Chimney Keepers

they fixed the problem

The gas fireplace at our new-to-us house needed a good cleaning and servicing. We contacted Chimney Keepers to do the job. I don't like to leave negative reviews: doing so makes *me* feel a bit ill. However, the "service" we received from Chimney Keepers was so bad that I feel I should share the details of our experience.

The technician was at our home for approximately 35 minutes (according to our Ring video doorbell with timestamps). That time includes his arrival on our doorstep--without equipment--and his multiple trips to bring in/take out his supplies. Unfortunately, the tech's equipment did not actually include all of the supplies that he needed in order to do the job.

The tech asked me if I had any window cleaner. He had evidently not brought the glass cleaner nor the rags he'd need to clean the glass. He also did not bring a tarp on which he could lay the very dirty fireplace glass. (Who knew that the inside of an enclosed, glass fireplace could be so dirty? Actually, shouldn't the tech know that sort of thing?) Instead of laying the dirty glass on a tarp on the floor, the tech brought the fireplace glass into our kitchen, put the dirty glass on the island, and used the glass to push items out of the way. I had to snatch the fruit bowl and bread off of the counter because the tech began to spray glass cleaner even though there was food on the counter. (I can only assume that, had I not been there to move our food, our produce would have gotten a nice bit of poisonous overspray.) After the tech assumed he was finished cleaning the glass and was taking it back to the fireplace, I had to tell him that there was still dust/dirt on the inside surface of the glass. (It was a significant amount of dirt, easily visible if he had bothered to check his work.) The tech also spent a few minutes vacuuming inside the fireplace, but there was hardly time to do a thorough job of it.

I cannot recommend Chimney Keepers because:

They charged $186 for less than 30 minutes of actual work.

The tech did not bring all of the supplies he needed in order to do a good job and in order to protect our things.

The tech's sloppy work practices necessitated that I ask him to re-do some of his work and forced me to clean up after him.

By my calculations, Chimney Keepers charges $320/hour for an unpleasant experience.

I scheduled the appointment about a month out. I was quoted the base service fee of $159. The day of service Carl called to let me know he was on his way. He got to work and found that I had a bad pilot light. That was replaced, the logs were cleaned, the glass and fireplace cleaned as well. The logs were working in about an hour. Excellent service and no pressure to buy/replace anything I didn't need. Will use again!

Very professional service. Opened and cleaned the fireplace completely. Checked the pilot light and shut off valves to make sure everything was working properly.

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Carl was recommended to use by a few other people who had used him. We'd had several estimates for the chimney work we wanted done (we only knew there was an issue because the inside of our chimney was damp and limestone condensation was building up on the brick). Carl was extremely knowledgeable about chimneys, air flow in the home and how things like vented stoves can contribute to air flow issues. He gave us an estimate on the service and we paid a $75 fee for the visit, which was subtracted off our total balance once the work was done.
I also thought he was very honest and forthcoming. Other estimates we received included up to $150 to clean our chimney first. He told us it hadn't been used enough to need a cleaning on visual inspection. We were thankful for his honesty and felt like we got a good price for the service we needed.
This type of work depends on the weather and since it was summer, we had to reschedule twice because of rain. But Karen was on top of things, calling right away to let us know and we were always sure when to expect the repair to be done. On the day the work was done, I was pleased. They arrived near the time window they gave us, did the work quickly, and cleaned up afterward. Carl came in to explain what had been done and answer any final questions. We were very pleased with his knowledge and expertise and will call him again for cleaning or other chimney issues.

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We found this company to be extremely professional and the service was excellent.  Carl, had come out before the gas line was installed, with the coal basket, to let us see what it would  look like. He wanted to make sure the measurements were correct.  We love our new gas coal basket in our 1938 bungalow.  Carl had it hooked up in a very short time. We would recommend him highly. Karen, who runs the office, was also extremely professional, giving us advice on options, pricing and how best to approach an extremely narrow firebox. They worked to get us in before Thanksgiving. Carl also had quoted a much lower cost on some chimney repairs that need to be made in the spring. We had other estimates. We found him frank, easy to work with and will definitely use his services in the upkeep of our gas fireplace. The biggest cost was for the coal basket at about $1,000.00. It was a pleasure working with Carl and the staff at Chimney Keepers.

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They were responsive. They were booked, so I waited probably two weeks for an appointment. I guess there's not that many chimney places or maybe it was just the season and they were overbooked.

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Carl came out and inspected my chimney because I was told by a roofing inspector there was water pooling on my chimney cap. He thought my chimney was in fine shape and re-caulked a small part of the cap. He told me I have at least a good 5 years before having to worry about anything. I asked him how much I owed him for his time and he said he was in the area anyway and there would be no charge. He'll be the first I call when I do need chimney work.

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I HIGHLY recommend Chimney Keepers - I had originally been told that the repair that my gas logs required would be upwards of $600.  I decided not to take their word for it (thank goodness I didn't!) I found Chimney Keepers on Angie's List and decided to call them.  I was able to speak directly to Carl, the technician and described what the problem was and what I had been told would fix it.  He told me he really did not think that I needed the part that I was told and that he would like to come out and do a service call to see what was going on.  I am so glad I took him up on it.  I was able to schedule an appointment that was convenient for my schedule.  As agreed upon, Carl called to let me know he was on his way.  He was prompt, professional, and to the point.  It turned out that I did not need a repair but rather a good cleaning.  He also took the time to show me how turn on the pilot and turn it off.  He cleaned everything up inside the gas insert and even cleaned the glass.
I am so glad that I was able to find an honest, dependable repair person.

These folks did an excellent job of cleaning out our family room fireplace and chimney before the sale of our house. It was long overdue, so it was a particularly nasty job, but they were quick and efficient. Absolutely no mess behind, either. Staff was very friendly and the price was most competitive wit h others.

Everything was fine. Neat and tidy. Very professional. They showed up when they said they would.

It was fine. He did charge me an additional $100. I wasn't real happy that I ended up spending the extra money but that was my fault.

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Because they had done maintenance of this fireplace many times for the previous owner, they were very familiar with the unit and gave me a complete description of the unit and installation which was very helpful. I will definately use thm agin.

Great! Was very impressed with professionalism and integrity.

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Carl was prompt, polite and very knowledgeable He was patient and answered all my questions and familiarized me with the type of logs I have and how best to use them. I never used my logs and already I am using the logs several days a week.