A Home Your Kids Can Crawl Around In — Lead Paint Removal in Portland, ME
There is a difference between lead-safe renovation and true abatement, and it decides whether the lead is gone or merely contained. We will tell you which one your house needs — and an independent inspector, not us, does the testing that says the job worked.
Lead work, under the licence it actually requires
Two different licences cover two different jobs. We hold both, and we will tell you which one your situation calls for before you spend anything.
Nineteen years in the oldest housing stock in America
Maine has some of the oldest housing in the country, and Greater Portland is full of pre-1950 multifamily where the paint has been layered over a dozen times. Thornbeck has worked in it since 2007 — houses, triple-deckers, a fair number of buildings the city has an interest in.
We are a lead contractor and nothing else. We do not do the kitchen afterwards, we do not do the repaint, and we do not perform the clearance testing on our own work. Every one of those boundaries exists because crossing it would give us a reason to see a result we want to see.
- ✓Maine DEP Lead Abatement Contractor #LAC-4127
- ✓EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm, certified renovator on every job
- ✓Lead work only — no rebuild, no repaint, no self-clearance
- ✓Homes, multifamily and rental portfolios across Cumberland County
Six things that belong on a lead quote
Which licence the work is under
Abatement and RRP renovation are separate Maine licences covering separate outcomes. The quote should name which one, in words, not just a certificate number in the footer.
What happens to the lead
Removed, replaced, enclosed or encapsulated — each has a different lifespan and a different obligation to disclose later. The quote should say which, surface by surface.
Who does the clearance
An independent licensed inspector or risk assessor should do the dust-wipe sampling. If the company doing the work also passes the work, that is not a clearance.
How the space is contained
Poly barriers, negative air where warranted, controlled entry, and HEPA cleaning. Lead dust is the exposure route, so containment is most of the actual job.
Where you will live meanwhile
Some scopes are workable in phases with the family in place; some are not. An honest quote tells you which yours is before you find out on day two.
What is written down at the end
Scope, clearance results and disclosure-ready documentation. You will need it when you sell, refinance or re-let the property.
Lead-safe renovation is not abatement
They sound like the same thing and they are not. RRP lead-safe renovation is a way of working — contain the dust, clean up properly, verify with a wipe — so that a remodel does not poison anyone while it happens. When the crew drives away, the lead paint is still on the walls.
Abatement is a way of ending it: removing, replacing, enclosing or encapsulating the surfaces so the hazard is gone for good. It is a different Maine licence, a different scope and a different price — and it is what a health-department order after an elevated blood-lead result actually requires.
The cheaper quote is very often the first one. That is fine if what you need is a safe remodel. It is not fine if what you were told is that the lead is being taken care of.
- ✓We name the licence the work sits under, on the quote
- ✓We will say when renovation is genuinely enough for you
- ✓An order after a blood-lead result means abatement, not RRP
Five rules we do not bend
We never clear our own work
Dust-wipe clearance is done by an independent licensed inspector or risk assessor. We pay for it or you engage them directly — either way, the person who says it passed is not the person who did it.
Windows first, where the results allow
Friction surfaces produce most household lead dust. If treating the windows gets you most of the reduction, we say so, even when it means a smaller job.
Containment before demolition
Barriers, controlled entry and HEPA equipment go in before anything is disturbed. The exposure risk in lead work is almost entirely airborne and settled dust.
Everything in writing, surface by surface
Each treated surface is listed with the method used, so the next owner, tenant or lender is not guessing about what sits behind the finish.
We stop at our own edge
We do not do the rebuild or the repaint afterwards. It keeps our scope honest and stops the abatement expanding to fill a renovation budget.
Before and after around Greater Portland
Holding a quote that says "lead-safe"?
Bring it to the scope visit. Half the time it is the right answer and we will say so. The rest of the time it means the lead is staying exactly where it is.
Pre-1978 units, and a list you can actually budget
If you hold older rental property in Greater Portland, the question is rarely whether there is lead — it is which buildings, which units and in what order. We walk the portfolio, write the required work down with a priority sequence, and hand you something you can spread across seasons instead of a single number that stalls the whole thing.
We are also happy to be the contractor who tells you a unit is fine. Turning over a building that did not need the work is a cheaper outcome for you and a faster one for us.
- ✓Portfolio walk-through with a written priority order
- ✓Work sequenced around turnovers and vacancies
- ✓Disclosure-ready documentation for every completed unit
Lead paint, answered plainly
How do I know if my house has lead paint?
If it was built before 1978, assume it does until a test says otherwise; before 1950, the odds are high and the paint tends to be higher-lead. The way to know is an inspection or risk assessment by a licensed lead inspector — a separate professional from the contractor who does the work. We are happy to point you at one and to read the report with you afterwards.
What is the difference between lead-safe renovation and abatement?
Lead-safe renovation, under the EPA's RRP rule, is a way of working so that a remodel does not spread lead dust. When it is finished, the lead paint is still there. Abatement is the permanent elimination of the hazard — removal, component replacement, enclosure or encapsulation — under a separate Maine licence. If a health department has issued an order, abatement is what is required.
Is it safe for us to stay in the house?
Sometimes. A single contained room with controlled entry can often be worked around, especially if there are no small children or anyone pregnant in the household. Whole-house exteriors and multi-room interiors usually are not. We tell you which yours is at the scope visit, not once the plastic is up.
How much does lead paint removal cost in Portland?
It depends far more on scope than on square footage. Treating the windows in a small older home commonly runs in the low thousands; whole-house interior abatement with containment and clearance runs considerably higher. Because windows drive so much of the dust, a targeted scope frequently delivers most of the reduction for a fraction of the full number — which is why we scope before quoting.
What are my obligations on a pre-1978 rental?
At minimum, federal disclosure to tenants before the lease, and any work that disturbs paint must be done by an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm. Beyond that, Maine's requirements and any local orders can add to it — which is why we do a walk-through and give you the list in writing rather than a generic answer.
Can the work be phased across a portfolio?
Yes, and it usually should be. We give you a priority order based on which units and surfaces carry the real risk, then sequence around turnovers so units are worked while empty. It spreads the cost across seasons without leaving the highest-risk unit for last.
Who decides the job passed?
An independent licensed lead inspector or risk assessor takes dust-wipe samples and compares them to the clearance standards. We do not do it. If a surface fails, we re-clean at our cost and they re-test — the whole value of third-party clearance is that we cannot talk ourselves into a pass.
Do I have to tell a buyer or tenant afterwards?
Yes — federal disclosure applies to pre-1978 housing regardless of the work done, and it is better news to disclose than most people expect. A documented abatement with clearance results is a selling point. We hand over the scope, methods and results as one file for exactly this reason.
Will the lead come back?
Removal and component replacement are permanent for those surfaces. Enclosure and encapsulation are durable but not forever — they depend on the covering staying intact, so they carry a monitoring expectation and a disclosure obligation. We tell you which method went on which surface so nobody is guessing in ten years.
Tell us about the building
Roughly when it was built, whether you have a test result or an order, and who is living there. If you already hold a quote, bring it — comparing the two is usually the fastest way to understand what you were being sold.