Caben, You would be correct if we were talking about any place near silicon valley. The home prices support that kind of fleecing. :) But the price per square foot where we are building is about 300 per square foot vs. the 5-600+ per square foot you see an hour north. This area is quite humble (I like that), and prices are less for everything from eggs to antiques to service for you car. That's why I'm surprised. People were building houses in my location with painting bids a fraction of my current estimate, not 10 months ago - so I don't think it's the greenbuild requirements (no voc) or licensing requirements or the recycling charge. Those have been there for a while. And I've had interior whole house bids for under 10k in other parts of CA. Hmmmm. I'm happy to be giving the contractor honest pay for honest work, but I also don't want to be funding his 4 month vacation in Bermuda. The cost of living is much less south of SV, and north of Santa Barbara- California has some hidden gems! Maybe it's my hayloft? ;) I may be looking at alot of DIY... and that's okay. It's just another excuse to be at the build site.... I'm going to be such a pest as things go up. It's just so interesting to me! If I were building in Atherton, I wouldn't be sweating things like painting bids, I'm sure.

Hi Cpartist... No, we definitely didn't steal the materials, but we also didn't just go down to HD to buy everything either. There are lots of ways to save money if you're willing to look. For the kitchen we have an L-shaped section of cabinets which includes a built-in sink and dishwasher on one side, a refrigerator on the other side. and stove in the middle. There is also a second short wall of cabinets across from the L-shaped section that includes a double GE convection oven which only cost us about $150. We got it for free because it wasn't working, but it just needed a new board installed which is where the $150 comes in. The cabinets definitely aren't as nice as our cabinets at our main home in Florida, but they certainly aren't made from particle board or something like that. The way we built the house so cheaply was by doing the work ourselves; having the time to spend looking for the best deals on this or that; or finding great deals on items that we could fix or re-purpose for our needs. The wood floors we got from the Lumber Liquidators annual sale. In the bathrooms we installed stone tile in the showers, tile on the floors, and used granite topped vanities bought from Costco for a couple hundred dollars. Ultimately, though, I think the biggest thing that people are missing here is the difference between single level and multi level construction. The biggest expenses in building our house, besides from the high end windows and doors, were the roof and the foundation. Framing out a house is cheap and easy. Adding an extra floor to a house is incredibly cheap and easy, and it basically doubles the square footage. We're working with three stories including the fully finished walk-out basement. That's essentially three times the square footage for little extra cost. We actually could have spent far less on the house. The windows and doors were by far the largest expense, but they are incredibly high quality and they are very well insulated.

Make sure that soil percs...if it doesn't, no matter what the "grandfather" issue may be, if it doesn't perc you can't build a septic, or the system may have to be so large that it won't fit on your lot...that would be a make or break deal for me. In our area, wetlands are a huge deal, so if there's anything wet already on the property, that will be another big consideration. Also, do you know what the property was prior to this? Was it farm land or something else. These days you have to know what's in the ground as well as what's on it. (I remember when we were looking an agent said what about this fabulous place...fortunately I lived in the area a long time and remembered when they added the skim coat of fill to the lot before they built the house. No way!) I also would seriously consider buying an existing home over building if my concern was that we were overspilling our current home, as building a custom home can take a long time and it can bring lots of headaches (as well as benefits). If you think you are having a hard time now with trying to get your questions answered, this isn't even the beginning yet. Building will necessarily bring cost overruns. I usually figure it will cost 1/3 more than you think. I also agree with the others about the shared drive. Yuck. I think building a home is a labor of love and only worth it if you love building homes, or if you will end up with something that you love due to a unique piece of property or a home design that is unique to your family's needs and can't be gotten elsewhere. If it's available on the market, even if it will need some reno work to become perfect, go for it....

Interesting..... I had this vision in my mind to do the cabinets in a dark cherry to tie in with the bedroom and bathroom for over a year now. It was only yesterday that the designer suggested white and I immediately dismissed it, yet since then, the idea has been growing in my mind. There is a lot of white trim throughout the house with the doors and molding plus the blinds there now are also white so it is really not adding another woodtone look. I could see myself making it less stuffy too with a fabric valance on the bay windows. The other advantage is that it is less expensive and it puts the third designer we met with (who will work through Costco and most likely the less expensive of the three--we get a $10 cash card at Costco for every $100 we spend, plus we pay through Costco and it counts for our EOY rebates). I am just going to sit with this idea in my mind for a few days as it is a big shift in my thinking for this room, but this type of input is so impt. for me. I will call the other two and tell them to quote in both the african walnut and white, but as of today, I'm leaning towards the white myself for a more airy, less stuffy look. It is very hard to visualize how very small this is. It is only 8'9" (including the 3' bay bumpout) x 10' (including the step). Doing any type of cabinetry on the north wall would block the entryway. We wanted the desks to face out into a window so we have a view of our backyard while working. That way the blinds can be open yet no glare on a monitor. The desk locations are really fixed as all wiring and lighting has already been done with that in mind. funkart: You brought up some very good points. We are working with closet companies for now that have all the insides for offices and do the wire management so it's not fully custom without an upcharge. So choices really are either 20"D or 24"D cabs but the countertop will have an overhang of 1-1/2". Yes, my kids (3 of them) do use it occasionally though DS has his own laptop, older DD we are in process of buying a laptop for her and my 7-year-old will probably start using it more and more--just the computer. Everyone (all 5) will use the printer (networked) and we may add a second one for laser printing (either here or in DS's room who has greatest need right now), but the narrower depth should still accomodate that. The narrow depth will definitely make it easier to reach over and open the windows. DH wants 20" and I'm leaning towards that as well. I actually want to cut down on the desktop clutter so I'd say more impt. is having enough storage to put it all out of sight--that alone I think will have the biggest impact. I guess things get lost in the back of drawers/cabs. anyway. The uppers will probably be 14" deep, though only one upper. The one tall cab could be something different--could even be 24"D and desk cabs 20"... I'm still trying to figure out the size of the cab since the wire we put in for the plug mold is right smack in the middle where we would do two equal sized cabs and I'm not sure how much it can be move--so the tall cab may end up being larger--closer to 36" and we also need some filler of the left to accomodate the drawer clearance. I'm still debating putting an upper on the west wall or just leaving a bare wall as I don't want to feel closed in, though I'd really like some overhead paper trays over the printer to load it up. Today I'm going to head out to 2 of the showrooms and will visit the third tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a clearer idea then. It took me 6 mos. to design my kitchen (time well spent) though I'm hoping to do this one in much less time as we are so sick and frustrated with dealing with it as it is....