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Living in a house thats being worked on
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amother
Black


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 2:16 pm
amother [ Bronze ] wrote:
Cutting up tiles creates lead dust. There are other cancer causing chemicals like cadmium and asbestos. At least have your kids lead tested after.


But if cutting up tiles creates lead dust, isn't there still lead in those tiles after construction? And our kids sit on them and play on them? Our babies crawl around on them?
I'm not doubting what you say - I'm just questioning... aren't all these dangerous things still around AFTER?
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amother
Aubergine


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 2:44 pm
amother [ Bronze ] wrote:
I had a child with lead poisoning. It's a very serious thing. My child suffered severe medical and developmental consequences. Please don't do shortcuts.

Hugs. Just curious- is there anything to do for lead poisoning?
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 4:32 pm
amother [ Black ] wrote:
But if cutting up tiles creates lead dust, isn't there still lead in those tiles after construction? And our kids sit on them and play on them? Our babies crawl around on them?
I'm not doubting what you say - I'm just questioning... aren't all these dangerous things still around AFTER?

The dust tends to be breathed in and ingested. Once set in the floor and wiped a few times its perfectly safe. Although as the mom of a lead poisoned child, I wouldn't let my kids eat off of it on a regular basis.

It's not just lead. There's something called off gassing that happens in new houses.

The major lead danger is not chips, but dust and dirt. Every family with children should check the lead level in the dirt aroundtheir house. Amazon sells lead check swabs so you can check your paint.

My child has long term delays. It is really not worth the risk. People told us "no one ever gets lead poisoning'. We learned the hard way.

They treat with iron unless it's high enough to warrant chelation. They don't really know a lot about how lead poisoning works and why some kids excrete it and some kids get poisoned.
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amother
Floralwhite


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 7:07 pm
JoyInTheMorning wrote:
My house is reasonably new -- mid 80s. No lead or asbestos. We put in hardwood in most of the rooms before we moved in, but not the bedrooms. I'd like to put hardwood in the bedrooms now too because the carpet there is gross and dirty. There's no point spending money on carpeting because it lasts just a few years, so I want to invest in hardwood now.

Someone above said you need to move out while the floors are refinished. Is this a hard and fast rule, or is there some flexibility about this? We had a semi-gloss finish for the hardwood that we put in several years ago and I do remember there were fumes. Any way to get a semi-gloss finish without the fumes?

These days there are pre-finished hardwood floors that you can put in.

My downstairs neighbor (separate entrances and stairs, no connection, separate HVAC vents water and everything) finished their floors without telling us, just using polyurethane, not even moisture cure. I can't even tell you how much we suffered. And turning on the gas stove was like an igniting explosion. It was a nightmare.
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thunderstorm




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 7:11 pm
amother [ Bronze ] wrote:
Cutting up tiles creates lead dust. There are other cancer causing chemicals like cadmium and asbestos. At least have your kids lead tested after.

Our workers cut all the tiles outdoors.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 8:19 pm
thunderstorm wrote:
Our workers cut all the tiles outdoors.

That's great but now it's in the dirt your kids track in the house.
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amother
Firebrick


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 8:25 pm
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
Ok, I guess that is one way to know. 20 years later, no one got cancer, so therefore it was ok from the get-go.

And it's not just lead and asbestos or old houses. There are chemicals in drywall that are terrible to be exposed to. And probably other things that we haven't discovered yet (just like it took them awhile to discover that asbestos were bad. And even lead, for that matter, which used to be intentionally added to pipes for their durability. So too, there is some chemical we think is great but will likely be proven one day to cause cancer).

And to the comment on a healthy immune system being able to cope, sure, but that is typical day-to-day chemicals, not one living in a demolition zone.

I guess you all know my answer: I would never live in a house under renovation.


That’s great but not feasible for a lot of us. We just had our kitchen done and now you have me paranoid that my family is ill as a result. We didn’t have anywhere else to stay for a few weeks. Please think before unnecessarily fear mongering.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 9:48 pm
amother [ Firebrick ] wrote:
That’s great but not feasible for a lot of us. We just had our kitchen done and now you have me paranoid that my family is ill as a result. We didn’t have anywhere else to stay for a few weeks. Please think before unnecessarily fear mongering.

