Stucco, EIFS & siding contractor across New Hampshire

The closest part of the state to Waltham, and the busiest. Nashua and Manchester grew up around the Merrimack River mills, and their older neighborhoods are full of wood-frame multifamily housing built long before 1978, which means the EPA lead rule applies to most re-siding and paint jobs. Offices, medical buildings, retail and newer apartment complexes along I-93, Route 3 and Route 101 are natural candidates for drainage EIFS and stucco repair, while the suburbs from Bedford to Windham are mostly newer single-family homes in vinyl or fiber cement.

Snow loads climb as you head north and uphill: 55 psf in Salem and Pelham, 60 in Nashua and Hudson, 70 in Manchester, Bedford and Concord, and 75 in Goffstown, each at the town’s CRREL reference elevation. With Merrimack County’s move, all three counties here are now Zone 5A. Permit practice can differ even between neighboring towns, so the first call goes to the local building office.

New Hampshire’s short coastline packs in a lot of exposure. For fiber cement, James Hardie recommends stainless steel fasteners near the ocean, and on every cladding the flashing at windows, doors and trim is what keeps wind-driven rain out during a nor’easter. Snow loads are the lightest in the state here: 50 psf at the reference elevation in Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and Exeter, rising to 60 in Dover and 70 in Rochester.

The Seacoast also has the state’s best-known historic district rules. Portsmouth’s Historic District Commission issues Certificates of Approval for exterior changes in the district, and Exeter requires approval before any change in exterior materials or color within its districts. The 18th- and 19th-century houses of Portsmouth, New Castle and Exeter often call for trim replicated to the original profile, and paint work there falls under the EPA lead rule. Rockingham and Strafford are Zone 5A, though the EC-1 energy form lists the town of Durham with Zone 6, so Durham projects should confirm with the town.

Lake houses, camps and year-round homes around Winnipesaukee, Squam and Newfound. Snow loads jump to 80 to 90 psf at the reference elevation (Laconia 80; Gilford, Alton and Wolfeboro 90), Belknap and Carroll counties are Zone 6A, and many homes sit empty for months, so a leak behind the cladding can go unnoticed for a season. James Hardie’s stainless-fastener recommendation covers large bodies of water as well as the ocean, which applies on the big lakes.

Lakefront work brings its own rules. Within 250 feet of a lake, the state’s Shoreland Protection Act applies, but NHDES lists putting new siding over old siding, with no excavation or fill, among the activities that don’t need a shoreland permit; changing the footprint is a different matter. Coatings have a season too: Sto’s guidance keeps EIFS materials and substrates at 40°F or above until they cure, so stucco, EIFS and paint are planned for the warm months. Drawings let owners settle the price over the winter and book the work for summer.

Town commons, white clapboard churches and old farmhouses on the hillsides. The village centers are full of 18th- and 19th-century houses with hand-run trim and many layers of old paint, so the EPA lead rule applies to nearly every exterior job. Matching an old cornice or casing profile is where architectural foam trim or careful repair earns its place.

Elevation drives the numbers. The CRREL table puts Keene at 70 psf, Peterborough at 75, Jaffrey, Rindge and New Ipswich at 80, and Dublin at 90 psf at 1,600 feet. Cheshire and western Hillsborough counties are Zone 5A. In Keene’s Historic District, vinyl or aluminum siding that covers character-defining features like brick is not allowed, so check before choosing a cladding downtown.

The Connecticut River towns and the hills around Lake Sunapee get long winters and a short exterior season. Grafton and Sullivan counties are Zone 6A, and CRREL snow loads run 75 psf in Hanover, 80 in Lebanon, 85 in Claremont and Newport and 95 in New London at their reference elevations, climbing 2.1 psf for every 100 feet above that.

The housing mixes college-town homes around Hanover and Lebanon, old farmhouses in Orford, Lyme and Cornish, and lake houses on Sunapee. Brick and stone are common in the older village centers, and coatings over masonry need to stay breathable. On wood houses the usual work is re-siding and trim. Stucco, EIFS and paint need warm, dry weeks, so plan coating work for late spring through early fall.

Snow loads here are the heaviest of any region on this page: Jackson is 115 psf at 1,800 feet in the CRREL table, Bethlehem and Waterville Valley 105, and Bartlett, Gorham and Berlin 100. Woodstock’s own engineering letter shows how much elevation matters, from about 70 psf at 600 feet to 85 at 1,200 feet and about 110 at 2,500 feet. Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties are all Zone 6A.

Resorts, condos, inns and second homes around North Conway, Lincoln and Waterville Valley see heavy use and hard winters, and the EIFS, stucco and siding on those larger buildings take a beating. Farther north, Berlin, Gorham and Lancaster have older mill-era housing. Some small towns have no local building inspector; the state code still applies, and on anything other than a one- or two-family home the contractor must notify the State Fire Marshal before work begins. The exterior season is short, so coating work is scheduled for summer.