What Goes Into a Custom Home Budget
By Brett Sichello ·
A custom home budget has more than 80 individual line items. Most people see a handful of them. This is the full list of divisions we work through, with no prices, so you can see how many parts and pieces a build involves.
Clients are often surprised by how many separate costs sit inside a custom home budget. A single line such as “foundation” is really nine or more items, each with its own trade, quote and decisions. The list below follows the structure we use. It is split into two schedules: lock-up, which takes the building to a closed-in, weather-tight shell, and finish, which covers everything inside and out after that.
How each line is tracked
Each line moves through three stages as the project progresses:
- Estimate to complete. A better estimate of cost as unknowns are resolved.
- Committed funds. A tender has been awarded or materials have been ordered.
- Actuals. Invoices paid to date.
Schedule A: Lock-up
Takes the building to a closed-in, weather-tight shell.
Start-up
- Building permit and development charges
- Owner-builder authorization, where it applies
Design
- Design
- Passive House energy modelling
- Mechanical design
Consultants and specialists
- Structural design
- Geotechnical testing
- Civil and drainage design
- Septic design
- Land surveyor
- Energy advisor
- Environmental assessment
- Land title search
General
- Utility design and connection (power)
- Temporary power
- Utility extension fees (wire, pole)
- Site safety
- Real estate commission
- Home warranty insurance
- New home registration
- Legal costs
- Course-of-construction insurance
- Portable toilet
- Internet and communications
- Water well
Site and soils
- Driveway, parking and culvert
- Building site preparation
- Septic field and treatment tank
Foundation
- Structural steel posts and beams
- Concrete forming materials
- Concrete footings
- Concrete foundation walls
- Concrete pumping
- Concrete slab finishing
- Concrete surfaces (patios, curbs)
- Concrete reinforcing steel
- Concrete damproofing
Structure
- Floor and beam materials
- Framing materials
- Roof trusses
- Balcony framing
- Airtightness materials
- Miscellaneous materials
- Crane services
- Roof materials
- Roof labour
- Windows and skylights
- Exterior doors
Rough-in
- Heating and ventilation
- Plumbing rough-in
- Electrical rough-in
Labour
- Foundation labour
- Framing labour
- Miscellaneous labour
Interior
- Insulation
- Drywall
Schedule B: Finish
Everything inside and out after that.
Finishing
- Interior paint
- Painting extras
- Plumbing fixtures
- Light fixtures
- Non-structural framing and finishing materials
- Cabinet materials
- Countertops
- Laminate counters, installed
- Flooring and wall tile, installed
- Interior doors
- Interior trim
- Interior stair guardrail and posts
- Final trim-out materials, such as handrails, door hardware, towel bars and mirrors
- Shower doors, installed
Exterior
- Cladding, material and labour
- Exterior railing, installed
- Exterior miscellaneous materials
- Decking material
- Exterior stairs
- Extras to contract
Labour
- Demolition
- Timber staining and installation
- Cabinet and counter installation
- Basic trim and doors
- Guardrail, posts and pickets
- Carpenter's final trim-out
- Miscellaneous: insulating, site clean-up, appliance installation
- Non-structural framing and miscellaneous finishing
- Exterior miscellaneous
Often not included
Some items sit outside a budget like this, and they are easy to miss:
- Landscaping
- Appliances
- Solar panels
- Available rebates, which are tracked separately
A budget also carries a contingency, because some costs only become clear once the ground is open and the walls are up.
Why we show you this
Seeing the whole list early makes the later conversations easier. It shows why decisions made during design, such as the building form, the envelope and the mechanical systems, affect many lines at once. To see how design, permitting and construction oversight fit together, read our Process page. To talk about your own project, get in touch, or see the FAQ.