Pat Ilderton started building in 1976 and established his corporate business in 1978. For almost 30 years Ilderton Contractors, Inc. has been regarded as a premier builder of custom homes in the Charleston, South Carolina area.

When you meet Pat Ilderton you quickly realize that building is much more than a bricks and mortar proposition. Ilderton's business is centered on working with people and he believes there is an implied "social contract" between builder and client which must be honored.

Equal to building a quality custom home, Pat wants his company to be regarded as "being very easy to work with, while respecting the humanity of all involved in the process," including staff, subcontractors, suppliers, and clients.

Pat Ilderton had the opportunity to join his father in business after college and military service but says, "I wanted to do something creative and on my own. I didn't have a profession but felt carpentry was an honorable occupation."

"I started working as a carpenter for an excellent builder here, Harry Hitopolis. He had good business sense and a strong sense of style. It was great early exposure to work with someone who shared not only the ethic of construction but the romance of the trade as well."

Pat Ilderton took this strong foundation and built it into a reputation known throughout the Greater Charleston Area.

"We are recognized more for our work in the East Cooper area, but we build new homes all over Charleston, down to Kiawah and Edisto and I enjoy that."

Ilderton, who sees communications and staff as critical to "opening up" the geographic spread for his operation, says, "We are building custom homes on Dewees (Island) now and if you have a really good office and good communication it's just slightly more difficult than building down the street."

Obviously pleased with the ability of his staff to handle difficult and sometimes widespread projects, Pat says, "I was recently told by a repeat client that we now have the best organization ever, in terms of the quality of our people and the service we offer."

Doug started at the ground level in construction and quickly moved up to running house framing crews. After a few years of framing he started doing interior trim and finish carpentry. When Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989 he moved to a supervisory role to help manage the incredible amount of work that lay ahead of us. He now is the general manager and is directly involved with every custom home or renovation project from estimating through punch-out. With his extensive construction experience, a can-do attitude, and a creative approach to problem solving, he keeps the clients happy and the projects runny smoothly.

Don joined us many years ago as a learning carpenter. He has worked all aspects of residential carpentry from framing to cabinetry. Every good residential builder has to have competent, dependable and personable “finishers”. Don comes when the job is completed to take care of the loose ends or “punch items” Between Don, the superintendents and Aussie, the projects are completed with an eye for detail.

David joined us during the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. He is a very skilled trim and finish carpenter. He has done much of the fine finish work found in our custom homes. He has since taken on the position of job superintendent. His eye for fine work and many years experience in the home construction field suit him well in his supervisory role.

Aussie has an interesting history with our company. We built a house for her and her husband on Sullivan’s Island. A few months after we finished, she started lobbying us for a position at our company. At first we didn’t know how serious she was and gently brushed her off. She was very persistent, however, and we gave her a try. She has fit in very well as kind of a catch-all person from acquiring permits, helping clients with their finish selections, and project management.

Amory and his family relocated here from Hawaii several years ago where he was self employed doing remodeling, renovations and additions, and also had a background in commercial construction. He is now a project superintendent for us. His extensive construction knowledge and personable demeanor enhance his role managing individual projects.

Illya is in charge of making sure everyone has what they need to get the work done and the jobs are kept clean and organized. Illya has an exceptional work ethic and an positive attitude that is hard to find, and we are fortunate to have him.