Trust
Every figure on this site was read somewhere. This is the list of somewheres, with the date we last opened each one to check it still says what we say it says.
Maintained by Pablo Ruiz Quintero · Updated 2026-10-05
Each number in the code carries the identifier of its source, and this page is built from those identifiers. There is no hand-maintained list that can quietly fall behind the calculators — if a figure cites a document, that document appears here, and if we re-check a document, the date changes in both places at once.
Control joint spacing, panel proportions and cut depth for slabs on ground.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 2 entries in the changelog
2008 edition, current
The exact definitions behind every unit conversion on this site: the inch as 25.4 mm exactly, and the foot, yard and acre that follow from it.
Checked 2026-09-16 · Open the document
The definition of aggregate bulk density, and the reason this site publishes it as a range rather than a single figure.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
The requirement that anything carrying a load be founded below the frost line, which is what sets fence post depth in cold climates.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Minimum roof slope for asphalt shingles, underlayment requirements, and the fastening rules behind the nail counts.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
The optional dwelling-unit calculation of 220.82 — general load at 3 VA a square foot, the small-appliance and laundry circuits, the 10 kVA at 100 per cent and the remainder at 40, and the largest-of rule for heating against cooling. It is the method an electrician uses and it is what decides whether a service needs upgrading.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
Working clearance in front of a panel, the six-throw rule, and the conditions under which replacing a panel also forces the service entrance, the meter base or the grounding electrode system to be brought up to date.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
Table 310.16 ampacities at the 60, 75 and 90 degree columns, the ambient temperature correction factors of 310.15(B)(1), and the adjustment factors of 310.15(C)(1) for more than three current-carrying conductors in a raceway.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
The rule that caps a conductor at the temperature rating of the equipment it lands on: the 60 degree column at 100 amps and below unless the equipment is marked otherwise, the 75 degree column above it. It is why 90 degree insulation almost never buys ampacity, and it is the most misread table in the code.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
Direct-current resistance in ohms per thousand feet for uncoated copper and aluminium, stranded, which is what the voltage drop arithmetic on this site runs on.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
The size of the equipment grounding conductor, which is set by the rating of the overcurrent device ahead of the circuit and not by the size of the conductors it runs with.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The residential rule, which is not the ADA: a 1:12 maximum with an exception permitting 1:8 where site constraints make 1:12 technically infeasible, 36 inch landings top and bottom, and handrails on at least one side where the slope exceeds 1:12.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Head-to-head spacing as the basis of even coverage, matched precipitation within a zone, and designing to a fraction of available flow rather than to all of it.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The nominal width increments cabinets are built in — three inches, from nine up — and the standard base height and depth that make a corner cost what it costs.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Clearances that constrain a cabinet run: the landing areas either side of a range and a sink, the walkway widths in a galley, and the filler needed at an inside corner so two doors can open past each other.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
Fifteen inches from the centreline of a toilet to any wall or obstruction on either side, and twenty-one inches of clear space in front of it. They are minimums rather than recommendations, and a great many existing bathrooms fail them.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The requirement for a bathroom without an openable window: 50 cubic feet a minute intermittent or 20 continuous, ducted to the outside. It is the item most often undersized, most often ducted into a loft, and most often left out of a quote entirely.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The recognised shower assemblies: the traditional mortar bed over a sheet liner, the bonded sheet membrane, and the pre-formed foam tray. Also the slope requirement of a quarter inch per foot to the drain, and the pre-slope under a liner that half the failed showers in the country never had.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The minimum shower compartment: 900 square inches of interior area and no dimension under 30 inches, measured at the top of the threshold. A 30 × 30 in shower meets it exactly, which is the reason so many of them exist and the reason nobody enjoys one. Also the two rules that govern the door: the access opening must give not less than 22 inches of clear, unobstructed finished width, and a hinged shower door must open outward.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The turnover rate a residential pool is circulated at — the whole volume through the filter in eight to twelve hours — which is what turns a volume in gallons into a pump flow rate in gallons a minute. Also the basis of every dose on this page: parts per million is milligrams per litre, and a US gallon of water weighs 8.34 lb, so the pounds of anything needed to move a pool by a given ppm follow from the volume and nothing else.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
Where a dwelling has to have GFCI protection — bathrooms, kitchen countertops, anything within six feet of a sink, garages, outdoors, crawl spaces, unfinished basements, laundry areas — and the part that changes the arithmetic: a single GFCI receptacle wired through its LOAD terminals protects every receptacle downstream on the same circuit, so the count that matters is circuits, not outlets. Also 406.4(D)(2), which allows an ungrounded two-prong receptacle to be replaced with a GFCI marked "No Equipment Ground" — the legal fix for the outlets in every pre-1960s house.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The heat a snow-melting slab needs: residential driveways designed at roughly 100 to 200 BTU/h per square foot of output depending on snowfall rate, wind and how fast the surface must clear — taken here as about 150 BTU/h (some 40 W) per square foot. That rate, times the heated area, is what sizes the boiler or the electrical service, and times the hours the system runs is the running cost.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
That snow-melting cable and mats are on their own branch circuits sized at 125% of the load, with ground-fault protection of equipment, and a disconnect — which is why an electric driveway is a set of 40 A circuits through a contactor, and why heating a whole driveway can outgrow a house's electrical service.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The sump pit itself: at least 18 in across and 24 in deep, of a tight material with a solid bottom, and a fitted cover; a check valve on the discharge so the column of water does not fall back into the pit each cycle. Local rules add the discharge: most places forbid pumping groundwater into the sanitary sewer, so it goes outside, away from the foundation.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
That every basement with a habitable space and every sleeping room needs an emergency escape opening; the minimum net clear opening of 5.7 sq ft (5.0 sq ft for grade-floor openings), at least 24 in high and 20 in wide, with the sill no more than 44 in above the floor; and the window well in front of a below-grade opening — at least 9 sq ft, 36 in out from the wall and 36 in wide, with a permanent ladder or steps when it is deeper than 44 in. Also that the clear opening is measured with the sash open, not the rough opening, which is why the window style decides the size.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a filter's certification actually claims: Standard 42 for taste, odour and chlorine; 53 for health contaminants such as lead, VOCs and PFOA/PFOS; 58 for reverse osmosis; 55 for ultraviolet disinfection; 401 for emerging contaminants. A whole-house carbon tank is usually certified to 42 only — it takes out the chlorine, not the lead — which is why health contaminants are treated at the kitchen tap with a 53- or 58-certified unit.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The rule that a retaining wall not supported at the top and holding back more than 48 in of unbalanced fill, or holding back any surcharge — a slope, a driveway, a building — has to be designed to resist overturning, sliding and excessive foundation pressure. That is where the engineer's design, and in most places the permit, come in: height measured from the bottom of the footing, and a load above lowering the threshold.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why landscape timbers for a retaining wall must be rated for ground contact (UC4A, or UC4B for structural walls and wet sites) rather than above-ground lumber: the soil against the back face keeps the wood wet for its whole life. Also the service life of a treated-timber wall, shorter than block, concrete or stone.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
In a dwelling, new and extended 120-volt 15- and 20-amp circuits feeding kitchens, family and living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, laundry areas and similar rooms need arc-fault protection, and every 15- and 20-amp receptacle has to be tamper-resistant. And the rule that turns a swap into more: when a receptacle is replaced in a place where the code now requires AFCI, GFCI or tamper-resistant protection, the replacement has to provide it — an AFCI breaker or AFCI receptacle, a GFCI, a TR device — which is why a like-for-like outlet swap in an old kitchen or bedroom is not always like-for-like.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Drains around foundations that enclose habitable or usable space below grade: a perforated pipe or other approved drain at the footing, bedded in gravel or crushed stone that extends at least 1 ft beyond the edge of the footing and 6 in above its top, covered with an approved filter membrane so soil does not silt it up, and discharged by gravity or to a sump pump. The same section of pipe, stone and fabric, laid shallower in a yard with a fall to daylight, is what everyone calls a French drain.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What cleaning means: source removal — the system put under negative pressure by a HEPA-filtered collector while the debris is dislodged mechanically with brushes, whips and air, so the dust leaves the house rather than being stirred around it — with every register opened, and the air handler's coil and blower included. It is the difference between a real job priced by the vent and a coupon that vacuums the registers.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A dryer exhausts outdoors through smooth 4 in metal duct no longer than 35 ft, less 5 ft for every 90-degree elbow, with a listed transition duct no more than 8 ft long and never concealed in a wall, and a backdraft damper and no screen at the cap. And the reason to clean it: the U.S. Fire Administration counts thousands of home dryer fires a year, with failure to clean the leading cause — lint builds up in a long or crushed run until it ignites.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The dark streaks on shingle roofs are algae, and they are removed with a low-pressure application of a cleaning solution — typically diluted bleach — and a rinse, not with a pressure washer, which strips the protective granules and shortens the roof's life. It is why roof cleaning is priced as a soft wash, and why some shingle warranties are voided by pressure washing.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The concrete a driveway is poured with: where it will see freezing and de-icing salt, a minimum specified strength of about 3,500 psi and entrained air of roughly 5 to 7% so the surface does not scale in its first winters; lower strength is allowed in mild climates. Also the practice behind the 4 in section for cars on a compacted base, thicker where heavier vehicles park, and control joints at no more than about 10 to 12 ft for a 4 to 5 in slab.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The standard a walk-in tub is built to: a door sealed against the water pressure of a full tub, tested for leakage over cycles of opening and closing, with a low threshold to step over and a seat moulded in. It is also why a walk-in tub fills and drains with the bather inside — the door cannot open until the water is out — which makes a fast drain, and enough hot water to fill a deep tub, part of the job rather than an extra.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A hydromassage (jetted) bathtub and its equipment are supplied by an individual branch circuit and protected by a readily accessible GFCI, with the motor reachable through an access panel. A walk-in tub with jets or an in-line heater usually needs one or two new dedicated circuits, which is an electrician's line in the price that a plain soaking tub does not have.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How professional remediation is done: the moisture source found and corrected first, because remediating without it is temporary; the affected area contained — poly sheeting and a negative-air machine with HEPA filtration — in proportion to its size, so spores are not spread through the house; contaminated porous materials removed, surfaces HEPA-vacuumed and cleaned; and the job verified afterwards, often by an independent post-remediation assessment. The containment is the step between a cleaning job and a remediation job, and the reason the price jumps at the thresholds.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why a tree near power lines is a different job: only a qualified line-clearance arborist may work within 10 feet of an energised conductor, and most utilities will de-energise, drop or trim near their own lines themselves. Also the rigging, climbing and felling practices that make a tree over a house a sectional take-down — limbs and trunk cut in pieces and lowered on ropes — rather than a single felling cut, which is where the hours in a tree removal go.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Trunk size is measured as diameter at breast height, 4.5 feet above the ground, which is the figure local tree ordinances use for the size above which a permit is required to remove a tree, and the figure stump grinders price by. Also the pruning standard behind a trimming quote: no more than about a quarter of a tree's live foliage taken in a season, and no topping — a quote that offers to top a tree is a reason to find another company.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Shower and tub-shower valves must be pressure-balance, thermostatic or combination mixing valves (ASSE 1016 or ASSE 1070 / CSA B125.3) with a high-limit stop set to 120°F — which is why an old two-handle tub valve is not swapped for new trim but replaced in the wall, and why the replacement has to be reached from an access panel or through the tile. And hose connections outside must have a vacuum breaker, which frost-free sillcocks carry built in.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How big a plug-in air conditioner a circuit can carry: on a circuit that serves nothing else, the unit's marked rating may be up to 80% of the circuit — 12 amps on 15, 16 on 20 — and on a circuit that also feeds lights or other outlets, no more than 50%: 7.5 amps on a 15-amp bedroom circuit. It is why a 12,000 BTU window unit on the bedroom's shared circuit trips the breaker, and why units from about 15,000 BTU are made for a 230-volt outlet on their own circuit.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A domestic range hood ducted outdoors — not into an attic, a crawlspace or a wall cavity — through a duct of galvanised steel, stainless steel or copper with smooth inside walls, airtight, and fitted with a backdraft damper; and makeup air (M1503.6): where a fuel-burning appliance that is neither direct-vent nor mechanically vented is inside the house's air barrier, a hood able to exhaust more than 400 cubic feet a minute needs makeup air supplied at about the rate it exhausts, through a damper that opens automatically when the hood runs. Also the local-exhaust requirement for kitchens, 100 cfm intermittent or 25 continuous, which a recirculating hood does not satisfy where it is enforced.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
How much air a hood should move and how to make it catch it: about 100 cfm per linear foot of range for a wall-mounted hood and 150 for an island hood, which has no wall to help it, with a gas range sized at roughly 1 cfm for every 100 BTU of burner rating; a hood at least as wide as the cooking surface and better three inches wider each side; mounted within the height the manufacturer lists. And the duct that lets it work: the full outlet diameter all the way out, as straight and short as possible, rigid metal rather than flex, because every elbow costs the fan air it was rated for.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The deck tables in the code and in DCA 6 size joists, beams, posts and footings for the deck's own live and dead load, with no roof on it. A roof adds its weight and its snow load to the same posts and footings — and the ledger — so screening in a deck under a new roof means the footings and posts are checked and usually enlarged, and the roof is a permitted structure. Screening in a porch that already has a roof adds almost nothing to it.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why the blinds on the shelf have no pull cords: stock window coverings sold in the US have had to be cordless, or have short or inaccessible cords, since the standard's 2018 revision, and later revisions extended the limits on operating cords to most custom products. Cordless lift, a wand or a motor is therefore the normal control and is priced as standard here; a looped cord is the exception, and never the choice in a house with small children.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What standard window screen is: vinyl-coated fibreglass yarn woven 18 by 16 to the inch — the mesh that keeps out mosquitoes and flies and lets most air and light through. Finer 20 by 20 mesh keeps out no-see-ums and costs airflow; heavier weaves and coatings make the pet-resistant and solar cloths. Also why rescreening is a material decision as much as a labour one: the frame is reused and only the cloth and spline change.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
