When Des Moines or central Iowa homeowners inquire about the cost of home decking, it’s hard to give an exact answer without precise information about their home. There are many variables that factor into the final price. In this article, we are aiming to help you understand the main components that affect the cost of replacing a deck. We are here to provide you with enough information so you can make a better-informed decision when it comes time for you to build or replace your home deck. Please note when percentages are mentioned we are talking about a complete rebuild and entry–level composite material.
The areas that we will cover are:
- Re-Deck vs Complete Replacement
- Size of Your Home Deck
- Shape of Your Home Deck
- Stairs vs No Stairs
- Deck Framing
- Deck Borders or Perimeters
- Deck Fasteners
- Wood vs Composite vs Capped Composite vs PVC
- Deck Railing
- Deck Lighting
- Miscellaneous Materials
- Company Installing your Deck + Workmanship Warranty
Re-deck vs Complete Replacement
A re-deck is less labor intensive in some aspects, ways but more in others. For example, if you choose a complete rebuild, the tear-out of the old deck can be done pretty quickly. This is accomplished by cutting larger portions of decking and taking it to dumpster. For a re-deck it is more time consuming because you must take all boards off separately to save the framing underneath. From strictly a cost basis re-decking will always be less expensive than a rebuild because you are not building the structure, or more specifically the footings, post, beams and joists. It can be said with certainty that if one company is chosen to quote both the re-deck and complete rebuild, the latter will be more expensive. However, this isn’t necessarily accurate when comparing different companies. In our experience, there have been times where another company’s re-decks have been more expensive than our full deck replacement. As previously mentioned, this article is discussing factors that affect pricing, but it’s important to emphasize how important the decision between these two options is and can be to the long-term cost and durability of completed project.
Size of Your Home Deck
Size can affect the overall cost of your deck, but in a way that you may not have considered. We all know that if we build a larger deck it will require more material, so the material cost is going to go up, however labor costs may not be as high as most people assume. The cost of expanding your deck from 12ft wide to 16ft wide would be affected by the need for additional materials, such as 16ft deck boards, 3 more joists, and longer wood for beams, as well as any other miscellaneous materials. How about labor? It may only be extended by an hour or two, with the only real change that’s being the labor of adding the three joists. If that sounds too good to be true, let me explain. In the first 12ft example our deck installer needs to carry a 12ft board – now they have to carry a 16ft board. They may also be carrying a slightly longer beam. Carrying longer beams or boards doesn’t really add extra time in this scenario.
Shape of Your Home Deck
The shape of your deck will also affect price. The more angles or levels can add to the price because it will be more labor intensive and require more support structure. Straight angles can be costly, but circles can be even pricier. So, depending on the design you choose the cost will fluctuate. To keep costs down, opt for a simpler design.
Stairs vs No Stairs
Let’s just start here with the fact that a first level deck will always be less expensive than a 2nd or 3rd level deck. This is due to the more difficult related to height regardless of having stairs or not. If you have a 2nd story deck and are looking to save some money, you might consider not installing stairs. A simple 4×4 landing and 12 stairs can cost $4,000 to $7,500 depending on material. There are many more considerations for stairs or no stairs, but on price alone your deck will be less expensive without them.
Deck Framing
The framing portion represents about 20% of the total cost for a complete deck rebuild. A few factors that can affect the pricing are spacing between joists, size of lumber being used and if joist flashing tape is being used. The spacing of joist is usually determined by the decking being installed and local building codes. For example, TimberTech’s AZEK PVC decking requires 12” on center for joists whereas the building code in our area is 16” on center. Many larger deck companies will build all frames 12” on center to ensure consistency and provide a more stable deck for their customers. Also, for stability and strength some decking contractors will upgrade the lumber. For example, code may require a 2X8 but they will use 2×10 because it will ,again, be provide more stability. Finally, joist flashing tape can be installed on top of the joist prior to the decking being installed which protects the wood from moisture penetration. For a crew of two this would add at least a ½ to ¾ of a day of labor and a few hundred dollars of material.
Deck Borders or Perimeters
Adding a border around the perimeter of your deck or down the middle will add cost because additional framing material and labor will be necessary for proper installation. Borders are used to ensure there are no seams in between deck boards and to create an aesthetically pleasing look by incorporating two different colors. The cost of adding a border will be significantly lower than that of stairs, but it will still add to the overall cost. As with everything else there are some performance-related considerations.
Deck Fasteners
It is necessary to use fasteners to install all types of decking. One additional expense that you may not consider with the lower maintenance decking is an upgrade to hidden fasteners. There are a few options depending on the decking you are having installed and this will give you a very clean look. This upgrade can cost between $300 to $1000 dollars or more depending on size of deck.
Wood vs Composite vs Capped Composite vs PVC
Here is where the majority of the material price will come into play. Your choice of decking will be where you can control the cost of your project most effectively. The most affordable decking option is treated wood. Cedar decking is more costly than treated, but is less than many composites or low maintenance decking options. Composite decking would be next and Capped Composite would be just under solid core PVC decking. The nice thing is that of all the low maintenance options, you ultimately still have a lot of control of overall price because you can see a $3,000 to $10,000 difference between different options depending on the size of your deck. Please remember there are many considerations to think about to find the right decking for your deck. Consider lifetime cost, not just upfront cost, because treated wood or cedar will cost more in the long run due to the harsh elements present in our Des Moines, Iowa climate.
Deck Railing
Railing is going to line up similarly to decking but there are a few more options. Wood railings will be least expensive, next would be powder coated aluminum (by far used the most on low maintenance decks) next we would do composite railing, then powder coated aluminum with glass, solid core PVC and horizontal cable railing. Railing is another area where you can control the cost as well. There could be a $5,000 to $10,000 difference in cost.
Deck Lighting
An average low voltage lighting package added to your deck could run $2,500 to $4,500 depending on how many lights you’d like. It is also important to know that this should be decided before installing railing.
Miscellaneous Materials
You can usually assume 1-3% of a decking replacement projects cost will be dumpsters and other miscellaneous materials and labor including moving equipment and cleaning of job site.
Company Installing Your Deck + Workmanship Warranty:
What happens if your contractor makes a mistake? Improper installation can make sure your decking project becomes very expensive, very quickly. Some companies only offer 1-2 year labor warranties. You’d be surprised by how many big name brands only offer that length of a workmanship warranty. Just after the warranty window something could go wrong with the product due to improper installation and you get to pay for it to be fixed – along with any other work caused by damage.
Hopefully this article helps you understand the primary factors that can affect the cost of your home decking replacement. When shopping for decking in Des Moines, you should think about the long-term cost compared to the initial cost. It’s usually more cost-effective to hire a company that offers a Lifetime Workmanship warranty than to pay for repairs due to faulty installation.