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Why there’s no price range yet
We only show price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable, cited sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price — and the quickest way to a real number is to compare quotes.
What affects the price
- Frost-depth footings: the number of piers or helical piles, and whether a machine can reach the yard
- Deck height, which sets whether a permit is required and whether guards and stairs are needed
- Ledger attachment and flashing where the deck meets the house
- Decking material: pressure-treated, cedar, or composite over a pressure-treated frame
- Span and joist spacing, which composite boards often require to be tighter than lumber
- Stairs, landings and the number of runs
- Guard height, spacing and infill — glass and cable cost several times what pickets do
- Built-ins: benches, planters, privacy screens and skirting
- Deck lighting, which is electrical work with its own licensing and permit
- Time of year — a February booking for a May build prices differently from a June call
- Removal and disposal of an existing deck, including the old footings
Footings are the part you are paying for
Canadian frost depth is the reason a deck costs what it does. Footings have to bear below the frost line — roughly a metre and a quarter in much of southern Ontario, deeper on the Prairies — which means either augered holes with concrete piers or helical piles driven by machine. That work is priced per footing, it happens before a single board is cut, and it is the line item that separates a deck built to last from one that heaves in its third winter.
A ledger board bolted to the house is the other structural decision. Done properly it is flashed so water cannot run behind it into the rim joist. Done badly it is the reason the wall rots.
The height rule decides whether the city is involved
In Toronto, an uncovered platform does not need a building permit if the finished deck level is no more than 60 cm above the adjacent finished grade and it is not part of an exit required by the building code. Above that, it is permit work. Other municipalities set their own threshold, and it is usually within a few centimetres of that one.
The fee itself is small next to the deck. Toronto charges 214.79 CAD for a residential deck, porch or carport permit as of 1 January 2026. The cost of a permit is not the reason to skip it — an unpermitted deck shows up when you sell.
Pressure-treated, cedar or composite
Pressure-treated softwood is the cheapest way to get a deck and it needs the most attention: cleaning and re-coating every couple of years, and replacing the odd board that cups. Cedar costs more, moves less and greys gracefully if you let it. Composite and PVC boards cost the most up front, need no finish, and still sit on a pressure-treated frame — so the frame under your "maintenance-free" deck is exactly as maintenance-hungry as any other frame.
None of the three is the right answer. The question is how many Saturdays you want to spend on it.
Guards, stairs and the things that add up
A deck more than a stair's height off the ground needs a guard, and the guard has rules about height, spacing and climbability. Stairs need consistent risers and a solid landing at the bottom. Both are prescribed work rather than decoration, and both are where a cheap quote is usually light. So are the extras people add at the end: privacy screening, built-in benches, lighting that needs a licensed electrical contractor and its own permit.
Season and access
Decks are built in a short window. Booking in February for a May build gets a better price and a firmer date than calling in June, when every crew in the country is behind. And access matters more than people expect: a machine that can reach the back yard turns a day of hand-digging into an hour of augering, while a gate too narrow for it puts that day back on the bill.
The underlying labour rate is public, if you want a sanity check on a quote. Job Bank puts carpenters in Canada between 22.00 and 44.23 CAD an hour as of 19 November 2025 — that is what the carpenter earns, not the rate you are billed, which also carries insurance, equipment, warranty and overhead.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for a deck?
It depends on how high it sits. Toronto exempts an uncovered platform whose finished deck level is no more than 60 cm above the adjacent grade, as long as it is not part of a required exit. Check your own municipality's threshold, because it is set locally.
How much is a deck permit?
Less than people expect. The City of Toronto charges 214.79 CAD for a residential deck, porch or carport permit as of 1 January 2026. Fees elsewhere are set by each municipality and are usually published on their building department page.
Is composite decking actually maintenance-free?
The boards are close to it — no staining, no sealing. The frame underneath is still pressure-treated lumber with the same lifespan and the same exposure, so the deck as a whole is low-maintenance rather than maintenance-free.
Can I put a deck on concrete blocks instead of footings?
For a low, freestanding platform some municipalities allow it. For anything attached to the house or high enough to need a permit, no: frost moves anything that is not bearing below the frost line, and a deck that moves while the house does not tears at the ledger.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
Decks and porches — building permit application guide — City of Toronto (accessed September 21, 2026)
When do I need a building permit? — City of Toronto (accessed September 21, 2026)
Carpenter in Canada — wages — Job Bank, Government of Canada (accessed September 21, 2026)
About Licensed Electrical Contractors — Electrical Safety Authority (Ontario) (accessed September 21, 2026)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Written by
LokalMatch EditorialReviewed by
LokalMatch Editorial
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