An operable window whose sill is less than 24 inches above the floor and more than 72 inches above the ground outside must not open more than 4 inches, or must have a window opening control device meeting ASTM F2090. An insect screen is not one: it is built to keep insects out, not a child in, and the code does not count it. The warning that goes with every screen replaced in an upstairs bedroom.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The slope a building drain and sewer must keep: a quarter inch per foot for pipe of 2½ inches and under, an eighth of an inch per foot for 3 to 6 inch pipe — which is what a belly is: a stretch that has lost its fall, where water and solids sit. Also the cleanout rules (at the upper end of the building drain, at changes of direction over 45 degrees, and at intervals along it) that decide whether there is an access point a camera, a jetter or a liner can go in through, and a two-way cleanout where the drain leaves the house.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What each trenchless method needs from the old pipe. A cured-in-place liner is a new pipe cast inside the old one, so the host pipe has to be continuous and in shape: it bridges cracks, root-entry joints and small offsets, but it follows a sag, cannot be pulled through a collapse, and is not put in Orangeburg that has deformed. Pipe bursting pulls a bursting head through the old line from a pit at one end to a pit at the other, splitting it outward and drawing in new HDPE behind: it replaces a collapsed or fibre pipe, upsizes it, and follows the old line — belly included.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The layout the grid count follows: main tees 4 feet on centre, hung on 12-gauge wire at no more than 4 feet along each main and within 8 inches of the ends; 4-foot cross tees between mains every 2 feet, and 2-foot cross tees splitting the bays for a 2 × 2 module; wall angle around the perimeter with the grid resting on it, not fastened; and the border rule — the grid centred on the room so the cut tiles at the walls are equal and at least half a tile wide. Also the minimum drop: 3 inches below the lowest obstruction to get a tile in, and more where a light fixture has to tilt up through the grid.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Habitable rooms, hallways and the like need a ceiling of at least 7 feet; beams, girders, ducts and other projections may come down to 6 feet 4 inches; and a basement with no habitable space may go to 6 feet 8 inches, with 6 feet 4 inches under its beams and ducts. This is the line a dropped ceiling in a low basement runs into, and the reason a direct-mount ceiling exists.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The three numbers on a boiler's plate and what each is for: input in BTU per hour, which is the gas or oil burned; DOE heating capacity, which is input times combustion efficiency and is what a hot-water boiler is sized on against the house's heat loss; and the net AHRI rating, capacity divided by a 1.15 piping-and-pickup allowance for water or 1.33 for steam, which is what a steam boiler is sized on against the connected radiation. Also the federal minimum AFUE for gas hot-water boilers (84%), gas steam (82%), oil hot-water (86%) and oil steam (85%), and the condensing threshold: a condensing boiler only reaches its rated efficiency with return water below about 130°F.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Glazing in a skylight must be laminated or tempered (with a screen below some tempered units); a skylight on a roof pitched under 3:12 sits on a curb at least 4 inches above the roof surface; and the roof opening is headed off with framing sized to carry the cut rafter. Also R802 for the headers: a rafter cut for an opening is carried by doubled headers to doubled trimmers, which is the framing line in the price.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The residential sidewalk section: 4 inches of concrete over a compacted granular base for foot traffic, thickened to 6 inches where a driveway crosses it; control joints tooled at a spacing equal to the walk's width so the panels stay square; expansion (isolation) joints where the walk meets a driveway, stoop, curb or wall and at intervals of no more than about 20 feet; a cross slope of a quarter inch per foot to shed water; and a broom finish for grip. Also the reason a walk is priced by the foot rather than the yard: the forms, base and finishing run with the edge, and a 40 foot walk has 80 feet of edge for a yard and a half of concrete.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
Supply and return ducts in an attic are insulated to R-8 and elsewhere outside the conditioned space to R-6, and a new duct system is pressure-tested to no more than 4 CFM per 100 sq ft of floor at 25 pascals — which is the number a duct-blaster test on an old system is compared with, and old systems typically leak five times it. Also the exemption that matters: ducts entirely inside the conditioned space need no insulation and no test, which is the argument for putting them there.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Ducts are sized from each room's airflow, not from the house's square footage, and a system is a trunk with branch runs to a register in every room and returns sized to bring the air back — about one supply per 125 sq ft in an ordinary house, which is the count the calculator starts from. Also the reason flex duct is derated for every sag and bend, and the equivalent-length arithmetic that makes a long kinked flex run deliver half the air it was sized for.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2024
A gas appliance is fed by pipe sized for its input and its distance from the meter, in a table that a 30,000 BTU fireplace at the far end of a house does not always pass with the existing 1/2 in line — which is what turns a gas line run into a bigger gas line run, and sometimes into a bigger meter. Also the termination rules for a direct-vent cap: its distance from windows, doors, soffits, decks and the meter, which decide whether the vent goes through the wall in a morning or up through the roof in a day.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
A crawl space is either vented — one square foot of vent per 150 of floor, cut to 1/1,500 when the ground is covered with a Class I vapor retarder — or unvented and sealed, with the ground covered, the vents closed, the walls insulated, and the air managed by a dehumidifier or a small supply of conditioned air. It is the code behind the two ways of doing a crawl space, and the reason the vapor barrier on the ground is not optional under either: the earth puts gallons of water a day into the space without it.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
An attic needs net free ventilation area of 1/150 of its floor area — 1/300 where at least 40 per cent and no more than 50 per cent is high on the roof, with the rest low at the eaves. The soffit is where the low half lives, which is why a soffit replaced with solid panels or plywood without vents turns a dry attic into a wet one, and why the calculator counts the vented feet the attic needs against the eave it has.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a stucco wall is made of and why a patch has to be made the same way: a water-resistive barrier, metal lath, and three coats — scratch, brown and finish — to 7/8 in over framing, with each coat cured before the next. A patch that skips the lath or the coats is a skin over a hole, and a patch that is not keyed into the old lath cracks around its own edge. Also the control-joint spacing whose absence is why long walls crack where they do.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a square foot of carpet weighs when it comes up — about half a pound of carpet and a fifth of a pound of pad, so a thousand square feet is seven hundred pounds of roll — which is what the disposal fee and the dumpster are priced on. Also the two ways carpet is held down: stretched over tack strip, which comes up in strips with pliers, and glued direct to the floor, which comes up in fistfuls with a scraper and leaves the adhesive behind. And that most landfills take carpet by weight, most recyclers take only the pad, and neither takes it for free.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a damaged shingle is replaced without disturbing its neighbours — the seal strip broken, the nails above lifted, the new shingle slid up under the course above — and why a patch in the field is the easy repair and the flashing is the hard one. Also the plain statement that most leaks are at penetrations and transitions, not in the shingle field, and that a roof past its rated life is not repaired so much as postponed.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The method follows the crack: a dormant hairline crack is sealed against water; a working crack — one that opens and closes with the seasons — is routed and filled with a flexible sealant that can move with it; a structural crack in something that carries load is injected with epoxy; and a crack with one side higher than the other is not a crack problem but a settlement problem, which no filler fixes. It is the reason the calculator asks what the crack is doing before it prices anything.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
An overlay or resurfacer is only as good as what is under it: the surface must be sound, clean and profiled — pressure-washed at least, ground or shot-blasted for a bonded overlay — and every crack in the slab comes through an overlay at the same place unless it is treated first. A slab that is spalling on the surface is a candidate; a slab that is moving is not, whatever the resurfacer's bag says.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
At least one exterior door has to be a side-hinged door giving a clear opening of 32 in by 78 in — a 36 in door — and every exterior door needs a landing on each side no more than 1.5 in below the threshold on the outside, or 7.75 in where the door does not swing out over it. It is why a 32 in front door is not a replacement for a 36 in one, and why a back door onto a step is sometimes a step as well as a door.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
A dishwasher drain must be protected against backflow from the sink drain — by an air gap on the countertop where the Uniform Plumbing Code applies, which is most of the West, or by a high loop under the counter where the International Plumbing Code is adopted. Which one the house is under decides whether a first installation needs a hole in the counter, and a swap in an air-gap state that was done without one is the reason the sink drain backs up into the dishwasher.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
Every pane in a sliding or hinged patio door is a hazardous location and must be tempered or laminated safety glass, marked in a corner — which is why a patio door cannot be reglazed with ordinary glass and why the glass is most of what the door costs. Also the requirement that exterior doors be flashed to the weather-resistive barrier, the rule that makes the sill pan part of the installation rather than an extra.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
An opening in a load-bearing wall needs a header sized for its span and the load above it, with jack studs under each end. Widening a 6 ft patio door to 8 or 12 ft in a bearing wall means a new, longer header — engineered lumber or steel at the wider spans — temporary support while it goes in, and usually a permit. It is the line that separates a same-size replacement from a bigger door.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Grains of hardness to remove per day: people × 75 gallons × hardness in grains per gallon, with 4 grains added per part per million of iron. A softener sized so that a week's grains fit in its capacity at an efficient salt dose — not the maximum on the label, which needs three times the salt for a fifth more capacity. Salt efficiency of roughly 3,300 to 4,000 grains removed per pound at the efficient setting, which is where the yearly salt bill comes from.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The trade's own definition of a properly painted surface — uniform in colour and sheen, free of runs, holidays and brush marks when viewed from five feet under normal light — and its levels of preparation, from a wash and a scuff on a sound wall to skim-coating a damaged one. The levels are why two quotes for the same rooms differ: one priced level 2 and one priced level 4, and neither wrote it down.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
One CFM per square foot of bathroom floor with a 50 CFM minimum for rooms up to 100 sq ft; above that, 50 CFM per toilet, shower or tub and 100 per jetted tub; and for tall rooms the volume method — eight air changes an hour. Also the part that decides which fan to buy: HVI certifies a fan's CFM at 0.1 in of static pressure, and a 4 in duct with a couple of elbows and a roof cap runs well above that, so a 50 CFM fan on a real duct delivers thirty. The equivalent-length rule — every elbow counts as 15 ft of straight duct, a roof or wall cap as ten — is how the derating is estimated here.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
Exhaust air from a bathroom must discharge outdoors, not into an attic, crawl space or soffit cavity — the rule that half the bathroom fans in the country break, with the rotten roof sheathing and the black mould above the bathroom as evidence. A bathroom needs 50 CFM intermittent or 20 CFM continuous, and the duct is part of the installation, not an extra.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
A disposer may be cord-and-plug connected with a cord of 18 to 36 in to a receptacle in the cabinet under the sink, which is the receptacle a first-time installation usually has to add. Under the 2020 and 2023 codes that receptacle is within six feet of the sink and therefore GFCI-protected, which is why a first install that needs power is an electrician's line and not a plumber's.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
A ceiling fan may only hang from a box listed and marked for fan support. An ordinary lighting outlet box is not one, however solid it feels — which is why replacing a light fixture with a fan is a different job from replacing a fan with a fan. Boxes marked for fan support carry up to 35 lb without a weight marking and up to 70 lb when marked with the weight; a fan heavier than 70 lb needs support independent of the box.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The roll formats a wallcovering is actually sold in — the American double roll at 20.5 or 27 inches wide by 27 to 33 feet long, and the European 52 cm by 10 m — together with the three pattern matches (random, straight and half-drop) and the trim allowance a hanger cuts each strip with. It is also the reason paper cannot be bought by the square foot: a roll yields whole strips, and how many depends on the pattern rather than on the area.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The velocities pool pipework is designed to and the flow each size can therefore carry: 6 ft per second on the suction side and 8 on the return, which puts 1.5 in Schedule 40 at about 38 gallons a minute and 2 in at about 63. It is the number that caps a pump, because a motor rated far above what its pipework can pass cannot deliver that rating — it simply converts the difference into head loss, noise and wear.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The relationship that decides what a pool costs to run: flow rises with pump speed, but power rises with the CUBE of it. Halve the speed and the pump draws an eighth of the power while moving half the water — so the same turnover takes twice as long and a quarter of the energy. Also the federal efficiency standard that has made variable-speed the only thing most replacement pool pumps can legally be.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What has to happen to a new plaster surface in its first month, which is when its appearance for the next fifteen years is decided: a continuous fill that never stops, brushing the whole surface twice a day while the cement is still hydrating, pH held down through the alkaline surge a curing surface produces, and no salt cell for about thirty days. It is also the document that explains why so many plaster complaints are not product faults — mottling, grey blotching and spot etching are start-up chemistry, and every plaster warranty excludes them.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The weight of shower glass by thickness: about 3.3 lb per square foot at 1/4 in, 4.9 at 3/8 in and 6.5 at 1/2 in, from a density of roughly 156 lb per cubic foot. It is what turns a 30 × 72 in frameless panel into something between 70 and 100 lb hanging off two hinges, and therefore what decides whether there has to be blocking behind the tile.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Slab formats, standard countertop depths and overhangs, the unsupported overhang limits that decide whether an island needs corbels, and the seam practice a fabricator actually follows.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Standard cycle ratings for torsion springs, the definition of a cycle, and how door R-value is measured — which is not the same thing manufacturers advertise.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
31st edition
The torsion spring rate formula — k = E·d⁴ ÷ (10.8·D·N) in inch-pounds per turn — and the relationship between wire diameter, coil count and fatigue life. It is the arithmetic behind every spring on a garage door and it is nowhere on a price page.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What counts as adequate preparation before a coating goes on concrete, and the profile a floor coating needs. It is the standard behind the single fact that decides whether an epoxy floor lasts: acid etching does not produce it and grinding does.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The two tests that measure whether a slab is dry enough to coat — calcium chloride vapour emission and in-situ relative humidity. They are the reason an epoxy floor peels, and almost nobody runs them before quoting.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
8th edition
The method a real heating and cooling load calculation follows, and the internal gain figures for occupants and kitchens. It is the standard this page estimates towards and openly does not replace.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
SEER2 / HSPF2, effective January 2023
The legal minimum efficiency a new split system may have, which differs by region: the South and Southwest require more than the North. It is why the cheapest unit available to you depends on where you live.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How far above the calculated load equipment may be sized — the rule that makes oversizing a defect rather than a safety margin.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The climate zone each state falls in, which sets the heating and cooling load per square foot.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Substrate flatness tolerances by tile size, movement joint spacing, and the assemblies required in wet areas.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Mortar coverage requirements — 80% contact on a dry floor and 95% in a wet area or exterior — and the trowel sizing that follows from them.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Base depth by use, the one-inch bedding layer, edge restraint, and the requirement that the base be compacted in lifts.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Buried course depth, base thickness, drainage aggregate behind the wall, and the height above which an engineered design is required.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The five levels of drywall finish, what each one includes, and which level suits which final decoration.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fastener spacing, maximum framing spacing for each board thickness, and the requirement for 5/8 in board on ceilings framed at 24 in.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Stud spacing and size for load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The method for sizing gutters and downspouts from roof area and rainfall intensity, and the slope a gutter run needs.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fastening, the expansion allowance vinyl siding must be hung with, and where starter strip, J-channel and corner posts go.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Seam placement rules, the requirement to power stretch rather than knee-kick, pad specification and pile direction.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Expansion gap, acclimation, subfloor flatness tolerance and moisture limits for wood flooring; and for refinishing, the depth a sanding pass removes, the usable thickness above the tongue, and the grit sequence a floor has to go through before it takes finish.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
DCA 6-2015, based on the 2015 IRC; its tables match IRC Section R507
Joist spans by size, species group and spacing (Table 2); beam spans by plies, size and joist span, which set the number of posts (Table 3A); footing diameter and thickness by beam and joist span (Table 4); and the ledger lag-screw and bolt spacing by joist span (Table 5).
