Field Notes
Plain readings of what shows up in residential mechanical proposals — what the numbers mean, and what to ask when one of them doesn't add up.
Featured
Three government permit datasets, six years, and the same finding in all of them: the middle half of one job shape spans more than double. Here is what that means for the quote on your kitchen table.
Water Heaters
The equipment this site helps you price — water heaters, boilers, air handlers — is also the most common thing in a house to flood it. The moment to add leak protection is the moment that equipment is being replaced, and it is almost never on the quote.
Nameplate
Every furnace, condenser, and water heater carries a label stamped with the one part of the deal nobody can round off. Here is how to actually read it.
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One plain-language piece at a time on reading mechanical quotes. No sales pitch, because there is nothing to sell you.
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