Tuesday Radon Job on Wednesday

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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!