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How We Research Prices

Every number on WhatCostsHome follows the same rules. This page is the contract: if a figure on this site can't be traced through the process below, it shouldn't be here — and we'd like to hear about it at hello@whatcostshome.com.

The five rules

  1. Published sources only. Prices come from datasets someone else measured and published — primarily Angi's verified project data (real jobs, with project counts in the thousands to tens of thousands), HomeGuide's cost guides and Fixr's cost analyses. We don't estimate from vibes, and we don't scrape a competitor's guide and re-word it.
  2. Cross-check before publishing. A figure appears only if at least one other source is broadly consistent with it, or if it's clearly labeled as a single-source range. Where sources disagree (they do), we show the range that covers both rather than picking the tidier number.
  3. Ranges, not point prices. A spring replacement is $150 in one city and $350 in another; a single “average” would mislead both homeowners. We publish the band, the average where a source provides one, and the factors that move a job inside the band.
  4. Dated and re-checked. Every cost page carries a “prices checked” stamp — currently October 30, 2026 for the launch data — and a last-updated date. Cost data is refreshed on a rolling basis; when a source updates its figures, ours follow.
  5. No invented numbers, ever. If a price can't be sourced, the page says so or leaves the gap. No placeholder figures, no “typical” numbers written from memory, no fake precision.

What our ranges can't do

A national range can't price your specific door weight, foundation type or infestation. Local labor markets, home condition and job complexity move real quotes — sometimes outside a national band for legitimate reasons. Use our ranges the way they're built: as a sanity check and a negotiation reference, alongside 2–3 itemized local quotes. Our process follows the spirit of the FTC's advertising guidance: claims substantiated before they're published, and material limitations stated next to the claim.

Safety methodology

Some cost topics are also safety topics. Garage door springs store lethal energy, so every spring page carries a hire-a-pro safety notice and this site publishes no spring replacement instructions at any price point. Fumigation content defers to licensed fumigators for chemical handling and re-entry. Where safety and savings conflict, the content sides with safety and says why.

Sources used at launch

Corrections

Found a stale figure or a broken range? Tell us via the contact page with the page, the figure and (if you have it) the quote or source that contradicts it. Verified corrections are applied and the page's last-updated stamp is moved.