Radon Blog

Minnesota Radon Video

2012-01-19T15:30:00.001-08:00

Here's a new radon video created by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Health. I am licensed in the great state of Minnesota by the way. I just have never had the chance to work there. Glad to see they get it about radon!

Passing Radon Test

2012-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

I was excited to recently receive passing radon test results for my last radon job in Nashville in December of '012. We got radon down to 2.8 pCi/L (4.0 Max. EPA recommended) Here's the link to a description of that job: Crawlspace

Take Radon Action!

2012-01-05T17:28:00.000-08:00

Join Radon Tee Wednesday January 25 at 12:00 Noon on the Capitol

Steps in Nashville!!!!

Help Raise radon awareness, education and save lives in Tennessee!

Road Trip

2012-01-04T04:23:00.000-08:00

I made the trip to South Florida for my latest temp. job as a chiropractor this week, this time to a little burg called Okeechobee. I lucked out and found a reasonable place to stay on the north end of the lake. Looks like I won't be doing radon work for a while:

HRV Maintenance

2011-12-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

I returned to a Nashville residence for my 1 free maintenance call on a heat recovery ventilator I installed in the summer. I had wanted to return anyway, because I wasn't crazy about the zip ties I had used to secure the ducting to the unit. They had been to short for the 8" diameter sleeves, about 24", so I picked up some 36" heavy duty zip ties at Home Depot on the way over. This is the Fantech SHR-2004 model:

Air intake vent through the outside wall

Looks like the screen on the intake vent is pretty dirty!

Exhaust Vent showed plenty of outflow.

Duct tape for cleaning the vent screen

A little debris from the intake vent screen

36" zip-ties are plenty long for a secure grip for the ducting

This duct is securely held in place for life!

Time to open the unit itself

Flip the latches down and out to open the door.

The HRV Core

Slide it out.....

Vacuum the screens, or "soak in soapy water for 3 hours" if super-dirty

The ever-present dead insect population

Slide core back into place after cleaning

Slide door on the hinges on top from left to right

Close latches

Good for another year of radon removal

Core Drilling

2011-12-19T06:22:00.001-08:00

Often I have requests to drill under the concrete section of a house from the outside. Here is how it is done:

Sealing Your Crawlspace

2011-12-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

I thought I was finished with radon work for 2011, but I had a follow-up visit to a home where the radon levels have stubbornly remained above 4.0. This time I concentrated on sealing the existing vapor barrier in the crawlspace. After about 4 hours of taping and sealing, I got the vacuum gauge to show a slight increase in suction for my efforts:

Manometer/Vacuum Gauge at the Start

Sand and gravel helps seal difficult areas around cement pillars

Leftover tile pieces serve to seal the perimeter

Specialty seam tape for sealing tears and other openings

Gravel for sealing openings around the water heater

Bricks circa 1910 seal off the sloppy edges

A hair-increase in vacuum is actually significant for this size area!

See You Later Nashville

2011-12-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

It looks like my two + year foray into the radon business in Nashville is coming to an end this month. There is just not enough radon work here to keep me busy. It's not so much the lack of work - I did turn down a lot of work that was located too far out of my local territory of Central Tennessee to be profitable - it's that the work that I did get turned out to be losing ventures.

Many of the homes in this part of the country are so poorly designed for ventilation, that they don't need a radon system. What they need is a major remodeling job on the first floor of their house, or better yet, a new house. I've never seen so many radon infested homes that were built directly over bare dirt. Often, if there was a concrete surface on the lowest level, it was directly on dirt with no gravel-layer, so the only hope of radon reduction was to recommend an energy recovery ventilator-and that only works if the radon levels are at 15 pCi/L or lower.

Since most homeowners don't want to spend the kind of major money it takes to fix a radon-house over bare dirt, we just didn't get the work after they balked at my initial estimate. If I lowered my price to get the job we frequently lost money on the job due to the amount of work and materials involved to fix the problem. Of course we couldn't continue.

