Plan the whole project.

Why a planner saves you money

The most common budgeting mistake in home improvement is forgetting materials. A homeowner plans a deck and budgets for decking boards, forgetting concrete for footings, joist hangers, flashing tape, and post brackets. Those forgotten items add 30 to 40 percent to the material bill. A planner prevents this by chaining every calculation from one set of dimensions so nothing gets missed.

Each planner also includes a quote comparison tool. Enter the dollar amount from a contractor's bid and the planner shows you the gap between estimated material cost and the quoted price. That gap is labor, markup, and overhead. It does not mean the contractor is overcharging — labor is real and valuable — but it gives you a reference point for evaluating whether a bid is in the normal range or unusually high.

How the planners work

Every planner follows the same three-step pattern. First, you enter your project dimensions (deck size, fence length, room dimensions). Second, you select materials and options (wood type, post spacing, paint quality). Third, the planner chains multiple calculator engines together and outputs a unified material list with quantities, estimated costs, and waste factors already applied.

The deck planner, for example, chains four calculations: decking surface area (with waste by board width), frame lumber (joists at your chosen spacing, beams, ledger board), concrete footings (sized to your frost line depth), and stairs (code-compliant rise and run from your deck height). You enter the deck dimensions once; the planner runs all four calculations and produces one material list.

Available planners

Tallyard currently offers six project planners, each covering one of the most common residential projects. The deck planner covers decking, framing, footings, stairs, and railing. The fence planner handles posts, rails, pickets, concrete, and gates. The paint planner calculates wall paint, primer, ceiling paint, and supplies. The roof planner chains shingles, underlayment, ventilation, and gutters. The patio planner estimates pavers, gravel base, sand, and edge restraint. The bathroom planner covers floor tile, shower tile, vanity, paint, and accessories.

Planners vs getting a contractor quote

A planner does not replace a contractor quote. It gives you an informed baseline so you can evaluate quotes intelligently. When a contractor quotes $12,000 for a deck and your planner shows $4,500 in materials, the $7,500 difference is labor, equipment, permits, insurance, and profit. That is normal for a professional deck build. If a contractor quotes $12,000 and your planner shows $9,000 in materials, something is off — either the contractor is using premium materials you did not specify, or the material estimate needs a second look.

The goal is not to eliminate contractors. It is to walk into the conversation knowing what the materials cost so you can focus the negotiation on labor quality, timeline, and warranty instead of guessing whether the whole number is reasonable.