TAKEOFF METRIC

Sheet set A · Architectural

Decks & Fences

Joists, decking, posts, pickets and footings.

Issued

1 of 1
A-301

Deck Calculator

Decking boards, joists, rim and ledger, beams, posts and footing concrete in one takeoff, with the gap and the 45 degree layout computed and the framing plan redrawn from what you typed.

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Quick reference

Rows of decking across the depth of a deck: ceil((depth + gap) / (board width + gap))
Deck depth 5.5 in · 3/16 in gap 5.5 in · 3/8 in gap 3.5 in · 3/16 in gap
8 ft 171727
10 ft 222133
12 ft 262540
14 ft 302946
16 ft 343353
20 ft 434166

Every cell is the same division the sheet does: the depth plus one gap, over the board pitch, rounded up, with the last row ripped narrow. The widths are the minimum dressed dry sizes of a nominal 6 and a nominal 4 in NIST PS 20-20; the gaps are what Trex asks for on its own boards, 3/16 in as a minimum and 3/8 in in heavily wooded areas. Your board carries its own width and its own gapping, which is why both are fields rather than constants. What the table cannot show is the part that decides the order — the stock length the rows are cut from, a 45 degree layout, the joists, beams, posts and footing concrete underneath. That is what sheet A-301 counts, against 5 documents. No span, no waste default and no price are built in: span tables belong to DCA 6 and your local code, and no open source for a decking waste percentage was found.