a CLOSER look home inspections

We can test your home for concentrations of radon

The #1 naturally occurring cause of lung cancer in America!

Radon Gas Inspections – $125
2 detectors are placed in the lowest living level of the home.

Minimum test length is 48 hours, however we prefer 72 hours. The home should be closed for 12 hours before the start of the test, as in winter use. Doors can be opened for normal access but closed immediately. The laboratory requires 1 business day after the detectors are received to provide results.

We use EPA certified laboratories and state-of-the-art equipment

This ensures accurate and reliable test results. Springfield is very inconsistent with respect to radon gas test results. EPA figures are derived from averaging all tests collected from this area, which is no guarantee for a specific property. There are sections of Springfield that consistently measure in the 12’s and above, which is 3 times the high limit*. This is why a CLOSER look home inspections highly recommends testing every property for the presence of radon gas. You can read an article about how radon can affect you on our blog.

High Risk >4 pCi/L*
Moderate 2-4 pCi/L
Low Risk <2 pCi/L

*4 pico-curries per liter is the EPA limit

Image source The US Environmental Protection Agency

Radon gas can be reduced to below 4 pCi/L for about $1,000 to $1,500 on average

Even in some of the worst cases the procedure is simple. It’s about the same as installing a sump pump for water removal. A 3.5″ hole is drilled into the foundation slab (on basement and slab homes) and a 3″ PVC pipe is placed into the hole and sealed. This pipe extends either inside the house into the attic or is routed to the exterior. Either in the attic or on the outside, a special radon mitigation fan is installed which will run 24 hours a day (don’t worry – they are very quite). Then the pipe is extended past up to the roof line on the outside or through the roof from the attic. What happens then is that when radon gas percolates up from the ground under the slab of the house – the fan sucks it through the gravel layer directly under the slab, through the pipe and out of the house. Radon remediation systems are rarely more complicated than this, but there are other types available for certain property construction issues.

More information can be accessed at:
http://www.epa.gov/radon