Reviews & Testimonials
“Very professional and easy to work with.”
Todd Cellura and the other employees at Sovereign Builders were very professional and easy to work with. They responded quickly to any questions or concerns we had. We were able to communicate primarily through emails, texts, and phone calls since we were not local during the construction. Todd’s attention to detail was impressive, and his recommendations were reliable, which resulted in a beautiful home!
Relationship: Client
Project Date: May 2018
Project Price Range: more than $100,000
“Todd and his Team made sure communication was a priority.”
We hired Todd and his Sovereign Team to build a custom home in our hometown after living in the city for the past 15 years. For the most part we were in contact with Todd remotely during the build. Todd and his Team made sure communication was a priority. Although we had a good sense of what we liked and wanted our home to look/feel like we also relied on Todd for his helpful advice in making design decisions. We appreciated his honesty in his delivery of advice and his ability to handle all aspects of the job with us not being local. The home we ended up with exceeded our expectations. The extra details that Todd and his team are known for really make a huge difference in the quality of the home. We have been in our home for 9 months and have been impressed with Todd's continued communication. Todd and his team have answered all of our questions and have helped us out when needed.
We would and have recommended Todd to our friends and family.
Relationship: Client
Project Date: January 2018
Project Price Range: more than $100,000
“We could not be more thrilled with the results! Unlike our experience with other contractors, Todd’s communication throughout the project was excellent.”
We started looking for a contractor after we put an offer on a small home built in 1971. We fell in love with the location and the light in the home but we were faced with old and inefficient electrical and plumbing systems, serious structural problems and water damage and an interior layout that didn’t take full advantage of the square footage in the home.
We contacted Todd after viewing his impressive portfolio on Houzz. Our first meeting consisted of a site visit to our home and a tour of one of his custom built houses. We were impressed by everything we saw that day. Todd’s attention to detail, his insistence on quality and craftsmanship and his passion for his work came through during the entire tour. We were in awe of his sharp eye for design and his ability to listen to our vision then interpret it in a way that was more practical and attractive than we could have imagined.
Our project ultimately required a full house renovation. We could not be more thrilled with the results! Unlike our experience with other contractors, Todd’s communication throughout the project was excellent. Knowing that we would inevitably uncover additional problems when we opened up the walls of the home, he made sure to set our expectations of cost and scope appropriately. Todd was patient with us, quick to respond to questions and he delivered good news or unpleasant discoveries (walls filled with mice!) with candor and solutions. It’s also important to note that Todd’s subcontractors were courteous and efficient when they were onsite and responsive when we had questions, during the project and after.
After all the compliments we have received about our newly renovated home, we feel the greatest compliment we can give Todd is to say that we can’t wait to act as a reference!
Relationship: Client
Project Date: March 2017
Project Price: more than $100,000
“Bravo Todd and crew!! We highly recommend Sovereign Builders to anyone builder new or remodeling.”
We choose Todd of Sovereign Builders not only for the quality of his previous projects that he showed us including his own home but just as importantly was his easy going nature and ability to communicate clearly and honestly. We immediately had an excellent rapport with him and it was clear from his previous work that he had an excellent sense of style and an artistic style that was compatible to ours. This rare to find in many home builders. From architectural drawings to final finishing Todd guided us through any snags without delay. He completed the project right on time and within reasonable budget constraints.
His obvious extensive experience served us well and he handled any unexpected issues masterfully. His framers, finishers, and finish carpenter all have tremendous skill and pay very close attention to detail. We had very little face time during the entire project but Todd remained very communicative, complete with lots of photos and/or drawings to keep us abreast of progress. He was always ready with good solid advice and suggestions for any needed changes that arose. In the end the completed house stands out in the neighborhood as one that shows that extra bit of detail and careful thought that went into the project. Having been in the house now for a few months, we love its detail and appreciate the fine woodwork. There is nothing that we have noted that we felt could have been done better on the house. Bravo Todd and crew!! We highly recommend Sovereign Builders to anyone builder new or remodeling.
-Richard Cianflone & Greg Scharfen
Relationship: Client
Project Date: December 2016
Project Price: more than $100,000
“I interviewed five different build and design firms and Todd was the clear choice after meeting with all.”
I had a great experience with Todd and his crew from start to finish. I interviewed five different build and design firms and Todd was the clear choice after meeting with all. One of my most important criteria when selecting a contractor was our ability to communicate and have an open and honest dialogue.
Todd arranged for an architect to come out and sketch plans and the ultimate design I chose turned out to be very different from my original thoughts. They provided me multiple options, price ranges and I worked with Todd and his team to select what was right for me.
