Our Leaside house was built in 1953. Before painting, we had to deal with the elephant in the room for every pre-1978 Ontario home: lead paint.
Lead paint testing: Had a certified firm come out with XRF (X-ray fluorescence) testing — the most accurate method, no sampling required. Results: lead detected in the original layers on all exterior wood trim, window frames, and the original board-and-batten sections. The stucco body had no lead (was re-stuccoed in the 1980s).
What this means for painting: Lead-safe work practices are required under Ontario MOL guidelines. The contractor cannot dry-scrape or sand with power tools (this creates lead dust). Allowable methods: wet scraping, chemical strippers, heat guns below 500°C. All waste must be collected in sealed bags and disposed as hazardous material.
Contractor qualification: We hired a contractor who had taken the RRP (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) training for lead-safe work. Not every painting contractor has this — we asked specifically and one of four bidders walked away when we mentioned lead.
Preparation scope:
- Chemical stripper on all window frames and trim where paint was significantly built up or peeling (not the entire house — just areas where adhesion was compromised)
- Wet scrape at problem areas
- Caulk all trim joints, window perimeters, wood-to-stucco joints (over 60 linear feet of caulk applied)
- Lead-safe primer on all bare wood (Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 latex — compatible with topcoat, safer than alkyd options for VOC reasons)
- Body: Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior, 2 coats, on stucco
- Trim and windows: Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior in satin, 2 coats
Cost: $14,200 for the full house. The lead-safe premium was approximately $2,400 over a standard project of this size (slower prep, waste disposal, PPE costs).
Three years later: not a peel, not a crack. The proper prep made the difference.