Fitting Radion Barrier in Existing House

Hi,

Just wondering has anyone fitted a radon barrier in an existing house. How did you seal it around the walls and more importantly did it work?

We are going to knock the internal walls and dig up the floors. We are also doing an extension so going to do the lot at once.

opinions welcome

tx

Hi Mayoman2

It is not possible to fit a radon barrier to an existing house as the barrier has to form a perfect seal underneath the sub-structure of the house. Barriers are only effective when fitted to new buildings during their construction. It should be possible however to fit a barrier to the extension. I would also suggest that you also fit a passive radon sump to your extension

When all renovations are complete I suggest that you carry out a radon test to determine if you have a radon problem. Even in high radon areas the majority of houses will not have a problem with radon

If you have a problem with radon you can either activate the existing radon sump, get a radon mitigation company to install a sump or as an alternative increase the ventilation rate in the building which should dilute the radon concentrations. Further information can be obtained from

I was told that you could and would involve digging up the existing floor and putting the barrier down. It would be sealed up against the existing wall. Must check this out, Thanks for info

Can't be done - well at least not effectively. Think of the barrier as you putting a sheet onto a swimming pool. All fine if you put it around the edges and seal it in - but can't do it in the middle of the pool. I would also consider it a waste to put it in the extension.

But deffo put in the sump if you are renovating. I would not dig up a floor specifically to put it in - but if you are already doing it then it would be worthwhile.

Cheers for info. I was on to one of the guys recommended from rpii and he said it was possible to seal around the walls. I am intending to take all internal walls down and put the barrier in with a sump. Must look into it a bit more anyway