The average cost for lead paint removal is $3,499, depending on square footage and other factors.
In homes built before 1978, painters and contractors used lead paint before anyone knew better. Lead is toxic, and you need to hire a licensed, trained professional to remove it. The average cost for lead paint removal is $3,499, but you could pay between $1,478 and $5,520, depending on the amount of lead paint present in your home.
A lead paint removal job runs around $3,400, but you could pay as little as $100 or as much as $20,000, depending on the extent of the work. If you discover lead paint in your home, there are a few methods you can opt for to rid your home of the nasty substance, but we recommend hiring a lead paint removal pro to ensure the job is done correctly. To be extra careful, make sure to follow a lead safety practices checklist.
| Lead Paint Removal Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| Removal | $8 – $17 per square foot |
| Demolition and replacement | $1,000 – $15,000 per project |
| Encapsulation | $4 – $8 per square foot |
| Enclosure | $9 – $10 per square foot |
| Chemical stripping | $10 – $17 per square foot |
Removal usually costs between $8 and $17 per square foot, is permanent, and requires no maintenance. Pros use various methods for removing lead paint—like hand scraping, wet sanding, or using a heat gun—then sucking up the dust with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)-filter vacuum. However, removing lead is a pretty invasive process, and there’s the potential for harmful dust to remain in the air.
You can expect to pay between $1,000 and $15,000 per project for a demolition and replacement job. In a demolition and replacement job, your pro removes the entire painted surface, like a wall, from your home and destroys it. Then, they put in a new surface painted with unleaded paint. This is a complex job, but it doesn't require maintenance outside of the project and is usually a permanent fix.
Encapsulation usually costs between $4 and $8 per square foot. Your top-rated lead abatement pro near you will use a chemical compound to cover the lead paint during the encapsulation process. The chemical layer is waterproof and seals in the toxic lead chemicals, but this isn’t a permanent solution. Encapsulation requires periodic maintenance, keeps lead-tainted dust from spreading, and can be effective.
The cost for a lead paint enclosure runs between $9 and $10 per square foot. Since this method is used sectionally, this can be a cost-effective option. During the enclosure process, your pro will hang up new drywall to seal the area with lead paint from the rest of your home. This method isn't permanent and needs to be monitored for damage, but it's good to keep lead-tainted dust from spreading.
Chemical stripping usually runs between $10 and $17 per square foot and is the most invasive lead paint abatement process. Lead removal experts use a chemical compound to lift lead paint, then use a HEPA-filtered vacuum to remove the particles. This is a permanent solution and can improve the resale value of your home, but it uses harmful chemicals that release fumes into the air.
On average, removing lead paint from a home costs between $8 and $17 per square foot. The cost to remove lead paint from your home will vary based on several factors, including:
| Square Footage | Cost |
|---|---|
| 200 | $800 – $3,400 |
| 1,500 | $6,000 – $25,000 |
| 2,000 | $8,000 – $24,000 |
| 2,500 | $10,000 – $42,500 |
The square footage of your home or room is a significant factor when considering lead paint removal, especially if there's a good amount of lead paint to eliminate.
Removal of interior and exterior paint require significantly different approaches. Interior paint requires containment measures to ensure the safety of those in the house, whereas exterior paint is naturally ventilated and is much less of a risk. Because of the increased risk and the resulting labor required to lower that risk, interior paint removal can be more expensive.
Exterior paint removal can become more expensive if it’s hard to access or requires special weather-proofing. Interior lead paint is typically only one material with several coats, whereas exterior paint can be many different types of paint and sealants layered on top of one another. This complexity in materials can contribute to increased costs.
Geographic location factors into the cost of lead paint removal primarily for exterior paint. The least expensive removal quotes by location will be in temperate climates with manageable, stable temperatures and humidity. Areas like Ohio and North Carolina will often be less expensive than Southern California or Miami.
