SaveBricks
SaveBricks
What HVAC, roofing, window, and water heater projects cost — the range, what moves it, and the questions to ask — so you can tell a fair quote from a padded one.
Free · Reader-supported · No sales calls
Sample reading
Roof · 1,800 sq ft
$9,200–$15,400
Typical lands near $12,000.
What moves it: tear-off vs. layover, shingle tier, roof pitch and access, and local labor rates.
Try it with your numbers$5,000–$12,500 typical range
Repair or replace? Central AC, furnaces, and heat pumps.
$9,200–$15,400 typical range
Tear-off, shingle tier, pitch, and access drive the number.
$5,500–$14,000 typical range
Full-frame vs. pocket, material, and how many openings.
$900–$1,900 typical range
Tank swap or tankless? Fuel type and code catch-ups set the price.
A low-to-high estimate built from typical project costs. A single exact number would be made up, so we don't give you one.
We show exactly what pushes a quote up or down, so nothing on a contractor's bid catches you off guard.
Leave with the questions to ask and the red flags to watch for before you sign anything.
Typical range
$1,100–$2,600
Gas tank swap, permitted and fully code-compliant
water heaters
A complete water heater quote itemizes eight things; most people get three. Here's what belongs on the page and where a bare number hides code work.
Read the full guideTypical range
$5,500–$9,800
3-ton central AC or heat pump, installed
hvac
A real HVAC bid itemizes nine things; most homeowners get four. Here's what belongs on the page, what's negotiable, and where a bare number hides a mismatched system.
Read articleTypical range
$140–$230
The whole kit, bought new and name-brand, at mid-2026 big-box prices
maintenance
Twelve tools, bought once, no 200-piece kit. What each one is actually for, what it should cost, and the three things everyone buys that you should skip.
Read articleTypical range
$450–$6,500
What restricted airflow ends up costing, blower motor to heat exchanger
maintenance
A clogged furnace filter doesn't just mean dusty air. It's the starting point of the most expensive failure chain in HVAC: dead blower motors, frozen coils, cracked heat exchangers. The fix costs less than a pizza per quarter.
Read articleTypical range
$900–$1,900
The installed replacement bill this one part postpones
maintenance
Every tank water heater ships with a sacrificial anode rod that quietly rusts away so the tank doesn't. Check it once by year five and you can push a 10-year tank toward 15–20. Skip it and the tank's fate is already scheduled.
Read articleTypical range
$900–$1,900
40–50 gallon tank, installed
water heaters
Real installed prices for gas, electric, tankless, and heat pump water heaters, plus the code-upgrade line items that quietly add $200 to $800.
Read articleTypical range
$2,500–$4,500
Gas tankless, installed
water heaters
Tankless costs $1,500–$2,500 more installed. Whether you ever get that back depends on three things most sales pitches skip. Run the 10-year math first.
Read articleThe $5,000 Rule That Decides: Repair or Replace Your AC
Read the guideThere's a Part in Your Water Heater Built to Destroy Itself
Read the guideWhy Half Your Water Heater Bill Isn't the Water Heater
Read the guideHow to Tell If Your Plumber's Quote Is Honest
Read the guideThe cost guide
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