Lumber Takeoff and Framing Estimating Services

We produce board-level lumber takeoffs from your framing drawings — every member by size, length, species and grade, with sheathing, connectors, hardware and fasteners quantified — delivered as an editable Excel workbook that a supplier can quote directly.

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What We Take Off

A lumber takeoff is judged on whether the material list actually builds the building. That means members counted at their real lengths rather than converted to a board-foot total, sheathing counted in sheets with a stated waste basis, and the hardware — hangers, straps, hold-downs, anchor bolts and fasteners — quantified rather than carried as a percentage. A plausible total that cannot be ordered against is not a takeoff.

Wall framingstuds by size, length, species and grade, counted at the specified spacing rather than an assumed one, with king studs, jack studs, cripples and blocking counted separately

Platesbottom, top and double top plates by linear foot and size, with pressure-treated bottom plates at concrete separated as their own material

Headers and beamsby size, length and type, separating dimensional lumber, built-up members, engineered lumber and glulam, since each is bought differently and some are scheduled lead items

Floor framingjoists by size, length, spacing and series, with rim board, blocking, bridging and squash blocks counted individually

Engineered lumberI-joists, LVL, LSL, PSL and glulam listed by series, depth and exact length, because these are ordered to length rather than cut from stock

Roof framingrafters, ridge, hip, valley and jack rafters by size and length, with collar ties, ceiling joists, purlins and blocking

Trussescounted by type and profile against the truss layout, with girder trusses, hip sets and hangers identified separately, and the supply boundary stated where a truss supplier carries design

Sheathingwall, roof and floor sheathing in sheets by thickness, type and grade, with the waste basis stated rather than implied

Subfloorby sheet with thickness, grade and the adhesive and fastening schedule the specification calls for

Pressure-treated and naturally durable lumberseparated wherever the code or specification requires it, including sill plates, ledgers, exterior framing and ground-contact members

Shear walls and lateral elementssheathing grade, nailing schedule, hold-downs, anchor bolts and straps quantified against the shear wall schedule, which is a structural document rather than an architectural one

Connectors and hardwarehangers, straps, ties, clips, hold-downs, post bases and caps counted by model where the drawings specify them, rather than allowed for

Fastenersnails, screws and structural fasteners by type and quantity, derived from the nailing and fastening schedules rather than from a percentage

Posts and columnsby size, length and type, with the post base and cap hardware each requires

Stairsstringers, treads, risers and framing, counted as their own assembly

Blocking, backing and nailersfire blocking, draft stopping, and the backing required behind fixtures, cabinetry, handrails and equipment, which is real material that plans rarely show

Temporary bracing and wastestated explicitly with the basis, rather than absorbed invisibly into member counts

How Lumber & Framing Quantities Are Measured

Every quantity below is reported in the unit the scope is actually bought and bid in — not converted into a single convenient unit that hides where the cost sits.

Studs and membersEA by size, length and gradeCounted as pieces at real lengths. A board-foot total cannot be ordered against and hides whether the list builds the building.

PlatesLF by sizeWith pressure-treated bottom plates separated, since the material and the price differ from untreated.

Engineered lumberEA by series and exact lengthI-joists, LVL and glulam are ordered to length by series. An approximate length is not an orderable item.

TrussesEA by typeCounted against the truss layout, with girders and hip sets identified. Truss supply frequently includes design, so the boundary is stated.

Sheathing and subfloorsheets by thickness and gradeIn sheets with a stated waste basis. Square footage divided by 32 is not a sheet count on a cut-up elevation.

Hangers and connectorsEA by modelBy specified model number where the drawings give one. Hardware substitution is a structural decision, not a purchasing one.

Hold-downs and anchorsEA by modelAgainst the shear wall schedule, with anchor bolt size, embedment and count carried through to the concrete package.

Fastenerscount or weight by typeDerived from the nailing schedule. Shear wall nailing at close spacing is a different quantity from field nailing.

