Read your deck takeoff to your AI and it builds the estimate in Projul: sections for tear-out, footings and framing, decking, stairs and railing, with priced line items under each. It lands in "Estimates" as a Draft, ready to review, publish and send.
Give it the job and the numbers
The job needs a project or lead first; your AI can create one in the same request (see deck-building leads and follow-ups). An existing estimate gets a change order instead. No template needed: give the deck size, height off grade, footing count, stair rise, railing footage and your rates.
Build an estimate in Projul for [Thompson Deck Rebuild]. It is a [16 by 20 ft] composite deck, [320] sq ft, replacing a [20-year-old pressure-treated deck] at about [4 ft] above grade, with one set of stairs to a [4 by 5 ft] landing. Five sections. Tear-out and disposal: [14] hours of demo labor at [$45] with [40]% markup, and a [20-yard dumpster] at [$450] with [15]% markup. Footings and framing: [9] concrete footings at [$95] each with [25]% markup, [9] [6x6] pressure-treated posts at [$34] each with [25]% markup, [1] ledger and flashing package at [$260] with [25]% markup, framing lumber and joist hangers at [$1,850] with [25]% markup, and [48] hours of framing labor at [$55] with [40]% markup. Decking and fascia: [320] sq ft of [grooved composite decking] at [$6.75] per sq ft with [25]% markup, hidden fasteners at [$420] with [25]% markup, [46] lin ft of composite fascia at [$5.20] with [25]% markup, and [26] hours of install labor at [$55] with [40]% markup. Stairs and landing: [4] stair stringers at [$46] each with [25]% markup, [12] tread boards at [$38] each with [25]% markup, [7] risers at [$22] each with [25]% markup, and [14] hours of labor at [$55] with [40]% markup. Railing: [58] lin ft of [black aluminum railing] at [$62] per lin ft with [25]% markup, and [12] hours of railing labor at [$55] with [40]% markup. Apply our [Utah] sales tax and tell me the estimate number and the total.
If you would rather it work quantities out from the deck size and let you correct them, tell it that instead:
Create an estimate in Projul for [Thompson Deck Rebuild]: a [16 by 20 ft] composite deck at [4 ft] above grade with [58] lin ft of railing and one set of [7] steps. Use my usual rates from the cost-item library, lay it out as [tear-out and disposal, footings and framing, decking and fascia, stairs and landing, railing], and work out the footing, joist and board counts from the size at [16 in] joist spacing. I will correct anything that is off.
What comes back, and the choices and money on it
Your AI sets quantity and unit, cost per unit and markup (percentage or flat amount); Projul works out the price, subtotals, tax and total, then reports the estimate number and projected total. Decking, railing or add-on choices can go in as a required, optional-single or optional-multiple selection (see selections and display-only sections). Tax only applies when you name a rate set up in Projul, and a permit or HOA fee can be marked not taxable (see prices, markup and tax). A saved template for your usual deck gets copied onto the job instead of built from nothing (see reusing templates, estimating from a template).
The change order that always comes
Ledger rot, deeper footings, a hot-tub upsize, a railing upgrade: your AI adds each as a Draft change order, leaving the approved document untouched. Scope coming off the job goes in as a display-only section, counted as a deduction (see adding a change order).
Things to know
Note: Your AI builds and edits the Draft; publishing, sending and recording approval stay yours in Projul (publishing or sending an estimate). It can also write the deck-specific introduction and contract text: permits, footing depth, grade, drainage, composite movement, stain and seal responsibilities (writing the introduction and contract text). Check any footing, joist or board counts it works out from deck size; that is arithmetic, not code compliance. For a general build from scratch, see building an estimate from scratch.
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