Lead paint in older homes: what to know before you paint

If your home was built before 1978, it may contain lead-based paint. Lead paint in good condition is usually not a hazard by itself; the risk comes when scraping, sanding or rubbing turns it into dust and chips. Before painting, find out what you have, and make sure anyone disturbing it works lead-safe.

Lead is a reason to plan, not to panic. Here’s where it tends to be, how to test for it, and what careful work looks like.

Which homes might have lead paint?

The dividing line is 1978, the year the federal government banned lead-based paint for residential use. A house built before then may have it somewhere, and the older the house, the more likely that is.

That covers a great deal of Metro Detroit. Grosse Pointe’s Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Georgian homes from the early-to-mid 20th century are well past the line, and so are many post-war Colonials, Capes and ranches. Our guide to painting older Grosse Pointe homes covers what else these houses ask of a painter.

Newer paint on top doesn’t change the answer. Lead paint is often sealed under several later coats, which keeps it in place only until someone scrapes or sands down through them.

Where is lead paint most often found?

Lead helped paint dry faster, wear longer and resist moisture, which is why it turns up most often on the parts of a house that see the most wear and weather:

• Windows: sashes, sills, and the window well, the channel between the sash and the storm window. Original wood windows are the classic spot.
• Doors and door frames: edges, jambs and stops, where a door rubs and bangs.
• Trim: baseboards, casings, stair railings, balusters and banisters.
• Porches: floors, steps, railings and columns, which take foot traffic and weather.
• Exterior siding and trim: as weathered paint peels and chips, it can also end up in the soil along the foundation.

Two terms are worth knowing. Friction surfaces are places where two parts rub, like a window sash sliding in its track or a door scraping its jamb. Impact surfaces are places that get bumped, like door edges and baseboards. Both can wear paint into dust with no scraper involved, which is why windows get so much attention. Our guide to painting old wood windows goes further into sashes, glazing and sills.

When does lead paint become a hazard?

Lead harms people when it’s swallowed or inhaled, so the concern is anything that turns paint into dust, chips or contaminated soil. The usual sources:

• Deteriorating paint. Peeling, chipping, cracking or chalking paint sheds lead as it breaks down.
• Friction. Each time an old window opens and closes, it can grind paint into fine dust that settles on the sill and in the window well.
• Scraping and sanding. Dry scraping, sanding and demolition release far more dust than everyday wear, and that dust travels on shoes, clothing and air currents.
• Weathering outside. Chips and dust from exterior paint fall into the soil around the house, where children play and shoes pick it up.

Why do children and pregnancy matter most?

Young children are the most vulnerable. They crawl on floors, put hands and toys in their mouths, and absorb lead more readily than adults do. Lead can affect a child’s developing brain and nervous system, and some effects can be lasting.

Pregnancy matters for a similar reason: lead in a mother’s body can pass to the developing baby.

None of this is cause for alarm about painted walls in good condition. It does mean scraping and sanding in an older home deserve a plan. Keep children and anyone who is pregnant away from the work area until cleanup is finished, and talk to a doctor or pediatrician if you’re worried about exposure. A blood test is the standard way to check.

How can you find out if your paint contains lead?

There are three general routes, from a quick spot check to a full picture of the house.

Test kits are sold at hardware and paint stores, and the EPA keeps a list of the kits it recognizes. Most require cutting through every layer of paint so the test reaches the oldest coats, so follow the instructions exactly. A kit speaks only for the spot you tested; the trim in the next room may be a different story.

Inspectors often use a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, which reads lead through the layers without damaging the paint. Some also send paint chip samples to a lab.

What does the EPA’s RRP rule require?

The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule requires certified firms and lead-safe work practices for paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes: more than 6 square feet per room inside, or more than 20 square feet outside. The EPA’s RRP program page has the full details.

For covered work, the rule also prohibits three practices outright, because each one turns lead paint into fumes or fine dust:

• Open-flame burning or torching of painted surfaces.
• Heat guns operating at 1100°F or higher.
• Machine sanding, grinding or blasting without HEPA exhaust control, meaning a shroud or containment that captures dust at the tool and pulls it into a HEPA-filtered vacuum.

If you’re hiring, ask whether the firm is certified under the RRP rule and how it plans to contain and clean up the work. A clear, specific answer is a good sign. Our list of questions to ask a house painter covers the rest of that conversation.

What does lead-safe containment and cleanup look like?

Lead-safe work rests on three ideas: keep the dust in the work area, make as little of it as possible, and clean up thoroughly. These steps sit on top of normal surface preparation, not in place of it.

Inside

Furniture leaves the room or is covered and sealed in plastic. Floors get taped-down plastic sheeting, forced-air heating and cooling is shut off, vents are covered, and doorways are sealed with plastic so dust can’t drift through the house. Children, pregnant family members and pets stay out until the work and cleanup are finished.

Outside

On an exterior painting project, containment starts on the ground. Plastic sheeting laid out from the foundation catches chips before they reach soil and plantings. Nearby windows and doors stay closed, and work that throws off debris waits out a windy day.

Making less dust

Misting a surface with water before hand-scraping or sanding keeps dust down. Loose paint comes off by hand, or with power tools fitted with HEPA exhaust control.

Cleanup

Chips and debris are picked up as the work goes, not left for the end. Plastic sheeting is misted, folded dirty side in, then bagged and sealed. Surfaces are cleaned with a HEPA vacuum and then wiped or mopped with damp cloths. Dry sweeping and ordinary household or shop vacuums can blow fine dust back into the air.

For covered work, the RRP rule also spells out how cleanup must be checked before a job is considered done. Personal habits count as well: washing hands and face before eating, and changing out of work clothes and shoes before walking through the house or getting into a car.

What if you’re doing the work yourself?

The RRP rule covers paid work. Homeowners working on their own homes aren’t covered by it, but the dust behaves the same no matter who’s holding the scraper, so the same habits apply:

1. Test first, or assume the paint contains lead.
2. Keep children, anyone who is pregnant and pets away from the work area until cleanup is done.
3. Contain the area with plastic sheeting, and shut off forced-air systems when working inside.
4. Mist before scraping, and skip torches, heat guns running at 1100°F or higher, and power sanders without HEPA dust collection.
5. Clean up with a HEPA vacuum and wet wiping, and bag the debris.
6. Wash up and change clothes before you leave the work area.

Small, careful jobs are one thing. If paint is failing across whole walls, or the project means scraping a house full of old windows, it may be work for a professional. Our guide to DIY versus hiring a painter can help you weigh it.

Questions

Painting an older home in the Pointes?Plaster, original trim and old windows need a careful approach. Here’s ours.→