A friend is asking about a 1930’s home they are purchasing that has been found to have lead paint on the interior and exterior of the home. They are concerned because they have children and his wife is pregnant. They are wondering what the process might be to abate the lead and make the home safe for the family before they move in. They are actually in the Closing process right now so they probably won’t be able to ask the seller to adjust the price to include all of the work that is needed.
This is a very difficult position to be in. You find an antique home that you think has good character and has been taken care of. You don’t want to move into a cookie cutter vinyl sided home but you want your new old home to be safe for you and your family.
The problem is there are many materials that were used in the past that are not safe for today’s homes. In addition to the Lead Paint that the home owner has found they probably also need to upgrade their home’s electrical to provide better wiring and also to include GFCI Outlets. They may also need to replace much of their plumbing. Lead pipe was used into the 1950’s 1960’s for waste pipe which is not a major health concern but it could also be found in older homes for the feed lines that supply water. If not there is still a high likelihood that the pipes in a 90 year old home are not fit for today’s use for both volume and also because they can corrode from the inside and fill with calcium or other deposits over the years. Additionally there is the problem with asbestos that was used in many materials. Everything from flooring to furnace insulation, insulation in your attic and walls possibly but not always and exterior siding to mention a few places it can be found.
Basically our friend has placed themselves in a situation where they won’t be able to move in immediately and the costs of repairs to update and make the home safe will be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
How To Remove Lead Paint On The Interior Of Your Home
Removing lead paint is always a process that must be done with precautions. Professionals will often tell you that removing the old materials and replacing them with new materials is much easier and safer than going through the process of stripping the paint and restoration. This means that all of the charm you saw in the home could be lost if you have to rebuild it with new materials. Additionally the cost will be extreme. You really must account for this when you purchase an older home because
Your use of sanders and scraping must be at a minimum and when it is performed it should be in a pressure ventilated condition so that particles can’t spread through out the home.
For larger items you will want to remove them and have them dipped at a company that uses stripper. This is good for interior and exterior doors and special ornate moldings or fireplaces. In reality though an exterior door that looks pretty is probably not safe enough if it is made out of wood and you will want to upgrade to a steel door. You should always use a steel door for an attached garage entrance for fire rating. Door Jams and Floor Moldings should probably just be removed and replaced.
If you have hardwood floors and they have finish that contains lead you will want to hire someone to strip them and I would actually get this work done early into the project after any surrounding moldings and door frames are removed.
Walls that have lead paint can have the plaster removed however you can also encase the old materials with 1/4 inch thick drywall. It will depend on the condition of the walls.
Remember if you are doing any electrical or plumbing upgrades they must be done before you complete the drywall.
Banisters or some larger items that can not be removed can be stripped in place with chemical strippers scraping and sanding should be extremely minimal when the paint is dry.
How To Remove Lead Paint From The Exterior Of Your Home
Again although these materials are probably not as intricate as interior wood parts you will probably be better off removing the old and replacing with new materials. That said the expense can be high so you can also opt for hiring a paint contractor that will use a zero degree pressure washer head to remove the old paint.
If your siding is in bad repair and will need replacing then just replace it and that is also true for any porch or exterior parts like fascia boards or railings and posts on your porch.
When paint is removed from the exterior of your home you want to make sure the contractor knows they are working on lead paint and you want them to protect the soil and bushes around the home with plastic that can catch all of the lead chips. This is an extremely dirty job.
Why Is Removal Better Than Stripping
Ok so you have read some of the processes above and you are thinking to yourself that you are basically rebuilding your entire home and this is pretty much true.
In lead abatement there is special care to remove all paint containing lead up to about 4 to 5 feet high. This reduces the chance that children will come in contact with it. However paint at higher levels can chip and crack and it can get on fingers of children and end up in their mouth.
When you have the ability to remove an old wood interior door and have it stripped for $35 in a tank and then you bring it home and its lead free then that is great.
When you have hundreds of feet of baseboard molding that needs to be stripped and repaired and then painted and installed your labor cost to do this including stripping will out weigh the cost of replacing it. Most important though is the time needed to have all that work done. If you can purchase white wood at your local supply center and run it through a router to put a shape detail on it and then nail it to the wall you will be saving immense amounts of time and expense.
Final Note
Performing Lead Abatement is something that a home owner can do in some instances but you can only do it if you have full knowledge of what you are doing and take all of the precautions that a professional would take.
If you remove the doors from their jams and drive them in your pickup to the stripper and then replace them that is not going to expose you to the extreme amount of lead paint that sanding them in your home would.
You need to know what you are doing and you MUST consult a professional.
The real consideration here is making upgrades to your home such as not stripping old windows and then replacing them along with the jams and sills. This will probably help with your home’s comfort and it will reduce the exposure you will have during the process.
There are many considerations to take into account but always value your and your family’s health first.