Another home construction thread (I need help)

I would tile the kitchen as well. Wood and water are not friends but this is the mistake I've seen over and over and people I know end up wishing they had gone with tile since they had a bunch of trouble

I don't see a reason you couldn't have that built in the 250-275 range. Where exactly down south?

Assuming this house is slab built, there is a BIG difference in price between nailed down wood and engineered. Agree that wood has no place in a kitchen (had it in my last house, so I speak from experience).

You've covered the big stuff, but lots of money is spent on smaller things you haven't detailed....interior doors, knobs, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, quality of cabinetry can account for the big difference in quotes. Ask bidders to give you a category by category breakdown for the allocated amount in each area. Then you can truly compare one to another.

You don't mention fill and dirt work, or driveway and sidewalks. A decent quote should include allowances for both items.

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The A/C is definitely undersized

What size would you suggest?

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The only way you'll get this right is to calculate the manual J load of the space you're cooling

Google -- Manual J Calculator

Nailed down hardwood on a slab requires installing a pinned together subfloor to receive the nails, plus all of the sanding/finishing expenses. Engineered goes down over an easily installed vapor barrier atop he slab and is prefinished. Thus it is generally lots cheaper in an over slab situation. Tile goes directly over slab and can be the most time/cost efficient. It has the advantage of being easy to clean, flood proof, and cool in summer. Area rugs can soften sound and look.

Categories seem standard....you can now put your quotes side by side and see what differs, and ask questions about those differences. You can determine what is really important to you and what is less important. Swapping an insulated fiberglass front door w/sidelights and transom, for example, will potentially save you 2-4k and increase your energy efficiency over a solid wood leaded glass fancy custom door. Ditto for the $1.5k in glass shower doors....can you live with a nice shower curtain instead? Gutters may be optional to you, same with operable shutters. Regarding flooring, see what you like and find out what it costs per square foot....it may be way cheaper or way more expensive than you think.

In short, educate yourself about the costs of the materials you like and find out if you can afford that level of finish. The level of finish you've described would cost roughly $140/square foot in my area just a few parishes away. I've heard from various ppl that labor costs in H-T are high, good subs are expensive and have all the work they can handle.

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Google -- Manual J Calculator

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Manual J undersized the unit for my house in South LA.

fwiw- I've used this calculator a few times and it has never failed me

LINK

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The A/C is definitely undersized What size would you suggest?

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I would not go smaller than 4.5 but 5 would not hurt. A lot depends on lot site, which direction house will face and how much heat gain will occur on the West and South sides.

My experience has been most architects undersize because they rely too much on a calculator- MFG claims and government standards. In South LA you are dealing with high humidity as well as heat.

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man117

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Drop me a line when you can - ziggy.td@gmail