Hey bobyoe! Glad you straightened that out for everyone! However, your comments do raise an issue that "$ per sq. ft" obsessed folks need to think about when they talk to a builder. It's the cost of the whole project that counts, not just the cost of the house. Plus, the features, finishes, and location of the house within a market area can make a 10,000 sq ft house cost less than a 6,000 sq ft. house. No one gave us a good ballpark estimate for things like professional fees, permits, impact fees, drainage systems, or site work before we started. Most of those items were not related to the size of the house. Those costs will end up being about 18% of the total project costs. No one could convince my "$ per sq ft obsessed husband" that the features he wanted in our house were equivalent to building multiple luxury kitchens. He is convinced now :-). Same thing goes for the outside entertainment areas. He thought the covered areas should be priced like a garage. Wrong. The spec'd finishes bring the entertainment areas to a higher cost for build out than any non-plumbed room in the airconditioned space. The thing that I think we could all agree about is that you can buy an existing home at a significantly lower cost per sq. ft. in today's market. Major builders are dumping new 5 and 6 bedroom 8,000 sq ft homes in our county for $600-$800K. Yeah, they are in outlying areas on small lots, but they are brand new homes. So, in addition to size and features, you have to price in: 1. supply and demand, and 2. location within a location. We are in Palm Beach County, Florida. Our lot costs vary from $20 million per acre on the ocean in Palm Beach, $10 million per ocean front acre 15 miles south on the same island, $2-5 million per acre intracoastal waterway on the same island, and $50,000 for a 1/4 acre builder's lot 15 miles west of the ocean where the national builders are dumping their inventory. Why bring lot costs into the discussion? It's because builders will hit you hard for building in an area of high land costs. I guess they think they are entitled to a big premium if you are paying premium prices for your lot. That's my 2 cents for the day!

also check with the refrigeration guy for a recommendation. I'm sure this isn't the first time he's had to open a wall.

Material+Time+Labor Only you can know what you need and how much it will cost, how much time it will take you and what is your time worth, what is your overhead, and what your profit margin is. If you cannot figure out a price, this job is not for you... Because doing a job based on someone's price you will lose your pants and most likely you will end up screwing your customer, seen that happen too many times. Some would come in, and tell the customer they will beat anyone's price to get a foot in the door, and when they start the job they will run short and when that happens, they will start cut corners, ask for more money and if they don't get it, they will abandon the job and when that happens, consumer is screwed because they cannot find anyone else to finish a job started by someone else. So don't put yourself in this situation. Good luck

Masonry, especially stucco takes extra care in humid climates with the current booming construction markets. Your existing perforated or woven housewrap suggests questionable long term durability with that choice. If you stucco be sure to mind the gap. Gaps are important in most cladding systems so metal, wood or engineered siding installed on a rainscreen would be safer choices for durability considering most labor markets. Looks like you guys got continuous sill flashing below your windows so you seem to be ahead of the game compared to most projects involving weatherproofing.