When we bought our new construction home it had passive radon mitigation. We wrote into the agreement that we would pay for radon testing, and if it still came out high, they had to pay for a certified radon installer to put in active mitigation. It WAS still very high, but was retested as within safe limits after the active mitigation was installed.
The sump pump pit isn't quiet. There's a sound that appears to be from wind/air making almost a whistling sound. My concern is that the sump pit doesn't look properly sealed. At one point, one of the contractor's people came regarding another issue and noticed the sound (which was even louder) and said the pit had an air leak. He was able to easily rip off the silicone, and that's when I saw how flimsy that cover is (floppy - not sure what material, and look at all the flaky stuff). It only recently dawned on me that a sealed sump pit is part of radon mitigation....Shouldn't a proper radon mitigation system have something more secure - like a plastic cover? Especially for a mostly finished basement with media room, bath and bedroom?
That sump has a quiet check valve that is the smaller cousin to the one we had issues with for our sewage ejector. It also is dead quiet most of the time, but once in a while it hiccups a bit and is a little louder.
My other concern is with the outlet - it's GFCI - same as the ejector pump for the sewer. My two neighbors, who have homes by the same builder, already had their GFCIs fail, causing basement flooding (high water table/clay soil). The builder told me they had to put in the GFCI due to building code, but recommended I switch it out to a regular dual outlet because they couldn't for liability issues. They told me if there were issues down the road I could "play dumb". Apparently, they think I don't need to "play" at being dumb to suggest that. Like my insurance company would forgive all if someone were electrocuted/house burned down because I (NOT an electrician!) swapped stuff out against code. From what I'm looking into, shouldn't it be within code (Illinois) to swap each of the two GFCI for single outlets, since they would be used respectively for an ejector and sump? The builder actually admitted to me that they only swap in the GFCIs right when the sale goes through, because they don't want to risk basement flooding while the house is empty and awaiting sale.
The plumbers troubleshooting our ejector pump check valve issue also told me the GFCIs would fail pretty quickly because our sump pump went off regularly due to the high water table. They strongly urged me to swap them out. We're still within our new home warranty (the house, despite being inspected and reinspected has turned out to be a half-assed mess) so I want to correct anything I can while it's on their dime.
Thanks.
Sump pump photos:
The sump pump pit isn't quiet. There's a sound that appears to be from wind/air making almost a whistling sound. My concern is that the sump pit doesn't look properly sealed. At one point, one of the contractor's people came regarding another issue and noticed the sound (which was even louder) and said the pit had an air leak. He was able to easily rip off the silicone, and that's when I saw how flimsy that cover is (floppy - not sure what material, and look at all the flaky stuff). It only recently dawned on me that a sealed sump pit is part of radon mitigation....Shouldn't a proper radon mitigation system have something more secure - like a plastic cover? Especially for a mostly finished basement with media room, bath and bedroom?
That sump has a quiet check valve that is the smaller cousin to the one we had issues with for our sewage ejector. It also is dead quiet most of the time, but once in a while it hiccups a bit and is a little louder.
My other concern is with the outlet - it's GFCI - same as the ejector pump for the sewer. My two neighbors, who have homes by the same builder, already had their GFCIs fail, causing basement flooding (high water table/clay soil). The builder told me they had to put in the GFCI due to building code, but recommended I switch it out to a regular dual outlet because they couldn't for liability issues. They told me if there were issues down the road I could "play dumb". Apparently, they think I don't need to "play" at being dumb to suggest that. Like my insurance company would forgive all if someone were electrocuted/house burned down because I (NOT an electrician!) swapped stuff out against code. From what I'm looking into, shouldn't it be within code (Illinois) to swap each of the two GFCI for single outlets, since they would be used respectively for an ejector and sump? The builder actually admitted to me that they only swap in the GFCIs right when the sale goes through, because they don't want to risk basement flooding while the house is empty and awaiting sale.
The plumbers troubleshooting our ejector pump check valve issue also told me the GFCIs would fail pretty quickly because our sump pump went off regularly due to the high water table. They strongly urged me to swap them out. We're still within our new home warranty (the house, despite being inspected and reinspected has turned out to be a half-assed mess) so I want to correct anything I can while it's on their dime.
Thanks.
Sump pump photos:
