The quote, already started
⚠️ These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in.
What the job actually is
- Check the height above ground and the span. Both change what the frame has to be, and one of them may change whether approval is needed at all.
- Set out and dig the footing holes to the depth the design calls for.
- Pour footings and set stirrups or posts, then let them cure.
- Cut and fix bearers to the posts, level and square.
- Fix joists at the spacing the board profile and span table require.
- Flash and fix the ledger where the deck meets the house — or build it free-standing.
- Lay boards, spaced and fixed, with the fixings the timber suits.
- Build stairs if there are any: stringers, treads, and the risers within range.
- Fit the balustrade if the height calls for one, with the gaps under the limit.
- Sand, clean, and oil or stain if that is in your price.
Materials
- Footings — concrete, stirrups or post supports, and the reo if the design calls for it.
- Posts and bearers — treated to the right hazard level for the situation.
- Joists and hangers, at the spacing the board and span require.
- Decking boards plus a wastage allowance — the decking calculator works out boards, joists, bearers and fixings, and the timber calculator converts a covered area into lineal metres and stock lengths.
- Fixings — screws or clips, and the right coating for the timber and the location. Coastal is not the same as inland.
- Ledger, flashing and bolts if it attaches to the house.
- Stair stringers, treads and fixings — the stair calculator checks rise, going and 2R+G.
- Balustrade posts, rails and infill — the balustrade calculator finds the fewest balusters that keep every gap under the limit.
- Oil or stain, if finishing is in your price.
Order the boards with a wastage allowance rather than exactly. Cuts at the ends, a bowed board and the one that gets dropped are all real, and going back for four more boards from a different pack is a colour match you will be looking at for ten years.
What the price assumes
- The site is reasonably level and a machine or a person can get to it with a barrow.
- The ground takes a normal footing — no rock, no fill, no services in the way.
- The deck is at the height you measured, which is what the frame and the balustrade requirement are priced on.
- Nothing has to be demolished or removed first.
- The timber is the species, grade and profile named in the quote — a different board is a different price and often a different joist spacing.
- Power and water are available on site.
- Approval, where it is needed, is already in hand and is somebody else's cost.
Extras that come up
- Demolition of the old deck, and taking it away. Old treated pine is not general waste everywhere.
- Rock or fill in the footing holes — a rate per hole beats an argument.
- A change of board profile after the quote, which can change the joist spacing under it.
- Screening or skirting to hide the underside.
- Steps at more than one level, or a landing.
- Balustrade upgraded to glass or wire, which is a different trade in some cases.
- Oiling or staining, if it was excluded.
- Electrical or plumbing relocation — a tap, a downpipe or a light in the way.
Things nobody charges for, and should
- The measure-up and the quote itself. Two site visits and an hour at the kitchen table is real time.
- Waiting for footings to cure. It is a day you cannot use and often a second mobilisation.
- Tip fees on a demolition job, charged by weight.
- Consumables — blades, screws you did not count, sealant, packers.
- Travel, on a job that takes four days and is forty minutes away.
- The clean-up, which on a decking job means sawdust and offcuts over somebody's lawn.
A worked example
A 5 × 4 m deck, roughly 600 mm above ground on a level site, treated pine frame on concrete footings, 90 mm hardwood boards, three steps down to the lawn and no balustrade required at that height. Carpenter registered for GST, customer not supplying anything.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set out, dig and pour 9 footings with stirrups | 9 ea | $145.00 | $1,305.00 |
| Posts and bearers — supply and install | 1 job | $980.00 | $980.00 |
| Joists and hangers at 450 centres | 20 m² | $62.00 | $1,240.00 |
| Supply and lay 90mm hardwood decking, incl. fixings | 20 m² | $168.00 | $3,360.00 |
| Steps — 3 treads, stringers and fixings | 1 job | $620.00 | $620.00 |
| Sand, clean down and oil (two coats) | 20 m² | $26.00 | $520.00 |
| Waste removal and site clean | 1 job | $240.00 | $240.00 |
| Subtotal | $8,265.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $826.50 | ||
| Total inc GST | $9,091.50 | ||
| Deposit (20%) | $1,818.30 | ||
| Balance on completion | $7,273.20 |
These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in. Every figure above comes from the line items in the builder at the top of this page.
Start this quote in Yamate — the lines, not the prices →The app fills in the same line descriptions and leaves every amount blank for you. Your prices, not ours.
Yamate keeps your rates and your standard lines, so the next one of these is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it.
FAQ
How many decking boards do I need?
It depends on the area, the board width and the gap between boards, plus a wastage allowance. The decking calculator works out boards, joists, bearers and fixings from the deck size, and the timber calculator converts that into lineal metres and stock lengths to order.
Should a decking quote include the stairs?
It should show them, whether or not they are included. Stairs carry a lot of labour for not much material, and a customer who sees them as their own line understands why the price moves when they ask for a landing halfway down.
Does a deck need council approval?
It depends on the height, the size and where you are — the rules are set by your state and your council, and they differ. Ask before you price it, and quote the approval as somebody's cost rather than absorbing it.
How do I price a deck per square metre?
You can, as long as the rate names the board, the frame and the height it assumes, and as long as stairs, balustrade and demolition sit outside it. A flat per-metre rate covering all of that is a rate that is wrong on most jobs.
Work out the materials first
More like this
General information for Australian tradies, not building, engineering, legal or financial advice. The rates on this page are starting points rather than market prices, and every figure is an estimate based on what you type in. Spans, footings, balustrade requirements and approval rules are set by the National Construction Code and by your state and council — check yours before relying on this page.