Pressure-treated pine
lowest costThe default. Cheapest to buy, easiest to cut and fix, and every board is replaceable for the price of a board.
Recurring upkeep · High movement · Splinters as it weathers
Deck and fence numbers you can build to
Calculators that output a material list, span tables quoted from the code with the table named, and guides that soften a claim rather than invent a figure. Free, no signup, and every price is one you typed.
Span tables straight from the code
22 toolsJoist and beam spans, footings, stairs — the numbers an inspector will check.
Guides that name their sources
22 guidesLedger flashing, permits, post depth, finishes. No invented averages.
Materials side by side
9 comparesComposite, cedar, treated, vinyl and chain link on cost, life and upkeep.
Start with a number
All 22 toolsDeck joist span calculator
Maximum joist span by species, size and spacing, straight off the IRC table.
ft · in o.c.Open
Deck beam span calculator
Maximum beam span and post count from IRC Table R507.5(1), by species, size and plies.
ft · pliesOpen
Deck board calculator
Boards, linear feet and screw count for a deck of any size and board width.
boards · lf · $Open
Deck board spacing calculator
Gap, board count and where the butt joints land across the joists.
in · boardsOpen
Deck footing size calculator
Footing diameter from tributary area, load and soil bearing — depth stays your frost line.
in · psfOpen
Deck stair calculator
Rise, run, stringer length and tread count for a code-legal flight.
in · risersOpen
Board foot calculator
Board feet and price for rough lumber, one piece or a whole cut list.
bf · $Open
Concrete calculator for deck footings
Cubic yards and bags for tube, pad, pad-and-pier and belled deck footings.
bags · cu ydOpen
How the tools fit together
01
Size the frame
Clear span first, then the joist that carries it, then the beam that catches the joists, then the footing under each post. Every step is a table, and each one changes the next.
02
Take off the material
Board count at the real face width, screws per joist crossing, bags of concrete per hole, gallons of stain including the railing. Quantities, not estimates.
03
Price it with your own numbers
Put your yard's quote in and the cost tools give you a line-by-line total. Nothing here asserts a national average, because there is no useful one to give.
The board you walk on
All 4 comparedCedar
mid costThe best-behaved wood — stable, light, pleasant to work and to walk on. Grade decides everything, because sapwood is not durable.
Recurring upkeep · Low movement · Good barefoot
Composite
high costNot wood, and it does not behave like wood. No rot, no splinters, no finish — and no sanding out a scratch either.
Washing only · Thermal movement · Hot in full sun
Ipe
highest costVery dense tropical hardwood. Superb durability and a serious install — pre-drilling everything, with tools that wear out doing it.
Oil for colour only · Low movement · Very good barefoot
Four pillars
Deck framing & structure
Joist and beam spans, footing sizes, stair layout and board takeoffs — the numbers that decide whether the frame holds.
9 tools · 9 guides · 1 comparisons
Fence building
Post depth, spacing and concrete, panels and gates — the fence work that gets measured before anything gets dug.
4 tools · 3 guides · 4 comparisons
Materials & finishes
Cedar, treated pine, composite and ipe — what each costs, how long it lasts and what it takes to keep it.
3 tools · 4 guides · 4 comparisons
Costs, codes & permits
What a deck or fence really costs, what the inspector will ask for, and the sheet you hand the client.
6 tools · 6 guides
Start reading here
All 22 guidesDeck joist span chart
Every common species and size at 12, 16 and 24 inch centres, with the code reference.
What size joist for a deck
How to pick 2×6 through 2×12 from span, spacing and what sits on top.
Deck joist spacing
12, 16 and 24 inch centres — what each costs you and when the decking decides.
Deck footing depth
Frost depth, bearing and the inspections that turn on this one number.
Deck footing spacing and layout
Setting out piers with string lines and batter boards, square the first time.
Build it once, build it to code.
Take the span chart and the bid template to the job. Both print without the site around them, and neither needs an account, an email address or a signal.