By trade · Framing

Studs, plates and sheathing, from the plans to the punch list

Take off your wall lineal feet, count your openings and headers, carry the sheathing and trusses, and keep the crew's hours on the right job.

On a framing job

  • Framing nailer
  • Circular saw
  • Framing square
  • Chalk line
  • Speed square
  • Laser
A framing nailer fastening a board on a wood-framed deck
Photo: TROY ALLEN on Unsplash · sample sheet, not a customer drawing

How a framing job runs

  1. 01Snap lines
  2. 02Plate and layout
  3. 03Stand walls
  4. 04Plumb and line
  5. 05Sheath
  6. 06Set trusses

Pinnacle follows a framing job through every step, from snap lines to set trusses, and from the takeoff to the closed books.

Everyday problems on a framing job

  • Wall footage gets scaled off the plans with a tape, then redone after every revision.
  • The lumber package goes up mid-job and nobody re-prices the bid.
  • Blocking and backing for the owner's TVs gets put in but never billed.
  • Punch-out hours get lumped in with the main frame, so you can't see what the frame really cost.

(Illustrative trade situations, not customer data or quotes.)

How it works

  1. Take it off the plans: Measure wall lengths and count openings, headers and holdowns right on the sheet. The footage goes to the estimate with your studs, plates and sheathing.
  2. Buy it and post it: Put the lumber package and trusses on a PO, and post the yard's bills to the job.
  3. Change it, bill it, close it: Write up added backing and blocking as a change order, bill the floors that are framed, and keep frame and punch on separate cost codes.

Shop talk, Pinnacle talk

What you call it on a framing job, and where it lives in Pinnacle.

On the jobIn Pinnacle
Wall lineal feetMeasured lengths on the takeoff
Openings, headers, holdownsCounted items on the plan
Lumber package, trusses, sheathingMaterial lines with live prices, then POs
Backing and blocking extrasChange orders
Frame vs punch-outSeparate cost codes

What's in Pinnacle

  • Takeoff on the drawing. Open the plan set, measure lengths and areas, and count items right on the sheet. Every measurement becomes a quantity line in the estimate, so each number in your framing / carpentry bid traces back to the drawing it came from. Trade tools are built to let you measure walls, floors, and sheathing on the plan so lumber quantities feed the estimate Early access.
  • Bid board to bid day. Every project you're chasing sits on one bid board, with its estimate attached. On bid day the final numbers are all in one place, and the bid you win carries straight into a live job.
  • Assemblies and a parts library. Build an assembly once from your own parts and cost codes, then drop it into any estimate. Your shop's way of pricing work stays consistent from bid to bid.
  • Live material prices. Material lines in the estimate carry live prices. Built to let you plug in your own price sources (supplier price files in CSV, supply houses or pricing services) from the admin area Early access.
  • Cost control tied to the job. Purchase orders to the yard, bills, AP and AR post to the job and its cost codes. Job cost shows what's committed and what's spent while the work is still going.
  • Change orders and extras. Log added scope on the job and the sold number moves with it, so extras get billed instead of forgotten.
  • WIP and job P&L. See where each job stands at month end without rebuilding it in a spreadsheet.
  • The books. Journals, trial balance, P&L and aging sit in the same system as the jobs that feed them.
  • Hours and payroll. Post crew hours (straight, overtime, double time) and run payroll from them. Built today for a single shop; payroll for any shop is designed into the platform Early access.
  • AIA G702/G703-style pay apps. Build the pay app from the job you already set up, with the schedule of values right there.
  • Insights. Making-and-spending charts, plus billed, leftover and job mix, pulled from your job files.
  • Teams and job chat. Channels, meetings and files for the office and crews, and job chat that keeps the files and photos with the conversation.
  • Project manager desk. One place for a PM to run their jobs.
  • Secure sign-in. Multi-factor sign-in protects your shop's data.

See the full catalog

The Pinnacle vision

Where the product is headed. Each item below is designed into the platform.

  • Invoice inbox: Designed to let you drop a supply-house PDF and file the bill to the job in one click Early access
  • Price alerts: Designed to flag price moves in your own price sources (supplier price files in CSV, supply houses or pricing services) Early access
  • Executive view: Designed to give owners live jobs and one-click approval lists Early access
  • CSV export, email the books, reverse posted entries: Designed to export journals, trial balance and job cost, email the books, and reverse a posted entry instead of editing it Early access
  • Payroll lock: Designed to lock payroll when the period closes Early access
  • Certified payroll and WH-347: Designed to prepare and track certified payroll, WH-347 and tax worksheets (Pinnacle does not file or certify with any agency) Early access

Also in Pinnacle

  • Shop files: View shop files right on the job

Questions

Is there a separate edition for framing / carpentry?

No. Every trade uses the same Pinnacle office package, from the estimate to the books.

Can I take off quantities from the drawings?

Yes. Measure and count on the plan and send the quantities to the estimate. Trade tools are designed to go further and measure walls, floors, and sheathing on the plan so lumber quantities feed the estimate Early access.

Do POs and bills stay on the job?

Yes. POs, AP, and AR live in cost control, tied to the job.

Can I see WIP and job profit?

Yes. WIP and job P&L sit in the books next to journals and the trial balance.

Can it run payroll for my shop?

Crew hours (straight, overtime, double time) post in Pinnacle, and payroll runs from those hours. Payroll is built today for a single shop; payroll for any shop is designed into the platform Early access. Request a demo to see it.

Can I prepare certified payroll and WH-347?

Pinnacle is designed to prepare and track certified payroll, WH-347 and tax worksheets Early access. Pinnacle does not file or certify with any agency.

AIA, G702 and G703 are trademarks of The American Institute of Architects; no affiliation or endorsement implied.

Tell us about your shop

Tell us how your office runs a framing job today, from snap lines to set trusses. We'll walk through Pinnacle on your kind of work.

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