About Frame Sums

Frame Sums is the notebook page a framer keeps: the board-foot table, the riser chart, the pitch-to-degrees chart, rafter lengths by span, boards per deck, posts per fence, balusters per rail, studs per wall. Each chart is computed from the formula printed beside it, and each page has a calculator underneath for the dimensions the chart does not list.

The sources

A board foot is 144 cubic inches on nominal dimensions. Stairs follow the International Residential Code, R311.7: risers no more than 7¾ inches, treads at least 10, and the comfort rule that twice the riser plus the tread lands near 25. Roof pitch is rise per 12 inches of run, so the angle is the arctangent and the slope factor is the hypotenuse over 12. Guards follow R312.1.3, the 4-inch sphere. Wall framing uses 16-inch centres, three-stud corners and a king and jack at every opening. Material take-offs carry a stated waste allowance. Where a local code differs, the local code wins.

What this site doesn't do

It doesn't store what you enter, require an account, size structural members or replace an inspector. Span tables depend on species and grade; headers, beams and footings need the tables or an engineer. The charts here are for planning, layout and ordering.

Corrections

If a chart, formula or code citation here is wrong, email hello@framesums.com. The maths is stated on each page so a correction can be checked against it.