Checked 2026-10-05 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
That a deck is a structure with its own span and connection requirements, the ledger attachment rules, and the guard requirement above 30 inches of drop.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Maximum riser height, minimum tread depth, the 3/8 inch limit on variation between risers, guard height, and the four-inch sphere rule that sets baluster spacing.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Compacted density of hot mix asphalt, the spread rate in pounds per square yard per inch, minimum and maximum lift thickness against the nominal aggregate size, and the temperature below which a mix can no longer be compacted.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Layer thicknesses for residential driveways, the aggregate base depth beneath them, when an overlay is appropriate rather than a reconstruction, and the interval at which sealcoating is actually useful.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why height is the price: ground-level windows are cleaned from the ground or a step ladder, second-storey windows from an extension ladder or a water-fed pole, and anything higher from a pole, a lift or rope access with fall protection. Also the rule that a ladder is set, tied and moved for every few windows, which is where the time goes on a tall house.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
That a one-story detached accessory structure used as a tool or storage shed, playhouse or similar, with a floor area not over 200 sq ft, is exempt from a building permit under the model code — and that exemption from the permit is not exemption from the zoning rules, which is why many towns still set their own, lower threshold and their own setbacks.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Saturation vapour pressure by temperature and the humidity ratio it gives at a relative humidity, the density of air, and the heat it takes to turn water into vapour — the arithmetic that turns a house's volume, its air leakage and the gap between indoor and outdoor moisture into gallons of water a day. Also that stack-driven infiltration grows with the square root of the indoor-outdoor temperature difference, so a mild winter day brings in less air than the design day.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That an outdoor spa or hot tub is supplied through GFCI protection, with a disconnecting means within sight of it and at least 5 ft away (680.13), and — except at a single-family home — a labelled emergency switch for the pumps at least 5 ft from the tub and within sight of it (680.41); that a listed self-contained unit may be cord-connected on a GFCI-protected circuit with a cord no longer than 15 ft (680.42(A)(2)), from a single receptacle at least 6 ft from the tub (680.22(A)); and that a tub set into a deck or slab is bonded, while one on grade with its rim 28 in above the surface around it is exempt (680.42(B)).
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
2021
That a deck is designed for a live load of 40 pounds per square foot — the figure against which a filled hot tub, several times heavier per square foot, has to be checked by someone who can size the framing under it.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That a standard unit is 7-5/8 × 7-5/8 × 15-5/8 in, laid with 3/8 in joints to a 8 × 16 in module, so 1.125 blocks make a square foot of wall face; the grout it takes to fill the cores of 6, 8, 10 and 12 in hollow units; and the usual reinforced wall — vertical bars in grouted cells about every 48 in and ladder joint reinforcement every other course.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That residential carpet is cleaned by hot-water extraction or a low-moisture method, the first leaving it damp for several hours and the second dry within a couple; that professional cleaning about every 12 to 18 months is what most carpet warranties ask for, more often with pets or children; and that cleaning too wet, or leaving soap residue, is what makes carpet resoil quickly.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2021
The floor sheathing a repair has to match: wood structural panels rated for the joist spacing — 23/32 in (nominal 3/4 in) tongue-and-groove on joists at 16 or 19.2 in, and the thicker panels for 24 in — with edges supported on joists or blocking, which is why a patch is cut back to joist centres and blocked. Also that a damaged joist is repaired by sistering a full-depth member alongside it rather than notching or patching it.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That a replacement breaker must be one the panel is listed for — the panel's label names the breaker types — or a UL-classified breaker tested for that panel, which is why the brand of the panel decides the breaker. Also why panels from makers no longer in business, such as Federal Pacific and Zinsco, leave only reconditioned or third-party breakers, and why many electricians and insurers recommend replacing those panels instead.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2023
That floor-heating cables and films are on a branch circuit sized at 125% of their load (424.4(B)), and that cable or film under a floor covering is GFCI-protected wherever it is installed (424.45(E) for cable, 424.99 for heating panels). Keeping it out from under walls, cabinets and fixtures — why a bathroom mat covers the open floor, not the whole room — comes from the makers' instructions, which 110.3(B) makes binding.
Checked 2026-09-26 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
How many BTU per hour a gas line of a given diameter carries at a given length: Schedule 40 steel, natural gas under 2 psi, 0.3 in water column pressure drop, 0.60 specific gravity, read with the length equal to or next above the run (the longest-length method, 402.4.1) and converted at 1,000 BTU per cubic foot. It decides whether an existing half-inch branch can feed a tankless unit or a fireplace, and whether a pool heater's line has to be replaced back to the meter: the three-quarter-inch line most houses have carries about 104,000 BTU/hr at sixty feet, and a pool heater asks for four hundred thousand. Many areas size on the 0.5 in table, which allows more; CSST is sized from its own tables.
Checked 2026-10-05 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Minimum roof slope for exposed-fastener and standing seam panels, panel coverage widths, fastener spacing and pattern, and the panel length above which thermal movement has to be allowed for with floating clips.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Dimensional change coefficients by species — how much a board moves across its width for each 1 % change in moisture content — and the equilibrium moisture content of wood at a given indoor relative humidity.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Commercial stair geometry: the 7 inch maximum riser and 11 inch minimum tread that apply where the residential code does not, and the minimum width for an occupied means of egress.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The actual dressed dimensions behind every nominal softwood size — why a 2 × 4 measures 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 — and the surfaced thicknesses for boards one inch nominal and under.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How hardwood is sold: thickness in quarters of an inch of the rough board, surface measure taken on the actual width, and the difference between rough and surfaced thickness that decides what you can get out of a board.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The three formulas that turn a log's small-end diameter and length into board feet, the half-inch-per-four-feet taper allowance the International rule applies, and the known bias of the Doyle rule against small logs.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The distinction between terminal and line posts and the pipe sizes each takes, maximum line-post spacing, fabric gauges and mesh sizes, and the schedule of tension bars, tension bands, brace bands and ties that fixes the fabric to the frame.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Whole-window U-factor for single glazing, older clear double glazing and current low-E double and triple glazing, and the solar heat gain coefficient that decides whether a window helps or hurts in a cooling climate.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Residential Windows, Doors and Skylights, Version 7.0 (effective 23 October 2023)
The maximum U-factor and the solar heat gain coefficient a window has to meet in each climate zone to qualify, and the heating degree days used to work out what a change in U-factor is worth in a year.
Checked 2026-10-05 · Open the document · 1 entry in the changelog
The R-value recommended for attics, walls and floors in each climate zone, and the heating degree days behind those recommendations.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Foot-candles recommended for each kind of room and for task areas within them, which is what turns a room's size into a number of fixtures instead of a guess.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The 80 per cent continuous-load limit that decides how many fixtures a 15 or 20 amp circuit carries, and the clearance a non-IC rated housing needs from insulation.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
2024 reference year, released 19 February 2026
The state labour index until 5 October 2026, when it was replaced by state construction wages from the BLS. Kept only as a comparison column on the regional price index table: it measures the cost of living, which rent dominates, not what a trade is paid.
Checked 2026-09-15 · Open the document · 2 entries in the changelog
First hour rating as the sizing metric for storage tanks, peak-hour demand by fixture, and the flow rate and temperature rise method for tankless units.
Checked 2026-09-16 · Open the document
2010
Section 405 on ramps: the 1:12 maximum running slope, the 30 inch limit on rise between landings, 36 inches of clear width between handrails, 60 inch landings and 60 by 60 turning landings, cross slope, edge protection and handrail extensions. Also 404.2.4 for the manoeuvring clearance a door needs on the landing at the top.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Seasonal dimensional change across the grain, which is why an inside corner is coped rather than mitred: a coped joint closes as the wood shrinks and a mitred one opens into a visible line.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Bulk density in pounds per cubic foot for each stone, which is what turns a thickness into a coverage: a ton of one-inch flagstone covers roughly twice what a ton of two-inch does, and the exact figure comes out of the density rather than a lookup table.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why a refinished bathroom is out of use for a day or two and why ventilation is not optional: the stripping agents and the coatings both carry real exposure hazards, and the alert exists because people have died refinishing tubs in unventilated bathrooms.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The 1.28 gallon per flush threshold, the 1.6 gallon federal maximum since 1994, and the flush volumes of what came before it — which is what turns a toilet replacement into an arithmetic problem with a payback period.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The residential price of natural gas per therm, which with the boiler's efficiency is the running cost of a hydronic snow-melting slab.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That a public water system must publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report listing what is in the water — free, and the first thing to read before buying a filter on city water — while a private well is the owner's responsibility, with testing recommended at least every year for coliform bacteria and nitrate and after any flood or change in taste, and a fuller lab panel (iron, manganese, pH, hardness, arsenic) before choosing treatment. Also that lead usually comes from a home's own pipes and fixtures, not the utility.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Why the ladder is the real cost of cleaning gutters yourself: ladder falls send more than half a million people a year to emergency rooms in the United States, and a two-storey eave is the height at which a fall stops being a sprain. The practical rules — a ladder standoff so the ladder does not bear on the gutter, three points of contact, never the top rungs — and the case for a pro above one storey.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That duct cleaning has not been shown to prevent health problems and is not needed routinely; that it is worth doing when there is substantial visible mold growth inside the ducts or on other components, when the ducts are infested with insects or rodents, or when they are clogged with enough dust and debris that it blows out of the registers. That the whole system should be cleaned — supply and return ducts, registers, grilles, coils, fan, drain pan and housing — or the dirt left behind recontaminates it. And that chemical biocides and sealants should be used, if at all, only after cleaning and only products registered for that use.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The 10 square foot line: an area of mold smaller than about 10 sq ft (roughly 3 ft by 3 ft) can usually be cleaned by the homeowner with detergent and water and basic protection; larger areas, mold inside walls or ducts, or mold after sewage or contaminated water call for a professional and containment. Porous materials that are moldy — drywall, ceiling tile, insulation, carpet — are removed and discarded, not cleaned; hard surfaces are scrubbed and dried. Wet materials dried within 24 to 48 hours usually do not grow mold, and indoor humidity kept between 30 and 50%. And that sampling is seldom needed to decide what to do: visible mold is removed whatever its species.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Federal law caps kitchen and lavatory faucets at 2.2 gallons a minute at 60 psi; a WaterSense bathroom faucet flows no more than 1.5 gallons a minute and still has to deliver at least 0.8 at low pressure. Also that faucets sold in the US are made to the lead-free limits of the Safe Drinking Water Act and certified to NSF/ANSI 61 and 372, which is a reason, beyond looks, to replace a faucet from before 2014.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The sizing table the whole category uses: 5,000 BTU for 100 to 150 sq ft, 6,000 to 250, 7,000 to 300, 8,000 to 350, 9,000 to 400, 10,000 to 450, 12,000 to 550, 14,000 to 700, 18,000 to 1,000, 21,000 to 1,200, 23,000 to 1,400 and 24,000 to 1,500 — with 10% less for a heavily shaded room, 10% more for a very sunny one, 600 BTU for every regular occupant past two, and 4,000 more in a kitchen. Also CEER, the efficiency on the label, which is what turns a unit's BTU into watts and a summer's bill; and why an oversized unit cools the air before it dries it and leaves the room clammy.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A trench 5 feet deep or more needs a protective system — sloping or benching the sides, a trench box, or shoring — unless it is in stable rock. It is the step in the price of an open-trench sewer replacement between a line at 4 feet and one at 6: the digging is only a little longer, but the trench has to be shored or laid back, and that is labour and equipment by the foot.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Sprayed acoustic ceiling texture applied before about 1980 is presumed to contain asbestos until a laboratory sample says otherwise; the sample costs a few dollars and the answer decides whether the ceiling is scraped by a painter or removed under containment by a licensed abatement crew with air clearance afterwards. Also the third option the rules allow: leaving it in place and covering it — encapsulation — with new drywall over the old ceiling, which is what makes a positive test a different job rather than the end of the project.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Certified smart thermostats save about 8 per cent of heating and cooling energy in the programme's field data — roughly $50 a year on a typical bill — which is the number that makes a $200 thermostat pay for itself in three or four years and a $500 installation in eight. A programmable thermostat that is actually programmed does most of the same; the smart one's gain is that it programmes itself.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Soft under 1 grain per gallon, moderately hard 3.5 to 7, hard 7 to 10.5, very hard above — with 17.1 milligrams per litre equal to one grain, which is the conversion a water report needs before it goes into a sizing formula. Most of the Midwest and Southwest is hard to very hard; the Pacific Northwest and New England mostly are not, and a softener there is a purchase with no job to do.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Any paid work that disturbs more than 20 sq ft of painted exterior surface on a home built before 1978 must be done by an EPA-certified firm using lead-safe practices: containment, no open-flame burning or uncontained power sanding, and cleanup verification. Scraping and sanding peeling paint is exactly that work, which is why the year the house was built is a line on the bill.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fan diameter by room area — up to 75 sq ft a 29 to 36 in fan, up to 144 a 36 to 42, up to 225 a 44 to 50, up to 400 a 52 to 56, and beyond that a 60 in fan or two of them — and the mounting height that makes a fan work: blades at least 7 ft off the floor, best between 8 and 9, with a downrod chosen so a tall ceiling does not leave the fan stirring the air under the ceiling and none of it at the sofa. On a sloped ceiling the rod also has to be long enough for the blade tip to clear the slope, which is a piece of trigonometry nobody does in the shop.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
That a pool loses its heat almost entirely through its SURFACE, and that evaporation is about seventy per cent of that loss — which is why heat loss scales with surface area and not with volume, and why a cover is the largest single lever on a heated pool. The working figure is roughly 5 BTU per hour per square foot for each degree between the water and the air, on an uncovered pool in light wind.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Shower doors and bathtub enclosures are Category II glazing, which in practice means every piece of glass in one is tempered. The consequence that governs the whole job: tempered glass cannot be cut, drilled or notched after it is tempered, so every dimension, hole and cut-out is made before the panel exists — which is why a frameless door is templated after the tiling is finished and why a mistake is a new panel rather than an adjustment.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The system loss model this page estimates towards — soiling, shading, mismatch, wiring, light-induced degradation and availability — and the inverter efficiency and DC-to-AC ratio behind the gap between nameplate and production.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Peak sun hours by region, and the tilt and azimuth response that turns a roof's orientation into a percentage of what a south-facing one would make.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The retail electricity price a solar system is displacing, which is what decides payback far more than the price of the panels.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The share of household water that goes on landscape irrigation, and the proportion of it that is wasted through overwatering and runoff — the figures behind the running-cost comparison between a living lawn and an artificial one.
