The search for a framer - the struggle begins

For the past week I've been attempting to engage a contractor/framer to build out the structure of my small woodshop.
The labor market is tight here so the chioces are slim to none with the odd goof and or crook tossed in to keep me on my toes.
One fellow showed up (having no credentials) and suggested that he could not obtain a bond or insurance for the job.
He contacted me by e-mail and offered to come by on Sunday to finalize his estimate and provide me with a time frame. I asked him to please call me so that I would not have to wait around for the entire day for him to show up.
When he finally did phone on Monday morning, he told me that his children were very important to him and that he couldn't spare the time for me on the weekend.
I explained to him that _it was not my idea _and that a simple phone call to me, would have placed me in a better frame of mind for his call 72 hours later.

BTW, he offer to dig the 12 post holes for the grade beams but did not show so I did that myself while waiting for _the call that never came_.

I found him quite contrary in nature, and after he stood me up over the weekend with respect to the second meeting to finalize our mutual costs I let him go.

The next fellow called me two days after I contacted him by e-mail at his advertising address on the Internet.

I sent him Sketchup drawings of the proposed design along with the size and my exterior requirements.
The total footprint for the shop is 360 ft.² (roughly the size of a single car garage with a small extension.)
He explained to me on the telephone that the basic cost of a garage today was in the neighborhood of $6,000, and that he felt his partto assemble this construction would also be in the neighborhood of $6,000.

Now this is where I have a problem with the mathematics that is being used today to estimate costs of construction:
I am well aware that the cost of building materials and crude oil related products has escalated dramatically in the last three years crude oil related products have definitely doubled in that timeframe.
It's pretty safe to say that although labor has increased that it has not increased at the same rate that the building materials have.
So to ask me for $6,000 for a job that three years ago would have cost $3000 is a dramatic increase. If you wish to do the math on this particular project you will find that if you divide 384 ft.² into the total package price you will come up with a figure called *$332.40 per square foot*I had previously got an estimate of materials from a lumber supplier ( $1950)
This figure does not include electrical, plumbing or heating.
I was appalled when I told the gentleman that absolute highway robbery people like this gives the trades a bad name.

The battle continues...

bob