How We Research and Label Our Figures

This page explains how FindAWindowPro articles are researched, how we label the figures we publish, how we read window cost surveys, and how we keep pages current.

How we choose sources

We start with the official record wherever one exists: federal energy program pages and criteria documents, product rating bodies, building code text and state contractor licensing boards. Next come published cost surveys from home-improvement websites and trade publications, then manufacturer pages for facts about a specific product. We do not use anonymous claims, and we do not invent figures, quotes or customer stories. If we cannot source a fact, we leave it out.

Every source an article relies on is listed with its publisher, a link and the date we checked it. We cite a page only after reading it ourselves on that date.

The four confidence labels

Each article ends with a section called "About these figures", which lists every cited source with one of four labels:

• Official record: a government agency, statute, building code body, standards or rating body, or state licensing board.
• Reported: a published cost survey, trade publication or news report, or a company's own published information.
• Estimate: our own arithmetic from sourced inputs. When we use one, we show the inputs.
• Directional: a trend or an expert view with no hard number behind it.

How we read cost surveys

Window cost figures vary widely from one survey to the next, and the reasons usually come down to three things. Method: some surveys collect prices that homeowners report after a project, others draw on contractor estimates or pricing databases. Year: prices move, so we give the date of each survey and the date we checked it. What is included: one figure may cover only the window unit, another may include installation, trim and removal of the old window.

When surveys disagree, we show their figures side by side, each attributed by name and date, and explain the difference instead of averaging them into a single number. We present prices as ranges or as "starting at", never as what your project will cost. Your own price may differ with the size, number and type of windows, the condition of the frames and where you live.

How we keep pages current

Pages are rechecked when we learn that a source they rely on has changed, for example when a program updates its criteria or a survey publishes new figures, and when a reader reports an error. When we update a page, we recheck its sources and change the date they were checked.

When we find or are told about an error, we correct it and record the correction on our corrections page. You can reach us through the contact page. To learn who we are, see about FindAWindowPro.