Your contractor will perform a visual inspection of your house and design a system that considers the specific features of your home. If this inspection fails to provide enough information, the contractor will need to perform diagnostic tests. These sources of air flow show possible radon routes. This test uses a vacuum cleaner and a smoke gun to determine how easily air can move from one point to another under the foundation. The type of foundation that your house has will affect the kind of radon reduction system that will work best.
Some houses have more than one design feature.
In these situations a combination of radon reduction systems may be needed. Suction pipes are inserted through the floor slab into the crushed rock or soil underneath. They also may be inserted below the concrete slab from outside the house. The number and location of suction pipes that are needed depends on how easily air can move in the crushed rock or soil under the slab, and on the strength of the radon source. Acting like a vacuum cleaner, a fan connected to the pipes draws the radon gas from below the house and releases it into the outdoor air.