PETER THORN BUILDERS

Peter Thorn was able to translate our dream of an updated living space into reality. The open concept was what we were going for and he delivered far beyond our expectations.

The job was perfect!

The team that worked on our renovation project was a pleasure to work with. The work they completed was high quality, and we are very happy with the outcome! They came in ahead of schedule and under budget, which is the best you can ask for in any home renovation project!

Everyone that works for this company is great! Peter, Curtis, Xavier and Stephanie are all excellent to work with. The job was done right, in a timely manner, considering the structural problems we uncovered, and we are very pleased with the results. We will be using this company for another project in the near future.

Wow! Peter and his crew were amazing! They were responsive, punctual, polite, and thoroughly professional. Throughout the process from beginning to the end, they constantly explained what had to be done or what they discovered or what my options were or what they recommended and why. Curtis and Javy each day showed up early and worked so hard and so well throughout the day. We were so impressed. I cannot say enough how good of a job they did and how nice they were. Each evening they cleaned up and left the family room neat and tidy, though it was zippered/separated from the rest of our home. They always had time for my questions and always were willing to explain what was occurring. Curtis and Javy worked literally from sunup to sundown, diligently accomplishing all that needed to be done each day. They were always on schedule or ahead of schedule. They both were phenomenal. I would hire them again in a heartbeat! It could not have gone better!

We experienced some delays with extreme wet spring and loss of foreman (a great guy!) due to auto accident. Peter worked hard to bring in new foreman (also great guy!) and works well with City of Chapel Hill permitting. Thank you Construction Supervision team!

Pete and his foreman Brice showed up on time to examine the issue and promptly developed a plan of attack, providing me with a range of options--and a contract for the work.  When Brice and his team showed up, they went about their work with confidence and with efficiency.  The overall impression they made on me was so positive, and so different from that of the crew with whom I broke, that I knew I had made the right choice.  These guys are pros.  They know it, and they act like it. 

I am Chairman of the board of directors of the Alpha Sigma chapter of Chi Psi Fraternity in Chapel Hill.  We are the the oldest and largest fraternity lodge at UNC and our brothers are also the Greek academic champs.Last year Peter Thorn Builders performed a major kitchen and basement living quarters renovation for us.   We were happy with the work, so we asked them to handle our building maintenance too.  In February 2015 Chapel Hill had record cold temperatures which froze quite a few pipes in town?especially in older buildings.  The damage to many of the Greek houses was substantial...especially when you factor in the cost of loss-of-use.  But Field Supervior Brice Todd  (our point of contact for maintenance issues) responded in a timely and thorough way that saved us significant damage and expense. We called Brice on a Friday night about a seriously gushing leak.  He immediately left his dinner at a restaurant in another county to get things rolling to protect our pipes.  He had already contacted a service plumber when the frozen sprinkler set off the alarm in the CH Fire Station.   After the sprinkler alarm went off, the CH Fire Dept shut off the electric power that night to make sure no one would attempt to spend the night in the lodge without fire protection.  This was a serious threat to the plumbing in the building.  Without heat all the old copper pipes would eventually freeze.  Over that cold weekend Brice was on top of the situation...managing various contractors, employees and making sure our issues were resolved quickly..in some cases working in the middle of the night.  Given the town-wide nature of the emergency, his management was critical to us even having access to the specialty contractors we needed to address the leaks and other issues.  It preserved our lodge as a viable living quarters, saving us the expense of having to find long term temporary housing for the tenant brothers of the lodge.  Our lodge building was restored to service in less than 24 hours.   Other fraternity lodges were out of service up to three weeks.Once the immediate problem was solved, Brice and the folks at Peter Thorn Builders went about making sure our repairs were completed properly.  When the insurance company balked at the price, they painstakingly defended the detailed insurance claim.  Peter Thorn Builders held fast to our interests to make sure our insurance paid to bring our lodge back into good condition.We are very pleased with the service provided by Peter Thorn Builders and recommend them without hesitation.

