If you have noticed that your older home or building is beginning to show its age, you need to bring in experts to ensure the home’s beauty and structural integrity are both preserved. At Boston Brick & Stone, Inc., our Pasadena masonry contractors have had 25 years of experience, and we lead the industry in Southern California historical restorations. Our family-owned business is renowned throughout the area for the high quality of our work, and we have worked on thousands of projects since we opened our doors in 1992.Whether you need work done on your fireplace, chimney, hardscape, driveway, or a full restoration of your building, we can help you! Our impeccable work has been featured on HGTV, and we have completed projects for clients such as the National Park Service, the Pasadena Rose Parade, West Adams Heritage Association, Best Buy, and APEC Eurostat GECF – Joint Organizations Data Initiative. We have been featured in Best of Pasadena, Best of LA, and Top 10 in Home Décor, and are Angie’s List Super Service Award winners from 2009-2017. Call our team today to schedule your estimate!
As Well As The Unique Design & Execution Of All Landscaping Projects: Planters, Block Walls, Complete Construction, Concrete & Brick Work., Custom Stone, Driveways, Inspection & Repair Of Chimneys/Fireplaces, Restoration, Retaining Walls
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4% | ||
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3% |
This was a big deal purchase. I never heard back from them so it wasn't a great experience. It took about a week for them to come out after I originally contacted them. I know that the promotion my husband purchased was to kind of give us a layout of the landscape and the service wasn't really completed. We never got any pricing from Boston. He was pretty punctual; the guy was here on time. We had several phone numbers that we provided them with so the mistake could not have been that nobody answered because they had three phone numbers they could have contacted.
DO NOT USE. Absolutely terrible company. Our home was built in 1986; and they recommended both chimneys be rebuilt/replaced at a cost of $20,000-$30,000. Another reputable company did their own inspection and found only minor repairs needed for $2500.
The only conclusion I can reach is that Boston Brick was trying to SCAM me out of $30,000 by providing bogus recommendations.
Look at other reviews of this company...other people have had similar experiences to mine.
"This review is disingenuous as the writer does not own the home and did not purchase the report. He is in fact the Real Estate agent selling the house with vested interest in selling this home, not the health and safety of the future owners. In fairness this might be due to poor advice from supposed “reputable” yet uneducated companies. Boston Brick & Stone is a Licensed General Contractor in California, with a specialty in Masonry, particularly chimneys (including prefabricated equipment). We have the obligation to adhere to the building code. and in the case of prefabricated chimneys, the manufacturers written requirements. Many homes in Southern California constructed in the 80’s were built with prefabricated equipment. Every manufacturer of prefabricated fireplaces states the serviceable life of their products is between 15 and 25 years. This home’s fireplace is 30 years old, thus we are obligated to recommend full replacement as the original replacement parts are no longer available. We are even finding prefab units after as little as 10 years that are no longer supported by the manufacturer and can only legally be replaced. Yes, you will find chimney repair companies that will repair with aftermarket equipment. We are not one of those companies. It is your choice which product and which company you work with. We know that we will not get as many sales as the supposedly “reputable” companies that sell aftermarket equipment that is not listed by the manufacturer and therefore illegal to use because it is a building code violation. It has always been Boston Brick & Stone’s policy to consider the health and safety of the people living in the homes of the chimney’s we inspect. We rather tell the whole truth and lose the sale. Considering we have been in business for over 20 years and built, repaired and restored over 30,000 chimneys, I do not see how anyone can consider Boston Brick & Stone as a company that is out to scam our customers. We are looked to by several of our National Parks for chimney restoration because they demand excellence, perfection and adherence to safe building code practices."
I was looking for a bonded and insured chimney sweep to inspect and clean the one fireplace that I use during the holiday season. I have a single-story house with two prefab chimneys that are back-to-back and roughly in the center of my home. The one I use (family room) was last cleaned about ten years ago and we suffered through the hot summer with the smell of smoke filling the house. The other chimney (livingroom) I don't use so I asked them to ignore it.
Scheduling the appointment was a breeze and I called to confirm two days before the scheduled sweep. The office manager (Jo) was very pleasant and helpful throughout the process.
The team arrived right on time the day of the sweep. Burten, Phil, and two other crew members were involved in the cleaning and inspections. Since the placement of the chimneys required walking on the roof I expressed some concern to Phil about the possibility of breaking the arched concrete tiles. Accepting that it was likely some would break, I asked Phil to just let me know if it happened so I could have them repaired. He assured me they'd be careful and he'd let me know if they did happen to break any.
The crew prepped for the sweep by covering everything in the family room with plastic to prevent soot from getting everywhere.
The first thing Burton ran into was difficulty in getting the spark arrestor off of the chimney. It'd been there long enough that it had rusted in place, but ultimately he was able to get it off and spent some time cleaning it up and getting it back into working order so that it could be re-used. He then swept the chimney while the other two crew members vacuumed up the soot and debris.
While this was going on Phil described the type of chimney construction I have, the types of problems they've seen with them, as well as other chimney construction methods and materials used throughout Southern California. He showed me photographs on his iPad of the (frankly amazing) things they've encountered and how they remediate them.
Next up was the inspection of all of the chimney components, including a camera inspection of the entire flue. Burten was able to point out on the video what looked like cracks but were actually seams in the flue liner that were just part of the method of construction. I was also able to see the glaze that has built up over the years of my not cleaning it frequently enough. But fortunately, no cracks or other issues that would prevent me from using the fireplace were noted.
The external inspection (and they did both chimneys) revealed some apparent water seepage around the roof flashing that could be seen on the chimney brick in the attic, as well as some cracks in the external brickwork above the roof that could lead to problems down the road.
Along with the inspection report I asked to have estimates provided to re-do the flashing, strip, prime, seal and paint both chimneys, and replace both spark arrestors. (I'm writing this the day of the sweep and I'll update with additional information as I get it). There was absolutely no pressure to do anything more than the sweep and inspection, and Burten made a suggestion regarding the gas lighter in the firebox that I can do myself.
All in all, I'm relieved that I don't have any major expensive problems to deal with, relieved that this supplier was prompt, knowledgeable, experienced, and honest in their dealings with me, and relieved that I can use my fireplace this holiday season with the peace of mind that it's safe to do so.
Boston Brick is primarily a masonry company and it was obvious to me that they know their stuff. That they took the extra time to explain and demonstrate so much to me -- and do a quality sweep and inspection as well -- makes them a winner in my book. Fantastic value add for $200. I highly recommend them. And no broken roof tiles!
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