My child had lead poisoning. Please at least get your kids lead tested so you can start them on iron if they've been affected.
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amother
Brunette


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 10:30 pm
JoyInTheMorning wrote:
My house is reasonably new -- mid 80s. No lead or asbestos. We put in hardwood in most of the rooms before we moved in, but not the bedrooms. I'd like to put hardwood in the bedrooms now too because the carpet there is gross and dirty. There's no point spending money on carpeting because it lasts just a few years, so I want to invest in hardwood now.

Someone above said you need to move out while the floors are refinished. Is this a hard and fast rule, or is there some flexibility about this? We had a semi-gloss finish for the hardwood that we put in several years ago and I do remember there were fumes. Any way to get a semi-gloss finish without the fumes?

Depends on what you are finishing them with. If it's the bowling alley stuff, your neighbors probably should move out also if these houses are attached.
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amother
Brunette


 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 10:50 pm
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
For all the people that did it, there is no way to know whether you were exposed to dangerous chemicals or not. So anyone saying, "we did it and it was fine" it may well not have been fine - you just don't know one way or other.


DH is an engineer. He has been a building inspector and a housing inspector, and he has 45 years in construction. I'd say we definitely know every kind of material the house was constructed with.

There are many other experienced knowledgeable experts out there. You may not know, but they for sure do.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 20 2019, 11:10 pm
Hire licensed experts, not mom and pop companies. You'll pay more, but it's worth it. If you're in the US, look for Union people to work with.

There are organic, environmentally friendly building supplies. Just Google. Also a bit more expensive, but the floor finishes and paints are worth it. I used them on an 1912 home, and they came out gorgeous. One day of working with the windows open, and that was the end of the smell.

The house did have lead paint. I tried stripping the paint on a windowsill to see if I could get down to the original wood. As soon as I hit that lead layer, I realized what I was dealing with and painted right back over everything.

You'll know lead paint when you see it, because it is as smooth as porcelain, and the color is gorgeous. It's as hard as glass, and resists heat stripping as well as chemical stripping. That's why it was so popular - it's indestructible. Even super high gloss, highly pigmented modern paint does not compare in quality and durability.

To keep down the dust, use "tack cloth" and wipe down any new drywall installation, as well as any other surfaces that can't be cleaned with a damp sponge.
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amother
Brunette


 

Post Tue, May 21 2019, 8:11 am
FranticFrummie wrote:
Hire licensed experts, not mom and pop companies. You'll pay more, but it's worth it. If you're in the US, look for Union people to work with.

There are organic, environmentally friendly building supplies. Just Google. Also a bit more expensive, but the floor finishes and paints are worth it. I used them on an 1912 home, and they came out gorgeous. One day of working with the windows open, and that was the end of the smell.

The house did have lead paint. I tried stripping the paint on a windowsill to see if I could get down to the original wood. As soon as I hit that lead layer, I realized what I was dealing with and painted right back over everything.

You'll know lead paint when you see it, because it is as smooth as porcelain, and the color is gorgeous. It's as hard as glass, and resists heat stripping as well as chemical stripping. That's why it was so popular - it's indestructible. Even super high gloss, highly pigmented modern paint does not compare in quality and durability.

To keep down the dust, use "tack cloth" and wipe down any new drywall installation, as well as any other surfaces that can't be cleaned with a damp sponge.


You don't need union people. That's a ridiculous unnecessary expense. Use licensed experienced contractors. Use engineers or other experts. But you don't need to add exorbitant costs to your project.
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amother
Olive


 

Post Tue, May 21 2019, 8:19 am
amother [ Brunette ] wrote:
DH is an engineer. He has been a building inspector and a housing inspector, and he has 45 years in construction. I'd say we definitely know every kind of material the house was constructed with.

There are many other experienced knowledgeable experts out there. You may not know, but they for sure do.


The thing is, every expert in the US at one time thought lead and asbestos were safe and great options. Now we know better. There is no such thing as knowing "everything" since science always evolves. (Except climate change- that is "settled science" LOL ). So I'm sure your DH is an expert in what is currently known to his community now. What's to say in 50 years from now, new advanced testing will show that popular material XYZ is actually quite hazardous? I don't mean to sound rude, but your attitude of "well, the experts know everything" is actually arrogant. Remember when doctors (who know everything about health, after all), recommended formula as superior to breastmilk? Or recommended smoking? That was based on scientific consensus at the time as well.
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