Estimating by trade
Framing estimating software: price the frame by system, reprice when lumber moves
A framing bid is walls, floors and a roof — until it's headers, hangers, hold-downs, a crane day and fourteen risers of stairs. BuiltSum ships framing as assemblies with lumber carried as repriceable material, so a price swing between bid day and contract day is a five-minute update, not a lost margin. The estimator below is live — load the framing pack and try a real floor plan.
Live estimator
Walls
Floors
Roof
Openings & stairs
Decks & misc
Factors
Pack v2026.08: starting defaults for a mid-market US crew — edit any unit cost or production rate below to your numbers. Save estimates to your account and these become your own price book.
| Description | Qty | Unit | Mat $/unit | Labor hr/unit | Material | Labor | Price |
|---|
- Material
- $0.00
- Labor hours
- 0
- Labor (burdened)
- $0.00
- Cost
- $0.00
- Markup
- $0.00
- Bid price
- $0.00
The chain: this estimate → schedule of values → monthly AIA-style pay applications. All free, and saved in your browser until you put it in an account.
Walls, floors and roofs as systems
2x4 and 2x6 exterior walls with sheathing, interior partitions, I-joist and 2x10 floor systems with subfloor, truss set-and-brace, stick-framed roofs, sheathing and sub-fascia — each one line with labor and material split.
The counted stuff counted
Headers, LVL beams by the foot, posts with hardware, window and door opening frame-outs, straight-stair sets, and a hanger-and-hold-down allowance so the hardware bill stops being a surprise.
Lumber volatility handled
Material and labor live in separate columns on every line. Reprice material the morning you bid; your production rates and crew cost stay put. The steep-pitch factor and crane line keep the hard days priced.
Deck framing is in the pack too — PT joists, ledger and hardware, decking excluded. For multifamily and commercial contracts, pair the estimate with the free pay application generator and the schedule of values builder.
Assemblies in this pack
19 assemblies ship in pack 2026.08. Every material cost and labor rate below is a starting default for a mid-market, non-union crew — edit any of them, and your own won jobs become the defaults over time.
Walls
- Frame 2x4 exterior wall @ 16" oc + 7/16 OSB sheathingSF
- Frame 2x6 exterior wall @ 16" oc + sheathingSF
- Frame 2x4 interior partition @ 16" ocSF
- Structural header — double LVL to 8 ft, set & shimEA
- Blocking & backing — cabinets, rail, fixturesLF
Floors
- I-joist floor system @ 16" oc + 3/4 T&G subfloor, glued & screwedSF
- 2x10 floor framing @ 16" oc + subfloorSF
- LVL beam — triple 1-3/4 x 11-7/8, set on postsLF
- Structural post — PSL or built-up, with cap & base hardwareEA
Roof
- Set & brace roof trusses @ 24" oc — crane day separateSF
- Stick-frame gable roof — rafters, ridge, collar tiesSF
- Roof sheathing — 1/2" OSB with clipsSF
- Sub-fascia & 2x outriggersLF
Openings & stairs
- Frame window or door opening — king/jack/sill, to 6 ftEA
- Frame straight stair — stringers, treads, to 14 risersEA
Decks & misc
- Deck framing — PT joists @ 16" oc, ledger, hardware (no decking)SF
- Hanger & hold-down hardware allowanceEA
- Crane — half-day minimum with operatorEA
Factors
- Steep-pitch factor — above 8/12: staging, fall protectionSF
Frequently asked questions
How do you estimate a framing job?
By system, not by stick. Walls in SF one side with sheathing included, floor systems in SF with subfloor glued and screwed, roofs as truss-set plan area or stick-framed surface area, then headers, beams, posts, stairs and hardware counted each. The assemblies on this page carry those rates — enter quantities and your crew rate, and labor hours, material and price come out.
How do I deal with lumber price swings in a framing bid?
Keep lumber visible as material-per-unit you can reprice the morning you bid, and say so in the proposal. Every assembly in this pack carries its material seed separately from labor, so a lumber move is a reprice of a few numbers — not a rebuild — and your labor rates stay untouched. Many framers also carry a validity window on the quote; that is a proposal setting here, not a handshake.
Does it handle trusses versus stick framing?
Both, as separate assemblies. Truss jobs price as set-and-brace per SF of plan area with the truss package quote carried in material, plus a crane line. Stick framing prices per SF of roof surface with a steep-pitch factor above 8/12. Swapping a bid between the two is swapping lines, not starting over.
Can I bill a framing contract with AIA-style pay applications?
Yes. On multifamily and light-commercial work the GC will want a schedule of values and monthly G702/G703-style pay applications with retainage. An accepted BuiltSum estimate becomes that schedule of values, and each month's billing rolls forward with change orders on their own lines.
Estimate it once. Bill it every month.
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