It's a minor expense, and easy to do during construction. What would you do if you did nothing, and then detected radon? I don't know about your area, but some areas are prone to it, and radon mitigation is code in most areas where it is prevalent.

Some have comented that the plastic alone will keep it out and we don't need the vent.

What did Clint say? "Opinions are like ass****s. Everyone has one."

I'd stick to what the building scientists have to say on the matter. (See link.) You're right.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Gas Control

Its way more expensive to retrofit.. Youre doing the right thing, even if this isnt your forever house.

I dont know if arbitrarily installing a radon mitigation system without testing would have any affects on resale value later, but if you dont do it, and find out you have to, then it may have some ramifications..

Along with the radon protection, you also get moisture protection from the membrane, so its a win/win..

it's cheap at this point, and doesn't hurt anything. Why not?

We put rock and a perimeter pipe as a french drain under the basement floor (which included a vapor barrier and insulation), but with the thought that it would be easy enough to hook a blower to it if radon mitigation were necessary (not likely with our soil type).

Don't forget the insulation under the slab while you're at it.

Thanks for the encouragement in the right direction! I agree will all points made and the plastic will be laid monday with the plumbing set in for venting.

Thanks again
You guys are great
Jen

We did exactly that....prepped for the radon and ran the pipe up into the attic but did not install the fan. We knew other homes in the area had radon problems, and we did have to hammer some ledge in one corner of the foundation hole so we knew it was a possibility.

After we moved in, we had the house tested and it was extremely high in radon...something like 40 vs. the allowable limit of 4, so the guys came along and installed the electrical, the fan and the vent pipe. The beauty of doing it that way is you can capture and exhaust the radon even before it gets into your foundation, esp important for us as we finished our basement.

We just tested it again and the results came back excellent....1.5 vs the limit of 4. We saved ourselves a boatload of money by installing the pipes correctly underground while the foundation was open.

We also radon tested our well water, and it was fine.

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 11:25