The Build Cost

Privacy Policy

Last updated: . Questions about this policy: contact@thebuildcost.com

Cheikh Fadel Sene ("we," "us," or "our") operates The Build Cost, a set of free construction calculators for decking, retaining walls, and paint coverage. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use the site, why we collect it, the legal basis we rely on, and the rights you have over your data. It applies to all visitors, regardless of region, though some sections below describe rights specific to the EEA, UK, California, Australia, and Canada.

We built this site to work without requiring an account, a signup, or an email address, so the amount of personal information we handle is intentionally limited. Nothing loads from another company and no cookies are set until you choose. Two things happen regardless: your browser's local storage remembers your region (and your cookie choices, once you make them), and our host records the page you asked for, your IP address and your browser's user-agent on every request, as any website's server does. Everything else waits for your consent, which you can grant, withhold, or withdraw at any time through the . Our Cookie Policy describes each cookie category in detail and works alongside this policy.

Who runs this site

This site is run by Cheikh Fadel Sene, based in Senegal, as an individual rather than a company. For anything about this policy or about your data: contact@thebuildcost.com

1. Information we collect

Information you provide directly

The calculators on this site are designed to be used without an account. If you contact us by email, we collect whatever information you include in that message — typically your email address and the content of your inquiry — solely to respond to you.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the site, our hosting provider and, where you consent to Analytics cookies, Google Analytics 4 may automatically log standard technical data such as your IP address (truncated or anonymized where the tool supports it), browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring page, pages visited, time spent on each page, and approximate location derived from your IP address. Google Analytics records this data per device, under a Google Analytics client ID. Google AdSense, if you turn Advertising on, uses its cookies to personalise ads, as section 5 describes. Basic server access logs — request timestamps, the page requested, the response status, your IP address and your browser's user-agent — are generated automatically by our hosting infrastructure regardless of your cookie choices, since these are strictly necessary to operate and secure the site; they are not cross-referenced with analytics or advertising data.

Information from cookies and similar technologies

Before you make a choice, this site sets no cookies and loads nothing from other companies. It keeps two entries in your browser's local storage, your region (user-region-v1) and your cookie choices (cookie-consent-v2), and neither leaves your device. If you turn Analytics or Advertising on, Google sets its own cookies; our Cookie Policy lists them.

Calculator inputs

Measurements and project details you enter into a calculator (such as deck dimensions, wall height, or paint surface area) are processed entirely in your browser to produce your estimate. We do not transmit or store these inputs on our servers, and we have no way to associate them with you or any other visitor.

Region selection

The site remembers which region you picked (US, UK, Australia or Canada) so it can show the right units, prices and permit guidance. That choice is kept in your browser's local storage as user-region-v1 and is never sent to us. We don't use your IP address to work out your region.

2. How we use your information

We use the information described above to:

  • Operate and maintain the site, including remembering your region and consent choices between visits;
  • Understand how visitors use the site, so we can improve calculator accuracy and page content (Analytics cookies only, opt-in);
  • Show relevant advertising and measure its performance (Advertising cookies only, opt-in);
  • Add our Amazon Associates tag to Amazon links you click, so Amazon can credit this site for qualifying purchases (Affiliate tracking only, opt-in);
  • Respond to inquiries sent to contact@thebuildcost.com; and
  • Detect, investigate, and prevent abuse, fraud, or security incidents affecting the site.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use your data to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. We also do not combine data collected through this site with data from other sources to build an advertising profile beyond what Google Analytics or Google AdSense do independently under their own consent-based products.

3. Legal basis for processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA or UK, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR and UK GDPR to process your information:

  • Consent — for Analytics and Advertising cookies, Affiliate tracking, and any related processing. You may withdraw consent at any time via the preferences dialog, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
  • Legitimate interests — for the two essential local-storage entries that keep the site functioning (region memory, consent memory) and for basic server logs used to maintain security, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
  • Legal obligation — where we are required to retain or disclose information to comply with applicable law.

4. Sharing and disclosure

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share limited data with the following third parties. Most are reached only when you enable the matching cookie category; our host receives every request regardless, because it serves the site.

