Chimney Doctor

"On behalf of Logan, I want to thank you for your kind words and recognition. Logan is an exceptional man and highly skilled technician. I very much appreciate your feedback and will pass it on to him. When you are ready to move forward with your fireplace project just let us know. Logan will be honored to help you choose and install the best possible insert for your particular situation. Thanks again for your post. "Dr Scott" Chimney Doctor"

"We are always saddened when our efforts and services are viewed negatively by our Clients. Additionally, we are troubled and disappointed when we are blamed for things that are beyond our control. Our Certified technician explained to you: Your sheet metal "pre fab" fireplace is approximately 40 years old and is in need of repairs. Improper, undersized and non stock parts are present. Unfortunately, we CANNOT obtain replacement parts - the manufacture went out of business many years ago. Any attempt to "patch together" or jerry-rig your fireplace with non U.L. tested and listed stock parts (as was previously done by others) can be dangerous and we will NOT perform such substandard repairs. Therefore, in our expert opinion, this fireplace system should be removed and replaced, as it has outlived it's average safe and useful life (approximately 20-30 years) and stock replacement parts are unavailable. I encourage you to contact the non profit Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) at csia.org, National fire Protection Association (NFPA) or the national Fireplace Institute (NFI) at nficertified.org for more information. Respectfully, Scott Abrams Owner"

"Our records show that you had just moved in to your house, and you called us for service because you had sparks coming out of your chimney when you used your fireplace. Service was performed on January 31st and the total bill to clean and inspect your chimney was $199.00 Respectfully, we did not try and sell you another kind of flue - we had recommended replacing the chase cover to direct water away from the wood trim that is causing deterioration. Additionally, we suggested replacing the uppermost termination pieces (chimney caps) - based on our visual observation and 31 years of experience - because in our professional opinion, they do not properly connect to the chimney flue and could pose problems. The chimney flue, fireplace and the spark arrestor were found to be in satisfactory condition and NOT related to the spark issue that you were concerned about. The chimney did need to be cleaned of soot deposits and you authorized us to do so. The exact cause of the sparks were not identified, although we suspected it was either from some of the soot igniting or glowing fly ash getting caught up in the draft and exiting the chimney. There was never any mention to us about bat issues of any kind. Additionally, there was no evidence found of such a problem. Here are the notes and recommendations that are on your inspection report: *Crack noted in the back refractory panel. *Recommend mortar repair then installing a heat shield. *Installer of fireplace used an adjustable slider connection that maybe improper. *Chase top current design is allowing water to run off directly on to trim and siding which is causing deterioration. *No attic access to chimney. We have digital pictures that we took that clearly show the problems that we outlined and I'd be happy to show or send them to you. Furthermore, I am more than willing to come back out to your house at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE and discuss these, or any other issues you may have about our company or our recommendations. Thank you very much. Scott Abrams Owner"

"I'm not exactly sure what happened here... In all fairness, I would like to respond. I hope that your opinion of me will then soften a bit. First and foremost, I apparently dropped the ball by not following up with you. I am truly sorry. That does NOT happen very often, as we make our living performing service. You called us because your pilot wouldn't stay on. Pilot problems require evaluating and testing at one end of a circuit and traveling downstream. Had I found a loose wire, I would have tightened it up and the pilot problem would have been resolved. I can certainly allow for the possibility that I could have overlooked a loose wire. Being human and thus, imperfect, I can see how I may have overlooked this. It is possible. Simple things get overlooked all the time by well meaning and skilled professionals - including doctors. But, calling me a "quack" and "not competent" ? I'm sorry, but I feel that is quite unfair, especially since OUR records show something quite different. Also, you just posted this review, yet service actually took place on 12/23/10 - not "on or about 8/1/12", as you state. Why now, 2 1/2 years later? While you called originally because of your pilot, I was concerned about additional issues that were more serious in nature - water entry and potential fire danger from improper clearances to the fireplace. You have a copy of our Service Report #3905 from 12/23/10 that states the following: "Pilot that would not stay lit, thermocouple suspected." "Water found in log compartment, valve compartment. I removed horizontal termination cap. It appears water is dripping inside liner of direct vent - unknown if this is related to pilot problem." "Mantle and framing appear to be too close to fireplace. Wood header is virtually touching top of fireplace - no standoffs present on top of fireplace. ***"Recommend not using fireplace until this issue is resolved." We took digital pictures of everything and discussed these problems with you. 4 days later on 12/27/10, I DID contact you and relay information that I obtained from the manufacturer regarding your fireplace. Here are my notes from our follow up phone call: "12/27/10 Scott called manufacturer (FMI) and then called [member name removed] with the following info... There are no standoffs on the unit, according to the tech dept., framing looks O.K. Also, the part number for the pilot assembly 24436 is $160.00 I forgot to ask about the mantle. Need to call back and get back to Tor." I never did get back to you, and, have no notes of you ever leaving me any messages. Unfortunately, I did not follow through and unintentionally dropped the ball. That time of year we are doing MANY service calls and have many follow up calls to make. We've been in business for over 31 years and we try our darn best to serve our Clients. Sometimes we fall short. I apparently did with you, and for that I apologize. If you would like to discuss this further, please let me know. Very truly, Scott Abrams"

