‘Is your basement water management system causing high radon levels inside your home? This video shows a drainage system installed in a basement… and how it allows radon to enter around the slab’
2:00… see the mold, discolorment on corner blocks? There IS an ext–crack or cracked parging in the block wall, needed (still needs) EXT-waterproofing, that is what should have been done, not install the moron INT system
3:05 ‘those gaps around the slab are allowing radon to come out’… and test device readings
4:37 return vent… sucked into hvac unti and pumped into house
so just another homeowner who was duped into an INT drainage system that did NOT stop the water from where it still is FIRST entering the basement and NOW, is allowing easier access for radon.
Boy these inside system companies really look out for homeowners don’t they, they’re real professionals aren’t they lol = professional liars 'n idiots
Not sure what our Dusty is doing checking for “hot spots” with his radon machine or what he will do with that information. I know the EPA average excludes the 1st four hours of any test with a CRM (or you have to make correction calculations). This has me doubting the any reading during that time frame, high or low. Does anyone know why these 1st four hours are discarded? I am coming up empty.
That is the estimated time it takes for the CRM to reach equilibrium with the indoor air at the test site. So depending on where your machine was stored prior, or the conditions at the previous test, those first four hours will likely have inaccurate data. And that data could be VERY inaccurate if going from one extreme to the other, such ass taking a machine from a home testing at 90 pCi/L and going directly to another home that has very low radon.
One option to address the issue in the video would be to extend a dimple mat from the “grate” all the way up to the rim joist and find a way to seal at the top and any other seams. This will not be easy, but it is an option.
In my area, the big companies use materials similar to your dimple mat. Typically corrugated plastic or a thick rolled plastic. Seems to me, sealing this sheathing would be the way to go as you stated.
I am still questioning his “testing for radon hot spots” technique. What does he do with this information? Does he consider this actionable information? Does he alert the homeowner? Does he use the results to determine if he should do a longer test? I think it is a slippery slope, and in my opinion on the surface it appears to be a poor practice. But, I am open to the counter argument.
I saw another video of his where he has one monitor with a really high number (like next to a sump pit or a big crack in the slab) and much lower levels at various other locations. That video was about the importance of sealing places where radon can get into the home.
I am not here to bash Dusty. In fact I wish he were here to educate me on his processes. He may have the science behind his methodology. I do know that nowhere in the ANSI/AARST MAH 2019 does it approve of “spot testing” for any reason.
Here in GA, an unregulated state, there are inspectors who perform “snapshot in time” radon testing. Basically, the inspector soaks the machine for the duration of the home inspection. Any information gathered during that time is likely erroneous; regardless if the results are high or low.
Do you see any measurable difference between what Dusty just demonstrated in his video to “snapshot in time” radon testing being performed here in GA? So I go back to my original question, what does he do with this information?
So, basically, to ‘purge’ the CRM of any residual contaminates from a prior test?
I am also ‘assuming’ that this 4-hour rejection of Data is a separate requirement from the 12-hour hold, prior to a test commencing that allows for the home to stabilize?
I haven’t read or heard of your specific scenario being addressed by the controlling agencies. If I get a chance I’ll fire off an email to the people at the state.
But think about it, the home is ready to test after 12 hours closed building. If you drop off the monitor at hour 8 of that period, the monitor will be acclimated to the home at hour 12. Both the monitor and the home are ready to begin the testing at that point in time.
The video was about how interior drain systems can elevate radon levels. He used “spot testing” to demonstrate or verify this phenomenon.
IMO, he should have left the machine in the truck and never mentioned the “spot testing for hot spots” because it validates a questionable practice. As if those high readings next to a sump-pump have any validity. This is quite misleading to the general public and other home inspectors. It proves nothing
A simple graphic which is publicly available would have made his point.
It doesn’t address the situation at all actually. Do you see a reason that the machine can’t acclimate to the home during the last 4 hours of the closed building period? Honestly, I’ve never been in a situation where this scenario was necessary, but it is a good question!
Well, somewhere deep down the rabbit hole there is guidance for a machine that does not exclude the 4 hours. It includes correction calculations I cannot find. (well, I found the document, but stopped digging)
