Where to start with making home more efficient?

Hello!

A couple of years ago we moved to a worn out farm in Virginia. It came with no infrastructure and a 2-story home that is more like a leaking bucket (I mean leaking air).

We spent the last few years building the on-farm infrastructure - road(s), water movement/catchment, fencing, plots for food production, tool/hay storage etc.

I would like to start now focusing on the house and making it more energy efficient. it is a "stick home" with a basement, main floor and top floor, built in 1978. All the windows are leaking air, doors are leaking air as well, there is air movement between floors. We have high radon levels so had a evacuator installed in the basement but I think it makes no sense to have it as the air intake on the A/C is in the basement as well, so there is that too.

When we moved in, we had some extra money and we installed a wood burning stove (since there are about 15 acres of woods on the property) but it was more of a "let's do it now and see how it fits later" move, not an intentional "let's focus on the energy consumption" approach.

My first question is - where can I start? Books, articles, videos? More focused (and to do with radon exposure) - do multiple mini-split systems save energy (A/C)? I see now there are some that are solar powered as well but also plug into the grid. The way I see it, we only spend time in one or two rooms at a time - there is no need to cool/heat the top floor where the bedrooms are until night time, for example (and it would avoid the intake of radon in the basement and its circulation throughout the rest of the living space).

Anyway, any input/help is appreciated!

p.s. I should say we have a lot of rock in the soil that I have plowed out during the last few years and of course, clay and I have access to straw - if this somehow can be used on the path to energy efficiency.
p.p.s. I should say I am fairly handy and not afraid to break things and (re)build them - definitely looking for diy kind of an approach to doing this.

I think the best place to start is actually with your imagination, but please, hear me out as I am being serious.

I imagine my home flipped upside down and filled with water.

Any place water might pour out, plug with insulation. It sounds stupid but there is a lot of truth to it. Heat rises and big gaps lose energy the most.

People get caught up with new and great but doing that will save you more money than anything else.

Og Duzle wrote:Hello!

A couple of years ago we moved to a worn out farm in Virginia. It came with no infrastructure and a 2-story home that is more like a leaking bucket (I mean leaking air).

We spent the last few years building the on-farm infrastructure - road(s), water movement/catchment, fencing, plots for food production, tool/hay storage etc.

I would like to start now focusing on the house and making it more energy efficient. it is a "stick home" with a basement, main floor and top floor, built in 1978. All the windows are leaking air, doors are leaking air as well, there is air movement between floors. We have high radon levels so had a evacuator installed in the basement but I think it makes no sense to have it as the air intake on the A/C is in the basement as well, so there is that too.

When we moved in, we had some extra money and we installed a wood burning stove (since there are about 15 acres of woods on the property) but it was more of a "let's do it now and see how it fits later" move, not an intentional "let's focus on the energy consumption" approach.

My first question is - where can I start? Books, articles, videos? More focused (and to do with radon exposure) - do multiple mini-split systems save energy (A/C)? I see now there are some that are solar powered as well but also plug into the grid. The way I see it, we only spend time in one or two rooms at a time - there is no need to cool/heat the top floor where the bedrooms are until night time, for example (and it would avoid the intake of radon in the basement and its circulation throughout the rest of the living space).

Anyway, any input/help is appreciated!

p.s. I should say we have a lot of rock in the soil that I have plowed out during the last few years and of course, clay and I have access to straw - if this somehow can be used on the path to energy efficiency.
p.p.s. I should say I am fairly handy and not afraid to break things and (re)build them - definitely looking for diy kind of an approach to doing this.

