Lead Paint in Pre-1978 Homes

A great deal of San Diego’s housing was built before 1978: the post-war tracts of the South Bay, the bungalows and Craftsman homes of the older city neighborhoods, the Spanish Revival houses of La Mesa. Many of them still carry the paint of earlier decades under their newer coats. For a homeowner planning a repaint, that matters, because the preparation that makes new paint last (scraping, sanding, opening up damaged areas) is exactly what disturbs old paint.

This article covers the general facts: what the risk is, what the federal rules require of contractors, and what to ask. It is not legal advice, and California has rules of its own as well.

Why is 1978 the cut-off?

In 1978 the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes. Homes built before then may have lead in their original or early layers of paint; homes built after generally do not. The older the house, the more likely it is: the EPA estimates that the great majority of homes built before 1940 have some lead-based paint, against roughly a quarter of those built between 1960 and 1978.

When is lead paint a hazard?

Lead paint that is intact and covered by sound newer coats is generally a low hazard. The risk comes when it breaks down or is disturbed:

• Peeling, chipping and chalking old paint, especially outdoors where chips fall into soil.
• Friction surfaces, such as old windows sliding in their frames, which grind paint into fine dust.
• Preparation work: scraping, sanding, cutting, drilling and demolition.

Lead dust is the main concern. It is fine enough to be invisible, it settles on floors, sills and soil, and it is swallowed through ordinary hand-to-mouth contact. Children under six and pregnant women are the most vulnerable. That is why the rules focus on dust: preventing it, containing it, and cleaning it up.

What does the federal RRP Rule require?

The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, in full effect since 2010, applies to paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978. In general, it requires that:

1. The firm is certified by the EPA, or by a state the EPA has authorized.
2. A certified renovator, trained in lead-safe practices, is assigned to the job and directs the work.
3. The homeowner receives the EPA’s Renovate Right pamphlet before work begins.
4. Lead-safe work practices are used: work areas are contained, dust is minimized, and specific high-dust methods are prohibited.
5. The area is cleaned and the clean-up verified before the containment comes down.
6. Records are kept showing that the rule was followed.

The rule has a small-job threshold. Generally, it applies when the work disturbs more than six square feet of painted surface in a room inside, or more than twenty square feet outside, and it always applies to window replacement. It does not apply if testing shows the surfaces being disturbed are free of lead-based paint.

Which methods are not allowed?

Under the RRP Rule, contractors working on lead paint in pre-1978 homes may not use:

• Open-flame burning or torching of paint.
• Machine sanding, grinding, planing or blasting without a shroud and HEPA vacuum attachment that captures the dust.
• Heat guns operating at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

What remains is careful hand work: wet scraping and wet sanding to keep dust down, plastic sheeting to contain chips, HEPA vacuums and wet cleaning. It is slower, which is part of why preparation on an older home takes longer than on a newer one.

How do you find out if your paint contains lead?

There are two main routes:

• A certified lead inspector or risk assessor can test painted surfaces throughout the home, commonly with a handheld X-ray fluorescence instrument, and give you a written report.
• EPA-recognized test kits, used by certified renovators, can show whether the specific surfaces to be disturbed contain lead.

If you are buying or have bought an older home, the seller was required under federal law to disclose any known lead paint and to provide a pamphlet about it. That disclosure is worth digging out before a repaint.

Where this comes up around San Diego

Older wood-sided homes in National City, period homes in La Mesa and Craftsman bungalows in North Park and other older neighborhoods of San Diego are the houses most likely to raise the question. Trim, windows, doors and porches are the usual places, because they carry the most layers and see the most wear. Exterior chips falling into garden soil are a particular concern where children play.

What to ask any contractor

Ebenezer is EPA lead-safe (RRP) certified, so these are questions he expects and is glad to answer. Whoever you hire, you are entitled to straight answers:

• Is your firm EPA lead-safe certified, and can I see the certificate?
• Who on the job is the certified renovator?
• Will you test the surfaces you plan to disturb?
• How will you contain dust and chips inside and outside?
• What methods will you use to remove loose paint?
• How will you clean up, and how will you verify the clean-up?
• Will I receive the Renovate Right pamphlet before work starts?

A contractor who is vague about these, or who plans to dry sand or burn off paint on a pre-1978 house, is telling you something important.

What this means for your repaint

An older home can absolutely be repainted well, and the result can be beautiful. It does mean that the age of the house is part of the first conversation, not something discovered on the day the scraping starts. Ebenezer will ask when your home was built, look at the condition of the paint, and tell you plainly what that means for the preparation. Because he is EPA lead-safe (RRP) certified, he plans that preparation around lead-safe practices from the first visit: testing where it is needed, containment, wet methods and a verified clean-up.

If you own a pre-1978 home and are thinking about a repaint, ask for a free estimate and start with that conversation. You can read about scraping and sanding peeling paint and about exterior painting in the meantime.