LibreRadon Exhaust Termination: What Should You Document?
Don't photograph only the top of the pipe. Photograph the condition you're trying to prove.
There is no single answer to "how high?"
Where a mitigation system may discharge depends on the standard you work under and the state you work in. The rules share a purpose — get the exhaust up and away from people and from openings back into the building — but the specifics differ, and they change between editions. The current national standard, ANSI/AARST SGM-SF-2023, generally puts the discharge outdoors, directed upward, above the roof, and clear of operable openings and places people gather; it also describes limited conditions under which a lower discharge can be justified and recorded. Treat any one-line rule you've heard, including "a foot above the roof," as incomplete.
How three states write it
Examples, not a national rule. Each is one state's own text, paraphrased — read the source before you rely on it.
Ohio
Ohio's mitigation standard sets several conditions together: above the highest eave and as near the ridge as practical, at least 10 feet above the ground, at least 10 feet from openings that sit less than 2 feet below the exhaust, clear of nearby occupiable areas and adjacent buildings, and at least 12 inches above the roof surface where the stack penetrates the roof. A stack mounted on the side of the building has to run vertical and end at least 12 inches above the edge of the highest roof it's attached to. Vertical discharge, no rain cap. Appendix to OAC 3701-69-08, accessed September 2026.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's regulation calls for 10 feet or more above ground level, 10 feet or more from an operable window, door, or other opening into conditioned space unless the termination is 2 feet above the top of the opening, above the immediate roof edge for side-mounted pipes, at least 12 inches above the roof surface for pipes that penetrate the roof, and no rain caps. 25 Pa. Code § 240.308, accessed September 2026.
Minnesota
Minnesota doesn't write its own discharge geometry. Its rules adopt the ANSI/AARST mitigation standard by reference, so the national standard's termination requirements are the state's. Minnesota Rules 4620.7500, accessed September 2026.
Why the termination is the shot that matters
Every one of those rules is about a relationship: pipe to roof, pipe to ground, pipe to window, pipe to the deck next door. A close-up of white PVC against the sky records none of it. It's also the part of the system most likely to be altered after you leave — shortened during a re-roof, capped, rerouted around an addition. A wide completion photo is a record, made at the time, of how the termination looked when you finished.
What to get in the frame
Step back first
One wide shot of the whole elevation: pipe, roofline, discharge point, and enough of the building to tell which side you're on.
Show what's nearby
Windows, doors, vents, decks, and patios near the discharge, in the same frame as the pipe where you can. The neighbor's wall too, if it's close.
Then the detail
The termination itself, the roof penetration or the bracket at the roof edge, and the top of the stack showing how it discharges.
Say what it is
Add a voice caption — "north elevation, discharge above the rear eave" — so the photo still explains itself in five years.
LibreCam records it. It doesn't rule on it.
LibreCam doesn't measure clearances or decide whether a termination complies — that's the qualified professional's call, under the rules that apply to the job. What it does is keep the photo, the time, the location, and your caption together on the property. Put the termination shots on your radon mitigation photo checklist so they're taken on every system, and see the documentation guide for how state rules differ more broadly. The full workflow is on the radon mitigation page. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and can change; always follow the state and local requirements and the standards governing your work.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the state and the standard. Ohio and Pennsylvania, for example, both specify at least 12 inches above the roof surface where the pipe penetrates the roof — alongside several other clearance conditions that apply at the same time. Check the current rule for your jurisdiction.
Usually not. Take a wide shot that shows the discharge in relation to the roof and nearby openings, then a close-up of the termination itself. The wide shot carries the context.
No. LibreCam documents the installed condition. Whether it meets the applicable standard is for the qualified professional and the authority with jurisdiction.