A framing carpenter builds the floors, walls and roofs of new homes, additions and apartment buildings for a contractor that frames for home builders. They lay out and nail walls on the deck, stand and brace them, set trusses with the crew, and hang doors and trim on some jobs.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, structure and exterior contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for executing framing, finish carpentry, and trim work to meet project specifications and high-quality standards under direct supervision. Contributes to efficient project timelines while ensuring safety and craftsmanship excellence on every job. Plays a key role in supporting the construction team to deliver superior home services to our valued clients.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Interpret blueprints and drawings to accurately install framing and finish carpentry elements.
Execute trim work with precision to enhance interior aesthetics and structural integrity.
Follow safety protocols and quality standards at all times.
Collaborate with team members and supervisors to ensure timely project completion.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review project plans and specifications to plan daily work tasks.
Measure, cut, and install framing, finish carpentry, and trim materials.
Conduct quality checks on workmanship and material usage throughout the day.
Communicate with supervisors and clients regarding project status and any required adjustments.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
On-time project completion rate: ≥ 95%.
Quality rating from supervisor inspections: ≥ 4.8 out of 5.
Waste material reduction: ≤ 5% per project.
Customer satisfaction rating: > 4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent with relevant vocational training.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience in carpentry and framing.
Proficient in the use of hand and power tools with a strong emphasis on safety.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well in a team environment.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in home services or residential construction.
Familiarity with modern building codes and sustainable construction practices.
Experience with both traditional and modern carpentry techniques.
Exposure to project management software for tracking tasks and quality control.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift loads of up to 50 pounds.
Stand, bend, and work in physically demanding positions for extended periods.
Comfortable working in varying weather conditions, including hot and cold environments.
Capacity to work in confined and high-elevation work areas when required.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular work hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Occasional overtime or weekend work depending on project demands.
Minimal travel requirements between job sites.
On-call availability for urgent project needs may be required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly wage range: $20 - $30 per hour depending on experience and skills.
Performance-based bonuses available based on project milestones.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
401(k) plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a dynamic, growth-oriented company committed to excellence and customer satisfaction.
Our team values collaboration, integrity, and continuous improvement.
We invest in our employees' professional growth and offer opportunities for advancement.
Join us to work in a supportive environment where craftsmanship and innovation meet.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What framing for home builders asks of a carpenter
A remodel carpenter may spend weeks in one house. A framer at a framing contractor moves from lot to lot on a builder's schedule, so clean layout, steady pace and safe habits at height decide who keeps the job.
Six feet up means guardrails or a harness
OSHA's residential rule, 1926.501(b)(13), applies at 6 feet. Once a framer stands that high above the next level down, the crew must use guardrails, safety nets or harness-based fall arrest. On a second-floor deck that means a top rail and midrail along open edges and the stairwell, or a full-body harness on an anchor that meets OSHA's strength rule, such as one rated for 5,000 pounds per worker. Body belts are banned in fall arrest systems, so an old belt and lanyard won't do. Source: OSHA fact sheet: Reducing falls while erecting walls (FS-3554).
Walls get guarded and braced before they stand
OSHA's fact sheet on erecting walls suggests sheathing a wall and fastening guardrails across its window and door openings while it still lies on the deck, so those openings are covered once it stands. A forklift or wall jack can lift long walls; raising them by hand adds strain hazards. Good crews also nail temporary braces before anyone lets go of a raised wall, and leave them until the walls are tied together. Source: OSHA fact sheet: Reducing falls while erecting walls (FS-3554).
The nail gun trigger matters
Building walls, nailing blocking and setting trusses are what the NIOSH and OSHA guide calls placement work, where a hand holds the lumber near the nail. For that work, the guide says to supply full sequential trigger nailers at a minimum. It reports that in one study, two in five residential carpenter apprentices had a nail gun injury during four years of training, and that contact triggers carry twice the overall risk of sequential ones. Source: NIOSH and OSHA: Nail gun safety, a guide for construction contractors.
Shot pins take a trained hand
Bottom plates of interior walls on a slab are often fastened with a powder-actuated tool. OSHA's rule lets a worker run one only after training on the exact tool in use. The tool gets a daily check before loading, stays unloaded until just before firing, is never left loaded and unattended, and never points at anyone, loaded or empty. Pins don't go into very hard or brittle spots such as glazed tile or glass block, or into concrete an earlier pin has spalled. Source: 29 CFR 1926.302: Power-operated hand tools (Cornell LII).
The builder's calendar sets the pace
Framing comes early on a builder's schedule, and every trade after it waits on the frame. A crew that falls a day behind holds up the plumber, the electrician and the HVAC installer on that house, then on the next one. Good framers keep their layout tight so nobody is pulling walls apart when the builder's superintendent walks through.
