# How to Price Radon Mitigation Jobs From Diagnostics, Not Guesswork
A radon mitigation quote given from the driveway is a guess. You cannot see under the slab, you do not yet know how well the sub-slab material communicates, and you have not confirmed how many suction points the house will actually need. Quote before you diagnose and you will either overprice yourself out of the job or underprice a two-point system you scoped as one.
The operators who make consistent margin on radon work price from diagnostic data: a pressure field extension (PFE) test tells them how the sub-slab area communicates, that tells them suction points and fan size, and those drive the material and labor cost. This guide walks through that chain and gives you the real numbers.
Why diagnostics come before the number
Radon mitigation is almost always active sub-slab depressurization (ASD): you draw soil gas from beneath the slab and vent it above the roofline before it enters the home. The whole system's cost hinges on two questions a diagnostic answers:
1. How well does the sub-slab material communicate? Good gravel under the slab means one suction point can influence a large area. Poor communication (tight soil, no aggregate, interior footings blocking flow) means multiple points. 2. What fan do you need to hold a negative pressure field across the whole slab? Undersize it and the outer edges of the slab never go negative, so post-test radon stays high. Oversize it and you burn energy and money and can create backdrafting concerns.
A PFE communication test, drilling test holes and measuring pressure influence at distance from a proposed suction point, answers both. This is the single most important input to your price, and it is why a diagnostic visit (even a quick one) beats a driveway guess.
Build the install estimate from these drivers
Once you know suction points and target fan performance, the estimate is a line-item build:
- Suction points. Each point means core-drilling the slab, excavating a suction pit, and connecting piping. One point vs. two is often a $700 to $1,200 swing.
- Fan selection. Fans are matched to the airflow/vacuum curve the sub-slab conditions demand. A high-suction, low-flow fan for tight soil differs in cost and performance from a high-flow fan for loose gravel.
- Piping run. Schedule 40 PVC (commonly 3-inch or 4-inch) routed from the suction point up through the house or along the exterior to above the roofline. Interior routing through closets is cleaner but more labor; exterior routing is faster but affects aesthetics.
- Electrical. The fan needs a dedicated circuit and a labeled disconnect, often requiring an electrician or a licensed add. Do not bury this in "miscellaneous."
- System monitor. A manometer (U-tube) at minimum; some jobs warrant an audible/visual failure alarm.
- Sealing. Slab cracks, the sump pit, and floor-wall joints get sealed so the fan pulls from the soil, not from the conditioned house air.
- Post-mitigation test. A follow-up radon measurement, run per protocol, to confirm you got below the action threshold. This is a cost and a warranty obligation, not a favor.
Add it up and a typical single-suction-point residential ASD system lands in the $1,200 to $2,500 range for most homes. Complex homes, multiple suction points, long interior pipe runs, or crawlspace encapsulation push installs to $2,500 to $4,500+. Quote the low end on a house that needs two points and interior routing and you have just donated labor.
Price the post-test and warranty, because they are real obligations
The US EPA action level is 4.0 pCi/L, and your job is to get the home below it (as low as reasonably achievable is the goal, not just barely under 4.0). But the post-mitigation test is where your pricing discipline shows.
You need to log:
- The pre-mitigation result that justified the work.
- The post-mitigation result that proves the system works.
- The PFE / communication test and suction-field readings that show the whole slab is under negative pressure.
And you carry a warranty obligation on that fan and that result, often multi-year. If a fan fails or a result drifts up, you are back on site. Price a small warranty reserve into every job and keep a re-test reminder so you catch a degrading system before the customer does.
This is exactly the record-keeping the Radon Mitigation Systems Kit is built around: a fan-sizing calculator tied to your diagnostic data, a pre- and post-mitigation pCi/L log with pass thresholds, an install estimator that totals suction points, fan, piping, and electrical, and an NRPP/NRSB certification and re-test reminder dashboard. When your estimate, your PFE readings, and your post-test all live in one place per address, warranty callbacks stop being a scramble.
Common radon pricing mistakes
Guessing suction points from the outside. The number of points is a diagnostic finding, not a visual one. A finished basement with interior footings can need two or three points where a bare slab needs one.
Undersizing the fan to hit a price. A cheaper fan that leaves the slab edges positive means a failed post-test and a re-do. The fan is not the place to save $80.
Treating the post-test as optional. Skipping or under-documenting the post-mitigation test undermines your warranty and your credibility. It is also the customer's whole reason for hiring you: proof the number dropped.
Not charging for the diagnostic. If you do a PFE and full diagnostic and then someone else installs, you gave away the hard part. Either charge for the diagnostic or make it clearly contingent on the install award.
Ignoring certification overhead. Your NRPP or NRSB certification and continuing education are a cost of doing business. Load a small overhead percentage into each job so renewals are funded and you never let a credential lapse mid-season.
A realistic estimate walk-through
Two-story home, unfinished basement, poor sub-slab communication found on the PFE, so two suction points needed, interior routing to above the roofline:
- Diagnostic / PFE visit: $150 (credited to install)
- Two suction points (core drill, pits, piping): $1,400
- High-suction fan matched to tight soil: $250
- Interior PVC run + roof penetration + labor: $600
- Dedicated electrical circuit and disconnect: $300
- Manometer + sealing (cracks, sump): $150
- Post-mitigation test: $120
- Warranty reserve + overhead/margin: apply your business load
That is roughly $2,970 in direct cost before margin. Add your target margin and you have a two-point system priced from data, not from a driveway estimate that would have assumed one point and lost you $900.
Systematize it so every job is priced the same way
The reason radon operators bleed margin is inconsistency: one tech quotes high, another quotes low, and nobody's post-test paperwork matches the install. The fix is a repeatable chain: diagnostic in, fan size and suction points out, line-item estimate, documented post-test, warranty reminder. The free ServiceOpsKits guide covers how to standardize that flow so every quote your business sends is built the same defensible way. Price from the PFE, size the fan to the field, prove the drop with a post-test, and your radon business runs on data instead of hunches.