The new home I'm buying has slightly elevated radon levels. Can an
amateur do this fix. There is a sump pump at the corner of the full
basement. Can I use that as the source of pull with a pipe going up
the wall and out the side of the house? There are numberous small
cracks in the floor too. How do I seal them. Ultimately I will be
finishing off the basement for a family room, so I should do all this
now, yes?

Thanks

Are you willing to bet your family's life on it. Get the seller to pay for
it.

"46erjoe" wrote in message
...
The new home I'm buying has slightly elevated radon levels. Can an
amateur do this fix. There is a sump pump at the corner of the full
basement. Can I use that as the source of pull with a pipe going up
the wall and out the side of the house? There are numberous small
cracks in the floor too. How do I seal them. Ultimately I will be
finishing off the basement for a family room, so I should do all this
now, yes?

Thanks

It's certainly a DIY project.

www.infiltec.com

There's probably many more suppliers, but that's a place to start.
It's usual and customary to weasel some cash from the seller if you
still have an inspection contingency. My place had the same problem.
The seller just wanted the problem to go away so he offered $850 back
at closing, which I accepted. $250 will go towards the parts for the
fan/ducts and the other $600 will buy a lot of beer.



-rev

3. The Reverend Natural Light
"There's probably many more suppliers, but that's a place to start.
It's usual and customary to weasel some cash from the seller if you
still have an inspection contingency. My place had the same problem.
The seller just wanted the problem to go away so he offered $850 back
at closing, which I accepted. $250 will go towards the parts for the
fan/ducts and the other $600 will buy a lot of beer. "

While I do as much work myself as possible, this is one that I most
likely would get a pro to do. When it comes time to sell the house,
I'd rather be able to point to a system that was professionally
installed and be able to tell them the company that did it. I think
many potential buyers may be concerned about whether it was done
correctly or not, get cold feet and walk, meaning it may be harder to
get the top offer when you try to sell.

46erjoe wrote:
The new home I'm buying has slightly elevated radon levels. Can an
amateur do this fix. There is a sump pump at the corner of the full
basement. Can I use that as the source of pull with a pipe going up
the wall and out the side of the house? There are numberous small
cracks in the floor too. How do I seal them. Ultimately I will be
finishing off the basement for a family room, so I should do all this
now, yes?

Thanks

The homes in my neighborhood are all 5-6 year old. We are in a high
radon area according to EPA map, so it is mandatory to have radon
mitigation in all houses. The builder just used a 3" PVC that connect
the sump pump to the outside through the rim joist, next to the 2"
water pipe. The PVC pipes are not even soldered. No electric devices
are used in the pipe. Sump cover and joints on the PVC connections
are sealed.

Since the kids are starting to sleep in the basement, I got concerned,
and bought a radon monitor (Radon Pro III) a few weeks ago for $100 on
the net, and measured the level at 1.5 pci/l, which is OK. Not sure
what the level would be without the 3" PVC.

Fantech Radon Mitigation Fan
http://www.energyfederation.org/cons...th/30_406_1304

5. NaN Jan 26, 5:08 pm
"The builder just used a 3" PVC that connect
the sump pump to the outside through the rim joist, next to the 2"
water pipe. The PVC pipes are not even soldered. "

If you decide to solder them, can we bring over some 6 packs and watch?

Personally I don't like the idea of a fan running 24hrs/day. A waste
of electricity and the fan will likely need to be serviced/replaced
fairly regularly. I've hear of passive systems.




On 26 Jan 2006 10:38:10 -0800, "The Reverend Natural Light"
wrotF:

It's certainly a DIY project.

www.infiltec.com

There's probably many more suppliers, but that's a place to start.
It's usual and customary to weasel some cash from the seller if you
still have an inspection contingency. My place had the same problem.
The seller just wanted the problem to go away so he offered $850 back
at closing, which I accepted. $250 will go towards the parts for the
fan/ducts and the other $600 will buy a lot of beer.



-rev