You're about to order deck boards and don't want to overspend or come up short. Here's the rule of thumb and a fast way to get the exact number.
For a standard 14 cm wide deck board with a 4–5 mm gap, you'll need about 7 linear metres of board per m² of deck. Add 5–10 % for waste.
A 14 cm wide board covers roughly 14.5 cm once you include the gap. Per m² of deck that's 1 ÷ 0.145 = about 7 linear metres.
If you buy 4 m boards, one board covers roughly 0.58 m² – but only if it doesn't need any cutting.
Waste comes from end cuts at edges, joins and corners. For a simple rectangular deck, 5–10 % is plenty. For patterned layouts or angled corners, plan around 15 %.
A 4 × 5 m area is 20 m². At 7 linear metres per m² that's 140 linear metres of board. If you buy 4 m boards, that's 35 boards – plus 10 % waste = 39 boards. Add 1–2 extra if you've got lots of cuts.
Enter your own dimensions, pick a board type and see the exact board, screw and joist count.
Roughly 8 linear metres per m². Narrower boards mean more pieces – and a few more screws.
Yes, plan for 15 % waste on a 45° pattern. You end up with a lot of corner cuts.
Boards are calculated by area. Plan around 25–30 screws per m². Joists depend on spacing – usually 40–60 cm centres.
It's a smart move. Matching a discontinued batch and shade in a couple of years is almost impossible.
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