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
240 in total, page 2 of 24.
Butcher block countertop cost$40 to $100per sq ftButcher block countertops cost $40 to $100 per square foot installed, typically $65. Species and grain set the price; the finish decides the upkeep, and the sink is where wood most often fails.
Hydro jetting cost$250 to $1,500eachHydro jetting costs $250 to $1,500 per line, typically $475. It beats a cable machine on grease and recurring roots, but on cracked clay, Orangeburg or thin cast iron the camera should come first.
Topsoil cost$25 to $60per cubic yardScreened topsoil costs $25 to $60 per cubic yard delivered, typically $40. How to work out the yards from area and depth, screened versus blended soil, and what delivery minimums do to small orders.
High-efficiency furnace cost$6,000 to $12,000per projectA condensing gas furnace at 96% AFUE or better costs $6,000 to $12,000 installed, typically $8,500. The vent route, the condensate drain and the water heater left on the chimney decide where a quote lands.
Exterior foundation waterproofing cost$100 to $220per linear ftExterior foundation waterproofing costs $100 to $220 per linear foot, typically $160, for excavation, membrane, footing drain and backfill. Access, depth and what sits against the wall decide where a job lands.
Insulated vinyl siding cost$700 to $1,300per squareInsulated vinyl siding costs $700 to $1,300 per square installed, typically $950, against $500 to $1,000 for standard vinyl. The foam buys straighter walls and impact resistance far more than it buys energy savings.
Federal Pacific panel replacement cost$1,300 to $4,000per projectReplacing a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel costs $1,300 to $4,000, typically $2,200, at the same amperage. What the swap uncovers, and whether to upgrade the service while the power is off, sets the final price.
Roof tear-off cost$85 to $200per squareTearing off an asphalt roof costs $85 to $200 per square for each layer removed, typically $130. A second layer costs the same again, and under the code a roof with two layers has to be stripped.
Second-story deck cost$70 to $150per sq ftA second-story deck costs $70 to $150 per square foot, typically $100, about twice a ground-level deck. The posts, footings, lateral load connection, stair and engineering are where the extra goes.
Granite countertop cost$40 to $175per sq ftGranite countertops cost $40 to $175 per square foot installed, typically $90. The slab level sets most of the price, and the way a fabricator counts square feet, slabs, edges and cutouts sets the rest.