Timber frame cutting list: from the framing to the pieces to cut

The take-off tells you how much timber a wall needs. The cutting list tells the saw what to cut: which sections, in which lengths, how many, for which panel. The two must agree, and the cutting list is the one that decides how much timber goes in the skip. Here is how to build it from the framing, which columns it needs, how to group it, how to handle stock lengths, and a worked 8 m wall.

What is the difference between a cutting list, a parts list and a take-off?

The three come from the same data and answer different questions:

In practice the shop keeps one table of pieces, one row per piece type and panel, and builds the three views from it. The parts list is the panel's own part of the panel shop drawing. The wall take-off is the aggregate. The cutting list sits in between and decides what is actually bought and cut.

For steel, the equivalent step is described in light gauge steel take-off from a plan.

How do you get from the framing to a cutting list?

Start from the framing of each panel, as drawn on its sheet, and work through these steps:

1. List the panels, with their marks, from the panel layout.
2. List every piece in each panel: studs, jack studs, sills, short studs, bottom plates, top plates, lintels, noggings. Give each type a code (ST, JK, SL, SS, BP, TP, HB, LT). The head binder (HB), the second ply of the top plate, is listed separately, per wall: it is fitted on site, with its joints staggered from the panel joints.
3. Give every piece its cut length, not the overall wall length: a stud is the wall height minus the plates, a bottom plate is cut at doors, a lintel is the opening plus its two bearings on the jack studs.
4. Count the pieces of each length in each panel. Identical pieces share one row with a quantity.
5. Add the section to each row. Never total different sections together: a 45 × 195 lintel isn't ordered like a 45 × 145 stud.
6. Total each row (quantity × length) and each section.
7. Place the lengths on stock lengths to see the offcuts and the real quantity to order (next sections).
8. Check the totals against the panel drawings and the take-off.

Rebuilding the list by hand after every plan change is where lines get forgotten. Whichever tool you use, the list should be generated from the framing, not retyped.

What columns does a cutting list need?

Keep lengths in the same unit as the saw's stop (metres to three decimals, or millimetres). A cutting list with mixed units is a cutting list with errors.

Should you group the list by panel or by section?

Both, from the same table. The two groupings serve different people:

The usual flow: sort by section and length for the saw, label each piece with its panel and mark, then deliver the pieces to the table kitted by panel. The label is what holds the two views together.

How do you handle stock lengths and offcuts?

Timber is bought in the lengths your supplier stocks, not in the lengths you need. The cutting list gives the pieces; nesting places them on stock lengths so that several pieces share one length and the offcut is as short as possible.

The rules of thumb:

• match the stud to the stock: a stud of 2.365 m comes out of a 2.40 m length with 35 mm to spare. Raise the wall by 50 mm to 2.55 m and the stud becomes 2.415 m: it no longer fits, it moves to a 3.00 m length and every stud leaves 0.585 m behind;
• start with the long pieces, then fill the remainder with short ones: the 0.86 m short studs come out of the offcut of a longer piece when one is available;
• keep plates for last: plate lengths follow panel widths, so check whether the panel width can be matched to a stock length (a 4.20 m panel takes a 4.20 m plate with no waste);
• allow for the saw kerf and for the defects your own grading rejects: the figures below are net, and the shop's own allowance goes on top, taken from your jobs.

Example: an 8 m wall in two panels, with its stock plan

By panel. W1-P1 holds 9 studs, 2 jack studs, a sill, 2 short studs, a bottom plate, a top plate and 2 lintels (18 pieces). W1-P2 holds 10 studs, 2 jack studs, 2 bottom plate pieces (cut at the door), a top plate and 2 lintels (17 pieces). Wall binder pieces: the second ply of the top plate is 8.00 m long in 3 pieces (3.00, 3.00 and 2.00 m), butted at 3.00 and 6.00 m, that is 1.20 m and 1.80 m from the panel joint (4.20 m): it runs across the joint and ties the two panels together. The joint adds one end stud: 19 studs in all, against 18 in the continuous wall of the take-off guide.

By section and length (the saw's view), 45 × 145:

Volume and weight. 79.575 × 0.006525 + 4.56 × 0.008775 = 0.519 + 0.040 = 0.559 m³ net, about 235 kg in C24 at 420 kg/m³ (the density used in the take-off guide).

Stock plan. Suppose the supplier stocks 45 × 145 in 2.40, 3.00 and 4.20 m, and 45 × 195 in 2.40 m (example lengths: use your supplier's list):

To order: 82.20 m of 45 × 145 (31 lengths) and 4.80 m of 45 × 195 (2 lengths). The offcuts are 2.625 m on 45 × 145 (3.2 %) and 0.24 m on 45 × 195 (5 %). Add the shop's own allowance for defects and re-cuts on top. A different panel split, a higher wall or another stock list changes this plan, which is why the stock plan is redone for each job, not copied.

How do you check the cutting list before ordering?

Three controls, in this order:

1. Per panel: the pieces of each panel on the list match the parts list of its sheet, line for line.
2. Per wall: the totals by section equal the sum of the panels. A wall in panels exceeds the continuous wall by the end studs at the joints (one extra stud per joint in this example).
3. Per job: the volume and weight by section match the take-off. A gap points to a missing line, a wrong cut length or a different build-up between the take-off and the drawings.

Do the check before the order goes out, not when the timber arrives short.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cutting list in timber frame construction?

The list of pieces the saw must cut, with for each one a section, a cut length, a quantity and a mark. It comes from the framing of each panel and is usually sorted by section and length.

What is the difference between a cutting list and a bill of materials?

The cutting list gives the pieces to cut from stock. A bill of materials (or parts list) gives everything that goes into a panel or a job, including boards, membranes and fixings. In a timber frame shop the cutting list covers timber and nothing else.

How do you reduce offcuts?

Match the piece lengths to the stock lengths: wall height and stud length against the stock, panel width against plate stock. Then nest short pieces on the remainder of long ones, and redo the plan when the wall height or the panel split changes.

Should the cutting list include noggings?

Yes, if your build-up has them. Add a line per row of noggings in each panel, with its section and cut length. The example above has none, so its totals stay comparable with the take-off guide.