Diggity, This is a common question that we all ask ourselves initially. Unfortunately there are so many variables that it will be hard to give you the answers you are looking for. Even if others post what they have paid for the items you mention it might not bear any relationship to the home you may build. (Having said that I am always interested in that info myself!) For example-excavation. I don't think anyone knows what that will be until after they get the bill. I know people who have paid between 4k and 19k. The differences? How large of a foundation?Crawlspace vs Basement, flat or sloped? rocky or not? Each item will be like that-individual to your own site and plan. So what I did was go out and find some homes as close to what we were thinking of as possible. Backed out the land cost, the realtor fees etc and got a 'ballpark' of cost per square foot for our area. I also talked to a few local builders and architects and got their input. I checked out permits at the county and asked new construction lenders what they would estimate. I spoke to a few friends who are building and they shared their budgets with us. We found a builder we like and showed her the plan we were considering basing our house on and she used her recent builds as a guide ballparking costs for us. We still do not know exactly how much our home will cost...but we know enough of a 'ballpark' to have our plans drawn and go from there. Also you can go to www.building-cost.net and use the calculator there. There are others I'm sure but I have only used that one. It will at least give you an idea of the different line items you need to budget for in a new home. If you are interested in Timber frame you will need to consider all these estimates a 'base cost' PLUS extra for the timber frame portion-I'd call a timber frame company and get some numbers from them. I hope this helps. For others to add their 2 cents, it might help if you told us what part of the country you are in, what your land is like if you have it and some details about the home you are considering. I was just at a local homeshow in SW Washington and there was a 4000 sf home, daylight basement style that incorportated timber frame accents, hardwood and travertine floors, all painted trim with knotty alder doors and cabinetry, granite counters with custom tile baths, fully landscaped, lots of 'extras', a high end home for $995,000. So, about $250 psf. If you take out the land, realtor fees and you will be at about $225 psf. In our area there are companies that will build for under $100 psf. I think the question alot of us ask ourselves is not - can we afford to build? but can we afford to build the house we really want? Good luck with your research.

General contractor is a given..the rest-it largely depends on you-your funds, confidence what you can/cannot do, resilience, time and energy you can devote, etc. (And experience and passion of your contractor. He won't pick your finishes of course; but he might have an idea to put a window instead of a door for example or some other thing you didn't think of by yourself. Brainstorming is part of the process) we pulled off gut remodel plus addition plus reconfiguring stuff with the help of GC only but I'd say I longed to have a designer not once..would be easier. it's a very trying experience, long as well, you want more professional people by your side. It doesn't get done by itself-and it's a full time job, if nobody undertakes it, you do. So by all means either contact a designer, or maybe look at design-build firms. Just make sure you have a good chemistry with that person. Important with everybody of course, builder as well. You'll spend hours with these people..days..months..hopefully not years but can happen:) Minimize stuff that can go wrong by choosing right people. Some things will go wrong but the better your relationship is the more chance in overcoming obstacles. Architect, I'm not sure you need..your builder may advise with structural engineer if needed for that to be removed wall "Understand that if you are tearing out walls, finalization of the plan occurs AFTER the walls are out and you can see what is behind them"-agreed (we didn't tear down walls though, if anything we added some lol..but as we fully gutted the space-I know some stuff can't be predicted until you touch the wall and know what's there) So yes..the combo of general contractor and interior designer would be best. Whom to contact first? I'd start with a GC to get a feel of a general scope of the work, but I think both can be contacted simultaneously, or one can start with a designer too Whether people do double duty? Rarely. They might want to, but will not be best equipped for it even if passionate or simply won't have time. But you don't neccessarily need them to do double duty, in your particular case. Interior designers, for example, are trained to understand how the house works, so they are not architects but can have great vision and realize the mechanics that are required to achieve it.

I go with the sunroom, too, and here's why. You can build a shed for cheap at some point, and until then you'll probably keep one car inthe driveway, and all the bikes and basketballs in the garage along with the yard and snow tools. The sunroom will make a great playroom while the little ones are little. I've seen that sunroom with nothing in it but a low-pile play rug and Lego. Or balls. Or plastic hockey sticks. Or those big Little Tykes (slide, trikes, trains) Or Hot Wheels. Or dollhouses. Or art projects (easy-to-clean tile floor). Usually just one or two of those. But a great playspace, near you but not, outdoors but not. After they are done with those types of toys, it can be dining space and added living space. You don't need the shed until Boy #1 gets a car. Oops, didn't mean to scare ya lol! Upstairs, I wonder if you can steal some space from the game room to make a reach-in closet for Bedroom 2, and use its walk-in closet to expand the bathroom. 5 boys will need more counterspace, more drawer storage, and (I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm usually a 1-sink gal) 2 sinks. Downstairs, consider eliminating the study closet and adding a shower to the powder room.

This forum leans heavily on 'hire an architect.' And I agree with caveats. I think architects are great BUT you need to be prepared with knowledge as to what you can afford. I see all the time on here that they get the architect design back and when they go to a builder, they learn it's $100k over budget or whatever and have to shrink or scrap [after paying thousands for the plan]. Right now, I have a friend who is going through the sticker shock now that her design is going out for bid and she's not sure what to do. She sent me the plans and I can see why it's priced the way it is but she was blindsided. Also, it's really hard to find a good architect that can get you in. I tried 3 that friends had recommended and they were all 2-3 months out. Hindsight, probably would have been worth waiting...but hindsight is always 20/20 and we wanted to start asap. We went with a designer who was a builder before so he understood pricing...BUT he wasn't an architect and was really slow so we struggled on that end....and original floorplan was still over budget but we were able to modify. So, all that to say I would go with an architect BUT I would also meet with some builders you like and see some plans that they have done and finishes etc. and find out pricing so you can go to the architect with more knowledge. Best of luck.