The carpenters were fast and accurate. The job was done in a timely fashion. The price was not low, but it was fair. I would certainly use this company again.

We had 660sf of living space renovated.  Our house was built in 1967 and we knew there would be issues because of it's age.  We had walls removed, a new kitchen installed, new floor tile and hardwood floors refinished.  We first met with Peter Thorn in January 2015.  We worked through several renderings of the space we wanted to renovate and work began in March 2015.  This is when we met Brice, the person responsible for coordinating and overseeing all the work and workers on our project.  Brice did a great job of keeping the project moving and making sure all the contractors showed up to do what was necessary.  If we had questions or issues with the work performed, Brice made the changes necessary or explained why the changes wouldn't work.    We brought Pete Thorn in on one issue when we needed some guidance.  Peter met with us the same day we called.   He and Brice came up with a solution that looked great.  They also were able to figure out how to put in one solid hidden support beam when the support wall between our kitchen and (former) living room was removed.  It was great to have the area opened up not having to see any beams hanging from the ceiling.  The cabinet company and appliance store they referred us to did a great job of helping us put together our perfect kitchen.   The flooring and tile company they referred us to did a great job of installing our new tile floor for the kitchen and refinishing the original hardwood floors.   Their electrician did a masterful job of re-wiring our 1967 breaker box and re-labeled all the breakers.  After we decided to change the outlets and switches on the backsplash to another color, he came back a few times to make sure they looked like what we wanted.  The carpenters and painters really helped make the area looked finished.  They also sent a cleaner out the last day to make sure everything was cleaned properly before we took possession of the newly renovated area.  That was great!

After a wind storm blew a tree limb through the roof, Thorn construction repaired it.  Specifically Terry and Javier were very very good and Thorn construction certainly has two very valuable and professional employees!!! Thanks Terry and Javier!!!
We appreciate this companies response time as well as water was pouring into the house.

Peter was very professional an easy to work with as was Brice the carpenter that did the work. 



The original estimate from Peter was very thorough to address my concern which was to make sure that the wood rot problem was fixed without reoccurrence.  When Brice came out to do the work he noted that the French door jambs did not need to be replaced with the PVC composite jambs as was needed on the other 2 doors.  Brice was careful to point out that the French doors had an overhang which protected them from direct contact with the elements and a simpler fix  (remove the surface wood rot and replace with Bondo) would suffice without compromising quality.



Peter contacted me with the solution that Brice proposed, and after I agreed with this, Peter adjusted the price of the contract to a lesser amount which included reimbursement for the materials purchased for the French doors.  The working relationship between Peter and Brice is admirable.  Peter was very careful to address my concern when we first met to review the work to be done.  Then based on feedback from Brice, after Brice was onsite and could investigate the wood rot problem at a more thorough level, Peter was willing to be flexible and adjust accordingly.



The work done was timely, skilled, professional and thorough.  Thank you!

The initial design didn't meet Chapel HIll inspection needs.  A new design with engineer seal was approved.  This required a great deal of coordination and communication with the town's inspectors.  The chief work site supervisor, Brice, was superb. Always on time, Willing to explain all details and work with our schedule We feeling 100% confident that a home buyer's inspector will not only be impressed with the work without reservation.  
Best of all, the work came in $2000 less than the estimate.

It is ongoing.  I am an alumnus who looks after the fraternity house in Chapel Hill.  We liked it.  We signed the maintenance contract because the building was built in 1930.  It was a remodel because of the termite damage.  The fact of the matter was unpleasant.  It had nothing to do with the builder.  In general, they got it finished.  They dealt with Chapel Hill and all their inspectors.  It ended up with the more structurally sound building.  We had to modernize a lot of stuff, so there was a lot of upgrading of ventilation systems for the kitchen.  It was pretty comprehensive.  It was only 4% renovation in terms of square footage.  It was all mechanical, steel and stuff like that.  It wasn't like a bonus room or something, but it was probably more commercial than what one would consider standard residential.  He did a good job and we are happy.  I like all his employees.  He has a staff and he doesn't bring in sub contractors; but for the highly technical stuff, he will bring in.  It was a huge plumbing job.  We had to add the grease strap and all sort of stuff and things like that.  His crew does all the painting and carpentry and stuff like that.  They are good to work with.  They always showed up when they said.

