How to Quote a Framing Job in NZ — Lineal Metres, Treatment Classes, the Bracing Schedule, and Wind-Zone Hardware

Steve Parker
Jun 10
5 min read

Updated: Jul 9

Framing quotes in NZ go wrong in the schedules, not the studs: the bracing schedule that lands after the price, the treatment class that changes mid-wall, and the hold-down hardware the wind zone demands. Here is the quoting sequence that prices the frame that will actually be inspected.

By Steve Parker · Trueworks · NZ construction estimation · 5 min

What you'll learn in this post

The takeoff structure: lineal metres by member, grade, and treatment class
Why the bracing schedule and wind zone set the hardware bill
The exclusions that keep engineer revisions and LVL substitutions off your account

Quick answer: A defensible NZ framing quote prices lineal metres by member size, grade, and treatment class (H1.2 enclosed framing, H3.2 exposed and cantilevered elements, per NZS 3604 and NZS 3640) — never a blended rate per m² of floor area. The bracing schedule drives the sheet-brace elements, hold-downs, and fixings: NZS 3604 §8 BU demand scales with wind zone and seismic zone, and Wellington-grade demand roughly doubles Auckland's on the same plan. Hold-down and tie-down hardware tightens by wind zone under NZS 3604 §6 and §10 — proprietary cyclone-rated brackets in Very High and Extra High zones are 25-40% above standard-strap allowances. Engineered members (LVL beams, lintels past the tables, posts to PS1) price by the engineer's schedule and carry its revisions as variations. Wastage on framing timber: 7-10%.

Step 1 — lineal metres by member, grade, treatment

The takeoff lists every member class separately: bottom plates, top plates, studs by height and spacing, dwangs/nogs, lintels by the tables or the engineer's schedule, rafters or truss-interface members, floor joists and boundary joists, and the H3.2 lines — cantilevered deck joists, exposed posts, anything outside the envelope per NZS 3640 treatment requirements.

Grade and treatment per line: SG8 H1.2 is the residential default; H3.2 and the occasional H5 in-ground line price differently and cannot substitute silently. The quote that prices "all framing H1.2" then meets a deck detail in H3.2 funds the difference itself. Add 7-10% wastage.

Trusses vs cut roof: name which is priced. A trussed roof is a supplier package with a design certificate; a cut roof is your lineal metres and labour. "Roof framing as drawn" across that ambiguity is a five-figure spread.

Step 2 — the bracing schedule sets the real bill

NZS 3604 §8 bracing is demand-vs-capacity: the wind zone and earthquake zone set the BU demand per bracing line, and the brace elements (sheet braces by type and length, with their specific fixings and hold-downs) have to deliver it. The bracing schedule — architect's or engineer's — is the document that converts demand into your materials list.

Two pricing consequences:

Price the schedule revision by name. Bracing schedules move when the engineer confirms the wind zone or the geotech lands. A quote priced on the concept schedule and built on the confirmed one carries the delta unless the revision is named.
Brace-element systems are specific. Each proprietary brace type carries its own sheet, fixing pattern, and hold-down. Substituting "equivalent" elements without the schedule-holder's sign-off voids the BU rating and the PS3 with it.

Step 3 — wind-zone hardware

NZS 3604 §6 and §10 fixing and hold-down requirements scale with wind zone. Medium-zone strap-and-nail allowances do not survive Very High and Extra High zones, which call up proprietary cyclone-rated brackets with specified embedment and fastener counts — at 25-40% above standard hardware allowances, plus the labour of the specified install.

Name the zone on the quote: "Framing, fixings, and hold-downs priced for [zone] per NZS 3604." On the exposed ridges of Wellington, the kilometre between High and Extra High is a real percentage of the frame price.

Step 4 — engineered members and the PS chain

Lintels past the NZS 3604 tables, LVL beams, steel-post interfaces, and anything tagged SED price off the engineer's schedule: member by member, with connection hardware (joist hangers by rating, bolted connections, post bases) counted, and the PS1-to-PS3 chain named — who inspects, at what hold points.

The exclusion line: "Engineered members priced to engineer's schedule revision X; changes via PS1 revision priced as variations."

Step 5 — exclusions, interfaces, validity

The defensible framing quote carries:

Drawing and bracing-schedule revisions priced, by name
The wind zone priced, by name
Truss package in or out, by name — and who owns the truss design interface
Engineered-member revisions as variations
Existing-structure interfaces on renovations excluded or priced from inspection — line, level, and borer/rot discovered at strip are not yours at a fixed price
Crane or hiab time allocated by name
30-60 day validity — structural timber and LVL pricing both move

FAQ — quoting framing in NZ

Q1: Can I quote framing per square metre of floor area? As a sanity check only. The rate hides treatment-class lines, bracing hardware, and engineered members — the three places framing quotes actually lose. Price the lineal-metre takeoff.

Q2: What wastage factor for framing timber? 7-10% depending on stud heights against stock lengths and the cut-up of the plan. State it in your records; the quote carries the quantities.

Q3: Who pays when the bracing schedule changes after the quote? Whoever the quote says. Name the schedule revision priced; the engineer's confirmed schedule then lands as a variation, not an absorbed cost.

Q4: H1.2 or H3.2 — who decides? NZS 3640 and the drawings: H1.2 for enclosed framing, H3.2 for weather-exposed and cantilevered elements. The quote should carry both as separate lines wherever the design has exposed structure — the substitution risk runs both directions.

Q5: What changes in Very High and Extra High wind zones? Fixing schedules, hold-down hardware, and bracing demand all tighten under NZS 3604 §6, §8, and §10 — proprietary brackets replace straps and the BU demand climbs 25-40%+ over Medium. Price the named zone, never a national default.

Get your next framing tender measured properly

Drawings + the bracing schedule + 5 business days = a lineal-metre takeoff by member and treatment class, the hardware bill by zone, and your exclusions drafted.

No charge for your first packet. No commitment. NDA available. Files NZ-hosted, deleted after 30 days unless you ask us to retain them.

→ Get the free check at trueworks.co.nz/contact — or email hello@trueworks.co.nz

About Trueworks

Trueworks is built by Steve Parker — 20 years on the analytical side of NZ construction. Variation reviews, contract advisory, programme review, and AI-augmented document workflows. Trueworks is the productisation of that practice for builders: same defensible analysis, at a price and pace a NZ builder can actually use.

Every report is checked and signed off by me personally before it goes out. If you have a framing tender closing, the easiest way to find out if Trueworks is useful is to send the drawings.

hello@trueworks.co.nz · trueworks.co.nz

Got a quote, tender or variation on your desk? Get it checked — written, code-cited, back within 24 hours. First check free. Send us the drawings and the quote, tender or variation. You get a written, code-cited check back within 24 hours. No charge for your first check. No card, no obligation. NDA available. → Get the free check at trueworks.co.nz/contact — or email hello@trueworks.co.nz