Painting a pre-1978 Colorado home
What the federal lead rule requires when you pay someone to paint, what to ask before you hire, and how many homes in each Front Range town are old enough for it to matter.
If your home was built before 1978 and you pay someone to paint it, the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies whenever the work disturbs more than 6 square feet of painted surface in a room or more than 20 square feet outside. The firm must be EPA-certified, a certified renovator must direct the work, you must get the EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet within 60 days before work starts, and the job must use containment, banned-practice limits and a cleaning check at the end. In Colorado the EPA enforces this rule directly.
The year that matters
In 1978 the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes. Paint applied before then can still be on a house today, usually under newer coats, and it becomes a hazard when it is scraped, sanded or heated into dust and chips. Children under six and pregnant women are most at risk.
Age is the best quick predictor. The EPA's own figures say lead-based paint is likely in:
| Year built | Homes likely to have lead-based paint |
|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 87% |
| 1940 to 1959 | 69% |
| 1960 to 1977 | 24% |
Source: U.S. EPA, "Protect Your Family from Sources of Lead."
How common older homes are here
40.6% of Colorado's 2,545,124 homes were built before 1980, below the national 50.5% because so much of the state was built recently. But the range across the Front Range is enormous: 57.4% in Denver and 51% in Jefferson County, against 7.3% in Douglas County.
Labels show the total share built before 1980. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (table B25034). The Census groups 1970 to 1979 together, so these shares include a small number of homes built in 1978 and 1979, after the ban.
Show the numbers
| County | Homes | Before 1960 | Before 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan | 11,670 | 32.3% | 60.3% |
| Denver | 352,593 | 35.5% | 57.4% |
| Clear Creek | 5,768 | 25.7% | 57.4% |
| Jefferson | 251,183 | 13.7% | 51% |
| Boulder | 142,809 | 12.5% | 41.5% |
| Arapahoe | 265,980 | 9.1% | 38.9% |
| Adams | 191,765 | 13.5% | 37.3% |
| Summit | 31,849 | 2.2% | 32.7% |
| Weld | 125,033 | 12% | 30.8% |
| Broomfield | 32,261 | 4.4% | 21.7% |
| Douglas | 140,542 | 1.4% | 7.3% |
| Colorado | 2,545,124 | 16.3% | 40.6% |
| United States | 142,332,876 | 26.1% | 50.5% |
What the EPA rule requires when you hire a painter
The Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (40 CFR Part 745, Subpart E) has applied since April 22, 2010. It covers paid work in homes, child care facilities and preschools built before 1978. In practice, for a paint job it means:
- A certified firm and a certified renovator. The company must hold EPA firm certification, and a certified renovator must be assigned to the job and train or direct the rest of the crew.
- The pamphlet before work starts. You receive the EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet no more than 60 days before the work begins and sign that you got it.
- Containment. Work areas are closed off with plastic sheeting, warning signs go up, and occupants and pets are kept out.
- No dangerous shortcuts. Open-flame burning or torching of painted surfaces is prohibited. Heat guns must stay below 1,100°F. Power sanders and grinders are allowed only with shrouds and HEPA vacuum attachments.
- Cleanup and a check. After cleaning, a certified renovator inspects the area and, indoors, wipes sills and floors and compares the cloth with a cleaning verification card. Outside, the work area, sills and ground are inspected.
When the rule does not apply
Small jobs are exempt as minor repair and maintenance if they disturb 6 square feet or less per room inside or 20 square feet or less outside, with no window replacement, no demolition of painted surfaces and none of the prohibited practices. A homeowner working on their own owner-occupied home is generally exempt too. A professional exterior repaint that involves scraping is almost never small enough to qualify.
Rentals and home sales
The homeowner exemption never covers rental units. Landlords and sellers of pre-1978 housing also have separate federal disclosure duties when leasing or selling; our painting before selling page covers how that fits with a pre-listing paint job.
Five questions to ask any painter about an older house
- What is your EPA firm certification number? Firms can be looked up through the EPA.
- Who is the certified renovator on my job, and will that person be on site?
- How will you contain the work? Ask what goes under the scraping area outside and how rooms are sealed inside.
- How are chips and dust removed and disposed of at the end of each day?
- Is the lead-safe work in the written estimate, or will it show up as a change order?
Ask every bidder, including us. A lower price that leaves these out is not the same job.
What we need from you
Tell us the year your house was built when you ask for an estimate, and whether children under six or anyone pregnant lives there or visits regularly. If you do not know the year, the county assessor's record usually lists it.
