Radon Protection (New Homes)

Protecting New Buildings from Radon:

If you are building in an area with elevated radon potential within the UK, you should consider installing radon protection during construction.
The required Radon Protection in New buildings is determined by the area of where the property is located.
A map has been produced by Public Health England and this is used as a guide to show Radon affected areas.
By using this map, we can determine the areas affected by radon gas and testing will indicate the level of protection required. There are two levels of radon protection in new builds and these are known as basic and full radon protection.
Basic radon protection comprises of a radon membrane that is fully sealed across the full foot print of the building,
Full radon protection comprises of a radon membrane that is fully sealed across the full foot print of the building and a radon sump or ventilated sub floor.
Buildings with a large footprint or properties that have had extensions added, may require more than one sump system.
Practical solutions are provided for the majority of construction methods and building types.
For further advice or guidance call, Radon Protection UK on: 0800 9788435.
Buying a new build home?
When required by building regulations and associated guidance, new build properties in Radon Affected Areas are expected to have radon protective measures installed when they are built. The guidance recommends specific protective measures depending on the construction of the building and whether 'Full' or 'Basic' radon protection should be provided. You can find out whether you should have full or basic protection by asking your builder or by doing a radon search. The radon search will state whether the radon protection expected is 'basic' or 'full'.
  • Basic Radon Protection: - protection is provided by a damp proof membrane modified and extended to form a radon-proof barrier across the ground floor of the building.
  • Full Radon Protection:- comprises of a radon-proof barrier across the ground floor and provision for subfloor depressurization (a radon sump) or ventilation (a ventilated subfloor void). It is important to realise with full radon protection that the sump is not activated when the house is built. It is capped and available for use as a secondary measure in case the radon-proof barrier is insufficient for reducing radon levels below the Action Level 200 Bq m-3.
radon-protection
The image to the left shows an example of a typical capped off sump exit pipe.
When you move into your new build home, Public Health England recommends that you should do a 3 month radon test in your new home during the first year of occupation, as it is not guaranteed that your radon level will be less than the Action Level. If the radon test result is higher than the Action Level (200 Bq m-3) and you have full protection built in, Radon Protection UK will help to reduce radon levels further.
Radon Sump:
  • Activate: - a fan can be added to the sump pipe OR
  • Passive: - the cap can be removed and a pipe added to above the eaves of the roof.
Increased under-floor ventilation:
  • Add a fan to increase ventilation to the under-floor void. If only basic protection is fitted, a radon sump of underfloor ventilation can be fitted - see our guidance on how to reduce radon levels in existing properties. Once these changes have been made- test again to ensure that the radon levels are reduced sufficiently.

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