Radon
A short radon reading was taken in summer with one detector. Why is that not the three-month test UKradon describes?
Because a short summer reading used one detector, it is not the three-month test UKradon describes. UKradon describes two detectors, one in a bedroom and one in a living room, left for three months. A brief summer test with a single detector is a different exercise. It does not average the period that longer test is built around. The home survey does not carry that test out by looking at a printout, and a short sheet does not become the three-month result because it mentions radon.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Short readings move about. Summer is one season, not the span UKradon uses. One detector is not the pair placed in a bedroom and a living room. If a seller produces a few days of numbers from a single gadget, file it as what it is: a short test, in summer, with one detector. Do not promote it to the three-month test. The survey can note that a sheet was shown. It cannot upgrade the method.
If you need the test UKradon describes, that is two detectors over three months, not a repeat of the summer snapshot. Ask the seller for the full sheet: how many detectors, which rooms, and how long they were out. If those answers are one detector and a short summer spell, you already know it is not the longer test. The address search, if someone mentions one, is still not a measurement in the living room. This page does not state a fee for it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see a three-month test with two detectors, or a short summer sheet?
- Which rooms, if any, were named on the sheet you were shown?
- Are you treating a single detector as short of the test UKradon describes?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not call the short summer reading the three-month test.
- Ask how many detectors were used and how long they stayed out.
- Order the two-detector, three-month test if you need the one UKradon describes.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the short test was low, can you stop there?
Not if you needed the longer test. A low short summer reading with one detector is still not the three-month test UKradon describes.
Does the surveyor's visit count as a detector?
No. The surveyor cannot see the gas. A visit is not a detector in a bedroom or a living room for three months.