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The words on your estimate, explained
Every trade has its own vocabulary, and ours ends up on a document you are asked to sign. These are the 29 terms that come up most often on a Green Ladder estimate, written the way we would explain them standing in your backyard.
29 terms
Deck framing
- Sonotube footing
- A cardboard tube used as the form for a poured concrete footing. We auger a hole, set the tube, and fill it so every post stands on its own concrete column carried below frost depth.
- Why it mattersThis is the part nobody sees and the part that decides whether the deck is still level in five years. Sonotubes are not the same thing as pad and post, where a block sits on the surface and moves with the ground.
- Custom decks →
- Frost depth
- How far down the ground freezes in a Central Alberta winter. Footings are carried below that line so seasonal freezing happens above the concrete rather than under it.
- Why it mattersA footing that stops short of frost depth gets pushed up every winter and dropped every spring.
- Frost heave
- What happens when water in the soil freezes, expands, and lifts whatever is sitting on it. The structure comes up in winter and settles unevenly in spring.
- Why it mattersIt shows up as a deck that has pulled away from the house, stairs that have separated from the landing, or a gate that stopped latching.
- Ledger
- The board that fastens a deck to the house and carries part of the load into the house framing.
- Why it mattersIt is the single most important connection on an attached deck and the one most exposed to water, which is why it gets flashing, joist tape, and structural screws rather than ordinary fasteners.
- Freestanding deck
- A deck that carries its own load on its own posts and footings instead of hanging off the house.
- Why it mattersWe build both attached and freestanding. Which one suits your build depends on the wall, the height, and what is behind the siding.
- Custom decks →
- Rim joist and double rim
- The joist that closes off the outside edge of the framing. We run a double rim, meaning two members rather than one.
- Why it mattersRailing posts bolt into the rim. Doubling it gives that connection real material to bite into and stiffens the whole perimeter.
- Joist
- The repeating framing members that run under the decking and carry it to the beams.
- On centre (OC)
- How framing spacing is measured, from the centre of one member to the centre of the next. Our decks are framed at 16 inches on centre.
- Why it mattersWider spacing means more flex underfoot and, with composite, more visible sag between joists over time.
- Blocking
- Short pieces fitted between joists to stop them twisting and to stiffen the frame. We stagger ours rather than running them in a straight line.
- Why it mattersStaggering means fasteners driven from opposite sides never run into each other, so every block is actually fastened properly instead of one screw hitting another.
- Span
- The unsupported distance a joist or beam has to cover between supports.
- Why it mattersSpan is what sets joist depth. A longer span is why one deck is framed in 2x10 and another in 2x8, and it has nothing to do with what is sitting on top.
Fasteners & hardware
- Joist tape
- A self-adhesive waterproof membrane run along the top of every joist and the ledger before the decking goes down. We use G-Tape.
- Why it mattersWater gets between the deck boards and sits on the joist tops, and every screw hole is a path straight into the wood. Tape keeps the water out of the joist and out of the holes. It is the cheapest thing on the estimate that adds years to the frame.
- Cut-end sealer
- A brush-on preservative applied to treated lumber wherever it has been cut on site.
- Why it mattersPressure treatment only penetrates so far into the board. The moment a joist is cut to length, that fresh end is untreated wood facing the weather. Sealer puts the protection back.
- GRK structural screws
- Engineered structural fasteners used at major framing connections. RSS, LedgerLOK, and ThruLOK are the ones that come up most often on our estimates.
- Why it mattersThese carry rated structural loads. They are not the same as a box of general purpose screws from the hardware aisle, and they are not interchangeable with them.
- Joist hanger
- A formed metal bracket that carries a joist where it meets a beam or ledger, sized to the joist it holds.
- Why it mattersHangers are what transfer the load properly at that connection. Toe-nailing into the end grain is not the same thing and does not carry the same load.
- Simpson Strong-Tie
- The structural connector brand we specify for hangers, post bases, and post-to-beam hardware.
- Coated deck screws
- Corrosion-resistant screws rated for use with treated lumber.
- Why it mattersTreated lumber is corrosive to plain steel. We use screws rather than nails on structural work because a screw can be drawn tight, inspected, and backed out if something needs to come apart.
Decking & finish
- Pressure treated (PT) lumber
- Lumber that has had preservative forced into it under pressure so it can be used outdoors and in ground contact.
- Why it mattersIt is the budget-conscious entry point for a deck surface and it needs sealing every year in this climate. The framing under a composite deck is treated lumber too.
- Price a PT deck →
- Composite decking
- Boards made from wood fibre and polymer rather than solid lumber. We build with Eva-Last, TimberTech, and TruNorth.
- Why it mattersNo annual sealing and a 25-year material warranty. It costs more upfront and it is built to outlast treated wood by decades.
- Price a composite deck →Materials we use →
- Picture frame edging
- A border board run around the perimeter of the deck so every field board butts into it instead of ending in open air.
- Why it mattersIt hides the cut ends, which is exactly where a board starts to fail, and it gives the deck a finished edge rather than a run of exposed end grain.
- Fascia and skirting
- Fascia is the finish board covering the outside face of the framing. Skirting encloses the space between the deck and the ground.
- Why it mattersBoth are what make the deck look built rather than assembled, and skirting keeps animals out from underneath.
Fencing
- Augered post hole
- A round hole drilled with an auger, 4 to 5 feet below grade, that the fence post is set into.
- Why it mattersA round hole packs evenly all the way around the post. Gate posts go deeper than line posts because a gate swings, and every swing works the post.
- Fencing and privacy →
Patios & hardscape
- Base
- The compacted material underneath a paver patio or walkway that everything else sits on.
- Why it mattersWe do not quote a fixed base depth, because the honest answer depends on what we find when we dig. Soil, drainage, and what was there before all change it.
- Patios →
- Edge restraint
- A fixed border holding the outer course of pavers in place.
- Why it mattersWithout it the outside edge gradually creeps outward, the joints open up, and the pattern loses its lines. It is designed in from the base up rather than added at the end.
- Interlocking paver
- A manufactured concrete unit laid in a repeating pattern over a compacted base, with jointing sand locking the units against each other.
- Why it mattersBecause the units are independent, a paver surface can move with the ground instead of cracking the way a single slab does, and one damaged unit can be lifted and replaced.
- Price a paver patio →
Pergolas
- Louvred roof
- An adjustable slat roof that rotates from open to closed. Closed, the louvres shed water into the frame and out through integrated gutters.
- Price a louvred pergola →
- Rafter
- The repeating overhead members of a pergola roof. On our cedar and timber pergolas these run 12 inches on centre.
- Why it mattersTighter spacing than deck framing, because on a pergola the rafters are the thing you are looking at, not just structure hidden under a surface.
Site & permits
- Grade
- The level and slope of the ground around the structure.
- Why it mattersGrade decides where water goes. A patio or walkway is set to move water away from the house, which is why the finished surface is rarely dead level.
- Site access
- How equipment and materials physically get to where the work is happening.
- Why it mattersThis is one of the biggest hidden drivers of price. A backyard reachable by machine and a backyard where everything moves by wheelbarrow through a 3 foot gate are two very different builds at the same square footage.
- Permit
- Municipal approval required before certain structures are built. Whether you need one depends on the structure, its height, its size, and your municipality.
- Why it mattersWe handle permit support where a build needs one. It affects the schedule, so it is worth knowing early rather than at framing.
- Do you need a permit for a deck in Red Deer? →
Now go read your quote again.
If you have a written quote in front of you and you want to know whether it covers the things above, we put the full list on one page.