A lead framing carpenter runs one framing crew on a builder's houses or apartment buildings and frames alongside it. They read the plans and truss layouts, plan each wall raise and crane day, teach newer framers, and walk every frame before the building inspector sees it.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, structure and exterior contractors · BLS, May 2025
A highly skilled Lead Carpenter specializing in framing and carpentry techniques, responsible for executing advanced carpentry tasks, mentoring a dedicated crew, and ensuring exceptional craftsmanship. This role is instrumental in delivering high-quality construction projects while upholding safety standards and efficiency, directly contributing to the company’s reputation for excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and supervise carpentry crews on framing and carpentry projects.
Execute advanced carpentry work to meet and exceed quality standards.
Mentor and provide technical guidance to team members.
Interpret blueprints and project plans to ensure precise execution.
Maintain adherence to safety protocols and building codes at all times.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily inspections of work sites to ensure high-quality craftsmanship.
Provide hands-on technical support and problem resolution during framing activities.
Collaborate with project managers to develop project timelines and goals.
Implement quality control measures through regular site walkthroughs.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: Achieve at least 95% on-time completions per project.
Quality Inspection Score: Maintain a minimum quality score of 98%.
Mentorship Effectiveness: Facilitate weekly training sessions with crew feedback ratings above 90%.
Material Efficiency: Limit material waste to below 5% per project.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in carpentry with advanced framing expertise.
Strong leadership skills with proven experience in team mentoring.
Proficient in reading blueprints and interpreting construction plans.
Excellent attention to detail and problem-solving capabilities.
Valid driver’s license; OSHA certification is a plus.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in residential and commercial framing projects.
Familiarity with modern carpentry tools and techniques.
Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a small construction team.
In-depth knowledge of local building codes and construction industry standards.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
Comfortable working outdoors in various weather conditions.
Frequent bending, climbing, and standing for extended periods.
Capacity to work in environments with noise, dust, and other industrial conditions.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional overtime and weekend shifts may be required.
On-site work at residential and commercial construction sites.
Minimal travel between job sites as needed.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $50,000 - $70,000 USD per year.
Performance-based bonus structure available.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401k retirement plan with company matching.
Paid time off along with professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are dedicated to fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous growth. Our team values craftsmanship, teamwork, and a commitment to customer satisfaction. We believe in empowering our employees with the tools and opportunities they need to advance their careers, and we celebrate collaborative success in every project we undertake.
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].
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A framing lead does more than frame faster than the crew. On builder work the lead decides how each wall goes up, how the trusses get set and where each framer ties off, then answers for the frame at inspection.
When guardrails and harnesses won't work
Under OSHA's residential directive, in force since June 2011, framers 6 feet up get guardrails, nets or fall arrest gear, and OSHA presumes one will work. Only an employer that proves all three can't work, or add danger, at a spot may use a written fall protection plan there. Under 1926.502(k), a qualified person writes it for that site, it gives the reason at each location, and a competent person supervises it. A plan reused for a model home counts only if it covers every fall issue on that lot. Source: OSHA: Compliance guidance for residential construction (STD 03-11-002).
One truss is not an anchor
OSHA's truss fact sheet warns that trusses are weak from the side until they are braced. A strap or bolt-on anchor on one truss won't hold a falling worker. Many crews assemble and sheathe a section, typically four trusses, on the ground and set it by crane. Once that braced section is fastened down, peak anchors on it can carry lifelines for the rest of the roof. Source: OSHA fact sheet: Reducing falls while installing roof trusses (FS-3477).
Truss bracing follows the industry's BCSI guide
BCSI, the truss industry's safety guide from SBCA, covers handling trusses on site and both temporary and permanent restraint and diagonal bracing. The newest edition is BCSI-2025. It is an industry guide, not an OSHA rule. A lead keeps it and the truss maker's layout on site and braces as each truss is set, rather than leaving a row standing on a few nails until the end of the day. Source: SBCA: Building Component Safety Information (BCSI) guide.
Weekly training doubles as OSHA training
The template asks for weekly crew training. OSHA requires a fall protection training program for every framer who could be exposed to a fall, with training by a competent person and a written certification for each worker that names them, gives the date and carries the trainer's or the employer's signature. Retrain when the site, the gear or a worker's habits show it's needed. If your lead qualifies as that competent person, a weekly session on guardrails and harnesses can serve both purposes once it's recorded. Source: 29 CFR 1926.503: Fall protection training (Cornell LII).
