I need just the front of my house and three gables sided (roughly 550 sq ft). I've had three James Hardie guys quote me around $12,500.

Is it just me or does this seem high?

Seems fairly high. But not an expert. We had 3 sides of our single story home sided about 4 years ago, and it was about 5k, if I remember right. Not sure of the square footage though, sorry.

Siding cost around $75 to $100 for material. I don't remember the installation cost (maybe $100-$150 a square depending on whether you insulate or not).

In your case, It is the places on your house that will cost you extra as it is high up, a small job that takes more time to do then just running straight walls with a little cutting around windows.

Having said that, they are overcharging you by a huge sum of money.
In pricing, you also have to consider the contractor has insurance and wear and tear on equipment. It also means the contractor is not on another job that has more siding. Mexicans do a lot of roofing and siding undercutting the American workers but they also don't carry insurance and won't be around if you have problems with the installation a year from now.
My guess is they gave you a high price for one of two reasons: 1. They don't want the job. 2. If they do the job, they make a small fortune.

Try them again in the off season.

Take a look at LP SmartSiding.

Slightly off topic, but I got a quote for vinyl siding once on an 800 Sq ft footprint house for $17k.

I could not believe it as I priced the material already and knew it to be about $3k in materials. When I pointed this out the salesman he told me that the installation is akin to finish carpentry and that was why it cost so much... I think I offended him with my laughter.

I completed the project with a set of snips and a utility knife for my cutting tools, and the purchase of 1 additional tool for making locking tabs in the top course.

Hardie and LP I could see taking a bit of skill, but vinyl is a piece of cake.

quote:

Originally posted by aileron:
Take a look at LP SmartSiding.

I had this installed on my house last year. We love it.

How are your interactions with the contractors? Do you know what you want, come off as firm but fair, come across as polite and genuine, etc?

The reason I ask is last night I had dinner with the owner of a small contractor. He was sharing a story about an indecive woman who had taken up 4x more of his time with a small project than most of his customers with jobs 20x the size. She was also requesting he buy supplies from a big box store where him or his guys will have to spend 4x as long getting materials than his usual material sources. I asked him if he gave her the I don’t want to do it quote? He grinned and nervously said that he’s worried he’ll get it anyway since he only added a 20% “I don’t want to work with you factor” because his competition might add 50% or 100%.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
How are your interactions with the contractors? Do you know what you want, come off as firm but fair, come across as polite and genuine, etc?

The reason I ask is last night I had dinner with the owner of a small contractor. He was sharing a story about an indecive woman who had taken up 4x more of his time with a small project than most of his customers with jobs 20x the size. She was also requesting he buy supplies from a big box store where him or his guys will have to spend 4x as long getting materials than his usual material sources. I asked him if he gave her the I don’t want to do it quote? He grinned and nervously said that he’s worried he’ll get it anyway since he only added a 20% “I don’t want to work with you factor” because his competition might add 50% or 100%.

I did this with the woman that lives next door for a double wide concrete driveway when I used to do concrete flatwork for extra income. This woman has been awarded Garden of the Year several times, everything is more than perfect. Early on in life I drove a concrete truck for 18 years and did do nice driveways and sidewalks. But knowing how picky and meticulous she is, I gave her a price 3X what I would normally charge to take out her asphalt driveway and replace it with concrete. That was 20 years ago and she still has the asphalt driveway.
Funny thing, in my town you don't get taxed for an asphalt driveway but you do for a concrete driveway. If you are over 65, I can freeze my property taxes at the current rate. I will do it but the paperwork is crazy. Now that the Nuclear Power Plant in town closed last Monday, I need to do it soon as we are loosing over 4 million in taxes out of the 14 million the plant paid.

Sorry for drifting off the OP.