Methodology
How we estimate costs
Every figure is calculated, not copied. We break each project into units of work, price the hours with local labour rates and add materials, then check the result against real quotes.
1. Units of work
Each project is a recipe of tasks, for example removing old tiles per m², laying porcelain per m², fitting a shower tray. For every task we know the hours of labour by skill level and the quantity of each material, from the detailed price analyses of the Tuscany regional price list, an open public dataset with over 5,000 analysed items.
2. Local labour rates
Hours are priced at what homeowners typically pay each trade in your country. Official wage statistics then adjust the rate for your state or region: where tradespeople earn more, jobs cost more.
3. Materials
Material quantities come from the task analyses; prices are converted at current exchange rates and adjusted to local price levels, with a contractor markup.
4. Checked against the market
We compare our totals with published market figures and with quotes homeowners share with us, and adjust where the model and the market disagree. Estimates are ranges, not quotes.
Data sources
| Source | Period | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia | May 2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | May 2025 | Public domain |
| European Central Bank ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates | ECB reuse policy (source credit) | |
| Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (trade split estimated from UK ASHE ratios) | 2022 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada) | 2023-2024 | Open Government Licence - Canada |
| Office for National Statistics, ASHE ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, tables 14 and 15 | 2025 (provisional) | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Regione Toscana, Prezzario dei Lavori Prezzario dei Lavori della Regione Toscana | 2026 | CC BY 4.0 |
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Office for National Statistics). Contains data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Eurostat and Regione Toscana licensed under CC BY 4.0; figures are derived and adapted. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data is in the public domain.