Master Sweep

Jason confirmed that we need to have new tuck pointing performed, along with some interior deterioration inside the upper part of the chimney. He was able to place a chimney cap on that morning, along with scheduling the tuck pointing for dryer weather in june or july. He also allowed us to put our cleaning coupon against the chimney cap. He was organized, polite and took care not to bring dirt into the house.

getting connected to set-up the appt was difficult, due to office changes they were going through. Once that was settled it went very well. They were in and out in under 60 minutes.

They also installed new flutes. They were wonderful and communicated well. They were very contientious of our home and cleaned up well after they were finished.

I'm happy to re-write this report; Master Sweep (Jason) did return my call from end-Jan and we scheduled at time on Saturday (convenient for me) 2 weeks later. They were right on time & worked quickly & professionally. Jason explained a few issues I have (I had suspected them already) and gave me realistic time lines & options. Nothing was 'need to do it right now; here's my price'. Was very glad not to have any pressure tactics. My flashing definitely needs repair, but he was honest in saying it's not good to repair it now because the compound needs temperatures about 70 degrees to cure best. He'll re-schedule to check with me in April to possibly do that work. He honored my expired $97 coupon without question. He also gave me written estimates (no expiration dates) to do the additional work if I want to. I'll be getting a few other estimates, but would definitely call Master Sweep again. Hopefully they now have their office help resolved so that scheduling isn't such a problem. I gave them a "B" grade only due to the on-going problems of initially scheduling. Otherwise, everything else I would rate "A". Previous report (end Jan): I hope to be able to re-write this, but I called Master Sweep repeatedly trying to get an appointment between Nov & Jan. I bought their Angies List coupon at end of October; they called me back 1 time in December saying they could *possibly* schedule for the end of the week , but when I called back again to try to confirm, I only got the answering machine. They didn't call me again. My coupon has now expired, and at the moment I'm out $97 and my chimney is in the same condition it's been for over a year. I know they run this special repeatedly, so I've now left yet another message asking if they'll still honor my $97 coupon. I hope they will; I'd love to be able to give a re-write to this review. But if not.... be aware you may end up paying for services you never get.

I greatly appreciate that they told me that I had not been fully closing my chimney damper - info which will potentially save me a great deal of money! They didn't inspect the outside of the chimney/cap because I live in a condo and the exterior is not my responsibility. I find this to be a little nit-picky, since that service was said to be included. While I have not particularly noticed any improvement in drying time since they cleaned the vents, I do have increased peace of mind.

I contacted the company twice with no response. Then I forgot about it until January, contacted again, no response. That was $99 thrown away dollars.

Will never call these folks again.

very well, they were in time, very professional and clean. Also very fast. Price was very reasonable and I really have no complains. I will use them again.

Please see above. thankyou

They were very flexible with scheduling (which I appreciated), and Jason showed up promptly. I very much appreciated Jason's honesty saying that I did not need the other cleaning. I feel that most companies would place profit over honesty and their customers, and it was a pleasant surprise when Jason said I could be refunded the price of one of the "big deal" coupons I purchased.

Company did a very good job of repairing our older chimney (1978). Only issue not happy about was the spread of cement dust from grinding(?) out the old mortar on the chimney. Neighbor complained the dust also entered his house. I should have been made aware to tell neighbors to close their windows. All that was said that he would try to keep dust to a minimal.

The gentleman showed up on time and left the place clean. Inspected my chimney and found that it needed some work. Did some minor repair to the inside, then inspected the entire chimney all the way up to and including onto the roof. Found some other repairs that needed to be done and we agreed that he would come back to do it in a few weeks. Jason was polite and thorough. The problem is that he NEVER came back. NEVER bothered to call to schedule the repairs that he said needed to be done. I am very disappointed.

Improved stove effectiveness 100%--delighted.

This service was performed over a year ago. Why am I being asked to provide a review now. I don't think it is relevant.

Though initial attempts to reach them left a little to be desired, subsequent attempts and work done well.

Overall very efficient and knowledgable. They were careful to keep the surrounding areas clean as they worked. The whole process didn't take long and they were in and out within an hour. I'll use them the next time I need to clean my chimney.

They arrived, removed their shoes and got to work. They sucked all the dangerous stuff out of the fireplace chimney and dryer vent. This is an old house and we've only been here a couple months. They explained where some problems are, what's dangerous, what wastes money, and left a bid on what needs to be fixed right away. The whole thing took about a half hour. Fast and easy.