Blocking and backingLF by sizeFire blocking, draft stopping and fixture backing measured explicitly — real material that the plans frequently do not draw.

Posts and columnsEA by size and lengthWith the base and cap hardware each one requires listed alongside it.

Wastestated percentage by materialStated on the face of the estimate by material type rather than hidden inside quantities, so it can be challenged.

Who This Is For

General contractors carrying this trade directly, or checking a subcontractor's number before it goes into the bid.

Subcontractors pricing their own scope in this division.

Developers and owners validating a number they've already been given.

Material suppliers and distributors verifying a customer's order.

What You Receive

An itemized Excel takeoff, organized by division
A marked-up plan set — every quantity traces back to a location on the drawings
Labor, material and equipment split out separately
Waste and overage factors shown as visible line items
An assumptions and exclusions schedule

Marked-up lumber & framing plan crop

What Moves the Number on Lumber & Framing

Lumber price volatility. Framing lumber is among the most volatile commodities in construction, and a quantity priced three months before purchase can be materially wrong through no error in the takeoff. Every estimate we produce states its pricing basis and the date that basis was current, which matters more on this trade than on almost any other.

Engineered lumber and lead time. I-joists, LVL, LSL, PSL and glulam are ordered to length by series and are not interchangeable with dimensional lumber. They also carry lead time, so they are a schedule item as well as a cost item, and a late design change to a beam size is a procurement problem rather than a cut on site.

Spacing and member size. Studs at sixteen inches and at twenty-four inches on centre over the same wall length are different quantities, and a two-by-six wall is a different material from a two-by-four one at the same count. Both are read from the structural drawings and the wall types, not assumed from the building type.

Shear walls and lateral hardware. The shear wall schedule drives sheathing grade, nailing spacing, hold-downs, straps and anchor bolts, and in high seismic or high wind areas that hardware is a substantial line of its own. Close nailing spacing also changes the fastener quantity by a large factor over field nailing.

Treated lumber requirements. Sill plates on concrete, ledgers, exterior framing and ground-contact members require treated or naturally durable material, at a real premium and sometimes with fastener compatibility requirements. Where these are absorbed into untreated quantities, both the material cost and the correct fastener are lost.

Truss supply boundary. Whether the truss package includes design, whether girders and hangers are supplied by the truss manufacturer, and who carries the layout are all boundary questions that move the number. We state the boundary the estimate was built to rather than leaving it to be discovered at buyout.

Waste and cut optimisation. Waste on a framing package is not one number. It varies by material and by the geometry of the building — a cut-up roof wastes sheathing at a rate a simple gable does not. We state the waste basis by material rather than applying a single percentage and hoping it averages.

What We Need From You

A complete set is ideal, but rarely what exists. Send what you have — we will tell you at quote stage what can be quantified firm and what has to be an allowance.

Structural framing plans for floors, walls and roof
Shear wall schedule and lateral details — the governing document for sheathing grade, nailing and hold-downs
Framing sections and details, including connection details and hardware call-outs
Truss layout and profiles where trusses are used, with the supply boundary identified
Wall type schedule, for stud size, spacing and sheathing requirements
Architectural floor plans and elevations, for openings and geometry
Specification section for Division 06 rough carpentry, including species, grade and treatment requirements
Nailing and fastening schedule

How It Works

1 Send your plans — PDF, DWG, DOC, images or ZIP, up to 100MB per file.
2 Get your quote — a flat price for the scope with a delivery date, confirmed in writing.
3 Approve — nothing starts until you confirm.
4 We take it off — quantities from the drawings and schedules.
5 Delivery — workbook, marked-up set, assumptions schedule.

How Pricing and Turnaround Work

Every project is priced individually from your drawings. Send the plan set and you get a flat quote for the scope before any work starts — no hourly billing, no open-ended engagement.

Turnaround depends on the size of the package and how many trades are in scope — which is why you get a firm delivery date with your quote rather than a generic promise.

