Bathroom redo contract leaves me unsure about damage coverage

I'm having my bathroom redone and the painter's paperwork includes a part about not covering wall damage from old paint. This seems risky if they scrape off lead paint or something. Can I add language to protect myself from cleanup costs?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucashenderson4h ago

Is lead paint even that common anymore? Sounds like rivera.sam's friend got really unlucky. Most old paint just crumbles, it's not automatically toxic. I've seen guys scrape walls in a dozen old houses and it's just plaster dust. Adding a bunch of test clauses might just make your painter charge you more for the hassle.

rivera.sam5h ago

Man, I used to skip over contract details too, thinking it was all standard stuff... But then my friend had a huge mess from peeled paint, and the contractor said it wasn't their fault... It turned out to be lead-based, and the cleanup cost him thousands out of pocket... So now I always add a line about testing for dangerous materials and who pays for removal... You should definitely push for that in your paperwork to avoid surprise bills... It's a hassle, but way better than dealing with the fallout later.

the_paul3h ago

Seen this with home repairs constantly. You gotta spell out who pays for surprises like lead paint.