Need practical guidance on old home living

February 1, 2022 10:08 AM

So I recently bought an old house. I assumed there was almost certainly lead paint somewhere encapsulated below the recent paint, and indeed, that appears to be true. Please talk me through - in practical terms - how one handles maintenance in an old house with regards to such hazards.

So my husband and I recently moved into a 1920s home. It has of course had some updates done in the near-century since it was built, but a lot of the home is original. We knew going in that lead and asbestos are likely to be present in any home of that age, which made us nervous as we both lean toward the anxious side when it comes to household hazards.

The seller's disclosure basically said that they had no specific knowledge of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the home, but it was presumed to be present due to the age of the house. We did request that the seller do a lead test on some peeling paint that our inspector identified in the basement before purchase, that test came back negative (that was also in a very different area - it was in the little compartment where our water valve is).

One area that's been making me particularly nervous since we moved in is a door hinge that has some alignment issues and has been stressing the doorframe, causing paint to peel (and keeping the door from fully closing). Before doing anything to fix it, I did a lead test on that peeling paint, and this is what I saw (it's a 3M leadcheck swab, if that makes a difference - red is the lead indicator color). If I'm interpreting this correctly, it appears that there is indeed lead found in the paint on the upper left of the trim (where the paint has been gouged the deepest), and that some lead paint has also rubbed off onto the door hinge. Fortunately the rest of the trim does not really have any peeling paint, just that one spot with the hinge.

I know that this hazard is "normal" and that our experience is probably well within what we should expect for a house of this age. I also know that people live with this level of hazard regularly. However, the risk-averse advice on internet has me spinning out a bit, so I'm looking for practical guidance on how people live in old homes.

What I want to understand is: what do I do now? Specifically:
*In the short term: I assume I should hire some sort of professional to, at minimum, remove that hinge and re-encapsulate that part of the trim. Who can help me with this? If I search for lead abatement companies, I find large contractors or demolition companies that probably have no interest in a single doorframe, especially now. A painting company probably wouldn't be willing/able to help if I disclosed why (which ofc I would), right? I will also want to re-attach the door; is that something the same type of company will be able to help me with? If not, is it ok to hire a regular handyman to do that sort of thing if I know that there is encapsulated lead on the trim?
*In the medium term: What do I need to do in the future? What else should I be thinking about in order to minimize risk of lead exposure in this home? Both in terms of work on the house and also routine maintenance. Also, should I hire someone to do more extensive testing?
*In the long term: have I just tanked my property value because now I'll need to disclose this? I have heard rumors that some people prefer not to test for exactly this reason, which, ugh.

Of note: there are currently no small children or pregnant people in this home, but there may be one day in the future.

posted by mosst to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

Can you clarify what, exactly, you are concerned about with regard to the lead paint?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Lead is only really dangerous if you eat it or breathe it. So long as your future kids don’t eat paint chips, or you never plan on sanding down the paint, there really isn’t much of a concern. People have successfully lived in that house for 100 years.

If you have vinyl floor tile, that almost certainly does have asbestos, but it is well encapsulated in the material. Just don’t fold it up if you ever plan on removing it, or just put different flooring on top and never think about it again.

We stripped our painted original wood trim, starting with a soy-based stripper that took the paint off in clumps. That barely worked, so we moved on to a Speedheater which also takes paint off in huge flakes. So long as you aren’t generating dust, the risk really is minimal.

No worries about disclosure. Every pre-1978 home is automatically assumed to have lead paint. That’s all there was.
posted by hwyengr at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2022 [10 favorites]

Response by poster: Sorry for the brain dump! To clarify my two primary questions:
1. I need to get this door hinge fixed, mostly because I can't close the door right now and it's an issue. Given that I found traces of lead paint on and around the hinge, what do I need to do before fixing that? In this case I would prefer to hire it out; what type of person should I be looking to hire?
2. Moving forward, what, if any, special care do I need to take to ensure that nobody is put in danger? I am wondering both what I should do during routine life and during any sort of home projects.
posted by mosst at 10:23 AM on February 1, 2022

