Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon, Deckorators, Wolf, MoistureShield, Veranda — pick a brand × line × color and get a real installed total broken down to the board, the clip, and the linear foot. Plus a 25-year cost-of-ownership chart vs pressure-treated wood.
Adjust size, material tier, state and scope below — the estimate and the 3D deck repaint instantly.
= hot in sun · = stays cool
Plan-view length × width.
IRC R312 requires a 36″ guardrail above 30″.
IRC R312 mandates a 36″ guardrail on open edges above 30″. 40 lf priced at composite-system rates.
Cortex / CamoClip / Trex Universal Hidden — clean screw-free surface, ~25% slower install.
Trex Enhance Naturals / Basics ships with a transferable limited warranty covering structural integrity for 25 years and fade/stain for 25 years. Register at the manufacturer's site within 30 days for full coverage.
Composite installs use hidden-fastener clip systems and take 25-30% longer than face-screwing pressure-treated wood. That premium is in the labor line.
National-median pricing (2026-Q1, Home Depot/Lowe's/specialty). Decking line uses Trex Enhance Naturals / Basics retail $/lf. Hidden-fastener premium already in labor.
Photoreal 3D · plan view · framing breakdown. Color reflects the Enhance Naturals / Basics line.
Cumulative cost incl. install + maintenance + a typical PT board replacement at year 18.
The Deck Material Calculator gives you a permit-ready bill of materials — every joist, hanger, fastener, and footing — validated against IRC 2021 span tables.
Estimates use 2026-Q1 national-median pricing (Home Depot, Lowe's, specialty distributors). Expect ±15% variance vs your local market. Always get 3 contractor bids before signing. This calculator is not a substitute for a licensed inspector or structural engineer.
How to use
Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon, Deckorators, Wolf, MoistureShield, Veranda — 13 product lines across 7 brands. Each line shows installed $/sqft, structural warranty, and fade & stain warranty up front. The brand picker lets you flip between brands without re-entering anything.
Color affects three things: aesthetics (the 3D viewer repaints to match), heat (dark colors hit 160°F+ in direct sun), and warranty (some lines have shorter fade warranties on dark variegated boards). Each color shows its heat rating — cool, mid, or hot.
Length × width in feet. Pattern matters more for composite than wood — diagonal adds 15% waste, herringbone adds 20% plus a 30% labor uplift. The calculator quantizes board count using the longest available stock length (12, 16, or 20 ft).
Hidden-fastener clip systems (Cortex, CamoClip, Trex Universal Hidden) need grooved boards but leave a screw-free surface. Face-screw plug systems use color-matched plugs over countersunk screws — slightly cheaper but visible on close inspection.
Stairs, perimeter railing (auto-required above 30″ per IRC R312), demolition of an existing deck, building permit, integrated lighting. Each is a separate line item in the materials breakdown.
Total installed range, $/sqft, materials breakdown, hidden fastener count, brand-by-brand comparison strip, and the 25-year TCO chart vs pressure-treated. Save link, export PDF, embed on your site.
Material guide
Three honest paths. Composite wins the 25-year math for most homeowners, wood wins on upfront cost, and PVC is unbeatable around water. Each card below answers in one glance — recalculate the bill of materials by clicking a brand in the picker above.
How we calculate
The Composite Deck Cost Calculator is the brand-aware estimator for the homeowner who's already decided on composite or PVC and is now trying to figure out which line — Trex Transcend or Enhance, TimberTech AZEK Vintage or EDGE Prime+, Fiberon Paramount or Good Life, Deckorators Voyage — actually fits the budget. Pick a brand × line × color, set your deck dimensions, pattern, fastener system, and US state, and DeckMath returns a real installed total broken down to the board, the clip, and the linear foot of railing — plus a 25-year total-cost-of-ownership chart that shows when (or whether) composite pays back its premium over pressure-treated wood. Pricing is 2026-Q1 retail (Home Depot, Lowe's, specialty distributors) with state-specific labor multipliers from the RSMeans residential index.
Per-LF retail pricing reflects 2026-Q1 manufacturer retail (Home Depot, Lowe's, specialty distributors). Labor multipliers from RSMeans 2026-Q1 residential indices. Manufacturer install specs: Trex / TimberTech / Fiberon / Deckorators published install manuals.
