We want you to know exactly how the articles on HomegrownNest are made, so you can judge how much to trust them. Here is the full process, without euphemism.
We use AI tools, with layered independent verification
Our drafts are produced with the help of AI writing tools. That draft is never what you read. Every article goes through the following steps before publication:
- Research and draft. A topic is chosen from questions people actually search for, and a first draft is generated with an AI writing tool working from a detailed brief.
- Fact-check against sources. Every factual claim in the draft — measurements, standards, specifications, safety figures — is checked against current web sources, with priority given to manufacturer documentation, university extension services, building codes, and government data.
- Correction and editing. Errors found in step 2 are corrected. Claims that could not be verified are either removed or clearly softened. Filler is cut.
- Quality review. The article is scored against a rubric covering usefulness, original value, structure, and accuracy. Articles below our threshold are rewritten or discarded rather than published.
- Seven independent reviews. The finished article is then examined by seven separate reviewers covering five areas: reader safety (could following this advice hurt someone — including poisoning and pet/child toxicity, not just injury), factual accuracy (key figures are re-checked against live sources a second time), editorial policy (no fabricated experience, no misleading claims), reader value (does it actually answer the question), and technical integrity (broken tables, missing charts, duplicate articles, dead links). Because safety and policy failures matter most, those two checks are each run twice by different AI models — the reviewers deliberately mix models and rule-based code so they don’t share blind spots.
- Publish or hold. Only articles that pass all seven reviews are scheduled for publication. Anything flagged is held for review by Jason Paik, who oversees the system, sets its editorial rules, and handles corrections. If a check fails, the article does not go out.
What we will not do
- We do not fabricate personal experiences, project stories, or “I tested this” claims.
- We do not publish photographs that imply we performed work we did not perform. Our illustrations are diagrams and data tables.
- We do not use tools designed to disguise AI-assisted writing. We would rather tell you plainly, as we are doing here.
- We do not publish in a language without an editing pass for that language. A machine translation is not an article.
Limits you should know about
Fact-checking reduces errors; it does not eliminate them. Prices, product availability, and local regulations change. Building codes and rental rules differ by state, city, and lease. Treat our articles as a well-researched starting point, not as legal, structural, or professional advice — and when a job involves electricity, gas, structural load, or working at height, get a qualified professional involved.
Tell us when we’re wrong
Corrections are welcome and we act on them. Reach us through our contact page.