Removing Siding fr. Old House,Lead threat?

marna

I have a 100 yr. old house that was sided in the 1970's, and I am about to have new vinyl siding replace the old. A question raised by the family living there at the moment is, is there a lead paint danger to the children when the old siding is removed & the outside walls are bare?

Ron6519

The post wasn't too clear as to the siding sandwich you have or what you're doing. Was the original siding painted wood? Was it resided with aluminum?
Are you leaving the original wood siding alone and going over it with the vinyl? If the wood siding is coming off, you will need tarps set all around the house to keep the chips from getting into the soil. There might be other local codes that you need to adhere to. Like a lead abatement contractor to deal with the lead issue. Call the local building dept for your guidelines.
Ron

marna

the original aluminum siding was placed over the original wood, that I assume had been painted. (I have only had the house for a few years)
The carpenter is removing the old & covering the wood back again with the new vinyl siding.

1910NE

if this is a rental property, you really should get it tested for led paint (inside and out.) i would think otherwise you are opening yourself up to a huge liability.

your carpenter should be aware of the new led paint laws. if not,....you might want to find someone who is.

Gary in WA

Possibly when scraping/sanding the window/door trim to repaint, he may cause some to become air-borne:
EPA Requirements
Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children.
To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. From: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm



Gary

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WillK

Your siding contractor will absolutely have to follow EPA lead safe practices for this job. If this is a property you own which you are renting to this other family you spoke of, then you should know that first and foremost, this rule will require that they need to be provided a pamphlet at least 2 weeks ahead of the work being performed.

The rules state that unless you can test that the area being worked on is lead-free, you have to assume it has lead-based paint. The problem you will have is that until the aluminum siding is removed, quite frankly the area most likely to have lead paint is obstructed from being tested. Odds are the paint that is on the wood siding underneath is chipped, flaking and/or loose and removing the aluminum siding will very likely release lead dust.

bjbatlanta

Not using "lead safe" practices can lead to fines of up to $37,500.00 and/or up to 5 years in prison, per violation. It is a federal offense. Any house built prior to 1978 When lead was banned in paint) is considered at risk for what the EPA considers "lead based paint". It is estimated that 86 percent of houses built prior to 1940 are affected, so yours is likely one. When I took the EPA certification class, we were shown some old advertising for Dutch Boy paints telling why an "experienced painter" would mix Dutch Boy White-Lead into his paint to enhance durability and color. Dutch Boy was actually a subsidiary of National Lead Company.....

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mrgins

If you are the landlord, you need to take the lead certification course anyway.

Termite

I agree with everything thus far. The EPA and many state agencies are very, very, very serious about lead paint. If it were your own residence, you can do your own work without adhering to any of the gov't regulations. If a homeowner hires a contractor that contractor must adhere to the EPA rules ($$$$$). Being a landlord changes everything, and they're super-serious about writing those fines. From what I'm hearing they're not writing cheap tickets either....$30k+.

Short answer, lead or not, you're required to assume it is lead.