Lead Removal for Emmett
Donation protected
TL:DR
Lisa and I need $9000 to finish lead removal in our house to keep Emmett safe.
The Back Story
Lisa and I (Brandon) Hilyard are trying to raise money for lead abatement for our home. As many you know, we bought a house in November 2019. During Emmett's routine 1 year check-up, we had to get Emmett's blood work done. When we got the results, we were told that his lead levels were elevated, and we had to get a second test done by blood draw. This second test showed that Emmett's levels were at an 8 (anything above a 5 is a cause to start worrying). Our doctor also had to report it to the county.
With reporting It to the county, the county then has to come in and assess your child and test your home for lead paint. If they find any lead paint in the house, you, as a homeowner, are in charge of either removing or encapsulating that lead paint. We got our test results back on March 9, 2020. We found that almost every painted surface in our house has lead paint on it, except for the walls and ceilings.
This led to some lengthy discussions between Lisa and I about what to do. Our first instinct was to just paint over all the surfaces; this would be a way to encapsulate it, but if any of those surfaces scratch or have any damage to them we would be right back where we started. Our other option was to remove all the paint from the effected areas, we knew this would be a long and tedious process. Lisa and I both knew we did not have the money to have whole house abatement, so we decided to do it on our own.
Something we did not take in account was COVID-19; one the things we really need when of doing anything with lead removal is a full-face respirator with specific filters, so you do not breath in lead dust. But because of COVID, trying to get a hold of masks was near impossible. Every day at work, Lisa would check all the stores in her district to see if she could get her hands on even one. Finally, on July 31, 2020 Lisa and I started work on removing lead; at this point Emmett's lead levels had dropped to a 7.
By August 27, we had removed the paint and primed our half bath, kitchen, and dining room. Everyday both Lisa and I had off of work we were working on the house, which meant getting up early to drop Emmett off to be watched for the day, working on the house with a special heat gun and a product called Peel Away 1 in 90+ temperatures, and then having to clean up as much as possible so we could pick Emmett up at the end of the day.
Come September, we were trying to balance our biggest section (our living room and stairs combined), while juggling some surprise overtime hours at work, and trying to help my sister Sam for her re-scheduled wedding. Our home situation involved Emmett sleeping in the first-floor office, our temp living room being our dining room, and our front door being through our fence in the back yard (which was extra fun when it means a quick midnight snack has me running through the yard). Frustrations were also rising because despite all of our work, Emmett’s lead level rose to a 12, and if his levels were to get to 15, the county would have to start to intervene more.
This last room-and-a-half ended up taking us 2 months, partly because Lisa and I were bouncing between mental break downs, and partly because the floor that was revealed during this process needed to be replaced (its own project and headache, but done now). By then end though, between our loss of steam, and the snow coming in, we had to call it quits for the season. This does leave us at the problem, however, that we aren’t done; while we have our kitchen, dining room, living room, half bath, and stairway done, we still have our bedroom, Emmett’s room, the office, the full bath, the upstairs hall, and the mudroom. That brings us to now.
The Plan
Lisa and I have accepted at this point that we don’t think we can finish this on our own, between the time, effort, and stress that this would put on us to have to spend another year at least. While Emmett’s lead level has fallen (an 9 as of now), we know that we need this to be finished, so we can try to go back to some kind of normal. To that end, we have decided to hire professionals to handle the rest. After searching online and calling around, Lisa and I found a company that can come in and finish all the work we have left.
The estimate that the company gave us to finish the lead abatement was $9,000. This brings us to the part that Lisa and I are the least comfortable with, asking everyone for financial help. While we have been able to do most things on our own (or at least only having to ask our parents for help), we know that we can’t afford this by ourselves. We wish we didn’t have to ask, because it feels like we’re admitting that we can’t cut it and that we made mistakes, but we also know that we have to leave our egos out of this, because the bottom line is that this is for Emmett.
We certainly don’t want to pressure anyone into this, but if anyone can help with any amount, we would be extremely thankful. We are going to go forward with this plan, and the company we are working with will be able to start work around mid-February. Whatever you’re able to donate will go directly to paying for the lead removal. And whether you donate a lot, donate a little, pass on word, or just keep us in thoughts and prayers, thank you so much.
