The standard structure: NAHB divisions
Residential construction budgets follow the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) cost-code structure, organized into divisions. A complete budget template has a row for each applicable code, not just a handful of buckets:
- 1000 — Preparation & Preliminaries (permits, plans, site setup)
- 2000 — Excavation & Foundation
- 3000 — Rough Structure (framing, trusses, sheathing)
- 4000 — Roofing & Exterior Enclosure (roof, windows, siding, doors)
- 5000 — Mechanical Systems (plumbing, HVAC, electrical)
- 6000 — Interior Finishes (drywall, cabinets, flooring, paint)
- 7000 — Specialties (appliances, fixtures, closets)
- 8000 — Landscaping & Site Improvements
What every line needs
Each budget line should have:
- Cost code — standard NAHB or CSI code for lender and contractor comparison
- Description — what's being priced
- Quantity — with the right unit (SF, LF, EA, LS)
- Unit cost — combined material + labor, regional pricing
- Line total — quantity × unit cost
- Material fraction — needed to apply sales tax correctly
Above-the-line additions
After the direct cost total, a complete budget adds:
- Contingency (typically 5–10%) — unknown conditions, minor scope changes
- Builder fee / overhead & profit (typically 10–20%) — GC's markup
- Sales tax on materials
- Grand total
Why blank templates fail
A blank Excel template gives you the rows — but the numbers are the hard part. Every line depends on your plan's dimensions, your ZIP code's labor rate, and your finish selections. Fill them in from memory and you're guessing.
Build 360 reads your plan set and fills every row automatically — dimensions from your drawings, pricing to your ZIP, organized by cost code. The result is a complete NAHB-format budget, material takeoff, and schedule you can share with a lender or GC.