Renovation Guide HQ

Deck Building Cost Calculator

By Renovation Guide HQ

Deck Building Cost Calculator

Enter your deck size, material and project band, and get an estimated cost range — plus an item-wise breakdown, permit and timeline guidance, and a printable estimate summary. Based on Renovation Guide HQ’s published deck building cost guide.


The guide’s published size table covers 100–400 sq ft (10×10 up to 20×20). A standard 16×20 deck is 320 sq ft. Outside 100–400 sq ft the per-square-foot model is used instead.






State adjusts the national range using the BEA all-items price parity for that state (US = 100). The deck guide publishes no deck-specific state index, so the same general index as the kitchen calculator is used and labeled as such.

Please enter a deck size between 50 and 1,000 sq ft.


Your estimated range

Per square foot (adjusted)
National range, before state adjustment
State price index used

Item-wise breakdown

Model allocation from the guide’s published worked example (see Sources). Rounded to $100; categories may not sum exactly to the total.

Item Estimated range

Permits

Timeline

Estimates only — not a contractor quote. Get at least three itemized quotes from local contractors before signing anything, and compare them line by line against this range.

Save, print or email this estimate

Your estimate estimate appears here after you calculate. Print it, copy it, or prepare it for email.







Sending posts your estimate to the address you enter, with a copy to Renovation Guide HQ. If sending fails, the mailto link below appears instead.

How this estimate works

  1. Start with the guide’s published size table. For pressure-treated wood and composite, the RGH deck guide publishes a cost-by-size table (100, 144, 192, 320 and 400 sq ft). Between those anchors the calculator interpolates linearly; outside 100–400 sq ft it uses the guide’s per-square-foot ranges instead, and says so.
  2. Material sets the base. Pressure-treated wood $25–$55 per sq ft installed; cedar / redwood $30–$55; composite $35–$80 (guide, installed ranges). The guide publishes no size-table rows for cedar, so cedar always uses the per-square-foot model — that gap is stated on the page, not filled with an invented table.
  3. Project band positions you inside the range. Basic (small ground-level deck) points to the lower third, standard (mid-size) to the middle third, premium (large deck, lighting or a second level) to the upper third — the same thirds mechanic as the live kitchen calculator, mapped to the guide’s “what $5,000 / $12,000 / $25,000 buys” bands.
  4. State adjustment: national range × (state price parity ÷ 100). Same BEA all-items parity table as the kitchen calculator. It is a general price-level adjustment, not a deck-labor index — the deck guide itself does not publish a deck-specific state index, and none was invented.
  5. Item-wise breakdown. The breakdown splits the adjusted range using the shares of the deck guide’s own published 16×20 worked examples: pressure-treated total $11,200 (framing $1,900; boards $2,100; railing $1,100; stairs $500; fasteners $300; labor $4,400; permit $400; stain + seal $500) and composite total $17,600 (framing $1,900; boards $5,200; railing $2,400; stairs $800; fasteners $700; labor $5,900; permit $400; cleanup $300). Cedar has no published worked example, so its breakdown uses the pressure-treated shares labeled as a planning proxy.
  6. No contingency is included. The deck guide’s worked examples carry no contingency line, so none is added here — hold one yourself. Old-deck demolition and haul-away adds $5–$15 per sq ft (guide, planning estimate) and is not in the range.

Sources

  • Per-square-foot ranges and size table: Renovation Guide HQ, “Deck Building Cost Guide 2026: Wood vs. Composite” (updated November 2, 2026) — pressure-treated $25–$55/sq ft; composite $35–$80/sq ft; cedar/redwood $30–$55/sq ft; size table: 100 sq ft PT $2,500–$5,500 / composite $3,500–$8,000; 144 sq ft PT $3,500–$8,000 / composite $5,000–$11,500; 192 sq ft PT $5,000–$10,500 / composite $6,500–$15,500; 320 sq ft PT $8,000–$17,500 / composite $14,500–$25,500; 400 sq ft PT $10,000–$22,000 / composite $18,000–$32,000.
  • Worked examples (breakdown basis): same guide — 16×20 (320 sq ft) pressure-treated at $35/sq ft = $11,200 and composite at $55/sq ft = $17,600, line items as listed in “How this estimate works.”
  • Permits: same guide — Angi permit fees $230–$500; worked examples use $400; permit typically takes 1–2 weeks to issue; most jurisdictions require a permit for an attached deck or any deck more than 30 inches above grade, with footing and final inspections.
  • Timeline: same guide — standard 16×20 deck takes 1–3 weeks to build; design + permit step 1–2 weeks; materials table puts the build at 1–2 weeks per material.
  • Labor share: same guide — about 50% labor / 50% materials for pressure-treated (planning estimate), consistent with the worked-example labor figures.
  • State price parities: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State, table SARPP, reference year 2024 (US = 100).

No email or sign-up is required to calculate. This calculator stores nothing in your browser. The email form sends your estimate to the address you enter (copy to Renovation Guide HQ) only when you click send.

Related guides

Renovation Guide HQ. Estimates only; not a contractor quote. Always get local, itemized quotes.