That works out to $25/sq ft which seems awfully high to me if that is that is the labor charge only. Seems like that should be about what the "installed price" ought to be. By "installed price" I mean the TOTAL charge including the the stone, mortar, backing paper, wire lathe AND all labor including cleaning up any and all spills.

I suspect that they don't really want to bother with your tiny little job because they'll spend almost as long driving to/from your house, dragging all their tools in/out, and cleaning up as they will actually adhering the stone to the wall.

I'd check out another cultured stone supplier and ask about their "installed price per square foot" before you tell them how small your job is.

I can't offer any advice about $$, but the folks that did our cultured stone fireplace took a LOT of time to do it right. It's a bump-out, not a flat-front like yours, and they did all of the corner pieces first, let them dry, then filled in the field. It was all carefully thought out so that the large and smaller rocks together look well-planned and correctly random, not just piled in. (It wasn't like a brick wall that was started at the bottom and then just continually stacked to the top and then grouted.) Maybe you should ask for photos of the masons' previous work ahead of time. Google some images, too, to see the different styles.