2010 Lead Paint Law

Today, April 22, 2010, on Earth Day the EPA has instituted a new Lead Paint Law that will drastically impact both homeowners and contractors. Homeowners can expect significant increased costs for renovation and remodeling projects on buildings that were built prior to 1978. Contractors can expect additional training and reporting responsibilities along with the threat of fines up to $37,500 per day!

What Homeowners Should Know

You own a home that was built prior to 1978 then your home is covered by the new Lead Paint Law. If you hire a contractor (the law DOES NOT apply to DIY projects) to work on your home and it requires the disturbance of more than 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside then the law requires the work be performed by a certified contractor. If you’d like more details you can read about it at the following link:

What Contractors Should Know

If you’re a contractor who performs work on older homes (built prior to 1978) then you will definitely be required to abide by the new Lead Paint Law. This new law will affect not only carpenters but most every trade including but not limited to: painters, plumbers, electricians, siding contractors, window contractors and even small handymen.

Some of you out there might think it’s not worth dealing with. You might want to reconsider that thought when you find out that the EPA can fine you upwards of $37,500 per day for violations of the new law. If you’re interested in learning more about how to become a certified contractor then check out our article:

Does This New Law Make Sense?

We’ve written several articles on the subject leading up to today’s new law and the feedback has been quite “disgruntled”. While we agree that lead paint is a serious health hazard we also understand some of the concerns being voiced by homeowners and contractors. There’s no doubt that the new law will cause some serious financial burdens on homeowners and contractors. What’s more frustrating is the fact that the paint companies that sold these products are not the ones paying this bill.

What can you do? Well for starters we recommend you comply with the new law. There’s no sense putting your family or business in jeopardy. We also think you can help make the law better by contacting your political representatives and asking them to work harder at making a law that is reasonable and effective.

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

View Comments

  • We will be getting rid of some paint in our hold home here. We hired a contractor to do some of the work for us from eContractorBids.com. I'll have to make sure he knows about this as I'm sure a lot of the old stuff is probably lead paint. Thanks for the post.

Recent Posts

Framing Stick Nailer vs Coil Nailer

Which is Better a Stick Nailer or Coil Nailer? Framers have many choices in nailers…

11 months ago

How Many Roofing Nails Per Square of Shingles

Estimating How Many Nails for a New Roof When it comes to estimating materials for…

11 months ago

Composite / PVC Decking – Layout Tips & Advice

Composite / PVC Decking Layout Tips and Advice Composite and PVC decking have really changed…

12 months ago

Benefits of an ERV System (Energy Recovery Ventilator)

Benefits of ERV Systems (Energy Recovery Ventilator) If you're building a new home or doing…

2 years ago

Vermiculite Attic Insulation Abatement

Vermiculite Attic Insulation If your home was built before 1990 there is a chance it…

2 years ago

Nuisance Tripping of AFCI (Arc Fault) Circuit Breakers

Arc Fault (AFCI) Circuit Breakers Tripping Often An arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) or arc-fault detection…

3 years ago