Affiliate disclosure.
Short version: some outbound retailer links are paid links. Clicking a paid link and then buying something earns MaterialForeman a commission. Calculator math is unchanged by this.
A paid link is an outbound link to a retailer's product page that carries an affiliate tracking identifier. When a visitor clicks such a link and completes a purchase on the retailer's site, the retailer pays MaterialForeman a small percentage of the sale. Price paid by the visitor is identical whether or not the affiliate link was used.
Paid links on this site point to major home-improvement retailers, currently planned to include The Home Depot and Lowe's via their affiliate programs run on Impact. Additional retailers may be added in the future. Every individual link that pays a commission is marked with the phrase "Paid link" visible at the same time as the link itself.
It does not. Formulas, waste factors, and code citations are drawn from authoritative sources (IRC, ACI, ASTM, IECC, ANSI, and university extension services) and would be identical whether or not any affiliate program paid a commission. Product recommendations, when they appear, are based on material specification (thickness, grade, R-value, rating) rather than commission rate.
Retailer choice for a given recommendation is based on stock breadth and regional availability. Where both Home Depot and Lowe's carry the same spec, both are linked so the visitor can check local inventory.
This disclosure and the inline "Paid link" labels follow the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), revised 2023. The disclosure is visible at the same time as any affiliate link, uses language an ordinary reader understands, and is not buried in a footer or collapsed behind a control. See ftc.gov · Endorsement Guides.
Clicking an affiliate link sends the visitor's browser to the retailer's site and drops a cookie set by the retailer's affiliate platform. That cookie records the referral and tracks whether a purchase follows. MaterialForeman does not set or read that cookie, does not receive personal information about the visitor, and sees only aggregate commission reporting from the affiliate platform.
Commission revenue is considered advertising income. It does not affect the calculator algorithms, the published waste factors, the cost-range outputs, or the order in which retailers appear on the page. If that ever changes, this disclosure will be updated and the change logged in the changelog.
MaterialForeman is not currently an Amazon Associate. If that changes, the following notice will appear here and in the footer: "As an Amazon Associate, MaterialForeman earns from qualifying purchases."
Disclosure or sponsorship questions: [email protected]. Reference "Disclosure" in the subject line.