Rows = ceil(width × 12 ÷ (5.5 + 0.125)) — composite face is 5.5″ with 1/8″ install gap. Waste % is pattern-driven: parallel 7%, picture-frame 12%, diagonal 15%, herringbone 20%.
Composites stock in 12, 16, and 20 ft. We pick the longest stock to minimize waste. Real installs use a mix; the calculator uses 20 ft as the upper bound and rounds up.
Two clips per joist crossing per board, 16″ o.c. joists. Cortex/CamoClip and Trex Universal all spec 2 per joist. A 16×12 deck takes ~520 clips on parallel layout.
Composite installs are 25% slower than face-screwed PT (compositeLaborMult). Diagonal adds 12%, herringbone 30%. Complexity multiplier covers shape × height × freestanding. Region uses RSMeans 2026-Q1 index.
Composite costs project_high upfront + ~$0.05/sqft/yr cleaning. PT costs ~$30/sqft installed + $0.55/sqft/yr stain & seal + a board-replacement around year 18. The break-even year is where the cumulative composite line first dips below cumulative PT.
Industry-standard reserve for unforeseen scope (rotted house framing, hidden utilities, mid-project upgrades). Add to the high estimate, not the low.
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People also ask
Within ±15% of an actual contractor quote in most US markets. The calculator uses 2026-Q1 national-median pricing from Home Depot, Lowe's, and specialty distributors, with state-specific labor multipliers from RSMeans. Composite is one of the more predictable deck materials to price because the manufacturer publishes per-linear-foot retail prices openly. Variance comes mostly from labor — a Boston deck install runs 1.22× the national average, while suburban Tennessee runs 0.92×. For a permit-ready quote, get 3 contractor bids; this calculator should put you within striking distance of all three.
There is no single best — there's a best for your priority. For premium hardwood looks: Trex Transcend or TimberTech AZEK Vintage. For value with brand recognition: Trex Enhance or Fiberon Good Life. For the longest structural warranty: TimberTech AZEK and Wolf Serenity (50 years). For the coolest dark colors in full sun: Deckorators Voyage (mineral-core runs 10-15°F cooler than wood-flour composites) and TimberTech AZEK (PVC reflects more heat than capped composite). For the absolute cheapest brand-name composite: Veranda Armorguard at Home Depot. The calculator lets you A/B any two side-by-side at your dimensions.
$50-110 per square foot installed, depending on brand line and pattern. A 16×20 (320 sq ft) Trex Enhance deck with railing and 4 stairs lands around $19,000 nationally; the same deck in Trex Transcend lands around $24,000; in TimberTech AZEK Vintage with a herringbone pattern, $32,000. Materials are roughly 35-45% of installed cost; the rest is labor. Northeast and West Coast markets add another 20-30% on top.
Composite decking is 2-3× the per-linear-foot cost of PT (Trex Enhance is ~$3.80/lf vs PT 5/4×6 at ~$1.95/lf), and the install requires hidden-fastener clip systems that take 25-30% longer than face-screwing wood. But composite eliminates ~$0.55/sqft/year in stain and seal, and a typical PT deck needs surface-board replacement around year 18 — composite holds for 25-50 years depending on the line. Run the 25-year TCO chart on this page; for most mid-tier composites, break-even vs PT lands somewhere between year 10 and year 14.
Yes, but it's harder than pressure-treated. Hidden-fastener systems are sequential — you can't skip ahead and double-back like you can with face-screws — and grooved boards have less alignment tolerance, so out-of-plane joists will telegraph through the surface. Plan for ~1.5 hr/sqft if you've never done it before; an experienced DIY carpenter can hit 1.0 hr/sqft. Materials savings vs a contractor are typically 50-60% for the install portion. The calculator's brand comparison strip is your shopping list — just add the regional sales tax.
Yes. A near-black composite (Trex Lava Rock, AZEK Dark Hickory, Vault Granite) in direct full sun on a 90°F day measures 160-175°F at the surface — hot enough to be uncomfortable barefoot and damaging to the boards over time. Light grays and weathered-look colors stay 30-50°F cooler. Mineral-core composites (Deckorators) and PVC (TimberTech AZEK, Wolf Serenity) run noticeably cooler than wood-flour-core composites at the same color. If full sun is unavoidable, pick a heat-rating-3 color or one of the cooler-running brands.
