Outdoor Timber Build
Timber posts and beams going up on an outdoor structure.
Decking in Wollongong: timber and composite decks built for coastal blocks
Handy Tradie 4 U builds decking in Wollongong and right across the Illawarra and South Coast, from Helensburgh to Nowra. We build new decks, repair tired ones and extend decks that have run out of room, on flat blocks and on the steep ones. Marcio runs the crew out of Wollongong. Welding and metal fabrication is our main trade, so the steel balustrade, handrail or frame goes on the same job sheet as the decking, built by the same people.
Deck building across the Illawarra and South Coast
Put your rough size into the instant estimate tool on this page and you will have an indication in a couple of minutes. If it suits, we come out and measure properly, check the ground and the access, and put a firm written figure in front of you before anything starts. Call 0413 147 335 or email info@handytradie4u.com.
Licensed and insured · ABN 91 639 254 685 · Wollongong NSW 2500.
How we quote a deck
We do not publish rates. Two decks of the same size can be completely different builds, so every job is quoted individually after we have seen it. You get an itemised written quote with a firm figure, and a clear list of what is not included, before any work starts.
What we are looking at when we work out your deck:
Use the instant estimate tool for a quick indication on your own deck, or call 0413 147 335 and we will book a time to look at it.
Height off the ground.
A deck sitting 200 mm above a level lawn is a different build to one 1.2 m up on a Figtree or Thirroul slope. Elevated decks need longer posts, bigger bearers and a barrier once the drop is a metre or more.
Footings.
Clay and fill on the escarpment side means deeper holes and more concrete. Sandy ground near the coast behaves differently again.
Board choice.
Treated pine, hardwood and composite are three different builds with three different maintenance jobs attached.
Stairs.
Every flight adds framing, stringers and treads.
Balustrade.
Required once the drop is a metre or more, and we fabricate steel ones ourselves rather than ordering in a kit.
Access.
If the only way in is through a side gate with a wheelbarrow, that is labour.
Condition of what is already there.
On a repair or an extension, the state of the existing frame decides the scope.
Timber and composite decking on a coastal block
Hardness is measured on the Janka scale: kilonewtons of force to push a steel ball into the timber. Higher means it dents less. Durability is graded in classes, with class 1 the most resistant to decay above ground. Treated softwood is graded by hazard level: H3 for above-ground outdoor use, H4 for timber in ground contact. Those three numbers tell you most of what you need to know about a board.
Merbau
The default hardwood deck in the Illawarra and the one most people have seen. Dense, naturally resistant to rot and insects, and it holds a screw well. It bleeds tannin for the first few months, so we do not lay it straight onto new white render or light pavers without a plan for the runoff. It needs oiling to hold colour; left bare it greys off.
Spotted gum
An Australian hardwood, harder than merbau on the Janka scale, with colour that runs from pale caramel to deep brown in the same pack. Class 1 above-ground durability. It is our pick when a client wants the deck to be the feature rather than the background. It is also the species we recommend most on bushfire-prone land, see the note below.
Blackbutt
Straighter and more uniform in colour than spotted gum, pale to light brown, and it holds a tidy modern look. Similar hardness and durability to spotted gum. A good choice if you want the boards to read as one even tone.
Treated pine
H3-treated softwood for above-ground framing and boards, H4 where timber goes into the ground. It is the budget option and it works, provided it is painted or stained and kept up. Softer than hardwood, so it marks under furniture and dog claws. We use H3 and H4 pine for subframes under hardwood decks as standard, and the same crew builds the frame and the boards as one job.
Composite decking
A timber-and-polymer board: Ekodeck is what we fit most. No oiling, no staining, no splinters. It suits pool surrounds and anyone who is not going to get the oil out every spring. It gets hotter underfoot in full sun than hardwood and costs more to buy. Expansion gaps matter more with composite, so joist centres and fixing follow the manufacturer's instructions, not a timber rule of thumb.
On bushfire-prone land: BAL is a Bushfire Attack Level assessment of your site, not a rating a timber product can hold by itself, so no decking board is "BAL compliant" on its own. What the NSW exempt development rules do say is that a deck within 5 m of the house on bushfire-prone land must be built from non-combustible materials. If your block is mapped bushfire-prone, we check the assessed level and build to it.
Salt air, westerlies and the escarpment: what actually fails first
1
The Illawarra is a hard place to build a deck, and not for the reason people assume. It is rarely the boards that go first.
2
Fixings.
Within a few kilometres of the water, plain galvanised screws and bracket plates rust out, stain the timber and let go at the joint while the boards still look fine. We use stainless steel fixings as standard, not as an upgrade. Stainless still needs a fresh-water rinse now and then near the coast, both 304 and 316 can tea-stain in salt air, and surface finish and rinsing are what control it. Check any quote you get for what grade of fixing it includes.
