I did a short term radon test on my home and received the results back today.

10.1 pCi/L and according to the report anything over 4 pCi/L requires attention.

Has anyone had a radon mitigation system installed in their home? How much was it? How long did it take? What was your experience getting it done?

 

I had one installed, the price was around $800 installed if I remember correctly, the seller of my house had to pay to have it installed. What they do, is drill a hole under your foundation, install a fan, and then pipe it out up the side of your house.

 

air out the area in the meantime. I assume it's the basement that's the problem? do you have any cracks in your slab or foundation?

 

Yes, the basement. Sorry, I should have specified that in my original post.

No cracks, that I can see. The house was completed in 2005 and there has been no water in the basement at all. I'm in the process of finishing it, the framing is about 95% done. It will be a while till I can get back to working on it anyway.

97BlackAckCL, thanks for the info on the price.

 

I had to mitigate my last house when I sold it in 1998. Cost about $1000 back then. They sealed all of the joints between the foundation walls and the slab, and then put in vent pipes and a fan to put negative pressure underneath the slab, with a stack up above roof line to vent the out-gasses.

It was ugly but the buyer wanted it.

In my current house I've done all the sealing around the perimeter of the basement slab, and in the expansion joints but I haven't added a negative pressure system. I won't do that unless I need to when I eventually sell the place.

 

Thanks for the info guys. It gives me a start.

 

Bringing back an older post instead of creating a new one. I recently got an electronic radon measuring system. I have around 2.2-2.4 readings...I know they say that anything over 4 should require measures, but also that no level is good. I was thinking about getting the fan system put in. I talked to a company and they quoted me $875.

I was wondering what people thought, would you do the removal system if the level is at 2.4? According to the maps, the general area I live in has higher than normal levels of radon. Do you think it is a good move to do the system to get the levels at or near 0?

 

Moderate Radon in my area, too much damned clay. If there is an earth quake the neighbors house will come down into my backyard.

 

The USEPA has set an action level of 4 pico curies per liter (pCi/L) in air. At concentrations above this level, the USEPA recommends measures to lower the concentrations.

You are not at an elevated radon concentration, so I wouldn't worry.

 

Yeah I read that...they set that as an "acceptable" level, but they also say there is no real "safe" level. I plan to stay in my house for the long term, so I was thinking that if the mitigation system can take that to near 0, it might be worth it. I also see a few houses in my area with one, so I am not the first to look into it.

 

Not being a wise ass, but is this the new asbestos/mold thing to make $$$?

 

Yep, it's real. Been an issue for many years. It's the natural decay of materials in the dirt. It becomes an issue when it gets trapped in your house. Modern homes are very tight and the insulation contains all the off gassing. If you live in a hot zone you should get a test kit for your home/office.

 

It's real, when I bought my house the sales contract was voided because it failed the radon inspection, and I couldn't buy the house until they put in a radon fan.

 

Funny they say anything over 4 needs attention, the level in my house was over 100

 

Damn, that is high! Lot of mitigating factors in my case, walk out basement with screen door and two good sized windows can provide a lot of ventilation. Current level is low, 2.4, but at the same time I would like it to be well below 1.

I am leaning towards doing it because my area falls into the higher probablilty areas, and I have seen quite a few homes in my area with them. I plan to live there for a long time, and seeing how the cost is somewhat reasonable, I figure I might as well have it done.

 

Don't pay more than $1,500. With readings >2 but less than 4 I would recommend re-testing in another season (if you originally tested in Summer test again in 6 months). Also, rarely do home inspectors collect sufficient "blank" and/or duplicate samples for quality control purposes. I've seen some funky results that required re-testing due to poor quality control on some of the large scale testing we've done (40+ school buildings, etc).

 

The only testing done was with an electronic testing device. I bought it about 2 months ago, it usually reads 2.2-2.4. I don't know how accurate they are though.

 

I don't know either. I don't have any experience with them.

I do know that your neck of the woods has a pretty serious radon problem. Might be worth doing some lab testing to compare against the electronic monitoring.

 

Ha, yeah my area is bright ass red on the radon map!! Thanks for everyones input...

I think the quotes I've gotten of $875 is minimal enough to just go ahead and do it. There are 4 of us (me, wife, two young kids) that will be living there for the foreseeable future, so might as well take the small precaution.

 

It certainly will avoid headaches should you sell in the future.