Checked 2026-09-16 · Open the document
That core aeration pulls plugs of soil rather than spiking holes, and is done when the grass is growing strongly — early fall for cool-season grass, late spring into early summer for warm-season grass; that compacted or clay soil wants it yearly and sandy soil every two or three years; that thatch over about half an inch is when dethatching pays; that overseeding right after aeration puts the seed in the holes; and that zoysia and St. Augustine are thickened by their own runners, plugs or sod rather than seed.
Checked 2026-09-29 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The minimum integrated energy factor, in litres of water removed per kWh, that portable and whole-home dehumidifiers sold since 2019 must meet — the figure that turns pints a day into a power bill.
Checked 2026-09-29 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The maximum normalized standby power of a portable electric spa, 5 × V^(2/3) watts with V the water volume in gallons, measured with the cover on, water held at 102°F and 60°F air — the ceiling a compliant tub's idling power bill is worked out from.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
May 2025
The 10th-percentile, median and 90th-percentile hourly wage of the construction and maintenance trades the calculators price — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, painters, roofers, cement masons, brick and block masons, drywall installers, plasterers, tile setters, floor layers, carpet installers, construction labourers, landscapers, tree trimmers, glaziers, insulation workers and others — taken from the BLS public API and kept as returned in the site's research folder.
Checked 2026-10-05 · Open the document · 4 entries in the changelog
May 2025, state file oesm25st.zip (state_M2025_dl.xlsx), released 15 May 2026
The state labour index applied to the labour half of every estimate: for carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, painters and construction labourers, each state's median hourly wage divided by the national median, averaged with each trade weighted by its national employment. Never applied to materials.
How we arrived at it — The six occupations' rows for the 50 states and DC were read from the published workbook and kept in the site's research folder; the index is computed from them by a script in the same folder. All six trades are published for every state, so no weights had to be redistributed.
Checked 2026-10-05 · Open the document · 1 entry in the changelog
Loose-fill surfacing under play equipment: shredded or recycled rubber kept at least 6 in deep, which protects to a fall height of 10 ft, against 9 in for wood chips, mulch and engineered wood fiber; the use zone extending at least 6 ft in every direction from the equipment, further in front of and behind swings; and a containment border so the fill does not migrate. Also that products are rated by testing to ASTM F1292 for a critical fall height, which is the figure to check on the bag.
Checked 2026-09-26 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Yield per bag for the 80, 60 and 40 lb bags, in cubic feet of set concrete.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Yield per bag for the 50 lb bag.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Radius, gallons per minute and precipitation rate for fixed sprays, gear-driven rotors and rotary nozzles at their rated operating pressure, taken from published manufacturer nozzle charts.
How we arrived at it — Figures are for a full-circle nozzle at its rated pressure. Part-circle arcs draw proportionally less, which is why the perimeter of a zone costs far less flow than the middle of it.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The salinity each generator is built to run at, which is not one number across the trade: about 3,200 ppm on a Hayward AquaRite against 3,400 on a Pentair IntelliChlor and 3,000 on an Intex system, each with its own working band and its own high-salt cut-out at which the cell stops generating to protect itself. Also the behaviour that sends people to the wrong remedy — a scaled cell reads salinity LOW, so a pool already in band asks to be salted.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How much a 1/3, 1/2 and 3/4 hp submersible and a 1/3 hp pedestal pump move against lift: gallons per minute falling roughly in a straight line from the open-flow figure to zero at the shut-off head. The rule of adding about a foot of head per ten feet of horizontal pipe plus a couple of feet for the fittings, and service lives — pedestal motors above the water outlasting submersibles.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How each kind of guard mounts — dropped into the gutter, clipped to the lip, screwed to the front edge and slid under the first course of shingles, or fixed to the fascia — and why under-shingle mounting that lifts or nails through shingles can conflict with a roof's warranty; the pitch a guard is set at so water runs through, not over; and what each surface stops: foam and brush inserts and coarse screens let pine needles and seeds lodge, fine stainless micro-mesh stops them, and reverse-curve hoods can overshoot in a downpour.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a double-pane window is: two or three panes held apart by a spacer and sealed round the edge, the space filled with dry air or argon. When the edge seal fails, moist air gets in and condenses between the panes — the fog that cannot be wiped off — and the gas leaks out. The unit cannot be resealed in place; it is replaced with a new sealed unit made to its exact size and thickness, which is why the glass is ordered after a measuring visit and fitted on a second. The frame and sash usually stay.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Vinyl siding is cleaned with a soft brush or low-pressure water and a mild cleaner, and if a pressure washer is used the spray is kept straight on at eye level — never aimed upward, where it drives water behind the laps and into the wall. That is the reason a house is soft-washed — low pressure and a cleaning solution that does the work — rather than blasted, and why a quote to pressure-wash siding at full power is a quote for water behind the siding.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a faucet meets the sink: single-hole, 4-inch centerset and 8-inch widespread for lavatories; one to four holes for kitchens, with a deck plate that covers the unused ones; a new faucet has to match the holes the sink or counter already has, or the counter is drilled. The supply connections — braided lines to the angle stops, and the stops themselves, which on an old house are the part that fails when the water is turned off — and the rough-in valve behind a tub or shower that a trim kit fits only if it is the same make and family.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a porch is screened: a base strip or track fastened to the posts, rails and framing around each opening, the screen rolled into it with spline and a cap snapped over, openings kept to the manufacturer's maximum width with intermediate framing where they are wider, and a kick rail or knee wall at the bottom where dogs, feet and furniture hit it. Also the alternative the trade uses for a cleaner finish — pre-assembled aluminium screen framing — and retractable screens for openings that should close off only sometimes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Inside or outside mount: an inside mount needs a minimum window depth that depends on the product — about an inch for a mini blind or a cellular shade, about 2 inches for 2-inch faux wood or wood slats to sit flush and tilt, more for a roller with its fascia — and the factory takes a small deduction off the width so it fits. An outside mount is ordered wider and taller than the opening, about 1½ to 3 inches past each side and above, to cover it and cut light gaps. Also bracket spacing and the screws into the window's wood header or into studs, not drywall anchors, for a blind that is pulled every day.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The trade-offs between screen cloths: standard fibreglass for most windows; aluminium, stiffer and more visible, that dents and oxidises near salt water; pet-resistant vinyl-coated polyester, several times stronger and heavier, for the doors a dog goes through; solar screens that block most of the sun's heat and some of the view, worth it on west and south glass in hot climates and a loss of free winter heat in cold ones; and the fine 20 by 20 mesh that stops no-see-ums at the cost of air. Also the spline sizes a rescreen needs, and the roll widths that set how many screens a roll covers.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a plantation shutter is measured and mounted: width and height taken at three points and the smallest used, to the eighth of an inch; an inside mount needs enough window depth for the louvers to open clear of the glass, cranks and locks — roughly half the louver width plus a margin — and a shallower window takes an outside mount on an L- or Z-frame that sits on the casing. Panels are hinged in pairs and split once a window passes about 30 inches a panel; arched and shaped windows are made to a template. Also why the product is quoted by the square foot of opening with a minimum per panel: every shutter is made to its window.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The sizing rule that makes a shutter look right: each shutter half the width of the window and the full height from the top of the casing to the sill, so that the pair would cover the window if closed. Stock vinyl shutters come in a few widths — about 12 to 15 inches — and a range of heights, which is why wide windows get shutters that are visibly too narrow. Decorative shutters are fastened through the siding with shutter fasteners; operable ones hang on hinges from the casing with holdbacks, and need the hardware and the hanging time that implies.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fin-tube baseboard puts out about 550 BTU per hour per foot with 180°F water, 430 at 160°F, 300 at 140°F and under 200 at 120°F — the curve that decides whether a condensing boiler condenses on a given house. A cast-iron radiator is rated in square feet of equivalent direct radiation (EDR): 170 BTU per hour per square foot on hot water at 180°F, 240 on steam, with a typical room radiator between 20 and 40 sq ft. Radiant floors run at 100 to 120°F and are the emitter a condensing boiler was made for.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The two ways a skylight meets a roof: deck-mounted, screwed to the sheathing with a step-flashing kit matched to the roofing, for pitches of 14 degrees (about 3:12) and up; and curb-mounted, on a site-built 2×6 curb with a curb flashing kit, for low slopes and replacements onto an existing curb. Rough opening sizes — the 21 inch wide units sized to drop between rafters at 24 inches on centre — and the light shaft: framed, insulated and drywalled from the roof opening to the ceiling, straight or splayed. Also the tubular daylighting device, which needs no framing and no shaft.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a direct-vent unit needs built around it — a framed enclosure to the manual's dimensions with the clearances to combustibles, a coaxial vent to an approved termination, a gas inlet and an outlet for the blower — and what an insert needs from a masonry fireplace: a sound chimney, a liner run to the cap, and a chimney sweep's inspection before anything is slid in. Inputs from 20,000 to 40,000 BTU, and the plain statement in every manual that a vent-free unit is a different product with its own rules and its own list of states that forbid it.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a wrapped fascia and a panelled soffit go on — F-channel at the wall and J-channel at the fascia, 12 in panels cut to the overhang depth, the fascia cover bent from coil and hooked under the drip edge — and the net free area of a vented panel, about 5 to 10 sq in per linear foot, which is what turns the code's ventilation number into feet of soffit. Also the line the instructions are firm about: aluminium goes over sound wood only. Wrapping rot seals it in.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A smart thermostat runs on the 24 V control circuit of a furnace, boiler, heat pump or air handler and needs a common wire — the C wire — to power itself; where the cable to the wall has no spare conductor, the makers supply a power extender or adapter that fits at the furnace, or a new five-conductor cable is run. Also the compatibility lines that decide the job: heat pumps with auxiliary heat need more terminals, two-stage systems need a thermostat that knows it, and line-voltage baseboard heat is a different device entirely and not a smart thermostat's job.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A pre-hung interior unit wants a rough opening 2 in wider and about 2.5 in taller than the door, shimmed at the hinges and the strike; a slab replacement has to match the old door's size, hand, hinge positions and lock bore or be mortised to suit, which is the chisel work that makes the cheap door the dear job. A pocket door frame needs clear wall twice the door's width beside the opening, with nothing in it, and it goes in before the drywall — which on an existing wall means the drywall comes off. Hollow-core doors weigh about a third of solid-core ones, which is what the hinges and the sound rating are about.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A pre-hung unit — door, jambs, sill and weatherstrip as one piece — wants a rough opening about 2 in wider and 1 in taller than the frame, a sill pan or sealant bed under the sill, shims behind every hinge, and the frame flashed to the weather barrier. Also what a slab-only replacement assumes: that the existing jamb is square, sound and swings the same hand — which on a door that needs replacing is usually not so.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The opening every standard dishwasher wants — 24 in wide, 24 in deep, 33.5 to 34.5 in high with adjustable legs — and what the box does not include: the power cord, the 3/8 in supply line and the 90-degree elbow that make up the installation kit sold beside it. A dedicated 15 or 20 A circuit, hardwired or to a receptacle in the adjacent cabinet, and a drain hose into the disposer or a tailpiece with the loop or air gap the local code requires. The height is the line that bites when a floor has been raised.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The coatings a painted kitchen is made of and what they ask for: a degreased, scuff-sanded surface and a bonding primer under two coats of a hard enamel, dry to handle in hours and fully cured in seven to thirty days — which is why doors come back hung but babied for a month. The sheets also list what the enamel will not bond to, and thermofoil and melamine are on that list, which is why those kitchens are refaced rather than painted.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The mounting systems — a three-bolt mount on most InSinkErator and Moen units, an EZ-mount on Waste King — and the fact that a new unit on the same mount twists onto the flange already in the sink, which is what makes a like-for-like swap a half-hour job. Also the details that turn into the classic failures: the dishwasher knock-out plug that must be removed before the dishwasher hose goes on, the power cord that is sold separately, horsepower from 1/3 to 1 HP, batch-feed units that need no wall switch, and the septic-rated models with an enzyme cartridge.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Published spread rates of 250 to 400 sq ft per gallon at the recommended wet film, which the sheets themselves say to reduce on rough or porous surfaces. On lap siding the lap edges and shadow lines add surface that the elevation drawing does not show; on stucco and brick the pores drink the first coat and the practical figure is half the smooth-surface one. Two coats over a sound surface; a primer on bare wood, bare masonry and wherever paint has been scraped back to the substrate.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Liner gauges as sold — 20, 27, 28 and 30 mil — with the service life each is published at, and the warranty terms that go with them, which are pro-rated and cover seam failure rather than wear. Also the failure mode the gauges are quietly not about: a liner reaches the end of its life through plasticiser loss and ultraviolet embrittlement at the waterline, not through being worn thin, which is why a thicker liner buys handling and puncture resistance more than it buys years.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Published spread rate per gallon, recommended film thickness and the number of coats each product is rated for.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Plank widths, the exposure each is installed at, and the coverage per plank that follows.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Bundle coverage and bundles per square for architectural shingles, and the coverage of hip and ridge cap.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Joist spacing for composite decking — 16 inches on centre laid perpendicular, 12 inches laid diagonally, 12 inches for stair treads — and the gapping the boards need at the ends and sides.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Roll width and the direction of the pile, compacted base depth, infill weight per square foot, staple and seam-tape spacing, and the service life the warranties are written against.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Rated output in gallons per day of bypass, fan-powered and steam units; the air changes per hour assumed for tight, average and loose construction when sizing; the recommended indoor humidity for each outdoor temperature, lowered as it gets colder so windows do not run with condensation; and that a bypass or fan-powered unit evaporates far less on the cooler supply air of a heat pump, which is why steam is recommended there.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Rated capacity in pints a day for ducted and standalone units, the floor area each is rated to cover in a moderately damp house, and how much that area shrinks in a very damp or wet space.
Checked 2026-09-29 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How sealcoat goes on: a clean, dry surface, cracks filled and oil spots primed first, two thin coats by squeegee or spray, air and surface above about 50 °F with no rain for a day, and no traffic for 24 to 48 hours. New asphalt is left six to twelve months before its first coat. Asphalt-emulsion and acrylic sealers against coal-tar sealers, which several states and many cities have banned for their PAH content.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How a subfloor goes down so it does not squeak or telegraph: panels glued and screwed or ring-nailed to the joists, an 1/8 in gap at the edges and ends, tongue-and-groove across the joists, and the rule that water-damaged panels that have swollen or delaminated are replaced, not sanded flat.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Electric mats and cable at about 12 to 15 W per square foot under tile, set in thinset or self-leveler with a floor sensor and tested for resistance before, during and after; low-wattage film under floating floors; and hydronic tubing at 6 to 12 in spacing — in a new slab, stapled up under the subfloor with plates, or in grooved panels over it — fed through a manifold, one loop per zone.
