United Chimney Corp

THEY TOOK ADVANCE PAYMENT OF $100 OF $300 TOTAL COST AND NEVER SHOWED UP. NEVER COMMUNICATED AND NEVER REPAID BACK

Ordered a new chimney chase cover to replace old rusting one on October 29th.  Was quoted $1440 to replace with stainless steel with a lifetime warranty.  They had to come out twice just to measure it, because the first measurement apparently wasn't correct.  Proper measurement taken on November 6th.  On day of installation (November 19th), one of the two caps was deformed, yet they installed it anyway.  Was obvious to see from the ground.  Withheld full payment until they corrected it.  They responded well and had it fixed on November 21st.  Paid in full at that time.

That winter, during very windy conditions, we would hear a metal squeaking sound coming from the chimney - was very loud on windy days.  Just considered it the sound the new caps made.  However, in March after a very windy storm, noticed one of the caps was tipped over and actually off the collar.

Turns out they never connected the caps correctly to the collars, and in fact didn't connect them at all!  The caps were just sitting on top of the collars!  So the squeaking we heard all winter was the caps rubbing on the top of the collars.  Terrible!!

They came out relatively quickly and attached the caps by sealing them with heavy duty caulk.  Thought they should have used stainless steel connectors.  Seemed like a jury rigged solution to me, but they said that's how they do it.  After they finished, I came out to evaluate, and my shiny, new stainless steel chase cover was covered with caulk!  They were so sloppy with the caulk that they let it get all over the cover and collars.  Looked terrible!

So I had to schedule them to come out again to clean the cover and collars off.  It's been one thing after another with this company, right from the beginning with the wrong measurements.

You'll want to consider carefully if you want to hire these guys!

unknown

The guys did the work, but I didn't see if a water proof sprayer for bricks and mortar was applied or not on the mortar. I feel it's not done.

There were three guys on the job together. The main person, who seemed to be running the show did a good job keeping things in check, but there was one fella on the job doing most of the work who was obviously not happy to be working on a Saturday. He was a bit careless, and I didn't feel 100% comfortable with him working at my house. In the end it just resulted in the dryer vent getting a bit dented, but in the end the job got completed in short order. I'd like to chalk it up to one guy just having a bad day.

r themselve

The proces itself was not a problem and I was not present, it was done on my parents home which after Dad passed, I took over.
What we found was that these guys did work out of the plumbing code for the water heater, this was after we needed a new heater,the plumber installed a heater which we did not pick out because only this one would fit and he had to use the cap from the old heater since it was just short enough to not make a level or negative run for the exhaust.
The installers also did another action against code which was to not use a proper Y connection, they instead lazily used some kind of metal or putty and joined the water heater pipe to the boiler exhaust pipe to simulate a Y connection.
Making matters even worse when in 2011 we had to install a new heating system, the company installing wondered who did this work and in trying to life the liner United put in, they could not, the liner was some heavy metal grade and this ended up costing a ton of work to put exhaust pipes in almost level and then strap then up because we also had to have a motorized fan put in to ensure outflow.
I called them up to complain what they did, no call back, I had reached the receptionist, who knows if she told them, but no assistance so I would never ever trust them here again. Maybe it was the crew, but there is no excuse and we went through a lot of pain because they did not fix things properly when they lined the chimney. Nothing broke which is what kept me from giving an F.

The damper on My chimney needed to be adjusted spent $50 today. Plan on spending $350 as soon as I get ahead, David DiMarco and his helper were very professional. I received a phone call from their office about 30 mins prior to their arrival. I was impressed this it the most honest Chimney company I have ever come accross who did not try to rake me over the coals like other chimney companies. Give them a call and as for David DiMarco hes a good guy.

I was referred to this company by my Oil company to have my Chimney cleaned a few years ago. At the time while sweeping they found problems with the some cement work and the Chimney cap and basement wall repair and that cost me $350. I wasn't sure if all the work they said was needed was really needed because I didn't seem to have a chance to get a second opinion (my own fault for not insisting)
They called me earlier in the year to make a cleaning appointment and I had forgotten about my earlier experience with them so they set a date but they never showed up.Then they called me again in May and didn't seem to know that they had set a date earlier for which no one showed up. A new appointment for a sweep was made and this time they did show up.
Upon sweeping the Chimney I was advised that a new Chimney liner was needed (I wasn't even sure why) and it seemed to be a big emergency that it had to be done immediately. Next thing I knew I signed a contract and gave a check for half the amount. The office called within a couple of hours and made an appointment for the very next morning. Since it was already late in the day I'm not even sure I could have cancelled if I wanted to plus I was kinda of nervous that there was a serious problem with the Chimney. This left me feeling the same as my earlier experience with this company
The next day a crew of two arrived and I explained to the lead, Jim that I wasn't really sure what what was wrong and why the repair was urgent. Jim took time and explain everything to me which left me feeling somewhat better. He also mentioned that I should see a 4% decrease in fuel consumption since the liner is the latest technology.
I'm still not sure if the liner was really needed or about the cost since I didn't insist on getting a second opinion (again my own fault)
However, If the initial crew who came to sweep took the time to explain things like Jim did I would have given the company a better rating.

Went very well.

They were fine and freindly over the phone, but they pulled a "no show" both times.

