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| How to Choose the Best Radon Abatement Contractor (Hint: It’s us!) |
- If the price seems too good to be true — YOUR RIGHT!
Legitimate radon contractors are rarely more than $50-$100 dollars
apart in their prices. Performing radon mitigation correctly is
often difficult work, but there are ample opportunities to cut
corners in ways that a homeowner might never discover. For example,
in a house with no gravel under the slab, the size, number and
placement of the holes the mitigator digs under the floor will
directly affect how low your post-mitigation radon levels are.
One small hole may get you down to 3.8 pCi/L but two larger holes
might have gotten you down to below 1.5 pCi/L! The homeowner often
does not know if the contractor spent 20 minutes digging these
holes or three hours. We never cut corners. We spend hours
digging holes that some companies spend minutes on. Systems that
some companies rush through in three or four hours frequently
take us eight to ten hours! We always install the neatest, least
obtrusive and most effective radon systems possible.
- Will the contractor provide a free, on-site estimate?
When a contractor doesn't have time to come estimate your job,
he probably won't have a lot of time to do the work well either.
This visit is also a great time to look at pictures of previous
work the contractor has done, ask lots of questions, and get a
list of references — and a firm price. It is legitimate for
an estimate to specify that a job will cost a specific amount
more if there is no gravel under the slab. We provide free
on-site estimates in all but the farthest locations. We are always
glad to answer radon questions and show you pictures of what different
systems look like. We specify exactly what the price will be with
and without gravel. If we cannot visit your home due to distance
or time considerations (i.e. for a short-notice real estate transaction)
we will fax you a "fixed price" contract that we will honor unless
a significant factor was overlooked by the homeowner in our telephone
interview.
- Will the person supervising your work be trained and
certified in radon remediation, or is only the owner of the company
(who may just be estimating the job) trained and certified. Sometimes
no one in a company has any radon training or certification! This
training is critically important, because unexpected conditions
encountered under the slab of a building frequently necessitate
last-minute design changes to make a system function optimally.
Every system we install is designed and supervised by one of
the owners of our company. Our crew leaders are trained and tested
by the EPA and certified by both NEHA and NRSB.
- Look at the contract carefully. Is there a clear, unambiguous
warranty? How long does it last? Is it transferable? We warranty
our system's effectiveness unconditionally for the life of the
structure! Physical components carry a 15 year warranty, and our
fans carry a five-year manufacturer's warranty. Our estimate is
also our warranty, one sheet of paper — no fine print.
- Ask where the contractor received their training, testing
and certification. Certification and training is now done by The
National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) or The National
Radon Safety Board (NRSB). Training and testing used to be done
by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but no longer is. Demand
to see current proof of certification. Many states also require
that radon contractors be licensed. Maryland and Virginia require
this. The District of Columbia does not. Contractors should also
be fully insured and bonded. We were trained and tested by
the EPA, and are certified by both NEHA and NRSB. We are licensed in
Maryland and Virginia. We are fully insured and bonded.
- Will the contractor be adhering to the EPA
Radon Mitigation Standards (RMS) as well as all state and
local codes? These regulations are in place for good reasons,
and failure to follow them can sometimes lead to grave safety
consequences and may even increase the level of radon in a home.
For example, many contractors place their vent outlet next to
windows, below overhangs or halfway up the side of a house. This
can lead to concentrated radon reentering the house! The RMS specifies that
vent outlets should be two feet ABOVE the roof line or ten feet from any
window or attic vent. While it is often difficult and time
consuming to follow the RMS and local codes, they are in place
for a reason, so we follow them.
- Will the contractor properly perform diagnostic tests before he begins your job? There is often no way to properly design
a radon system without the information provided by diagnostic
testing. Usually this testing involves applying suction to a
two inch test hole to see if there is air movement at a series
of small half inch test holes drilled in various parts of the
slab. If we detect pressure changes at all the small hole locations
when suction is applied to the large test hole, then the radon
system can be placed at the location of the large hole. If not
then a new location for the system (or a second suction point)
must be considered. We perform on-site diagnostics whenever
necessary and design our systems accordingly.
- What happens after the installation? You need proof
that your radon levels were lowered. Your mitigator should either
give you a sealed short-term test for you to deploy (wait 48 hours)
or arrange to have an independent testing company come and retest
your house. He should not do the testing himself! It is a blatant
conflict of interest for a mitigator to also do testing. We
leave every customer a sealed test kit they can deploy 48 hours
after our mitigation. These kits include prepaid postage and independent
lab analysis. We will gladly put you in touch with several independent
testing companies if you want professional verification of our
work. We also give each client a mail order envelope for a discounted
($25) long term test kit. Running this test during the winter,
will prove your systems effectiveness during the period of greatest
potential radon entry into your home. Every home should also be
retested every two years.
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NEHA Certified Radon Mitigation Provider
#101103RMT and #101105RMT
NRSB Certified Radon Mitigation Provider
#1G0006 |
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