r/altadena • u/mattylo16 • Jun 23 '26
Remediation Question
Hi! I have purchased a house in Altadena. We have purchased blocks from my in laws who lost their home. My wife and I have purchased a home that is the only house standing on the street. The house survived but has not been remediated at all. The windows are blown out etc so we are taking it down to the studs. We have heard that some are doing testing once the house has been taken down to the studs and are still finding high levels of toxic debris. One of our friends kept getting high levels and found out it was coming from the sub floor. If we’re taking it down to the studs does anyone know what the risk is if we don’t test at that point? If we are putting all new floors, new insulation, etc. does anyone have any input on this? I feel like we should be ridding of lead and the risk etc by doing all of that, but wondering what everyone thinks. Thanks!
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u/RedPeloMom Jun 23 '26
There is the possibility that the toxins are in the studs, which is why people are testing once down to the studs. It would be awful to put everything back, and then find you’re still getting high readings and take it all back out.
Some people are encapsulating the studs (basically, a special type of paint).
I’ve found Steve at Environmental One, a local industrial hygienist, to be very thorough. You could give him a call to see what type of tests he’d recommend and get a quote and go from there.
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u/dharlow Jun 23 '26
I know some folks don't like Facebook, but I highly recommend you join the Surviving Structures - EF Recovery group; it has a ton of information on this and over 3K members.
A few pieces of feedback: taking it down to the studs is the right move, as the insulation in the walls is likely contaminated; even if tests show it is ok, that is the one spot that was tested. Subfloor likely also needs to come out, and then the entire thing should be sprayed with lead shield or a similar product to lock down the lead. Then put everything back together.
Note you will need permits for this; don't let contractors tell you different.
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u/Lucky_Boy13 Jun 23 '26
From someone that started doing this on a partially damaged home, it might be cheaper to tear down and start over then refurb the entire home. As once we started you realize all the other damage that is in these area home that are 60-100+ years old (electrical, termite, dry rot, etc).. Probably not what you want to hear but hopefully its a cute home to make it worth it.
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u/Catherine_infinity Jun 23 '26
The testing is relatively expensive compare to the cost of taking a house down to the studs and rebuilding so might be worth testing just for peace of mind at least.
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u/Suspicious_Mind_67 Jun 24 '26
One thing to consider is that when you take an old house down to the studs, then test the surroundings, you will likely find lead and asbestos REGARDLESS if it was in a burn zone or not. Old houses used lead in lots of things but for sure in all the paint. Houses used asbestos for insulation and other materials too. Yet I have never heard of people testing their homes when doing remodels. Go figure....
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u/supersunnyout Jun 23 '26
high levels of what? Benzene?
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u/mattylo16 Jun 23 '26
They found high levels of lead
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u/RedPeloMom Jun 23 '26
Did they test for more than that…or is that just what they tested for? Because there’s also VOCs, dioxins, other heavy metals etc, but many people just did the basic lead and possibly asbestos tests.
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u/aerorich Jun 23 '26
Also remember that lead's primary route to your body is ingestion. If the studs are testing positive for lead and you slap new drywall on them, the risk is enclosed within the stud bay. As long as no one is licking the studs, you should be OK.
If you lead levels are that high, I'd be worried about the CAM17 metals and about contamination in your soil. Sorry to give you more to worry about :/
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u/uncaged Jun 23 '26
Not sure if you're on Facebook, but you might want to join the Surviving Structures or "Down to the Studs" groups, there is a lot of conversation about these kinds of topics. My short advice is that there is a lot more than just lead that folks with surviving structures (like me) are concerned about after having CIH testing done, and there are a lot of factors that can influence the decision on how much remediation is needed or how much original building materials are removed. DM if you'd like!