Editorial Standards
The rules DeckMath follows so every value on the site is verifiable, every code reference is current, and every figure has a human editor accountable for it. Designed to hold up under a licensed engineer's audit, a permit inspector's review, or a journalist's fact-check.
Six guiding principles
Primary sources only
Every code reference, span table, and material spec traces to a primary publisher — ICC, AWC, USDA, BLS, or manufacturer technical bulletin. We do not cite Wikipedia, contractor blogs, or social-media posts. If a value cannot be traced to a primary source, the page labels it as an estimate or industry consensus, not a fact.
No LLM-generated numbers
AI helps draft copy and explain context, but every number that appears on DeckMath — every $/sqft figure, every span, every dimension — has been entered manually by a human editor from a primary source. AI cannot hallucinate a span table value into our codebase. Reviewers check this on every PR.
Version-controlled rules
Every IRC code section, every pricing tier, and every regional multiplier lives in version-controlled TypeScript files in our public git repository. When a rule changes, the change shows up in git history with the editor's name, date, and source citation in the commit message. No silent edits.
Calculations are auditable
Every calculator returns intermediate steps so a licensed engineer or permit inspector can verify the math. We don't hide formulas behind black boxes. The methodology page documents the derivation chain in plain English; the source code shows the exact arithmetic.
Compliance + safety bias
When primary sources disagree (rare), we default to the stricter standard. When our calculation falls near a code-compliance line, we surface a warning and recommend confirming with the local AHJ. When a structural decision could lead to failure, we recommend a licensed engineer rather than relying on our prescriptive tables.
Pricing data refreshed quarterly
BLS Producer Price Index lumber data + 3 contractor-bid survey rerun + manufacturer MSRP check — every quarter. State labor multipliers refresh each May after BLS OEWS release. If a quarterly refresh moves pricing by ±8% or more, affected pages get a new lastmod date in the sitemap so crawlers know to re-index.
What we explicitly forbid
- Citing user-generated content (Reddit, forums) as a primary source
- Using AI-generated $/sqft figures without manual verification against BLS or manufacturer MSRP
- Publishing span values that don't trace to a specific IRC table + species + grade
- Replacing a stricter requirement with a more permissive one without footnoting why
- Quoting a manufacturer warranty term without linking to the technical bulletin
- Reusing a number across pages if the underlying source has changed since the original publication
Correction policy
- 1Acknowledge within 5 business days. Email [email protected] with the page URL and the disagreement; we respond within 5 business days even if just to say “received, investigating.”
- 2Verify against primary source. Editor pulls the cited IRC section, BLS table, or manufacturer bulletin and confirms whether DeckMath's value matches.
- 3Fix + publish. If wrong, the value gets updated with a commit referencing the correction, and affected pages get a new lastmod date in the sitemap. Public commit history preserves the audit trail.
- 4Disclose materially significant corrections. If the fix changes a $/sqft figure by 10%+ or alters a code-compliance interpretation, we publish a brief correction note on the affected page footer for 90 days.
The E-E-A-T trio
This page describes the editorial process. The Sources page lists every primary reference. The Methodology page shows how source data becomes calculation output. Read all three to audit DeckMath end-to-end.
Spot a value that doesn't match a primary source?
We genuinely want corrections — every fix raises the accuracy ceiling for thousands of homeowners and contractors. Email [email protected] with the page URL and the disagreement.