I've lived in and worked on various old houses, and I will give you my understanding about all this: my view is that you don't need to be nearly so anxious about lead and asbestos. While lead and asbestos are popularly thought to be very dangerous because of high profile lawsuits, they're not, like, radioactive or anything. Think about the danger more as akin to cigarette smoking than radioactive uranium. My understanding is that you typically need to have intense and/or prolonged direct exposure to either in order to be affected. Those who got mesothelioma were usually working for decades directly with asbestos; those who get lead poisoning often were ingesting lead paint chips while they were at a developmentally critical period (e.g. childhood). For instance, regarding asbestos, note this (see here and here):
Out of all people with heavy, prolonged exposure to asbestos, 2% to 10% develop pleural mesothelioma.
To me, that seems like quite low risk. I really don't think you have to be seriously concerned about, say, a small amount of lead paint on a hinge. I would just hire whomever you'd normally hire to deal with the door (maybe a handyman or a carpenter), they'll probably wear a mask (or not), and nobody dies and everything's fine. My husband and I have literally scraped lead paint off of a large ceiling for weeks (long story), with no noticeable health effects. We also hired someone to demo some 1920s walls, which meant that we had tons of dust (including paint dust) literally over our entire upstairs for weeks. The guys we hired didn't wear masks: I suggested to them they might want to, and they replied that they work on these houses all the time like this. I'm not advocating any of this, but I'm also saying that I don't think you need to freak out about the dangers of a tiny bit of potential lead paint on a hinge. If you're in an area with old houses, my guess is that anyone that you'd be hiring (handyman, carpenter, etc.) already assumes that there is lead paint present, is comfortable working with the dangers of old houses, and will bring whatever supplies they feel they need in order to be comfortable (e.g. a mask). I also think it's fine to leave the hinge situation for a while if you can't find someone to do the job now: I really don't think this is an emergency.

In more general terms, as I understand it, the best thing to do with lead paint is to encapsulate it. This means, basically, make sure that any pre-1978 paint is painted over with modern paint. It probably already is. Again, as I understand it, it's when lead paint is being disturbed that it's potentially dangerous. What this means is that opening and closing windows that are painted in lead paint can cause rubbing that can create lead dust. If you're concerned about this, you could find out when your windows were last replaced. If you have original windows, you might want to replace them if you plan to open and close them a lot. (Also, 1920s windows are extremely drafty and not heat efficient: we currently have them and in very cold weather, they're like holes to the outside; what I'm saying is that it might be worth replacing the windows regardless.) You could also potentially replace your current doors with new doors/frames (i.e., buy pre-hung doors and have them installed). If you did this, that would mean that when you opened doors, there would be no risk of rubbing and lead dust, because both the doors and the frames would be new. I think all of this is overkill unless you have a pregnancy or child in the house (and maybe even then), but if you did want to take measures for lead, I think these would be the best ones to target. I wouldn't worry about the walls unless they haven't been painted in 40+ years and/or the paint is peeling.
posted by ClaireBear at 11:03 AM on February 1, 2022 [11 favorites]

We got a lot of help with this issue - old house, lead paint peeling - by contacting our county health department. They sent out an inspector who tested all the paint in our house (including testing the percentage of lead present, there are different amounts in different kinds of paint), pointed out problem areas, and gave us good information on how best to do work around the house, including containing and cleaning up lead-paint chips/flakes/dust areas while staying safe.
It was free. this was in Dane County WI, I don't know if other counties offer this service, but it's worth checking into. Gave us some peace of mind.

+1 for hwyegr's comment above in terms of how much to worry, and it being understood that old houses have these kinds of things: lead, maybe asbestos etc.
posted by caseyblu at 11:06 AM on February 1, 2022 [7 favorites]

As someone who has lived in and renovated at least 7 old homes (including raising small children who as grown men have genius IQs and no evidence of lead poisoning haha), my advice is to

1) Hire a local handyperson to deal with the hinge. Tell them that you have tested the paint and it contains lead. they will then almost certainly look at you funny, go "meh", shrug, and fix your hinge. Clean up any paint chips that fall and do not be tempted to sample their sweet, sweet goodness.
2) For the rest of the painted surfaces, find a color you like, paint well (oil-based is a pain but gorgeous and way more durable), and never think of it again. If you ever do any extensive remodeling that requires demo, make them aware of the lead paint issue so they can properly dispose of materials.

My entire kitchen ceiling is covered in ancient beadboard with lead-containing paint, safely sealed behind three coats of polyurethane. The danger in lead comes from chronic, fairly high-level exposure (eating paint chips, licking car batteries, etc.). Anyone buying an old home knows what they are in for. Do as the person you bought it from did and say "old house, who dis paint" in your description.
posted by SinAesthetic at 11:06 AM on February 1, 2022 [8 favorites]

1. You can hire a handyperson. Let her know there's some lead paint and she can wear a mask or not according to her comfort level. I mean, depending on where you are n95 might be de rigeur anyway. But this is totally common and not an issue.

2. If you're having very young kids over long enough for them to chew on the woodwork (not actually kidding here, although this usually means being around for days) then at that point you might want to strip the paint. Here's the Canadian gov't advice on that.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:07 AM on February 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I also have a 1920s house and I recently stripped all 6 layers of paint from some window trim and the bottommost layer was lead-based (shockingly, this is the only time that I've found lead paint despite owning the house for almost 14 years and doing a ton of renovations on it).

