WindowsLead-safe window and siding work on older Fort Wayne homes
Replacing even one window on a house built before 1978 requires an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm, because the federal lead rule covers every window replacement on those homes. Siding work falls under it once it disturbs more than 20 square feet of painted surface outside.
How many Fort Wayne homes it covers
About 64% of Fort Wayne's homes were built before 1980, and the median home dates to 1972. In Wayne Township, the city's center, it's 83%, with almost a third built before 1940. Aboite and Perry townships are newer, with most homes built after 1990. If you don't know your house's year, the county property record shows it.
The rule's cutoff is 1978, the year lead paint was banned for homes. A house built before then may have lead paint under later coats, even if you can't see it.
What the rule covers
The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule applies to paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in a pre-1978 home. Small jobs are exempt: up to 6 square feet of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet outside. Window replacement is the exception: EPA covers it no matter how small, since pulling an old window disturbs the painted frame, stops and sill.
For siding, it depends on what's disturbed. Pulling off vinyl that was hung over painted wood, cutting into painted trim, or scraping before new siding can all cross the 20 square foot line.
What lead-safe work looks like
- Warning signs at the work area
- Plastic sheeting on the ground outside, and on floors and furniture inside near the windows
- Doors and vents in the work room closed or covered
- No open-flame burning, high-heat guns or power sanding without a shroud and HEPA vacuum
- Cleanup with a HEPA vacuum and wet wiping, then a check of the cleaned area
The contractor also has to give you EPA's "Renovate Right" pamphlet before the work starts.
How to check a contractor
In Indiana and Ohio, the EPA runs the program directly. A firm has to hold EPA firm certification, and a certified renovator has to direct the work on site. Ask for the firm's certificate number and look it up on EPA's certified-firm locator. If a firm isn't listed, EPA's lead hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD can confirm it.
Doing it yourself
The certification rule applies to people paid for the work, not to homeowners working on their own house. The EPA still urges homeowners to follow the same lead-safe practices, especially with children or a pregnant person in the home.
Get your free in-home estimate
A few quick questions. Here's what happens next:
- We call you backTo hear about your house and pick a time that works for you.
- We measure everythingEvery window and wall, so your price is right the first time.
- You get it in writingProduct, trim, clean-up and a start date, all on one page.
