Monocacy Chimney Care

We had this company install a wood burning fireplace (one of the metal insert ones). Our original consultation was great. The owner took a significant amount of time to brainstorm ideas of where/how we could do the installation. He told us it could’ve done before Christmas, and we made sure to turn paperwork around immediately. After we paid the down payment and signed the contract, they told us they couldn’t do it before Christmas. Disappointing. In January, the first of two teams came to start the work. This group of workers were very nice, and they made an effort to clean up a little. The second day, a different team came to do masonry, and they were swearing loudly and just being generally unpleasant and unprofessional. They left a significant mess. When the masonry was finished, the frame around the fireplace was uneven! The left side was narrower than the right side by four or five inches. We called the company, and they said they’d make it right. So, the same team came back the next day, this time, talking loudly about the owner being an “f-ing idiot” for making them comeback out. They did the job right this time, and the final product looks good. They asked for the final check, but hadn’t done the mantle, which was the contract. They said they’d come back, and a few days later installed a really unimpressive mantle. (We ended up paying someone else to fix it.) The whole thing was very stressful and frustrating. The receptionist would also forget to answer emails or to pass important info along to the owner, which caused delays and confusion.

It went fine. I thought it was a tad pricey. They offered to also do brick work, which I declined. I would use them again.

They were very professional, and the office staff has been great. But the cost of the inspection for about 10 minute seemed high.

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I initially thought I only needed the top 10 courses of brick replaced on my chimney (nearly 40 years old) due to spalling, but the inspector pointed out a huge amount of deteriorating brick and mortar throughout, and recommended replacement. The mason and apprentice who did the work were excellent and kept me apprised of progress and issues. During the tear-down of the old chimney, he discovered that the firebox had not been properly constructed, such that a spark escaping from the obviously damaged terra cotta liner could have burned down the house! Probably the only reason that did not happen is because the previous owner had an issue with smoke, and I had rarely used it since moving in six years earlier. It was one of those things that the usual inspection would have never revealed. The replacement chimney was made from bricks that very closely approximated the originals, which were no longer made. They arrived on time, worked all day, and explained their work to me. They cleaned up the debris each day and were careful not to damage the yard or surrounding plants. It was an expensive project for sure, but well worth it. They came highly recommended to me from a friend who had previously used them, and they lived up to their reputation.

Chris came out as scheduled and provided an estimate immediately. My problem was I needed the work done quickly ahead of a scheduled new roof installation. Rick came out on a very cold windy day and performed the work as promised despite issues with the very old mortar. The chimney looks great!

They did a very good job sweeping out the chimney, and the new bricks in the wood stove look great.  They did a very thorough and professional job.

It was good. They got the job done quickly. They were friendly. They gave us extra information on the wood stove.