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Has anyone ever installed their own radon mitigation system?

4K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  mckayman 
#1 ·
I may be reaching here but I can't find much around the web about a material list/plans for putting in a radon mitigation system. Just bought a house and have to put one in, a company quoted me 2800$, I can get the materials for 500 or less. Just wondering what methods and materials were used for anybody that may have done one, besides the obvious (fan, pvc, and wiring). More so looking for what plan you used, mounting materials, interior/exterior, and how well it worked. Etc. the house is on a crawl space with the plastic membrane already in place.
 
#2 ·
I've never done one, but we do a lot of new construction.

1. Sump pump crock has a 4"inlet for pvc, run in wall out roof, fan mounted in attic.

2. 4" pvc run from hole in floor out roof.

I'm in Wisconsin, these are often in interior walls, but I commonly see them in exterior walls, some active some passive. Fan is always in the attic here, but I know you can mount the fans outside.

Hope this helps
Knauer
 
#4 ·
I'm by no means an expert on this, but I believe the pipe needs to enter the ground as close to center of the house. Ideally there is a closet there to run the pipe up to roof with very minimal bends. A straight shot would be best.
We have a basement with peagravel under the concrete where the vacuum is created.
I'm surprised it's required for a crawl space. The crawls I'm use to have vents.


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#5 ·
Troublesome Radon comes exclusively from GRANITE.

( The primary lode that has Uranium in it. )

If you don't have a ledge of granite under your home -- you are being scammed.

The EPA (IIRC) has test kits that you can slap down before taking your next step.

DO THAT FIRST.

Radon is chemically inert. So it's impossible to taste, smell or anything else.

It's only activity is radioactivity.

If you let it disperse -- then no problem.

$2800 -- you've got to be chitting me.
 
#8 ·
Home Depot has kits. State of Idaho sent us on for free. We did both. Kind of s pain because you can't open any doors or windows for around 24 hrs. If I remember right. It's been 15 years, but we have a high concentration in certain places here. Like the guy 1/2 mile away has 30 microns(not the right word) & I have 8. The safe level we where told is under 4. Yes don't get scammed and do a test.


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#15 ·
I'm not sure but, every time I see these, it's for a house built slab on grade.
It's only a small fart fan that keeps the air moving.
I would be more concerned about the radio waves coming out of those new smart meters the POCO is installing everywhere.
They relay signals off of eachother.
 
#16 ·
Radon fan

I installed a Radon Mitigation system at my house in Carroll County MD ten years ago. It's a sealed fan unit that gets mounted through a hole in the slab. That hole has a 3' X 4' cavity underneath that's been excavated then filled part way with stone. The pump provides a negative pressure under the slab, skimming off radon which is exhausted outside. The fan runs continuous. It's a pretty simple installation, with the only challenge being to cut the correct size hole and seal the fan inlet to it.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the replies everybody. I'm also under the impression that it's most likely a scam. There's a peer reviewed scientific study on the whole thing, it's not pro or anti radon, just hard facts. Google "radon fact vs myth" for anybody that's interested. It points out that the way they take measurements is extremely inaccurate and that there is not one single case of lung cancer (or any disease) linked to radon in houses. Also radon has always been existent yet mitigation is a relatively new practice. It hasn't been an issue for generations but now all of a sudden it is?

Anyways the home inspector had a machine that he plugged in for 48 hours. It read a high of 160, a low of 40 and an average of 86 curies...the epa recommends mitigation at anything over 4. Although it's most likely a pointless process to go through (in my opinion) I have a new born baby so I don't want to take the chance that radon may actually effect him if I can just mitigate myself for a few hundred $. I live in north Idaho by the way where the soil is extremely rocky and radon levels are very high.
 
#27 ·
Anyways the home inspector had a machine that he plugged in for 48 hours. It read a high of 160, a low of 40 and an average of 86 curies...the epa recommends mitigation at anything over 4. Although it's most likely a pointless process to go through (in my opinion) I have a new born baby so I don't want to take the chance that radon may actually effect him if I can just mitigate myself for a few hundred $. I live in north Idaho by the way where the soil is extremely rocky and radon levels are very high.
My situation was pretty much the same thing. We moved to MD and gave my 10 year-old daughter a room in the basement. As soon as I heard about potential radar problems I couldn't rest until I got rid of it. I had the meter at the time, and ended up getting the numbers down to around 1, so I was happy.
But the biggest thing I'm hearing is that you're not on a slab, so all you need is crawl-space ventilation which is a lot more sensible than the sealed radon pump and vent-pipe.
I hadn't heard about it being a scam until this post, and I hope it is because as I recall it was supposed to be 2nd to smoking for development of lung cancer. I guess now that sounds pretty crazy, but when your kid's health is at risk, anything goes.
 
#23 ·
You've given away the story, you're young.

1) Kick-backs -- aka "spiffs" are the way that the HI get's his 'cut.'

"In 1947 it was reported that spiffs were prizes given to employees who sold particularly high amounts of electrical goods." wiki...

Much more about the term. Wiki, as ever, screws up the telling. The typical spiff is a Kick Back... hidden from the ultimate buyer.

Sometimes known as a hidden commission.

A spiff for a $2800 job could run to $500... EASY. There's plenty for everybody -- but not you, the 'mark.'

2) MANY items // services are SOLD but never 'bought.' IE they are only pushed out the door with high pressure sales tactics -- and bamboozalling.

