Playbooks 7 min read
Timing your outreach: when each trade buys
Every trade has a best time to call, counted from the permit date, and the material for it is decided about two weeks before that. Call before the window, not after it has passed.
A permit starts a clock. Excavators are needed almost right away. Painters are not needed for months. BuildMapper knows the right time for each trade, and timing is the biggest part of the whole score: up to 30 of the Timing group's 38 points when a project is right in that trade's best time.
TipIf you sell material, read every window two weeks early. Lumber is decided before the framer shows up, windows and doors before the envelope crew, flooring before the finishers. If framing runs day 14–42, the lumber conversation is the two weeks before day 14. The table below is each trade's window; if you sell the material for it, start two weeks earlier.
The best time for each trade
Days are counted from the date the permit was issued. Inside the best time is the strongest signal. The weeks just outside it still earn some credit, because real schedules slip.
| Trade | Best time starts | Best time ends |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation | Day 0 | Day 14 |
| Concrete | Day 0 | Day 28 |
| Foundation | Day 7 | Day 28 |
| Framing | Day 14 | Day 42 |
| Roofing | Day 28 | Day 60 |
| Envelope | Day 28 | Day 70 |
| Cladding / Siding | Day 35 | Day 70 |
| Mechanical / HVAC / Plumbing / Electrical | Day 42 | Day 84 |
| Insulation | Day 56 | Day 98 |
| Drywall | Day 70 | Day 98 |
| Finishing / Flooring / Paint / Cabinetry | Day 98 | Day 140 |
NoteThese ranges stretch with project size. A $20M tower at day 90 is still in framing, not past it, and BuildMapper widens the ranges on its own for bigger jobs. Schools, hospitals and other public buildings stretch the most. Renos and tenant improvements shrink. Use the range to decide when to start calling, then let the conversation tell you the real schedule.
How to play it
- 1Call before your time startsBuilders line up their trades ahead of need. If your best time starts at day 28, the list may be closing at day 14. A permit a week or two ahead of your trade is one to call now.
- 2Watch permits still in review if you sell big projectsPermits that are filed but not yet issued are still being designed. For multifamily and commercial work, that is the best time for early trades to get in, before the project ever breaks ground.
- 3Lead with the schedule, not your pitch"I saw the permit for 1200 Main go through. When are you looking to lock in roofing?" makes you someone who follows their project, not a cold caller.
- 4Treat a missed job as a relationship callMissed this one? Ask what else they have coming. The builder pulling one permit pulls the next one too. Star them and their next permit comes to you.
- 5Selling material? Everything moves two weeks earlierMaterial gets chosen and ordered before the trade shows up on site. If framing runs day 14–42, the lumber conversation starts two weeks before that, and the builder who already buys from you expects the call.