Crawl Space Radon Mitigation in Colorado Springs, CO

Homes with a dirt-floor crawl space need a different approach than a basement. Instead of cutting through a slab, the installer lays heavy polyethylene sheeting across the crawl space floor, seals it to the walls and around piers, and pulls suction from underneath the membrane. The EPA describes submembrane depressurization as the most effective method for crawl space homes.

Cost runs higher than a basement system, generally $2,000 to $5,000, and the spread is driven almost entirely by two things: how big the crawl space is, and how bad the access is. A crawl space you can sit up in is a different job from one you enter on your stomach through an 18-inch hatch.

Older housing stock is where crawl space work turns up most often around here, particularly on the west side, in Manitou Springs, and in the Ute Pass communities. Some homes have a basement plus a crawl space addition, which occasionally needs two separate systems or a single system with two suction points.

A side benefit worth knowing about: the sealed vapor barrier also cuts ground moisture. That helps with musty smells, with the wood framing above it, and with the general habitability of the space. Some homeowners who were already planning encapsulation find the radon work pays for a chunk of it.

If a bid for a crawl space home comes in at basement prices without anyone having gone under the house, treat that as a warning rather than a bargain.