How do I know I need an inspection?

If your house was built before 1978, there's a good chance it has lead paint. Having your home tested for lead and brought into lead safe compliance is required by law anytime there is a child under the age of 6 living there. 

My property had a letter of compliance but I lost the paperwork. 

This is no problem.  In some cases, we can reach out to the inspector that performed the inspection and they’ll be able to send a copy of the report and compliance certificate, typically for a small fee.  If they’re no longer in business, then we can do what’s called a PCAD inspection (post compliance assessment determination).  This allows us to test the property and get an up to date status of the lead and move forward from there based on what we find.  

How much does deleading cost?

This is difficult to estimate without knowing the results of an initial lead inspection.  Typically, if a property has vinyl windows, vinyl siding, and the paint is in good condition, we see the deleading costs roughly in the range of $1000 to $6000.  

How do we perform the inspection?  

We use an XRF (x-ray florescence) analyzer. It is able to measure the lead content of multiple layers of paint in a few seconds.  It's completely non-invasive and won't damage woodwork. 

How Long does the process typically take?  

If a property is vacant or owner occupied, the fastest it typically can go is about 2 weeks from initial inspection to final deleading re-inspection.  If there are tenants in the unit, there’s a mandatory 10-day notification that is required which can add some time to the process

My property has no lead, what happens then?  

I try not to get peoples hopes up because I only see no lead hazards in around 1 out of every 10 houses I test. There’s typically a bit of lead paint on most properties. In the case that there’s no lead hazards, we can issue the letter of lead safe compliance after the initial inspection is completed.

I used some of the at home test kits and they tested positive, what now?

The at home test kits can’t replace the XRF analyzer that we use. The XRF is the most accurate method available to inspectors. With the at home test kits, sometimes surfaces that test positive for lead can actually have safe levels of lead. You can actually see a fair amount of false positive. We typically don’t see false negatives. Again, if you’re concerned at all, have it tested by a professional with the proper equipment.