The terms, in theplainest language we could manage

By using Read the Nameplate — the articles, the Quote X-Ray, or any other tool on this site — you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, the only real option is not to use the site; there's no account to close or subscription to cancel to make that meaningful.

What this site is

General educational information about how residential mechanical (HVAC, plumbing) quotes are written and priced, plus a tool that reads a quote you paste and reports what it says, what it's missing, and where its price lands against comparable submissions. See the scope disclaimer at the bottom of every page for the full statement — it's part of these terms, not separate from them.

What it is not, stated plainly because it matters: engineering services, a code-compliance review, legal or financial advice, an appraisal, or a professional opinion on your specific installation. Using this site does not create a professional relationship or a duty of care between you and Jaxter Labs LLC. Nothing here is a design, a specification, or a stamped document. It's a reading of a document, built from real arithmetic — not a substitute for a licensed professional evaluating your actual building.

Who can use this site

You must be at least 18, or have a parent or guardian's permission, to submit anything through the Quote X-Ray. The articles are open to anyone.

No account required

Using the Quote X-Ray doesn't require creating an account. The optional email newsletter is a separate, unrelated signup, handled by Buttondown under its own terms.

What you submit

By pasting or uploading a proposal, you're confirming it's your own quote — something you have the right to share — not a document you're submitting on someone else's behalf without their knowledge.

"Add this quote to the comparison dataset" is checked by default on the quote form. If you leave it checked, you're giving Jaxter Labs LLC a non-exclusive, permanent right to store and use the redacted, structured fields described in the Privacy Policy — job type, equipment, capacity, efficiency, price, scope items, state, the first three digits of your ZIP code, and date — for these purposes:

• Running the comparison that produced your reading, and comparisons for other readers
• Publishing aggregate statistics on the data page
• Deriving market intelligence from the combined dataset — medians, price per ton, brand-versus-brand installed cost, regional averages, and trends over time
• Publishing, licensing, or selling that derived intelligence commercially — to parties such as efficiency program administrators, equipment manufacturers, insurers, lenders, and researchers
• Improving the cost model this site runs on

That last pair is how this site pays for itself, and we'd rather say so than let you find out later. The Quote X-Ray is free and stays free.

What we will never do with it, stated as commitments and not preferences:

• Never store the proposal text, your name, your address, or the contractor's name — that's true whether the box is checked or not
• Never sell or license row-level data. What leaves here is combined statistics, never your individual quote
• Never attempt to re-identify a submission, and never permit anyone we license to attempt it
• Never sell leads or referrals to contractors
• Never publish geography finer than your state and the first three digits of your ZIP code

You can uncheck that box and still use the full tool, with nothing stored at all.

The reading is AI-assisted — verify it

A language model reads the redacted text and writes the plain-language explanation. Every number in that explanation — the price, the percentile, the comparison — comes from ordinary arithmetic on real data, never from the model itself; the model isn't permitted to state a number it wasn't handed. But the model's reading of the document — what it says the proposal includes or omits — can still be wrong. Verify anything that matters against the actual document and your own contractor before relying on it.

Acceptable use

• Don't submit a document you don't have the right to share.
• Don't attempt to automate, scrape, or overload the Quote X-Ray beyond ordinary use — it costs real money per request. A best-effort rate limiter is in place, but it isn't a guarantee against abuse; this rule applies regardless of whether it happens to catch a given attempt.
• Don't attempt to extract, re-identify, or misuse data from the dataset beyond viewing it as published.
• Don't misrepresent a reading generated here as a licensed professional's opinion, a code-compliance determination, or an appraisal.

Paid services

The Quote X-Ray and the articles are free. If a paid service (a personal quote review, for example) is ever offered, it will come with its own separate, explicit terms — pricing, scope, and refund policy — presented before you pay for anything. Nothing on this site currently charges you.

Intellectual property

The articles, site design, and the Quote X-Ray itself belong to Jaxter Labs LLC. You're welcome to read, link to, and share individual pages; republishing substantial portions of the content elsewhere needs permission first.

No warranty

This site and the Quote X-Ray are provided as-is, without any warranty that the reading, the price comparison, or any other output is accurate, complete, or fit for a particular purpose. Equipment pricing, codes, and typical costs vary by jurisdiction and change over time — what's shown here is a reference point, not a guarantee.

There is also no guarantee the Quote X-Ray is available when you want it. Every reading costs real money to produce, so the tool enforces a limit per visitor and an overall daily limit, and it will decline to read a proposal once either is reached. It may also be switched off entirely, at any time and without notice. If it turns you away, nothing is wrong with your proposal — try again later.

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, Jaxter Labs LLC isn't liable for decisions made based on anything read or generated on this site — including a decision to repair, replace, sign, or not sign a proposal. This site is one input among several a reasonable homeowner would use, not the only one, and it says so directly on every relevant page.

Changes

These terms may be updated as the site changes; the date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

Contact

Questions about these terms: privacy@readthenameplate.com.

Read the Nameplate is published by Jaxter Labs LLC. See also the Privacy Policy and the scope disclaimer at the bottom of every page.