North York is a borough of its own, even though the borough office on East Sixth Avenue has a York, PA 17404 address like everyone else's. It's small. About 2,200 people and roughly 1,100 homes fit into about a third of a square mile, just north of the city along North George Street. That density shapes almost every radon job here more than anything else does. North York is a few minutes from anywhere I'm doing radon mitigation in York PA.
What's Under North York
North York is on the same limestone valley floor as the city. Porous ground, older houses and a lot of stone and block basements add up to some of the higher readings I see. Next-door houses here can still test very differently because of backfill and foundation type. More on York County geology and radon.
A Borough Since 1899
North York was incorporated on April 17, 1899, with about 146 acres. The borough's own history puts a candy factory, a butcher shop, barns and a slaughterhouse around North George Street and Sixth Avenue back then. It filled in as part of York's older built-up area, not as a modern subdivision.
That means the houses here tend to have some history under them. When I walk a North York basement, I'm looking for:
- An older slab that's been patched or broken up for plumbing over the decades
- Old foundation walls with gaps where soil gas can come through
- A rear addition on its own slab or crawl space
- Openings around pipes, drains and wiring that nobody ever sealed
None of that means an old house has more radon. It means the system takes more planning than a new basement with one clean slab.
Older York basements are often rubble stone, the hardest foundation to mitigate. Here's what that means for a radon system.
Close Neighbors Change Where the Pipe Goes
On a big suburban lot, I can usually put the fan and pipe almost anywhere on the side of the house. In North York, the house next door may be a few feet away. Pennsylvania's mitigation standards control where the pipe discharges relative to windows, doors and openings, and on a tight lot that narrows the options fast.
So on a North York job I spend more of the walkthrough outside than I would in the townships. I'll show you where the pipe can legally go and where it would look best, and we'll pick from there. You won't find out on install day that it has to run up the front of the house.
Radon Numbers Around 17404
Pennsylvania DEP's public test records show 3,692 of 6,688 basement tests from 17404 at or above the 4 pCi/L action level. That's about 55 percent. York County's 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan put the 1990 to 2022 average for the ZIP at 7.7 pCi/L, nearly twice the action level.
17404 covers far more than North York, including parts of the city and neighboring townships, so this isn't a borough average. It's a sign that radon is common right around you. The number that counts is from a test in your own house. Radon testing from me is typically around $165.
For North York Landlords
North York runs a rental registration program, so some of the people reading this are landlords. If you own a rental here, a few things are worth knowing:
- I coordinate access with you or your tenant, whichever you prefer.
- If a building has more than one unit over a shared basement, I look at how the basement connects before deciding what one system can cover.
- DEP says the retest should run after the system has operated at least 24 hours. My post-mitigation retest is included, and you get the result in writing for your records.
If the building already has a system and the tenant says the fan is loud or quiet when it shouldn't be, it may just need fan repair or replacement.
North York Questions
Is North York part of the city?
No. It's a separate borough in the Central York School District, even though the mail says York. It doesn't change anything about how I work there.
My basement has an old floor drain. Is that a problem?
It can be, if it runs into the soil under the slab. The fix is a drain fitting that lets water through but blocks soil gas. I include it in the quote when a house needs one.
There's an open hole in my basement floor for the sump. What do you do with it?
An open sump is often one of the biggest radon entry points in the house. I cover it with a sealed lid, and often use it as part of the system. More on sump pit sealing.
How fast can you come out?
I usually respond within a day or two. Estimates are free, weekdays 7:30am to 7:30pm and Saturdays until 2:00pm.
Other Work in North York
I also do mold testing and indoor air quality testing here. Right around North York, I cover Manchester Township and Spring Garden Township. The full list is on the service area page, and every service I offer is on the services page.