Tools and Standards

Takeoffs are produced in Bluebeam, PlanSwift, Trimble, STACK, organized against CSI MasterFormat divisions — this scope is specified under Division 06 — Wood, Plastics and Composites (06 10 00 Rough Carpentry).

Quantities and assemblies are read against the published standards that govern this trade, because the standard is what decides whether two apparently identical items are actually the same line item:

NDS — National Design Specification for Wood Construction
PS 1 and PS 2 — product standards for structural plywood and wood-based panels
APA Engineered Wood Construction Guide — panel grades, spans and nailing
ALSC grading rules and the applicable regional grading agency rules for dimensional lumber
AWC Wood Frame Construction Manual — prescriptive framing and connection requirements
ANSI/TPI 1 — design standard for metal plate connected wood trusses
AWPA use category standards for pressure-treated wood

Pricing is built on RSMeans cost data localized to your project's market, then reconciled against current supplier quotes and our own completed project costs. Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced.

Why Lumber & Framing Is Estimated Wrong

Board feet instead of pieces. A board-foot total is a volume, not a material list. It cannot be ordered against, it hides whether members are available at the required lengths, and it gives no way to check that the list actually builds the building. A takeoff that cannot be handed to a supplier has not finished the job.

Hardware carried as a percentage. Hangers, straps, hold-downs and post bases are specified by model on the drawings and vary by an order of magnitude in price. Allowing a percentage for hardware works until the building has a lot of it, which is precisely when the error matters — in high seismic and high wind regions the hardware is a major line.

Sheathing derived by division rather than counted. Dividing wall area by 32 square feet gives a sheet count only for a wall with no openings and no cuts. On a cut-up elevation with many openings the real sheet count is substantially higher, and the waste basis needs to reflect the geometry rather than a default figure.

Blocking and backing omitted. Fire blocking, draft stopping and the backing behind fixtures, cabinetry, handrails and wall-mounted equipment are real material and real labor that appear on few drawings. Omitting them is one of the most consistent shortfalls in a framing package, and it shows up as extras rather than as a takeoff error.

Treated lumber absorbed into untreated quantities. Sill plates, ledgers and exterior members carry a price premium and sometimes a fastener compatibility requirement. Rolling them into the general stud and plate count loses both, and the fastener issue is a durability failure rather than only a cost one.

Engineered lumber priced as dimensional. An LVL beam is not a built-up dimensional member at a slightly higher rate. It is a different product, ordered to length by series, with lead time attached. Substituting one for the other in the estimate produces a number that neither the supplier nor the schedule will recognise.

Related Estimating Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you provide a board-level lumber takeoff?

Yes — every member by size, length, species and grade as a piece count, not a board-foot total. The output is a material list a supplier can quote directly, which is the actual test of a lumber takeoff. A plausible total that cannot be ordered against has not finished the job.

Do you quantify hangers and connectors?

Yes, by specified model where the drawings give one, counted individually rather than allowed for as a percentage. In high seismic and high wind regions the hold-downs, straps and anchors are a substantial line item, and a percentage allowance is systematically wrong on exactly those buildings.

How do you handle engineered lumber?

Listed by series, depth and exact length, because I-joists, LVL, LSL, PSL and glulam are ordered to length rather than cut from stock. They also carry lead time, so we flag them as schedule items and not only as cost lines.

How do you state waste?

On the face of the estimate, by material type, with the basis given. Waste varies with the geometry of the building — a cut-up roof wastes sheathing at a rate a simple gable does not — so a single hidden percentage is both less accurate and impossible for you to challenge.

Do you include blocking and backing?

Yes, explicitly. Fire blocking, draft stopping and the backing behind fixtures, cabinetry, handrails and wall-mounted equipment are real material that the drawings frequently do not show, and they are one of the most consistent omissions in a framing package.

How do you handle lumber price volatility?

Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date that basis was current. Framing lumber moves more than almost any other material in construction, so a quantity priced months before purchase can be wrong through no fault of the takeoff — and you should be able to see exactly what date the number reflects.

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