Planning estimate · Herriman, Utah
Deck replacement cost calculator
Four different jobs get called replacement, and they are thousands apart. This tool prices each one on your deck, so you can see what keeping the frame is actually worth before anyone starts pulling boards.
What is behind the number
What decides the price of a deck replacement
Replacement covers four separate jobs. Boards only, on a frame that has been checked and is sound. Boards and a new guard. Everything down to the footings. Everything including the footings. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest is usually a factor of three on exactly the same deck.
The frame is what decides which one you are having. A sound frame is worth a great deal of money, because resurfacing over it runs roughly $35 to $55 a square foot in Utah against $65 to $95 for a complete composite deck, and it is the one moment when switching from wood to composite does not mean paying for a new frame as well. It is also the only way to get a new surface without a permit, because resurfacing is not new structure.
Two things routinely turn a rebuild into a bigger job than the quote assumed. The first is the ledger, because the wall behind it has had twenty years to get wet. The second is height: a deck built right at 30 inches in 2002 may sit well over it now that the grade has settled or been landscaped, and once it is over the line the rebuild needs a permit and a full perimeter guard the old deck never had.
How much is coming out
Boards only, boards and guard, everything above the footings, or everything including them. The tear-out rate changes with each, and so does whether a permit is involved.
Whether the frame is sound
The single biggest lever on this page. Keeping a good frame roughly halves the job. It also means somebody has to look at the joists, the hangers and the ledger properly first, because resurfacing over a bad frame is money thrown away.
What goes back on
Most replacements are the moment people move from wood to composite, because the disruption is already paid for. The material changes the surface cost and, on a full rebuild, the joist spacing underneath it.
The ledger and the wall behind it
On a replacement the deck is off anyway, so this is the cheapest moment in the deck’s life to find out whether water has been getting into the rim joist. It can be nothing, or it can be a repair to the house.
Height, again
Herriman’s 30 inch exemption is measured to the lowest grade around the perimeter. Grade moves over twenty years. A rebuild that crosses the line picks up the $432.39 permit, the inspections and a guard around every open edge.
Footings
Footings that stopped above the 30 inch frost depth heave every spring, and nothing built on top of them stays level. Starting from the holes is the most expensive version of this job and the only one that lasts.
What pushes it higher
- Going down to the footings rather than keeping the frame.
- A ledger that has been leaking into the wall behind the finish.
- Enlarging the footprint, which adds footings, framing and permit scope.
- Composite or PVC rather than wood.
- Cable or glass guard rather than wood.
- An older deck, where more of what you open up needs doing.
What brings it down
- Keeping the frame and changing only the surface, where the structure is genuinely sound.
- Rebuilding on the existing footprint rather than a larger one.
- Wood guard instead of metal, cable or glass.
- Pressure-treated or cedar, if you will keep up the sealing.
- Leaving the stairs where they are if they are still solid.
- Getting the frame looked at before assuming it has to go.
Turn the estimate into a real number
Send a couple of photos, rough dimensions, and the height down to the lowest corner. You will get a straight answer about the permit, the guard and what the ground is likely to want, before anyone talks about boards.
What people ask about this
Can I just replace the boards?
Only if the frame is sound, and that is a judgement somebody has to make underneath rather than from the deck. Joists, hangers, the beam and the ledger all have to be right, because a new surface hides them for another twenty years. Where the frame is good, resurfacing is far and away the best value on this page.
What does resurfacing cost in Utah?
Roughly $35 to $55 a square foot for capped composite over sound framing, against about $65 to $95 for a complete new composite deck. That is not a small saving, and it is the reason it is worth paying somebody to look at the frame before deciding.
Do I need a permit to replace a deck?
Replacing a surface on existing framing is normally maintenance rather than new structure. Rebuilding the structure is new work, and if the walking surface sits more than 30 inches above the lowest grade around the perimeter, Herriman requires a permit at its published $432.39 fee. Worth one call to 801-446-5327 before you commit to a scope.
My old deck had no railing. Will the new one need one?
Very possibly, yes. IRC R312.1 requires a guard above 30 inches, and the measurement is to the lowest grade around the perimeter. A deck built right at the line twenty years ago may be over it now. It catches people out because they are rebuilding what was there, and what was there would not pass today.
How long does a replacement take?
Roughly three to five days for a resurface, one to two weeks for a surface and guard, two to three weeks for a full rebuild, and three to four weeks if the footings are going too. Herriman’s inspection schedule adds time on a permitted job, so it is worth asking about that early.
Is it cheaper to replace or to keep repairing?
There is a crossing point, and it is usually earlier than people expect. Once you are replacing most of the surface, or the frame is part of the problem, repair stops being the cheaper answer. The repair calculator on this site says so explicitly when your answers take it there.
Should I make it bigger while it is off?
It is often the right moment, since the disruption is already paid for. It is also a different job: new footings, new framing on the new area, and if it takes the deck over 30 inches, a permit that covers the whole thing rather than the part you added.
Is this a quote?
No. It is a planning estimate. Tear-outs are the job type most likely to reveal something nobody could have priced, which is why the contingency on this calculator rises with the age of the deck.