Post what you want built and local carpenters quote it. No phone number handed around, no per-lead sale — your address is only shown to a carpenter who takes the job.
Get quotes from Werribee carpenters Price it yourself first
These are Melbourne prices for a completed deck, including materials and labour, inc GST. They come from real quotes, not a national average.
| Decking | Per square metre |
|---|---|
| Treated pine | $300 – $375 |
| Hardwood — merbau, spotted gum, blackbutt | $400 – $500 |
| Composite | $500 – $625 |
A typical 20 to 30 square metre deck therefore lands between about $6,000 and $19,000. Height, stairs and access move it inside that range more than the choice of board does.
Low decks on flat blocks are the cheapest square metres in decking. Where a Werribee quote moves is access: if every board and bag of concrete has to come through a 900mm gate, that is labour somebody has to pay for.
Where the money actually goes. Most people compare boards. But the substructure — footings, stumps, bearers, joists — is nearly the same cost whether you lay pine or composite on top of it. That is why a low deck on a flat block is cheap and a raised deck with stairs is not, regardless of timber.
Werribee spans the old township and a long run of newer Wyndham estates. In the estates the blocks are flat and tight, so the deck is usually low, square and quick — but access is the thing to watch, because a narrow side gate decides whether timber gets carried through by hand. Around the township the blocks are older and bigger, and there is more variation in ground level.
In Victoria this is mostly decided by two things: whether the deck is attached to the house, and how high it sits above natural ground level.
| Situation | Building permit |
|---|---|
| Attached to the house — any size, any height | Yes |
| Freestanding, over 10 m² or more than 800mm high | Yes |
| Freestanding, 10 m² or less and 800mm or lower | Generally not |
Height is measured from natural ground level to the finished deck surface, under the Building Regulations 2018.
Check with City of Wyndham before you build. Heritage, design and development, and neighbourhood character overlays can require a planning permit even when the building rules would not. This page is a starting point, not advice on your particular block — your council or your builder gives you the answer for your address.
Ground level, one step up, or a metre off the ground. This changes the price more than the timber does, and it decides the permit.
Wide side gate, or everything carried through the house? Access is real labour and quotes that ignore it get revised later.
Timber, substructure, labour, and whether a permit is included. A single lump sum is impossible to compare against another single lump sum.
Domestic building work over the threshold must be done by a registered builder in Victoria. Ask for the number and look it up on the VBA register.
Post the job once on DeckMate and up to five local carpenters can quote it, each seeing the same description — so you are comparing like with like instead of chasing callbacks.
Attached to the house — yes, always. Freestanding, under 10 square metres and no more than 800mm high — generally not. Wyndham may also have overlays on newer estates, so check with the council first.
It can. Materials that cannot be dropped near the work have to be carried, and that is time. Mention the access when you post the job and the quotes you get back will be closer to the real number.
For a low deck close to the ground, durability matters more than looks — the boards get less airflow underneath. Talk to the carpenter about board choice and joist spacing rather than picking on colour alone.