The following costs are ball park estimates for a typical three bedroom home. Where appropriate, typical life expectancies are included in parenthesis. The life expectancy of some components will vary with the severity of weather in the region. The design, quality of installation and level of maintenance can also drastically affect life expectancy.

There are many factors that affect costs:

• Access…How difficult is it to get to? Crawlspaces are harder to work in than basements.Three-story roofs are harder to work on than bungalow roofs. Steep roofs are more difficult than low slope roofs.
• Height…If you need to build scaffolding to get to the chimney, chimney repairs will cost more.
• Complexity of job…Roofs with lots of dormers and skylights are more expensive.
• Weight…Heavy roofing materials are hard to carry up the ladder.
• Disposal costs…Costs to get rid of the old materials vary and can be significant.
• Amount and difficulty of preparation work…Painting is not as expensive as stripping, scraping and sanding to get ready to paint.
• Cost of materials…Clear cedar siding costs more than paint grade wood, which costs more than vinyl siding.
• Availability of materials…Cedar roofing is significantly less expensive on the west coast, than in the east.
• Installation technique…It costs more to glue and screw sub flooring in place than to nail it. It costs more to put deck posts on a footing than on the ground.
• Amount of labor…It takes longer to lay a ceramic tile floor than a sheet vinyl floor.
• Skill level of labor…It costs more to tape drywall than to hang it. It costs more to paint a faux finish than a flat finish. Plumbers cost more than handymen.
• Scarcity of labor…In many areas it is hard to find people who do plaster rather than drywall, or work on steam boilers rather than forced air heat.
• Quality of system…Furnaces can cost $2,000 to $8,000, depending on their quality and features. It’s a lot like buying a car.
• Economic conditions…Are trades people generally busy and not looking for work, or very slow and anxious to do any job? Is the market competitive, or are there only one or two companies that can do what you are looking for?
• Time of year…In many areas, there are construction seasons that depend on the weather, and renovations and repairs will be more expensive in the high season.
• Reputation of company…Are you looking for an industry leader or someone just getting started? The folks with good reputations and a long list of satisfied clients referring work to them will be harder to find, and more expensive to engage.

The figures that follow include labor and materials. Many home repairs have a minimum fee based on a visit by a tradesperson.