Painting - Lead Paint question
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jaykray
05-02-05, 09:07 AM
Greetings,
Wife with 2 on the way.
I am looking at Lead Paint testing for my single family home. The home was built in 1920. I would say it is safe to assume I have lead paint somewhere.
The quesion-
Do I do the XRF test and find the prolems areas or do I do the dust test instead?
I figure the XRF will tell me exactly the problem areas that I need to watch out for. By looking at the area, I will know if anytning needs to be done (ie chipped paint)
The dust also will tell me if I have a problem, but not where I guess.
Thoughts?
Wife with 2 on the way.
I am looking at Lead Paint testing for my single family home. The home was built in 1920. I would say it is safe to assume I have lead paint somewhere.
The quesion-
Do I do the XRF test and find the prolems areas or do I do the dust test instead?
I figure the XRF will tell me exactly the problem areas that I need to watch out for. By looking at the area, I will know if anytning needs to be done (ie chipped paint)
The dust also will tell me if I have a problem, but not where I guess.
Thoughts?
prowallguy
05-02-05, 11:30 AM
Wow, last I heard, XRF testing was quite expensive. If you have access to that kind of test, then go for it.
I would assume that there has been a paint job done on the surfaces since 1920, and most likely any lead is already encapsulated. I would do a swab test, just to check if the outermost layer contains lead, and proceed from there. If it isn't present on any top layer, you should be fine unless you plan on doing any remodeling, including sanding, demo, etc.
If you do find lead, I would call a local lead abatement specialist, and get their advice.
I would assume that there has been a paint job done on the surfaces since 1920, and most likely any lead is already encapsulated. I would do a swab test, just to check if the outermost layer contains lead, and proceed from there. If it isn't present on any top layer, you should be fine unless you plan on doing any remodeling, including sanding, demo, etc.
If you do find lead, I would call a local lead abatement specialist, and get their advice.