How much does decking cost in the UK?

In shortSupplied and fitted, treated softwood decking costs £60 to £130 per m², hardwood £110 to £250 and composite £100 to £220, frame and labour included. A 15 m² ground-level softwood deck is typically £900 to £2,000 and the same deck in composite £1,500 to £3,300. A raised 20 m² composite deck with steps and a balustrade runs from £3,500 to £7,500.

Ask three firms to price the same deck and the quotes can come back a thousand pounds apart. That is not always because one of them is overcharging. Decking is priced on the ground it sits on, the height it is lifted to, the boards chosen and the frame beneath them. A quote that leaves any of those out will look cheap until the extras arrive.

The figures below are national ranges taken from published UK price guides in autumn 2026, rounded, for a deck supplied and fitted with its subframe and labour included. Some of those guides do not say whether VAT is included, so treat the top of each range as the safer planning figure. They describe what is normal. They are not a quote.

Decking prices in 2026

Decking cost per m²

Softwood is the cheapest way to get a deck and the one most small landscapers and joiners fit by default. Hardwood costs more because the boards cost more and take longer to fix: dense species need pre-drilling and stainless steel screws. Composite sits between the two on materials, but the better boards, capped with a polymer shell and fitted with hidden clips, push it towards the top of its range, while budget hollow boards sit near the bottom. The materials are compared properly in composite or timber decking.

Three example jobs

The jump between the second and third example jobs is the point most people miss. Raising a deck does not add a few boards. It adds posts set in concrete, bracing, a balustrade with a legal minimum height, steps and a day or two of labour. In the guides we reviewed, a raised deck adds 20 to 60 per cent to the ground-level price before the balustrade and steps are counted.

The extras

A plain timber handrail costs less than composite or metal. Glass varies with the system: panels between posts are the cheaper end, frameless channel and spigot systems the dearer. Deck lighting is priced per fitting, and if a new circuit is needed the electrician’s work and certificate are a separate line. Preparing the ground for a level, ground-level deck (clearing, a weed membrane and gravel) is usually inside the per-metre price; digging out a slope or breaking up a concrete base is quoted on its own.

What moves the price

The ground. Flat, firm lawn is the cheap case. A slope means a frame that is low at one end and high at the other, with posts and bracing. If the high end rises more than 300 mm above the ground, you are also into planning permission in England and Wales (see planning permission for decking). Soft or made-up ground needs more footings, and deeper ones.

Height. Every step up adds posts and bracing, and once the drop is more than about 600 mm Approved Document K expects a balustrade of at least about 1.1 m. That balustrade is often the most expensive line after the boards.

Access. Boards are long and a frame is heavy. A back garden reached only through the house, a terrace up two flights of steps, or nowhere to park a van and a skip adds hours to every day on site.

The subframe. Most decks sit on pressure-treated softwood joists. Ask for Use Class 4 treated timber for anything at or near the ground; it costs a little more and is the difference between a frame that lasts and one that rots from the bottom. Aluminium subframes do not rot and keep a deck lower, but they add to the per-metre price and are mostly used under composite boards, on balconies and on roof terraces.

The boards. Within composite alone, the spread between a hollow budget board and a capped premium one is wide, and width matters too: a wider board covers more ground per piece with fewer fixings. Some makers, Millboard for one, publish recommended retail prices for their boards, so you can see what the material line in a quote implies.

Fixings. Hidden clips give a clean surface but take longer than face-screwing. Stainless screws cost more than coated ones and are the right choice for hardwood and for any screw that shows.

VAT. A VAT-registered firm adds 20 per cent. Several published price guides do not say whether their figures include it, and some small firms are below the registration threshold, so always ask whether a quote is inclusive.

Region. Expect London and the South East to come in higher than the North and the Midlands for the same deck. Within one town, the gap between a sole trader and a landscaping company with a yard and a team is often wider than the gap between regions.

Labour. Across the guides we reviewed, labour is typically around a third to a half of the bill. Two fitters usually take two to four days on a 15 to 25 m² ground-level deck; height, steps and awkward access add days.

A worked example

Take a 20 m² composite deck on a level lawn behind a semi in Leeds, reached through a side gate. At £100 to £220 per m², the deck itself is £2,000 to £4,400. The old softwood deck has to come out first: £150 to £600. Two steps down to the lawn: £160 to £440. No balustrade is needed because the deck sits low. That gives £2,310 to £5,440 before any lighting, and the distance between those two figures is almost entirely board choice and the size of the firm. Now lift the same deck to 900 mm to meet a patio door. It needs a planning application, a balustrade along perhaps eight metres (£720 to £1,600 in composite or metal) and more steps. That is how the third example job reaches £7,500.

What a quote should itemise

A proper decking quote is not one number in a text message. It should list:

• site clearance and disposal, and the ground preparation
• the subframe timber with its size, grade and treatment class, and the joist centres
• the board brand, range, colour and profile, with the quantity and the waste allowance
• the fixings, fascia and skirting
• steps and balustrade, with the balustrade height
• any lighting, and who certifies the electrics
• whether a planning application is included
• the team size and days on site
• VAT, the payment schedule and the deposit
• the guarantees on boards and on workmanship

The installer guide goes through each line and how to compare three quotes against one specification.

When a cheap quote is a warning

A quote well below the ranges above usually has a reason, and it is rarely generosity. The common ones are Use Class 3 joists sold as “treated”, which are not meant for ground contact, and hollow boards described only as “composite”. Look too for no weed membrane or gravel, no waste allowance (so the boards run short), joists spaced wider than the board maker allows, a price “plus VAT” in small print, and a cash-only deal with no written terms. Two quotes in the range and one far below it is not a bargain. It is a different deck.

When you are ready for quotes, the town pages list installers whose websites we check: all towns.