Protecting Your Home from Radon: A Step-by-Step Manual for Radon Reduction

Protecting Your Home From Radon (2nd Edition) The first edition of this book was written in 1993, to assist what was thought to be an occasional do-it-yourself homeowner. In reality, the number of individuals wanting to reduce radon levels themselves was much higher than anticipated. In addition, the manual was being utilized to better understand the radon mitigation process prior to hiring a contractor, and to design systems installed into homes during construction. The overwhelming success of the book led to the distribution of several thousand copies to individuals and libraries. Its popularity identified the need to address the process of hiring contractors and installing passive and active systems in new home construction. The second edition, now readily available, has these two substantive additions. This detailed manual describes the most common methods for reliably reducing radon in a home. Written in a non-technical format, the book includes step-by-step instructions and illustrations to guide homeowners through the radon mitigation process. Chapter 1: Health Effects Chapter 7: Piping Systems Chapter 2: Measurements Chapter 8: Caulking and Sealing Chapter 3: Radon Entry Chapter 9: Combining Approaches Chapter 4: Crawl Space Systems Chapter 10: Safety An in-depth discussion of safe installation practices, including personal protective gear and area ventilation. The need to check for backdrafting and post-mitigation radon testing is emphasized. Chapter 5: Drainage Based Systems How existing sups and drain tiles can be modified for cost-effective radon reduction. Chapter 11: New Home Systems How to install cost-effective radon control systems during new home construction. Chapter 6: Sub-Slab Systems How sub-slab depressurization systems are designed and installed in basement, slab-on-grade. Chapter 12: Selecting a Contractor For people who want to make an educated decision about hiring a contractor to perform all or part of a mitigation system.