Editorial Policy

The standard we hold ourselves to

A construction estimate is only worth as much as the trust behind it. Our editorial rules are therefore stricter than a typical content site's, and they are enforced mechanically wherever possible:

• Every rate carries a date and a source. A number without a verified month and a citation cannot be published — the site build refuses to compile if one slips through.
• Ranges, never false precision. "₹320–415 per bag (50 kg)" is honest; a single rupee figure for a whole country is not.
• Every calculator publishes its formula, assumptions and wastage allowance. If we cannot state an assumption clearly, the model is wrong and does not ship.
• Worked examples must reproduce. Every example on a calculator page is checked to produce the page's numbers through the live calculator.
• No thin pages. A page that does not answer its question completely is not published, and every page links to its parent, siblings and related entities.

Sourcing

Numbers are compiled under a documented source hierarchy — government schedules of rates first, published indices and manufacturer lists next, corroborated market listings after that. Blogs and content farms are never a source; at most they are a lead to chase back to a real one. Each rate needs at least two independent sources that jointly support the published band. The full protocol is on How We Source Rates, and the method behind the formulas is on Calculation Methodology.

Independence

This is the part that matters most, so it is stated bluntly:

• We accept no paid placements, sponsored content, guest posts or paid links.
• No cement, steel, tile or fixture brand has any influence over a published rate, a formula, or which materials a calculator recommends.
• We take no commission on quotations and are not a broker for any contractor or supplier.
• The site currently carries no advertising. When it does, advertisers will have no editorial input whatsoever.
• If we ever earn a commission on a link — for example an affiliate link to a supplier — it will be disclosed on the page carrying it, and it will never change a published number.

How pages are made

1. Method first. We research the engineering method — IS codes, CPWD norms, established thumb rules — before writing anything, then simplify it for a homeowner without breaking it.
2. Assumptions before interface. The formula, assumptions and limitations are written before the calculator is built.
3. Numbers from one place. Rates live in a single data file and are rendered onto every page that uses them. No number is ever retyped into prose, which is why a rate can never be current on one page and stale on another.
4. Verification. Worked examples are re-run through the live calculator; units are checked explicitly (a bag is not a tonne, a cft is not a brass).
5. Review. The checklist covers dates, units, formula-code agreement, internal links and the completeness of the direct answer.

Use of AI tooling

We use AI tooling to help draft and maintain this site, the same way most publishers now do. It changes nothing about the standard: every figure is verified against the cited primary sources by a human before publication, every formula is checked against the engineering method it claims to implement, and responsibility for what is published rests with us, not with a tool. We publish our sources precisely so you never have to take that on faith.

Keeping content alive

Rate-bearing data carries a review date — currently October 2026 for material rates and January 2027 for the cost model — and the build warns on every compile once that date passes. A review that finds a rate unchanged still updates its verified month, because "checked and unchanged" is information. Pages are re-dated only when their substance actually changes; we do not fake freshness by bumping dates on an unedited page.

Corrections

We will get things wrong. When we do, we fix them promptly and visibly under our Corrections Policy, rather than quietly editing and moving on.

Frequently Asked Questions