It’s time.
You’re ready to take the next step in life. Next summer, you will be the one hosting the annual backyard BBQ for all your friends and family, and you’ll be doing it on your beautiful new deck.
But before you can start the construction, you have to think about the price. How much does it cost to build a deck on your property? We’ll walk you through the answer below.
Keep reading to learn how to begin your budget!
The National Average
In the US, most homeowners spend an average of $7,000 to design and install a new deck from scratch. But this is just the average cost to build a deck. The exact amount of money you spend can vary greatly depending on the specifics of the job—often landing somewhere between $4,000 and $11,000.
Not the answer you were looking for?
To get a more accurate estimate, you need to spend some time researching your options. Figuring out the size of your deck and what type of wood you’ll use for the construction will help you narrow down the price.
Once you know what you want, you should also request quotes from a few different contractors in your area. This will give you the ability to shop around and pick the offer that matches best with your budget.
(Keep in mind, you shouldn’t just pick the cheapest contractor you can find in an effort to save money. You get what you pay for. Spending a bit of extra money upfront will help you save money in the long run by giving you quality results that won’t require a lot of repairs later.)
For now, we’ve put together this guide to help you start your research. The following factors will have a big impact on the overall cost of the project.
Size
The bigger the deck, the more money you’ll have to spend building it. Measure the area you want to put your deck and find the square footage. You will need this number when you start shopping for materials.
Design
Even small decks can be expensive if you want a complicated design. As you’re drawing up a blueprint of your deck, make sure you consider these things:
- Are the edges of your deck curved?
- How many levels and sets of stairs are there?
- Is the deck lifted off the ground?
- Does it need walls or rails?
- Will it have any type of roof/covering?
Each of these add-ons will make the dollar amount go up even more. If you’re working with a tight budget, you may want to stick to the basics and avoid these things.
Extra Features
If you want your deck to look its best and stand out from what your neighbors have in their backyards, there are a number of different features you can include. For example, you can add:
- Built-in benches
- Firepits
- Cutouts for trees or plants
- Pathways
- Hot tubs
- etc.
Before you build a deck, make sure you think about what features you want it to have. Then don’t forget to calculate those into your final cost.
Material
This is where you’ll see the biggest jump in price. Some decking material is much more expensive than others, so you should plan your budget and pick your wood accordingly.
Here’s a closer look at some of the common types of material and their average price tags.
- Pressure-Treated Wood: $2 to $5 per square foot
- Composite Boards: $4 to $13 per square foot
- Cedar: $3 to $7 per square foot
- Bamboo: $3 to $10 per square foot
- Redwood: $5 to $30 per square foot
- Mahogany: $8 to $11 per square foot
- Ipe: $10 to $20 per square foot
- Tigerwood: $7 to $15 per square foot
Exotic woods, such as ipe and tigerwood, will cost you much more than common woods like cedar. Multiply the cost by the estimated square footage of your deck to get a better idea of what you would spend for each material.
Where You Live
If you’re asking yourself, “How much does it cost to build a deck?”, one of the most important things to think about is your location. Materials and labor costs fluctuate in different parts of the state. The end price for your deck might be more than the national average because the cost of the job is higher in your area.
Keep that in mind as you’re researching. Otherwise, you could end up with quite a shock when you receive your first quotes.
Does DIYing Help You Save Money?
Yes and no.
The thing about DIYing is it can lower the total cost of the project, but that doesn’t mean it will. If you do the work yourself, you can cut out all that labor cost to build a deck. But you’ll only see the price go down if you already have all the tools you’ll need for the job and have experience working on similar projects.
Otherwise, it’s easy to make mistakes. You might end up spending more money in the long run by buying extra material to cover up your accidents or hiring a contractor to fix the problems you ran into along the way.
Because of this, you should only attempt the DIY route if you know what you’re doing. If not, leave the construction to professional companies like Sunburst Construction.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Deck?
The cost to build a deck will vary depending on your size, design, features, material, and more. However, with a bit of research and simple math, you can come up with a rough estimate to help you start budgeting. Just follow the tips in this guide to get started.
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