What should be included in a building material list?

A building material list should include every material the project needs, grouped by category, each specific enough to price and each with a real quantity. That means lumber and sheathing (with dimension, grade, species, and treatment), fasteners and hardware, finishes like drywall, insulation and paint, and consumables like adhesive, tape and caulk. Add a 5 to 10 percent waste allowance on anything you cut.

How do I make a building material list for free?

Work through your plan stage by stage, from foundation to finish, and write down each material with its dimension and quantity. A spreadsheet, a phone photo, a PDF, or plain text all work. The only rules that matter are being specific enough to price each item and complete enough to avoid extra trips. Once the list exists, a tool like Buildsavr can price it across every major retailer for free.

What is the difference between a material list and a material takeoff?

A material list is the plain list of what a project needs. A material takeoff is the same idea done from construction drawings, where quantities are measured directly off the plans, usually by a contractor or estimator. A takeoff is more precise and more formal, but both answer the same question: what to buy and how much. Neither one tells you where to buy each item for the least money, which is where a buying plan comes in.

Can I compare building material prices across stores automatically?

Yes. Instead of opening each retailer and pricing items one by one, Buildsavr takes your whole list and prices every item across the major retailers near you at once, then builds a store-by-store buying plan showing the cheapest place for each item and your total. It is live in Quebec and expanding across Canada and the US.

Does turning a list into a buying plan work for both contractors and DIY?

Yes. The math is the same whether the list is a full framing package or a weekend project. Contractors use it to price a job before ordering and protect their margin. DIY renovators use it to plan one trip, see the total up front, and avoid overpaying. Same list, same tool, smaller bill either way.

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How to build a materials list that actually saves you money

By Simon Lafortune, Co-founder, Buildsavr · July 3, 2026

Almost every build starts the same way: a list. A few 2x4s, some plywood, a box of screws, a couple tubes of construction adhesive. You write it down, you drive to the nearest big-box store, and you buy the whole thing in one trip.

That last part is where the money quietly leaks out. A building material list tells you what to buy. It does not tell you where to buy each item for the least money, and on a real project that gap is often the difference between paying list price and paying a lot less. This is how to fix it.

1 list: matched to every major retailer near you
Store by store: the cheapest place to buy each item
Free: to compare, no credit card needed

What is a building material list?

A building material list is a written breakdown of every material a project needs, with quantities, so nothing gets forgotten and nothing gets over-bought. On a framing job it is the lumber, sheathing, fasteners, and hardware. On a bathroom reno it is the backer board, tile, thinset, waterproofing, and trim. It is the shopping list of construction.

A good one does three things. It lists each item specifically enough to price it, like "2x6x8 SPF #2 kiln-dried" instead of just "lumber." It gives a real quantity, including a small waste allowance. And it groups items so you can see the whole job at a glance rather than remembering it in pieces.

Lumber and sheathing: dimensional lumber, plywood, OSB, engineered beams
Fasteners and hardware: screws, nails, joist hangers, structural connectors, adhesive
Finishes and consumables: drywall, insulation, tape, caulk, primer, paint
Quantities with a waste factor: usually 5 to 10 percent extra on cut materials

Why most material lists quietly cost you money

Here is the habit that costs you: you build a solid list, then you buy all of it at one store. It is convenient, and one store is easy. But no single retailer is cheapest on everything.

One yard runs a great price on framing lumber this week but marks up fasteners. The big-box down the road is cheap on sheathing and paint but pricey on pressure-treated. Prices also move week to week, and they are not the same from one region to the next. So the "cheapest store" is never one store. It is a different store for each item, and it changes over time.

Pricing a full list this way by hand is miserable. You would have to open every retailer, search each item, copy the price into a spreadsheet, and redo it every time a price changed. Nobody does that for a whole list. So most people just eat the convenience tax and pay more than they had to.

How to build a materials list, step by step

Whether you are framing a garage or building a raised bed, the process is the same. Get it specific and get it complete, because a vague list cannot be priced and an incomplete list means extra trips.

Start from the plan. Work through the build in order, foundation to finish, and write down what each stage needs.
Be specific. Note the dimension, grade, species, and treatment. "2x8x12 pressure-treated" is priceable. "some boards" is not.
Count, then add waste. Measure real quantities from the drawing, then add 5 to 10 percent on anything you cut.
Do not forget consumables. Screws, adhesive, blades, tape, and caulk are small line items that add up fast.
Group by category. Lumber, sheathing, fasteners, finishes. Grouping makes the list easier to price and easier to check.
Keep it in a format you can reuse. A photo, a spreadsheet, a PDF, or plain text all work, as long as you can pull it up again.

