A lumber takeoff turns a framing plan into a list of pieces, each with a size, a length and a count that a yard can price. You count studs from wall length and spacing, read header and joist sizes from the plans, work out sheets from area, then round every piece up to the stock length it is sold in. This guide shows how to do a lumber takeoff on one small house, with every sum printed. It sits inside the wider takeoff method.
What a lumber takeoff produces
A framing takeoff ends in a purchase list, not a measurement list: one line per size and length, with a count, plus panels counted in sheets. Measuring is half the job. The other half converts each measurement into the unit a yard sells, which is the step behind how a buy list is built. The work runs in five passes:
Print the inputs: lengths, heights, spacing, openings and the plan date.
Count wall studs and plates, then headers.
Count joists and trusses, then sheets from area.
Round each piece up to a stock length and merge lines.
Run the six error checks and date the list.
The example is a one-story house on a framed floor, with illustrative inputs.
Input | Value | Read it from |
|---|---|---|
Footprint | 24 ft by 36 ft | Floor plan |
Walls | 2x4 at 16 inches, 8 ft high | Wall types, sections |
Exterior runs | 36, 36, 24 and 24 ft | Floor plan |
Partitions | 24 ft and 13 ft 6 inches | Floor plan |
Rough openings | 1 door at 38 inches, 4 windows at 36, 2 at 60 | Door and window schedules |
Floor | 2x10 at 16 inches, 143-inch run to a center girder | Floor framing plan |
Roof | Trusses at 24 inches, 6:12 pitch, 1 ft overhang | Roof plan, truss layout |
Left out on purpose: the girder, sill plates, joist doubling, blocking, wall sheathing, interior doors, header spacers, window sills, hardware, hips and valleys, and the truss layout. Wall lengths are taken as drawn, with no deduction for wall thickness, and the sole plate runs through the door. The plans, the engineer and the local code decide real sizes and spans.
Wall framing: studs, plates, corners and openings
First, take one run of wall. Convert its length to inches, divide by the spacing, round up, and add one for the end stud. The 36 ft wall is 432 inches, so 432 divided by 16 is 27 spaces and 28 studs. The 13 ft 6 inch partition is 162 inches, or 10.125 spaces, which rounds up to 11 and gives 12 studs.
Then add what spacing does not produce: a third stud at each corner, two backing studs at each T-intersection, and king and jack studs on each side of every opening. These are this example's conventions, so follow your plan details. Blocking and backing often appear only in notes, wall sections, elevations and details. Read every one before you close the count, as electrical estimators read the legend and notes.
Component | Sum | Studs |
|---|---|---|
Exterior runs | 28 + 28 + 19 + 19 | 94 |
Corners, 1 extra each | 4 x 1 | 4 |
Interior runs | 19 + 12 | 31 |
T-intersection backing | 4 x 2 | 8 |
King and jack studs | 7 openings x 4 | 28 |
Total | 165 |
Spaced studs that land inside an opening become cripples, and the count leaves them in. As a check, 165 studs on 157.5 ft of wall is 1.05 per foot, against 0.75 for bare spacing. A result near 0.75 means the extras were skipped.
Plates run in three plies, one sole plate and two top plates, and each wall length counts once per ply. That is 157.5 ft times 3, or 472.5 ft. A county building handout based on the 2018 International Residential Code says top plate end joints must be offset at least 24 inches. The two plies are therefore cut differently, and the adopted local code controls.
Wall studs are usually bought precut. Here they are 92 5/8 inches, and with three plates at 1 1/2 inches each the framed wall is 97 1/8 inches tall, the sum worked in a Fine Homebuilding Q&A. A taller wall needs a different stud length, so record wall height on every run.
Headers and joists: counting by span
Header sizes are designed, not counted. The plans carry a header schedule keyed to opening width, and the county handout above sends headers to section R602.7 and its tables.
With one jack stud at each end, a header runs the rough opening plus 3 inches, which is twice the 1 1/2 inch thickness of a dry 2x4, per the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau. If the detail doubles the jacks, add 3 inches more.
Mark | Count | Rough width | Header from plan | Piece length | Pieces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 | 1 | 38 in | two 2x8 | 41 in | 2 |
W1 | 4 | 36 in | two 2x8 | 39 in | 8 |
W2 | 2 | 60 in | two 2x10 | 63 in | 4 |
Joists use the stud formula. A center girder splits the 24 ft width into two runs. Along the 36 ft length, 432 divided by 16 is 27 spaces, plus 1, so 28 joists a run and 56 in all. The rim runs the two 36 ft sides, 72 ft, because the first and last joist of each run already sit on the gable ends. Each joist is the plan's 143-inch run, which a 12 ft stick (144 inches) covers with 1 inch to spare. At 145 inches the same joists need 14 ft sticks, which is 2 ft more wood in each of 56 pieces, or 112 ft.
Roof framing, sheathing and subfloor: sheets from area
Trusses are ordered from the manufacturer's layout, and a takeoff lists them as a count. As a check, 432 divided by 24 is 18 spaces, plus 1 makes 19. The layout still sets the real number.
Panels are nominally 4 ft by 8 ft, or 32 sq ft, and APA lists 4x8 feet as standard for OSB. Check the net coverage printed on the panel you buy. The subfloor is 24 ft by 36 ft, or 864 sq ft, which is 27 sheets. That works only if every offcut is reused: six rows of 4 1/2 sheets, each row starting with the half sheet left from the one before. Then add 5 percent for damage and mistakes. 27 times 1.05 is 28.35, so order 29.