He also set me up with a local designer to select color schemes and finishes, accompanied me to all my appointments and shared his thoughts on what would work well.
Throughout the construction process, Todd and his team were courteous and accommodating, offering updates and sharing challenges. While there were a number of unexpected hurdles considering the house was a bit older and original additions were poorly constructed, Todd always shared the good news as well as the bad and we worked together to solve and address. I’m confident the house is now built to last with these major improvements.
The project stayed on track and only ran over by less than a month. Change orders were clearly communicated and priced.
I also commend Todd as he and his team continue to reach out and address a number of post project items that need tweaking and adjustment. Todd and the folks at Sovereign have a fine eye for detail and clearly value customer service as a top priority. Consider me a satisfied customer!
Relationship: Client
Project Date: August 2016
Project Price: more than $100,000
“Todd is truly unique, with the ability to research and apply the latest construction technologies.”
We can't say enough about the experience we had with Todd and his team from Sovereign Builders when they built our lakefront home in the Berkshires. From the creative design and the challenging lakefront site to the quality construction and customized features, we could not have been happier.
Todd is truly unique, with the ability to research and apply the latest construction technologies. He also has a fantastic eye for design and works well with the home owners opinions. Together we were able to build a home that is beautiful and yet simple with a contemporary edge, which is exactly what we were looking to do.
We would recommend Sovereign Builders to anyone looking to build a custom home or renovate their existing one. We can't wait to begin our next project with them!
Relationship: Client
Project Date: July 2016
Project Price: more than $100,000
“Unlike many builders who spend little time at the site making sure everything is done correctly, Todd spends a LOT of time on site himself and ALWAYS knows what’s going on, and what’s coming next.”
Todd built our dream house in 2015 and we’ve been living here for about 4 months now. We could not possibly be any more satisfied with the job that Todd and his crew did building our home.
We first met Todd while we were looking for either a homesite with a view, or an existing home with a view. Todd showed us some of the houses he had built in the area and we were very impressed with the quality of the construction and the craftsmanship, but also with something undefinable about the way Todd’s houses always looked. The proportions (roof lines, window placement, etc.) were always pleasing to the eye and his homes always seemed to have grown up on the site instead of being dropped there with little regard to marriage between the structure and the site. We got so that we could recognize a “Todd house” (as we came to call them) as we drove around the Pioneer Valley looking for property, and long before we hired Todd to build our home we decided that we wanted Todd to be our builder. As a result, we didn’t bother to get competitive bids from other builders. In spite of the fact that Todd knew he was the only bidder, he gave us what we felt at the time was a very competitive price, especially considering that the quality of the construction and attention to detail ultimately exceeded even our expectations, which were already very high. Now that our home is complete, it’s clear that the price was a bargain.
Sovereign Builders is a “design and build” company. We had already done a lot of the design of our house ourselves, but, before starting construction, we worked closely with Todd and his staff-architect to refine the design and to make one major change. Our original design was a long, rambling, single floor design (we want to be able to live here for the rest of our lives), but after comparing costs for many variations to try to keep costs under control, Todd suggested that we expand the main house by adding a second floor into what would have been a relatively useless attic, instead of adding another ground floor addition. We were very apprehensive about making this change at first, but the net result was more house for the same cost, and although we no longer have everything on one floor, we still have everything that we really need on the first floor. It was a good suggestion, a good compromise, and the house looks much better with the “Nantucket Dormer” on the second floor. In addition, the site has a beautiful view of the valley and adding the rooms on the second floor added a new dimension to the view.
We were also apprehensive when it came time to start excavation and construction because there were lots of details (some of them major details in our minds) that had yet to be worked out. Todd’s philosophy on dealing with things like this is “we’ll work it out when we get there”. That really worried us … at first … but Todd makes it work because he seems to have a sixth sense for what’s going to look right and what isn’t. And his head carpenter (we now call him “amazing Mike”) is an artist who can do anything from framing the most complicated roof intersections to coping crown molding, to building cabinets.
A good example of “work it out when we get there” is the elevation of the house. The site was tricky because it wasn’t flat. In fact, there was much more of a slope than there appeared to be. Some builders would probably have had an architect do a detailed topo site map with all the associated costs for a detailed survey before excavation began, but instead of doing this, Todd met with us on-site to discuss the look we wanted to achieve before he started the excavation. As a result of that discussion he decided to lower the elevation of the house by about 18” (as I recall) because that would allow the house to sit close enough to the ground that we’d have only two steps up to the porch and therefore we wouldn’t need a railing on the porch (which we didn’t want). How Todd could see this in his mind is beyond me because I couldn’t see it. And when the excavation for the foundation was complete and there were mountains of soil piled around the site, I really couldn’t look at the huge hole in the ground and be sure that it was going to turn out the way we wanted it. But much later, when the finish grading was done it, was clear that Todd not only got it right, he got it PERFECT. At one time Todd had warned us about possibly needing a relatively expensive retaining wall behind the house because of the tricky slope on which the house was going to sit. But “when the time came” he was able to make it all work perfectly without adding the expensive retaining wall. That’s just one example of “working it out when we get there”, but there were numerous other times when the details fell into place when the time finally came and we quickly became believers in Todd’s way of handling things like this.
