London Chimney Sweeps LTD

Overall, this project went well. Initially after I accepted their bid, they suggested that they may not be able to perform the work until 2-3 months later. However, since this work was not that extensive, they were able to move it up earlier within their schedule. The technicians called in advance of the arriving and were able to complete the work over two days. The cleanup was satisfactory. The technicians offered the additional advice that longer term the chimney could use a rebuild.

Fantastic job, very professional & thorough!

Great - they matched our brick and did a very professional job. We are very happy

The cleaning went well as far as I can tell. However, the inspection check-off list gave me some real questions about the integrity of their inspection. The inspection simply showed everything was satisfactory with no problems inside or out. I was quite surprised by this because there is a lot of mortar missing from the top few layers of brick, the chimney cap is cracked, and we had experienced water leaking in through the chimney. I figured that if they didn't notice these obvious defects on the outside of the chimney, how well did they actually examine the inside of the chimney. When I called to discuss this with Cathy, one of the owners she was very professional at first and said they'd send another inspector out to check things out at no charge. A few days later this offer was rescinded and Cathy became very defensive telling us that our chimney was fine. She told me that I have "trust issues" and after talking with my wife called her a "F***ing B*tch." When I showed her pictures of the chimney which has CAULK in place of the missing mortar in the top few rows of brick she tried to tell me that this was acceptable. Maybe their standards are extremely low, or maybe they just cannot admit when a mistake was made. I'd steer clear of this company. They are rude, unprofessional, and have very low standards for quality. Steer clear.

They do great work.

Efficient and professional. He found some damage and we scheduled them to come back to do the repairs.

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Replaced it correctly. Made sure that it was done right!

A little difficulty in getting a hold of them.  Some phone tag back and forth, a couple days turn around time to respond to emails, but they did always respond and get back to us.  The estimate was very professional and knowledgeable.  We could have chosen to do a patch to fix the crack which went all the way from the top to the bottom and had been causing leaks, but instead decided to pay a little more to replace a handful of bricks with the patch.  Their workers were very friendly and helpful.  They were realistic and gave us a good idea of what to expect.  You can barely tell which bricks were replaced and were the crack was.  They did a nice job.

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Called to get a quote for chimney cleaning and inspection.  Originally quoted $189 for chimney cleaning and inspection.  When asked if they do both main level and basement fireplace, they then said that the charge would be $189 for first one and $149 for the second one even though they share the same chimney.  The reason given why is because of two different flues and liners.  Ok that's fine I guess.  They were prompt about coming out....could get out the next day.  When "certified technician" came out, he was courteous and explained everything.  I inquired about the inspection and was told they get out on the roof and look at the masonry and flashing to the chimney.  I told him that we suspected a possible water leak.  When finished, he provided a report saying that everything was satisfactory except where the eve meets the chimney...."slight damage".  The following day we called to see if they could repair it and they said they could not because it wasn't masonry work but rather carpentry work.  Five days later we had a major storm and rain downpour.  Water was visibly dripping into both fireplaces and pooling in the corner of the fireboxes.  This water intrusion is not from the damage that they spoke of because it's impossible for the water to come under the eve and into the flue and liner unless there is a crack in the masonry work....which we were told was fine.  John came out promptly and told us the water dripping is most likely due to not having any chimney caps.  

Update:  We had another company quote us $99 for sweeping and inspection for the first flue and $49 for the second flue (half of the cost we paid for London Chimney). We had this company come out to replace the caps and inspect for $150/cap.  They found cracks in our crown and tile and provided pics, which we were told was fine by London....our suspicion is that the London technician did not inspect or did not inspect thoroughly. London has been very responsive to our feedback and after we provided the pictures to them, they apologized and wanted to make it right.  They refunded our money thus why we are changing our rating from a D to a C.

It went amazing!  The owners John and Cathleen came out to look at the chimney and give us a quote within a day or so of emailing them.  
They were prompt, courteous and the job looks amazing and the clean up was totally done.  They did an outstanding job.

