Forms for Contractors

The first and most important question facing contractors will be, “Can I fit the job under one of the exemptions in the lead paint law?” Remember that there are a number of possible “safe harbors” a contractor can use to avoid having to deal with the lead paint issue (there is no paint at the job site, the house was built after 1977, etc.).  But – you have to be able to prove the job matches to one of these safe harbors.  If you can do that, then the issue of lead paint goes away – no discussion ever needs to be had with the customer and no lead paint testing needs to be performed.

This unique document walks the sales representative through a review and selection of the available safe harbors, and also begins the record-keeping process that is vital for a contractor’s protection. In other words, starting as of April 22, 2010, you should have a sales representative use this form on every job to try to find and record an exemption from having to test for lead paint and perform lead safe work practices.

The Residential Exemption Clearance Form was specially created for Kachina, and is perhaps the most important form a contractor needs.  Kachina strongly suggests this form becomes a part of every job file beginning on April 22, 2010.

It is probably a good idea for the customer to be introduced to the lead paint issue during the sales presentation. Certainly if a contractor plans to conduct lead paint tests or lead safe work practices in the customer’s home, some explanation to the customer and set up of the issue is necessary. However, Kachina believes that the sales representative may do more harm than good in trying to explain this complex and liability-prone issue to a customer.  Instead, we have created, “The Seven Things Homeowners Need To Know About Lead Paint.”  This form provides a simple plain-English summary outline for a sales representative to give to the customer to explain the basics of the lead paint issue.  Our form also sets up the possible need for testing and even that a fee may need to be added onto the job price for having to do lead safe work practices.  And to ensure that a customer can never claim that you need to repair or pay for any surface damages that might occur during the lead paint tests, our form has the proper legal wording for your protection and is signed by the homeowners.

If a contractor has to test for lead paint, the tests and the results need to be recorded – and Kachina has created a special form for that exact purpose.  If the tests come back negative for lead paint, you will need a copy of the test results kept in the job file, and a copy would also be provided to the customer.  If the job site tests positive for lead paint, the same record retention policy applies, but you then need to install the job using lead safe work practices.  Kachina’s specially-designed Lead Paint Test Form provides a quick and easy check-box and fill-in-the-blank format for a Certified Renovator to record all the necessary testing information, and certify the tests, to protect the contractor.

If a contractor is planning to charge the customer for the added time and expense of having to use lead safe work practices on a job – this is the form to use.  Approved by Kachina’s legal counsel, our 1-page Lead Safe Work Practices Surcharge Form avoids a contractor having to go back and trying to change or amend the purchase order with the customer.  Instead, a contractor can use this form to charge the customer a flat fee once it has been determined that lead safe work practices are going to have to be used on the job. 

The Certified Renovator should personally certify to both the contractor and the customer that all the necessary lead safe work practices steps were followed, and were correctly and completely performed on the job. This specialized easy-to-use Lead-Safe Work Practices Checklist was designed for Kachina and should be kept in each job file as proof that lead safe work practices were properly performed on the job site.

This is the “sister form” to Kachina’s Lead-Safe Work Practices Checklist.  Once the necessary lead safe work practices steps are completed, the Certified Renovator is also responsible for performing the post-installation clearance testing, which confirms the job site is “clean” of lead paint dust after the work is done. This specialized Post-Renovation Cleaning Verification Form was designed for Kachina and should be kept in each job file as proof that the job site passed clearance testing after the lead safe work practices were completed.