Deck & Fence Planner

Free, no account needed. The whole planner works for everyone. An account only buys you somewhere to save the design.

Most deck projects go wrong in one of two places: the materials list is short and you make a second trip, or the joist spacing was decided by eye and the boards end up bouncy. Both are planning problems, and both are cheaper to fix on a screen than in a driveway.

What you get

• A framing count from your width, depth, height and joist spacing (12, 16 or 24 inches on centre): joists, rim and end joists, a doubled beam, posts and the concrete bags under them
• Decking rows for 5/4 by 6, 2 by 6 or 2 by 4 boards, railing on the three open sides with posts, rails and balusters, and stairs down to grade with stringers and treads
• A fence mode that counts posts, rails per section and pickets from your picket width and gap, with an optional gate kit
• Every board rounded up to a buy length in two-foot steps, so the list maps onto what the yard actually sells
• Joist hangers, screw boxes and footing bags on the list, which is the line everybody forgets
• A 3D preview you can spin and zoom, and a printable materials list

Pricing the lumber

Type your yard's unit prices into the list and the total updates as you go, so you can walk in with a specific order and a number you already know, rather than a rough guess plus twenty percent. If the project also needs sheet goods, the free sheet cut optimiser is the sister tool: it lays your parts out on plywood or MDF with the least waste and prints the cutting diagram.

A word on codes

Span tables, footing depth, guard height and railing spacing all vary by jurisdiction, and in many places a deck above a certain height needs a permit. This planner is an estimate to help you design and buy accurately. It does not replace a permit drawing or an engineer's span table, and it is not a substitute for your local building department, who would generally much rather answer a question beforehand than fail an inspection afterwards.