More than two-thirds of Ohio’s housing was built before 1980, which puts most of the state inside the federal lead-safe renovation rules. For flooring, this comes up more often than people expect — not because of the floor, but because of the trim around it.
Why a flooring job triggers a paint rule
The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to housing built before 1978, where
lead-based paint is presumed present unless testing says otherwise. Laying a floor sounds unrelated
— until you remember what has to come off first. Baseboard. Shoe moulding. Door casing at the
threshold. Sometimes the doors themselves get trimmed. All of that is painted, and in a pre-1978
house that paint is presumed to contain lead.
Pulling and re-nailing painted baseboard creates dust. That is the mechanism the rule exists to
control.
What it actually requires
- The firm doing the work is certified, and at least one certified renovator supervises.
- The work area is contained — plastic sheeting, closed HVAC registers, controlled access.
- No open-flame burning, and no high-speed sanding or grinding of painted surfaces without
HEPA attachment. - Cleanup is HEPA vacuuming and wet wiping, not a broom.
- You receive the EPA lead pamphlet before work starts.
It is neither exotic nor especially expensive. It is a certification, some plastic and a HEPA
vacuum. What it is not is optional.
Where this bites in Ohio
It depends heavily on where you are. In Cleveland, where 48.6% of homes predate 1940, it is close
to a default assumption. In Canton (41.5%), Cincinnati (40.9%) and Youngstown (39.3%) it applies to
a large share of the housing. In Columbus, where only 12% predates 1940 and the median home dates
to 1980, most jobs sit outside it entirely — though “most” is not “all”, and the year the house was
built is the thing that decides it, not the city.
What to ask
If your house predates 1978, ask the contractor two questions: whether their firm is EPA
lead-safe certified, and how they intend to handle the baseboard. A good answer describes
containment. A dismissive answer — “it’s just a floor” — is a reason to keep calling.
Common questions
What if the trim was replaced at some point?
Then the trim is not the concern, but the wall behind it and the original door casings may still
be. Testing is cheap relative to the alternative.
Does this apply if I do the work myself?
The rule regulates firms working for compensation, so a homeowner doing their own work is not
covered by it. The dust behaves identically either way, which is the part worth taking seriously.