How our guides are written
Every fact in a guide comes from the law, the county or the agency that sets the rule, and every guide lists its sources.
Where the facts come from
Primary sources only: the Florida Statutes, the state licensing boards and agencies (DBPR for contractors, the Department of Agriculture for pest control), Hillsborough County, the Florida Building Commission, federal agencies such as EPA and the Department of Energy, the U.S. Census, the National Hurricane Center, UF/IFAS, and the utility or insurer whose own rule is being described. We do not read other contractors’ websites, directories or review sites to write a guide, and we do not copy anyone’s sentences.
How each guide is checked
Before a guide is written, each fact is recorded with a short quotation from its source and the link. The guide is then written from those notes and nothing else. An automated check run before each release confirms that each dollar figure, percentage and year in a guide appears in those notes, and that no paragraph about one town could be passed off as another by swapping the name. Finally, the finished guide is traced claim by claim against its sources in a separate review pass, and a sample of the sources is opened again to make sure they still say what the guide says they say.
What we leave out
If we cannot find a fact in a primary source, the guide does not state it. That is why you will not find typical prices, how long a roof lasts, or which brand of electrical panel an insurer dislikes: we looked, and no source that sets the rules says so. We do not publish ratings, reviews or testimonials in guides. No business can pay to be mentioned in one, and a sponsored slot elsewhere on a page never changes what the guide says.
Dates
Each guide shows the date its facts were last checked. Laws, codes and programs change; when one of the sources a guide relies on changes, the guide is out of date until it has been re-read and the date moved.
Something wrong?
If a guide is wrong, or a rule has changed, tell us. We would rather be corrected than be confidently out of date.