Cost Home Book is written and edited by the Cost Home Book editorial team. The team builds the site's cost models from publicly available US wage statistics, supplier price lists and permit data, and updates each guide as those sources change. It has no affiliation with any contractor, manufacturer or lead-generation service. Figures on this site are estimates for reading a quote, not quotes.
How the figures are built
Every cost band starts as a national figure with a date on it. Where a guide is priced from published data, the labor leg follows the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the trade that does the work, and the materials leg follows a Producer Price Index series for what it is made of. Once a guide's sources section is published, both are named and linked at its foot, with the release they were read from.
The one number no dataset supplies is how much of a job is labor and how much is materials. That split is a judgement, it is stated on the page, and it is the difference between a roof price that moves with roofers' wages and one that moves with asphalt. How we calculate costs sets out the arithmetic, and the editorial policy is explicit about which figures are derived and which are estimates.
Independence
We have no affiliation with any contractor, manufacturer, marketplace or lead-generation service. The site is funded by display advertising and nothing else — no referral fees, no commissions, no paid placements. No advertiser sees a figure before a reader does. How the site is funded.
Corrections and contact
If a figure here does not match what you were quoted, that is worth knowing and we would rather hear it. Send the page, the figure and what you were actually quoted to corrections@costhomebook.com, or see the corrections policy for what happens next. Anything else: hello@costhomebook.com.
Guides by the Cost Home Book editorial team
245 in total.
4-ton AC unit cost$5,600 to $12,000per projectA 4-ton air conditioner costs $5,600 to $12,000 installed for the condenser and matched coil, typically $8,200. Whether the furnace blower and ducts can move about 1,600 CFM decides whether that is the whole bill.
Sump pump battery backup cost$350 to $1,800per projectA sump pump battery backup costs $350 to $1,800 installed, typically $900. Runtime depends on the battery, the pump's draw and how often your pit fills, and the battery needs replacing every few years.
Cost to paint a two-story house exterior$3.00 to $6.50per sq ftPainting a two-story exterior costs $3.00 to $6.50 per square foot for the upper walls and $2.00 to $5.00 for the ground band. Ladders, staging and lifts, not paint, make up the difference.
240V outlet installation cost$80 to $180per hourA 240 volt outlet is a new circuit billed at $80 to $180 an hour. A dryer outlet near the panel totals about $260 to $970 with the visit; a 50 amp outlet on a long run costs more because the wire is heavier.
Roof moss removal cost$0.60 to $1.00per sq ftRemoving roof moss by hand costs $0.60 to $1.00 per square foot, typically $0.80, against $0.15 to $0.60 for a soft wash. Thick moss needs both, and it is worth checking for a leak underneath.
Vinyl fence cost$35 to $65per linear ftA vinyl privacy fence costs $35 to $65 per linear foot installed, typically $48. Over twenty years 150 feet runs $5,250 to $9,750 against $7,500 to $16,500 for wood built twice, if the posts are made for the wind.
Gut bathroom remodel cost$15,000 to $50,000per projectA gut bathroom remodel costs $15,000 to $50,000, typically $25,000. What sets the final number is what the walls and floor are hiding once they are open: rotten subfloor, old pipe, missing vents.
Copper repipe cost$8,000 to $22,000per projectRepiping a house in copper costs $8,000 to $22,000, typically $13,000, against $4,500 to $12,000 in PEX. Soldering labor is most of the gap, and extra wall openings add to both.
Boulder retaining wall cost$25 to $50per sq ftA boulder retaining wall costs $25 to $50 per square foot of face, typically $38, close to a block wall. Machine access, height limits and the drain behind the rocks decide the job more than the price.
Multi-zone mini-split cost$4,000 to $14,500per projectA multi-zone mini-split costs $4,000 to $14,500 installed for two to five heads on one outdoor unit, typically $8,000. Head count, line-set runs and head style set the price, and several single-zone units or a ducted system can be the better buy.