[jackfci]

Does anyone know why it is not adviseable to locate the mediation fan in the basement? I know the gov't does not advise it. The contractor located the vent pipe so that is the only place I can install it.

[AmyBergquist]

I believe it's because the exhaust fan is not supposed to be located below or in a liveable portion of the house as that kind of defeats the purpose, the gas would be exhausting into your house. It should be in a non-finished portion of the attic or outside, I believe.

Did you have a radon mitigation company install your system? They should be following proper procedure. I would give them a call and have them fix the issue, if there is one.

[Huskyz]

Typically the builder should have placed a plastic pipe (about 4") that projects through the floor of the foundation when concrete is poured. One end will be below the floor in the area below the slab, the other end may just sit in the basement.

If remediation is required (I assume you have tested this), the pipe in the basement is continued and is routed through the foundation or other part of the house to the outside. (Likely will require cutting through the building somewhere.)

Once outside the electric fan/pump is installed on the outside part of the pipe. More pipe is attached to the other end of the pump and continued so it ends above the roof and away from window/doors.

Will this work?

[jackfci]

Originally Posted by AmyBergquist

I believe it's because the exhaust fan is not supposed to be located below or in a liveable portion of the house as that kind of defeats the purpose, the gas would be exhausting into your house. It should be in a non-finished portion of the attic or outside, I believe.

Did you have a radon mitigation company install your system? They should be following proper procedure. I would give them a call and have them fix the issue, if there is one.

All of the piping is properly installed. I want to install the fan in line with the piping which is exhaused thru the roof. The location of the fan would be in the basement.

[jackfci]

Originally Posted by Huskyz

Typically the builder should have placed a plastic pipe (about 4") that projects through the floor of the foundation when concrete is poured. One end will be below the floor in the area below the slab, the other end may just sit in the basement.

If remediation is required (I assume you have tested this), the pipe in the basement is continued and is routed through the foundation or other part of the house to the outside. (Likely will require cutting through the building somewhere.)

Once outside the electric fan/pump is installed on the outside part of the pipe. More pipe is attached to the other end of the pump and continued so it ends above the roof and away from window/doors.

Will this work?

All piping is correct I wish to mount the fan in the basement not in the attic.

[AmyBergquist]

Well then you'll be exhausting the radon gas into your basement, which is not recommended by the EPA.

[usmcfamily]

Originally Posted by Huskyz

Typically the builder should have placed a plastic pipe (about 4") that projects through the floor of the foundation when concrete is poured. One end will be below the floor in the area below the slab, the other end may just sit in the basement.

If remediation is required (I assume you have tested this), the pipe in the basement is continued and is routed through the foundation or other part of the house to the outside. (Likely will require cutting through the building somewhere.)

Once outside the electric fan/pump is installed on the outside part of the pipe. More pipe is attached to the other end of the pump and continued so it ends above the roof and away from window/doors.

Will this work?

We just had a system installed almost exactly as you described. We have a "vacuum type fan" on the interior pipe in our basement that is routed out to the side of our house. There is a fan on the exterior pipe that then extends over our roof line.

We retested and our radon level dropped to 0.07. We were thrilled

[jackfci]

Originally Posted by usmcfamily

We just had a system installed almost exactly as you described. We have a "vacuum type fan" on the interior pipe in our basement that is routed out to the side of our house. There is a fan on the exterior pipe that then extends over our roof line.

We retested and our radon level dropped to 0.07. We were thrilled

Why do you have two fans? .07 does not seem like much. We knew we might have a problem so when we built the home we installed drainage pipes under the floor and ducted them to the dedicated vent pipe. Now I want to install an exhaust fan in the basement rather than the atic to draw out more gases from under the basement floor. EPA says no I just want to know why?

[usmcfamily]

Originally Posted by jackfci

Why do you have two fans? .07 does not seem like much. We knew we might have a problem so when we built the home we installed drainage pipes under the floor and ducted them to the dedicated vent pipe. Now I want to install an exhaust fan in the basement rather than the atic to draw out more gases from under the basement floor. EPA says no I just want to know why?

Sorry, I don't have two fans afterall. I actually had to go down in the basement to confirm it. I have a meter that has blue fluid on it to let me know if the vacuum/fan ceases to run. Yes, my fan is on the exterior of the house. You would have to ask the EPA but, putting the fan on the interior would be quite hazardous I would think.

[Huskyz]

IIRC they believe that placing the fan in the basement is more hazardous in case of a leak. This seems logical. (Also the fan may make some noise...the exhaust flow at the pipe's end does on ours.)

There is a lot of info on radon and remediation on the Internet...a lot. If you think have a problem you should do some reading/research so you are equipped to make an informed decision on action, or you can just call a pro.

We researched it when we got a reading of about 30 pCi/L in our brand new house's basement in PA. We were quite concerned and understandably upset. We ended up hiring a local firm that specialized in radon remediation. They installed a pump/fan outside. The reading dropped to under 1 within a few hours. We were thrilled.

(Note to readers a reading of 4.0 pCi/L is considered the level that requires action...also note that there were NO symptoms detectable without measuring devices. If you are in area that may have heavy radon ... CT is pretty prone... especially southern CT.... see EPA Map of Radon Zones | Radon | US EPA you might want to try a cheap ($~10) test avalable in many home improvement stores or over the Internet...which is how we started.)