So as a renovation guy with a focus on energy efficiency there are a few basic steps. First off I would suggest some testing. An air blower test and a radon test would be be a good start even a full energy advisor report ( more costly but it can nail down priorities). With a baseline you can plan upgrades and plot progress. Is your basement finished or unfinished? If unfinished  since your slab is probably not insulated with no vapour barrier due to it's age and you have radon  I would suggest a 20 mil vapour barrier taped to the walls, a plastic dimple membrane and a subfloor over the top. Depending on your radon report even negative pressure (suck out air from under the membrane and ventilate it). Justvapour barrier and subfloor is usually good for 75 percent radon remediation. Exchanging air in the house is always a good plan using an hrv instead of letting the house bleed air. Next I would evaluate the attic insulation and make sure it has good ventilation. Next you usually tackle either basement walls or doors and windows depending on your report next would be wall upgrade and finally maybe a solar element if it makes sense.
On my phone and only based on past experiences. References and links try green home builder's website as a starting point. Fine homebuilding also good.

Hi Og,
I second and third the ideas of insulation (naturally). However, I would caution against the focus on air sealing. For quite a few years now the idea in energy efficient building design was to seal up the house against all air and moisture infiltration. They quickly saw the problems with this and started adding in air handling systems (bringing in air from the outside because the CO would build up too much on the inside). Of course, this is a problem if you lose power and need to keep running that equipment. This adds complexity where their is no need. When I heard that many of these houses are having mold issues after 10-15 years... I started looking at other options. Older houses did not have that problem, but leaked more heat. What seems to be a good option is a wall system that uses materials that allow moisture to dry to either side of the wall. It allows moisture through the walls. Not water... but the humidity in the air needs to be able to move around and dry out. The two that I know of that do this (I believe there are quite a few more) are mineral wool wall systems and hempcrete wall systems. They do not allow air in and stop the heat going out, but they allow the house to breath like it should. With these systems you don't need air handlers, and the materials are much more natural than all those plastic layers.

Also, just to clarify something that Steve said that people don't always think about. Hot air rises... heat goes in all directions. With a basement you will not notice as much, but I lived in a double wide with a crawl space underneath that was not insulated and the floor insulation was almost nonexistent. The walls and ceiling were fairly well insulated, but until I insulated the floor, we were still quite cold.

Steve Zoma wrote:I think the best place to start is actually with your imagination, but please, hear me out as I am being serious.

I imagine my home flipped upside down and filled with water.

Any place water might pour out, plug with insulation. It sounds stupid but there is a lot of truth to it. Heat rises and big gaps lose energy the most.

People get caught up with new and great but doing that will save you more money than anything else.

I understand the need to go back to fundamentals and address the biggest issues first. Kind of like the Pareto principle . Thanks!

David Baillie wrote:

Og Duzle wrote:Hello!

A couple of years ago we moved to a worn out farm in Virginia. It came with no infrastructure and a 2-story home that is more like a leaking bucket (I mean leaking air).

We spent the last few years building the on-farm infrastructure - road(s), water movement/catchment, fencing, plots for food production, tool/hay storage etc.

I would like to start now focusing on the house and making it more energy efficient. it is a "stick home" with a basement, main floor and top floor, built in 1978. All the windows are leaking air, doors are leaking air as well, there is air movement between floors. We have high radon levels so had a evacuator installed in the basement but I think it makes no sense to have it as the air intake on the A/C is in the basement as well, so there is that too.

When we moved in, we had some extra money and we installed a wood burning stove (since there are about 15 acres of woods on the property) but it was more of a "let's do it now and see how it fits later" move, not an intentional "let's focus on the energy consumption" approach.

My first question is - where can I start? Books, articles, videos? More focused (and to do with radon exposure) - do multiple mini-split systems save energy (A/C)? I see now there are some that are solar powered as well but also plug into the grid. The way I see it, we only spend time in one or two rooms at a time - there is no need to cool/heat the top floor where the bedrooms are until night time, for example (and it would avoid the intake of radon in the basement and its circulation throughout the rest of the living space).

Anyway, any input/help is appreciated!

p.s. I should say we have a lot of rock in the soil that I have plowed out during the last few years and of course, clay and I have access to straw - if this somehow can be used on the path to energy efficiency.
p.p.s. I should say I am fairly handy and not afraid to break things and (re)build them - definitely looking for diy kind of an approach to doing this.

