Beach Wood Workers

by Jo Ann MathewsJul 29, 2020Business, South Brunswick

Southern Decks satisfies customers with handcrafted decks and furniture.

At Southern Decks, it’s easy to get what you want. Email a picture of the deck of your dreams or describe a table you want in a phone conversation, and the owners of Southern Decks will handcraft it for you.

Allen Williams and his uncle, Terry Hammonds, began making furniture as a hobby about 10 years ago and opened Southern Decks in Ocean Isle Beach in August 2019.

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“We build beachy bars, trays, benches — just tell us what you want,” Williams says. He has pictures of past creations ready to show customers. “Our prices are much less than other furniture makers,” he adds.

The pair built a table from a picture a customer gave them and decided to make it even more unique. “We thought it would be challenging to build it without any screws,” Williams says. “I like being creative. I just like building the pieces and seeing the finished product.”

Williams and Hammonds use various species of wood and will explain to customers the pros and cons of each. Pine is readily available in the Brunswick County area and less expensive, and oak, maple, cedar and walnut are other types they can purchase. “Cedar is popular because of its colors and knots,” Williams says. “We buy wood locally and use local materials.”

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The pair specialize in using live-edge wood as part of their creations. The natural edge is included in the design.

Blake Blanchard of Leland says he had Williams make a live-edge wood coffee table and end table for him. “I love them,” he says. “I am very satisfied, and the price was very fair.”

Williams came back to his North Carolina roots a year ago after living nearly 40 years in Norman, Oklahoma, where he was in sales. He and his wife, Tiffany, bought a home in Sunset Beach, and Williams proceeded to build a 900-square-foot deck onto it. He then built a two-tiered deck in their backyard as an entertainment center with the stock tank pool that Tiffany wanted.

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Jim Rodenberg of Rocky Point says in April he saw live-edge cedar benches on Southern Decks’ Facebook page and contacted Williams. He bought the benches, then gave Williams the dimensions he wanted for a table. “A week later he had it built,” Rodenberg says. “It’s gorgeous, a beautiful, beautiful table. He does quality work for reasonable prices.”

In addition to custom orders, Williams says they build things then sell them. “We sell everything we build,” he says.

Sandy Fagin of Sunset Beach says she saw a wooden bar posted on Next Door Digest and contacted Williams. She gave him the dimensions and color she wanted for a bar, and he delivered “a gorgeous big wooden bar,” she says. “It’s heavy, solid wood. I was very happy with the price. It was well worth it.”

For Williams, this is a hobby and a passion.

“As a kid I was always building things,” Williams says. “Building furniture is so much fun. It’s like therapy, sanding and molding wood.”

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