Renovation Guide HQ is an independent publication helping US homeowners plan renovations with honest numbers — not sales pitches.
Every guide starts with a simple question: what does this project really cost, and what’s the smartest way to do it? We answer with published national cost data — Angi/HomeAdvisor, Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics — plus step-by-step processes and plain-English DIY vs. pro guidance.
What we won’t do: invent statistics, fake credentials, or let sponsors touch our numbers. Where a figure is an estimate, we label it. Where we don’t have first-hand experience, we say so instead of making it up. Our full methodology is on our Editorial Policy page.
We’re reader-supported: if you buy through a product link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read our Affiliate Disclosure for the full picture.
Spotted an outdated price or an error? Tell us through the Contact page — corrections go up fast.
Renovation Guide HQ publishes cost guides and planning guides for the projects US homeowners actually hire out or take on themselves: bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, flooring, roofing and exterior work, painting and drywall, attic insulation, basement finishing, and the budgeting and planning decisions that come before any of them. You can browse everything from our guides index.
Every cost guide follows the same structure: a quick answer with the national average and realistic range up front, a cost table, a worked budget example for a real-sized room whose line items add up, regional differences, the factors that move the price most, an honest DIY-versus-pro comparison, permit and safety notes, and answers to the questions homeowners ask most. If a guide doesn’t have the number you need, we’d rather say so than dress a guess up as a fact.
Renovation Guide HQ is written for US homeowners who are planning a project and want the numbers before the sales pitch: what a project typically costs, where the money goes, what can go wrong, and which decisions are worth paying a professional for. Whether you are comparing contractor bids line by line or deciding whether a project is worth doing at all, the goal is the same — a plan built on real figures, not guesses.
Our figures come from published sources, not from thin air: Angi and HomeAdvisor project-cost data, Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report, Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for the trades, and manufacturer and retailer pricing for materials. Where sources disagree — and they often do — we show a range instead of pretending there is one true number.
Costs change, so guides are reviewed and refreshed, and the date at the top of each guide shows when it was last updated. Figures that rest on assumptions rather than a published source are labeled “(planning estimate),” so you always know which kind of number you are looking at.
Three rules govern everything we publish. First, no invented statistics, studies, or quotes: every figure traces back to a published source or is labeled an estimate. Second, no fake expertise: we don’t publish invented contractor stories or first-person job-site claims, and we don’t present ourselves as licensed contractors. For licensed work — electrical, gas, structural, and anything your local code requires a permit for — our guides tell you to hire a licensed professional. Third, no pay-to-play: advertisers and sponsors don’t set, soften, or remove our numbers. Our full methodology is set out in our Editorial Policy, and how the site earns money is explained in our Affiliate Disclosure.
Questions, corrections, or a cost figure that doesn’t match a quote you just received? Reach us any time through our Contact page or by email at hello@renovationguidehq.com. Reader corrections are one of the best checks on our data, and verified fixes go up quickly.
Renovation Cost Calculator
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