Kelley Blue Book for construction.

What are we? We're the Kelley Blue Book for construction and renovation, built for homeowners.

Some of you may remember the anxiety of buying a used car in the 90s. (I don't, but it sounds terrible.) You'd walk into a dealership blind and get told what you need AND what you'll be paying, with no way to verify it other than blind faith or another dealership's offer, which you also had no way to verify.

KBB changed all that. We intend to do for construction and home renovation what KBB did for people walking onto used car lots. Give you information, give you power, make it honest, and hopefully make it fun again.

TheFatBook is a small group of data nerds, a retired high-end home builder, and a pitbull who's got too much attitude for his own good. Certainly too much for mine. We live together (for now) and we're renovating a home built in 1952 by Satan.

While we were doing that, we figured out something shocking. It's 2026, and you can get the up-to-the-second verified cost of palladium in a country with a name so wild the guy across from you at work won't believe it's a real place, and yet finding out how much a new granite countertop costs was impossible. Emphasis on the word was, because that's about to change. We exist to change that. We exist because you exist, and your bathroom deserves to be as pretty as you are (yes you, especially you!).

TheFatBook exists because until now, this space has been dominated by lead gen companies wearing “helpful content” costumes. It exists because we believe real math, real experience, and the desire to help real people beats an “Expert Content Writer” who's never bought a box of nails in his life and has no idea where they should go without a Google search.

The soul of this site is giving homeowners the knowledge to make choices backed up by data that's as honest as possible. Let me be clear, we don't owe anyone anything that would prevent us from being honest and doing what's right. If I'm being honest, we don't actually owe much to anyone other than the IRS and Jesus.

Disclosures

My AI, which I've convinced to pretend it's a lawyer for long enough that I'm starting to believe it, says this is the right place for some disclosures. I'm not allowed to touch the actual legal or privacy pages, so here it is.

Disclosure 1. Some or all (usually not all) of the content here was created with assistance from AI. In 2026 there are two kinds of websites.

1. Those that involve AI in the process or product AND are honest about AI's involvement (sites like this one).
2. Those that involve AI in the process or product AND instruct that AI to omit that detail, or more often, directly lie to you about that fact.
3. (This category does not exist outside of personal blogs and a few gov/edu sources. No, not even Wikipedia.)

Disclosure 2. Although the main point is and always has been to help homeowners (or very generous renters) make better and more informed decisions about renovation, this isn't a charity. We love those, and suggest you donate to them, but this ain't it. (We were going to register as a charity using the argument that we exist to help people. Somehow the AI lawyer and the human lawyer got in contact, and they both made it clear that's a terrible idea.) So yes, we make money from this thing. We make more of it because you're here. Thank you, and you're welcome.

A Note to Contractors

If you're a contractor who is upset because you think this site will make it harder to fleece unsuspecting consumers... stop emailing us. But you've got us dead to rights. That is exactly what this site will do, and that's a good thing, even for you.

It may feel like fair pricing is a loss to you. It's actually a win for you! Not to worry, if you lack ethics, we've got enough for both of us, and it won't even hurt at all. (It helps you too, just stick with me.)

For every unsuspecting retiree you can no longer rip off while installing their slip-proof bathroom grab rails, you'll get 10 fewer people contacting you who think a new metal roof costs $800. This also prevents the guy who sold used semi-luxury sedans for two months in the late 70s from thinking he can negotiate you into a price that is not only impractical, it's impossible. You'll also spend less time justifying to Gerald the ACTUAL FAIR cost of his slip-proof bathroom.

Ignoring the obvious benefits to your conscience and the world in general, here's the econ lesson. Time = money. Not in an abstract way, it actually equals money. (No really, there's math, look it up.) Now that you know these new things, perhaps rather than the hate mail we've received from a very small minority, you can use the contact page to inquire as to where to send the fruit basket? (We prefer bottles of whiskey.) Also, you'll sleep better at night.

To the rest of the majority of contractors out there who want fair compensation for fair work (thank you for your hard work) and would rather not have the same conversation every other phone call? You're welcome also.

Our Promise

This data is as accurate as it can reasonably be. If you find something that isn't, please let us know. We'll make the site better for everyone and there may even be an Applebee's gift card in it for you! We try to provide accurate info on a wide range of construction or renovation topics, so we appreciate the help.

We hope that using TheFatBook will help keep your checkbook fat, and provide you the knowledge to go forward whether that's DIY, with a contractor we suggest, or with one we've never met.

We don't care if we ever generate a single lead as long as this thing genuinely helps people get better results at fair prices. We don't care who gets the lead, because to us, you're not a lead. You're someone who wants to know the cost to build a tiny house in your backyard for your mother-in-law instead of locking your basement, adding a kitchen, and incarcerating her there. Or maybe that's actually your mother and OF COURSE we have to have it painted. Maybe you just want a pool for your kiddos in summer time, the nicest back deck in the neighborhood, or are in need of excavation for reasons we hope are not mother-in-law relevant. In any case...

We're proud to make your decisions smarter.
We're proud to provide you the true data and we trust you to decide where to go with it.

We support you and we support your journey, wherever it takes you.

Dave

Kelley Blue Book is a registered trademark of Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. TheFatBook is independent and has no affiliation with, or endorsement from, Kelley Blue Book. We just admire the idea.