What Illinois Homeowners Should Know About Radon Mitigation System Installation

When the applicable testing process supports a decision to mitigate, the next question is what the work actually involves. Here is a plain overview for Illinois homeowners.

What a Mitigation System Does

The most common approach is sub-slab depressurization. A pipe runs from below the concrete slab to the exterior of the home, and a continuously running fan creates negative pressure under the foundation. Radon is drawn out before it can seep into the living space through cracks, gaps, or pores in the slab.

An active system's fan runs continuously. Electricity use varies with the fan and system design; Illinois requires a mitigation proposal to include an estimate of annual operating cost. A manometer or other system monitor indicates pressure or fan performance. It is not a radon detector and cannot prove that the indoor concentration is low, so testing remains important.

What Installation Involves

Before drilling, the licensed contractor inspects the foundation, slab, crawlspace, mechanical equipment, and interior layout. Illinois also requires a communication test before completing a proposal when the material below the slab is unknown. Those findings help determine suction points, fan selection, and pipe routing.

A typical job includes:

• One or more suction points or another approved approach suited to the foundation
• A permanently sealed vent-pipe route that carries soil gas to a compliant outdoor discharge
• A fan in an approved location: an attic, a garage that is not beneath conditioned space, or the exterior, not a basement, crawlspace, or conditioned room
• Required sealing at pipe and utility penetrations, accessible slab cracks, and floor-wall joints, plus an airtight sump cover when the system uses or affects the sump
• A system monitor, Illinois mitigation tag, and required pipe and circuit labels

Many residential installations are completed in one visit, but the actual time depends on the foundation, finished areas, electrical work, pipe route, and whether the home has multiple foundation sections.

Illinois Licensing Requirements

Illinois regulates radon services under 32 Ill. Adm. Code Part 422, and Section 422.150 is the mitigation standard for existing housing. A person providing mitigation services must have the applicable IEMA-OHS license before doing the work. American Radon Systems' Illinois mitigation license is RNM2018212.

Before work starts, the client accepts a written proposal that includes the license number, scope, estimated completion, maintenance responsibilities, firm installation price, estimated annual operating cost, and either the conditions of a radon-reduction guarantee or a statement explaining why no guarantee is offered. Afterward, the contractor provides system and contact information and keeps the required inspection, design, test, contract, and warranty records. Keep your proposal, system description, operating instructions, warranty, and post-mitigation result with the home's records.

After the System Is Running

A post-mitigation measurement verifies the system's effectiveness. Illinois says the permanent system must operate for at least 24 hours before the test begins, and the measurement must be conducted no later than 30 days after installation and activation. The system remains on and operates normally throughout the measurement. The resident may test, or an independent Illinois-licensed measurement professional may perform it.

Check the marked normal range on the manometer or other system monitor regularly, but remember that the indicator is not measuring radon. Illinois calls for retesting at least every two years and after a significant building alteration. If the indicator changes, the fan sounds different, or a later test rises, contact a mitigation professional.

American Radon Systems' written warranty covers the service visit, labor, and replacement fan when a fan we installed fails during its first five years. A replacement fan installed under that warranty receives its own five-year term; the complete terms are provided in the customer packet.