Free starting design ยท Freestanding deck
192 sq ft, 3 ft high, freestanding on its own footings.
8 of 11 planner checks passed
Drawn by the designer from this planPreliminary checks against the AWC DCA 6 tables and the IRC. Local approval not checked.
At least $2,785.70 at Home Depot prices in materials, before sales tax, delivery and tools.
Building it? The $49 drawings to prepare your permit application dimension every piece. See sample sheets
About this plan
The same 16 ft by 12 ft deck attached to the house would need 3 posts, 5 footings and one beam, because the wall carries one edge. Freestanding, it carries both edges itself: 6 posts, 8 footings and 2 beams. That is the extra digging and lumber you pay for a deck that never touches the wall.
Sideways load. A ledger also stops a deck swaying. Without one, this plan adds knee braces both ways at the corner posts. DCA6 and the IRC give no table for this, so the bracing is our prescriptive choice and some departments ask for an engineer.
Footings near the house. Any footing within 5 ft of the wall should go as deep as the house footing. At 3 ft high this deck is also above the 30 in where the IRC permit exemption stops, so expect a permit and guards.
Planner checks
No span or size check fails. The 3 items to review (lateral bracing; frost depth; footings near the house) are points only your site or your building department can settle, so they do not make this design unbuildable. Settle them before you dig or order lumber. Each bar is how much of its DCA6 table row a member uses: the span or spacing this plan has against the span or spacing the row allows. A bar at 100% is at the limit, and over 100% fails.
what this plan uses room to spare
Green passes the rule or the calculation we checked against, amber asks you to look at something before you build, red fails it. These are preliminary checks, not a structural approval; your local building authority reviews and approves.
PassDecking span
Our default
PassJoist span
PassJoist cantilever
PassBeam
PassPost height
PassFootings
ReviewBefore you build: frost depth
ReviewBefore you build: footings near the house
NoteGrade
OKFraming spans
Our span check
Each member is read against its AWC DCA6 table row: it passes when the span is within what the row allows.
ReviewLateral bracing
PassStairs
PassGuards
NoteDesign loads
Specification
| Size | 16 ft wide by 12 ft out |
|---|---|
| Wood | Southern Pine, No. 2, pressure-treated |
| Joist spacing | 16 in on center |
| Stairs | 5 risers of 7.2 in, 36 in wide |
| Guards | 36 in guard, 96 balusters |
| Frost depth | 36 in, default, confirm with your building department |
| Soil bearing | 1,500 psf assumed |
| Design code | TPP-ZT5X-B299 |
| Joists | 2x8 at 16 in: 13 joists, 11'-9" long, span 8'-0", cantilever 2'-0". DCA6 Table 2, Southern Pine 2x8, 16 in o.c.: allows 11'-10", this design has 8'-0" |
|---|---|
| Beam B0 | 2-ply 2x8: 16'-0" long, under the joists, posts 7'-0" apart. DCA6 Table 3A, Southern Pine 2-2x8, joists <= 8 ft: allows 7'-4", this design has 7'-0" |
| Beam B1 | 2-ply 2x8: 16'-0" long, under the joists, posts 7'-0" apart. DCA6 Table 3A, Southern Pine 2-2x8, joists <= 8 ft: allows 7'-4", this design has 7'-0" |
| Posts | 6x6: 6 posts, tallest 1'-9". DCA6 Table 4, beam span <= 8 ft, joists <= 10 ft, Southern Pine 6x6: allows 14'-0", this design has 20.5 in |
| Stair stringers | 2x12: 3 stringers, 5 risers of 7.2 in, 4 treads of 10 in |
| Guard | 36 in high: 10 4x4 posts, 96 balusters |
| 6 footings | 20 in round or 18 in square, 8 in thick, 36 in deep |
|---|---|
| 2 footings | 12 in round or 10 in square, 6 in thick, 36 in deep (stair) |
Cost
Materials at Home Depot prices, about$2,785.70
Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, prices read 2026-09-30 to 2026-11-04; your store may differ. Quantities and board lengths are exact for this design. Lines marked estimated are priced from a nearby length or another store; special order lines carry no price (special order, price at your lumberyard) and are left out of the total. Before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work.
Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, prices read 2026-09-30 to 2026-11-04; your store may differ. Quantities and board lengths are exact for this design. Lines marked estimated are priced from a nearby length or another store; special order lines carry no price (special order, price at your lumberyard) and are left out of the total. 29 lines of boards, connectors and bags, counted off the framing.
Before sales tax, delivery, labor and tools.