Lisa and I need $9000 to finish lead removal in our house to keep Emmett safe.
The Back Story
Lisa and I (Brandon) Hilyard are trying to raise money for lead abatement for our home. As many you know, we bought a house in November 2019. During Emmett's routine 1 year check-up, we had to get Emmett's blood work done. When we got the results, we were told that his lead levels were elevated, and we had to get a second test done by blood draw. This second test showed that Emmett's levels were at an 8 (anything above a 5 is a cause to start worrying). Our doctor also had to report it to the county.
With reporting It to the county, the county then has to come in and assess your child and test your home for lead paint. If they find any lead paint in the house, you, as a homeowner, are in charge of either removing or encapsulating that lead paint. We got our test results back on March 9, 2020. We found that almost every painted surface in our house has lead paint on it, except for the walls and ceilings.
This led to some lengthy discussions between Lisa and I about what to do. Our first instinct was to just paint over all the surfaces; this would be a way to encapsulate it, but if any of those surfaces scratch or have any damage to them we would be right back where we started. Our other option was to remove all the paint from the effected areas, we knew this would be a long and tedious process. Lisa and I both knew we did not have the money to have whole house abatement, so we decided to do it on our own.
Something we did not take in account was COVID-19; one the things we really need when of doing anything with lead removal is a full-face respirator with specific filters, so you do not breath in lead dust. But because of COVID, trying to get a hold of masks was near impossible. Every day at work, Lisa would check all the stores in her district to see if she could get her hands on even one. Finally, on July 31, 2020 Lisa and I started work on removing lead; at this point Emmett's lead levels had dropped to a 7.
By August 27, we had removed the paint and primed our half bath, kitchen, and dining room. Everyday both Lisa and I had off of work we were working on the house, which meant getting up early to drop Emmett off to be watched for the day, working on the house with a special heat gun and a product called Peel Away 1 in 90+ temperatures, and then having to clean up as much as possible so we could pick Emmett up at the end of the day.
Come September, we were trying to balance our biggest section (our living room and stairs combined), while juggling some surprise overtime hours at work, and trying to help my sister Sam for her re-scheduled wedding. Our home situation involved Emmett sleeping in the first-floor office, our temp living room being our dining room, and our front door being through our fence in the back yard (which was extra fun when it means a quick midnight snack has me running through the yard). Frustrations were also rising because despite all of our work, Emmett’s lead level rose to a 12, and if his levels were to get to 15, the county would have to start to intervene more.
This last room-and-a-half ended up taking us 2 months, partly because Lisa and I were bouncing between mental break downs, and partly because the floor that was revealed during this process needed to be replaced (its own project and headache, but done now). By then end though, between our loss of steam, and the snow coming in, we had to call it quits for the season. This does leave us at the problem, however, that we aren’t done; while we have our kitchen, dining room, living room, half bath, and stairway done, we still have our bedroom, Emmett’s room, the office, the full bath, the upstairs hall, and the mudroom. That brings us to now.
The Plan
Lisa and I have accepted at this point that we don’t think we can finish this on our own, between the time, effort, and stress that this would put on us to have to spend another year at least. While Emmett’s lead level has fallen (an 9 as of now), we know that we need this to be finished, so we can try to go back to some kind of normal. To that end, we have decided to hire professionals to handle the rest. After searching online and calling around, Lisa and I found a company that can come in and finish all the work we have left.
The estimate that the company gave us to finish the lead abatement was $9,000. This brings us to the part that Lisa and I are the least comfortable with, asking everyone for financial help. While we have been able to do most things on our own (or at least only having to ask our parents for help), we know that we can’t afford this by ourselves. We wish we didn’t have to ask, because it feels like we’re admitting that we can’t cut it and that we made mistakes, but we also know that we have to leave our egos out of this, because the bottom line is that this is for Emmett.
We certainly don’t want to pressure anyone into this, but if anyone can help with any amount, we would be extremely thankful. We are going to go forward with this plan, and the company we are working with will be able to start work around mid-February. Whatever you’re able to donate will go directly to paying for the lead removal. And whether you donate a lot, donate a little, pass on word, or just keep us in thoughts and prayers, thank you so much.
Organizer
Brandon Hilyard
Organizer
Le Roy, NY