Old paint, handled properly.
Lead paint was banned for homes in 1978, and most Charleston houses are older than that. Scraping or sanding it carelessly puts lead dust exactly where children crawl.
The rule
Under the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, any paid contractor who disturbs painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 has to be an EPA-certified firm, use certified renovators trained in lead-safe work practices, and follow specific containment and cleanup steps. It applies to more than six square feet of interior paint or twenty square feet of exterior.
What that looks like on your house
- Sheeting on the ground or floor, extending well past the work area, sealed at the edges.
- Windows and doors nearby closed and covered.
- Wet scraping and sanding, or HEPA-shrouded tools. No open-flame burning, no dry power sanding, no high-temperature heat guns.
- Daily cleanup with HEPA vacuums and wet wiping.
- A cleaning verification at the end, documented, with a copy for you.
Before we start
We give you the EPA’s Renovate Right pamphlet, as the rule requires, and walk you through how we’ll set up. If you have young children or are pregnant, we’ll talk about whether to be away during the exterior prep.
Old house? We’ll treat it right.
The painting contractor’s site, built in seven days.
Sixteen pages: a Charleston color library, lead-safe practices for pre-1978 houses, the city’s BAR color-change process, and prep written so a homeowner can compare three bids.