My favorite job experience was one I did up in Brentwood in 2010. A newer mansion-sized mega home with a concrete basement and thick gravel underlayer. I installed the system, painted the outside pipe to match the house. The radon test came back at an awesome .5 pCi/L. That's how you build homes!

What do they say? If you don't try anything, you will never fail. Well, I gave it a shot. I am going to miss the friendly, polite people (compared to most places anyway) and the live music scene and I can't say that I am not disappointed. I picked the wrong business this time.

I will be moving to West Palm Beach in January to work in an unrelated business. It's been fun.I'll be back once in a while to visit my empty house, which I have been unable to sell in the current market.

Good Times - Nashville 2011

Hell on Wheels Tour - CMA Weekend

Broad Street in Nashville

Melissa Paige at The Stage

Hangin' with the Locals

View of Broad Street from Merchant's Restaurant

Confederate Graveyard-Carnton Plantation

Front Yard-Unfinished due to economic downturn?

Blasting in my front yard

My Place in Nashville

Red Foxes in Front Yard

My Garden-2008

Old Barn-Arrington, TN

Slaves Quarters-Carnton Plantation

New Townhomes-2008

Wartrace, TN

Crawlspace Radon

2011-12-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

I had to return to a property recently, because our post-radon test showed radon levels in their basement apartment to be about .7 above EPA safe limits, although upstairs levels tested safe. The apartment is next to the large crawlspace, and I was to attempt to dig under the basement concrete slab horizontally, from the crawlspace.

Unfortunately, I could find no gravel layer from the outside, so I have to return again tomorrow, to attempt to drill directly through the concrete floor from inside the apartment to find that gravel layer. If we find that there is no gravel layer, the only alternative will be to install a heat recovery ventilator.

Digging below the foundation

Nothing but concrete - on dirt

Current vacuum levels

Sealing loose sections with sand raised vacuum levels a bit....

Our original opening was sealed back up

Some loose tile helps seal the edges

Sand is also good for sealing loose edges of the vapor-barrier

Sand seals around the base of the A/C unit

A pillar is a leaky spot until we pour sand around it.

Placed a trim ring around the pipe exit

Wasted Wednesday

2011-11-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

I traveled up to Goodlettsville today, to install a basic radon mitigation system. Of course I had to do the standard diagnostic testing for adequate airflow under the basement concrete slab before I began installing the main system. In this case the house failed the test, so it was a complete wasted morning-no installation occurred.

I think from now on, I will charge $75.00 for the diagnostic part, applicable towards the original estimate if the house passes the test, otherwise I lose that amount on travel expense and labor.

In this particular case, the concrete was about 10" thick and directly on dirt, so there was no crossflow of air to work with:

Concrete Basement

Client wants the pipe to come through the concrete wall to the outside, here.

Time to christen my new and improved Bosch hammer drill

The pilot hole from the outside comes through the basement wall at a good spot and luckily not into that black pipe there.

We'll need a 3 5/8 diameter hole, here.

...But first we have to check beneath the concrete floor for a gravel-layer. X marks the spot.

"Ready for Radon"

This time, a 1 inch bit will be needed.

My small industrial vac with a big motor.

The work area.

So far, 10" of concrete and no sign of gravel. Maybe we're too close to the wall? The new Bosch hammer drill performs amazingly well in concrete and it doesn't try to tear my arm off, unlike the el-cheapo hammer drill I used from 2008 through last month.

5" further in should get us away from the footer.

This time we hit some hard-packed dirt at about 8", but no gravel to be found. I will recommend a heat recovery ventilator. A subslab ventilation system will likely fail.

Concrete in a tube to patch the test-holes.

And some foam backing-rod filler.

We were never here......

I also patched the smaller hole to the outside.

Wasted trip. At least the dog was friendly.

