wrote:
My husband and I normally do all the remodelling in this house.
Previous owners said the outside wood siding (underneath the current
vinyl siding) has lead-based paint on it. Had the whole house tested
and sure enough only the outside has lead.

Husband refuses to install two much-needed new bay windows in 2
separate front rooms. Called several "good" contractors in the area -
none of them have procedures to carefully remove old windows without
disturbing (or at least taking precautions against) lead-based paint
dust. One said he did this for 20 years and no one has ever asked him
about lead.

I have an infant whose new fascination is putting everything in her
mouth.

Am I being overly cautious? Should I just let the contractors do their
thing and just clean up stuff myself afterwards? (HEPA filters, TSP
soap, etc.) Is it unreasonable to expect a contractor to do things
properly with regards to lead?


Okay, first off don't panic.

Yes. Lead is a concern. It is not earth shattering, but still a
concern.

No. Lead poisoning is not "bad parenting" or "gettos". Put a penny in
your mouth and it taste like copper. Put a nickle in and it has a
taste, too. So does lead. It is sweat so kids want to eat it.

No, it will cost 10X more and you will NOT do abatement. You want
"lead control" and "safe work practices."

If you and your husband are reasonably handy, you can do the work
yourself. HUD, most states, and many gov'ts have free or low cost
courses to teach contractors to work lead safe. You can take the
course. 1 day. It is as exciting as watching lead paint dry.

Let me give you an example. Say you want to drill a hole through a
wall with lead paint. It creates dust. Dust creates problems. So you
put the drill bit where you want it, then spray a big old glob of
shaving cream on the entire area. Then you drill. No dust. No mess.
You clean it up with a wash cloth. And it's not 10X more expensive.

Start with:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/
..
That will eventually lead you to: http://www.leadsafetraining.org/
Find a class near you.

If there is not one near you, find a local community (most cities) with
either a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program or a Section
8 program. Ask them to find a local training for you. Both will also
have a list of contractors who have training because they must test all
homes and use safe work practices.

For windows, you will find that they put up plastic to seal up the
inside. Put down a plastic drop cloth outside. Then wet down the
area. They will work wet. Then they will carefully clean the inside
using wet cleaning (damp cloth, not broom). Then vacuum the area,
including the outside, using a HEPA vacuum.

You can do it yourself. It is a bit slower and you need to work in a
manner to minimize dust and debris. But get the training or have the
contractor get the training.

Remember, you are after safe work practices and to some extent
mitigation, you are NOT after abatement. Yes, abatement is very
expensive. For your purposes, your siding is perfectly safe because it
is under vinyl. That paint isn't going to hurt anyone. For abatement,
you have to remove it anyway.

Check you windows for chipped or peeling paint (and dust) and use wet
methods to clean and then paint over with good quality non-lead paint.

You should also consider testing the ground around the dripline of your
house. That might have lead from the pre-vinyl days. If so, there are
a few things you can do. But it might be best to lay down a few inches
a clean topsoil in the area to be extra cautious for your darling
daughter.

So for the sake of maritial harmony, I will say that you both are
right. Your husband is right that he should not do it. And you are
right that you should be concerned over it. But with a one day course,
you can get the training you need so that you can do it.

Sorry for the long post. Good luck.










Thanks.