So as a renovation guy with a focus on energy efficiency there are a few basic steps. First off I would suggest some testing. An air blower test and a radon test would be be a good start even a full energy advisor report ( more costly but it can nail down priorities). With a baseline you can plan upgrades and plot progress. Is your basement finished or unfinished? If unfinished  since your slab is probably not insulated with no vapour barrier due to it's age and you have radon  I would suggest a 20 mil vapour barrier taped to the walls, a plastic dimple membrane and a subfloor over the top. Depending on your radon report even negative pressure (suck out air from under the membrane and ventilate it). Justvapour barrier and subfloor is usually good for 75 percent radon remediation. Exchanging air in the house is always a good plan using an hrv instead of letting the house bleed air. Next I would evaluate the attic insulation and make sure it has good ventilation. Next you usually tackle either basement walls or doors and windows depending on your report next would be wall upgrade and finally maybe a solar element if it makes sense.
On my phone and only based on past experiences. References and links try green home builder's website as a starting point. Fine homebuilding also good.

Thanks! Just so I understand - the vapor barrier would be on the inside of the basement walls? The radon varies (I have one of those continuous meters) between as high as 20 (on cloudy, low atmospheric pressure days) to as low as 0.5 on high pressure sunny summer days. The long term average over the last two years seems to be 2.75 so far. I know the "safe limit" is 4 but ideally I would like to be below 1 on long term average in the basement. Don't know if that's doable.

As for the rest of the advice - thank you!

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi Og,
I second and third the ideas of insulation (naturally). However, I would caution against the focus on air sealing. For quite a few years now the idea in energy efficient building design was to seal up the house against all air and moisture infiltration. They quickly saw the problems with this and started adding in air handling systems (bringing in air from the outside because the CO would build up too much on the inside). Of course, this is a problem if you lose power and need to keep running that equipment. This adds complexity where their is no need. When I heard that many of these houses are having mold issues after 10-15 years... I started looking at other options. Older houses did not have that problem, but leaked more heat. What seems to be a good option is a wall system that uses materials that allow moisture to dry to either side of the wall. It allows moisture through the walls. Not water... but the humidity in the air needs to be able to move around and dry out. The two that I know of that do this (I believe there are quite a few more) are mineral wool wall systems and hempcrete wall systems. They do not allow air in and stop the heat going out, but they allow the house to breath like it should. With these systems you don't need air handlers, and the materials are much more natural than all those plastic layers.

Also, just to clarify something that Steve said that people don't always think about. Hot air rises... heat goes in all directions. With a basement you will not notice as much, but I lived in a double wide with a crawl space underneath that was not insulated and the floor insulation was almost nonexistent. The walls and ceiling were fairly well insulated, but until I insulated the floor, we were still quite cold.

Matt, thanks. One of the problems with our house is that all the windows were improperly installed by previous owners. Not only are they cheap, leaky, low quality windows but due to improper installation, a lot of them leaked water into the walls. I have gotten that addressed so for the last year no mold issues of any kind. But yes, I hear you. It just all sounds daunting. Ideally I find a few issues that are the majority of energy loss and address them first....

Others have given you some great suggestions.

I would like to suggest that you might want to consider a rocket mass heater.

These RMHs can be used for cooking so I would like to suggest that you look into making one for cooking.

The reason I am suggesting this is that:

heat your home with 80% to 90% less wood
exhaust is nearly pure steam and CO2 (a little smoke at the beginning)
the heat from one fire can last for days
you can build one in a day or two
folks have built them spending less than $20
less CO2 than natural gas or electric heat
if you buy the wood, it costs less to operate than natural gas

https://richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

Here are some threads folks might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/159896/wood-rocket-mass-heater

https://permies.com/t/191801/Building-Ultimate-Rocket-Mass-Heater

Hi Og,
It can be daunting... especially when you dig in and find more than you expected. Unfortunately I don't think there is a single small thing to fix easily and get most of the heat loss taken care of.

