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Thanks 😊

Very true! 😂 If you look at the foundation walls in the video it shows the age of the home we were working in. It was from the early 1900’s. They don’t make concrete like they used to…….And that’s a good thing. 😁

The joy of RUclips 😂 If you want you can visit our website to learn more about radon testing and if needed radon mitigation. www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com

@@healthyairsolutions5950I googled it earlier, gladly its not a risk in Australia. Other things are (mmm spiders and snakes), but not Radon.

There are times when people will start to hear gurgling coming from their radon pipe in the basement and the reason being there suction pit has gathered water. But in most cases, especially with rain or snow melt the water will dissipate back into the ground. Only in a few cases have we had water that stayed and we then had to move the suction point. In these situations, if your water table rises then you will want to look into getting a sump and tile system installed.

Okay, thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Cheers. @@healthyairsolutions5950

Good question! With our manometer in the test hole we are seeing the amount of suction we are getting from different distances from our suction pit. This tells if we are getting enough suction to all corners of the slab or basement, which is a good indicator that the radon levels will be lowered sufficiently. This is also why we dig the suction pit out so we can increase the distance our suction can reach under the slab. When we have that suction throughout the majority of the basement it creates a negative pressure that keeps radon from pushing into your home. You can go to our website www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com We offer free consultations for help with a DIY radon mitigation.

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thank you so much, I’m probably going to do this myself as I have a radon level of 3.9 from the first test (testing again before I make any decisions) I appreciate the feedback.

@@dannygoround1 I am happy to help!

That’s really wonderful to hear! Thank you for sharing your success story.

A shop vac has more power than a radon fan. From the reading we get with our test we can know that the communication is there or not and depending on how far down into the negative the readings reach with the shop vac, we can get a good idea of how the radon fan will do. We will test again once the fan is installed and even if we get a fraction of what the shop vac was reading we feel good that the radon levels will come down sufficiently.

In this mitigation we actually had to have two suction pits on each side of the basement that tie into the same fan. This is actually rare, we can usually accomplish a successful mitigation with one suction pit. You can think of the soil under your slab, even if it’s dirt or clay, as being porous. When it is tight soil conditions we use a high suction fan that focuses more on stronger suction rather than moving lots of air. So even though there is little air to move we can often get suction that reaches clear across a basement slab. We can see this using a digital manometer. To increase the amount of reach we get we always dig a suction pit out as much as possible, at times we have our whole arm in the pit to dig. We demonstrate this in another video and what affect it has on the suction we get: ruclips.net/video/Hkp9EeXQzZw/видео.htmlsi=0zuEzzW2ymCOVGi7 When a house has drain tile or gravel this is far easier to accomplish. We will tie directly into the tile or if it’s gravel we can very easily pull a lot of air through the gravel and thus use a high flow fan.

Let me know how it goes 😊

Hi @dougmaverick3287, here is a link to two different sealants we use and along with backer rod that is often helpful in sealing bigger cracks. shopradon.com/products/Sealants-and-PVC-Cement-c36410015

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thanks and Happy New Year.

@comment5884 Yea a metal roof can prevent its own set of challenges especially in the winter 😅 Probably needs its own video The process is similar but after drilling up with a metal bit from the attic we then use a pair of snips to cut out the circle in the metal. Then using a saw we cut out the wood. In a link I’ll provide the roof flashing we use. www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/healthy-air-solutions.html#!/Universal-Master-Flash-No-3/p/268019072/category=36410008 Feel free to reach out to me on my website and I’ll be happy to help you with any questions.

It would be better to go with a GP or GX fan if the suction is holding the styrofoam down. You don’t want to max out your fan if you went with a high flow fan.