The roof, however, needs the slope. A 6:12 roof has a slope factor of 1.118, the square root of 1 plus 0.5 squared. Each side runs 13 ft in plan (12 ft of half-span plus 1 ft of overhang), so its slope length is 13 times 1.118, or 14.534 ft, by 38 ft long (the 36 ft house plus 1 ft of overhang at each gable). Two sides give 2 x 14.534 x 38, or 1,104.6 sq ft, which is 34.52 sheets. A 10 percent allowance for gable and ridge cuts makes 37.97, so order 38.
Round up to stock lengths without over-ordering
Most dimension lumber is sold in lengths that are multiples of 2 ft, per Natural Resources Canada, and precut studs are the exception. Buy each piece at the next length that covers it, and ask the yard which lengths it stocks.
Long runs such as plates and rim need no cut list: length times the allowance, divided by the stick length, rounded up. Plates come to 472.5 ft times 1.10, divided by 16, or 32.48. You order 33 sticks.
Pieces that cannot share a stick make the stick length a decision. Three 39-inch pieces plus three saw cuts at an assumed 1/8 inch each use 117 3/8 inches, which fits a 10 ft stick. The ten 2x8 pieces therefore take 4 sticks. On 8 ft sticks only two fit, and the order grows to 5. Both orders buy 40 ft of 2x8, so the yard's price for each stick length decides. The four 63-inch 2x10 pieces pair up on a 12 ft stick (126 1/4 inches): 2 sticks instead of 4.
Next, merge lines before you send them. Joists, rim and 2x10 headers share a size and length, so they become one line. Net is 56 + 6 + 2 = 64. The 5 percent allowance on joists and rim (58.8 and 6.3, rounded up) makes 59 + 7 + 2 = 68. Also keep net, allowance and order in separate columns on your lumber takeoff sheet, the layout a takeoff template with a waste column walks through.
Line | Net | Allowance | Order |
|---|---|---|---|
2x4 precut studs, 92 5/8 in | 165 | 5% | 174 |
2x4 x 16 ft plates | 29.53 sticks | 10% | 33 |
2x8 x 10 ft headers | 10 pieces | cut list | 4 |
2x10 x 12 ft joists, rim, headers | 64 | 5% on joists and rim | 68 |
Roof trusses | 19 | fabricator layout | 19 |
4x8 subfloor panels | 27 | 5% | 29 |
4x8 roof panels | 34.52 | 10% | 38 |
Allowances here are this example's own. Set yours from your cull records and your yard's terms.
Why the framing list goes stale after a revision
A revision changes dimensions, and a list is a snapshot of one set, so print the drawing date and addenda at the top. Stretch the example from 36 ft to 38 ft (the roof then runs 40 ft) and seven lines move: studs 165 to 169, plates 472.5 to 484.5 ft, joists 56 to 60, rim 72 to 76 ft, trusses 19 to 20, subfloor 27 to 28.5 sheets and roof panels 34.52 to 36.34. Change the inputs, rerun every line and reissue the list with a new date and a change note.
Six places framing counts go wrong
Corners counted twice or not at all. Each run's end stud is already counted, so a three-stud corner adds one, not three. Check: count corners on the plan and match the corner line.
Spaces rounded down. A run of 28.5 spaces needs 29. Check: every run uses round up, never round to nearest.
A header cut to the opening. A 38-inch opening needs a 41-inch header with one jack at each end. Check: piece length minus rough width equals 3 inches for every jack stud at each end, so 3 inches with one jack and 6 with two, on every line.
A piece one inch past the stick. A 145-inch joist needs a 14 ft stick. Check: sort pieces by length and recheck any within 2 inches of a stick length.
Sheets from flat area. Without the slope factor the roof is 988 sq ft, or 30.88 sheets, which is 3.64 short. Check: multiply plan area by the slope factor before dividing by 32.
Pieces no formula makes. Blocking, backing, window sills, header spacers, nailers and connectors often appear only in notes, sections, details and schedules. Check: search the notes, sections, details, elevations and connector schedules for those words and give each its own line.
Send the list so supplier quotes compare
A buyer can only compare supplier quotes if every quote starts from the same list, so an independent list in stock lengths, with the revision date on it, is what makes a dealer's own number comparable. Send each yard the same request and compare line by line, not by total. A low total with two lines missing is not a low quote.
Once quotes are in, an estimate template that starts from quantities takes the order lines, and unit costs and markup turn them into a bid number. Builders who want that last step done for them can see what a priced residential estimate includes. If the list takes longer than the bid allows, read when outsourcing a takeoff pays.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate studs for a wall?
Convert the wall length to inches, divide by the spacing, round up and add one for the end stud. A 36 ft wall at 16 inches is 27 spaces, so 28 studs. Then add corner studs, backing at T-intersections, and king and jack studs at each opening.
How do you convert a lumber list to board feet?
A board foot is 144 cubic inches, or 1 inch by 12 by 12. Multiply thickness in inches by width in inches by length in feet, then divide by 12. The 12 is 144 divided by the 12 inches in a foot. Surfaced softwood is figured on nominal sizes, so a 12 ft 2x10 is 2 x 10 x 12 / 12, or 20 board feet.
Why do lumber takeoffs round up to stock lengths?
Dimension lumber is mostly sold in 2 ft steps, so a piece that needs 143 inches is bought as a 12 ft stick and one that needs 145 inches as a 14 ft stick. A list in stock lengths gets quotes that match line for line, and the yard can say which lengths it stocks.
What should you ask a lumber dealer about its list?
Ask which drawing date and addenda the list used, which stud lengths it assumed, what allowance each line carries, and whether quotes are per piece or per thousand board feet. Then put the same questions to your own list.
How much waste should a lumber takeoff add?
There is no single figure. The example carries 5 percent on studs, joists, rim and subfloor panels and 10 percent on plates and roof panels. Raise an allowance for angled walls, hips and valleys, or an incomplete plan set. Lower it only where your cull records and the yard's terms support it. Show net, allowance and order in separate columns.