I called Pete to repair some HVAC conduit under my house and he sent Tim.  In the process of repairing the HVAC Tim discovered some plumbing that was interferring with HVAC conduit.  They went ahead and repaired the plumbing with out adding significant time or expense.

A few days later I called for a recommendation for a Handyman to repair some wobbly toilets and they sent out Brice on his lunch hour before they even told me they could or couldn't do it. I really appreciate having this done so quickly.

I saw the Big deal and wanted to restore the woeful attempt I made 2 years ago at painting my master bathroom. I called Peter Thorne before I purchased the deal to make sure it was something he would be willing to do. Peter answered the phone himself and spent allot of time answering all of my questions. He made an appointment to see the job and was very thorough and clear about what the job would entail.

He scheduled a painter (Dan) he has in his employ to do that job within a week, Very fast turnaround. The painter was extremely thorough, courteous, and professional.

My bathroom is very nice now and I feel like it is almost new.

Excellent work!  they arrive on time, worked through the day, neat end of day cleanup and storage. This was repeated throughout the week.  When there was a question or an issue they would raise it promptly so progress would continue.  The two workers, Tim and Dan, weregreat painters, very neat and considerate of the property, when they left for the night all trash was removed supplies stored.  At the end of the project the shop looked terrific and the grounds were spotless.
This company will be the first I call when I have another project.

Peter Thorn Builders arrived promptly every day, were courteous and conscientious, and
cleaned up every evening.  They did such a good job cleaning the
buildings, I joked I did not need to proceed with painting!  The
spouting shines!!! They were diligent in scraping and removing blistered and cracking paint in the weathered eaves and rakes. The actual wood repairs blend in perfectly and I am satisfied they will last a lifetime.  The painting was crisp and precise.  Better than I would have done myself.

I couldn't be happier with the work done by Peter Thorn Builders. My plumbing issue (a leaking drain under my kitchen sink) was resolved skillfully and with care, and I came away not only with a working kitchen sink, but also with an understanding of why the problem occurred in the first place and confidence that it will not be a problem in the future.   Pete was undeterred by the unusual location and sizing of some of the pipes in my kitchen and used his knowledge and problem-solving skills to come up with a solution that will not only resolve my somewhat tricky problem, but I'm confident will keep it from recurring -- and be a big improvement over the way the pipes were installed previously.  He also checked over some work I had recently had done in my bathroom, added a few finishing touches that the previous contractor had left undone, and gave me some advice on caulking and preventing future water damage.  
I really appreciated that Pete took the time to not only address the problems that I was experiencing, but also to help me understand their causes and the ways that the systems worked.  For example, I was concerned about some homowner-installed caulk that I was afraid would allow water to seep in, but he was able to reassure me that not only was the caulk job okay, but I needn't worry because the way that the tub and tiles are installed made it impossible for water leaking at that location to get into the wall anyway.  It's one thing to come in and fix a problem -- it's quite another to empower the homeowner with knowledge about how things work that will enable them to make good decisions about  their home in the future.  I had the sense that Peter Thorn Builders not only cared about getting the job done right, but about my lasting enjoyment of my home.
I am planning to work with a member of Peter Thorn's team to have some electrical work done in the near future, and when my budget will allow I have plans for a kitchen remodel, the installation of new windows, and the construction of a new porch for my home.  I will trust this builder with any of those projects and he'll be the first I call when the time is right.

The work has always been done on time, to the highest quality standards, and within reasonable budgets.