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Arrived on-time and well-prepared, cleaned everything up (so I had no mess to deal with), performed some minor repairs on-site, and provided a "how-to" with tips and tricks for using this particular fireplace since I had just purchased the home the day before.  Would definitely use them again!

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I found the men who came onto the jobsite to be very friendly and seemed to know what they were doing.  The masonry work they did was excellent.  Additionally, he made suggestions while he was there on things that I might want to have them change that could avoid problems in the future.  I agreed with his suggestions and they took care of it immediately.  My biggest concern is that their communication with you from the office is somewhat lacking.   When they finished the job, they wanted full payment immediately,even though they had not done the waterproofing.  I paid them a partial payment which they agreed to.  Then it took quite a few calls to their office to arrange to get the waterproofing done.
Their actual work is very good, its just the communication/scheduling that needs to be addressed.

I can not say enough good things about these guys, from dealing with John & Cathleen Cordes the owners, to working with Phil Nagan and Nick on the job site, this is a stand up company. 
We moved to Minneapolis from out of state in late August. Not knowing the state of the chimney, I used a different company to clean and assess the chimney & fireplace. They pointed out serious issues up in the chimney, saying we were not to use the fireplace until it was repaired. But they wouldn't able to repair it until next year, and then for a ridiculous amount of money.
It was then I contacted London Chimney. From the get go they were wonderful to work with. John came out, looked at the chimney, agreed with the first company, and said he'd get us on the schedule for late this Fall. 
I stayed in weekly contact with Cathleen, hoping to get her crew out here sooner than later. Phil & Nick came out Nov. 11th. Both were so polite, respectful and courteous. Each explained the process and steps they were taking to fix the problems. It turned out there were more issues than previously thought, they fixed those as well. They initially thought it would be a 2 - 2 1/2 day job, but the additional issues pushed the job to 4 days. They kept in contact with me regarding times they'd be coming, which I really appreciated. Very few service providers keep you posted on their arrival times. They took care to protect our furnishings from dust & debris, and cleaned up at the end of each day before they left for the evening. 
They were here until 6:15 PM on a  Friday night just in order to finish the job, I had given them the out to come back on Monday vs. staying late on a Fri. but they wanted to finish up. Once the job was complete Phil took the time to patiently show me how to operate the new damper and ChimAir system. 
In addition to the high quality of their work, the guys were wonderful. I felt comfortable having both in my home. I highly recommend them to do any chimney related work for you!
 

We were told when we moved in (3+ years ago) that it worked but we don't use it because of asthma. We opted to have it inspected and cleaned for the new owner's peace of mind. I called and asked about pricing and availability (since it was starting to be fireplace season) and they assured me that they would be able to come out before our closing date. They also told me that the whole appointment was going to be 45 minutes to 1 hour and they ended up finished in just under 45 minutes! The price was comparable to other companies, the two gentlemen that came to do the inspection/cleaning were prompt and courteous and they walked me through the process. They noted a small spot that could use some tuck pointing in the firebox and even quoted me a price for what it would cost them to fix it (only $150). They came in, took off their shoes, put down blankets to keep the house clean and cleaned up nicely afterwards. I would recommend London Chimney Sweeps LTD to anyone that needs this type of work. We will likely be calling them again when we move into our new place.

