My daughter recently obtained estimates for replacing 17 windows in her home, which is more than 50 years old.

One contractor mentioned the Environmental Protection Agency’s new requirement of lead-paint precautions, containment, and other things, which would add $500 to the project cost.

He also stated that she could first test for lead paint ($60), but because of the age of her home, the house more than likely contained lead paint.

via Philadelphia Inquirer

Today’s Best Practices looks at how the rule, which requires a number of training, certification and paperwork procedures by contractors working on pre-1978 homes, has impacted remodeling companies around the country.

A burning question facing many industry professionals involves noncompliant competitors. Assuming you’ve invested considerable time and money in becoming lead-safe certified and following lead-safe practices on remodeling projects:

via daily 5 Remodel.

“There were stumbling blocks, training and certification that slowed us down,” Hill Country executive director Tama Shaw said. “We have reached a point where we are past that; we've been ramped up and ready to go.”

Regulations regarding federal labor rules, acquiring waivers for historic older homes and dealing with homes containing lead paint all prevented Hill Country from helping Central Texas residents. In the last few months, however, the agency has increased its weatherization work force and cut through the red tape to put its money to good use.

via TDTNews.com

Maurine Pederson and Gene Bushman thought they’d found a way to weather a brutal spell for building contractors.

The owners of Paynesville-based DC Construction Unlimited withstood the housing-market downturn by focusing on remodeling jobs instead of new construction.

But after reading new federal guidelines for remodeling homes that may have lead paint, Pederson and Bushman are almost ready to put down their hammers.

via St Cloud Times.

A coalition of housing industry groups joined the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today in announcing plans to file a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for removing the “opt-out” provision from its Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule.

via NAHB

“EPA is not stopping its enforcement against any renovation firms and individual renovators who do not comply with requirements of work practice standards and associated recordkeeping requirements,” the agency declared in the document, which was first posted to its website Friday and updated with a correction today. “However, EPA is providing additional time for renovation firms and workers to obtain the necessary training and certifications before enforcement of the firm certification and individual renovator requirements begins.”

via Pro Sales Magazine

Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work,” Albert Einstein once said, and sadly, we haven't come very far since his time on this planet.

The latest victims of bureaucratic misfortune are contractors, and ultimately, homeowners, who make improvements in homes or other buildings that may contain lead paint.

via SalemNews.com

U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph T. Randa has granted summary judgment to a defendant in a lead paint case, holding that imposition of liability would violate substantive due process.

Randa concluded June 15 that imposition of liability under the risk contribution rule established by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Thomas v. Mallett, 701 N.W.2d 523 (2005), would be arbitrary and irrational.

via Wisconsin Law Journal

One out of four building material dealers responding to a survey last month on the Environmental Protection Agencys EPA just-enacted rule on lead-based paint say remodelers and renovators have canceled work on a project because they lack the certification needed under the new rule.

via ProWatch

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied recent requests by the Home Builders Association of Tennessee and NAHB for flexibility on the newly-enacted Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule in order to speed the recovery of communities in western Tennessee devastated by floodwaters early last month.

Cited by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) as the deadliest natural disaster in the U.S. since the election of President Obama, two-days of record rainfall damaged nearly 1.3 million homes or structures in Nashville and the region. Almost 700,000 of these were built before 1978, subjecting them to the lead paint rule.

Read More: nbnnews.com