A. Exposed Ceilings. a. 10.5" Icynene LD-C-50 Open Cell Spray Foam(R-39) $9,200.00 OR b. 10.5" Icynene MD-C-200 Closed Spray Foam(R-60) $20,625.00 A..if equipment & ductwork are in attic. meet code requirements with foam. here in La. our code is R-30. if attic is encapsulated with foam 7" open cell meets requirements. but 7" everywhere..not up to 7" 'average' fill. this is a big thing. where insulation is less in your climate ice dams could form. B. Slope Ceiling. a. 9.25"Icynene LD-C-50 Open Cell Spray Foam(R-34) $1,850.00 OR b. 9.25"Icynene MD-C 200 Closed Spray Foam (R-53) $4400.00 A..again total fill..but how are you getting 9.25"? rafters are 2x10?? C. Overhang a. 7.25" Icynene LD-C-50 Spray Foam (R-26). $195.00 OR b. 7.25" Icynene MD-C 200 Closed Spray Foam(R-53)$660.00 why foam overhang? this would be where foam makes the roof to attic floor seal. no need to insulate overhang, unless it is a climate specific thing. D. Exterior Walls a. Certain Teed R-21 Kraft Fiberglass Insulation. $720.00 OR b. 5.5" Icynene LD-C-50 Open Spray Foam (R-20). $5,500.00 well installed conventional insulation. no gaps no voids batts split around wires, plumbing. followed up with air tight drywall approach to interior. E. Garage Walls Dividing Living. (basement level) a. Certain Teed R-21 Kraft Fiberglass Insulation. $80.00 OR b. 5.5" Icynene LD-C-50 Open Spray Foam (R-20). $600.00 don't know that I'd opt for foam here. again air tight drywall on both sides of the walls. F. Garage Ceiling. (there is a bedroom above so this makes sense) $1,550.00 a. 7.25" Icynene LD-C-50 Spray Foam. not a bad price. but if you don't foam the roofline at this area, this room will be difficult to heat & cool. one option would be the same extruded polystyrene sheathing on attic side of insulated walls. keep temps in attic from transfering into living space. tape seams, caulk to seal. G. Band Joist (In Between Joists @ Exterior Wall Pockets) a. Certain Teed R-21 Unfaced Fiberglass Insulation. $55.00 OR b. 5.5" Icynene LD-C-50 Open Cell Spray Foam(R-20). $495.00 B. band joists being well sealed even will help to keep house tight enough to cost effectively heat & cool. I'm not an advocate of foam in walls. studies show that the foam sheathing to exterior is a better savings. breaks thermal conductivity of studs, creates an air tight barrier to outside. but if you put ductwork in the attic..then having it inside a semi conditioned foam sealed attic takes care of a lot of other issues. things like oversized plumbing pentrations in the attic, oversized cuts for bath fans, supply boxes for hvac, recessed cans (just to list a few) pull attic air into the house. while trades people make lots of holes in the ceilings..they seldom seal them once they are done. other areas are thermal bypasses, fireplaces open to the attic, dropped ceilings over shower units.. moving the air & thermal barrier to the roofline instead of the attic floor makes these areas less of an issue unless you have the thermal bypass & unsealed hole police (lol)on the job, these areas are often missed. simple things like an IC recessed light instead of ICAT recessed light make a big difference. builders who have built to this higher standard of better building practices have trained crews to ensure that these areas are being addresed. without that or without someone to actually oversee the sealing of these different areas, your living space to attic have lots of areas of air communication. in a perfect world tradespeople would seal each opening. then the higher cost of foam insulation to make these building mistakes wouldn't be necessary. of course then..ducts and equipment would be inside of the space we live in..instead of stuck in attics where they work to perform in extreme temps. its too bad that the front of the house doesn't have foam sheathing & hardi on strips..but it is what it is. the goal is to build a tight house. tight enough to be affordable to live in as utility costs rise. testing the house for air leakage & ducts for ductleakage is always a good idea. if you can manage to do this during construction..when blacked in & insulated..then you can find leakage sites while trades are still there to address these areas. know that foam insulating the attic is a long payback compared to conventional insulation. in my hot humid area a 2500 sq ft house generally has a 15-18 year payback. but utility costs..when hvac is correctly sized..and not oversized, offset this long roi. if you want an unbiased agent to help with efficiency then an energy rater is a good idea. Resnet & BPI have professionals to help you decide what is affordable to you, and they work for you. not the hvac or insulator. here we only use closed cell in floors of houses with crawlspaces. I'd make sure that the open vs closed cell is correct for your climate and not just sales speak. best of luck.

