Anonymous
Post 11/09/2015 20:41     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Removing them will make the dust airborne. Just paint over them. They are definitely lead paint.



How do you know this? The house was built in 1962 but the living room had been painted, I think in the 1990's or early 2000's.


Unless that was the FIRST coat of paint on the baseboards, there's lead paint under there, probably several layers down.
Anonymous
Post 11/09/2015 19:41     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:Removing them will make the dust airborne. Just paint over them. They are definitely lead paint.



How do you know this? The house was built in 1962 but the living room had been painted, I think in the 1990's or early 2000's.
Anonymous
Post 11/09/2015 17:27     Subject: Re:Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What did you do, OP? Why not just repaint the baseboards? I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so.

Hi -- sorry, I didn't know that this thread was still active. I had the shoe molding (not the entire baseboard) removed by a contractor who is EPA certified to deal with lead. He then touched up the peeling areas with latex paint, which then re-seals any lead paint that might have been exposed. They also used the appropriate tools to remove any paint chips.

I feel like I probably went overboard -- the contractor said that a lot of people get overly worked up about lead exposure. But with a toddler who loves to push his little cars along the floor...it just makes me feel better. Ultimately, it's just money, right? :-\

To the new poster -- it's my understanding (BUT PLEASE CHECK THIS) that the type of light hand-sanding you're talking about is not a danger -- it's when you start to use power tools to sand that you might expose more lead dust (I guess because it sands deeper?) Using a heat gun is also dangerous because of the potential for lead vapor.

This source, which looks pretty reputable, says that misting the surface with water before sanding reduces lead danger.

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Guide_to_Working_Safely_RLP.pdf

There are lead testing kits you can get to test your baseboards. You have to make sure every layer of paint is exposed before you do the test swab.


Which contractor did you use?

Marzullo Construction. http://www.marzulloconstruction.com
Anonymous
Post 11/09/2015 14:17     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Removing them will make the dust airborne. Just paint over them. They are definitely lead paint.
Anonymous
Post 11/09/2015 14:16     Subject: Re:Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What did you do, OP? Why not just repaint the baseboards? I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so.

Hi -- sorry, I didn't know that this thread was still active. I had the shoe molding (not the entire baseboard) removed by a contractor who is EPA certified to deal with lead. He then touched up the peeling areas with latex paint, which then re-seals any lead paint that might have been exposed. They also used the appropriate tools to remove any paint chips.

I feel like I probably went overboard -- the contractor said that a lot of people get overly worked up about lead exposure. But with a toddler who loves to push his little cars along the floor...it just makes me feel better. Ultimately, it's just money, right? :-\

To the new poster -- it's my understanding (BUT PLEASE CHECK THIS) that the type of light hand-sanding you're talking about is not a danger -- it's when you start to use power tools to sand that you might expose more lead dust (I guess because it sands deeper?) Using a heat gun is also dangerous because of the potential for lead vapor.

This source, which looks pretty reputable, says that misting the surface with water before sanding reduces lead danger.

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Guide_to_Working_Safely_RLP.pdf

There are lead testing kits you can get to test your baseboards. You have to make sure every layer of paint is exposed before you do the test swab.


Which contractor did you use?
Anonymous
Post 11/08/2015 16:54     Subject: Re:Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What did you do, OP? Why not just repaint the baseboards? I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so.

Hi -- sorry, I didn't know that this thread was still active. I had the shoe molding (not the entire baseboard) removed by a contractor who is EPA certified to deal with lead. He then touched up the peeling areas with latex paint, which then re-seals any lead paint that might have been exposed. They also used the appropriate tools to remove any paint chips.

I feel like I probably went overboard -- the contractor said that a lot of people get overly worked up about lead exposure. But with a toddler who loves to push his little cars along the floor...it just makes me feel better. Ultimately, it's just money, right? :-\

To the new poster -- it's my understanding (BUT PLEASE CHECK THIS) that the type of light hand-sanding you're talking about is not a danger -- it's when you start to use power tools to sand that you might expose more lead dust (I guess because it sands deeper?) Using a heat gun is also dangerous because of the potential for lead vapor.

This source, which looks pretty reputable, says that misting the surface with water before sanding reduces lead danger.

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Guide_to_Working_Safely_RLP.pdf

There are lead testing kits you can get to test your baseboards. You have to make sure every layer of paint is exposed before you do the test swab.



I'm the PP who asked about sanding baseboards. Thank you (and thanks for letting me hijack your post) and to the PP.
Anonymous
Post 11/08/2015 16:07     Subject: Re:Lead paint and baseboards
Anonymous wrote:What did you do, OP? Why not just repaint the baseboards? I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so.

Hi -- sorry, I didn't know that this thread was still active. I had the shoe molding (not the entire baseboard) removed by a contractor who is EPA certified to deal with lead. He then touched up the peeling areas with latex paint, which then re-seals any lead paint that might have been exposed. They also used the appropriate tools to remove any paint chips.

I feel like I probably went overboard -- the contractor said that a lot of people get overly worked up about lead exposure. But with a toddler who loves to push his little cars along the floor...it just makes me feel better. Ultimately, it's just money, right? :-\

To the new poster -- it's my understanding (BUT PLEASE CHECK THIS) that the type of light hand-sanding you're talking about is not a danger -- it's when you start to use power tools to sand that you might expose more lead dust (I guess because it sands deeper?) Using a heat gun is also dangerous because of the potential for lead vapor.

This source, which looks pretty reputable, says that misting the surface with water before sanding reduces lead danger.

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Guide_to_Working_Safely_RLP.pdf

There are lead testing kits you can get to test your baseboards. You have to make sure every layer of paint is exposed before you do the test swab.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 17:50     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Wood putty on peeled places. Light sanding of putty only. Prime and paint
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2015 15:36     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
NP here. Sorry to hijack, but I just finished painting the living room and the painter's tape removed a lot of the white baseboard paint. It's so bad now I have to paint all of the baseboards. But they really need to be sanded first. There is massive chipping. How would I find out if this is lead paint? The house is from 1962 but the living room had been painted a few years before we moved in (in 2013). Thanks.
Anonymous
Post 11/05/2015 21:28     Subject: Re:Lead paint and baseboards
What did you do, OP? Why not just repaint the baseboards? I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2015 16:57     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Air scrubber with negative air. Would work for both floor dust and any lead that may become airborne.

As long as you don't sand the baseboard, you should be fine.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2015 10:05     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
You can remove the baseboards. You just need to lead de contaminate and protect the rest of the house and plastic everywhere and use a whatever filtering system they use for special vacuums. If you're worried, call a lead abatement company.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2015 10:03     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
I'm just worried that removing the baseboards entirely will leave behind lead chips or dust too. But I can't think of a way to properly refinish the floors without touching the baseboards.

Ugh, I feel so dumb for not having considered this earlier. The floor guys are supposed to start this week.

Anonymous
Post 11/01/2015 07:52     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
Sure. If you're going to to remove them then just get new ones. Otherwise repaint all the old ones. Primer first. Just don't sand so not to disturb the old paint.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2015 07:35     Subject: Lead paint and baseboards
I am moving into a house that was built in 1949, and I plan to have the wood floors refinished. The flooring contractor said his company would remove the old shoe molding and replace it with new, but because the baseboards have been painted (several times, I would imagine) I should expect that I should have to repaint them.

But, I have a 3-year-old, so I'm concerned about lead. I have not tested the baseboards for lead, but should I just have the baseboards removed entirely and replaced with new?