Lead paint and period woodwork: how to hire a London decorator who prepares old surfaces safely

London is an old city in brick and timber as well as in history. According to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax stock of properties data for 31 March 2026, of roughly 3.86 million dwellings in London, about 1.12 million - close to three in ten - were built before 1919, against about one in five across England and Wales. Adding the build-period bands up to 1964 takes London's total to around 2.4 million homes, or roughly six in ten.

That matters to anyone commissioning a decorator, because those decades overlap almost exactly with the era of leaded paint. The Health and Safety Executive's guidance sheet CIS79, Old lead paint, states that lead pigments were widely used in paints for homes until the 1960s, were not removed from commonly used paints until the early 1980s, and can still be found beneath existing paintwork in older buildings.

Where the old layers hide

Emulsioned walls are seldom the issue. The surfaces to think about are the gloss-painted ones that have been over-coated for generations: sash windows and their boxes, skirtings and architraves, panelled doors, staircase spindles and handrails, picture rails, cast-iron radiators, and outside - front doors, railings, bargeboards and window sills. Guidance for professional decorators from the British Coatings Federation (HS034, March 2020), published via the Painting & Decorating Association, singles out sash window frames painted before the 1960s as items that could contain significant levels of lead.

You cannot tell by looking. The BCF lists four ways to find out: an experienced decorator with lead expertise, a lead test kit, a specialist company, or a laboratory, with non-invasive X-ray fluorescence among the newer methods. A competent decorator working on a pre-1960s house should raise the subject without being prompted.

Why careless preparation is the real hazard

Lead does its harm when it is breathed in as dust or fume, or swallowed. HSE lists effects ranging from headaches, tiredness and stomach pains to, with continued exposure, kidney damage, nerve and brain damage and infertility. The BCF stresses that very young children and unborn babies are particularly vulnerable, and that children mostly absorb lead by swallowing it or by touching contaminated dust or soil and then putting their fingers in their mouths.

The counter-intuitive point is that undisturbed lead paint in good condition is a modest risk; the BCF notes that removing sound, over-coated lead paint could result in greater exposure than leaving it. The danger comes from the most common shortcuts in decorating: dry sanding, rotary sanders without extraction, and burning off with a blowlamp. The dust settles on floors and soft furnishings and stays long after the decorator has gone.

What good practice looks like

The HSE lead FAQs and CIS79 set out a sensible approach that any reputable decorator should recognise:

• Strip only where necessary - where paint is flaking, chipping or poses a risk to children. Sound paint can be keyed with wet abrasive paper and over-coated.
• Keep dust out of the air - chemical strippers, wet abrasive paper and on-tool extraction rather than dry sanding. HSE notes that passive capture bags on tools are less effective.
• No fume - hot air guns or infrared equipment set below 500°C; no gas torches or blow lamps.
• Contain and clean - soft furnishings removed or sheeted in plastic, debris wiped with a damp cloth, and waste bagged for disposal.
• Protect the operative - disposable overalls and an FFP3 mask, with proper hand-washing before eating or drinking.

None of this is exotic. It does, however, take longer than a quick sand and two coats, which is precisely why the cheapest quote on a Victorian house deserves a close reading.

The ceiling that should not be sanded either

Older homes may also have textured ceilings. HSE's guidance on where asbestos is found lists textured decorative coatings, sold under trade names such as Artex, among asbestos-containing materials. Minor work - drilling, fixing screws, removing an area of less than about one square metre by steam or gel - may be done by non-licensed workers trained to work safely with asbestos; larger-scale removal by those methods becomes notifiable, and energetic methods such as wet abrasive blasting require a licensed contractor. If a decorator proposes to sand or scrape an old textured ceiling "to flatten it off", ask whether it has been tested first.

Listed buildings and conservation areas

Owners of listed houses should remember that section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires consent for works of alteration that affect a listed building's character. Stripping historic finishes or changing an exterior scheme can, depending on the building, fall within that. Conservation areas may carry their own controls over front elevations. A call to the borough's conservation officer before the scaffold goes up is cheaper than a retrospective application.