Checked 2026-09-26 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Rated input and output in BTU per hour for gas units and kilowatts for electric ones, the temperature rise each published flow rate is measured at, minimum activation flow, and the gas supply and electrical service each model requires.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Indoor head capacities offered, the port count and rated capacity of multi-zone outdoor units, the connected-capacity ratio a multi-zone condenser permits, and the maximum line-set length and vertical lift between the outdoor unit and each head.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
R-value per inch for blown fibreglass, blown cellulose, batts, mineral wool and both foams, the settled depth each R-value needs, and the square feet a bag covers at that depth.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
These are ours, and they are estimates. The price ranges were set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market; they are not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database, and we would rather say so than dress them up as a citation. They are being replaced with sourced figures — federal wage data for labour, dated retail listings for materials — and each replacement goes in the changelog.
Pounds per cubic yard, low to high, for crushed stone, base rock, pea gravel, river rock, sand, decomposed granite and topsoil.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Published loose weights from quarries and landscape suppliers across several regions, expressed as the range they actually span. Density moves with gradation, stone type and — most of all — moisture: the same yard of sand can weigh 2,600 lb dry and over 3,000 lb after rain.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Price per ton, low to high, by aggregate type, and the typical delivery minimum and haul charge.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Quarry and landscape supply pricing for material delivered to a residential address, compiled nationally. Aggregate is the most freight-sensitive material on this site — the stone is cheap and the truck is not — so the distance to the pit moves this figure more than the state does.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Recommended depths by use, the compaction allowance by material, and the carrying capacity of a pickup and a dump truck.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Depths follow common residential practice and the guidance published by paver and segmental wall manufacturers for their own bases; compaction allowances are the volume a material loses between the loose pile and the compacted layer, which is why ordering the compacted depth leaves you short. Where a figure is a trade rule of thumb rather than a specification, the page says so.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Design frost depth by state, post spacing, the one-third burial rule, and concrete per post hole.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Frost depths are the design figures local jurisdictions adopt, compiled by state and given as the deeper end where a state spans a range — running a post short is not a mistake you can correct later. They are a starting point and not a substitute for your building department, which is the only body whose number counts.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material price per linear foot by fence type, installed labour, gate hardware and removal of an existing fence.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Material and labour kept apart, because fencing is one of the trades where doing it yourself saves the larger half.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Incoming cold water temperature by climate zone, fixture flow rates, and daily hot water use by household size.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Incoming water temperature is the figure that decides whether a tankless unit works, and it is almost never published next to the units being sold. These are seasonal-low values by climate zone — the winter case, because that is when a tankless unit disappoints. Fixture flows assume current low-flow fittings; older fixtures use considerably more.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed price by heater type and capacity, the common installation extras, and the annual energy cost by fuel and efficiency.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Installed pricing includes the unit, the fitting and disposal of the old one. Running cost is computed from daily use, temperature rise and the unit's efficiency rating at national average energy prices.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material prices per gallon for one-part epoxy paint, water-based and 100 per cent solids epoxy, polyaspartic, flake and clear topcoat, plus preparation and application labour by the square foot.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Material is priced per gallon and converted to the job by computed coverage rather than by the figure on the tin.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices for panel replacement and service upgrades by amperage, plus the items that turn a panel swap into a service upgrade: meter base, service entrance conductors, mast, grounding and utility coordination.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced as the two different jobs they are. Swapping a panel on an existing service is a day's work; raising the service amperage brings in the utility, the meter, the conductors and often the mast, and that is where the price doubles.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices by deck area and by linear foot for the three ways a ramp gets built, plus handrail and footing prices, and the monthly rental rate for modular aluminium.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced three ways because the right answer depends on how long the ramp is needed rather than on how it looks. A timber ramp is cheapest to build and worth nothing afterwards; modular aluminium costs more, goes up in a day, comes down in a day and resells.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material prices per linear foot by profile height and species, the stock lengths each is actually sold in, and separate rates for removal, installation, filling and finishing.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the stick rather than by the foot, because that is how trim is sold and it is where every other estimate goes wrong. A 13 ft wall cannot be cut from a 12 ft stick, and no amount of linear-foot arithmetic will say so.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices by component and the per-foot cost of trenching, which is where most of the labour on an irrigation job actually goes.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the zone rather than by the square foot, because the zone is what a valve, a wire run and a manifold connection are bought for — and the number of zones comes from the water supply, not from the size of the lawn.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Stone prices by type and by cut, pallet weights and delivery, jointing materials, and installed rates for dry-laid against mortared work.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced from the setting method backwards, because that is the order the decisions actually happen in: how it is set decides how thick the stone has to be, the thickness decides how many square feet a ton covers, and only then is there a quantity to price.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Cabinet prices by width and type across the three grades, corner unit premiums, and installation labour priced per box rather than per linear foot — which is how the trade actually bills it.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the box because that is the unit that exists. A price per linear foot hides the thing that decides the bill: how many separate cabinets the run breaks into, and how many of them are corners.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed cost per square foot at each scope tier, and the share of the budget each trade takes. Allocations are on an installed basis, so there is no separate labour line — every trade figure already contains its own.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Tiered by what MOVES rather than by finish level, because that is where the cost actually steps. Replacing a kitchen in place and relocating the sink are not two points on one scale: the second brings permits, drywall and a plumber, and the jump is discontinuous.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices for the four ways out of a tired bathtub, plus the demolition and plumbing each one drags behind it — which is where the difference between them actually lives.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced from the surround inwards, because the tub is never the expensive part. A tub is two to nine hundred dollars; getting it out from behind a tiled wall and putting the wall back is the job.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fixture prices by type, the parts that always get replaced with them, and what a damaged closet flange costs to put right — which is the item that turns a two-hundred dollar job into a thousand dollar one.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed cost per square foot at each scope tier and the share each trade takes, on an installed basis so there is no separate labour line. Bathrooms run far higher per square foot than kitchens because every trade in the house works in forty square feet.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Tiered by what moves and by whether the wet area is opened up, because those two things — not the finish level — are where a bathroom budget steps.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Electric snow-melting mats and cable by the heated square foot, split into material and installation; the controller with snow and temperature sensor; dedicated circuits and the contactor panel; saw-cut cable retrofitted into existing concrete; hydronic tubing, manifold and glycol by the square foot and the pump, heat exchanger and controls for a snow-melt loop; the permit; and seasonal snow-plowing contracts for comparison.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The slab and its tear-out come from the concrete driveway page's engine, the boiler from the boiler page, and a service upgrade from the electrical panel page, so the figures agree.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Gas piping by the foot inside the house and trenched outside; the tie-in with shut-off, pressure test and piping permit; a larger meter; moving a meter; a new service from the street; leak location and repair; and the propane regulator.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Indoor footage and the tie-in are the gas fireplace page's figures, trenched footage and the larger meter the pool heater page's, so the pages agree.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Pedestal and submersible pumps by horsepower; the basin, gravel and concrete patch for a new pit and the hours to break the slab and dig it; the hours to swap a pump; float switches and check valves; battery and water-powered backups; high-water alarms; a new discharge line through the wall and a buried line to a pop-up emitter.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The plumber's hourly rate, trip charge and new-outlet price are the water softener page's, and the pop-up emitter is the French drain page's, so the pages agree; the regional labour index applies to labour only.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Gutter guards by the foot — foam and brush inserts, snap-in screens, aluminium mesh, stainless micro-mesh, reverse-curve hoods, dealer-installed micro-mesh systems and one-piece hooded gutters — split into material and installation, by storey, with the job minimum and the service life of each.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Cleaning visits in the ten-year comparison come from the gutter-cleaning page's engine.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Egress-size casement, slider and hung windows and small basement hoppers; saw-cutting a poured concrete or concrete block foundation, new or enlarging an existing opening; excavating the well by machine or by hand; steel and composite window wells, ladders and covers; the drain at the bottom of the well; the buck, header, waterproofing and interior return; the permit; and hauling the concrete away.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Unit prices and yearly upkeep — cartridges, media, UV lamps, RO membranes — for sediment filters, two-stage cartridge systems, carbon and catalytic-carbon tanks, air-injection iron filters, calcite neutralizers, UV disinfection, whole-house reverse osmosis and under-sink reverse osmosis; the extra installation hours each adds; and the price of a lab water test for city water and for a well.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The plumber's rate, trip charge, tie-in hours, outlet and drain allowances are the water softener page's, so the two installations agree; the regional labour index applies to labour only.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Gutter cleaning by the linear foot for one, two and three storeys, with the visit minimum; the premiums for a steep or fragile roof, gutters left two years or more, and cleaning around guards; clogged downspouts cleared; leaking joints resealed; exterior gutter brightening; and the do-it-yourself kit.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The guard prices used for the ten-year comparison are the gutter installation page's.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed labour per square foot of wall face for segmental block, poured concrete, reinforced concrete block (CMU), treated timber and dry-stacked natural stone, with the premium per foot over 4 ft; the forms and rebar for poured walls, rebar and grout for CMU, cap per linear foot; ground-contact timbers each; wall stone by the ton; removal of an old wall; the engineer's design, geogrid and permit for walls over 4 ft or with a load above; and the do-it-yourself tool rental.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Block, cap and aggregate prices are the site's shared paver and aggregate figures.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Glass by the square foot with a minimum per piece — single-pane annealed, double-pane insulated units clear and low-E with argon, triple-pane — with the premiums for tempered and laminated safety glass; the glazier's labour per piece for a wood sash with glazing points and putty, a vinyl or aluminium sash with snap-in stops, and a sliding door panel; the service-call minimum; and an emergency board-up.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The whole-window comparison uses the window replacement page's engine.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Receptacle prices — standard tamper-resistant, USB and smart; the electrician's time per swap and the service-call minimum; a new outlet fished from an existing circuit in a finished wall; a new 120-volt circuit and a 240-volt circuit for a dryer, range, EV charger or welder, with the breaker and the copper per foot by gauge; the fix for ungrounded two-prong outlets; an AFCI breaker; and the permit for new circuits.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Labour per foot for a yard or curtain drain dug with a trencher or mini excavator, for an exterior footing drain dug down to the foundation, and for an interior basement drain tile cut through the slab and patched; perforated corrugated pipe with a filter sock and perforated PVC per foot; filter fabric per square foot; the outlets — daylight, pop-up emitter, dry well — and a sump basin and pump; and trencher rental for doing it yourself. Stone is priced from the aggregate price survey the gravel calculator uses.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Labour carries the regional index.
Checked 2026-09-25 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Source-removal duct cleaning priced per system with a base number of vents and per additional supply and return; a second system; cleaning the evaporator coil and blower; an antimicrobial treatment; the extra work where mold is present; dryer vent cleaning for a wall or roof termination; replacing a foil transition duct and a vent cap.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Whole-house coupon prices are noted but not used, because the job they describe is not the one priced here.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Prices per square foot for soft-washing house siding and roofs, pressure-washing driveways, walks and patios with a surface cleaner, low-pressure washing and brightening decks, and washing fences; the treatment for oil and rust stains; sealing concrete after it is clean; the company's minimum per visit; and pressure washer and surface cleaner rental for doing it yourself.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The costs a driveway adds to the slab itself: breaking out and hauling an old concrete driveway, an old asphalt one or a gravel one, per square foot; the premiums for coloured, exposed-aggregate and stamped finishes; a sealer; and the city's curb-cut or apron permit and inspection where the driveway meets the street. The slab — excavation, base, reinforcement, forms, concrete, placing and finishing — comes from the concrete slab calculator's engine, so the two pages agree.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Labour carries the regional index.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Prices for alcove, drop-in and freestanding tubs by material, and for walk-in tubs with and without jets; the deck and apron a drop-in tub sits in; a floor-mounted tub filler and the supply lines moved to reach it; the dedicated GFCI circuits a jetted or heated walk-in tub needs; and the installer's labour for each, on top of the demolition, surround, valve and drain and permit figures shared with the bathtub refinishing page.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Remediation prices per square foot of affected area for bathrooms and kitchens, basements, crawl spaces, attic sheathing and the inside of walls; limited and full containment with negative air; removal and replacement of drywall, insulation and paint; the contractor's minimum; pre-remediation and post-remediation clearance testing; and the moisture fixes that go with it — a plumbing leak repaired, a bath fan vented outside, a dehumidifier for a basement or crawl space.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Tree removal priced by height with a minimum, adjusted for trunk diameter, for the space to fell it against a climbed-and-rigged or crane take-down, for power lines, and for a dead or leaning tree; the crane day; hauling the wood against leaving it in rounds; stump grinding by the inch of diameter with a first-stump minimum; full stump and root excavation; topsoil and seed over the hole; pruning by height; and the local removal permit where an ordinance requires one.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Equipment rental prices for the do-it-yourself stump grinder and chainsaw.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Retail prices for kitchen faucets (basic, pull-down, touchless), bathroom faucets (single-hole or centerset, and widespread), tub and shower trim kits and complete pressure-balance valves, and frost-free outdoor sillcocks; the plumber's hours and service-call minimum for each swap; angle stops replaced while the water is off; a hole drilled in a stone counter; and access to a tub valve from a closet behind it or through the tile in front.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Retail prices for window units by BTU from 5,000 to 24,000, standard and inverter U-shaped; through-the-wall units and their sleeves; portable units; support brackets; a handyman's charge to fit and seal a window unit; the carpentry to cut and frame a new wall opening with a header and finish it inside and out; and a new dedicated 115-volt or 230-volt circuit and receptacle.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Running costs use the national residential electricity price from the EIA.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Retail prices for under-cabinet, wall-chimney, island and insert hoods and downdraft vents by blower size, and for over-the-range microwaves; the installer's hours to swap one on an existing duct, to install a new vented hood through a wall or a roof, and to hang an island hood from the ceiling joists; rigid duct by diameter and length, elbows, wall and roof caps; a new circuit or outlet; cabinet cutting; and makeup air — a motorised damper interlocked with the hood — for hoods over 400 cfm.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Per-square-foot prices for screening an opening with wood framing and batten, a vinyl track system, aluminium framing, and motorised retractable screens by the foot of opening; rescreening an existing porch; screen doors; knee walls; a shed or gable roof added over a deck or patio, with the footing and post upgrade and the permit; a new porch floor as a deck or a slab; ceiling fan and lights; and aluminium pool enclosures by the square foot of footprint, designed to local wind loads.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Labour carries the regional index.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Stock and made-to-measure prices for vinyl and aluminium mini blinds, 2-inch faux wood and real wood blinds, cellular (honeycomb), roller and roman shades, and vertical blinds for patio doors — by the square foot with a minimum per blind for custom sizes, and by the size band for stock — with the premiums for motorisation and its hub, top-down/bottom-up and blackout; and installation by the blind and the big-box or dealer minimum.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Mobile screen-service and hardware-store pricing for rescreening an existing frame and for making a new screen to size — frame by the foot, corners and hardware, cloth by the square foot for each mesh, labour per screen — with the service trip and order minimum; retail prices for rolls, spline and frame kits for doing it yourself; and sliding, hinged and retractable screen doors, rescreened, replaced or newly installed.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Camera inspection; snaking and hydro-jetting a main line; a spot repair of one section; open-trench replacement by the foot with the depth premium and shoring; trenchless pipe bursting by the foot with its two access pits; cured-in-place lining by the foot with its set-up and pre-cleaning; restoration of lawn, landscaping and concrete over a trench; a new two-way cleanout; the sewer permit; the connection at a tap in the street with its road cut; and the contractor's minimum.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Per-square-foot prices for custom plantation shutters in vinyl (polymer), composite or faux wood, basswood and premium hardwood, with the minimum billed per panel, the premiums for a hidden tilt rod, an outside-mount frame and arched or shaped windows, and the installer's price per window and per extra panel; per-pair prices for exterior shutters in stock vinyl, custom composite, cedar and operable wood with hinges and holdbacks, with installation by the pair on one and two storeys; and the price to take down, paint and rehang a pair.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Labour carries the regional index.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Per-piece prices for the suspension system — 12 ft wall angle and main tees, 4 ft and 2 ft cross tees, hanger wire by the roll, screw eyes — for standard and narrow-profile grid; per-tile prices by grade for mineral-fibre, textured, vinyl-faced washable, PVC and pressed-tin lay-in panels in 2 × 4 and 2 × 2; lay-in LED troffers; the direct-mount track system that replaces a suspended grid where there is no height to lose; and the installer's hours per square foot for a new grid, a tile-only replacement, and a tear-out and regrid, with the crew minimum.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Equipment prices for cast-iron and condensing gas boilers, oil boilers, steam boilers, combi units and electric boilers by size; the installer's hours for a like-for-like swap, a condensing conversion with its venting and condensate, and a steam boiler with its near-boiler piping; the near-boiler kit — expansion tank, air separator, fill valve, circulator, relief valve; the old boiler out; the chimney liner an orphaned water heater needs; an indirect water heater; the gas line and oil tank removal when a house switches fuel; the permit; and the annual cleaning for gas and oil. Also the fuel prices behind the running costs: natural gas per therm, oil and propane per gallon, electricity per kilowatt-hour.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Fuel prices are national residential averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, rounded.
