I am NO expert - but we have started the process of spec'ing out potential options - I found AJMadison site valuable for a guy just trying to leave from a start of zero. Based on some config constraints - I ended up looking at things like a FiveStar Duel Fuel (we needed the 24in depth but wanted a 36 inch 6 burner, a Leibheer 36 inch fridge french door bottom freezer, Dacor MW drawer, Meile dishwasher (mid line in their line), a Futro hood and ended up pricing out some basic stuff for a snack station on the lower level for the kids off the rec room/ media room - and included there a basic beverage center by Frigidare, a GE Profile MW, and a Bosch dishwasher - this all approached a bit over $17K at the internet site prices - I then called them directly with the same choices and they offered a package price that was over $2000 less right out of the gate - and free shipping/no tx - they said they could have done more but apparently the fridge we inquired about is a tank and has high shipping costs. I know it is a hodgepodge and most likely now what we will end up with, but I was trying to get a rough order of magnitude and see what they would do with a single phone call to press on price.

Definitely go secondhand. I could buy new, but I've bought all my dining room furniture through eBay and Craigslist. People are constantly buying and purging, so I was able to get a 6-month-old Crate & Barrel table for less than half its original price. I also got six matching Pottery Barn chairs for about 1/4 of their original price, and they were barely used. You can set up a search in eBay and get e-mails whenever a new item matching your search is listed. Just indicate in your search that you want items you can pick up in your local area, so you don't pay for shipping. I also check Craigslist daily, just because! I guess "the hunt" is part of the fun :)

