Paths · Foundations

Carpenter, Frame to Finish

Carpentry is the trade with no licence and the widest range of work, which makes it easy to learn badly and hard to prove. This path runs the way a carpenter actually grows: the measurement and layout everything rests on, framing floors, walls and roofs, the formwork that carries wet concrete, the finish work that gets judged from three feet away, the safety rules that govern all of it, and finally what to do about the fact that the licence you eventually need is a contractor licence, not a carpenter one.

30 steps

Goal credential: Carpentry and Framing Contractor License

Measure, mark, lay out

  1. 1Construction Math for Carpenters
  2. 2Blueprint Reading
  3. 3Site Layout and Squaring
  4. 4Levels, Lasers and Transits

Framing the structure

  1. 5Framing Fundamentals
  2. 6Floor Systems
  3. 7Wall Framing
  4. 8Roof Framing and Rafter Math
  5. 9Stair Layout and Construction
  6. 10Engineered Lumber and Trusses

Formwork for concrete

  1. 11Formwork Fundamentals
  2. 12Wall and Column Forms
  3. 13Form Pressures and Failure Prevention

Finish work

  1. 14Door and Window Installation
  2. 15Trim and Casework
  3. 16Cabinet Installation

The code you build to

  1. 17Building Code Basics for Carpenters
  2. 18IRC or IBC: Which Code Applies

Working safe

  1. 19Fall Protection for Carpenters
  2. 20Residential Fall Protection
  3. 21Nail Gun Safety
  4. 22Saw Safety and Guarding

The career and the licence question

  1. 23The Carpentry Apprenticeship
  2. 24Running Crews
  3. 25From Carpenter to General Contractor
  4. 26Getting Into a Carpentry Apprenticeship
  5. 27Do Carpenters Need a License
  6. 28The Framing and Carpentry Contractor License
  7. 29NCCER Credentials for Carpenters
  8. 30Carpentry Pay and Job Outlook