My experience for comparison. 4000sq + walkout in NC. I'm sure we are a bit cooler. Carrier Infinity seer 16. 4 tons 1st floor, 3 tons 2nd floor. 11/10 ft ceilings down; 9 up. Energy star but unconditioned attic. Zoned 2nd floor, NG as dual fuel on 1st floor. Basement not finished but doing 4 tons on 1st floor was for the basement also. $21k. So to me $34k sounds a bit high. Yes you have 3 systems but don't have zoning or dual fuel. Living here for a year - basement has never needed much a/c. I can't believe their calc for the basement. We have a walkout with windows just on 1 wall (East). There are 10 windows that are 2.5x6 ft but 4 are covered by deck. I still have some insulating to do. I really suspect we need 1/2 ton down there (but I am going to zone off the 1st floor). The second floor needs little a/c - I know it is the # of windows. I'm sure every house is different but we have much less windows upstairs. 3 west facing, 8 East but 3 of those are smaller. Down has 10 East and 6 West. For our house, that really lowers the a/c need. When the house is tight, there are very few heat gains other than windows and occupants/heat loads. I'm not sure if manual J captures that and it is just my opinion. In the end, we could have 2 tons up and 3 tons down. This summer here was probably hotter than your average summer. We never had an issue with the system keeping up - not even close. I am pretty confident that you could go smaller unless you have a lot of west facing windows. Total aside - insulating between floors for temperature is a old fashioned idea and doesn't help. Do it for the minimal sounds barrier - fine. But it is terrible for that also.... Also - 3 tons up has 4 returns. This was partly for zoning, but your house should have at least 2 returns per floor since our house does (total of 8 returns). I would expect your house to have 10 returns given the sq footage. Am I reading you right that you have 3000+ sq ft per floor? I really think you would want some zoning at that size - as in more than 1 zone per floor. We have ours for our master suite since we like to sleep in the 60-65 degree range but our baby does not....

your hvac systems are oversized. all bids come out to about 400 sq ft per ton. hugely oversized for a well sealed house. where are you putting the foam insulation? better than filling stud cavities in walls, using 1" foam sheathing to exterior, conventional insulation & airtight drywall approach to interior is a better more affordable high performance wall. save the foam for the roofline & make sure that inches = R-value for your area (R-38). no "performs like" R-38..inches = R-value. you need a load calc, seriously. there is a guy fairly close to you who does load calcs, blower door & duct testing & has ties for foam insulation company. drop me an email & I'll share his contact info with you. don't pay for oversized equipment that will run in low speed 95% of the time. take the time now to get units sized based on accurate inputs into load calc. ductwork is in foam insulated unvented semi conditioned attic correct? paying upgrade from R-6 to R-8 isn't much...but may be beyond what install crew has worked with. not a huge issue, but you'd be surprised how they whine & moan over stupid stuff... just fyi other posters...code for La. is R-6...not R-8. crazy, but there it is. and OP, take a look at Slemco's Design One new construction guidelines. best of luck

Or another alternative if you are dead set on installing a gas rangetop is a plug in portable induction unit. This would allow you to pull it out when making pasta or hosting parties. These won't have the performance of a built in unit, but an option. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Portable+induction+ If I was buying one, I would splurge on a hospitality grade one. MIL has the 48 inch Wolf Rangetop with integrated griddle that runs on propane. I honestly prefer the cooking performance of my Bluestar I have the Electrolux Wave Touch ovens. Do I use half the buttons, no, but it's an amazing oven and I'm really happy with it fwiw. But, if you like the other Kitchen Aid appliances you may be able to purchase a suite and receive a discount. So, the KA oven may be better for you. These guys aren't joking on venting. I was shocked when remodeling to learn how much vents cost. There is a laundry forum, you may get more feedback on the whirlpool machines there. HTH

I am pretty happy with the look and feel of the Aluminum Clad windows. The Integrity was bad for 2 major reasons. 1. They were unable to come close in many of the windows sizes (these windows are pretty tall, some are about 7'6") 2. The "tract" where the window moves up and down is tan or white only. I want a black on black window, the tan tract on the inside of the window is extremely unappealing. The Kolbe is able to do the black aluminum with the black painted wood interior. This house is a contemporary rancher and the exterior will be white board and batten hardiboard (cement block construction) with a dark grey metal roof. All the windows and doors must be impact for code in my area. The house will eventually see for about $800,000 (so I cannot spend a million dollars on windows) and the windows should be great quality, but not best quality. I also have 8 sets of french doors. Spending $100,000 on windows and doors does not make me feel great.