Is your house setup with different zones of heat? or is the wood stove the only thing? I'm wondering if you could focus on the areas where you are in the most (or would like the heat the most) like bathroom and living room... maybe Kitchen... though that can generate a lot of heat if you are cooking. Then save places like bedrooms (where you can wrap up in lots of blankets) for last?

I hate dealing with siding personally... but if you can figure that out, or have someone come help with taking it off, then you can do most of the work from the outside with minimal mess to the inside.  I would pick the north side of the house to start and remove all the siding. Take off all the sheathing. Remove the current insulation from between the studs (if there is any). If there is a plastic vapor barrier... remove that too.

Then add mineral wool insulation between the studs. The next step, you will need to speak to someone who knows more than me. I have seen systems where it goes mineral wool board -> sheathing -> siding... and I have seen systems where it goes sheathing -> mineral wool board -> strapping -> siding. I don't know if this is for convenience or if it differs from the way houses are constructed. Personally, I think putting the mineral wool first and then sheathing would be better insulation-wise... but I don't know how the racking strength of the house would be effected if you move the sheathing out a few inches from the studs. But either way you get the general idea. You are using breathable insulation and stopping the thermal bridging from the studs. Sometimes you need to re-set your windows due to the thicker wall... but since you are talking about possibly redoing them anyway, this might be a good time.

Lastly this brochure about mineral wool wall systems which has some really great info. It is branded, I have no connection, not promoting their stuff... blah blah legalese https://www.baydocs.info/application/files/2816/0018/6371/Roxul_CavityRock_Brochure.pdf

Og Duzle wrote:

David Baillie wrote:

Og Duzle wrote:Hello!

A couple of years ago we moved to a worn out farm in Virginia. It came with no infrastructure and a 2-story home that is more like a leaking bucket (I mean leaking air).

We spent the last few years building the on-farm infrastructure - road(s), water movement/catchment, fencing, plots for food production, tool/hay storage etc.

I would like to start now focusing on the house and making it more energy efficient. it is a "stick home" with a basement, main floor and top floor, built in 1978. All the windows are leaking air, doors are leaking air as well, there is air movement between floors. We have high radon levels so had a evacuator installed in the basement but I think it makes no sense to have it as the air intake on the A/C is in the basement as well, so there is that too.

When we moved in, we had some extra money and we installed a wood burning stove (since there are about 15 acres of woods on the property) but it was more of a "let's do it now and see how it fits later" move, not an intentional "let's focus on the energy consumption" approach.

My first question is - where can I start? Books, articles, videos? More focused (and to do with radon exposure) - do multiple mini-split systems save energy (A/C)? I see now there are some that are solar powered as well but also plug into the grid. The way I see it, we only spend time in one or two rooms at a time - there is no need to cool/heat the top floor where the bedrooms are until night time, for example (and it would avoid the intake of radon in the basement and its circulation throughout the rest of the living space).

Anyway, any input/help is appreciated!

p.s. I should say we have a lot of rock in the soil that I have plowed out during the last few years and of course, clay and I have access to straw - if this somehow can be used on the path to energy efficiency.
p.p.s. I should say I am fairly handy and not afraid to break things and (re)build them - definitely looking for diy kind of an approach to doing this.

So as a renovation guy with a focus on energy efficiency there are a few basic steps. First off I would suggest some testing. An air blower test and a radon test would be be a good start even a full energy advisor report ( more costly but it can nail down priorities). With a baseline you can plan upgrades and plot progress. Is your basement finished or unfinished? If unfinished  since your slab is probably not insulated with no vapour barrier due to it's age and you have radon  I would suggest a 20 mil vapour barrier taped to the walls, a plastic dimple membrane and a subfloor over the top. Depending on your radon report even negative pressure (suck out air from under the membrane and ventilate it). Justvapour barrier and subfloor is usually good for 75 percent radon remediation. Exchanging air in the house is always a good plan using an hrv instead of letting the house bleed air. Next I would evaluate the attic insulation and make sure it has good ventilation. Next you usually tackle either basement walls or doors and windows depending on your report next would be wall upgrade and finally maybe a solar element if it makes sense.
On my phone and only based on past experiences. References and links try green home builder's website as a starting point. Fine homebuilding also good.

