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Trade

Short-term framing work in Puget Sound

Walls, floors and roofs. What the work involves, what employers should say in a post, and what workers should list in a profile.

What is short-term framing work?

Framing is building the wood skeleton of a structure, including walls, floors and roofs, and a framer for a day is usually brought in to finish a defined stage of that skeleton.

What the work involves

Framers measure, cut and assemble lumber into the structure that everything else attaches to: wall panels, floor systems, roof trusses or rafters, blocking and sheathing. The work is physical, outdoors and repetitive, and it moves fast when a crew is the right size.

Short-term framing work tends to be a stage rather than a whole house: stand the walls on a deck, sheathe a roof, frame a deck or an addition, or add extra hands when a crew is short on a deadline day.

Typical short-term jobs

  • Frame and stand walls on a prepared floor deck
  • Set trusses or rafters and sheathe a roof section
  • Frame a small addition, porch or deck
  • Add blocking, headers and backing during a renovation
  • Extra framers to catch up a crew behind on a stage

What employers should specify

  • The stage of work (walls, roof, floor, deck) and how much is ready to start
  • Whether plans or a cut list exist, and who leads on site
  • Who provides nail guns, compressors, saws and ladders
  • Whether the site is flat and clear or tight, sloped or muddy
  • Start time, finish time and a rough count of workers you need
  • Whether the project is under permit and an inspection is planned

What workers should list in their profile

  • Types of framing you have done (platform, balloon, light commercial) and for how long
  • Whether you read plans and lay out, or work from a lead
  • Tools you bring: nail gun, speed square, tape, circular saw, tool belt
  • Comfort working at height, and any fall-protection training you hold
  • Your ZIP code and how far you will travel

Safety and licensing notes

General information only

These notes are general. Rules depend on the project and change over time. Where this page is not certain it says to check with the state or the local building office.

  • Falls and nail-gun injuries are the main hazards in framing. Fall protection and tool training are the employer's responsibility to arrange on site.
  • Washington has its own workplace safety rules, enforced by Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). For fall protection on a specific job, ask the state rather than relying on a general summary.
  • Many people who build for others in Washington must be registered as contractors with L&I. Whether that applies to a particular arrangement is a question for the state.

Questions about framing on GapCrew

How many framers can I ask for in one job post?
A job post has a workers-needed field, so you can ask for more than one person for the same hours. You confirm each person you want until the places are filled, and then the job stops taking responses.
Do framers bring their own tools?
That is agreed in the job. Put in the post who supplies nail guns, compressors and saws, and workers list the tools they carry in their profile.

Last reviewed 2 November 2026. Official sources: Washington Department of Labor & Industries.