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  1. “Did the plaster crumble away when you scraped off the wallpaper?”

    Not initially, except in a few spots. However virtually every wall eventually had to be skim coated (30+ years after we moved in). We’ve had that done in almost half of the house in the last few years and will (hopefully) get the rest done in the next year or two.

  2. I’m so envious you have/had unpainted trim, Bob. 🙂

    Did the plaster crumble away when you scraped off the wallpaper?

    I have a friend with a sprawling UWS apt rent-controlled that was in a Woody Allen movie. Her infant son has lead poisoning, so the management company is removing all the trim in the apartment and throwing it away.

  3. “I assume any house that was built before the seventies has lead paint”

    Not necessarily; my 1899 house had bare plaster under the wallpaper in all rooms (except the kitchen and bathrooms–so I guess there was a little lead). Still, the trim was never painted and there was white calcimine on all the ceilings.

  4. “The whole lead paint thing, like asbestos, mold, radon, and whatever other wet dream ambulance-chasing attornies can dream up, is totally overblown.

    Given that 95%+ of the homes in Brooklyn were built prior to 1978, one would think there would be a lead crisis among children. There is no crisis.”

    Completely agree but now govt involved.

  5. Use common sense if your house is built prior to 1978. If you don’t have little kids, don’t worry about it. If you do have little kids, don’t do a massive sanding/scraping thing before you paint. If you have to, let them stay at grandma’s for a couple of nights. If your kids are tested with a high lead count, it can be ameliorated.

    The whole lead paint thing, like asbestos, mold, radon, and whatever other wet dream ambulance-chasing attornies can dream up, is totally overblown.

    Given that 95%+ of the homes in Brooklyn were built prior to 1978, one would think there would be a lead crisis among children. There is no crisis.

  6. Dave, I never raised the rent for my good tenants (NO ONE TELL THIS TO more4less!) and was despondent when, after 4 years, my best tenants (and now close friends) had the nerve to buy an apartment and move out.

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