On a custom home, the exterior is one of the biggest lines in the budget. It is often one of the last to get firm, because plenty of stucco crews will not price it until they can walk framed walls.
By then the owner has picked windows, the lender has a figure, and your margin is spoken for. A late exterior number is a guess you carry for months.
We price the whole exterior straight off the architectural set, before framing. Here is how that works, what we need from you, and what a plans bid can and cannot promise.
What gets priced off the drawings
A plans bid is a takeoff. We measure every elevation on the drawings, turn it into wall area, and price each layer that goes on that wall.
The trade prices in square yards, and one square yard is nine square feet. We measure each wall as drawn and do not deduct the windows and doors, the same way we would measure a wall that is already standing.
For scale, traditional three-coat stucco in the Phoenix metro runs about $5 to $9 per square foot of wall. Height, detail and finish decide where a custom home lands in that range, and all three are on the plans.
Barrier and lath
Paper, galvanized wire, weep screed, corner bead, expansion joints and kickout flashing, priced from the wall area and the drawn details.
Three-coat stucco
Scratch, brown and finish coat, with diamond mesh at the window and door corners and mesh embeds where the wall takes stress.
Stone veneer
Priced from the areas the elevations call out. Wainscots, columns, fireplaces, accent walls or a full face.
Access
Scaffolding for anything over one story. On a two story custom home it is a real line item, and the elevations show how much of it the job needs.
Why an early number protects your budget
The point is timing. A firm exterior price before framing lets you set the budget with the owner while there is still room to make choices.
If the number comes in high, you can still change something cheap. Trade a smooth finish for a sand texture on the rear elevation. Pull stone off a side wall nobody sees from the street.
Those are drawing changes today. Six months from now they are change orders, with a crew standing on the scaffold waiting for an answer.
It also takes one open line off the sheet you hand the lender. Less guessing, earlier.
What to send for an accurate bid
The bid is only as good as the set it comes from. A partial set gets a partial number, and that number moves later.
Send the full architectural set as PDFs if you have it. These are the sheets we read first.
Every elevation, to scale
This is where wall area comes from. Front, rear and both sides, with plate heights marked.
Floor plan and roof plan
They show pop-outs, courtyards and wall returns an elevation can hide. They also show where roof lines die into a wall and need kickout flashing.
Wall sections and exterior details
Parapet caps, banding, window surrounds and how the stucco meets the foundation. Detail is where the hours go, so we price it from the drawing.
Finish and material schedule
Texture, color, stone type and where the stone goes. If those are not picked yet, say so. A good bid prices what is drawn and lists what is still open.
Site plan
Lot slope, setbacks and where a truck can park. Tight side yards and steep lots add scaffold time.
What a plans bid can lock in
A plans bid holds for the house that is drawn. That covers most of the exterior, and it is the part that matters for your budget.
If you want an upgrade priced, put it on the set. Below-grade double flashing, which drops the stucco past the footing to hide the foundation line, is a detail we price from the drawing like any other.
The wall area
Measured from the elevations at the scale drawn. It does not change unless the drawings do.
The assembly
Weather barrier, lath, the three coats and the crack defense at the corners, all as specified.
The finish
The texture on the finish schedule. A sand finish and a dead smooth finish are priced very differently, so the bid names which one.
The stone areas
Every area the plans call out, listed so you can see what adding or pulling stone would do to the number.
What a plans bid cannot lock in
Be wary of any bid that claims to cover everything. Drawings show a lot, and some things only show up on site.
None of this is a reason to wait for framing. It is a reason to read the scope line by line, so you know which changes carry a cost.
Plan revisions
Move a window, add a pop-out or raise a plate height and the wall area changes. A new set gets a revised number.
Late finish changes
Switching the whole house from sand to smooth after the bid adds labor. So does stone added to walls that were drawn as stucco.
Framing that is out of line
The brown coat straightens a wall, but framing far out of plumb or square is a framing fix. Plaster should not be the thing that hides it.
Site and weather
Access that tightens once other trades fill the lot, or a schedule that pushes the work into monsoon storms. Each coat needs dry time, and the weather sets that pace.
A plans bid is a budget tool. It does the most good early, when the exterior is still lines on paper and every choice is cheap to change.
Send us the set or call 602-583-4683. We will price the whole exterior from the set before you take the number to your owner.
