Deck plans with joist and bearer checks
Draw out a deck to your size and height, choose the joist spacing and timber, and Woodworker checks every joist, bearer and post, then lists exactly what to buy.
Open the deck designerFree · no sign-up · works in your browser
How the design works
The deck stands on posts on footings, with bearers running along its length and joists across them at the spacing you choose. Decking boards are screwed to every joist. Raised decks can have knee braces between the posts and bearers.
Starts at 3.6 × 3.0 m, 500 mm off the ground (12 × 10 ft in US sizes). Change any size and everything else follows.
What Woodworker checks
- Joist and bearer strength and bounce under a crowd of people
- A heavy step on a single board between joists
- Posts at most 1.8 m apart, and post buckling on raised decks
- Sway on raised decks, and the knee braces that stop it
- Whether the wood lasts outdoors
When something isn’t strong or stable enough, it says why and offers a fix you can apply in one click, like a bigger section, an extra brace or a different joint.
What you can change
- Length, depth and height off the ground
- Joist spacing (300–600 mm / 12–24 in)
- Decking board, joist, bearer and post sizes
- Knee braces on raised decks
- Posts in concrete, on post bases or on paving pads
- Crowd and point loads (Advanced)
What you get
- A cut list of every part, with sizes, wood and how many
- A shopping list of timber lengths or sheets, screws, bolts and hardware, with rough costs
- Assembly steps in build order, with the joints and fixings for each step
- Dimensioned front, side and top drawings, and a printable workshop sheet (PDF)
Tips
- Closer joists let you use thinner decking boards and stop them feeling springy.
- Leave a 5 mm (3/16 in) gap between boards so water drains and the wood can swell.
- Above about 600 mm high, most places have rules about railings and permits: check yours.
Questions
- Will it tell me how many boards and screws to buy?
- Yes. The Shopping tab lists the timber lengths, decking boards, screws and post fixings, with rough costs.
- Can I see it in my garden?
- Export → Send to Garden Planner drops the deck into a garden plan at its real size.
- Is it really free?
- Yes. Woodworker is free, with no ads and no account. Designs are saved in your browser and never uploaded.
- How accurate are the checks?
- They use Eurocode 5 methods and common furniture test loads, as a guide for home-made projects, not certified engineering. Ask an engineer about anything large or anything people could be hurt by if it failed.
