Rec Room Radon Test Milwaukee

The One Thing you Need to Know Before you Build your New Basement Rec Room

Test for Radon Gas and Transform your Basement

Perhaps you’re a movie buff and want space for an in home movie theatre. Maybe your wife told you your hunting trophies can no longer roam the walls of your living room. Maybe you need more space for your kids to play. Maybe it’s an office, a bar or a pool table you’re looking to fill that new space with.

Whatever the reason, the main thing to consider is that you and your family will be spending more time in this exciting new space in your Wisconsin home!

Obstacles of Building a New Rec Room

Building a rec room surely comes with a number of obstacles such as potentially adding egress windows, sealing a drain, adding plumbing and/or electrical work. Then there’s the fun stuff like selecting what type of floor and paint colors to use.

If you’re looking into remodeling your basement and adding a rec room to your home, you’ve likely already ran into a number of inspirational ideas and potential pitfalls.

One of the so called pitfalls you might encounter could be high levels of radon. Before getting too far into the new construction of your Milwaukee or Waukesha Wisconsin basement project, you should test for radon. By testing first, you’ll know if you have a high or low concentration.

Radon in your Rec Room

Most homes throughout Southeastern Wisconsin have elevated levels of radon, especially in the basement. The US EPA has a set action level for mitigating radon of 4 pCi/L or higher. If your home’s radon test comes back at a level four or above, the EPA recommends you take corrective action to reduce your exposure to radon gas. However, this does not imply that a result of 4 pCi/L is considered acceptable as “safe”.

What is Radon?

Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas. It is the naturally-occurring byproduct of uranium, and is found throughout the world, wherever traces of uranium exist underground. Radon, or Rn, is pulled from the ground into your home due to the effects of negative pressure, meaning air pressure inside your home is lower than outside.

The radioactive gas molecules attach themselves to dust particles in the air, which are inhaled. Because radon has no immediately detectable symptoms, you’ll never know you have a problem until it’s too late.

How does Radon get into your house?

Radon rises through the soil below the foundation of your home. Whether you live in Waukesha, Milwaukee or Madison Wisconsin you most likely have radon in your home. Radon Gas gets trapped under the foundation of your Wisconsin home and increases in pressure. Because the air pressure inside your home and other buildings is lower than the pressure in the soil, radon gas works its way through sump crocks or any small cracks or gaps in the floors and walls of buildings.

The one thing you need to know before you start your basement rec room project is…

Test for radon first. By testing first, you’ll know what your levels of radon gas are. If your test comes back low, you have nothing to worry about. If your radon test comes back high, you will have more options for optimal placement of your mitigation system before you start dry walling and installing flooring.

Once your mitigation system is installed, you will have peace of mind and free will to enjoy your new big screen, pool table, bar or all of the above.