How To Drill Hole In Concrete - The EASY Way - DIY Radon Mitigation

This video will show how to drill a hole through the concrete for your radon system. We will be doing this without an expensive core bit. Also covered will be caulking and sealing the pipe where it sits on the floor.
If you have any other questions about any component of a radon system, feel free to fill out a contact form on our website: www.indoor-air...
To purchase every component needed for a radon system and for more information on DIY radon mitigations, please visit our website:
shopradon.com

[@cashoryan1911]

I started my hole in the corner of a finished slab basement built in the 90's. I'm at least 12" from each wall. So far almost a foot of solid concrete. Maybe in a footing, would you try a new spot or keep going?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Yes that sounds like you are hitting the footing or a place where excess concrete was dumped. You can start drilling holes away from the spot in 4 or 5 inch increments until your drill bit hits dirt. Then make that the edge of your suction pit.

[@Jthumper]

Had a sneaking suspicion my father's house had high radon they blamed all their lung problems on smoking but I've never smoked and have the same lung problems so we bought A cheap air things tester and guess what we're at 32! He does have a sump and a sump pump I believe I'm going to seal that off with clear plexiglass and add a radon mitigation system through the top of that to depressurize the concrete slab. Now to find a way to get it outside without looking terrible I think I'm going to use our unused range downdraft vent. Watching my father die from COPD his lungs could not remove the carbon dioxide this is a real thing that is really overlooked

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

@Jthumper First off we are so saddened to hear of you losing your father and in such a horrible way. We are very sorry for your loss. Yes, this is a very real health hazard that needs to be tested for and corrected if high. For your system, a sump basin is a good place to pull from provided it has drain tile that runs into it and the tile is run around the majority of your basement. For help with running your pipe you could go to our website and fill out a contact form and we will send you a PDF with information and pics on running pipe. You can also call with any questions you may have. We provide free consultations and would be happy to help! www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/contact-us.html

[@kjo4498]

Nice! You are the first video that is installing radon mitigation in an old home with 2 inch floor and rock walls. Exactly what I'm dealing with. I'm heading to your website to check out fans. Thanks!👍

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

We are so glad our video could help! Where we install systems we have seen it all from new homes to homes built in the late 1800’s. They can be challenging for sure! If you need any help during your mititgation you can fill out the contact form on our website and we would be happy to help.

[@dannygoround1]

what if you don’t have suction from the other hole you drill to test if you have suction? I’m lost, I thought the point of the pipe was to suck air from the whole underside of the foundation? Or is it technically just sucking air from the ground below?….

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Good question! With our manometer in the test hole we are seeing the amount of suction we are getting from different distances from our suction pit. This tells if we are getting enough suction to all corners of the slab or basement, which is a good indicator that the radon levels will be lowered sufficiently. This is also why we dig the suction pit out so we can increase the distance our suction can reach under the slab. When we have that suction throughout the majority of the basement it creates a negative pressure that keeps radon from pushing into your home. You can go to our website www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com We offer free consultations for help with a DIY radon mitigation.

[@dannygoround1]

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thank you so much, I’m probably going to do this myself as I have a radon level of 3.9 from the first test (testing again before I make any decisions) I appreciate the feedback.

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

@@dannygoround1 I am happy to help!

[@Sean-Aviation]

Thanks for the video. The concrete slab looks not fully cured and thin. i wonder how this method will work on a thick robust concrete

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

This job was in an older house so the slab was thinner than most. Most jobs we do tho are on newer homes with much thicker slabs and it works no problem 👍🏼

[@Sean-Aviation]

@@healthyairsolutions5950 Excellent. thanks!! I want to buy the fan and some accessories from you. I have approx. 1600sqf basement. keeping two windows open with a small window fan the Radon reads are not bad. can even reach 4 but not when closed! just want to install the radon mitigation system so i can keep the windows closed. the 145 fan is the way to go?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

No problem at all, happy to help! The RP145 would be a good fit for that size basement if you have good airflow conditions under your slab. That would include gravel or drain tile.

[@russquinn4898]

That's about the thinnest concrete I've ever seen

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Very true! 😂 If you look at the foundation walls in the video it shows the age of the home we were working in. It was from the early 1900’s. They don’t make concrete like they used to…….And that’s a good thing. 😁

[@jaredtousain]

Appreciate that informative video. You guys are great to work with! 😀👍

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Thank you, that is very kind!

