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New Homes and Radon Gas
What is Radon Gas?
Remember that periodic table of elements you had to memorize? Well, Rn (Radon) is a radioactive noble gas generated by the natural decay of Radium.
Radon is a significant contaminant that affects indoor air quality worldwide. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings and reportedly causes 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States alone.[1] Radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, and radon-induced lung cancer is thought to be the 6th leading cause of cancer death overall.
The importance of this information is in the fact that Radon causes lung cancer, asthma, and other ailments, and the fact that it occurs naturally in soil and in the atmosphere.
Depending on how houses are built and ventilated, radon may accumulate in basements and dwellings. The highest average radon concentrations in the U.S. are found in Iowa and in the Appalachian Mountain areas in southeastern Pennsylvania.[36] Some of the highest readings ever have been recorded in the Irish town of Mallow, County Cork prompting local fears regarding lung cancer. Iowa has the highest average radon concentrations in the nation due to significant glaciation that ground the granitic rocks from the Canadian Shield and deposited it as soils making up the rich Iowa farmland.[37] Many cities within the state, such as Iowa City have passed requirements for radon resistant construction in all new homes. A recent study has noted that the counties surrounding Three Mile Island have the highest radon concentrations in the United States and that this may be the cause of the increased lung cancer noted in the region.[38]
ASTM E-2121 is a standard for reducing radon in homes as far as practicable below 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) in indoor air. ). Radon test kits are commercially available. The kit includes a collector that the user hangs in the lowest livable floor of the house for 2 to 7 days. The user then sends the collector to a laboratory for analysis. The National Environmental Health Association provides a list of radon measurement professionals. Long term kits, taking collections for up to one year, are also available. An open land test kit can test radon emissions from the land before construction begins.
Knowledge is power, and thanks for reading. As always, you can search over 1000 house plans online at www.nelsondesigngroup.com
Log Homes Photography Update
Some beautiful new photography has been added for some of our log homes in the Barna Log Homes Collection. These photos really capture the majesty of the log homes. They seem to almost have their own personalities.
1064 The Sunset Ridge is definitely my favorite. Which one is yours?
House Plans and Home Trends
Home trends are often hit or miss. A small investment can pay off large dividends at times, and a large investment can become a future sore spot for potential buyers. Many people want a house with a distinguished curb appeal. No one wants to have to click the garage door opener to remember which house is theirs. As the size of our collective “stuff” increases, the amount of storage space that we need also increases. Garages hold our boats, SUV’s, campers, equipment, Christmas decorations, and anything else we can cram in there. Closets, shelves, cabinets, cubby holes, and nooks can seem daunting at first, but we seem to always find enough stuff to fill them. You can never have too much storage space, because you will find uses for it.
Flow is an important thing to consider as well. Lets assume like most of us that you enjoy cooking out on the grill, and having friends over to your house. You want to make sure there is a smooth flow from the kitchen to the outside area. Many modern kitchens are becoming “islandized” allowing multiple cooks to work at the same time without running over each other. You may even want an outside cooking area with a stove.
As always, you can search over 1,000 house plans online at www.nelsondesigngroup.com
Label Those Electrical Panel Switches
Have you ever been in a house, or office, and needed to turn off or check the electrical panel for a particular room? Have you then found that none of the switches were labeled, and you had to find the correct one through trial and error, possibly even going up and down stairs to find out which switch goes where? This is a frustrating waste of a half an hour, and were there some type of emergency where a particular area’s power needed to be turned off quickly, it could become an impossible task.
The point is that these switches should all be labeled, and if the switches in your house are currently not labeled, then you should do it now, while you are not having any problems, so that if a problem does come up where you need to quickly access one of them, you will know which one is which.
As always, you can search all of our house plans online at www.nelsondesigngroup.com
Your Bathtub, Your Sanctuary
With the frantic pace that many of us maintain in our lives, where cell phones are like extra appendages, where home cooking means picking something up on the way to somewhere else, and where 8 hours of sleep is like a vacation, it can be very difficult to take a few minutes for yourself and relax. Your bathtub can be that place of sanctity in your life, when you have a stressful day and your tired but don’t have time to sleep, putting your phone on mute and sinking down into warm relaxing water may be just what it takes to keep you going.
Tubs come in a variety of styles, materials, and colors. Modern tubs with whirlpool jets can massage away all your tension, while classic claw foot tubs can soak your stress away. You may even find yourself wanting something more exotic like a wooden tub or a hammered copper tub.
Kohler is a great place to begin your search for a new bathtub, and you can find them on the web at: http://www.us.kohler.com/
As always, you can search our house plans online at www.nelsondesigngroup.com
Are you prepared for mother nature?
Hurricanes, rolling blackouts, terrorist attacks, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural and unnatural disasters threaten us every day. While there is little that you can do to prevent these events, you can be prepared for them.
An automatic standby generator is a back-up electrical system that operates whether you are at home or away. It automatically supplies power to essential circuits of your home within seconds of a utility outage. After utility power returns, the generator shuts itself off and awaits the next outage. It operates on natural gas or liquid propane and sits outside just like a central air conditioning unit. www.guardiangenerators.com
New House Plan NDG-1249
NDG-1249 : This lovely split bedroom design uses angles giving it a unique element not found in many other plans. The large kitchen fully opens into the great room and both view a balcony above – great for entertaining. Additional gathering space is found on the upper level above the three-car garage, serving as a fourth bedroom or game room. A side to rear porch and spacious deck make this plan perfect for outdoor living – golf course or lake view setting.
NDG-1269 New House Plan
NDG-1269 is the newest edition to the Rustic Ridge Collection. This house features a beautiful front entry with stone columns and a 12′ vaulted ceiling. The spacious 3 car side entry garage is to the left. The spacious foyer ahead features elegant exposed timber posts. The master suite is roomy with a sitting room and large master bath with a whirlpool tub. You will have a difficult time choosing a favorite room in this house, be it the spacious kitchen, the great room with exposed timber and fireplace, or the relaxing whirlpool tub in the master bath. You are sure to find a room you will love.
Find this and other house plans online at NelsonDesignGroup.com