PA Meltdown

2011-11-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

It looks like my bright idea to expand my radon territory to Pennsylvania was a non-event, as I have received no work in PA since I started marketing back in late August. I will have to try again in the Spring of 2012, as Winter is headed this way with a vengeance.

Radon Truck Packed after Wasted Trip to PA

I actually checked the number of radon firms in PA-something I should have done before embarking on the whole venture-and found no less than 7 pages of radon people. Okay, maybe that could be a factor.... Regardless, I missed several calls for radon work back in Nashville while I was away, so it was an expensive trip! So I am officially back in town, as of a few days from now.

Horse Breeding Facilities-PA

Amish Farmer 1

Amish Farmer 2

Rare October Snow

Staring contest......

HRV Success!

2011-09-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

I recently received a passing radon test of 3.9 pCi/L on that large crawlspace job where we installed the heat recovery ventilator back on September 8. Success! To achieve even lower readings I will recommend spray-on insulation for the ceiling.

Tuesday Radon Job on Wednesday

2011-09-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

I finally finished up the Tuesday radon job on Wednesday. I'm not really finished though, until we get the results of the short-term radon test, which usually takes three weeks and means I either have to go back and do more work, or we pass and I get paid the other 50% and am really done. Still thinking about going into the radon business?

Here are some pictures:

Needed this 30 ft ladder for this huge home. This made the height of the roof a non-issue-a very stable ladder!

The outside section, completed

Pipe-cutting area

My electric person is pretty good. Highly recommended...

Steel straps are best for securing the pipe to the house

Belle Meade Section

"Retarder-Tee" for air-tight membrane penetrations

Everything is Hooked Up

We have good suction under the vapor barrier-goodbye radon gas!

Tuesday Radon Job

2011-09-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

What I expected was a one-day job has turned into a two-day job. Too many trips for materials today.

Here are the pix from today's experience:

The 250,000 Mile Toyota 4Runner

Nashville Morning Traffic

Crawlspace Entrance

The Problem-Unsealed Plastic Covering the Crawlspace Floor and High Radon in the House Above

Radon Solution Phase 1 - Seal All Leaks in Plastic Flooring

A Nice, Large Crawlspace Area to Work In...

Phase 2 - Install Radon Fan and Connect to Pipe Under Plastic Covering

Phase 2, Step 1: Drill hole in wall for 4" Pipe - Equipment

"This looks like a good spot"

Dewalt Power

Completed Pipe Entrance to Crawlspace

Oops! Looks like the Ladder is a Bit Wimpy....

The saga continues tomorrow.....

- Home by twilight -

Heat Recovery Ventilator

2011-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

My two years of contract work in Florida having finally ended last week, I managed to land my first radon job in Nashville through a previous client.

This job was a tough call because it is a fairly large crawlspace, which some other firm had already attempted to seal with a plastic liner, but apparently it failed to have any effect on radon levels, possibly because the moisture in the walls prevented any kind of significant sealing of the edges. I could either install a better plastic liner, at a cost of a few thousand dollars and hope I can seal it, or merely install a heat recovery ventilator (air exchanger) for much less. So I installed the HRV.

Here are some pictures, although I forgot to photograph the exit vents. I am anxiously awaiting the results of the post-radon test. Hopefully this does the job. Check back for the results of test #1:

Actually nice because you can stand up in the center part

Moisture in the walls does not bode well for long-term sealing

A nice new Fantech HRV with 200 cfm capacity

Smyrna Long-Term Test

2011-08-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

I was pleased with the latest results of a long-term radon test from a job we completed last year in Smyrna, TN. Radon levels tested out at .5 pCi/L, after a year of exposure in the dining room. This house also has a young child, so all the better for everybody! (EPA limit is 4.0 pCi/L).