Checked 2026-09-24 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Unit prices for fixed, manual-venting and electric or solar venting skylights by size, tubular daylighting kits, deck and curb flashing kits by roofing type, and the labour for a new opening — cutting and heading off the roof, setting and flashing the unit, patching the roofing, and framing, insulating, drywalling and painting the light shaft by the square foot of shaft wall — against the shorter labour of replacing a unit on its existing curb or deck and of resealing or reflashing one that leaks.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Per-square-foot and per-foot pricing for a poured concrete walkway — excavation and grading, compacted gravel base, forms per foot of edge, welded wire mesh, placing and finishing — with the crew minimum, the demolition and haul-off of an old walk, the finish premiums for exposed aggregate and stamping, and the installed price of the alternatives: paver, flagstone and gravel paths. Also the permit and inspection fee where the walk is in the public right-of-way.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Concrete itself is priced from the delivered ready-mix survey and the short-load fee that a walk-sized pour almost always attracts; labour carries the regional index.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Wet scraping by the square foot, the skim coat that follows it, priming and painting, skim-coating over painted texture that will not scrape, new 3/8 in drywall over a ceiling that is being covered, and licensed asbestos abatement with containment and clearance — with the masking, the disposal of a heavy wet mess, the furnished-room and high-ceiling surcharges, and a crew's minimum. The lab test is its own line because it is the first thing to buy.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Flexible duct by the foot at R-6 and R-8, sheet-metal trunk by the foot, boots, collars, dampers and registers, mastic and tape, a duct-blaster test, aerosol sealing, and an HVAC crew's time per run and per foot of trunk — in an attic, a crawl space, a basement, or behind finished ceilings that have to be opened and patched. Priced by the run, because a duct system is a number of runs and not a number of square feet; the leakage test and the sealing are their own lines because on many old systems they are the whole job.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Sealing and replacing priced apart on the same system, with the test that decides between them. The EPA's field figure — typical ducts lose 20 to 30 per cent of the air that goes through them — is what makes sealing worth pricing first.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Direct-vent gas units, gas and wood inserts with their liners, vent-free units, gas log sets and electric fireplaces; vent kits through the wall and the roof; the gas line by the foot with its tie-in and permit; the framed enclosure, drywall, surround and mantel a new unit needs; and the trades' time — the installer, the gas fitter, the electrician for the blower outlet. Priced by the kind of fire and by what has to be built and run to it, because the unit is rarely half the bill.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The gas line, the vent route and the enclosure are kept as separate lines because they are what varies between two houses buying the same fireplace, and what a showroom price leaves out.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Reinforced polyethylene liners by the mil, seam tape and mastic, foam board for the walls, batts for the floor, vent covers, dehumidifiers and their condensate lines, the removal of old plastic and fallen batts, and a crew's time on its back in a space three feet high — with the surcharge for a space under two. Priced per square foot of floor, with the walls counted from the perimeter and the height, because that is what the liner and the foam are cut to.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Two approaches priced apart on the same space: batts between the floor joists with the vents left open, and the sealed space with the liner up the walls and the foam on them. The dehumidifier is its own line because a sealed crawl without one is a sealed crawl that grows mould.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fascia board by material and by the 16 ft length, soffit by the panel or the sheet, channels and drip edge, the gutter taken down and rehung — the line every fascia quote hides — rafter tails cut back and sistered where the rot has gone past the board, painting for wood, and a carpenter's time per foot of fascia and per square foot of soffit, with the second-storey surcharge and the minimum. Priced per linear foot of eave and rake, because that is how the house is measured and how the quotes come.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what stays: wrapping sound wood, replacing the board, or replacing the board and the rafter tails behind it are three jobs at three prices on the same eave. The gutter is kept as its own line because it comes off and goes back on whichever it is.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Crack sealing by the foot, patches by the square foot with lath and three coats, the removal of soft or bulging stucco with the sheathing and paper under it, fog coats and painting to hide the patch, and the whole-wall re-stucco every repair is measured against — with the plasterer's minimum and the second-storey surcharge. The moisture check behind a soft patch is its own line, because it decides whether the job is a patch or a wall.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what the stucco is doing, not by the crack: a hairline is a sealant, a wide crack is a patch, and soft stucco is wet sheathing under it.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Labour by the square foot for stretched-in carpet and for glue-down, the tack strip and staples that are the hours of the first and the adhesive scraping that is the hours of the second, stairs by the step, furniture by the room, and the three ways the roll leaves the house — hauled by the crew, a dumpster, or the homeowner's own trips to the transfer station with its fee by weight. Also the line a flooring installer puts on the quote for the same removal, which is the number to beat.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what holds the carpet down and by what the roll weighs, because those are the two things that decide the hours and the disposal.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Thermostats by kind — manual, programmable, smart, and line-voltage for electric baseboard — the adapters and cable for a C wire, and an HVAC technician's or electrician's time for the jobs behind one name: a like-for-like swap, a smart thermostat with a wire that has to be found or run, a heat pump's extra terminals, a new location, and a line-voltage unit that is an electrician's. The trip charge is kept apart, because on a swap it is most of the bill.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the wire, not the thermostat. The device is thirty dollars or two hundred; the C wire, or its absence, is what decides whether the installation is twenty minutes or an afternoon.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Roofers' repair rates and service minimums, the time to find a leak before fixing it, and the materials and hours for the repairs that make up almost every call: shingles blown off, a cracked pipe boot, chimney and skylight flashing, a valley, rotten decking under a long-standing leak, and a ridge vent. Steep-roof and second-storey surcharges, the emergency tarp, and the replacement cost every repair on an old roof is measured against — from the site's own roofing survey, so the two pages agree on the same roof.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the cause, with the diagnosis as its own line, because a leak is rarely where the stain is and the finding is often most of the bill. The minimum is shown separately: on a small repair it is the price.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Interior doors by construction — hollow core, solid core, solid wood — as slabs and pre-hung units; bifold, bypass, barn and pocket doors with their tracks and frame kits; casing, hardware, painting and disposal; and a carpenter's time for each, with the saving when a whole house is done on one visit. The pocket door's wall work and the new opening's header are their own lines, because they are what turns a door into a wall job.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced per door, by what has to change around it. A slab keeps the jamb and costs chisel time; a pre-hung unit replaces the jamb and costs casing; a pocket door costs a wall.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Crack sealing and routing by the linear foot, resurfacers and decorative overlays by the square foot, slab lifting by mudjacking and polyurethane foam by the square foot with the minimum every lifting crew charges, self-levelling underlayment by the bag, and the demolition-and-repour price the repair has to beat. The mobilisation minimum is kept as its own line because on a small crack job it is most of the bill.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what the concrete is doing, not by what it is called. A crack, a settled slab and a scaling surface are three different jobs at three different prices, and the same driveway can have all three.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Entry doors by material and configuration — steel, fibreglass and wood; single, with sidelights, and double — as slabs and as pre-hung units; storm doors; locksets, sill pans, trim and finishing; and a carpenter's time for the jobs behind one name: a slab in the old frame, a pre-hung unit in the old opening, the same with rotten framing cut out first, and a new opening. Painting or staining the door is its own line because it is usually forgotten and always needed.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what stays and what goes. A slab keeps the jamb; a pre-hung unit replaces it; a rotten sill replaces the framing under it as well. The door is priced the same in every case, which is the point.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Dishwashers by grade, installation kits, shut-off valves, air gaps and drain fittings, and the time for the three jobs behind one name: a like-for-like swap on existing connections, a swap that needs connections brought up to date, and a first installation where a cabinet comes out and water, drain and power have to be brought to it. The retail installation offer priced as what it is — a swap on existing connections — alongside a plumber, a handyman and doing it yourself. Common repairs by fault, for the replace-or-repair decision.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what is under the counter already. The retail figure is real and it covers one of the three jobs; the other two are what the installer calls 'additional' on the day.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Sliding, hinged French and multi-slide patio doors by width and frame material, sill pans and flashing, trim inside and out, and the crew's time for the three jobs that share a name: a same-size replacement, a wider door that needs a new header, and a new opening cut in a wall — with the exterior patched by siding type and the interior finished. Blinds-between-glass, disposal and the permit as their own lines.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the opening before the door. A 6 ft slider in a 6 ft opening is a morning; the same slider two feet wider is a header, a permit and two days. The door is the same door.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Softeners by capacity and grade, bypass valves, fittings, drain tubing and the salt, and a plumber's time for the three installations that share a name: onto a loop the builder left, into the main where no loop exists, and a swap for a worn-out unit. The outlet the valve needs, where there is none, is an electrician's line. Salt priced per 40 lb bag, because that is the running cost nobody quotes.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what is in the utility room already. A pre-plumbed loop turns an afternoon into an hour, and it is the first thing to look for before pricing anything else.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Painters' labour by the square foot of wall and ceiling, trim by the foot and doors each, preparation by level, the setup and protection per room, and the surcharges for an occupied, furnished house and for a big colour change. Paint and primer by grade from the site's painting survey. The labour rate per foot is a whole-house rate, a little below what a single room costs on the paint calculator, because a crew spreads its setup across eight rooms and cannot across one.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Cabinet painting priced the way painters price it — per door, per drawer front and per frame — for the three ways of doing it: doors sprayed off-site in a booth, sprayed in place under plastic, and brushed and rolled. Colour-change and heavy-grease surcharges, filling old hardware holes, and the equipment and coatings for doing it yourself, with the hours it actually takes.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Per piece, never per linear foot. Two kitchens of the same length can have twenty doors or forty, and the doors are the work. The per-door figures are the same ones used on the refacing page, so the same kitchen gets the same painting price on both.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fans by airflow and noise rating, retrofit motor kits, rigid and insulated flexible duct, roof, wall and soffit terminations, timer and humidity-sensing switches, and an electrician's or handyman's time for the four jobs behind one name: a motor swap in the old housing, a new fan in the same-size hole, a larger housing that means drywall, and a first installation that means a duct to the outside and a switch. The roof or wall penetration is its own line because it is the part that leaks.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what is in the ceiling and where the duct goes, not by the fan. A fan that vents into the attic is priced as a fan plus the duct it should have had, because the rule is that it goes outside.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Disposers by horsepower and grade, cord kits, air switches, mounting and drain parts, and a plumber's or handyman's time for the three jobs that share one name: a like-for-like swap on the existing mount, a swap onto a new mount, and a first installation that also needs a drain reworked and, usually, an outlet and a switch added by an electrician. The trip charge is kept as its own line because it is most of a swap.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by what is under the sink already, not by the unit. The same disposer costs three different amounts to fit, and the outlet is the part that turns a plumber's half hour into two trades.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Exterior paint and primer by grade, sundries and sprayer hire, and a painter's labour split the way a painter splits it: washing, scraping and sanding, caulking and spot-priming by the square foot of wall according to its condition, then the coats, then the trim by the linear foot. Height factors for the third storey and the lead-safe surcharge for pre-1978 homes are carried as their own lines.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by the square foot of wall, never by the square foot of house — the two differ by a factor that depends on the shape and the number of storeys, and quoting one as the other is the commonest way an exterior estimate goes wrong. Preparation is priced apart from painting because it is most of the job and none of the paint.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fans by grade, fan-rated boxes and brace kits, downrods by length, sloped-ceiling adapters, remote kits, cable and switches for a new run, and an electrician's or handyman's time for the three jobs that go by one name: swapping a fan for a fan, turning a light into a fan, and putting a fan where there is no wiring at all. The trip charge is kept separate because it is most of a one-fan bill.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced by situation rather than by fan. The same fan costs three very different amounts to hang depending on what is already in the ceiling, and a survey that averaged them would describe nobody's job. Labour by the hour against a trip charge; the patching allowance for a fished run without attic access is carried separately, because it is drywall work and not electrical.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
GFCI receptacles by grade, GFCI and dual-function breakers, and an electrician's time to swap a receptacle against the trip charge that dominates a one-outlet job. Priced per device and per circuit, because the mistake this page exists to catch is paying for six devices where one at the head of the run does the work of six.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Counted by circuit first and by outlet second. A protected outlet downstream of a GFCI costs the price of an ordinary receptacle and a label, and the survey keeps those two numbers apart on purpose.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a drywall repair costs by the size class of the damage — nail pops, a doorknob hole, a patch that needs backing, a section cut back to the studs, water-damaged board by the square foot — and the two lines that decide the bill far more than the hole does: matching the texture that is already on the wall, and repainting far enough that the repair does not flash. Also the minimum charge nearly every tradesperson applies, which is why one nail pop costs the same as five.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced as a visit rather than as a patch, because that is how it is sold: a minimum charge, then each repair on top, then the finishing that the surrounding wall dictates. Texture matching is priced separately by texture type because smooth and popcorn are opposite problems — one shows every flaw and the other cannot be matched at all.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Heater units by type and output, and the work that goes with them: the gas line upsizing a four-hundred-thousand BTU appliance usually forces, the dedicated 240 volt circuit a heat pump needs, the pad, the plumbing tie-ins and the bypass. The gas line is the item that turns a heater swap into a trench, and it is priced by the foot back to the meter rather than as a lump.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Sized before it is priced, and sized twice — once for holding a temperature, which is a surface-area problem, and once for reaching one in a given time, which is a volume problem. Most published heater sizing answers only the second and quietly sells the first.
