Table of Contents
The story of how Hen-House Decks, Uniontown, OH., came to be doesn’t begin on a jobsite or in a lumberyard. It began in a courtroom, with its owner—22-year-old Andy Henley—sitting before a judge, unable to work, and unsure of his future.
By the age of 20, Andy had survived two brain surgeries due to a severe neurological condition called trigeminal neuralgia/cluster headaches, said to be the cause of some of the worst pain humans can endure. The second surgery resulted in a stroke, leaving Andy feeling “uncalibrated.” Unable to use his dominant left hand, he had spent six months getting his strength back before appearing before the judge that day to find out whether he would receive permanent disability.
“I was struggling bad,” Andy explains. “I didn’t have a job because I couldn’t work. I was enrolled at school, but never went because I couldn’t get to the college.”
As Andy sat before the judge, she spoke words that he says he will never forget, and will always be thankful for: “I’m going to deny you because if I gave this to you, that’s all you’re ever going to be in life,” the judge said. “You seem like a guy who can talk, has a good personality, who can still be driven. If I give this to you, you’re not going to be successful someday. I feel like you could still be successful at something.”
It was that pivotal moment that forced his life onto a new path, one he never expected, one that would eventually help him create one of the industry’s most recognizable deck companies.
The New Path Ahead
As Andy’s body continued to heal, he realized along the way he had developed a newfound passion for design and creativity, a heightened sense of color, design, and music that today he fondly calls his “superpower.”
As a glass-half-full kind of guy, and not willing to give up after the judge’s ruling, he began looking for work he could do. One day, he spotted a newspaper ad for a decking salesperson. The job would enable him to rely on his strengths: sales, communication, and the “gift of the gab.”
That first sales job then led him to Procell, where he began selling what is known today as TimberTech/AZEK decking. The more he learned, he says, the more he cared about design, color, marketing, and the art behind outdoor living.
After Procell, he partnered with another builder for seven years, learning the business side and refining his eye for design. In time, he realized there was only one way to create the kind of work he envisioned—he would need to build a brand of his own.
Birth of Hen-House Decks
In 2017, Andy founded Hen-House Decks—named for his two family lines that he wanted to honor: Henley and Greathouse. From day one, it wasn’t just a business to him; it was “a responsibility, a legacy, and a standard” he intended to uphold. His aim was to become a premium deck builder with a name strong enough that people sought him out for the kind of work no one else was doing.
“I’ve always wanted to create something that was my own vision and not somebody else’s vision, something that would help me separate myself from the competition,” he explains.
Andy says a deck “is not a platform. It’s not an exit point. It’s not a commodity. It’s a pinnacle feature of a home. A personal sanctuary. A place where memories are made.” He captured this in his company’s motto: It’s not just a deck. It’s a Hen-House deck.
To help bring Andy’s visions to life is his talented carpenter, Ken Baldwin, who shares a similar vision of being able to do things that other people can’t do, and the many other talented people who have helped mold Hen-House Decks into what it is today.
There was one project that has forever changed the trajectory of the business—“The Guitar Deck.” Although Hen-House didn’t create the original design, the moment Andy saw the concept, he knew he wanted the job. He won the bid through smart pricing and planning, and a color scheme using Trex decking that brought the design to life.
Since then, he says, “The Guitar Deck” has become an international calling card, shared across continents, and is the piece of art that unlocked his business. “To me it wasn’t about how much money we made on the project. That project has carried me through my entire career as Hen-House Decks.”
Hen-House 2.0
Andy sees himself evolving beyond just a business owner. He wants to become a mentor for the next generation of builders, and a voice in the industry.
He mentions looking up to industry leaders like Bobby Parks, Brendan Casey, and David Settlemyer.
“You’re dealing with a lot of passionate people,” Andy says. “We could sit there and talk for a week straight about everything and never run out of something to say, and never be bored of hearing it.”
Through Deck Expo, the North American Deck & Railing Association, and the Deck Specialist “Tools & Technology” column he writes with Mitchell Construction’s Mike Mitchell, he’s been actively building community and raising industry standards.
He describes his column collaboration with Mike as this: “We are two different type of people. I’ve always said Mike and I are like Donny and Marie (Osmond)—Mike is a little more country. I’m a little more rock ‘n’ roll.”
It’s exactly that chemistry and their different perspectives on the industry that makes their partnership work, Andy explains. “I have my view as a person who’s not swinging the hammer, while learning from my guys. Mike’s out there. He hears it. He sees it. He uses it.”
The Next 10 Years
Last year, Andy hired a dedicated salesman whose sole purpose, he says, has been to sell simple decking packages: one-board borders, no lights, or deck tattoos (inlays). “It is just one color in and out.” The day-to-day sales left to his salesman opened Andy’s schedule so he could seek out additional creative projects that are “one-of-a-kind pieces of art,” while simultaneously working on other aspects of his business. “It has freed my time up to focus more on who I’m going to be in the next 10 years,” he says.
He also has been working with April Edwards of Deck Builder Marketers, who he says has captured his vision and has helped him focus his marketing and business growth efforts.
Coach Andy
One passion that Andy rekindled is his love of youth wrestling. Having wrestled himself before his surgeries, he is known as Coach Andy to a group of first, second, and third graders. “I love teaching youth wrestling. They’re screaming and running around and they don’t listen—but they listen to me,” he says. The chaos is a place of peace for him. “It calms me. When I’m in that room, I’m focused on one thing.”
Andy says he realized how similar decking was to wrestling. Both require consistency, having a strong work ethic and doing something different that will give you a leg up on the competition. “A lot of people get nervous, overthink or do not like their competition. I wanted to understand my competition. I wanted to know how I could beat them. And I didn’t stop until I figured it out.”
As a youth coach, Andy says he takes pride in telling the younger generation that although wrestling is hard and demanding, the rewards come later. He believes decking is much the same. It requires dedication and hard work, but the effort pays off in the end.
“I owe that drive and that passion to wrestling,” Andy says.
Looking Back
Andy says today he is the 10-year version of what he wanted himself to be when he created Hen-House Decks.
So, what would he say to the 22-year-old version of himself, the one sitting in the courtroom, the one who couldn’t yet see the life that waited on the other side of his struggle? He’d tell him, “Never settle for less. Trust the process, and keep pushing forward. We did it, bro!”
He views the brain surgeries as a “Godwink” (a personal experience that is interpreted as a sign of divine intervention or answered prayer.)
“I can proudly say if it wasn’t for all those things that happened to me, the brain surgeries, stroke, the opportunity to sell decking, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” Andy says. “I can’t help but think that maybe all of this happened for a reason. Along the way, I fell in love with this industry that I can’t see myself falling out of love with it.”
To read the full issue, click here.
