Junkbj, It appears that you are getting a turnkey price from a builder. Most builders will quote a project based on a certain number of $ per sq ft based on their experience and the current material pricing. They simply don't do a detailed take-off of the house because they don't have time to do it. If you think about it, a lot of people "toy" around with the idea of building a house and start making phone calls to builders to get prices. If the builder was giving detailed quotes to everyone that called, he would not be making any money. He knows what his cost is and he knows what he can build the house for and make a profit...so to save time, most builders will just give you a cost per sq ft or a lump sum like you got. Here's what I would do... Call the builder that you would like to have build your house. Talk to him and tell him that you want to use him but his price is a little out of your budget. Ask him if he can give you some suggestions as to how you can reduce the price so you are within your budget. You need to make a decision as to what you are willing to give up, what is important to you and what is not. What my wife and I did was to decide what would be easy to upgrade later and what would not. We also decided to go with a little less expensive can light fixtures since they will not be seen anyway. These are just a few examples of what we did. I am building a house right now. We are getting ready to do sheetrock starting next Thursday. I am a contractor but I do industrial construction at manufacturing companies so this is a new experience for me as well. It sounds like you are fairly knowledgeable...why are not considering being the general contractor yourself and saving the mark up? Its all a matter of getting some subcontractors and then managing them. If you'd like I can give you some tips on finding subs if you want to go this direction. Hope my thoughts helped you. Let me know if you have any other questions. Bret

Just a note of clarification... The UPG outdoor products (York, Luxaire, and Coleman) that you have been discussing, specifically the THGD products are Heat Pump products. These units contain Copper tube/Aluminum fin outdoor coils. The cooling only units (TCGD) contain the Microchannel outdoor coils. One other thing, the biggest difference between the 15 SEER affinity outdoor product and the 18 SEER Affinity products is the Outdoor Fan Motor. on the 15 it is a PSC motor, and on the 18 it is an ECM motor. One thing to note.. they are exactally the same appearance and size, however the 18 SEER units do seem to be a touch quieter, which is a pretty good thing since the 15 SEER Affinity products are already some of the quietest.. if not THE quietest units out there. Lastly, about the indoor products (furnaces). I would highly recommend the modulating furnace. they are quite effecient, and since most of the time your furnace is NOT constantly running as your home would only require a small amount of heat to bring it to confortable... you would certainly save gas and be able to maintain a more constant comfort level with a modulating furnace (however, I would save the money and go with a single stage if you are going to do a H/P as well). As for the cost difference between the PSC motored unit and the ECM unit.. ECM is just another slightly better way to improve airflow through your house improving comfort. as they will run slightly more than the PSC.. but at a lower varied speed keeping the heated air moving through the house helping to minimize or eliminate "cold spots", also helping keep the thermostat from calling for heat as often. Also the ECM motor is a fraction more energy effecient. Final thoughts on the new York/Coleman furnaces, they ARE quiet. I know for a fact, they are quieter than the competition. HANDS DOWN. Personally I have a TG9S (single stage) furnace. I really like it.. is quite a bit cheaper than the modulating.. and a whole lot less complexity built into it, and don't forget.. it IS 95.5% AFUE. sorry about being so long winded here.

If you draw a section through the house you will be able to note almost everything and avoid a written specification the builders are likely to ignore. Make it large enough to easily read. It would show and note the framing heights, framing member sizes, anchors, tie downs, rafter clips, typ. header, insulation, weather barrier/vapor retarder/drainage plane, attic access, roofing, gutters, attic ventilation, ext. cladding, interior finishes & trim, crawlspace & ventilation, slab, vapor retarder and crushed stone under slab, foundation materials and depth and drainage. Framing plans would probably not be necessary. I would use 1/2" Huber Zip wall sheathing to eliminate housewrap or if you want to fuss with that stuff use Tyvek or Typar (no substitutions). 5/8" OSB or plywood roof sheathing, Ice & Water Shield full coverage (there would only be a small portion not covered after using it on the eaves, valleys and ridge). The window flashing would be a butyl based flexible tape (Tyvek Grace, etc. - I don't like to use asphalt based flashing on plastic although it seems to be done routinely. The windows seem small. I would at least lower the sills a foot. This would be a major improvement for a reasonable cost.

Hi all, the OP here, sue36, thanks for the great advice about going to see job sites! You wrote: Most guys in construction have "idiosyncracies". Actually, I think most people do. Is it something that could materially affect the job, relates to honesty and hard work, or is just annoying? Yes, I agree that most people do--I certainly have them! In my original post, I was trying to be succinct (because I usually write a lot and didn't want to overwhelm in the initial post), and I used that term instead of going into more details. I actually meant idiosyncracies about how they ran their business, more than the men themselves. From what one described, it sounded like he had way too much on his plate already, and one of his references confirmed that. So yes, you're right--I should keep in mind that aspect of whether it's material to doing a good job. (just curious, what specifically do you have in mind when you say your BIL "can be a pain" to work with? I don't mind if someone's grumpy--it's about when he gives me that "don't you worry your pretty head little lady about all this, let me handle it" message when I ask a question that makes me wonder.) Hi newyorking, thanks for weighing in about this ( GCs are used to doing multiple bids and not getting jobs - its just the way it is.). One of my best friends said something similar, adding that for some, doing the bids might be practice that they need to get better and better at estimating. I honestly don't know if that's true--or how many manhours it is that a GC puts in to do a bids. Part of the bid process is for them to come with their subs to go through the job site, so certainly that is some hourly time that they aren't compensated for. Hi texasredhead, were you responding to my original posting, or to one of the others? You did point out some key things to keep in mind--do you think I should continue to interview more potential GCs if I do already have an architect who's done a plan (for new walls and roof) and a KD who's done the kitchen layout? I am curious about the comments that implied that license- and reference-checking would be done after the bidding. I was thinking that I wouldn't even invite someone to bid whose references I hadn't checked or whose license I couldn't confirm. Do you all normally do those steps after the formal bid process?