Certified Builder Network · Hudson Valley & Catskills
Build your DEN in the Hudson Valley with ThornHaüs.
ThornHaüs Construction is DEN's certified partner for the Hudson Valley and Catskills — a ground-up builder running your project from excavation and foundation to final walkthrough.
Certified Partner
ThornHaüs Construction
Catskill, NY
The Builder
Built from the ground up.
ThornHaüs is a full-service residential contractor founded by lifelong friends and Saugerties natives Casey Backhaus and Mitch Thornton. They handle a project start to finish — excavation, grading, drainage, foundations, septic, and the build itself — so one team owns the site and the house.
Their focus is the part most people never see: structure, water management, insulation, air sealing, and mechanical systems, and how all of it works together. Homes built to stay comfortable, durable, and efficient 30 years from now — the same standard DEN's super-insulated prefab panels are engineered to.
The People
The builders behind the name.
Casey Backhaus
Co-owner
You don't need to know how to build a house — that's our job.
Mitch Thornton
Co-owner
“There's a big advantage to working from a design that has already been developed and thought through. We can focus our energy on executing it well and adapting it intelligently to the site and the client.”
Casey Backhaus · Co-owner, ThornHaüs Construction
Why we Certified Them
ThornHaüs builds the way we design.
01
One team, site to finish
Excavation, drainage, foundations, and septic are in-house — the site work that makes or breaks a Catskills build is handled by the same crew that sets your panels.
02
Building science first
Structure, water management, insulation, air sealing, and mechanicals, all considered as one system — the discipline DEN's prefab panel system is built around.
03
Local to the land
Hudson Valley natives who know the region's rocky terrain, soil conditions, drainage challenges, and local building requirements — the details that decide how a site performs.
Building in the Hudson Valley
From your land to your DEN, in three steps.
01
Confirm your site
Start with a Feasibility session — we pressure-test your parcel, price the whole project, and draft a site plan. The fee credits forward in full.
Start with Feasibility →02
Reserve your kit
Choose your prefab and place your deposit. DEN engineers the structure to your site and delivers stamped, permit-ready plans.
Explore prefab kits →03
Build with ThornHaüs
We introduce you, ThornHaüs prepares the site and pours the foundation, the kit ships, and they run your build — from first panel to final walkthrough.
Hudson Valley & Catskills
Building in Ulster, Greene, Dutchess, or Columbia County?
Feasibility is how you get to ThornHaüs — we pressure-test your parcel, and your builder introduction comes with it. The full fee credits toward your build.
Start with FeasibilityThornHaüs Construction is an independent, licensed general contractor. DEN engineers and manufactures the prefab kits; ThornHaüs runs the build on site. ← Back to the Certified Builder Network