Guides

Guides for hiring, paying for and protecting yourself on home, auto and commercial kitchen services

Plain-English answers to the questions people ask before, during and after a repair: what's fair to pay, how to tell if you're being taken advantage of, and what to do when a job goes wrong.

Our calculators tell you what a job typically costs. These guides cover everything around the price: choosing who to hire, understanding what you're signing, and knowing your options if something goes wrong. Each guide links to the calculators that go with it, so you can check a number while you read.

For restaurants and commercial kitchens

Restaurants
Walk-In Cooler Down? What to Do in the First Four Hours
Protect your inventory, stay inside food safety time limits, check the simple causes, and know what the repair will likely cost.
Restaurants
Commercial Refrigeration Repair Quotes: How to Read Them and Spot Overcharges
Read a walk-in, reach-in or ice machine repair quote line by line, check refrigerant pricing, and spot the red flags of an inflated bill.
Restaurants
Repair or Replace Restaurant Equipment? The 50% Rule, Explained
The 50% rule, the age and refrigerant signals that point to replacement, and how to factor in downtime and energy costs.
Restaurants
NFPA 96 Hood Cleaning Requirements: What Fire Inspectors Check
How often NFPA 96 requires inspection, what clean to bare metal means, the paperwork inspectors look for, and typical costs.
Restaurants
Grease Trap Rules and Fines: What Restaurant Owners Need to Know
The 25% rule, pumping schedules, record-keeping, the fines cities charge, and kitchen habits that cut pumping costs.
Restaurants
Restaurant Equipment Maintenance Contracts: Are They Worth It?
What maintenance agreements cost, what each tier covers and excludes, and a simple way to decide if one pays for itself.

Your rights

Your rights
HVAC Repair Done Wrong? Your Options, Step by Step
What to do when an HVAC company didn't fix your AC or furnace correctly: documentation, warranty call-backs, demand letters, card disputes, licensing complaints and small claims court.
Your rights
Auto Repair Upsells: What's Necessary, What Can Wait, and Your Rights
How to tell necessary auto repairs from upsells, which services are often recommended too early, and the consumer rights you have at a repair shop.
Your rights
Garage Door Repair Scams: How the Low-Price Bait Works and How to Avoid It
How garage door repair scams work, the warning signs the BBB highlights, what a spring repair should cost, and what to do if you've been overcharged.
Your rights
Before You Sign a Pest Control Contract: 9 Terms to Read
What to check in a pest control agreement: term length, auto-renewal, cancellation, initial fees, covered pests, re-service guarantees, and your 3-day right to cancel door-to-door sales.

Hiring smart

Hiring smart
How to Tell If You're Being Overcharged for a Home Repair
Red flags that a home repair quote is inflated, legitimate reasons a price can be higher than average, and what to say when a number doesn't add up.
Hiring smart
How to Compare Contractor Quotes Apples to Apples
Why contractor quotes for the same job can differ by 2x, how to make them comparable, and a worked example comparing three water heater quotes.
Hiring smart
How to Check a Contractor's License and Insurance Before You Hire
A practical guide to verifying a contractor's license, insurance and bond, which trades are usually licensed, and why it matters if something goes wrong.

Cost guides

Cost guides
PEX vs. Copper for Repiping a House: Cost, Lifespan and Which to Choose
Installed costs by home size, lifespan, water quality and installation differences, and how to choose the right pipe for your home.
Cost guides
Repair or Replace? A Decision Guide for ACs, Furnaces and Water Heaters
Typical lifespans, the 5,000 rule, when a repair isn't worth it, and the specific failures that usually mean it's time to replace an AC, furnace or water heater.
Cost guides
Why Home Repair Costs Keep Rising, and How to Budget for Them
What drives rising prices for plumbing, HVAC, roofing and other home services, how inflation compounds big future repairs, and a practical way to budget for maintenance.

Tips & how-to

Tips & how-to
Furnace Won't Light? Common Causes, Safe Checks and Repair Costs
Why a gas furnace won't light or keeps shutting off, the safe checks to try first, and what each likely repair costs.
Tips & how-to
Slab Leak Signs: How to Check for One and What to Do Next
The warning signs, a simple water meter test, how plumbers find and fix slab leaks, and what each repair option costs.
Tips & how-to
Plumbing Emergency? What to Do Before the Plumber Arrives
Step-by-step: shutting off water, protecting your home, deciding whether it's a true emergency, and what to ask a plumber before they come out.
Tips & how-to
A Seasonal Home Maintenance Checklist That Prevents Expensive Repairs
A season-by-season checklist of simple maintenance tasks that prevent the most expensive HVAC, plumbing, gutter, garage door, pest and pool repairs.