Your measurements and product coverage make the material list. Your written quotes make the budget. Historical surveys provide context.
Measurements, coverage and rounding
The starting measurements are editable examples, not measurements of a real home. Change them to match your project. Coverage, extra material and package sizes stay editable because different products and layouts need different amounts.
The calculation beside each result shows the arithmetic. We keep the underlying area or volume before rounding the order up to whole boxes, bags, bundles or cans. A blank price stays unknown.
Units and rounding
Bare lengths use the unit on their field. Feet-and-inches entries such as 12 ft 6 in and 150 in are converted to the same length as 12.5 ft. Tube diameters and height use inches; the other concrete shapes label their long dimensions and thickness separately. Lengths are converted to feet before area or volume arithmetic. Roof area equals horizontal footprint area multiplied by the square root of 1 + (rise divided by run) squared. For a 6:12 pitch, that ratio is 6 divided by 12. An allowance increases the material quantity by the percentage you choose. Boxes, bags and bundles round up; the underlying area does not. The shingle example displays 33.3 sq ft per bundle but calculates with exactly 100/3 until you edit it. Split very large projects into smaller parts, and check the units if a dimension is refused.
Gates, slopes and roof panels
Fence gate positions and section lengths are horizontal distances between post centers. Each section has a constant slope: slope length is the square root of horizontal length squared plus rise squared. The gate splits solid fence into separate spans; each span is divided into equal bays no longer than the entered maximum spacing along the slope. A shared post is counted once. Grade-change posts are treated as terminals for chain link; the supplier still needs to specify the grade and gate fittings.
Metal panels use the entered width minus side lap. Enter an already installed coverage width with a zero side-lap deduction. Eave, rake, ridge, hip and valley trim round separately using each part’s usable coverage. Full-length panels are assumed; the calculation does not design end laps or optimize offcuts.
Drywall is an area-based sheet allowance. It does not lay sheets across framing or prove that an offcut can be reused. Check orientation, joint support and openings on a sheet layout before ordering.
Quote totals and allowances
A quote budget adds the entered price, work or fees left out, and any additional tax. The reserve percentage applies to that subtotal. It is an amount you choose to set aside, not a market-price estimate or a recommended reserve. Blank prices remain unknown.
Starting dimensions, counts, gaps and allowances are arithmetic examples, not observed homes or installation requirements. The product and guide facts identified on the source list have their own links, periods and Updated dates. Change the examples to match your measurements and the selected products.
What these numbers cannot settle
The calculators cannot inspect rotten decking, confirm load paths, select a beam span, locate utilities or decide permits. AHS medians are past spending across different jobs. BLS figures are employee pay, without contractor overhead or a project’s labor hours. Neither is your local quote.
Product coverage and reference values
These references explain the product examples and unit conversions used by the calculators. Check the label or specifications of the material you plan to buy.
Sherwin-Williams: How to Prep Walls for Painting
Preparation, room protection, cleaning, patching, caulking and priming. The process guide also follows the manufacturer’s warning about disturbing old coatings.
Assembly selection, waterproofing connections and movement-joint requirements for the named system. No structural sizing or universal shower assembly is supplied.
Roof-system planning: deck, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and product-specific fastening. The homeowner guide does not provide a roof-access method.
The example uses theoretical coverage of 400 square feet per gallon. Actual coverage depends on coating and surface. Primer uses a separate illustrative coverage input and must be checked against its own label.
The Dimensions section specifies a precision CMU as 7 5/8 inches wide, 7 5/8 inches high and 15 5/8 inches long. The example uses that face size; actual units have manufacturing tolerances. Adding the chosen 3/8-inch joint gives a 16 by 8-inch repeating position.
AWC DCA6 deck guide, 2018 edition based on the 2015 IRC
Page 20, Figure 27 states the maximum riser and minimum tread. The stair example starts with a 7 3/4-inch maximum riser and 10-inch tread run. These are editable reference values, not a finding about the code adopted at a particular address. No beam, joist or stringer sizing is supplied.
The YIELD section on page 1 gives approximate mixed volumes: 80 lb = 0.60 cubic feet, 60 lb = 0.45 cubic feet, and 40 lb = 0.30 cubic feet. The selectable examples use these values; other mixes and bag sizes require the yield on their own label.
The American Housing Survey describes past spending across different sizes and scopes of work. These figures are not current installation rates.
These medians are from the 2023 American Housing Survey, Table 16, for owner-occupied homes and work completed in the two years before the interview.