I chose London Chimney to work on my chimney in July, 2014.  They said they were a couple months out and would contact me when they could begin.  A couple months later, after not hearing from them, I called a couple times and got a beginning date.  The day of, there was no arrival.  I called and was told there was an e-mail that went out, that apparently I didn't get, that due to weather, they'd be out a few days later.  No big deal.. 
When the crew had installed the brick, I was disappointed that the 6 bricks below the roofline that had hairline cracks did not get repaired.  I re-read the bid/quote bullet and understood why.. it read: "Repair the crack below the roofline by grinding out the existing, deteriorated mortar and tuckpointing with new mortar to match the existing color and strike pattern".  I should have read a little more closely. 
I called John and explained the hairline cracks.  He was polite and without me even asking, said that it wouldn't be a problem to fill those cracks and asked what color brick I had and said that there was a product used for filling those cracks that the crew would use when they finish up the work.
When the work was (almost) completed, I got an e-mail asking for payment.  I decided to take a quick look before sending in the check.  First, though the brickwork looked good, I noticed that of the 4 sides of the chimney, there were only three sides that had the 11courses of new brick.  And only one of the short sides that had the actual 12 courses built that was listed in the bid/quote.  Also, two of the clay tiles that were replaced had sheet metal silicone caulked onto them.  Not a problem, except that there were large gaps between the tile and sheet metal (ie. a poor job of caulking that would leave the tiles/chimney open to water damage).  Lastly, I was disappointed that the 6 bricks below the roof line that had hairline cracks did not get filled.
I replied to Cathleen explaining that the sheet metal wasn't adhered to the tiles, that I was disappointed that I didn't get 12 full courses of brick and that perhaps the price should be adjusted, and that the hairline cracks were not filled as John said they would.
Cathleen replied that "The rebuild is an approximation of bricks".. that there price is fair and was unable to give a discount unless they didn't rebuild as many courses... I replied that Yes, there weren't as many courses replaced as listed in the quote.
Then I got a call from John and he said there was no problem sealing the sheet metal and filling the hairline cracks, like he said before, and asked that IF they did all that, would I be fine with the 11 vs 12 courses of brick and send in the payment.. I replied "Yes."  He said he'd tell his crew of what we talked about.
Lastly, I got a call today when pulling into my driveway.  It was John and he said the crew had been out and did everything that I asked and if I could send in the payment.  I looked at the chimney, and the hairline cracks had silicone caulking smeared onto them.  I wasn't upset, but did ask why he inquired as to the color of my brick.. that wasn't there a product.. He quickly and rudely cut me off and stated that they can't keep coming out to my home.. that at some point we have to wrap this up..  This was frustrating as they had only been out 3 partial days.  I calmly agreed (thinking that if they just did everything right the first time, we'd be done), but replied that I was only wondering if there was another product he was considering for the.. He again cut me off and replied that if I can send in the payment, they'll get back out there sometime and fix those.  I replied that I'd feel more comfortable paying when the job is done and suggested paying half now and the remainder when the work is completed.  He sounded pretty upset and said no, he'd call me when he can come out and hung up.  Ya.. it felt very unprofessional/ugly at this point and I was amazed at the tone he took and his inability to listen to the customer.  Had he simply said they weren't able to fill the cracks, or had mistakenly Thought there was a product for filling the gaps, but was mistaken..  Or simply showed some sincere concern for my satisfaction in the job, things would have ended on a positive note. 
Within 2min., the 2 person crew pulled in, and a gentleman came out.. looking upset.. and inspected the cracks.  I came out and said that John had mentioned a product for filling the hairline cracks.  The gentleman Listened, and then provided a few options, but said that silicone caulk was the best option as the other options would not match the brick.  I replied: If that's what he recommends, I'm fine with that.  
I asked if he had repaired/filled the gaps between the tiles and sheet metal.  He said that John didn't tell him anything about that (despite me e-mailing and talking to him about it), so we went onto the roof and he refilled the gaps with caulk and said that a new crew member had done the initial caulking job.  By this time, I was pretty tired of dealing with this, thanked the gentleman for his time, and told him to let John know I'd send the payment in.
2min later, John called. I confirmed that I was ok with the job and sending the payment in, but said that I was on Angie's list ready to leave a review.  He asked in a tone of astonishment if I felt like I had a point of contention.  I calmly reiterated what I had written above.. was interrupted a few times with excuses, comments of all the work they had done.. the gas & time they used to come out .. and that they did everything that was on the quote.  It was another uncomfortable conversation and I felt he was getting defensive & upset, so I calmly said I'm sending in the payment, but I do feel there were some cut corners.  Again, he asked if I felt if I had a point of contention.  I mentioned the 11 vs 12 courses of brick and said it'd be nice if there were a small adjustment, but I'd pay what ever John says is fair.  He didn't talk about the price but went back to taking defensively. I was really tired at this point & just mentioned a $50 - $100 discount would've been a nice gesture.  His spirits immediately changed (I'm sure he expected a much higher number) and said he'd be more than happy to give a $100 discount to make sure I'm happy with the job and talked about his numerous happy customers, etc.  Before hanging up, he made sure I knew the address of where the payment was to be sent.  I read the address back to him and wished him a good day.  The end.

