"We had three rooms painted and the trim throughout the main floor. The prep work alone took a full day. They filled every nail hole, sanded the trim, and caulked everything before touching a paint brush."
Karen M. · Ridgewood, NJ · via Google
Why it matters
PDCA Pro Certified. EPA Lead-Safe.
26 years in New Jersey.
Here's what those credentials actually mean for your home. Anyone can call themselves a painter and put an ad on Craigslist. Credentials, certifications, and years of experience are how you tell the difference before the work begins, not after.
PDCA Pro Certified
EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm
NJ Licensed
Bonded & Insured
Veteran-Owned
In Business Since 1998
The real risk
Hiring the wrong contractor costs more than the job.
New Jersey has no shortage of people willing to paint your house cheaply and quickly. Most of them will. But a paint job applied over inadequately prepared surfaces, or by a crew that isn't lead-safe certified in a pre-1978 home, or by a company with no insurance when something goes wrong that job will cost you far more to fix than you saved upfront.
We've repainted rooms that were redone 18 months earlier by someone else. Peeling trim, brush marks showing through, caulk that was never applied. Every time, the homeowner paid twice. Credentials aren't marketing. They're the fastest way to know whether a contractor holds themselves to a standard before you hand them a key.
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Lead paint exposure in older homes Any home built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Disturbing it without EPA-certified practices creates a serious health hazard especially for children. Contractors without Lead-Safe certification are not legally permitted to do this work.
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No insurance means you're liable If an uninsured crew member is injured on your property, you may be responsible. If they damage your home, there's no coverage to recover from. Always verify liability insurance and workers' comp before work begins.
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No warranty, no recourse A contractor with no written warranty has no incentive to come back when something fails. Work guaranteed only by a handshake isn't guaranteed at all.
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Prep skipped, problems guaranteed Most paint failures trace back to surface preparation that wasn't done no priming, no caulking, no cleaning. Credentials signal that a contractor cares about the process, not just the price.
PDCA Pro Certified
Painting Contractors Association the professional standard for the trade since 1884.
Sterling Painting and Drywall
What PDCA Pro Certified means
The professional standard most contractors don't hold.
The Painting Contractors Association (PCA, formerly PDCA) has set the standards for the painting trade since 1884. It is the only national professional organization that certifies painting contractors against defined quality, ethics, and workmanship criteria. PDCA Pro Certified is not a membership badge. It's a designation that requires demonstrated competency and commitment to professional standards.
Most painting companies operating in New Jersey are not PDCA certified. Certification requires ongoing continuing education, adherence to the PCA's published P-Series standards covering surface preparation, product application, and workmanship quality, and a commitment to professional conduct and customer accountability.
When you hire a PDCA Pro Certified contractor, you're hiring someone who has formally committed to a standard and who can be held to it.
- Adherence to published P-Series workmanship and surface prep standards
- Ongoing continuing education in products, methods, and best practices
- Commitment to professional ethics and customer accountability
- Membership in the industry's oldest and most recognized professional body
- Access to technical resources most contractors never see
EPA Lead-Safe
Certified Firm
Certified Firm
Federally required for work in pre-1978 homes. Not all contractors have it and without it, the work isn't legal.
Federally Certified
What EPA Lead-Safe means
Required by federal law. Ignored by contractors who never bothered to get certified.
Any paid contractor disturbing more than six square feet of painted surface in a home built before 1978 is legally required to be an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm under the Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule. This is federal law not a suggestion, not a best practice.
Compliance requires the firm to hold EPA Firm Certification, have an EPA-certified Renovator on site directing the work, use specific containment and cleanup practices, and maintain records for three years. Fines for violations run up to $37,500 per violation per day.
New Jersey's housing stock is older than most of the country. A very large percentage of NJ homes especially in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, and Morris counties were built before 1978 and contain lead-based paint. When we work in these homes, we follow every RRP requirement. We don't cut corners because the rules are inconvenient.
- Federally required for renovation work in pre-1978 homes
- Protects your family, especially children, from lead dust exposure
- Requires certified containment, HEPA cleanup, and recordkeeping
- Contractors working without this certification are operating illegally
- Sterling holds current EPA Firm Certification ask to see it
Who we are
Veteran-owned means something here.
Bill, Sterling's owner, served in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division before starting this company in 1998. The values that defined that service accountability, discipline, attention to detail, and genuine respect for the people depending on you are the same values that define how we run every job.
This isn't a marketing angle. Military service creates a specific kind of professional: someone who understands that cutting corners isn't an option, that you show up when you say you will, and that the person depending on you deserves your best work every time not just when it's convenient.
Accountability
We stand behind our work with a written 2-year warranty. No excuses we come back.
Discipline
Prep work done right, every time. No shortcuts because the homeowner won't notice.
Punctuality
We show up when we say we will and communicate when schedules change.
Respect
Your home is treated with the same care we'd give our own. Floors protected. Rooms clean at the end of every day.
26
Years in Business
Founded in 1998 by Bill, a U.S. Army veteran. Danny has been with the crew since 2001. Sebastian since 2010. We've been in your neighbors' homes for over two decades.
Side by side
Sterling vs. the typical contractor
These aren't small differences. They're the difference between a job that holds and one that has to be redone.
| What to look for | Sterling Painting and Drywall | Typical Contractor |
|---|---|---|
| PDCA Pro Certified | ✓ | ✗ |
| EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm | ✓ | Sometimes |
| NJ Licensed | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Fully bonded & insured | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Written workmanship warranty | ✓ 2 years, in writing | Rarely |
| Written proposal before work begins | ✓ Always | Not always |
| All materials supplied (paint, primer, caulk) | ✓ Included | Varies |
| Crew stability (same people, years of experience) | ✓ Danny since 2001, Sebastian since 2010 | Day labor common |
| Veteran-owned | ✓ | ✗ |
| In business 20+ years | ✓ Since 1998 | Varies |
The proof, in their words
"Got three quotes for our exterior. Sterling's was the most detailed. They broke down every surface, every material, and were the only ones who mentioned pressure washing and caulking as separate line items."
Tom & Linda R. · Westwood, NJ · via Google
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Get a written estimate from a contractor you can verify.
Free on-site visit. Written proposal within 48 hours. No obligation. Ask us for proof of any credential on this page. We'll show you.