Written and reviewed by Bill Dahlstrom, Illinois radon mitigation license RNM2018212 · Updated
Most installs are done in one visit. Here’s each step, from the first call to the test after we’re done.
Most jobs start with a phone call. Then Bill comes out to see your home. Every home is different, so we don’t give a price without seeing the home. Bill looks at the basement, the sump, where the pipe could run, and where the fan could go outside. Before anything is scheduled, you’ll know what he recommends, why, and what install day will look like.
You get a reminder the night before. On the morning of the job, we text you when we’re on the way, with a closer arrival time. You won’t be stuck waiting around.
Before we bring in any tools, we cover the floor from the front door to the work area. We’re careful with your home from the first trip inside.
Before any work starts, we go over what Bill planned on his first visit. We check where the suction point goes, the sump if there is one, the pipe route, and where the pipe leaves the home. If something has changed or you have a question, we sort it out before we drill.
We drill through the floor with dust control to keep the area clean. The hole goes where it will pull best from under the home, not wherever is easiest. Then we seal cracks and openings, so the fan pulls air from under the floor and not from your basement.
If the system uses your sump pit, we put on a sealed lid that still lets you get to the pump. Not every system uses the sump. If your home needs a different setup, we build it to fit.
Outside, we mount the radon fan and run the pipe up the side of the home to above the roofline. The fan runs all the time, and it’s what moves the radon out. We keep the pipe as neat and out of sight as we can.
When the system is done, we clean up and walk you through it before we leave. We show you the U-tube gauge on the pipe, which tells you the fan is pulling, and what to watch for. We answer your questions before we pack up.
Test your home again after the waiting period to check the radon level. If you have questions later, you call the same local company that put the system in, not a call center.
Jose has worked with Bill since 2018. He does the install and keeps the pipe runs neat. Bill stops by during your install and handles calls, supplies, and anything the crew needs, but he isn’t there the whole time.
We usually do two jobs a day, six days a week.
From our work
We routed the radon pipe around the existing sewer pipe and connected a second suction point in the crawl space.
If your fan starts to rattle, grind, or hum louder than it used to, it may be wearing out. If the fan has gone quiet, or both sides of the U-tube gauge sit level, have it looked at. We do radon fan replacement too, even if another company put the system in. We can usually come out within a day or two. If a fan we installed fails in its first five years, the visit, labor, and new fan are free.
There’s no trip charge. Call Bill's cell at (815) 370-9682, and send a photo of the fan or the gauge if you have one.
“Bill and Jose were very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. Bill clearly explained how the Radon Mitigation System would work. They were on time and finished in the time frame that was stated. They were respectful of our house and did a wonderful job of clean up. We would highly recommend…”
“From the initial inspection till they drove away when the job was done, Bill and Jose were everything you wanted in a company. They were on time, clean, polite, and most importantly, they know the job. You can look at other companies but you won’t find another one that will…”
How long it takes, what the pipe looks like, and when to test again.
Yes. In Illinois the post-mitigation test is taken after the system has run for at least 24 hours and no later than 30 days after installation, with the system running normally and continuously for the whole test. You can run it yourself with a test kit or hire an independent Illinois-licensed measurement professional. Send American Radon Systems a copy of the result so your file is complete.
Most residential installs are completed in a single visit, often a few hours once the plan is set. Bill looks at the home first so materials and routing are right. Real estate closings get scheduled around the calendar when you tell us the date early.
Yes. Many Illinois homes need more than one suction point, especially split-levels and three-step ranches with a basement plus crawl space. Slab homes get their own approach. The goal is every foundation area covered and a clean pipe route that looks like it belongs.
We plan routing carefully. Where the layout allows, pipe may go through a garage attic or interior chase and out the roof. When the cleanest path is outside, it goes on a side or rear elevation and is finished to read more like a downspout than a mistake on the front of the home.
Usually Bill and Jose. Most days they run two jobs. Jose stays focused on the PVC routing and install. Bill restocks the truck, often runs a nearby quote, and comes back as a second set of hands for finish and load-out. Jose has been with Bill since 2018.
A properly working radon fan is not perfectly silent. Most produce a soft, steady sound of air moving through the pipe. Fan placement and sound are considered in the design, which is one reason Bill looks at the home before quoting. A fan that becomes noticeably louder, rattles, grinds, hums, or sends vibration through the wall should be checked.
The discharge goes above the eave of the roof and away from windows, doors, and other openings, so the soil gas the fan pulls from under the house mixes into outdoor air instead of drifting back inside or into a neighbor’s window. Illinois requires the discharge above the highest eave, as close to the roof ridge line as possible, at least 10 feet above the ground, and at least 10 feet from any window, door, or other opening into the house that sits less than 2 feet below the exhaust point. It also has to be at least 10 feet from any opening into an adjacent building. That is why the pipe runs up past the roofline rather than stopping at the fan.
We do not recommend one, and on most homes we do not install one. A cap restricts the airflow the fan is working to move, and it turns the exhaust downward, which can push soil air toward a window or door where it can get back into the house. Illinois rules put the discharge up and away from openings for the same reason. A cap also ices up sooner. The air leaving the pipe in winter is warm and damp, and a cap or a wire screen in its path gives that moisture something to freeze onto, so the system can lock up at milder outdoor temperatures than an open pipe would. An open pipe handles rain fine; the little that gets in drains back down the pipe. If a tree hangs over the pipe, Bill may add a leaf guard mesh so it does not fill with leaves. Otherwise, an open pipe is the right call.
Call us or fill out the form. If radon showed up in a home inspection, call early so there’s still room on the schedule.
Buying or selling? Start with buying or selling with radon, or go straight to the buyer-side page or the seller-side page.