By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
5/19/11
There’s a special skill involved in renovating an older home.

Take it from a craftsman like Andrew D’Amato, co-owner of Andrews Painting. He knows firsthand the painstaking detail and treatment older home restorations need, and not just because his company specializes in interior and exterior painting and restoration. D’Amato lives in one of East Milton Square’s most charming, historical houses, built in 1865. He purchased and renovated it in 1996

“So I’ve had plenty of practice [dealing with older homes],” D’Amato said with a chuckle.

Tucked away behind a little white gate and a row of evergreens on Pierce Street, sits the home of D’Amato, his wife Suzanne Lombardi and their 11-year-old daughter Ruby. The welcoming mustard-yellow house with a green roof and white trim is something of a surprise to visitors, as the lush and well-manicured landscaping feels more like arriving in the countryside than just steps from the hustle and bustle of the Square.

The house was the original farmhouse of the Newcomb family, and the barn – which is now home to four chickens in an attached coop – still sits behind the home.

His wife, a native of Milton, is a baker who enjoys the daily bounty of fresh eggs from the chickens in her backyard. Lombardi founded Dancing Deer Baking Co., which she sold a few years ago.

“Living here is great,” Lombardi said. “We can walk everywhere.”

Working on his own renovation was a satisfying, but labor-intensive, project for D’Amato. The detailed work attracted the attention of producers of “This Old House,” the PBS home-improvement magazine and television program. D’Amato’s house was featured in the magazine during the renovation.

That relationship has continued over the years, as area craftsmen who deal with older home restorations often meet again on other projects.

“We’re on a couple of the [television] shows – just snippets,” he said.

The quality of work offered by Andrews Painting is evident when one looks at D’Amato’s home. The custom details are similar to work his company has done on many historic renovations, including projects on Brattle Street in Cambridge, site of some of the area’s most historically significant homes. A few of those jobs even won historical renovation awards.

Projects like those require an artist’s touch, and D’Amato actually studied photography at the Art Institute of Boston before he established his business. He feels that experience helped prepare him for skills he uses today.

“The visual training I had at art school really was a help to the painting business,” he said.

Older home restoration involves matching original moldings and other custom work. D’Amato’s company also does paint-related carpentry, and collaborates with a network of other craftsmen who work on older homes.

“If you want to replicate, you can’t go to the store and buy this stuff anymore, so you have to have someone who knows how to do it,” he said.

Lead paint is also a big issue when dealing with any home built before 1978. D’Amato and his crew are certified to work under the strict renovation, repair and painting guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Working on a turn-of-the-century house, there are disciplines there that you wouldn’t normally have in a regular house, and if you don’t know how to deal with them, you can really make a mess,” D’Amato said.

Andrews Painting works on all kinds of projects, not just older homes. They are fully licensed and insured, and D’Amato also stressed the skill of his crew.

“If I lost my crew, I don’t know if I’d do this anymore,” he said. “I trust them implicitly.”