Compare carpentry & framing quotes properly
The frame package spans supply, labour, hardware and hire — and every quote draws those boundaries differently. Level them, or discover the boundaries at frame inspection.
Tick the items each quote explicitly prices. Not sure or can’t find it? Leave it blank — that’s the point.
| Scope item | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frames & trusses: supplied by this quote, or labour-only? | |||
| Frame/truss package matches your wind classification & engineering | |||
| Tie-down and bracing hardware supplied and installed | |||
| Steel beams/lintels: supply, delivery and crane time | |||
| Scaffold or work platforms — whose cost, for how long? | |||
| Fix carpentry (doors, skirting, architraves) in or out of this quote? | |||
| Eaves, fascia and external trims | |||
| Waste removal and site cleanup | |||
| Frame/truss compliance certificates handed over |
General guidance only — the checklist covers the most commonly missed items, not every line your framing and carpentry package needs. Your drawings and engineering are always the final scope.
The items carpenter quotes most often leave out
A blank in a quote is not "included" — it's "unpriced", and unpriced work comes back mid-build as a variation with no competition on the price. These are the lines to hunt for in every framing and carpentry package quote before you sign:
Frames & trusses: supplied by this quote, or labour-only?
A labour-only quote next to a supply-and-install quote is not a comparison — it is two different contracts.
Frame/truss package matches your wind classification & engineering
A frame priced to the wrong wind rating fails inspection after it is stood — the dearest kind of cheap.
Tie-down and bracing hardware supplied and installed
The straps and brackets the frame inspection lives on — small money, but never assume they are in.
Steel beams/lintels: supply, delivery and crane time
Steel arrives on a truck that needs a crane; unpriced lifts bill by the hour, on the day.
Scaffold or work platforms — whose cost, for how long?
Scaffold hire runs weekly. If the quote is silent, the hire and the extension both land on you.
Fix carpentry (doors, skirting, architraves) in or out of this quote?
Frame-and-fix vs frame-only is thousands of difference behind one word in the heading.
Eaves, fascia and external trims
A classic boundary item — assumed to be the roofer’s or cladder’s until nobody has it.
Waste removal and site cleanup
Framing offcuts fill bins fast; bin hire and tipping quietly total four figures across a build.
Frame/truss compliance certificates handed over
Fabricator certificates are inspection-day paperwork — make providing them part of the scope.
How to read your result
The comparison above is the first pass of the levelling method: make every quote answer the same scope list, then compare. When the tool finds blanks, don't cross that quote off — send each carpenter their blank lines and ask for prices in writing. An honest contractor fills them in quickly; evasion ("we'll sort it on site") is information too. For the full line-by-line version across every item in your drawings, use the free levelling spreadsheet — and the quote comparison guide walks the whole method.