Thank you LawJedi! (Like the name, btw!) I haven't had much time to more than stop by for a few minutes over the past 6 months or more! We've had some family medical issues and with this being my daughter's senior year in HS, lots of activities (including all her final year of varsity volleyball & basketball - I didn't want to miss any of her games!) I probably will still only be here on & off - but I do try to stop by occasionally as I find it a nice break from the "routine". ============================================= To address earlier concerns about the layout (prior to Matt's response): The landing space for the refrigerator is across the aisle on the 22" counter next to the range. It's 49" or so away - close enough, IMHO, to the 48" max recommended by the NKBA. The island isn't that far away either. As to the location other than the landing space - it's out of the main work area so any children, guests, etc. who want to get something out of the refrigerator will not be underfoot of those working in the kitchen. There really isn't any other place for it b/c the other two walls of cabinets aren't long enough to accommodate the refrigerator + other appliances and/or fixtures and adequate landing/work space for them. That's also why I show the MW opening to the right - anyone using it for snacks won't be the way of those prepping (70% or more of the time spent in the kitchen is spent prepping). The 45" aisle b/w the range wall and the island should be enough to have someone working at the range while someone is using the MW. Also, the MW and refrigerator are close to each other - useful b/c most MW'd foods come from the refrigerator/freezer. If the representation of the window is correct - with a center "stile" down the middle (or two windows slid together w/frame b/w them), then I wouldn't want the sink centered on the window b/c they you would be staring at the "stile". If centering the sink bowl on the window is important, then I'd either line it up with the left edge of the sink at the "center" point or center the sink on the window on the right. With the sink as I show, if you offset the faucet to the right, it is centered on the right window. The faucet is the "visible" fixture when looking at the window so the sink will appear centered. As for the cabinet "allowance"...most likely the builder is using a cabinetmaker s/he has an agreement with - the builder buys all cabinets from the cabinetmaker at the lowest level of quality/functionality offered by the cabinetmaker - so the builder is getting a "bulk" cost. If you don't get the cabinets, s/he will only offer the "cost" of the cabinets. IF the builder offers upgrades, you might be able to use the allowance on upgraded cabinets in the bathroom(s) or as, someone else mentioned, don't get the island and use the island allowance to pay for some upgrades to the rest of the cabinets. Then, get your island later with different...

There is little, if any, difference between Medallion and Schuler other than the names of the cabinet styles and finishes. Both cabinets are manufactured in the same facility, and both lines are often delivered on the same truck. There are extensive options for customizing regardless of which you purchase. When we did our kitchen, we used both Medallion's and Schuler's spec sheets. We found nothing in the Medallion line that we couldn't get from Lowes in the Schuler line. At the time, Lowes gave us a much better price than either of the two local Medallion dealers. As far as the finish, Medallion/Schuler has one of the best for cabinets in their price range. I'm not sure what you mean by "patina" and the "feel" of wood, but perhaps you might look at some species other than oak, and some other finishes.

I appreciate everyone's advice. Since we are only replacing one window at this time and will probably have to replace 3 more to match it at a later date, we decided we would just buy an inexpensive vinyl window to match the existing windows to hold us over until we're ready to do more renovations. I was concerned with going over budget on this project, and being locked into matching an expensive window style in the future. If I have to trash the new window in a couple of years, at least I'm only spending $150 on it now.