Frequently Asked Questions

No, you are not required to test your home for radon. However, as high radon levels can increase your chance for lung cancer, testing is a good idea. Some common times to test the home for radon per the EPA are; whenever the home goes through a real estate transaction or switches ownership, a new addition is constructed or significant renovations occur, heating or cooling systems are significantly altered, or when ventilation is significantly altered.  

The only way to know how much radon is in your home is to measure it. There are a couple different options for testing homes for radon. Our office uses E-PERM readers, and we run these tests out of our state certified lab. Other common options are charcoal test kits or continuous monitors. It is important to make sure that if you aren't using a licensed radon professional to test your home, you are ensuring that the test equipment is NRPP approved.

There are many different ways to measure radon and each method has different advantages and disadvantages. These methods can be lumped into two different categories: Short and long term testing. 

Short-term testing is the quickest way to test your home. Short-term tests remain in your home for two days to 90 days depending on the device. “Charcoal canisters,” “alpha track,” “electret ion chamber,” “continuous monitors,” and “charcoal liquid scintillation” detectors are most commonly used for short-term testing. Because radon levels tend to vary from day to day and season to season, a short-term test is not able to tell you what your yearly average is.

Long-term testing will give you a reading that is representative of your home’s year-round average radon level. Long-term tests remain in your home for more than 90 days. “Alpha track” and “electret” detectors are commonly used for this type of testing.

Reduction of the radon that enters your house is a fairly simple process that involves using piping and a small fan to reroute the radon laden gas from underneath a barrier (such as a basement slab or membrane covering a crawl space) to an outside vent on the top of your house. The radon that is already in your house will continue to naturally and quickly decay while the radon system lowers the rate at which new radon can enter your home. 

When you look for a contractor to reduce the radon in your house, look for a contractor who:

• Is nationally certified and state licensed 
• Knows all the local ordinances regarding radon mitigation, piping, wiring, etc.
• Has a substantial amount of experience fitting Radon mitigation systems into houses like yours – each house is different and requires subtle but important customizations in your radon mitigation system.

Drennen Custom Contracting is NRPP certified, is licensed with the state of Colorado, knows all of the local ordinances, and has completed thousands of installations of radon mitigation systems in Fort Collins and the Northern Colorado area! Contact us!

A radon mitigation system can usually be installed within one working day.

YES! All of our systems are guaranteed to reduce the radon concentrations in your house to below 4.0 pCi/l (annual average). Our system also comes with a 5 year fan warranty and a 20 year workmanship warranty.

The EPA recommends a third party test be completed no sooner than 7 days after the work has been completed. However, as part of our installation, we will test your radon levels for you to make sure the system is working properly. It is important to follow the EPAs recommendation of re-testing the home every two years even with an active system.