ABA Hearth & Home

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ABA has a showroom store in downtown San Carlos which makes it easy to browse their selection and also have a face-to-face conversation.  I used the face-to-face  opportunity to discuss their quote which was double of any other quote I received.  The salesman showed an invoice order of all the materials and labor. The main difference was their quote included a rebuild of the firewall which other shops only listed patching of the firewall. I agreed that rebuilding was the way to go.  I negotiated for a 10% discount on price, but the salesman held firm at the initial quote. I accepted the quote and paid the 50% required down payment on Mar 9.  Then on Apr 20, the guys came to perform service. These guys are busy, and the 3-4 week wait is typical. The guys arrived on time, cleared any furniture around the chimney, laid down a tarp around the working area, and began work. The work lasted till around midday. After all work was performed, I was shown digital photos of the work done at the crown of the roof which are not easily accessible to me, and given instruction on how to work the combination rain cap, damper, and spark arrestor. The guys cleaned up, and hauled away any debris. Very professional.

Chimney caps are surprisingly expensive, but are apparently required in our location. We comparison shopped to see if we could do this more cheaply ourselves, but in the end deciding to go with the professional installation. The ABA team was prompt, professional and seemed to know their stuff.

Appointment time frame was set from noon to 1:00 PM, with the statement that they would do their best to get the inspection started as close to noon as possible. At 12:50 PM, I called the office to confirm that I was on the schedule and was told that the sweeper should arrive within ten minutes. When sweep arrived, I asked about his arriving at the very end of the scheduled time frame and he said that the office had scheduled him between 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM. I told him that I wanted an inspection so he looked up the chimney and said it appeared to be clear except for cobwebs. Then he said he would clean and inspect the chimney from the roof. I asked why it needed to be cleaned and he said that was the routine the company normally followed. I reiterated that I wanted an inspection for integrity only. He went on the roof to inspect the chimney from that end and after about 15 minutes, total elapsed time from knocking on the door, announced that the chimney was structurally sound. I asked what the charge would be and, when told $125, I asked how much it would have cost if the chimney had been swept. He said $140. I questioned the price for such a brief visit only involving a visual inspection from the fireplace up and the chimney cap down. He said that it was the company's policy to charge $125 irrespective of the time involved but gave me the company owner's name and suggested I speak to her. When I spoke to Rhonda James (owner), she explained that $125 was the charge because the company had been in business for 14 years, that their employees were experienced and knowledgeable, and that, while I was lucky to have had a safe chimney, I would have been happy to pay the $125 if a dangerous flaw had been found. I said that I would expect to pay the same rate regardless of the findings and that the rate for a 15 minute inspection was excessive, especially when an inspection with cleaning/sweeping was only $15 more. We concluded with Ms. James telling me that they were a reputable company, I was lucky I didn't get a company that didn't know what it was doing, and that was their rate.

Office people were very warm and accommodating for schedule purposes - above and beyond the norm. It was some of the best customer service I have experienced as well as their promptness in keeping their appointments was equally as impressive. The effectiveness of the treatment I won't know for another year or so. Their cleaning charge was high compared to others but report was impressive. I have nothing to compare the actual repair service pricing with.

THEY HAVE A SMALL BUT NICE SHOWROOM AND WE WERE ABLE TO FIND A NICE CONTEMPORARY FIREPLACE INSERT. BESIDES THE ACTUAL FIREPLACE, WE HAD SOME CUSTOM SHEET METAL WORK DONE TO HIDE THE OLD FIREPLACE OPENING AND THEY DID INSTALLATION. ONE THING NEVER WORKED RIGHT UPON INSTALLATION, BUT WE DIDN'T NOTICE RIGHT AWAY AND ONLY DISCOVERED IT LONG AFTER THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. WE NEVER ASKED THEM TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE.