Template · available
New home build estimator template
Show clients a preliminary budget for a new custom home or an addition at three finish levels, priced from the floor area they enter. Basements, garages, storeys, lot slope and services are handled your way. It's a budget range to plan with, not a quote.
Try it as a customer would
Fictional business and sample prices. Preliminary estimate based on the answers; final pricing follows an assessment.
Questions included
-
What are you building?
A new home
An addition to my home
- Finished floor area above ground Measured in sqft “I don't know” → asks for an assessment
- Number of storeys 1 storey · 2 storeys · 3 storeys
-
Basement
None (slab or crawlspace)
Unfinished basement
Finished basement
- Basement area Measured in sqft “I don't know” → asks for an assessment
- Attached garage None · Single · Double
-
The building lot
Flat
Gently sloped
Steep, rocky or hard to reach
“I don't know” → shows a price range
- Water and sewer Municipal water and sewer · Well and septic
Prices you supply
- Design, permits and site setup Your installed price for each package
- Construction of finished floor area Your rate per sqft
- Unfinished basement Your rate per sqft
- Finished basement Your rate per sqft
- Attached single garage A fixed extra when it applies
- Attached double garage A fixed extra when it applies
- Tie-in to the existing house A fixed extra when it applies
- Well and septic allowance A fixed extra when it applies
- Single storey (larger foundation and roof) A percentage of named items (sample: 6%)
- Third storey (extra structure and access) A percentage of named items (sample: 5%)
- Sloped lot A percentage of named items (sample: 8%)
- Minimum job priceNo estimate shows less (sample: $75,000)
- Assessment rule: Steep or difficult lotSteep, rocky or hard-to-reach lots need a site review, and often a soils report, before we can set a budget.
How the price is worked out
Each finish level has a rate per square foot of finished floor area above ground: $300, $375 or $475 in the sample. Design, permits and site setup are $25,000, $35,000 or $50,000. A 2,150 sq ft two-storey home adds a 1,100 sq ft unfinished basement at $50 per sq ft and an attached double garage at $55,000, $62,000 or $75,000. On a flat lot with municipal services, nothing else is added. Budgets are rounded to the nearest $1,000. That gives $780,000, $958,000 and $1,201,000 before tax.
A single storey adds 6% and a third storey 5% of the floor-area charge, and a gently sloped lot adds 8% of the floor-area and basement charges. If the client doesn't know the floor area, the estimate asks for a meeting instead of guessing. If they're unsure about the lot, it shows a range.
What you can change
- Finish levels and every rate per square foot.
- Basement, garage, addition tie-in and well and septic prices.
- The storey and slope percentages, and which lots need a site review.
- Your minimum budget and rounding.
What still needs your design work
Plans, soils, servicing, permits and the client's selections. The estimate shows its assumptions and says it's a preliminary budget, not a quote.
Putting it on your website
Build, test and publish your first estimator free, for as long as you like. Unlimited estimators are $35 a month in the US or $45 CAD in Canada (pricing). Add it to your website with a short embed code, or share a hosted link.
Use this template freeUsed by: home builders.