Radon testing & mitigation in Saint Augustine, FL
Radon Mitigation in Saint Augustine, FL
Test first, mitigate only if the number says so — and why no county-level radon statistic, in either direction, tells you anything about your house.
If you are wondering whether your Saint Augustine home has a radon problem, there is only one way to find out: test it. Radon is an odorless, colorless radioactive gas that seeps out of the soil and collects indoors. The EPA recommends fixing any home that measures 4.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or higher.
Here is the honest version, because you will get spun in both directions on this. You cannot learn anything reliable about your own house from a county-level statistic — and both sides of the sales pitch depend on you not knowing that. The company quoting you "one in five Florida homes" is using a statewide figure to describe your address. The one waving you off with "we're a low-risk county" is doing the same thing in reverse.
The EPA is direct about this. Its Map of Radon Zones — the source almost every county-level radon claim traces back to — carries an explicit instruction that it "should not be used to determine if individual homes need to be tested," and EPA's standing advice is that no matter where you live, you test. The Florida Department of Health adds that a lack of data does not mean low radon potential: roughly 99% of the radon measurements ever taken in Florida come from just 25 counties, so thin local data is uncertainty, not reassurance. Two homes on the same street in St. Augustine Shores can test very differently, because what matters is the soil under that specific house and how that specific house breathes.
So the sequence that makes sense here is cheap first, expensive only if warranted. Test. If the number comes back under 2.0, you are done and you have paid for a test instead of a system. If it comes back at or above 4.0, then you have a real result to act on and mitigation is worth every dollar.
One thing worth knowing before you call anyone: in Florida, radon measurement and mitigation are state-certified activities under Fla. Stat. 404.056. It is not a general handyman job, and there are only about two dozen certified mitigation businesses in the entire state. How to check a company's certification is on our mitigation page, and it takes one phone call to the state.
Our radon mitigation services in Saint Augustine
Radon Testing
A measured test with a calibrated monitor — and why no county-level statistic, in either direction, tells you anything about your house.
Learn more →Radon Mitigation System Installation
Sub-slab depressurization installed by a Florida-certified mitigation business — and how to verify that certification before anyone touches your house.
Learn more →Radon System Inspection & Repair
Diagnosing systems that are running but not working, plus the mandatory retesting rules that apply to St. Johns County schools and licensed facilities.
Learn more →Real Estate Radon Testing
Transaction-timeline testing, plus the radon notice Florida law puts in every sale and lease contract — and what it does and does not mean.
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Frequently asked questions
Is radon actually a problem around St. Augustine?
Honestly: nobody can tell you without measuring. The widely quoted "one in five Florida homes" figure is a statewide number, and county-level radon maps are modelled predictions that EPA says should not be used to decide whether an individual home needs testing. Florida DOH adds that limited local data is not evidence of low potential. What is true everywhere is that a test costs very little and settles it for your specific house — which is the only answer that affects what you should do.
Does a slab-on-grade home really need testing?
Slab construction does not protect you. Radon enters through shrinkage cracks, expansion joints, plumbing and conduit penetrations, and the slab perimeter, and air conditioning slightly depressurises the house and helps draw it in. The belief that radon is only a northern basement problem is simply wrong.
Does Florida require radon contractors to be certified?
Yes. Under Fla. Stat. 404.056(2) a person may not perform radon measurement or mitigation unless certified by the Department of Health, with businesses certified separately under F.A.C. 64E-5.1206 and 64E-5.1207. Verify any company's certification with the state radon program at 800-543-8279 before hiring. A contractor's licence is not a radon certification.
What radon level should I act on?
4.0 pCi/L is the EPA action level — fix it. Between 2.0 and 3.9, EPA suggests considering mitigation, which is a judgment call driven by how many hours a day you spend in the house and whether anyone in it smokes. Below 2.0 is low; retest every couple of years or after work that cuts into the slab.
Why does the radon notice appear in my purchase contract?
Because Fla. Stat. 404.056(5) requires it on at least one document executed at or before the contract for sale, or at execution of a rental agreement. It is a generic statutory warning present in every Florida contract, not a disclosure that radon was found in that particular building.
Do schools and day cares here have to test?
Yes. St. Johns County is covered by Florida's mandatory testing requirement for K-12 school buildings, state-licensed day care centres, and state-licensed or state-operated 24-hour care facilities. Testing is required twice, five years apart, by a certified measurement business, with retesting after a triggering event such as significant structural renovation.
How long does a mitigation system take to install?
Most single-family installations are a one-day job, followed by a post-mitigation test after twenty-four hours of operation to confirm the result. Because there are only about two dozen certified mitigation businesses in Florida and none based in St. Johns County, scheduling generally runs in days rather than hours.
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