Corrections policy

Where our figures come from

Every cost range on this site starts from a national figure with a date attached, and that figure is carried forward using two published series from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Labor follows the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which reports mean hourly wages by trade and by state. Materials follow the Producer Price Index for the relevant commodity — asphalt roofing, lumber, copper, ready-mix concrete and so on. How much of a given job is one and how much the other is our own judgement, stated per item, and it is the part most worth arguing with.

The figures are re-checked monthly against the newest published index. Each cost band shows which release it was reviewed against, so you can see how current it is rather than having to trust that it is.

What we are not

These are national ranges, not quotes. A price index describes what producers charge for materials, not what a contractor charges you for finished work, and no statistical series knows about your roof pitch, your access, or what your local market is doing this month. Use our figures to read a quote, not to replace one.

Reporting a figure that is wrong

Write to corrections@costhomebook.com. The more of this you can include, the faster it moves:

• The page — the full URL, or the title of the guide.
• The figure you are disputing, exactly as it appears.
• What you were actually quoted or charged, and in which state.
• Where your number comes from: a written quote, a paid invoice, a published rate card. An invoice is the single most useful thing you can send us and is what moves a range fastest.

We read everything. We answer within two to three business days, and we will tell you what we decided even when the answer is that the figure stands.

What happens when you are right

The figure is changed at its source, which means every guide quoting it changes with it rather than one page being patched while the rest disagree. The article carries a dated note saying what was corrected and when, and the correction stays visible rather than being quietly absorbed.

Where a correction changes a headline range materially, we say so at the top of the article. A figure that moves because a published index moved is not a correction and is not marked as one — that is the ordinary monthly update, and the cost band already shows its date.

Anything else

For questions that are not about a specific number, see Contact. Our standards for how articles are written and reviewed are in the editorial policy.