Generally $55–$80 per square foot for pressure-treated lumber, $72–$105 for composite, and $95–$132 for PVC — including railings, proper footings and the framing underneath.
But square footage is only the starting point. A 400-square-foot deck sitting 18 inches off the ground is a much simpler project than the same deck hanging off the second floor of a house with a long set of stairs.
Material matters. Height matters. And the stuff underneath the deck matters a lot more than most homeowners realize.
The biggest decision most homeowners make is the decking itself. For most of our projects you’re choosing between pressure-treated wood, composite or PVC.
They all work. They don’t all cost the same, and they definitely don’t require the same amount of maintenance.
Pressure-treated lumber is still the most affordable way to build a deck. And there’s nothing wrong with it. If you’re trying to build a good deck without spending composite money, I’d rather see you build a properly framed pressure-treated deck than stretch the budget trying to get into a material you can’t comfortably afford.
The tradeoff is maintenance.
Wood gets wet.
It dries.
It sits in the sun.
It goes through Central PA winters.
If you want it to last and look decent, it needs to be cleaned and sealed over its life. Some homeowners don’t mind that. Others know right now that they’re never going to do it. If that’s you, composite starts making more sense.
Composite is a blend of wood and plastic. You don’t have to seal it like pressure-treated lumber, it holds its color better, and it generally outlasts pressure-treated decking by years.
That doesn’t mean it’s indestructible. It means you’re spending more upfront for a deck surface that asks a lot less from you afterward. You pay more now, you do less maintenance later.
One of our actual projects is a useful reference point: a 440-square-foot raised composite deck with railings and no stairs came in around $45,000. That’s the kind of real number I’d use when deciding whether a composite deck is financially realistic for you.
PVC is the expensive option. Unlike composite, it contains no wood — it’s plastic all the way through, which means there’s nothing in the decking itself that can rot. It doesn’t need to be sealed and it lasts a long time. And you pay for that.
I wouldn’t tell every homeowner they need PVC. They don’t. If pressure-treated fits the budget and you don’t mind maintaining it, use pressure-treated. If composite gives you the durability and low maintenance you’re after, there’s no reason to jump another level just because PVC exists.
Two decks can have exactly the same square footage and still be very different construction projects. The reason is height.
| Height | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ground level — under 30 inches. No railing required by code, framing close to the ground. | base range |
| Raised — above roughly 30 inches. Railings, stairs where needed, a more involved structure. | about 15% more |
| Second story — longer posts, heavier framing, more work getting materials up. | about 30% more |
That’s why comparing decks purely by square footage doesn’t work well. A 300-square-foot second-story deck is not the same job as a 300-square-foot deck sitting two feet off the lawn.
Most homeowners understandably focus on the decking. That’s what you see, what you walk on, what determines how the finished deck looks.
I’m looking underneath it too. Every deck price on this page assumes properly sized framing and footings below frost depth. Neither is optional for us. And both are places where money can disappear from a cheaper estimate without the homeowner immediately realizing what changed.
Central Pennsylvania freezes in the winter. When water in the soil freezes, the soil can move — that’s called frost heave. If a deck footing isn’t installed deeply enough to get below the frost-affected soil, that seasonal movement can push on the footing, and the deck above it can move with it.
The important part for a homeowner isn’t memorizing a measurement. It’s understanding why there are concrete footings buried under a deck where you’ll probably never see them again. They aren’t wasted money. They’re part of keeping the structure where we put it.
The other thing you won’t see much of when the deck is finished is the framing. Beams, joists, posts, connections. That’s the actual structure. And here we’re not only designing around people and patio furniture sitting on the deck — we have snow. The framing needs to be sized accordingly.
You can save money on a deck by using less material underneath it. The problem is that the homeowner doesn’t necessarily discover what was saved until years later.
If you want to save money, choose pressure-treated decking instead of PVC. That’s an honest tradeoff. Don’t save it by making the structure underneath the deck worse.
| Addition | Adds |
|---|---|
| Stairs | $2,500–$6,000 |
| Roof or cover | $20,000–$45,000 |
| Lighting | $2,000–$5,000 |
Stairs. The taller the deck, the more substantial the stairs become. A few steps down to the yard are one thing; a staircase coming off an elevated deck is another. Worth attention when comparing estimates, because one design may include stairs and another may not. Our real 440-square-foot composite example came in around $45,000 without stairs.
A roof or cover. This is one of the biggest additions you can make. You’re not adding an umbrella — you’re building another structure. It needs support, framing and roofing, and it needs to work with the house and the deck underneath it. For some homeowners it’s absolutely worth the money; a covered deck is considerably more usable in rain and gives shade in summer. But don’t mentally price a covered deck using the same number as an open one.
Lighting. Makes a big difference if you actually use the deck at night, and it needs planning before everything is finished. Running wiring and deciding where lights belong is far easier while we’re building than after the whole thing is complete.
The per-square-foot ranges cover the deck itself based on your material choice. They assume railings, footings below frost depth and framing properly sized for the project. They do not include stairs, a roof or cover, or lighting — and height affects the base cost on top of that.
Those costs can stack. A second-story PVC deck with stairs, a roof and lighting is obviously in a completely different price category from a ground-level pressure-treated deck. Make sure you’re comparing the deck you’re actually planning.
Start with the decking material, then adjust for height, then add anything else you’re building.
| Material | Starting range |
|---|---|
| Pressure treated | $55–$80 / sq ft |
| Composite | $72–$105 / sq ft |
| PVC | $95–$132 / sq ft |
That’s enough to get you into the right neighborhood before anybody comes to your house.
This sounds obvious, but it’s exactly what happens when homeowners collect several estimates.
One guy prices pressure-treated.
Another prices composite.
One includes the railing you showed him. Another carries something completely different.
One has stairs. Another doesn’t.
One is building proper footings and framing.
You don’t know what another one is doing, because the estimate says “Build 16×20 deck — $24,500.” Then you’re trying to compare four numbers without knowing whether you’re actually buying the same thing.
The bottom line only means something if the scope above it matches. This is why a detailed estimate matters. You should know what material is being installed, what the structure consists of and what’s actually included in the price.
If your budget is getting uncomfortable, I wouldn’t start cutting structural items. I’d look at the things you can actually change without compromising the deck.
Build it a little smaller.
Use pressure-treated instead of composite.
Use composite instead of PVC.
Skip the lighting.
Leave the roof for another conversation.
Simplify the stairs if the site allows it.
There are legitimate ways to make a deck cheaper. Undersizing the structure or taking shortcuts on the footings isn’t one of them.
Cheap materials and cheap construction aren’t the same thing. One can be a reasonable budget decision. The other can become somebody else’s repair job later.
If you’re planning a deck around Selinsgrove, Lewisburg, Sunbury, Northumberland, Danville, Shamokin Dam, Milton, Watsontown or elsewhere in the Susquehanna Valley, you really only need a few pieces of information to get started.
How big is it?
What material do you want?
How high is it?
Does it need stairs?
Do you want it covered? Do you want lighting?
Answer those and you can get surprisingly close before you start collecting bids. You don’t need to pick every detail yet — you just need to know whether the deck you’re picturing is a $25,000 project or a $75,000 project.
Put in the approximate size, decking material, height and the features you’re considering, and you’ll get a realistic starting range.
If the number works for your budget, the next step is a fifteen minute phone call. Get the number in the right neighborhood first. Then figure out the deck.
Fifteen minutes on the phone. You’ll have a realistic range before we hang up — and if we’re not the right people for it, I’ll tell you.