stick framing
and crowned
warranty
Wood framing contractor in Chicago
Stick framing is the oldest trade in our company and still the backbone of Chicago housing. We frame in dimensional and engineered lumber the way it's supposed to be done — culled, crowned, glued, screwed and checked with a straightedge before anyone sees drywall.
Wood is forgiving to build with — and unforgiving of shortcuts
Every piece of lumber is an individual: it has a crown, a moisture content and a grade stamp. Good wood framing is the discipline of sorting, orienting and fastening a few thousand of those individuals so they behave like one structure for the next hundred years.
We frame with kiln-dried dimensional lumber — Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine where strength matters — and bring in engineered lumber (LVL beams, I-joists) where spans and loads outgrow sawn wood. Boards that arrive twisted, waned or wet go back on the truck. It's slower on day one and faster every day after, because straight frames don't generate callbacks. Our crew has framed this way for 27 years, on homes and multi-unit buildings across the city.
- Kiln-dried framing lumber, #2 grade or better — culled by hand
- Pressure-treated at every concrete and grade contact
- Engineered lumber — LVL, I-joists — specified where it earns its cost
- Glued-and-screwed subfloors: no squeaks, no callbacks
- Full hardware schedules — hangers, straps, every hole nailed
- Framed year-round, Chicago winters included
Where wood wins — and where we'd tell you steel
We frame both materials, so this list has no thumb on the scale.
Wood is the right call for
- Houses, additions and second stories — cost, speed and code all favor it
- Matching existing structure in remodels — wood ties into wood
- Decks, porches and garages (pressure-treated where exposed)
- 2–6 unit residential buildings where code allows combustible framing
- Warm, insulating exterior walls — stud bays hold insulation naturally
- Long-span floors and headers via engineered lumber — LVL and I-joists
Why: for residential structure, wood delivers the most building per dollar, and every trade in Chicago knows how to work around it.
Where we'd steer you to steel
- Commercial interiors in noncombustible buildings — code decides, not preference
- Basement walls against foundation concrete — steel doesn't feed mold or rot
- Very long open spans where structural steel beats a lumber beam
- Walls that must stay laser-straight forever — steel never crowns or shrinks
The full picture — gauges, fire ratings, structural steel — lives on our steel framing page.
Know your lumber like a framer does
Six materials do most of the work in a wood frame. Tap each one — including the fact nobody tells homeowners: none of the sizes are what they say they are.
2x4 & 2x6 studs
The vertical members of every wall. Here's the industry's oldest surprise: a "2x4" actually measures 1.5 by 3.5 inches — the name describes the rough-sawn size before drying and planing. We frame exterior walls in 2x6 where insulation depth matters, and we sight down every single stud before it goes in, crown oriented consistently, with the twisted ones culled for blocking.
Six details that separate a frame from a pile of lumber
None of these show up in a low bid, and all of them show up in how the house feels in ten years.
Culling & crowning
Every stick gets sighted down its length. Crowns face the same way — up on joists, aligned on walls — and lumber too twisted to behave gets cut into blocking instead of built into your wall.
Glued-and-screwed subfloors
Construction adhesive plus screws turns sheets and joists into one stiff diaphragm. It's the difference between a silent floor and the squeak you chase for years after the carpet goes in.
Blocking where life happens
Fire blocking where code demands it, backing where towel bars, cabinets, handrails and TVs will hang. Cheap frames skip it; you find out when the anchor pulls out of bare drywall.
Every hole in the hardware
Joist hangers, hurricane ties and straps are engineered assuming a nail in every hole. Our crew fills them all — the inspector checks, and more importantly, the load path doesn't care about excuses.
Moisture discipline
Lumber stored off the mud, wet-stacked deliveries rejected, and frames dried in fast. Wood forgives rain during framing — it doesn't forgive being closed up wet behind a vapor barrier.
The straightedge walk
Before we call the frame done, walls get checked with a straightedge and a string line. It's a half-day that saves the drywaller a week of shimming — and saves you from ever noticing a wave.
Wood framing cost calculator
Labor and lumber for the framing trade, priced the Chicago way. Pick the project and size — and note the lumber-market factor, because wood is the one building material with a ticker symbol.
Ranges are 2025–2026 Chicago-area planning figures. Because roughly half a wood frame's cost is the lumber package, we price from current yard quotes and lock material early when the market is climbing. For a firm number, request a free site visit.
Wood framing costs in Chicago
What wood framing runs by project, and the levers that move a lumber bid.
Cost by project type
| Project | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Garage, porch or deck framing | $14–$25 /sq ft |
| Gut-rehab interior reframe | $12–$25 /sq ft |
| New home structural shell | $18–$35 /sq ft |
| Room addition framing | $20–$40 /sq ft |
| Second-story addition framing | $25–$45 /sq ft |
| Wood partitions (interior, non-bearing) | $15–$30 /lin ft |
| LVL beam installed (wall removal) | $4,500–$12,000 |
What moves a lumber bid
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Lumber futures market | ±10–20% |
| Engineered lumber upgrades | By design |
| Vaulted / complex roof framing | Add 15–25% |
| 2x6 exterior walls (insulation) | Add 3–6% |
| Waste factor on complex plans | 5–15% |
Good to know
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Frame in winter? | Yes — we do |
| Share of total build cost | ≈ 15–20% |
| Lumber grade we frame with | #2 or better |
| Studs on center | 16 inches |
Wondering what goes in the walls after us? Our guide to Chicago framing insulation and R-values covers it — and our post on the six most common house framing mistakes shows what we get hired to undo.