To answer your question, if you really want to hire out for the door realignment I would be upfront and explain the issue and that you've found some lead paint near the faulty hinge. In my experience, almost no handy person will care as it's so common and it's unlikely that the paint will be disturbed much during the repair. Once the door has been realigned, you can dab at that bit of exposed paint to encapsulate it and ease your mind. I don't see that any additional ongoing action is needed to protect yourself from the lead, unless there are other areas of the trim that are regularly being rubbed against and causing the paint to flake.

You don't need a sepcialist here, just a run-of-the-mill handy person.

That said, that door frame has a LOT of layers of paint on it. It looks like a frosted cake. You may want to consider having the old frame replaced entirely. The pieces can then be taken to your local haz-mat facility. If you go that route you'll want to talk to a trim carpenter.

If you wish to tackle some of this yourself (and you may want to consider getting comfortable with this kind of work as the new owner of an old house), buy yourself a cheap heat gun and a respirator specifically designed for lead paint removal. Use a low heat setting, wear your respirator and eye protection, cover as much exposed skin as you can, then get to scraping. Collect all scrapings for haz-mat disposal. Ventilate the area, run a HEPA air filter, then sand and finish. It's truly stunning what a difference it makes to a house when you restore the original wood trim and doors.

Even as an extremely risk-averse person I've gotten comfortable with lead abatement when the proper safety protocols are followed. Good luck, and congratulations on the new/old house. You're welcome to memail me if you have any follow up questions or just need some reassurance.
posted by mezzanayne at 11:09 AM on February 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

1 Use disposable damp cloths to wipe the area before and after doing mechanical work (like prying off a hinge), including anywhere chips may fall. Before reinstalling the hinge, put on a layer of new paint. You have safely encapsulated the lead paint.

One complication is with semi-gloss trim paint usually needs some sanding or the paint will not stick. There are things you can do. First, you can wash with TSP. Second, if the outer layer is not lead paint, you can safely scuff the paint with sandpaper (which is not what people usually mean when they say "sanding"; they usually mean removing whole layers, sanding out drips or other defects) with 220 sandpaper, just enough that it isn't so shiny, like three times at most in any spot under light hand pressure is enough; wipe with wet disposable cloth after. Finally, use shellac primer before your final layer of trim paint, as it has very good adhesion and if anything is going to work, it will.
posted by flimflam at 11:09 AM on February 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have a friend who renovated an old house and still has health issues related to lead; she stripped woodwork, removed the painted, crumbling plaster, etc. You can get tested; it might be reassuring.

The worry is in sanding and dust; dust is created by the paint on the door and frame rubbing, same with old painted windows. If anybody works on old paint in your home, put fans in windows to exhaust dust, clean afterward with TSP (spicnspan). If you have original painted window frames, consider replacing them; old windows are usually inefficient. Other than painted stuff that rubs or flakes, paint encapsulates lead quite well. I raised my son in a 1910 house, had him tested, no problems. Replacement windows and he didn't chew windowsills or whatever. We re-painted all the painted surfaces.

Soil can have quite a bit of lead from leaded gas. I had the garden soil tested, dug it out, removed to an undisturbed location, new soil. The lawn had decent grass, so soil in the yard was not a big worry.

Did you have the house inspected for asbestos? Old linoleum or vinyl tile may have asbestos. Put some nice, pliable real linoleum or cork over it. We has asbestos abatement because there was crumbling electric panel insulation. Cleaned well with TSP at move-in.

Asbestos and lead have real health problems, but can be managed.
posted by theora55 at 12:16 PM on February 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

This question is interesting to me because my house was built in 1946 and I have been really amazingly stupid about lead paint during all my renovations. For instance, I completely gutted the bathroom, taking out the lath and plaster walls that 100% had lead paint on them and the risk never even occurred to me. It was the dustiest project imaginable. But I had zero health effects from it, at least that I can tell. I really don't think that little hinge is much to worry about. I am positive that 99% of all handymen will have a totally cavalier attitude toward it. Of course you should disclose what you know, but they won't care.
posted by HotToddy at 1:35 PM on February 1, 2022

Just want to add this in case someone finds this thread in the future when googling lead paint and deciding how much to worry.

I agree with the general sentiment on here that it's not something to lose sleep on as an adult if you're reasonably careful when doing work.

but

Lead can have severe long term health effects for children. For bigger projects, it's worth finding contractors who are certified to deal with lead safely, especially ones that will create a lot of dust/paint chips.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/health-effects.htm
posted by caseyblu at 2:41 PM on February 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

Our state-wide preservation non-profit developed a lead paint resource guide for older homes - it is a few years old now, but may have some useful information and links in it.

It looks like you are in DC, so you could also contact the DC Historic Preservation Office or the DC Preservation League - they should both have some suggestions/resources.
posted by Preserver at 9:40 AM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]