Guides
Where deck and patio quote templates come from: sources to check
The sources deck and patio contractors can pull quote templates from, the fields each one has to carry, and five pricing approaches to choose from.
What to take away
- The deck and patio quote template for 2027 should start from a named source: JLC Online, Fine Homebuilding, NAHB, Buildxact or NARI.
- Two more to checkJobber and Housecall Pro, which ship quote templates inside their software.
- Pull your last ten sold jobs before you write anything. Real numbers beat borrowed ones.
- A deck quote needs five pricing rows, not one. The fifth prices certainty, not hours.
- Templates are starting points. Check your local permit authority before you send one.
This article is general information for deck and patio contractors. It is not structural, engineering, permit or legal advice.
What changes for 2027
The quote fields do not turn over with the calendar. Four inputs around them do.
- Permit fees and code editions. Your permit authority sets the fee, and the code edition in force varies by state, province and city.
- Software list prices. Jobber, Housecall Pro and Buildxact price per user, and those lists move.
- Wage inputs. The wage tables linked below refresh once a year.
- Federal rules. The recordkeeping and advertising rules linked below do not reset in January.
Where the templates actually come from
The title promises templates. Here they are, by name.
JLC Online (jlconline.com) runs a business section with downloadable estimating sheets and sample contracts written by working contractors. Free with registration. Best for a small crew that wants a plain sheet it can edit.
Fine Homebuilding (finehomebuilding.com) publishes deck-specific build articles whose material takeoff lists double as estimate line items. Full access needs a paid membership, typically about $8 a month or $50 a year. Best when you want the takeoff to match the way the deck goes together.
NAHB (nahb.org) sells member business templates, including remodeling contracts and change orders. Member pricing only, and dues are set by your local home builders association. Best if you want a contract format a lawyer has already reviewed for the trade.
Buildxact (buildxact.com) is estimating software built for remodelers and deck builders, with a template library and takeoff tools. Plans are quoted per user; in most markets a one-seat subscription typically runs in the low hundreds of dollars a month. The demo is free. Best when you are past ten jobs a year and quoting on a laptop.
Jobber (getjobber.com) sells quoting and invoicing software for home service trades. Its listed plans start around $39 a month per user, and the quote templates carry line items, deposits and e-signature. Best for a solo builder who wants the quote to become an invoice without retyping.
Housecall Pro (housecallpro.com) is field service software with estimate templates and follow-up automation. Listed plans start around $79 a month, and higher tiers add users. Best when a crew needs scheduling, quoting and payments in one app.
NARI (nari.org), the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, gives members contract and business document templates plus chapter training. Dues vary by chapter, typically a few hundred dollars a year. Best for the contractor who wants an association behind the paperwork.
Your own sold jobs. The strongest template is your last ten accepted quotes with the actual hours written on them. No vendor sells that one.
What each template has to carry
Every field below shows up in a dispute if it is missing.
- Customer and site.
- Who signs, who decides, where the work happens.
- Requested outcome.
- What the homeowner thinks they are buying.
- Scope.
- Included work, quantities, and the standard you finish to.
- Assumptions.
- Access, ground condition, measurements, utilities, schedule.
- Exclusions.
- Permits, remediation, third parties, anything outside scope.
- Labor and schedule.
- Roles, hours, milestones, overtime treatment.
- Materials.
- Products, rentals, substitutions, who returns what.
- Base price.
- The number tied to the stated scope.
- Variable charges.
- Unit rates, travel, waiting, disposal, change fees.
- Taxes and fees.
- Apply current rules and label each charge.
- Changes.
- Written approval before any scope or price moves.
- Payment.
- Deposit, milestones, balance, methods, due dates.
- Customer duties.
- Access, preparation, approvals, site contact.
- Authorization.
- Selected scope, total, signer, date, expiry.