Older homes in the towns we serve
The share of pre-1980 homes in each town we cover, highest first. Small towns have wide margins of error, shown in parentheses.
| Town | Homes | Before 1960 | Before 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morrison | 137 | 78.8% | 91.2% (±7) |
| Idaho Springs | 832 | 69.5% | 88.6% (±12) |
| Wheat Ridge | 15,805 | 43.4% | 77% (±5) |
| Georgetown | 798 | 30.5% | 73.9% (±13) |
| Fort Morgan | 4,426 | 38.4% | 73.1% (±8.4) |
| Englewood | 17,283 | 45.7% | 68.4% (±3.7) |
| Evergreen | 3,938 | 19.1% | 59.7% (±7.2) |
| Northglenn | 15,020 | 5.7% | 59.1% (±4.2) |
| Denver | 352,593 | 35.5% | 57.4% (±1) |
| Lakewood | 73,000 | 16.6% | 56.8% (±1.7) |
| Fort Lupton | 2,922 | 27.8% | 55.2% (±8.3) |
| Boulder | 46,765 | 18.2% | 54.3% (±2.3) |
| Arvada | 51,655 | 11.5% | 52.7% (±1.9) |
| Dillon | 1,222 | 0.5% | 51.2% (±7.8) |
| Hudson | 642 | 19.2% | 50.5% (±13.5) |
| Byers | 604 | 26.2% | 49.7% (±17) |
| Littleton | 21,506 | 20.2% | 46.9% (±2.7) |
| Golden | 8,108 | 15.3% | 44.4% (±5.1) |
| Centennial | 42,513 | 3.5% | 44.3% (±1.7) |
| Conifer | 3,578 | 9.7% | 39% (±5.4) |
| Aurora | 150,242 | 7.7% | 37.8% (±1) |
| Longmont | 42,435 | 10% | 37.6% (±2.2) |
| Westminster | 50,166 | 8.2% | 34.6% (±1.7) |
| Brighton | 13,819 | 15% | 32.5% (±4) |
| Breckenridge | 7,719 | 3.9% | 29.2% (±4.5) |
| Greenwood Village | 6,869 | 2% | 28.5% (±3.5) |
| Strasburg | 1,152 | 10.3% | 27.6% (±11.2) |
| Bennett | 1,114 | 9.7% | 27% (±8) |
| Frisco | 3,649 | 1.7% | 25.3% (±6.6) |
| Commerce City | 22,165 | 17.3% | 24.9% (±2.7) |
| Dacono | 2,295 | 2% | 23.2% (±5.8) |
| Lafayette | 13,323 | 7.1% | 23.1% (±2.8) |
| Thornton | 51,088 | 5.1% | 22.7% (±1.7) |
| Broomfield | 32,261 | 4.4% | 21.7% (±1.3) |
| Louisville | 8,304 | 6.6% | 20% (±2.2) |
| Wiggins | 439 | 8.9% | 17.1% (±7.6) |
| Silverthorne | 2,943 | 0% | 16.9% (±8) |
| Lochbuie | 3,061 | 0.8% | 16.6% (±11.7) |
| Castle Rock | 27,824 | 1.3% | 7.2% (±1.4) |
| Erie | 11,277 | 2.3% | 6.3% (±2.3) |
| Firestone | 6,094 | 1.1% | 5% (±2.6) |
| Frederick | 5,584 | 3% | 4.8% (±1.7) |
| Superior | 4,907 | 0.6% | 4.5% (±2.8) |
| Castle Pines | 4,628 | 0.9% | 3.7% (±2.7) |
| Parker | 22,340 | 0.9% | 3.6% (±1) |
| Highlands Ranch | 39,066 | 0.5% | 2% (±0.5) |
| Lone Tree | 6,651 | 0% | 0.9% (±1) |
Lead paint questions
Does my Colorado house have lead paint?
If it was built before 1978, it might. The EPA estimates lead-based paint is likely in 87% of homes built before 1940, 69% of homes built from 1940 to 1959 and 24% of homes built from 1960 to 1977. Only a test tells you for certain: an EPA-recognized test kit used by a certified renovator, or an inspection by a certified lead inspector or risk assessor.
Does the lead rule apply if I paint my own house?
No. The EPA rule covers people who are paid to do the work. Homeowners working on their own owner-occupied home are generally exempt, although the same safe practices protect your family. The exemption does not apply to rentals, home child care or houses bought to renovate and resell.
How much paint can be disturbed before the rule applies?
Minor repair and maintenance is exempt when it disturbs 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside, and does not involve window replacement, demolition of painted surfaces or the prohibited practices. A typical exterior repaint with scraping goes well past 20 square feet.
Who enforces this in Colorado?
Colorado is not on the EPA's list of states that run their own renovation program, so the federal rule and the EPA's regional office apply here. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment separately oversees lead abatement and the certification of lead professionals.
Will lead-safe work make my estimate higher?
It adds containment, cleanup and verification time, so yes, usually. How much depends on how much paint is disturbed and whether the work is inside or outside. We include it in the written estimate rather than adding it later.
Should I just strip all the old paint off?
Rarely. Full removal disturbs the most lead and costs the most. If the old layers are still bonded, scraping loose paint, priming and recoating seals what remains. Full removal makes sense only where the old coating has failed broadly.
Ask about an older house
Send the year built, a few photos and anything you know about past paint jobs. We will tell you plainly what the preparation involves.
Prefer to talk it through? 720-208-5645