RADON AND THE EMPTY HOUSE

Recently I inspected a large home with a foundation that consisted of a crawl space and a partial basement.  The home was sophisticated in design and construction including a moisture extraction system for the crawl space.  This system was active at the time of the inspection.  Also, the crawl space moisture barrier was well done and in tact. 

Like many houses for sale these days, this house had been on the market for approximately 8 months and had been vacant for most of that time.  Wisely, in addition to the Home Inspection, my Client requested a radon test on the house.  Unfortunately, the house tested positive for excessive radon gas with a Continuous Radon Monitor reading of approximately 6.0 pico curies per liter (pCi/L).  This despite the active moisture extraction system!.

The listing agent approached me about the reading after discussing these results with the builder and another measurement technician.  Both of those two individuals convinced her that the radon measurement reading was high because no one had lived in the house for many months.  The listing agent suggested that when the Client/buyer moved into the house the radon gas level would go down because of the normal coming-and-going of a family.  She went on to suggest that I inform the Client/buyer of this "fact" by frequently repeating that "this is a valid point".

While I agreed with the "premise" that the radon gas level may come down under normal occupancy, my questions to the listing agent was "How low will it go with normal occupancy?" And, "Is she or her contacts willing to guarantee to the Client that the radon gas level will not only be lower but within EPA guidelines?"  Silence.

The point of this article is that we will all see many homes now that are in areas prone to radon gas intrusion and that have been sitting vacant for some time.  Regardless, if the radon gas concentration is at or above 4.0 pCi/L, the EPA says the home/building should be mitigated.  There is no allowance within EPA guidelines for how long the house has been sitting empty.  In fact, the purpose of the Closed House/Building process is to create the worse case scenario for radon gas concentration by closing the building as much as possible for 12 hours prior to the test and then during the test.  These days, 12 hours of closed house conditions before starting the test is all too easy to come by.

Thank you,

Richard 

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.