Methodology
Methodology
How RenovationCalc calculates renovation estimates, and when it refuses to.
Labor
Labor cost = hours of work × local hourly wage. Hours come from verified labor-hour rates per unit of work. Wages come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the labor market your city belongs to. The low, typical and high estimates use the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile wage.
Materials and equipment
Material cost = quantity × verified unit price for the finish level you choose. A waste allowance is applied only when a verified waste rate exists.
Location
Your city is matched to its counties using official Census relationship files, and those counties to a BLS labor market. If a city spans more than one labor market, we don't guess.
Local context
Census housing data and building-permit counts are shown for context only. They never raise or lower a price.
Coverage status
Complete: every required input is verified. Partial: some data exists but not enough for a total. Insufficient data: required data is missing. Under verification: the model is still being reviewed. Only complete results show a price.
Not included
Contractor overhead and profit, permit fees, travel, insurance and disposal are excluded unless a verified input exists for them.