What Is the Most Expensive Part of Building a House?
A Cost Breakdown for Budget-Conscious Homeowners from Your Trusted Custom Home Builder
Building your dream new home is an exciting journey—but it’s also a major financial investment. The most common question we hear at Jones & Jones, your trusted custom home builder serving Wausau, Merrill, and surrounding areas, is: “What’s the most expensive part of building a house?”
The short answer? It depends on your location, design, and materials. The slightly longer, more helpful answer is that framing, labor, and interior finishes will drive the bulk of your budget.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key expenses in residential construction and explain where your money goes during a custom home build.
New Home Building Cost Breakdown: Where Your Budget Goes
Understanding how building costs are distributed can help you make smart decisions from day one. Here is a general breakdown of costs based on national averages for custom homes:
Framing: 18–20%
Foundation: 10–12%
Interior Finishes: 25–30%
Exterior Finishes: 10–15%
Major Systems (HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing): 13–15%
Site Work & Excavation: 5–8%
Design, Permits & Fees: 5–7%
Labor (Across All Stages): Included throughout
Let’s dive deeper into the biggest cost drivers.
1. Framing: The Skeleton of Your Home
Estimated Cost: 18-20% of Total Budget
Framing involves constructing the home's basic structure, walls, floors, and roof trusses. It’s the single largest material cost and the literal skeleton of your home.
The cost can vary significantly depending on:
Home size and layout complexity
Type of framing (stick-built vs. panelized)
Wood prices (which fluctuate constantly)
Jones & Jones Insight: Keeping Framing Competitive "We recognize that framing is the single biggest material expense. That's why we don't rely on just one supplier. We work with several trusted vendors for our framing material and leverage those relationships to ensure we are getting the best, most competitive price when putting our bid package together for you. We focus on efficiency from the start, making our framing numbers very competitive."
2. Interior Finishes: Where Style Meets Budget
Estimated Cost: 25-30%
From cabinetry and countertops to flooring and paint, interior finishes are where personalization meets the price tag. While this category can feel discretionary, choosing high-quality materials here pays dividends in daily enjoyment and long-term resale value.
Jones & Jones clients benefit from our in-house design guidance, helping you find finishes that reflect your style without forcing budget compromises.
3. Labor: The Invisible Cost Driver
Labor is built into nearly every single aspect of construction—framing, roofing, electrical work, tiling, etc. High-quality craftsmanship comes at a price, but it is an investment in your home’s durability, safety, and ultimate value.
Pro Tip: Don’t cut corners here. The lowest bid on labor often leads to costly repairs or lower-quality finishes down the road.
At Jones & Jones, we hand-select skilled tradespeople and manage them with care, ensuring the quality meets our exacting standards.
Jones & Jones Expert Advice: How to Budget Smarter
Managing costs without compromising quality is the core challenge of custom home building. Our decades of experience have boiled the budgeting process down to one crucial piece of advice.
The Most Valuable Lesson in Custom Home Budgeting
"Plan ahead—and be obsessive about it. The single most valuable piece of advice we can give is to ensure your plans are fully accurate, your specifications are clear, and everyone involved is on the same page. We’ve learned through experience that when things don’t quite line up or details are missed in the planning phase, it invariably leads to costly delays and mistakes in the field. Accuracy up front saves thousands later."
What’s Next for Cost Control?
At Jones & Jones, we are always looking forward. We believe transparency and efficiency are the best ways to serve our clients.
"As we learn and grow, we continually put significant time and money into technology for cost control. Much of it is proprietary, but the goal is simple: to use better data, better project management tools, and better supply chain software to reduce waste, optimize scheduling, and ultimately deliver a higher quality home for a better value."
Ready to Build Your Dream Home?
When you build with Jones & Jones, you’re not just getting a beautiful home; you’re getting:
Concrete Pricing and Cost Management: Pricing without surprises.
Premium Craftsmanship and Materials: Focused on long-term value, not short-term savings.
Dedicated Project Management: Ensuring your project stays on schedule and budget.
Collaborative Design Process: We help you build smarter, ensuring every dollar is spent wisely.
Let’s talk today! Whether you’re still budgeting or ready to break ground, Jones & Jones is here to guide you through every step of the custom home journey.
