I am currently working in an area where radon testing is commonplace and I suspect I may earn more business if I offer Radon testing. If I provided the service I would likely try to keep everything in-house using a CRM and/or Electret devices gaining a certification through NRPP. However, the requirements of a quality control program paired with being an “Analytical Service Provider” has me a bit gun shy.
Is there anyone out there with the same business model as I described above? Is the burden of constantly sending your CRM’s in for calibration, logging comparative results, documentation for accuracy, etc too much? Basically I’m trying to weigh whats worth doing in the Radon realm for my business but it seems as though Radon may be a little more “involved” than what makes sense for me.
If you are in a market area that has is known to be a Radon hotspot, then testing is what you need to be able to offer! It is so, so easy. Get the proper training first!
What I did as a solo inpsector was to buy two CRM’s (Sun Nuclear). Sending them off is not a big deal, now it takes about 2-3 weeks for them to be completed once we ship them off. I staggered my initial purchse by a couple months, so they both did not need to go at the sametime. About 30% of our inspections will have a radon test. We have 8 CRMs for two inspectors.
Most of all be sure you are charging enough for the testing! In our area $200 to $225 is the going rate when ordered with an inspection and add $100 without an inspection! A good CRM will cost you under $1000 and will paid for with only five or less test! It is very profitable!
Radon testing brought in almost $45,000 to our company last year. We have been testing for radon for right at 19 years.
I took the class and passed the test. The SOP, QC, license application, ETC were all ready to be sent in to finalize getting my license. I then got extremely busy, and I shelved it. This gave me more time to think about it. It really seemed like a lot of work for little return on investment. I instead started subbing it out to a local mitigation company that I could trust. The return on investment using a sub has been great.
You will need at least 4 testing devices. I do radon testing as a solo inspector, I have 5 CRM’s that way if one is off being calibrated you still have 4 units to work with. If you place one unit in 4 houses in 2 days, you will have a unit for your third day. I always try to place the unit 2 days before the inspection, that way I can pick it up the day of the inspection. I never do testing on any property that is an hour away. As it makes scheduling a nightmare.
Also if you rely on realtors giving you access to the houses, you might not want to do it at all. As agents are always late. And this can mess up your whole schedule for the day.
The QC/Lab/Service Provider paperwork and upkeep is not that bad if you’re reasonably organized. Radelec and many, probably most, CRM brands do a lot of the tracking for you in their software. As said above the logistics of drops or pick ups can be the biggest stumbling block in a one man shop. What kind of time window do your clients have for the test to be performed, how big is your market area and can you readily get to addresses twice, do you need day codes or a Supra/Sentrilock access, do agents expect to provide physical access?
If the logistics are not doable for you as a one man outfit I’d seriously consider subbing it out to a decent mitigation company. Like so much else in business the certification and licensing is the easy part.
When I started my business several years ago, my business plan was to eventually do Radon testing. Eventually I took and passed the test, got licensed and bought machines, I quickly realized it was too much of a PIA for me, making the extra trip to & from the property, sometimes finding open windows etc etc… Then there’s the state required paperwork, machine calibrations, etc.
So, I sold my machines and have been subbing them out ever since without ever having a second thought of doing them myself again.
As others have mentioned, if you do sub them out, it’s key to find a good tester that you can rely on, because how he conducts himself and his business reflects directly on you and your business.
Thanks for the replies everyone that helps me out a bunch. So the CRM companies will provide most of the QAQC logs and guidelines within their software? That in turn can be given to the state operated in or the NRPP when asked?
When it is slow, radon is a great revenue booster. But when it is busy, it can get a little hectic as a one-man operation. I adjust the “sell” of the testing based on how busy I am. The vast majority won’t bring it up if you don’t ask if they want it. In that way, you can somewhat control the demand based on how busy you are.
I don’t find the licensing and calibration (CRM) to be too burdensome. It’s a bit of messing around, but overall not terrible.
I have been getting along with 3 CRM monitors, but I’ve gotten nervous a few times, lol. Typically when due for a cross check when you need to use up two monitors for a single test.
Honestly, I would be afraid of losing inspection business if I didn’t offer radon testing, and I’m not in an area that I have subs available that I could rely on.
It really depends on where you are located! only 13 states have radon regulations! I’m in TN and we have no regulations so we do not have to keep logs, records, etc. We just test and go to the next one! If we were in a regualted state, I would be using Radalink.