Want a number for your own project? Try our Chicago framing cost calculator — choose your scope and size and it returns a planning range in about thirty seconds.
From lumber list to passed inspection
A wood frame is only as good as its preparation — the takeoff, the yard, and the crew.
Takeoff & lumber pricing
We take off the frame from your drawings — every stud, sheet, beam and hanger — and price it against current yard quotes. When the market is climbing, we lock material early.
Engineering & permits
LVL sizing, point loads and shoring plans get coordinated with the engineer, and Chicago permits get pulled before a saw starts. Paper first — it's cheaper to fix there.
Cull, crown & frame
Material lands, the bad sticks get culled, and the frame goes up — crowned, blocked, strapped and glued where it counts. Additions get weathered-in fast.
Straightedge & inspect
We walk every wall with a straightedge before the city walks it with a checklist. The rough inspection passes, and the drywall crew sends thank-you notes.
More framing from Bofran Builders
Steel framing
Metal studs and structural steel — where wood isn't the answer, this is.
Steel framing in ChicagoResidential framing
New homes, additions, second stories and Chicago's old housing stock.
Residential framing in ChicagoCommercial framing
Build-outs, demising walls and multi-unit work — including framing-only scopes for GCs.
Commercial framing in ChicagoOr go back to the framing services overview.
Wood framing, backed in writing
- 5-year structural warranty on the frames our crew builds
- Culled, crowned and straightedge-checked before drywall
- 30-day post-project check-in once the job closes out
- Documentation that follows the house
What our clients say
"The deck and staircase construction on a residential building was completed fast, under budget and with high quality. Even the city inspector was impressed with the workmanship."
"Our architect recommended Bofran Builders and we couldn't be happier. Frank and his team worked with us throughout building our new home, making excellent suggestions. Built on schedule despite permit obstacles — and more affordable than other contractors. The craftsmanship is phenomenal."
"They did a great job replacing both support beams on our rooftop pergola — a tricky job with heavy materials in a tight space. I appreciated the attention to detail matching the existing accents and the timeliness to finish."
Wood framing FAQs
Labor plus lumber: garages, porches and decks run $14–$25 per square foot, gut-rehab reframes $12–$25, new home shells $18–$35, room additions $20–$40 and second stories $25–$45 per square foot. Roughly half of a wood frame's cost is the lumber package itself, which is why bids move with the lumber market — the calculator above even lets you test that. As a share of a whole project, framing is typically 15–20% of construction cost.
Kiln-dried framing lumber graded #2 or better — Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine where bending strength matters — with pressure-treated material at every concrete and grade contact, exactly as code requires. Just as important is what we don't frame with: boards that arrive twisted, waned or soaked go back to the yard. Culling is the cheapest quality control in construction.
Whenever the span or load outgrows sawn lumber — long headers, beams over removed walls, open-plan floor systems. LVL beams are stronger and more predictable than any sawn timber of the same size, and I-joists span further, weigh less and arrive straighter than 2x lumber. They cost more per stick and earn it back in performance; where sawn lumber does the job, we don't upsell you out of it.
Yes — cold weather is fine for wood framing, and we work year-round. Winter framing is mostly a logistics discipline: lumber stored off the snow and mud, fasteners and adhesives rated for the temperature, and the frame dried-in promptly. What wood actually dislikes isn't cold — it's being sealed up wet, and that's a workmanship issue, not a weather one.
Four habits, none of them expensive and none of them common: every stick sighted and crowned before installation; subfloors glued and screwed so they act as one stiff plate; blocking and backing installed where code and real life demand it; and a straightedge-and-string-line walk of every wall before we call the frame done. Squeaks and waves are built in on day one or never.
For houses: wood, almost always — cheaper, warmer, and it ties into the existing structure. For commercial interiors: steel, usually by code. The useful exceptions run both ways: steel basement framing in damp foundations, steel beams for long spans, and wood partitions in multi-unit buildings where code allows. We frame both, so you get the answer per wall — the full comparison is on our steel framing page.
Not if it's detailed right. Rot needs sustained moisture, so the defenses are pressure-treated lumber at concrete and grade, flashing and clearances done properly, and a frame that was dry when it was closed up. Termites are less common in Chicago than further south, and treated sills plus dry detailing remove what attracts them. A hundred years of Chicago housing stock is the proof: wood lasts when the water is managed.
Call (773) 969-9097, email bofranbuilders@gmail.com, or send the project form on this page. We'll take off the frame from your plans, price it against current lumber quotes, and give you a straight answer on cost and schedule — no obligation.
Let's put good lumber to work
Tell us about the project. We'll take off the frame, price it against current lumber quotes, and come back within one business day with an honest number and schedule.
Call us directly
Start your wood framing project
We'll get back to you within one business day.