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Professional paint crew leaving a lot of old paint chips - help!

Bob Smith
hace 8 años

I'm in the midst of having my 1900's home repainted, and I'm concerned about the amount of old paint chips that are being left on the ground. I have two toddlers and chose this company, in large part, for how much focus the owner put on lead safety when giving me an estimate. Nothing was laid out during the power washing stage, and I have a feeling some of the other prep work was done without tarping. In particular, they didn't tarp the ground when prepping the upper story (set back from the lower roof line by 4 or 5 feet). I realize that it would be nearly impossible to mitigate ALL paint chip spread, but what is legally acceptable (we are in California)? I'm definitely going to be talking to the owner about these issues, but wanted some insight beforehand if possible. At this point, I don't know how I'm going to let my kids back in the yard. Thank you in advance for any help!

Comentarios (23)

  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    This is what I currently have beside my garage.

  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    And more...

  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años
    Última modificación: hace 8 años

    What is the best way for them to THOROUGHLY remedy this? Is an Hepa shop vaccum sufficient? That's what they are proposing.

  • paintguy22
    hace 8 años

    I think vacuuming would be the only way to get it all.

    Bob Smith agradeció a paintguy22
  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    hace 8 años

    They are required to have plastic sheeting down , those "tarps" are not the solution

    Bob Smith agradeció a Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años
    Última modificación: hace 8 años

    They are actually using plastic sheeting, not tarps. The problem is the areas that they didn't use them...next to my garage and on the roof between the first and second floor. We'll see how well the hepa vac works.

  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    Update: not thrilled by how this company has dealt with this. They just finished the job, so I walked around with the foreman to find a lot of chips still on the ground. He says they'll sweep to which I said, no that's not going to be ok as it will just kick it up into the air - you need to use the vaccum. He replies that it broke yesterday and that it wouldn't work in most of the worst areas (mulch, grass, dg) because it will pick up those things too. Ugh. The guys then just wandered around for a few minutes picking up random bits in the yard and left. Call to the owner is my next step. Grrr.

  • Vith
    hace 8 años

    Shop vac with hepa filter overtop the normal filter. Any home store would have those. What type of vac did they use? How they heck did they 'break' it?

    Bob Smith agradeció a Vith
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    Yeah, the broken vaccum seemed like an excuse to not do the job. The owner is supposedly going to get back to me tomorrow. Should the vaccum work on mulch, or should I ask that they replace my mulch in that area?

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    hace 8 años

    If any lead dust hit the ground, they are responsible for cleanup. If the EPA gets involved, they will be removing all the mulch, dirt, everything contaminated. Some one will be paying many thousands or dollars here for sure.

    Bob Smith agradeció a Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
  • PRO
    User
    hace 8 años

    I guess they ain't that professional!

    Bob Smith agradeció a User
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    Is there an EPA guideline page for painting companies on the Internet? I have only been able to find EPA guidelines for homeowners - which steers you to hiring a professional painting crew. I'd like to be able to refer to the rules this company was supposed to be following when I discuss next steps with the owner.

  • Vith
    hace 8 años

    No reason a shop vac couldnt suck up the mulch too, probably wouldn't hurt to get fresh stuff anyhow. They can eat the cost of that since they didn't take proper precautions.

    Bob Smith agradeció a Vith
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    The more I walk around the house, the more paint chips I am finding. This is ridiculous. Does anyone have any experience filing a complaint with the EPA.

  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    All over and between our old bricks...

  • PRO
    Bob Smith agradeció a Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
  • PRO
    User
    hace 8 años
    Your State should have a home improvement licensing commission and a dept of environmental protection... contact both. also contact your home insurance company for advice, and probably your lawyer... good luck...
    Bob Smith agradeció a User
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    3 voicemails and an email to the boss later, and no one is contacting me. This is one of the highest rated Yelp/Angie's list companies in the Bay Area. What a disappointment.

  • Vith
    hace 8 años

    I bet if you tell them that you will inform the EPA of this, they will get their butt in gear. No one wants to mess with the EPA/fines/bureaucracy.

    Bob Smith agradeció a Vith
  • Bob Smith
    Autor original
    hace 8 años

    Met with an expert on lead abatement and toxic site litigation, several lawyers, and a code enforcement specialist. Looks like we're taking this to court. Thank you all for your insight and advice.

  • netrak
    hace 8 años

    Oh wow. Any updates?

  • gregbradley
    hace 8 años
    Última modificación: hace 8 años

    You should read up on the RRP requirements. They can't legally remove anything like paint in a house that age unless they are RRP certified. A HEPA vac is required, not just a vac with a HEPA filter. The entire vacuum needs to be certified. If the vac was broken they needed to stop work until they had another. Actually there are only a few vacs that have HEPA certification and they haven't been out for very long so they pretty much can't be broken. I have 4 vacs that I would be comfortable using where HEPA vacs are needed but only one of them, made by Festool, would be legal to use in that function because the entire vac is certified.

    Were they sanding on the house without a sander connected to a HEPA certified vacuum?

    Once they let that lead get down into the ground, you will actually have to remove soil and grass and whatever to get it clean. Proper cleanup according to the regs could hit 6 figures.

    BTW, Yelp and Angies are a joke. Why would a good company pay to be listed on Angies? Yelp might have good info for a restaurant but a contractor?

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