In Richardson, Plano Lead Paint Removal covers lead paint removal, testing before a remodel, lead-safe renovation and encapsulation for pre-1978 houses. The first question on any Richardson job is what kind of work it is: a remodel that happens to disturb paint is an EPA matter, while getting rid of the lead itself is abatement licensed by DSHS. Testing and scheduling follow from that answer.
Richardson, just south of Plano, grew a decade earlier. The census counted 16,810 residents in 1960 and 48,405 in 1970, when Plano still had fewer than 18,000. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey dates 43.9% of Richardson's roughly 48,000 homes before 1980 and 23.9% before 1970. The pre-1980 share is more than twice Plano's.
Lead-safe add-on to remodeling a den and two bedrooms
Example project
Home
1960s ranch house in Richardson
Original request
Take out the painted paneling and trim in the den and two bedrooms, then refinish
Testing
Paneling, door casings and baseboards positive; ceilings clear
Lead-safe add-on
Plastic on floors and doorways, misting, HEPA cleanup and a cleaning check
Remodel
New drywall, trim and paint, priced by the remodeler
Estimated add-on cost
$4,600
In this example, the owners of a 1960s ranch house in Richardson want to take out the painted wood paneling and old trim in the den and two bedrooms, then put up drywall and new trim. A test shows lead paint on the paneling, casings and baseboards.
A Richardson house from the 1950s or 1960s is well before the 1978 cutoff, so lead paint is a real possibility on original wood windows, interior trim, built-ins, fascia and soffits. Before a contractor strips trim or pulls windows, find out what is in the paint; our lead-safe window and door replacement page covers one of the larger paint-disturbing jobs.
Remodels of older houses
Opening a ranch house floor plan, redoing a galley kitchen or adding a primary suite all disturb old paint. Paid work like this in a pre-1978 Richardson home falls under the EPA RRP rule: a certified firm, a certified renovator, containment and cleaning verification. Remodeling a house with lead paint explains each scope.
Testing and inspection
Testing can cover only the surfaces a remodel will touch, or the whole house before a purchase. Inspections and risk assessments are done by professionals certified by DSHS, and a documented negative lets that component be worked on without RRP requirements. Lead paint testing before remodeling compares the options.
Abatement and encapsulation
Where lead paint is failing or the owner wants it gone, abatement by a DSHS-certified firm removes it or seals it permanently, with notice to the state first. Sound walls and trim outside the remodel can instead be coated; see lead paint encapsulation for when that works and when it does not.
Richardson homes from the 1950s and 1960s
Richardson's building record shows the postwar push. The ACS counts about 47,960 homes: around 3,200 built during the 1950s, close to 8,000 during the 1960s and about 9,600 during the 1970s, but fewer than 300 older than 1950. That makes the 1960s a much bigger slice than in Plano, and those houses predate 1978 with years to spare. The 1970s group includes some homes finished in 1978 or 1979, so check the appraisal record for the exact year.
About 49% of occupied Richardson homes are rented, so landlords and property managers face these questions as much as owner-occupants. Under EPA rules, a landlord or management company whose own staff scrape, cut or sand paint in a pre-1978 unit needs certification just like an outside contractor.
Richardson's Home Improvement Incentive Program is open to homeowners in single-family zoned areas who apply before construction, spend at least $20,000 and finish within 24 months. In return the city pays a one-time incentive equal to 10 times the increase in city taxes. The program page says nothing about lead, and the incentive does not change the rules: if the house was built before 1978, a remodel paid for under the program still follows the EPA renovation rule. Confirm eligibility with the city; we make no promise that a project qualifies.
A workable order: confirm the year the house was finished; list the surfaces the project will touch; test them; decide whether those surfaces will be worked on lead-safe, encapsulated or removed; then schedule containment around how the household lives. Wherever the house sits in Richardson, the lead rules are the same: DSHS licenses testing and abatement, the EPA certifies renovators, and federal disclosure applies whenever a pre-1978 home is sold or leased.
They may. A house built in the 1960s predates the 1978 ban, so original paint on trim, windows, doors and walls could contain lead, though later repainting and replacements vary from house to house. Only a test of the specific surfaces answers it. Until then, federal rules treat paint in a pre-1978 home as possibly lead-based.
Does a Richardson remodel incentive change lead rules?
No. The Home Improvement Incentive Program rewards reinvestment through a tax-based payment, and its page has no lead requirements. The federal renovation rule applies to paid work that disturbs paint in a pre-1978 house whether or not the project receives the incentive.
Does Richardson inspect rental homes for lead?
We found no Richardson rule requiring lead inspections of rental homes. The city's rental registration page could not be opened for this research, so check it directly for current inspection terms. Federal rules still require landlords of pre-1978 housing to disclose known lead-based paint and give tenants the EPA lead pamphlet before a lease, and to use certified renovators for paid paint-disturbing work.
Southeast of Richardson, Garland more than doubled in the 1960s, from 38,501 to 81,437 residents, leaving a bigger pre-1980 housing stock still; our page on lead paint removal in Garland covers its city repair programs.
Request a free lead paint removal quote
For a Richardson house, the useful starting facts are the street, the decade it was built and the job: a kitchen, new windows, a full repaint. If it is a rental, or a child under six lives or visits there, say so up front. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
