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If you believe that high radon levels in your house can lead to serious health problems(and I do) you need to get a radon test. Not having a radon test done on a house you are purchasing(whether old or new) is like having unprotected sex with someone you just met. Things may be okay, but if not it may turn deadly. Unless you are in a part of the country where radon is not an issue at all(and I don't know where that is) then I think getting a radon test is a slam dunk.
It's local. I lived in Phoenix, AZ and never heard about radon tests. Now I live in Seattle, WA and also have never heard about people getting radon tests.
Back in my home state of Montana, people don't talk much about it, thought it is more common there.
how about termite testing for a new construction?
cost is not really an issue, but do not want to waste time doing something not meaningful
I'm also buying new const. - I hired a Structural Engineer to do my inspection. Little things like termites, radon, etc. aren't going to be huge issues - my concern will be "quality" of the construction and who better to pick up on bad construction practices than a Structural engineer? And his fees aren't terrible - $350.00 plus $75.00 for the radon. And he emails the results of his inspection the same day!
Since NJ is a licensed State, I hope your inspector holds a NJ home inspector license.
You can always go to the EPA radon web site and look up potential radon exposure levels in any State.
Professional (Structural is one type of professional) engineers generally don't need a home inspection license in order to make a structural assessment of a home. Assuming they are competent, most states consider that to be acting within the scope of the engineering license they have.
Of course, structural engineers can't do a termite inspection and call that part of their engineering evaluation. But if termite damage has occured, it'd be appropriate for the engineer to make the determination if the house is still structurally sound.
As comparison, the licensed home inspector can't make a structural determination on whether the house is sound. The home inspector can not if some was done improperly but can't make a determination on what the structural implications are.
I am a New Jersey DEP licensed radon specialist.....I do testing and mitigation. It is not a requirement that passive radon systems be installed in all new construction.....only new houses in Tier 1 areas....those are zip codes where more than 25% of all tests reported to the DEP have elevated levels of radon. Additionally........most builders cannot provide "closed house" conditions for testing as they constantly have sub-contractors running in an out of the house leaving doors and windows open....arrange for a 30 day period after settlement to do your test......reputable builders will allow for this.
bigtrees - You are correct that a PE does not need a home inspection license to do a "structural inspection". However, a "home inspection" for a real estate transaction does require a Home Inspectors license, and substitutes are not accepted (in States that I know of).
A home inspection is usually well defined by the State, as are the qualifications of the license holder. Can't speak for NJ, but in TN at least, they do not accept ANY variations of the basic license requirements.
NJ used to have one of the best home inspection licensing bills around, but it was amended a while back, and watered down a bunch. I am not sure what all they allow now.
However, if your builder won't pay for corrective action, I'm not sure the radon test is worthwhile.
I don't understand this response. So if your builder will not agree to pay for mitigation you should just ignore the possibility that you might have a radon problem in the first place? That doesn't make any sense to me.
You can find the EPA map of radon zones for your area here. This link is to Texas; just replace "texas" with the name of your state in the url and it will take you to the zone map for your state. In most of Texas, radon is not an issue and we don't get inspections for it.
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radon seems like necessary then
