Radon

Since we're getting ready to weatherize our house and seal up the cracks to improve energy efficiency, it was suggested that we get a radon test.   So this gizmo was parked in our basement over the weekend and tested for radon levels every hour.

Well, the first bad news about our house was delivered yesterday - he have high levels of radon in the basement. I was really bummed out by this fact, and spent a good part of yesterday evening moping around the house and feeling crummy that we picked a lame house with radon in it.


Then, I learned more today.  We're in a high-radon zip code (see map below for Zip code 97218, at the North end of Portland, close to the river).

Our house has a sizeable crawlspace under the front of the house where the original 1925 part was built, with a dirt floor.  The regular concrete basement is farther back, but it's likely that the radon is being pulled out of the dirt crawlspace and also through cracks in the foundation.

Below is the graph of the radon levels.  The average is 19 (should be less than 4) and at some points over the weekend spiked to 28.

We're meeting with the radon mitigation specialist tomorrow afternoon to discuss options.

The good news is that we might be able to finance some of these mitigation repairs in with our Clean Energy Works Portland loan, but the total of our project (weatherization, insulation, furnace upgrade, radon, etc.) has to fit under a cap they've established for the loan program.

More on this topic as it unfolds.