Stripping/Painting over lead paint
Hi all, I am in the midst of looking to buy a 2bed, 2bath pre-war apartment, but I’m not in a position to do a full renovation now so I’m hoping for something fairly move-in ready that I can improve over time. The apt I’m thinking of making an offer on is pretty much that, but I’m concerned about the paint on the walls. The walls have beautiful mouldings, but they have been painted many times over the years, so they have that uneven, goopy look to them, and I’m sure there is lead paint present. I would want to strip and repaint the walls before moving in, and I’m concerned that this will put the apartment out of my price range. I’m told that lead paint abatement would cost around $40,000\. Surely most people don’t do that right? I saw another post on here that says you don’t have to – would I just be able to hire someone to strip some of the top coats in order to bring the details back to life and then re-paint? Do I need to encapsulate the lead paint or is that something I can do later (no kids at the moment, just two adults and a dog)? What would be a reasonable rough estimate for that job? I haven’t measured the square footage of the walls, but the apartment is 5 rooms and about 1,300 s.f. and the ceilings are quite high. Thanks!
devineopine
in Painters and Painting & Stripping 13 years and 3 months ago
5
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5 replies
angelat | 13 years and 1 month ago
I used Lead Out recently on a door and it worked well http://brownstonecyclone.com/2012/06/03/lead-out-how-to-safely-remove-lead-paint/ It also worked great on a marble fireplace that had about 4 coats of paint on it.
callalily | 13 years and 3 months ago
You can strip wood moldings but not walls. It’s easy. I have had great success with a new product called Soy Gel. Get a respirator with cartridges and wear it. Put down pink rosin paper to protect the floors, and garbage bags on top of that. When you’ve stripped a layer or two and you’re all done, then you’re ready to prime and paint. Your painter may also be willing to do the stripping step for you. As for lead, once it’s painted over, there is nothing to worry about, unless it’s in a window or door area that moves and surfaces rubbing against each other are creating lead dust. But even then, it is only a problem if young children are present, unless you plan to lick the floors.
brokelin | 13 years and 3 months ago
Yeah, I was assuming they would figure out they did not need to take paint off walls, except where there is plaster design they want to make sharp. If you need to smooth out a wall where paint has chipped off when stripping adjacent woodwork, that is where spackle or joint compound comes in handy. You put stuff on a flat wall to smooth it, especially if there is lead paint underneath, not strip it off. If you want perfectly smooth walls, you get someone to skimcoat them before you paint.
Bklnite | 13 years and 3 months ago
Info on lead paint law compliance: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/homeowners/lead_paint.shtml — if you buy a coop you’re both an owner (of shares in the coop) and a tenant. If the paint is intact, not chipping, it shouldn’t be a big concern. ” I would want to strip and repaint the walls before moving in” – really ?! I think that would be very unusual. I could see doing the stripping before re-paining on woodwork – particularly on the friction surfaces (doors / wood windows / frames) where it makes a difference for lead paint hazard, but I don’t see the sense in stripping walls before painting.
brokelin | 13 years and 3 months ago
encapsulating the paint is not the problem…it is my understanding that if it has been painted in the past few decades, since lead has been banned from paint, it is fine, healthwise, with the exception of watching where newer paint can wear away to create lead dust from friction points, like doors and old painted wood windows. Now if you want to start stripping off layers from the areas with detail, you will no doubt be dipping into lead paint, and need to have it done by someone who will use lead safe procedures, which I understand to be mainly keeping the dust down, using no dry sanding. encapsulating after you strip is simply a matter of slapping new paint on it…so thats not hard, and not a problem. you just need to find someone who will do the stripping and exposing of detail in a safe manner. People do this all the time, and I do not think it is considered abatement if there is not currently a lead problem, that is to say, lots of chipping or falling paint or lead dust present…it is just using lead safe stripping and sanding prodedures. do it before you move in, or do it room by room after.