Charlie's Chimney Sweeps & Masonry

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I was not happy with this service.  Many things did not go as planned.  We used them because they were on a recommended list. (Not Angie's but they are also on it too.  We at first had an inspection that reveled that the wood stove and chimney needed to be replaced. We contracted the work with them because the did the inspection. My mistake was to not do the research and learn more about wood stoves.  We were recommended a specific stove because it was the appropriate size for our space. We did tell them we were interested in using the stove for supplementing our heat source. The recommended stove is very small and after doing research found out that we did have room for a larger stove. During installation my husband asked what was wrong with the old stove and was told "It's old" not that something was wrong with it. It was much larger. The one installed is so small all the wood must be custom cut(less than 12 inches) and will not sustain a fire overnight because of the size.  The other problems were with the installation.  First showed up later than stated and had tools that had to be recharged during installation. Then did not have all the parts to finish the job, and told us to leave the door open to stove till they got back to finish. This was a Friday and let the heat out of our house all weekend. Then to add insult to injury I was told how neat they were while installing stoves but left black hand prints on my newly painted walls. So overall I would not use them again ever.

Charlie came to my house to assess why my chimney is leaking. He told me what he thought needed to be done to stop the leaking. I agreed with his assessment. I told him he was hired and asked when can you start. He said he had jobs going which would take 2 to 3 weeks to complete. He said he shoud be on my job in 3 weeks. That was 6 months ago. I haven't heard from him since.9

They didn't charge me when they came back. They are good on price. They did a good job with everything related to the chimney work but I wouldn't necessarily use them for masonry work. I would probably use them again.

I think that they do a fantastic job overall. I am pleased with the quality. I am very happy with them. I have got some work starting in a week or so and I am going to use them again.

Used this company previously.  Returned my call promptly to schedule cleaning.  Was able to get me in on the day I needed.  Punctual.  Friendly.  Informative.  Reasonably priced.  No mess.

He arrived over an hour late for an early evening scheduled appointment, so it was dark when he arrived. I was shocked when I received his estimate. On my own, I had contacted two other reputable companies for estimates. Charlie's Chimney was the last estimate received and it was $1,000 to $1400 higher than the other estimates. He knew that we were negotiating the repairs for the sale of the house. He met with the buyer's Realtor at the house for the estimate. I found the whole experience to be suspect and unprofessional. I'm very surprised that the Realtor would list them as a preferred service contractor. Hmmmm.

Charlie from Charlie's Chimney told us that it would take 3 day's to build and finish a new fireplace for us in our living room. The fireplace was supposed to be a ventless gas fireplace with a masonry firebox and finished wood mantel. After two and a half weeks I finally had to fire him. Here were some of the issues: 1) Told us he had done this type of project before and then later found out this was his first time doing this type of work. 2) He would never show up on time and when he did show up, he would leave after doing little work. This happened day after day. 3) He used some of my materials I had in the house for another project. 4) The masonry he installed was of very poor craftsmanship. We had another mason come out afterward highly suggested we remove all the work Charlie had done due to the manor in which it was installed. The mason even said he did not want to work on the job for us because it was not structurally sound. 5) Charlie used our home vacuum without permission and then broke the belt on it. He also used my shop-vac without asking permission. 6) The final straw was his attempt at installing the tile that was meant to go around the fireplace. First he used anywhere from 1/2" to 3/4" of thinset to set the tiles in because none of the bricks on the front of the fireplace were even. Then he took our paint stirrers from our paint cans, broke them into little pieces, and used them as spacers for the tiles. Needless to say each tile was mounted crooked. I would not recommend Charlie's Chimney. Beware.

We were extremely pleased with the look of the chimney once it was done. It matches the old house perfectly and looks original. The even matched a decorative brick pattern and included some stone in the wall, as the original house does. It did take them a long time to complete the work, partly due to weather conditions. But we had scaffolding up and their trailer parked in front of our house for at least 6 weeks.

I had an appointment with this company on Wednesday the 26th of September and they never showed up or called. I called and left a message on their recorder to find out what happened and they never returned my call.

CHARLIE WAS VERY COURTEOUS AND KNOWLEDGEABLE WHEN IT CAME TO OUR CHIMNEY. AFTER DOING A ROUTINE CHIMNEY CLEANING, THERE WAS A SMOKEY SMELL THAT PERMEATED OUR HOUSE. WE CALLED CHARLIE, WHO CAME BACK AND WORKED FOR HOURS ON OUR CHIMNEY. HIS PRICES ARE MORE THAN FAIR, AND HE TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PRIDE IN HIS WORK. I HAVE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT OUR CHIMNEY AND HOW TO CARE FOR IT.

