Hello marina44 -

I've been at a full-house remodel for the past 15 months, also in San Francisco.

My full remodel is 3750 sq ft finished space (about 4300 sq ft if you include the garage, which was also redone)

My remodel also included a lot of structural work, shear walls, structural steel, LVLs, steel moment frame, new roof, new stucco, all new electricity and plumbing, radiant hydronic heat, and a fair bit of foundation work - 12 piers, 10 foot tall concrete retaining walls.

The finishes are upper middle class (for San Francisco). If I exclude a bulk of the cabinetry in the kitchen and living spaces then I'll end up spending a little under twice your budget - about $200 per square foot (finished space).

I'm told this is a very good deal for San Francisco. I solicited 8 bids over 4 months at the top of 2009 and ended up choosing the 2nd lowest price bid. My build has not been without its hiccups, but generally speaking, with large oversight in the building process by myself, it was proven to go smoothly, albeit slowly.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much! I have 2 bids so far and the one I think we'll go with is quoting $200 psf which I think is reasonable. But that's without a moment frame and mid range finishes. We are still negotiating so perhaps we can bring that number down to $175/ft. Your info helped a lot.

Hi marina44/jhwu, I'm at the very very start of a basement floor renovation including structural reinforcement and excavation, then full build-out very soon in SF (Telegraph Hill). I have a structural engineer who has drawn the structural plans, and will pull the permits, but then we'll be sourcing a contractor for bids etc. Do you guys have any recommendations for any and everything (bathrooms, kitchens, everything).

Thanks in advance!