"Please contact me so that we can send someone out to correct the situation."

"Thank you for your comments. It was helpful. Many people think of a chimney sweep, and immediately associate us with Mary Poppins and Bert ( Dick Van Dyke). Wondering if we will sing "Chim-chim-chi-ri" and dance on the roof. Fireplaces and chimney cleaning has changed considerably since 1910 England. The design and building of fireplaces has seen various changes in the last century. They changed in middle of last century from all brick to a combination of brick and oval clay flue liners. In the last 35 years or so factory built fireplaces and chimneys (made entirely from metal) have almost completely replaced the traditional brick and mortar chimneys. And more recently, there is a shift to almost exclusively all gas fireplaces. As the chimneys changed, so did the cleaning methods. Traditionally, one sees chimneys cleaned from the top, even though it was entirely possible and sometimes necessary to clean from the bottom, as some chimney tops were simply not accessible. The old time chimney sweeps didn't carry ladders with them. A century ago, there was very little soot control, so when chimneys were cleaned, often it required the cleaning of the entire inside of the house, from the mess that was created. That's why the old time sweeps were so dirty looking. Then things like vacuum cleaners came along, and that changed how the cleanings were done, making it become a relatively non messy job. As technology continued to develop, chimney cleaning became cleaner and cleaner. Then when the metal chimneys came into being it became impossible to clean them from the top down. Brian, our employee who has many nice comments from Angie's Users, years ago when he first started with us, cleaned a factory built chimney from the top. When he came down from the top and in, he was faced with a most alarmed home owner about the covering of soot all over her living room. That was the first and last time Brian made that mistake. Now, all factory built chimneys and fireplaces are cleaned from the bottom, as it is the very best way to control the soot, and NOT make a mess in the house. So, that is why we clean from the inside, from the bottom up. Houses built of your vintage, have metal chimney caps and metal tops that are very secure and stable and very, very rarely require any maintenance. Especially, in houses of your age and location. Whereas, chimneys of this manufacture built in residences near the ocean and the corrosive salt air are very prone to decay. Years ago, we decided to charge a flat price for chimney cleaning, no matter the condition or type of chimney. It was too hard to explain why we might charge you one fee and a neighbor another fee. So we settled on a flat rate we charged all. In the future, when I book appointments, I will make more effort to clarify what type of chimney the caller has and explain more thoroughly what they might expect, as to cleaning style and how long it might take. So, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Dan"