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The Sykes Team
Paul Sykes - President & Executive Supervisor
Paul will be your initial contact, and oversees all work. His name is on the door, and that honor he doesn't take lightly.
In his spare time Paul enjoys picking the banjo, working in the garden, the company of dogs, and body movement disciplines like karate & dance.
After graduating from high school in 1971 Paul attended VPI briefly, was married, and started working with his hands soon after; in Alexandria Virginia, as a lineman's helper for the power company; and as a framing carpenter's helper. In 1973, he worked for a concrete drilling & sawing outfit on heavy commercial construction. By 1978, he had completed 3 of 4 years in a carpenter's apprenticeship program in Maryland, working for a light commercial outfit called Glen Construction.
While working commercial construction of schools, banks, and offices was rewarding, Paul had always yearned for the free-wheeling style of the residential carpenter and working with wood. For the next six years, as Northern Virginia's building boom crested, Paul first worked as a line carpenter and then as crew leader, framing & trimming on new & remodeling projects throughout Northern Virginia. He experienced stick/timber built mansions & prefab tract housing, remodeling 18th century Southern Plantation Houses and erecting rows of town homes.
In 1984 he helped Cecil, his dad, construct his home in Oriental, on Whittaker Creek, and got his first taste of Pamlico County. Cecil enjoyed the building process, thought there was room in Oriental for a fine home builder, obtained his license, and invited Paul to join Sykes Builders, Inc.
From 1985 - 1995 he was the carpentry crew leader in charge of foundations, rough framing, trim work, and punch-out. Soon after, when Cecil phased out of the active business, the tool belt was laid down, the briefcase was picked up, an. Paul became Sykes Builder's President in charge of all operations.
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Cecil Sykes - Vice President & Compass
Cecil is our Chief Marketing Consultant, and Paul's dad.
Cecil is strong in St. Thomas Episcopal Church, enjoys gardening & book fairs, cooking, watching the Army football team try again every year, and his cat Maggie. Most importantly he is Marlene's strong right arm.
Hailing from the toe of Virginia, Cecil graduated from West Point in 1952 and served thirty years in the Army, attaining the rank of Colonel and seeing much of the world. Along the way he developed a love for sailing, remodeled a home in Alexandria, Virginia, and worked for Paul as a carpenter's helper in the housing projects of Northern Virginia. He and his wife Marlene discovered Oriental in 1981 and by 1983 he had bought and remodeled a house on Greens Creek. While living there, he built his current home on Whittaker Creek where he resides today. After retiring and building his dream home, Cecil sought out the building business for his second career. In 1985 he formed Sykes Builders, Inc., became licensed, and pulled his son Paul down from Virginia and into the business. For the next ten years he ran the business out of his basement office as Executive Supervisor, until his gradual phase out from active operations, around 1995.
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Bill Chandler - Crew Leader, Sales Associate & Problem Solver  He creatively approaches problems, finding solutions that are outside the box, and executing them in astonishing speed. His loyalty to the client transcends the work place, transforming into long standing friendships. Bill brings a wide range of expertise to a project, including plumbing, electrical, drywall, and design skills. He creatively approaches problems, finding solutions that are outside the box, and executing them in astonishing speed. His loyalty to the client transcends the work place, transforming into long standing friendships.
From Long Island, Bill started working with his hands for a living at age 16, and by 18 was leading crew. Taking a break from the building trades, he joined the Air Force, specializing in maintaining and repairing weather information monitors. Upon his discharge at age 23, he formed Chandler Construction and took on several high profile projects on Long Island starting with a 180 seat eatery, followed by a 320 seat restaurant, a bank, and an animal hospital. Taking a break from commercial construction he then turned to the restoration, repair, and remodeling of 200 year old houses on the Island.
By 1990 Bill had had enough of the New England cold and settled in Islamorada Key, Florida, working as Head Ranger of the Florida Sea Base for the Boy Scouts of America. He remained in the Keys for the next seven years, riding out the hurricanes in the reinforced concrete home he built, which served as the community hub after the disasters. After parting ways with the Boy Scouts, Bill and his wife Kathy sailed the Caribbean for two years until getting off the boat in Pamlico County in 2001.
Bill settled in Minnesota and formed 3C's Construction, built his own home, and started taking on work in the county, including the lifting, restoration, and remodeling of five low lying homes in the town of Pamlico. Tiring of the grind of business ownership he joined up with Sykes Builders in 2010, where he is in charge of field operations, routing the company fleet, and drawing and design.
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Chris Raif - 2nd in Command, Trim & Cabinetry Specialist
 Chris loves making things. Chris grew up in Pamlico County, graduating high school in 1991, and spent the next four years in the US Army Infantry specializing in mortars. After his discharge he turned from destruction to construction, building docks and seawalls and installing vinyl siding, along with crab potting when the season was in. By 2000 he was framing new houses for various contractors in the New Bern area, until 2005, after which he spent several years building cabinetry. Chris then went to work for Precision Moldings and was lead on mantle and stair work along with other milling duties. After a brief stint as an independent cabinet maker and repair-man in 2010, he came in out of the cold and joined Sykes Builders quickly rising as a skilled and trusted member of the crew.
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