Reading a decorating quote with a sceptical eye

Checkatrade's painting and decorating cost guide (price table last updated September 2026, verified by RICS and CIOB-member estimators) provides useful national benchmarks:

• painter and decorator day rate: about £250 to £350, averaging around £300;
• a medium-sized room of around 18m²: roughly £450;
• a door painted on both sides: about £80 to £100;
• woodwork: about £10 to £20 per m²;
• exterior painting of a three-bedroom semi: about £1,100 to £1,500.

The guide notes that rates in London and other major cities tend to be higher, and that its figures assume standard trade paint; premium brands add cost. Treat the numbers as a sense-check, not a target. A quote far below them on a house full of original joinery usually means the preparation has been priced out.

A quote worth accepting will set out, room by room or elevation by elevation:

1. each surface to be treated and its current condition;
2. the preparation method, including how any suspected lead paint will be handled;
3. repairs - filling, caulking, splice or resin repairs to timber - and whether they are included or charged by the day;
4. named products, sheen levels and number of coats;
5. access equipment for exteriors and who arranges any scaffold;
6. protection, daily clean-up and disposal of waste;
7. start date, expected duration and what happens in wet weather;
8. whether VAT is included.

Note the wording at the top. Citizens Advice explains that a quote is a promise to do the work for an agreed price, which the trader cannot normally exceed without your agreement to extra work, whereas an estimate is a best guess, and the final bill need only be reasonable. On old houses, where hidden rot is common, agreeing a day rate for unforeseen repairs - in writing, before work starts - removes a common source of argument.

Checking the decorator, not just the price

• Company records. If the business is a limited company, look it up on Companies House: the name and number should match the paperwork, and overdue accounts or a recent string of dissolved companies under the same directors are worth a question.
• Trade membership. Membership of the Painting & Decorating Association or TrustMark registration can be confirmed on their own websites.
• Guarantees that actually exist. The Dulux Select Decorators scheme offers a two-year workmanship guarantee, but Dulux's own guidance to members is clear that it is not automatic: a Job Completion and Guarantee Activation Form signed by the customer must be returned, and the work must predominantly use the brand's trade products. Ask for your copy.
• Insurance and evidence. Ask for public liability insurance details and for photographs of preparation on previous period houses - stripped sashes, sheeted rooms, extraction in use - not only glossy after shots.

Deposits and paying safely

A modest deposit towards materials is reasonable; a demand for most of the price before a dust sheet is laid is not. On longer exterior jobs, tie payments to completed elevations. Avoid cash, keep every message, and consider paying part by credit card: Citizens Advice notes that a Section 75 claim is available where a single item costs more than £100 and no more than £30,000. If you sign the contract at home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 generally give 14 days to cancel a service contract.

If the work goes wrong

If you suspect old paint has been dry sanded in an occupied home, ask for work to stop, keep children and pregnant family members away from the dust, and clean up with damp cloths, as HSE recommends for paint debris. If you are worried about anyone's health, the BCF guidance points to NHS 111.

For poor workmanship, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill. Citizens Advice recommends gathering the paperwork, photographing the problem and noting dates, then asking the decorator to put it right within a reasonable time; if they cannot or will not, you can seek a partial or full refund, which should be paid within 14 days of agreement. Disputes that stall can go to alternative dispute resolution or the decorator's trade body, and unsafe practices can be reported to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.

Old woodwork rewards patience. A decorator who asks about the age of your house, tests before sanding and writes the method into the quote is usually the same one whose finish lasts.

Sources, each checked on 16 October 2026: VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2026 (table CTSOP4.1, build period at 31 March 2026); HSE CIS79, Old lead paint; HSE lead FAQs; BCF HS034 (March 2020); HSE asbestos locations; Checkatrade painting and decorating costs (September 2026 table); Citizens Advice on Section 75; Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg. 30. London percentages are our own calculation from the VOA counts. Prices are national guide figures rather than quotations; nothing here is legal or medical advice.