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Deck Materials In Chicago, Il
Premium deck materials for homeowners and contractors across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Composite decking, railing, lighting, framing, fasteners and hardware from the leading brands, delivered to your Chicago job site.
Authorized dealer for Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon, Deckorators, Envision, MoistureShield, Wolf, Eva-Last and Lumberock. Verify on Trex’s dealer network and other manufacturers websites.
Proven Product Quality
Brands with 25 to 50 year warranties
Competitive Pricing
Contractor tiers, volume pricing
Expert Product Guidance
People who handle the material daily
Fast, Reliable Delivery
24 to 48 hours across Chicago
Contractor Support
Takeoffs, staging, repeat orders
Homeowner Support
DIY takeoffs, no trade account needed
Where To Buy Deck Materials In Chicago
Deck materials in Chicago come from three places, and they are not equivalent. Big box stores carry a thin slice of the composite range and special order the rest. Online retailers ship boards freight, which goes badly for 20 foot lengths. A dedicated deck supply store holds real inventory, cuts a takeoff with you, and puts it on a truck. We are the third kind, and all six categories below come off one order and one delivery.
Decking Material Options For Chicago Decks
Four families, and the right one usually comes down to sun exposure, moisture and budget rather than looks.
What Composite Decking Costs Per Square Foot In Chicago
Homeowners here get sticker shock from an installed quote without knowing how the number splits. On a typical city build, decking material is somewhere around 40 to 55 percent of the total. Labour, permits, tear-out and disposal make up the rest. Knowing the material half is how you tell a fair bid from a padded one.
Across the fifty collections we carry, decking material lands roughly $3.00 to $30.00 per square foot, with porch boards included.
| Tier | Example collections | Material $/SQ FT |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Deckorators Tropics, Fiberon Veranda, TimberTech Premier, Trex Enhance Basics | $3.00 – $9.00 |
| Mid | Envision Expression, TimberTech Terrain, Fiberon Good Life, Wolf Haven | $6.00 – $13.00 |
| Premium | Trex Select, TimberTech Legacy, Deckorators Vista, Fiberon Concordia | $9.00 – $18.00 |
| Top Tier & PVC | Trex Transcend, TimberTech Vintage, Deckorators Voyage, MoistureShield Vision | $13.00 – $28.00 |
| Porch Board | TimberTech Porch, Deckorators Porch, Wolf Serenity Porch | $20.00 – $30.00 |
Material only, Chicago area.
Want the number for your deck, not a range? Send dimensions and we will price the exact collection you are looking at.
What Deck Railing Costs Per Linear Foot In Chicago
Railing prices per linear foot, and the spread is far wider than decking. A white composite rail and a cable system on the same balcony are not the same purchase. Infill is what moves the number, not the brand.
| Railing type | Example systems | Material $/L FT |
|---|---|---|
| Composite & Vinyl | TimberTech Reliance, Trex Select T-Rail, Wolf Traditional | $18 – $70 |
| Steel | Trex Enhance Steel, Envision Fairway Designer Steel | $36 – $56 |
| Aluminum | Trex Select Aluminum, Fiberon CitySide, Deckorators Contemporary | $36 – $110 |
| Mesh & Rod | Trex Select Mesh, Trex Signature Rod Rail | $42 – $140 |
| Cable | Deckorators Cable Aluminum, TimberTech Impression Cable, Trex Signature X-Series | $54 – $304 |
| Glass | Envision Fairway glass slats, Trex Signature Glass | $70 – $448 |
Material only, Chicago area.
Railing needs a post and section count, not a linear foot guess. Give us the run and we will lay it out.
Top Decking Brands We Carry
Trex is the line we carry deepest, across Enhance, Select, Transcend, Transcend Lineage and Signature. The others we stock selectively: the collections Chicago crews order regularly, with the rest brought in on order. Ask before you spec a colour and we will tell you which it is.
