You need to get some bids from installers in your area. If you don't know of any, check with your local building supply or ask friends. Best bet is to ask your friends specifically if they would recommend a good hardwood installer. Installation costs vary wildly by location. Get at least three bids and if they seem high, keep going. The thing is, you don't want to be overcharged but you sure do want someone who knows what they are doing. There are many ways a new installation can be badly messed up if the installer doesn't know what he/she is doing. The very best thing you can do is to do some research on the internet and educate yourself about the process and then you will know what questions to ask installers as you interview them. Check out the installation guidelines approved by the NOFMA (the wood manuf. flooring assoc) and make sure you read the installation guidelines on the flooring you select. Also, flooring stores will normally tell you what they charge for hardwood installation and that should at least give you a ballpark number.

I don't think you're in the right price range at $1000 first there is the demo work which won't take all that long, but will be "work" and then the dumping costs of the garage. Then you're talking about cement or asphalt work. I just did my driveway and patio in cement, and paid around $6.50 a sqft. My guess is you have over 1K spent before you finish the cement work if you're expanding an origional pad and putting a turn around in. plus probably $500 plus for the demo. Then the new structure, if you can find someone who will bring it in and install it on your pad for $1K I think you found a really good deal

suburbanjuls: "It's like Linda Evangelista, only with a tool belt" - LOL! NorCal rates are always higher than SoCal's - we have friends there and they say I'm 'lucky'. (!) lascatx: I think you're correct - especially regarding the ceiling area. sanjuangirl: Your price is in the mid-range of what I was quoted - however, my prices are for tile installation only. The demo and hardie backer are being done by a drywall guy and my tile design is the most basic ( white subway with thin grey grout). Thanks for your good luck wishes - I'm going to need it. I feel so frazzled already and all these price variations for the same apples don't help! linelle: thanks for your input - it helps me to know what others paid.. plus I have a better ( more balanced) perspective of both "sides" , mine and the installer's. dilly_ny: Aw, sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else. I did post a pic of my cooktop area in its pre-demo days but no work has been done yet to the ceiling which used to be white. julesl: Wow! I didn't know prices could be so high in the Twin Cities :-( . Isn't it crazy to pay so much less for the tile than the actual installation? A large part of our kitchen budget has been consumed by labor costs. I know how you feel - I, too, just want it over and done with but it also bothers me that I have no idea of what a "reasonable" price is unless I call in several estimates - and that is such a time-consuming process in itself. We understand that people have to make a decent profit on the work they do and we think we are pretty generous, generally speaking, but when I get hit with such wide price swings, I feel kinda taken advantage of. ( Okay, I ended that sentence with a preposition... sigh).

Thanks @BeveryFLADinizer. Funny, I was looking at Dekton yesterday and wondering if I should dig deeper on that possibility. Today I finally got my DH to go look at quartzite slabs with me so he could witness the amazing beauty close up. He was seriously wowed, but then came the reality on installation costs ($32/sq. foot) and he concluded that this will probably have to be a "someday later project." I guess I will settle for a small remnant for my mantle or above my sink!