WEBlue

Yeah, this is my fear.
True. With all the other things that need doing to this place, I don't know if we can handle putting in a radon reduction system. If the sellers have done this & it works AND if nothing else major comes up, then perhaps we'll be in business . . .

Sally Redux

I don't know why your agent is reluctant to ask about it for you.

Nutmegger

I may be misconstruing what you say, but it sounds as if you are wondering if there is already a system in the house. If there was you would know -- it has a chimney-type thing that vents the alleged noxious gases to the skies, and you wouldn't be able to miss it.

100weight

We put in an offer, and had the radon test done as part of the inspection. When it came back as positive (above 4) we got the cost of a new radon mitigation system taken off from the price of the house. And our cost wasn't the $2k mentioned earlier. It would appear ours was a bargain at $850.

CWT

hobbes79

We have the same for our house where an extension was done. To put in a crawl space rather than a full basment is just much cheaper. And if the extension is single story, having a deep foundation isn't as necessary.

So if you don't want the extra basement space, it's an easy way to save a few bucks.

WEBlue

Yes, I strongly suspect that some thiings we've seen in the basement indicate a mitigation system has already been put in. Haven't been able to see if there's a vent to the roof, but there's this waterproof fabric sealing up the crawl space & several plastic pipes in the cellar that could be radon vent pipework. Nothing is visible outside the house, but some systems vent through interior pipes. I have an idea that the owner (who's pretty handy with tools) may have done the work himself.

Well, we discussed this again with our buyer's agent, this time telling him how important it ws to us, & he said he'll look into it, so we shall see . . . .

WEBlue

Interesting! Good to hear this! I assume your system is working all right?

Yes, we're not puzzled by the crawl space. We understand why it's there. We're puzzled by the fact that it's shrouded with heavy waterproof fabric so that you can't see any of the surface at all. Is that the way crawl spaces look these days?

Many years ago I lived in a house with a crawl space & it didn't look like that, so I don't know if my knowledge on this is outdated or not.

Nutmegger

I'm no expert, only familiar with the system that we have -- but surely the gases have to vent outside somehow? We have the contraption in a corner of one of the basement rooms (finished walk-out basement) with a gauge you have to check to ensure that it is functioning properly, then the pipes go out through the walls to a big bulge in the exterior pipe that houses the fan that blows the extracted air up above the roof line.

WEBlue

Yes, the radon must be vented to the outdoors, but there are a variety of different ways to do it. Some radon piping shows outside the house in an obvious way. Some isn't so obvious. This house doesn't have an obvious radon pipe showing on its exterior, but in some houses the pipe is hidden in the house's interior all the way to the roof vent.

Here are pics I found of the different types, interior & exterior:
http://www.indoor-air-health-advisor...em-photos.html

Brat1

Can I be really cheeky and ask why you're so worried about the radon?? I understand the implications if the levels are too high, but it's easy enough to get checked and if there was an issue, I'd use it as a negotiating tool with your offer (ie, get the seller to put a proper venting system in place, or take a lesser offer for the house and you can put it in yourself). What if there's no issue at all, and your putting yourself off, from what I can see, is a good house in every other respect??

Go with your gut. We recently (last year) went after a house that was a foreclosure, needed a lot of work, but once we got the inspection, which I have to say was really thorough in my opinion, we had to walk away because there was mold issues, other structural issues which we felt we just couldn't take on. The house we moved to, we had a radon test done and there was no issue at all, it was $90 extra on your inspection fee to get it done, and the testers were left in-situ in the house while the seller was still living here, no problems. As for the disclosure, we got that from our seller, but I don't know the legalities of what would happen, had she filled it in wrong or lied about anything on it.

As previously said, as well as the radon, I'd be more interested in any water seeping in to the basement, damp or any smell or indication of any kind of mold, as this seems to need specialist attention which can be expensive. I hope it all works out for you and to be honest, I know it can be expensive to get an inspection done and then lose out on a house, but I'd rather fork out $450 and be able to walk away, than find out further down the road, that you have major issues that you can't fix. Good luck and as I said, go with your gut

Nutmegger

Gotcha -- when you said "interior" I was visualizing venting into the house as opposed to the contraption being concealed prior to venting at the roof line!