While lead paint in apartments is uncommon, you can expect to pay a premium for work done in apartment buildings, as the cost increases due to elevated regulations for multi-unit dwellings. Lead paint removal, like many services, is often tied to the cost of living of the area where the work is performed. For example, it will cost more in New York City than it would in Tulsa.
Labor will always be your largest cost, but the materials you use can make or break your budget. Eco-friendly materials are often marked up to a premium material, for example, and you can expect to dig a little deeper if local regulations require a specific type of replacement paint (thankfully, this isn’t common). Most increases in materials costs will come during the testing and removal phase in the form of specialized equipment.
Labor is a complicated cost factor, as it will depend on local regulations and the expertise required. Basic lead paint on an exterior wall at eye level will be a much simpler task than removing the interior paint on a high ceiling with multiple layers in a historical building with fragile plaster underneath.
There will be incremental price increases for every required safety consideration and any specialized training. If particular testing or removal equipment is needed, you need to ensure the person doing the work has expertise in understanding and operating that piece of equipment–further increasing your cost.
Most removal projects involve a very simple disposal practice where you take the removed goods to the dump or have them picked up. Since lead paint is controlled—it’s a hazardous substance—it must be disposed of in accordance with regulations.
Transportation costs can be high as well as the fees to dispose of the removed paint at a specialized facility that can handle lead contamination. It can be similar to asbestos removal, or in some cases, the disposal of radioactive material caused by excessive Radon contamination.
The extent of required post-removal repairs—and the associated cost—will depend more on the surface the paint was removed from and its location, rather than the paint itself. Sometimes the lead can contaminate the surface it was painted on, which requires further removal. Materials like finished wood will always be more expensive than drywall, and can quickly balloon a project's scope. A worst-case scenario is lead paint contamination on detailed architectural features that require skilled craftsmanship to return to their original shape.
Identifying lead paint comes down to two things: confirming it’s lead because of an old label or paint can, or testing the paint. However, there are some ways lead paint can reveal itself:
Homes built before 1978 are more likely to contain lead-based paint.
Lead paint often cracks, chips, and peels. At this point, the paint becomes much more dangerous as the lead is then airborne.
Lead-based paint has a metallic, almost sweet smell.
The house still has its original paint.
You exhibit signs of lead poisoning, such as headaches, nausea, muscle pain, depression, memory loss, or unexplained weakness.
There are other signs that you could have lead paint, like finding sub-layers of paint or discovering an old (but painted) crawl space, attic, or hidden room. In any case, these signs should present as clues that you may have lead paint. One note: if you experience any unexplained health complications, the first thing you should do is see your doctor.
Lead paint removal isn't an easy or safe job, so hiring a lead removal pro near you is the best option. Removing lead paint from residential homes requires certification from the state or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A lead abatement pro will be able to advise you on the best technique for testing for lead paint or removal, but they'll also know how to safely dispose of any objects or lead paint particles they vacuum up.
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to costquotes@angi.com. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.
You can expect to pay between $200 and $400 for a lead inspection, where your local lead testing pro will scan surfaces and items with an X-ray fluorescent analyzer. Lead risk assessments are slightly different and run around $800 to $2,000. A pro may find lead during an evaluation, and create a removal strategy.
Lead toxicity comes from inhaling lead or consuming it. Before the 1980s, when the government banned lead from consumer use, it could be found in paint, plumbing, pipes, ceramics, and even gasoline. Lead paint is toxic for the same reason lead itself is toxic, which is why lead poisoning from paint presents the same as lead poisoning from water or food sources, with a slight increase in respiratory symptoms vs. digestive symptoms. Lead paint is most dangerous when it’s old and peeling, cracking, or otherwise disturbed. This increases the concentration in the air and, therefore, in breathable air.
You don't have to remove lead paint if it's in a place not easily disturbed. Lead poisoning comes from ingestion, so if the area is away from people and the paint won't flake off, you can leave it. It's always best to get an assessment from a professional to confirm there's no risk.
