Frame, roof and fix-out measured off the plans and delivered as a cutting list you can order from — member by member, length by length, not a lump sum per square metre of floor area.
Carpentry priced per square metre of floor area works on a plain rectangular house and falls apart on anything else. Cathedral ceilings, a cut roof, long spans and a complicated fix-out all change the timber bill without changing the floor area at all.
We measure the actual members. Studs at the specified centres, plates, noggings, lintels, rafters, hangers and battens, each with a length and a count, so what you get is close to an order rather than an allowance. Your timber rates and your labour rates go in the spreadsheet and you can move either.
Wall framing is measured wall by wall: plate lengths, stud counts at the specified centres, extra studs at openings and corners, noggings by row, and lintels scheduled against the opening sizes. Load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls are kept separate because the sizes differ.
Roof carpentry is measured off the roof plan and the pitch. A truss roof is a truss schedule plus battens, bracing and fascia. A cut roof is rafters, hips, valleys, ridge, underpurlins and struts, each measured to its true length rather than its plan length — which is the step most quick estimates skip.
Floor systems come back as bearers, joists, blocking and sheeting. Fix-out is measured as its own package: doors, jambs, architraves, skirting, shelving and hardware, counted by item and linear metre so the second fix is priced rather than guessed.
Nothing here is an allowance. Each line is measured off your drawings in its own unit, so you can check it against the plan yourself.
| Item | How it is measured | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Wall plates | Top and bottom plate lengths per wall, by size and grade | Plate metres are the easiest line to check the whole frame against |
| Studs | Counted at specified centres, plus jamb, king and corner studs | Openings add studs. Counting at centres alone under-orders every time |
| Lintels | Scheduled by span, size and grade from the opening schedule | Lintel size comes from span and load, not from the door width |
| Roof members | Rafters, hips, valleys, ridge, underpurlins and struts at true length | Plan length is shorter than true length on every pitched roof — the steeper the roof, the bigger the gap |
| Trusses | Scheduled by type and span, with girder and hip sets identified | A truss schedule is a supply order; getting it wrong stalls the whole frame |
| Battens and bracing | Linear metres at specified spacing, plus bracing and tie-down | Tie-down and bracing are code requirements, not optional extras |
| Floor system | Bearers, joists, blocking and sheeting by size and area | Joist spacing follows the span table, which follows the load |
| Fix-out | Doors, jambs, architraves, skirting and shelving by item and metre | Second fix is a large labour item and it is almost never measured properly |
| Driver | Where it comes from | Effect on the takeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Stud centres | Specification, commonly 450 or 600mm | Changes stud count across every wall |
| Roof pitch | Elevations and roof plan | Converts plan lengths to true member lengths |
| Span tables | AS 1684 for the member size and spacing | Sets joist, rafter and bearer sizes |
| Wind classification | AS 4055 site wind class | Drives bracing and tie-down quantities |
| Timber grade | Specification — MGP10, MGP12, LVL, treated pine | Changes both size and price per metre |
| Waste allowance | Typically 5–10% on framing | Higher where standard lengths cut badly |
A roof measured off the plan view is always short. At 22.5 degrees the true rafter length is about eight per cent longer than the plan length; at 30 degrees it is around fifteen per cent. On a large roof that gap is a lot of timber.
We take the pitch off the elevations and measure every sloping member to its true length, then add the hip and valley lengths, which are longer again. Sheeting, battens and sarking areas get the same treatment — roof area, not floor area.
The same five steps on every job, whether it is a single slab or a full tender package.
Email the architectural and structural drawings, the specification and the scope of works in whatever format you have — PDF, DWG, or photos of a marked-up set. If something is missing we will tell you before we start, not after.
Wall framing is measured wall by wall: plate lengths, stud counts at the specified centres, extra studs at openings and corners, noggings by row, and lintels scheduled against the opening sizes. Load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls are kept separate because the sizes differ.
Every measured item gets its own colour and legend entry on the drawing. When the takeoff comes back you can see exactly what was counted and what was not, so you are never asked to trust a number you cannot trace. This is the part clients tell us they did not know they needed until they had it.
The takeoff is delivered as a working spreadsheet, not a locked PDF. Your rates sit in their own column, so you can change a supply price or a labour rate and watch the total move. Plug in your own numbers and the sheet is yours to reuse on the next job.
Quantities are re-measured independently and cross-checked against the drawing before anything leaves here. You get the marked-up plans, the priced spreadsheet and a plain-English note on anything we flagged as unclear or excluded.
The takeoff arrives as a live Excel spreadsheet with the colour-coded marked-up plans beside it. Your rates go in your own column, so you can plug in your own supply and labour numbers and reuse the sheet on the next job. Nothing is locked.
First estimate free. After that the fee is confirmed in writing as a fixed amount before any work starts. No retainer, no subscription, no lock-in contract. Full pricing detail here →
The same house framed in a sheltered suburb and framed on an exposed coastal block are two different timber orders. Wind classification under AS 4055 drives bracing units and tie-down, and both scale quickly as the classification goes up.
We read the wind class and the engineer's bracing plan before measuring, and if they are not in the set we ask. Framing quantities taken from the architectural plan alone will be light on exactly the items that a certifier checks.
Quantities are measured against the standards and the specification for your job. Where a drawing and a standard disagree, we flag it rather than quietly picking one.
| Standard | Covers | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| AS 1684 | Residential timber-framed construction | Member sizes, spacing, bracing and tie-down |
| AS 4055 | Wind loads for housing | Site wind classification |
| AS 1720 | Timber structures | Design properties for structural timber |
None of these are unusual. They are the things that get missed when a quote is put together at 9pm after a full day on the tools.
If your question is not here, email it through and you will get a straight answer, not a sales call.
A cutting list: member by member, with sizes, grades, lengths and counts, grouped by wall and by roof element. It comes as a live Excel sheet, so you can drop your supplier's rates in and get a total, or hand the quantities straight to your timber merchant.
You also get the marked-up drawings with each measured element colour-coded, so you can check what was counted before you order.
Yes. A truss roof comes back as a truss schedule by type and span, plus battens, bracing, tie-down and fascia. A cut roof is measured member by member — rafters, hips, valleys, ridge, underpurlins and struts, all at true length off the pitch.
Always. Sloping members and roof areas are converted from plan dimensions to true dimensions using the pitch off the elevations. It is the single biggest source of shortfall in carpentry estimates, and it gets worse the steeper the roof.
Architectural drawings with elevations and sections, plus the engineer's framing or bracing plan where there is one. The specification tells us stud centres, timber grades and any nominated products.
For a truss roof, the truss layout if it exists. If it does not, we will measure the roof and note that the schedule needs confirming against the fabricator's design.
Yes, and most carpenters ask for it that way. Frame, roof and fix-out come back as separate packages with their own totals, so you can quote them separately or stage them.
Yes, typically five to ten per cent on framing, and we show it as its own line. Where a required length cuts badly out of standard stock we note it, because that is where waste really comes from rather than from breakage.
Most residential frames come back within 24 hours of the plans landing. A large or heavily detailed job takes longer because there are more members to measure — we confirm the timing before starting.
Most jobs cross more than one trade. We can price the whole package in one spreadsheet.
Your first estimate is free. Email the drawings and the scope, and you will have a marked-up takeoff and a priced spreadsheet back within 24 hours on most residential jobs. Prefer to talk first? Reply with "KEEN" and your number.