Blackbeard's Services LLC

Service was performed professionally and timely. Marvin obviously cares about what he does and about his clientelle. He is the model for other home maintenance service providers.

The person I spoke to on the phone, Diane, was very helpful in setting up the appointment. The service rep came on time, explained to me why this is important for fire prevention, covered his shoes every time he came into my house. Told me about a problem with the venting hose, replaced it, showed me how much lint came out when he cleaned the system.

We've been living in our new home for about 4 months now. While we love our home, we are realizing the longer we live here that the previous owners were not terribly conscientious about basic maintenance of the home. Case in point: the fireplace. Apparently, the previous owners hadn't had the chimney swept in the TEN YEARS they had lived there, nor could they remember if and when the owners before them had performed a cleaning. Quite honestly, I was expecting the worst. I contacted Blackbeards for two reasons: 1) They came very highly recommended on Angie's List and 2) My husband loves all things pirate-related, so insisted we contact a place named after one of the most notorious pirates in history! And Blackbeards (the company) did not disappoint. When I spoke with the office manager, she was extremely helpful in setting up a convenient appointment time, as well as putting my mind to ease about the potential severity of our unmaintained chimney. By asking a few simple questions (like, "When it's really humid outside, does your home smell like soot from the fireplace?" To which I was able to respond, "No".) she was able to explain to me that it didn't seem like it would be too cumbersome of a job. She gave an estimate cost and even called the day before the appointment to confirm. Marvin came to clean the chimney and was both prompt and courteous. He did a thorough inspection of the chimney from both the inside and outside of the house, taking the time to stop and explain how the ash container and damper worked. He even went so far as to clean some soot stains on the mantel of the fireplace and directed me where to purchase "hearth cleaner" to deal with future stains. The entire experience left me with the feeling that I had dealt with an extremely professional, knowledgeable, and friendly staff. As someone who loves to use the fireplace in colder months, I guarantee we will be using Blackbeards in the future.

Marvin, the owner, is terrific. He renewed my confidence in service providers. He is professional, courteous, honest and clearly competent at what he does. He showed up promptly, on the date and at the time promised, even though he normally does not service northern New Jersey, which is a fair distance from his normal service area. He also gave honest advice about additional things I can do to prevent future problems. I plan to use his services again and to recommend him to neighbors who require the services he provides.

Excellent! This was a difficult job because of very little space in which to work. Also, the dryer vented to the outside quite a distance from my unit which required climbing across the roof.

Very good.

I spoke to Diane on the phone upfront. She asked questions about the chimney, house layout, when the fireplace had last been cleaned, etc. Marvin arrived on time, did a great job with the cleaning and explained that I did NOT have the huge creosote buildup that I feared (since I hadn't had the chimney swept in many years). That spoke a lot to his honesty & integrity. The total charge was $175. I am extremely satisfied, will recommend Blackbeards & use them in the future.

My first contact was with Diane, who owns the company with her husband Marvin. She was very friendly and helpful, as well as efficient in making the arrangements. Marvin arrived exactly when he said he would, with a call first to confirm. He was very thorough, knowledgeable and professional, explaining what he was doing and what he had found. In cleaning the dryer vent he found that there was a screen blocking the exhaust which in time would prove hazardous; he removed that. He then cleaned the fireplace chimney, spreading a drop cloth to keep the area clean. He explained how to light the fireplace so that smoke would not flow out when the fire was first lit, and he showed me I had been closing the damper wrong. He even vacuumed the rugs in my laundry room.

Marvin was on time, thoroughly professional and most engaging. He put our minds at rest regarding the condition of the chimney flue. We had been told by another cleaning service several years ago.that the flue was in disastrous shape. That service tried to barter fixing the flue for the trade of our insert. We declined but did not use the fireplace for 5 years due to their dire prediction of disaster. Marvin told us (without knowing this prior history) that the flue was in excellent shape, that the cleanup of creosote was minor and we should enjoy out fireplace immediately. When we then told him the story, he was as angry as we were about the scam artists in his line of work. He also looked at our dryer at no extra charge and judged it to be in fine shape, also. All in all this was a wonderful experience. We would highly recommend Blackbeard's to anyone.

I got this company from Angies List. I called to make an appt with a lady named Diane. This is the kind of woman who is so nice and kind you want to reach reach through the phone and hug. We had set up an appt between 11:30am - 1:00pm for 2 days later. She called the next night to confirm appt and let us know that it would be more or less in the latter part of the appt as a courtesy. He still made it early enough when he came the next day so really didn't matter. He was professional to an extreme. Took his time. offered advice on other areas to help save money and time and problems in the future. Even look at my dryer vent without charge and told me what to do and readily told me there was no need for any cleaning and charge for it. Marvin and his wife run this family business the way it should be. Honest and professionally without losing the human part whom they serve. For me there is no other Chimney sweep I would use or fail to recommend at any turn. For the money they are more than worth it.

Blackbeard's was phenomenal! They were able to fit me in for service within two days of my call. The woman I spoke with was incredibly friendly and gave me an estimate upfront of what the charge would be. The day of the service (today) the gentleman was very punctual and most professional - telling me exactly what would be done and what he'd be looking at. As expected, the dryer vent hadn't been cleaned in 10 years! He cleaned up everything soup-to-nuts, even eliminating excess pipe that wasn't needed - completely above and beyond the scope of the project. The chimney inspection was also thurogouh and he even provided me recommendation of where I could get doors, grates, etc. Total time for both items was abou 1.5 hours at a cost of $160. I was most impressed with the knowledge and service of this company - would highly recommend them!

Did a thorough job with no mess. Arrived on time -very personable-explained the procedure in detail.