Post what you want built and local carpenters quote it. No phone number handed around, no per-lead sale — your address is only shown to a carpenter who takes the job.
Get quotes from Cranbourne carpenters Price it yourself first
These are Melbourne prices for a completed deck, including materials and labour, inc GST. They come from real quotes, not a national average.
| Decking | Per square metre |
|---|---|
| Treated pine | $300 – $375 |
| Hardwood — merbau, spotted gum, blackbutt | $400 – $500 |
| Composite | $500 – $625 |
A typical 20 to 30 square metre deck therefore lands between about $6,000 and $19,000. Height, stairs and access move it inside that range more than the choice of board does.
On a flat new-estate block, a deck is about as cheap as decking gets — the substructure is short and there is nothing to work around. That is the end of the range where treated pine at $300 to $375 a square metre is realistic.
Where the money actually goes. Most people compare boards. But the substructure — footings, stumps, bearers, joists — is nearly the same cost whether you lay pine or composite on top of it. That is why a low deck on a flat block is cheap and a raised deck with stairs is not, regardless of timber.
Cranbourne covers two very different jobs. The newer estates out towards Clyde and Cranbourne East are mostly flat blocks with the house slab close to ground level, so the deck sits low and the frame is simple. The older streets closer to the station have larger backyards and more fall across them, which usually means a raised deck and a set of steps.
In Victoria this is mostly decided by two things: whether the deck is attached to the house, and how high it sits above natural ground level.
| Situation | Building permit |
|---|---|
| Attached to the house — any size, any height | Yes |
| Freestanding, over 10 m² or more than 800mm high | Yes |
| Freestanding, 10 m² or less and 800mm or lower | Generally not |
Height is measured from natural ground level to the finished deck surface, under the Building Regulations 2018.
Check with City of Casey before you build. Heritage, design and development, and neighbourhood character overlays can require a planning permit even when the building rules would not. This page is a starting point, not advice on your particular block — your council or your builder gives you the answer for your address.
Ground level, one step up, or a metre off the ground. This changes the price more than the timber does, and it decides the permit.
Wide side gate, or everything carried through the house? Access is real labour and quotes that ignore it get revised later.
Timber, substructure, labour, and whether a permit is included. A single lump sum is impossible to compare against another single lump sum.
Domestic building work over the threshold must be done by a registered builder in Victoria. Ask for the number and look it up on the VBA register.
Post the job once on DeckMate and up to five local carpenters can quote it, each seeing the same description — so you are comparing like with like instead of chasing callbacks.
If it is attached to the house, yes — always. If it is freestanding, under 10 square metres and no more than 800mm above natural ground, generally no. Casey can also have planning overlays that change the answer, so confirm with the council before you build.
For a typical 20 to 30 square metre deck, roughly $6,000 to $19,000 depending on the timber and how high off the ground it sits. Treated pine sits at the bottom of that, composite at the top.
Most single-level decks are three to five days on site once materials are on the ground. A permit, if you need one, is the part that adds weeks — start that early.