Checked 2026-09-23 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Paper by the roll across the grades people actually buy, from peel-and-stick to hand-printed, and hanging labour by the strip rather than by the square foot — because a hanger's day is measured in strips hung, and a difficult pattern match adds time that area does not describe. Also lining paper, sizing and the cost of stripping what is already on the wall.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced per roll and per strip, never per square foot, because neither the material nor the labour is bought that way and converting to area is exactly where published wallpaper estimates go wrong.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Pump units by type and size, the labour to swap one in place against re-plumbing for a body that does not line up, and the electrical work a variable-speed pump often brings with it — a 230 volt supply, its own breaker, and the bonding conductor that ties the motor into the pool's equipotential grid.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Sized from the pool's turnover requirement and the pipework that already exists, then priced — rather than priced from a horsepower figure, which is the unit pumps are sold in and the wrong one to choose by.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
What a pool costs over a year rather than on a day: chemicals by season for salt and for chlorine pools, weekly service against doing it yourself, the water lost to evaporation, and the reserve that pays for the pump, the heater and the filter when their time comes. Electricity is not surveyed — it is computed from the pump, its speed and the local rate, because that is the largest line and the only one that is genuinely calculable.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. A monthly pool cost quoted without a season length is a number that cannot be checked, and most of the published ones are exactly that.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed cost per square foot of interior surface for plaster, quartz aggregate, pebble and all-tile finishes, with the published service life of each. Separately: chipping the old surface off against bonding a new one over it, waterline tile by the linear foot, and the start-up chemistry and water that a resurfacing needs and a resurfacing quote does not mention.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Interior area is taken from the pool's own geometry rather than a rule of thumb.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Liner material by gauge and pattern for a made-to-measure inground liner, the labour to drain, strip, prepare and hang one, and the items that only appear once the old liner is out: floor washouts, corroded wall panels, and the gaskets at the skimmer, returns and main drain that are replaced as a matter of course. Also the two costs that never appear on a liner quote and are always paid — refilling the pool, and rebalancing the fresh water that goes into it.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced as the job rather than as the product, because a liner is quoted as a liner and paid for as a liner plus water plus chemistry plus whatever the old one was hiding. Water is costed per thousand gallons at the volume the pool actually holds, taken from the shape of its floor rather than an average depth.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The resolution of each way of reading salinity, which is what bounds how precisely anybody can dose: a salt test strip resolves to about 400 ppm, a liquid titration to about 200, a salt cell's own display to about 300 and drifting low as it scales, and a shop's photometer to about 100. On a 20,000 gallon pool, 400 ppm of reading uncertainty is worth about two 40 lb bags — which is to say the strip cannot tell the difference between needing two bags and needing none.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Resolution is taken as the smallest genuine step each method can distinguish, not as a claimed accuracy: for strips that is the spacing of the printed colour blocks, which is where the figure comes from and why it is so coarse.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How the floor of a pool is actually shaped, which is what the average-depth formula ignores: a vinyl-liner pool has a hopper — four sloping walls converging on a small flat panel — while a gunite pool usually has a shallow shelf, a transition slope and a full-width deep floor, and an above-ground pool has neither. Also the plan-area factors for kidney and freeform shapes, which are approximations and are published here as approximations.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Each profile is integrated as the solid it is rather than multiplied by an average depth: prisms for the flat sections and a frustum for the hopper. The error in the average-depth method is then computed against that, not estimated — on a 16 by 32 ft pool from 3 to 8 ft deep it is about 17 per cent for a hopper bottom and about 6 per cent for a shelf-and-slope, and it is zero for a pool that slopes uniformly end to end, which is the case the formula was written for.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices by configuration and glass thickness: framed and semi-frameless kits sold by opening width, frameless priced as glass by the square foot plus hardware, and labour separated because a frameless door is two visits rather than one. Also the cost of the two things that only appear once somebody measures: correcting an out-of-plumb opening, and cutting glass out of square when it cannot be corrected.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced from the opening rather than from the door, because the opening is what exists and the door is what has to fit it. Frameless glass is quoted by the square foot of the panels the configuration actually needs, not by a nominal door size, since a fixed inline panel is usually the larger half of the order.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices for each pan system, waterproofing by method, tiled wall area by the square foot, and the details that are priced individually because they are individually slow: niches, benches, curbs and linear drains.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced from the pan outwards, because the pan is where a shower fails and where the labour is concentrated. Wall tile is measured off the unfolded elevation rather than the footprint, which is the number people underestimate by half.
Checked 2026-09-22 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed cost per watt for residential systems by size, plus battery storage, main panel upgrades and roof work priced separately.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Soft costs are listed because they are roughly a third of a US residential system and are the reason the same hardware costs half as much in Australia.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Slab prices by material and grade, fabrication and installation by the square foot, edge profiles by the linear foot, and cutouts priced per opening.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Material is priced by the SLAB, because that is the unit a fabricator buys, and converted to the job by nesting rather than by dividing square feet.
Checked 2026-09-21 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed prices for sectional doors by construction and size, torsion spring sets by cycle rating, and openers by drive type and horsepower.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Doors are priced by size and construction rather than as a single range, because a 16 ft insulated door and an 8 ft single-skin one are both sold as 'a garage door'. Springs are priced by cycle rating, which is the variable that decides how often you buy them again.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Volume solids, recommended film thickness and installed prices for garage floor coating systems, from one-part epoxy paint to polyaspartic.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Coverage is computed rather than quoted: 1,604 ft² per gallon at one mil of dry film at 100 per cent volume solids, divided by the film thickness the maker specifies.
Checked 2026-09-18 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
How much the published spread rate drops on each substrate and texture, when primer is genuinely needed, and the coverage of garage floor epoxy kits.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Manufacturers publish spread rate for a smooth, sealed, previously painted surface — the best case. The adjustments here are how far short of it each real substrate falls: new drywall drinks the first coat, knockdown texture adds surface area you cannot see, and bare wood takes two coats before it stops absorbing. Every one is applied to the first coat only, because that is where the difference lives.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Paint and primer price per gallon by grade, sundries, professional labour per square foot, and installed epoxy floor coating cost.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Material and labour apart, as everywhere on this site. Painting is the trade with the widest gap between the two: the paint for a room is a small fraction of what a crew charges to put it on, which is why it is also the job most often done by the homeowner.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Thinset coverage by trowel notch, the trowel each tile size needs, and grout coverage from tile dimensions and joint width.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Thinset coverage is published per trowel notch, not per tile — and the notch is set by the tile size, which is the step everyone skips. A quarter-inch notch covers more than twice what a half-inch one does, so quoting a bag count from square footage alone is wrong by a factor of two at the extremes. Grout follows a dimensional formula rather than a rule of thumb, because it depends on tile size, thickness and joint width together.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Tile price per square foot by type, thinset, grout, backer board and waterproofing, and installed labour by surface.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Pavers per square foot by size, waste by laying pattern, wall block coverage per course, and joint sand coverage.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Waste here is driven by cuts at the perimeter, and the pattern decides how many of them are diagonal. A running bond cuts one end of each perimeter unit; a 45-degree herringbone cuts both ends of nearly every one, on the bias, and a bias offcut fits nowhere.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Paver and wall block prices, bedding and joint sand, edge restraint, and installed labour including excavation and base preparation.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Labour here includes the excavation and the base, which together are most of the job and all of the risk. Pricing pavers by the square foot of finished surface hides the fact that a driveway needs twice the base a patio does, and that the difference is dug out by hand or by machine depending on access.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Board sizes stocked, joint compound consumed per sheet at each level of finish, tape and screw counts.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Compound is the figure nobody publishes usefully, because it depends entirely on the level of finish being worked to — a Level 3 wall behind tile uses a fraction of what a Level 5 wall under a gloss paint does. These figures are per sheet at each level, which is how an estimator actually works it out.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Board price by size and thickness, compound and tape, and installed labour split into hanging and finishing.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Hanging and finishing are separate trades and separate prices, and the split matters: hanging is fast and cheap, finishing is slow and is where the level of finish shows up on the invoice.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The peak short-duration rainfall rate each state's gutters have to cope with.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Design intensity is the short-duration peak a drainage system is sized against, not the annual average — a gutter fails in the ten minutes of a summer downpour, not over a wet year. Values are compiled by state at the higher end where a state spans a range, because undersized gutters overshoot at the eave and put water against the foundation, which is the expensive failure.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed price per linear foot by gutter material and size, downspout and accessory prices, and removal of existing gutters.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Seamless aluminium is priced installed because it is rolled on site from a coil and cannot sensibly be bought as material alone. Sectional vinyl and steel are priced as material plus labour, since they can be. The gap between the two is why almost every professional gutter job in the US is seamless.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Box coverage for vinyl, accessory lengths for J-channel, corner posts and starter strip, soffit coverage, and waste by wall complexity.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material price per square by siding type, installed labour, house wrap, and removal and disposal of existing siding.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Material and labour separately, and removal separately again.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Standard roll widths, pad thickness and density by traffic, the carpet a stair tread consumes, and the waste a room's proportions force.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Carpet is made in fixed widths — overwhelmingly 12 ft, sometimes 15 — and that single fact drives the waste on a job more than anything the installer does. The figures here are the widths actually stocked, not the ones theoretically available, because a roll you cannot buy locally is not an option.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Carpet price per square foot by grade, pad, installation labour, stair charges and removal of the old carpet.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Retail carpet is quoted per square foot or per square yard and installed labour is quoted separately, per square foot and per stair. Stairs are priced per step rather than by area everywhere in the trade, because a stair takes several times longer per square foot than a flat floor.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Roll coverage for synthetic and felt underlayment, starter strip, drip edge lengths and nails per square.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Published coverage from the packaging of the products a homeowner actually finds at a supply house and a big-box store. Where two manufacturers disagree, the figure here is the more conservative of the two — running short on underlayment mid-roof is a different kind of problem from running short on stone.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Waste allowance by roof shape, the weight of a square of stripped shingles, and how that weight maps to skip and dumpster sizes.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Waste follows trade practice: a plain gable wastes far less than a roof full of hips and valleys, because every valley is a cut and every cut is scrap. Tear-off weights are derived from published bundle weights — three bundles to the square — which is why a second layer roughly doubles the figure and why disposal is priced by weight, not by area.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material price per square, installed labour per square, tear-off labour and disposal cost.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Contractor and supply-house pricing for a standard architectural shingle roof, compiled nationally and split into material, labour, tear-off and disposal so each can be checked separately. Only the labour half is adjusted by region — the shingles cost much the same everywhere, the crew does not.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The heating and cooling load per square foot used to size equipment on this page, by climate zone, and the adjustments for insulation, glazing, sun and ceiling height.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. They are NOT a Manual J: a real load calculation works room by room from the actual construction, orientation, window specification and infiltration rate, and it routinely lands 20-30% away from any per-square-foot rule.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed price ranges for central air conditioning, heat pumps, gas furnaces and mini-splits, by capacity.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Installed pricing including equipment, refrigerant lines and commissioning, compiled nationally. Ductwork is excluded and stated separately, because replacing a system in existing ducts and installing one where none exists are different jobs with a factor of two between them.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Square feet per carton for laminate, vinyl plank, engineered and solid wood flooring, and the coverage of underlayment rolls.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Carton coverage read off the products stocked by US big-box stores and flooring suppliers. It varies more than any other figure on this site — two laminates on the same aisle can differ by a third — so the calculator takes the number from your own box when you give it one, and the default is only a starting point.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material price per square foot by floor type, installed labour, removal of the old floor, and the cost of sanding and refinishing existing wood.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Refinishing is priced as its own job — sanding, stain and finish coats — because for a solid wood floor it is the real alternative to replacement, and nobody publishes the two side by side.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Waste allowance by room layout and lay direction, transition strip counts, and trim quantities.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Waste here is driven by cuts that cannot be reused. An open room wastes the end of each row; a house full of doorways starts a new row at every one; a diagonal or herringbone layout cuts both ends of nearly every plank on the bias. Manufacturers publish 5% and installers order 10%, and the gap between those two numbers is the reason this allowance is editable.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Low, typical and high price per bag, by bag weight.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. It is a shelf price, not a contractor price: a trade account beats it.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Price per cubic yard of delivered ready-mix concrete.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Plant-to-site distance moves this figure more than geography does, which is why it carries a freight sensitivity rather than a regional multiplier.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
The four-to-five yard minimum load and the charge per yard below it.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Published minimum load schedules from US ready-mix plants. Plants differ, and a few waive the fee off-peak — the figure here is the common case, and it is shown as a separate line so you can strike it out if your plant does not charge it.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 1 entry in the changelog
Crew hours per square foot and the national loaded hourly rate for placing and finishing concrete.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. A loaded rate — wage plus burden plus the contractor's margin — not a wage. It is the number that appears on an invoice, which is what a homeowner is comparing against.
