Buying a 1950s house - do you worry about lead? (Boston: houses, school district)

[DG001]

I really like a house built in the 1950s - its in an excellent school district, and in my budget. However, I have 2 little kids younger than 5.

Should I pass on this house? - of course, lead is noted as unknown, and its very well maintained - no peeling paint etc.

So many people here recommend Arlington, Lexington, Winchester, Newton etc. yet most of the homes there are older than 1978 - do you guys worry/do something about lead paint?

I know what the law and EPA brochures say, but I am asking about the reality of living in these homes...

Advice?

TIA!

[vbuilt]

Have it tested along with a risk assesment. It really is one of those things that though many instances are fine it is not worth the risk.

I renovated a home and added an addition several years ago for a super nice couple with three children that had lived in Somerville before moving to the south shore. Unfortunately, their youngest developed disabilities from lead poisoning as a result of lead paint.

[CaseyB]

If you are going to worry yourself sick about it, then just pass on the house or accept the fact that you are going to be spending additional $$$ for renovations.

Probably most of us here grew up in houses that had lead paint.

[nervous_in_new_england]

my house is 110 years old and has lead paint on every window sill in the house. I have 2 kids–4 and 6 and they both test 1 for lead, anything 9 and above is considered dangerous.

The paint doesn't peel and it's covered with layers of other paint. All has been well so far. We've lived here for 6 six years.

[kmann-sherborn]

It's a common misconception that lead exposure only comes from chipped paint. You can be exposed to lead paint dust, for example, when you open and close windows that have layers of lead paint on them. Simply painting over paint with lead in it doesn't make the problem go away. You can have the home deleaded. I recently blogged about this at Tackling lead paint : On The Move which includes a link to a guide about the different options for remediating lead paint.

Best of luck.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by DG001

I really like a house built in the 1950s - its in an excellent school district, and in my budget. However, I have 2 little kids younger than 5.

Should I pass on this house? - of course, lead is noted as unknown, and its very well maintained - no peeling paint etc.

Lead paint is found in older homes throughout the U.S., not just Mass./New England.

Should you pass? It's up to you, of course, but surely you realize that millions of families are safely raising children in homes with lead paint in all 50 states across the entire continent. Yes, lead is a threat but as long as kids are not ingesting chipped lead paint -- or regularly breathing large amounts of old paint dust -- they will likely the fine. The most significant threat is in very young kids (i.e. < 2yrs) having access to old chipped paint.

As long as the old paint is not chipping, crumbling, etc., when I was house hunting I considered older homes with lead paint. And think if it this way: statistically speaking, your child is probably more likely to be harmed in a car accident or playground mishap than by lead paint.

[skydiveintohell]

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/sbcomplianceguide.pdf

New laws regarding lead paint
Hope to see all of you who vote "Green" in this MANDATORY class.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

Lead paint is found in older homes throughout the U.S., not just Mass./New England.

True, but Boston is the only place that I have seen (and no, I haven't looked everywhere) where 'deleaded' is used as a selling point.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

True, but Boston is the only place that I have seen (and no, I haven't looked everywhere) where 'deleaded' is used as a selling point.

The important thing to remember in a "deleaded" home is as soon as there is a chip of paint out of place (the last time I reviewed the law "mouthable" surfaces up to a certain height had to have paint removed- so that did not include inside door jambs or windows where flaking and dust generally comes from) the home was no longer in compliance.

I lived in a 200+ year old home, raised my kids in a 200+ year old home and did not have problems. The important thing to remember is to keep the home clean, constantly check for chipping, and any type of rubbing that might cause dust. With vigilance, a family can live quite safely in a home with lead paint.

[DG001]

Thanks all, thats interesting perspective.
We have decided to go for it - in the middle of negotiations now.