amyochoung I live in a suburb of Portland Oregon and do not need a permit to build our deck! I am also wondering about the cost!

Meg Padgett We also didn't need a permit - hence the weekend project. :) I'm sorry I can't be more helpful with the cost - the decking was a gift from my dad who got a killer deal on it during a hardware store liquidation sale. My best guest for a DIY 12x20 deck with good quality cedar similar to ours would be around $1500-$2500. As with most building projects - costs vary depending on each specific job. Fine Homebuilding has a handy deck calculator to help you estimate the cost - http://www.finehomebuilding.com/pages/calculators/deck/