[@halsmith7642]

Like your video I would also alike to add that homes could likely use a heat recovery ventilator to get fresh air in the home and bad air out. With radon and other containments in homes the solution to pollution might just be dilution.

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Thank you for your comment! Using a Heat Recovery Ventilator is an option in lowering radon. I tend to say regarding them, “Only used when the solution to pollution has to be dilution.” It’s good to know they are an option. I talk about them on my website on the following page: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/radon-mitigation.html

[@halsmith7642]

Thanks, Just read your article. Could HRV be set, imbalance, to keep higher pressure in home giving lower radon? I still suspect a much lower value than 50-70% is going to be made with some good airflow in/out of home., 50% should be attainable with air circulation from upper to lower level alone. Radon less of a problem 60 years ago, if parents didn't smoke, for cooling our home had a swamp cooler or open window, in the summer and winter we spent most of our days outside playing or working. @@healthyairsolutions5950

[@ScuzzySera]

This is a great video to randomly stumble upon because I have no idea what this is.

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

The joy of KZbin 😂 If you want you can visit our website to learn more about radon testing and if needed radon mitigation. www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com

[@ScuzzySera]

@@healthyairsolutions5950I googled it earlier, gladly its not a risk in Australia. Other things are (mmm spiders and snakes), but not Radon.

[@franciscoguzman9802]

You used an electrical box to dig out the hole?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Good spot! Yea I found that its perfect for the size hole we are digging out of. But I think it would depend on the size of your hand. My dad prefers using his hand as the scoop. Depending on what you are digging through it can get rough. He is often bleeding by the end of it, so I stand by my electrical box😂

[@Nathan-qj8vq]

Do you have any specs on the hole you dug? Depth or general size guidance?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Hi Nathan! With tight soil conditions (clay, dirt, sand) we usually will take out 20 to 30 gallons of dirt, maybe more depending on the situation. When digging we may start out going straight down into the dirt at first but we always focus on getting the hole as wide as possible. We try to dig out in each direction to increase the reach of suction across the basement. If we are by an exterior wall, we always try to get our suction pit to reach the footer because often you can get some settling by the footers that help with airflow. We will get to the point where we have our entire arm in the hole to create a path and remove dirt in some situations. With sandy conditions using a shop vac can really help with this. We will use the hose of the shop vac to increase the radius of the hole. Here is a link to a page on our website talking about this process: www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/radon-suction-pit.html

[@Nathan-qj8vq]

@@healthyairsolutions5950 thanks!

[@DanMcKelvey]

Thanks for the helpful video. Could you share which type of caulk you use for sealing around the reducer?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Glad it could help 😊 We use RadonPro Sealant by RadonAway Here is a link to our store shopradon.com/products/RadonPro-Sealant-by-RadonAway-p145313404

[@LilShaggy82]

How do you know where is a good place to drill?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

Hello Jesse, if you are referring to the suction pit, while each situation is different, there are some basic principles that apply. If you have drain tile, then you want to drill over where you think it will be so you can tap into it. If your basement has no tile, then you want to drill in a strategic area for where you will be running the pipe out of the basement, keeping the run as short as possible. One thing you need to be careful of is if you have in floor heat. You will for sure want to drill where the pipes are not run and always drill very cautiously. Check out this page on our website for more info www.indoor-air-health-advisor.com/install-radon-mitigation.html

[@johnlocke3481]

I know this works, because I've seen radon sensors before and after the install, but I don't get it/ How does this work? How does getting suction under your slab in a tiny spot good enough?

[@healthyairsolutions5950]

In this mitigation we actually had to have two suction pits on each side of the basement that tie into the same fan. This is actually rare, we can usually accomplish a successful mitigation with one suction pit. You can think of the soil under your slab, even if it’s dirt or clay, as being porous. When it is tight soil conditions we use a high suction fan that focuses more on stronger suction rather than moving lots of air. So even though there is little air to move we can often get suction that reaches clear across a basement slab. We can see this using a digital manometer. To increase the amount of reach we get we always dig a suction pit out as much as possible, at times we have our whole arm in the pit to dig. We demonstrate this in another video and what affect it has on the suction we get: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpzTanibjbatkNksi=0zuEzzW2ymCOVGi7 When a house has drain tile or gravel this is far easier to accomplish. We will tie directly into the tile or if it’s gravel we can very easily pull a lot of air through the gravel and thus use a high flow fan.