Decks get priced per square foot because, unlike a fence, the surface you walk on is easy to measure and mostly flat. But the square footage is only the floor. The things that push a deck from $3 toward $7 are the ones that do not add a single square foot: railings, spindles, stair stringers, the fascia and underside of an elevated deck, and whatever coating somebody put on it five years ago that now has to come off.
That is why a 300-square-foot deck can cost more than a 500-square-foot one. Below is the range, what moves a deck inside it, three example decks, what a job includes, and how to tell whether your deck needs refinishing, which we do, or board replacement, which we do not.
The $3–$7 range, and what puts a deck at each end
At the $3 end: a ground-level deck, cedar or treated pine, a few years old, no railings or a short run of them, the previous stain worn thin but not peeling. Clean, brighten, dry, spray, back-brush. It is the deck equivalent of a new fence.
At the $7 end: a deck elevated enough that the fascia and visible underside are ladder work, wrapped in railings with spindles every four inches, with two flights of stairs, and a film-forming stain or paint that is lifting and has to be sanded or stripped off before anything new will hold. Every one of those is hours, and none of them shows up in the floor measurement.
Solid versus semi-transparent moves the number too. Solid costs more per gallon and usually wants two coats; it is the choice when the boards are sound but the surface is past showing off. Semi-transparent shows the grain and is the default for cedar that still looks like cedar.
What moves the price
| Factor | What it does to the price |
|---|---|
| Square footage | The base. Floor area only; everything below adds work without adding to it. |
| Condition | New or lightly faded wood needs a clean. Gray wood needs a brightener soak and a full dry. Mildew in the shaded corners adds a treatment. |
| Sanding | Raised grain, splinters, mill glaze on new boards, and a failing old finish all call for sanding, which is priced by the hour it takes, not the square foot. |
| Railings and spindles | The biggest hidden factor. A rail with spindles is dozens of small faces brushed by hand, and it adds nothing to the square footage. |
| Stairs | Treads, risers, and stringers are all cut-in work. Two flights can take as long as the floor. |
| Elevated decks | Fascia boards, beams, and any underside you can see from the yard mean ladder work and more masking of what is below. |
| Previous coatings | A worn penetrating oil stain is a clean and re-coat. A peeling film-forming stain or paint has to come off first, and that is what puts a deck at the top of the range. |
| Solid vs semi-transparent | Solid costs more in product and usually needs a second coat. Semi-transparent is one coat, back-brushed. |
Three decks, three places in the range
Described by where they land, not by a dollar figure, because the figure depends on the photos you send.
A small ground-level cedar deck in good shape
A couple of hundred square feet off the back door, a step or two down to the grass, no railings. The old stain has faded evenly and nothing is peeling. Clean, brighten, 48 hours to dry, one coat sprayed and back-brushed. This is the low end of the range, and a short day for us.
A mid-size deck with peeling old stain
The common one. Somebody put a film-forming stain on it years ago, and it is now flaking on the sunny half and holding on the shaded half. The flaking half has to be sanded back before anything will stick, the shaded half needs scuffing so the new coat matches, and there is a railing along one side. This lands in the upper half of the range, and the sanding is most of the reason.
A large elevated deck with railings and stairs
A second-story deck on a sloped Lakeway or Steiner Ranch lot, railings on three sides, a full flight of stairs, and fascia ten feet off the ground. Even in decent condition, the railings and stairs push this to the top of the range. Add a peeling coating and it goes past it, and the quote will say so before you commit.
What is included
- A low-pressure clean and, where the wood has grayed or mildewed, a wood brightener to bring it back to tan.
- A minimum 48-hour dry after cleaning and after any rain.
- Sanding where a failing finish or raised grain needs it, so the new stain has bare wood to go into.
- Masking of siding, stone, pool coping, and plants around the deck.
- An airless spray of oil-based stain, back-brushed into the grain. Railings and spindles are brushed by hand.
- Photos in your text thread when we finish.
Not included: replacing boards, joists, or a ledger; tightening a wobbling railing; or any structural work. If we see something in your photos that needs a carpenter, we say so in the quote rather than staining over it.
Restoration or refinishing: which one your deck needs
"Deck restoration" covers two different jobs, and the difference is whether the wood is sound. Press a screwdriver into the worst-looking board near the house and at the bottom of the stairs. If it sinks in, or the board is cupped past flat, split end to end, or the ledger where the deck meets the house shows rot, that is board replacement. A carpenter does that, and no coating fixes it.
If the boards are hard and the problem is the surface, gray, peeling, mildew, splinters, that is refinishing, and that is us. Some decks are half and half: a carpenter swaps the bad boards, and we stain the whole thing 4–8 weeks later once the new lumber has dried enough to take it. For the refinishing process step by step, see deck staining in Austin.
How the quote works
For decks we lean on your photos more than on satellite imagery, because trees and roofs hide a deck from above. Send four through the quote form: the floor, the railings, the stairs, and a close-up of the worst spot. We text back a firm price, usually within the hour, and it does not change when we arrive. Doing the fence at the same time? Read what moves a fence price and put both in the same form. Get your firm deck price.
Straight answers
How much does it cost to stain a deck in Austin?
Between $3 and $7 per square foot for most decks. Floor condition, railings, stairs, height off the ground, and whether an old coating has to come off are what decide where yours lands. We text a firm price from your photos.
Why would a smaller deck cost more than a bigger one?
Railings, spindles, and stairs. They add hours of hand brushing without adding a square foot of floor, so a small deck wrapped in railings can cost more than a large open one.
Do you strip old paint or solid stain from a deck?
Where it is failing, yes. Peeling areas get sanded back to bare wood as part of the prep and it is priced into the quote. A deck under a thick, sound coat of paint is a different job, and we will tell you from the photos if it is beyond what we do.
Can a gray, weathered deck be stained without replacing boards?
If the boards are hard, yes. Gray is surface fiber, and a brightener brings the tan back before we stain. Soft, split, or rotted boards need a carpenter first, and we will point them out in the quote.
Should I choose solid or semi-transparent stain for my deck?
Semi-transparent if the wood still looks good and you want to see the grain; it is one coat and the lower price. Solid if the boards are sound but the surface is past its best, or to hide mismatched replacement boards. Solid costs more and needs a second coat.