I am still working my temp. job in Florida, but hopefully I can get back in the groove after this job ends. I just got my PA radon license also, so it will be between Nashville or Philadelphia, although test-marketing in Philly has shown about 4x the demand of Nashville. Phila. PA is about 3x as expensive and crowded, so it will be a tough call, or maybe just open 2 offices, if I can organize it in the proper way.

Here is that report. Blogger usually shrinks it to about 1/4 original size:

Stuck on "Pause"

2011-06-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

I am now stuck in the Florida panhandle for the foreseeable future, under a "temporary" work contract. Please feel free to email me for radon advice in the meantime, or request referrals to other qualified radon contractors.

I will be sure and delete this blog entry when I am again available for radon work in the Central Tennessee area.

Thanks.

Kurt Anderson

Help4Radon.com

Green Hills Crawlspace

2011-05-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

I traveled up to Green Hills today to measure out this crawlspace. Although the owner did a nice job of laying down some thick plastic, radon levels remained unchanged in the living space above. Since radon measured below 15.0 pCi/L, I will propose the installation of a heat recovery ventilator (air exchanger).

Long Term Test Results

2011-05-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest long term test result from one of our clients in Columbia, TN from the Spring of 2010. Their original radon level was around 30+ if I recall correctly. I remember this client watched my every move the entire 8 hours or so it took to do the work, and the attic during the last phase of installation was about 110 degrees. It definitely was a job I was hoping we passed the first time. They had scored about 1.5 on the short term test, thankfully, but the recent results from the the long term test (91 days to 12 months) showed even lower radon scores!

A Beautiful Thing.....

2011-04-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

I got the radon test results back from that recent job with the really tight soil-the one with the curious cat?

Anyways I got the radon down to below a .5, super-good results for a house like this. Now I can get paid!!!

Radon Inquiries

2011-04-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your recent radon inquiries. I had to leave town for a while on business, but should return by June 1st for good. Sorry about that!

K.A.

Home Improvement

2011-04-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Links:
Wipe Out Winter's Damage to Your Home

Grand Ole Opry

2011-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Went to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time ever last night, and I got lucky because Jason Aldean showed up at the end. He belted out 3 of his hits, The Truth, Crazy Town, and My Kinda' Party. Gee whiz, he wasn't even on the program. There were a bunch of senior citizens there. I think they were in a state of shock after this guy played. We also saw Connie Smith, Ricky Skaggs, John Conlee, Luke Bryan, Diamond Rio and Jimmy Dickens. Don't ask me who the rest of those guys are, because I generally have no knowledge of country music. Oh, by the way, I also have no radon work to speak of this week. Maybe better luck next week.

Tight Soil

2011-04-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

I had some follow-up work Saturday, as I returned to check on our installation from last week, and it was in need of a phase II for sure. I ended up working on that all day. I had done my best to avoid this client originally, as I know the neighborhood to have no gravel under the homes, which means very difficult to lower the radon.

I had tried to refer them to another mitigator last Fall. When they called recently after the long winter and said nothing had been done yet, I decided to finally take the job, as they have young kids that spend a lot of time in the basement-and I know radon is especially bad for kids during the growth stages.

After the phase I installation, despite the lack of air flow under the floor, radon testing showed that levels had been brought down by about two thirds-from a 27 pCi/L to an 8, but it was still twice the EPA recommended limit. I added another suction point Saturday, in the floor of the bathroom closet, and joined it to the existing pipe.

If radon is still over the limit, I will recommend an energy recovery ventilator. It might get weird though, because that's about another $1,000, but our work is guaranteed. So do I just return the 50% they gave me already and call it a loss, or hit them up for another grand that they probably don't have? I don't know. I did know this job would be tough or impossible.

That's about all that can be done here. I will keep you posted.

Very little airflow here...........

The curious cat

Prepare for emergency surgery

We're basically sucking dirt.....I removed another 30 lbs or so

Plastic surgery and we have a 3-way connector

Now where to put the hole in the closet?

This looks like a good spot to slip a pipe above and through the bathroom ceiling....