Choose The Right Decking Material
| Material | Moisture Resistance | Fade Resistance | Maintenance | Price Level | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capped Composite | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $$ – $$$ | Most residential decks |
| Advanced PVC | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $$$ – $$$$ | Rooftops, pools, full sun |
| Mineral-Based Composite | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | $$ – $$$$ | Ground level, waterfront |
| Uncapped Composite | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | $ – $$ | Budget and utility decks |
| Wood Decking | ★★☆☆☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | $ – $$ | Budget and traditional builds |
Composite Vs Wood Decks In Chicago
Wood is cheaper on day one. That is the whole argument for it, and it is a real one. Then Chicago happens to it. Freeze and thaw cycles pull fasteners loose, summer humidity swells boards that shrank in February, and after ten winters most wood decks need boards replaced. Composite trades a higher day-one cost for a 25 to 50 year fade and stain warranty and a service life roughly double.
One case where wood still wins outright: a small, low, temporary platform you plan to tear out in five years. Nobody should spend PVC money on that.
Still deciding between two boards? Tell us the exposure and the budget and we will tell you which one we would put on our own house.
Services And Support For Your Chicago Project
Quote Assistance
Fast, competitive, itemised
Quote Assistance
Fast, competitive, itemised
Product Guidance
Which board suits your exposure
Local Delivery
Chicago and the inner ring
Contractor Support
Volume pricing and staged orders
Homeowner Support
No trade account required
Project Planning
Calculators, specs and lead times
Not sure how much you need? We built a calculator for every brand we carry, decking and railing both, plus joist span, beam size and footing concrete. Run your numbers there, send us the layout, and we will check it before anything ships.
How Ordering Deck Materials Works
1
Tell Us About Your Project
Square footage, linear feet of railing, fixture count, site conditions. A sketch is fine.
2
Get Your Material Takeoff
We build a detailed, line item list with quantities and lengths for your review.
3
Review & Approve The Quote
Confirm collections, colours, quantities and the delivery date. We flag any special orders.
4
We Deliver To Your Job Site
Monday to Friday, plus summer Saturdays. Order by 2:00 PM for next working day in most cases.
5
Build With Confidence
Stocked material comes back within 30 days if the takeoff ran heavy. Call any time with questions.
Step one takes about one minute. Dimensions, or a photo of your sketch. That is enough for us to start a takeoff.
Popular Collections For Chicago Builds
Cable and Glass Railing: Keep The View
This is the decision that matters most on a Chicago roof deck. You went up there for the skyline. A picket rail puts forty vertical bars between you and it.
- Cable railing nearly disappears at eye level and reads as open from inside the unit. It needs proper tensioning hardware and correctly spaced intermediate posts, or it sags and fails the sphere test inside a year. Bring us the run length before you order cable, not after.
- Glass railing keeps the view completely and doubles as a wind break, which matters more than people expect twelve storeys up or anywhere near the lake. Tempered panels in aluminum posts, or frameless with spigots for the cleanest look. It is heavier than cable, so the framing plan has to account for it from the start.
Both cost more than aluminum picket. On a lakefront or skyline unit they are usually the reason the deck gets used, so it is rarely the place to save.
Why Buy Deck Materials From Us In Chicago
| # | Big Box Stores (HomeDepot, Lowes, Menards, etc) | Premium Decking Supply |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Composite | Special order, 3 to 6 weeks | Stocked, 24 to 48 hours |
| Board Lengths | 12 and 16 ft typical | 12, 16 and 20 FT |
| Decking Brands | 2 to 4 | 10+ |
| Railing Systems | 2 to 4 | 10+, including cable and glass |
| Material Takeoff | Self serve | Done with you, free |
| Lumber Quality | Pick through the pile | Graded and sorted before it loads |
| Unused Stocked Material | Varies by store | 30 day return |
| Who Answers The Phone | Store associate | The person who wrote your quote |
Deck Material Delivery Across Chicago & The Suburbs
Our Plainfield warehouse sits 38 miles from the Loop, about 55 minutes on I-55 outside rush hour. Trucks run into the city Monday through Friday, plus Saturdays through the summer season. There is no fixed city day, so we schedule around your job rather than a route calendar. Order by 2:00 PM and most Chicago drops go out the next working day.
Chicago ZIP Codes We Deliver To
All Chicago city ZIPs plus the inner ring. Zones below are for routing and unload planning, not fixed delivery days.