Sorry this post is so long, but... It is my firm belief, and I have experience on both sides of this (I am a homeowner and a general contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area), that the seeds of budget disasters are invariably sown during the sales, quoting, and contract process. You need to be obsessive about the details and about exactly where the money is going. If your budget is super-tight, I'd prefer as a contractor to get everything out in the open at the start of the project. You need to be prepared to add several sheets of specifications to the contract. The good news for you is that when it comes to contractor's services, it's a buyer's market right now. 1) Unknown items - termite damage, dry rot, in-wall damage to electrical system. Rot and termite damage are potential budget-busters, but they can be investigated beforehand, by crawling around under the house, poking holes in your interior walls and maybe in the exterior siding and seeing what's there. This can often be investigated for not much money. You can ask a contractor where the problems are likely to be found, and you or a handyman can poke some holes in the walls and see what's there. Most handymen can do a good job of covering up the holes if you find trouble that will drive you over budget. In many neighborhoods, contractors know what to expect: termites and dry rot are very often endemic to an area. If you find problems, get a clear statement of the extent of the problems into the contract, and a firm statement of the contractor's requirement to fix or work around those problems. You may have to decide not to do your project. 2) Unsurprising surprises: "The city says we need to add a new branch circuit for the new space, and ....". Specify in the contract that you are paying for all necessary work, including rough, and finish work, to deliver each of the items in your contract. For example, you are not paying for the installation of 3 new receptacles. You are paying for all electrical work, rough and finish, including any necessary upgrade of existing electrical systems, that is necessary for the installation of 3 new receptacles. Ditto for roof, HVAC, drainage, plumbing, etc. Even if you don't expect there to be changes in interior plumbing fixtures, make sure that the contract covers any plumbing changes required by structural changes. None of these things are really surprising to the contractor or the subs. 3) Changes in plans: changes in layouts require new plans, new permits, and an opportunity for the contractor to charge you for additional costs. Decide what you want and don't change your mind. 4) Unspecified details: Specify every single item you can imagine, specifying if you can exact brands and models of electrical receptacles, outlet covers, lights, types of switches (old-fashioned toggle or Decora-style sliders), exact flooring brand and quality and finish brand and quality, brand, color, quality and gloss level of paint, and whether it should be sprayed, brushed, or rolled, and on what. Specify window types, drawings or photos of window and door trim, for every window and door, and get exact window and door trim samples, and any base or crown moldings. You should investigate every single detail of every single item you can think of, by visiting stores and looking on-line. You or your potential contractor should buy samples of trim ahead of time. Every single detail should be written down and initialed. 5) Ask for a detailed schedule of values and payment schedule for the project, including labor and materials values, relations between those items and the payment schedule, and including the contractor's planned profit. The contractor should anyway be using the SOV to make his quote, and should be comfortable describing built-in contingency and profit percentages. These things aren't big secrets. 6) Commence the whole project, including asking for bids, by letting your candidate contractors know exactly the level of detail and nickel-and-diming that you expect. Contrary to what at least one other poster says, let the contractors know your budget for the project, but giving them the number that is 75% of the budget that you have in mind. Some of them will opt out right away. Do some homework ahead of time, searching for typical remodeling/addition costs in your area. There are books on remodeling costs, that include some total project costs, with adjustments for areas. They're not perfect, but they're a start. If you are firm about budget, and it appears that your project is strongly constrained by budget, most contractors will try to figure out how they can find efficiencies so that they can do your job, and will not be figuring out how to pad the job to spend all your money. 7) Get the documents on-line that most states have for property owners. California has great documents for homeowners, explaining how home improvement contracts must be written, what your rights are, etc. 8) Your contract should state that all changes, including details of the work, effect on payments and schedule, must be signed. California provides a good model. 9) Most contractors will hate all this, and will protest that you are making them feel untrusted, it's unprofessional, it's not how they do business, it's not how anyone has ever done business, how can you be friends, etc. etc. Ignore all that and continue to stick to the details - the contractor really doesn't want to be your friend anyway. Many if not most of the contractors will not be able to provide the quality of quote that you need, but you should be able to get at least one or two good quotes. Those quotes will be for significantly more money than they originally estimated, as there should now be fewer changes later in the project, and more of the risks of the project are now shifted to them. Additionally, under the pressure of providing a firm quote, they should have gotten firm quotes from subcontractors, rather than just making an optimistic guess. Don't ever let a contractor bully you by saying, "Don't you trust me?". The answer is always, "This isn't about trust, because of course I trust you, which is why I am hiring you as my contractor. This question (or item, or spefication) is just the way I do business (and this is a business relationship, isn't it?): by being obsessive about the details. I'm sure you can understand that." Some contractors really like to play games. Be very wary of contractors who throw in freebies - "I like you so much 'll give you a driveway for free." Well, no, it isn't free. It's either irresponsible and careless on the contractor's part, or it's an attempt to distract you from some other item. 10) As you compare quotes, make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples. If items appear in one contract but not the other, ask that they get added into the other. Make your documents part of the contract. Home improvement contracts may have plenty of legalese, but the description of exactly what work will be done and for how much money should be absolutely clear, to professionals and to non-professionals. This isn't to prepare for legal problems; it's to avoid misunderstandings. Be careful about asking a contractor to compete against a specific price from another contractor. If the contractor responds with a lower price, understand that something has changed or been taken out. 11) Go over the contract, and add more details. 11.5) Ask the contractor to specify in the contract, all the items that must be paid directly by you, NOT to the contractor. For example, the law may require that the homeowner pay some special inspection fees relating particularly to safety - for seismic, welding, or other purposes - in order to avoid any conflicts of interest. Those fees may be in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. 11.6) Get information from your city about permit costs, which may be significant. 12) Add 25% to 40% to the number that the contractor gives you, and if you've been obsessive about details, you may be in the ballpark of what the project will cost. There will be some true surprises (the pin-holes in the existing gas plumbing, the rattle-snake nest under the addition, etc.). You will also make some changes in finishes and other choices, either because you really must, or because you can, because you have a cushion. 13) Do some due diligence - reference checking, a little bit of work on the internet - to see if your contractor has the resources to do the job or has visible money or legal problems. Many projects go overbudget when the original contractor fails or disappears, and the project must be finished by someone new, always for more money. Requests for money in advance, including money for materials, are red flags. Contractors should be able to fund their work; in California, except for a small advance, contractors can't bill homeowners until work is done or materials are delivered to the site. Understand that you are taking a very large risk if you hire a contractor who doesn't work entirely legally. If things go bad - for example a worker is injured and the contractor doesn't carry workers compensation insurance - the homeowner will be the one to pay in the in end. Check licenses, insurance, and if you have an older home, EPA lead certification. Licenses and lead certification can be checked on-line. Insurance companies issue notices of coverage every day. Any reticence on the part of a contractor to provide documents should be considered a huge red flag. The risk with lead - apart from the health risk - is that if the contractor doesn't do it right, and a neighbor complains, the costs can escalate into very big numbers, very fast. All these comments about working legally are coming from my perspective, because I work legally. Your contract with someone unlicensed or uninsured may be cheaper at first, but with potentially huge financial penalties if things don't work out. Figure out your personal tolerance for the financial and legal risks. 14) If the contract amount works for you, sign the contract. During the execution of the project, continue to be involved and obsessive in all details, including adherence to payment schedules, including not paying a contractor ahead of work done, for materials not yet delivered, or ahead of the payment schedule in the contract. 15) Be fair: if you find a contractor who can work with you this carefully on costs, pay promptly and without complaint, and when the occasional surprise happens (the rattlesnake nest under the addition), accept the additional cost. Speaking as someone with experiences on both sides of this, I don't know why any homeowner would be any less than obsessive about costs and details, for a project of any size. Even if you're not strictly limited by money, I believe that being obsessive about costs and details at the beginning of the project helps elimination misunderstandings and helps set expectations. If your contractor is willing and able to be thorough and careful about the details in the sales phase, he or she will likely be the same during the execution of the work, and you have started the project correctly. Sorry for lecturing. I've seen too many projects that were started on the wrong path at the moment the contract was signed.

About the time I got home on the first day of digging and the excavator walked up and said, "well, we've got a problem here...". Turned out to be not as bad as finding ledge, but our site is pure sand that meant he had to dig a bigger hole due to the walls falling in and had to do a lot more moving material around to fit on the site. (We were on the beach about 40M years ago and apparently there is about 180 feet of beach sand under our house. We warned the guy about the sand, based on other holes we had dug, but he dismissed it as "not possible". Hah!)