Thanks! Just so I understand - the vapor barrier would be on the inside of the basement walls? The radon varies (I have one of those continuous meters) between as high as 20 (on cloudy, low atmospheric pressure days) to as low as 0.5 on high pressure sunny summer days. The long term average over the last two years seems to be 2.75 so far. I know the "safe limit" is 4 but ideally I would like to be below 1 on long term average in the basement. Don't know if that's doable.

As for the rest of the advice - thank you!

So, the vapour barrier gets installed on the slab itself all the way to the edges of the walls and the edges are taped to the walls themselves. Is your basement finished or just plain poured or block walls? Radon tends to migrate in through the edges of the slab where it touches the cement walls, cracks in the foundation and any penetrations especially sump pump wells. Its a heavy gas so wants to stay low until the hvac pulls it up. Most mitigation involves sealing all cracks and penetrations,  creating a sealed layer using a membrane then applying a small amount of negative pressure to it. Often times sealing an existing sump pump well with a tight cover and adding a low power suction ventilator will reduce amounts below detection levels.  Here is an article on a pro job. You can diy most of this and get good results. Those radon fans are awesome though much better then a $40 duct fan that I've used before.  https://www.proremodeler.com/how-retrofit-radon-mitigation-system
As for the rest... Well everyone has a preference. I would tackle radon work, then attic insulation then windows and doors before I ventured into the wall reinsulating just due to your fairly mild climate and best bang for your buck. I'd want a report to guide it but based on all the ones I've seen that is the order of progression.

David Baillie wrote:So, the vapour barrier gets installed on the slab itself all the way to the edges of the walls and the edges are taped to the walls themselves. Is your basement finished or just plain poured or block walls? Radon tends to migrate in through the edges of the slab where it touches the cement walls, cracks in the foundation and any penetrations especially sump pump wells. Its a heavy gas so wants to stay low until the hvac pulls it up. Most mitigation involves sealing all cracks and penetrations,  creating a sealed layer using a membrane then applying a small amount of negative pressure to it. Often times sealing an existing sump pump well with a tight cover and adding a low power suction ventilator will reduce amounts below detection levels.  Here is an article on a pro job. You can diy most of this and get good results. Those radon fans are awesome though much better then a $40 duct fan that I've used before.  https://www.proremodeler.com/how-retrofit-radon-mitigation-system

I understand. Thanks! The basement is unfinished and it was leaking water when we bought the house. I used hydraulic cement along the edges of wall/floor contact to seal the line of contact alongside the whole wall perimeter and I painted all the walls with one of those 15psi resistant paints three times. Now I do not have water intrusion anymore. When we were buying the house I insisted on a radon test (locals laughed, this is a rural area) and it came back high (I shudder to think what the rest of the people in the area are ignoring). I had a radon remediation "system" installed, which is basically a pipe that is drilled through the slab into the ground with a fan pulling the radon out (supposedly). I find that it is not very effective.

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi Og,
It can be daunting... especially when you dig in and find more than you expected. Unfortunately I don't think there is a single small thing to fix easily and get most of the heat loss taken care of.

Is your house setup with different zones of heat? or is the wood stove the only thing? I'm wondering if you could focus on the areas where you are in the most (or would like the heat the most) like bathroom and living room... maybe Kitchen... though that can generate a lot of heat if you are cooking. Then save places like bedrooms (where you can wrap up in lots of blankets) for last?

I hate dealing with siding personally... but if you can figure that out, or have someone come help with taking it off, then you can do most of the work from the outside with minimal mess to the inside.  I would pick the north side of the house to start and remove all the siding. Take off all the sheathing. Remove the current insulation from between the studs (if there is any). If there is a plastic vapor barrier... remove that too.

