Sun Nuclear and Homeguage

[Ben H]

Is anyone else using this combination in Radon reporting? I'm trying to get a decent looking radon report, and the SN .txt file is anything but. For my SN brothers, what are you using to create the actual reports?

[Robert E Lee]

I am using a SN 1028 monitor and have been quite pleased with the SN radon report, has a graph showing levels over the test period as well as an hourly printout along with the ability to include up to 6 photos.

[Ben H]

Hmm.... I don't think the 1027 (what I'm using) does what you describe Robert. The only thing I can draw from the unit is a crappy text file with a crappy graph made from the '+' and '-' characters. Not exactly easy on the eye's to read.

If I'm wrong, someone please tell me.

[Scottpat]

The 1027 report is dinky looking..... It was the first generation report for Sun Nuclear and it looks like it...

I cut and paste the 1027 report into a document that I made so it looks professional. I leave off the 1027 graph and only use the hourly readings.

Works well for me.

Scott

[Ben H]

Are you using Hg Scott?

[fyrmnk]

I use the 1027s and the .txt report it produces, but also include a cover page summary of the EPA average and recommendations based on it. I don't typically do stand alone radon testing, so I include it as a tabbed section of my full bound report (tabs for whole house inspection summary, whole house full report, termite report, and radon). Has always worked well for me.

[Scottpat]

Are you using Hg Scott?

No, for now I'm using 3D. After 15 years with 3D, I'm slowly making a change over to Home Inspector Pro. Dominic finally made a conversion program so that you can transfer verbaige from 3D to HIP.

[Erby]

Not sure what HomeGauge has to do with it but try dumping the SN data into an Excel worksheet to create your report and graph, print to PDF and attach it to your report.

I don't want to keep up with the calibration and record keeping so I just use RadaLink and pay them to do that for me. I dump the data to them, they e-mail the report back, and keep all the calibration, worker exposer, quality control, etc, records for me.

[Garet]

I've never give the hourly readings to the client. How would they interpret them? I have a simple Word template where I fill in the average reading, details about test date, time, duration and a paragraph or 2 explaining what it means.

[fyrmnk]

I've never give the hourly readings to the client. How would they interpret them? I have a simple Word template where I fill in the average reading, details about test date, time, duration and a paragraph or 2 explaining what it means.

Just curious, but how do you get by with that? Don't your clients ever want a copy of the actual test results they paid for? Or does the seller before they commit to mitigation?

Never heard of someone not providing the full test results so was just wondering.

[Charlie R]

I use the SN 1028, it does put out a nice report that you can add pictures to and has the hour-by-hour graph, 6 pages total. The 1028 costs more but I think it is worth it. The 1028 also has a tri-pod mount on the bottom so you can buy a $20 dollar tri-pod to set it up on when testing. I also use HG but never tried to marry the two, just produce two separate reports.

[Garet]

If you went to a cardiac specialist for an EKG, would you expect a printout from the machine or would you expect something from the doctor describing your condition? If you got the EKG printout, how would you know what to do with it?

For those of you who give the hourly radon readings, how many of your clients call worried they have a problem because a few of the hourly readings spiked above 4.0?

They're paying me to provide a radon test. The result of that test is ONE number (the average) which is what I provide.

I've never give the hourly readings to the client. How would they interpret them? I have a simple Word template where I fill in the average reading, details about test date, time, duration and a paragraph or 2 explaining what it means.

Just curious, but how do you get by with that? Don't your clients ever want a copy of the actual test results they paid for? Or does the seller before they commit to mitigation?

Never heard of someone not providing the full test results so was just wondering.

[Scottpat]

Although I do provide the hourly readings if the home test high, I do agree with Garet. If you think about it, the hourly readings are of really little use to your client. It's that end result that matters!

[Charlie R]

By providing the hour-by-hour readings, you give the client more information, which does sometimes end up having to answer more questions. I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing since we are in the business of providing people info. I had a home that had an average of 3.8 but half of the hourly readings (this was on a 96 hour test) were over 4.0, some as high as 8. The client decided to have the home mitigated even though the total average number was under 4.0. They made that decision based on the chart info. So, another home is mitigated, readings after mitigation were 1.3, all hourly readings were under 4.0, is that somehow a bad thing? Personally, I think too many people, and Realtors, get hung up on the 4.0 is dangerous but 3.9 is not. That's like saying smoking 18 cigarettes a day is ok, but the full 20 of a pack is not. And yes, when I had an EKG, I asked to see the tape and made the Doctor explain what it all meant.

[fyrmnk]

In 9 years I've never had any issues with giving the clients the full report. That's what they pay me for, to provide ALL the info. A simple explanation of the test is all it takes. I'm really surprised states that regulate radon testing don't require it if they don't, the training I've had says to provide the full report.

Although the EKG analogy doesn't really apply IMO, you could use blood work as it also deals with numbers. And yes, every year I have blood work, I expect and receive copies of the bloodwork itself with the numbers, not just a cover letter saying everything is fine.

It's not up to me to just provide what I think the client can handle, it's up to me to fully disclose what I find out and what I'm paid for, IMHO.

[Erby]

Y'all are too hung up on the 4.0 "Action Level"

The EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html , states:

"The average radon concentration in the indoor air of America's homes is about 1.3 pCi/L. It is upon this level that EPA based its estimate of 20,000 radon-related lung cancers a year upon. It is for this simple reason that EPA recommends that Americans consider fixing their homes when the radon level is between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. "

"Unfortunately, many Americans presume that because the action level is 4 pCi/L, a radon level of less than 4 pCi/L is "safe". This perception is altogether too common in the residential real estate market. In managing any risk, we should be concerned with the greatest risk. For most Americans, their greatest exposure to radon is in their homes; especially in rooms that are below grade (e.g., basements), rooms that are in contact with the ground and those rooms immediately above them."

The EPA's " Home Buyer's & Seller's Guide to Radon" states

"Radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk and, in many cases, may be reduced."

"Short-term tests can be used to decide whether to reduce the home's high radon levels. However, the closer the short-term testing result is to 4 pCi/L, the less certainty there is about whether the home's year-round average is above or below that level. Keep in mind that radon levels below 4 pCi/L still pose some risk and that radon levels can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below in most homes."

[Charlie R]

Thanks Erby, you hit that right on the head.

[Erby]

Ya know, another one that bugs me is the "Don't test during bad weather. It can inflate the average because the hourly readings go up."

What, are you gonna abandon your house during bad weather.

Which cigarette is going to kill you.

Which day that you run that stop sign are you gonna have an accident.

Which day that you breath high radon levels is gonna get you.

I've known a couple of people that put in radon mitigation systems just because they wanted to lower the humidity seeping out of the ground in their basement.

Life goes on!

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[Terence McCann]

Ya know, another one that bugs me is the "Don't test during bad weather. It can inflate the average because the hourly readings go up."

What, are you gonna abandon your house during bad weather.

Which cigarette is going to kill you.

Which day that you run that stop sign are you gonna have an accident.

Which day that you breath high radon levels is gonna get you.

I've known a couple of people that put in radon mitigation systems just because they wanted to lower the humidity seeping out of the ground in their basement.

Life goes on!

-

Too much common sense - please stop before it goes viral.