Methodology
How to read a planning range
Every dollar figure on this site is a national planning range for a described scope of work. It is a budgeting aid. It is not a quote for your address.
Two numbers, on purpose
Each guide shows a wide national spread and a tighter typical range. The spread is there so a difficult house does not look like a scam, and a very small job does not look like a bargain you were cheated out of. The typical range is the cluster we expect for the common version of the job described in the guide — for example, an asphalt shingle roof on a straightforward single-family house, not a steep three-story Victorian and not a garden shed.
What “installed” usually includes
Unless a guide says otherwise, the band assumes:
- Standard materials for that project, not a luxury tier
- Labor to remove and haul away the old work when replacement is the job
- Ordinary permits where that trade usually pulls one
- A single-family home with workable access
The band usually does not include:
- Hidden rot, mold, unsafe wiring, or failed structure found after demolition
- Layout changes, custom fabrication, or designer finishes
- Sales tax, financing, or a contractor’s travel to a remote site
- Engineering, hazardous-material abatement, or historic-district rules
Where the bands come from
Editors set the ranges by comparing publicly discussed US cost bands for the same scope: homeowner cost surveys, contractor rules of thumb, and retailer installed-price ranges. We do not copy a single publisher’s table, and we do not run a live pricing database. When those sources disagree, the published spread gets wider rather than pretending the disagreement is a precise average.
Figures are national. A roof in a high-labor metro, or a water heater that needs a new vent through a finished ceiling, can clear the top of the band without anyone doing anything unusual. A very small, easy job in a lower-cost region can land under the typical range.
Dates
Each guide has a published date and an updated date. The updated date is the last time the range and the cost drivers were reviewed. Treat an older date as a reason to weigh fresh local bids more heavily, not as a promise that the band is still tight.
How to use a guide next to a bid
Get at least two written local bids that list the same scope. Ask what is excluded — decking replacement, a new electrical circuit, a permit, haul-away. Then see whether the bids sit inside the national spread and whether the gap between them is explained by something you can see. A bid far below the range is a prompt to ask what was left out. A bid far above it is a prompt to ask which driver applies to your house.
DIY versus hire, repair versus replace
Those sections are practical screens, not instructions for doing the work. Trades that involve fall hazards, gas, refrigerant, or a main electrical service are marked as hire. Repair-versus-replace notes describe the usual tradeoff. They are not a diagnosis of your roof, panel, or water heater.
Advertising
The site is built to run Google AdSense. Ad placements are labeled and do not change the ranges, the category a project sits in, or which guide is featured. There is no affiliate requirement for a guide to be published.
Limits
Nothing here is a contract, a warranty, a safety procedure, or a substitute for a licensed contractor, inspector, or — where the work requires it — an engineer. Prices move with labor, materials, and local code. Your written quote is the number that applies to your project.