hello we have two elderly single garage doors with one row of windows. they are made of particle board mostly (at least that is the part that is flaking off). i have no idea of the different prices for garage doors, can anyone that has recently installed one give me an idea of the price range for simple aluminum ones all the way up to the carriage style ones? the garage is detached so we are flexible according to style. TIA kren

Unless you have significant trade skills and will help to construct your own home, I think building a custom home is something for the rich who want what they want at a premium price. Most people cannot afford the premium in a custom home, and it certainly is a losing investment nine times out of 10. Reading your remarks, I think you are clearly the person who should be looking for a premium-built used home that is selling below its cost to build. Such homes can occasionally be purchased at steep discounts. I was toying with the idea of retiring to Nevada, and one home I saw had outrageous build quality. They had high-end stone masonry everywhere and things like custom arching beams. They spent about $375/square foot to build but because the neighborhood had homes with $150 to $200 build cost, the resale value of the home was $240/square foot. I would rather pay $250/square foot as an investment, and buying $375 for $250 is the way I would want to invest $250. I think the problem for people building a custom home with a tight budget is they can be easily fleeced on the home build quality without ever knowing what hit them. For example, to get costs lower the builder may switch to 2x4 framing on 16" centers instead of 2x6 framing on 24" centers. The 2x4 home will be much less insulated and will have very shallow window bays. It will feel cheaper. The odds are you would never ask about the framing. The homebuilder saves a ton of money on his material costs by switching to 2x4. You end up with a home that does not feel quite right and never know what hit you until much later down the road. Where custom home building really shines is in the ability to select high-end materials and building approaches that are never seen in tract homes. For example, when you do the framing you can use new stud designs that incorporate closed-cell foam into a truss design inside the studs. Normally a wood stud in the framing has very poor insulation and directly acts as a heat/cold sink that bypasses your home's insulation. The newer style studs (e.g., "T-Stud" is a brand) have an R-value of 20 (versus 6 for a normal stud) and have four times the strength because of the engineered design. Alternately, you can insulate the outside wall of the home and use SIP insulated panels on the roof, to directly overcome the insulation problems with normal studs. These things can greatly increase the comfort of the home, but they also increase build cost, and in any case, they are rarely done outside of a custom build environment. In a perfect world, in addition to an architect, it would be great to find a home builder that you could hire as a consultant - at an hourly rate - to help educate you about key variables in building a home, and that person could help you to understand budget impacts of various build choices, as well as help you specify things to the builder and architect. I wonder if there are retired home builders who do this on a consulting basis, even remotely.

In my area, handyman charge is around $150 and often includes picking up the toilet at the store and taking old toilet outside for disposal.  This might be a good opportunity to test out a plumber before an emergency happens. Ask around for recommendations and call a couple small shops to check out price and service. I don't want to call anyone who advertises widely.  I'm looking for the guy who leaves business cards with previous customers who happily pass them on. I don't like big companies because I want to hear the same voice and see the same face next time and I want to be a known destination to them also, not just another phone message to return. Plus, if you are a repeat customer, you are more likely to get a visit in case of widespread emergency demand.

What has already been said^^ I have the doors Door slabs or prehung door units? Interior or exterior? Also wonder average cost to move a door to another location on the wall. Interior of exterior? Replacing a window with a door of the same or smaller width than the window? Because adding an opening into a weight bearing wall is going to be a much more involved process. A header will be need to be added to the framing.