Exterior paint costs in Flint

Lead talk in Flint usually means water. In an older house, paint is its own source. Michigan's health department says homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead-based paint, and the older the home, the more likely it is. It also lists varnish, enamel, lacquer, stain and primer made before 1978 as coatings that may contain lead. Lead dust forms when that paint is scraped, dry sanded, heated or burned, and the risk is greatest at windows and doors, where painted parts rub together.

That covers a lot of the metro, where about 69 percent of homes were built before 1980.

Bishop International's typical frost-free stretch runs only from about May 6 to October 10. Scraping and repainting a full house in that window takes planning, especially when the prep has to be done lead-safe.

So when you walk the house with a painter, point out the stained front door, the varnished porch ceiling and the old window sash along with the peeling siding. Those finishes count too, and they're easy to overlook.