When the chimney sweep arrived, he cleaned the fireplace area but did not appear to do much cleaning of the chimney interior. He also said that we did not need any masonry repair work done on the chimney corner. However, he proceeded to give my husband a long list of reasons why we will need a completely new chimney liner, flash, and chimney cap all for the low price of $2,600. He scared my husband with talk of carbon monoxide poisoning and how if we don't get this work done our family would be in danger especially with an infant in the house. After questioning my husband regarding the size of our family (3), he said he would give us a "discount" for having a child in the house so the estimate went down to $2,000. When my husband hesitated because that is a large sum of money and mentioned wanting to consult with me first, the chimney sweep said the $2,000 discount price would only be available that day and may go up if we have to call them in later to do the work. This whole spiel sounded shady to me and I did not appreciate the scare factor involving my child. The "discount" being applicable one day only just did not sound right to me so we consulted another local chimney sweep company that most of our neighbors use. The new chimney company we consulted, Wm. Sasse, was very thorough in providing their estimate to us, they were in the basement, in the chimney in our living room and even on the roof. They stated that we do not need a new chimney liner as the liner is in good shape already but that we do need some minor masonry repair performed on the side of the chimney. We are missing a chimney cap so they will also take care of that for us. The price? $800. That is a huge difference in comparison to what United Chimney Corp. asked for and we like Wm. Sasse's family-run business. They are always busy and well-respected in our neighborhood so that we see their truck all the time! This says a lot to me about their reliability. Not only is their pricing more fair and their estimate more honest but they had worked on our new home in the past with the previous owners for the last ten years. We will be keeping our business with Wm. Sasse.

Explained the lining and flue were in good condition. Showed me a hole in the crown at the roof that holds the bricks. Explained need to have that repaired so it does not collect water/snow/ice and can cause further problems. Left an estimate to have the work done if I wanted it done by them. Was not pushy at all. Charged $89 for the cleaning and left number to call if I wanted repair done. Overall I was very pleased.

I HAVE BEEN USING THIS COMPANY FOR A WHILE AND THEY ARE GOOD. THE WORKERS WERE HONEST WITH THE SERVICES THAT I NEEDED. THE CHIMNEY IS CLEAN AND IT LOOKS GOOD.

THEY WERE PERSISTENT ABOUT CONTACTING ME TO SET AN APPOINTMENT FOR CLEANING MY CHIMNEY. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY USED THEM FOR OTHER WORK. THEY ARRIVED PROMPTLY, AND DID THEIR JOB WITHOUT DELAY.

I WAS NOT TOO PLEASED WITH THE BUSINESS TACTICS OF THIS COMPANY. THEY WERE A LITTLE OVERLY AGGRESSIVE. MY CHIMNEY WAS CLEANED BY THIS COMPANY VERY WELL.

THIS COMPANY DID A GOOD JOB CLEANING MY CHIMNEY. THERE WAS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE SERVICE RENDERED. THEY CAME ON TIME AND COMPLETED THE TASK IN A TIMELY MANNER.

THIS COMPANY DID EXCELLENT WORK ON MY CHIMNEY. THEY CAME AT THEIR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT. THE COST WAS WHAT THEY QUOTED. THE SERVICE GUYS WERE PROFESSIONAL.

THIS COMPANY DID A GOOD JOB CLEANING MY CHIMNEY. THEY CAME ON TIME, BUT STARTED THE JOB A LITTLE LATE. IT TOOK THEM A HOUR AND A HALF TO CLEAN AND SWEEP MY CHIMNEY.

I WAS NOT HAPPY WITH MY CHIMNEY CLEANING SERVICE. THEY PROMISED TO COME OUT AND CLEAN MY CHIMNEY INSIDE AND OUT. I HEARD NO TYPE OF BRUSHING TO CLEAN THE INSIDE OF MY CHIMNEY. THEY SAID SOMETHING WOULD BREAK BUT I FEEL THAT SHOULD OF BEEN MY CHOICE.

I BELIEVE THE PRICES ARE VERY HIGH FOR THE WORK THEY DID. THE STAFF DID A DESCENT JOB OF GETTING THE CHIMNEY CLEANED AND THE INSERT PUT IN A TIMELY MANNER.

UNITED CHIMNEY DID A GREAT JOB. THEY WERE EXTREMELY RELIABLE, INFORMATIVE, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND PLEASANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH. THE JOB WAS DONE IN A TIMELY MANNER AND WAS CLEANED UP WHEN COMPLETED.`

I THINK THAT THEY ARE GOOD WORKERS. THEY CAME IN AND WORKED VERY QUICKLY. I GET VERY NERVOUS ABOUT LETTING STRANGERS IN MY HOME AND I DID NOT GET THAT WAY WITH THESE GUYS.

UNITED CHIMNEY DID THE JOB THEY DID WELL. I KIND OF FEEL THEY PUSHED MY WIFE INTO HAVING THIS DONE. I AM NOT EVEN SURE IF WE NEEDED IT. I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THEIR WORK, BUT THE WAY THEY WENT ABOUT GETTING THE WORK.

UNITED CHIMNEY DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. THEY WERE EXTREMELY NEAT AND CLEAN. THEY GOT EVERYTHING TAKEN CARE OF AND FINISHED QUICKLY. NOW THE SMOKE FLOWS CORRECTLY OUT OF MY CHIMNEY.