What will it actually cost?

Home improvement cost calculators, with the sources shown. Every figure sourced and dated.

8calculators
Every figuresourced and cited

Already have a quote?

Put it against the published range for the same job, size and region — and see what would legitimately explain a difference either way.

Or start from scratch

Eight calculators for US home improvement projects. Each shows its range, names its sources, and tells you what the number leaves out.

Central AC Size & Replacement Cost Calculator Air conditioners are sized in tons, where one ton equals 12,000 BTU of cooling per hour. The rule of thumb is 500… Concrete Slab Cost Calculator A standard 4-inch residential slab runs $6 to $8 per square foot installed in most of the United States. That… Deck Cost Calculator Everything else about a deck — the framing, the footings, the labor — is broadly similar whatever you walk on. The… Drywall Sheet & Material Calculator These ratios come from the Lowe's drywall materials estimator and hold up well across job sizes: People assume… Fence Cost Calculator The national average fence job comes to about $3,276, or roughly $23 per linear foot across all materials. Note… Flooring Cost Calculator Tile has the widest genuine spread of any flooring category, and it is not noise. Material alone runs $2 to $30… Interior Paint Calculator Paint coverage is one of the few home improvement numbers that is genuinely simple, and it is worth knowing the… Roof Replacement Cost Calculator Roof Replacement Cost Calculator A roof is a slope, so its surface is always larger than the ground it covers. The…
Advertisement

Home improvement cost calculators, with the sources shown. Every figure sourced and dated.

Three things that make these different

Ranges, not false precision. Published cost data comes in ranges because real jobs vary. A calculator that returns one confident number has hidden that uncertainty rather than resolved it.

Regional adjustment applied to labor only. A sheet of drywall costs the same in Alabama and New York; the person hanging it does not. Applying a flat regional multiplier to a whole project overstates the difference by roughly double, so we split each rate and adjust only the half that varies.

Assumptions labelled as assumptions. Some numbers every contractor knows are not published anywhere usable. Where we have filled a gap with judgement, we say so on the page instead of passing it off as sourced.

These are planning figures, not quotes. Site conditions, local code and current material prices vary in ways no calculator can capture. Use these to sanity-check a quote and set a budget — then get three written quotes from licensed local contractors.