Building luxury dream homes – the Excalibur way

Building someone’s dream home is no walk in the park. Needless to say, there’s a lot of work that goes into it—from concept development to finalizing details of the design; from choosing what materials to use, down to the execution of the actual construction.

But as someone who has been building and renovating properties for years, Sergio Syjuco is more than up to the task. 

Syjuco owns and heads Excalibur Design & Construction, a boutique firm that designs, builds, and renovates mid-level to luxury residential and commercial properties throughout the Metro Manila area for more than two years.

“It’s that delighted look and gleeful laugh from my clients upon turnover of their projects that brings me the most satisfaction in my passion,” said the 32-year-old businessman, who is president and CEO of Excalibur.

As a design and build firm, Excalibur has been involved in building and renovating a wide variety of homes and commercial properties. Syjuco is the guy to call when it’s time to build that dream house or add more space to an existing one; add a swimming pool; turn a space into a roof deck or a balcony, or perhaps add an extra floor or an elevator.

Headquartered in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Excalibur has a full-time crew who work exclusively for the firm. The company’s in-house team includes architects, engineers, project managers, interior designers, and a vast skilled labor force that have many years of experience in all phases of construction. In other words, they know what it takes to complete a project on time and within the given budget.

“As a boutique builder, we carefully select and limit the number of projects we handle per year so we could focus on each of them, without spreading ourselves too thin and compromise the quality of the projects,” Syjuco said. 

Every project is managed by a member of the Excalibur team, and not subcontracted to others. This allows us to give a more competitive price to our clients compared to other industry players that offer similar services. 

“Only by staying within the budget, meeting strict deadlines, and giving our clients more than what they pay for have we continually surpassed the expectations of a wide range of clients, all of whom have different demands for their respective projects,” he said.

“I highly recommend Excalibur for their personal and collaborative approach. Their construction team was easy to talk to and their experience in their field is evident in their recommendations and execution of my new home,” said Christophe Boutain, general manager of ANXA. He became Excalibur’s first independent client, who entrusted Syjuco to design and construct his home and finish it by his daughter’s birthday.

Nadelyn Mostoles, who also entrusted Syjuco to build her a large home with an elevator in the posh Ayala Alabang village, said: “I’m very satisfied with the work of Sergio and his team at Excalibur. He is honest, reliable, sincere, and most of all guided us through every step and made the overwhelming process stress free. Professional business dealings, top of the line workmanship. We’ve even become very good friends.”

Excalibur is involved in every step of the way—from the concept development, detail design, implementation, and aftercare.

Tough start

Syjuco and his team at Excalibur are in a rosy place today, with clients steadily coming in, many from referrals of past clients who were more than happy with the result of their projects.

However, it wasn’t always this way. For Syjuco, it took a lot of hard work, perseverance, and dedication to get through the challenges he had to face over the years.

Syjuco, who went to Canada for a degree in economics, got his start in construction helping out in his father’s business. He credits his father, Santiago S. Syjuco III a retired successful builder who had been running a successful building and construction company for decades as inspiration, and it was natural for the patriarch to involve him in the enterprise.

Everything seemed to have been running smoothly then—until Syjuco (who was then in his early 20s) was controversially charged with importing firearms to the United States without a license in 2012. Syjuco spent a total of four and a half years from the time he was detained in the US until he was able to come home to the Philippines.

Syjuco maintained his innocence throughout and took it to a jury trial factually proving he was wrongfully accused. In the end, he was released, but only after many years of the best times of his life taken away.

“It was an extremely tough experience for me, obviously. The situation was unbearable at certain times. However, It’s in my character to always find a way to thrive and overcome the challenges in my life. I made sure that that experience would not define me or my credibility to deliver the best projects for my clients. It has only made me stronger and work triple time to make up for all the lost years I had spent. My priority was to immediately get back up and see what opportunities were around me when I got home,” he said.

Syjuco wasted no time trying to get back on his feet, brokering houses and other properties. His big break came when he was able to sell a property that no one seemed to want and no one could seem to sell.

He was doing well-brokering houses until his ambition made him want to do something bigger. This was when he decided to get back to the building and constructing houses—this time on his own. With the encouragement and blessing of his father, Excalibur was born!

Plans for expansion

More than two years have passed since Syjuco put up Excalibur, he is proud to say that his value proposition to his clients is “to always give them more than what they pay for.” 

Excalibur, he said, prides itself with working closely with its clients to ensure that they get what they want and expect, timelines are met, and workmanship performed will be above their expectations while staying on their budget. 

Clients receive innovative design, structural quality, and beautiful finishings. “We make use of our innovative layout scheme that maximizes the size of an area creating space and flow. We are aware and follow architectural trends but tweak it for our clients. 

Over the next few years, Syjuco plans to expand his business, to get more clients in other parts of Metro Manila. He has already worked with Engineer Rhodel Rivera, the president of Romari Construction Company, a veteran of the construction industry in constructing a building. 

“I have always had high standards for myself and especially with the services I offer, which works very well in my line of work. My clients will get that “wow factor” upon turnover,” he said.

While Syjuco admits that coming from a well-to-do family was an advantage, he maintains that what Exaclibur is involved in now wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter. Whatever he had achieved so far, was the result of his own ambition and gumption. “Exaclibur still has a long way to go.” Syjuco says

Syjuco said: “Aside from building and renovating homes, spaces, and buildings, I hope to someday build an iconic structure, perhaps a government building that would stand for generations to come. Building structures for charitable causes is also a top priority. There’s just so much to look forward to.”

For more information on Excalibur’s past and latest projects, visit www.excaliburdb.com . Check out their Facebook Page at Excalibur Builders.

ADVT