Todd and his crew rate a 10 when it comes to craftsmanship and attention to detail. Here’s one small example. I was walking through the house one day when Todd’s guys were putting up strapping on the ceiling joists prior to installing sheetrock. At first I couldn’t figure out what they were doing with a laser level until I realized that they were shimming the strapping and checking it with a laser level to make sure that the ceiling would be absolutely flat!! How many other builders do that? Other examples include: coping all molding joints; custom baseboards (our choice) which continue into all closets (and even into the stairway to the basement); not a gap to be seen after the hardwood floors were installed; hardwood floors continue into the closets too; hardwood floors installed under the kitchen cabinets (in case cabinet layout is changed in the future); returns at the ends of all moldings; the most perfect painting job I have ever seen … and on and on. Todd subcontracts as little as possible in order to keep costs down, and where he does use subs, he apparently uses only the best, and only those who have done great work for him in the past (the painting contractor for example).
Todd never changed anything without checking with us first, even when it was something that he felt wasn’t right for whatever reason. A good example is the recessed ceiling lighting in the kitchen. There are 16 recessed lights in the kitchen all arranged carefully to be equally spaced from walls, centered, symmetric, etc. However, Todd felt that the three lights over the windows over the kitchen sink didn’t look right because they were not aligned exactly with the pattern of lights over the island (due to our design of the layout of the lights, not a mistake on Todd’s part). The lights had been like this since the rough wiring was done, and we hadn’t even noticed it … but it bothered Todd so he pointed it out to us during one of our visits to the site. We told Todd that the slight misalignment didn’t bother us but he said that it would probably bother us in the future and he wanted to do something about it. So, in about 5 minutes Todd and Amazing Mike came up with a design for a valence that visually separated the 3 lights over the sink windows from the rest of the lights in the kitchen, and now it looks perfect. Not only does it look perfect, but it also looks like it was part of the kitchen design from the beginning, not something that was added as an afterthought to correct a problem.
Unlike many builders who spend little time at the site making sure everything is done correctly, Todd spends a LOT of time on site himself and ALWAYS knows what’s going on, and what’s coming next. He’s always very responsive to email and phone messages and he schedules frequent on-site meetings with the homeowners (which are VERY helpful). He’s full of knowledge and good ideas, and we’re glad that we took most of his suggestions.
We’ve lived in our new house for about 4 months now, and we’re still looking for something that isn’t perfect, but no luck so far. We recommend Todd with no reservations whatsoever if you’re looking for a builder who’s:
1.Committed to making every detail of your home perfect;
2.Conscious of costs and budget;
3.Very knowledgeable about energy efficiency;
4.Spends lots of time on your jobsite;
5.Always available, responsive, and easy to contact;
6.Reliable and honest,
7.And gives you peace of mind that your house is in good hands even if you live two hours away during the construction (as we did).
Relationship: Client
Project Date: October 2015
Project Price: more than $100,000
“He helped us through all the difficult decisions and the quality of the work really is amazing.”
We had a very significant home renovation done, essentially gutting the whole first floor, expanding our kitchen and turning our garage into a great room. Todd helped us through this process every step of the way. From the initial vision and design to the final touches. We were impressed that his team did most all of the work with very little subcontracting. And, anytime there was a subcontractor, his team was onsite ensuring the highest quality work. He helped us through all the difficult decisions and the quality of the work really is amazing. He stayed on schedule and kept us apprised of the progress throughout. There were no surprises with the billings either, which was much appreciated.
Relationship: Client
Project Date: June 2015
Project Price: more than $100,000
“I worked with Tod on a house he built doing all the Cabinetry. It was nice to work with highly skilled artisans that really cared about the finish product.”
He builds a quality house that you don't see often and most people don't realize the attention to detail that go into his quality of construction.
Relationship: Colleague
Project Date: January 2012
Project Price: $50,000 - $100,000
“I had the pleasure of meeting Todd Cellura over a year ago and found him to be very knowledgeable and Honest.”
We are now working on a Project together that will surely turn out Fantastic.
Bay Area Design of the Berkshires
Relationship: Colleague