Thank you for your comment! Using a Heat Recovery Ventilator is an option in lowering radon. I tend to say regarding them, “Only used when the solution to pollution has to be dilution.” It’s good to know they are an option. I talk about them on my website on the following page: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/radon-mitigation.html

Thanks, Just read your article. Could HRV be set, imbalance, to keep higher pressure in home giving lower radon? I still suspect a much lower value than 50-70% is going to be made with some good airflow in/out of home., 50% should be attainable with air circulation from upper to lower level alone. Radon less of a problem 60 years ago, if parents didn't smoke, for cooling our home had a swamp cooler or open window, in the summer and winter we spent most of our days outside playing or working. @@healthyairsolutions5950

Hi @woodstream6137 If you are hearing suction at your sump it’s probably not sealed properly and the drain may not have a trap. If you are in need of more advice you can always fill out a contact form on my website and I’ll be happy to help. www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/do-it-yourself-radon-mitigation.html

Thanks for replying. Previous owner had the sump cover siliconed down and it was a mess, didn't look like a pro job. I had to replace the rusted pump so put a new fancy cover with multiple access points over it. Didn't seal with silicone because I'm a noob and wanted to see if it worked first plus it makes yearly maintenance easier. Going to put 1sqft thin rubber mats around the perimeter. After watching your vids, checked my stuff. labeled RP145, pressure is 1.4 I noticed the label only had sub slab depressurization checked. The crawl space sub membrane and sump pit boxes weren't checked. Battery powered monitor is always below 0.5

Sounds like the system is doing good. The RP145 is at a decent pressure and it’s not maxed out. Radon levels are good as well. We often find that when you fix the lower section of the basement with a sub slab system, it fixes the crawlspace. It’s not always necessary to seal and suck from it. If using the rubber mats doesn’t work to seal it, don’t be afraid to seal the cover with silicone. It’s a good option because when you need to get in for maintenance you can score it with a utility knife and it will come up pretty easy.

We are so glad our video could help! Where we install systems we have seen it all from new homes to homes built in the late 1800’s. They can be challenging for sure! If you need any help during your mititgation you can fill out the contact form on our website and we would be happy to help.

Yes that’s always a concern. With a pedestal sump cover it’s held down by silicone and a few screws. In case of a flood you would take the screws out and pop the lid up from the silicone, which is easy to do.

Hi Larry, makeup air is not needed with a radon mitigation. You wouldn’t want to do anything to lessen focused suction under the slab.

My concern is that drawing from underground only draws up more radon.

A house naturally draws air up into it due to the stack or chimney effect. Often when we put a test hole in a slab and use our digital manometer we will see positive readings, meaning air is pushing up into the home. But after installation of the fan and sealing the basement those numbers are brought into the negative. This means that the radon that would have naturally been drawn into the home is now being drawn up by the fan and evacuated and safely dispersed above your roof line. The proof is after the installation of your system you do your retest and see what your current radon levels are. No need to worry, this is the most effective way of lowering your radon.

You can began with sealing and see if that brings the level down. It sounds like you have a passive system, so hopefully it was installed over drain tile or in gravel. If that’s the case a RP145 should work. This page on our website discusses to troubleshoot a passive radon system: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/passive-radon-system.html Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your question. If the joints run all the way through then they should be sealed. If not you will be sucking out air from the home and lose the negative pressure the fan creates.

@@healthyairsolutions5950 Thanks for the response, so if we are running 4.7 pCi/L and the basement is approx 1800 SqFt then which fan would you go with?

@@3dparagon To make a fan recommendation for you I would need to know: Do you have a sump basin with drain tile? What do you have beneath your basement? (ie sand, clay or gravel) If you prefer you can go to our website and fill out our questionnaire and we will email a recommendation. Here is the link: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/do-it-yourself-radon-mitigation.html

To avoid weakening the wall, avoid going below the footing. Focus more on going along the footing and making your hole wide.

Hello @EINAR VOLSUNG, we sell the 4” and 3” version on our website. Here is a link to the store page: shopradon.com/products/Gate-Valve-Damper-3-or-4-p145309104

​@@healthyairsolutions5950 why do I need this damper for? Can't I just install the meter and measure the pressure at open and if not enough just drill a hole, fix the hole or buy new fan? What exactly is this demper helping me with, what am I getting from closing it?

@marcusbiller867 The damper is being used in the video for demonstrating how the manometer works and what different amounts of airflow look like on the manometer. Dampers are used in a radon mitigation that has multiple suction points for focusing more or less suction in either of the suction points. It’s only rarely needed.

