Georgia Radon Defense Videos

Radon System Inspection

A new homeowner in Lawrenceville, GA, called us to inspect a radon mitigation system after their radon test showed elevated levels in the home. There were a lot of issues with the system, but the first thing we noticed was that it was not moving any air. The fan on the system was a large, expensive, high-airflow fan. This was the wrong application for the fan, and the oversized fan was increasing their power bill without doing anything to protect the family.   Upon further investigation, we discovered that the installer failed to dig an adequate suction pit. The NRPP requirement is the removal of 2 gallons of sub-slab soil or aggregate from beneath the concrete. In Georgia, this is rarely enough to reduce the radon in a home unless there is a significant gravel layer below the slab. It is very difficult to pull soil gas from compacted clay. The best practice is to dig a large sub-slab plenum (suction pit). This gets into a deeper soil layer and increases the surface area to which negative pressure is applied.    We fixed the system and reduced their radon levels below the EPA action level by digging a larger suction pit and installing a high-suction fan. Big pits solve problems.