Lakewood Lead Paint Removal handles lead paint removal and lead abatement for houses and rentals in Lakewood, WA: weathered siding and porch railings, window sashes that grind paint every time they open, stair treads, and trim layered with decades of coats. Well over half of Lakewood’s homes were built in 1979 or earlier, so their original paint may predate the 1978 federal ban on lead paint for housing.
Washington runs its own program through the Washington State Department of Commerce, which certifies both abatement and evaluation professionals and the renovation firms that disturb paint during ordinary repairs. Knowing which of those applies shapes the whole job. We start there with homeowners and landlords alike, then scope the surfaces, containment and clearance around the answer.
The City of Lakewood’s own lead notice singles out stairs, decks, porches, railings, windows and doors as exterior hazards, and those surfaces take the hardest wear. Exterior lead paint removal here is planned for the drier months, with ground sheeting to keep chips out of the yard, and boards too damaged to strip can be replaced instead.
Lead abatement is the permanent route: Commerce describes it as reducing or eliminating hazards for more than 20 years, which ordinary repainting cannot promise. Lead paint on walls, trim, banisters and floors is removed, or the components replaced or enclosed, while the household stays elsewhere until clearance.
Friction at the sash and the swing of a door edge turn intact paint into dust. EPA treats window replacement in pre-1978 housing as covered renovation regardless of square footage. Where an original sash is worth keeping, stripping and reglazing it is the alternative we price alongside.
Just over half of occupied Lakewood homes are rented, according to the latest Census estimates. For owners and managers that means turnover repainting, repairs with tenants in place, shared stairwells and the federal disclosure paperwork. Commerce firm certification expressly covers landlords and property managers who do their own renovation work.
An inspection maps where lead paint is, component by component. A risk assessment asks which of it is a hazard now, including dust and bare soil. Clearance confirms the area is fit to reoccupy after the work. In Washington, inspections and clearance are done by a Commerce-certified inspector or risk assessor, and risk assessments only by a certified risk assessor; we help line up the one that fits your question.
Encapsulation bonds a purpose-made coating over paint that is still firmly attached; enclosure covers it with drywall, paneling or new siding. Both leave the lead in place, so they suit sound surfaces away from friction, need periodic checks, and should be recorded for any future sale or lease.
Note the year the house was built, which surfaces are peeling or about to be disturbed, who lives there (especially children under six), whether it is rented, and any lead report you already have. That short list shapes what follows.
Unknown paint calls for an inspection or risk assessment first. Then decide whether the goal is abatement, which removes hazards for the long term, or renovation that happens to disturb paint, which follows RRP work practices. Commerce certifies people and firms separately for each.
Lakewood requires building permits for siding and for new or replacement windows and doors, though not for painting. For abatement, the certified firm files its notice with Commerce at least five business days before work begins, with exceptions for emergency or elevated blood lead cases.
After abatement, a certified inspector or risk assessor performs clearance before anyone moves back in. Keep that report with any inspection results: sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing must hand over known lead records under federal disclosure rules.
For almost a century the former ASARCO smelter near Tacoma sent arsenic and lead into the air until it closed in 1986. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department lists Lakewood, University Place and Steilacoom among the Pierce County communities most affected by that fallout, which settled in surface soil across the region.
That soil is a separate issue from the paint on your house, and we do not offer soil cleanup. What it changes is how exterior paint work is staged: plastic laid along the drip line, chips collected daily, and no scraping onto bare ground. The health department checks by address whether a yard qualifies for free soil testing.
Price follows the painted surfaces involved rather than the size of the house: how many components, how deteriorated they are, and whether they will be stripped, replaced, enclosed or coated. Containment and cleanup add more for interiors that stay furnished or occupied nearby.
Other variables are local. Exterior work may need to wait for a dry stretch, replacement work can add a city permit, households may need somewhere else to stay during abatement, and inspection, clearance testing and repairs to damaged wood can be separate line items.
Lakewood Lead Paint Removal works on homes and rentals across Lakewood, Washington, from neighborhoods around American Lake and Gravelly Lake to apartment buildings across the city, and in the neighboring communities of University Place and Steilacoom. If your property is elsewhere in Pierce County, include the address and we will tell you whether we can help.
Yes. Lead-based paint was banned for residential use nationally in 1978, and Washington’s Department of Health says homes built before then are likely to contain it. Federal rules treat pre-1978 housing as the target group. A construction date is a reason to test before disturbing paint, not proof that a given surface contains lead.
Washington runs its own lead program, so certification comes from the Department of Commerce for both abatement and renovation work. Individuals certified by EPA or another state must register with Commerce before working here. Ask any firm, including us, for its current Commerce certificate before the job starts.
Not in the work area. EPA requires abatement firms to make sure occupants are out of the home or facility while abatement is under way, and you return after clearance. Renovation under the RRP rules is different: firms are not required to move occupants out, but occupants should stay out of the work area.
Selling or renting out a home built before 1978 brings federal disclosure duties. The buyer or tenant receives EPA’s lead hazard pamphlet, the contract carries the required warning language, and you pass on whatever lead information and reports you already hold. Buyers may take 10 days to have the home evaluated, a period the contract can shorten or waive in writing, and leases of 100 days or less are exempt. Treat this as a summary rather than legal advice.
Which painted surfaces are bothering you, and do young children live in or visit the house? Add the property address, its rough age and any lead report, and we can work out the right approach. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
Call (253) 201-4715