Is sealing basement concrete floor against radon a good idea?
Now that I have removed everything from my basement, I have this nice pristine unfinished concrete floor and walls.
I have heard of a product called radon block, I believe this is a sealer of some kind.
Just wondering if sealing my floor is worth it and what the general thoughts are regarding sealing bare concrete?
It is always wise to check a home for radon gas contamination and remove it if levels are above recommended safe levels. Have you had your basement tested for radon and found high levels? Here are our pages on testing for radon gas and how to remove it from basements and crawlspaces.
The product you mention, do you mean the Radon Block Membrane? That is not a liquid sealer, and is used to stop radon gas from entering below basement floors, but it is used before you pour the floor, not after.
There are some liquid applied radon barriers on the market, but we don’t have a lot of faith in those. Concrete floors are prone to cracking, and while a liquid barrier may work under controlled testing conditions, in the real world I wouldn’t put my faith in it to seal a cracked concrete floor. And there is always a risk of further cracks developing.
There are a variety of radon gas mitigation techniques depending on your basement conditions. I think in your case since you have a bare concrete floor, the most effective method for removing radon is probably sub-slab depressurization, where a couple of holes are opened in the floor so that radon can be sucked from below the slab. But all this hinges on first getting tested and knowing if you have a problem.
Hey Mike, looks like I got the name wrong, the product is called RadonSeal.
Taking radon out of the equation, is there any reason or benefit to sealing the bare concrete?
Hi Tim, I just spoke to Rob Mahoney of Radonworks in Ottawa, he does mitigation and consulting with Health Canada, he confirmed that the liquid applied barriers are worthless. So, moving on to normal sealants - A bare concrete floor is porous and will stain very easily, it will also continue to add a fine dust to your house through normal wear so if you're planning to use it then I would seal it. . Here is a page on our favourite concrete sealing method -
How to seal and polish concrete floors - non toxic silicate sealer