....and into the bathroom closet

Good news...it looks like we have some gravel underlayer in this part of the basement!

How to join 2 pipes that don't quite line up, vertically to horizontally........

Drop the pipe in about 2 inches and mark the spot

Measure the distance from the proposed pipe connection.......

.....to the floor

Double-check the amount of distance the pipe drops into the hole.

Total the distance plus the 2 inches extra and cut to fit.

It's a perfect fit!

Remember to caulk around the pipe entrance in the floor.

Now we just need to join the new pipe to the original one.

Remember to add plenty of support brackets.

We have a connection.

Return Trip

2011-04-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

I had to return to a client's home yesterday, after their long-term test came back over the limit for radon. All my work is guaranteed, so I have to keep returning until the problem is fixed, or I give them a refund. I think I have 2 jobs, where I did a bunch of work but had to refund them anyways. Those are a killer. Hopefully, this is a fixable house. We shall see....

The vacuum point was originally installed through their sump-pit cover in the basement, which usually works well, but did not in this case. Their original short-term test had returned excellent results, strangely enough.

This time I removed the sump pit section, and installed the pipe through the concrete floor-the more standard approach, giving us a shorter pipe run. I also applied concrete sealer around the entire perimeter of the basement. This is a big radon entry point, where the expansion joints are located:

Sealing the perimeter of the basement

Original pipe entry from adjoining crawlspace

O marks the spot

Bracing hammer drill with my knee

Suctioning out a gravel pit

A thick gravel under-layer is a huge advantage in effective radon reduction

This Brown Recluse would surely put a hurtin' on ya'.

Several tools needed for radon mitigation

Finished!

Dumping gravel at my secret spot

Free Estimates Today

2011-04-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Even though things are slowing down as summer approaches, I still have several appointments set up from the last two months. If things get really slow, like last summer, I may head to Philadelphia to see if I can draw more business from that huge tri-state area, PA, NJ and NY, that is known for high radon levels. I will keep you posted.

Wednesday was an adventure in that I drove 46 miles to my first "free appointment" only to find nobody home. Since I didn't want to waste the trip, I went to the local Costco and a few other local establishments that I usually reserve for Saturdays. I then proceeded to my 12:00 appointment in Brentwood, who was, thankfully, home.

10:00 a.m. Franklin-No apparent signs of life:

10:15 a.m.-Costco:

I noticed Costco doesn't carry normal incandescent light bulbs any more. They just have those curly-cue looking energy saver bulbs that are basically crap. What a pain in the neck these energy Nazis are, for sure. I had to go to Lowes to get "normal" bulbs. I got a bunch, in the big boxes and I suggest you do too, before they all disappear, for good.

Everyone who actually does want to save energy would do well to install one of these attic fans in their house before it gets stinkin' hot.

A beautiful day........

12:00 A Brentwood crawlspace:

I will probably give an estimate to seal the entire space with 6ml vapor barrier...

2:00-bought this awesome combo ratcheting screwdriver at Lowes:

3:30 Headed Home:

Old Tractor on Rt 96

Sub-slab Depressurization

2011-03-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here are pix from a recent job in Nashville. It doesn't look like much, but it took all day in the rain:

Proposed Exit Point

Concrete Hammer Drill

Communication Test

Pipe Installation Points

Internal Pipe Installation

Highly Not-Recommended Ladder Supports

Ready for Radon Removal!

About Radon - Slideshow

2011-02-27T09:13:00.001-08:00

Radon Test Feb 2011

2011-02-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Great results from my latest client in Brentwood. Their radon levels were fairly low at the start, at around 6.5 pCi/L, but we got them down to around a .5 pCi/L, about as low as it can go:

Seal that Crawlspace!

2011-02-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Formerly bare dirt, this crawlspace has been sealed against radon entry.

