In 1980, Rick Stanley opened his business and worked as the only salesperson and installer. Since then, Rick’s Custom Fencing & Decking has grown to be one of the largest retailers of fencing and decking in the Pacific Northwest with five locations in Oregon and Washington and 285 full time employees. The Vancouver location was opened in 1995 when company leaders noticed there were larger lots as well as equestrian properties that could benefit from quality fencing and decking.
Rick’s Custom Fencing & Decking is unique in that it offers a variety of package options for customers. First, there is a material-only package that provides everything needed for a project, which has proven beneficial for the do-it-yourself crowd. The company also offers partial installation packages, where they handle the framing and let the customer finish the rest. Or, there are complete installation packages available that allows the company to handle the project from design to completion.
“Rick saw the need to retail quality materials to the DIY crowd,” said Tyler Overby, director of sales. “He realized that purchasing materials needed to be made simple with ‘package pricing.’ The materials needed to build a fence are basically a mathematical formula. Rick took all the guesswork out of it. He also saw the need to just set posts for someone as well as complete installs.”
The company also holds “how-to” seminars to help teach homeowners how to finish their projects.
Rick’s Custom Fencing & Decking believes that getting outside is important, and for a well-rounded outdoor experience, the company has expanded their product and service offering to include other material and installation options such as pergolas, gates and covers.
“People enjoy being outside and in order to do that, they usually need to expand their outdoor living space,” Overby said. “A builder will put in a small eight-by-eight concrete pad one step down off of the back door. It makes it difficult to put chairs and a small table out there. For the amount of time we spend outside, a small concrete pad is hardly enough room to sit, let alone entertain. Adding a deck to the backyard opens up the possibilities for outdoor living. Instead of a small bistro set, the right size deck can expand the homeowner’s living area. Hot tubs, fire pits, built-in BBQs, benches and planter boxes are all things people use on their decks. We are able to design all those features into the decks we build. Rick’s is also installing a lot of covers. Solid beam-truss wood covers, aluminum covers and acrylic covers are all extremely popular.”
Rick’s Custom Fencing & Decking looks forward to what the future holds. Because they had outgrown their previous location, the company recently designed and moved into its new Vancouver location on Fourth Plain Boulevard, which is suited for many years of continued growth.
“With homeowners moving and needing fences for their pets or the need to replace an old rotten deck, Rick’s will continue to be here to help them out,” Overby said.