Framing$468.40
| 13 | 2x8 x 12 ftShelf price | $255.84 |
| 6 | 2x8 x 16 ftShelf price | $160.08 |
| 1 | 6x6 x 12 ftShelf price | $52.48 |
Decking$380.64
| 1 | 5/4x6 x 10 ftShelf price | $8.58 |
| 27 | 5/4x6 x 16 ftShelf price | $372.06 |
Guards and stairs$548.02
| 1 | 1x8 x 8 ftShelf price | $8.88 |
| 1 | 1x8 x 12 ftShelf price | $13.08 |
| 1 | 2x12 x 8 ftShelf price | $22.78 |
| 1 | 2x12 x 12 ftShelf price | $36.38 |
| 1 | 2x4 x 10 ftShelf price | $8.38 |
| 4 | 2x4 x 12 ftShelf price | $40.32 |
| 3 | 2x4 x 16 ftShelf price | $44.34 |
| 1 | 2x6 x 10 ftShelf price | $12.28 |
| 2 | 2x6 x 12 ftShelf price | $28.36 |
| 1 | 2x6 x 14 ftShelf price | $11.44 |
| 3 | 4x4 x 16 ftShelf price | $83.64 |
| 6 | Baluster, 2x2 x 36 in, pressure-treatedShelf price | $238.14 |
Hardware$931.18
| 26 | Hurricane tie, joist to beam B0Shelf price | $25.48 |
| 6 | Post base, 6x6Shelf price | $356.52 |
| 6 | Post cap, 6x6 post to 2-ply 2x8 beamSpecial order, no price | not priced |
| 10 | Guard post hold-downShelf price | $220 |
| 24 | 1/2 in through-bolt, nut and 2 washers, guard posts (est.)Estimated price | $144.72 |
| 3 | Deck screw, coated or stainless, #8 or #10Shelf price | $98.91 |
| 3 | Connector nails or screwsShelf price | $25.65 |
| 1 | Structural screw, rim to joist endsShelf price | $39.99 |
| 3 | Stringer connector at the rimShelf price | $8.94 |
| 1 | #8 wood screw, stringer to bearing blockShelf price | $10.97 |
Concrete$457.46
| 46 | Concrete mix, 80 lb bagShelf price | $297.62 |
| 8 | Concrete tube form, 12 in x 4 ftShelf price | $159.84 |
Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, prices read 2026-09-30 to 2026-11-04; your store may differ. Quantities and board lengths are exact for this design. Lines marked estimated are priced from a nearby length or another store; special order lines carry no price (special order, price at your lumberyard) and are left out of the total. Change the size in the deck designer and the list follows, or try the deck material calculator.
Free and paid, side by side
Free
On this page and in the designer, no account
$49 once
The drawings you build from, for the design you finish. 20 sheets for the 16x12 ft attached deck, 3 ft high.
You check out in the designer, with this design loaded. If the plan has an error, we fix it or refund you within 30 days. Guarantee terms.
Real sheets from the 20-sheet sample plan for the 16x12 ft attached deck, 3 ft high
The sample was printed on an earlier date, so its prices can differ from the estimate above. Your plan prints the same prices as the estimate.
Cover and project data
Framing plan
Footing plan
Ledger and lateral load details
Member and hardware schedule
Shopping list
Build phases
Each picture is this design at the end of its phase, drawn by the designer, with that phase's new parts in color.
Stake the corners and the footing centers, square the layout with the 3-4-5 diagonal check, then dig to 36 in or the frost depth your building department gives and pour the footings.
Set the 6x6 posts on their standoff bases, plumb, cut them to height and fasten the 2-ply 2x8 beam with the post caps.
Hang or rest the 2x8 joists at 16 in on center, with the tie at every beam bearing, and block where the plan shows.
Lay the boards across the joists with the gap the plan gives, two fasteners per joist, and trim the ends to a chalk line.
Fasten the 4x4 guard posts through the rim, add the cap and the balusters so no gap is wider than 4 in.
Cut the stringers to the rise and run on the plan, set them on their bearing blocks and add the treads, the handrail and the stair guards.
This is the summary. The $49 builder's plan breaks these phases into a build order with the new parts highlighted, a how-to detail and a check at each step.
Read DCA 6, the free deck code guide, table by table before you buy lumber.
Questions
Anything else? Write to us or read the questions about all deck plans.
Yes, and it is the way out when the wall cannot take a ledger, as with brick veneer. This plan has its own beams, so it never touches the wall. The planner flags any footing within 5 ft of the house: dig those as deep as the house footing.
Yes. With no house to resist sideways load, this plan adds knee braces both ways at the corner posts, shown in the framing view. DCA6 and the IRC give no lateral table for a freestanding deck, so the bracing is our prescriptive choice and some departments ask for an engineer.
Another sizeAttached deck, 100 sq ft
Materials at least $1,832.52
Another sizeAttached deck, 144 sq ft
Materials about $2,148.47
Another sizeAttached deck, 192 sq ft
Materials at least $2,490.97
Change the size and the options. The framing and the materials list follow every change. Free, no account.
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