Got an appointment scheduled within a week of calling. Two fellows came early in the window of time they'd said they'd be here. Asked me first how the fireplace and chimney were working. Then they set to work, and it took only about 30 minutes.They covered the surrounding area in the room, to protect from creosote. They checked the dryer vent which didn't need cleaning, so they gave me credit for that. After the cleaning, they recommended I have it done again in 3 years, and said their business would call then to schedule. They recommended a cap for the unused flu and said they could install it, but they were waiting on an order of appropriate-sized caps. So I asked them to call when they had the caps. They were professional, efficient, informative and left everything clean. I would recommend this business to anyone.

They were fast and clean. They also gave us advice on how often to get the chimney cleaned and pointed out that our fireplace had been designed for a gas lighter which had never been installed.

Purchased a coupon on Angie's List, I called Master Sweep, they promptly returned my call and we did setup an appointment the following week. They came on time, a team of two, sweeped the chimney, cleaned everything around. Prompt and efficient work, I'll re-use them when I'll have to do it next time.

We called Master Sweep many times before we received a call back. Since we had prepaid with Angie's list I stuck with it until a woman finally called back. We made an appointment and Jason and a helper arrived on time and started to clean the chimney but realized that our flue would not let them do a proper job because it would not open all they way. Jason said if they cleaned the chimney without proper access to the shelf behind the flue the creosote sitting there from the cleaning would be a fire hazard. He offered to return and cut out the flue and install a new one at the top of the chimney. They also said we were way past due for a cleaning and we shouldn't use the fireplace. My husband was able to remove the flue so the chimney could be cleaned. I called to make a new appointment and we made one for a week after the holidays but no one showed up on that day. I called and made a new appointment and it took a couple calls for a couple weeks before the same woman called me back. The lady who called back made an appointment between 2 and 4pm in an afternoon that week. When no one showed up I called and Jason answered. He was very apologetic about the mix up and said it wasn't on his schedule at all. He came the very next day with a helper and was here and left in 30 minutes. Since I really did not know by looking at the inside of the chimney if Jason's job was good, I looked up "cleaning chimneys" on-line. It took awhile to find a good site, but the two below finally had the answers I was looking for. http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Home-Safety/Fire-Safety/when-to-clean-a-chimney-flue/View-All http://www.repair-home.com/chimneys/how-to-clean-a-chimney.html I learned: "How to tell when it's time to clean your chimney . . . while wearing goggles and a basic disposable dust mask, take a strong flashlight and your fireplace poker and scratch the black surface above the damper (smoke chamber). If the groove you scratch in the creosote is paper thin, no cleaning is needed. If it?s 1/8 in. thick, schedule a cleaning soon. If you have 1/4 in. of creosote, do not use the fireplace again until it is cleaned?a chimney fire could occur at any time." OK, so with that knowledge I can tell you Jason did a great job cleaning the chimney and firebox because when I scratched the all black insides there was brick or cement just under the surface with only a paper thin film of black.

We had pre-purchased a coupon to cover the services. They were punctual, polite and did a good job. We will hire them again when we need this service again.

turned out I needed -- in addition to a sweep -- a new chimney cap, flu liner and rain guard as well as a ash box and smoke shield. Jason offered quote and performed all as per the estimate. Fireplace works great. He and his partner were knowledgeable, efficient and courteous. even helped me with a troublesome storm window, using their ladders. I would recommend without hesitation.

They were efficient, on time, and made an effort to contact me.

I haven't had my chimney cleaned for two years, which is about how often we get it done given the number of fires we burn (pretty often), so when a Big Deal popped up I bought it. The Big Deal said they would get in touch in just a few days; I waited a week and then called them. They never made any initial contact. Once they came out, one inspected the chimney and told me about $1500 worth of work it supposedly needed while the the other supposedly did the sweep. Don't let the picture in the ad fool you - there's no plastic, no suit, no big shop vac. This person MAY have actually run something down the chimney, but we never saw any evidence other than the little bit of dust that fell down when we opened the damper after they left. If they were actually doing a sweep, wouldn't they have opened the damper to clean out what fell?? Only one of the two fireplaces was vacuumed at all; the upper level fireplace wasn't so much as touched. I wrote to them afterwards with these concerns as as of today have heard zilch. So. Conclusion: I feel like I paid $97 for someone to come tell me about work I probably don't actually need. I'll be getting other bids to see if this work is even required.