"I am Scott Abrams, owner of Chimney Doctor. My technician and I are completely baffled as to why we have received this terribly negative review. Not only is there no information given, but our experience was that everything went smoothly and quite normally. We performed our services politely, efficiently and expertly. I will follow up this post with a phone call to the customer immediately after I post this. Until then, I feel I must respond to this post, as we take VERY seriously any problems, concerns or complaints that our customers have. The customer hired us to inspect a chimney on a home she recently purchased. Our records show that she was very concerned about her chimney cap, which I believe was altered/repaired prior to the close of escrow. She didn't think something was right about it and wanted us to check out the system. On 12/31/13 Certified technician Logan Johnston and I inspected the system, found, documented and verbally communicated to the customer the following problems: *Fireplace may have a drafting problem. Smoke stains noted above fireplace opening on face material. *Heavy black soot on gas log set. *Top flue liner is very deteriorated, and is spalling. *Chimney cap has been repaired incorrectly. *Chimney crown is very cracked, thin and lifting, needs repair. ***Client directed us to install new cap, this is a temporary fix, deteriorated flue liner. ***We believe drafting problem is related to the design of the smoke shelf. It appears that a large portion of the flue has been obstructed due to the turn of the fireplace. This is not repairable. ***Do not use fireplace until drafting issue is resolved. *Recommend installing a fireplace insert. We were very clear to the customer that the drafting issue was a serious potential health and safety hazard. A smoke stained front above the fireplace opening in which a gas log set is installed indicates that the deadly combustion gases (most notably carbon monoxide) may be entering the dwelling. Obviously, this fireplace should not be used until the drafting issue is resolved, she was told. Based on the chimney configuration and the conditions we found, we recommended installing a fireplace insert in the fireplace. We felt this would be the best solution to her individual situation. The customer acknowledged our findings and seemed to completely understand everything we discussed. She said she may do the insert at some point but for now just wanted the cap installed so rain would not enter the chimney. We informed her that the cap she was originally concerned about should NOT be reinstalled. We also told her that while we could install a new cap for her, this would be a TEMPORARY measure. The cap secures to the flue liner and her flue liner was significantly deteriorated - we could not guarantee that it would stay on the chimney securely. Additionally, we informed her that when an insert is subsequently installed, the cap that we were to install could not be used. Again, she seemed to understand the situation, and asked us to proceed with the cap installation, which we did. The total bill came to $316.88 This service was performed 42 days ago. Until seeing this on Angies list, we had no indication that the customer had an issue with us. I hope after speaking to her we can clear up any concerns she may have. Respectfully, Scott Abrams Owner Chimney Doctor"

"Thank you very much, Member, for your confidence and trust in us, and for your business! I'm delighted that we we're able to offer a repair solution to your chimney that helped you "close the deal"! Regards, "Dr Scott""

"Thank you for your confidence, support and kind words!"