Dan Pettit is the founder and owner of Northern Outdoor Living, and the designer and builder behind every space the company creates. Based in Hastings, Minnesota, and serving the Greater Twin Cities, Dan builds outdoor living spaces that combine advanced materials and integrated technology with a level of precision and originality few builders attempt. Every project starts with digital modeling and custom 3D renderings. From there, he uses tools most deck builders never touch: Owens Corning structural framing, in-house plasma-cut metal lattice, hand-etched aluminum, fiber-optic light walls, and app-controlled lighting systems. Clients consistently say he takes their ideas and builds something far beyond what they imagined.
The trade has recognized that approach at the highest levels with numerous awards. Dan earned six placements across multiple categories at the 2022 NADRA National+ Deck Competition, including a 5th Place Overall national finish, and was named Deck Specialist of the Year 2023 by Deck Specialist magazine. Owens Corning personally invited him to join its selective Pro Build Team based on his reputation and craftsmanship. Every Northern Outdoor Living deck is framed with Owens Corning Lumber, a fully synthetic structural lumber whose dimensional consistency enables designs, spans, and patterns wood framing can’t support. Meticulous, collaborative, and invested in every project, Dan is known for daily communication, flawless fit and finish, on-schedule, on-budget builds, and forever decks his clients never have to replace.
Before he built decks, Dan worked as a musician. As a young man, he performed several nights a week in Iowa, then moved to the Twin Cities to study music. He took a carpentry job to support that path and approached it like an instrument: practicing on his own time and sweating the fundamentals. When his family grew, music stepped back, but the habits didn’t. That same ear for timing, balance, and detail shows up in every space he builds, and that same commitment to family is why he builds decks meant to be enjoyed by yours for decades.