Chimney Cricket
About us
Chimney Cricket Chimney Sweep has been serving the greater Pittsburgh area since 1982 and is a family-owned and operated business. We provide professional service by using the highest quality products and people available to exceed our customers' expectations. We want every customer to be 100% satisfied, and we will provide you with a lifetime of service. Chimney Cricket Chimney Sweeps offers prompt and reliable service. We look forward to working with you.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Animal Removal, Chimney & Fireplace Masonry Repairs, Chimney Caps, Complete Chimney & Fireplace Service- Chimney Sweeping & Inspections, Crown Cement, Dampers, Fireplace Liners, Furnace & Hot water heater chimney flue cleaning and Liners, Gas Starters., Gas logs
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
86% | ||
9% | ||
3% | ||
2% | ||
0% |
I explained that I had purchased my house last year and since I didn't know much about fireplaces I wanted someone to come out and check to make sure that there were no potential problems with the mortar in the chimney to ensure that I wouldnt have smoke leaking into the house or a potential fire with embers.
The man who showed up (the other two crew members stayed in the truck) came in laid down on the floor opened the flue and looked up the chimney with a flashlight and stated it looked good. (which I had already done). He did show me repeatedly how to open the flue with my finger (the handle is missing/broken). I had already figured that out when I looked up there previously.
He then told me I needed a new flue (over $600.00) and caps ($225.00) when I tried to explain my concerns he just kept repeating the directions to open/close the flue with my fingers.
The man spoke broken english and it may have been a communication issue on his part.
On my receipt it shows fireplace inspection and the estimates for the two jobs but in the area where it states condition with lines to make comments he left that blank.
I spent 59.00 and they were here and gone in about 10 minutes and I have zero level confidence on the condition of my fireplace chimney since they did nothing more than what I had already done. I feel i wasted my money that's why i gave the cost a rating of "bad"
"The customer is not happy with paying $59 for a standard inspection, If a call was placed with her concern this issue would have been corrected easily, instead she chose to write a bad review over a few lines that where left blank. If the chimney is in good condition as hers was except for the cap / damper that she needed those lines are left blank because nothing is wrong with the chimney. Again all of this could have been resolved with a simple phone call. Our goal is customer satisfaction as can be seen with our 100+ A rating reviews. We apologize for her "wasting" her money as stated, but this review was not necessary to resolve this simple situation. Aaron- Chimney Cricket"
I called 3 other providers on the list with prices that seemed lower than most and excellent reviews. I could not get a call back. Chimney Cricket was on vacation, so I waited the week and a half out and called yesterday. I got an answer right away, which is more than I could say for the other 3 (all recordings/left message). The older gentleman (I'm afraid I didn't get his name) said he would be able to come today. Fantastic. He arrived within 10 minutes of 12:30pm, which is when I said I'd be home from work. He wanted to see the inside of the house to check the fireplaces and chimney walls, but they were closed off and covered before we ever moved in. The chimney wall in the basement was the only one visible. He checked it all out, said it looked good and checked the hot water vent as well. He then went outside and looked. He said the chimney was bad with lots of holes, which I knew, we had moisture coming in around it in the upstairs bedroom. He quoted me 900-950 and asked if I minded if he grabbed lunch and came back in 20 minutes. I said no problem. He was willing to do the job on the spot. I had researched prices and this seemed fair, so I agreed. My boyfriend thought it sounded high (based on NOTHING). I took the 20 minutes and went back to Angie's List, now that I knew exactly what repairs were to be made, and we agreed that based on reviews for similar jobs, not to mention the pitch in our roof, that it was fair, and probably even very good.
This guy had to work on the back side of the chimney, and he literally (with her permission, of course) got up on my neighbors roof, on a ladder, carrying a ladder, and used that ladder to straddle our houses and work on the chimney. Insane. It was the "easiest way to do it" and those are his words, not mine. I was having a mild heart attack watching him.
He removed all of the old broken mortar and checked the flashing, which was also bad. He re-pointed the chimney, sealed the flashing, put a vent cap on the side of the chimney that the water heater uses, and also added a metal cage around it. In addition to that, he also sealed off the side of the chimney that would have been used by our covered up fireplace.
Given the fact that I watched this guy defy gravity and scale my and my neighbors roof like spider-man with a ladder on his back (seriously) and the pitch and height of my roof, and the work done (ON THE SPOT) and of course the comparison to similar provider reviews, I feel like I got a good deal.
He was up there for 2 hours in the scorching sun, and did a thorough and neat job. The difference was instantly noticeable and more importantly now I don't have to worry about the leak.
He was courteous and polite as well.
Kemal cleaned my chimney, installed 2 caps, & didn't leave a speck of dust/debris behind. I was very impressed with the professionalism and friendliness that he brought to my home that day.
This company is family owned & it is very easy to see how much pride they have in the work they perform. I would highly recommend hiring Chimney Cricket & will continue to hire them to service my chimney.
They were efficient, skilled and clean despite the messy nature of the work. I could not believe how clean they left the insides of our fireplaces. And as mentioned above, they cleaned the logs so well we do not need new ones. I had no idea that they would even make that effort.
They finished on time and left us smiling.
Licensing
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