Painting a Pre-1978 Home? What Lead-Safe Practices Mean
Homes built before 1978 often carry lead paint under later coats. Here’s what federal rules actually require, what a certified crew does differently on site, and how to verify a contractor before work starts.
Why 1978 Is the Line
The United States banned lead in consumer paint in 1978. Any home built before then may have lead-based paint somewhere in it, commonly on exterior siding and trim, window sashes, and doors, where the durability of lead paint made it popular.
Bellingham has a lot of these houses. The craftsman bungalows through the older neighborhoods, the farmhouses out in the county, much of the pre-war housing stock. A large share of them predate the ban.
Here’s the part that surprises people: the lead doesn’t have to be on the surface to matter. It’s usually buried under decades of later paint. It becomes a hazard the moment someone disturbs those layers by sanding, scraping, or pressure washing and releases the dust.
What the Rule Actually Requires
The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to contractors doing work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes, child-care facilities, and schools.
Under it, the firm must be EPA Lead-Safe Certified, work must be directed by a certified renovator, and the crew must follow specific containment and cleanup practices. Contractors are also required to provide you with the EPA’s lead-hazard pamphlet before work begins.
Hilltop Painting is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm, which is why we’re comfortable taking on the older homes in this area. A large share of our exterior work is on houses well past that 1978 line.
A contractor who shrugs at the age of your house isn’t saving you money. Uncontained lead dust settles in your soil and your carpets, and it’s your family that lives with it.
What a Certified Crew Does Differently
The practical differences show up on site.
Containment. Plastic sheeting on the ground extending well out from the work area, secured at the edges. On exteriors, that means catching every chip and every bit of dust before it reaches your soil, garden beds, or driveway.
No prohibited practices. Open-flame burning, high-heat guns above certain temperatures, and uncontained power sanding are off the table.
Wet methods. Misting surfaces while scraping keeps dust down dramatically compared to dry scraping.
HEPA vacuums. Standard shop vacuums pass fine dust straight through the filter and back into the air. HEPA filtration is the requirement.
Daily cleanup and a cleaning verification. The work area gets cleaned at the end of each day, not just at the end of the job, and the final cleaning gets verified rather than eyeballed.
Documentation. Records of the certification, the practices used, and the pamphlet delivery.
What This Means for Your Project
Two honest things.
It costs more. Containment materials, the extra setup and teardown time each day, HEPA equipment, and careful cleanup all add labor. A bid that follows the rule will be higher than one that doesn’t. If you’re getting wildly different numbers on an old house, this is often the reason.
It takes a little longer. Setting up and breaking down containment daily is real time. It’s worth building into your expectations rather than being surprised by it.
How to Verify Before You Sign
Three checks, all quick:
- Ask for the firm’s EPA Lead-Safe certification and confirm it’s current.
- Verify the contractor’s state license and bond through Washington L&I’s public lookup at secure.lni.wa.gov/verify, which shows licensing status, bond, and any violations.
- Confirm you received the lead pamphlet before work started. It’s required, and its absence tells you the firm isn’t following the rule.
Key Takeaways
- Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint, usually buried under later coats
- The hazard comes from disturbing it by scraping, sanding, or washing
- Certified firms use containment, wet methods, HEPA vacuums, and daily verified cleanup
- Lead-safe work legitimately costs more and takes longer; a much cheaper bid may be skipping it
- Verify certification and check the contractor at L&I before signing anything
We’re an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm and work on pre-1978 homes across the county regularly. See our lead paint removal and historic exterior painting services, or read how we approach exterior prep.
Common Questions
