Lead paint rules for older homes
If your house went up before 1978, paid work that disturbs paint is regulated. Here is the part that actually affects a repair job.
This matters for two of the three things we do — interior painting obviously, and drywall repair, because sanding or cutting a painted wall disturbs paint just as surely as scraping it.
The rule
- Any paid work that disturbs paint in a home built before 1978 falls under the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. The firm has to be certified, the work has to be done by certified renovators, and lead-safe work practices are mandatory. source
- Alabama runs its own EPA-authorized program rather than the federal one. The Alabama Department of Public Health certifies contractors and carries out the inspections. source
- Before work starts, the firm has to give the owner or occupant the EPA’s “Renovate Right” pamphlet and keep a record of having done it. That is a separate obligation from being certified. source
The small-job exemption, and its trap
Not every repair in an old house is a regulated renovation. Work that disturbs six square feet or less of painted surface per room inside counts as minor repair and maintenance, and falls outside the rule.
The trap is that it is cumulative. Separate jobs in the same room within 30 days are treated as one job. Three small patches in a bedroom over a month add up, cross the threshold, and pull the whole thing back under the full rule. source
Two things never qualify for the exemption regardless of how small the area is: window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces.
What that means for your job
If your house is newer than 1978, none of this applies. If it is older, it changes how a job is scoped and sequenced rather than whether it can be done. Tell us the age of the house when you get in touch and it stops being a surprise halfway through.
Worth reading before you book
The rules above change what a job costs and how it is sequenced. These are the two trades they land on hardest.
Straight answers
Do lead rules apply to my house?
They apply to paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978.
Is a small patch exempt?
Work disturbing six square feet or less of paint per room inside is exempt as minor repair — but jobs in the same room within 30 days count together.
Who runs the program in Alabama?
Alabama runs its own EPA-authorized program through the Alabama Department of Public Health rather than the federal one.
Tell us about the job
Tell us what needs doing and roughly when the house was built.
Water or damage: we call you back within 2 hours, any day. Everything else: a real answer the same business day.
We are insured — general liability coverage, so damage we cause while working in your home is covered.
Office hours
- Mon-Fri
- 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday
- 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Send the form whenever suits you — outside those hours it lands in the same inbox and we pick it up when we open. Water or damage should not wait on the form: call, any day.
Would rather talk? Call (205) 723-3595 or send a text.