Painting a home built before 1978? Check this first.
Paint from before 1978 can contain lead, and Massachusetts requires a lead-safe renovation license to disturb painted surfaces in homes and childcare spaces built before 1978. We don't hold that license, so we don't take painting jobs in homes, apartments or childcare spaces built before 1978, occupied or vacant. Offices and buildings from 1978 or later are fine.
Why does 1978 matter?
That is the year lead paint was banned for residential use in the United States. A building from before then can still have it, often under several newer coats. Sanding, scraping and patching break into those layers, and the dust is the problem.
We ask for the build year before setting up any visit.
Does it matter if the unit is empty?
No. Vacant or occupied, the building year is what counts. An empty apartment between tenants is still a home built before 1978.
How do you find the year your building was built?
Most Massachusetts cities and towns publish property records online through the assessor's office, and the record usually lists the year built. The deed, the original listing or your closing documents may have it too.
What if the walls were repainted recently?
It doesn't change the answer. New paint goes on top of the old layers. It doesn't remove them.
What do we take?
Offices, and buildings from 1978 or later. Walls, ceilings, trim, doors and kitchen cabinets, with the repairs done before paint and the paint named in the written scope.
Every new client starts with a visit: we walk the property with you and agree on what the job covers.
The same rule applies to our floor work, because floor jobs disturb painted baseboards, shoe molding, casings and stairs.
If your home is older, look for a contractor who holds the Massachusetts lead-safe renovation license, and ask to see it before anyone sands or scrapes. This page explains our policy. It is not a guide to the Massachusetts lead law.
Questions
Do you paint vacant apartments built before 1978?
No. We don't take painting jobs in homes, apartments or childcare spaces built before 1978, occupied or vacant.
Do you paint offices in older buildings?
Yes. Offices and buildings from 1978 or later are fine.
Do you remove lead paint?
No. We don't do lead paint removal.
See the job together. Then put it in writing.
Massachusetts. MA HIC Registration #654835.