Since your home was built prior to 1978 any kind of renovation that has the potential to disturb painted surfaces is governed by the state of Kansas or the EPA (for Missouri). We would like to go over some things now so that you can make an informed decision when it's time to get the work done.
The state of Kansas requires all house built prior to 1978 to be assumed that they have lead paint unless cleared by a certified firm that has tested the surfaces. DIY kits are not acceptable as an official test.
The state of Missouri follows EPA guidance which follows the above with the exception that certain specialty lead testing kits are acceptable to confirm lead paint presence. We do use these kits and can test for lead presence.
If you are paying/hiring a person or company to do work for you, they must be licensed through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment—KDHE or the Environmental Protection Agency—EPA. If you hire a person or company that is not licensed and they get caught, they can face a fine of up to $32,000. You should be requesting a copy of licenses to protect yourself against being implicated in any kind of investigation.
The important rules involve the creation of dust and the area that could be disturbed (think dust being created). For interiors the rules do not apply if less than 6ft is going to be disturbed in a room; for exteriors the area has to be less than 20sf.
For exterior painting and wood rot repairs the process is a bit more manageable than for interior painting. For exterior work there is no need for clearance testing (meaning testing that no lead paint was left behind). For interior work it's a bit more complicated where deep cleaning and clearance testing is required.
The ideal situation for interior painting would be NOT to disturb more than 6sf in any room. Disturbing a surface means scraping (like scraping loose paint off of trim wood), sanding (like sanding surfaces), replacing drywall or trim. If this cannot be avoided, then expect the full extent of precautions which will add to the final price of the project.
Unfortunately, this is something that most contractors don't like to discuss let alone deal with so they will ignore it. Since we are licensed and know better—we have to do better. Plus, a notice came out from the EPA that they are going to increase their vigilance over this type of work due to an increase of contractors being caught breaking the law.
We certainly don't want to scare you into not doing your project. We are licensed and have experience dealing with the lead paint rules. Kansas City has a ton of houses built prior to 1978 so this is something we will be dealing with as long as those houses need painting.
Any home built prior to 1978 could have lead paint. For the safety of your family it is highly recommended that you hire an EPA Lead Safe Certified Firm like Home Pros Painting And Home Repairs. A certified firm has been trained in the proper work place practices to ensure that your project is completed following established EPA guidelines.
The technical government name for this kind of work is EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Final Rule (40 CFR 745) or RRP for short. Under it any one completing proper training is allowed to do lead safe renovation, repair, and painting work in pre-1978 housing where work will disturb lead-based paint.
In order to adhere to regulations we have to take additional steps that require more expenditures on our part as well as slowing down the standard practices of painting a house. In other words in order to comply it cost more money and the work will take longer. This is small price to pay though in order to keep everyone including our workers safe.
Our initial goal on any home built prior to 1978 is to try and figure out if the home has lead-based paint. The easiest way to do this is to use EPA approved test kits which provide results immediately. The secondary goal is to figure out if the amount of paint being disturbed meets the the threshold requiring lead safe practices. So just because your home was built prior to 1978 does not mean that we have to use lead safe practices. It all depends on the test results and the amount being disturbed.
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