What is lead came, and is it safe in my home?

Lead came is the H-shaped metal strip that holds the glass pieces together in a leaded window. The glass sits in the channels on either side of the came, the joints are soldered, and the whole thing gets sealed with putty. That's the structure. Without the lead, it's just a pile of glass pieces.

Why lead?

Lead has been used for this for centuries because it works. It's soft enough to bend around curved glass pieces, it solders cleanly at the joints, and it's chemically stable over a very long time. The century-old windows I restore every week are still structurally sound because the lead held up. It's a good material for the job.

Is it safe to live with?

In an intact, well-maintained leaded window, yes. You're not touching it regularly, you're not ingesting it, and a properly sealed window doesn't shed lead dust into the room. This is the situation in most homes with original leaded glass the windows are fine and the people living with them are fine.

The situation that's worth paying attention to is a badly deteriorated window. Flaking lead, crumbled putty, visible white powder on the lead lines that's a sign the window needs restoration. In that state it may shed small particles. The fix is a re-lead, not removal.

What about during renovation?

If you're doing any work that disturbs leaded windows removing them, cutting around them, anything that generates dust treat it like any other lead in an old home. Dust mask, ventilation, keep kids out of the space. That's standard practice for heritage renovation and it applies here too.

For day-to-day living, an intact leaded glass window is not something to worry about. If you're unsure about the condition of yours, have someone take a look.