3
Subframe ventilation.
A low deck built tight to the ground with no airflow underneath stays damp after rain. On the escarpment side, where the afternoon shade sits long and the ground holds water, that is where rot starts. We leave airflow and keep the frame off the dirt.
4
Drainage and runoff.
Figtree, Unanderra, Mount Keira and the Thirroul-to-Bulli strip all shed water downhill fast. Water that pools under or beside a deck has to go somewhere. We look at where it goes before the first hole is dug, and where the yard needs sorting out first we handle that too, see landscaping and retaining walls.
Movement. Clay subsoil swells and shrinks with the seasons. Footings sized for sand will lift a deck out of level in a couple of summers.
UV and the westerlies. A west-facing deck takes the hardest hit. Hardwood on a west face needs oiling more often than the same timber on a south-east face. We tell people that at quote time rather than at the first complaint.
Steel balustrades made by the same crew that builds your deck
Welding and fabrication is our main trade. We do not sub the metalwork out and we do not order in a kit system and hope it fits the deck we just built.
That means:
Black steel slat balustrade is the look most people ask for. We also build galvanised handrails for stairs and pool-compliant infill. Where a barrier is required, the fall is a metre or more; barriers are a minimum of 1 m above a landing, balcony or floor and 865 mm above the nosing line of stairs and above ramps, a 125 mm sphere must not pass through, and the gap at the edge of the floor is 40 mm. Where the fall exceeds 4 m there are no horizontal elements between 150 mm and 760 mm above the floor that a child could climb. More on gates, handrails and balustrades, and we can bring the gear to site for on-site work through mobile welding.
The balustrade is measured off the finished deck, not off a drawing.
Steel posts, handrails, slat infill and gates are fabricated to the actual opening.
One crew, one quote, one timeline: no waiting on a separate metal fabricator to get to your job.
Awkward geometry: a curved edge, a stair return, a landing against brickwork, gets made to suit instead of worked around.
Do I need council approval for a deck in Wollongong?
Some decks are exempt development, which means no development application and no certifier. The NSW Planning Portal sets the limits for balconies, decks and patios. As published, a deck can be exempt where:
Go past any one of those and you are into complying development through a private certifier, or a development application with Wollongong City Council, Shellharbour City Council, Kiama Municipal Council or Shoalhaven City Council depending on where you are. Earthworks more than 600 mm above or below ground level are dealt with under the complying development earthworks provisions. It is worth checking whether your own job falls under exempt development with your council before you commit to a design.
We check this before we quote so the approval path is in the price, not a surprise later. This page is general information, not planning advice, your block may have a flood, heritage, bushfire or escarpment overlay that changes the answer. The conditions people miss are the setbacks and the building line: at least 900 mm from every lot boundary in a residential zone, 5 m in the rural and large lot zones, and the structure has to sit behind the building line of a road frontage. Any enclosing wall has to stay under 1.4 m, a roofed structure attached to the house must not go above the gutter line, roofwater has to discharge to the existing stormwater system, and the exemption only covers ground floor level, so a first floor balcony is never exempt. On bush fire prone land and within 5 m of the dwelling it has to be non-combustible.
each structure is no more than 25 m²
the total of such structures is capped at 15% of the dwelling's ground floor area on lots over 300 m², or 25 m² on lots of 300 m² or less
the floor is no more than 1 m above existing ground level
the highest point is no more than 3 m
any enclosing walls are no more than 1.4 m high
it is set back at least 900 mm from the boundary in most zones, and 5 m in rural zones (RU1 to RU4, RU6, R5)
materials within 5 m of the house on bushfire-prone land are non-combustible
metal components are low reflective and pre-coloured
in a heritage conservation area it sits behind the building line, and items on the State Heritage Register are excluded
New decks, deck repairs and deck extensions
Three different jobs, and the one you need is usually obvious once we have had a look at what is there. Most of the work we do across the Illawarra and South Coast is one of these three.
New decks
Designed and built from the footings up. Footings, bearers, joists at the right centres for the board and the span, boards, stairs, balustrade, and oiling or sealing at the end. Flat block or sloped. The slope just changes the engineering, not whether it can be done.
Deck repairs and restoration
Loose or cupped boards, a soft spot you can feel through your boot, a handrail that moves, a subframe that has gone at the ground contact. We look at it before we quote, because a deck with a sound frame and bad boards is a different job to a deck with rot in the bearers. Sometimes the honest answer is that a patch will buy you two years and a rebuild is better value. We will tell you which one you are looking at. Where the frame is sound and it is the steel that has gone, rust and weld repairs may be all it needs.
