If you have a home build before 1978 and are looking to get it repaired, you better hurry up because new EPA rules are going to add some cost to the project.
The laws require contractors to be certified in lead paint removal and follow stringent rules to do the job. So the initial estimation on added cost by the EPA barely touches the surface after contractors have to comply with the regulations.
Oh, and you want to ignore the rules, do the work in the dead of night and tell no one. Even pay cash for the supplies at Home Depot. You think I am kidding but if you get caught, the fines are as much as $37,500 a day.
Remember when these regulations were only aimed at commercial construction and everyone said that it would never effect homeowners?
Hello Big Brother…
The EPA estimates that its new rule will add $8 to $167 to the cost of the average interior remodeling job, but contractors say the expense to homeowners will be much greater. “The EPA has grossly underestimated the costs to comply on any job. I can see my labor costs go up by thousands of dollars,” said Vince Butler, who runs Butler Brothers Corp. in Clifton and is president of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.
Butler estimates that the extra time and effort required for protecting, cleaning and testing construction areas in pre-1978 homes will add 5 percent to 30 percent in fees on small renovation jobs.
“Expect to add another $500 to $1,000 for remodeling a kitchen, painting a couple rooms or replacing several windows,” Landis said. “That is the minimal additional cost to perform lead-safe work practices and associated documentation.”
The EPA rule applies to almost every type of renovation — from paint scraping to window replacement and carpet removal (which can disturb painted baseboards) — carried out by contractors in pre-1978 houses occupied by young children and pregnant women. via Washington Post
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