i am having an apartment that i am in the process of purchasing tested for lead pain in a few weeks. the paint is very old and chipping, and the test was suggested during a home inspection. has anyone had any experience with lead pain removal? if it is present, i am trying to get a sense of what it might cost to rid the apartment of it (as i was planning on skim coating the walls anyway). little kids will be living there, so this is very important.

KMK,

The rules basically state that if you have lead paint and are doing renovations there are certain procedures that the contractor must abide by. Lead paint by itself is not dangerous. It gets dangerous when it is disturbed. The important thing is for the contractor to make sure that he cleans up properly. All contractors need to be certified on the removal and safety of lead paint procedures. Make sure you hire one that is certified.

thanks so much. Does this add significantly to the cost? i need to gut kitchen and remodel 2 small bathrooms. and there are coats upon coats of paint (including painted in light switches that won't move), so i was hoping to have all of that stripped of the walls and re-done.

Thanks so much

How old do you think the paint is? If it's post 1978 it doesn't have lead. Generally speaking the dangers of lead paint are exaggerated by the lawyers who have made millions from the litigation. Only recently have we discovered that toys from China are probably the biggest culprit in high lead levels in children.

If your kids are over 10 years old then I'd say don't worry about it at all. If they are younger, then simply make sure everything (walls and floors) is wiped down after renovations (and by wiped down I mean with damp towels or wet wipes -essentially you need to wipe up all of the dust so you need a wet towel to do it).

Chipped and pealing paint is the biggest risk to kids and if you're renovating then you shouldn't have any worries about that.

Note that the proven cases of lead poising (from all sources) in NYC are down significantly in the last 5 years.