New Construction & Passive Systems in Harrisburg, SD

Call (605) 210-7667 Harrisburg is 10 miles from Sioux Falls. You hear back from a person, not an autoresponder, within one business day. Call before 3pm on a weekday and it is usually the same afternoon.

No city in South Dakota has more at stake here than Harrisburg. This is the fastest-growing place in the state over 5,000 people, up almost 38 percent between 2020 and 2023, and South Dakota requires none of those houses to be built radon-resistant. Minnesota has required it since 2009. We are the state with the highest average indoor level in the country and no requirement at all.

What we see in Harrisburg

For builders working the developments around Journey Elementary, Willow Creek and south along Cliff Avenue, a pre-slab rough-in is half a day: clean aggregate, a perforated loop, sealed sheeting, a capped riser to the attic, and a labelled junction box for a future fan. Retrofitting that same house after drywall costs several times as much.

Practical notes for Harrisburg homeowners

For homeowners already in a Harrisburg build: look in the mechanical room for a capped white pipe. If it is there, activating it is a few hundred dollars. Test first at the one-year mark, once the HVAC is balanced and the house is being lived in.

New Construction & Passive Systems in Harrisburg: the technical part

The specification is short and it matters that every line of it happens. Four inches of clean washed aggregate under the entire slab, not pit-run with fines in it. A perforated loop or a soil gas collection mat laid in that aggregate. Sealed polyethylene sheeting over the top with taped seams. A capped 3 or 4 inch riser from the loop to the attic. A labelled junction box near the riser for a future fan.

What the job looks like in Harrisburg

The rough-in happens between the gravel going in and the pour, which is a narrow window on a busy site. We coordinate directly with the concrete crew rather than the builder's office, because the person who needs to know is the one placing the sheeting. Inspection before the pour takes fifteen minutes and it is the only chance to catch a crushed loop.

One thing worth knowing about Harrisburg

Harrisburg's growth has outrun its radon awareness. Thousands of homes here have a passive stack roughed in by the builder that nobody ever activated.

Harrisburg radon questions

Does the aggregate specification really matter?

It is the whole mechanism. Clean washed stone lets air move under the slab. Pit-run gravel with fines in it does not, and a rough-in over the wrong material produces a system that cannot work.

Can our concrete crew do the rough-in?

Frequently yes, with a drawing and a specification. We will provide both and inspect before the pour without needing to be the ones who install it.

Need new construction and passive system activation in Harrisburg? Call (605) 210-7667 or send the form. Full detail on how these systems work is on our new construction and passive system activation page, and every radon service we offer in Harrisburg is listed on the Harrisburg page.