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Home rebuild cost calculator

What would it cost to rebuild your house from the foundation up, and does your dwelling limit cover it? Estimate the range per square foot, then test your Coverage A against it.

Reviewed 7 October 2026

See the illustrated guide

A closer look at your home

Rebuild the whole house, not just the parts you can see

A total loss pays to replace the structure, every room, the garage and the work around them. Use the photograph to connect the house to the lines in your estimate.

The three detail views below enlarge parts of the same photograph. Use them with the checks underneath.

01Roof and structure

Price the shell first

Foundation, framing, roof and exterior walls are the largest line. Quality grade, stories and wall material change the base rate per square foot.

02Entry and finished rooms

Count the expensive rooms

Kitchens and bathrooms cost far more than the floor area around them. Enter the real count, including half baths, before comparing with your insurer.

03Garage and driveway

Add the garage and site work

An attached garage, porch or deck is part of the dwelling limit. Demolition and debris removal after a total loss are paid before rebuilding starts.

Before you compare with your dwelling limit, confirm these

Square footage

Finished living area your insurer used, not the listing or tax record

Quality grade

Builder-grade, custom or luxury finishes, cabinets and flooring

Policy add-ons

Extended replacement cost, ordinance or law and Coverage D limits

How insurance pays a total loss

Rebuild cost is not market value

Your dwelling limit has one job: pay to rebuild the house on the lot you already own. Land is not part of it, and neither is the neighborhood premium that lifts a sale price. A home can sell for $900,000 and cost $450,000 to rebuild, or sell for $250,000 and cost $380,000 to rebuild. Insuring to the sale price or the tax assessment is the most common way a limit ends up wrong.

What moves a rebuild estimate

The calculator starts from a base construction rate for the build quality you choose, then adjusts for stories, foundation, wall and roof material and region, and adds the rooms that cost more than the square footage around them. Demolition and debris removal, and design and permit fees, are added last because a total loss pays for them too.

Kitchens, bathrooms, garage bays, fireplaces and porches are priced separately because a $45,000 kitchen does not scale with square footage. That is why the all-in figure per square foot is higher than the base rate.

Coverage A, extended replacement cost and the 80% rule

Coverage A is the dwelling limit on your declarations page. It is the most the policy will pay to repair or rebuild the house itself, before other limits that may apply.

Extended replacement cost adds a cushion above the limit, commonly 10% to 50%, that pays only if a covered loss costs more than the limit. Guaranteed replacement cost pays the full rebuild with no fixed ceiling where an insurer offers it, usually with conditions such as keeping the limit current.

The 80% rule appears in many replacement cost policies. If the limit is below 80% of the home’s replacement cost, a partial loss such as a roof claim may be paid in proportion to how under-insured you are, or at actual cash value, rather than in full. Read your own wording; this is the clause that turns a low limit into a surprise on a small claim.

Ordinance or law coverage pays the extra cost of rebuilding to current building code. Standard replacement cost pays for like kind and quality, so code upgrades are often excluded unless this coverage is on the policy.

Somewhere to live while you rebuild

After a total loss the rebuild is only half of the bill. You also pay to live somewhere else for as long as the work takes. Loss of use coverage, shown as Coverage D or additional living expense, pays the extra cost above your normal living expenses, up to a percentage of the dwelling limit or for a fixed period. Enter a monthly housing cost and the months you expect to be out, and the calculator compares the total with your Coverage D.

Check your limit in four steps

1. Find Coverage A, any extended or guaranteed replacement cost, and the ordinance or law percentage on your declarations page.
2. Run the calculator with your real square footage, finishes and region, and read the low, midpoint and high figures.
3. Compare the midpoint with your limit. Below 100% leaves a total-loss gap; below 80% can cut partial claims.
4. Ask your insurer or agent for their current replacement cost estimate, show them what the finishes really are, and raise the limit if the numbers justify it.

Questions

Related

• What insurance actually pays — ACV, RCV, deductibles and what each covers
• Claim gap calculator — see how depreciation and the deductible change a claim payout
• Roof replacement calculator — price the roof on its own
• Roof damage guide — what to do first after a loss