Sealing Concrete Block Walls For Radon Gas

Radon gas can sneaks into homes and basements through openings in the basement and crawlspaces cracks gaps open sump pits hollow core concret block walls and through the pores of concrete.

Sealing concrete block walls for radon gas.

Radonseal works deep inside concrete walls floors and heavyweight concrete blocks to help strengthen and waterproofing the substrate permanently. Radon rn 86 which is an inert noble gas is odorless tasteless and colorless. Radon is known. Radonseal is a water based sealer that dries clear leaves no color or film on the surface that can peel off or wear away and cannot be pushed out regardless of hydrostatic water pressure.

Radon gas kills over 21 000 people in the united states every year. The best choice for a concrete sealer is a silicate sealer. A surface sealer is not a great choice as it would not comprehensively block out the gas. As a chemically inactive gas radon can diffuse through concrete making sealing alone inconsistent at reducing radon levels.

Open sumps are huge entrance points for radon and moisture and sealing can prove to be worthwhile. Cinder blocks are classified as permeable to water and water vapor 10 perms. Commonly used for sealing poured concrete basement walls and floors concrete blocks garage slabs and outdoor concrete. Second i try to explain my best understanding of epoxy coatings and other floor sealing systems with regards to their impact on radon transmission into a home.

They are generally absorbent and can easily absorb moisture that may cause mold problems. Therefore the solution to this problem would be to use a quality concrete sealer specifically designed to block out radon methane and similar harmful gases. Some tests show 4 8 perms for hollow concrete blocks and 2 4 perms when the blocks are filled with a slurry mix of concrete. In our years of radon reduction experience we have seen people use epoxy paints waterproofing paints concrete sealers and other substances to seal radon out of buildings.

So let s start with a description of radon and move onto some questions and answers. If you have a level close to 4pci l you may be able to reduce it a few pci l. Concrete blocks commonly begin to show signs of dampness or worse leak water soon after exterior waterproofing. Water that enters through the pores can result to foundation seepage in the long run.

Heavyweight concrete blocks are semi permeable 5 perms and less so when the hollow cores are filled and packed with a slurry mix of concrete about 2 perms. Should i try radon sealing. Block foundation walls will provide only a weak barrier against capillary water seepage and water vapor. A cinder block is much more porous compared to a standard concrete block or poured concrete.

Block wall foundations can very difficult to seal properly especially if you have open cores along the top course. Why cinder block walls leak.