Then add mineral wool insulation between the studs. The next step, you will need to speak to someone who knows more than me. I have seen systems where it goes mineral wool board -> sheathing -> siding... and I have seen systems where it goes sheathing -> mineral wool board -> strapping -> siding. I don't know if this is for convenience or if it differs from the way houses are constructed. Personally, I think putting the mineral wool first and then sheathing would be better insulation-wise... but I don't know how the racking strength of the house would be effected if you move the sheathing out a few inches from the studs. But either way you get the general idea. You are using breathable insulation and stopping the thermal bridging from the studs. Sometimes you need to re-set your windows due to the thicker wall... but since you are talking about possibly redoing them anyway, this might be a good time.

Lastly this brochure about mineral wool wall systems which has some really great info. It is branded, I have no connection, not promoting their stuff... blah blah legalese https://www.baydocs.info/application/files/2816/0018/6371/Roxul_CavityRock_Brochure.pdf

Heh daunting is the word! :) I sometimes wish I had the money to level the house and build something much smaller from scratch. We wanted land (got it), with fast internet (got it), very rural (got it) but the downside was the 2-story large home. This is my last house, I am not leaving it and this is where they will recycle me when I am gone ;).  I have owned 3 homes in USA and all 3 needed extensive renovations, I did the first two. it just would be nice if for once the work would be all ongoing maintenance and not re-doing/fixing someone else's mistakes....

Og Duzle wrote:

David Baillie wrote:So, the vapour barrier gets installed on the slab itself all the way to the edges of the walls and the edges are taped to the walls themselves. Is your basement finished or just plain poured or block walls? Radon tends to migrate in through the edges of the slab where it touches the cement walls, cracks in the foundation and any penetrations especially sump pump wells. Its a heavy gas so wants to stay low until the hvac pulls it up. Most mitigation involves sealing all cracks and penetrations,  creating a sealed layer using a membrane then applying a small amount of negative pressure to it. Often times sealing an existing sump pump well with a tight cover and adding a low power suction ventilator will reduce amounts below detection levels.  Here is an article on a pro job. You can diy most of this and get good results. Those radon fans are awesome though much better then a $40 duct fan that I've used before.  https://www.proremodeler.com/how-retrofit-radon-mitigation-system

I understand. Thanks! The basement is unfinished and it was leaking water when we bought the house. I used hydraulic cement along the edges of wall/floor contact to seal the line of contact alongside the whole wall perimeter and I painted all the walls with one of those 15psi resistant paints three times. Now I do not have water intrusion anymore. When we were buying the house I insisted on a radon test (locals laughed, this is a rural area) and it came back high (I shudder to think what the rest of the people in the area are ignoring). I had a radon remediation "system" installed, which is basically a pipe that is drilled through the slab into the ground with a fan pulling the radon out (supposedly). I find that it is not very effective.

Nice! so you are most of the way there. Did they seal along the perimeter and cracks? did they do the sump well if you have one? I have worked in dozens of fixer uppers but have only owned two houses both of which i built. I don't think I could do it any other way (a wee bit pickey I'm told)

David Baillie wrote:

Og Duzle wrote:

David Baillie wrote:So, the vapour barrier gets installed on the slab itself all the way to the edges of the walls and the edges are taped to the walls themselves. Is your basement finished or just plain poured or block walls? Radon tends to migrate in through the edges of the slab where it touches the cement walls, cracks in the foundation and any penetrations especially sump pump wells. Its a heavy gas so wants to stay low until the hvac pulls it up. Most mitigation involves sealing all cracks and penetrations,  creating a sealed layer using a membrane then applying a small amount of negative pressure to it. Often times sealing an existing sump pump well with a tight cover and adding a low power suction ventilator will reduce amounts below detection levels.  Here is an article on a pro job. You can diy most of this and get good results. Those radon fans are awesome though much better then a $40 duct fan that I've used before.  https://www.proremodeler.com/how-retrofit-radon-mitigation-system

I understand. Thanks! The basement is unfinished and it was leaking water when we bought the house. I used hydraulic cement along the edges of wall/floor contact to seal the line of contact alongside the whole wall perimeter and I painted all the walls with one of those 15psi resistant paints three times. Now I do not have water intrusion anymore. When we were buying the house I insisted on a radon test (locals laughed, this is a rural area) and it came back high (I shudder to think what the rest of the people in the area are ignoring). I had a radon remediation "system" installed, which is basically a pipe that is drilled through the slab into the ground with a fan pulling the radon out (supposedly). I find that it is not very effective.

