Deck restoration in Melbourne typically costs between $30 and $70 per square metre, which works out to roughly $600 to $2,500 for an average backyard deck. Where your deck lands depends on its size, how weathered the timber is, and whether it needs a full strip and sand or just a clean and recoat. A tired deck that has been kept up is at the cheap end. A grey, flaking deck that has been left for years is at the top.
These are general Melbourne market ranges, not a fixed price. Every deck is different, which is exactly why the honest answer to “what will it cost” is a look at your actual deck. Here is how the pricing breaks down and what pushes it up or down.
Rough Melbourne ranges to expect:
- Clean and recoat (deck in good nick): about $15 to $30 per square metre.
- Sand and reseal: about $30 to $45 per square metre.
- Full restoration (strip, sand, repair, oil): about $45 to $70 per square metre.
- Typical average deck (20 to 30 square metres): about $900 to $2,000 all up.
How much does deck restoration cost in Melbourne?
Across Melbourne, deck restoration is usually priced per square metre, and the rate depends on how much work the timber needs. Australian trade-quote marketplaces put deck sanding and resealing in the $30 to $45 per square metre range, with full restorations climbing higher once stripping and repairs are involved. Here is how the levels compare.
| Service level | Typical Melbourne rate | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Clean and recoat | $15 to $30 per m² | Wash, dry, single maintenance coat of oil |
| Sand and reseal | $30 to $45 per m² | Light sand, clean, two coats of oil |
| Full restoration | $45 to $70 per m² | Strip old coating, full sand, repairs, oil |
| Board repairs | Added per board | Replacing split, rotted or cupped boards |
Translated into whole jobs, a small courtyard deck of 10 to 15 square metres often lands around $400 to $900, an average deck of 20 to 30 square metres around $900 to $2,000, and a large or badly weathered deck can run $2,000 to $4,000 or more once repairs come into it. Size sets the ballpark, condition sets where you land inside it.
What affects the cost of restoring a deck?
The single biggest cost driver is condition, not size, because condition decides how much prep the deck needs. A deck that has been oiled every couple of years just needs a clean and a coat. A deck that has gone grey and bare, or has a failing film coating peeling off it, needs stripping and full sanding first, and that prep is where the hours go.
| Factor | Cheaper end | Dearer end |
|---|---|---|
| Condition | Maintained, still has oil in it | Grey, bare, or peeling film coating |
| Size | Small courtyard deck | Large wraparound or multi-level |
| Timber | Treated pine, softwood | Dense hardwood, slow to sand and coat |
| Repairs | No board replacement | Split or rotted boards to replace |
| Access | Ground level, open | Elevated, balustrades, tight access |
The choice of finish plays a part too. A premium penetrating oil costs more per litre than a basic one, though on most jobs the labour outweighs the product. If you are weighing up finishes, our guide to the best decking oil for Australian decks walks through what suits which timber.
Sand and reseal or full restoration: what changes the price?
The gap between a sand-and-reseal and a full restoration comes down to one thing: whether the old coating has to come off first. A sand and reseal assumes the timber is sound and just needs freshening, so it is a light sand, a clean and fresh oil. A full restoration means stripping a failed coating or years of grey weathering back to raw timber before anything else happens, which can double the labour.
Want it done properly, without the weekend of work?
Get a free quoteThis is also where a lot of the “why is it so much more than I expected” comes from. One deck in Sunbury had been coated with a film-forming decking paint that had cracked and peeled across every high-traffic board. Stripping that back was most of the job. Had it been oiled from the start, the same deck would have been a straightforward sand and reseal at roughly half the cost. The finish you choose today sets your restoration cost in a few years, which is worth knowing before you pick a product.
Is it cheaper to restore or replace a deck?
Restoring a deck is almost always far cheaper than replacing it, usually a fraction of the cost, as long as the structure is sound. Replacing the boards and frame on an average deck runs into many thousands of dollars in materials and labour, while a restoration brings the existing timber back for the ranges above. Restoration only stops making sense when the bearers or joists underneath have rotted, which is a structural repair rather than a cosmetic one.
If your boards are grey, splintery or tired but the frame is solid underfoot, restoration is the sensible money. You can see the kind of turnaround we get on weathered decks in our before-and-after gallery, and the full process is on our deck restoration page.
How do you get an accurate deck restoration quote?
The only way to price a deck restoration accurately is to see the deck, because the condition of the timber is what sets the cost, and you cannot judge that from a photo alone. A good quote should spell out the prep involved (strip, sand, or just clean), the number of oil coats, any board repairs, and the finish being used, so you are comparing like for like between quotes.
That is how we work at Outdoor Revival. You deal with Michael, who comes out and quotes your actual deck on the spot, with no call-out fee, and the number he gives you is the number you pay. We do not publish a flat rate because a flat rate would be wrong for most decks, either overcharging the tidy ones or underquoting the rough ones. We restore decks across Melton, Werribee, Sunbury, Bacchus Marsh and the rest of Melbourne’s west.
Common questions about deck restoration cost
Why do deck restorers not just publish a price? Because the cost is driven by the condition of your timber, which varies hugely from deck to deck. A flat per-metre price would overcharge a well-kept deck and underquote a badly weathered one, so an honest quote means looking at the actual deck first.
Can you restore a deck yourself to save money? You can, and a maintenance recoat is a reasonable DIY job. The hard part is the prep on a weathered deck, stripping, sanding and getting it properly dry, which is most of the labour and the part that decides whether the finish lasts. Getting the prep wrong usually costs more to fix than doing it once, properly.
How long does deck restoration take? Most average decks take one to three days, depending on condition and the weather, since each oil coat needs to dry. A full strip and sand takes longer than a clean and recoat, and oil needs a dry window to cure, which is why autumn and spring are the busy seasons in Melbourne.
How often will it need doing again? A restored deck that gets a light maintenance coat every one to two years will not need another full restoration. Skipping that upkeep is what lets a deck slide back to grey and bare, which pushes you back into the dearer full-restoration bracket.