Turn your list into a buying plan (this is where the savings are)

A material list answers "what do I need." A buying plan answers "where do I buy each item for the least total money, and what will it cost." That second question is the one that saves you money, and it is exactly the one a plain list leaves open.

This is the whole idea behind Buildsavr. You give it your list, however you already have it, and it prices every item across the major retailers near you at the same time. Then it builds you a buying plan: item by item, which store is cheapest, what your total comes to, and how much you save versus buying everything in one place.

You stay in control. Maybe one item is a few dollars cheaper across town and not worth the drive, so you keep it where the rest of your order is. The plan gives you the numbers to make that call instead of guessing. The point is not to send you to ten stores. It is to show you the real trade-off so you decide with facts.

How people actually use it

Two kinds of builders get the most out of turning a list into a buying plan, and they use it a little differently.

Contractors and pros price the whole package before they order. On a framing or renovation package worth thousands, even a few percent saved is real margin, and doing it by hand for every job is not realistic. They paste the takeoff, get the plan, and place orders knowing they did not leave money on the table.

DIY renovators use it to plan the trip. Before a weekend project they check where each item is cheapest, see the total up front so there are no surprises at the register, and avoid the second and third trips that come from an incomplete list. Same list, same tool, smaller bill.

A quick example

Say your list for a small backyard deck comes to pressure-treated framing, deck boards, joist hangers, structural screws, and a couple of concrete tube forms. Buy all of it at the first store you drive to and you pay that store's price on every line, including the ones it marks up.

Price the same list across every retailer and the picture usually splits: one store is clearly cheapest on the pressure-treated framing, another wins on the fasteners and hardware, and the deck boards land somewhere in between. Following the cheaper option on each line, and only where the difference is worth it, is how a list that looked "done" gets meaningfully cheaper without changing a single thing you are building.

Common mistakes that inflate your bill

Most overspending on materials is not one big error. It is a handful of small habits that quietly add up.

Buying everything at one store because it is convenient, without checking who is actually cheapest per item.
Assuming last month's price still holds. Material prices move, sometimes a lot.
Skipping the waste factor, then paying full trip cost to grab three more boards mid-project.
Writing a list too vague to price, so you end up deciding at the shelf and paying whatever is in front of you.
Ignoring regional pricing. What is cheap in one area is not automatically cheap in yours.

From list to buying plan in about a minute

You already do the hard part when you write the list. The step that saves money, pricing every item across every store and picking the cheapest place for each, is the part worth automating, because doing it by hand for a full list is not worth anyone's afternoon.

Buildsavr is live in Quebec today and rolling out across Canada and the United States region by region. If you build or renovate anywhere in North America, join the waitlist below and we will tell you the day it goes live in your area. Bring your list. We will turn it into the cheapest way to buy it.

Frequently asked questions

What should be included in a building material list?: A building material list should include every material the project needs, grouped by category, each specific enough to price and each with a real quantity. That means lumber and sheathing (with dimension, grade, species, and treatment), fasteners and hardware, finishes like drywall, insulation and paint, and consumables like adhesive, tape and caulk. Add a 5 to 10 percent waste allowance on anything you cut.
How do I make a building material list for free?: Work through your plan stage by stage, from foundation to finish, and write down each material with its dimension and quantity. A spreadsheet, a phone photo, a PDF, or plain text all work. The only rules that matter are being specific enough to price each item and complete enough to avoid extra trips. Once the list exists, a tool like Buildsavr can price it across every major retailer for free.
What is the difference between a material list and a material takeoff?: A material list is the plain list of what a project needs. A material takeoff is the same idea done from construction drawings, where quantities are measured directly off the plans, usually by a contractor or estimator. A takeoff is more precise and more formal, but both answer the same question: what to buy and how much. Neither one tells you where to buy each item for the least money, which is where a buying plan comes in.
Can I compare building material prices across stores automatically?: Yes. Instead of opening each retailer and pricing items one by one, Buildsavr takes your whole list and prices every item across the major retailers near you at once, then builds a store-by-store buying plan showing the cheapest place for each item and your total. It is live in Quebec and expanding across Canada and the US.
Does turning a list into a buying plan work for both contractors and DIY?: Yes. The math is the same whether the list is a full framing package or a weekend project. Contractors use it to price a job before ordering and protect their margin. DIY renovators use it to plan one trip, see the total up front, and avoid overpaying. Same list, same tool, smaller bill either way.

Turn your next material list into the cheapest way to buy it

Buildsavr is live in Quebec and rolling out across Canada and the US. Join the waitlist and we will tell you the day it launches in your area. Free to compare, no credit card.