How we write our guides
Our trade guides help you understand a job, what it should cost and what to check before you hire someone. Here's how we make them, and how we keep them accurate.
Who writes them
Every guide shows who wrote it, usually Wes, who runs Houzie. Where a guide has been checked by a qualified tradesperson, such as a registered electrician for our electricians guide, we name them and show their qualifications and the date they checked it. If a guide hasn't been checked by a tradesperson yet, we say so.
Where the information comes from
- Rules and safety: official sources such as GOV.UK, the Planning Portal and the official registers for each trade.
- Prices: published UK cost guides. We show each source and the date we last checked the prices.
- Local knowledge: the areas and postcodes we cover, and how many businesses cover each one, come straight from our own listings.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to help research and draft our guides. A person then checks the facts against the sources, edits the guide and approves it before it's published. AI doesn't publish anything on Houzie by itself.
Keeping guides up to date
Each guide shows when it was last updated. We check prices at least every six months, and we update guides when rules change. Older prices are a guide only, so always get written quotes.
Independence
Businesses can't pay to appear in, or change, our guides. Featured listings are clearly labelled as advertising and are kept separate from our advice.
Spotted a mistake?
Please tell us. We'll check it and correct the guide if we got something wrong.