radon test: I'm not saying they cheated, but this doesn't look good. - 01/30/12 09:57 PM
I don't know how it happened, and I'm not accusing anyone of intentionally doing something that's completely despicable, but it looks like someone intentionally tampered with a radon test.
I recently inspected a home that was being flipped for some young first-time home buyers.  The home had a newly finished basement, and the young couple planned to use one of the basement bedrooms as their master bedroom, so they hired me to do a radon test at the same time.  For the record, radon causes lung cancer.
The radon test was high, so the buyers asked the home flipper to install a radon mitigation … (105 comments)

radon test: Why Test For Radon? - 04/04/11 10:41 PM
 
If you're buying a home in Minnesota, get it tested for radon.  There are two reasons I give for having radon tested; lung cancer and money.
A few quick facts about radon Radon is a gas formed by the breakdown of uranium and radium, both of which are found in high levels in Minnesota. Every home is susceptible to radon, even new construction. There are a large number of homes in Minnesota with high radon levels.  We've found that about one out of three houses have high levels of radon. Radon is unpredictable.  Two houses built right next to each … (16 comments)

radon test: Could My Radon Monitor Be Broken? - 10/18/10 11:08 PM
 
One of the more awkward conversations that I had with a home seller this year dealt with a high radon test at his home in Minnesota.  We performed a radon test for the buyer, and the test came up high (over 4.0 pCi/L), so the buyer asked the seller to install a radon mitigation system.  The seller wasn’t happy about this, so he called us up to complain.
We had performed a radon test for the seller when he bought the home four years ago, and the test was below 4.0 pCi/L.
I could understand the seller’s frustration; I would … (32 comments)

radon test: Six Things To Consider Before Testing For Radon On The Home You're Buying - 10/04/10 11:11 PM
If you're buying a house in Minnesota and you want to have it tested for radon as part of your inspection contingency, here's a list of six items that the EPA says you should consider before you have the test conducted.
Where the radon test will be located The radon test should be placed in the lowest level of the home that could be used regularly, whether it's finished or not.   I've said before that radon tests should never be placed in crawl spaces, but what if the basement ceiling height is 6' 11" ?  The Minnesota State Building Code defines a … (13 comments)