Radon testing when purchasing a home??

[NFS4]

Our family is expanding and we're buying a new home. We have the home inspection tomorrow and there's an optional radon testing that's an additional $125. Seems like a way to scam another hundred bucks out of me during the due diligence period (inspection, survey, radon testing, appraisal, blah blah blah), but the EPA says that every home should be tested...

http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap.html

But we live in Zone 3 in North Carolina and radon levels are supposedly low. The house doesn't have a basement and does have a crawl space.

Should I just suck it up and pay the $125?

 

[shabby]

If you dont test it then the epa police will be after you...

 

[Greenman]

If it's deal breaker have it tested.

 

[pcgeek11]

I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[boomerang]

You can find the do-it-yourself detectors far far cheaper if it concerns you. It can become a two step process in that if the first test, which is short in duration finds levels that warrant it, a longer duration test is run. Typically, the price of the kit includes the actual analyses.

I believe that it is a requirement where I live which is a Zone 2. That, along with water testing is a requirement when selling a home. I've lived here for 28 years and nobody has cared what I'm drinking or breathing but when I sell, it's important for the new owners to know.

Edit: Here, I can get a test kit from the county for even less than I can get one on the open market. I saw some for as low as $12 doing a quick search.

 

[purbeast0]

when we bought our home we got it done. but they only tested the basement, and if your house doesn't have a basement, then i don't know how much there could be on ground level. it's been a while since then so i don't even remember where/why radon exists where it does.

but in the grand scheme of things, $125 out of a $419k purchase price was a drop in the bucket and worth it imo.

 

[pcgeek11]

I would think with a properly ventilated crawl space it would be a non-issue.

 

[bigi]

It was mandatory in my case. I am in IL. I did not pay for it but apparently it is a big deal here. It was set up for 48 hours in locked house to get proper readings.

Mine passed, but I do know people whose levels were much above the limit. The gas does accumulate in stagnant areas and it is cancerous.

$125 will be one of (if not the smallest) expenses you will deal with.

YMMV, but I'd do it.

 

[Jimzz]

You can get a do it yourself kit for $10-20.

But I have 2 houses with basements and did not test either. At $125 I would skip.

 

[gururu2]

We had it done in MD as there was some precedence of Radon in the groundwater. If it comes up as standard practice in your area I wouldn't skip it.

 

[MustISO]

Seems like a small price to pay in the grand scheme. Our house has some type of radon venting system installed by the builder but I'd still like to have it tested to see if things are clear.

http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/hmbyguid.html

 

[TheSlamma]

No basement? Especially one you won't be sleeping in?

Don't bother IMO

 

[KK]

no basement, and you got a crawl space. Did you get a radon test when you bought your car too? In other words, it's very not necessary.

 

[soulcougher73]

Unless you plan to sit your basement for 75 years 24x7 i wouldnt bother.

 

[IronWing]

Buy the test. If the house passes you have smidgen more piece of mind. If it flunks, ask for a lower price.
Yes, I know piece is spelled correctly, just not the right word; don't care.

 

[Zorba]

In my neighborhood in Cincinnati about 50% of the houses had to have Radon mediation. My house was way under when I bought and just slightly under when I sold it. So it does happened.

However, if it was a problem in your area you'd see other houses with mediation. If no one in the neighborhood had mediation don't waste your money.

 

[mizzou]

look at it this way...the presence of radon could be another negotiating tool.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Agreed spending $125 to know critical information about a home purchase is a trivial expense.
I know you can vent to reduce radon however it would be nice to know that up front.

 

[edro]

$125 to test, $800-$1000 to fix and a fan that runs 24/7 but is relatively quiet.
They seal your sump pit lid, install a fan and a giant PVC pipe on the side of your house that extends up to the roof.
Most of the houses in Ohio fail when tested because the EPA limit is so low.

Long term effects are not well known except for extremely high levels for extended periods of time. (coal miners, mice in the lab, etc)

It's a racket to collect $1000 on every home sale, but it's hard to argue when the only references online are scare tactic websites citing the same EPA arbitrary limits.

The racket is so successful, there are sure to be follow up versions for various other low level carcinogens found in standard building materials.

 

[IGBT]

it's a good idea to have granite counter tops tested too. Big business removing gassing granite counter tops these days. Testing kits are available.

 

[DrPizza]

it's a good idea to have granite counter tops tested too. Big business removing gassing granite counter tops these days. Testing kits are available.

You can get a Geiger-Muller counter for around $100 or less. Seems fairly trivial to test granite counter tops with one; and you can stick it somewhere to measure the background radiation; then toss it in the crawl space to measure the rate. When you're done, you'll know if you have a problem & have a cool Geiger-Muller counter - great to carry in antique stores where they have a lot of old fiesta ware and other old glazed ceramics.

 

[IronWing]

Granite counter tops are likely a very small contributor to overall radon levels in a house in a high radon area. Soil gases are generated from very large bodies of decomposed rock (granite and granite-derived arkose sandstones and black shales). Granite counter tops are simply too small to produce much in the way of radon or radon daughter products. Plus the counter tops tend to be made from very low porosity granite so the radon that is produced is mostly trapped in the rock. Only the very near surface layer of the counter top is likely to yield radon to the atmosphere. Soil conditions and foundation construction and condition are much more important to radon in the home.

Here's what EPA has to say about the topic:
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/granite-countertops.html

Even folks selling radon test kits downplay the role of granite counter tops in domestic radon levels.
http://www.radon.com/radon/granite.html