North & Northwest
Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center, Ravenswood, Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Edison Park, Sauganash, Albany Park, Irving Park
Central & Near North
The Loop, River North, Gold Coast, Old Town, West Loop, South Loop, Near West Side
West & Southwest
Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, Ukrainian Village, Garfield Ridge, Clearing, West Lawn, Archer Heights, Mount Greenwood
South & Southeast
Beverly, Morgan Park, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Bridgeport, South Shore, East Side, Hegewisch
Crews working Evanston, Oak Park, Cicero, Berwyn, Skokie, Norridge and Harwood Heights order off this page too. If your job sits just past the city line, call and we will tell you when the truck is already in your area, or check all service areas we deliver to across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
Five Answers To Have Ready Before Booking A City Drop
1
Alley Access
Can a truck get down the alley and turn around?
If not, it becomes a front of house drop onto the parkway, which changes how long we need the curb.
2
Street Restrictions
What are the parking restrictions on your block, and when do they lift?
Residential permit zones, rush hour tow zones and school zones all narrow the hours we can be there. Give us the clear window.
3
Board Length
What board lengths do you want?
Boards come 12, 16 and 20 feet and we do not cut them. They ride lengthwise on the truck, so a 20 footer is not the problem people expect. If the truck fits down your street, the boards fit.
4
Unload Method
Who is unloading, and with what?
A Moffett forklift needs curb space. Hand unload needs bodies on site at the delivery time. A rooftop needs a freight elevator or a hoist and a booked window.
5
Storage
Where will the material sit until you build?
Banded and flat on solid ground is fine for weeks. Stacked on uneven ground through a July heat wave is not.
Delivery Fee
A run into the city starts around ~$100 and moves from there depending on where exactly you are, how much space the load takes and what is involved in getting it off the truck. We quote the fee with the material so there is no surprise on the invoice.
Pickup At Our Two Illinois Warehouses
Will-call runs Monday to Friday 7:00 to 4:00 and Saturday 8:00 to noon. From most of the city it is a straight shot down I-55 to Plainfield. Bring straps and a rack for anything over 12 feet.
Plainfield – 38 mi to the Loop · Directions
23838 W Industrial Dr N Unit 1, Plainfield, IL 60585
Monday – Friday: 07AM – 4PM / Saturday: 08AM – 12PM / Sunday: Closed
Store Manager: Todd Johnson
(815) 439-3325
Spring Grove – 58 mi to the Loop · Directions
2221 Pierce Dr, Spring Grove, IL 60081
Monday – Friday: 07AM – 4PM / Saturday: 08AM – 12PM / Sunday: Closed
Store Manager: Sandra Scaccia
(815) 479-3325
Chicago Porch & Rooftop Deck Requirements
Chicago decks get inspected against the Chicago Building Code, not the generic residential code most online deck guides quote. The city has been stricter than most since the 2003 porch collapse, so porch and deck construction here carries heavier load requirements and closer inspection than a suburban backyard build. Plan the material order around that from the start.
Bungalow-belt neighbourhoods – Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Norwood Park, Portage Park, Garfield Ridge – are mostly backyard and rear-porch rebuilds, 42″ footings, standard framing. Denser North and Central neighbourhoods – Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Bucktown, West Loop – are garage-top and rooftop decks, 12″ o.c. framing and a very different material list.
| Item | Typical Chicago Requirement | Effect On Your Order |
|---|---|---|
| Porch / Deck Live Load | 100 psf | Tighter joist spacing, bigger beams |
| Guard Height | 42 in. | Taller post kits than suburban jobs |
| Baluster Spacing | < 4 in. sphere | Infill count per section |
| Footing Depth | 42 in. | Post length, or use helicals |
| Rooftop Framing | 12 in. o.c. typical | ~33% more joist material than 16 o.c. |
Verify Before Ordering
Load values, guard height, stair geometry and combustible construction limits change with code cycles and building type. Confirm current requirements with the Chicago Department of Buildings or your structural engineer before releasing a material order.
One detail crews forget on roof decks: nothing should sit directly on the membrane. Pedestals, sleepers or protection pads go between the assembly and the roof so water can move and the roofing warranty survives. Ask for them by name at quote stage.
What Chicago Customers Say
