Plan a code-aware deck — framing, footings, fasteners and cost — in seconds.
Estimates are planning aids, not a professional quote. Double-check quantities and product coverage — and any local code or permit requirements — before you buy.
| Lumber & Decking | $1,238–$1,674 |
| Connectors & Brackets | $418–$566 |
| Fasteners & Hardware | $222–$301 |
| Finishing & Sealant | $136–$184 |
| Concrete & Footings | $89–$121 |
| Total | $2,103–$2,845 |
Excludes tools, delivery, tax and permit fees. Labor not included — this is a DIY materials estimate.
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About this calculator
Give it a size and a decking material and you get a complete build package: decking and framing quantities, beam and footing layout, every connector and fastener, a grouped shopping list, the tools you'll need, a cost range and a realistic build time.
Start with five inputs and a full plan appears immediately. Open advanced options to dial in joist spacing, board width, picture-frame borders, railings, frost depth and waste — the package updates as you type.
Step by step
A step-by-step walkthrough to go with your plan above. Follow the product instructions and any local code or permit requirements as you work.
Confirm your sizing against local span tables, pull a permit if required, and call 811 to mark utilities before you dig. Lay out the footprint with batter boards and string, then square it by equalizing the diagonals.
Dig each footing below the frost line, set the post bases, and pour the concrete. Get the post-base layout square and level — the whole frame references off these.
For an attached deck, flash and bolt the ledger to solid house framing. For a freestanding deck, stand the posts, then set the beams on top. Establish your level reference line here.
Hang the joists off the ledger and beam at your on-center spacing, crown up, and add mid-span blocking. Check the frame for square and level before decking.
Cap the joist tops with butyl tape, then fasten the decking with consistent gaps, working from a straight reference line. Add a picture-frame border last if you chose one.
Lay out the stringers with a framing square and stair gauges, cut and test-fit one, then cut the rest. Hang them with stringer connectors and add the treads.
Mount the rail posts, run the top and bottom rails, and fill with balusters at no more than a 4-inch gap. Cap the posts.
For wood decking, apply two coats of penetrating stain or sealer including the cut ends. Call for your final inspection where one is required before you load up the deck.
Equip the job
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Decks & Structures
Answers
It sums every line item at national-average retail, then shows a ±15% band. Lumber is the volatile half: pressure-treated 2×10s have moved 40% inside a single year, and composite decking varies more by brand tier than by region. The estimate also leaves out delivery, dumpster rental, permit fees and anything you hire out — a concrete truck, or a second pair of hands for the beam lift. Quantities are the durable half of the output. Price the three biggest lines at your local yard, scale the total by what you find, and the number gets close.
No. Framing here is sized from common residential span rules for the standard 40 psf live plus 10 psf dead load case — roughly a room full of people standing on your deck at once. Most jurisdictions require a permit above 30 inches of height or 200 square feet, and many now want a stamped drawing for anything ledger-attached. A hot tub, a roof, or an outdoor kitchen breaks the load assumption outright and needs an engineer. Shop from the material list, but take the framing numbers to your building department before you dig a single footing.
Joists span the width — the short direction, running out from the house — and the boards run across them, parallel to the length. Frame the short way on purpose: a 2×8 at 16 inches on center covers about 12 feet, but stretch that same span to 16 feet and you need 2×12s or an intermediate beam and a second post line. Because boards must land perpendicular to the joists, the two decisions are locked together. To run the boards the other way, swap the length and width inputs rather than rotating the frame. Diagonal decking needs joists at 12 inches on center.
An attached deck hangs off a ledger bolted through the house rim joist, so it needs one beam and one post line instead of two. But the ledger is where most deck collapses start. It has to be through-bolted or fastened with code-rated structural screws into solid framing — never nails — and it has to be flashed, with Z-flashing tucked behind the siding and lapped over the ledger top so water sheds outward instead of soaking the band joist. Freestanding decks avoid all of that and float on two beams: a second post line, more footings, more concrete, plus knee bracing or lateral anchors to stop racking.
From the deck area, the footing count, and whichever extras you switch on, assuming two people working full days with sharp blades and a charged impact driver. Roughly, budget a half hour per square foot plus about an hour per footing, then add for stairs, railing and a picture-frame border. What the range does not cover is waiting: concrete wants a day before you load the posts, an inspection can idle a weekend, and a backordered decking delivery costs more days than any task on the list. Digging is the swing factor — rock or heavy clay can triple footing hours.