How much framing carpenters make
Carpenters who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $28.27 an hour ($58,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $60,580 median for carpenters in all industries. About 90,870 of the 670,090 carpenters in that survey work for structure and exterior contractors.
Framers here earn an hourly rate, and the template adds bonuses when builder milestones are met. Some framing contractors pay crews by the house or by the square foot instead. Piece-rate framers are still owed overtime: for each hour past forty in a week, half their regular rate on top, and that rate counts everything they earned that week, bonuses included.
Structure and exterior contractors
$58,790$58,790 median Middle half $47,960–$75,610 10th–90th $39,200–$102,310
All industries
$60,580$60,580 median Middle half $48,510–$76,830 10th–90th $40,410–$99,910
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Structure and exterior contractors
$39,200
$47,960
$58,790
$75,610
$102,310
All industries
$40,410
$48,510
$60,580
$76,830
$99,910
BLS doesn’t publish pay for framing contractors on their own. These figures cover foundation, structure and building exterior contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Snaps lines and marks plates for studs, headers and openings from the plans
Keeps production pace without letting walls go out of plumb or square
Runs a framing nailer and circular saw safely
Ties off or works behind guardrails without being told
Is on the deck at start time and does a full share of the crew's work
Teach these on the job
Your builders' plan sets and the hold-downs and shear walls they call for
Setting trusses with a crane and your bracing steps
Powder-actuated tools, trained on the brand you own
Door hanging and basic trim for jobs that include it
Reading engineered lumber and truss layouts
Framers bring a belt of hand tools: framing hammer, speed square, tape, chalk line and a cat's paw. Nailers, the compressor, a worm drive or sidewinder saw, a rotary laser and harnesses usually come from the company.
Framing carpenter interview questions
Two of the 7 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Questioning the plan
The header size on the plan looks too small for the opening you're framing. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks the structural sheet and notes, then asks the lead or project manager before framing it, and doesn't swap sizes on their own.
Behavioral · Catching mistakes
Tell me about a time you found a measurement mistake after you had already cut or built something.
A strong answer: Owned it, fixed it properly, and explains what they now do to catch it earlier, such as checking twice from the same reference.
Score these per house or building for the crew this framer works on, and pick the bars from what your crews reached last year.
On-time project completion rate
Houses or floors this framer's crew completed on or before the builder's scheduled day, out of all assigned. Record late lumber, trusses or rain days separately.
Quality rating from supervisor inspections
The lead's or field supervisor's score from the walk before the framing inspection: plumb walls, right headers, hold-downs and nailing as drawn. Track misses by type.
Waste material reduction
Lumber and sheathing hauled off as scrap or reordered, against the takeoff for each house. Cutoffs reused as blocking count as saved.
Customer satisfaction rating
Here the customer is usually the builder. Ask the superintendent to rate each house on schedule, cleanliness and corrections, and read the comments about this framer's crew.
Career path
Laborer / helperCarries lumber, cleans the deck and learns layout basics.
Framing carpenterLays out, nails and stands walls, then decks and roofs, on a crew.
How can you check a framer's layout skill before hiring?
Hand them a plan sheet and a few plates and ask for one wall laid out: a window, a door and a corner, with studs, kings, jacks and cripples marked. Watch how they pull measurements and whether they check the header size on the plan. A short layout test tells you more than a list of past builders.
How much does a framing carpenter make?
Carpenters who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $28.27 an hour ($58,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $47,960 and $75,610 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Is there an apprenticeship for framers?
O*NET lists "Carpenter, Rough" and "Residential Carpenter Specialist" among the carpenter titles approved for Registered Apprenticeship. That gives a framing contractor a recognized way to bring a helper up through the trade. Ask each candidate whether they finished a program or learned on crews, then test the skill either way.
Should a framing carpenter hang doors and trim too?
Some framing contractors keep a separate trim crew for doors, casing and base once drywall is done. If one of your framers crosses over, test them on hanging a pre-hung door plumb in a rough opening. A sloppy rough opening turns into a door that won't latch weeks later, and the builder calls you, not the trim crew.
How do you weigh speed against accuracy in a framer?
Builders hire framing contractors to hold the schedule, so pace matters, and many framers take pride in it. But a wall framed fast and an inch off makes the plumber drill extra holes and the drywall crew shim. Compare framers first on the houses they worked that passed framing inspection with no corrections, then on pace.
How do you write the physical demands into a framing ad?
The template's physical list covers lifting up to 50 pounds, bending, heat and cold, and high or tight work areas. Write those as the tasks: carrying sheathing, standing walls with the crew, working off wall tops and second-floor decks in a harness, and framing through summer and winter. EEOC guidance lets you state physical tasks like these and ask applicants whether they can do them. Leave out lines such as "comfortable working" or "for extended periods", which describe the person, not the job.
