Job costing for drywall and framing contractors

Drywall jobs move in phases, framing, board, tape, and finish, and each one can quietly eat the next one’s budget. JobMargin keeps framing materials, board, and finishing on separate lines and puts every crew hour on the right job, so you know where you stand before the tapers show up.

What drywall and framing contractors track in JobMargin

• Materials by phase. Framing materials, board, and finishing & mud each get their own budget, so a lumber or stud price jump doesn’t hide inside one big “materials” number.
• Hangers and tapers on the clock. Crews clock in to the job on their phones, with the location recorded at clock-in and clock-out only, so hours land on the right building.
• Scope by area and finish level. Line items like “Level 4 finish, exam rooms” or “Fire-rated corridor walls” become the job’s scope, and progress is logged by quantity.
• Daily logs with photos. Your foreman logs what got done and adds photos, which helps when another trade damages finished walls.

Set up for drywall and framing from the first day

When you pick Drywall & Framing as your trade, JobMargin loads these cost categories for budgets, receipts, and job costs. You can rename or add your own at any time.

• Drywall & Board
• Labor
• Framing Materials
• Finishing & Mud
• Supplies
• Equipment Rental
• Disposal
• Fuel
• Subcontractor
• Other

Bid line items use the units drywall actually bid in: square feet (SF), linear feet (LF), each (EA), and lump sum (LS).

Example: what a drywall job looks like mid-way

Metal stud framing, board, and a Level 4 finish on a 9,000 sq ft medical office. Framing is done, board is about 70% hung, and taping has started.

Framing materials came in on budget at 96%, and board is tracking with what’s hung at 71%. Labor is 74% spent, and the slower finishing work is still ahead. The crew has the last 26% of the labor budget to tape, finish, and punch, and that’s the number to watch this week.

Guides and tools for drywall and framing contractors