What Replacing Rotted Deck Framing Costs in Boston

Replacing the rotted framing on a 12 by 12 foot (144 square foot) deck in Boston works out to roughly $4,000 to $5,550 when you start from federal carpenter wages. A 64 square foot patch lands near $1,800 to $2,500, and a 400 square foot deck near $11,100 to $15,400. These figures are calculated from BLS data and stated assumptions, not collected from quotes.

Key points

• The BLS median wage for Boston carpenters is $36.16 per hour, which is 24.2% ($7.04) above the $29.12 national median.
• A contractor’s bill is the wage multiplied by a burden factor, assumed here at 2.0 to 3.0, so $36.16 becomes $72.32 to $108.48 per billed person-hour.
• For a 144 square foot deck, the calculation gives $3,988 to $5,550, about 82% labor and 18% materials at the midpoint.
• Lumber’s producer price index is up 7.6% over twelve months, but that adds only about $66 to a $4,769 job.
• A quote of $8,000 for a 12 by 12 deck implies 65.8 person-hours at a 3.0 multiplier, about 52% more than this page assumes.

What assumptions drive these numbers?

Every dollar figure below comes from five inputs, and only the first is measured data.

Input	Value used	Status
Boston carpenter median wage	$36.16 per hour	BLS OEWS, survey year 2025
Burden and overhead multiplier	2.0 to 3.0 (2.5 midpoint)	Assumption
Labor per square foot of deck footprint	0.3 person-hours	Assumption
Crew	2 carpenters	Assumption
Materials allowance	$6.00 per square foot	Assumption

The 0.3 person-hours per square foot covers shoring, pulling the existing decking, cutting out rotted joists, beam sections or rim boards, installing new pressure-treated members with hangers, and reinstalling the existing decking. It does not include replacing the decking boards themselves, the railing or the stairs. The $6.00 allowance covers framing lumber, hangers, structural screws, flashing tape and consumables. It is a placeholder you can change, not a price taken from any source.

These inputs describe a conventional low-height, ground-accessible deck with a sound ledger. Anything that departs from that shifts the answer, as the later sections show.

What do carpenters earn in Boston?

The federal wage data for carpenters (SOC 47-2031) comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, series OEUM001446000000047203108, survey year 2025, pulled from the BLS public API on 2026-10-11. These are hourly wages paid to workers, not prices billed to customers.

Area	25th percentile	Median	75th percentile	Mean	Employed
United States	$23.32	$29.12	$36.94	$31.55	670,090
Massachusetts	$29.21	$36.16	$46.88	$38.31	18,540
Boston, MA	$29.26	$36.16	$47.47	$39.07	12,720

BLS also reports that first-line supervisors of construction trades in Boston earn a median $48.02 per hour. That figure matters if a foreman works on your site rather than only visiting. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook describes the occupation’s duties and entry requirements.

How much more is Boston than the national figure?

Boston carpenters are paid 24.2% more at the median, a gap of $7.04 per hour. The gap is wider at the top of the pay range than at the bottom.

Wage measure	Boston	United States	Gap in dollars	Gap in percent
25th percentile	$29.26	$23.32	$5.94	25.5%
Median	$36.16	$29.12	$7.04	24.2%
Mean	$39.07	$31.55	$7.52	23.8%
75th percentile	$47.47	$36.94	$10.53	28.5%

Boston’s median matches the Massachusetts statewide median exactly at $36.16, so a contractor based outside the city but within the state faces the same median wage. The Boston 75th percentile is $0.59 above the state’s, which suggests the premium at the top is a metro effect.

How do you turn a wage into a bill?

You multiply it. A homeowner pays for the carpenter’s wage plus everything the contractor spends to employ that carpenter and stay in business: payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, liability insurance, vehicles, fuel, tools, office time, warranty reserve and profit. A 2.0 to 3.0 multiplier is the usual working assumption for small residential contractors. It is an assumption, not a measured figure, and a given company can sit outside it.

Here is the full working for a 12 by 12 deck, line by line.

Step	Arithmetic	Result
Deck footprint	12 ft × 12 ft	144 sq ft
Labor hours	144 × 0.3 person-hours	43.2 person-hours
Elapsed time, crew of 2	43.2 ÷ 2	21.6 hours each, about 2.7 eight-hour days
Labor at wage	43.2 × $36.16	$1,562.11
Labor billed at 2.0	$1,562.11 × 2.0	$3,124.22
Labor billed at 2.5	$1,562.11 × 2.5	$3,905.28
Labor billed at 3.0	$1,562.11 × 3.0	$4,686.34
Materials	144 × $6.00	$864.00
Total at 2.0	$3,124.22 + $864.00	$3,988
Total at 2.5	$3,905.28 + $864.00	$4,769
Total at 3.0	$4,686.34 + $864.00	$5,550

The billed hourly rate behind these lines is $72.32 at 2.0, $90.40 at 2.5 and $108.48 at 3.0. If a contractor quotes an hourly rate inside that span, the wage data is consistent with it. Materials at the midpoint are $864 of $4,769, or 18.1% of the total.

