I want to have my house renovated, where do I start?

If you will be having renovation work (including painting) performed on your home then you or your contractor may have to follow special work practice requirements to make sure the work is done lead-safe.  In order to know how to best handle the work and setup it is important to know which surfaces have lead paint and which do not.  If your work will disturb no lead paint or very little then the special work practices may not apply, which can save time and money.

Hiring a lead paint inspector is the safest and most accurate way of having your work area tested for lead paint before the work starts.  Inspectors are trained and use state of the art X-Ray Flouresence (XRF) Analyzers to test for lead paint which is both accurate and non-invasive (does not involve cutting into surfaces).  It is also the fastest testing method available, with results obtained in only a few seconds.  An entire room can be tested in a short amount of time.

What should I do after the Renovation Work is complete?

If a renovation disturbed lead paint and was considered to be an RRP Job, then the contractor doing the work will be required to clean the work area very well using a HEPA-vacuum and wet washing methods.  Once the area is cleaned, the contractor must check the work area for visual cleanliness with a process called Cleaning Verification. 

If you wish to have a more accurate assessment of the lead dust left behind after the work is complete, you may hire a lead inspector to perform a Clearance Examination, in which dust wipes will be taken and sent to a lab for analysis.  The results will indicate if the amount of lead dust left behind on the floors, window sills, and window wells in the work area is above the safe level.  A contractor too may choose to have you hire a lead inspector to do a Clearance Examination.  Not only is it an indication of how safe the lead levels are in your home, it may also reduce liabilities for the contractor.