Cascade Fence & Deck is helping homeowners enjoy their little piece of the Pacific Northwest by offering planning and installation of new decks, fences and patio covers. Opened in 1997, the company has helped transform thousands of local backyards in Vancouver and Portland. The 35-member team services approximately 500 customers a year.
“We offer full 3D designs with all of our patio cover and deck builds so customers can get a true idea of what we are building before we start,” said Leif Wirtanen, general manager at the company. “We have a small but amazing team that is ready to tackle our customers’ dream.”
When the pandemic hit, the company had to get creative in how their in-home design and estimating process worked, ensuring that all designs and estimates done remotely were done as efficiently as possible. To do that, they created recorded screen videos of the customer’s entire proposal so they can review it anytime they want.
“They don’t have to remember anything that was said during the call or during a visit at the home,” Wirtanen said. “We have found this has cleared up expectations and homeowners love to see these videos.”
With the many changes in the construction industry due to the pandemic and supply shortages, Wirtanen said that Cascade Fence & Deck has been impacted both positively and negatively.
“We try our best to find the positive in everything, and instead of whining we just pivot,” he said. “There have been many things like material prices and material shortages that have caused us to pivot. Overall, I would say it was stressful, but a fun time to go through as we were able to get a taste of what things could be like if the economy slowed. We like to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios, so the practice of pivoting has prepared us for future situations, hopefully.”
As far as future growth goes, Wirtanen said they are excited about hiring more employees, reaching new customers and continuing to provide untapped opportunities for motivated people looking to work for a growing company.
“Our number one focus is making sure every one of our employees loves their job,” he said. “When employees are happy, so are customers.”
Cascade Fence & Deck is located at 4415 NE Minnehaha St., in Vancouver.