What does your deck size cost?

Find your footprint in the first column. The range runs from a small patch to a large multi-level deck, using the median wage, 0.3 person-hours per square foot and $6.00 per square foot of materials.

Deck area	Person-hours	Labor at 2.0	Labor at 3.0	Materials	Total low (2.0)	Total high (3.0)
64 sq ft (8 × 8)	19.2	$1,389	$2,083	$384	$1,773	$2,467
100 sq ft	30.0	$2,170	$3,254	$600	$2,770	$3,854
144 sq ft (12 × 12)	43.2	$3,124	$4,686	$864	$3,988	$5,550
200 sq ft	60.0	$4,339	$6,509	$1,200	$5,539	$7,709
300 sq ft	90.0	$6,509	$9,763	$1,800	$8,309	$11,563
400 sq ft	120.0	$8,678	$13,018	$2,400	$11,078	$15,418

If only part of a deck is rotted, scale by the rotted area rather than the whole footprint, but keep a minimum of the “64 sq ft” row, because setup, shoring and mobilization do not shrink to zero on a small job. A 400 square foot deck at 120 person-hours with two carpenters is about 60 hours each, or 7.5 working days.

How much does the wage level and burden multiplier change the answer?

Together they move a 144 square foot job from $3,392 to $7,016, a spread of more than double. This grid holds materials at $864 and labor at 43.2 person-hours, and varies the wage percentile and the burden multiplier.

Wage basis	Hourly wage	Total at 2.0	Total at 2.5	Total at 3.0
25th percentile	$29.26	$3,392	$4,024	$4,656
Median	$36.16	$3,988	$4,769	$5,550
75th percentile	$47.47	$4,965	$5,991	$7,016

Reading the grid: a contractor whose crew is paid near the 25th percentile and who runs lean overhead can quote near $3,400 and still be inside the data. A firm paying the 75th percentile with a 3.0 multiplier reaches $7,016. A quote outside $3,392 to $7,016 for this scope is not impossible, but it is outside what these assumptions can explain, and it deserves a question about hours or conditions.

The percentile gap in Boston is $18.21 per hour ($47.47 minus $29.26). The multiplier choice moves the answer by about as much as the wage level does, which is why the multiplier is stated openly rather than buried.

How does the same job compare in Boston and nationally?

On the same deck, the Boston wage adds about $760 at a 2.5 multiplier, or 19.0% on the total. The percentage on the total is lower than the 24.2% wage gap because materials are held equal in both columns.

Multiplier	Boston total	National-wage total	Gap in dollars	Gap in percent
2.0	$3,988	$3,380	$608	18.0%
2.5	$4,769	$4,009	$760	19.0%
3.0	$5,550	$4,638	$912	19.7%

The national column uses the $29.12 median: 43.2 × $29.12 = $1,257.98 of labor at wage, times the multiplier, plus $864. Lumber is traded across regions, so holding materials equal is a reasonable first approximation, though local yards add their own margins that this data cannot see.

What does a quote imply about hours?

You can run the calculation backward. Subtract the $864 materials allowance from a quote, then divide the remainder by the billed hourly rate. The result is the number of person-hours the quote is paying for, compared with 43.2 assumed here.

Quote for 144 sq ft	Labor after materials	Implied hours at 2.0 ($72.32)	At 2.5 ($90.40)	At 3.0 ($108.48)
$3,000	$2,136	29.5	23.6	19.7
$4,500	$3,636	50.3	40.2	33.5
$6,000	$5,136	71.0	56.8	47.3
$8,000	$7,136	98.7	78.9	65.8
$10,000	$9,136	126.3	101.1	84.2

A $4,500 quote implies about 40 hours at the midpoint multiplier, close to the 43.2 assumed. A $6,000 quote implies 47 to 71 hours, which brackets a modestly larger scope. An $8,000 quote needs at least 65.8 hours even at the highest multiplier, 52% above the baseline. A $10,000 quote needs at least 84 hours, nearly double. That is either a bigger job than a standard 12 by 12 swap or a padded price, and the contractor should be able to say which.

How much do lumber prices matter?

Less than most homeowners expect, because lumber is the smaller part of this bill. The BLS producer price index for lumber (series WPU081, 1982 = 100) was 286.633 in August 2026, against 266.293 a year earlier, up 7.6% over twelve months. These are index points, not dollars, and they describe direction and rate of change only.

Series	August 2025	August 2026	Change
Lumber (WPU081)	266.293	286.633	+7.6%
Metal doors, sash, and trim (WPU1071)	487.355	525.245	+7.8%

The metal doors, sash and trim series is listed in the source data but does not track deck hangers or structural fasteners, so this page does not use it to adjust any figure.

As an illustration only, suppose the $864 materials allowance moved by the same 7.6%. That is $864 × 0.076 = $65.66, about $66, or 1.4% of the $4,769 midpoint total. Changing the allowance itself matters more:

Materials allowance	Per sq ft	Materials	Total at 2.5
Lean	$4.00	$576	$4,481
Baseline	$6.00	$864	$4,769
Generous	$9.00	$1,296	$5,201

Which common beliefs about deck repair costs are wrong?

