To make an accurate comparision, you would need to get a quote from a hardwood installer that includes absolutely everything including hardwood toe kicks (on kitchen cabinets), hardwood register vents, stair nosing (on top step of stairs to basement, if applicable), removal and reinstallation of toilet and pedestal sink (if you are doing a half-bath on the main floor, which is common.) Our builder included these things in the per sqft charge, but an aftermarket installer might add these as additional charges. Also, disciples of Mike Holmes are pretty adament that you must install tile or hardwood under your kitchen cabinets, which is nearly impossible if you do it after the fact. (Though your builder may not do this anyway.)
You will have to remove and reinstall your baseboards. They will never look the same. If they are fibreboard, you will probably have to throw them away. Even if you install new ones, they may not look as good... builders typically spray these after they have been installed, this gives a much better finish than brush painting them.
However, if you have really young kids, you might be better off waiting until they are through the "banging things" stage before installing hardwood.
We agonized over this decision as well. In the end, I determined that the builder was using a fairly high quality product (Lauzon) which justified the higher cost, so we went with them for most of our hardwood... but I also installed a small quantity of hardwood in my office myself after taking possession. If I was to do it again, i would just get the builder to do it all.
Of course, it probably depends on the builder as well, and what products they offer.
One thing that you may want to do is make sure that your subfloor is up to snuff. 5/8 OSB is not sufficient. 23/32 is OK.
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