Decking Calculator

A new deck or replacing an existing building can be a major undertaking. Begin your decking construction by taking the time to analyze your entire outdoor environment to choose which sort of decking material is appropriate for your yard. You’ll select materials, textures, and colors as you design your deck layouts. Furthermore, consider the size of the deck, its height, and any architectural aspects of your home or other property fixtures you might wish to match. By using our calculator, you can check how many boards and screws you are going to need, and so much more.

While you are here, do not miss our other calculators such as Pay Rise Calculator, Exponent Calculator With Solver, and so much more.

Decking – Definition

Decking is the material of a timber platform fastened to the floor in a yard or other outdoor space and used for walking. We use decking as the base for a building’s outside space. Because you put boards together to make a deck, it will immediately stand out from any neighboring structures constructed of cement blocks, rock, or other materials.

Deck Components and Material

In the past, choosing a decking material used to be a straightforward task since wood was the only option. Other possibilities today include composite, plastic, and even metal. Traditionalists always regard wood as the only natural decking material, but emerging alternatives offer a slew of appealing features, including low maintenance and longevity. The essential materials are: joists, header joists and ledgers, deck boards, drainage system, hidden fasteners, railing, as well as stairs.

Composite Decking vs. Wood

Wood decking is popular among homeowners since it is familiar, easily available, and inexpensive. However, wood decking issues include splinters, decay, and excessive maintenance. Even though composite wood decking is less expensive to install and maintain than wood, some homeowners are concerned that composites will not look as good as wood. On the other hand, composites have been developed to mimic the lush, organic natural look without the problems of preserving a wood deck.

Here are some crucial factors to consider when deciding between wood and composite decking: look, moisture, maintenance, insect damage, splinters, price, workability, as well as surface temperature.

Cost to Build a Deck by Size – Table

Here are the most typical deck sizes and their average construction costs, based on a variety of materials from basic to premium:

Types of Decking

Softwood, hardwood, and composite decking are the three common decking materials available in any store.

Softwood decking is made from fast-growing trees, such as pine, and may be easily replaced. This makes this the cheapest decking material, but it does have certain disadvantages. Softwood decking is less durable than hardwood and composite decking. Also, it demands the most upkeep.

Hardwood decking boards come from tropical forests and are more valuable than pressure-treated wood. They are inherently resistant to warping, splitting, and rot, but they still need to be maintained regularly-one of the gorgeous decking materials on the market.

Composite boards seem to be the new kids on the block, made of a wood-flour and recycled plastic blend. Most composites have a capped exterior to guard against mildew, insects, and moisture, making them extremely low-maintenance. So several retailers are sure of the product’s quality and provide lifetime warranties.

How to Build a Deck?

If you’ve always wanted to build your deck but have been scared to take on such a massive, complicated project, you have come to the right place.
All you need for a successful DIY deck project are simple carpentry tools and a willingness to put in some effort. There are seven steps that you need to follow in order to build a deck:

• Firstly, attach the ledger;
• Secondly, protect the ledger;
• Thirdly, set footings and piers;
• Moreover, install post bases and side rim joists;
• Then, install front rim joist, beams, and interior joists;
• Furthermore, install front rim joist, beams, and interior joists (continued);
• And finally, attach trim and decking.

Decking Calculator – How to Use?

Calculate the length and width of your deck by setting pegs in the corners of your specified building area, stringing among them, and calculating the length of the string with a measuring tape.

In the decking calculator, enter the values. It will give you the size of your deck in square feet.

Enter the dimensions, width, and cost of the decking boards you want to buy. Then, the floor area of the boards will be calculated using the calculator. For even better experience, you can see our Board Foot Calculator to quickly calculate the volume of board lumber alongside with price.

Choose the sort of fasteners you’ll be using, and the deck price calculator will tell you how many you’ll need.

Examine how many screws, nails, or concealed clips you’ll need. Then, enter the average price with an equal or greater quantity in the deck material calculator. The calculator shall give you an estimate of how much it will cost to create your deck.

Practical Example

Read the example below if you want to know what calculations the deck cost calculator employs or if you would like to calculate the cost yourself:

Let’s assume you want a 35-foot-long, 15-foot-wide deck. Multiply the two numbers together to get the square footage of the deck:

35\;ft \times 15\;ft = 525\;ft^2

You decided on a board that is 6 feet long and 4 inches wide. Divide the amount by 12 to change the width from inches to feet:

4\;in \div 12 = 0.33\;ft

Let’s see how to figure out how many square feet one decking board has:

6\;ft \times 0.33\;ft=1.98\;ft^2

Now we can figure out how many decking planks we’ll need. To account for waste, we split the square deck footage by the board square footage and add 10%:

(525\;ft^2 \div 1.98\;ft^2) \times 1.1 = 291.7

We will need 292 boards if we round up the result (it is preferable to have more than less).

We use the rule of thumb of 350 screws per 100 square feet of decking when determining the number of screws (or nails) required. Let’s say that for 1 square foot, we require 3.5 screws if we split those figures by 100. That means the number of screws is 3.5 times greater than the square footage of decking. The formula would be:

N = 3.5 \times d

Multiply the floor area of your deck by 3.5 to get the number of screws:

525 \times 3.5 = 1837.5

If you go for hidden fasteners, you’ll need half the number of the screws:

1837.5 \div \;2 = 918

We need to multiply the expense of one board by the total number of boards to get the overall cost of the boards. For example, if a single board costs $10, the following equation can be used:

292 \times \$ 10 = \$ 2920

So, the boards will cost $2920.

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