To anyone looking for an excellent renovation experience:

On Election Day, 2006, we had a tree fall on our house, wiping out our expensive cedar back porch and doing major damage to the house itself. The insurance company only wanted to pay about half what our first contractor estimated it would cost to do the repairs. We got nowhere until Sterling Works and Philip Trapkin got on the case. Philip went above and beyond with the insurance company. He detailed out the estimate to match the insurance company’s format and then negotiated with them line-by-line until they reached an agreement that we could all live with.

We decided to do additional renovation work as a separate contract and Philip also did a great job working with our architect and converting those plans into reality. This was truly a very custom job requiring a lot of coordination to get it just the way we wanted. Philip wasn’t happy until we were happy. It was a real challenge to juggle the work on two contracts and bring both to a successful conclusion within budget.

We're back in the house now and love it. We got a great job at a fair price! We highly recommend PhilipTrapkin and Sterling Works for your renovation project.

Jim and Linda Grant, Atlanta

Many Thanks

We just completed our third successful home remodeling project with Sterling Works since 2003. We first hired them to complete an extensive interior trim upgrade, then convert our basement into a wonderful warm family room, while also replacing the columns on our front porch, and finally, design and install a new deck on the back of our house.

I have very specific design ideas that I can’t always communicate precisely. Philip has always found a way to pick my mind in order to clarify our designs, while keeping an attentive ear to my husband’s wishes as well. The overall results have been a joy, and one of the intangible benefits of dealing with Sterling Works has been the consistent good nature of the crews who show up to do our work. They have always been very friendly, prompt, courteous and tidy, to boot.

We love where we live and appreciate how their work has made our home even lovelier. We expect to be adding to our “to-do” list for quite some time and it gives us great confidence knowing that we have a great remodeling company to rely on.

C. Almond, Morningside

True Craftsmanship!

I wish I could give more stars. Sterling Works (Philip and team) just replaced our entire entrance when our front glass door shattered. I was so impressed with his work, timeliness, communication, everything …that I asked for a few more things to be completed and was stunned with the quality and craftsmanship. Philip made recommendations that vastly improved the aesthetics of our kitchen. We were so impressed, we're now planning a master suite remodel with him for next year. I definitely recommend if you're looking for quality and professionalism!

M. Waldron, Stone Mountain

Completely Satisfied

I hired Sterling Works after hearing about them from my son, who had been happy with the work they did on his house. I wanted a new front entrance/porch on my house and up to the time I met Philip Trapkin from Sterling Works I had not finalized my plans. When I first met with him, I felt that he listened well and understood what I was looking for and I liked what he came up with for a design. I liked that he saved me money that I might have spent on an architect, and decided to proceed with the plan we came up with. The work went smoothly, and when they discovered more rot and termite damage, they informed me quickly and remediated the problems quickly and for a fair price. They kept the disturbance to me and my neighbors to a minimum and completed the project to my total satisfaction. I would definitely recommend them to anyone seeking a great remodeling project on their home.

N. Driebe, Atlanta

Dependable

My wife and I were referred to Sterling Works by the salesman at the lumber yard where we purchased some custom doors. We had no set of plans for the installation, just a general idea of what we wanted them to look like, and a picture from a magazine. After visiting with us and asking us questions, Philip from Sterling Works took on our custom installation. Their work turned out to be very good, efficient and they were very careful to keep the disturbance to us and the other condo residents to a minimum. We were very pleased with the end result and would hire them again and be glad to recommend them.

V. Tsukruk, Midtown

Will Be Calling Again

Philip,

Since buying our home in Decatur we’ve had the opportunity to work with quite a few building contractors – with varying degrees of success. You and your company came highly recommended by Brian, so we looked forward to having you on the job.

I am writing to tell you that I appreciate how well you kept me in the loop with emails and digital photos of the various projects I threw your way. You were always clear in detailing my options, costs and benefits and made it easy for me to stay on top of the projects even though I wasn’t home. When I returned from my first trip and saw that your masons were finished, the house and yard were immaculate – hard to tell they had been there, but then I had the pictures of the excavation to prove it. The squirrel damage repair, pressure washing and paint job look great, and the cabinetry and new lighting are just perfect.

I’m sure we’ll be calling again and will be glad to be glad to pass your name along to friends and neighbors.

Sincerely,
Alan and Lisa Cronic

Great Design Ideas

Dear Philip,

As we told you when we showed you pictures of our former home out west, Chuck and I are veterans of quite a few major remodeling projects and, therefore, can easily recognize a quality contractor when we meet one.

Once you started on the job we hired you to do at our house, you and your crew kept the place clean, arrived when you said you would, kept us informed and finished a beautiful job in a timely fashion. As we showed you around our house and discussed other plans we have in mind, we were pleased with your feedback, design ideas, enthusiasm and willingness to work with us on our next big project. We both look forward to seeing the finished plans and moving forward.

