Radon Mitigation

Apparently my house has high levels of radon measuring in the basement and it’s recommended that we have a radon mitigation company come out and they install this fan/ventilation type thing to vent the air and provide negative pressure to the basement so the radon doesn’t come up through the floor as much. Anyone else have this done before? It’s really not something I’ve thought much about until my boyfriend brought a radon monitor over to check levels – interestingly enough about the same time my neighbors started mentioning they have high levels too. Owning a house is never a completed project, is it?? LOL.

Very curious about this also. I just have to walk about 50 feet to get a free test kit and I still don’t do it because when it shows I have radon its gonna cost me. I did have a membrane put on the inside and outside of the basement when the new drain tile went in but I don’t know if that helps at all.

Wish I could give you specifics but we bought a Minnetonka home in the early 90s that needed RM installed before closing. Wish I could tell you what it cost but the seller was forced to do it so no clue. My daughters home in Minnetonka also has it and it was there when she bought it. It’s fairly straightforward, it needs to be constantly exhausted 24/7. My guess is you may be forced to do it at some point if you intend to sell. I haven’t been involved in a home purchase since the 90s and I do know I’ve heard a lot about “buying as-is” lately. Maybe you’d avoid having to do it, maybe not but I do believe it’s a legit concern long term. Guess I’d look into it for your own health. You’re right though, there’s no end to the cash flowing the wrong way in regard to home ownership!

i have baseboard electric heat…so no.

I think since 2009 or 2010 you had to install a passive Radon system with any build in MN. It generally involves a pea gravel base under the basement slab and a vent pipe. When we built in 2021 and 2022 you had to even have the wiring for a fan readily installed with that vent in the attic (but not the fan itself installed).

A family friend just went through this when they sold and had to have a radon system installed due to high levels at inspection. Someone here will know more about it, but I’m pretty sure they ended up with a hole cut in their basement floor and some type of venting system installed to the tune of a few grand.

Riverrat, weird stance. the test could protect you and your family from potential long term health issues, if no radon, no money out of your pocket!

When we sold in 2014, the buyer insisted upon it. At that time, it cost me $1500, which seemed like a complete ripoff for what it entailed.

basement sumnpumps not completely sealed with a cover can be a cause of radon. My buddy had to get a mitigation system installed, less than $3 grand, might have been less than $2k actually. Seems cheap for your health.

buckybadger wrote:

Someone here will know more about it, but I’m pretty sure they ended up with a hole cut in their basement floor and some type of venting system installed to the tune of a few grand.

That’s the basics. Cut a hole in the floor, remove a 5-gallon bucket or two of soil, fill with gravel, run a PVC vent pipe, and install a blower. It took less than 2 hours total at our place.

Sharon Radon is pretty common in many areas in the Midwest. I know there are couple different systems to correct the issue. Some are powered and some are passive. There has to be several companies in the cities that handle/install Radon systems.

I think I had 1,500-2K into the fan, pipe, and labor. It would be easier in a single level.

All you need is a negative pressure under the floor. A pvc pipe hammer drilled into the floor and then sealed with a concrete plug install a radon fan in the basement vent out threw rim joist. It’s not what the radon society suggest but it works. Also if you do any reading on radon you will find out if you don’t live in your basement 70% of your life you are at no risk but by all means do what makes you feel better. Sharon this can all be done by the friends you hangout with for around $225.

Radon = biggest scam pulled on the American public since man made global warming.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Radon = biggest scam pulled on the American public since man made global warming.

Ya think!

Yeah we had to do it in a previous home, and it cost a couple grand. As for the being a homeowner part, it’s the same as the honey do list, cross one off and you add 2-3 more in the mean time!

I’ve heard dating has changed but I had no idea how much

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Radon = biggest scam pulled on the American public since man made global warming.

Somebody had to say it!

We moved into our home 17 years ago and had it tested right away as we know radon is a big problem in Iowa. We lived in several OLD homes before that had “cellar” so we hardly ever went down there. With this new home it had a finished basement that would be our family room. The testing revealed very high levels of radon so we installed the mitigation system. Others are suggesting you can do it yourself, which I guess its true, but again how much value do you place on your health. Also with the professional instal, we got a warranty so they came and replaced the fan motor after 10 years when it go very noisy.

On a related note my wife has gotten lung cancer twice in the past 7 years. Never around smokers in any way and when talking to the drs she said that she grew up living in a basement for a few years while her father built the up levels of her house. Also she spent lots of time in that basement. They all said that the radon she took in in that time, plus just the radon in our old houses most likely contributed to her cancer. So …… don’t mess around and NO I DONT THINK IT WAS A HOAX.

Reef W wrote:

I’ve heard dating has changed but I had no idea how much

How so? I thought it was very sweet of him to check the radon levels and help coordinate mitigation. He’s helpful and handy!

Sharon,

We had a system put in from a place in Eagan that is certified by the state of Minnesota for Radon remediation. Our levels of Radon went from 14 to .08 . Just about every place in Rosemount has Radon levels that are 2 high. If you want their number just PM me. We had a dirt crawl space under an addition of the house that we had sealed up with plastic sheeting. They put a pvc pipe there then one thru concrete floor. That still did’t get us to safe levels so they did one more hole in concrete. We then had the very low levels. it is required in MN that it be tested before sale.

This is from 1/2024 MN dept of health
Is radon testing required to sell a home in Minnesota?
Radon, a Class A human carcinogen, is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause overall. The seller of any interest in residential real property is required to provide the buyer with any information on radon test results of the dwelling.”Jan 5, 2024

Radon in Real Estate – MN Dept. of Health
MN Dept. of Health
https://www.health.state.mn.us › air › radon › radonre

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Bought a lake place near Aitkin in 2021. Someone prior to our closing checked the radon levels and the seller had to put in a mitigation system before we could close. I believe it was around $2500, they sealed all the basement cracks in the floor, ran a vent pipe up through the roof, and installed a blower to create a negative pressure. My one complaint is when outside I can hear the low hum of the air/fan coming from the outlet vent pipe.

Have Rodworks install you a stereo system and you will never hear that fan hum again.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

When we sold in 2014, the buyer insisted upon it. At that time, it cost me $1500, which seemed like a complete ripoff for what it entailed.

About the same for me back in 2016.

When I wa the GC on my slab on grade place on Mille Lacs I installed a PVC piping system. A perforated pipe in river rock under the slab that joins a pipe going up through the 1st & 2nd story walls and out the roof. The “stack effect” should pull air out but if radon ever becomes an issue the is an access to the area and we marked the pipe and the powered Jbox right where the draft inducing fan would be cut into the stack.
No code where we are so I was not compelled to do this. It just makes sense given the later costs

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Radon = biggest scam pulled on the American public since man made global warming.

Agreed. An entire economy made out of thin air. We had to “pay a professional” to install one in the last house we sold as the buyer didn’t want me to do it myself and this was a sticking point for the sale.

WTF. Radon is a proven carcinogenic. Why wouldn’t you do all you can if it is seeping into your home?
Code requires venting in MN for new construction is my understanding. Like I wrote I didn’t have to in my LGU but it wss so easy and I believe in redundancy in engineering.
Retrofitting? It is what it is.

There’s a local radon mitigation guy in my area with good reviews so us and several neighbors have contracted with him to install the vent/ventilation system in our houses. The estimate is $1,750 which isn’t bad.

Radon installation went well and our numbers are now down to normal range!

I’m no radon expert, what’s with the claims that it’s a giant scam ? I’d like to hear the reasoning.
The quick reading I seen from some scientific group said it’s wildly misrepresented in health care but that’s all I had time to read.