Unfortunately, a couple days after writing the above, I received a harassing call from John regarding the review.  Again, the communication was unprofessional: interrupting, excuses, changing subject, not listening.

8 months after London did it's work, I just had some brick work repaired by some basement steps.  The Super Service Award Brick repairman inspected the rest of the house as well.  He noticed the caulking that London Chimney put in the hairline cracks and said you should only caulk between brick and another material, Never on a hairline crack as it seals moisture in.  So, he cut/ground out the hairlines and filled with mortar for only $25.  He added that the chimney should have been taken down to the roof as it has tons of hairline fractures with white lime showing... that it's only a matter of time that those bricks will need to be replaced and because there are so many, it'll be easier to replace the whole top section down to the roof.  :(  Wish London would have recommended that as I'm very disappointed at the thought of replacing all that new work that was just done 8 months ago.

London C. S. did an inspection of our basement and main level fireplaces/flues/chimney in Sept. 2013 and reviewed the findings with me which were 8 failed joints in the basement flue and 5 failed joints in the main level flue.  They provided a quote for the work required for each flue seperately and explained the repair process.  I did a fair amount of research in relation to their price, product and experience and they passed all with flying colors and in Sept. 2014 I called Cathleen to arrange for the work to be done sometime in early Oct. and she put me on their preliminary schedule.   Cathleen was very good to work with and satisfactorily and pleasantly responded to any questions I had.  
Phil and Nick arrived as expected on Oct. 6 and both were on-site for the entire process.  They were very knowledgeable and from the get go I was confident that the job was in good hands.  Communication and attitude were top notch and they were a very efficient team from start to finish.  Great problem solvers too.......they ran into unexpected difficulty getting the Fireguard material to perform as they knew it should during the joint fill/seal process and they made some on the fly adjustments to get things to the point they needed to be. 
Phil was the "lead" and Nick was the "assistant" but it was obvious they both were quite skilled and equally ready and wanting to provide professional level service which they did.  Let me also go on record as saying I DO NOT WRITE REVIEWS and I am a design/build professional with many years of experience and a perfectionist so I AM VERY HARD TO PLEASE!
Way to go guys and London Chimney in general so yeah.............I guess you could say I'd be happy to recommend you!!
Bruce L

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After getting several bids, I chose London Chimney. The crew was great and did a fantastic job; the new chimney looks great.

London performed onsite inspection of chimney and gave recommendations and proposal.  I [Homeowner] considered other company bids/advice as well, and elected to hire London to remove and build a new chimney.   Despite a higher bid, I felt more comfortable with London's apparent expertise and fairness.
Communications with London were timely and reasonable.  London's punctuality throughout project was good.  Project timeline increased by several days once additional issues were found after work was already underway.   London's masonry staff was very informative and outlined new options from this point.  Project price increased, but was to be expected.  I trusted the advice, and work continued.  I'm confident London did not cut any corners and that the final product was done the right way.   
In conclusion, London completed the project, leaving behind only a new, beautiful chimney (no cleanup - you can imagine the removal of an old chimney ((larger than average)) is not an easy/clean job).   The new chimney was built from below the roof line 
up - all flashing, tucking, shingles, tubes, etc.. (I'm unfamiliar with all the terms) was redone.   A job well done.  Would recommend.

I scheduled the job last fall but due to weather the notified me they would take care of it in the spring.  I was fine with that.  The job was delayed a couple of times but was not urgent.  All along they kept me up to date on the scheduling.  Once they committed to the week of 6/9 they showed up on time and did the job over the course of a couple of days.  The workers kept the site clean and the chimney covered overnight to prevent any water damage during the job.  They replaced brick that had deteriorated and replaced the top cement crown as agreed to in the estimate.  The new brick blended very well with the existing brick - the house was built in 1975.  We are pleased with the quality of work and the communication while we were waiting for the job to be started.