TOP TO BOTTOM CHIMNEY SERVICE INC

After the winter I found I had a raccoon living in my chimney in my Cape Cod summer house (no wonder everyone else in the neighborhood already had a chimney cap). The critter had chewed on the lead flashing around the chimney as well, and in the process I noticed cracks in the top flue liner for the furnace. I found Top to Bottom via a web search then checked them for reviews in Angie's list. Though the sole review gave them a "C" it didn't seem to be because of the quality of their work, so I contacted them via their website. They called me back first thing the next morning and said they could do it that day because of a cancellation, though it would have been a two week wait otherwise. I was a little concerned that they were pressuring me to make a quick decision but later a neighbor told me that they were just two people -- a husband and wife team -- and were usually booked weeks in advance. The pricing was a bit complicated, though understandable. There was a price to come and inspect the chimney, which would be subtracted from the cleaning cost if it were then also cleaned. The cap and installation were additional. They gave me a price for a stock-sized cap and said they carried most stock sizes with them, but if a custom size were necessary it would take a couple of weeks and cost more, naturally. Their best guess was around $600 -- a bit high but well worth it to evict the raccoon before it started a family in there. They came when they said they would, inspected the chimney, installed the cap and sealed the chewed flashing. Because it was so quick and easy -- single story roof w/ a low slope, straight chimney, no complications -- they ended up not charging me the inspection fee after all. They did inspect both flues from the top and bottom, partly to make sure the raccoon was out; the cracked tile was fine and the chimney was in good shape. They recommended I get the top of the chimney resurfaced at some point but said it wasn't urgent since the chimney cap was in place. They were extremely professional, responsive and fair. I definitely would use their services again.

They came out and gave me an estimate when they said they would. They did the work when it scheduled to do so. It took a day longer than they had anticipated it would. They were professional and pleasant. My son, a contractor, said that they could have done a better job on cleaning the grout so that it wouldn't have been so noticeable that the chimney had been worked on. When I used the fireplace, it caused the smoke alarm to go off. I have called them several times and talked with the wife, but I have had no follow up by the workers to come out and take care of the problem.