Soil gas pipe capped in basement?
ThaiM
| Posted in GBA Pro Help on
The is a soil gas pipe capped about a couple of feet from the ground in my basement. I’m looking at finishing my basement and am wondering if this needs to be vented to the outside or if I can go ahead and drywall over it. Why did the builders cap it?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Thai,
I am not familiar with the expression "soil gas pipe." Can you describe it?
I'm just guessing, but it sounds like a cleanout for the DWV system (that is, your home's drain pipes).
The Soil Gas Pipe is to vent Radon gas buildup.
Thai: Have you done a radon test? If you don't have a radon issue, go ahead and cover it. Take a photo first, in case you need to find it someday.
Thai,
In many new homes, the builder installs the components that are necessary for a radon mitigation system before the basement slab is poured. These components include a layer of crushed stone and at least one length of horizontal perforated pipe, connected to an elbow or tee to a riser pipe. In your case, it sounds like this riser pipe was capped.
Once the house is completed, the next step (which your builder may have done) is to perform a radon test. If your house doesn't have high radon, you don't need to connect the riser pipe to a vertical pipe that penetrates the roof. If you get a high radon reading, however, you are ready to install either a passive or active radon mitigation system.
Here is a link to an article that discusses radon mitigation systems in more detail: All About Radon.
Stephen gave you good advice. If you don't know whether your house has been tested for radon yet, now is the time to perform the test.
Thank you so much everyone. That's very helpful.