Thanks again. The project you completed looks great ! Glad to recommend you and your company to our friends and business associates.

Sincerely,
John Giffer

Recommend with confidence

As an architect living and working in the Druid Hills area for many years, I have had the opportunity to work with many fine general contractors. That being said, I was glad to respond to Philip’s request for a referral letter based on the experiences I have had with him on several fairly major remodeling projects in the neighborhood in the past year or so. I found him to be very easy to work with, full of design suggestions, an easy give and take, and his attention to detail in the actual building part was on a par with any work I’ve ever witnessed. The clients were in good hands and seemed to really appreciate the way their projects were completed in a timely fashion and beyond their expectations.

I was at a housewarming at one client’s when they were proudly showing off their new space and enthusiastically introducing Philip to all their guests as “their builder”. I look forward to working with him and his company and will gladly include them as a contractor referral when I meet new clients of my own who have not picked out their builder

C. Tauxe, Druid Hills

A Life Saver

Philip Trapkin and his company, Sterling Works, were working on a large renovation at a neighbor’s house in February 2007. At the time, I needed a builder to help me at my home with a rather extensive and complicated rebuild and enlisted his expertise.

Once on the scene, Philip offered practical solutions to my problems. His keen eye to design details skillfully enhanced the basic design developed by my architect. Throughout the many changes in our plans, Philip maintained a steady hand, clear communications and a positive attitude, and regularly made useful contributions to the ongoing meetings between me and my design team.

One major change we came up with involved creating a vaulted ceiling in my living room, a very challenging engineering feat and, as it turned out, a change that later proved providential. I was so pleased with my home when I returned in October – unaware that the peaceful enjoyment of my new space would last only a few months. In February a very large oak tree fell on my house, causing extensive damage. I called Philip the very next morning, startling him with the news. I was so relieved to be able to call on his competence and professionalism once again.

Sterling Works’ previous renovation in all likelihood saved my life. The tree, which fell on my den when I was actually sitting there, completely destroyed the “old” sections of the roof, but the strong design of the room’s new roof and support system prevented what would have been a total cave-in. Philip took care of negotiations with the insurance company. While dismayed at moving back into temporary quarters, I am confident that my home will be reconstructed in splendid fashion and am greatly comforted that I have such an outstanding team working on my behalf.

M. D. Pierce, Druid Hills

Great Work!

Sterling Works has done two projects at our home. We are so satisfied. They understood exactly what we wanted, were there when they said they would be, and finished on time and within budget. We will definitely use them again. Can't recommend them enough!

L. Melton, Avondale Estates

Thanks for referral

Carolina Lumber & Supply
504 Plaster Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30324

Dear Sirs,

I recently asked you for a referral for a contractor to work on a door project in my home. You gave me the name of Philip Trapkin of Sterling Works and I am writing to thank you for suggesting this company. Their Small Projects Division responded quickly and completed all my work quickly and professionally. All too often we hear complaints about service these days, but I wanted to take the time to assure you that you are doing well in recommending Sterling Works to your customers.

Thanks again,
Don Harris

Long Time Customer

It’s hard for me to keep track of all the projects for which my husband and I have hired Philip Trapkin and Sterling Works.

I believe it all started in 2001 with our basement remodel. What a challenge to tackle – our kids referred to it as “The Dungeon”, and no one in their right mind would spend any time down there – water leaks, cold, uneven floor, drafty windows. Suffice it to say, after the space was transformed into “The Kid’s Zone” – warm, clean and bright - we felt confident to ask Philip to tackle our other building needs.

In no specific order, he and his crews very wonderfully converted and upgraded our guest cottage, re-designed and installed a cobblestone driveway up the long hill to our house, transformed both our children’s bedrooms, then did a spectacular job creating our master bedroom/bath suite. I believe our next project was the wonderful home office they built for my husband – a second floor office that has seventeen large windows overlooking the rear of our yard. Then they designed and built a garage at our lake house that perfectly matches the style of the main house, and, last, but certainly not least, turned our drafty, inefficient kitchen into a warm, beautiful, highly efficient space that I appreciate every single day I’m in it.

Whether Philip is designing out of his head, or “tweaking” architectural plans, he always manages to add value and beauty to our dwelling. Once when he and I were standing in my back yard, I looked up at my husband’s recently-completed office and remarked that it “looked like it just grew out of the rest of the house”.

Suffice it to say, we have been very happy to have Sterling Works as our builders for many years, and will continue to call on them as needs arise – and are confident to recommend them for being completely honest, reliable and very capable builders/designers.

M. Disney, Druid Hills

Great renovator!

Sterling Works has completed two projects for us. One was renovating our basement and another was designing and building an outside structure. Philip Trapkin is very professional, courteous, and finished both projects promptly. Not only is Philip an excellent craftsman and general contractor, but his design work is outstanding! He cleaned up at the end of every day. Philip is great to work with.

T. Lohmeier, Decatur