@@marcusbiller867 The damper is just being used to demonstrate different resistances that are seen when a radon pipe is installed in the floor. It's just being used to mimic high and low flow situations. Dampers are used when multiple suction points are installed to balance the flow.

Yes that sounds like you are hitting the footing or a place where excess concrete was dumped. You can start drilling holes away from the spot in 4 or 5 inch increments until your drill bit hits dirt. Then make that the edge of your suction pit.

Monolithic slab or in footing. Probably monolithic

I agree that is a possible. So either way you have to continue moving your holes away from the wall till you find a thinner section of concrete. It is very hard to dig your hole out if the concrete is too thick.

Yes that sounds like you are hitting the footing or a place where excess concrete was dumped. You can start drilling holes away from the spot in 4 or 5 inch increments until your drill bit hits dirt. Then make that the edge of your suction pit.

Hi Nathan! With tight soil conditions (clay, dirt, sand) we usually will take out 20 to 30 gallons of dirt, maybe more depending on the situation. When digging we may start out going straight down into the dirt at first but we always focus on getting the hole as wide as possible. We try to dig out in each direction to increase the reach of suction across the basement. If we are by an exterior wall, we always try to get our suction pit to reach the footer because often you can get some settling by the footers that help with airflow. We will get to the point where we have our entire arm in the hole to create a path and remove dirt in some situations. With sandy conditions using a shop vac can really help with this. We will use the hose of the shop vac to increase the radius of the hole. Here is a link to a page on our website talking about this process: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/radon-suction-pit.html

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thanks!

Yes that’s no problem at all. Just as long as it fits securely in the manometer and the hole in your pipe.

We are so glad the video helped! When we have gravel we will typically dig out at least a bucket so the suction hole has room to pull air. To dig more can always possibly increase air flow and helps when you have a large square footage basement with no drain tile.

@@healthyairsolutions5950 appreciate it, thank you!

Happy to help!

Glad it could help 😊 We use RadonPro Sealant by RadonAway Here is a link to our store shopradon.com/products/RadonPro-Sealant-by-RadonAway-p145313404

Thank you Mike for your comment and all your hard work fixing homes. Working in those northern states you mentioned, we know that to be true. Focusing on those separated cracks is key. The smaller hairline cracks connected to those larger cracks do need to be caulked. Isolated spider cracks, because they aren’t all the way through the slab, are not necessary to caulk.

Thank you for your comment, that’s a great suggestion.

What fan do you have? Each fan will read differently depending on if its high flow or high suction.

Hello Jesse, if you are referring to the suction pit, while each situation is different, there are some basic principles that apply. If you have drain tile, then you want to drill over where you think it will be so you can tap into it. If your basement has no tile, then you want to drill in a strategic area for where you will be running the pipe out of the basement, keeping the run as short as possible. One thing you need to be careful of is if you have in floor heat. You will for sure want to drill where the pipes are not run and always drill very cautiously. Check out this page on our website for more info www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/install-radon-mitigation.html

Every situation will be different but there is usually settling that occurs under the slab that can help with air movement. This settling often happens along the footings, which is why we often will place our suctions pits along the exterior walls. Even with packed clay, you can often pull a certain amount of air through it. This is not guaranteed tho which is why digging the suction pit out is very important. We have often experienced that digging out even an extra bucket helped us to reach an opening that increased our airflow greatly. Doing some suction tests with smoke can tell you a lot about what you are dealing with under your slab.

No problem, I hope it was helpful!

@Jthumper Thats a good question! So it being a pretty costly device we don’t really have a system of renting it out, it might be something we should look into. Looking at your other comment tho from our other video, if you have a situation with drain tile you can use a shop vac hose and stuff it into the drain tile in the sump with some bags in the tile to seal it up. Then if you drill a hole along the perimeter on the other side of the basement you can use a smoke pen to see if the tile is there and if you are getting good air movement. Using the shop vac we will see higher readings of air movement than we do with the radon fans but its simply telling us that there is air to move and we can also tell what fan to use by how hard the vacuum is sucking. Often we see good readings after the fan is installed, not as high but enough to know the system has a good chance at working. But you can only know for sure when you retest. Keep in mind to, that even with a reading if 32, if you have drain tile run around the majority of your basement and if you use the correct fan for your situation, that number can drop well below 4. We have seen it happen many times. The key is to always test after you install your mitigation. For more information you can fill out a contact sheet on our website www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/contact-us.html Let us know how the mitigation goes! We wish you the best with it and are here to help if you need it!

