ARTISAN CHIMNEY RESTORATION

The back of our large, old fireplace had gotten damaged and needed to be replaced. To add to the drama, we had an event coming up Sunday and the fireplace looked awful.
Gene was recommended by the very good chimney sweep who had done our chimneys. We asked if he could possibly get the job done by Sunday and he said that he'd do his best.
On Friday he took out the old bricks. This might sound simple, but it required the careful use of a heavy horizontal electric jackhammer. It's instructive to try holding one of these in position for more than about a minute.
In order to have a shot at finishing the job in time, Gene showed up early Saturday morning with a colleague who has been a mason for decades. It took them all day to get the work done. A bunch of the bricks had to be carefully cut at compound angles. Gene was very good about explaining what they were doing and why. Even though the mortar would appear to be dry in a few days, he told us not build a fire for a month in order to give it time to properly cure.
They finished on time and we were happy to pay the bill for the hard, meticulous work. They even applied some soot so that the back wouldn't look brand new and clash with the rest of the old house.
Trustworthy guy, knows his craft, highly recommended. We would automatically have him work with us again.

The rebuild of the chimney went great. It took Gene and his team about a day and half to do the job. They were very professional and explained to me what was happening each step of the way during the rebuild process.