Removing Lead Paint

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Options For Removing Lead Paint From Your Home If you buy an older home to fix up, one thing you have to be concerned about is lead paint. It's dangerous for kids and pregnant women to be exposed to lead paint, so you may not want it in your house. However, removing it can actually increase your danger if you don't do it properly. Here are the options for dealing with the problem. Encapsulation Encapsulation seals the lead paint in place. This option is ideal if the lead paint is still in good shape and it's not peeling or cracked. Of course, it's not an option if you want to tear out walls or put in windows. However, if you don't intend to alter the original structure of the home, the easiest and safest way to deal with lead paint is to encapsulate it. Encapsulation works just like painting the walls. You apply the coating with a paint brush or roller. The coating is waterproof so it protects the lead paint from damage. The only area of concern you will have is around windows and doors where friction may eventually wear down the coating and damage the lead paint underneath. A similar option is to simply cover the areas that have lead paint. You can do that by hanging new drywall over the old painted area and covering window trim and baseboards with vinyl or aluminum. The goal in…show more content…
In fact, it may be illegal to remove lead paint yourself. The regulations vary by jurisdiction. Even if you can, it doesn't mean it's a good idea because scraping the paint creates dust and fumes that float through your home. It is necessary to use proper equipment and wear protective gear. Removal could entail scraping off the paint with a paint scraper down to the bare wood or the paint could be stripped off with commercial equipment that contains HEPA filters. Single pieces of wood such as doors and window frames can be dismantled and taken to a facility that dips them into paint remover to clean them down to the

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