  • Google Analytics 4 — per-device event data tagged with a Google Analytics client ID, if you consent to Analytics cookies. Google's own privacy practices govern its handling of this data.
  • Google AdSense — ad delivery and measurement data, if you consent to Advertising cookies.
  • Amazon Associates — if you turn Affiliate tracking on and then click an Amazon link, the link carries our Associates tag (for example thebuildcost-20) so Amazon can credit this site for qualifying purchases. Amazon also receives the search terms in the link and our site's address, as any site you click through to would. What Amazon records after that is covered by Amazon's privacy notice. With Affiliate tracking off, the link still works but carries no tag. We set no Amazon cookie on this site.
  • Vercel (hosting) — serves the site, and receives what any web server receives when you request a page: the page requested, your IP address and your browser's user-agent. Vercel keeps its runtime logs for about an hour.
  • Legal and safety — where disclosure is required to comply with a legal obligation such as a court order or valid law enforcement request, enforce our Terms of Service, or protect the rights, property, or safety of The Build Cost, our users, or the public.
  • Business transfers — if The Build Cost is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information we hold may be transferred as part of that transaction. The date at the top of this page is when the current version of this policy took effect.

What each of these companies does with the data it receives is governed by its own terms and privacy policy.

5. Advertising

This site uses Google AdSense. Its script loads only if you turn on Advertising in . If you do:

  • Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
  • Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
  • You can opt out of personalised advertising in Google's Ads Settings (adssettings.google.com), or opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info. You can also turn Advertising off here at any time in Cookie preferences; Google's script stops loading from your next page.

How Google uses information from sites that use its services: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

No ads are shown on this site at the moment, but the AdSense script still loads, and Google sets its cookies, for visitors who turn Advertising on.

6. Data retention

Your region and consent choices stay in your browser until you clear its storage. Google Analytics keeps event-level data for 2 months and user-level data for 14 months, the periods set in our account. Advertising cookies are set and kept by Google under its own policy. Emails you send us are kept only as long as needed to resolve your inquiry, unless we are required to retain them longer for legal reasons.

Vercel, which hosts the site, keeps its runtime logs for about an hour. We do not maintain a separate, long-term log of individual visitor activity.

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information described in this policy, including serving the site exclusively over HTTPS, restricting access to hosting and analytics accounts to authorized personnel. Where a third party handles data, it does so under its own security program. Only Google Analytics processes data on our behalf; Google AdSense acts as its own controller under its own terms, and Amazon receives nothing from us. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the rights described below. To exercise any of them, contact us atcontact@thebuildcost.com with enough detail for us to locate your request in context — for example, the approximate date you visited the site and which cookie categories you had enabled, since we do not maintain account records to look you up by name. We will respond within the timeframe required by the applicable law in your region (for example, one month under the GDPR, extendable in complex cases), and there is no charge for making a request unless it is manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive.

EEA and UK residents (GDPR / UK GDPR)

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data; to restrict or object to our processing of it; to receive a copy of it in a portable format; and to withdraw consent at any time via the . You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority, or the authority in Senegal if you believe your rights have been infringed.

California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

You have the right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used and shared, to request deletion of your personal information, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (as those terms are defined under the CCPA) via the link in the site footer. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.

Australian residents (Privacy Act 1988)

You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to request correction of any information that is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete. You may also make a complaint about our handling of your personal information, and if unresolved, escalate it to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Canadian residents (PIPEDA)

You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, to challenge its accuracy, and to have it amended where appropriate. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe we have not handled your information in accordance with PIPEDA.

8. International data transfers

The Build Cost is based in Senegal, and our service providers — Google Analytics and Google AdSense — may process data in the United States or other countries outside your own. Where we transfer personal information out of the EEA or UK, we rely on the providers' Standard Contractual Clauses or another legally recognized transfer mechanism to ensure your data receives a level of protection equivalent to what it would receive in your home jurisdiction.

When you click an Amazon link, your browser goes to Amazon and Amazon handles your visit under its own privacy notice. We don't send Amazon any data ourselves.

The site is served from Vercel's network, so a request from you may be handled on a server outside your own region. Vercel's own privacy terms govern what it does with that request.

If you would like more detail on the specific safeguards applicable to a given transfer, contact us atcontact@thebuildcost.com and we will provide the relevant information on request, consistent with our obligations under the GDPR and UK GDPR.

9. Children's privacy

This site is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 16. The calculators themselves require no personal information to use, but if you believe a child has provided us with personal information — for example, by emailing us directly — contact us at contact@thebuildcost.com and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The date at the top of this page is when the current version took effect.

11. Contact us

Questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information can be sent tocontact@thebuildcost.com.