EPA's RRP (aka lead paint) rule is intended to protect the health of both homeowners and contractors.

Contractors are obligated to comply with the rule or risk a substantial penalty. The rule applies if more than 6 SF of interior area is being disturbed in a room. However, window repairs are covered under the rule irrespective of the area involved. Exterior work is covered by the rule if more than 20 SF of area with lead-containing paint is being disturbed.

You can minimize the potential for lead contamination of your home if the sashes are removed and worked on in the contractor's shop rather than your home.

Not sure about the risk with rope, but make sure they replace with proper sash cord rope if they do.

There is an absolute risk if there is still paint there especially on any friction surface.

I would be more than a little concerned.

Just the removal of the sashes generates quite a bit of dust And debris.

I would ask the contractor what precautions and what clean up procedures will be used.

Does he have a HEPA vac , and not a cheap shop vac with maybe a HEPA filter.

The work areas should be fully contained and precautions taken not to track dust out of those areas.

I would want all parts that are friction areas either stripped on enclosed. This would includinformation the head of the frame ,the jambs, Parting stops, the backside of the stool, the well, blindstops, the sashes where they the well, head of frame and each other.

I would see it that the storm sashes we’re wiped down , floors, and walls and trim especially below the windows . I would do this myself even after he said he has done it.

Thank you all for all the advice so far! I definitely will have him include in the quote replacement of the actual ropes as well. My understanding is he will take the actual windows out and work on those in his shop (completely stripped/one new coat of paint). I would assume the rest of the window parts, trim and sill (sorry I don't know all the proper terminology) would be worked on in my house. At a minimum my plan is to not have anyone else at the property during work and definitely will wipe everything down with throw-away rags myself after he is done. I will definitely ask him what procedures he will use in terms of containment. Should I expect the work area to be sealed with plastic?

What you should do is hire a certified EPA Lead Safe Contractor and let them guide you through the required process from start to finish.

@Charles Ross Home .... would love to but I have yet to find one in my area that is willing to work on 100 year old windows.

You can have a laboratory do onsite testing of the windows for presence of lead in the paint. If lead is not present at or above the actionable level, the EPA lead paint rule requirements don't apply.

The room may not have to be sealed with plastic, it would depend on how close things are to the window. They should have things covered minimum of 6 feet out unless they put up a vertical barrier of poly to contain it.

Seems silly to hire lead safe contractor to walk them through it , when They are required to be one. I’d assume lead paint present on that vintage of house with original windows.

Not sure why one would go through a restoration and only due one coat of paint. I’d prefer to see one coat oil primer and 2 top coats.

The point is that the homeowner can take whatever action they want on their own, but if they hire a contractor and there is lead present, then the contractor must be EPA-certified to do the work or risk a significant fine.

Yes , I agree, if they are not certified and unable to walk through the steps I’d move on. Id be curious to know if they are certified, if not all the questions will probably scare them off regardless.

I'm not a careless person. I don't smoke, I always wear my seat belt, and I look both ways twice. But I live in a house of the same vintage as yours, and I've worked on the windows without any concern at all.

Lead is nasty stuff and nothing to fool with, especially when you have a young'un around, but that's just not a really huge area of paint. And the bulk of the dusty work is going to be done offsite, right?

If you do this yourself, I don't think you need drastic measures. Take normal precautions, use a HEPA vacuum for the dust or wipe it up with damp rags, and don't sweep or blow dust around, ever.

Asbestos in sash cord? That's a new one on me. I've changed many and never gave a thought to it. Actually, I'm having trouble imagining why the manufacturers would go to the expense of adding asbestos to something like that, but industry did seem to find a lot of uses for that handy mineral.

I think a little proportion is useful here. The people who got asbestosis were the ones who worked with it 40 hours a week, manufacturing asbestos products and, to some extent, installing them.

I'd never advocate deliberately breathing asbestos fibers. But despite all the hysterical media fearmongering, as a homeowner, your risk is very slight. You're more likely to get sick from stress over worrying about asbestos than you are from asbestos itself.

1 - Yes. (I see you're going to do this).

2- There is essentially no risk of asbestos getting loose from normal operation of windows. To put your mind at ease, take off the trim and look for yourself. If your paint is flaking, that's worth cleaning up before little kids could ingest the flakes.

3- How experienced is your contractor? Ask him or her if there is any need for you to vacate the home during work (probably no). Ask what is the plan for securing your window openings while the sashes are at the shop; they will probably be gone for a few days. (If you have storm windows, that's a no-brainer.)

It might be worth your while to google "parts of a double hung wood window" ... there are lots of sites and/or videos that will explain it, and it will enable you to communicate more effectively with your contractor.

The glazing which often contains asbestos is often spread loose in this vintage of window, typical for glazing to fall especially during removal. Any window contractor can attest to this. It is not a big hazard if it is not friable. The dust generated is just as important as the flakes/chips and is very important to clean up properly. I would ask the contractor his work procedures, examine them myself , and montier during before I would say what is safe fir someone’s child.