I am a registered Architect in NJ and NY, having practiced as an Architect for 14 years. For the past 12 years to the present time I am working in commercial construction management in NYC. Therefore, I am ?in the business? for design and construction and deal with various trade contractors on a regular basis. I pride myself of having a trained ?eye? as well as the experience of seeing multiple designs go from paper to reality and learning what works and what does not from participating in the construction, installation and finishing process.
I hired Certified Chimney Service, Inc. to have one of their crew?s perform the necessary contracted work to restore the stone chimney at our home, including re-pointing all of the mortar joints, removing the existing original chimney pots, rebuilding the brick corbel at the top of the chimney and finally, installing two owner-provided, ornamental terra-cotta chimney pots with custom finished coated stainless steel spark arrestor caps. My wife and I are most pleased with the result.
Aesthetically, the finished work makes the chimney an even more attractive focal point of the house, complimenting the overall style of our 1930 Tudor home. We have received many compliments from friends and neighbors who have seen it and agree with our sentiments. Five years later, having experienced much rain and snow, we have not detected any water leaks inside
around the fireplace chimney and both the separate furnace and fireplace flues continue to draw adequately. I am attaching
some photos of the chimney, now that the new cedar shingle roof and copper flashing, gutters and downspouts have been installed.
I am most willing to serve as a reference for Certified Chimney Service, Inc. and to convey to your prospective clients my positive experience with Frank Perry Sr., his daughter Kim and your crew that performed the actual work. I want to commend you, Kim and their crew for the professionalism, expertise, efficiency and sensitivity to protection of our property, as well as their ability to diagnose and deal with unexpected conditions. I selected this company after interviewing and considering several of their regional competitors because I trusted that their crew would be able to produce what I wanted in the necessary time frame, with an attention to quality. Also, as important, they had the necessary insurance coverage. Their attitude from the beginning, far surpassed the lax attitude, slow response and less-than-professional interaction displayed by their competitors. For example, one of their nearby competitors was more concerned about what they would not be responsible for contractually, than what they would actually be doing as part of the project. All this, while their also being very cost competitive.
I appreciated their crew taking the time to read and understand my lengthy scope of work description and to discuss the pros & cons of alternative ideas and approaches, allowing us to settle on what actually made the most sense for our specific chimney project. From the beginning of the project, Certified Chimney Services? crew?s answers to my questions, as well as suggestions to modifications to my initial ideas proved to be the right choices. Their recommendations based on their time-tested experience that we agreed to, resulted in a beautiful restored chimney with the addition of functional yet ornamental
chimney pots.
Their crew did an excellent job ensuring that all construction-generated debris was cleaned up of on a daily basis from our property, as well as protecting the large foundation shrubs and landscaping. It was obvious that they and this crew are true experts at what they do and helped make the entire chimney restoration process most pleasant and painless. We certainly appreciate their helping us to achieve the restored chimney that accomplishes everything that we desired.
Alexander V. Bergo, AIA.