Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region · Colorado

Radon testing in Colorado Springs

Colorado reads high across most of the state, and the Pikes Peak region has the geology to explain it. For a market with this much relocation traffic, the useful thing to know is that testing here is normal rather than alarming.

Colorado Springs sits at the foot of Pikes Peak, and the granite that forms the mountain is itself relatively uranium-rich. The Dawson Arkose beneath much of the city is composed largely of material eroded off that granite, so the source rock and the soil derived from it share the same chemistry. East of town the Pierre Shale produces expansive claystone, and the Ute Pass fault runs along the mountain front through Manitou Springs.

Get free quotes All of Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region

How testing works in this market

Place the detector on the lowest lived-in level, twenty inches up, away from exterior walls, drafts, supply registers, and any sump. Keep the house closed twelve hours before a short-term test and throughout — which during a chinook or a warm winter week means resisting the urge to open the house up. In a crawlspace house, the lowest lived-in level is the floor above the crawl, not the crawl itself. Record placement exactly, since confirming and post-mitigation tests belong in the same spot. The city holds prewar brick and frame housing on block and stone foundations in the Old North End and downtown, an extensive postwar ranch belt, and large tracts of 1990s-forward construction on the north and east sides. Monument and the northern corridor carry newer subdivision building; Manitou Springs is a compact historic town on steep ground; Fountain and Woodland Park are distinct in their own ways.

When to test, and when to retest

A first result is a starting point, not a verdict. EPA's guidance is to confirm a short-term result before spending money on a system, to test the lowest lived-in level, and to keep the house under closed-building conditions throughout. A measurement done for pay in Colorado calls for an NRPP or NRSB measurement certification; a do-it-yourself kit you buy and mail in yourself does not, and for a first look at your own house it is a legitimate place to start. The heating season produces the strongest stack effect and the most conservative closed-house readings. The Front Range’s wide daily swings and chinook wind events move house pressure noticeably, which makes short-term results here noisier than in steadier climates — a real argument for confirming borderline numbers before spending.

Below 2 pCi/LNo action recommended. Retest every couple of years.

2 – 4 pCi/LEPA suggests considering action — a household decision, not a mandate.

4+ pCi/LEPA recommends taking action to reduce the level.

Testing inside a home sale

Colorado requires sellers of residential real property to give buyers a radon warning statement and the state’s radon brochure before a sale, and the standard seller’s property disclosure addresses radon testing and mitigation. Colorado does not require a seller to test or to mitigate — the response to an elevated result is negotiated like any other inspection finding.

Communities we route in Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region

Radon Testing questions in Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region

We are relocating here from a low-radon area. Is testing worth it?

Yes. Colorado reads high across most of its counties, and the Pikes Peak region has a well-understood geological reason for it. Whatever was customary where you came from, testing during your inspection period here is ordinary practice and costs little relative to the transaction. Ask for a measurement by a nationally certified professional rather than relying on a prior owner’s recollection.

What do homeowners in Colorado Springs get wrong about testing?

Pikes Peak region homeowners often already know the granite is a source, so the questions here are practical: whether a crawlspace needs a membrane, whether a mountain property with a walkout is different, and who is qualified given that Colorado issues no state radon license. The answer to the last one is NRPP or NRSB certification.

Can I use a hardware-store kit instead of hiring someone?

For your own information, yes — a do-it-yourself short-term kit placed on the lowest lived-in level of a home in Colorado Springs, under closed-building conditions, is a real measurement, and EPA treats it as a legitimate first step. For a real-estate transaction the parties usually want an independent measurement by someone holding an NRPP or NRSB measurement certification, because a self-reported number from an interested party is easy for the other side to challenge.

Related Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region guides

Decision guides for this stage

If a test in the Pikes Peak region comes back high, the next pages worth reading are the elevated-result guide and the cost breakdown for this market. Coverage here spans El Paso; the quote form resolves your ZIP against that list before you type anything else.

Sources

U.S. EPA — Radon
U.S. EPA — A Citizen’s Guide to Radon
U.S. EPA — Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction
U.S. EPA — EPA Map of Radon Zones

Get Colorado Springs & the Pikes Peak Region quotes

Two minutes to request. Independent licensed contractors respond with their own quotes — free, with no obligation.

Get free quotes