No more manual math. No spreadsheets. No more being short on material. DeckBuild generates a full complete material takeoff the moment the deck is drawn. Every board, footing, connector, screw, and clip is counted from the actual geometry and priced from your catalog.
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The difference
A takeoff is only as good as the drawing it came from. Every edit to a DeckBuild drawing flows straight into the takeoff. Change the deck as often as you like, and the count, cut list, and costs seamlessly update on their own.
A typical estimate
DeckBuild
How the takeoff works
Cut-list optimization
DeckBuild packs your framing cuts into stock lengths and reuses the cutoffs, producing a board-by-board cut list that buys the fewest boards possible. The dollars you save are calculated and shown.
Stock-length pricing
Lumber is priced per length and adds a configurable typical premium to 20' lengths, and DeckBuild buys the cheapest mix. Waste percentages and board buffers apply per material group, your way.
Fastener intelligence
Hidden clips, colored plugs, or face screws: DeckBuild maps the correct fastener to each decking line and color-matches it per board. All defaulted in and configurable within DeckBuild.
Inventory & safeguards
Skip what's already on your shelves with on-hand inventory management. And catch anything on the drawing that isn't on the order with automated warnings.
Recipe-based builders
Railings, posts, footings, handrails, gates, and connections are built from recipes that know their real hardware: the exact fasteners per joist hanger, the bolts per post base, the brackets per railing section. So when a railing section appears on the plan, every part it needs appears on the order. Editable defaults come with DeckBuild, or build your own recipes to match exactly how you build.
Order-ready
Straight answers
Yes. Load your material catalog once, with suppliers, SKUs, stock lengths, per-length prices, and tax flags, and it flows into every takeoff. Update a lumber price once and every future takeoff reflects it. Quotes reflect what you actually pay, not a national average.
Yes, and it isn't limited to a fixed list. Treated, composite, PVC, hardwood, or aluminum decking, plus your railing systems: if it's a product you carry, DeckBuild builds the takeoff from your own catalog and stock lengths, right down to the correct fasteners, clips, and plugs for each product and its color.
Every item is counted from the actual geometry, like joist crossings, post counts, and length per railing section, and every connector, bracket, and screw is a real, itemized line driven by your build-method recipes. Nothing is estimated, and nothing is a guess.
Your footings, framing connections, fasteners, blocking style, span tables, and decking and stair defaults all drive the takeoff, so it reflects how you build, not a generic template. DeckBuild ships with editable defaults to get you started, and you can build your own recipes for railings, posts, footings, and connections down to the exact hardware. Set it once and every future takeoff follows your methods.
Yes, and you set it your way, per material group. Add a buffer as a percentage or as a flat number of extra pieces, and apply it differently to lumber, decking, railing, fasteners, and more. So the groups that tend to need a little extra get it, and the ones that don't stay lean.
Export the takeoff as a branded PDF, Excel, or CSV, filtered by supplier, with or without your costs, and with on-hand inventory excluded from the order.
Start your free 14-day trial, draw a real deck, and watch DeckBuild build a complete material takeoff and cut list, priced to your catalog, down to the fasteners. No credit card required.