What your call to us to “What does it cost to just install a radon fan” means to us?
When we get this is question over the phone….you may hear us sigh. This is because it means much more than jsut isntalling a fan. It means (1) install the radon fan in attic of the house. (2) install the manometer on the vent pipe, (3) Perform the SSDC test to verify the system is working properly, extendingthe vacuum under all of the slab(s), (4) perform the certified post-mitigation radon testing.
However, we often find a sump pit does not have the transparent cover on it so the occupant can inspect it without taking the cover off, (6) expansion joints and grooves in unfinished floor slabs are not sealed, (7) crawl spaces are not properly sealed and not tied in with the partial radon vent piping that was installed by a subcontractor during new home construction, (8) Vent pipes are clogged up under the slab, not allowing airflow through the vent pipe to move the radon out, (9) Not enough vertical space in attic vent pipe to install fan, (10) electrical box and/or outlet not installed, or too far from the vent pipe in the attic.
While (1)-(4) are part of the minimum requirement possible (lowest cost) for Activation of a passive system, (5) to (10), also essential for a good working system if not present with the passive system, are included for additional cost price. In the case of an ERV mitigation, exterior intakes must be regularly checked for clogging and interior filters and the energy core must be replaced regularly following manufacturer’s guidelines in the future in order to ensure optimal system operation and lowering of radon. (How about getting a skunk in the house, just because the passive system installer had left off the screen on the discharge vent pipe on the roof together with a crawl space inside the house: Yes, we have been called for this!).
That is why it is not so simple as to give you the cost of “just install the radon fan”, because we really are relying on the initial work having been done correct during new home installation. Our guaranty and warranty covers what we do, not what they did. Rest assured, we will find out what needs to be done and are able to repair it and make it a good operating radon mitigation system due to our extensive experience with activation of sstems over 20 years and from all different builders..
In the carousel slide show below you can see many of the problems we have encountered in the past, and in some cases we show how we solve them. However rest assured that we will be able to make a bad passive system into a good active radon mitigation system with our experience.
Finally we see some contractors safe a few cents by using thin walled sewage pipe, rather shan the stronger Sched-40 material PVC or ABS pipe. We show that actual holes have been found in such pipes in attics. If these cracked pipes or holes are inside finished drywall cavity they will never be found, but could seriously cause that the system is not removing radon as well as normally expected.