Questions about this site

How the costs are sourced, who checks the guides, and where the money comes from. Questions about a specific repair are answered at the bottom of that repair’s guide.

Where do your cost figures come from?
Every figure is published by a named third party and linked in the row it appears in, usually HomeGuide, Angi or a current retailer listing. We never average sourced numbers into a figure of our own and present it as research. Where two sources price the same job differently, both sit on the row rather than being merged into a tidier single number.
Are these prices what I will actually pay?
No — they are a sanity check on a quote, not a quote. Trade rates vary enormously by region and by urgency: an emergency call at 9pm on a Sunday is not priced like the same repair booked for Tuesday morning. Use our range to tell whether the number you have been given is roughly normal.
Who checks the guides?
Not yet a named trade reviewer, and we would rather say so than imply one. Guides are researched against manufacturer documentation, published code requirements and trade sources, and every safety boundary carries the actual reason rather than a vague warning, so you can check the reasoning instead of trusting us. Retaining a named licensed reviewer is the next thing on this site’s list, and this answer changes the day it happens.
How do you decide when to tell me to stop?
By the failure mode, not by caution. Sealed refrigerant systems, gas lines, the breaker panel itself and anything at roof height are stopping points because the ways they go wrong are electrocution, fire, asphyxiation and falls. Refrigerant is also a legal line, not a judgement call: EPA Section 608 certification is required to buy and handle it. Everywhere else we give the reason so you can decide whether it applies to you.
How does the site make money?
Right now, it does not. No link on this site earns a commission; the outbound links go to the price sources we cite. The intention is to earn from the cheap preventive parts the guides recommend, and when that starts, the affiliate disclosure and the footer change on the same day. What a commission will never decide is whether a guide tells you to do a job yourself.
Do I have to give you an email to read a guide?
No. The fix is never behind a form. The monthly is offered after the answer, not in front of it — about twelve emails a year, with an unsubscribe link in every one. See privacy for what happens to the address.
A price or an instruction here is wrong. Will you fix it?
Yes, and quickly. Send us the correction and we will check it against the source. Accuracy on the cost tables is the only thing this site really has to sell, so a correction is a favour rather than a complaint.

Something not covered here? Ask us directly.