Free carpentry estimate template for trim and doors

By Gavin Harris, Staxen. Updated 2026-09-08.

This free carpentry estimate template covers finish work the way carpenters bid it: trim by the linear foot, doors by the opening, stair parts by the piece. It separates paint grade from stain grade, because that one choice roughly doubles material cost across the job. The page includes a downloadable PDF version of the full template.

Trim and molding

Doors and hardware

Stairs and wall treatments

Supplies and labor

Example scope

Trim out a 3 bedroom, 1,800 sf remodel: 640 lf of MDF baseboard with shoe, casing on 11 openings, crown in the living and dining rooms, window stool and apron on 9 windows, and 8 prehung interior doors with privacy and passage sets. Excludes painting, drywall repair behind demoed trim, and stain-grade upgrades, available by change order.

What a carpentry estimate must include

Grade stated on every trim line

MDF baseboard runs about $1.38 per linear foot against $2.15 for pine, and MDF crown about $2.40 against $4.35 for poplar. Stain grade means solid wood, tighter miters, and no caulk to hide behind. State the grade per line or the client will compare your poplar bid to somebody's MDF number.

Linear footage with waste included

Measure the runs and add roughly 10 percent for miters, splices, and the piece that splits on the last cut. Long walls burn less waste than chopped-up hallways with lots of corners. Show the footage on the estimate so added rooms later are simple multiplication.

Doors priced per opening, with condition

A prehung hollow-core is a different job than slabbing a solid core into a 1948 out-of-plumb jamb. Price hanging per opening, state whether openings are assumed plumb and square, and carry an hourly rate for correcting the ones that are not. Old houses is where door budgets go to die.

Hardware as its own lines

Levers, locksets, hinges, and door stops add up: a privacy lockset is about $29 and hinges $4.60 each, times 14 doors. Separate hardware supply from hardware installation so an owner buying their own designer levers just zeroes one line instead of unraveling the bid.

Exclusions for finishing and walls

Caulk and fill are yours, paint and stain usually are not, and neither is drywall repair behind demoed trim. Say whether wall repairs, painting, and floor protection are in or out. The gap between installed and finished is where finish carpentry disputes live.

Expiration and change order terms

Hold pricing 30 days. State that grade changes, added rooms, and site conditions like out-of-square walls or hidden framing issues get priced by signed change order. Stain-grade upgrades decided at the paint store, after install, are the classic one to guard against.

Estimating mistakes that cost carpenters money

Quoting stain grade at paint grade prices

Poplar crown costs nearly twice MDF, oak treads are $43 apiece, and stain-grade joinery takes longer because filler cannot save you. Confirm the grade before pricing, in writing, per line. The upgrade conversation is easy before install and impossible after.

Measuring lf without miter waste

A hallway with eight corners eats trim in unusable offcuts. Add 10 percent to measured runs as a baseline, more on rooms with many short walls. Buying trim twice, at retail, in a hurry, is the most expensive way to learn this.

Flat-rate door hanging in an old house

Out-of-plumb jambs and racked openings turn a 45 minute hang into half a day of shimming and planing. Flat rate is fine for new construction. On remodels, state the plumb-and-square assumption and an hourly rate past it.

Letting hardware hide in the door price

Fourteen doors of levers, hinges, and stops is several hundred dollars that vanishes if it rides inside the hang price. When the owner supplies designer hardware, an itemized bid just zeroes those lines. A blended bid has to be renegotiated.

No line for demo of existing trim

Pulling old base without destroying plaster, denailing, and hauling it off takes real hours before any new material goes up. Bid demo as its own line, and exclude repair of wall damage that was hiding behind the old trim.

Frequently asked questions

How is finish carpentry usually priced?

Trim by the linear foot per profile, doors by the opening, stair parts by the piece, and wall treatments like wainscot and shiplap by the square foot. Labor rides in the unit prices or as a separate hourly line. The unit structure is what makes added rooms and change orders quick to price.

Why does paint grade versus stain grade change the price so much?

Material roughly doubles, MDF crown around $2.40 per lf against $4.35 for poplar, and labor rises with it because stain-grade joints cannot be caulked or filled invisibly. Every gap shows through stain. The grade decision belongs on the estimate before a single stick is cut.

How much waste should trim carry?

About 10 percent over measured runs as a baseline, more in rooms with many corners or where long walls force splices. Miters consume length on every cut and the last piece of a run frequently splits or gets cut short. Waste is a real material cost, not padding.

Should demo of old trim be a separate line?

Yes. Careful removal, denailing, and haul-off take hours before new work starts, and old trim often hides wall damage nobody has seen yet. A separate demo line gets that time paid for, and a written exclusion covers the wall repairs behind it.

How do I fill this template out fast?

Describe the job by voice, 640 feet of base, 8 doors, crown in two rooms, and Eddie, Staxen's estimator, drafts this same structure priced and ready to text for e-signature. Eddie costs $59 per month, and the first job is free with no card and no time limit.

Start free with Staxen: your first job is on us, no card required.