Officially banned by the US Government in 1978, efforts to grow public awareness of the dangers in lead-based paint began, putting an end to the paint base that had been used since ancient Roman times.
Health Concerns
Ingestion of lead paint can cause severe learning disabilities, behavioral problems, seizures, and death, but what does that have to do with paint being on your walls? Paint flakes, chips, or expires in some way inevitably. Any particles from your walls floating in the air can be breathed in or picked up by pets or young children.
Historical Homes
Lead in paint is as old as time, with lead poisoning from widespread use being attributed in part to the fall of the Roman Empire. Not only for home decoration but also for artists, evidence suggests that some of the health issues that plagued many artists in the past – including Van Gogh – was due to lead paint and the habits of cleaning paintbrushes by mouth.
The Williamsburg, Yorktown, and surrounding areas are rich with history from the beginnings of our country, which means a lot of beautiful historic homes that probably contain lead paint. Any home that is built before 1940 has a probability of at least eighty seven percent to contain lead paint.
Removal and Repainting
While it is possible to do a DIY removal of lead-based paint from your historical home, it’s smarter and safer to hire professionals. Lead removal requires a lot of containment, protection equipment, dust reduction processes, and cleaning with specialized vacuums that need to be rented. When you consider the costs, Power House Painting + Home Improvements is the obvious choice. Our experts are equipped to remove lead paint and to ensure that once the removal service is done we’ll have your walls sanded, retreated, and repainted with safe low-VOC (volatile organic compounds that are harmful to the environment and humans) paint from our partners at Sherwin Williams that will make your historic home shine like it was built yesterday.