Thursday on The Dr. Oz Show

2011-02-08T13:54:00.001-08:00

Thursday on The Dr. Oz Show

February Job

2011-02-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to install this radon system recently. It was different from past jobs in that the appearance of the system had to match the home and be unobtrusive, so we painted the outside part to match the house.

I had to exchange my usual 20 ft. ladder for a 24 ft. model, to reach to the high roof.

This smaller Bosch hammer drill was a lifesaver, as far as drilling perfect holes in the brick for the pipe anchors. My large hammer drill would have broken up the brick.

Finished Product

Indoor Section

Radon Communication Test

2011-02-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

I did initial testing Saturday to determine if it would be possible to mitigate a large home by utilizing a subslab radon system. This is where we drill one hole (1") where we insert an industrial vacuum nozzle, and then drill a smaller hole at the other end of the house. We then turn on the vacuum cleaner and then go to the other hole where we hold a smoke-stick over it, to see if smoke is drawn into the hole. A positive test means we probably have good air flow beneath the concrete slab.

Failing the Smoke Test

Passing the smoke test

Draining Excess Water

2011-01-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

I had installed a huge radon system in the summer, which spanned the width of this home. Due to the route of the pipe between the walls, I did not have the luxury of angling the pipe toward the floor opening to drain excess water from condensation near the fan. As a result, water was building up in the pipe beneath the fan housing, resulting in reduced efficiency.

As a solution to the problem, I built a one-way drain valve (Dranjer) into a section of pipe, and installed it beneath the fan housing. So far, it's been working very well!

Article of the Day

2011-01-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

Article Link:

6 Must-Do Tests for Every Homeowner

Recent Newspaper Articles

2010-11-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a recent article on radon from the Tennessean: Free Test Kits

Failed Cases

2010-10-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from one of the few radon cases in 2010 we could not fix. In this instance we sealed the dirt floor, then sealed the stone wall and used one of our biggest fans. This was about 8 days of labor and hundreds of $ in materials. Radon levels remained unchanged. Result? The client received a full refund. Final solution? The homeowner himself simply installed a heat recovery ventilator in the living space. Radon problem solved and an expensive lesson for us.

Formerly bare dirt.....and not the radon source

Let's seal this leaky stone wall........

A few days later-sealed, but radon levels were unchanged....

Day 9: Complete system removal and refund

Block Wall Suction

2010-08-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

Sealing the Edges of the Vapor Barrier

We just finished yesterday with a combo vapor-barrier with block-wall suction. There was a large, exposed dirt area in the basement, and radon levels around 8 to 10+ pCi/L. A lot of these houses built around the early 1900's have dirt floor basements. I guess that was normal for that time period. We must have used 60 feet of pipe, as we had to vent a concrete barrier wall on the far end of the basement, and place another pipe under the white vapor-barrier on the end closest to the exit point through the exterior wall:

"Block Wall Suction"

Vapor-Barrier Penetration

Vacuum Indicator

Finding a Way to the Outside

Success!

Hidden Radon Pipe

2010-07-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

This radon job went from being a relatively simple one day project into an intensive two day project, after the client requested that we hide the pipe in the bathroom wall where it passed through the second floor.

I first drilled a 3 5/8" hole from the basement through the first floor into the back of the 2nd floor bathroom closet, for the standard-sized pipe to come through from the basement origin. It was from that point that I needed to angle the pipe backward, and run it straight upward inside the walls to the attic. It looked like I would have to drill a hole downward from the attic, at a point exactly between the walls, or risk putting a hole in the second floor ceiling into the bathroom closet or adjoining bedroom.

This turned out to be an exceptionally dirty job, due to the summer heat making me sweat profusely, which caused the loose insulation material in the attic to stick to me, which I had to search intensively through to find the right spot to drill through the attic floor.

I finally determined the target point by taking a measurement from the air conditioning duct that ran up the side and rear of the bathroom closet walls to the attic.