“The BLS wage is what a contractor charges.” It is not. At $36.16, a Boston carpenter’s wage is a third to a half of the billed rate. The same carpenter’s billed hour is $72.32 to $108.48 under this page’s assumed multiplier. Comparing a $90 per hour quote with the $36 wage and calling it a markup of 150% mistakes overhead for profit.

“Rising lumber prices explain a quote that jumped 20%.” Lumber is up 7.6% on the index. Applied to an 18% materials share, that is about 1.4% on the total. A quote that rose 20% year over year needs another explanation, such as more hours, a different scope or higher overhead.

“Boston is about 24% more expensive, so I should add 24% to any national figure.” The wage gap is 24.2%, but only the labor part of the bill carries it. With equal materials, the total gap on this job is 19.0%. If materials are a larger share of your job, the total gap shrinks further.

What can this calculation not see?

It cannot see anything specific to your property. The following are all excluded from the totals above:

• Permits and inspection. Structural deck work usually needs a municipal permit, and the fee and inspection scheduling are not wage costs.
• Disposal. Rotted lumber and old fasteners have to be hauled off. Dumpster or haul-away charges are outside the labor and materials model.
• Code upgrades. If an inspector requires a compliant ledger connection, guard-height changes or new footings, the scope grows beyond a like-for-like swap.
• Access. A second-story deck, a narrow side yard with no equipment route, or a deck over a finished space adds carrying time and shoring.
• Pitch and height. Elevated or sloped decks need staging and fall protection. A taller deck takes more hours per square foot.
• Season. Winter work in Boston means snow clearing, short days and frozen ground. Spring demand can lengthen lead times and firm up pricing.
• Emergency call-out premiums. A same-day shoring job after a partial collapse is priced differently from scheduled work.
• Decking, railing and stairs. Replacement of surface boards, guards and stairs is a separate scope.

When is this estimate wrong?

It is wrong whenever your deck departs from the standard case, and the departure is usually in hours, not wages. The table shows how hours alone move the 144 square foot midpoint at a 2.5 multiplier.

Condition	Person-hours per sq ft	Hours	Total at 2.5
Easy: few rotted members, ground-level, clear access	0.2	28.8	$3,468
Baseline	0.3	43.2	$4,769
Hard: ledger rot, elevated deck, tight access	0.45	64.8	$6,722

Other concrete exceptions:

• A foreman on site all day. Replacing one of two carpenters with a supervisor at $48.02 per hour gives a blended wage of $42.09. The 2.5 total becomes $5,410, about $640 above baseline.
• Rot that reaches the ledger. The estimate assumes a sound house connection. Repairing a rotted ledger touches siding, flashing and sometimes the rim joist of the house.
• A very small job. Below about 64 square feet, fixed costs dominate and the per-square-foot model understates the bill.
• A single-trade contractor versus a multi-trade firm. A firm that bills by project may sit outside a 2.0 to 3.0 range in either direction.
• Union or prevailing-wage work. The OEWS median covers all carpenters, so a project bound to a different wage scale can fall outside the table.

How do you read a real quote against these numbers?

Start by asking for four lines instead of one lump sum: labor hours, the hourly rate, materials, and a separate line for permit, disposal and any contingency. A quote that shows only a total gives you nothing to compare against the reverse table above.

The single question that exposes a padded bid is this: “How many person-hours are in this price, and at what hourly rate?” A contractor who built the number from a real plan answers in seconds. Divide the labor portion by their stated hours. If the implied rate falls between $72 and $108 per hour, it sits inside the range this page derives from the Boston median wage. If it sits far above $108, the overhead claim is unusual. If the hours are far above the 0.3 per square foot baseline, ask what makes the job harder than the standard case.

Also look for these line items by name:

• Shoring or temporary support while framing is removed.
• Ledger inspection and flashing.
• Hardware (hangers, structural screws) listed as exposed-to-weather rated, not just “fasteners.”
• Disposal.
• Permit and who pulls it.

What should you check before signing?

• The quote states hours, hourly rate and materials separately, and the labor line divides out to a rate between $72 and $108 per person-hour.
• The implied hours are close to 0.3 per square foot, or the contractor has named the specific condition that raises them.
• The scope says what happens if more rot is found once the decking comes off, including how it is priced per joist or per hour.
• The permit is named, with who applies and who pays.
• Disposal is included or listed as a separate line.
• The contractor carries liability insurance and workers’ compensation, which are the main components of the burden multiplier you are paying for.
• Payment is tied to completed stages, not paid in full before framing is inspected.

These figures were calculated from the BLS wage and price data cited above. This site does not inspect properties, survey contractors or collect quotes, so treat the totals as a way to test a bid, not as a price you can expect to be offered.

Read next

• Deck Repair Labor Cost in San Antonio
• Lumber Prices and What They Do to a Deck Quote
• Carpenter Rates in Seattle and What Drives Them Up
• Reading a Carpentry Bid: What Should Be Broken Out Line by Line