Renovating a Home that has Lead Paint

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Shortly after Halley Bock’s son, Niko, took his first steps, Bock hit the Kitchen built-in where lead paint was first found. Photo courtesy of Halley Bock. childproofing section of her local home improvement store. She bought gates, cabinet latches and, on a whim, picked up a lead paint test kit. Bock ran the swab over the windowsill in her son’s room, which had chipping paint and was close enough to the ground for her son to reach. “The test turned pink right away,” Bock says. “Then went to the next spot, and it was pink again. I knew that my son had been touching those areas. I felt that all of a sudden, all of us were in danger.” Now that Bock knew there was a lead problem in the house, she had to figure out how to fix it. Before they became parents, she and her partner did a lot of home renovation work themselves. An infrared heat paint removal system would have cost $3,000 to purchase, a considerable savings from the up to $30,000 quoted to her by painting contractors and lead abatement companies. “I thought about it for a moment, but then I looked around at all the trim and Kitchen built-in restored. Photo courtesy of Halley Bock. decided that would take months,” Bock says. “My son was already walking, and we needed it done as quickly as possible. I feel we made the right decision.” Bock decided to hire a company that specializes in lead and asbestos abatement. Windows and doors were removed and dipped to remove the paint. The trim work was all replaced. The job took 10 days at a cost of $15,000. Lead experts say that Bock’s decision to hire a lead removal expert was the safest and wisest one she could have made. Certified lead abatement specialists know proper techniques to reduce dust and properly clean up the job site. But for those who insist upon doing reconstruction work themselves, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a list of guidelines. The Danger of Lead Before the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a regulatory proceeding banning lead paint in 1977, lead-based paint was the preferred choice of painting contractors because of its superior durability and ability to adhere to wood surfaces. The EPA estimates that lead is found in 24 percent of homes built between 1960 and 1978, 69 percent of homes built between 1940 and 1960 and 87 percent of homes built before 1940.

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