Asbestos removal is the other Great Scam of our times. While it ought to be removed, the price of this activity is inflated to the MOON.

The hookus pookus wildly inflates profit margins. :eek:
 
#21 ·
If you naturally vent the crawlspace, you almost cannot have an issue with radon. You may have been taken. I have a huge radon abatement system, paid for by the seller. I didn't need it, but too late, mine couldn't go through the attic; it's a big white growth on the outside of my pretty red brick home (I have since built an arbor around it).

Radon issues arise when radon gas seeps through a slab into either your basement or living space and becomes trapped (where it supposedly concentrates). There is no remediation that I know of to a crawlspace because there is no entrapment of the gas... unless you have no vents in the crawlspace, which is unlikely.

Suggest a simple fan in one end of the crawlspace and a couple open vents in the other to get a draft through the space. Buy a home test kit (20 bucks) and use it a month from now. You'll probably be fine with no further action.
 
#25 ·
Sometimes its been issues with Radon in well water and end up with systems that help remove it. Different system entirely. They look a bit more expensive than the ones that vent the basement. Lot of granite here so a lot of both types of systems. This house is really old with mostly stone foundation and town water, not an issue here. The one we are buying is on a well and much newer. I'll probably have both tested eventually.
 
#26 ·
I'm just gonna add my two cents here. The radon abatement industry is about 99% scam. (albeit I'm sure a good portion of the scammers believe in what they are doing) You'd need to be living in an unventilated uranium mine to notice any effects from radon. There are ZERO scientific peer reviewed studies showing any ill effects from levels present in residences. As with most things you will find people claiming certain studies prove this or that but a look at the actual studies will show you the data isn't actually supporting the claim.
That said, maybe its more efficient for peace of mind to get an abatement system than to spend the time actually researching the scientific literature available on radon. 2800 though... fricken ridiculous. That's about 80% fear money.
 
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#28 ·
The EPA is still saying that radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer. Govt agencies are HORRIBLE places to get scientific information though. Most of the agencies are manned by industry insiders or people who plan to be industry insiders. It's a double edged sword, you get people that have the knowledge needed to make good decisions but those decisions get get swayed by conflicting interests.

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#29 ·
I can see from some of the posts that most are not aware that Radon is the heaviest INERT gas.

It won't react with anything. ( Yes, yes, back 1962 a chemist was FINALLY able to get Radon to react with pure fluorine gas -- like that could ever happen in the real world. )

As for separating Radon from your water supply -- what a scam.

It will float out of your water glass before you can put it to your lips. !!!

It won't stay in your bath tub -- long gone before you put your toe in it.

It fizzes out faster than the stuff in Coca Cola. ( carbon dioxide )

It CAN'T be retained by the body. You'll blow it out of your lungs long before it emits radioactivity.

BTW the, so-called, Curies that the counters are counting are actually SINGLE ATOMS. That's the only thing a Geiger counter CAN count.

There are 6.02 x 10^23 atoms in a gram-mole of any element.

Restated: 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in a gram-mole of any element.

A gram-mole of carbon would be 12 grams, oxygen 16 grams, fluorine 19 grams etc.

Yes, I'm rounding off to whole numbers. Sheesh.

You are counting every single one of the atoms that is decaying -- not Curies.

( A Curie is a HUGE count -- you ought to run screaming out of the room if Curies were being emitted.

All Radon gas exists in elemental purity. It's never a diatomic element -- like nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine.

So it simply won't stay in the human body. It naturally occurs in the atmosphere we all breath -- but in such itsy bitsy amounts that it takes extreme apparatus to detect it -- said apparatus is invariably based upon its radioactivity.

THAT'S how sensitive atomic chemistry is.

This latter point goes w-a-a-a-a-a-y over the heads of non-chemists.

They can't wrap their heads around 6.2 x 10^23 -- "Avogadro's Number."
 
#31 ·
I can see from some of the posts that most are not aware that Radon is the heaviest INERT gas.

BTW the, so-called, Curies that the counters are counting are actually SINGLE ATOMS. That's the only thing a Geiger counter CAN count.

They can't wrap their heads around 6.2 x 10^23 -- "Avogadro's Number."
Thank you! And counting curies with a Geiger counter would be silly! :laughing: Better to use a Radionuclide Identifier (RID) :thumbup:
 
#30 · (Edited)
Radon Gas is nothing to worry about. Curies is not a standard unit. mr/hr and ms/hr are what real instruments use for expose rates. Its natural, and if you take a gieger counter your readings will be nothing above normal. Your chest x-ray is the same as breathing "radon gas" for thousands of years....

Mold and fungus are more dangerous, de humidification and hepa filtration is where I would put my money.
 
#33 ·
Used to take air samples in the morning before starting work at the Sub Base in Groton, CT. Reason was to identify any air inversions that were causing an accumulation of radon. Wasn't uncommon to see 400-500 counts per minute with a Geiger counter, which was then used as the background 'base' number so we could identify 'hot' swipes when doing radioactive repair work...
 
#35 ·
I have an EBERLINE E-500B Geiger form 1961, works 100% still, that is slightly hot from being used in a nuclear physics lab for 30 years. Ill get around 200 cpm measured around it when using a new digital RADALERT counter, back ground is around 20 to 60 cpm.

Nothing compares to my Western Electric 1B22 Tubes, ill easily get 12K cpm from those puppies. :thumbsup:
 
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