FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sands Construction is dedicated to providing the highest-quality service to our clients. We seek to answer all of your questions to put you at ease before you invest in our services. To get the answers to some of the questions we hear frequently, read through our FAQs:
Q. What is radon and what does it do to me?
A. Radon is a radioactive gas that is given off by uranium as it decays in the ground. It can build up in enclosed spaces such as houses or buildings. In long term situations the radioactive gas will cause damage to the cells of our lungs, which can lead to lung cancer.
Q. Can my house have radon even if it has a concrete floor, basement, crawlspace, etc.?
A. Yes, Radon can make its way through cracks, pipes and sumps or around edges of a slab. No matter what style of foundation you have, you can have radon. The only way to know if radon is present is to perform a test.
Q. My neighbour does/doesn’t have radon, do I?
A. Radon can be high in one house and low in the house right next door. It all depends on how well sealed the basement is, the condition of the ground below the house, and amount of negative-pressure “stack effect” on the slab.
Q. What is “stack effect”?
A. Stack effect refers to the natural tendency of warm air to rise in a building and be replaced with cooler air below it. Gaps and seams in the attic vapour barrier at the top of your house make it a lot easier for warm air to flow up and into the attic. When that happens, the lower parts of the house are put under a negative pressure trying to replace that warm air that has escaped. That puts the lowest level of your house under a constant negative pressure, especially in the winter. That negative pressure will pull soil gasses right out of the ground and into your house.
Q. How do you get rid of radon?
A. Radon can be taken care of before it even enters the home. A radon mitigation system consists of a fan or fans that will suck the radon out of the ground beneath your home and exhaust it to the outside
Q. Would my house benefit from added attic insulation?
A. If your house is 20 years old or older, there’s a good chance that your attic has 30% to 70% less insulation than the minimum standard today. A leaky, under-insulated attic is one of the largest sources of heat loss in older homes. Adding attic insulation is one of the easiest and most cost effective upgrades to gain a warmer, more comfortable and cost-efficient house. What other area of your house can be doubled or tripled in R value in just a few hours without any other cost or renovation needed to the house?
Q. What about spray foam insulation?
A. Closed cell spray foam insulation is the best choice for some areas of a home that don’t have enough room for regular insulation or are hard to achieve a proper vapour seal. Sands Construction works with reputable spray foam companies in the Yukon to get you the full insulation package for your building.
Q. What is an HRV?
A. HRV stands for Heat Recovery Ventilator. It bring fresh air into a home at the same rate that it exhausts air from the high moisture areas of the home. As the warm moist air is exhausted out it passes through a radiator-like core that pre-warms the incoming fresh air. This cuts down on your heating costs while controlling humidity and providing fresh air to your home.
For more information about our services, please feel free to email us or call us today.