KC-based remodeling show ‘Bargain Mansions’ cited by EPA for mishandling lead paint
The company behind the popular home renovation TV show “Bargain Mansions,” based in the Kansas City area, has reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency for improper handling of lead-based paint stripped from old woodwork.
The EPA said Wednesday that it had cited Growing Days LLC, the company that produces the DIY Network show, for allegedly violating rules governing the removal of lead paint. Also cited were four local contractors who performed work on the show, which is hosted by Leawood rehabber Tamara Day. All were accused of multiple violations of the rule requiring the safe handling and disposal of lead-based paint.
Also cited was Detroit Renovations LLC, the company that produces another DIY Network program, Rehab Addict, which is based in Detroit and hosted by Nicole Curtis.
All six companies have agreed to settlements with the federal agency.
In a news release, the EPA’s Lenexa office said the shows depicted lead paint removal without obtaining EPA certification and failed to comply with safe work practices for removing lead paint. The dust from chipped or peeling lead-based paint causes elevated blood levels in people exposed to it. Especially susceptible are children, who can suffer brain damage.
The federal government banned lead paint in 1978, although some states had done so earlier after scientists discovered that children were suffering ill effects from eating lead paint chips and other exposure.
The Kansas City-area contractors, who entered into settlement agreements with the government, were Remco Demolition LLC, Open Door Homes Inc., Homoly Associates Inc. and KC Demo Inc..
Those companies and the two TV production companies agreed to pay combined civil penalties totaling $59,000. The shows also agreed to comply with the lead paint rules “and to educate the public about lead-based paint hazards and appropriate renovation procedures in self-produced videos, social media postings, and public events.”
Records at the Kansas Secretary of State’s office show that Growing Days LLC was formed in late 2014 and Tamara Day is listed as registered agent and majority owner. It is the parent company of her design business of the same name.
DIY Network announced in early 2017 that it had signed Day to star in a show that would focus on fixing up large neglected homes that, according to the network’s website, “would intimidate most.” She and her husband, Bill Day, buy the houses and resell them after the renovation. Her father, Ward Schraeder of Salina, Kansas, co-stars in the show.
The first 12 episodes began appearing on TV that fall and the show was signed for a second season, and those episodes are currently on the cable channel’s schedule. Some episodes have also run on HGTV. HGTV and DIY Network have common ownership.
Tamara Day did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with Spaces magazine last year, she explained the concept of her show this way:
“I love taking the worst house in the neighborhood that could be worth $1 million to $3, $4, or even $5 million and getting it for $550,000. A house with that stature is a huge bargain, and then I’m able to pour all my ideas into it.”
