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How We Research and Check Our Guides

Every guide starts with a real homeowner question: a leak, a tripping breaker, a quote that looks too good. We answer it with sources you can open yourself.

Where the answers come from

1. Government and code sources first. Federal and state agencies, building and fire codes, utilities, and official programs.
2. Manufacturer instructions. For how a product is meant to be used, maintained, or replaced.
3. Standards and trade groups. When they publish the rule or test behind a claim.
4. Quality reporting. Named publishers, used with care and credited.

Forums help us find the questions people really ask. They are never the source for a technical answer.

What every guide includes

• A direct answer near the top, in plain language.
• Safe first checks, and a clear point where you should stop and call a pro.
• The sources behind safety, insurance, and money claims, listed on the page.
• The date it was last updated.

What we will not do

• Invent a price, a lifespan, a savings figure, or an insurance outcome. If no source supports a number, we don't publish one.
• Claim a licensed professional reviewed a guide unless that person and the review are named.
• Let an advertiser or partner change what a guide says.

How AI fits in

We use software and AI to help research, draft, and check guides. AI output is never treated as a source. Publisher Mark Phaneuf is accountable for what we publish. See our editorial policy.

Found a mistake?

Tell us at [email protected]. Include the page and what looks wrong. See sources and corrections for how we handle fixes.