Radon work looks simple on a calendar: a fan, some pipe, a sealed sump. On the board it is a chain of short visits with timing rules between them, spread over a territory that can be much wider than a typical service company's. The install is the visit that earns the money. The visits around it decide whether the install happens on time, and whether you can show the customer it worked.
This page covers that chain, the timing rules that shape it, and how to keep a wide territory from eating the day.
The visit chain
A typical residential job, from first contact to proven result, can include:
- Test placement. A device goes into the lowest lived-in level.
- Test pickup. Days later, someone collects it, unless the customer mails it or you use a continuous monitor that reports on its own.
- Result and quote. Often a phone call, sometimes a site visit to plan the pipe route.
- Install. The mitigation system itself, usually a single crew visit.
- Post-mitigation test. Placement and pickup again, inside a set window after the system starts.
- Retest reminders. Years later.
Not every job has every step. A real estate job may arrive with a test result already done by the buyer's inspector, so it starts at step 3. But every step that does happen is a separate trip, and every trip has a drive.
The timing rules that shape the board
The U.S. EPA's Consumer's Guide to Radon Reduction (checked October 2026) sets out the timing most of the chain follows:
- Test length. A short-term test stays in the home for two to 90 days, and all radon tests should run at least 48 hours.
- Action level. EPA recommends fixing the home if one long-term test or the average of two short-term tests shows 4 pCi/L or higher.
- Post-mitigation test. It should be done within 30 days of installation, but no sooner than 24 hours after the system is running with the fan on. EPA recommends a two- to seven-day measurement, and an independent test to avoid a conflict of interest.
- Closed-house conditions. Windows and doors closed for 12 hours before and during the test, except for normal entry and exit.
- Retesting. EPA suggests retesting at least every two years.
The same guide notes that many states require radon professionals to be licensed, certified or registered. Requirements vary by state; check with your state radon office.
For scheduling, those rules turn into constraints:
- A pickup cannot be earlier than 48 hours after placement, and is better close to the planned end of the test.
- A post-mitigation test drop has a window: from 24 hours to 30 days after the install, and the pickup follows two to seven days later.
- The homeowner has to hold closed-house conditions for the test, so the drop needs a reminder text that says so.
Wide territories and the two-trip problem
When visits are short and demand is spread out, a territory tends to grow wider than an HVAC or plumbing shop's. That makes drive the biggest variable in the day. A 20-minute test drop with a 45-minute drive on each side is mostly windshield time.
The fix is to make each trip carry more than one visit. Use these letters:
V= short visits (drops and pickups) per dayS= average minutes on site per short visitD= average drive between visits, in minutesH= minutes in the working day
A tech doing only short visits fits about V = H ÷ (S + D).
Same tech, same day, about 50% more visits. The difference is entirely in which visits share a day. Three habits get you there:
- Pair drops and pickups in the same area. A tech placing tests on the east side Tuesday can collect last Saturday's east-side tests on the same loop.
- Give each area a day. If a customer can wait, offer the day you're already near them. That is zone scheduling, and it fits radon well because most test visits aren't urgent.
- Book post-mitigation drops when you book the install. The window is 24 hours to 30 days, so you have room to place the drop on a day the tech is already in that area. Choose it at install time, not when someone remembers.
Draw territories by drive time, not by county line. Service territory covers how.
Real estate deadlines
If you take work from home sales, the inspection period in the purchase contract sets the deadline. Those jobs behave like home inspection scheduling: the agent needs a result, and sometimes an install, before a date that doesn't move. When a real estate request comes in, ask for the deadline first, then work backward: test length, pickup, result, quote, install, and post-mitigation test if the contract requires it.
Keep real estate jobs flagged on the board. When a day gets squeezed, the routine drop can move. The one with a closing date can't.
Install days
The install is the longest visit and the most variable: foundation type, sump access, attic route and fan location all change the time. Plan installs by type (slab, basement, crawlspace with membrane) using your own median times, and leave the afternoon flexible after a crawlspace job.
If your techs also do HVAC-adjacent work, such as ventilation or air quality, the electrical and duct skills overlap. HVAC scheduling has more on matching skills to job types.
Where CrewLink fits
CrewLink is a scheduling and dispatch layer for companies running 5 to 50 trucks, in early access. Its booking page offers only start times a qualified tech can reach, computing the drive from the previous visit at that hour, which matters most when visits are short and drives are long. Addresses outside every tech's area become an out-of-area request for the office instead of a bookable slot. Customers get texts when a booking is confirmed, 24 hours before, if it moves, and when the tech is on the way. Give closed-house instructions in writing at the drop as well, whatever reminders you send. See travel-time scheduling for the mechanism.
CrewLink does not process radon test results, file state reports, or track device chain of custody.
What to take away
- A radon job is a chain: drop, pickup, install, post-mitigation drop and pickup, retest reminders.
- EPA timing (as of October 2026): tests run at least 48 hours; the post-mitigation test goes within 30 days of install and no sooner than 24 hours after the fan starts.
- In a wide territory, short visits are mostly drive. Pair drops and pickups by area to fit more per day.
- Book the post-mitigation drop when you book the install.
- Flag real estate jobs and work backward from the contract deadline.
Common questions
How soon after a radon mitigation system is installed should you test?
EPA's Consumer's Guide to Radon Reduction, checked October 2026, says within 30 days of installation but no sooner than 24 hours after the system is running with the fan on, using a two- to seven-day measurement. EPA also recommends an independent test.
How many radon test visits can one tech do in a day?
Divide the working minutes by the time on site plus the average drive between visits. Grouping drops and pickups by area usually adds more visits than shortening time on site, because drive is the larger number in a wide territory.
Do radon mitigators need a license?
It depends on the state. EPA's guide notes that many states require radon professionals to be licensed, certified or registered. Check with your state radon office for current rules.
How should real estate radon jobs be scheduled?
Start from the contract deadline and work backward through test length, pickup, result, quote and install. Flag these jobs so they keep their place when a day gets squeezed.