Guides
The reading that comes before the arithmetic. Each guide gives you the real numbers, says which option I'd pick and why, and ends at the calculator that works out your own figure.
What these are for
The calculators on this site answer a narrow question precisely: how many squares, what size conductor, how much the cabinets come to. They assume you already know what you are buying. The guides are for the part before that — deciding whether the roof needs replacing at all, whether a heat pump makes sense in your climate, or what a general contractor's fifteen percent is actually paying for.
Each one leads with the answer. If the title asks what a roof costs, the range is in the first two sentences, not on the fourth screen. Where two options exist I say which one I would choose and, just as importantly, who should choose the other one. Where a number is regional — impact glazing on the Gulf coast, frost depth in Minnesota, wind ratings in Florida — it says so instead of hiding behind a national average.
How they differ from the calculators
A guide explains the decision; a calculator produces the number. So a guide covers the trade-offs, the failure modes, the code minimums and the things contractors know and homeowners find out late — the sagging ridge that is a framing problem rather than a roofing one, the batt that loses a third of its R-value when it is compressed, the 2x4 that is really 1½ by 3½ and quietly wrecks a takeoff.
Every guide finishes with a link to the calculator that matches it. That is the point of the pairing: read the guide to know which inputs matter, then run your own dimensions through the tool. Nothing you type into a calculator leaves your browser.
How to use this page
The guides are grouped by subject rather than listed flat. Roofing is the deepest section, because roofing is where the vocabulary trips people up most — squares, pitch, tear-off, low-slope — and where the money is largest for a single trade. Cost guides are the ones to read before you take bids, since they tell you what share of the job each line should represent and therefore which quote is strangely shaped. Materials and reference holds the charts and comparisons you come back to rather than read once.
If you are pricing a job, start with the cost guide for that trade and follow the link at the end. If you are diagnosing a problem, start with the roofing or foundation piece and work out whether you need a repair or a replacement before anyone quotes you either.
Roofing
How long a roof lasts, what it costs, how to measure one, and how to tell whether yours is finished.
- How much does a new roof cost?A new asphalt roof runs $4.50–$8.00 per square foot installed, or $12,000–$25,000 on a typical house. What tear-off adds and why complexity beats size.
- Metal roof vs shinglesStanding-seam metal costs 2–3x asphalt and lasts 2–3x as long. Who should buy which, what the noise myth gets wrong, and the insurance angle nobody mentions.
- How long does a roof last?Architectural asphalt lasts 20–30 years, standing-seam metal 40–70, slate a century. What actually shortens a roof, and how to read the age of yours.
- Signs You Need a New RoofGranule loss, curling, daylight through the deck, a sagging ridge — what each sign actually means, and when a roof needs a repair rather than replacement.
- How to Measure a RoofMeasure a roof from the ground with a tape and a level, on the roof, or by satellite. Which method to use, the pitch multiplier, and when not to climb up.
- Roof styles, drawn and comparedGable, hip, gambrel, mansard, shed, flat and butterfly roofs drawn to scale — how each sheds water, what it costs to frame, and where each one fails.
- Roof Pitch ChartEvery common roof pitch as an angle in degrees, a slope multiplier, and a practical verdict — walkable, staging required, minimum for shingles, low-slope cutoff.
- What Is a Square in Roofing?A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Why the trade bids in squares, why your footprint is smaller, and how pitch converts one to the other.
Cost guides
What a job actually runs, where the money goes, and which decisions move the number most.
- How Much Does It Cost to Remodel a Kitchen?Kitchen remodels run $15k cosmetic to $75k+ gut. Cabinets take roughly 30% of the budget, and moving the sink or range is the second-biggest cost lever.
- How much does it cost to remodel a bathroom?A full bathroom remodel runs $9,000 to $28,000, with a hall bath near $15,000. What drives the number, why labour is 40%, and where the money actually goes.
- Cost to replace windowsWindow replacement runs $450–$1,400 per window installed, more for impact glass. What drives the price, and why energy savings rarely pay it back.
- What does a general contractor do?A GC schedules the trades, pulls the permits, carries the insurance and owns the mistakes. What the 10-20% markup buys and the papers to ask for.
Materials and reference
Charts and comparisons you come back to: sizes, R-values, and which material to specify.
- Lumber Size Chart: Nominal vs ActualNominal and actual sizes for dimensional lumber and sheet goods, why a 2x4 is really 1.5 x 3.5, and where using nominal sizes wrecks a takeoff.
- R-value chartR-value per inch for every common insulation, plus recommended attic, wall and floor R by climate zone — with the three things that make the chart lie.
- How to measure square footageMeasure length times width, split odd shapes into rectangles, and add. The full method, what counts as finished area, and why three sources disagree.
- Types of FoundationsThe four residential foundation types, what each costs relative to the others, where each is used and why, and the specific way each one fails.
- PEX vs CopperPEX wins most repipes on cost, freeze tolerance and speed. Copper still owns exposed runs and water-heater connections. The two real objections, answered.
- Vinyl vs Fiber Cement SidingFiber cement costs roughly double installed but lasts longer, holds paint, and will not warp near a grill or a low-E window. Vinyl wins on budget and zero painting.
- Heat pump vs furnaceIn most of the US a heat pump costs less per BTU than a gas furnace. Where the crossover sits, when dual fuel wins, and why the air feels cooler.