I purchased plan3d.com, you download the program. I think it was around $30 for a year. Its easy to use, which is what I like. You can try it for free before you buy. Good luck.

BJ, I've got to say HomeCost was very helpful to me for a variety of different reasons. 1. The final cost estimate is within 2-3% of what our real estimate totals came in at. There were some true misses. The drywall estimate we received was twice what resicost had. The appliance allowance the website gave us was steeper then what we came in with. However, at the end of the day....we were pretty close to the final number given by resi-cost. 2. Resi-Cost forced us to really define our spec down to the floor finishes, countertops, fixtures etc. The questions are quite exhaustive and take at least an hour maybe two. When in doubt we went with more expensive options just to be sure we accounted for any differernces. When we began we were in a "dream" stage. The resi-costs questions forced us to really think hard about each piece of the puzzle. Lastly, it doesn't leave anything out. Or at least it seems that way. From utility hookups to builders risk to average builder overhead etc. it covers all the bases. We haven't yet broke ground and have built a 15% contingency into our own budget but we do have actual estimates in each category from 2 or 3 different contractors. Which brings me to my last pump for this website. Download the spreadsheet of your finished product and copy it off to your hard drive. We used that spreadsheet as a basis to prepare bid requests and estimates for our own jobs. It becomes pretty easy to see where you're getting "snowed" as well as any pieces you've missed. I'll copy my initial work below and then in a sepearate link shoot out my current estimate. At the end of the day it's around 200.00 for estimate. It ends up being roughly 0.05% of our total costs. It was a shot in the dark for us that really paid off. The download link for the spreadshete may be a little tough to find on this storage website. After clicking the link below scroll down below the advertisement under the "Downloading a File" Icon. There should be a counter there that when finished sends you to a link for the spreadsheet. Here is a link that might be useful: Starting Point

You need a trusted advisor that can help you work with the local builders and contractors if you are going to get into the development game - as you have to leave yourself some room for profit, etc. There's a LOT of info that goes into a cost estimate - and the accuracy of that estimate you would get based on the info supplied would be useless. What are houses like you are trying to build selling for? foundation? finishes? wells? city water or sewer, etc.

Why do you think it is taking longer? TLDR: See millworkman's comment - It really goes back to economies of scale, all things being equal, your house is less attractive to a sub-contractor, than someone who represents continued work. This is an absolute certainty and there are largely three ways to combat this. Hire someone who the sub will see as an opportunity for continued work to represent you (that is usually a G.C.), or pay more money so that the sub sees your job as more attractive, or find someone that has limited opportunities to work with G.C.'s (this can either be someone who does high quality work at a high price or low quality work for a mid price). Without one of those three things happening you need to anticipate delays. It is possible that your build will happen without any sub-contractor delays, however in most of the U.S. right now, that would be the exception and not the rule. Note: only a few years ago the situation was quite different so be wary of stories where everything went right a few years ago. Those delays can and do add cost, and you should anticipate their arrival and work to minimize their impact. ----- The most important thing about self contracting a project, is being honest with yourself about your abilities. That supposed savings is seductive, yet for most people it doesn't materialize, and not because it wasn't available, simply because those people were chasing savings over creating savings. The things that create savings for self-G.C.ing homes are actually the exact same things that would lead to some success as a contractor were you to enter that business. For example, a large part of G.C.ing is managing your time and schedule well, if you are excellent at managing time and scheduling, then you may create value, and if you were a G.C. that would be a viable pathway to value creation for clients. Or maybe you or your spouse are incredibly talented with construction, having done it for years, or maybe you are incredible at visualization and design so you can communicate and achieve your design efficiently. With all of these things, you are still going to encounter the economies of scale problem, but may still create some savings because of your skill set. However, most people want the savings without any efficiencies to create savings, and attempt to simply cut out a step in the value chain. That rarely works. G.C.'s create value, denying that value is a foolish move. Working to substitute your value for theirs might pay off, and it might not. But either way, they are earned savings and not simply avoided costs.