Radon problems..

On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:39:07 -0400, "john" wrote Re Radon problems..:

Either one will work well.

Hi John,

I did this in my basement for Radon. I posted my experiences on alt.home.repair as Caulking Hell and Subsequent Redemption. So here is my story again ....

The biggest crack I had was between the basement wall and the concrete slab floor. The floor concrete tends to pull away from the wall as it dries. The gap varies from almost zero to maybe 1/4 inch. You want to fill this crack and make it gas tight.

The process I ended up with is two stage:

2) Use a *self leveling* polyeurethane caulk over the other caulk.

Notes:

Both caulks are polyeurethane based. This is because they will stick to concrete and they will stick to each other. You want to use the thicker one first because if you do not, the gap is so large that the self leveling caulk will just drain away into the crushed rock base below your basement slab. Note you do not have to wait untill the thicker caulk dries, I just proceeded with step 2 right away and it worked fine. I really recomend spending the extra 4 dollars on the best caulk gun you can get your hands on. After caulking 150 feet of basement perimeter your hand gets real tired.

For hairline cracks in the concrete slab itself. I used a concrete filler. It somes in a sort of squeezy bottle and comes out like a wet paste. I used a plastic putty knife to smooth it over. Your basement floor will remain dead flat, no bumps.

After I did all this I also ended up installing a radon fan. The caulking is useful in that you keep the warm air in the house and not being sucked out. Some web sites say that sealing alone, although useful, may not lower significantly radon levels. This is because you may miss a bit, basement stairs, near the boiler where you cannot reach etc. Also because the radon gas that remains is more concentrated, you sealed up most of the gas where it could escape. Hence the net lowering of radon levels is not that great if you do not use a fan.

Best, Mike.

Sorry ... one more thing ... I bought my polyeurethane caulk from Home Depot. Some internet "Radon specialist" sites sell the same stuff at ridiculously high prices.

Best, Mike.

Mike, I dont understand why you'd use the concrete tube for the very small hairline cracks. Im picturing that the concrete would be so hard to get in there.

Do you know the exact name brands you got? Does the 'seal leveling' brand say its 'seal leveling' on the item?

Another thing..it would probably be difficult to install a radon system in my house because you cant drill down from inside the house. I have Radiant Heating. (heating within the foundation)

Personally I think there has been over kill on the radon issue:

Frank

"john" wrote in news:mpudnQxBrbuRAbXanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net:

There are other approaches than going through a hole in the floor. I installed a system that used the drain tile and it worked quite well.

Another approach is to simply install ventilation to exhaust the radon gases. Probably not applicable to clod winter climates.

Hi John,

Sorry I did not explain it very well. For the hairline cracks I use a concrete paste. It comes in a plastic container. It has the consistency of mayonaise, sort of paste. I am trying to find it on the internet. I got it at Home Depot. It is for concrete crack filling. Ah got it (Sakrete is the manufacturer)

As for the Radiant heating .... I do not know ... sorry ... no real idea how to solve that bit ....

Best, Mike.