Radon-Systems [radon]

614.891.6526 - click post title for website
What can I say. Radon remediation is about as much fun to pay for as lining a chimney. Sucks. January was radon month. With the house closed up tight for winter, it's a good time to check for radon levels.

We checked ours and it came up 8 pCi (average of two tests). Tests are available from Lowes or Amazon and the price includes the lab results. Consumer Reports and the radon contractors claim the DIY kits are reliable.

Radon Systems came in and decreased our level to 1.8 pCi (4 is the action limit) with a straightforward light vacuum system. They gave a good price and did the work quickly and efficiently.

Rating: HIRE

Garduno's Landscaping [landscaping, etc.]

614.208.1480 - no website
Radon. Ugh. Living on the bedrock of a ravine has it's problems. Good drainage but more radon than we anticipated. We bought a couple Kidde radon DIY kits recommended by a radon remediation contractor (to be reviewed later) and the method recommended by Consumer Reports. The kits come with a sampling vessel and the lab analysis fee is included (about $15 per kit). We sampled our basement the other day. Two days of data collection and 3 days waiting for results by web. Our level was above the action limit of 4pCi/L (our average of two tests was 8 pCi/L).

Action:
Step 1. Clean up crawl spaces.
Make level (and useable for storage while we're at it). Our crawl spaces are mountainous and uneven. We wanted them smoothed out the gaps filled with pea gravel to gain a nice even surface. These will then be capped with plastic (by radon contractor). Filling these spaces entails someone lugging in lots of pea gravel (we need 50 tons!) and spreading it. The typical basement guys were uninterested in this menial task. They wanted to cover the uneven surfaces rendering their use for storage limited. The people at Mr. Mulch on 161 responded immediately to my online inquiry and gave me the name of someone who would do the job. Jesus Garduno showed up promptly and using product from Mr. Mulch. quoted me the job. 3 days work and half the price was materials. Because of the radon determination using two tests, we're anxious to get this job done. We're going to take a chance with Jesus and his crew. Respectful, pleasant, willing to haggle a bit on the quote. Good feel so far. I'll let you know how the job goes.

Step 2. The radon team. Another post.

Well, Step 1 went swimmingly as far as the contracted labor. However, Mr. Mulch's delivery of 50 tons of gravel destroyed my driveway. The fix and who's going to pay is currently being discussed.

Jesus and his gang worked like dogs and got the gravel in the crawl spaces in two days.

Rating: HIRE!
Also January is Radon Action Month (EPA).