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Posted by dicko on July 17, 2008, 9:37 pm
>
>> warning....pretty long post
>>
>> I am so fed up with Radon right now I dont know what to do. I completely
>> sealed every single crack with poleurothane chaulking. 6 mm plastic
>> sheeting down , padding down , 1/2 think laminated wood flooring down...
>> Wood trim sealed with chaulking on top and on bottom.
>>
>> http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i105/boczor/DSC00534.jpg ( a little
>> blurry )
>>
>> I've never had any problems with wetness or dampness on that level.
>>
>> There is absolutely no way at all from the bottom that the radon can come
>> through. So the only place it could be coming through is through the
>> drywall via the extreme outer parts of the foundation area. And possibly
>> from the buildup directly underneath the flooring where it cannot escape.
>> So its possibly seeping through from underneath the flooring / underneath
>> the woodtrim / towards the interior drywall. Thats my final conclusion.
>>
>> I still have the same levels as I had before all this work was done.
>> Around 5 to 8 pcI . I monitor all the time and even have an accurate
>> electronic one that monitors it every hour. I've never seen it ever go
>> above 9pcI here...for years now I even occasionally send charcol packets
>> for lab analysis that confirm that my electronic gauge is very accurate.
>> Im almost at the point where I dont care anymore and im just going to live
>> with it. Normal levels in Canada for the longest time used to be 20 pcI
>> or under. They recently lowered the legal level to 5 pcI. Yet the u.s.
>> level is 4 pcI . Is this going to change all the time ? I mean its not
>> like I have 5000 pcI like some houses out there.
>>
>> I have a bi-level house. I cant have a mitigation system installed since
>> I have no gravel underneath the foundation for the gas to breathe through.
>> I heard this was common with bi-levels. My house was built in 1993. I
>> also have radiant heating...another pain in the ass thing that the
>> mitigation installers around here dont want to mess with... and plus with
>> the wood flooring installed, the only place would be the garage to install
>> the mitigation...and thats another problem since nobody knows if the
>> garage is on a seperate slab of concrete then the main floor. The vaccum
>> effect wouldnt work if its on another slab. Plus theres no gravel
>> underneath.
>>
>> So I decided to take matters into my own hands today and dug underneath my
>> foundation -
>>
>> http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i105/boczor/DSC00532.jpg
>>
>> It took me 2 hours to get around these boulders of rocks with a hand
>> shovel.. (not seen in picture) The point I stopped at was right when the
>> thunder storm moved in. But im pretty sure im under the foundation ?
>> Any advice to do from here on out would be much appreciated. I left it
>> like that for now. (dont worry the storm moved by quick...barely any rain)
>> Maybe stick a pipe underneath there?....put the dirt back and see if the
>> levels drop ? Why bother with a mitigation system for that section when
>> I dont have gravel underneath ? Plus if I did have a gravel layer it
>> would probably show up in that pic anyway right ?
>>
>> I feel exhaused with my efforts....and exhaused from the uncertainty from
>> the 2 different mitigation estimate people i've been dealing with. Both
>> people just didnt have a definate answer on what would work... And I hate
>> crap like that when their like "well....we can drill one hole here...and
>> see if that works....if that doesnt
>> work....wellllllllllllllll...........we can drill another
>> hole............and welllllll...........if that doesnt work............we
>> can try something else..................and if that doesnt work..........
>> , etc, etc... by that time I had a brain tumor and told them to leave.
>> I just want it to be fixed and done with, but that is not possible with
>> radon. especially with my situation. Very aggravating.
>>
>> I've also heard that the only governmental radon / lung cancer studies
>> that have EVER been done have been with Miners. People that work
>> thousands of feet underground... of course their going to have problems.
>> Theres never been any household radon / lung cancer studies done... EVER.
>> Sometimes I think its a whole corrupt government thing. Maybe the Real
>> studies indicated that anything under 10 pcI is completely safe. But if
>> they officially say it has to be under 4 pcI....when then they make a
>> whole lot more money that way. A whole lot more houses end up above the
>> legal limits.
>>
>> Sorry for all my blabber, im mostly looking into any positive insight on
>> what I can do with that hole I dug. (I sense sarcastic remarks incoming)
>>
>> Seriously, I appreciate any insight. I really dont know what to do
>> anymore with this radon.
>
>Just don't give yourself a heart attack worrying about your radon. It seems
>there is always something in our houses that needs abatement. If it's not
>asbestos, or radon, or buried oil tanks, they'll think of something new. I
>would try to get good air circulation through the ground level rooms,
>whenever possible. I would also do as much research as you can on verifying
>any known illnesses caused by typical home radon. My guess is you won't find
>much
>
Do you have a sump pit? Some mitigation systems work by sealing the
sump pit and then evacuating the air in the pit to the outside. this
works because the sump is attached to pipes that already are under
your foundation.
There's all kinds of stuff on DIY radon mitigation on the web.
http://www.infiltec.com/inf-faqr.htm
BTW. I have one of those electronic radon meters and mine's at 4.8.
It's been as high as 9.
Also, for anyone in Illinois, The state is giving away free radon test
kits. http://www.iema.illinois.gov/radon/RadonTestKit.asp
-dickm
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