By EA Paint & Light Carpentry7 min read
At a glance
- Typical timeAverage
- Longer than the same job without lead
- Test first
- Any home built before 1978
- Most at risk
- Children under 6 and pregnant women
- Ask for
- MA lead-safe renovation credentials
Times are rough averages for planning only. Every house is different — size, condition, repairs and weather all change it. Your written estimate gives the actual schedule for your job.
What should I know about lead paint before painting an older house in Massachusetts?
If your house was built before 1978, assume the older paint contains lead until a test shows otherwise. Scraping, sanding and power-washing it creates toxic dust and chips. Paid work must follow lead-safe practices, and Massachusetts runs its own program, so ask any painter for their lead-safe renovation credentials and keep children and pregnant family members away.
Why pre-1978 homes are different
Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in the United States in 1978, so federal rules treat any home built before then as likely to contain it. The older the house, the more likely it is, but even a house repainted recently can have lead in the layers underneath the newest coat. On the outside, it is often in the trim, windows, doors and porches as well as the siding.
In Central Massachusetts, that describes a lot of houses. Census figures count homes built before 1980, which is close to the federal cutoff: in Worcester it is 77% of the housing, and in Marlborough and Hudson about 60%. If you own an older home in this area, plan your painting project as if lead is there until you know otherwise.
How lead paint becomes a hazard
Intact lead paint under newer coats is not much of a risk on its own. The danger comes when it turns into dust and chips: from paint that is peeling or chalking, from friction on windows and doors, and above all from scraping, sanding and cutting during a paint job. Lead dust is fine enough to settle in soil, on porches and sills, and inside the house through open windows.
Young children are most at risk because they put their hands and toys in their mouths and their developing brains are especially sensitive. Health agencies have not identified any safe blood lead level in children. Lead also crosses the placenta, so pregnant women should avoid exposure as well.
What the lead-safe renovation rule requires
The federal Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to paid work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978, beyond small minor-repair amounts. It requires a certified firm with a certified renovator overseeing the job, lead-safe work practices, containment and cleanup, and that the homeowner receives the EPA pamphlet Renovate Right before the work begins.
Massachusetts runs its own version of the program through the Department of Labor Standards rather than having EPA run it directly. The practical advice is simple: ask any painter or contractor for their Massachusetts lead-safe renovation credentials, and check them with the Department of Labor Standards before you sign. Massachusetts also has a separate Lead Law covering homes where children under six live, which matters particularly for owners of older rental property. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and the agencies publish the current requirements.
Practices that spread lead dust
On an older house, these are the methods to avoid or to see done only with the proper controls:
- Dry sanding or power sanding without a tool shroud connected to a HEPA vacuum
- Burning paint off with an open flame or torch
- Heat guns run at very high temperatures
- Power-washing old paint without containment, which sprays chips across the yard and into the soil
- Abrasive blasting of painted surfaces
- Dry sweeping or leaving paint chips on the ground at the end of the day
What lead-safe exterior work looks like
On the outside of a house, lead-safe work starts before the first scraper comes out. Under the federal rule, plastic sheeting covers the ground below the work area and extends well out from the wall, and doors and windows near the work are closed. Warning signs keep people out of the area. Scraping is done wet or with tools designed to capture dust, and work stops if the wind is strong enough to carry debris.
Cleanup happens daily, not just at the end. Chips are collected, debris is bagged, the sheeting is folded inward so nothing spills, and the area is inspected before the job is called finished. If you see paint chips in the flower beds or dust on the porch at the end of a work day, ask about it.
All of this takes time, so expect a lead-safe exterior to take longer than the same house without lead, and expect the estimate to reflect it. Setting up and breaking down containment each day, scraping carefully instead of quickly, and cleaning up thoroughly are real hours of labor. On badly deteriorated trim, replacing a board can sometimes be cleaner than scraping it, which is one reason a painter who also does carpentry has more options on an old house. An estimate that is much lower than the others on a pre-1978 house is worth a direct question about how the lead work is being handled.
Testing for lead paint
Testing tells you whether lead-safe practices are required and where. Many contractors skip testing and simply treat all the old paint as lead paint, which is a legitimate and common approach on an older house. Testing is most useful when you want to know whether particular surfaces, such as newer siding or replacement trim, are free of lead, or when young children live in the home.
The options differ in how much they tell you.
Home swab test kit
- What it tells you
- Whether lead is likely present on a spot
- Keep in mind
- Less reliable for proving paint is lead-free
Paint-chip lab analysis
- What it tells you
- Lead content in a sample, through all layers
- Keep in mind
- Requires removing a sample; do it carefully
Inspection by a licensed inspector
- What it tells you
- Lead in painted surfaces throughout the home
- Keep in mind
- Often uses an XRF analyzer that does not damage paint
Risk assessment
- What it tells you
- Where lead hazards exist now, including dust and soil
- Keep in mind
- Useful with young children in the home
Tip: If a young child lives in or visits an older home being painted, ask your pediatrician about a blood lead test.
Children, pregnancy and pets during the job
Keep children, pregnant family members and pets away from the work area and out of the yard below it while scraping is under way. Keep windows closed on the sides being worked on, take toys and outdoor furniture away from the house, and ask the crew where people should and should not walk.
For interior work on an older home, families with young children often stay elsewhere while paint is being disturbed. Wipe shoes at the door, and after the job, avoid letting children dig or play in the soil right along the foundation, where old paint chips tend to collect over the years.
Planting grass or groundcover, or spreading mulch, over bare soil next to the house reduces the chance of children coming into contact with it. If you grow vegetables, keep the beds away from the drip line of an older painted house.
Questions to ask a painter about lead
Bring lead up at the estimate, not on the first day of work. A painter who works on older houses should be able to answer clearly:
- Can I see your Massachusetts lead-safe renovation credentials and the certified renovator’s training certificate?
- Will you test the paint, or treat it as lead paint?
- How will you contain the work area and protect the soil and plantings?
- Which scraping and sanding methods will you use?
- How will you clean up each day, and how will you dispose of the debris?
- Is the lead-safe work described in the written estimate?
Talk to a local crew
EA Paint & Light Carpentry is a painting and light carpentry company based in Northborough, MA. If you would like the house looked at, call (508) 466-5846 or request a free written estimate. Related services: Interior Painting, Exterior Painting, Light Carpentry & Wood Repair.
