Deck and patio design, costed
Laying a deck means choosing a material you will only see in place once you have paid for it. Treated pine runs €15-38/m², composite €30-82/m², natural stone paving €30-95/m², ipe hardwood €68-100/m². Roomstill shows the result on a photo of your own patio and gives the quantity to order.
The four families, and what they cost
Softwood — treated pine, douglas — is cheapest at **€15-38/m²**, and greys within two years unless maintained. Composite, **€30-82/m²**, does not grey and cannot be sanded either. Tropical hardwood, ipe or cumaru, **€68-100/m²**, lasts thirty years. Mineral paving — natural stone **€30-95/m²**, outdoor porcelain **€43-84/m²**, concrete slab **€16-60/m²** — needs almost nothing.
Why a sample lies
A four-inch sample under shop lighting tells you nothing about two hundred square feet in full sun next to your own siding. That is the classic trap: you pick a tone on a offcut, and laid out wide it reads orange or grey. Seeing it on your own patio, with your light and your house behind it, avoids that.
Quantity, not just price
Roomstill gives the square metres to order, **including the 10 % cutting margin** that is standard in the trade. A 15 m² deck is ordered as 17. That is the difference between a budget that holds and a second delivery.
See my deck Your photo, your walls. Not a catalogue image.
Questions people ask
How much does decking cost per square metre?
Materials only: €15-38/m² for treated pine or douglas, €68-100/m² for tropical hardwood such as ipe or cumaru, €30-82/m² for composite. Prices are materials only, surveyed on the French market: fitting is extra, and outdoors it often costs as much as the material.
Wood or composite?
Wood costs less up front and needs cleaning every year or two. Composite costs more, does not grey, cannot be sanded, and cannot be repaired — a scratched board gets replaced. Over ten years the gap narrows considerably.
How much material should I order for a 15 m² deck?
About 17 m², including a 10 % cutting margin. Roomstill computes the quantity from the area you give it.