12x12 deck materials: boards, joists & footings
A board-by-board takeoff for a deck that projects 12 ft from the house and runs 12 ft along it. The numbers are computed, not estimated by area.
For a 12×12 deck, buy 19 composite boards (17 × 20 ft + 2 × 12 ft) or 35 pressure-treated 5/4×6 boards (6 × 12 ft + 28 × 10 ft + 1 × 8 ft).
26 rows of 5½″ boards, including 5% spare. Framing: 10 × 2x10 joists at 16″ o.c., a (2) 2x12 beam on 2 posts, and 2 footings using 8 bags of concrete.
Customize this deck in the planner →Decking layout
compositeFraming plan
IRC R507Deck boards by material
| Decking | Layout | Buy | Boards | Waste | Screws / clips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite, 12/16/20 ft | Fewest seams | 28 × 16 ft | 28 | 24.2% | 263 clips |
| Composite, 12/16/20 ft | Least waste (2 seam joists) | 17 × 20 ft + 2 × 12 ft | 19 | 8.4% | 290 clips |
| 5/4×6 PT, 8–16 ft | Fewest seams | 28 × 16 ft | 28 | 24.2% | 546 screws |
| 5/4×6 PT, 8–16 ft | Least waste (2 seam joists) | 6 × 12 ft + 28 × 10 ft + 1 × 8 ft | 35 | 7.3% | 601 screws |
5½″ boards, 3/16″ gap (composite) or 1/8″ (wood), ¾″ overhang on three sides, joists 16″ o.c., 1″ trim allowance per piece, 5% spare boards. “Waste” is the offcut share of the board length bought. Compare with other sizes in our deck board waste study, or see how to stagger the seams.
Framing, footings & hardware
| Joists | 10 × 2x10 @ 16″ o.c. |
| Joist span (ledger to beam) | 11′ 10 1/2″ of 14′ allowed |
| Beam | (2) 2x12, posts @ 10′ |
| Posts / footings | 2 × 6x6 / 2 × Ø16″ |
| Concrete (36″ deep, 10″ tubes) | 4.3 ft³ = 8 × 80 lb |
| Ledger fasteners | 11 × ½″ lags @ 15″ |
| Joist hangers / ties | 10 / 10 |
Assumes a deck attached with a ledger, southern pine framing, a dropped beam at the outer edge, 1,500 psf soil and a 36″ deck height. Change any of these in the planner, for example Douglas fir framing, a freestanding deck or a cantilever, and the whole list updates.
Joists that carry butt seams are doubled, and the joist count includes them. Spans come from IRC Tables R507.5 and R507.6 at a 40 psf live load. They are not a substitute for your local code or an engineered design. See the methodology.