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.

Is the GC also designing the addition? Do you have plans? Ask. Ask how he/she came up with the numbers. Be upfront. If you are not comfortable now, what do you expect when problems arise? These are the things to consider. Are you comfortable? Do you expect everything to go perfectly? Can you talk to the contractor? Do they make you feel stupid? You need the comfort level where you feel in control of the project. Above all, you are the boss. Upcharges vary widely, between 10 and up to even 40%. And different contractors might try to bury costs they expect elsewhere. Remember, there are many things contractors can't charge for. Ask yourself, basing your figures on what you expect the contractors profit is, if you could live on that income. Then subtract the cost of insurance, workman's comp., vehicles, tools, schooling, etc. this might help you come up with a fair expectation. Len

Vegiegardnr- Did you talk to you flooring person about thier hours? Not that it really should need to be any of your concern what it takes to run their business as long as you get the finished product that you are paying for (and of a reasonable quality), but there probably is a lot more to it than you seem to assume. You saw work from 10:30 -4:30 and decided that was lazy. There could have been other work that is necessary to their job that was happening during those "lazy off hours": Meeting other potential clients for quoting work, billing and paperwork for jobs done, billing and paperwork to pay supplier accounts, getting quotes or filling out forms for insurance and/or licensing, filling out forms for employees or past employees that need employment verifications for loans/apartment renting/new jobs, picking up materials for jobs or tool expendables, servicing of their truck or equipment that they use to do the work, researching and/or buying a new piece of equipment, going to a class about a new floor surfacing product, etc.. Based on how you present yourself here it seems you don't view contractors as human beings that "just might" be working hard to try to do good work. There are bad guys out there in all fields of work, but most contractors do not deserve the assumption that they are all just trying to find ways to overcharge and be lazy. Or maybe in your experience those are the only ones you've worked with - because as others have pointed out, contractors look at their potential clients in terms of risk of loss/stress/hassle/not getting paid/not getting sued, and the good self respecting contractors who have a good reputation and referral base don't need to take on risky/unpleasant work and probably steer clear of working with someone with those attitudes. Maybe next time - still protect yourself with reasonable due diligence, but treat the contractor as a human, ask (a reasonable amount) of polite and non judgemental questions if you don't understand where charges come from or why things cost what they do. Maybe then you'll have a better experience with your next contractor and start to shift your views away from assuming they're all bad.

As Patricia points out, these are all SUBCONTRACTOR jobs. A General Contractor would simply subcontract to a list of guys they have on speed dial. The marble = stone mason. The ceiling = drywallers (cause once you take down the stucco, you need to FIX the damage done). Painters for the final coats (ceiling/walls). Upholstery can be sourced through furniture makers or through designers themselves. A General Contractor will then add 25% for their fees in putting together a project like this. A properly trained designer can do all of this themselves with the same type of mark-up for finding all the talent. If they are then asked to put together a DESIGN package that goes with all this work = another fee for their ideas. If you reach out to all the subcontractors, you will get "final price" as if you were a homeowner who will ONLY do one project (one house = one project). If you are looking to build a "team" of contractors that you are looking for as a "gang" to call when you begin bringing in clients, then their price will drop because you will offer them work on multiple projects. But you will NOT get those "better prices" until they have worked with you a few times. They don't know you and you don't know them....so nothing is going to become "beneficial" to either of you until you have several projects under your belt. Whew. Lots to know isn't there? And yes....it isn't about what you know, it is about WHO you know. As frustrating as it is...it still rings true in today's digital world.