Hidden fasteners (Cortex, CamoClip, Trex Universal Hidden) leave a screw-free surface and are now standard on every grooved composite line. Cost is ~$0.85/sqft, install is ~25% slower than face-screwing. Face-screw plug systems use color-matched plugs over countersunk screws — visible on close inspection but cheaper (~$0.55/sqft). Most homeowners go hidden for the look. Face-screw is fine on un-grooved boards or commercial installs where speed > aesthetics.
Composite is wood fiber + plastic — Trex, Fiberon, MoistureShield, Veranda. PVC is 100% polymer — TimberTech AZEK, Wolf Serenity. PVC weighs less, runs ~10°F cooler at the same color, doesn't absorb water at all, and typically carries a longer structural warranty (50 years vs 25-30). Composite is heavier, has more wood-grain authenticity in the cap layer, and is less expensive at the same brand tier. In 2026, the line between top-tier composite and PVC is mostly marketing — both will last 25+ years if installed correctly.
The strip shows the same dimensions priced across the 7 most-popular composite lines (Trex Transcend, Trex Enhance, TimberTech AZEK Vintage, TimberTech EDGE Prime+, Fiberon Paramount, Deckorators Voyage, Veranda Armorguard). Tap any to switch the calculator to that line — color resets to the line's first option. It's the fastest way to see what jumping from a value tier to a flagship actually costs on your specific deck.
It's a defensible model, not a guarantee. Composite TCO assumes annual cleaning ($0.05/sqft/yr) and no surface replacement. PT TCO assumes biennial stain & seal ($0.55/sqft/yr averaged) and a partial board replacement at year 18 (typical lifespan for budget PT 5/4×6). Real-world variables: a south-facing PT deck in Phoenix may need replacement at year 12; a shaded PT deck in Maine may go 25 years. For composite, a heat-stressed dark-color flagship may show fade by year 10 even though the warranty extends further. Use the chart as a comparison aid, not a contract.
Manufacturers segment palettes by line. Trex Transcend gets the full 'tropical hardwood' palette (Spiced Rum, Tiki Torch, Lava Rock), while Enhance Naturals has a pared-down beach-and-grey palette, and Enhance Basics is just Saddle and Clam Shell. The calculator shows whatever palette the manufacturer publishes — when a line discontinues a color, it disappears from the picker. We refresh palettes quarterly.
Landscape repair (re-sodding, replacing trampled plants, drainage regrading) — budget $500-2,500 separately. Electrical sub-panel work for integrated lighting if you don't have a 15A 120V circuit nearby. Gas-line relocation if your old deck blocks one. Architectural permits or HOA design-review fees beyond the building permit. Sales tax (varies by state). Contractor mobilization fees on remote sites.
In most US jurisdictions, yes — IRC 2021 R105 requires a permit for any deck over 30 inches above grade, attached to the house, or larger than 200 sq ft. Permit fees range from $140 (suburban Midwest) to $320+ (Boston/NYC suburban). The calculator computes permit fee as max(regional baseline, ~1.2% of project value). Some HOAs also require architectural-review committee approval before any deck install — check with your community before signing a contractor.
Two reasons. First, board waste: parallel 7%, picture-frame 12%, diagonal 15%, herringbone 20%. A herringbone deck literally needs 13% more material than parallel for the same footprint. Second, labor: parallel = 1.0×, picture-frame 1.18×, diagonal 1.12×, herringbone 1.30×. Pattern-cutting takes longer and pattern-aware joist layouts often need tighter spacing (12″ o.c. vs 16″ o.c.), which adds framing material and labor too.
Yes. Use the action bar in the results pane — Save PDF generates a clean printable document, Print uses your browser's print-to-PDF, and Copy Link gives you a shareable URL with all your inputs preserved. Great for getting contractor quotes or sharing with a spouse. The link is short, no login required, valid forever. The PDF includes the materials breakdown, brand comparison, and 25-year TCO summary.
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The Deck Project Planner turns your dimensions into a complete material list, cost, 3D preview, and a PDF you can take to the lumber yard — all in one place.
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