Porch/deck/patio/terrace
Historical median spending by housing survey area
Area
Median spent
United States
$4,750
New York City
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Los Angeles
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Chicago
$5,991
Dallas
$7,000
Houston
$6,000
Philadelphia
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Washington DC
$8,000
Miami
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Atlanta
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Boston
$10,000
San Francisco
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Phoenix
$6,000
Riverside
$6,500
Detroit
$7,000
Seattle
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Roofing
Historical median spending by housing survey area
Area
Median spent
United States
$10,000
New York City
$12,000
Los Angeles
$14,290
Chicago
$12,500
Dallas
$11,430
Houston
$10,000
Philadelphia
$8,000
Washington DC
$8,000
Miami
$15,000
Atlanta
$10,000
Boston
$11,000
San Francisco
$14,550
Phoenix
$10,000
Riverside
$8,000
Detroit
$8,200
Seattle
$15,000
Flooring/carpeting/paneling/ceiling tiles
Historical median spending by housing survey area
Area
Median spent
United States
$3,000
New York City
$4,000
Los Angeles
$4,535
Chicago
$3,000
Dallas
$3,200
Houston
$4,000
Philadelphia
$3,000
Washington DC
$4,000
Miami
$4,000
Atlanta
$4,000
Boston
$2,500
San Francisco
$5,000
Phoenix
$3,771
Riverside
$4,200
Detroit
$2,000
Seattle
$5,000
Fencing/walls
Historical median spending by housing survey area
Area
Median spent
United States
$2,300
New York City
$4,800
Los Angeles
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Chicago
$2,500
Dallas
$2,300
Houston
$2,000
Philadelphia
$2,500
Washington DC
$3,000
Miami
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Atlanta
$3,300
Boston
$4,109
San Francisco
$3,000
Phoenix
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
Riverside
$2,796
Detroit
$2,500
Seattle
Not publishedWithheld by Census publication rules.
“Not published” means the source withheld the estimate. It does not mean the work was free. We do not replace a missing local figure with a national one.
These annual median employee wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, across all industries. They do not include contractor overhead, profit or the hours required for your project.
Annual median employee wages, May 2025
Occupation
Annual median
Roofers
$55,440
Tile and Stone Setters
$55,690
Carpenters
$60,580
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$49,400
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$58,930
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$56,460
Fence Erectors
$47,980
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$57,020
Roofers
$76,400
Tile and Stone Setters
$61,410
Carpenters
$74,300
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$61,420
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$71,320
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$61,360
Fence Erectors
$51,600
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$65,670
Roofers
$63,560
Tile and Stone Setters
$58,600
Carpenters
$75,740
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$59,080
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$62,800
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$59,090
Fence Erectors
$50,290
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$63,790
Roofers
$82,090
Tile and Stone Setters
$74,670
Carpenters
$80,440
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$61,740
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$69,120
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$70,370
Fence Erectors
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$81,020
Roofers
$46,990
Tile and Stone Setters
$47,920
Carpenters
$48,740
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$45,550
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$48,220
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$43,950
Fence Erectors
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$48,770
Roofers
$45,500
Tile and Stone Setters
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Carpenters
$49,670
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$46,140
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$47,610
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$43,020
Fence Erectors
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$46,600
Roofers
$59,730
Tile and Stone Setters
$70,730
Carpenters
$61,780
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$57,410
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$61,280
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$73,280
Fence Erectors
$59,530
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$60,900
Roofers
$58,340
Tile and Stone Setters
$49,180
Carpenters
$60,800
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$50,560
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$59,070
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$49,970
Fence Erectors
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$58,350
Roofers
$48,030
Tile and Stone Setters
$48,290
Carpenters
$51,570
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$48,490
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$50,170
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Fence Erectors
$54,820
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$48,860
Roofers
$49,100
Tile and Stone Setters
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Carpenters
$50,680
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$49,570
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
$59,670
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
$46,030
Fence Erectors
$45,350
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
$46,750
Roofers
$66,350
Tile and Stone Setters
$82,230
Carpenters
$75,210
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
$57,820
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
Not publishedNo annual value published for this series.
Housing-survey and wage-survey metro boundaries differ. The area names above match each publication.
Dates and attribution
An Updated date records the last source review. The survey year remains attached to every historical figure; a new calendar year does not turn it into a current price. We do not increase an old project cost using wage changes.
The Census Bureau, HUD, BLS and NIST material used here is U.S. federal government work. Manufacturer facts and the American Wood Council reference are cited for context; their artwork and installation instructions are not reproduced.
Our illustrations are original. Site fonts are Archivo Narrow and Source Sans 3, used under the SIL Open Font License.
Metropolitan project spending
The project spending tables preserve the Census categories, metro names, medians and published margins of error. Combined categories remain combined; a withheld value has no individual answer page.
An annual source review checks the pinned survey and the availability of a newer release. A changed category, geography or publication flag requires review before the replacement appears here. A failed check leaves the last accepted observations in place.
Material price trends
U.S. producer price indexes, not seasonally adjusted. Index levels are not dollars or installed prices. Changes compare the latest month with the same month a year earlier using (new index ÷ earlier index − 1) × 100. Preliminary observations can be revised. No index is used to turn a historical household median into a current local price.
BLS copyright information. The monthly review checks for new or revised observations. A failed check retains the dated accepted values; a saved trend older than the review allowance is marked as needing an update.
National comparisons
The national figures on project and metro pages are the matching categories from Census AHS Table 16, with the national total selected. Updated . Missing national observations remain unknown. Ranks order the published metro medians from highest to lowest; ties share their position and unpublished metros are excluded.
