seems expensive for what they have done so far we usually cover floors and areas not being worked on completely

Covering surfaces should come with the price of the job! What were they planning to do, not cover it and walk all over your floors?

Yikes, along with your other dilemma, maybe look for a new contractor.

Thanks for your perspectives! I asked our contractor to cover all the floors, but they said it wasn't necessary:

"We will not be covering all of you floors completely with ram board as it is not necessary, we will cover the paths and areas we deem necessary for the remainder of the project.

"We are being grilled on temporary facilities .. a 1600.00 number that is half job toilet cost and half surface protection. Our material cost for the paper ,plastic,zippers , tape and ram board is over 300.00 that leaves under 500.00 for labor for the many trips we have had during the course of the job. You have had a major amount of work done and dust is a natural by product of the work . We contain it and clean it up regularly but not daily as it is settling."

"The half job toilet cost" of $800 doesn't add up since they stated in previous communications that the toilet was $125/month for 3 months...

I'm sure that there are additional fees for emptying the toilet as well. Doubt it'll be for just 3 months either. That is under estimating then time needed.

Your guys get a C. Not great. Not horrible. Just average.

What a beautiful floor! Cherry? Where I am, Ontario, Canada, I have NEVER had a contractor charge extra for "protecting" my house. Yes, it obviously does cost them, but they use heavy rolls of rubberised matting (like carpet underlay), and are able to reuse it again and again. Sounds like your contractor has an attitude problem, unfortunately.

@Sophie, the project is nearly done, and it has been 3 months. Regarding $500 for labor for the "many trips" they've made - is that even normal to pay for transportation?

@summery, the floor is Brazilian walnut. Good to know that Canadians do it right :)

Ugh. This is probably opening a can of worms, but - if your contractor INSISTS on charging such a generous amount for "protecting" your house, but quite obviously, from your photos, does NOT take reasonable steps to protect your house, then I'd have thought you'd be well within your rights to refuse to pay that particular sum, and remove it from your final payment, with an explanation and photos to back you up. Which may involve a lawyer and an ugly confrontation, unfortunately. But, if the house is totally immaculate and not one speck of dust or other damage can be found once they're done, I guess you have no option but to pay up. And not recommend them to anyone you care about, and give them a less than stellar rating here on Houzz.
I kinda thought you were in Canada, by the way - didn't mean to cause offence, lol. I have family in MD going through major renos, and they're not paying extra for protection, either!

Of course you have to pay for their labor for site protection. As others have said, this execution isn't great, but regardless it's part of the job. Your contractor line items it so you are aware of it, otherwise it gets lumped in with something else. I line item it as site prep, and I include pre demo site prep (temp walls to isolate work zone from rest of house) as well as post flooring site prep to protect finished surfaces. Yes some can be reused, but the rug that I had by your front door day one when I was hauling concrete debris through cant be put down on your new cherry floors. And with the toilet, he has to have staff order the toilet, arrange to meet them on the job site, call for cleanings, have it hauled, then staff to bill you for it, plus mark up and insurance so he can pay his power bill.

Thanks very much for the helpful explanation! $1600 makes more sense now, and I'm glad to hear that there's consensus that the execution isn't great. They did not put up temp walls to isolate the work zone from the rest of the house, and a few days ago, they pulled out all floor protection prior to floor coating this Thurs...

The price is fair. The time to question it would have been prior to contract execution instead of criticizing your contractor in arears. Please keep in mind they are in business to make money it is not a charity. When you go buy a new vehicle you cant demand Ford justify all their pricing. Same with the boat you boat, the new outfit you wear, the watch on your wrist. I assure you they cannot. Why is it the highly skilled contractor with thousands and thousands of dollars in tools and equipment not to mention insurance and taxes to pay get brutalized?

I agree that your contractor should charge you for surface protection materials and labor. From the photos however, your contractor used the cheapest protection possible (rosin paper and ramboard) versus using a protection that would work better and be much less labor intensive to install. I would highly recommend contacting a surface protection company Builders Site Protection ahead of your construction so that you can price out protection or purchase it yourself rather than have your contractor buy it.