We bought a $40 digital manometer on Amazon. (Autool brand) I would not recommend this for professional use, but since I'm a DIY'er it is more than good enough for me.

That’s nice for giving you an idea of what you are working with. Glad it worked out 👍🏼☺️ Thank you for sharing!

@Jthumper First off we are so saddened to hear of you losing your father and in such a horrible way. We are very sorry for your loss. Yes, this is a very real health hazard that needs to be tested for and corrected if high. For your system, a sump basin is a good place to pull from provided it has drain tile that runs into it and the tile is run around the majority of your basement. For help with running your pipe you could go to our website and fill out a contact form and we will send you a PDF with information and pics on running pipe. You can also call with any questions you may have. We provide free consultations and would be happy to help! www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/contact-us.html

Good spot! Yea I found that its perfect for the size hole we are digging out of. But I think it would depend on the size of your hand. My dad prefers using his hand as the scoop. Depending on what you are digging through it can get rough. He is often bleeding by the end of it, so I stand by my electrical box😂

Thats a good question. So the fact that your manometer reading dropped from .5 to .3 is actually indicating you are getting more airflow which is a good thing. One reason could be that there was some settling under your slab. I am assuming that you have a high airflow fan like a RP145 and are sucking from drain tile or gravel. If you had a higher reading like a 3 or 4 wc, that would indicate your fan is sucking harder but moving less air and doesn’t equate to lower radon. If your radon levels are at a 1.3, you are well within the acceptable range of below 4. You can do a long term radon test to get a better idea of what your average is. Here is a link to a long term test we sell on our website: shopradon.com/products/Long-term-Tests-c35909042

Thank you for the question! So for a GX4 a reading of 4 is the maximum for that fan. It could be that your pit was not dug out but sometimes even after digging, it still is not able to get enough airflow or reach without adding another suction point. A 2 suction point day is rare but they do happen. But how you would determine if anything needs to be done would be doing a radon test. If the levels are below 4 your system is doing it’s job. If not than you would have to look at the suction pit if it was properly dug out or if there may be a need for more suction points.

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thank you so much. This is exactly what I thought you would say. I'm going to drill several 1/2" test holes to see if it's pulling to those areas. If not, I'll run more pipe to the them.

Your radon levels were very high, we hear that quite a bit in Pennsylvania. Just curious, what were your radon levels after the installation?

@@healthyairsolutions5950 the seller sent the test package envelope in for those results and hasn't received that info yet. However, at close of escrow on the property they did fund the money for an additional drop/suction line, or $695.00 to cover that cost. In our mountain house, we ran two additional 3" lines...1 in the mid section behind the stairway (about halfway, or center basement) and one at the far end. The readings dropped to -.30 Pic. in that basement. I purchased the "Airthings Digital Home Radon Monitor " and hung it chest/waist high in our current basement to get a good idea of where we stand now, after the new install. I have as yet get a reading as it's instructions say it can take 1-2 days before getting a short term read. (I believe that's what it said, I'll re-read them) I did follow the directions though. At the 24 hr. mark it was still blinking on both long term & short term info lines. I am seriously considering coring a 5" hole about 8" from the newly installed unit to see if they did to me, what they did to my neighbor... no dig out of soil around the suction pipe. (Found out it was the same "reputable" company, go figure) I'll be going over to do more repairs upstairs today and I am hoping to get a reading. I'll be happy to report them back here....or, is there a good was to discuss/text message with you directly? So we dont discuss this publicly. I don't mind doing it here so everyone can learn from this. My family will be living full time in this home. I simply don't care how many pipe runs I have to install to mitigate down to minus levels. I was told the GX4 can support the original 4" installation with 3 addition 2-3" evacuation points into the floor by the fan company...when installed correctly. Meaning open the area below the pipe sub/layers of soil under the floor. Once again I truly appreciate your taking g interest in my situation and sharing your experience based knowledge. Respect to you.

