What is Radon?
I have been practicing real estate for roughly two years and never had a problem with this mysterious Radon gas. Radon, if you don't know, if a gas that occurs naturally in the earth and comes up into your home via slab/crawlspace/basement. Certain areas have a higher risk and you can check your area here. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind cigarette smoke, so it is definitely something you should look into.
Well I just had my first case of a high reading on a clients Radon test. We had a reading of 4.2 picocuries per liter of air or pCi/L. The EPA suggests that you fix your home if the levels are at 4.0 pCi/L or higher. At this point, I didn't know what to do since I have never experienced this problem before. I looked up a few companies that specialized in Radon mediation and I learned alot of information about the procedures that are used and the different reasons that effect the level of Radon gas in a home.
My buyer clients asked the seller to fix the problem and the sellers graciously obliged. We were able to lower the level in the home down to 2.0 pCi/L, which more than thrilled my clients! The method used for this home was a vent piped drilled through the slab foundation that ran up the rear of the home and straight into the sky. There was also a fan in the middle of the pipe that caused a change in pressure under the home so that the radon would be forced out the pipe and into the sky. The overall cost was around $1500 for this particular home.
I hope this helps anyone who finds themselves in the same situation I was in. I recommend finding a qualified contractor and asking a bunch of questions!
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