Radon Testing Pitfalls


Residential radon tests, are in many cases, made on a residential property as part of a home inspection after the seller has accepted a purchase offer from a home buyer. For a radon test to be valid, it must be conducted under closed building conditions. Failure to maintain closed building conditions during a radon test, will invalidate the radon test results and negatively impact the home sale.

Closed building conditions are required to be maintained for 12 hours before the start of a radon test, and involve the closing of all windows, and doors except for normal exit and entry. When in use the heating and air conditioning systems must be set to a normal operating temperature range of 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, if the home to be tested has a fireplace, the fireplace damper must also be closed. Often closing the fireplace damper is overlooked.

During a radon test closed building conditions must be maintained for the duration of the test which is a minimum of 48 hours. Closed building conditions allow for the normal use of bathroom vent fans, hood fans, and clothes dryers as usual. However, the use of wood stoves and fireplaces is not permitted. Additionally air cleaners and dehumidifiers can not be used within 20 feet of the radon monitor. Also fans are not allowed in the testing area.

There is a mistaken belief that if closed building conditions are not maintained during a radon test the radon tester will not know the difference. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality the design and function of the typical radon detector used during real estate inspections easily enables a radon technician to evaluate the measurement data to determine if closed building conditions have been maintained through the radon testing period. Tampering with a radon test or failure to maintain closed house conditions during a radon test is not likely to prove beneficial, as a matter of fact a seller may actually loose the sale of a home.

Sherlock Homes Inspection, LLC provides ancillary radon inspection service as well as residential and commercial property inspection services and can be contacted at 877-786-6685 or www.sherlockhomesinspection-illinois.com for additional information or to schedule an inspection service.

Radon Inspection Stress


House Bill 1425, better known as the radon awareness act, passed the 95 Illinois General Assembly and became law January 1, 2008. The radon awareness act makes it mandatory by law for the seller to inform the buyer of “residential real property” (home buyer) of the potential radon levels in residential real estate and further recommends that “ALL homebuyers have an indoor radon test performed prior to purchase or taking occupancy”. As a part of the radon awareness act, the home buyer must also be given an information pamphlet entitled “Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions”. “The seller shall complete the required disclosure activities prior to accepting the buyer’s offer, and allow the buyer an opportunity to review the information and possibly amend the offer.” Without a doubt, the radon awareness act has prompted an increase in radon testing and mitigation.

Home sellers, when faced with a radon inspection along with the perception of a possible loss of a home sale due to a failed radon inspection, can become extremely stressed. Much of a home sellers stress can be reduced or eliminated with a better understanding of radon inspections, inspection results, and radon mitigation.

First of all a radon inspection isn’t really a pass fail type of inspection. Radon inspections are a measurement of radon that exists within a structure. Because all of the air in the atmosphere has some radon, a zero radon test result is not possible. Considering that radon is everywhere, why do we care how much radon is present in our homes? The answer is, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and the higher the concentration of radon, the more likely a person is to develop lung cancer from radon. Unfortunately radon can enter a structure thru openings in the foundation and reach, in some cases, extremely high concentrations because it is confined in the structure. So what is a safe level of radon? The answer is zero, and zero radon is not possible, hence there is no safe level of radon. What we do have is a recommended indoor radon mitigation level of 4.0pCi/l.

In Illinois 60% of all homes tested for radon test higher than the recommended mitigation level of 4.0pCi/l. Interestingly, the biggest reason radon hasn’t been a very big issue is a lack of awareness resulting in only 10% of the homes involved in a real estate transaction being tested for radon. Of course if a home is tested and found to have radon levels higher than the recommended mitigation level of 4.0pCi/l, most people will elect to have a radon mitigation system installed. Basically a radon mitigation system is a method to vent radon gas from underneath a foundation and into the atmosphere thus preventing the radon gas from entering the structure. Typical installation costs for an active radon mitigation system start at about $1500 and go up to about $2000.

Typically a high level of radon can be found in 60% of the homes in Illinois. Elevated levels of radon represent a health hazard than can and should be corrected. The end result fewer cases of lung cancer. There is no reason for home buyers or sellers to view a radon reading of more than 4.0pCi/l as a deal killer.

WHY INSPECT A FORECLOSED HOME?

A very interesting question that can be viewed from several different perspectives dependant on what a person perceives the value of a home inspection to be. Customarily when a buyer purchases a home, they will have a home inspection performed by a knowledgeable, certified, experienced, and licensed home inspector. Buyers have a number of reasons for a home inspection, one of which is to use a home inspection report as a bargaining tool to wrestle price concessions from the seller. Foreclosed homes are typically owned by a lending institution and offered for sale at a discounted price, as is, and on a take it or leave it basis. Hence home buyers that only view a home inspection as a value added service when they can use a home inspection report to negotiate price concessions from the seller are foregoing the home inspection. Sometimes buyers even use the argument that they don't need a home inspection because the price has been discounted so far that they are willing to accept the risk of unknown defects in the belief that they have saved enough money on the purchase price to pay for some unknown repairs.

Consider several different perspectives on the need to have a foreclosed home inspected before buying it. First of all the home has been foreclosed, the real question is why. One obvious answer, the previous owner was unable to make the mortgage payments. In many if not all cases, home maintenance was suspended long before the owner defaulted on the mortgage payments resulting in delayed maintenance costs that could exceed the savings on the purchase price of the home. Another reason a home owner will forfeit a home to foreclosure is because the home has a hidden defect that will cost more to repair than the home would be worth. For the foregoing two reasons alone, prudent home buyers when purchasing a foreclosed home should consider a home inspection to be a value added service of the highest priority. Value added service, not because a price concession can be negotiated with the seller, but because foreclosed homes have a greater potential for hidden additional costs.

In Northern Illinois home inspections can be scheduled with Sherlock Homes Inspection, LLC at http://www.sherlockhomesinspection-illinois.com/ .

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We are specialist in residential home inspection in northern Illinois. Please contact us at (877) 786-6685