Grace and her husband thought they had found the perfect place to raise their three young daughters. But from the day they moved in, the basement where the girls’ bedrooms were was off limits. This is a true story of a past client’s radon mitigation journey. We changed her name to protect her privacy.
Elevated radon levels meant it wasn’t safe for them to sleep there. Grace didn’t want to risk her daughters’ potentially developing lung cancer from breathing a radioactive gas every night. For more than a year, the girls slept together in the upstairs family room while their parents searched for answers that never seemed to come.
The First Radon Mitigation Attempt Fails
In July 2023, Grace, her husband, and their three young daughters purchased their dream home. During the home inspection, elevated radon levels were discovered. Like many buyers, they negotiated to have the seller install a radon mitigation system.
The system was installed by a major national radon mitigation company before they moved in, but the radon levels never dropped below 4.0 pCi/L, which is equivalent to smoking eight cigarettes a day. Grace kept the windows open as much as possible to help reduce the radon, but she knew it wasn’t a permanent solution.
Over the next year, the company returned multiple times, even sending out their expert to try to fix what the other crews could not. They installed a larger fan and enlarged the suction pit, but the radon levels remained high.
There is a common myth in the radon industry that “bigger is better.” Some contractors respond to persistent high radon by installing a larger fan. Sometimes this helps, but often it does not and increases noise and operating costs.
Exploring Other Options
Grace reached out to us in 2023 after finding our videos on YouTube. At the time, our services were outside their budget. Concerned for her family’s health, she kept her daughters out of the basement bedrooms and continued having them sleep upstairs.
Frustrated, she contacted other contractors. One suggested adding another system on the opposite side of the basement, but it would have been in a finished room with the fan and piping running outside next to their deck.
Grace’s home had sub-slab HVAC ducts, so she decided to abandon them after watching one of our YouTube videos and hired an HVAC company to install new ducts above the basement ceiling. This is no small task in a finished basement.
The HVAC company also sealed the sub-slab ducts by pouring expanding foam, meant for setting posts, down the registers in the basement floor, hoping it would lower the radon. It didn’t.
They spent more time and money on solutions that didn’t work.
Our Consultation
By November 2024, Grace reached out to us again. I came out for a consultation and found they had gutted the basement and were starting to put it back together.
Since the basement bathroom was gutted, I had access to the plumbing block-out for the bathtub drain. Digging there, I found something important, an interior drain tile system, even though there was no sump basket or pump.
Reviewing the house plans revealed a significant remodel and addition. The kitchen, pantry, and bathroom had been built on the original garage foundation, and part of the new structure extended over the home’s water well. A three-car attached garage had also been added. Mitigating the addition would be challenging since there was no access to the crawl space or slab below without cutting through finished wood and tile floors.
After discussing these challenges with Grace, she decided to focus solely on the basement for now. I presented her with an estimate to engineer and install a system designed to mitigate that portion of the home, and she moved forward.
What We Found and Fixed
During installation week, our diagnostic pressure field extension testing revealed that the existing system failed to create suction under about one-third of the basement floor and around the perimeter. We placed four radon monitors around the home and measured levels between 2.5 and 7.6 pCi/L.
Using our sewer camera and locator, I inspected and mapped out the drain tile system. We intercepted the drain tile in a bedroom closet so the suction point could be hidden, with piping routed above the ceiling in the floor trusses.
We then:
- Removed the original radon system.
- Spent half a day removing the foam from sub-slab ducts.
- Mapped out the sub-slab duct system and created suction points at the registers to improve airflow between the ducts and the soil.
- Sealed the registers with foam and concrete but left the sub-slab trunk lines open for soil gas movement.
- Added a second suction point by coring through the slab and connecting to the sub-slab ducts in another bedroom closet. This point pulled soil gas from the abandoned sub-slab ducts.
- Tied both suction points together and ran the piping from the basement, up through a closet, into the attic, and out through the roof with a new radon fan.
- Insulated the attic piping to prevent condensation and system freeze-ups.
The Results
This reduced radon in the basement to around 1.1 pCi/L.
However, additional testing showed the radon in the garage was 10.7 pCi/L and the area above the addition was 1.5 pCi/L. Addressing those areas would further reduce radon throughout the home.
I provided Grace with a mitigation strategy and estimate to address the garage and addition, but due to budget constraints, they chose to hold off.
Eight months of EcoQube radon monitor data indicate that the basement has averaged around 1.1 pCi/L since our installation in November 2024.
Key Takeaway for All Homeowners
Much of this family’s frustration and expense could have been avoided. They spent time and money on guesswork that didn’t work, and their daughters spent over a year sleeping in the family room instead of their bedrooms in their newly purchased dream home.
Whether you are buying a home or looking to fix high radon in your current home, remember:
1. Radon is a serious health risk.
Long-term exposure to elevated radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
2. The EPA action level of 4 pCi/L is not a safe limit.
Radon is a radioactive carcinogen, and any exposure carries risk. The EPA’s action level of 4 pCi/L is simply a threshold for when to take action. It’s not a level considered safe. In fact, living in a home with 4 pCi/L of radon is roughly equivalent to smoking eight cigarettes a day.
Our post-mitigation radon levels average 0.4 pCi/L. That’s the same as typical outdoor air and reflects what we consider true success.
3. Pressure Field Extension (PFE) testing is required by the national radon mitigation standards to guide system design.
Too many companies skip this crucial step, guessing where to place suction points and what fan size to use. This “poke and hope” approach is guesswork, not science.
4. Guessing can leave you with high radon levels.
Without diagnostic PFE testing, contractors rely on trial and error, which can result in ineffective systems, wasted money, and ongoing health risks.
5. Investing in quality installation reduces future costs and stress.
Redesigning or retrofitting a poorly installed system is often more expensive and frustrating than doing it right the first time.
Improperly designed systems can be noisy, inefficient, and lead to higher energy costs or expensive repairs down the road.
6. Let the buyer choose the contractor.
When the seller installs a system during negotiations, it’s often done at a low cost, with little attention to placement or long-term performance. If possible, have your real estate agent negotiate a credit or concession at closing so you can hire a trusted contractor.
Radon mitigation is not just another home improvement project. It is an investment in your family’s health and safety. Choosing a contractor who follows the national radon mitigation standards and performs proper diagnostic PFE testing ensures your system is addressing all radon entry points. Our goal is to educate homeowners so they can make informed decisions and avoid the costly, stressful experience Grace’s family endured.
