Radon mitigation

A radon system does not filter your air. It changes the pressure under your foundation so soil gas goes out through a pipe instead of up through your floor.

Active sub-slab depressurization

The standard fix for a Michigan basement is an active sub-slab depressurization system. We core an opening through the slab, excavate a void beneath it, and connect sealed PVC to a fan mounted outside the living space, which vents above the roofline. The fan holds the gravel and soil under the slab at lower pressure than your basement, so gas flows toward the pipe rather than through the floor-wall joint and the cracks.

Crawl spaces get a different method — sub-membrane depressurization, where a sealed vapour barrier goes down across the soil and the suction is drawn from beneath it.

The part most installers skip

Before we design anything, we drill a small test hole and measure how far suction actually extends beneath your slab. That single diagnostic determines how many suction points the house needs and how the fan should be sized.

It matters more in Southeast Michigan than almost anywhere, because the soil here is clay. Tight clay communicates poorly — suction does not travel far from a single pit the way it does through loose gravel — so a house that would take one suction point in another market may need two or three here. A system designed without that measurement is a guess, and the retest is where guesses fail.

Fan placement is a safety decision

The fan never goes in conditioned space. It belongs in the attic, the garage, or on an exterior wall, so that if the housing ever leaks, it vents harmlessly instead of into the house. We also run a backdraft check, because depressurizing a basement that contains atmospheric combustion appliances can pull flue gases back inside. That is the one genuine hazard in this trade and it is not optional.

Permits

Many Michigan cities require a permit for a radon system, and only a licensed builder or trade contractor can pull one. Michigan does not license radon contractors, so a certification alone does not get a permit issued. We hold both.

We pull permits across Oakland, Livingston and Washtenaw counties.

What you are left with

• A manometer on the pipe, so you can see at a glance that the system is running. Two uneven columns means the fan is pulling; level columns mean it has stopped.
• Sealed slab penetrations and a sealed sump lid
• A post-installation test confirming the result, in writing
• A 5-year warranty on parts and labour, transferable to the next owner

Living with the system

Check the manometer a few times a year — if the two columns of fluid level out, the fan has stopped. Fans are a serviceable part with a finite life, not a permanent fixture. Retest every couple of years to confirm the system is still holding the house where it should be.