Decking Price Comparison Chart

When planning a decking project, it’s always a good idea to explore the different material options and compare their prices. But the array of choices can be overwhelming! To help with this, we’ve put together a convenient chart so you can see at a glance how the prices for different types of decking compare to each other:

*All prices given per lineal foot. Plantation Teak decking prices are based on 1x6 material. All other decking prices are based on 5/4x6 material.

How Joist Spacing Affects Price

The base price isn’t the only thing you have to consider comparing decking costs. Certain materials require tighter joist spacing than others, and that extra framing will increase costs. The chart below shows the required joist spacing for several common types of decking.

These numbers can change depending on your deck layout. Diagonal boards require 12″ joist spacing regardless of the material or thickness. If you are retrofitting an existing deck that used 16″ spacing, it would be easier to install new joists between the existing ones, which would bring you down to 8″ spacing.

Stairs sometimes require tighter joist spacing as well, especially for synthetic deck boards with a scalloped underside. These situations usually require 8″ joist spacing.

2024 Deck Pricing Forecast

After dramatic swings in building material pricing through the covid years, decking material has finally stabilized some. Advantage has dramatically lowered pricing on species such as Tigerwood decking as we have secured large log purchases of this species which has lowered costing for 2024. Ipe and Cumaru pricing is predicted to remain somewhat stable for the 1st quarter of 2024, however pricing for the 2nd quarter and beyond is anyone’s guess as increased regulations on producing both of those species come into effect in November. The additional permitting regulation is projected to increase costs as it will shrink the supply chain since many producers do not have the capital to tie up in raw material during an increased permitting schedule. The permitting schedule for producing both of these species is already considered burdensome by most producers and with the extremely high cost of financing in source countries any additional bureaucratic delays for additional production and export permits can significantly increase selling prices. Some producers are fearing they will not have the capital to tie up during this process and will therefore be forced to produce other lesser known alternative hardwood decking species. Lesser known alternative species such as Garapa and Massaranduba may see some price increase as demand increases due to the Ipe and Cumaru situation. Asian decking species such as Red Balau and Yellow Balau are subjected to volatile shipping costs from the region, highlighted lately with the current Geo Political crisis happening on a world wide scale. These species may also see increased demand beyond current production capabilities of source mills. Raw material of these species can become in shorter supply during dips in plywood production as these hardwood species are harvested along with plywood species in the same forest plot. If demand is low for plywood then it can increase the extraction cost for the hardwood species if the plywood species are not targeted in the selective harvest.

Plantation Teak pricing did rise during 2023, and are projected to slightly increase during 2024. Plantation teak remains a viable hardwood option for decking, ceilings, soffit, and even flooring projects. Teak plantations take 18 to 20 years to mature, and many plantations are reaching that age for harvest. The lack of proper pruning during the growth can leave many plantations only producing smaller components for furniture and cutting boards, thus causing a premium for wider and longer boards suitable for decking. Properly cultivated plantations have been secured by Advantage in order to supply demand for premium decking throughout 2024. Lower grade boards are utilized for prefinished v-groove ceiling boards where character grade boards are actually in higher demand than clear pieces. If the ceiling board market trends continue to grow it shall keep Teak decking prices in check for the year. An opposing force to plantation teak price stabilization is the high end boat market. The market has been crippled by a lack of high quality old growth Teak and the industry is scouring the market. Old growth teak has been a staple for the industry as it demands straight grain figure, without the character marks of plantation grown teak. If the boat market begins to more widely accept plantation teak, with its more wild and swirly grain, then pricing could be affected.

Most composite and PVC decking manufacturers have settled national prices for early 2024. PVC decking is showing an increase of 3% to 5% and composites are holding prices from 2023 for at least the first quarter of 2024. Advantage has secured favorable pricing on synthetic decking materials such as Trex® (composite) and TimberTech® (PVC) in order to push off most increases until after the first quarter of 2024. Pricing on HDPE (High Density Polyethene) decking such as Tangent decking has been stable as raw material pricing has been normalized. Advantage expects pricing to remain consistent in HDPE decking for at least the first half of 2024. HDPE deck material is often used in the marine dock and commercial decking industry.

The hedge against many of these factors will tend to pressure small companies out of the business as buying in large volumes early in the year requires enormous capital investments into inventory. Advantage remains well positioned for the 2024 decking season with record amounts of inventory to supply its current customer base. We’ve prepared this price comparison for a quick reference to our national retail pricing of decking material. There are many other things to consider when choosing the right material for every project, but this reference gives a quick budgetary guide for various surface decking choices.

Contractor and wholesale pricing is available from your Advantage Lumber rep.