Filled in for a 16 by 20 foot cedar deck with a pergola:
| Field | Filled in for this job |
|---|---|
| Customer and site | One named signer, one decision maker, rear yard, ground level, driveway access |
| Requested outcome | Replace a rotted deck with cedar and add a pergola before a named date |
| Scope | 320 square feet of decking, new frame, 60 linear feet of railing, one 12 by 16 foot pergola |
| Assumptions | Gates open, spigot relocated by others, no utilities under the footing line |
| Exclusions | Permit, grading, sprinkler repair, stain and seal |
| Labor and schedule | Two-person crew, nine working days, overtime at 1.5 times the rate |
| Materials | 2 by 8 pressure-treated frame, 5/4 cedar decking, stainless fasteners |
| Base price | $18,100, plus a $300 permit fee at cost, total $18,400 |
| Payment | Deposit, a progress payment at frame inspection, balance on completion |
| Authorization | Scope, total, signer, date, 30 day expiry |
Keep regulated consent or authorization in its own signed section, separate from the estimate and the scope list. An estimate should help a homeowner understand the charges and the choices.
It should not pretend uncertain work has a fixed final cost.
Use this as a decision aid for your patio quote template, not as a universal ranking. Confirm the workflow, the full cost and the owner of each change before you switch how you quote a job.
Five pricing models, not one
Where it fits a deck and patio contractor
- Flat rate per build
- Work the homeowner can compare against other quotes
- Time-based billing with a floor
- Diagnostic or open-ended work
- Good, better and best bundles
- Services that stack naturally around the build
- An ongoing agreement
- Work that benefits from a known schedule
- A price set on the outcome, not the hours
- A homeowner buying certainty rather than time
What it hides
- Flat rate per build
- The build that runs long eats the margin
- Time-based billing with a floor
- The homeowner watches the clock instead of the result
- Good, better and best bundles
- Packages drift from what the crew actually delivers
- An ongoing agreement
- Underused agreements feel like a bad deal to the buyer
- A price set on the outcome, not the hours
- Depends on a reputation the business may not have yet
The fifth row is the one deck builders underuse. A homeowner asking for a 16 by 20 foot cedar deck with a pergola wants a finished deck on a date. Price it that way and the hours stop being the customer's problem.
The same job, priced line by line. Figures are typical for a mid-cost U.S. metro and vary by market.
| Line item | This job, USD | Typical range, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Remove and dispose of the old deck | 900 | 700 to 1,400 |
| Footings, 12 concrete piers | 2,200 | 1,800 to 3,000 |
| Pressure-treated frame and hardware | 3,100 | 2,600 to 4,200 |
| Cedar decking, 320 square feet | 5,300 | 4,800 to 7,400 |
| Railing, 60 linear feet | 2,800 | 2,400 to 4,500 |
| Cedar pergola, 12 by 16 feet | 3,800 | 3,000 to 6,000 |
| Base price | 18,100 | 15,300 to 26,500 |
| Permit fee, passed through at cost | 300 | 150 to 600 |
| Contract total | 18,400 | 15,450 to 27,100 |
Replace every figure with your own invoices, crew rate and permit fee. In Canada, quote in Canadian dollars and show GST, HST or PST as its own line.
Facts to confirm before acting
Internal Revenue Service: What kind of records should I keep? explains the recordkeeping a quote and its change orders have to survive. Keep the documents behind purchases, sales, payroll and assets.
Federal Trade Commission: Advertising FAQs: A Guide for Small Business covers the claims you make about your own work. A quote is an advertising claim. It has to be truthful and supported.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Tables gives occupation and area wage estimates. Use it as one input when you set the labor rate in your template.
Common questions
What goes wrong with quote template fields?
Mostly the exclusions. A homeowner reads "deck build" and assumes the permit, the old deck removal and the grading are inside it. Write the exclusions in the same size type as the scope.
Should I use a free template or buy one?
Free works until the job is big enough to need a change-order process. Buy or build one when a single missed change order costs more than the template did.
Do I need a different template for patios?
Yes. Patios carry excavation, base material and drainage that a deck quote does not. Keep the two templates separate so neither one hides the other's work.
