About housecosting

housecosting is a free set of calculators for people who are planning work on a house: homeowners, renters with a landlord's go-ahead, and do-it-yourselfers who want to buy the right amount the first time. Each calculator turns your measurements into what the store actually sells, like bags, sheets, boxes, bundles and gallons.

How the numbers are made

Quantities come from plain geometry plus typical values for each material, with a waste allowance you can change. Costs are built in three lines: the amount of material, the price you type in from your own supplier, and labor hours times the median hourly wage for that trade in your state, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On project pages we also show what U.S. households reported paying professionals in the Census American Housing Survey, adjusted to today's prices.

We never copy store prices and never invent an "average cost". The details are on our method page and every source is on the sources page.

What the site does not do

We do not design structures, size beams or footings, or give electrical, gas or safety advice. Our results are planning estimates, not quotes. We do not sell leads, connect you with contractors or collect your details: there are no forms and no accounts, and the calculators run in your browser.

Who runs the site

housecosting is an independent project run by a small team that builds free reference websites. It is not affiliated with any store, manufacturer or government agency.

Found a mistake?

If a result or a sentence looks wrong, email [email protected] with the page address and what you entered. We check every message and fix confirmed errors.