From Ontario to NADRA Awards: Phil Andrews’ Decking Journey | FDM Mastery Podcast #54

Phil Andrews of Andrews Decking is the podcast's first Canadian guest, running a one-man operation in small-town Ontario where he personally handles both the business side and every build.

After construction college, years on a home-framing crew that moved him to their deck side, and a stint in the Carpenters Union, Phil launched his own company when a project dried up, reasoning that decks were what he did best and could earn well at.

Facebook deck groups exposed him to the creative, artistic builds happening industry-wide, inspiring him to push past the standard pressure-treated subdivision decks he'd grown up building and develop his own custom style.

Canadian winters don't stop him — he builds until the ground is too frozen to dig, leaning on helical piles — and his work runs roughly a 50-50 split between wood and composite, priced comparably to the US at around $20-40K all in.

Phil placed third in alternative decks under $35K at his very first NADRA competition, just four months after joining, entering a single project 'just for fun' and being blown away by the result, which he live-streamed from home with his wife.

Rather than a bragging 'we won' post, he shared the heartfelt backstory of the project and his gratitude to the community, and that homegrown-story framing alone generated about half a dozen leads.

His parting advice is integrity-first: pull the permits, be transparent with customers, and never let a client talk you into cutting corners, since NADRA membership itself signals honesty and accountability to homeowners wary of being ripped off.