Tommy Holstein Finds Solid Ground with New Castle Steel

For Tommy Holstein, a DIY project turned into a lifelong career. In 2009, while designing and building a two-tier cedar deck with his father, Tommy discovered a natural talent for creating beautiful outdoor spaces. Because Tommy built his first decks in flip-flops, using the name Barefoot Deck for his new venture was only fitting. As the company grew and expanded, rebranding to Solid Ground in 2019 only made sense because it captured its full capabilities. 

We spoke with Tommy about Solid Ground and how they transitioned to using New Castle Steel.

Interviewer: Tell us about yourselves and Solid Ground.

Tommy: I'm a US Air Force veteran with over 20 years of experience in carpentry, design, and construction. Solid Ground is an outdoor living company specializing in custom decks, covered patios, and custom outdoor spaces. Our specialty is decking and creating a welcoming area outside the home. We want to build spaces that last. A lot of thought goes into the design, down the sixteenth of an inch.

My wife, Tara, has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance. We run the business together, and she's really the one that recognized the potential to grow from working on projects for our home to developing this into something bigger.

Interviewer: Talk about your design process. What inspires you when you're starting a new project?

Tommy: A lot of the process is painting the picture--how will the space be used? I've always been an artist with different mediums, from paint to chalk and building with clay models. My creativity comes naturally. Sometimes clients know what they want but need to know how big it should be or what color or shape. The first few visits with the client are like an investigation. Do you like entertaining one or two other couples or a whole household? Outdoor dining or a bistro? Do you like to curl up on the couch to read a book? Is the sun an issue in the yard? We can use the Louvre roof system to give you the shade you need and increase usable outdoor space from 20% to 80%. We've had engagement proposals on our decks, so they have to be a beautiful space. That's intentional.

The home will often tell you where to start when to stop, where the stairs need to come down to work with the rest of the outdoor experience, and other details that impact the overall design. Many of our builds are elevated, so we also need to consider the space underneath. What is the impact of this deck on the rest of the yard? Where will guests arrive, flow, and depart when you're entertaining at an outdoor party or pool party? We want to bring them through the entertainment so they almost get a preview of what's to come. We want to maintain the flow.

Interviewer: What has changed in the industry since you started Solid Ground?

Tommy: It used to be that we would build a deck, and the life expectancy would be 25 to 40 years. Today it's more like 10 to 12 if you're lucky. The wood is different, the trees are different, and the stains are different. The environmental aspect is important. We don't want to use chemicals that negatively impact our environment. There has to be a better solution. If wood isn't a viable option, then we welcome steel.

Interviewer: What made you start looking for alternatives to traditional wood-framed decks?

Tommy: We started looking for wood alternatives a few years ago. We didn’t even realize that steel was a viable option at the time. It would be easy for me to keep making wood-framed decks with blinders, but I would be doing a disservice to my customers. We had watched a steady decline in the quality of wood that would arrive on our job site. We'd have to kick out over 5-10% of materials we didn't like--bad checking, knots in weird locations, twists, etc. That started increasing to 15%, then 20%, and then it got to the point where we were getting so much lousy lumber that it felt like the lumber yards were dumping trash wood on us. That meant I had to order more because the wood didn't meet our standards. No matter what we did, we couldn't offset the issues with wood.

When COVID started in 2020, we saw such a push for outdoor living spaces that the wood yards were completely out of wood. The wood took months and months to dry or cure in the shipping process. They were so short on material that lumber was coming to us saturated in materials and moisture. It made the building process super messy and slimy, and the chemicals that were leaching were having an impact on the person installing the deck. Imperfect lumber also changes the elevation of your deck. Fast forward six to eight weeks after we completed a project and the floor joists were moving, the deck boards were moving, and we'd see peaks and valleys. We were doing everything the same way but the results were different. The final straw was noticing that deck boards were rotting as we built. I want to provide value for my clients and cannot do that if we use inferior materials.

Interviewer: How did you learn about the benefits of steel?

Tommy: I started hearing influencers talk about how steel offers a better long-term result. I thought it might be time to provide a better option. 

Before meeting with New Castle Steel, we'd never done a steel frame. We didn't know how to bid a steel frame. I contacted Scott Kelly and asked how he's building and talking to clients about steel framing. Within a week, I was comfortable enough to go through his material list to put together a package to build a steel frame. He really got me thinking about what we could do differently.

Interviewer: How do you help the client understand the benefits of steel and why you only use steel framing now? 

Tommy: We have to get the client first to understand what we're talking about. They call and say they want a composite deck. But composite isn't maintenance-free. We have to reeducate them on how wood framing is not a viable solution. We ask questions to gauge why they want a composite deck and then help them draw their conclusions.

We think of ourselves as consultants. We talk about the different options and how certain products will elongate the life of their deck. We lead the conversation to provide our clients with the best choices.

Helping the client understand how the steel frame differs from wood framing is a big part of our work. It's our job to educate them. All they hear is composite decking. 

Why would you want to use subpar products when you're spending so much money on your deck? Why build a $100,000 project on an unstable wood frame? The foundation must last as long or longer as the outdoor living project. Why not just do it right the first time? You'll spend so much to replace it in just a few years. But that steel frame looks gorgeous in three months, three years, or thirty years. The home value will increase. It's a selling point, for sure!

Interviewer: What's the future of Solid Ground look like?

Tommy: We committed to using only New Castle Steel framing. We did that because we feel it's best for our clients. We are ahead of the curve. We only build composite because it's better quality than the wood available today. We only want to use materials that work. If you're going to explore using a better product, go ahead and make the step to steel. It's so worth it for our clients.

But there's more to our relationship with New Castle. Yes, they've got a product that's durable and perfect for what our customers are looking for, but their people truly are second-to-none. Their passion and expertise have helped drive the evolution we've seen as a business. They go above and beyond when there's anything we need, whether we're still in the design phase or standing in our customer's backyard. We could not ask for a better partner.