Demo old drywall with lead paint

[El_Viajero]

We've got a new (for us) house under contract and I need to do a soundproofing project in the spare bedroom, which I'll be using as a music studio. I've done this kind of work before, but never in a property as old as this one. It was built in 1958.

Basically, I need to rip out the existing interior walls so I can apply various soundproofing treatments and materials. Then I'll hang new drywall. My concern has to do with lead dust. When removing the old drywall, I'll no doubt be stirring up some lead paint dust from paint jobs performed in years long since gone by. Aside from protecting myself with goggles and a respirator, taping plastic over the door and HVAC supply vent, and possibly even sticking a fan in the window to negatively pressurize the space, what else might I do to minimize the amount of lead dust that gets dispersed throughout the house?

Should I leave the old drywall in the room overnight so that the dust can settle and then remove it from the house the next day?

[robartsd]

Your descriptions for precautions during demo sound appropriate. If you have two windows, I'd certainly put an exhaust fan in one and allow some fresh air in through the other to make the workspace more comfortable.

Time to let the dust settle wouldn't hurt. I'd probaby bag the material during demo then clean up dust with damp rags at the end of the day. The next day I"d repeat clean with damp rags to capture dust that settled from the air then remove waste materials. I might consider removal of materials through the window and/or double bagging prior to removal to further reduce risk of spreading dust.

[Fishindude]

I think this is a very, very low risk hazard and would not worry about it much.   If there is any lead paint present it's probably got a coat or two of non lead paint over top of it from newer paint jobs.
Wear safety glasses, gloves and a dust mask if you're concerned, but it's really not much of a health risk if present unless you are intentionally licking up and snorting the dust.   Even at that, most of what you would ingest would be just plain old dust and dirt.

Lot's of people still bite lead fishing sinkers to clamp them on their line and you don't see those folks dropping dead.
Lead is a very over-rated hazard.   It takes extensive exposure to cause problems, such as working in a battery factory for years on end.

[robartsd]

Lot's of people still bite lead fishing sinkers to clamp them on their line and you don't see those folks dropping dead.
Lead is a very over-rated hazard.   It takes extensive exposure to cause problems, such as working in a battery factory for years on end.
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My level of concern would be much higher if small children live in the home than if it is adults only.

[Papa bear]

I think this is a very, very low risk hazard and would not worry about it much.   If there is any lead paint present it's probably got a coat or two of non lead paint over top of it from newer paint jobs.
Wear safety glasses, gloves and a dust mask if you're concerned, but it's really not much of a health risk if present unless you are intentionally licking up and snorting the dust.   Even at that, most of what you would ingest would be just plain old dust and dirt.

Lot's of people still bite lead fishing sinkers to clamp them on their line and you don't see those folks dropping dead.
Lead is a very over-rated hazard.   It takes extensive exposure to cause problems, such as working in a battery factory for years on end.

I agree with this.

For the OP, the precautions you are taking are more than adequate.  Clean the dust once you’re done with the project with a damp cloth.


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[lthenderson]

The advice from Fishindude is spot on. Sometimes when I'm tearing at something where there will be a lot of dust, I just load up one of those handheld plastic strayers you can get just about any hardware store with water and mist down the surfaces I'm demoing. It really helps to keep the fine stuff down and isn't enough water to cause problems.

[El_Viajero]

Thanks, everybody! I actually just learned that some extensive renovations were performed in this house in 2007 and that the really old walls might have already been torn down. I'm going to do a lead test on a hunk of drywall and see. Lead might not even be an issue. I've also learned that a lot of homes from the post-war era actually DON'T have any lead paint in the interior walls. Apparently not all paint from 60 years ago had lead. Just some of it. Go figure.

[jpdx]

You're right for following a lead-safe protocol here, especially if you happen to have young kids in the house. I'd caution against exhausting the dust outside unless you HEPA filter it, because that will just contaminate the garden/yard.

[index]

I highly doubt the wall paint contains lead. Do a lead test. 50s drywall can contain asbestos though...

[lutorm]

Our 1950 house has all lead paint under the upper layers and we're doing a long-term renovation which consists of stripping off all the lead paint using one of these: https://www.speedheater.com/produkt/speedheater-standard/. We're definitely taking precautions, mostly for the kids and potentially pregnant wife.

However, getting rid of all the paint releases an absurd amount of lead compared to just tearing down a painted surface. Unless you're going to pulverize it I wouldn't worry so much about the dust released. Wetting it down and using a respirator while doing the work is probably a good idea, but unless you're tearing down the whole house and have kids around, my personal opinion is that it's probably not a big deal.

So far our 3-year old has had zero detectable lead level, so our risk posture is at least not totally wrong...

[TomTX]

Thanks, everybody! I actually just learned that some extensive renovations were performed in this house in 2007 and that the really old walls might have already been torn down. I'm going to do a lead test on a hunk of drywall and see. Lead might not even be an issue. I've also learned that a lot of homes from the post-war era actually DON'T have any lead paint in the interior walls. Apparently not all paint from 60 years ago had lead. Just some of it. Go figure.

While lead house paint wasn't fully phased out until the 1970s, after WWII titanium dioxide started being mass produced at a reasonable price and started replacing lead as the primary white pigment in house paints.

Red lead to protect steel (such as bridges) stuck around longer as it is an extremely effective anti-corrosive.