I found the following online: 5% if the tile is to be professionally installed 10% if you plan to do the job yourself 15% if you plan to install the tile diagonally or in a room that has lots of jogs, curves or corners. I allowed 10% for straight and 15% for diagonal. You should be able to estimate very closely from drawings.

In order to understand your need and application, we would need to know the climate and house construction. Without this we can only guess, without a heat loss/heat gain we can only estimate. I'm guessing that with an unfinished basement your in the north? FYI: Heat pumps tend to be oversized to compensate for central and north heating applications while giving up some AC efficiency and comfort benefits.

Missstella To your last question. Without going into technical jargon, electronic demand defrost is a feature on heat pumps that eliminate unnecessary, nuisance, and costly defrost calls. It is found only on a few brand/models of heat pumps including Trane/AmStd, York, and Rudd/Rheem. It is much more desirable over the cheap time/temp method of defrost. I don't think I said 2 ton was oversized. since this is upstairs system, I would probably stick to a 2 1/2 ton assuming you have has no cooling and/or humidity issues. Here is the Rheem system I would consider. 3879236 Active Systems RHEEM RPQL SERIES RHEEM MANUFACTURING COMPANY RPQL-030JEZ � RCFL-H*3617 RGPE-05?BMK? 29800 12.50 15.00 29200 9.00 18400 Existing lineset size will need to be verified. You would need a good two stg thermostat suitable for DF operation along with outdoor sensor. The heat pump would offer about 29 KBTUs and the two stg furnace would have a low stg of 35 KBTUs and high stage of 40 KBTUs which should be more than adequate for 1000 sq ft upstairs living space. IMO

I agree- a septic test in 2007 may not be valid today. We are in SC, and got a septic permit in 2006. The permit specified the size of the tank and field. We got the system in just before the permit ran out (5 years), and the guy doing the work said that that system wouldn't pass under a new permit. As for a topo map, see if the county has a GIS site- most do. Here in Greenville County, we can get topo, flood zones, soil types, crime stats, etc. You can also zoom out to see what else is nearby. You'll probably need an 'expert' for the well info. Wells can range all over the place for cost and difficulty, and only someone with a lot of local experience can give you a guesstimate, and even that could be way off, depending upon what they have to drill through, and how deep they have to go. In truth, they won't really know until the dig the well. Unfortunately, wells, septic, and foundations are separate disciplines, and will require different contractors. You have a great opportunity to ask questions now, before buying. Do all of the due diligence you can. Don't trust the realtor to answer questions. They might not know, or may out-and-out lie. They are trying to sell real estate, period. Once you buy your lot, please, PLEASE ask questions before committing to a design. I can't tell you how many folks come here, or to other forums with last minute questions that should have been worked out months ago. Study up on energy-efficient building techniques, too. Might as well build the best house you can!