The Deck Store Biography

The owner of The Deck Store (Terry) began installing quality custom decks in the GTA in 1985. He quickly became a leader in the industry and was instrumental in bringing composite materials to Canada. Terry actually built the very first composite deck in Ontario when he was pressured by his customers for better quality, lower maintenance materials than what was being offered. He purchased a product called Trex from Mobil (an oil company) and brought it to his jobsite in Mississauga back in 1985. This deck is still standing today, a testament to the quality construction and the longevity of the composite decking materials. Since then, Terry has built thousands of decks in Ontario and has been instrumental in raising the bar of quality workmanship and durable materials in the decking industry. His philosophy of “doing the right thing” has brought many clients coming back for other projects in their yard or home.

In 2006, Terry opened The Deck Store showroom in Mississauga as a result of the demand by his customers to be able to view all of the various decking & railing materials and accessories available and to get information on them. The showroom was an instant success as it was the only place in Ontario where the consumer or builder could go to see all of the options available in the various products as well as get solid and honest advice and information regarding these products. On some weekends, customers would spend hours browsing and talking to knowledgeable staff and leaving well informed and prepared to make a decision regarding their decking material.

However, the showroom on Semenyk Court in Mississauga had a couple of drawbacks – it was in a location that was not hard to find but did not have the best exposure to a lot of people. As well, it was in a building that was shared by other tenants and event though The Deck Store staff had good relationships with these tenants, it was sometimes challenging sharing the parking and space around the building when business was booming. In the fall of 2010, Terry and Stan (General Manager) were driving on the QEW in the Oakville area and spotted a Realtor sign in front of a building. Their curiosity prompted a closer look and it was only a matter of minutes before a call was made to the realtor to inquire about it. The building needed a lot of work but the location was fantastic and the decision was made to make 454 South Service Rd W. in Oakville (Main Intersection – Dorval & QEW) the permanent home of The Deck Store.

Along with this move in location came a shift in the focus of the business. The Deck Store had always built and provided amazing projects to their clients at fair pricing but the market was becoming increasingly competitive as more and more companies were quoting on the projects with higher quality materials but many of them using pricing that just did not justify the cost of labour and materials that was involved. The expectations of the customers increased due to the higher cost of materials and labour these projects demanded and at the same time, it became more challenging to give them the level of service and quality of materials that they were demanding keeping everything within their budget. Combined with all of this, many builders, contractors, landscapers and homeowners were coming to The Deck Store and purchasing their decking materials. For the majority, they just could not find these materials anywhere else. For others, they felt comfortable dealing with people who knew a thing or two about these materials. It was not uncommon for a competing deck builder to be showing up at The Deck Store sheepishly saying that his customer had told him to come and buy the materials there. All of this made it an easy decision to make The Deck Store a retail outlet that was in the business of supplying decking and outdoor building materials to anyone who wished to purchase them.