@Rag Tie It’s no problem at all, we are happy to help. If you would like you can go to our contact page on our website and either call or email if you prefer to continue this discussion: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/contact-us.html We are a family owned company, so you will be talking to my father Val. He will be able to talk you through what steps you can take to fix your situation. Just mention that you are contacting us from our RUclips channel about an improperly excavated suction pits. But I just wanted to give a few suggestions tho, to see if your pit is dug out, you could cut your pipe around 6 inches from the floor or above the coupling, depending on how it was installed. Then you could look down and see the pit. At times when we have fixed jobs that weren’t properly dug out we have been able to suck enough dirt out with a shop vac after cutting the pipe. This would only work if things are loose tho like sand. But it’s a good way to inspect without drilling more holes than needed. Then you can fix it with a 4 by 4 rubber coupling. Also, if you haven’t already done so, make sure to zero your manometer. Pulling out the tube and letting the liquid settle. Make sure the liquid lines up at zero. We have a video on manometers if that will help. If it’s not on zero then you will be getting even less airflow than first thought and would point to either the suction pit not being dug out or the need for more suction points.

This job was in an older house so the slab was thinner than most. Most jobs we do tho are on newer homes with much thicker slabs and it works no problem 👍🏼

@@healthyairsolutions5950 Excellent. thanks!! I want to buy the fan and some accessories from you. I have approx. 1600sqf basement. keeping two windows open with a small window fan the Radon reads are not bad. can even reach 4 but not when closed! just want to install the radon mitigation system so i can keep the windows closed. the 145 fan is the way to go?

No problem at all, happy to help! The RP145 would be a good fit for that size basement if you have good airflow conditions under your slab. That would include gravel or drain tile.

So sealing your cracks in the concrete helps only alongside a mitigation system. It helps with increasing the reach of the suction that the radon fan is able to accomplish. Do you have a mitigation system installed?

Sorry to hear about your experience, that’s frustrating! We are in Wisconsin so we see just how much radon levels can swing up in the winter time. A long term radon test can give you a good idea of what you are on average being exposed to. That sealing will for sure help with your suction. I hope your mitigation goes smoothly!

No it’s being measured in WC. The shop vac is around a 1000 watts

So after installing your radon mitigation system you would want to test again and see if your radon levels have gone down. The danger with radon increases with being exposed to elevated levels over a long period of time. So during this time you could use your basement normally as long as the levels weren’t very high.

Thanks @Govind Paul, glad it could help! What we use is a silicone and urethane caulk. Here’s links to 2 different brands on our website we use on mitigation jobs: shopradon.com/products/RadonPro-Sealant-by-RadonAway-p145313404 shopradon.com/products/Titebond-Radon-Sealant-p145313441

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thank you so much for your quick reply... As I am very new to the sealant... I am not sure which one should I order from these 2 for my basement floor crack repair.... Or should I order both and apply one over other...

So the Radon Pro sealant is the better quality because it uses urethane. We would recommend using that. You only need to apply a bead and then smooth it out into the crack using a piece of cardboard like you see in the video. Please don’t hesitate if you have any other questions! shopradon.com/products/RadonPro-Sealant-by-RadonAway-p145313404

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thank you once again... it is so unfortunate that this product is not available in Canada :( Can you please suggest some alternate

Sorry for the delay! We can’t say which brands would be available in Canada, but if you look for a caulk that has a silicone and urethane combination that would be the one you want.

So every situation is different. It would mostly depend on what fan you are using. That would determine the pressure you would want to see to know A) it’s working and B) it’s running efficiently.

So you can purchase the air damper’s for 4” and 3” for PVC pipe on our website: shopradon.com/products/Gate-Valve-Damper-3-or-4-p145309104 A ball valve could work as well.