Chimney Savers

Mark S. was very responsive. He reviewed our situation and provided an estimate via email rather quickly. The chimney wall tiles were gradually falling and causing drafting issues. We immediately felt comfortable in hiring Mark and scheduled the work after the holiday. Mark, Ben and Dan arrived promptly and were courteous. They protected the basement storage area from any dust or debris by putting up plastic sheeting and laying down tarp. When they were finished, the area was spotless. The cement patch work on the wall opening was done nicely too. The replacement connections to oil water heater and two oil furnaces looks great as well. It all went well and we were pleased to have hired Chimney Savers and Mark Schaub and his crew. His estimate was fair.

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Perfect. They came on time both days, took extreme care to protect the floors and keep the dust controlled. In fact they constructed a tent around the fireplace to keep dust from escaping. When they left there was nothing to do but replace the furniture, wait for the masonry to cure...then light a fire.

For starters, the floor in the fireplace area of the living room was drooping and needed to be supported from below.  The crew strengthened the masonry in the basement to firm up the area underneath the fireplace. They installed a liner, but the flue was so narrow that they had to first enlarge it from the inside to make room for the liner. This required, among other things, opening a hole in the wall in one of the 3rd floor bedrooms to get into the chimney, but once the liner was pulled  through, they closed up the hole and plastered it over. Also, the bricks in the fireplace surround were very uneven due to the settling of the floor, so they re-built the fireplace surround. I had to hire my own plumber to bring up the gas line from the basement, but that was to be expected, and    ChimneySavers worked with the plumber to get the gas line in the right place, and finally connect my gas coal set. 
   All this work was not cheap, but it was a fair price for the amount of work involved.  Mark Schaub knows everything about fireplaces and chimneys, and he will do whatever is needed to get the job perfect.  Also, his crew was very considerate and despite the size of the job, they made very little mess in my house, because they created plastic enclosures everywhere they had to work.  They were very pleasant and I actually enjoyed having them in my house.

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We were hesitant to go with Chimney Savers mainly because of the price - it was thousands more than the nearest competitive bid.  However, in retrospect, we made the right call.
We have a chimney with two fireplaces, one on each floor. The flues were in bad shape when we moved in, which we knew from the home inspection, but we didn't know how bad. 2 of the contractors that we had come in admitted that they couldn't even do the job.  Another could do it, but it would involve removing large sections of the existing chimney, indoors, and replacing with new bricks - we didn't feel like we wanted to go that route.
Mark came in and explained how he would get the job done without destroying existing bricks. It was obvious from the start that he knew what he was doing, and the only hang-up I had was the price. When I finally decided to go with Chimney Savers, it was after saving the money for months to be able to pay him.
It was the right decision. Mark and his guys were extremely professional, they didn't make or leave a mess in the house, and I now have two working fireplaces.  I would be kicking myself if I had gone with a lower bid - Chimney Savers did the job right, and in the end, you get what you pay for.

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A true professional.  The company specializes in "period" chimney reconstruction and in repairing leaking chimneys.  They cam out as promised, conducted a through inspection, provided an estimate and did the work as scheduled with no surprises.

They worked from sun up to sun down and sent a team of two. Mark was excellent in his intro and I was very happy with how he explained everything during the estimate. He was knowledgeable and I liked their follow up program. I completely trusted them so I did not shop around.

Saw these folks work on "This Old House" and it was obvious they new about chimneys in old houses (ours was built around 1750).  Called them, received a return call in less than an hour, arranged an appointment the next day, and received a proposal the day after, all as promised.  Told the work could stretch out to 3 weeks but they finished in less than 2.  They left the work premises exceptional clean when finished and the quality of the work was outstanding.  Great workers & management.  Would highly recommend them to anyone who has chimney issues, but especially for old houses.

They were prompt, very professional, and very clean.
I know other people say that they are expensive, but they were actually 30% cheaper than the others that we talked to. They also told us that a number of the activities that other people suggested were unnecessary, saving us more money. 
overall we had a very positive experience and would use them again.

We had water leak around chimney after Chimney Saver applied special sealer.  On three occasions when we called Mark, he had someone out as soon as possible.  Old houses and their troubles, Mark and the crew are good.  Would use them again or highly suggest them for its worth the money.

We have a very old home so they are doing three new flues in one existing chimney.  They are maintaining the integrity of the old house while providing three flues for kitchen needs and a furnace.  It is being done in a chimney that never had flues so it is a pretty big job.  He is also doing some repair work to the actual fireplaces so that they can work and they have not worked in probably 50-60years. It was a health issues because of the lack of flue.  They would put ladders down the chimney and pour in through the existing chimney and do repair work and any missing bricks.  Our house is 250 years old. He works with the TV show and magazine that sold this house. He has a great resume of some very well known local historic homes. He was very professional. The owner came out and talked to me about his background and why they used the products that they do and the process that they use verses some of the other options which could be cheaper but not effective.  He was extremely thorough, very honest and very accommodating. They were just all around professional and very easy to work with.  They were very clean and what they had done was they put a metal flue so that we could use the furnace last winter before we wanted to spend all the money on the flues. They were here and they were very efficient. You could tell that everyone worked meticulously though it was off time because it was around Thanksgiving and they were a huge help.  They left everything clean as it was and didn’t interrupt unnecessarily for anything. It was a really good experience.  When you hire them you get what you paid for. They were not the cheapest option although some places who wouldn’t do such a good job came close to the bid. I would just recommend them for their professionalism, timeliness and their reputation. I would highly recommend them to a friend or family member. I have been very impressed. 

