Radon problem (Tolland, Litchfield: gated, job, sick)

[Islandbird]

We are purchasing a new home in Tolland county. I would like to get suggestions about Radon in the air and water. How bad is it in CT and Tolland county? Should we check it before we move in or wait for after the move? Thank you.

[Sleddog905]

I don't know about Tolland county specifically, but I would have your radon checked in the house and the water; there are fairly high levels of radon in CT. If you get it tested before you move in, you can make the sellers pay for the mitigation, or at least put money in an escrow account. We made the mistake of having the sellers pay for the mitigation and had to hire another company to fix what the other company messed up, which was basically everything. They did such a poor job that there was no way we were going to let them come back to fix it. Best of luck with your new home!

[Cruikshl]

Our house checked out fine, but our water had a problem which our builder took care of.

[Islandbird]

Thank you for your responses.

[Lizzie007]

the EPA has a web site with a state map that shows areas that typically have higher levels. we just went through this. i was the seller, never knew i had radon until the inspection. we did not test for it when we bought and now i obviously regret that. be sure to include it in your home inspection so that you can negotiate the sellers to pay for it. CT in general has higher levels than many states but it is a fixable problem and shouldn't dissuade you from chosing a house.
it is much more costly to fix if you have well water...another reason to have it tested and addressed as part of your inspection terms.

[cool_mommy]

Test for both, radon in the air and water. We tested for radon when we first built our home and found none. When we sold our home the buyers tested for radon in the air and water. To our surprise we had radon in our water. I was devastated, not because we had to pay for the mitigation but I was sick at the thought that we lived in the house for 6 years with radon in the water. It only cost a few thousand to have it mitigated.

It was a lesson learned. Good luck!

[Juliangel]

I have represented a number of buyers that bought in Tolland. I HIGHLY recommend doing a radon test. Alot of tolland is built on ledge which is the culprit for radon. with the shifting of the faults that does happen while errecting a home. (especially when blasting is done) If you are still before your inspection due date, and find radon you have the righ to request a mitigation system that will treat the problem. If you wait until after, you could find your self stuck with a feee around $3,000. Just my onpinion

[saharris]

So, if you find radon in the home before you purchase it, are you still obligated to buy it? I don't know much about this, but it seems that a mitigation system could possibly fail without you knowing it... Or, it might keep people from buying your home if you need to sell it in the future. When I see radon listed on a disclosure I don't even consider buying it. How do you get it tested? Do you get a water sample and send it off yourself or get someone to come out or what? We plan to buy in Tolland County in the near future.

[Cruikshl]

As long as you have it mitigated there is no problem. We've lived in several states and our company makes us test so there isn't aproblem down the road. We've had to have a house in North Carolina mitigated and water here in Litchfield county. It's only a big deal if you don't take care of it.

[MomOfToo]

We had the well water tested on a house we are purchasing. It is a community well but the state doesn't require that they test for radon on a monthly basis like it has them check for other things in the water. We had Housemasters do our inspection and I called them and had them go back and get a sample of water to test-it cost us $105 and worth it. It came back okay. The air was tested during the regular house inspection. I would do it for peace of mind.

Question-how do you get rid of radon if you have it?