WEBlue

LOL, I know it seems I'm obsessed with the stupid radon (& the OH would agree with you), but I'm really not. It truly is just the tip of the iceberg that is ALL my worries about this house.

It's an old house that needs a lot of work. Damp issues I also suspect--could well be mold. (Huge trees there, which make great shade but could mean mould will be found.) Every house we've viewed has a nice dry basement *at the time we view it*--we always walk round the basement & stare at the walls, floors, etc., then ask the agent questions about wetness & have never had a single agent say there's damp or mould, but we know the disclosure and/or inspection should turn that up.

Is damp worse than radon? Both can lead to breathing troubles & other more serious health risks. It's all a worry to me, along with the age & state of the roof, windows, foundation, wiring, boiler, etc.,etc. It's been a long time since we bought a house, & looking back I'm astonished at how quickly & easily we did it the last time. The right house just appeared & we recognised it on the first viewing. THIS time we have so much choice, have been looking for months at house after house, & not one has struck us as 'the one'. This particular house has some very obvious defects, but we keep going back to it, not out of feeling it's 'the one', but out of a feeling that it *may* be the best deal we'll find.

Thank you. And thank you for your thoughtful input. Thank you to everyone else who's posted too--every single comment has been so very helpful.

I think we're both just overwrought. The choice is overwhelming, so many houses for sale. We're so sick of looking & would love to be able to stop. (We actually both dream of specific houses & wake up & try to analyze what the dreams mean. LOL! We're in bad shape. )

Nutmegger

Damp can lead to mould, which I think is far worse than radon. I've never heard of a house being condemned for radon -- just stick in a mediator and you're set -- but I've certainly heard of it happening with mould. My prior house was very humid in the summers and got terrible mildew; while that's not fatal, it got into pictures, clothing, all sorts -- almost 15 years later I'm still seeing the effects of mildew picked up in that house on my possessions.

With all the worries you have about this house, it seems that an inspection is utterly essential, so you either go ahead and make an offer, with the purchase contingent upon the inspection, or just walk away now. I have to admit that I used to love looking at houses -- only got stressed once the offer had been made. Good luck with your choice!

Brat1

As Nutmegger said, damp can lead to mold and it's especially black mold that is a definite issue and can be very expensive to fix as you have to strip everything that has the mold, then find where the damp/water has come from and make sure everything is dry before you re fit.

I understand totally your fear and frustration, so try and put things in perspective. What are the actual, physical things in the home that you would HAVE to fix. What are the issues that you may POSSIBLY have to fix over time and what is just cosmetic. Try and work out costings and all that can be dependent on your offer and obviously, the result of an inspection. When we were looking and, please believe me, my head was pickled with the amount of houses we looked at, I did a checklist of good points/bad points and money for each one. The one we finally picked, where we had several things to negotiate about, has several things that we're going to have to replace at some point, ie the oil tank, fine just now but getting to the end of its life span, the windows, thankfully it has a newer roof and boiler, but I just felt that this house was right and we could make it our home. We are slowly starting to decorate and bring it into the year 2012 (it seems to be stuck somewhere between 1970 and 1980 with blue bathrooms, palm tree wallpaper and dark wood everywhere ), but thankfully I can see past that when we're viewing. There are other things that have cropped up that we didn't expect, but that all goes with being a home owner

So, my advice would be, as much as you need to know what you're purchasing, don't obsess about it, put things in to perspective, maybe take along a fresh set of eyes to the house and see what they think. The fact that you keep going back, to me, sounds as if you can see youself living there. I have a really good inspector who's done 2 inspections for me that I could recommend to you, PM me if I can help with anything else, other than that, good luck, I'm sure it'll all work out for you

Mallory

that waterproof fabric is a moisture barrier, and is very important. Do NOT take it out!