THEY DID NOT RETURN MY CALLS.

THE OWNER WAS ON TIME AND POLITE, BUT FROM THERE IT WAS ALL DOWN-HILL. HE MOVED OUR FIREPLACE INSERT AND SCRATCHED THE HEARTH. ALL THE CLEANING WAS PERFORMED INSIDE THE HOUSE BY PUSHING A WIRE BRUSH UP THE CHIMNEY. AN ASSISTANT LOOSELY HELD A CLOTH SHEET OVER PART OF THE FIREPLACE AS IT WAS BEING BRUSHED. SOOT (VERY FINE) WENT EVERYWHERE. I HAD TO WIPE DOWN THE ENTIRE LIVING AREA AND HAVE THE CARPETS CLEANED. AT NO TIME WAS A VACUUM USED. BRUSHING WAS THE ONLY WAY THE SOOT WAS CONTAINED.

ON 6/4/04 I MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR 7/16/04 BETWEEN 9:00 AND 12:00. NO ONE ARRIVED. I CALLED AT 12:15PM AND LEFT A MESSAGE TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. I CALLED AGAIN LATER IN THE DAY. MY CALLS HAVE NEVER BEEN RETURNED. IF THEY DID NOT WANT TO DO THE WORK I WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THE COURTESY, HONESTY AND PROFESSIONALISM OF BEING TOLD THAT. I WOULD HAVE BEEN QUITE CONTENT SETTING UP AN APPOINTMENT WITH ANOTHER COMPANY.

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THE CHIMNEY SWEEP PORTION GOT DONE, BUT SCHEDULING THE ACTUAL REPAIR WORK TURNED INTO A HORROR. WE BEGAN SCHEDULING IN THE FALL OF 2002. THEY MISSED AN APPOINTMENT IN DECEMBER OF 2003. I GOT ONE EXCUSE AFTER ANOTHER, THEY NEVER CAME OUT TO DO THE WORK, AND KEPT PUTTING ME OFF. PHONE CONTACT WAS MISERABLE.

THEY WERE PERSONABLE AND PROFESSIONAL. I PLAN TO USE THEM FROM NOW ON WHEN I NEED CHIMNEY CLEANING.

THEY WERE GREAT! VERY COURTEOUS, FRIENDLY, AND CLEANED UP NICELY AFTERWARDS!

THE OWNER FOUND ONE VERY SERIOUS HEALTH/SAFETY PROBLEM WITH THE MAIN FIREPLACE. HE GAVE US UNBIASED RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. THERE WAS NO MESS AND WORK WAS DONE IN A VERY PROFESSIONAL MANNER.

CAME TO FIX CHIMNEY WHILE WE WERE NOT AT THE HOUSE. REPLACED ONLY A FEW OF THE BRICKS AND DID THAT WITH BRICKS THAT DIDN'T MATCH THOSE OF THE HOUSE. DID NOT REPLACE CROWN. LEFT A BILL FOR THE ENTIRE WORK AND HAS NOT BEEN BACK. PROBABLY OK TO CLEAN YOUR CHIMNEY, BUT NOT FOR REPAIR.

SEEMED VERY NICE. WHITE CARPET WHEN THEY GOT THERE, WHITE CARPET WHEN THE LEFT...'NOUGH SAID.

OVERALL DID A GOOD JOB, THEY'RE HARD TO GET HOLD OF, SHOWED UP 1/2HR LATE AND LEFT A BIT OF A MESS. THAT BEING SAID, THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM AND WERE QUICK ABOUT IT, AND WERE VERY NEGOTIABLE ON THE PRICE.

unknown

CHARLIE GAVE MANY TIPS FOR PROPER USAGE AND PERSONALLY SHOWED THE PROPER OPERATION OF THE GRATE. HE COUNSELLED US ON THE TYPE OF WOOD TO USE TO MINIMIZE SMOKE. WE FOUND HIM PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS. HE GAVE THE ANGIE''S LIST DISCOUNT WITHOUT BEING ASKED.

PROFESSIONAL AND NEAT. I WILL HAVE HIM BACK NEXT YEAR TO OPEN THE FIREPLACE SEASON AND I WOULD RECOMMEND CHARLIE FOR YOUR CHIMNEY CLEANING NEEDS.