Job takeoff
Timber deck takeoff
Boards, footings, fixings and finish for a rectangular deck.
A takeoff is the trade word for the shopping list a job produces — every material, and how much of each, worked out by its own cited calculator.
- 2Measurements in
- 4Trades out
Give the job once
Every figure on the right follows these, in the units you choose.
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the timber deck quote check: each line is read against these same calculators — what it leaves out, what it adds, and what to ask.
Check the quoteEvery trade, from those dimensions
then change a dimension, and each line shows what moved.
| Trade | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|
Deck Board Calculator
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 56 boards | |
Deck Footing CalculatorFootings on a standard 8 ft (2.4 m) spacing — set the spacing from your beam's span, and dig every footing below the local frost depth.How this figure was reached
Resting on
| 10 footings (minimum) | |
Deck Screws Calculator
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 3 x 300-count boxes | |
Deck Stain Calculator
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 3 gallons | |
Deck Board Calculator
Why this quantity? | 56 boards | |
Deck Footing CalculatorFootings on a standard 8 ft (2.4 m) spacing — set the spacing from your beam's span, and dig every footing below the local frost depth.How this figure was reached | 10 footings (minimum) | |
Deck Screws Calculator
Why this quantity? | 4 x 300-count boxes | |
Deck Stain Calculator
Why this quantity? | 11.36 L |
Estimates, not a quote. Each row gives its base, the allowance on top, the adjusted figure and what to order; change an allowance on the row, or open its reasoning to see every figure it rests on. A trade's own page carries what it does not cover — open the one you are about to order against.
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Deck Board33 h (16–71)
- Deck Stain4.2 h (2.4–9.4)
About 37 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 19 and 80.
Trade by trade
- Carpenter2 carpenters2 days
- Painter1 painterhalf a day
About 2½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
2 rows carry no hours of their own
- Deck Footing: its rate is per yd³; this row gives footings (minimum)
- Deck Screws: counted with Deck Board
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Deck Board34 h (17–72)
- Deck Stain4.3 h (2.4–9.6)
About 38 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 19 and 82.
Trade by trade
- Carpenter2 carpenters2 days
- Painter1 painterhalf a day
About 2½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
2 rows carry no hours of their own
- Deck Footing: its rate is per m³; this row gives footings (minimum)
- Deck Screws: counted with Deck Board
Setups you have saved
The build-up, the dimensions and any allowance you changed — kept on this device, and reusable on any job. Your prices are not copied in: they stay in your price book, so a setup never holds a stale one.
How far does a budget go?
At your own prices, with this build-up unchanged.
About this job
A deck splits cleanly into what you can measure and what has to be designed. The boards, the fixings and the finish all come off the deck's area and its board direction, and those are the quantities this takeoff returns. The frame under them — joist size, span, spacing and how the whole thing is tied to the building — is a structural question that the deck's outline does not answer.
Footings are the item most often under-counted, because the spacing that governs them is set by the frame rather than by the deck's shape. The figure here uses a standard 8 ft (2.4 m) spacing: a beam that cannot span that far needs more footings, a frost line deeper than you assumed makes every hole deeper, and made or soft ground makes each pad larger rather than adding more of them.
How each line reads
- Base
- What the calculator gives for these dimensions, before anything is added.
- Allowance
- Cutting waste, a lap or spare stock — named, with where it comes from, and changeable on the row.
- Adjusted
- The base with its allowance on top.
- Order
- What to buy: the adjusted figure in whole boards, bags, rolls or lengths.
The order this happens in
Quantities do not tell you the sequence, and on this job the sequence is where the money goes wrong.
- Set out and check the diagonals — a deck that is out of square shows on every board.
- Dig and pour the footings, below the local frost depth.
- Frame: beams, joists and, where the deck meets the house, a properly flashed ledger.
- Lay boards, keeping the gaps consistent and the fixings in line.
- Cut the edges together at the end rather than board by board.
- Finish once the timber is dry enough to take it — usually not on the day it is laid.
What this takeoff does not cover
- The frame. Joist and beam sizing, spans and spacing are a structural matter, and how a ledger is fixed and flashed to a building is the detail most likely to cause damage when it fails.
- Balustrade, handrails, steps and stairs — all counted by length and rise, not by deck area.
- Ground preparation, weed membrane, drainage and any retaining below the deck.
- Joist hangers, post bases, bolts and the frame's own fixings; only the board fixings are counted.
Quote check
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the timber deck quote check. Every line of it is read against these same calculators and your measurements. Quantities only, never prices.
What it leaves out
Every line this takeoff has that nothing on the quote reads as.
What it adds
Labour, removal, hire, fees — each named for what it is.
What to ask
One list of questions, ready to copy. Never a verdict.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does the timber deck takeoff give for a typical job?
- Opened at Deck length 6 m · Deck width 4 m, it orders: Deck Board, 56 boards; Deck Footing, 10 footings (minimum); Deck Screws, 4 x 300-count boxes; Deck Stain, 11.4 L. Opened at Deck length 19.5 ft · Deck width 13 ft: Deck Board, 56 boards; Deck Footing, 10 footings (minimum); Deck Screws, 3 x 300-count boxes; Deck Stain, 3 gallons. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
- Which calculators does the timber deck takeoff run?
- 4 calculators, one to a line: Deck Board Calculator, Deck Footing Calculator, Deck Screws Calculator, Deck Stain Calculator. Each has a page of its own with its formula and its sources; the takeoff runs them all on one set of dimensions.
- What does the timber deck takeoff leave out?
- 4 things, each named on this page: The frame; Balustrade, handrails, steps and stairs; Ground preparation, weed membrane, drainage and any retaining below the deck; Joist hangers, post bases, bolts and the frame's own fixings; only the board fixings are counted.
- Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
- Yes. The timber deck quote check reads a quote's lines against these same calculators and your measurements, and reports what it leaves out, what it adds and what to ask. It reads quantities, never prices.