Editorial policy
Our rules for how we find, write, check, date and fix every page.
Our rules
- Every number has a source. Each number names a source and a date. Public data comes first: government numbers, fee lists, and maker and store listings.
- We are honest about gaps. If we can't find a source, the page says "not sourced yet." We don't guess.
- We never make up people. No made-up writers, reviewers, experts, quotes, reviews, photos of "our jobs" or sample sizes. Pages have no personal byline.
- No one buys our numbers. Advertisers and partners have no say over our numbers or words.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to find public data and write first drafts.
AI does not set any number. Every number comes from its source. We check it against that source before the page goes live. Each page says how it was made.
How we check pages
We don't lean on a named expert or reviewer. The page itself has to earn your trust. So every cost page shows:
- a link from every number to its source, and the date we checked it;
- a "Sources & how we calculated this" part that explains the math, with an example, line by line;
- a "Last updated" date, and links to our methodology and corrections policy;
- a plain note: our prices are estimates, so get three written quotes and check the roofer's license;
- an "Expert sources we relied on" part, with at least two published codes, laws or trade and maker guides.
Expert sources instead of a reviewer
No person signs off on our pages. Instead, each cost page and calculator leans on expert papers that are already public.
These are building codes, state laws, license boards, trade groups and makers' own guides.
Each page lists them under "Expert sources we relied on." It says what each one backs up on that page. It links to each one, with the date we checked it.
When sources don't agree, we follow this order:
- Government, laws and codes
- Trade groups
- Makers
- Industry cost reports
See our methodology for more. We point to these papers. We don't claim their authors have seen our site. We never use words that suggest an outside group or person looked over or OK'd our pages. Our computer check fails any page that does.
Our computer check
Before search engines can list a page, a computer check reads it the way they do.
A page can only be listed if it passes every test. Here are some of them:
- No number without a source.
- A part with questions people ask.
- Enough of its own words, not shared with other pages.
- No big overlap with any other page.
- Easy reading, at about a 5th or 6th grade level.
- Every picture has a text label.
- Big text that is easy to see, with strong contrast. Nothing on the site is tiny.
A page that fails stays on the site. But it is marked "noindex" and left out of our site map until we fix it.
Dates
Every page shows when it came out and when its data was last checked.
We only change the "updated" date when the page really changes. We check cost pages again at least every six months.
Fixing mistakes
We fix mistakes fast. We add a note on the page for big ones. See our corrections policy.