Checked 2026-09-15 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The board lengths each decking material is actually stocked in, screws and hidden clips per square foot, and the maintenance cycle a wood deck needs against a composite one.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Board lengths are what the big-box and lumberyard shelves actually carry, not what a mill will cut to order. That matters because the waste on a deck is not a percentage: it is whatever falls off the end of a stock board, and it depends on how the deck width divides into the lengths available. Fastener counts assume two per board at every joist crossing, which is what the code and every manufacturer require.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Price per linear foot for pressure treated, cedar, composite and PVC decking; framing lumber, joist hangers and footings; railing by the foot; and installed labour for deck, stairs and railing.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Decking is priced by the linear foot of board rather than by the square foot of deck, because that is how it is sold and because the two diverge as soon as the board width changes. Framing and decking are kept apart in the result: on a pressure treated deck the frame is usually the larger half of the lumber bill, and on a composite deck it is not.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Seeding rates by species for a new lawn and for overseeding, weekly water requirement, growing season length by region, mowing frequency, and annual nitrogen per thousand square feet.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Seeding rates are the single most variable figure in lawn care — a tall fescue wants four times the seed a bermuda does — so they are given per species rather than as one number, and doubled nowhere: the rate for a new lawn and the rate for overseeding an existing one are listed separately because they are not the same job.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Price per square foot of sod by species, pallet coverage and piece size, grass seed by the pound, starter fertiliser, screened topsoil, and installed labour for laying sod and for preparing ground.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Sod is priced per square foot but bought by the pallet, so both are given: a pallet covers between 400 and 500 square feet depending on the farm and the region, and the rounding up to whole pallets is shown rather than hidden. Delivery is a large share of the cost of sod and is quoted separately, because it is charged per load and not per square foot.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Turf price per square foot by pile quality, infill, weed barrier, seam tape and fasteners, the excavation and base course under it, and installed labour.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Quoted as material and installation kept apart, because artificial turf is sold almost entirely as an installed price by companies that do not publish the split. The base underneath is the part that decides whether the surface stays flat, it is the same compacted aggregate a patio needs, and it is priced here from the same aggregate survey the gravel calculator uses rather than as part of an opaque per-foot figure.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Square feet a ton covers at each compacted depth, the density of recycled asphalt millings against hot mix, sealcoat spread rate per coat, and the plant minimum loads that make a small job disproportionately expensive.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Coverage is derived from compacted density rather than quoted as a rule of thumb, so it moves correctly with depth: the figures here are the arithmetic, and the arithmetic is shown.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Delivered price per ton of hot mix and of millings, installed price per square foot for a new driveway and for an overlay, crack filling and patching by the unit, sealcoating by the square foot, and removal of an existing surface.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Paving is quoted per square foot installed almost everywhere, which hides the two things that actually move the price: the tonnage, which is a function of depth, and the mobilisation, which is a function of nothing but the size of the job. Both are broken out here. Hot mix cannot be bought in small quantities in any useful form — it has to arrive hot and be laid immediately — so the plant minimum is priced as the real constraint it is rather than ignored.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Residential window cleaning per window outside only and inside and out, the premiums for height and for French or divided-light windows, screens, tracks and sills, hard-water stain removal, skylights, the visit minimum and the discount for a recurring schedule; and the do-it-yourself squeegee kit and pole.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The visit minimum matches the gutter-cleaning page's, since the same trades and often the same companies do both.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Foundation per square foot of footprint (slab, crawl space, full basement); the framed shell and envelope per square foot at three finish levels; the interior finish; opening the house wall and tying the roofs together; the roof removal, engineering and reinforcement for a second story and its staircase; a kitchenette and the plumbing run to a new bathroom; plans, engineering, survey and permit as a share of the building cost; and the typical build time of each kind of addition.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Residential mowing per visit by lawn size, with the drop in the rate per square foot once a riding mower takes over, the visit minimum, the premium for mowing every two weeks and for slopes, beds and obstacles; bagging clippings; a five-application fertilizer and weed-control program; fall leaf cleanup; the price, life and running cost of a push and a riding mower; and the crew minutes per thousand square feet behind a commercial mower.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Shed kits per square foot in resin, metal and wood, installer assembly per square foot with its minimum, prebuilt sheds delivered, site-built carpentry per square foot, post-frame pole sheds enclosed and roofed; the lumber and sheet goods no other page prices — precut studs, 12 ft plates, untreated 2 × 6 rafters, 4 × 6 treated skids, T1-11 siding, roof OSB — a shed door, a window, fasteners and concrete blocks; and the cost of running power to a shed and of a permit.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Bypass, fan-powered and steam humidifiers by capacity, installation by an HVAC technician for each type, the water feed, a drain line or condensate pump, a digital control with an outdoor sensor, the yearly water panel or steam canister, and the months of heating assumed in each climate zone for the running cost.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The 240 V circuit a steam unit needs is the mini-split page's dedicated circuit, and electricity is priced at the national average the heating pages use.
Checked 2026-09-28 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Core aeration per thousand square feet, with the lower rate a larger machine brings past 10,000 sq ft and the visit minimum; spreading seed after aeration; power raking or dethatching with the debris hauled away; and renting a core aerator and a spreader to do it yourself, with how much lawn a walk-behind aerator covers in an hour.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-29 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Ducted whole-house dehumidifiers by capacity, standalone basement and crawl space units, a portable unit for comparison, installing each kind, the ducting kit a ducted unit needs, the yearly filter, and the months each climate zone runs a dehumidifier with the share of its rated capacity it works at.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The condensate pump is the humidifier page's, the new 120 V circuit the outlet page's, and electricity the national average the heating pages use. The crawl space and mold pages take their dehumidifier from here.
Checked 2026-09-29 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Inflatable, 120 V plug-and-play, standard 240 V and large hot tubs, swim spas and built-in gunite spas; their water, dry weight, footprint and seats; dealer delivery and set-up, a crane where the path is blocked, reinforcing a deck to carry one, the GFCI spa disconnect, trenching the feed, the steps, cover lifter and start-up chemicals; and for the running cost, the average outdoor temperature by climate zone and the energy to reheat the water and run the pumps after a typical week of use.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The 240 V circuit and its cable are the outlet page's, the gravel pad and slab the shed page's, and electricity the national average the heating pages use.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Hollow concrete blocks by width, their weight and how many come on a pallet; the blocks a bag of premixed type S mortar lays, and the masonry cement and sand a larger wall is mixed from; #4 rebar by the 20 ft stick, ladder joint reinforcement by the 10 ft piece, solid cap block; a mason's labour per block laid and per foot of footing formed and poured.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The 8 in block price and the cap are the retaining wall page's, which now reads them from here; ready-mix, bagged concrete and sand are the concrete and gravel pages' prices.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Precut studs for 9 and 10 ft walls, 2 × 6 studs and plates, treated bottom plate for a basement slab, header stock by the foot; the extra studs a corner, a wall intersection, a door and a window take beyond the field count; the rule-of-thumb header for an opening in a one-storey bearing wall (two plies of 2 × 6 to 3 ft, 2 × 8 to 4 ft, 2 × 10 to 5 ft, 2 × 12 to 6 ft, engineered lumber past that); nails and connectors per foot of wall; and a framing crew's labour per square foot of wall.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The 8 ft precut 2 × 4, the 12 ft 2 × 4 plate and the OSB sheet are the shed page's prices. The header rule of thumb is a starting point, not a design: the code's header tables and the load above decide, and anything past 6 ft is sized by whoever sells the engineered beam.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Professional carpet cleaning per room, with the extra for an oversized room, hallways and stairs by the step; low-moisture cleaning against hot-water extraction; pet stain and odor treatment, carpet protector, moving furniture; sofas, chairs and area rugs; the job minimum; and renting a carpet cleaner, its solution and pretreatment to do it yourself.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The comparison with replacing the carpet uses the carpet installation and carpet removal pages' own prices.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
A carpenter's hours and parts for repairing a split jamb, rebuilding the rotted bottom of an exterior jamb, replacing casing, and replacing a whole interior jamb or exterior frame around the existing door; interior jamb kits and exterior frame kits with threshold and brickmould; strike reinforcement plates and jamb-bottom repair kits; and painting a frame.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The carpenter's hourly rate and trip charge, casing, brickmould, sill pan, flashing and the lumber to rebuild rotted framing are the interior and exterior door pages' own figures, and the comparison with a new pre-hung door is priced by those pages' engines.
Checked 2026-09-30 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The factor between what a tradesperson is paid and what a company bills for their hour: 3.0 times the wage for a service visit on a small job, and 2.2 times for a crew's hours on a multi-day production job.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: nobody publishes an authoritative figure for this. The multiple stands for employer payroll taxes, workers' compensation and liability insurance, the vehicle and tools, the hours that cannot be billed — travel, estimating, callbacks — overhead and profit, and it is higher on a small job because those costs are spread over fewer hours. Only the wage it multiplies is sourced; the multiple is published so it can be disagreed with.
Checked 2026-10-05 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title · 4 entries in the changelog
A sealcoating contractor's price per square foot and minimum job, oil-spot priming, and the do-it-yourself squeegee and crack-filler kit.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Sealer coverage and pail prices, crack filling and patching by the unit are the asphalt calculator's figures, and the concrete sealer is the concrete driveway page's, so the pages agree.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Tongue-and-groove plywood and OSB by the sheet with adhesive and screws; tearing out old subfloor and laying new by the square foot; a carpenter's half-day minimum; sistering a joist; and a support beam with adjustable steel posts under a sagging floor.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Removing the finished floor on top uses the flooring page's figures, and the result for a patch under a bathtub is checked against the tub pages' subfloor allowance.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Standard single- and double-pole breakers, breakers for discontinued panels, and main breakers by amperage; the electrician's time to find why a breaker trips; the main-breaker swap with the utility's disconnect.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The trip charge and per-breaker labour are the GFCI page's, the AFCI breaker the outlet page's, GFCI and dual-function breakers the GFCI page's, and the utility disconnect the electrical panel page's, so the pages agree.
Checked 2026-09-27 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Electric heating mats and film by the square foot with their installation, programmable thermostats with floor sensors, dedicated circuits; hydronic tubing installed in a slab, stapled up or in panels, manifolds per zone and the mixing and pump station.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. The boiler is the boiler page's, the tile floor on top the tile page's engine and the old floor's removal the flooring page's figures, so the pages agree.
Checked 2026-09-26 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Rubber mulch in 0.8 cu ft retail bags and to a pallet, in bulk super sacks by weight with their freight, playground border timbers and plastic edging by the foot, spreading labour, and engineered wood fiber by the cubic yard with the depth it loses to compaction and scatter each year.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Density, bulk price and landscape fabric are the mulch calculator's figures, so the two pages agree.
Checked 2026-09-26 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Recommended depth by mulch type, how much depth an organic mulch loses to decomposition in a year, the clearance a trunk needs, and the depth beyond which mulch starts to do harm rather than good.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Depths come from the extension guidance of university horticulture programmes, taken at the middle of each published range. The decomposition figure is the one that matters for ordering and is almost never given: an organic mulch loses roughly an inch a year, which is why mulching is an annual top-up of an inch or two rather than a fresh three inches every spring — and why calculators that ask for the finished depth and ignore what is already down over-order by half.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Price per bag and per bulk cubic yard by material, bags to a pallet, delivery charges for bulk loads, weight per cubic yard wet and dry, and installed labour for spreading.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Both packagings are priced because the choice between them is the real decision and it turns on volume: bagged mulch costs roughly half as much again per cubic yard as bulk, but bulk carries a delivery charge that is the same whether you order two yards or ten. The crossover is arithmetic and it is published here rather than left to the yard. Weight is given wet and dry because a cubic yard of soaked hardwood weighs close to twice what the same yard weighs dry, and that decides whether it fits in a pickup.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Panel price per square foot of coverage by profile and gauge, trim and flashing by the ten-foot length, fasteners and closures, and installed labour for exposed-fastener against standing seam.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Panels are priced per square foot of COVERED width rather than of material, because that is how they are sold and because coverage and overall width are not the same number — a 36 in corrugated sheet covers 34 in once it is lapped. Trim is priced by the piece in ten-foot lengths, since that is the unit that gets delivered and the unit that gets wasted: a 42 ft ridge needs five pieces, not 4.2.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Board price per square foot by species, installed labour by method — nail, staple, glue and float — cleats and staples by the box, flooring adhesive by the pail, underlayment paper, and subfloor preparation.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Fasteners are priced by the box of 1,000 since that is the unit sold, and adhesive by the 4-gallon pail with its trowel-notch spread rate, which is the only figure that turns square feet into pails.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Equipment price for single-zone kits and for multi-zone outdoor units by port count, indoor heads by style, line set by the foot, line-hide cover, condensate pumps, mounting, the dedicated circuit each outdoor unit needs, and installation labour split between the system and each head.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Equipment is separated from labour throughout, because the same kit bought online and fitted by a contractor and the same kit supplied by that contractor differ by the markup, not by the work.
Checked 2026-09-16 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
The comfort rules carpenters lay out to — 2R + T, R + T and R × T — the thickness a stringer is dropped by at the bottom, nosing projection, tread and riser stock by the piece, and installed labour per step for interior and exterior stairs.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Riser counts are presented as a short list of the integers around the ideal rather than as one answer, because the total rise is fixed and the riser count is the only free variable: the comfortable stair and the stair that fits the available run are frequently different integers, and every calculator that returns a single number hides that choice.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Density by species at service moisture content, the much higher weight of freshly treated southern pine, and price per board foot for hardwood against price per piece for dimensional softwood.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Weight is computed from ACTUAL dressed dimensions and density, never from nominal ones, because nominal size is a billing convention and a truck axle does not care about billing conventions. Treated softwood is listed wet, which is how it leaves the yard and how it is carried.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Fabric by the roll and by the foot at each height and gauge, line and terminal posts by the piece, top rail in 21 ft lengths with its sleeves, bands, bars, caps and ties, gates by leaf width, and installed labour per linear foot.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced component by component rather than per linear foot, because chain link is the one fence where the per-foot figure hides the job: the terminal posts, bands and bars cluster at corners, ends and gates, so two fences of identical length and different shape carry genuinely different bills.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Installed price by united inches and frame material, the difference between an insert and a full-frame replacement, capping and trim, disposal, and the labour each method takes.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Material by the bag and by the square foot at a given R-value, installed labour by method, air sealing by the square foot of attic floor, and the cost of removing contaminated existing insulation.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Priced at a target R-value rather than by the bag, because a bag of loose fill covers a completely different area at R-30 than at R-60 and comparing bag prices across products is meaningless. Air sealing is listed separately rather than folded in, since it is a different trade and — on the numbers — a better buy than the insulation it goes under.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title
Housings and trims by diameter and type, LED retrofit modules, installed labour separated for open ceilings and for cutting into finished ones, a new circuit, and dimmers.
How we arrived at it — Editorial estimate: the low, typical and high figures are set by the editor from general knowledge of the US market — not a measured survey, a sample of quotes or a price database — with the regional index applied to labour only. They are being replaced with sourced data page by page; until then, treat them as a starting range and check local quotes. Every published figure for this work averages the two.
Checked 2026-09-17 · No stable public link — cited the way it is cited on paper, by publisher and title