How Much Does a New Deck Cost?

Looking to expand your living space? Understand exactly how much you may have to extend your wallet.

On the Central Coast, improving your home may be costly, but that’s because you are paying for the luxury offered by the central coast – stunning ocean views, surrounded by rolling hills, and ideal weather all year round. Whether you are considering new hardwood floors, new exterior paint, or an outdoor deck or patio, understanding the expected cost of the project is a great way to budget properly.

Before calling out the professionals to give you an estimate, understanding how the industry formulates their prices is a great way to be an informed buyer. This guide will break down the details you need to know to get a ballpark figure for the cost of a new deck.

Table of Contents

1. Design, Permitting, and Facilitation
2. Complication and Rigor
3. Labor Costs
4. Material Costs
5. Conclusion

Design, Permitting, and Facilitation

One of the often overlooked and more difficult components to estimate, is the design, permitting, and facilitation process. Almost every deck built in the great state of California will require some sort of permit and professional design in order to ensure that your new structure will be safe and up to current code requirements.

The cost of design will include hours spent by a professional engineer to draw up a technical detail for your deck. Once the drawings have been completed, the city will need to approve them and issue the necessary permits. Throughout this process, typically, the framing contractor you hired will be facilitating the process – connecting the homeowners vision, to the engineer, and back to the current code requirements and code enforcement agencies. All of these things take time, time that will be directly billed to the homeowner.

During the bidding process, be sure to ask your contractors about how they bill this time. This time is often billed at a higher hourly rate than the construction labor. Understanding how the design, permitting, and facilitation process is billed will avoid costly surprises.

Complication and Rigor

Another factor that will affect the cost of your deck project is the complexity and rigor of the job, as well as any complications that may arise. If your dream deck is three stories tall or elevated above a steep slope, it will cost more to ensure that it is structurally stable, and that the laborers are safe during construction.

Unfortunately, it is important to budget for any complications that could arise during construction. Although the companies bidding on the job will do their best to ensure that their quote is comprehensive, it may be hard to plan for the unexpected. Some unexpected event could be that that part of the house that they were going to anchor the deck to has some wood rot present – it will take additional time and materials to repair that first. Another example could be that the soil near your home is far more compact than expected and it took an additional twenty hours to break up the rock for the deck footings.

Unforeseen conditions like this happen frequently during the construction process so we always recommend budgeting an additional 10% to 15% as a contingency fund if there is additional work to be completed. If your contractor provided a quote of $25,000 for your new deck, set aside an additional $4,000 to cover additional expenses.

Labor Costs

Labor costs are easily the most costly component of deck construction. The time it takes to complete every section of your deck, from material acquisition, to deck framing, deck boards, railings, and more, many hours are spent to build a deck.

Typically the going rate for labor costs can be anywhere from $90 to $190 per man hour. Meaning that each person working on-site costs the agreed upon rate for the duration of the job. Talk to your contractor about their labor costs and their expectations for how long the job will take.

Pro-tip! Remember that project managers, engineers, site supervisors, and other executives typically have a higher hourly rate. Talk to your contractor to understand how and when that time is billed.

Material Costs

The one aspect you can (sometimes) budget yourself is the cost of materials. If you are building a deck with AZEK TimberTech products, you can get an estimate for material costs right at home! Visit the link: https://www.timbertech.com/design/decking-cost-calculator/ and enter the size of your deck. AZEK will send you an estimate! Search around their website to find information on the cost for the hardware and railing systems.

Estimating the cost for structural components, such as pressure treated lumber, can be more difficult. Meet with your contractor to understand the cost of other decking materials such as redwood or waterproof deck coatings.

Conclusion

Now that you have all of the building blocks, constructing a rough figure for the cost of your new deck is within reach. Although there are some factors that will require the consultation of a professional, getting a rough idea of things like materials is a great place to get started.

Looking for a more exact estimate? Contact Rogall + Co. today to get started on your deck project.