Framing sits on the critical path of every multi-family project: nothing rocks, ropes, or roughs-in until the frame is up. When framing slips a week, the whole job slips a week. After 1,000+ framed units, here's what we've learned actually keeps the schedule.
1. Crew size is a commitment, not a guess
The number-one cause of slipped framing schedules is a sub who bid with 14 carpenters and shows up with 6. Demand a crew-size commitment in the subcontract — ours typically specify a minimum (12+ carpenters with a working foreman on multi-family) with the schedule tied to it.
2. Build unit-by-unit, report weekly
A framing schedule that says "Building B: 6 weeks" is a wish. A production plan that says "4 units framed per week, walls Monday–Wednesday, decks Thursday–Friday" is a plan you can verify every Friday. If production drops below plan, everyone knows in days — not at the monthly OAC meeting.
3. Sequence deliveries like they're trades
Lumber drops, truss deliveries, and panel shipments need the same look-ahead discipline as subcontractors. A truss crane sitting idle costs money; trusses buried under next week's lumber drop cost more.
4. Make inspections a non-event
Rated assemblies, draft stopping, shear nailing, and hold-downs should be photographed and self-inspected before the official walk. A failed framing inspection can freeze three trades. Our foremen walk every building against the inspection checklist before we ever call it in.
5. Respect the weather, don't fear it
Upper-Midwest framing means snow. Winter framing works when you plan it: sequence dry-in early, stage materials for snow removal, and keep temporary enclosure in the budget instead of pretending January won't happen.
Need a framing sub whose schedule promises hold? Talk to Edge Enterprise — multi-family is our core trade, from Fargo to the Twin Cities metro.