From the first estimate to the end product, the project proceeded smoothly and cleanly.  Workers made certain barriers to dust and grime were in place before the demolition began.  The relining process was fascinatingly efficient.  When all was complete, I had safely functioning chimneys and  no mess!

Mark and his team were wonderful. We can not recommend them enough. While in attorney review during the purchase of our current home, we had a level II chimney inspection completed by another reputable chimney contractor. It was recommended that the chimney not be used for fires or exhaust. It was thought that there had once been a fire in the flue, and there were cracks in the mortar in the attic, as well as soot present on the floor. The chimney did not extend high enough off the roofline and the firebox was too large. The quote we were given from this contractor ranged between 10,500 and 13,500 to complete all of these repairs (plus things I cannot remember) and install steel flue liners which were wrapped in a fire retardant blanket. Unsure of the value of this large expense, we were referred to Mark. We immidiately felt comfortable with Mark's no-nonsense personality and knowledge. While the work that he did for us was certainly more expensive than our first quote, we felt that the lifetime guarantee of the solid flue was well worth the extra cost. Mark's team was courteous and friendly. They were considerate of our home and the safety of my over-curious toddler, and Andre always communicated exactly what they were doing and when they would be arriving and leaving. We have enjoyed many cozy fires in our fireplace this winter and are thrilled with the work that was done. The tile work that Vinnie completed onthe facade and hearth is beautiful and has transformed the old-fashioned fireplace into a beautiful and updated focal point in our living room. If we ever buy another home with a severely damaged chimney, Mark will be the first person we call!

Our chimney was damaged during a March high-wind storm. I had our chimney sweep go up with his special camera to check the interior status of the flu lining which was terra cotta tile stacked one a top the other. Some had cracked, some had shifted. Morar was missing. This condition was a big fire hazard which required that we reline the entire inside of the chimney in addition to having the storm-damaged exterior repaired. It went well considering it was blistering hot for the workers. One set-back for them after completing the rebuilding of the chimney masonry was what they called a "blow out" of the chimney masonry lower down from the original work. They explained this sometimes occurs if the chimney wasn't strongly made in the first place. They had to entirely rebuidt the chimney again from the lower site. They did not charge extra for this even though they had to purchase more bricks and redo all the work. I thought this was outstanding of them and quite professional. They really know what they are doing! They've done this work for many years. As work went along they always explained what they were doing and why. They were very nice guys to work with too. I was impressed at how professional they all were, especially the owner, Mark Schaub. When he came to give us an estimate and explain the Solid Flue Process, he came with a binder of his schooling, qualifications, as well as photos of prior jobs.

I can't recommend Mark and his team enough. Though expensive (not expensive for cast-in-place but expensive compared to cheap fix of a metal insert), they were extremely professional, courteous, punctual and obviously take great pride in their work. The whole job took about two weeks from start to finish (including curing time). They showed me everything they were going to do, as they were doing it, and after it was done - all exactly as planned! Though there was some dust during the work (even with the plastic sheeting the installed - can't be helped) the house looked more clean after they finished. They did a wonderful job, and though I won't need their help in this house again, I would certainly hire them again for the next house.

They were fabulous. They didn?t have to chop through the chimney and there was no dust in my house. It took them 9 days to complete the job. I got bids from other companies to do the work of repairing the fireplace and the chimney but I realized that they were people that basically worked on jobsites and in housing under renovation. They didn?t have any idea about neatness. The price that Chimney Savers quoted was definitely more than the other bids. They were very expensive but worth every penny. They didn?t have to chop through the chimney. They were smart enough to know how to bring a stainless steel thing down. The little fireplace is a beautiful period piece - they saved some antique plaster work. The work was done to code. They poured cement around everything to solidify the chimney. I know that they have done work in fancy places. They are the company that does the television show ?This Old House? whenever they need a fireplace fixed. I would recommend them - the person to speak to is Mark Schaub. I would use them in the future, if necessary.

We had horror stories from others and several other contractors gave us prices. These contractors lied when I asked for a "Rumford" fireplace saying yes to me when in fact NYC firelaws preclude that. They were clearly improvising to get the job. Chimney Savers of Hillsboro NJ were fabulous see above report.

They were very good and after they finished the work there was no dust in my house. They are very expensive, but worth every penny. They shored up a chimney that was very old, rerouted the heat around the fire place, installed the fire place and ran a stainless chimney through the old one. They were fabulous and it looks terrific. They vacuum cleaned all the time and made sure there was no dust. They were extremely respectful with the family and finished the work in 9 days.