Nice! so you are most of the way there. Did they seal along the perimeter and cracks? did they do the sump well if you have one? I have worked in dozens of fixer uppers but have only owned two houses both of which i built. I don't think I could do it any other way (a wee bit pickey I'm told)

No sump pump which is odd. The company that did the radon remediation is local but this is a rural area so competence and motivation can be an issue and we were new.... The soil is thick clay and I suspect that the house has been put on a clay pad with no gravel underneath the slab (the whole house looks like it was built by family/extended family and feels like money was an issue). When it rains heavily and for days, you can literally hear the gurgling inside the radon remediation pipe, which obviously means that water is moving underneath the house alongside the clay (is what I am guessing) and likely ponding underneath. I only sealed around the perimeter wall/floor contact. I guess I should start hunting the cracks...After reading that article you posted above, I am thinking a sump pump should have definitely been in the play.

Og Duzle wrote:

David Baillie wrote:

Og Duzle wrote:

David Baillie wrote:So, the vapour barrier gets installed on the slab itself all the way to the edges of the walls and the edges are taped to the walls themselves. Is your basement finished or just plain poured or block walls? Radon tends to migrate in through the edges of the slab where it touches the cement walls, cracks in the foundation and any penetrations especially sump pump wells. Its a heavy gas so wants to stay low until the hvac pulls it up. Most mitigation involves sealing all cracks and penetrations,  creating a sealed layer using a membrane then applying a small amount of negative pressure to it. Often times sealing an existing sump pump well with a tight cover and adding a low power suction ventilator will reduce amounts below detection levels.  Here is an article on a pro job. You can diy most of this and get good results. Those radon fans are awesome though much better then a $40 duct fan that I've used before.  https://www.proremodeler.com/how-retrofit-radon-mitigation-system

I understand. Thanks! The basement is unfinished and it was leaking water when we bought the house. I used hydraulic cement along the edges of wall/floor contact to seal the line of contact alongside the whole wall perimeter and I painted all the walls with one of those 15psi resistant paints three times. Now I do not have water intrusion anymore. When we were buying the house I insisted on a radon test (locals laughed, this is a rural area) and it came back high (I shudder to think what the rest of the people in the area are ignoring). I had a radon remediation "system" installed, which is basically a pipe that is drilled through the slab into the ground with a fan pulling the radon out (supposedly). I find that it is not very effective.

Nice! so you are most of the way there. Did they seal along the perimeter and cracks? did they do the sump well if you have one? I have worked in dozens of fixer uppers but have only owned two houses both of which i built. I don't think I could do it any other way (a wee bit pickey I'm told)

No sump pump which is odd. The company that did the radon remediation is local but this is a rural area so competence and motivation can be an issue and we were new.... The soil is thick clay and I suspect that the house has been put on a clay pad with no gravel underneath the slab (the whole house looks like it was built by family/extended family and feels like money was an issue). When it rains heavily and for days, you can literally hear the gurgling inside the radon remediation pipe, which obviously means that water is moving underneath the house alongside the clay (is what I am guessing) and likely ponding underneath. I only sealed around the perimeter wall/floor contact. I guess I should start hunting the cracks...After reading that article you posted above, I am thinking a sump pump should have definitely been in the play.

So much of this is local. if its on clay with no gravel layer yeah the tube wont do much. hunt cracks, ventilate from low down, maybe even redirect your cold air return a little higher. Good luck. Short of being there that about all I got.
Cheers, David

David Baillie wrote:So much of this is local. if its on clay with no gravel layer yeah the tube wont do much. hunt cracks, ventilate from low down, maybe even redirect your cold air return a little higher. Good luck. Short of being there that about all I got.
Cheers, David

Thank you for all your help!