Radon - Good Riddance

by Petter Hedstrom
(Haverhill, MA)

After finishing the basement in our 1925 era home with new windows and spray foam insulation I knew I had a very tight basement. I did however, also know we had "some level" of radon as it was part of the standard procedure when buying a home in Massachusetts (at least in the early-mid 2000s).

Knowing the basement was very well insulated and sealed up I decided it would be a good idea to get a continuous radon gas monitor. I immediately could see radon levels well above the so called "safe level", especially when it was raining and all natural paths for radon were blocked, essentially making our house a "radon chimney". As I was concerned about my family spending time in our basement I started researching radon gas monitoring systems while also airing out the basement daily.

Since I am an experienced and very capable DIYer I decided I could easily tackle the installation process myself. I did however have a few design related questions related to choice of fan for my application. Being an engineer I suspect my questions were more technical in nature but Val was both patient and helpful and answered all my questions promptly.

I ended up installing a GX4 fan, connected to a 10 gallon pit positioned right by a basement wall approximately midway on the length of the wall. I used 3 inch PVC pipes and so called LVDI couplers. After turning the fan on I could hear hissing noises from anywhere air was leaking. Expecting this I had a concrete sealant on hand and caulked all confirmed and areas where there could be small but not noticeable (audible) leaks.

The results were beyond our expectations, over the course of less than 24 hours our radon levels dropped from +9 to <0.5 pCi/l. After an additional 24 hours the level was bouncing between 0.2 and 0.1, essentially our basement went from being a "radon chamber" to as little radon as fresh outside air.

If you have radon and are able and willing to do the work, just do it. If you need help Val and others are very willing to help.