Dealing with lead paint

[NA Jones]

We are looking at possible investment property that was built in the early 1900's and we suspect there is lead paint in the house to some degree.  We have not determined the level of severity ;)

I have read most every thread on this matter, but still feel very lost.  I spent the entire weekend curled up with J Scott's ebook and a glass of wine, but either he only buys newer houses or I had too much wine because I didn't read the word lead once (or asbestos for that matter, which is a whole 'nother can of worms)

We're in Maryland so I suspect the guidelines are a little stricter here.  I'm just not sure how to determine what ballpark we should even be in, from best case (low amounts of lead that we only have to paint over) to worst case (rip out of every inch of drywall while the house is covered in a quarantine tent?)

It's a 2 (well, 3) bed cape cod that is roughly 1100 sq ft, if that helps. My specific questions are:

a - What is the form of measurement for testing used? 

b - What are my remediation options likely to be?

c - What ballpark cost / man hours are those options in?   Obviously this will vary greatly on my results, I'm just hoping for a best case to worst case figure.

d - Have you ever dealt with lead abatement?  What were your results, what did you decide (lead-free?  lead-safe?  just a disclosure?) and how much did it cost?

[Bryan L.]

Seriously, everyone should read the HUD booklet. Here's a key quote: "In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard". If you read the booklet, you will see that the main concerns are around ingesting paint chips and breathing dust. First, old lead-based paint does chip. But most people don't eat it. Chipping/peeling lead-based paint will not harm you just from the fact that happens to be in the same room that you are in. Now, with the dust - paint does not spontaneously turn to dust. It has to be sanded or have some other work done to it to turn it to dust. Most people live there whole lives without ever doing anything that would generate paint dust. But your local area may have it's own set of local and/or state laws. I don't know. Just my humble opinion and not legal advice. In my area, I've never known of anyone to even have the test done.