Planning estimate · Herriman, Utah
Wood deck cost calculator
Pressure-treated, cedar or redwood, priced properly, plus the number no quote includes: what it costs to keep it looking like it did on the first day, over ten years in a Utah climate.
What is behind the number
What decides the price of a wood deck
A complete cedar or redwood deck in Utah runs roughly $45 to $65 a square foot installed, which puts a 300 square foot deck somewhere around $13,500 to $19,500. Pressure-treated pine sits meaningfully below that. All three are built exactly the same way; what changes is how the board behaves outdoors here.
Herriman is about 5,000 feet up against the Oquirrh foothills, and the climate is hard on a finish in both directions. Summer pulls moisture out of the lumber until boards cup, check and start working their fasteners loose. Winter drives water into every joint and freezes it. That cycle is why a wood deck has a schedule and a composite one does not.
So this calculator asks a question no quote asks: how often will it actually get re-done. The answer does not change the build price at all. It changes the ten year price, which is shown separately, and it is the honest basis for comparing wood against composite.
Species
Pressure-treated pine is the cheapest and the most demanding. Select-grade pine has fewer knots and cups less. Cedar is naturally rot-resistant, more stable and far kinder underfoot. Redwood is the premium version of the same commitment.
The finish, and when it can go on
New pressure-treated pine arrives wet with treatment and cannot take a sealer until it has dried, usually a few months here. Put a finish on too early and it sits on the surface and peels. Cedar and redwood can be finished as soon as they are clean.
Height, and therefore the guard
Above 30 inches to the lowest grade you need Herriman’s permit at $432.39 and a guard around every open edge. On a wood deck a wood guard also joins the maintenance schedule, which is a real consideration and not just a cost.
How often it gets re-coated
At roughly $2 to $5 a square foot per service, every two to three years, upkeep on a wood deck runs from about $8 to $25 a square foot over ten years. On a 300 square foot deck that is $2,400 to $7,500 that never appears on a quote.
Fasteners
Face screws are cheaper and leave heads that collect water and eventually back out. Hidden fasteners need a grooved board and more labour, and leave a clean surface with nothing to catch. On a deck you will be sanding periodically, that difference is worth thinking about.
Footings and the ground
Herriman requires 30 inches to the bottom of the footing. On a graded foothill lot with clay, that is auger work, and it is priced per hole rather than spread across the square footage.
What pushes it higher
- Crossing 30 inches, which adds the permit and a guard around the whole open edge.
- Cedar or redwood rather than pressure-treated pine.
- A cable, glass or metal guard on a wood deck.
- A diagonal or picture-framed board layout.
- Hidden fasteners, which need a grooved board and more labour.
- A pergola, which needs a permit at any deck height.
What brings it down
- Keeping the walking surface at 30 inches or less above the lowest grade.
- Pressure-treated pine rather than cedar or redwood.
- Leaving the finish until the following spring, which new pine needs anyway.
- A wood guard rather than metal, cable or glass.
- Face-screwed rather than hidden fasteners.
- A straight board run parallel to the house.
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
How much does a cedar deck cost in Utah?
Roughly $45 to $65 a square foot installed for a complete deck, which puts a 300 square foot cedar deck around $13,500 to $19,500. Pressure-treated pine comes in below that, and where any particular deck lands depends mostly on height, guard and stairs rather than on the boards.
How often does a wood deck need sealing?
Every two to three years is the usual honest answer in this climate, and cedar and redwood stretch it further than pine does. Leave it to four or five and you are stripping and sanding rather than re-coating, which costs more and takes longer.
Can I seal a new pressure-treated deck straight away?
No. It comes from the yard still wet with treatment and a finish applied too early will sit on the surface and peel. The usual test is to sprinkle water on it: if it beads rather than soaking in, it is not ready. In this climate that normally means waiting a few months and doing the first proper coat the following spring.
Which lasts longer, cedar or pressure-treated?
Pressure-treated pine resists rot and insects better because of the treatment, and cedar resists them naturally while also staying flatter and splintering less. Kept up, either lasts a long time. Left alone, both grey and check, and pine gets there faster and less gracefully.
Is wood cheaper than composite?
To build, always. Over ten years it depends entirely on whether the maintenance actually happens. This calculator shows the upkeep figure separately for exactly that reason, and the composite calculator on this site works out the payback year on the same deck.
What if I never seal it?
It will not fall down, but it will grey within a season and start checking and splintering within about three, and that is usually when people replace it rather than restore it. If the honest answer is that it will not get done, the money is better spent once on a composite surface.
Do I need a permit for a wood deck in Herriman?
The material makes no difference. Herriman exempts a deck 30 inches or less measured to the lowest grade around the perimeter, with no roof structure over it and not serving the required exit. Above that, the published deck permit fee is $432.39. A pergola over the deck triggers a permit at any height.
Is this a quote?
No. It is a planning estimate built from current Salt Lake Valley wood deck pricing and Herriman’s published requirements. A firm number comes from someone standing on the site.