It is almost made out of a PVC type material and the planks are fairly thick.

I been reading and listening to tons of material and I can't get a market specific material.

Since every area is different, has different labor/material pricing, why don’t we create a forum where people can post in specific areas about their cost of labor, and materials and even reference the contractors who did it?

It takes more labor to install but the materials are cheaper.

Are there any other books or training materials that you would recommend to someone new?

I would take a look at what materials are being quoted.

I would self perform this which would be one day and about 800-1000 dollars in materials.

Just get some promo materials, like a flyer listing what you do. 

However, as long as you do makereadys with more durable materials like snap in floors instead of carpet, flush lights instead of fans.. you're safeguarding yourself against those costs. 

Also keep in mind if you were to pay someone to paint "materials" includes new roller pads and sometimes brushes.