Again, thanks for all your help but we already have the thing being installed in our basement so please be kind with your feedback. I do have to live with this thing. If you have anything of value I can watch for or make sure to ask, please add it. I ran downstairs and grabbed the manuals - this is all I know. Furnace - PG96VAT AC - PA16NA Coil - CNPVP/CNPVT Looks like they're all Payne products. I still need to get a hold of the HVAC guy for the AHRI number. Can you tell me what that refers to? Is that for the warranty? Everything is being installed brand new as we previously had hydronic heat in the house, no AC. New everything. I think for the the thermostat we'd like one of those wifi enabled learning ones - like the nest or whatever honeywell sells. Do you have advice on which to pick?

I agree with rrah. However, what it costs to build & what buyers want to pay for a One Story vs Two Story are two different things. Single story homes cost more to build in the NE, because of the basements & roof lines. If you build a single story on a slab, it's comparable to a two story with the same sqft. To build a 2700 sqft SLAB Ranch will be similar to a 2700 sqft two story home (with a basement) in cost. An approximate tool for my area (NE) is that a 2700 sqft Colonial (with a basement) will cost similarly to an 1600-1800 sqft Ranch with a basement. That is the closest that you can compare two story to one story homes. I believe the formula would be apprx. 30-40% difference. In your case, it seems that the SMALLER Ranches would drag the price down for the largest Ranch in the neighborhood. Also, the two story ones are not good comps. Your best comp is the previous Ranch (same sqft) sale with adjustments for upgrades or lack of them & the CURRENT RE market. Also, RE is regional. I believe you get charged more for a two-story in FL (no basement) than the same sqft all One Story on a slab. Sometimes you pay more depending on what style is more desireable in a given region. Ironically, in my area, the most expensive house to buy (not nec. to build) is a Two Story with a Master bedroom downstairs. Other than the 55yo communities springing up now, those don't exist. Almost no comps around, so this really depends what someone wants to pay. Ranches are the most expensive to build but people do not want to pay for a Ranch. Weird. Supply, demand & desirability are factors in prices.

Husband and I finished an 2 story 18 x 24 addition about 4 years ago. Even with subbing out some of the work, it was of course, more money and more work than we anticipated. Same old story to anyone who has ever... I know husband can do this with help from my 2 adult, still living at home, mooching sons LOL but - hubby has a bad back and is 62 so no spring chicken. Plus we are finally talking to each other after 4 years! Can't get anyone else to call me for a quote. Even with referrals these guys either don't call back or are no shows. Willing to do some demo to save time and money. All I have read from various Garden Web articles is that it is not a HUGE project (I only have about a 13' span and I have architectural specs) so I don't understand why somebody wouldn't want to come in for a quick buck. Hate doing it but I guess I will start calling names from ads in our local paper to people I don't know or have any referrals.

Thanks for the response. I need to cut in an access port for the junction, should have already done it but haven't yet. As for the header, it had just a 2x4 stretching across a doorway size opening. I doubled that with more 2x4's next to the existing ones as well as more vertical 2x4's to help support. When I opened the outlet neither switch was grounded, but the box was. That was my first red flag I saw. Plus the wire being looped off a terminal is another short cut. The house was built in 1977, and I would have to say that this is original wiring.