14 guides
Guides to fair-priced home repairs
Practical, independent guides for US homeowners. We don't sell leads, take referral fees or recommend specific contractors, so the only goal here is helping you pay a fair price for good work.
Get fair quotes
Make quotes comparable and read the fine print.
- How to get three useful quotes
Three quotes only help if they cover the same job. Here is how to make them comparable.
- How to read a contractor quote, line by line
What every quote should spell out, and the vague phrases that cost homeowners money later.
- What a "fair price" really means
Why the cheapest quote is often the most expensive, and how to judge value instead.
Pay for it
Insurance, assistance programs and borrowing without making things worse.
- Help paying for home repairs: where to look
Legitimate grant, loan and volunteer programs, and how to avoid paying someone to "find" free money.
- Paying for a big repair without making it worse
Savings, insurance, home equity, contractor financing and credit cards compared in plain English.
- Will homeowners insurance pay for this repair?
What a standard policy usually covers, what it doesn't, and how to file a claim that holds up.
Spend less
Do it yourself, repair or replace, and cheap prevention.
- DIY or hire? A quick way to decide
Five questions that tell you when doing it yourself saves money, and when it costs more.
- Repair or replace? The 50 percent rule
A simple rule of thumb for water heaters, furnaces, appliances and roofs.
- Ten cheap jobs that prevent big repair bills
Small, inexpensive tasks that protect against the most costly home repairs.
- Should you buy the materials yourself?
When supplying your own fixtures saves money, and when it backfires.
Protect yourself
Licenses, contracts, deposits and the scams to know.
- Common contractor scams and how to avoid them
The door-knock, the big deposit, the surprise damage: recognize the patterns before you pay.
- How to check a contractor's license and insurance
A ten-minute check that protects you from unlicensed work and injury claims.
- What to put in a simple repair contract
The clauses that matter most, even for a small job.
- Deposits and payment schedules that protect you
How much to pay up front, how to schedule the rest, and what to hold back until the end.