Deck building cost in Canada — 2026 material price guide
Decking material cost is one of the first questions homeowners ask, and one of the hardest to answer with a single number — it depends on board type, joist spacing, height, and local supply. The per-square-foot ranges below cover decking materials only, not labour, framing, footings, or railing, and they're illustrative editorial estimates rather than figures pulled from a live calculator — a starting point for budget conversations, not a quote.
Material cost per square foot
| Material | Est. cost / sq ft (decking material only) |
|---|---|
| Pressure-treated | $8 – $14 / sq ft |
| Cedar | $14 – $22 / sq ft |
| Composite | $20 – $35 / sq ft |
Pressure-treated — $8 – $14 / sq ft
Pros: Lowest material cost, widely available, easy to source and replace boards.
Cons: Needs regular staining/sealing, can warp or splinter over time, shortest lifespan of the three.
Lifespan & maintenance: Typically lasts 10–15 years before structural boards need replacing, but only if it's sealed every 1–2 years — skip that and splitting, warping, and grey weathering show up much faster, especially on south-facing decks with full sun exposure.
Cedar — $14 – $22 / sq ft
Pros: Natural rot and insect resistance, attractive grain, ages well if maintained.
Cons: Pricier than pressure-treated, still requires periodic sealing, supply can be inconsistent regionally.
Lifespan & maintenance: Cedar's natural oils give it 15–20 years of life with proper care, roughly outlasting pressure-treated lumber by a third, but it still needs a fresh coat of sealant every couple of years or it silvers and loses the grain definition homeowners pay extra for.
Composite — $20 – $35 / sq ft
Pros: Minimal maintenance, no staining ever, very long lifespan, consistent colour.
Cons: Highest material cost by a wide margin, can run hot in direct sun, repairs mean replacing whole boards.
Lifespan & maintenance: Most composite boards carry 25–30 year manufacturer warranties and never need staining or sealing, which usually offsets the higher sticker price over the life of the deck — the catch is that a damaged board can't be sanded or patched, only swapped out whole.
Why prices vary by province
Just like fencing, decking material prices shift by region. Lumber — pressure-treated and cedar alike — tends to be cheaper close to BC's mills and climbs the further it has to travel east. Composite decking, which is manufactured and trucked in rather than locally milled, often sees the opposite pattern: costs can run higher in regions further from distribution centres, regardless of how close they are to lumber supply. Local yard competition and seasonal demand swing prices further, which is why a national average is only ever a rough starting point.
For contractors quoting real jobs, the only reliable approach is pricing from what local suppliers are charging that week — not a number scraped from a national price guide, however recent.
Don't forget the substructure
The per-square-foot ranges above cover decking boards only — the framing underneath is a separate cost that homeowners frequently forget to budget for, and it can add 30–50% on top of the decking material total. Footings need to go below the frost line, which in most of Canada means digging 36–48 inches depending on the municipality, and each footing typically takes a sonotube and a couple of bags of concrete. Joists and beams are almost always pressure-treated regardless of what decking material sits on top, since they're structural and never see UV exposure, so don't price framing lumber at the same rate as your decking boards. Ledger board attachment, joist hangers, and any required engineering sign-off for elevated decks add further cost that varies by municipality and deck height.