Deck extensions
Adding to a deck you already have, matched to the existing boards, frame height and detail as closely as the original timber allows. Old hardwood has weathered to a colour new boards will not match straight away; we explain how close it will get and how long it takes to blend. If a roof over it is part of the plan, look at pergolas and patios at the same time so the posts and footings get set out once.
How we build a deck
Estimate online, then a site visit.
Use the instant estimate tool for an indication in minutes. If it suits, we come out and measure, check the ground, the access, the fall and the boundary setbacks.
Approval check and design.
We confirm whether the deck is exempt, complying or needs a development application, and size the frame to the boards and the span.
Fixed written quote.
Itemised: boards, framing, fixings, stairs, balustrade, waste removal, and what is not in it.
Build.
Footings, subframe with correct joist centres, boards, stairs, then the fabricated steel balustrade.
Finish and handover.
Hardwood oiled, site cleaned, waste taken away, and a straight answer on how to look after it.
Deck builder servicing Helensburgh to Nowra
Helensburgh, Thirroul, Woonona, Bulli, Corrimal, North Wollongong, Fairy Meadow, Figtree, Unanderra, Port Kembla, Dapto, Horsley, Albion Park, Warilla, Oak Flats, Shellharbour, Shell Cove, Minnamurra, Kiama, Jamberoo, Gerringong, Berry and Nowra.
Based in Wollongong, so most of the Illawarra is a short run for us. The full list is on all our Illawarra and South Coast service areas.
Get your deck quoted
Put the size in for an indication, then we come out and measure properly and give you a firm written figure before anything starts.
Call 0413 147 335, email info@handytradie4u.com or use the contact page.
Licensed and insured · ABN 91 639 254 685 · Wollongong NSW 2500.
Our Work
Recent Work
Decks, stairs and balustrades built by the one crew
Videos
Watch Our Decking & Outdoor Work
Real jobs from our own crew, filmed on site. See all our work videos.
Custom-Built Bridge
Challenging from start to finish: built with precision for a client who appreciates the details. Strong, safe and made to last.
Want a firm price on this?
Send a photo and a short description. You get a straight answer on what it needs and what it costs before anything starts.
Questions
Decking Questions
How much does a deck cost in Wollongong?+
We do not publish rates, because two decks of the same size can be very different builds. Height off the ground, footings, board choice, stairs, balustrade and access all change the job. Put your rough size into the instant estimate tool on this page for an indication, then we come out and measure, check the ground and the access, and give you a firm itemised written figure before any work starts. You can also call 0413 147 335 and we will book a time to look at it.
Do I need council approval for a deck in NSW?+
Not always. A deck up to 25 m², no more than 1 m above ground, under 3 m at its highest point and at least 900 mm off the boundary in most zones can be exempt development. Exceed any of those and you need complying development through a certifier or a development application with your council. Flood, heritage, bushfire and escarpment overlays change the answer, so check whether your job falls under exempt development with your council. We do that for your block before we quote.
What is the best decking timber for a coastal block?+
Merbau and spotted gum, with stainless steel fixings. The timber is rarely what fails near the water; the fixings and brackets are. Note that both 304 and 316 stainless can tea-stain in salt air, so surface finish and an occasional fresh-water rinse matter. Composite is worth a look if you would rather wash a deck than oil one.
How long does it take to build a deck?+
A straightforward ground-level deck is a few days. A larger elevated deck with stairs and a fabricated balustrade runs one to three weeks on site, plus approval time if a certifier is involved.
Can you repair part of a deck instead of replacing the whole thing?+
Usually yes, if the subframe is sound. If the bearers or the ground-contact posts have gone, a board replacement is money spent twice. We check the frame first and tell you which one you have.
Do you build the balustrade too, and does my deck need one?+
Yes, and we make it ourselves. Welding and fabrication is our main trade, so the steel balustrade, handrail or gate is fabricated to the finished deck by the same crew. A barrier is required where the fall is a metre or more, and we confirm the height on site and build it into the quote rather than adding it afterwards.
How often do I need to oil a hardwood deck?+
Once a year for most Illawarra decks, and a west-facing deck may want it sooner. Composite decking needs none of it, just a wash.
Are you licensed and insured, and do I get a written contract?+
We are licensed and insured. On residential building work in NSW a written contract is required when the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. A small works contract covers work worth $5,000 to $20,000, and work worth more than $20,000 requires a full home building contract. The maximum deposit that may be requested is 10 per cent, and that cap applies to both small jobs and large jobs. Home building compensation cover, and the insurance certificate that goes with it, is required when the contract value is over $20,000 including GST. Variations should be agreed in writing before the varied work happens.
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