Fantastic!  My home had many issues. 40 years old, the house had fungal issues, peeling paint, and was in need of some help. For example, there were many energy inefficiencies in our home and Peter's analysis revealed what could be done. 
Peter and his team examined the problems, carefully considered their course of action, and presented me with several alternatives to correct the issues. Peter and his experts are very professional, punctual, personable, and meticulous in their work. It was a pleasure dealing with them. Peter is knowledgeable and had many excellent ideas we implemented. He came to my house on numerous occasions prior to beginning the work and thoroughly inspected the entire interior and exterior with his personnel. And Peter employs excellent people to perform the necessary projects. Peter's foreman, Brice, was great. He has a good sense of humor, very engaging personality, had a very 'can-do' spirit, and was very reassuring and helpful throughout the process. Peter's painter, Michael, was sensational. Not only knowledgeable, Michael was very professional, did an amazing job on our home's exterior (it looks so good! neighbors are inquiring), and was thorough and detail-oriented.
I unequivocally and wholeheartedly recommend Peter and his team to any homeowner who needs any work on their home. You will definitely be pleased with the results. More importantly, you will enjoy working with Peter and Brice and their team. I am so happy I chose them.

Pete was very professional and thorough..he is an excellent listener.  He was very clear about what information he needed and what would happen.  In the case of  one appliance he installed, the parts i had were not quite correct and he was able to make adjustments to ensure that the item functions properly.  He was very careful to clean up afterwards too...especially important after the plumbing repair  and dishwasher installation in my kitchen! I really appreciate his advice and thoroughness with his consultations...he is very careful to find out what is actually so rather than operating on assumptions...I have a number of things in my home that were built or installed by previous homeowners and not to code which need to be repaired..and has worked with me each time to develop solutions which fit my both home and my budget.

I have a big kitchen remodel planned, and he will absolutely be the first contractor I call.

We are a little more than mid way in the process. Peter is quite detail oriented during the planing phase. He does not charge fort this service and it helps the home owner and Peter align around what will be required to complete the job to the home owner's standards. The design process and wait prior to starting took longer than I would have liked, but the job ahead of us ran long which delayed our start. Once the team got moving, it's been going along very well. The crew are all polite, thoughtful men who check in with us routinely to be sure we are apprised of their progress and what to expect next. They are such great guys that it almost feels like they've become part of the extended family. Foreman is a delight to work with. Can't say enough about their commitment and professionalism. We receive detailed bills and progress reports in writing allowing us to assess our progress both in terms of work as well as budget. I am delighted with the work done on our basement to date and can't wait to see the finished project!!

We have great confidence based on his design work that he will orchestrate the remodeling with high standards.  Specifically, in response to our request for a bid, he took the initiative to make sure that the remodeling work would meet the standards of the county health department (septic system), building inspection department, and one other agency.  Secondly, he developed floor plans for inside use which revealed to us the value of completely changing the entrance to the building to a side entrance.  He was amenable to modifications that we suggested as well.  His attention to detail has resulted in a cost estimate that is likely to be much closer to the final cost than one might expect, since every sub-contractor's work has been carefully estimated and incorporated into the contract, and has shared with us the computer-based flow-chart showing when each phase of the remodeling would be scheduled. He seems to have knowledge of most of the systems involved in building a residence and has figured out how to integrate the systems of the outbuilding into the existing main house (water, sewer, electrical, TV, internet, etc.).
I will write another review after the work itself has been completed (or revise this one if that is permitted).

Replacement of the water damaged siding was rather hard to get at but an obvious solution.  For the woodpecker holes I had suggested using a metal flashing (as I had used once before) but one of Pete's guys suggested a much neater fix.  They used 'great stuff' foam, then cut the expanded foam flush to the siding, sealed it with caulking and painted it over.  If you didn't know where to look, you could not find the patches! 
 
While waiting for everything to dry they used their tall ladders and changed a couple, hard to get at, security lights.  Thanks guys.