Questions and answers
The short version: the designer is free, plans are concept plans, prices are indicative and dated, and the pictures of your deck on your house are AI concept images. The detail is below.
Designing your deck
The free designer, what a concept plan is and what it is not.
Is the deck designer really free?
Yes. Drawing your deck in 2D, the 3D view, the colours, the area and the state price band are free, with no account, no details and no time limit. Your design saves in your browser as you go. The materials list, cut list, framing plan and exports are in the free deck pack, which unlocks with your details (next question).
The one thing we charge for is “Deck on my house”: 3 AI pictures of your own deck design on a photo of your own house, for $29.95 including GST, shown before you pay.
What’s in the free deck pack?
The materials list, the cut list, the concept framing plan, the exports (PDF and CSV) and one AI preview of your design. It is free. To unlock it we ask for your name, email, suburb and postcode, three short questions about your build, and a mobile number we check with a code we text you.
Everything in the pack is a concept plan, not for construction: have it checked by a builder, building surveyor or engineer before you build. The drawing, 3D view, colours, area and price band stay free without any details.
Is my plan a construction drawing?
No. Everything the designer produces is a concept plan. The span tables behind the framing have been checked by a structural engineer, but your plan as a whole has not. Every plan is marked “concept plan, not for construction”, and before your first export the designer asks you to tick a box to say you understand that.
Before you build, have the design checked by a registered builder, building surveyor or structural engineer.
Can I use the plan to get a building permit?
Not on its own. Permit rules differ by state and council. Some low, unroofed decks are exempt; many are not, and the designer flags when yours may need a permit. A permit needs documentation prepared or checked by qualified people.
The concept plan is a good start for that conversation: take it to a builder, draftsperson or building surveyor.
What are footings, bearers and joists?
Footings are the concrete pads in the ground. Posts stand on them in galvanised stirrups, clear of the soil. Bearers are the heavy beams across the posts, and joists are the lighter members laid across the bearers, roughly 400 to 450 mm apart depending on the boards. The deck boards are fixed to the joists.
The designer works all of them out from your deck’s size and height, in treated pine, steel, aluminium or on pedestals, and the concept framing plan shows where each one goes.
Prices, sellers and quotes
Where the prices come from, who pays us and how quote requests work.
Where do the prices come from, and are they live?
Prices come from sellers’ public websites and published price lists: shops that allow it are read each week, and the rest are checked by hand each month. Each board shows one figure, the average of the sellers’ prices we have seen, with any price more than 25% above or below the middle price left out. It says how many sellers it averages and when the newest price was seen, per square metre and per board. We don’t name the sellers beside a price. Prices are indicative, not live: sellers change prices, run specials and vary by store, so confirm before you order.
We hold prices from 19 sellers today, last checked 15 Oct 2026. Some of it is still sample data, badged wherever a price appears. Every price says how many sellers it comes from in your state; where no seller in your state prices a board yet, we show the national average and say so, and a board nobody prices is “price on request”. We do not cover every seller in Australia, and never say we do.
Prices include GST and exclude delivery and installation unless we say otherwise.
Which sellers do you compare?
Sellers who publish their prices, on their own price lists and websites, each price dated. We don’t name them beside a price: each figure says how many sellers it averages.
Having your prices counted is free and does not depend on any relationship with us. Every seller’s price counts once in a board’s average, by the same rule, and no seller can pay to change an average or how it is shown.
How do I get quotes?
Through the free deck pack. When you unlock it, you agree that we send your design and details to up to 3 local builders or suppliers who serve your area. They pay us for each lead; that never changes the prices you see. They may call, SMS or email you about quoting this deck.
You can stop the sharing at any time from the link in your emails. Your pack locks when you do.
Do you sell decking, or build and install decks?
No. We are a guide and a design tool. We do not sell boards or framing and we do not build or install decks: you buy from whichever merchant suits you, and your contract is with them.
Renders and purchases
The one thing we charge for, and what happens if it goes wrong.
How do the AI renders of my house work?
You add a photo of the back of your house, with the back door and the ground where the deck goes in the shot. After you pay, you tap the back door and drag a box where the deck goes. Before each picture, the AI looks at your photo, your 3D design and your board, then puts your deck on your house in your board and colour. You get 3 pictures for $29.95 including GST, in daylight, golden hour or dusk, yours to download and keep.
Each picture is an AI concept image, not a plan or a photo. Each one says so in its caption and its alt text. The AI can misjudge size or placement or miss small details, and colours on screen are indicative, so check each picture against your plan and look at a physical sample before you choose a colour.
What if something goes wrong with a purchase?
If your pictures do not generate, are not delivered or are not what we described, email info@compositedecks.com.au and we will fix it, redo it or refund you.
Our products come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing on this site limits those rights.
Reviews, your data and corrections
Customer reviews, what we keep about you, and how to tell us we got something wrong.
Can I review a product, and will a bad review be published?
Yes, and yes. Customers can review products they have used. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, newest first, and only reject a review for a reason on our published list. Brands can reply. Nobody can pay to have a review removed or edited. See the review policy.
What happens to my design and my details?
Your design lives in your browser while you work. To show the price band, its shape and materials, never your personal details, are sent to our server. The same happens when you order pictures of your deck on your house, with the photo you add; we take the photo’s location data out when it arrives. We ask for your email only at checkout, when you ask for quotes or when you contact us. Card payments go through a payment processor, so we never see card numbers.
We never send your details anywhere for marketing. The only people who receive them are the up to 3 local builders or suppliers who quote your deck pack, with a box you tick yourself (next question). To see, correct or delete what we hold, email info@compositedecks.com.au. The detail is in our privacy policy.
Who sees my details?
Nobody, until you unlock your free deck pack. Sharing is part of the pack: when you tick the box Share my design and contact details with up to 3 local builders or suppliers so they can quote and verify your mobile, up to 3 builders or suppliers who serve your area get your name, mobile, email, suburb, design and materials list. The box never starts ticked; you tick it yourself. They pay us for the lead, and they may call, SMS or email you about quoting this deck.
You can stop the sharing at any time: open your deck pack and choose “Change my mind”, or email or call us. We tell anyone who has your details to stop contacting you and delete them, and your pack locks. The detail is in our privacy policy.
A price or a product fact looks wrong. What do I do?
Tell us on the contact page, or by email or phone, with the product, the state and where you saw the right figure. Every product fact shows its source and the date we last checked it. We check what you send against the source and fix confirmed errors. See our editorial policy.
When do you launch?
Soon. We are pre-launch while we load verified seller price lists and approve product profiles one by one. The designer already works today, free. A seller or range you would like compared, or a question we have not covered? Tell us.
Something we have not covered?
Ask us directly, or tell us about a seller or range you would like compared. Composite Decks replies by email.