The frame is judged at inspection
Before the building inspector comes, the lead walks the frame with the plans: hold-downs in the right spots, shear wall nailing at the spacing drawn, headers and beams sized as called, and fire blocking where the plans show it. A correction notice costs a return trip and can delay the insulation crew and the drywallers waiting behind you.
How much lead 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.
The lead draws a yearly salary in this template, topped up by bonuses for results. A lead who frames most of the day is still a carpenter under federal overtime rules, so the salary alone doesn't remove overtime; the FAQ explains. For its pay surveys, BLS files a framing lead under carpenters unless the lead spends four-fifths of the week or more supervising, so this chart blends leads with the framers they run.
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
Has run a framing crew on new homes or multifamily buildings
Reads structural sheets, truss layouts and shear wall schedules
Plans a wall raise or crane day before the crew arrives
Teaches layout and nailing on the job without stalling the crew
Catches a wrong header or missing hold-down before the inspector does
Teach these on the job
How you write site fall plans and log each framer's training
The BCSI guide and your truss suppliers' layouts
Working with your crane company on truss and panel lifts
Your daily report, photo and time app
Each builder's details and inspection checklist
A lead carries the crew's layout tools, such as a rotary laser and long tapes, plus a phone or tablet holding the plan set, truss layout and daily reports. Tell candidates whether the lead drives a company truck and hauls the compressor and nailers.
Lead framing carpenter interview questions
Two of the 6 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 · Damaged trusses
A truss arrives with a broken web while the crane is on site. What do you do?
A strong answer: Sets it aside, doesn't install it or repair it without the truss maker's engineered repair, calls the supplier, and changes the lift order.
Behavioral · Mentoring
Tell me about a time you helped a carpenter whose layout, nailing or trim work needed to improve.
A strong answer: Showed them how, checked their work, gave specific feedback, and saw improvement.
Review the lead's numbers house by house, compare leads across a full season, and base every bar on your own records first.
Project Completion Rate
Frames this lead's crew finished by the builder's scheduled date, out of all they started. Note delays from late trusses, lumber or plan changes separately.
Quality Inspection Score
Framing inspections passed with no correction notice, plus the field supervisor's pre-inspection score, on houses this lead ran. Record each miss by type.
Mentorship Effectiveness
Training sessions held each week and the crew's written ratings of them, plus how many helpers moved up to framer under this lead.
Material Efficiency
Lumber and sheathing scrapped or reordered on this lead's houses, against the takeoff. Count reorders caused by cutting mistakes apart from supplier shortages.
Yes, if framing is the main job. The federal rule says carpenters outside management must get overtime, whatever their pay. A salary meant to cover a 40-hour week then sets the regular rate: turn the yearly salary into a weekly one, divide by 40, and pay time and a half on that rate for every hour past forty. Check your state's rules too.
How much does a lead 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.
Who writes a framing company's fall protection plan?
A qualified person, under OSHA's rule. OSHA's fact sheets say that can be the owner, a supervisor or another worker with deep knowledge, training and experience in fall protection who can solve fall problems. The lead often helps, since they know how each house goes up, and every framer working under the plan is trained on its methods.
Where does a lead framer's job end and a field supervisor's begin?
The lead plans and frames one house or building at a time: the wall order, where the crane sets up, where each framer ties off, and the nailing the inspector will check. The field supervisor moves between several crews, rechecks their frames and settles problems with builders' superintendents. At a smaller framing company, the owner may handle the supervisor's part.
How can you try out a lead framer before hiring?
Give them one of your plan sets with its truss layout and ask how they would frame it: the order of the walls, where the crane sets up, where each framer ties off, and what they check before inspection. Then show a photo of a frame with a missing hold-down or a wrong header and see how fast they spot it.
Should a lead framer deal with the builder's superintendent?
For daily matters, yes: tomorrow's start, a missing window, where to drop the next load. Anything that changes the price, such as added blocking or a plan revision, goes to your project manager so it gets signed and billed. The framing project manager template asks for extra work to be signed the same day it's done.
What physical work belongs in a lead framer job ad?
Start from the template's tasks, such as climbing, bending and 50-pound lifts, and add what your leads really do: walking wall tops to check bracing, climbing to set truss anchors, and working a long crane day on the deck. Ask every finalist the same question about that work. Skip the template's "comfortable" and "capacity" wording, which is about the person, not the work.
