic District and Marblehead Light are on the National Register (MHC inventory).
Older houses often have small detached garages or converted outbuildings with narrow openings and very low headroom. We use low-headroom track and wall-mount openers where ceiling space is short, and wood-look or carriage house doors where the district calls for them.
Marblehead is on the state coastal-communities list (Massachusetts CZM). Near the water, springs, cables, rollers and fasteners rust much faster than inland. Galvanized hardware and nylon rollers hold up better, and a yearly tune-up catches corrosion before a cable snaps.
A battery-backup opener keeps the door working in a power outage, and a sound bottom seal keeps wind-driven rain out.
The state home-improvement chart marks replacing a door as a maybe for a building permit and a new installation as a yes (mass.gov).
We install Clopay, Garaga, Wayne Dalton and Amarr doors.
Marblehead is in Essex County. Nearby towns: Salem, Swampscott, Lynn. See weatherstripping. Call (781) 602-0737, or see emergency service.