I informed the client that there was not enough room for the standard sized radon pipe, but they asked that it be done anyway, if at all possible. I went back to Home Depot, and finally found a flat oblong-type pipe, with the same air-flow rating, that would most likely fit. Back in the attic I slowly fed the flexible piping down through the hole to the other hole in the back of the closet near the floor. This entire process took the rest of the day, so I had to return to finish the job the next day.

On day two, I connected the inside-the wall pipe to the standard 3" pvc piping on the first and third floors, hooked up the fan in the attic with the roof penetration, and finally was done, a solid, two days of radon work!

Recent Testimonials

2010-07-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

I recently finished this 2-phase job where the original radon reading ranged from 17 to 30+ pCi/L:

Hey Kurt, This is Richard down in Manchester, and I want to let you know that we got the radon test back and the result was very good, it was 1.1 pCi/L. So I wanted to let you know that you did the trick with that basement fan and pump there. When you get a chance give me a ring. We still have the your long-term test. We have not started yet. We will probably start that now, or very soon. Good job and I appreciate your work and I'm glad to. That's all. I feel much better now and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks. Bye.

Here's another one, from last December of 2009:

Mell F-Nashville:

Hi Kurt,
Just wanted you to know that your work received a compliment today.
We had a guy from ServPro doing a mold inspection in the basement and he commented that yours was one of the best radon barriers he has seen. I figured he's probably seen a few, so I thought it was cool that he commented on it.
Hope all is well with you.

Endless Crawlspace-Finished!

2010-07-15T04:55:00.001-07:00

Finally finished the endless crawlspace job. Due to the Nashville floods, this job lasted from April to yesterday, July 14. A true test of endurance!

Crawlspace-Day 3

2010-07-09T07:29:00.001-07:00

Things went well yesterday, with the "endless crawlspace". I sealed all obvious air leaks to the outside world, except for leaving one small vent open on the west side of the structure. This will reduce radon infiltration into the main house because outside air tends to rush in, drawn by the vacuum created by the house above, and takes any radon gas with it, into the house.

The really tedious part, and the reason these jobs take so long, is the sealing of the plastic sheeting to the pillars and perimeter wall. The goal is to make an airtight seal so the radon can be routed to the outside from the pipe insertion point beneath the plastic, before it leaks into the atmosphere of the crawlspace, and eventually seeps into the main living space of the house.

I believe I will actually finish this in less than a day now. I had to take a day off, due to neck-strain from crawling around on my hands and knees much of the day, but will resume the project next Wednesday, and hopefully finish.

Endless Crawlspace Job

2010-07-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

I was obligated to finish this particular project, after the great Nashville floods recently, which had torn up my work on this massive crawlspace, before I had finished the job. Today I went back in there, to re-do some of the work, and try to finally finish.

Notice in two of the photos a beat-up looking Sony radio. This radio is pretty tough, because I had lost my temper after bumping my head on a pipe a few times in a row, and the radio had fallen off, pulling the earplugs out of my ears. I retaliated by whipping the radio into one of the cinder block walls, twice! I thought it looked pretty good considering, and it didn't even come apart, and the clock still worked. This radio had lasted me for two years. Rest in peace. I immediately bought an identical new one at Best Buy, which set me back about $40. I guess they call that inflation. I am definitely investing in a hardhat.

Manchester Installation

2010-07-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from a recent installation in Manchester, TN:

Pre-radon levels: 17-30+ pCi/L, Post-Radon levels: 1.1 pCi/L

Energy Recovery Ventilator

2010-06-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

Recently installed an energy recovery ventilator, an excellent alternative to plastic sealer in a dirt basement or crawlspace, if radon levels are below 15 pCi/L.

This turned out to be a tough job, where I burned through 2 $40.00 hole saws while drilling through two layers of 100 year-old wooden support beams and a layer of brick to route the ducting to the outside, but I got it done!

Questions About Radon......

2010-02-27T10:03:00.000-08:00