180: Lead Laws and the Ripple Effect

180: Lead Laws and the Ripple Effect

From True Tales From Old Houses by Stacy Grinsfelder

March 23, 2026 · 51 min · Season 13 · Episode 180

About this episode

Stacy discusses the impact of lead safety laws on historic windows in Rhode Island, connecting past challenges faced by Gilded Age mansions to current issues.

In this episode, Stacy looks at why some of the most iconic Gilded Age mansions in Newport were nearly lost, and how that story connects to what's happening right now with lead safety laws and historic windows in Rhode Island. If you think that is just a local issue, think again. Stacy takes listeners to Newport, Rhode Island, where some of the most over-the-top Gilded Age mansions in the country were almost lost when the world around them changed. For a time, there was no clear path forward, and the way people responded made a different outcome possible. That story sets the stage for what's happening today. Stacy welcomes Rob Cagnetta of Heritage Restoration and Sutherland Welles. They dig into what's happening right now with lead safety laws in Rhode Island, including what's changed, why there was so much confusion, and what it actually means for anyone who owns or manages a building with historic windows. From there, they get into the real challenges these regulations created and what it took to move forward. Rob shares how he got involved with the City of Newport and the Newport Restoration Foundation to solve the problem of getting historic windows to pass lead-safety…

People in this episode

Host: Stacy

Guest: Rob Cagnetta

Topics covered

  • Gilded Age mansions
  • lead safety laws
  • historic windows
  • Rhode Island
  • restoration challenges

Keywords

  • Newport
  • lead contamination
  • historic preservation
  • window inspections

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Repaint Tray, The Repaint Tray's, TRUETALES10, lead safety inspection tools, historic window restoration materials

Places: Newport, Rhode Island

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