Radon mitigation Installation tips for radon installers and mitigators installing radon remediation systems

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Radon Mitigation Installation Tips for Mitigators & Others

WPB Home page Radon Mitigation Papers List of all WPB web pages

The following are some testing results and helpful hints for Radon Mitigators

Caulk Adhesion Test Color coded speed bits Reducing System Noise

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Crawl Space Membrane Adhesive Test

Four typical crawl space membranes are listed below. In the left column are commonly available sealant materials. Each of the sealants was used to adhere 6" by 6" pieces of the different membranes to a concrete masonry block. After the membranes had one to two weeks to dry the holding power of each adhesive was measured in pounds of pressure. The higher the number the great number of pounds of pulling pressure was required to remove the membrane from the concrete block. Note that some adhesives work excellent for one type of membrane but have little holding power for another type of membrane. This test is only an approximation of the holding power of each adhesive.

PDF of Adhesive Test

Caulks/Glues	Clear 6 mil Poly	Dura Skrim 6 mil	Rufco 450 black side 4.5 mil	Rufco 450 white side 4.5 mil	EPDM 45 mil smooth	EPDM 45 mil reinforced
PL Polyurethane Const Adhesive	< 1	< 1	< 1	< 1	7	13
PL Plus Super Duty Const Adhesive	< 1	< 1	6	3	5	6
PL200 Const. Adhesive	< 1	< 1	1	4	5	7
Liquid Nails Heavy Duty Const. Adhesive	4	4	< 1	< 1	16	8
Liquid Nails Ultra Duty Polyurethane Adhesive	< 1	2	< 1	< 1	22	5
Geocell 2000	< 1	2	2	3	55	26
Geocell 3300	< 1	12	6	8	60	60 +
Pecora Dynatrol i-XL	1	9	4	4	60 +	60 +
CRL Polyurethane Const. Sealant	< 1	2	< 1	3	60 +	60 +
Sika Const. Adhesive Urethane	< 1	< 1	< 1	< 1	10	17
Sika Const. Sealant Urethane	< 1	< 1	< 1	< 1	30	35
Plastic Roofing Cement	8	6	6	6	4	2
Nuflex 110 Sealant Butylique	6	10	7	6	9	10
PurStick Professional Gun Foam	< 1	< 1	< 1	< 1	10	17

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Color Coding Speed Bits

We use speed bits in portable drills to quickly change bits from Philips, to drill bit, to 1/4” nut driver to 5/16” nut driver. We love the DeWalt 9 volt battery drill because it has plenty of power for these small chores and its light enough to carry in a side pouch on our tool belt. I have no use for 14 and 18 volt drills. They are too heavy. We do use an 18 volt sawzall for cutting through the roof and I would consider a 24 volt hammer drill for test holes through the slab. My tip however is for the small speed bits. They are small enough that they get lost in the grass when they fall out of your pouch and you tend to fumble around for them in a pouch or tool box. Go to the electrical department of home depot and buy 4 different colored bright tapes. Decide on which color is for which speed bit and wind a few wraps of colored tape around that style. We use blue for 5/16 nutdriver, red for 1/4 nutdriver, Purple for #2 philips, white for #1 philips. Now we can quickly grab the correct bit and when it drops in the grass it is easier to spot.

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To see some pictures of what a radon system looks like
go to the WPB Job Photos page.

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